A Slayer's Story
Part 5Okay, I admit it... yes, I watch "Buffy" and Yes, this was inspired by the show, but it's all it's own... this story is not completed but is currently over 88 pages long. It started one night when I couldn't sleep. I'll post more segments when I have time. Feedback can be sent to stories@iwuvjoey.com. Thank you.
Taylor was dreaming of her Junior Prom. Johnny looked so handsome in his tux. It was the night he promised her they would be together forever. That college wouldn’t separate them.
This next song is a special dedication to Taylor from Johnny. He’ll love you forever.” the DJ said as a slow song came on. It was “Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx. Johnny looked at Taylor.
I want this night to be special for the both of us. This is just one way of saying that I’m going to do everything in my power to make us work while I’m away at college.” Johnny said as they began to move to the music.
“J...”
Ssshhh, Taylor. You don’t need to say anything.” Johnny said and spun her around the dance floor.
The dream then moved forward to the night they broke up. Something wasn’t right with the way Johnny was acting, he was so fidgety, Taylor knew it. He had a friend bring him to her house. He had called her and said that he was on his way that they needed to talk.
Taylor started to stir. Peter went over to her. “Ssshhh...Taylor...it’s alright.” he whispered. She seemed to calm down.
“Taylor, I came here to say goodbye.”
Goodbye? What do you mean?”
I mean, we’re through. You need to be able to have fun with your friends at games and dances and stuff and I won’t be there. I’m breaking things off. I’ve found someone else.”
“No...it’s not true.”
Taylor flashed to Johnny’s face when he told her he was a vampire. She sat up.
“Taylor, wake up...you’re dreaming.” Peter said. She jumped when he put his hand on her shoulder. It took her a minute to realize it was Peter.
“Where are we?”
“My grandparents house. You’re okay.”
“Kyle?”
“Downstairs, getting something to eat. Are you hungry?”
“Thirsty is more the word.”
“C’mon then, wait til you meet my grandparents.” Peter said and held out his hand to her.
“I don’t feel so good, Pete.” she admitted.
“It’s alright, Taylor. You’re safe.” Peter told her.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Trust me?” he asked.
“Of course I do.” she replied.
“If I didn’t think we’d be safe here, we wouldn’t have come. Come on, it’s time for you to meet my grandparents.” Peter said.
“No need for Taylor to get out of bed, I’ve brought dinner up for both of you.” Peter’s grandmother said as she came into the room.
“Gramm, this is Taylor. Taylor, this is my grandmother.”
“You can call me Gramm too, Taylor. I’ve warmed up some chicken broth for you and also homemade applesauce. Kyle told us you were having problems keeping things down.” Peter’s grandmother placed the tray down next to the bed.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome dear. I’ll be back with some ice cream in a little while. Make sure you eat everything. Peter, that goes for you as well.”
“I gotta get back, Gramm. I have to go pick up Jason. The four of us are in this together.
“If you think that is best then I suggest you go now. And be careful.” his grandmother warned.
“Peter, I don’t want to be here alone.” Taylor admitted.
“I’ll send up Kyle and my cousin, Jen. Don’t be frightened. Nothing will happen to you hear. Legend has it that Vampires will not go near the homes of witches and warlocks for fear of becoming mortal once again.” Peter replied.
“Is that what the plan is? To lure Johnny here and make him mortal again?”
“To let him lie in peace. The Johnny everyone knew is dead, T. Now, we’re fighting for his soul.” Peter said. “I’ll be back before you know it. Eat your soup.” Peter said and kissed her on the forehead before leaving. Kyle came up shortly thereafter.
“Peter’s on his way to pick up Jason. How are you?”
“A little better. What’s going on in the world? Are we all over the news?”
“You are. I called mom and dad and said that we checked out all the spots we knew of that you would go and came up with nothing and that we were headed up to the campus. Jason is meeting Peter there.”
“Are you sure this is the right thing to do? Mom and dad have got to be so worried about us. And Johnny’s parents too.”
“You’re safe here and that’s all that matters to me and Peter right now. We’ll deal with everyone after we deal with Johnny and get you better. Okay?”
“Okay, Kyle.”
“Good, I’m going to go see if there are any playing cards around here. Finish your dinner.” Kyle replied.
“Kyle?” Taylor said as he was walking out the door.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Kyle said and left the room. Taylor ate some of the soup and tried the applesauce. It was a little rough on her throat.
“Is the applesauce a little rough going down?” Jen asked from the doorway. She had brought some magazines. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Jen, Peter’s cousin.”
