Channel Alaska 1 – 4
Note:: This is the third series in what I now call THE LONG SPIRAL DOWNWARDS, the other two series are FULL CIRCLE and ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY.
(~) before and after a sentence indicates Spikes thoughts.
23 September, 2000.
6.37 pm
With a swear at stumbling over a hidden root, Xander dragged what was left of the bags out of the car. Quick glance around and he saw that everything was now out of the rusty commodore. The impatient blonde gestured for the tall brunette to open the door to what would be their home for the next two years.
Bags lugged to the cabin door, the younger man dumped them none too gently on the black dirt outside the wooden door. Stomach rumbling in both hunger and the excitement of being in their final destination of almost two weeks driving, the key was turned in the slick lock. Door pushed open, the two males stood and looked into the wooden cabin.
"Ok, not too bad! Few colourful rugs and hanging things, you know, that sort of thing will make it look a lot better" said the boy as he took in the pretty bare confines of the two bedroom log cabin. When picking up the key to the cabin along with the final directions, guide book and starting date of his job, Xander had been stunned to find out that he had been given a two roomed cabin for the same rent rate as a one bedroom. He had requested a one bedroom after stating that both he and his cousin, William Lavelle, would be in single beds and more than happy to share a bedroom for a reduced rate in rent.
After a few stutters at the smiling girl behind the desk of the company he now worked for, it had been explained that Cryon Building Co. was happy to give him a reduced rent, almost an incentive it seemed if he would sign on for two years, not the one year that Xander had originally wanted to go for at first. Thinking it over for a few minutes while the happy secretary chirped into the phones, he wondered what else he could get away with while the company was happy to throw things at him, only briefly wondering why it was doing it. Secretaries attention caught once more, he nodded his agreement to the cabin and asked if there was anything more that was being offered.
With a wide smile in his direction, she explained that the company was excited that such a young man as himself was taking an interest in building up Alaska and hoped that by sweetening the pot, he would consider staying beyond his contract and settle and did his cousin want a job as well? Apparently there really was an abundance of positions going, Xander felt slightly odd and wary of this fact, not really knowing why. Why was it so hard to fill positions in Alaska? Asking that question to the girl now handing him his contract, he was told that the long winter was hard on most of the older people who tended to come looking for a new start/different job in the still awakening state of Alaska. Hesitating before he signed, he was informed that most of the people who came to the state, left after experiencing only one winter but that he shouldn´t worry because this one was going to be really mild.
Sigh and a quick scribble that was his signature later, he was congratulated on his choice of two years guaranteed employment. Handed the key, instructions of how to get there, information book on Alaska and Fairbanks in particular and his starting date in his new job, he was informed that he was lucky because his cabin was attached to the phone, electricity, water and gas grids. He was really lucky in fact because his cabin also had a generator outside and a new wood heater after the old one had fallen apart when delivering his goods to his cabin. When he asked if anyone would have stolen anything from his cabin, he was laughed at and informed that it was Fairbanks and that no–one would do that.
Driving back to the camping ground he had left the vampire in, he had thoughts of if it was too late to get out of the contract. He didn´t like the sound of the winters. Curses ringing around the white commodore interior as he berated himself for not reading up on Alaska and what it was like during the seasons. He knew that it snowed, but it couldn´t really be that bad could it? Surely the girl was only trying to scare him.
Car parked at his designated spot in the camping ground, he gathered the reading material and strode over to the sun proof tent. The large teal coloured tent had two separate rooms, the first being a tiny little pocket that just had enough room for a single standing person separated from the larger main part by a single zipper. Zippering open the outside and stepping into the little foyer like entrance, Xander turned on the bright torch and set it on the ground by his feet so that he could zipper up the front before opening the main room. Tent completely dark apart from the torch beam as the shop assistant had guaranteed, he warned Spike that he was going to come in. The two men couldn´t work out what type of material had been used to make the tent sun proof but they had been glad of it the first morning that they had had to use it. Not having reached a motor inn an hour before sunrise, they had been forced to pull over alongside the road and put up the tent a few paces into the tree line.
Spike had been weeping in fear as he had felt the sunrise begin, Xander holding him close while stroking the soft hair had prayed that Willy had been right and that the tent would do the job.
Shoulder shaken by a cool hand, the brunette was brought back from the memories of the earlier day from when he had gone back to the tent to read the information and receive a blow job from the blonde before setting off again once it was dark enough to travel.
