It Hurts, Part 1
by juri-sempai
-Spoilers for up to and including the episode Wrecked, although they're not apparent yet.
-I don't own any of these characters. A variety of people do. Don't sue me as I have no money.
-Rated: PG-13 (I guess) cuz there is a smidge of the bad stuff.
-I'm not the best writer. Nor do I proclaim to be. So I apologize for lots and lots of fragmented sentences. It's my writing style.
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A dark place. A bright full moon in the sky. Shadows dance with the thick foilage. One might think the immediate surroundings a forest. And maybe, back in the day, it was. Now, though, there are headstones spread throughout. Obviously, it is a graveyard.
A figure runs. She's running frantically. Trying hard not to stumble. Can't break her stride. It's Tara Maclay. Tears streaming down her grief stricken face. She's breathing hard. Too much running. But she knows she can't stop. Not here. Especially not here.
Unfortunately, as if drawn to the spot and going against all thoughts yelling in her head, she finds her feet halting forward movement. The grave marker before her glowing bright in the moonlight. She drops to her knees as the sky flashes. Rain pours down on the woman. Mixing with her own tears. Her long skirt and jacket are soaked within minutes. She doesn't care. The cold feels nice. It matches the pain in her heart.
Lightening illuminates the sky once again.
Tara can see it clearly now. The name. The name of the person lying peacefully underneath.
Willow Rosenberg.
Her friend. Her lover. Her life. Her everything. Buried beneath the Earth.
"Oh, Willow," Tara sobs, running her shaking hand over the soft, wet grass.
A sound off to her left. Tara jumps to her feet quickly. 'No time to mourn,' she thinks. 'There will be time for that later. The crying always comes later.' She takes off running.
In the graveyard, the woods start to become thicker. More isolated. Harder to see. The rain doesn't help make matters any better. It's darker. The moonlight scatters amongst the trees. Tara knows better than to slow down. Keeping up her pace could mean the difference between life and death. Her life. And already she has lost so much.
More noises behind her. A stifled cry escapes her lips. She's scared. She knows that whatever is coming is out for blood. Her blood.
She keeps running. Her breathing ragged as she desperately gulps down mouthfuls of sweet oxygen.
Only then does it happen.
She trips. A large tree root grabs at her foot.
She falls. Her ankle twists at an awkward angle. Tara yelps in pain. 'You don't have time for this,' her head screams. She struggles to stand.
Too late.
It falls upon her in an instant. Swipes a clawed hand in her direction. Making contact with her side. She collapses into a muddy puddle. She clutches at her bloody mid-section. She tries to back away, willing her feet to move. Have to get away. Have to survive. She manages to drag herself across the wet ground.
It laughs as it closes the gap in seconds. It grabs her by the throat, yanking her off her feet. Before she can even react, before her mind can even comprehend, she's thrown violently away from the demon.
She crashes into a nearby tree. Her body limpy sliding to the ground. Blood streams from an open gash on her forehead. The rain quickly washes it away.
'A spell,' she thinks. Watches as the demon slowly turns and faces her. She frowns. 'No. No spells. Not here.' She cries softly. 'This isn't supposed to be happening. Not here. Not when Willow is...'
Lightening flashes.
It smiles at her. Mockingly. Menacingly. It wants to kill her. First, though, it wants to play a game of cat and mouse. It slowly advances on its injured pray. The fear in her eyes a delicious treat.
"Willow." She softly whispers the name of her lover. "Willow, I n-never meant for any of this to h-happen." She watches the demon. "I thought I was doing the r-right thing."
She sobs as she watches the monster raise its hand. The one dripping with her life's blood. Watches as it licks its fingers hungrily and then locks its ominous eyes on her.
The heavy rain clouds her vision. She doesn't care. She doesn't want to see anything anymore. Not this horror. She shuts her eyes against the images. Curls herself into a tight ball. She can't fight. She's too weak. She prays silently for a quick end.
"Willow," she cries. "I n-need you. I'm s-so sorry."
Again lightening tears across the sky.
She feels hot breath against her cold cheeks. Tara squeezes her eyes shut tighter. Trying to force out everything. She's been running for so long. Now it can be over. It can all be over as soon as the demon takes her life.
"W-Willow," she whispers. Dying with her girlfriend's name on her lips is such a small thing. But it will mean so much.
Lightening strikes. And is abruptly cut short.
The rain stops.
The hot breath, gone.
Tara gradually opens her eyes. Raises a quizzical eyebrow. The monster has disappeared. She breathes a sigh of relief. Then cringes as the pain takes hold of her. Her head swims and her eyes lose focus. Surely they have to be out of focus. It can't be her.
Cautiously stepping out from behind a tall tree... is Willow.
The redhead looks around, confused. "Tara? What's... going... on?"
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"Believe in miracles, that they will know your
true feelings."
"Big day. I got places to be, big day. Need a brain."