Willow was starting to panic a bit. She didn't know what was going to happen, but she was pretty sure it wouldn't be happy. She was, however, safe for the moment.
Then, everything changed. The tree began to shake and she perceived that something was climbing it. It was obviously a large something to make a tree that size shake. She didn't know whether to look down or not. Perhaps knowing what was coming was better than not knowing. She looked down.
She wasn't sure what it was, but it was petrifying. It looked almost like a werewolf, but not quite. It definitely had a minor human air about it. The facet she noticed most was its enormous set of teeth. It was not a friendly-looking beast, and she hoped it took its sweet time climbing that tree.
* * *
Buffy and the gang discovered the tree from a distance. It was colossal and unlike any other in Sunnydale.
"Uh, Giles, that's the tree from my dream."
"Oh, dear."
"I see your ‘oh, dear' and raise you an ‘uh-oh,'" Xander uttered.
"I can see Willow on that big branch. She's in the white dress and the crown of flowers. This is not good."
"What's that?" Cordy asked pointing to the trunk. There was something scaling the tree trunk.
"Trouble," Buffy said.
* * *
The creature reached the branch sooner than she would have liked. He snarled at her, and she screamed. He climbed on top of her.
* * *
"Giles, what's he doing?"
"I didn't get a chance to tell you about that. It seems that Tumunbeck doesn't eat the sacrifice, well, not immediately anyway."
"What does he do?"
"He . . . mates with her."
"Let me be the first to say ‘eeeeeeeew!'" Cordelia shrieked.
"Oh, no he won't. That thing is history!" Buffy grabbed the crossbow from Giles arms and some regular arrows for it and stormed over to the tree.
* * *
Willow still didn't know what the thing was doing, but he had started tearing her dress, which was beginning to give her a pretty good idea of the horrors yet to come. she thought to herself. Her question was quickly answered.
"Hey, you!" Tumunbeck stopped and looked down. "Yeah, you, tall, dark, and furry. Can't you find a date with a girl your own species?" He snarled at her and went back to dealing with Willow. Buffy loaded the crossbow and fired. She only shot to wound. He was no fun to kill him with the first shot. He fell off the branch to the ground and just lay there for a minute. Then he sat up, pulled the arrow from his thigh, and rose to his feet. "Okay, tubby, I don't know what its like in the rainforest, but here we at least take a lady to dinner."
He charged her. She side stepped him and shot again. He dodged her arrow which left her with only one left. He got ready to charge her again. He started to run. She held up the crossbow. If she missed, he would probably kill her, or at least cause fairly major pain. She could only hope this would work. She fired. Tumunbeck looked down at the arrow in his stomach. Painful, but not fatal. Dammit! There was only one hope. She hoped he was in enough pain to be distracted for a moment. He was, but for a very short moment. He looked back up at her and began to charge again. She tried to get out of the way, but he knocked her down. When she dropped, she rolled to where the arrow he had removed lay on the earth. She picked it up. Tumunbeck was approaching quickly, licking his chops. She tried to load, but she couldn't get the arrow to face the right way. He was almost upon her. Finally the arrow clicked into place. She tried to aim, but the force of his running was shaking to ground. She pulled back the trigger and prayed it would hit home. Inches from her feet, Tumunbeck fell to the dirt with the arrow sticking out from his forehead. He looked like a deformed unicorn.
Buffy slowly rose to her feet. She felt fireworks of pain shooting through her body. Giles and the others ran up to her.
"Are you alright, Buffy?" Giles asked giving her a hand.
"I'm fine. Help Willow." She held her head. The world was spinning, and she faltered. Her knees suddenly gave. She found herself in Xander's arms.
"It's okay. I gotcha."
"Thanks." Giles brought Willow over. "You okay, Will?"
"I will be."
"How'd you get down so fast?"
"I jumped, and Giles caught me."
"Way to go, Giles! Are *you* okay?"
"I'll be fine after a hot bath."
"I think we all will be. Let's go home."
"What about him?" Cordy asked pointing to Tumunbeck.
"I think he's dead enough to leave alone. We'll worry about him later." The group returned to their respective homes and went to bed with a feeling a relative safety.
* * *
Tumunbeck reached up and snapped the arrow in his forehead, got up slowly, and staggered into the darkness.
~The End~
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