“Hi, I’m Taylor and yeah, it is, but it’s so good.” Taylor replied.
“Let’s try to water it down some.” Jen suggested. Taylor agreed.
“Well?”
“It helps. Thanks.”
“No problem. Kyle and Peter have told me and my grandparents about Johnny. The good news is we can help. The bad news is that we need to kill Johnny’s mentor. Lucky for you I’m a slayer. We’re going to concentrate on making getting you stronger. What we can gather is that you’ve been bitten twice. If you get bitten one more time, the transformation for you then begins. Do you understand?”
“If I get bitten by a vampire one more time, I’ll become one of them.” Taylor replied.
“Yes. How are you feeling?”
“Tired.”
“Jen, gramm said that you’d know where to find a deck of cards…” Kyle said as he entered the room.
“Oh, sure… I’ll be right back.” Jen said and quickly left the room.
“I like her. She’s nice.” Taylor told her brother.
“What were you two talking about?”
“Johnny.”
“You know you’re safe here.”
“What about mom and dad?” Taylor couldn’t help but wonder.
“Do you think he’ll go after them?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know Johnny anymore.” Taylor admitted.
“Peter and Jason will be back soon. C’mon, let’s play cards.” Kyle told his sister. “Jen, would you like to play?”
“No thank you. I need to go help my grandmother.” Jen said and quietly left the room.
“How are you feeling, Taylor?” Kyle questioned.
“I don’t quite know how to answer that. Physically, I’m better. I actually feel great. Emotionally, I’m scared. Terrified.”
“Well, you don’t have to be anymore.” Jen said as she led a man and her grandmother into the room.
“Excuse me?” Kyle asked.
“Let me explain. My name is Eddie Stewart. Jen’s grandmother called my organization this morning concerning Taylor.” Eddie Stewart was a man of about 30 years of age, british accent, and a ponytail, fresh shaven, blue jeans, t-shirt, and a blazer.
“Organization?” Taylor asked.
“Yes, we’ve been looking for you since your boyfriend was first killed last week.”
“Wait a minute… you’re the new vice-principal at my school.” Taylor thought he looked familiar.
“Yes, that’s right. I am. Please, let me explain.”
“Kyle, chill. I want to hear him out, okay?” Taylor asked her brother.
“Okay. Five minutes.”
“The vampire that changed Johnny is actually after you, the first born daughter of a watcher is always stalked because she is dangerous. The organization has actually been looking for your family since you turned 15 years old.”
“Why?”
“Your father is a watcher.”
“No he’s not. He’s a teaching Doctor at the Medical university.”
“Trust me, Taylor. He is. Here, have you ever seen this tattoo on your dad?” Mr. Stewart rolled up the blazer sleeve of his left arm to show Taylor and Kyle a triple w tatto entertwined with ivy-laced circles.
“Dad has that in the exact same place. He usually hides it with a sweat band, watch, or long shirts.” Kyle replied.
“Does he know that I’m in danger?”
“Does he know all the things that have been going on with you since Johnny died?”
“Oh no… oh no…” Mr. Clarke suddenly realized everything he had forgotten since his days as a watcher. “What is it?” Mrs. Clarke asked her husband as he turned the car around. “I’ll explain later. Right now, I need to talk to Jason.” They drove back to Jason’s parents house. Jason was still there.
“Jason! Jason! Wait up son, I need to talk to you.” He exclaimed.
“Mr. Clarke, we were just about to head back out.” Jason covered.
“Let’s go on inside. Where are your parents?”
“I sent them to their Virginia home.” Jason said once they were all inside.
“Jason, I know that you, Kyle, and Peter know where Taylor is. I want you to go to them and then call this number and ask for Giles. He’ll help you anyway he can. He’ll know what’s going on.”
“What do you know, Mr. C?” Peter asked.
“From my early teen years until I married, I was a watcher over slayers. Slayers are usually the first born girls of watchers. But you never watch over your own daughter. Usually, watchers don’t live long enough to see their daughters past the age of fourteen. I’ve been dormant for nearly twenty-six years now.”
“Slayer?” Mrs. Clarke asked.
“People that slay vampires and other evils, my dear.”
“Are you saying that Taylor is a slayer?” Jason asked.
“Yes, your brother was used to get to her and me.”
“Jesus!” Jason exclaimed.
“Jason, you need to go to her and help her get better and stronger. It is out of my hands now. I'll get some help to arrange some papers that say that she went to a rehab near my parents house. Kyle knows where they live, make sure that he checks in with them. I’ll be in touch thru Giles.”
