Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Buffy Season4 02 by The Lost Slayer 02 Dark Times # Christopher Golden Read Free Book Online

want to live? Can’t we go far away from the impending apocalypse?”
    “You could,” Willow said sadly, still gazing at her best friend’s pale features. “But that wouldn’t keep it from coming.”
    For another few moments, Willow cradled Buffy gently in her arms. Then, with a suddenness that gave her a start, the Slayer opened her eyes. Her skin was still cold and white, but her eyes were as fierce and determined as always.
    Fierce and determined… and yet there was something else there as well.
    “Buffy!” Willow cried.
    “See!” Xander said. “She’s okay.”
    Buffy sat up and shook Willow’s hands off her. She stretched like a cat, as if testing her body to see if she was harmed in some way. Flexing her fingers, she stared at her hands as though they were some newly invented marvel. Then she stood up carefully, a bit off-balance. She nearly collapsed, and Willow thought of a foal just testing its legs for the first time.
    “You are okay, right?” Xander asked doubtfully.
    The Slayer glanced around the dorm room. A sly grin stole across her features for one moment, and then was gone. She went to the closet, reached inside and grabbed a black leather jacket, though it was too warm outside for the coat.
    “Buffy?” Willow asked. “Come on. I know you want to protect us, but we’re part of this. It’s our future, too. What did you see?”
    As she slipped the jacket on, Buffy turned to regard them all. There was no emotion on her face now.
    Her eyes flickered with some sort of light, as though from within.
    “Everything will be fine,” she said, a peculiar slurring to her voice.
    “You’re not all right,” Willow told her. “Come on. Just give yourself an hour’s rest. Then we’ll figure out what to do about Giles. You’ve got to talk to us, Buffy. Let us help.” But Buffy shook her head. “There is nothing you can do.”
    “So you’re going to go after Giles alone, after all this?” Xander demanded. He sounded ticked off, and Willow didn’t blame him.
    “Do not concern yourself,” Buffy said bluntly.
    With that, the Slayer turned and left the room, not even bothering to close the door behind her.
    “Great,” Xander sighed. “Now she’s back to that again. Omnipotent Slayer-girl. Taking it all on herself.”
    “I don’t know,” Willow said slowly, staring at the half-open door. Oz sidled up beside her. “What don’t you know?” he asked, brow furrowed.
    “I don’t think this is about that,” she said. “This is something else. Something new and family-size creepy. Or, okay, could be just Willow-paranoia. But I’m thinking The Prophet touching Buffy? Possibly more to it than just a Viewmaster of Doom.”
    “There was a sinister vibe around that thing,” Anya agreed. “But what do you think it did, exactly?” Willow stared at the door. “Remember the part where I said ‘I don’t know?’ “
    “Well, we’ll keep an eye on her. See what’s what,” Xander suggested. Willow nodded, deeply troubled, and afraid for Buffy. She didn’t know if the future was going to be as The Prophet had predicted, but she had a sinking feeling it was going to be ugly, one way or another. As she drove along nearly deserted roads, Buffy was chilled by the changes she saw around her. A few cars passed by, and some stores were open, but many others were boarded up. The skating rink just off I-17 had been partially destroyed by fire, and the parking lot was cracked and overgrown. There were no rollerbladers, no joggers, no bicyclists. Other than those few cars, the only people she saw were a pair of homeless men raiding a Dumpster behind a Chinese restaurant that was apparently still in operation, and they scrambled back through a broken fence behind the place when she drove by. Buffy decided it was perhaps best to enter the town quietly, perhaps even invisibly. They’d be looking for the car, after all. Buffy ditched the El Suerte police car in the overgrown lot that had once been the