Chapter One:

But then came the dogs, couriers of the cataclysm - they had
come far, for they ran slowly. Their jaws were dripping. They moaned
and whined. All of them panted steadily up the steep hill. Then and thus I
knew that, bad as it had been with us, on the hills, the darker chapters of
the story of woe were to be read on the lowlands and in the valleys.
We were shaken but safe; below us were nameless horrors, the dogs knew,
and knowing, ran to the high places.........
Ernest S Simpson
(San Francisco Earthquake of 1906)

The room was silent and still. .

The only light came from the soft red glow of the digital radio alarm clock sitting on the bedside table. Quietly the clock went about it’s business without a care for the world existing outside it’s electrical components. Time passed and, without witness, one number would change for another. Beside it, the girl slept on completely unaware of the clock’s unfailing regularity. .

And then the magical time arrived. The nine gave way to the zero and electrical circuits within the clock clicked into place. The soft red glow gave way to a piercing red flash which annoyingly announced that it was now 07:30. Milliseconds later the radio blared to life............ .

***.......A moderate Earthquake occurred at 06:10 PDT this morning. The magnitude was 5.4 and the event was located seven miles SSE of Sunnydale CA. The hypocentral depth was 5.6 miles.......*** The news reporter droned on, but the girl made no move that would acknowledge that she was aware of the alarm clock’s attempts to rouse her. Her breathing remained slow and her eyes remained closed. She made no move to adjust her position or her coverings. She lay as if unconscious. Beside her, the reporter continued to insist that she should hear his news flash...... .

***.......A sharp earthquake hit CA this morning, swaying buildings in the downtown Sunnydale area. The California Highway Patrol has reported that the quake opened at least three cracks in Highway 222. There are no immediate reports of damage to buildings or injuries in the area.........

*** Slowly the girl opened one eye and surveyed the areas of her room which were in her direct field of vision. Everything was as it should be. Nothing appeared to have fallen or broken. .

With a groan, the girl produced an arm from the bed covers and sent it on a mission to kill. The reporter’s advice to remember to ‘Duck, Cover & Hold’ was prematurely cut off as the arm found it’s mark with the pinpoint accuracy born of frequent repetition. .

For several minutes silence once again took its hold on the room, but the girl knew that the alarm clock would not be denied for long. With another groan, she turned over and pushed herself to a sitting position. Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she tried to gather her thoughts. Being a longtime resident of California, her thoughts were only briefly occupied with the news of the earthquake. She was somewhat surprised that she had slept through a “5” because usually those did tend to wake her, but then again, she had been very, very tired last night. That thought completely wiped any lingering thoughts of the earthquake, as she remembered her middle of the night visits from both Spike and Angel. .

Now her mind was totally occupied with the complexities of her love life. For several minutes she stared dazed into the dark room around her while her thoughts whirled inside her head..... .

Deep beneath the earth, Spike slept on deep in The Sleep. .

He had retreated to his secret cave after witnessing Angel leaving Buffy’s bedroom. As far as he knew, no one had any idea this cave existed. He had found it completely by accident several months back and had decided it would make a nice last ditch retreat for emergency situations. He always liked to plan ahead and know several safe places to sleep just in case some vampire killing human decided to wipe out their regular sleeping area. He had it happen too often in the past to not be exceedingly careful about locating alternate areas of safety. .

He had come to this place not because he was being hunted by man, but because he was being hunted by his own emotions. Seeing Angel climb from Buffy’s window had hit him like he had not expected. He knew he loved the girl, but he had thought his emotions were to jaded to be seriously affected by the emotion that now tore through him. What he was feeling was pure unrivaled jealousy. .

He knew he was capable of feelings of love and protectiveness. He had felt those emotions for over a hundred years with Dru, but as intense as his feelings for Dru could be, they had never stimulated mind numbing jealousy. His feelings had never been able to cause him physical pain. They had never been able to take control of his mind. .