“But Mr. C? What aren’t you telling me?” Jason asked as Peter pulled into the driveway.
“Please, Giles will explain everything to the four of you. You, Peter, and Kyle are the closest people to Taylor. Stay with her and protect her from herself. Don’t worry about school. I’ll fix that. Go… now…” Mr. C said and walked Jason to Peter’s car.
“Go. I’ll take care of everything on this end. I promise.”
“What was that all about?” Peter asked as he backed out of the driveway.
“Let’s just get to Taylor and I’ll explain everything then. I stashed the other car and my clothes at the lake.” Jason said quickly.
“Gram, this is Jason. Jason, this is gram and that’s what she expects you to call her. Gram? How’s Taylor?” Peter asked as soon as he and Jason arrived a few hours later.
“Better. She’s sleeping too. There’s some things you both need to know but that can wait until morning.” Jen said from behind her grandmother. “We should all get some rest.” She spoke softly.
“We have something to tell her that can’t. Is Kyle still awake?” Jason said. He didn’t like Jenn. He got the impression that she was a bit of a snob.
“Probably. He’s been waiting for you.” Jenn said.
“C’mon, Jason… let’s go.” Peter said. They both gave Peter’s grandmother a hug before going up to Taylor’s room.
“Kyle? Mr. Stewart?” Jason asked as he opened the bedroom door. Mr. Stewart was the first person he saw as he opened it.
“Jason… hello.”
“What’s going on here?” Jason asked. He looked at Kyle.
“We have some things to tell you about.” Kyle said as he came around the corner.”
“So do I, my friend, so do I.” Jason said. Peter walked past all three men and went to Taylor’s bedside. He gently brushed her hair away from her face and noticed that she no longer had a fever.
“Taylor?” Peter whispered in her ear.
“Peter.” She murmured as she opened her eyes. As soon as she saw him, she sat up to hug him. “I’m so glad you’re back.” She said.
“Me too.”
“T… glad you’re awake.”
“Jason. Did you see my parents? Are they really upset?”
“What’s Mr. Stewart doing here?” Jason asked as he and Taylor hugged.
“I think you two need to sit down and let us explain some things to you.” Kyle said to Jason and Peter.
“Funny, we have to talk with you too, but, one question. What is Mr. Stewart doing here?” Jason wanted to know.
“Eddie, why don’t you begin?” Kyle suggested. So Eddie began. He explained everything to Jason and Peter and when he was done, Jason said “Now Mr. C makes sense.”
“You saw our parents?” Taylor asked.
“Yeah, your parents showed up about 15 minutes before Jason did and your father said that we have to check in with your grandparents. And that a man by the name of Giles would be the go between for you and them.”
“Daddy remembers then?” Taylor asked.
“Yes. He does.”
“Good. I’ll call Giles. We’ll make arrangements for Taylor to finish high school from her grandparents home. The three of you will start classes at the college closest to them. I’ll get a position in the school. Taylor, we’ll begin your training tomorrow.”
“So soon? She was on death’s door not 12 hours ago.” Peter said.
“We have to. The sooner we build up my strength, the sooner I can fend off those like Johnny.” Taylor replied honestly.
And so, Taylor the Slayer was borne…
“Taylor Clarke…” morning roll call in home room had begun. It was Taylor’s first day in a new school, in a new town, away from the life she once new.
“Here.” She replied have solemnly, half excited. She looked up to see that her homeroom teacher was indeed Mr. Stewart.
“Class, who would like to volunteer to show Taylor around campus today? Mitchell Blake? I believe your schedule is most like Taylor’s, would you be able to?” Mr. Stewart looked at Mitchell Blake who had his head buried in a Stephen King novel. Mitchell, or Mitch, was a loner with good grades, a great body, and an instinct to sniff out the bad seeds. He didn’t have a girlfriend and wasn’t interested in having one right now. He looked over to the new girl in class. She was beautiful but why did the new teacher have to ask him?
“Blake won’t do it… he’s too busy trying to find evil creatures.” Mitch heard some jock say.
“Yeah, Mr. Stewart, I’ll show Taylor around today. Taylor, c’mon, let’s get a head start.” Mitch hastily put the novel away in his backpack and gave a glance back at the moron as if to say ‘like Taylor would rather you show her around’.
“Thanks Mitch.” Taylor said once they were outside.
“No problem. I figured that you’d be safer with me then with that moron in there.” Mitch shrugged.
“So you read Stephen King novels?”
