AGOL
2006-06-21 21:50:54 UTC
Title: "A Prospect of Whitby" (or "Pictures of an Expedition").
Part: 2/3?
Author: 'A Gentleman Of Leisure'.
E-mail: <***@btinternet.com>
Summary: What happened immediately after 'Chosen'?
Story Type: In Canon Buffyverse.
Rating overall: G. (or K if you insist)
Spoilers: None, if you've got this far!
Distribution/Archiving: Ask first please.
Disclaimer: No one here belongs to me - I've just borrowed them to play
with. All other Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights acknowledged. Thank you.
------------------------------------------
Part 2. "On The Road Again".
1:
There was a sudden jolt and the bus rocked violently from side to side as if
another vehicle had just collided with it. Somebody shrieked, probably
Andrew.
"Damn, that was quite an aftershock," Giles exclaimed, grabbing onto the
back of a seat to steady himself.
"We're too close to the edge of the crater!" said someone else who was
looking out of the back window. "The pavement's cracking up. We've got to
get out of this place, like now!"
"OK. Somebody get the bus started! Come on, people, get a wiggle on!" Giles
shouted. "MOVE!"
There was a sudden scuffle down at the front to get to the controls, elbows
and pushing and shoving, and then Dawn's voice, slightly panicky, asking,
"How do I start it up?"
"The starter button!" said Xander firmly. "Down on the floor - step on it!
Hard!"
There was a whirring, and for a moment everyone forgot to breathe, and then
there was a heavy roar and a crash of gears as someone jammed the gear stick
into first and the rear wheels squealed.
The whole vehicle lurched and started to crawl forwards in short jumps like
a kangaroo. There was a shriek of "Oh my God!" as the driver yanked hard at
the heavy wheel to straighten the bus up and point it down the road, and
then they were slowly picking up speed. Everyone suddenly remembered they
still needed oxygen.
"Faster, faster!" shouted Andrew.
"Move it! Go, go, go!"
"Change up into second, Dawnie!" Faith shouted urgently.
"How do I do that?" Dawn called back anxiously. "I've never driven stick
before!" but good old Xander was there again to point to the clutch pedal.
There was another grinding of gears and at last the bus gradually started to
accelerate.
"Hey, Buffy! Look at me, I'm driving the bus!" came Dawn's voice again,
suddenly far more cheerful.
"We're doomed!" said Giles and Buffy to each other, and then burst out
laughing.
2:
"Do we have any more water?" Vi asked. "I've just about used up what I've
got in dressing people's injuries."
Andrew passed her a half bottle, telling her to go easy as it was the last
one they had.
"This is something we didn't consider," Giles said quietly to Buffy. "I
never imagined we'd suddenly find ourselves stuck in the middle of the
desert."
"None of us did, Giles, so don't go blaming yourself. No one expected there
suddenly to be no Sunnydale, either, and no way to go but inland," she said.
"At least there's plenty of gas in the tank. Isn't there?"
He looked round.
"I bloody well hope so. I'm not looking forward to having to walk to
Oxnard!"
"Huh! Me neither!"
"I could maybe dowse for water!" Andrew said eagerly. "I've always thought
that would be really cool! Everyone parched and croaking out 'Water, water,
for God's sake water!', and vultures circling lower and lower, and there I
am with my forked stick going to and fro across the sands and stopping and
saying 'Dig here!', and up comes clear cool fresh water, just in time to
save everyone."
Xander gave him a look, shook his head and turned away.
"You do talk a load of old tosh sometimes, don't you?" said Giles.
*
A little while later Vi came back up the bus again.
"I'm really rather worried about Robin," she said quietly to Buffy and
Giles. "His injuries are bad - some quite deep cuts and stab wounds. He's
lost a lot of blood, and of course he can't heal anything like as quickly as
a Slayer. Can we try to contact the Ambulance Service in Oxnard and tell
them we're coming? Maybe they can send a vehicle out to meet us - it would
save a lot of time".