Bags kicked out of the way to clear the pathway to the door, Spike walked the short distance to the bedrooms. Both doors were open and in each one was a single mattress still wrapped in plastic laying on the bare floor, on top of them lay packets of flannel sheets, matching pillowcases and what looked like new doona´s. A glance at the brunette opening the curtains in the large common room from which the kitchen and bathroom were situated off and the blonde stood in the middle of the small second room holding what looked like a gift basket from the company that the whelp worked for.
~Oh my god! Only in Deliverance country would the giving of Spam be an appropriate welcoming gift! ~
Snort and quick twirl around the room, the basket was dropped on the floor with a loud clang. Two years he thought to himself. He had read the information on Fairbanks and the great state of Alaska as the whelp had recovered from the blowjob. Truly if he had known what the summer months had entailed, bloody almost 21 hours of fucking sunlight each shit of a day, he would have staked himself. Well, if the brat would have let him that is. On the upside he had read about the around four or five measly hours of sunlight in winter, the rest of the hours being in total darkness. That he could cope with.
Leaving what he declared to himself as his room, he walked in to the younger mans just as small room. The bedroom was just barely big enough to hold a double bed, chest of drawers and cupboard. At least he thought that they were, little hard to tell with just a mattress on the floor and a single one at that. Quick look around and he left that one too after he had snorted again when he spotted the second gift basket sitting in the corner. Rewarded with a hot couple of kisses when he brushed against the younger man while on his way to check out the bathroom, pulled away as the brunette walked to check out the bedrooms.
Shower over the large old fashioned bath, sink and a toilet all in a lovely wood panelled room to contrast with the floor boards running through out the cabin. Turned around to face out of the bathroom door, he looked directly across a small hall and into the small also wood panelled kitchen. It was an open planned one, no real boundaries apart from the large bench separating it from the common room. The place was slightly bigger that Xanders old apartment by about half of one of the small bedrooms.
~ Fucking hate wood panelling. Maybe I will go mental in Summer and not notice it? Can always hope, can´t I? ~
Now back in the common room after checking out the empty kitchen cupboards and the glaringly obvious empty place of where the fridge should be, the disgruntled vampire sat on the surprisingly comfortable provided couch and watched the boy drag the mattress from the front bedroom and into the one directly next to it. Separate mattresses of course because cousins couldn´t sleep together legally outside the Deep South. He had laughed hard at the whelps reasoning for the two mattresses, nodding at the explanation of just pushing them together to form the one bed. Hadn´t really expected to get a bed all to himself anyway and he honestly didn´t want one after sleeping with the whelp for so long. Didn´t want the nightmares that he still had to get worse without the comforting heat next to him and the knowledge that he could grab the larger hand at anytime during the night and feel safe.
"Damn! The electric blanket didn´t arrive. We´ll need one during the winter apparently. Have to go back Pennington tomorrow and check out the mall." shouted the brunette to the vampire only sitting a short distance away from him. Realising the level he had shouted at, he looked sheepishly at the grinning blonde as he tore the plastic off the two mattress and formed a ground cover to prevent them getting dirty on the floor. With a gesture, he beckoned for the smaller man to help with making the beds. Spike joined Xander on the floor opening the pale yellow flannel double sheets, raising one eyebrow, he pointed at the single mattress and then back at the size of the sheet.
"Oh, they suggested to get doubles anyway for the extra warmth. So no, I don´t think they suspect that I am going the whole carnal knowledge thing and fucking my male cousin!" smirked the brunette as he shoved a pillow into the soft casing. Leaning over the now opened arctic doona, he softly licked at the pale lips. The moans from the vampire encouraged him to deepen the kiss, firmly thrusting his tongue into the welcoming coolness of the others mouth.
24 September, 2000
1.36 am
Snuggled deeply into the slumbering brunettes strong arms, the smaller male sighed. He was still awake after the slow lengthy fuck on the new mattresses he had received after giving the whelp a blowjob that ended up in him being partially claimed again. Xander had stopped the deep throating just before coming, causing the thick off white fluid to cover his entire chest and only partially his face. The smell was vile, humans having such useless noses really didn´t know how off the smell was. Trying not to gag on the aroma, he had patiently waited where he was, kneeling on the second bedroom floor, as instructed while the younger man went to the bathroom to get some of the single roll of toilet paper they had found to clean him up. Face and chest gently wiped at with the soft paper, he was led by the hand to the shower and told to get in and that Xander would join him in a minute.
