Realising this, vampires and humans have had to learn to live together and have come to a truce of sorts where humans will donate blood regularly so that the vampires are fed and vampires have restrictions on who the are able to feed from and/or turn, etc. To ensure that things are kept running smoothly, the establishment of a regulatory body in each state (and on each hellmouth due to heavy demon population) is set up to enforce laws that protect both humans and vampires. (E.g. Sunnydale Human and Demon Relations Office). These offices have different divisions that deal with enforcing rules and restrictions, welfare and social work, identification and turning licenses, etc.
***************************************************************************
Rupert Giles stared at the young girl through the office window. She looked to be just a child, with her golden hair haphazardly thrown up into a loose ponytail, dressed in faded three quarter denim cut offs and light pink tank top. Yet her file told him she had just turned nineteen. She seemed to be staring at nothing as she sat facing sideways in a chair with her knees drawn up tightly to her chest. His caseload at the Sunnydale Human and Demon Relations Office was fast becoming increasingly full of the young ones. He had thought that schools were running safety programs outlining how to avoid this sort of thing nowadays. Great load of good that was obviously doing. Every day the pile of files on his desk for the under 25’s grew; almost to the point that they were the only new cases he was assigned.
Giles sighed heavily and moved away from the observation window and walked into the room.
“Buffy Summers?” Buffy lifted her watery green eyes to him and nodded. Giles gave the girl a kind smile as he moved to take a seat behind his desk. “I’m Rupert Giles, everyone calls me Giles though.” She nodded her understanding again but didn’t answer him verbally.
Giles drew his eyes together in a slight frown and looked down at the file that lay open on his desk: Buffy Anne Summers, recently moved to Sunnydale, California. ‘Ah,’ Giles thought to himself with a slight nod of understanding ‘that explained it’. He looked up the girl who still sat unmoved in her seat.
“Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself, Buffy.” She turned her vacant eyes on him once more and he couldn’t help the pang of regret he felt for her.
“I’m 19 years old, and I moved to Sunnydale three weeks ago with my mother and my sister. My dad left mom about a year ago so the move to Sunnydale was meant to be a fresh start. I was due to begin classes here at the UC Sunnydale campus next week.” Buffy’s voice was rough as though she had spent hours screaming at the top of her lungs. “They don’t know what’s happened yet. I came here as soon as I woke.” Giles nodded and made a rough note of that fact on his pad.
“Would you be able to tell me about the events which led to your turning? I need to make a note of who your sire is—I’m assuming he didn’t have a turning licence?” Buffy shrugged as she simultaneously shook her head.
“No, I don’t think so.” Giles nodded once more and scribbled down some more notes.
“So, I’ll need you to start from the beginning”
“Buffy? Are you going out?” Buffy made her way to the bottom of the stairs and turned in the direction of her mother’s voice as she exited the kitchen of their new home.
“Yeah, I met up with an old friend while I was at the University yesterday. You remember Ford? He’s here, in Sunnydale.” Her mother smiled, wiping her hands on the tea towel she was holding.
“Of course I remember Ford. Just don’t be back too late. We’re still new in town; don’t go anywhere your not sure about.” Buffy gave her mother a soft smile before giving her a quick peck on the cheek.
“I’ll be careful. I promise.” Joyce smiled and shooed her away to the front door.
“Have a good time, sweetheart”
“Is Buffy going out? Oh my god! That is SO unfair!” The two older Summers women shared a look before turning to the teenager. “Why is Buffy allowed to go out, when I asked you yesterday if I could meet up with some of my friends from school?”
“Dawn we have already been over this. You’re 17 now, legal turning age. We don’t know what this town is like yet and I don’t want you going out and getting yourself vamped by some illegal turner.” Dawn rolled her eyes and stomped her foot in a manner so much like the child she claimed she wasn’t.
“Oh, and like Buffy being two years older is really going to make a difference.” Joyce gave her youngest daughter a stern look and turned back towards Buffy.
“Have a good time. I’ll talk to you in the morning.” Buffy smiled and pecked her mother on the cheek again before waving to Dawn and slipping out the door. She chuckled to herself as she heard her sister’s high pitch shriek from inside the house.
Buffy paid her entry fee at the door and walked into the club in which she had made arrangements to meet Ford. The place was interesting, that was a given. It was an odd mixture of a night club and a bohemian type of café. Its lighting was dim and it had a lounge just inside the door that had large comfortable looking chairs everywhere that had large overstuffed cushions padding them.
Further into the club she could see a space that had been cleared for a dance floor which several couples were currently using, and a well lit up bar along the back wall.
She liked it.
Weaving her way through the club, she headed toward the bar at the back of the room. She slid easily onto one of the barstools and ordered a Coke as she waited for Ford to arrive.
Her eyes roved over the room casually as her drink was placed on the bar. Smiling at the barman, she accepted her drink as her eyes wandered over the other people sitting at the bar. Her gaze seemed drawn to a figure sitting at the opposite end.
