Chapter 2

About an hour after sunset, the front door of the Summers' house opened. 16 year old Dawn Summers stepped through the doorway carrying her books, turned on the light and shut the door.

 The Sunnydale High School sophomore called out, "Buffy! Are you home?"

 There was no answer.

 She hadn't thought anyone would answer. All the lights in the house were off.

 Buffy hadn't turned any lights on or off in the past three nights. Her bed hadn't been slept in, in the past three nights either. In all that time, no one had seen or heard anything from Dawn's big sister.

 Back at the Magic Box, Anya had spoken matter of factly, as she always did.

 "We all might as well face it. We've always known this was gonna happen, sooner or later."

 Dawn had shuddered. "Please don't say it Anya!"

 The shop's proprietor, who appeared to be in her early 20's, ignored her.

 "Buffy's dead!"

 Dawn had shuddered; so had Willow and Tara.

 "She finally met the vampire who got lucky! One Slayer dies, and the next Slayer is called. The

Slayer is dead. Long live the Slayer."

 "No." Dawn had insisted. "We don't know that for sure!"

 Willow had then spoken, "Maybe we should call Giles. He's her Watcher. If anyone's heard anything, it's sure to be him."

 "Go ahead." Anya told her, "Call England. Tell Giles to wake up the Watcher's Council. Tell them that the time has come for them to bring the next Slayer out of the bullpen. Have her step to the mound, and start pitching."

 "No!" Dawn had shouted. "I don't want to hear this!"

 She'd jumped up and ran to the door. "I don't want to hear any of this!"

 Now at home, Dawn was alone. The full figured girl with the long brown hair, wearing a blue skirt and yellow blouse, realized just how silent everything was. She usually felt good, on those rare occasions when no one else was around, and she could totally relax. This evening however, the solitary silence was not comforting. In the silence she couldn't stop thinking about Anya's insistence that her sister had been killed.

 No! Buffy's not dead!

 No! She thought, If she'd been killed by a vampire, we'd have all heard about it by now. Every undead being here on the Hellmouth would be celebrating. All the demons would have been partying, and as the Slayer's sister, I'd have been one of their main entraes, who they'd have slowly tortured and then eaten alive by now.

 She decided to turn on the TV, to put her mind to anything else, so she wouldn't have to deal with the thought that her sister might be dead.

 Dawn stepped into the living room, and switched on the lamp, on the table beside the sofa, that stood with its back to the picture window which faced out toward Robello Drive.

 She put her books down on the coffee table, and reached for the TV's remote control, when the doorbell rang.

 Dawn went back to the door, looked through the tiny triangular window, and saw her sister standing on the porch.

 Through the shut door, the 22 year old woman's voice sounded muffled. "Dawn! I've lost my keys! You'll have to let me in!"

 Dawn immediately yanked the door open, "Sure Buffy!" She sighed with relief. "Come on in!"

 Buffy stepped through they doorway, and went into the living room.

 Dawn shut the door and spoke, "It's good to see you're okay. Now where the hell've you been, and..."

 Buffy had turned to face her, with bloodshot eyes. Her blonde hair was uncombed, wildly

matted, and heavily stained with dried blood. She wore the same dark green jacket and Levis that she'd had on the last time Dawn had seen her. They were now badly wrinkled and torn, and grimy with dried blood. Her skin was unhealthily pale.

 "Buffy!" Dawn was horrified. "What did happen?"

 She spoke hesitantly. "What happened?"

 "I've never seen you look like this before, after a fight. You usually knock off a half dozen demons, in less than a minute. Then you walk away without a scratch; not one wrinkle in your clothes, and not one hair out of place."

 "This time it was different." Buffy's voice was hoarse. "Things have changed."

 Dawn shuddered for a moment. Then she asked, "Changed in what way?"

 Buffy continued to speak hesitantly. "I've...been...with...I've been with... with Spike."

 "Spike? In his crypt?" Dawn asked, "Has he been looking after you, while you're in this condition? He shouldn't have been doing that all on his own. He should have called us. We'd have got you to the hospital."

 Buffy shook her head. "No hospital has any cure for this, little sister."

 Buffy opened her mouth, displaying a new pair of very long, sharp fangs.

 Dawn shrieked. She put her hands to her mouth.

 Then she said, "Buffy! You're a vampire!"

 "Dawn." Buffy took a step toward her, and began to reach out.

 "No!" The horrified girl squealed, "Stay away from me!"

 Then she turned around and ran up the steps.

 "Dawn!" Buffy called out, "I'm not gonna hurt you! You're still my sister, and I love you! So I'm

never gonna hurt you, or any of our friends!"

 She heard the door to Dawn's room slam shut, and loudly lock.

 "And I'm not gonna let any demons hurt any of you either!"

 Inside her room, Dawn took out her cell phone and dialed the number of the Magic Box.

 She waited until someone answered.

 Then she spoke in a whisper, "Anya. This is Dawn. Listen. I'm at home, and Buffy's just walked back into the house. No. You were right. She's no longer alive."

 Through the shut door, Dawn heard Buffy speaking to someone downstairs. Then she heard Xander's voice.

 No. Not Xander!

 Dawn went to the door, unlocked it, stepped out into the hallway, and went to the top of the stairs. She saw Xander Harris downstairs, standing in the foyer. The 22 year old construction foreman was speaking with Buffy, who stood between him and the steps.

 Dawn shouted, "Xander! Get out of here now! Buffy's a vampire!"

 He called out, without taking his eyes off Buffy. "I see that Dawnster! I'm backing away slowly."

 Xander reached in the pocket of his jacket, and pulled out a cross, which he held up between himself and Buffy. She raised her hand, shielding it from her sight.

 "You don't have to do this Xander." Buffy told him, "I won't hurt you. I won't hurt Dawn, or Anya, or Willow or Tara."

 "You say that now," he told her, holding the cross firmly, "but it's only a matter of time 'til you get hungry."

 "That won't be for a long time. You're all safe from me tonight. I've already eaten."

 Dawn called out from the top of the steps. "Anybody we know?"

 "No. I haven't killed anyone human."

 Xander nodded, and began to lower the cross.

 Then she added, "Yet."

 He trembled, and raised the cross again, while Dawn gasped.

 Buffy said, "All I've had to eat, since I've been this way, is pigs' blood, and dog blood."

 Xander asked, "Dog?"

 She nodded, "About a half hour ago. Two pit bulls and a rotweiller."

 Now Xander asked, "So what happened? You finally met the vampire who got lucky?"

 "Best night of his unlife," she said, "and mine."

 She looked back up the steps at Dawn. "I was dead in less than a minute! The pain didn't last even that long!"

 Dawn called back down, "But why did he vamp you? A Slayer who's also a vampire, would be even more dangerous."

 Xander called up to her, "I guess he didn't know who he was killing! He didn't realize how lucky he was!"

 "He knew who I was." Buffy told them, "That's why he brought me back."

 Xander repeated, "He knew?"

 Dawn called out, "Spike?"

 Buffy turned to face her sister. "That's right Dawn! He's going to be moving in here with us!"