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buffyfic-digest          Monday, May 4 1998          Volume 02 : Number 159



In this issue:

       BUFFYFIC: Fear No Evil (3/5)
       BUFFYFIC: Fear No Evil (4/5)
       BUFFYFIC: Mystery Meat (1/4)

See the end of the digest for information on (un)subscribing to the buffyfic
or buffyfic-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues.

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Date: Mon, 04 May 1998 05:46:50 PDT
From: "Chris Winslow" <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Fear No Evil (3/5)

Fear No Evil (3/5)  (This was a 4 parter, but I changed that.)
                       by Chris Winslow

                       TITLE: Fear No Evil
                       AUTHOR: [e-mail]
                       RATING: PG-13
                       SUMMARY: Well, what's so fun about reading a
complete summary before actually reading the piece?
                       DISTRIBUTION: Sure, send it where ever you want
                       DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters from or
the movie or show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but then, you already knew
that, didn't you?
                       FEEDBACK: Sure, go for it.  Send it to me and not
to the whole list, if you could.

    As usual, the library at Sunnydale High was extremely quiet for such
early hours.  Giles sat at a desk reading through a large tome, looking
up from his book every few minutes to check the time.  Not a sound was
to be heard in the room, although outside the door students were
hurrying to their first class.
    GilesÆ solitude was interrupted as the door to the library opened with
a loud squeak.  He snapped to attention, seeing Willow enter the room.
    "You really need to oil that door," she said, walking towards Giles
with a depressed look on her face.  Buffy followed her friend into the
room and shut the door.
    "Willow!" Giles said, closing the book quickly.  "YouÆre just the
person IÆve been looking for."  Seeing Buffy standing there, he changed
the subject briefly and asked, "Oh, Buffy, how is your mother doing?
Has there been any change in her status?"
    Buffy shook her head.  "SheÆs still dead to the worldà.but I know that
any day sheÆs going to wake up and sheÆll be just fine."  Giles and
Willow glanced at each other, thinking the same thing.  BuffyÆs
reassurances that her mother was "going to be just fine" was almost her
mantra nowadays.  Giles filed a mental note to discuss this with Buffy
later.
    Turning back to Willow, he said, "The suicide of Jeff Brooks was in all
the papers this morning.  Am I correct in assuming that the death was
not exactly how it was described in the papers?"
    Willow nodded, and then explained what had happened the day before.
She trembled as she spoke, recalling everything that had
happenedàeverything up to the point where Jeff had blown his own brains
out.  "Grace and Larry donÆt seem to remember what they did," Willow
said.  "Could they be repressing their memories because what happened
was so traumatic?"
    Giles shook his head.  "I think the cause is probably more simple than
thatàsome force of evil is at work here.  I just wish I knew which one
it was!"
    "Well, IÆm off to class," Buffy said, turning to leave.  "Have fun with
your research."  She left before Willow and Giles could say anything.
    "Is it just me, or is Buffyànot very Buffy-like?" Willow asked, staring
straight at Giles.
    He nodded.  "I think the stress of the last few days has gotten to her.
IÆm sure it would be traumatic enough to merely have your mother in a
coma, but sheÆs also still dealing with theùloss of Angel."  He opened
the book he had been reading before.  "I hope to have a heart to heart
conversation with her tonight while sheÆs patrolling the cemetery."
    Willow looked over GilesÆ shoulder as he flipped through the book
aimlessly.  Then she shoved her hand forward, holding on to a certain
page.  "Read this," she said excitedly, pointing at a certain article.
    Giles frowned and then read the piece, glancing back up to Willow as he
finished.  "Extraordinary.  IÆve been looking through this book all
morning!  How can you have found this out so quickly?"
    Willow shrugged, and then grinned.  "You know what they say about
talent.  If youÆve got it, youÆve got it; if you donÆt, you donÆt."
    "Well, in any case, I think youÆve stumbled across the truth about the
problems that have been plaguing Sunnydale these past few days.  I just
hope we can find a way to stop itùbefore more people are hurt."

