Backfire - Spander Files

And there was whispering coming from the right side of the hall. Behind the doors
that he couldn’t open. It called to him, trying to tell him nice and good things, but
the blood was rushing in his ears and he couldn’t hear it. It was frustrating. He
stopped trying.
Maybe the next door would be his salvation.
The earth shook. Xander fell into the river of blood and it was deeper than it should
have been. His feet couldn’t find the ground and his head couldn’t find the surface.
He choked as the blood flooded his lungs, then the river became his sea and he was
breathing it. Was this it? Had he found his home? Where he belonged? The pain
was the same here. But it felt…almost…good.
Then all the doors on the right opened, and the blood went flooding out. He turned
and tried to swim away, back toward the left, but the current was too strong. One of
the doorways engulfed him and suddenly he was on dry ground. He opened his eyes
and found Spike.
*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*
After Xander was bandaged, everyone stopped puttering and found seats in the
room. Spike and Buffy were still at Xander’s side, holding his hands which
continued to try to pull away and rip open his bandages. Giles brought in chairs
from the other room and the other three sat and watched and worried. Spike
continued to whisper in Xander’s ear, and Buffy continued to listen.
Suddenly Xander bucked hard, throwing Spike and Buffy off the bed. He began
thrashing uncontrollably, blood pouring from his mouth as he bit his tongue. Then
he was gasping, and everyone reached out to grab a limb in an effort to try and
control the seizure. But even with super-strength, Xander could not be contained.
His flailing bruised anyone who came near.
They were all shouting at each other, attempting to convey ideas or instruction.
Finally, Spike roared for everyone to step back. He blanketed himself on top of
Xander and plunged his teeth into his scar on Xander’s right side.