Always, he had cared for Dru but he had easily been able to detach himself and allow her to do whatever it was that took her mind. She took lovers and it never caused him so much as a moments pause. He always new that eventually she would turn back to him and the new lover would be discarded. It never bothered him, except to occasionally worry about her safety, much in the same way an older brother would worry about his sister’s new boyfriend. .

Even when Dru took up with Angelus again, he had not felt gut ripping emotion. Their relationship had bothered him, granted....but it had bothered him because Angelus was “winning” the game. Both he and Angelus knew that the undertones of their power struggle over Dru was really a power struggle between two powerful vamps seeking dominance over the other. When Dru was actually with Angelus, it didn’t bother Spike one little bit that they were having sex. It did bother him that Dru had picked Angelus over him, and thereby given Angelus more points in the “game.” The feelings Buffy evoked in him were different, and that surprised him. He didn’t like surprises and he was totally unprepared for the feelings of emotion that had managed to take such complete hold of his mind and body. Despite numerous attempts, he was unable to assert control over the emotions, they continued to rip through him unabated. He couldn’t remember the last time that emotions had ruled him. Never since he had become a Vampire, certainly.... and he had trouble remembering if any such emotions had been part of his life before his conversion. .

He had retreated to his cave in an attempt to be alone and undisturbed while he regained control. He had no intention of giving into his emotions and doing what they were screaming at him to do, and that was to go and rip Angel’s head off. Acting on emotions had to be avoided at all cost. He had spent two hundred years controlling his demon with his intense self will, he was sure that this same self will could gain control of these sickly emotions. .

But for now he slept, deep in The Sleep. All thoughts of Buffy and emotions wiped from his mind as he existed in the blackness of nothingness. .

He slept unaware that the greatest threat to his existence had already occurred. .

Shortly after he entered the sleep the ground had began to shake. Deep below him the hypocenter of the quake expanded outward and upward towards the surface epicenter and the cave that lay directly in it’s path. Around him rocks had begun to fall and the shaking had become intense, but he remained unaware. .

Within seconds the shaking ceased and the dust in the cave began to settle. If he had been awake, he would have seen that the passage into the cave had been sealed by the falling rocks. What he couldn’t have seen was that the passage had collapsed for several hundred feet. Even with his Vampyric speed and strength, the clearing of the passage would take several nights at the least. And that in itself spelled his doom. .

Without so much as a rat to feed on, Spike was about to face starvation......and for a Vampire that was worse than death. .

Without stealing the life force of another creature’s blood, the Vampire would become a hollow shadow of its former self. The need to feed would become all encompassing until rationale thought departed and insanity prevailed. The existence was unimaginable, for no death would be available to the starving vampire. It would simply dehydrate and shrivel into a monstrous image of its former self. In the insanity the demon would reign. .

There would be no salvation even if released from the prison, for the insanity tended to be unreversable. Released, the Vampire would attempt to feed madly with no thought for it’s own preservation. Many even lost the ability to change to human form. Their insanity was so deep that no thought existed except to feed. These Vampires rarely last for long after release. They would get careless and someone would go after them and kill them, or they would stay to long at the kill and dawn would capture them in it’s killer rays. .

Unawares, Spike slept on. The reality of his situation was a horror yet to come...... .

Host: Caller number three.....welcome to the show. What is your question for our experts?

Caller #3: Yes, I’d like to know how many miles away from the Epicenter can a quake be felt?

Expert: Well that depends on the magnitude of the quake and the depth of the hypocenter. Most people are aware of the terminology of ‘epicenter’ but not too many understand hypocenter. A hypocenter is where the earthquake starts deep in the fault many miles below the surface. The shock waves radiate upward and outward with the epicenter being the spot on the surface ground which is right above the hypocenter. The 1906 San Francisco quake which was an 8.3 on the Richter Scale could be felt over an area of 375,000 miles. .

Buffy emerged from the shower and moved back down the hall towards Willow’s spare bedroom rubbing her wet hair with the towel as she went. Around her, the house remained silent. Willow’s parents were still out of town, and it appeared that Willow was still fast asleep. .

