Short Stories Collection

That One Time Buffy Saved Me

This was written for the Slayer Chronicles challenge, 'That One Time...' by TalesOfTheSlayer . The prompt was to write a story about that one time you were saved by Buffy (or Angel).  

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My girlfriend, Magdalene Willander, went missing on March 22nd, 2001. Maggie could talk endlessly, with anyone, and was always ready to listen to people's problems. She had a rare gift of being a great talker as well as a great listener, and I've never known anyone like her.

She vanished on the night of the 22nd and was never seen again. The cops called it a runaway and said there were no suspicious circumstances involved, which is crazy because there is no way she would just take off like that without saying anything. A guy in my history class said the cops were always covering things up and calling them 'not-suspicious'. Even the really weird cases. That sounds typical for Sunnydale.

The weirdest thing is that I actually saw Magdalene two weeks later. At least, I think I did. She was lurking around the cemetery one night. I called out her name, but she disappeared into the darkness before I could reach her. I figured I was going crazy, but was determined to try and see her again. So I hung around the cemetery each night, hoping to catch sight of her, and also dreading what seeing her again would actually mean.

One night, I heard a rustle behind me and turned around to see her. She was actually there, in front of me. And she looked good, too, in black leather with deep-red lipstick that looked great on her. It was my Maggie, but there was something off with her. She had a strange look of indifference and curiosity as she observed me with a tilted head. I asked her where she had been, why had she left, why hadn't she been in touch, but she just watched me with that unfamiliar gaze.

My entire world changed the moment Maggie jumped on me. She shoved me to the ground and straddled me in a way that made me think of how we used to be. I remember there was an earthy, metallic smell to her that didn't seem right. She was my Maggie, but she wasn't. Before I knew what was happening, she bared her teeth and aimed at my throat with a guttural, bestial growl.

Then she was suddenly lifted into the air, thrown into a tree like a rag doll. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the girl standing over me. I recognized Buffy from school, but had no idea what she was doing there right then. I was terrified, shivering with confusion, but Buffy had a cheery smile on her face, like she was heading to the Bronze instead of standing in a cemetery in the middle of the night. She told me to pick better hang out spots.

I was halfway to standing when Buffy spun around, suddenly alert and assuming some kind of kung fu stance. I could only watch as Buffy and Maggie had a big fight, throwing kicks and punches and jumping around the headstones. They both moved like trained fighters, looking nothing like the high school girls I knew them as.

At one point, Maggie lunged at me, that growl escaping her again. I scrambled back and fell over a gravestone, ducking for cover. I'm not ashamed to say that I squeezed my eyes shut like a scared little boy, but I didn't know what else to do. When I looked up, Buffy stood alone, wiping dirt from her red pants and fixing her effortlessly bouncy hair.

I asked her what had happened. Buffy was as chirpy as ever when she told me to forget about Maggie, that she wasn't good for me, and that I'll never be seeing her again. She must have seen how shaken I was, because she was very sincere when she told me everyone was going to be alright, and then offered to walk me home.

To this day, I still can't tell you what exactly had happened that night. But I do know one thing: Buffy Summers saved my life. She was truly a special person, and I know I'm not the only one who thinks so.

It's been two weeks now since Buffy passed away, and it's a loss that the whole town feels. I feel sorry for her sister the most. I heard that they lost their mom a while back, so I can't even imagine what Dawn must be going through right now.

I had to write this letter and let everyone know the kind of person Buffy was. She was always there when we needed her the most, even if we didn't fully understand the situation of how our lives were saved. That's also typical of Sunnydale.

Sometimes I still go around the cemetery at night, half-hoping that I might run into Buffy again. A part of me thinks that I'll one day see her again. And who knows? Crazier things have happened in Sunnydale. 

(814 words)