Camp Killalot

By Karen

Connor raced around the boating hut and struck at the chain that held the door locked as he ran past. He grinned as he heard the thick chain shatter behind him and then jumped into the air and spun in a tight ball over the heads of two demons as they lunged at him. He came down on his feet and ran for the centre of the clearing with a crowd of incensed demons barrelling after him. He turned and ducked the first wild swing of a demon with teeth as long as its arms and crashed back into two vampires. He wasted no time and slammed his stake into one chest and then into the other and was up and running again before the dust settled. As he ran for a tree with a convenient low branch he glanced over his shoulder and felt a quick burst of relief at the sight of Dawn decapitating a vampire with one hand and staking another with her other. He looked in front of him once more and leapt for the branch swinging himself up and over it to come neatly down on the shoulders of a large yellow demon with red sparks playing under its skin. As the demon twisted to try and shake the boy off Connor swung his sword and took the heads off another two vampires and then raised the weapon above his head and drove it straight into the thing's skull. He allowed his body to fall forwards with the corpse beneath him and tucked and rolled as he hit the ground coming up in a starting position and taking advantage of that to streak towards Dawn.

Connor's partner was having a blast. Dawn swung and ducked through the crowd of demons, using the overwhelming odds against her to her advantage. Being easily the smallest being in the enraged group she also had the advantage of not having to fight through hordes of her own people to get to the enemy. She ducked and rolled onto the ground narrowly avoiding being stepped on and then popped up to stake a surprised vampire and chop the arm off another demon. She dropped again and gave a grin as the anguished scream intensified the panic through the demon's compatriots and then slammed her axe into the groin of another vampire for good measure as she scrambled through the small forest of legs to pop up in front of Connor as he arrived breathlessly before her. They exchanged relieved smiles and then turned as one to head for the now empty boatshed as the last of the freed humans disappeared into the trees. Dawn paused for a split second to grab a small object from the passenger seat of the jeep and then they were leaping over the body of the black skinned decapitated demon and bursting into the interior of the wooden building.

Dawn pushed Connor hurriedly to one side and they split as the remnants of their enemy ran bellowing curses and threats through the door. Dawn hurriedly threw the object in her hand to Connor and then slammed the door shut and bolted it. The demons spun in the centre of the room when they realised that their quarry was now behind them and a small, dark haired vampire snarled

"Fools! You've just signed your own death warrants." "I don't think so."

Dawn leaned against the wall at her back and allowed herself a few minutes to get her breath back. She gave them a wide, bright smile and Connor found himself suddenly weak kneed at the girl's beauty "I'd like to draw your attention to the huge ass kicking you guys just enjoyed. Now we're all warmed up, I'm feeling pretty confident we'll take the rest of you out in about five minutes. What about it Connor? You feeling all nice and loose?"

The Destroyer smiled back into her eyes like they were they only two people in the room and Dawn felt her breath hitch as she stared back at the admiring look on his face

"I'm ready for whatever you decide. Just say the word."

Dawn's eyes widened at the soft words and she felt a slow blush start as she read the double meaning in them. Connor reached out and slowly brushed a strand of hair from her petal soft skin and whispered

"Whatever you want."

The girl dragged her gaze from his and refocused with difficulty on the demons before them

"Let's take care of these guys and then we'll talk."

Connor stepped back but not before he stroked his thumb gently over her mouth and said firmly

"Yes. We will."

His gaze hardened as he took in the six vampires and three unknown demons left before them

"Let's finish this."

Dawn straightened and her body fell into battle stance one more time and she lifted her axe with both hands flicking her hair over her shoulder and saying grimly

"Bring it on."

The demons exchanged glances and then leapt forward as one, their only focus to kill the two teenagers before them.

Half an Hour down the road.

Spike snarled again as the van refused to go above 99mph and slammed his fist onto the dashboard

"Both hands on the wheel, both hands on the wheel!"

The vampire ignored the high-pitched yell from Xander and pressed his boot harder against the pedal desperately trying to coax an extra burst of speed from the straining vehicle. Buffy leaned forward to lay a small hand on Spike's tense shoulder and said gently

"Sweetie, you need to take it easy. It won't help Dawn if we drive off the road and crash."

Spike's game face rippled over his face as his emotions crested again under the Slayer's soft touch and he spat harshly

"'Bit's in trouble. She needs us and all she's got for back up is Peaches' whelp. If he's anything like Angelus she can't trust him to get her back. He'll save his own skin first."

Buffy glanced behind her at Anya and the ex-demon shrugged

"I agree. Angelus is unstable, it follows that his child may also be unreliable."