He was half hidden in the shadows that fell across the room and he seemed to have an air of mystery to him. She quickly averted her eyes as he lifted his gaze to look at her. She felt a blush stain her cheeks heavily and tried to ignore his presence by busying herself with taking another sip of her Coke and waiting for Ford to arrive. Yet, her gaze seemed to gravitate towards the stranger again, and she felt her eyes lifting to meet his.
He stared back through empty eyes as he watched her and she felt a chill run down her spine.
“Miss?” Buffy startled in her seat quickly as she turned to the voice that had addressed her. “Are you Buffy Summers?”
“Yes” She said nodding a little, still slightly flustered.
“You have a phone call.” Frowning slightly, she accepted the phone that was handed to her via the bartender and brought it to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Buffy? It’s Ford.”
“Hey! I was wondering where you were.”
“Yeah, listen, about that. I can’t meet you tonight, something’s come up and I’ve got to go to my dad’s house.” Buffy frowned slightly and turned away from the bar, covering one ear in an attempt to hear Ford more clearly.
“Oh, is he okay?”
“Yeah, Dad’s fine. I was wondering if we might be able to take a raincheck and catch up some other night?”
“Of course, that’s fine. Good luck with whatever you have to do.”
“Great. I guess I’ll see you on campus.”
“Okay, thanks for calling.” Disconnecting the call, she handed the phone back over to the barman.
“Your date stand you up?” Buffy smiled at his slightly gruff voice and assumption.
“No, I was planning to meet up with an old friend tonight. He had to cancel though.” She dug through her bag and pulled out her wallet, handing a few dollars to the bartender. “Thanks for the drink.” He smiled at her as she turned on her stool and slipped off.
Her eyes gravitated once more to the corner of the bar as she moved to make her way back through the club and she noted that the man had disappeared. Mentally shrugging to herself, she navigated her way back through the club, dodging dancing couples and rowdy groups. She took a deep breath of the night air as she exited the club and headed back in the direction of her home.
Buffy was halfway out of the alley that led away from the club when she realised that she wasn’t alone. Goosebumps broke out over her skin as she heard the sound of feet scuffling behind her. Turning, she scanned the alley behind her: nothing. Her mother’s words earlier that night about illegal turners echoed through her mind and she felt an icy drop of fear snake its way down her spine.
Her heart rate picked up quickly and she spun on her heel to run out of the alley when she collided heavily up against a rock solid chest. Panic instantly overtook her and she struggled violently to get away.
“Whoa! Slow down, what’s got you in such a hurry?” Pulling back slightly, she looked up at the man before her. He was the man she had seen in the bar. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she felt his cool grip on her arms. Vampire. She pulled back out of his arms as if she’d been burned.
“Nothing. I just realised I’m late.” She looked over her shoulder again quickly before giving the vampire a tight smile as she stepped around him to walk away.
“Hey, hey, hey, wait up! Are you walking home alone?” Buffy stopped in her tracks but didn’t turn to face him even though she knew he could hear the rapid beating of her heart.
“Yeah, why?” she asked. The deep chuckle she got as a response didn’t help at calming her nerves.
“You haven’t been in Sunnydale long, have you?” He asked with an amused tone that instantly put her on the defensive.
“Three weeks.” He smirked at her in amusement before walking towards her so they were level with each other once more.
“I’ll walk you home.” Buffy shook her head and took a few steps back.
“It’s okay, I’ll be fine. Really.” The vampire moved lightning fast as Buffy turned to leave, and she was stopped dead in her tracks as a cold hand closed around her wrist tightly. The grip was like steel and clearly not friendly.
“I wouldn’t be so sure, gorgeous.” Buffy knew that if she lifted her gaze, she would find him in his demon guise. She tugged on her arm trying to break his grip.
“Let me go.” Her tone was calm, but she knew her heart rate belied her. He chuckled again, the sound of his voice causing her to break out in a cold sweat.
“I don’t think so,” he said as he seized her other wrist and pulled her against him roughly. Buffy struggled in vain against him as he pulled her so her body was plastered against his. That’s when she could smell it. The scent of alcohol on his breath was almost overpowering.
Tears were running unheeded down her face as her futile attempts at breaking free from his grasp failed. She thought of calling out to someone, but the alley was deserted and no one inside the club would hear her over the music.
“Please, please let me go.” She looked up into the face of the monster before her and saw no sympathy, only the empty eyes that had watched her in the club. He gave her one last smirk as he turned her around and pushed her harshly up against the alley wall.
She cried out in pain as he tore harshly into the side of her throat. She whimpered as he shook his head, tearing her skin and marking her even as he sucked the life giving fluid from her.
Buffy’s arms felt heavy as she tried to lift them and push him away, and she knew that these would be her last moments alive. Opening her eyes, she looked around the alley in which she knew she would die. She closed her eyes against the image. She wouldn’t die contemplating her surroundings. Instead she conjured an image of her family in her mind’s eye, like they were before, when her parents were together and they were happy. She had time to picture each one of their faces individually before darkness consumed her and she welcomed the release.