“Yeah, he’s pretty good. Do you?”
“Yeah. My favorite is `The Stand’. What about you?”
“Tommyknockers. Can I see your schedule?” Mitch asked as they walked down the hall. Taylor handed it to him.
“Let’s see, you’re cute with brains to boot. So what brings you to Kennedy Circle?”
“Change of scenery. Someone really close to me passed away recently and I couldn’t take seeing their face everywhere I looked so my parents let me come here and live with my grandparents.”
“Where you two really close?”
“He was my boyfriend.” Taylor replied solemnly. She still mourned for Johnny.
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. It still hurts from time to time. So where’s my first class?”
“Political Science. Mr. Connor. C’mon, it’s just upstairs.” He was about to say something else when Taylor stopped him because she heard a scuffle around the corner. She looked at Mitch. “Stay here.” She said. She darted around the corner to finding two teenagers struggling. She noticed that the one that was overpowering the other one had fangs and his facial structure was different. She went after the vampire with full force and kicked him away from the frightened girl. Mitch had followed Taylor around the corner and the girl that was frightened had ran into him.
“It’s alright. You’re safe.” Mitch said as Taylor stuck a wooden stick into the vampire’s heart. Taylor looked at Mitch. She could see the questions in his eyes.
“I’ll explain later. Are you both alright?” she asked him and the frightened girl.
“Yeah”, Mitch replied. The girl nodded. Taylor went to the girl.
“I’m Taylor, this is Mitch. We won’t hurt you.” Taylor said to the girl.
“Caroline. Who was that?”
“Something bad. You’d better get to homeroom.” Taylor said and handed the girl her books.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.” Mitch said as the girl waved to them both and ran down the hall. “Spill.” Mitch said immediately to Taylor.
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“Where did you learn to fight like that and then stab that ghoul like that?”
“You knew what he was?”
“Don’t change the subject, Taylor.”
“I’m (rrriiinnnggg went the school bell) saved by the bell. We should get to first period.” She said with a sigh of relief.
“Okay, but this isn’t over.” He stated and led the way to their Political Science class.
The rest of the morning went by pretty fast. Taylor met a couple of people who seemed genuinely interested in being her friend, but no one stood out. She wished Carrie was there with her. Mitch noticed she was a little down as they walked to their Chemistry class.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just wishing my best friend Carrie was here with me about now. We’d be going to English and she’d be panting over one of the guys.” Taylor was honest with him.
“No one can take Carrie’s place, but give us all a chance to be your friend. Most of the kids here aren’t too bad.”
“Thanks Mitch.”
“No problem. Here’s our next class.” Mitch let her walk in first. Near the end of class he passed her a note that simply said “Lunch? – M”. She nodded in approval.
“Hey Blake, you sure do work fast.” Jim Brewer commented.
Mitch just gave him an eyebrow as if to say stay out of it.
Mitch walked Taylor to her locker and even carried some of her books.
“Thanks for carrying those for me.” She said to him.
“Gotta protect those arms of yours. You’re dangerous.” He teased.
“Not really. So you want the whole truth, huh?” she asked.
“Please.”
“Well, you must know a little about what that thing was this morning.” Taylor wasn’t sure she should tell him. She opened her locker and Mitch put her books in there. “I’m a slayer. I was put here to protect everyone.”
“And I’m here to help you.” Mitch said nonchalantly.
“So you do know about me?”
“And Mr. Stewart. I’m a watcher-in-training. I’m suppose to protect you, mainly from yourself, I think. Are you hungry? How about I buy you lunch?” Mitch suggested.
“Sure, I’d like that.” Taylor smiled a genuine smile. The first in a long time.
“What a nice smile you have.” He noticed.
“Thanks. Haven’t had much to smile about lately. How long have you known about me?” Taylor asked as they walked through the cafeteria line.”
“About a week now. I had a meeting with Giles and Eddie was there. They told me about you and I said I wanted to help.”
“What happened to the one before me?”
“She’s in a coma. She thought she could fight them all by herself.”
“Her watcher?”
“He didn’t make it.”
“Did you know them?”
“The one before you is my sister. She’s been in a coma for six weeks now.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Please, it’s alright. I understand why she did everything she was doing. I just wish she wouldn’t have been so cocky. C’mon, let’s eat and then go walk out in the courtyard where we’ll have more privacy.” They quickly picked over what was for lunch and dashed for the courtyard. As they were about to head out the door, Ryan Lavery stepped out in front of them.
