A Slayer's Story
Part 6Okay, 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.
“Has anyone seen the new girl with Mitch Blake? I wonder if she knows how lucky she is?” a voice in one of the stalls said as Taylor washed her hands and fixed her hair.
“Liz, Mitch doesn’t even know you exist. And cut the new girl a break. Geez! All you ever do is complain when things aren’t going your way. Enough is enough already.” Another voice said.
“Hey Liz, what do you have against the new girl?” Taylor said. She wanted to have a little fun.
“She’s pretty, has guts, and basically will be popular by the end of the day. What more do I need?” Liz said as she came out of the stall.
“Sense to know when to keep your mouth shut about people you don’t know. Now, Liz, I’m Taylor Clarke. I’m new here. Mitch is showing me around because he was asked to do so. So what if he and I have become friends. He’s a very personable person, but you wouldn’t know that because you spend so much time perfecting your bitchiness. And it’s such a shame really. He’s a great kisser.” Taylor lied and left the bathroom.
“What took you so long?” Mitch said from the water fountain.
“Defending you and me to some girl with an insecurity problem.
“Clarke!” Liz came out of the bathroom.
“Now, Liz, you really don’t want to embarrass yourself in front of Mitch and your friends, now do you?” Taylor handed her notebook and purse to Mitch.
“T…?” Mitch began to question. A few more people had gathered in the hallway and were making their way to their lockers and classes.
“Here’s a warning for you, Blondie. Don’t ever, ever speak to me in that tone like you did in there. Understand?” Liz pointed a finger at Taylor.
“At least mine is real. Now, don’t make threats that you won’t be able to keep. Stay away from me Liz. You don’t know who you’re dealing with.” Taylor said. A guy wearing a school jacket came up and grabbed Liz.
“Leave her alone Liz. She’s out of your league.” Liz slapped the guy and headed down the hallway.
“Jeremy, you really should control your sister better.”
“She’s all talk, no action Mitch. You know that. You know that you two are the talk of the school.”
“Taylor Clarke, meet Jeremy Sandle. Jeremy, this is Taylor. Liz is Jeremy’s younger sister. She thinks she’s all that and she thinks that she and I are an item.” Mitch explained.
“That explains her attitude with me.” Taylor said.
“Think nothing of it, once she gets to know you, she’ll just be my little sister, the pain in the rear. C’mon, let’s get to class.” Jeremy laughed.
“Ah, I can see I’m gonna have my hands full with you three.” Eddie Stewart said as they entered the classroom.
“Jeremy Sandle, sir.”
“Mr. Stewart. Pleasure to meet you. Hope you three won’t be causing any trouble during this semester.”
“Now, sir. We’re here to learn, do you really think we’d cause trouble?” Taylor said.
“Ms. Clarke, you’re all teenagers. That’s scary enough for anyone.” The bell rang and more students began piling in. The rest of the school day went uneventful.
“Can I give you a ride home?” Mitch asked Taylor as he walked her back to her locker at the end of the day.
“Kyle is picking me up. How about you come out and meet him. I think you’ll like him.” Taylor suggested.
“I gotta run home and get my exercise gear. I’ll see you in about an hour?”
“Are you nervous about meeting my big brother?”
“Nah, just don’t want to work out in these clothes and smell the rest of the evening.” Mitch said. Instinct kicked in and he bent over and kissed her on the cheek. She backed away, caught off guard.
“An hour.” Taylor managed to say before closing her locker and trying not to run out of the school. Mitch went over to his locker, banged his head on it several times for kissing her on the cheek, then proceeded to open it. Peter was waiting for Taylor at the car. She practically ran into his arms before kissing him full on the lips. Both Kyle and Jason were taken aback by her show of affection for Peter. They both knew how he felt about her, but they didn’t think that Taylor felt anything more for him than a friendship.
“C’mon, your first day wasn’t all that bad was it?”
“You don’t know the half of it.” Taylor said and got in the car. “Hi Kyle, Jason.” She said.