    In an abandoned warehouse on the edge of Sunnydale, a young couple
perched on a crate full of cans of gasoline.  The two were embracing
passionately, their lips locked together as they made out.  The young
man pushed himself on top of the woman, ready to take their relationship
further.
    "Barry," the young woman complained.  "Are you sure what weÆre doing is
right?"
    Barry released his grip on Carla, and she was so startled she fell off
the crate.  "Damn, woman!  Your yammering is the best birth control
money canÆt buy!  I thought you said you were ready for sex?"
    Carla stood up, brushing the dirt off of her.  "I am, Barryàbut not if
youÆre going to get angry about it!" She turned away from her boyfriend
and began to cry quietly to herself.
    Softening just a little, Barry stood up and moved towards Carla.  "Hey,
baby," he cooed in her ear.  "IÆm sorry.  Now how can I make things up
to you?"
    She looked at him, unsure if she wanted to take him back.  "You can
start by saying youÆll drop all this nonsense about Phobos and get back
to a normal life."
    Barry shoved Carla hard, and this time she fell back onto the crate.
"Are you crazy?" he yelled.  "Babe, weÆve just STARTED what weÆve set
out to do.  We canÆt go back now!"
    Carla sniffed as she sat up.  "People are dying because of what weÆve
done.  DonÆt you feel even the teensy weensiest bit guilty?"
    Barry shook his head.  "First of all, PEOPLE havenÆt diedùone person
has died.  And second of all, you know this is all for the best.  We
need the sacrifices for our spell, and without them, weÆre going to be
white trash for the rest of our lives.  Is that something you want for
us?"
    Carla began to shake her head back and forth. "You know I want
everything you do.  But I canÆt do it anymore, Barry!  I just canÆt!
People are dead because of meàbecause of us!"  She stood up and began
walking towards the door.
    "Where do you think youÆre going?" Barry called out towards her.
    "IÆm through with this, Barry," Carla called back, without even turning
around.  "If you really love me, youÆll follow me.  Otherwise, see ya!"
    As Carla slammed the door behind her, BarryÆs frown spread across his
face.  Picking up a black book from behind the crate he had been sitting
on, he opened the book to page 69, reading the spell carefully.  "You
shouldnÆt have done that, Carla," he whispered to himself.  As his eyes
began to glow a greenish color, he said in a louder, fiercer voice, "Now
sheÆs going to have to pay."