"Very sensible idea, Vi." Giles raised his voice so everyone could hear him.
"Has anyone got a cell phone?"
Several of the girls looked at each other and started to dig in bags and
pockets.
"No. I guess mine's under ten million tons of rock..."
"So's mine. I didn't think to carry it - didn't imagine I'd need it until
we'd either won, or the Apocalypse had finally arrived. And it wouldn't have
been much use then, anyway, would it?"
"I think I've still got mine here in my jacket."
Several fancy models were produced and flipped open or otherwise switched
on.
There was a short pause while they were being waved about optimistically in
various directions, being shaken, their screens scrutinised, and then shaken
again.
"Mine's not working."
"Nor mine."
"Neither's mine. It says 'No Signal'."
"So does mine."
It gradually dawned on people that none of them were functioning. Suddenly
Giles slapped himself on the forehead.
"Oh, what a fool I am! Of course we're not getting a cell phone signal!
We're out of range! We dropped all the Sunnydale phone-masts into a bloody
great hole, didn't we?"
Everyone looked at each other and laughed a little sheepishly, embarrassed
at not having thought of that.
"And just to really cheer you all up, the radio's not working either,"
Xander called from the front where he was sitting next to Dawn, keeping an
eye on her driving, just in case. "I guess we really did the business."
"Oh well, I suppose we'll just have to keep going for now."
"Keep on keeping on," said Andrew, but no one had the heart to slap him.
3:
"How fast are we going, Giles?"
"About thirty miles an hour, I'd say. Dawn's doing really well, considering,
don't you think?"
"She thinks so. Thank god it's a nice straight road," someone else muttered,
possibly Buffy.
"How long have we been driving for?" asked Willow.
"About three quarters of an hour."
"Surely we should have reached the turnoff that would take us south to
Oxnard by now?"
There was a short silence while everybody did the math.
"I think I'm beginning to get a nasty feeling about this," Giles said.
"You're not the only one," said Buffy under her breath.
The short silence resumed and threatened to become a really long silence.
Then...
"What's that up ahead?"
"Yay! It's a gas station. We can fill up and get water - maybe ask for
directions."
"Hold on a moment though. Doesn't the place look rather familiar?"
"It's... Oh... My... God! It's the gas station in the middle of the desert
where we wrecked the R.V., when we were being chased by the Knights that
went 'Nih!', and Glory caught up with us," said Buffy in a horrified tone.
"And captured me!" exclaimed their driver, distracted. The bus abruptly
veered across to the other side of the road for a few heart-stopping seconds
and then swerved back to resume its proper position on the right. Several
people swallowed hard in relief.
"Except that it was us that invited her to come out and help us because we
didn't know she was also Ben! Or... or do I mean the other way round?" said
Willow.
"Much more important," said Giles slowly, "it also means that we've not just
missed the turn for Oxnard, we're on the wrong blasted road altogether. I'd
been wondering why we'd seen nobody else as we drove along. This is
obviously the reason. We'll have to turn round and go back."
"But Sunnydale will be crawling with National Guard and cops by now," Faith
said.
"Maybe the gas station's phone is still working," Willow suggested. "It was
before, wasn't it? We could call for help. It would be quicker - they could
land a Medivac helicopter almost anywhere they wanted."
"What about me?" Faith sounded a little anxious. "I'm still wanted - I'm an
escaped felon, guys. What if someone recognises me?"
"Don't worry, they won't be cops," said Xander. "They'll be Rescue Services.
They wouldn't recognise you - and anyway no one'll be looking for you among
a group of young women on a school bus. We're just a school party that's
fleeing from an earthquake, is all. Plus you've got that cute little fake ID
that Willow magicked up for you."
"Hey, yeah! Of course! We're refugees, aren't we? Clever, clever Xander,"
Willow said.
Then the bus began to slow and everyone looked round.
"Uh, guys," Dawn said, crashing the gearbox again as she changed down into
low. "I think someone got there first already - we've got company!"