“Everything okay?” Kyle asked.
“Yeah. School was interesting.” She said. As soon as they were on their way, she told them about the days events. She left out the kiss on the cheek from Mitch though.
“Eddie knows what he’s doing, T… believe it, k?” Kyle said as they pulled into the driveway.
“I do. You guys promise to behave around Mitch when he gets here?”
“We swear.” They all agreed. Taylor and Kyle’s mom pulled in behind them
“Momma!” Taylor shrieked and ran to greet her.
“T… you look so much better.” She said as they embraced. Peter and Jason went into the house and Kyle greeted his mother at her car.
“Ma, what are you doing here?”
“Came to see you both. Couldn’t not be here after your first day back to school. Eddie and your father said it was okay for me to come. I’m staying at Aunt Shirley’s tonight and then I’ll go home in the morning.”
“It’s so good to see you mom.” Taylor had tears falling down her cheeks.
“I hope those are happy tears, Taylor.”
“Mom, I’ve got a phone call to make. How about if you and I visit after dinner?” Kyle suggested. He knew that Taylor needed to talk to her more than he did.
“Sure, honey. Taylor? Everything alright? What’s up?”
“I don’t like being away from you mom. I don’t like not being able to come into the kitchen and you’re not there.”
“Why don’t we go talk up in your room? I’ve already visited with Gram and Gramps.” Mrs. Clarke suggested. Taylor led her mom up to her room. She began to tell her mom about the past four months without her. They didn’t notice when Kyle slipped in with a tray of cookies and hot tea. But Taylor was grateful.
“Taylor, you’ve been so strong with everything that’s happened. You’re okay my darling girl. Honest. You’re moving on. So you kissed Peter. Did he kiss back?”
“I think he was too much in shock.” Taylor giggled after drying her eyes.
“And this Mitch guy. What about him?”
“I just met him this morning. I like him, but I don’t know him. And I guess I’m afraid to get close to anyone after Johnny.”
“You gotta believe that the Johnny you once knew wouldn’t want you to be torn like this. You need to get on with life Taylor. For you. You’re learning about who you are. I want to be here to protect you and love you, but for your protection and mine, it has to be this way. Daddy is setting it up so that a computer will be here for you and the boys by the weekend and we can talk via the internet. Okay?” Taylor's mom asked. Taylor nodded.
“Right now, it’s the only way. And Eddie Stewart is a good soul. I trust him. You need to trust him. Daddy sends his love for his little girl and promises that as soon as he can get away for a day, he’ll be here.”
“Nothing’s the same anymore mom. How come we didn’t know sooner what was going on? How come we have to be separated like this. It’s not fair mom. It’s not. I need you.”
“Sweety, life isn’t fair. As long as you and Kyle are together, we’re all together. You are special. Your dad is special. We were all chosen to protect the good from the evil. I will always be your mom and I will always be right here when you need me the most.” Mrs. Clarke patted Taylor’s head and heart. “You should be training. Go on… I’m gonna help mom with dinner.” Mrs. Clarke hugged her daughter and left her in her room to think.
Taylor thought about all the times that she and Kyle and her parents hung out. All the good times with Johnny.
“I’m here Taylor.” Came this voice as she changed into shorts and a t-shirt. She looked around the room. She knew it was Johnny’s voice. She knew he found her. There was a knock on the door. She opened it. It was Peter.
“Are you okay? You’re so pale.” He said. She collapsed in his arms. “Taylor, what is it.”
“Johnny’s found us. He knows I’m here.” She cried.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. He said `I’m here Taylor’. It was him.”
“I’ll get Kyle and …”
“Eddie and Mitch should be here any minute. I knew he’d find me, but did it have to be so soon?” she threw up her hands. Peter pulled her into an embrace. She didn’t know whether to scream or cry or go numb.
“What do you want to do?” he asked a few minutes later.
“Work out. Let me just grab some music and then I’ll be down. We’ll tell the guys later.”
