Fishing
Friday, September 1, 2000
It took Xander less than a minute to deal with the four non-humans. He didn't know, or care,
what species they really were, all sizzled flesh smelled the same. Still, what little time it took was
too much, for Spike had not resurfaced after being thrown into the waves.
Xander knew what panic did to a person pulled under water, whether they were excellent swimmers
or not. Spike's fear of the "undertow" would do nothing to aid him in remembering even the
simplest lessons Xander had taught earlier in the day: relax and let the water take you where it
wanted, for it would spit you out on the surface shortly.
Now, it was all Xander could do not to panic himself as he searched the water for Spike. Although
how does one find a bright white body in a bright white body of water? If Spike was like a normal
vampire, Xander may have had a chance of spotting him. But Spike was enhanced, making
him look solid white to Xander while giving him the ability to play in the sun.
"Spike!" Xander called, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice. "Spike! Where
are you?!"
There had to be a way to use his unwanted powers to find Spike, Xander thought. Shocking the
ocean wouldn't do anything other than possibly deep fry the creatures in it, including Spike.
He'd already established that he couldn't locate Spike by sight. Blindly searching by touch was a
waste of time, considering Spike was lost in an ocean, and there was no answer when he called.
"Think, Xander, think," Xander muttered to himself as he paced the small stretch of beach. "How
can I find him? How does an electrically charged man pull another electrically charged man out of
the drink?"
Xander remembered something he'd tried in the past. It hadn't worked then and it probably wouldn't work now, but he'd try anything. He couldn't lose Spike. Xander closed his eyes
and concentrated on making himself into an electro-magnet.
Bands of electricity flowed from Xander's body, a physical manifestation of his wild powers. The
blue-white tendrils slid into the water like serpents, searching to wrap around their prey. The
tendrils were controlled mentally by Xander, like the bracelets he would sometimes create around
Spike's wrist. If it worked, the bands of electricity should be attracted to the most densely packed electro-molecular object in the ocean, like a magnet. In this case: Spike.
That was the theory anyway. With Xander's luck, he'd probably pull in a whale.
Xander felt a tug on his electric fishing line, and he made himself stay focused and guide his fish to
shore. He knelt, glowing eyes closed behind his sunglasses, and put his hands, palms up, on the
sand. Something cold, wet, and very still settled on his hands.
Xander opened his eyes. "Shit." Xander stared down at the lifeless body in front of him as the
bands of electricity began to form a protective visible barrier around them both. Xander pressed his
fingers against Spike's neck, searching for a pulse, then realized what he was doing.
"Vampire, moron," he cursed himself. Spike's features were slack and Xander wondered if he'd
drowned, which would be odd since vampires didn't breathe. Still, since Xander hadn't any idea
what else to do, he started CPR. After tilting Spike's head back and pinching his nose, Xander
sealed his lips over the soggy blonde's and blew twice, ignoring the tiny lightening bolts dancing
between their mouths. Then, Xander crossed his hands over Spike's unbeating heart, centered his
weight, and performed ten compressions. His hands glowed blue-white as he did so and he knew he
was shocking Spike's heart like a pair of emergency medical shock paddles.
Xander was thinking desperately for something else to try after four more cycles, when Spike
suddenly surged to life, vomiting up blood and seawater. "Oh, thank God," Xander breathed,
turning Spike on his side as he continued to spit up the gallons of ocean he'd swallowed.
Spike began coughing hard, curling his arms around his waist, the side of his face becoming coated
with white sand. Xander rubbed small circles on Spike's back, murmuring comforting
nonsense words.
When Spike's coughing turned into wracking shakes, Xander gathered Spike to him and held
tight. "You're okay, Spike... you're safe... I've got you...," Xander cooed softly. "I've got you...
you're okay..."
End