Twiddling the knobs of the shower, he turned them both on and had leapt back fast when the pure brown water had sputtered out. Nose wrinkled in disgust, he had grunted for the taller man to come quickly. Xander, having heard the two toned grunt that had eventually served for his name, had gone into the small room filling with steam to find a vampire plastered against the panelled wall staring at what looked like pure dirt coming from the shower head. Expressing disgust at the quality of what was swirling around the bottom of the bathtub, the brunette told the vampire to just let it run until it ran clear.
With the steam filling the small cabin quickly, they had gone back to the second bedroom and finished making the bed up with the sheets and new doonas. Laying one underneath them and then the other one over the top of the pale yellow sheet, they had forgotten about the shower when Spike had started to nibble on one of Xanders hot nipples. Completely forgot about the shower all together hadn´t they.
~ Bugger! now I have to get up and turn the sodding thing off. Don´t want to. Too warm and comfy where i am right now ~
A few more whines later, the now stone cold but thoroughly clear water was turned off. Air sniffed, he wondered what the sweet smell was. More sniffing lead to the conclusion that the water was the cause of the fresh un chemical like smell. Very nice was the thought running through the vampires head. If everything was going to smell as nice around the place, he thought that might be able to put up with the local yokels that both he and the whelp still had to meet and sort through.
Eyes scanning the darkness, he took a leisurely look around the common room as he sat his naked form on the kitchen bench. One three seater couch, two bar stools for the kitchen bench, wobbly coffee table and a ratty looking faded red throw rug on the floor boards.
~ At least they got the colour right, hate to see what the whelp would have gotten for us if he hadn´t signed on for the two years. ~
Head shaken at what he thought was sheer stupidity for the signing on of two years, he would have thought the young man had the sense to see what a year was like before signing up for that long. As long as they were far enough away from the ex–soldiers, it didn´t really matter where they were.
~ Oh well, I suppose a job is a job. Guaranteed money for the length of the contract, so the whelp has been told. ~
Xander had come back to the tent after getting his keys and had told the vampire of the job offer for him from the company. The boy, after reading about the hours of darkness in the winter, had concluded that maybe the blonde could do seasonal work in the winter only. Aghast at the thought of working once again, the shocked smaller man had stared at the younger man as if he was mad to even suggest such a thing. He, as a former Master Vampire and part of the Scourge of Europe, hadn´t officially worked since they day he had been turned.
Going down on the boy had been the only way he could think of that would take his mind off the whole idea. Once he had started rolling his tongue around the hot tip of the ready cock, the explanations of why he should get a job died on the other males lips.
With a sigh at the thought that Harris was most likely going to be right and that some time down the track he was going to have to get a job if only to pay for his blood which was turning out to be a lot more expensive than Sunnydale, he wondered what the hell sort of work he was going to do.
Covers of the bed peeled back slowly and softly so as not to disturb the snoring brunette, he climbed into the warmth that came from the other mans body. He was still worried about how all the hours of sunlight in summer were going to affect him. Some vampires that he vaguely knew of years ago had lived around Alaska only during the long winters, claiming to enjoy the almost total darkness. What they had done for blood, he really didn´t know. Alaska wasn´t even remotely populated enough to support a group of vampires for a few winters. Maybe that was how the willing blood donors had started up. If that was true, then most likely the population of Fairbanks was like Sunnydale, knowing that there was something strange going on but choosing to deny it until it directly affected them and even then choosing to deny it still.
With a sigh and a rollover that brought him closer to the whelp who had turned himself to face the vampire, he edged closer again until he had embedded himself firmly against the wide large chest. Thankfully it was coming up to winter and that meant he didn´t have to think of the revolting summer hours of sunlight. Tomorrow or really that late morning, Xander was going to check out the town of Pennington and where he was going to work. They had thought that they would be situated in the new town itself but were actually around 20 minutes away from the beginning town and only around a little over an hour from the outskirts of Fairbanks. Fairbanks was pretty spread out for a major city, to get right into the heart of it would take another good 25 minutes again.
Arms tightened around the cool body, Spike relaxed into the possessive grip and closed his eyes, nervous at the thought of being left in a strange place by himself when Xander went into Pennington to shop.
24 September 2000,
around 2.30 pm
Xander stood in what was so far the pride and joy of Pennington, the mall. Slowly turning around to view numerous shops closing for the day, he hadn´t thought that they would close so early on a Saturday. He had only been there for about 2 hours since getting up late and finally having the delayed shower from the night before. Thankful that he had gotten most of what he hoped that he needed for the bare cabin, he pushed the trolley back to where the car was parked. With a wish that he could have brought the vampire along with him to show him what the town looked liked, he finished putting the last of the bags into the overloaded car. Trolley back in the rack, he opened the creaking door and climbed inside.