“C’mon, Blake, you’re not gonna occupy all of this lovely lady’s time now are ya?”
“Screw you Lavery. Go find someone else to pick on.” He replied. Ryan ignored him and extended his hand to Taylor.
“Hi, I’m Ryan and you’re very beautiful.” Taylor took his hand and flipped him over her back and onto the floor.
“And I’m not impressed. Mitch told you to leave me alone. I would appreciate it if you would as well. It’s jerks like you that made me transfer here in the first place.” Taylor warned him to leave her alone while batting her eyes at him. “Mitch, help me please.” Taylor asked and extended her free hand to him.
“You sure do pack some power.” Ryan commented as he collected himself.
“It’s amazing what some self-defense classes will do for you.” Was the last that Taylor said before continuing on with Mitch, never letting go of his hand. “I didn’t mean to belittle you back there, I just needed to handle that jerk.” She replied when they were out of earshot.
“Not a problem. Just so you know. I can handle myself pretty well and in most instances will do so, but Ryan needed to be put in his place. You handled yourself very nicely. So tell me why you’re here and not home with your parents?” Mitch changed the subject.
“So Eddie and Giles didn’t tell you everything.”
“No. They thought it would be better if you and I tell each other instead of them telling us about the other one.”
“I like them more and more.” Taylor said. She proceeded to tell Mitch everything about Johnny and how it affected her, her brother, and Jason and Peter.
“Oh wow. And your father is a watcher?”
“Yes, he’s back home and watches over someone else.”
“I’d like to meet Kyle and your friends.”
“You probably will tonight. We all live with my grandparents. My father insisted on it. The guys are picking me up after school. I’ll be working out in the basement after school if you want to come over.”
“It’s your first day here, I don’t want to intrude.”
“If you and I are to be thisclose than I suggest we get to know each other as well as possible. And that means you coming over after school, bring your workout clothes, and staying for dinner as well as meeting my family. Okay?” Taylor stated. He couldn’t help but laugh.
“Okay.”
“Fair warning though. If you turn out to be someone who is trying to trick me, you’d better bail now because once you meet my brother and Peter and Jason, you’ll understand about me having everyone watching over me.”
“I don’t have any secret agenda, Taylor, other than to protect your well being.” He replied. “Our next class is Health Education with Mr. Stewart. Let’s get going so we can get there a little early. He shouldn’t be subbing for anyone else today so if I recall correctly, he’s just finishing up his lunch hour as well. Oh, I want to apologize for earlier in the cafeteria. You know, continuing to hold your hand as we walked out of there. It just seemed the right thing to do.”
“Don’t apologize for that. We’re friends and as far as I’m concerned, you were helping me get away from an egotistical jerk. However, if the majority of the guys around here are like that one, be prepared to hold my hand constantly.” Taylor teased as they got up from the bench and began walking to their next class.
“I just didn’t want to evade Johnny’s memory.”
“The Johnny that I knew is gone now. His memory is mine and I believe that he’d want me to go on and I am. It’s still painful to think of no more fun with my Johnny, but I’m working through it and the guys have helped and talking about Johnny with you helps. I know we’ve only known each other since homeroom, but you are so easy to be open and honest with.”
“If you keep complimenting him like that, his head’s gonna swell.” Eddie Stewart said from behind.
“We were just coming to see you.” Mitch blushed. Taylor giggled.
“Taylor, Peter left a message on my machine for you to page him during study hall, okay?” Mr. Stewart asked.
“Sure thing.”
“How are you two getting along? I heard about the cafeteria incident.”
“Gee, word really does travel fast around here, doesn’t it?” Taylor queried.
“And what happened this morning? One of the teachers heard a scuffle outside the gym.”
“Bad guy, late for school, tried to eat a freshman. Destroyed him. Piece of cake.” Taylor replied.
“At least your modest.” Eddie teased. “How do you like the school so far, Taylor?”
“Well, for the most part, the kids are okay. The teachers are, well, teachers, and I couldn’t ask for a better guide than Mitch.”
“So you two have had a chance to talk?”
“Yeah, we have.” Mitch said.
“Good, good. Very well then, I’ll see you in class.” Eddie said and headed for the classroom faster than they did.
“Mitch, do you get the feeling that something’s bothering Eddie?” Taylor questioned as she watched Eddie disappear into the classroom.
“I think he’s just anxious, is all. I have to go to the men’s room. Excuse me for a few minutes?” he asked.
"Sure, gives me the perfect time to go to the ladies room." Taylor said and they both entered their respective restrooms.
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