“Don’t let him get to you. You’re stronger now.” Peter told her.
“I won’t.” she said.
“Now, about earlier today.”
“Sorry about that. I’m not sure why I did that.” Taylor admitted to him. It was the truth.
“Is there more to what happened today at school that you aren’t telling me?” he asked.
“If I told you that I’m not ready to discuss it with you, would you be hurt?” Taylor asked.
“A little, but I’ll understand. Tell you what, I’m going to go on and work on some of my reading for my History class and I’ll see you at dinner. When you’re ready to discuss today, I’ll be ready to with you. Okay?” Peter asked.
“Thanks, Pete.” Taylor said and waited until she was sure she wouldn’t run into him as she went down to the basement.
“I’ll get it.” Kyle said as he heard the door rang. He was studying in the den. Mitch was at the door.
“Hi, I’m Mitch Blake. Taylor invited me over.”
“I’m her brother, Kyle. C’mon in. She’s in a strange mood. Just warning you. Okay?” Kyle explained as he led Mitch down to the basement.
“Is Eddie here yet?”
“No, he had a school meeting and is running late.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem… T… Mitch is here. And dinner’s in another hour or so.” Kyle shouted down to his sister. “I’ve got to finish up an assignment and then I’ll be down. We’re pretty laid back around here. It was nice to meet you.” He explained.
“Nice to meet you too, Kyle.” Mitch said as he and Kyle shook hands.
“Taylor? Has something happened?” Mitch asked as he stashed his duffle bag next to a chair.
“It’s just been an exhausting day. New school and all. Plus my mom showed up here after school.”
“You want to talk about it?”
“Maybe after Eddie gets here. I have Bon Jovi, U2, Aerosmith, Richard Marx, and Alannis Morrisette in the CD Player, is that alright?”
“Richard Marx? Liz loves Richard Marx. You’d better watch it. If Liz finds out, you won’t have any RM music.” He teased.
“I can handle Liz. She’s just a pain.” Taylor said as she continued working out. She began to feel queasy.
“This equipment is pretty cool. How long have you been training?” he asked.
“About a month. I’m still not use to it.” She admitted.
“You will. It’ll become second nature to you.”
“How’s your sister? Any change?” Taylor asked.
“The doctors don’t expect her to come out of the coma. But admit that anything is possible.” He admitted.
“That must be hard on you and your parents.”
“Mom spends every waking minute at her bedside. Dad spends every waking minute working.”
“And you?”
“I try to figure out who exactly I am. C’mon, I’ll spot you.” Mitch said as they moved over to the weight gym.
“In a minute.” She said as she bolted for the bathroom and threw up the contents of her stomach. Her nerves were shot. Peter came out of no where to help.
“Where is she?” he asked Mitch when he entered the room.
“Bathroom.” Mitch said.
“Taylor?”
“It’s my nerves, Pete. That’s all.” She said as she washed her face.
“I know.”
“How’d you know I was sick?” she asked.
“I just knew. I can’t explain it. No more exercise for you today though. Your mom left. Said she’d be in touch.”
“Did you tell her about?”
“Yes I did. Kyle and she thought it would be best for everyone’s safety if she left.”
“Give me a few more minutes? I need to clean up a little.” Taylor wanted to wash off her face and rinse out her mouth.
“I’m going to go up and ask gramm to make you some soup. Promise me you won’t go back to working out.”
“I promise.” She said as she held on to the sink. She heard Pete tell Mitch not to let her go back to working out.
“Taylor, what can I do?” Mitch asked. She came out of the bathroom.
“Nothing, but thanks. I’ll be fine. Nerves are shot.” She explained.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah… c’mon, let’s go on upstairs.” She said as she turned off the radio. Eddie came into the basement.
“Peter just told me everything. Are you alright?”
“Yeah, just need some nerves of steel.” Taylor joked.
“Do you think he’s here?” Eddie asked.
“If not, he will be by daybreak tomorrow.” Kyle said.
