deird1 | Passive

Title: Passive
Rating: PG
Word Count: 350

Summary: Some rules, there's a way around.

Passive

The monster snarled and sank its teeth into Lauren’s neck. It hurt. Hurt, and hurt some more, and she wanted to cry out, to push it away, to scream – but it… oww… it was so strong… and getting stronger… or else she was getting…

The monster’s bite was making her dizzy, and for one frozen moment it felt like there was nothing else left in the world.

And then, in a glorious explosion of emptiness, the monster dissolved around her. Lauren fell to the ground, clutching her neck and sobbing.

“What…” she gasped. “You…”

A man knelt down next to her. “You alright, pet?” he asked.

“I… dizzy…” The world was spinning, but she tried to focus on the blond guy with the kind smile. “You saved…” Wow. The world really was spinning. Lauren put her hand out to stop herself smacking into the dirt – but her hand was covered in blood, and her neck was still…

She needed to get to a hospital. Somehow.

The blond guy helped her to her feet. “Don’t worry, love. I’ll take care of it.” He looked at her neck, carefully – then at her face, like she was an idiot. “You really should know better than to walk around Sunnydale after dark. Daft idea.” He glanced back at her neck. “That’s bleeding pretty bad.”

You need to cover it, Lauren wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come. Stop the bleeding. Stop it. The world was swimming, spinning.

Her saviour smiled. “Lucky for you I was here, right? Lots of big scaries out on the streets tonight, all ready to hurt you – but I’m not one of ‘em. Couldn’t hurt you if I wanted to… which is a bloody shame, really.” He stroked the hair back from her face, gently. “Don’t worry, love. I’m not going to do anything bad to you.”

His words were sounding fuzzy. And somehow far away. Help, she thought. You need to… something…

As the streetlights faded, Lauren heard some faint words, barely comprehensible. “No,” someone said. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just going to wait.”