Halloween ficlet: Nativity In Black

[beer_good_foamy]

Happy halloween (I know I'm a bit early, but I wasn't sure I'd have time to post this otherwise)! Here's a new one. (Technically, it's a rewrite of a very old one, but it'll be new to most people.) gen_storyteller is holding a Halloween ficathon, so if you have any creepy, spooky, schlocky or screamy genfics, make sure to contribute!

Title: Nativity In Black
Author: Beer Good (beer_good_foamy)
Rating: PG13
Word Count: ~880
Characters/Pairing: Buffy, Willow
Timeline: Slight rewrite of "Bargaining"
Disclaimer: I'm so not Joss, that I'm not even Joss Stone.
Warning: It's halloween.
Summary: It just wasn't the same without her.

Nativity In Black

Dark.

Before she knows her name, before memories come flooding back, before she can start to figure anything out, that's her first thought. She blinks frantically to make sure she's actually looking out at absolute darkness, like nothing she’s ever known. So dark it hurts her new eyes.

Then comes the feeling of being trapped. She fumbles around her, looking for a way out, hitting soft but unyielding walls just inches in front of her, behind her, all around.

Then she gasps for breath and gets only half a lungful of stale air, the reek of
(my own)decay and suddenly her only thought is that she wantsneedsmust OUT. Scrambling madly for leverage on the surface in front of her, clawing, scratching, tearing her nails out against fabric, padding and finally bare blood-splattered wood. There's no room to pull back for a proper punch, but she's strong and she pounds and scratches and shreds and soon she hears planks start to break under
(above)her fists. Bones crack in her hands, one finger sticking out at an odd angle, but she refuses to let the pain stop her. It's not until dirt and roots and itty bitty wriggling worms start pouring into her face that she allows herself to realize where she is.
(coffin oh god I died I'm buried I died I'm buried ALIVE)Screaming with the last air in her lungs, stars dancing before her eyes as she starts to pass out, Buffy lurches forward – no, up - smashing her forehead into the boards, breaking them apart. The pain flashes in her head like lightning, giving her the few extra seconds she needs to start crawling in mad panic through the hole, out out out OUT, the jagged edges tearing at her dress, skin, flesh. She swims upwards through the soil, only six feet, so close, reaches up and feels her fingers touch grass, then air... air on her fingertips but her mouth is full of dirt and it's too far away, she hasn't had a fresh shot of oxygen for months and her legs can barely move anymore and it's all starting to slow down and drift back into the heavy earth.

Then she feels a hand grab hers and pull.

Next thing she knows, she's lying on soft damp grass, cold night air all around her. For a few seconds she's perfectly still, as if her limbs have forgotten that they can move again. Then she coughs violently, spitting up mud and rot and taking a breath with her entire body, feeling LIFE return to every inch of her. She lies there, panting like a dog, her mind still focussing on in-out-in-out-in-out, when she feels a tender hand on her neck and becomes aware of someone kneeling next to her.

It takes a few seconds for her brain to put the green eyes and red hair together into a face, and a few more to put a name to the face and remember that she can talk. "W-Wi-Willow?"

"Hey Buffy. Welcome back. How you doing?" Her best friend gives her a tired smile.

"What... how... where... "

"Confused? I don't blame ya. Having to claw your way out like that... definitely no fun."

Buffy tries to get up, but her head spins and her hands hurt too much. Her eyes dart around the clearing, trying to make sense. Darkness. Fire. An overwhelming stench of blood and powerful magic. And something next to her... a tombstone. She has to work to get her eyes to focus, reading the words BUFFY ANNE SUMMERS several times before she understands them. "Willow... what... I... I died... I was in..."

"Ssssh, easy there Buff." Willow puts her arms around her and helps her sit up, hugging her close in an almost motherly way. "You're not gonna believe some of the stuff that happened while you were gone. Sunnydale just wasn't the same without a Slayer. You're not tip-top yet, but don't worry, Willow's gonna fix you up."

It feels good to be held. Safe. She breathes, she's alive, she's home. Some shocked fragment of her mind is still screaming wrong wrong wrong wrong but Willow's cool hand stroking her hair feels comforting and she almost smiles. "I-I thought... I woke up in h-hell."

"Hell?" Willow flashes her a bright smile. "Well, not yet, but we're working on it. Wanna see something I learned this summer?"

And Buffy's best friend's face turns into that of a vampire, green eyes flashing yellow and sharp teeth sinking into her neck. Willow drinks deeply as Buffy tries in vain to fight her off with broken hands, and by the time the vampire lets her go and bites her own lip, she's too far gone to even struggle. Her last conscious sensation in what turns out to be a very short life is the feel of cold lips on hers and thick, rich blood filling her mouth. Her mind is already gone when her body swallows the darkness.

---

And also, a couple of reposts in the halloween spirit:
Welcome to the Slaughterhouse ("Family" rewrite, BtVS/Texas Chainsaw Massacre crossover)
The Call of Illyria ("Not Fade Away" rewrite, AtS/HP Lovecraft crossover)
The Singular of "Apocalypses" ("The Gift" rewrite)
Best Fiends Forever (The unlife of Drusilla)