Moving into the bedroom, Buffy moved directly to the radio and flicked the “off” switch. Thankfully, the reporter’s droning voice ceased it’s endless coverage of the morning’s quake and the room descended into peaceful silence. .

Turning, Buffy moved to sit on the edge of the bed and continued to towel dry her hair absentmindedly. Her eyes fixed, unseeing, at a bare point on the wall ahead of her, as her mind continued it’s ongoing struggle over Angel and Spike. Slowly the hands holding the towel ceased to move as her racing mind demanded her every waking thought. Still, no solution presented itself. No matter how she looked at it her life was severely screwed up! Suddenly, she was jolted back to reality as the bed beneath her began to tremble. Around her various ornaments began to shiver and the room became full of the sounds of gently tinkling glass. Then came the groaning and rumbling......glancing over to the window, Buffy saw the frame and glass begin to buckle and sway....... .

.....and then it was silent again. Nothing moved. The whole experience had lasted less than five seconds. .

Briefly a frown crossed Buffy’s face. Multiple earthquakes were not uncommon, but usually they were to mild to even feel. The reporter had said that there had been a “5” earlier and now they had experienced another one! From long experience, Buffy new that this one had been a high three or a four. .

Buffy stood and moved quickly to the bedroom window. Looking out she saw only the peaceful back yards adjacent to Willow’s home. Feeling the need for a breath of fresh unconditioned air, she opened the window and leaned out. It took a few minutes for the complete silence of the neighborhood to make its impact on her subconscious mind. With another frown crossing her beautiful face, she began to study the neighborhood closely. No birds! Not a single one that she could see anyway! This early in the morning, the gardens were usually full of the sounds of twittering birds....but this morning there was only silence. Glancing down, Buffy saw the Rosenburg family dog sitting desolately in the middle of the back yard. From a distance came the first sound, and it’s haunting melody managed to raise the hair on the back of Buffy’s neck. It was the sound of a dog howling in infinite despair. Within seconds it seemed to be joined by every dog in the neighborhood. Beneath the window, Willow’s dog threw back it’s head to the sky and answered. .

And then came the birds. Hundreds and thousands of them. They flew in a flock of one. No species differentiation to the flock....just one big mass of feathers in a great big hurry to leave town. Buffy tore her eyes from the birds and glanced around the neighborhood. Now, many of Willow’s neighbors could be seen standing in their yards looking up at the awesome sight of the birds flying over head. Around them the dogs still cried in agony. .

Pushing herself away from the window, Buffy hurried from the room and almost broke into a jog as she headed down the hallway to the livingroom. Briefly she paused at Willow’s bedroom door and banged on it. .

“Get up Willow.....you need to hear this” she yelled through the door. Then, without waiting for a reply, she moved quickly into the livingroom and grabbed the TV remote. Quickly, she pressed the power button and then keyed in the numbers for the local TV news. Instantly, the TV responded and the face of the local reporter appeared on the screen. .

***

.....the Institute of Geological Sciences has just reported another earthquake in the Sunnydale area. The quake is said to have measured 4.7 on the Richter Scale and the location was estimated to be 30km NW of Sunnydale at a focal depth of 33km. This is the second moderate quake in the last four hours. The first occurred around 6 a.m this morning and was recorded as a 5.4 on the Richter Scale. No damage has as yet been reported following this latest quake, but the one this morning did cause some minor damage to Highway.........

***

“What’s up?” said Willow as she shuffled into the livingroom, sleepily pushing her hair back from her face. .

Buffy glanced up at her friend, and she quickly tried to hide the grin that spread across her face as she took in Willow’s attire. .

Willow noticed the look and voiced an indignant “What?” “Pink pajamas and fluffy slippers?” said Buffy as she gave up on trying to hide her grin. .

“I like them.....and they are comfortable” said Willow defensively before a grin began to spread across her own face. “So, I like childish PJs.....sue me.” “So, like I said, what’s up?” she repeated. .

Buffy turned her eyes away fro m her friend and pointed to the TV. .

“Quakes.....two of.” “And that's news?” said Willow, baffled at why her friend would think this enough of an emergency to wake her. Quakes happened all the time. .