-------------------------
END OF PART 2.
-------------------------
Part: 2/3?
Author: 'A Gentleman Of Leisure'.
E-mail: <***@btinternet.com>
Summary: What happened immediately after 'Chosen'?
Story Type: In Canon Buffyverse.
Rating overall: G. (or K if you insist)
Spoilers: None, if you've got this far!
Distribution/Archiving: Ask first please.
Disclaimer: No one here belongs to me - I've just borrowed them to play
with. All other Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights acknowledged. Thank you.
------------------------------------------
Part 2. "On The Road Again".
1:
There was a sudden jolt and the bus rocked violently from side to side as if
another vehicle had just collided with it. Somebody shrieked, probably
Andrew.
"Damn, that was quite an aftershock," Giles exclaimed, grabbing onto the
back of a seat to steady himself.
"We're too close to the edge of the crater!" said someone else who was
looking out of the back window. "The pavement's cracking up. We've got to
get out of this place, like now!"
"OK. Somebody get the bus started! Come on, people, get a wiggle on!" Giles
shouted. "MOVE!"
There was a sudden scuffle down at the front to get to the controls, elbows
and pushing and shoving, and then Dawn's voice, slightly panicky, asking,
"How do I start it up?"
"The starter button!" said Xander firmly. "Down on the floor - step on it!
Hard!"
There was a whirring, and for a moment everyone forgot to breathe, and then
there was a heavy roar and a crash of gears as someone jammed the gear stick
into first and the rear wheels squealed.
The whole vehicle lurched and started to crawl forwards in short jumps like
a kangaroo. There was a shriek of "Oh my God!" as the driver yanked hard at
the heavy wheel to straighten the bus up and point it down the road, and
then they were slowly picking up speed. Everyone suddenly remembered they
still needed oxygen.
"Faster, faster!" shouted Andrew.
"Move it! Go, go, go!"
"Change up into second, Dawnie!" Faith shouted urgently.
"How do I do that?" Dawn called back anxiously. "I've never driven stick
before!" but good old Xander was there again to point to the clutch pedal.
There was another grinding of gears and at last the bus gradually started to
accelerate.
"Hey, Buffy! Look at me, I'm driving the bus!" came Dawn's voice again,
suddenly far more cheerful.
"We're doomed!" said Giles and Buffy to each other, and then burst out
laughing.
2:
"Do we have any more water?" Vi asked. "I've just about used up what I've
got in dressing people's injuries."
Andrew passed her a half bottle, telling her to go easy as it was the last
one they had.
"This is something we didn't consider," Giles said quietly to Buffy. "I
never imagined we'd suddenly find ourselves stuck in the middle of the
desert."
"None of us did, Giles, so don't go blaming yourself. No one expected there
suddenly to be no Sunnydale, either, and no way to go but inland," she said.
"At least there's plenty of gas in the tank. Isn't there?"
He looked round.
"I bloody well hope so. I'm not looking forward to having to walk to
Oxnard!"
"Huh! Me neither!"
"I could maybe dowse for water!" Andrew said eagerly. "I've always thought
that would be really cool! Everyone parched and croaking out 'Water, water,
for God's sake water!', and vultures circling lower and lower, and there I
am with my forked stick going to and fro across the sands and stopping and
saying 'Dig here!', and up comes clear cool fresh water, just in time to
save everyone."
Xander gave him a look, shook his head and turned away.
"You do talk a load of old tosh sometimes, don't you?" said Giles.
*
A little while later Vi came back up the bus again.
"I'm really rather worried about Robin," she said quietly to Buffy and
Giles. "His injuries are bad - some quite deep cuts and stab wounds. He's
lost a lot of blood, and of course he can't heal anything like as quickly as
a Slayer. Can we try to contact the Ambulance Service in Oxnard and tell
them we're coming? Maybe they can send a vehicle out to meet us - it would
save a lot of time".
"Very sensible idea, Vi." Giles raised his voice so everyone could hear him.