    Willow walked up to the janitorÆs supply closet, rapping on the door.
There was no answer, and so she called out, "Xander?  Xander?  I know
youÆre in thereàcome on out!"
    There was a muffled sound, but nothing that Willow could distinguish.
"If you donÆt come out now, IÆll yell out here in the hallway so
everyone will know who you had a crush on in the third grade," she
yelled out, a bit louder.
    The door opened suddenly, and XanderÆs hand reached out, pulling Willow
into the closet.  Startled, Willow just stood there as Xander shut the
door.  She was not surprised to see Cordelia standing there, her
lipstick a bit messed up.
    "How did you know I was in here?" Xander asked.
    "Puh-lease," Willow said, waving her hand.  "Everyone in school knows
that you and Cordelia use this as your mating ground."
    "Xander and I do not mate!" Cordelia said, clenching her teeth as she
faced Willow.  "Make-out, yes.  But mate, as in the full body nasty?  I
donÆt think so!"  She opened the door to the closet.  "See you later,"
she said casually, leaving the room.
    "She has the hots for me!" Xander said proudly.  Willow rolled her
eyes.  "Now what is so important that made it necessary for you to
interrupt myùlunch date?"
    Willow quickly filled him in on what Giles had told her a few hours
before.  As Willow finished her little speech, Xander began scratching
his head.  "So, let me get this straight," Xander said.  "Some bozo out
there is trying to resurrect this ancient god?  I thought those Greek
myths were just thatùmyths."
    Willow nodded.  "ItÆs not just one bozoùthereÆs a whole cult of bozos.
ItÆs called the cult of Phobus."  She handed Xander a picture, which he
examined.  It showed a man in a long, dark robe, and the only part of
his face that was showing was his eyesàwhich were glowing green.
    "HeÆs sorta shy about showing his face, I see," Xander commented.  "I
can understand that, if the rest of him is as ugly as his legs."  In the
picture, his legs were purple scales.
    "He was the ancient god of fear," Willow said.  "Only he wasnÆt really
a godùhe was a demon, and he was banished from Earth about two hundred
years ago. Every ten years thereÆs a three day window of opportunity to
bring him back to Earth."
    "And the window is open now," Xander finished.  "Just peachy!"  He
handed the picture back to Willow.  "But if heÆs the god of fear, then
what has been happening to everyone?"
    "The cult of Phobus needs three sacrifices to bring him back," Willow
explained.  "TheyÆve used a spell to take away peopleÆs inhibitionsà.it
makes people not afraid to do anything.  ThatÆs why BuffyÆs mom jumped
off the bridgeù"
    "And why the threesome were playing Russian roulette instead of, say,
strip poker," Xander said.  "Okay, I understand that all nowàso what
now?  How do we stop these bad boys before they resurrect this demon
creature, which could probably destroy half the planet in a heartbeat?"
The school bell began to ring.  "Darn, time for class.  I bet if we
didnÆt have school these life threatening demons would be a lot easier
to handle!"
    "Giles doesnÆt know how to stop them," Willow said.
    Xander, who had been about ready to walk out of the closet, said, "Say
that again?"
    "Giles doesnÆt know how to stop them," Willow repeated.  "HeÆs missing
the page in the book that explains what to do nextùso right now thereÆs
nothing we can do."


______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 04 May 1998 08:29:00 PDT
From: "Chris Winslow" <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Fear No Evil (4/5)

Fear No Evil (4/5)  (This was a 4 parter, but I changed that.)
                       by Chris Winslow

                       TITLE: Fear No Evil
                       AUTHOR: [e-mail]
                       RATING: PG-13
                       SUMMARY: Well, what's so fun about reading a
complete summary before actually reading the piece?  This section is
very action oriented.
                       DISTRIBUTION: Sure, send it where ever you want
                       DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters from
the  show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but then, you already knew that,
didn't you?
                       FEEDBACK: Sure, go for it.  Send it to me and not
to the whole list, if you could.