“We can’t dwell on it. It’s going to happen. And you’re not ready to face him Taylor.” Jason said behind Kyle.
“I know, so here’s how we’ll handle it. During school, I’ll be with Mitch, we’ve got all of our classes except gym together. I won’t go anywhere without one of you. Not until we feel I’m ready, which means, Eddie, we’ve got some serious training to do.”
“Taylor…” Peter stated.
“Pete, I can’t just let him get to me, granted, my nerves are shot. So I’ll have soup for dinner, but that isn’t going to stop me from working out. Got it.” Taylor said. Peter nodded.
“Any questions?” she asked the men.
“Okay, Kyle, Peter, Jason, if you’ve got studying to do, please go do it. Mitch, do you still want to work out?” Taylor said.
“Sure…”
“You heard her guys… back to work.” Kyle chuckled.
“Has she always been this way?” Mitch whispered to Kyle.
“Very much so.” Kyle said before leaving.
“Taylor, are you sure about this?” Eddie Stewart asked.
“Eddie, you yourself told me that the less I let him get to me, the better. Now put your hands up. I need a target.” Taylor said after she turned the CD player back on. Kyle came down an hour later to tell them that supper was ready.
“Mitch, you can shower down here. There are towels in the closet in the bathroom. I’ll see you both at dinner.” Taylor said and ran upstairs to her room to shower and change.
“Eddie, you alright?” Mitch asked after he took a gulp of water.
“Me, oh yeah, it’s Taylor I’m worried about.”
“She’s good, Eddie. And headstrong, more so than my sister. But what about Johnny? Is he a threat to her?”
“Yes, right now he is definitely a threat. She’s mad and she’s afraid of him still. We need to get that afraid feeling out of her system before they come face to face again.”
“That’s not going to be easy. He was her first love.”
“I know. Go take a shower. I’ll wait for you.” Eddie said and opened up one of his study books to prepare some lessons.
“Gram, thanks for dinner.” Taylor said as she and Peter finished clearing the table.
“You’re quite welcome. You’re grandfather and I are going for a walk.”
“Have fun Gram.” Kyle called out from the dining room. It was time for a pow wow.
“Okay, Mitch. How’s your sister? Have you seen her today?” Eddie asked once Peter and Taylor sat down again.
“No change. They’re moving her to a convalescent home tomorrow. Giles will tell the council about it.”
“And your parents? How are they handling it?” Eddie asked.
“The same.”
“And you.”
“I’m okay. Now, about this morning’s school ghoul.” Mitch wanted to change the subject. Eddie gave Mitch a knowing look.
“Um, his letterman jacket said Paul on it.” Taylor remembered.
“That would be Paul Chamberlain.” Mitch said. “Resident super-jock, football, baseball, wrestling. Superstar for the high school.”
“That was Paul Chamberlain.” Taylor told him.
“And the girl?” Eddie asked.
“Um Caroline, just on her way to class.” Taylor said.
“Well, whomever Paul was with knows by now that he’s not coming back and that there’s a new slayer in town. Be alert and careful, Taylor.” Eddie stated.
“I will be. How do we tell Paul’s parents that he’s dead?”
“His body will be discovered soon enough.”
“What do you mean? I saw it disintegrate when I stabbed him with the wooden dagger.” Taylor questioned.
“That was the demon, the body will appear in a few weeks. That’s how it happens.” Mitch helped to explain.
“I… I can’t do this.” Taylor looked from Kyle to Peter to Jason, “I can’t.”
“Taylor, you didn’t kill a human being. You killed a demon. Paul Chamberlain was already dead.” Eddie stated.
“Don’t try to make me feel better Mr. Stewart.” Taylor said as she grabbed her purse and Kyle’s keys before running out the front door. The guys wanted to go after her but Mitch stopped them.
“Let me go… I can help her thru this.” Mitch told them and left the rest of them standing there in the dining room.