The fridge had been the hardest thing to arrange, having argued with the owner of the second hand store as to when it would be delivered to the cabin. The owner, Cyril Banks, had argued that it would take 3 days for it to arrive. Firmly stating that it was only around 20 – 25 minutes from his cabin to the store, Xander had been slightly put out to find that it would take that long because there was no trailer to load it onto until the local wood chopping bee was done. And that would apparently take another 3 days.
Cyril had been more than willing to throw in a load of fire wood once he had known that Xander would be in the local construction of the town if he would wait that long. Not having much choice, he had agreed and hoped that the few blood packets back home in the esky wouldn´t go off in a hurry. He had been told that almost all the firewood was chopped at this time of the year so it could have a chance to dry out before winter, henceforth the reason of no trailers. Cyril, having gotten Xanders address, told the boy to mention his name when visiting the other stores for a better deal on the items he wanted.
After leaving the store with a second hand good quality tv that he had placed in the car straight away, he had then gone to buy pots and a large frying pan, cutlery and a cheap crockery set. So far everyone had been nice to him, easing up on the suspicious looks he recieved when first entering the stores as soon as Cyril ´s name was mentioned. " Oh, your the new one then, are you?" asked the elderly pair of twins manning the registers at the grocery store where he bought essential items such as tinned goods, soap, washing liquid and towels. With a nod of his head, he thanked them for the tinned Spam they shoved into his shopping bags. Asked if he had any Pilot bread at home, he shook his head and smiled at their tuts. More items tossed into another bag and handed to him, he wondered what the hell it was with Spam. Told that it was best eaten with pickled salmon, he nodded and thanked the elderly ladies again for their help, trying not to throw up at the thought of pickled salmon or any fish at that.
Once again with the bags placed into the car, he had gone back to the smaller than first thought mall and looked around for a carpet store. He wanted to buy a couple of rugs, one for the bedroom floor , kitchen floor and the common room floor. Spikes opinion of the one provided by the company had comprised of a snort and gesture of sticking his fingers down his throat. In total agreement with the bleach blonde, he had promised to get another one as well as a throw rug for the couch.
Car started, he turned his head and looked at the rolled items laying along the back seat of the commodore. Indicating to go right, out of the almost empty parking lot, he drove onto the main road that would take him back towards his cabin. Lumber mill passed, he saw the sheer size and wondered how many people worked there. He was sure that he had maxed out his credit card already with the days purchases. All one and a half thousand dollars of it. The card only had a limit of $2000 and he wasn´t sure if the payment for the things already in the cabin had gone through or not yet. Monday would see him down at the major bank in Fairbanks and arranging a transfer of his bank account from Sunnydale and into a new Alaskan one.
The mall had a auto teller for the Bank of Northern Stars, a large banking group. He had wanted to do it before leaving Sunnydale but according to bank rules, he had to apply for it in person. The car parked outside the little post office that Willy had put down on the list for blood supplies, Xander wondered just how he would ask for it. Deep breath and door pushed open, he stepped through and took a look around the tiny inner of the office. No–one around, he rang the brass bell on the counter and waited for some–one to come and help him.
"New one huh? Thought that you would be older, thought that you were a blonde?" came the gruff voice behind him.
Twirling around, heart beating fast at the sudden sounds behind him, the startled brunette looked to the large black man.
"Uh, yep. Not blonde, that is my cousin, William Lavelle. I´m Xander Harris, good to meet you" replied the boy, extending his hand towards the non moving man before him. Eyed suspiciously for a few minutes before his hand was enclosed in a bear like grip, Xander wondered again just how he was going to ask for a packet of blood.
"What do you want? Newspaper, start up a mailbox, what?"
"Ok here goes nothing and I so hope that Willy´s info is right" thought the nervous boy. With stutters and lots of blushing, he started to explain about his cousins phobia of sunlight and his bodies lack of natural iron. Large hand held up infront of him, indicating for him to stop waffling. Mouth snapped shut, the boy wondered if he was going to be choked to death for speaking what had sounded to him like a pile of crap.