  In the distance, a wolf howled.  Giles jumped up briefly, a bit
startled by the sound.  Buffy, however, was unfazed by the noise, and
proceeded past several headstones, with Giles right behind her.
    "I should be with my mother tonight, Giles," Buffy said, not at all
happy to be here.  "She needs me."
   Giles raised his eyebrows.  "With all due respect, Buffy, your mother
is in a coma, and the doctors can handle her just fine for the next hour
or so without you.  Sunnydale, however, suffers whenever you leave your
job for even one night."
   Buffy ignored Giles and jumped forward, having heard a noise in front
of her.  The "noise" turned out to only be an owl, which had settled on
the ground for a moment.  Startled by Buffy's sudden arrival, the owl
flew off and out of sight.
   "Buffy, there's something I simply must discuss with you," Giles said
hesitantly.
   "It's gonna have to wait," a mocking voice said from behind them.
Buffy flipped around instinctively, and saw a child coming towards
her....a vampire child.  She looked ready to bite Buffy, but the Slayer
was ready for her.
    "You vamps are getting younger and younger," Buffy commented, as the
vampire flung herself at Buffy.  "But pitting me against you just isn't
fair; this is child's play!"  She plunged the stake she was holding into
the vampire's chest, and the vampire screamed, vanishing and leaving
behind nothing but dust.
   "Excellent work," Giles said, stepping forward after having just
stepped away a moment ago.  "But, as I was saying, Buffy, we simply must
talk about---"
   "Am I interrupting something?" came another voice.  Again ignoring
Giles, Buffy turned suddenly and saw a blond vampire walking towards her
trepidatiously.  He stood near a tree, almost begging Buffy to come
after him.
   And come after him she did: rushing towards the vampire with the
stake in her hand, she was caught off guard when the vampire pulled the
stake out of her hand without warning.  A bit surprised, she only barely
managed to jump backwards before the vampire could shove the stake
through HER heart.  Frustrated, the vampire broke the stake in half,
tossing it behind him.
   Giles watched on as Buffy did a somersalt in the air, landing next to
the broken stake.  Before she could pick it up, though, she was attacked
from behind, and thrown to the ground.  The vampire grinned as he held
the broken stake above Buffy's head, ready to kill her with one downward
slice.  His hand moved down, and Buffy screamed out as the wooden stake
reached her heart.
   Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over.  Giles had
managed to pick up the other half of the broken stake without being
noticed, and he plunged it deep into the vampire's back.  Buffy nearly
fainted as she realized she hadn't died.
   "Thanks, Giles," Buffy said, in a small whisper, as she stood back
up.
   Giles only looked at her, a bit angry.  "Is that all you're going to
say?" he said.  "You nearly got yourself killed.  Buffy, something is
terribly wrong with you lately.  You do realize that, don't you?  Now
tell me, what is it?"
   "Nothing's wrong, Giles," Buffy said, looking off.  "I'm fine."  She
glanced at her watch.  "Now if you'll excuse me, I've had enough death
defying stunts for one night.  I'm going to see my mother."  Buffy ran
off, leaving Giles alone...and very puzzled.

   Walking through the halls of Sunnydale Hospital, Buffy realized how
much she still hated hospitals.  Even though she had somewhat gotten
over her fear of hospitals, she would never think of them as a good
place; to her, hospitals were places where people died.
   But she wasn't going to let her mother die; as far as she was
concerned, it wasn't even a possibility.
    Coming to her mother's room, Buffy stopped as she looked through the
small glass window, seeing someone unfamiliar in the room with her
mother.  The young woman she saw was a few years older than her, and had
long dark brown hair and brown eyes.  Curious, Buffy opened the door
only slightly, and listened in on what the woman was saying to her
comatose mother.
   The woman was crying softly.  "I know you don't know me," she said.
"I've never met you before...before that night you had your accident.  I
didn't mean for anything bad to happen to you."  Buffy's eyes opened
wide, not sure what to make of what she was hearing.
   "I told Barry that I didn't want to hurt people," Carla said,
whispering just loud enough that Buffy could hear from the doorway.
"But he doesn't listen to me...he hardly ever listens to me anymore."
   Buffy opened the doorway a bit more, and it creaked.  Carla looked up
in shock, seeing Buffy standing there.  She was on her feet at once,
heading for the door.  "I hope your mother feels better," Carla
muttered, as she left the room.
   "Wait!" Buffy said.  "Who are you?  And how do you know my mother?"
She was sure that the woman had something to do with her mother's
accident, but wasn't just going to tell her that now.
   Carla pushed Buffy away gently.  "I gotta go," she said, stuttering a
little.  Buffy watched Carla for a moment as she walked off quickly.  As
Carla stepped into the elevator, Buffy made up her mind: she had to
follow her.
   Rushing down the hallway, Buffy yelled into the elevator, "Who are
you?  I need to know!"  Carla only glanced down at her feet, avoiding
eye contact.  Buffy tried stepping into the elevator, but the door had
shut too quickly.
   With no time to lose, Buffy raced towards the stairs.  She took the
stairs two at a time, knocking down a doctor as she hurried towards the
ground floor.  "Excuse me, miss," the doctor said angrily.  "Watch where
you're going!"
   "Sorry," Buffy said, distracted.  She continued running down the
stairs as quickly as possible, hoping to catch up with the woman.
    The elevators in the hospital were faster than Buffy had thought.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she turned towards the glass door,
and saw the woman was already rushing towards her car.
   Buffy turned and ran towards the door.  As she reached the door, she
saw the woman glance backwards towards her.  The woman began to run, and
as Buffy left the hospital, she saw that the woman was already in her
car.
   "I just want to talk to you," Buffy said, standing in front of the
small car that the woman was driving.  The woman was in the driver's
seat, and she was looking at Buffy as though she was very afraid of
something.
   Carla considered her options...and then pressed her foot to the gas
pedal.  With a gasp, Buffy jumped onto the car, landing on the
windshield.  The woman pretended as though Buffy wasn't even there, and
continued to drive out of the parking lot, with Buffy on the windshield.
   Moving off of the windshield, Buffy tapped on the driver's seat
window of the car.  "This would be a lot easier if you just stopped the
car," she yelled.  People on the sidewalks stared at the car as it
speeded along.
   "Just go away," Carla screamed.  "I can't talk to you!"  Just
thinking about what Barry would do to her if she told Buffy anything
made Carla even more afraid.  Still ignoring Buffy, Carla just drove
towards the warehouse, hoping Barry would be able to help her.