"Has anyone got a cell phone?"
Several of the girls looked at each other and started to dig in bags and
pockets.
"No. I guess mine's under ten million tons of rock..."
"So's mine. I didn't think to carry it - didn't imagine I'd need it until
we'd either won, or the Apocalypse had finally arrived. And it wouldn't have
been much use then, anyway, would it?"
"I think I've still got mine here in my jacket."
Several fancy models were produced and flipped open or otherwise switched
on.
There was a short pause while they were being waved about optimistically in
various directions, being shaken, their screens scrutinised, and then shaken
again.
"Mine's not working."
"Nor mine."
"Neither's mine. It says 'No Signal'."
"So does mine."
It gradually dawned on people that none of them were functioning. Suddenly
Giles slapped himself on the forehead.
"Oh, what a fool I am! Of course we're not getting a cell phone signal!
We're out of range! We dropped all the Sunnydale phone-masts into a bloody
great hole, didn't we?"
Everyone looked at each other and laughed a little sheepishly, embarrassed
at not having thought of that.
"And just to really cheer you all up, the radio's not working either,"
Xander called from the front where he was sitting next to Dawn, keeping an
eye on her driving, just in case. "I guess we really did the business."
"Oh well, I suppose we'll just have to keep going for now."
"Keep on keeping on," said Andrew, but no one had the heart to slap him.
3:
"How fast are we going, Giles?"
"About thirty miles an hour, I'd say. Dawn's doing really well, considering,
don't you think?"
"She thinks so. Thank god it's a nice straight road," someone else muttered,
possibly Buffy.
"How long have we been driving for?" asked Willow.
"About three quarters of an hour."
"Surely we should have reached the turnoff that would take us south to
Oxnard by now?"
There was a short silence while everybody did the math.
"I think I'm beginning to get a nasty feeling about this," Giles said.
"You're not the only one," said Buffy under her breath.
The short silence resumed and threatened to become a really long silence.
Then...
"What's that up ahead?"
"Yay! It's a gas station. We can fill up and get water - maybe ask for
directions."
"Hold on a moment though. Doesn't the place look rather familiar?"
"It's... Oh... My... God! It's the gas station in the middle of the desert
where we wrecked the R.V., when we were being chased by the Knights that
went 'Nih!', and Glory caught up with us," said Buffy in a horrified tone.
"And captured me!" exclaimed their driver, distracted. The bus abruptly
veered across to the other side of the road for a few heart-stopping seconds
and then swerved back to resume its proper position on the right. Several
people swallowed hard in relief.
"Except that it was us that invited her to come out and help us because we
didn't know she was also Ben! Or... or do I mean the other way round?" said
Willow.
"Much more important," said Giles slowly, "it also means that we've not just
missed the turn for Oxnard, we're on the wrong blasted road altogether. I'd
been wondering why we'd seen nobody else as we drove along. This is
obviously the reason. We'll have to turn round and go back."
"But Sunnydale will be crawling with National Guard and cops by now," Faith
said.
"Maybe the gas station's phone is still working," Willow suggested. "It was
before, wasn't it? We could call for help. It would be quicker - they could
land a Medivac helicopter almost anywhere they wanted."
"What about me?" Faith sounded a little anxious. "I'm still wanted - I'm an
escaped felon, guys. What if someone recognises me?"
"Don't worry, they won't be cops," said Xander. "They'll be Rescue Services.
They wouldn't recognise you - and anyway no one'll be looking for you among
a group of young women on a school bus. We're just a school party that's
fleeing from an earthquake, is all. Plus you've got that cute little fake ID
that Willow magicked up for you."
"Hey, yeah! Of course! We're refugees, aren't we? Clever, clever Xander,"
Willow said.
Then the bus began to slow and everyone looked round.
"Uh, guys," Dawn said, crashing the gearbox again as she changed down into
low. "I think someone got there first already - we've got company!"
-------------------------
END OF PART 2.
-------------------------