" Lukas Teuke, got something in the back that you may just want, come with me." with that, Xander was led around the tiny post office counter and towards the storeroom. Back door opened, it revealed a small room with a set of stairs leading downwards. Heart beating faster at the thoughts of being a human sacrifice running through his head, he followed Lukas down the stairs that stopped in front of another door, this time a solid cast iron one. A really old oddly engraved one thought Xander. Fingers tracing the designs, he was asked by Lukas what blood type he wanted.
Jerked back to reality, the embarrassed boy asked the large man to repeat the question. Once he heard the question, he wondered if Spike really did have a preference for blood type and if that was one of the ways that vampires chose their victims. Shoulders shrugged, he asked about animal types and got the list of caribou, pig, cow and moose. The next question asked was how much for each was it.
Arms crossed, leaning back against the odd door, Lukas looked at the flushed younger man in interest.
" Caribou is $3.00, Moose is $3.50, cow and pig are both $5.00 each and human is $50.00 per bag, no difference for blood type unless there is a shortage." counted off the curious older man. If the newcomer was buying for what he thought he was, why was he asking about animal?
Back turned to the deciding male as Lukas opened the iron door, he asked if his cousin had been to Alaska before. Nervous coughing and a stuttered "no" later, he told the still deciding boy that if his cousin wanted to stay in optimum health, he should have a human bag every second day at least through the summer.
Startled at the advice contradicting what Giles´ had offered to him, Xander asked why summer and not winter. Rummaging through the stacked freezer of blood bags, Lucas pulled out a bag of each animal type and shoved them into a silver lined frozen medical ethicals box, along with a few handfuls of ice to top them off. Box shoved at Xander, he indicated the boy to get out of the way while he closed the door. In summer apparently due to the abundance of sunlight, people in his cousins condition usually went into an almost coma, really only waking for the four or five hours of darkness and sometimes not even that. They were usually slow and sluggish, finding it difficult to get motivated. The human blood being just the right blend of iron, minerals and vitamins to help the affected.
That explained by Lukas, the still confused boy followed the man up the stairs again clutching the cold box to his chest. Asking how the other man knew so much about his cousins condition, he was told that he had a phone call from an old friend that he had helped set up in business somewhere around California.
"Ah!" thought Xander. That of course explains everything. Then again was anything clear? Shrugged shoulders again, he fiddled with his wallet, trying to get out the correct amount so that he could pay the helpful large man with the green cats eyes.
Green eyes ?
"Aaacckk!" shouted Xander as he jumped backwards and into the door as he tried to put as much distance between himself and the smiling man in front of him.
"Don´t worry, Willy told me that you grew up on the Hellmouth. Friend of the Slayer huh? Wouldn´t spread that around though." chuckled the now dark eyed man as the frightened boy bent down to pick the dropped box of blood bags.
"Not much of a demon community here, usually picks up in winter every couple of years when Rhonda, her mate and current minions come for a holiday."
Xander still plastered against the door, sighed at the thought of once again the Hellmouth invading his life.
"Let me guess, Rhonda and friends are vampires?" he replied sarcastically to that bit of information from Lukas.
"Yeah, they only come around every three years or so. Allows us time to stock up on the human supplies again. Compulsory to give a litre a month in Fairbanks and surrounding areas. Smart for a vampire. Just about everyone else would hit a town and drink everyone dry so that every year a few towns would close and never open again." explained the still smiling Lukas.
"Oh, ok then, so they drink human but in bags? What about the biting thing they all like to do though?" wondered the calming boy. "Why the other bags in the freezer?"
Walking towards the youngster, the dark man reached behind him and opened the door, stating that Rhonda was smart enough to know that they could wipe out the whole of Alaska in around four years and not wanting to do that, the compromise was put into effect over 62 years ago. If she didn´t go around killing for sport or food while around Fairbanks, she, her mate and whatever minions accompanying her were given their fill of blood. The caribou and moose sometimes mixed in the minions blood to supplement them when winter got too hard a grip and it was impossible to have a large supply of human blood.
Seat belt buckled around him once again, blood filled box on the seat next to him, it was explained that vampires weren´t the only type of demon to enjoy a cup of blood. With that, a pat on the car roof and the advice to bring the magically enhanced cold box back with him next time, Lukas walked back into his little post office. Xander, momentarily stunned, realised that he hadn´t asked what type of demon the friendly man was.
Shudder and the car started, the wigged out brunette drove back towards the cabin once again. Thinking that Spike would be begging him for gossip after spending the whole day cooped up inside with nothing to do, he wondered if the mattresses would still be in one piece or scattered around the bedroom. Accelerator applied more firmly, he thundered down the single road.