   Barry, however, was not at the warehouse; he was standing in the
front of his living room,   with all of his followers surrounding him.
He was dressed in a black robe, and his robe covered all of his face
except for his eyes, which were glowing green.  "The time has come for
the second sacrifice," he shouted.  "Carla has chosen to go to the other
side...and now is the time for us to show her what we do to traitors."
   The other members of the cult nodded solemnly.  Barry whispered,
"Come to us, Phobus, master of all that is feared!  Come to us, now, and
take what is rightfully yours!"

  In the speeding car, Carla suddenly blinked, and looked over to the
window, where Buffy was still trying unsuccessfully to get in.  Her eyes
glazed over, as Barry's spell took control of her body.  Suddenly, she
felt a lot less intimidated by Buffy...and felt as though she could do
anything, no matter how dangerous.
   She pressed her foot even harder on the gas pedal, and the car zoomed
forward at over eighty miles per hour.
   Buffy, who had just been about to slam her hand into the glass and
break it, struggled to stay on top of the car as it moved even faster.
Looking into the car, she saw that Carla's eyes had shifted.
   Carla put her foot onto the gas pedal again, and this time she held
it there.  Buffy looked forward, and saw that the car was speeding
towards the abandoned warehouse...and it didn't look like she was going
to stop.
   Buffy brought back her hand, then hit the glass window with all the
energy she had.  The window shattered easily, with shards of glass
landing in Carla's hair.  Even though the glass cut Carla's cheek and
made her bleed, she continued to drive forward.
   "You have to get out of here," Buffy insisted, trying to pull Carla
away from the steering wheel.  "Stop the car before it's too late!"
  But it was too late.  Seeing that she couldn't get Carla out of the
car in time, Buffy jumped from the car, landing safely.
   Carla screamed out, "Wheee!!!" just as the car slammed into the
warehouse.  As the car continued to move forward, breaking through the
old walls, the car slammed into several crates of unused gasoline.
   Buffy looked back at the warehouse just in time to see it explode,
the gasoline catching on fire.  Buffy just stood there in shock--the
only clue she had to the weirdness in Sunnydale had just died.

______________________________________________________
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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 04 May 1998 15:12:25 PDT
From: "Chris Winslow" <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Mystery Meat (1/4)

Mystery Meat (Prologue:  1/4)
Author:  Chris Winslow ([e-mail])
Rating:  PG-13
Summary:  Willow and Buffy are the main characters, although others do
show up.
WARNING:  Do not read this while eating hot dogs, kielbasa,
frankfurters, or anything similar.  Heck, do yourself a favor and don't
read this while eating at all!  Consider yourself warned.

