Title: Give Me The Light (Part One)

Author: FREAKYSPLATTERZ

Disclaimers: There characters within are not my property except those not known of.

Feedback: Yeah. You supply it. I won't deny it.

Rating: R - NC - 17 (for the entire fic)

Pairing: Buffy/Faith (may take awhile)

Warning: This fic contains references to rape, bondage, mind manipulation, mutilation, and physical abuse.

Note: This fic is a sequel to my fic, "Barred", a dark fic, as yet to be finished, that can be found at the DarkSlash group. I don't think its necessary to read "Barred" since you'll still pretty much get the fic, but you won't know some of the references that relate back to the story.

It had been so long. Oh so long since her escape. So long that the days began to blend together in her head. Much like the thoughts she rarely had. Thoughts of her past were a mixed mess that she hadn't the strength to sort out. Names and events were hard to recall. Almost as if they never even happened. Only one name and one event stood out in her ravaged mind. A name. Marin Reynolds. The event. One hundred and twenty days of Hell. A Hell with Watcher Marin Reynolds. Even that was hard to recall. Thinking of it caused chills down her spine, uncontrollable shakes claimed her body, her head would pound, her heart would race. Everything would spin out of control. Sounds and sights flashing and pounding in her head but too fast to make sense out of. A carousel of horror that spun faster and faster until it had her bent double on the ground, her body expelling the contents of the meager amounts of food that she did manage to keep down. Like now.

The wind whipped her hair behind her as she wiped the spit and vomit from her mouth. Her stomach continued to convulse harshly. She sat back on her haunches and held her stomach, wanting it all to stop. One moment of peace. Just one. A bug crawled toward her. A harmless black bug. She stared at it as it made its way toward her still warm vomit. Her mind flashed briefly. To her the bug was laughing at her. It was saying horrible things. Taunting her. The bug had a face. Blonde hair, and cold grey eyes. It was her. She had found her.

She brought her hand down hard ontop of the bug, but she didn't stop. She continued to pound her fists into the ground, coating them with dust and vomit. Tears streamed down her face. Her hands were beginning to hurt, small rocks were cutting into the weak flesh. She barely registered the car slowing down on the side of the road. Didn't hear the driver's side door open. No, she kept pounding into the ground, until she had exhausted herself. Made herself even weaker than she already was. She fell into the dirt and curled up in a tight ball. Sobs shaking her body, tears streaming down her face.

"Miss? Are you okay?"

She opened teary eyes and just made out an aged face of an old man. His yellowed brown eyes stared down at her with concern. The wrinkles in his dark face made him gentle instead of rough.

"Miss you shouldn't be laying out here near the highway. Is you in some kind of pain?"

"No."

She tried to pull herself up but she hadn't the stength. She watched with some trepidation as the old man wrapped surprisingly strong arms around her and lifted her like she weighed nothing. Which was probably truer than she normally would have liked. Her dreadful experiences had left her body in a state of utter weakness. The over-sized jeans and button-up shirt that she had been given by Garrett after her escape further enhanced her loss. They hung off of her like sheets. The belt around her waist had new holes cut into it so that the belt could be pulled tighter around her waist. Under those clothes she had the body of a twelve year old rather than the lusty firm body of the 20 year old that she was.

"Its okay now Miss. I'm going to take you to get some help. You don't need to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you."

He carried her to the car and laid her gently in the backseat. He pulled a throw from somewhere in the car and put it around her. She watched him with something of surprise. She didn't know people this nice. People weren't this nice. Helping out complete strangers. He shut the door and then ran around the front to the driver's side and got in. The next thing she heard was the sound of the engine being started and then they were moving.

"You're going to be just fine Miss."

"Thank you." she whispered. The sentiment attached to the word foreign to her. When was the last time she said 'thank you' and meant it? Right after Garrett Armstrong unfastend the last restraint around her ankle. She hadn't said it out loud, but it was clear in her eyes what she felt.

She knew he understood. With that mixed into her head she closed her eyes trying to fall into a much needed rest. Her days had been hard these few weeks. She was owed this time, no matter how short it was. The fact that she was putting herself essentially in the hands of a stranger didn't faze her. She just.....trusted him for some reason. Her eyes closed slowly and before she knew it she was asleep.

Asleep to the sound of the old man still talking about how she was going to be alright. Eyes closed to the scenic route. Mind not even understanding that the old man was taking her back to the beginning of it all. Eyes shut so she didn't see the sign proudly saying, as they passed,..........

"Welcome to Sunnydale."

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end part 1