“A 5.4 and now a 4.7.......birds gone, dogs howling.” stated Buffy briefly. .

Willow was silent for a moment while the information seeped into her sleepy brain. .

“Not good......but it doesn’t mean anything really. It wouldn’t be the first time.” she replied finally. .

“Perhaps its no t just an earthquake” said Buffy with another frown of worry. .

“What are you thinking?” said Willow cautiously. .

“Well, only a day or two ago a certain god was severely pissed off. Do you suppose he could be trying to make his own way back?” A look of doubt crossed Willow’s face. “You think?” “I don’t know what to think. Maybe I am just paranoid from living on the Hellmouth to long. Perhaps it is only just a quake, but all my Slayer senses are on edge. Willow, I think there is something more to this.” Willow shook her head in acknowledgment of her friend’s extrasensory abilities. “OK, so what do we do?” “I think I should go and run my idea by Giles.” “Well, I have my college classes scheduled for later on this morning.......” began Willow apologetically. .

“Don’t worry about it. I can talk to Giles on my own, I just wanted you to.....well, be careful today Will. This worries me.” “Careful.....right, careful will be my middle name” nodded Willow. .

Both girls turned their attention back to the breaking news story. It appeared that the “experts” were busy playing down the multiple earthquakes. Panic was something they didn’t want to infect the population. .

***

.....5.4 is not that large. We experience about 3,000 earthquakes worldwide each year that are in the 5.0 range. Those quakes ranging from 5.0 to 5.9 will cause little or no damage, though they will be widely felt. A major quake which causes widespread damage and death would tend to be a 7.6 or above, and worldwide we only experience about 20 of those per year. .

Reporter: So what exactly is the difference between a “5” and a “7”? Expert: Earthquake magnitude scale is logorithmic, which means the intensity of an earthquake multiples rapidly as numbers climb. Each full digit increase represents a 10 fold increase, so a 6.0 is ten times bigger than a 5.0 and so on. .

Reporter: We have a caller on the line with a question. Go ahead caller. .

Caller: When the “big one” hits, will California really fall into the sea?”

Expert: No. There are two tectonic plates in California. The Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. The San Andreas fault is the boundary between the two plates and is 650 miles long and 10 miles deep. California is not expected to fall into the water because the shift is moving horizontally along the San Andreas fault and up around the Transverse Ranges...

***

With a click of her finger Buffy used the remote to turn off the TV. .

“I’d better get to Giles and you’d better get ready for college.”

Willow nodded. “Where shall I meet you after school?”

“Lets meet at Giles’s apartment. I don’t like hanging around the high school to much. The assistant principal is determined to get me back into school to finish my diploma and he never lets up!”

“Diploma would be good” tried Willow. .

“Slaying does not require a High School Diploma Will” replied Buffy quickly. .

“No, but Buffy requires a High School Diploma” said Willow pointedly. .

“Look Willow, I never was any good at that book stuff, and I have forgotten it all now anyway.....but lets leave this discussion for another time.” said Buffy trying to change the subject. .

Willow glanced at her friend’s face and decided that now was not a good time to start her campaign on getting Buffy back into school. .

“I’ll get in touch with Xander and Cordelia and tell them to meet us there too?” offered Willow as she moved back towards the hallway. .

“Yep....and Willow....” Willow glanced back at her friend. .

“Tell them to be careful” cautioned the Slayer. .

Willow nodded seriously before leaving to get ready for college. .

Left alone to her own thoughts, Buffy moved back to stare out of the window. Around her life had resumed. Neighbors were leaving for work and kids were hurrying to school. But the familiar sights did little to reassure her. The sense of unease intensified and her stomach did a flip. .

Briefly her thoughts turned to Angel and Spike. Not knowing where either of them was, meant that warning them would be impossible. Still, they had been around for centuries, surely they could take care of themselves. Pushing thoughts of them from her mind, she turned and walked back towards her temporary bedroom. .

Time to get dressed and go see Giles......... .

*More to come*