mansion, but in what looked like green house. He looked over and found Willow laying
next to him on the marble floor. He crawled over to her, pulling her body softly towards
him in order to cradle her. His hand caressed her cheek, trying to wake her. He opened the
link, trying to sense if anything was wrong. She seemed fine, but that did nothing to
elevate his worry.
“Willow, wake up.”
Her eyelids began to flutter open, bringing a smile to his face.
“No time to sleep,” he told her with a smile.
“Didn’t mean to. Where are we?”
“Not sure, but we don’t seem to be in the mansion anymore.”
Willow looked around, finding Xander and Cordelia close by, waking up as well.
“Angel, I’m scared,” she whispered to him.
Angel knew she was and conveyed a similar feeling to her by the link He pulled her
up to a sitting position and pulled her into his arms for a tight hug.
“I’ll protect you, Willow. We’re getting out of here, I promise. Trust me. Nothing
will happen to you, not as long as I’m alive and maybe even after that.”
Willow held onto him tightly.
“We’ll get out together, all of us.”
He pulled back and looked into her stormy green eyes. He placed a soft kiss on her
forehead.
“Together.”
Angel pulled her up to her feet with him and walked over the second half of the
group.
“We aren’t in Kansas anymore are we?” Xander asked a loud as he looked around
the large room they were in.
“Is it just me, or does anyone else have a really bad headache? Where are we?”
Cordelia asked.
“It looks like a greenhouse of some sort,” Willow replied.
“Yeah, with no plants, or doors,” Xander said a bit worried.
“There has to be a way out...” Willow said as she looked around.
“Come on, let’s check the place out.”
The group agreed and followed Angel down the large room. They kept looking
around, but all they found were glass walls. After a ten minute walk, the group sat down,
trying to think of a way out.
“What do we do?” Cordelia asked, trying not to sound so scared.
Angel looked around them, not sure what to do. He had never felt so helpless
before. He looked at Willow and could see the worry on her face. As he moved his gaze
away from her he noticed something on the floor a few feet away from them. He left the
small group, heading over, not answering Xander’s question.
“Where is he going?” the annoyed boy asked.
The women shrugged their shoulders and headed over to see what Angel had
found so interesting. Before Angel could call them over, he looked to see them coming.
They were surprised to see what he had found, more so when they saw a footprint on it.
“What is it?” Cordelia asked.
“A question -What is 1 and 1?”
“What?”
“That’s the question, with two answers,” he responded.
The group looked at the floor more intently and found what looked like two trap
doors, with small buttons imbedded in the middle.
“It’s 2”, Xander pointed out.
“I think it’s eleven,” Cordelia contradicted him.
Willow looked at Angel, not sure which to choose.
“We have to decide as a group, I won’t be making the decisions solely. I think it’s
11,” Angel told them.
“I second that,” Willow added.
Xander, knowing he was outnumbered sided with them.
“Fine, 11.”
Angel looked at the group, then back down and pushed the bottom. To there
relief, the panel opened to reveal food. As quick as the panel opened, the second trap door
disappeared with the paper.
Angel took out the pieces of fruit, sandwiches and sodas out as well as a thermos.
The gang sat down on the floor, grabbing food to feed their hunger. To everyone’s
surprise the thermos contained the nourishment Angel needed.
“I’m glad someone knew what you needed,” Xander commented as he grabbed
one of the sandwiches.
“That’s what worries me,” Angel muttered, not having a good feeling about what
would lie before them.
Cordelia on the other hand was curious about all that was happening.
“Do you guys think we can do those things?”
“Do what?” Xander asked as he downed his second sandwich.
“You know...the powers,” she replied a bit excited.
“I hope so,” Willow said as she looked out the glass wall and could see the sky
begin to lighten. Morning was coming and all she could of was Angel’s safety.
The group ate in silence, Angel excusing himself for a moment to feed. Once the
food was gone, the game began once more. They began their walk around the oval shape
building, this time looking down at the floor. It was Cordy who found the piece of paper.
“Found it.”
The group gathered around her as she read the message.
"What two days of the week start with the letter `T`?
“That’s too easy,” Xander commented.
“What are the choices?” Angel asked.
“None....it looks like a small intercom...we have to answer it.”
“Do the obvious,” Xander instructed her.
She did what was asked, pressing down on the button and answering the question.
“Tuesday and Thursday.”
To there complete surprise, the panel did not open, but a small gas appeared a few
feet away from them. From the smoke out stepped a small child.
“You answered incorrectly,” she informed them.
“Who are you?” Willow asked.
“I am here give you your warning. The next incorrect answer you give, you shall
be penalized. Think before you answer, nothing is as easy as it seems, but nothing is too
hard as you make think either. This is your only warning.”
With that said the small child in the white robe vanished.
“I’m guessing we should have gone with another answer, Alex,” Xander nervously
commented.
“What else?” Cordy asked, afraid to see something else appear.
“Try today and tomorrow,” Angel answered.
Cordy hesitantly answered. To there relief the panel opened to reveal a passage
way underneath.
“Who goes first?” Cordy asked.
“I will. I’ll be able to see,” Angel replied, seeing the tunnel down below was in
complete darkness.
Angel was the first to go down. The opening was tight, but he managed to get
through with only a few scratches. Angel looked around and smelled the earth. It looked
like a man made tunnel, with only a few wood panels holding everything together. Willow
was the next one down. Angel placed his hands around her waist and placed her firmly on
the dirt floor. He helped Cordy down as well. The passage too narrow, Angel made his
way back to the front as Xander made his way down. Once his feet hit the floor, the panel
closed, trapping them in the passage way.
“I really don’t like this,” Xander said a bit low. All he could see where three pair of
eyes.
“Let’s move,” Angel said he took Willow’s hand.
They began to move forward slowly, Angel guiding the way. The small group tried
not to panic, but Angel could smell their fear, even some on him. Clasping each other
hands were their only comfort.
With an occasional ‘ouch’, bump and scratch, they walked in complete silence,
each wondering if this was the end. Each mind began to panic, until there heard Angel’s
voice.
“I see steps...and a door.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, they began to find hope of survival. Angel pounded
against the door until it gave way and smelled grass. He cautiously moved forward,
knowing that sunrise was minutes away. He helped the rest out as he looked around him
and was surprised to see a forest ahead of them and a meadow behind him. After much
hugging and a kiss to the grass, Angel tensed, the sun fastly approaching.
Willow was the first to notice the pending arise of the run, outside himself and
began to look around, hoping to find a place to shelter him. But every thought left there
mind as a massive dark cloud covered the sky.
“This doesn’t look good,” Cordy said unable to hide her fear.
In a matter of moments, they emerged from the tress and the meadow behind them
in armies, snarling and hissing. The small petrified group were soon surrounded by hungry
vampires.