“Taylor! Wait!” Mitch said as he caught up to her at Kyle’s car. “Taylor, please don’t go out there alone.” Mitch pleaded with her.
“How did you sister deal with all of this? How?” Taylor said as she walked down the street. Mitch caught up to her.
“One day at a time, one incident at a time, talking to me and those that knew exactly what she was doing. And believe me… the school population will know soon enough, if they don’t already.”
“I don’t know if I can do this. Kill demons and things.”
“Taylor… you have to. For your family, yourself, and this town. The difference between my sister and you is that you know your limitations. You’re more grounded than she was. I can see that in the way you handled me today and the idiot at lunch and Liz.”
“Mitch, I just want to be normal and get on with my life.”
“Taylor, you were never normal. You’re special.”
“He’s right, you know. You are special.” Johnny said from behind them. Taylor pulled Mitch behind her.
“What do you want Johnny. Why are you here?” she asked.
“It’s been a while since I saw you, I had to come.” Johnny said.
“The Johnny I knew is dead. You’re nothing to me. How many times do I need to tell you this before you believe it?” Taylor said to him. Mitch just stood back and watched.
“I can’t be without you, Taylor. I need you.” Johnny approached her with his arms out to embrace her.
“You should have thought about that before you broke up with me months ago, before all this happened. Damn you, Johnny. Damn you.” Taylor shoved his arms away from her and prepared to fight him.
“Taylor, no… it’s not him you want.” Peter, Kyle, Jason, and Eddie came running down the street.
“Time to go.” Johnny said and ran off into the night. Taylor collapsed in tears. Mitch caught her.
“He’s the weakness you need to overcome, Taylor. You overcome Johnny, and things will work out around here.” Mitch whispered to her. He put an arm up to hold everyone else at bay. “Now, do you want to finish our walk or do you want to go home?”
“T…” Kyle was about to say something, but Eddie stopped him.
“Kyle, they need to be able to trust each other. She’s okay. We stopped her in time, let’s go back.” Eddie suggested as his eyes met Mitch’s.
“Let’s finish our walk. I’m not ready to go back just yet.” Mitch suggested to Taylor.
“Stopped me in time for what? Who is it that you think I want so bad, Mr. Stewart?” Taylor got in Eddie’s face.
“Taylor, come on. Let’s finish our walk.” Mitch suggested more sternly.
“It’s okay, Taylor. We’ll see each other later.” Taylor could hear Johnny say in her head. She grabbed her head and screamed “Shut up! All of you just shut up!” she said and sprinted away toward the park.
“Mitch, keep a safe distance from her. Call us if you need us. Guys, let’s go back.” Eddie said calmly. Mitch nodded and ran after her.
“Eddie, she can’t go on like this. Always looking over her shoulder for Johnny.” Kyle stated once they got back to the house.
“She’s not, Kyle. She’s getting angry and that’s good. She needs to face what Johnny’s become with anger, not love.”
“That wasn’t anger I saw back there, Eddie. That was my sister in pain.”
“Eddie, I think it’s time you went home.” Jason said while Peter pulled Kyle into another room. Kyle was frustrated.
“Jason, I’m trying to help Taylor.”
“We all know that, Eddie. We’re just a little attached to her and hate to see her like this.” Jason said.
“Some a little more than others. I’ll be by tomorrow after school. Good night.” Eddie said and headed for his car.
“Pete, I can’t let her go thru with this slayer stuff. I can’t.” Kyle said as he paced the kitchen.
“Kyle, that’s not your decision. She’s special. A slayer is what she is. We can’t decide that she can’t do this. She has to do this. You know the reasons why. As her brother, you need to support her no matter what.”
“And let the past tear away at her like tonight?”
“She has to let it go. It’s been six months since her Johnny was killed. She’s still in mourning.”
“Do you agree with Eddie?”
“I agree that Taylor needs to get angry and let the love that she had for Johnny stay in her heart, not on her sleeve.”
“I promised my parents that I would protect her with all my strength and love, but how can I protect her from heartbreak?”