   The first thing that Willow noticed, as she stood in the lunchline of
the Sunnydale High cafeteria, was that the line was moving much faster
than usual.  Stepping up on her tiptoes to look over the tall student in
front of her, she saw that she wasn't just imagining things: the line
was moving along at a steady pace.
    "So what trash masquerading as food are they going to fill us with
today?" Buffy asked, as the line continued to move forward.  The menu,
which was normally printed out on a small board next to the line, was
conspicuously absent.  Willow shrugged, then took another step forward
in the line.
    Reaching the front of the line, Willow and Buffy both peered through
the glass, checking out the day's choices for lunch.  "Not much of a
selection," Willow said.  Buffy couldn't disagree: the lunch counter was
filled with hot dogs, although the hot dogs looked slightly darker than
usual.  On the far end of the lunch counter there were cans of pop...and
that was all the selection for the day.
    "Uh, ma'am?" asked a timid girl standing behind Buffy.  "Do you have
anything except these hot dogs?  I'm a vegetarian."
    The lunchlady swirled around, and Buffy and Willow recoiled as they
saw her face.  She looked like she was at least eighty.  Her hair was
cut short, and what was left of it was as white as snow.  It was
impossible for any of them to guess what she had looked like when she
was younger, because her face now looked like one giant wrinkle.
   "So?" the lunchlady sneered.  "If you don't like my food, then bring
your own."  She walked back into the kitchen, bringing out a steaming
plate of hot dogs, which she dumped on top of the other hot dogs.
   "Someone clearly has an attitude problem," Buffy said, as she and
Willow sat down at their table.  They both looked down at their plates,
neither of them eager to dig in.  Willow hesitantly picked up a napkin,
and dropped it onto her hotdog.  The grease covering the hotdog soaked
through the napkin.
   "Eww!" Willow said, tossing the napkin into the garbage can.
Although she didn't see it, inside the garbage can the napkin sizzled,
steam rising from within.  "I hate grease," she complained.  Buffy just
shrugged, piling a small stack of napkins on top of her hotdog.  The
grease soaked through all of the napkins, leaving her with a stack of
wet napkins.
   "Well, so much for MY appetite," Buffy said.  She held out her hotdog
to toss it into the trash, but just as her hand threw it towards the
can, her hand somehow missed its mark--and the hotdog landed back on her
own plate.
   Willow, in the meantime, was poking her hotdog with a fork, as though
she expected it to jump.  Lifting the entire hotdog with a fork, she
hesitantly chewed a bit off the end of her hotdog....and then swallowed.
   Her mouth lit up happily.  "This is actually pretty good, Buffy!" was
what she tried to say next.  Instead, though, Willow was
incomprehensible, because she shoved the entire hotdog in her mouth
right before she spoke.
   "What?" Buffy asked.  She also poked her hotdog, and a spurt of hot
grease hit her in the eye.  "The food here has always been disgusting,
but never dangerous," she commented, wiping her eye.  "What did you say,
Willow?"
   "The hot dogs are actually good," Willow said again.  "Try it!"
    Again Buffy shrugged....and then lifted her hotdog to her mouth.
She bit in hesitantly, and as she did, she felt a warm fuzzy feeling all
over--and then smiled.

