Dance With the Dead (BTVS, Book Six)

chapter 20 - Villains

Warren had managed to shoot both me and Buffy in the right side of the chests when he had took off. Buffy and I were still in the backyard of her house, barely conscious, unable to move.

Xander ran back toward us, leading the paramedics with him. "This way!"

"They were shot?" Paramedic 1 asked.

"Yeah, in the chests," Xander answered.

"Accidental?" Paramedic 2 asked.

"No, no," Xander answered. "It was a... he was trying to kill them."

The paramedics knelt on either side of Buffy and me so that they could work on trying to save our lives while Xander watched helplessly.

"Pulses are weak," Paramedic 2 told us. "Lung sounds are wet."

"What does that mean?" Xander asked. "Are they going to..."

"You need to stand back, okay?" Paramedic 1 asked. "If you want us to help them out, we need some space."

The paramedics banded our wounds to try to slow the bleeding, trying to keep us alive, while we barely hung onto consciousness.

     ~~~~~~   

The paramedics were wheeling Buffy and me into the ambulances.

Paramedic 2 spoke into a walkie talkie. "Sunnydale Memorial, do you copy? We have two Caucasian females, 21, GSW to the chests."

"Come on, guys, hang on," Xander told us. "We're going to get you to the hospital." Willow walked out of the house, with blood over her blouse and skin. Xander looked at her worriedly. "Willow, God, are you okay?"

"How did this happen?" Willow asked.

"Warren," Xander answered. "He had a gun."

Willow had a brief flash of anger. "Warren."

"It went down too fast," Xander told her. "We couldn't stop him." Willow wasn't listening anymore, walking away, fast. Xander stopped at the edge of the walk. "Hey." Willow just kept walking down the sidewalk. Xander looked after her, confused and shaken. "Will!"

"Sir, we have to go," Paramedic 1 told him. "Are you coming with us or not?"

Xander dithered for a moment, concerned about both Willow, Buffy and me, running over to the ambulance, climbing into the back with us. The paramedics drove us away to the hospital.

     ~~~~~~   

Buffy and I were slowly waking up in the hospital, starting to feel better when the bullets had been removed, seeing that Xander, Mom (in her surgeon uniform as she had been working on helping save us), and Willow, with black eyes, black hair, and in all black.

"What happened?" Buffy asked.

Mom looked at me in relief, walking closer to help me up. "Zoey. Oh, my God, are you okay?"

Buffy looked around in confusion. "Sure. How'd we get here?"

Mom hugged me in relief. Willow just watched, while Xander was helping Buffy.

"You've got to stop doing this," Xander told us. "This dying thing's funny once."

I looked at Willow in confusion. "Willow?"

Willow gave a very small smile. "Buffy. Zoey. Hey."

"What's wrong?" I asked in concern.

"I'll explain," Willow told us. "But we've got to go."