“You can’t Kyle. You can’t.”
“I’m going out back to shoot some hoops, Pete. When Taylor gets back, please let me know?” Kyle needed to think.
“Sure.” Peter said and watched his friend head out back thru the kitchen.
“Mitch, I know you’re there.” Taylor said as she stared over the park pond. Mitch came out from behind an oak tree.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’ve had better days.” She commented.
“Alright, that’s fair. So… what did you think of your first day at school?”
“Well, I met this really great guy. Showed me around, let me fight a ghoul.”
“Yeah? Really, wow.” He laughed. She joined in. She turned to look at him and leaned in to kiss him. He kissed her back. “Um, I hate to ruin the moment, but…” Mitch was about to question her why she kissed him
“Impulse. I like you. We’ve only known each other twelve hours or so.” She said.
“What about Peter? I see the way he looks at you.” Mitch said.
“We’re just friends.”
“This is unbelievable, we haven’t even gone out on a date.”
“So ask me out.” Taylor was so into Mitch right then and there.
“Taylor, would you go out with me on Friday night?”
“I’d love to.” She said. They sat and looked out over the pond.
“We’d better head back, it’s not good to be in the park at night.” Mitch said.
“Sure, let’s go then.” She stated. He helped her up.
“Be very alert.” He said as they held hands and headed home. They got a block away from home when trouble found them. Three vampires came out of no where.
“I’m on.” She said and squeezed his hand before going into combat. Mitch held his own until Taylor could fight off the one that was attacking him. “Are you alright?” she asked him.
“Nothing broken, I’m alright.” He said as she helped him up. “You know, some men would be offended but you’re quite the exception.” He teased.
“Shows how chauvanistic some men can be. I’ve got some homework to do, shall we?” she asked.
“Sure.”
“Kyle, they’re back.” Peter said a few minutes later after Taylor and Mitch came up the walkway. Kyle ran thru the house.
“Taylor, we gotta talk.” He said.
“What? What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Everyone’s alright, we just need to talk.”
“I’ll pick you up at seven?” Mitch asked her.
“Okay. See you tomorrow. Thanks for the walk.” She said and gave him a hug.
Kyle led Taylor up to her room.
“Taylor, I’m worried about you and this slayer stuff.”
“Kyle, we’ve gone over this before. I’m a chosen one. I have to do this. I have to do this for daddy and for Johnny’s memory and for me and for Mitch’s sister and for this community. We both just have to deal with this. It won’t be easy. I know that. But I need you to support me. I need you to help me.” She pleaded with him
“I just can’t lose you. You’re my sister. This thing that Johnny has become gets to you too easily. We have to find a way to stop him.”
“And we will. It’s just going to take some time.”
“Time is what we don’t have anymore, T.” Kyle said.
“I know, I know, but how do you get over a broken heart so quickly?” she wanted to know.
“I think it’s time you started dating again. I saw you kiss Peter today.”
“That was a guilty kiss. But don’t tell him that. I really wanted to kiss Mitch. It’s all so confusing. Peter is like a brother and Mitch is a breath of fresh air.” Taylor was totally honest with her brother.
“You’ve only known Mitch a day Taylor.”
“Do you remember how you felt about Sarah when she was new to the school? How you felt you and her were on the same wavelength and you were until her father was transferred to another town?”
“Sarah, yeah, I remember.”
“Well, that’s me with Mitch. Yes, I know he’s a watcher in training, but he’s my watcher-in-training and in one day he’s been very open and honest with me; straight up with me about himself, his family, and the school. If I date anyone, it’ll be Mitch. Will that be a problem?”
“No, but I think you had better talk to Peter about that kiss you gave him today. Clear the air so-to-speak?” Kyle suggested.
“I know… I know… Not tonight, I have some homework to do before patrol.” Taylor said.
“I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be down in the rec room when you’re ready to patrol.”
"Thanks Kyle." Taylor said as she sat down at her desk to start her homework.
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