Buffy opened her mouth to reply indignantly but was beaten to the punch by Xander who snapped

"That's enough! I don't like Deadboy as much as the next guy but he's not a quitter. He's made a few stupid mistakes but when it counted he was there in the clinch. We don't know his kid and we don't know what he's capable of so until we do I'm thinking we all just sit back and concentrate on surviving Spike behind the wheel."

There was a small silence in the van and then Spike nodded and said tightly

"Agreed. Sorry, Slayer, I just don't want to think of what could be happening to Nibblet."

Buffy saw him swallow in the darkness and leaned forward to hear him whisper

"I can't lose another girl I love."

Her eyes filled and she squeezed his shoulder gently

"You won't."

The words had barely left her mouth when a brilliant flash lit up on the far horizon and then died as quickly as it appeared. Spike pressed on the accelerator again and began to do something he hadn't done for over a hundred years. Pray.

Two Minutes Earlier.

Dawn stood frozen as the sharp edge of a silver dagger pressed against her throat and stared into Connor's terrified eyes. All around them were bodies and piles of ash leaving only two demons, the vampire holding her, and what she recognised as a Faryl demon standing to their side. She cursed her own carelessness and thought furiously for a solution to their problem.

She had rolled to her feet as she staked the vampire trying to strangle her and looked around the hut. All around her were dead or dying demons and she made her way slowly through the bodies to get to Connor who had just despatched his last opponent. She stumbled with exhaustion and her mind felt slightly fuzzy around the edges as the night's activities finally began to catch up to her. She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and had barely began to turn when she was disarmed and yanked back against a body to find a cold, sharp edge pressed against the flesh of her throat. Connor yelled in fear and fury as the girl was taken prisoner and then froze as the vampire jerked the knife and spat

"One step and I'll kill her."

Dawn stared into Connor's eyes and then her gaze caught on the misshapen bulge in his sweatpants pocket. She swallowed and thought of the humans who could still be in danger if they allowed these two demons to go.

"Connor, your pocket!"

Her desperate shout was cut off in a pained cry as her captor jerked her arm further up her back and the knife's edge broke her skin. Connor reached into his pocket and pulled out the object that Dawn had passed him when they had first entered the hut. He turned it over in his hand and stared in confusion at Dawn

"Flare gun...point it at the...barrels behind me. Pull..the trigger...and run."

The boy started forward as Dawn's frantic words reached him and the vampire struggled to keep a hold of her. He let go of her arm and crushed an arm around her windpipe slowly strangling her

"Put it down. If you do it, we all die. Your girl included."

He dug his knife into Dawn's flesh again letting more blood flow. Connor hesitated and Dawn rolled her eyes and used the last of her oxygen to rasp

"Do it!"

She twisted and jabbed an elbow into the vampire's side just as Connor raised the gun and fired. The boy darted forward, grabbing Dawn around the waist, and then jumped hurling them both through the wide glass window and into the lake below as the fuel stored at the back of the shed ignited. Dawn gasped in a lungful of air just before she hit the surface of the lake and then concentrated on getting as far below the waterline as she could when the explosion roared above her and fire and debris rained down all around them. Connor kept a firm grip on her and struck out with fast quick strokes for the shore further down.

They surfaced when they couldn't stay beneath the water any longer and then, trembling with exhaustion, dragged themselves out of the lake. They flopped onto the sandy ground and gasped for breath and then flattened themselves to the floor once more as a second explosion tore up the night. Dawn turned her head and saw bits of metal and one lone tyre rain down from the sky

"There goes the jeep."

She rolled onto her back and stared up at the night sky and pushed her hair out of her eyes and drew in another grateful breath of air. She blinked in surprise as Connor's face appeared above her and then smiled sweetly at him

"You ok?"

He nodded and reached out with one hand to stroke her hair back from her forehead, smiling as her eyes clouded with uncertainty

"We need to talk."

Dawn, acutely aware she was lying on the ground soaked to the skin and probably covered in blood from her wounds, gaped at him

"Now? Connor, I don't think this is the time..."

She cut off abruptly as his lips touched hers and blinked in shock as his hand came up to catch at the arm that came up automatically to block his move. His head came up enough to allow him to smile into her eyes and he gently pressed her arm back until it lay alongside her head and kept his hand clasped loosely around her wrist

"No, this isn't the time for talking."

He bent his head and kept his eyes on hers as he brushed his lips over hers once again gauging her reaction. His heart lifted as she slipped her arm from underneath his hand and pressed her hand to the back of his head to draw him closer. He pulled her into his arms and grinned at her as he said

"In fact talking could be a way off. Do you have a problem with that?"

Dawn raised one eyebrow and yanked his lips back to hers sighing as their skin touched

"Nope."

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