    From the kitchen, Mrs. Murphy looked out at the students eating her
food.  Even the most pickiest eaters, she could see, were eating her
food--and since that made them happy, she smiled as well.
   Her happiness was interrupted as the shy girl who had bothered her
before, Sarah Ford, walked back into the kitchen, carrying an empty
plate.  "What's your problem?" Mrs. Murphy snarled.  Sarah recoiled,
seeing that Mrs. Murphy was missing most of her teeth.
   "Uh..."  Sarah began.  "One of my friends told me...well, he said
you're required to give me something else to eat, since I don't eat
meat.  Now, I don't know if that's true, but..."
   Mrs. Murphy stared at Sarah, causing her to freeze.  "Come back
here," Mrs. Murphy said with a sigh.  "I'll find you something to eat."
    Sarah walked back towards the back sink, taking small steps as she
feared the lunchlady's wrath.  Mrs. Murphy had only been around for a
few days, and in that time Sarah had been forced to go without food for
lunch because Mrs. Murphy only ever cooked hot dogs, kielbasa, or
sausages.  She started to relax, hoping that Mrs. Murphy had a decent
substitute.
   "Would you mind putting this dish in the sink?" Mrs. Murphy said
casually, handing Sarah a small plate.  Sarah nodded and walked towards
the sink.  She dropped her hand into the sink, along with the plate, and
released the plate from her hand.
    As she started to bring her hand out of the water, though, she felt
something within the water grab on to her....and she began to struggle.
Mrs. Murphy just watched on as Sarah began screaming out, struggling to
free her hand from whatever was holding on to her.
   "Help!" Sarah screamed.  "Mrs. Murphy, help me!"
    Then, Mrs. Murphy put back her head and began to laugh.  Before
Sarah could think about what was going on, a hand reached out from
within the water of the sink--and grabbed on to her head tightly.
Sarah's head was pulled underwater.  She tried to struggle, but it was
too late....she was dead.
   "Mrs. Murphy?"  She looked up quickly, recognizing the voice as
belonging to Principal Snyder.  "Mrs. Murphy, is there something wrong?"
   "Everything's fine," she said quickly.  "Couldn't be better."
Sarah's dead body dropped to the ground, her face and hand sopping wet.
    Working quickly, Mrs. Murphy bent down and lifted Sarah up off of
the floor...carrying her body over to a large metal machine at the far
end of the kitchen.  She lifted the lid, dropping Sarah's body into the
huge container as though she weighed very little.
   "If everything's fine then you shouldn't have any problem with me
coming in," Snyder said, as he walked in.  Mrs. Murphy dropped the lid
on the machine, closing it before Snyder could see what was going on.
   "As you can see, I just spilled some water," the decrepit old lady
said, pointing to the mess.  "I'll have it cleaned up in no time."
   "What is this machine?" Snyder asked, pointing at the metal
contraption.  "I don't remember ever seeing this in here.  This isn't
out of the school's budget, is it?"
   "No, I paid for it myself," Mrs. Murphy said with a smile.  "It's
what I use to make our lunches."
   "Ah.  Good."  The principal beamed.  "The last thing I'd want is to
take another paycut.  Can you believe they made me take a paycut so they
could use the money to buy new books for the students?  It's not like
any of those brats care about reading anyways!"  As Mrs. Murphy smiled,
hoping he would leave the room, Snyder asked, "I'm starving.  Would you
happen to have any more hot dogs?"
   She shook her head.  "I can have one for you in just a moment,
though...you'd be surprised how quickly this machine works."
   Snyder nodded, and Mrs. Murphy pressed a small button on the side of
the machine.  Lights began to flash, and then the contraption began to
whir.  Inside the machine, small knives began to spin.
    Just at that moment, Sarah's eyes opened--she wasn't as dead as Mrs.
Murphy had believed.  Before she could scream or shout, she saw the
knives coming towards her...and it was too late.
   Snyder glanced down at his wristwatch.  "When is this going to get
going?  I don't have all day, you know....the school board actually
expects me to do some work every now and then, believe it or not."
   The machine stopped flashing, and a loud BEEP erupted from the
machine.  "All finished," Mrs. Murphy said proudly.  A small compartment
suddenly came out of the device's top, and Mrs. Murphy opened it,
showing off the small hot dogs inside to Snyder.
  "Careful, they may be still hot," the lunchlady warned.  Snyder paid
her no attention, and shoved a hot dog in his mouth.
   "These are pretty good," he said.  "Not bad at all!"  Only Mrs.
Murphy noticed the small red droplet on Snyder's chin....but if he had
noticed it, he would have thought it was ketchup.  Only Mrs. Murphy knew
what it really was, and she wasn't telling.

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