The Strength of The Wolf is The Pack- Book two- BTVS

Some Assembly Required- 3

We were back in the library trying to find records of any other girls that had recently died.

"I checked the obits." Willow told us. "Nothing that would make for a likely candidate."

"They seem kinda picky for guys who had three heads to begin with."

"Formaldehyde."

"Come again."

"Formaldehyde. Yes, yes, yes, yes, of course, it accelerates neural decay in the brain cells."

"After a couple days they're useless. They're gonna need something really fresh."

"How fresh?"

"As fresh as possible. Buffy, you don't think that they would..."

"I think anybody who cuts dead girls into little pieces does not get the benefit of any doubt. I wanna end this thing now."

"I second that."

"Okay, fine. You guys go to Eric's, we can go to Chris', and meet up."

"Oh! I'm supposed to be at the big game, I-I believe it's called."

"Fine. Go ahead. We'll take care of this."

"Well, yes, but shouldn't I, um..."

"Okay, then why don't, uh, we all meet there?"

"Fine. Yes."

"Buffy? Don't be too hard on Chris. I mean, he's not a vampire."

"No. He's just a ghoul. Lucy, you're with me."

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Buffy and I arrived at Chris' house where his mother answered the door, looking very out of it.

"Hi. Um, we're friends of Chris. We kinda need to talk to him. Uh, do you know if he's home?" Chris' mum walked back inside without answering us. We looked at each other before following his mum inside and closing the door after us.

"So, is he home?"

"Westbury game. November 17, '95. Daryl rushed 185 yards that night. Four TD's. He was MVP, and he made All-City that season."

"Yeah, that was a great one. Um, but is Chris home?"

"I don't know. Is today a school day? Oh, watch! Watch this move! Daryl takes a kick off, he sheds one, two, three defenders, and he breaks into the open field for a 95 yard touchdown!" Buffy nudged me, as she nodded to a door with signs like 'Keep Out' and 'No Admittance' covering it. "He would have been nineteen next week."

We snuck over to the door, while Chris' mum was still distracted with the game. Seeing that it led to their basement, Buffy and I made our way down the steps. We found a table where there were pictures of us and Willow, and the plans for the body with Cordelia's head stuck on the top.

"Cordelia!" Buffy whispered, but when we heard the door open we quickly jumped out the basement window.

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Buffy and I raced into the school just as Joy and Lisa were coming down the stairs.

"Joy! Lisa! Where's Cordelia?" Buffy asked them, desperately.

"Cordelia has a game to think about. She doesn't need losers like you two." Joy replied, snootily, but I quickly slammed my hand against the wall to block her path.

"I'm sorry, where did you say?" Buffy asked them. They told us that Cordelia was in the locker room, still getting ready. When we got there, Cordelia was on the floor with a bag over her head and Eric was kneeling next to her as he tried to tie her hands. Buffy ran up to him and kicked him in the face, while I started to take the bag off of Cordelia's head. Buffy joined me in making sure that Cordelia was alright while Eric ran like the little bitch he is.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Oh my God, Lucy, Buffy!"

"Don't worry, he's gone."

"I was on my way down to the field when Chris cam in, and all of a sudden someone jumped me."

"Shh! Quiet down. Relax. Take it easy." Buffy tried to comfort Cordelia, but she was distracted by the music.

"That's the fight song. Oh my God, it's time for the cheerleader pyramid at mid-field. I've gotta go."

"Well, are you sure you're okay to go out there?"

"Yeah, you don't understand, I have to go. I'm the apex!" Cordelia assured us, as she left.

"Got to admit, the girl knows her priorities, no matter how messed up they are." I shook my head, before hearing a clattering sound behind us. We both turned to look around.

"Chris?" Buffy called out as we crept closer to the sound. "I know what you're trying to do. You and Eric. I know about the bodies from the cemetery. But you haven't hurt anyone yet." Chris stepped out into the open. "Look, I know what it's like to lose someone that you're close to. But that's no excuse. What you're doing is wrong."

"I have to do this for him. He needs someone."

"Who, Eric? He needs industrial strength therapy!"

"He always looked out for me. Stood up for me. He's all alone. Everybody loved him. And now he's all alone."

"Who are you talking..."

"Daryl." I interrupted, realising what he was talking about. "Bloody hell."