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The Pack

Prologue

Buffy walks alone among the animal enclosures at the Sunnydale Zoo. She encounters Kyle and his friends Rhonda, Tor and Heidi.

“Oh look!” says Kyle. “It’s Buffy and all her friends.”

“That’s witty!” says Buffy.

“Do you ever wonder why nobody cool ever wants to hang out with you?” asks Tor.

“Just thankful,” says Buffy.

“Were you this popular at your old school?” asks Rhonda. “Before you got kicked out?”

“Careful,” says Tor as they brush past Buffy. “She might beat you up!” The four of them continue on their way, leaving Buffy by herself again.

Willow and Xander catch up with Buffy by the elephants. They have just come from watching the zebras mate. “It was like the Heimlich, with stripes!” says Willow.

“And I missed it,” says Buffy. “Yet somehow I’ll find the courage to live on.”

Xander senses that Buffy isn’t really finding the field trip very fun. She tells him that it’s because she did the same zoo trip every year at her old school. “Same old, same old.”

“Buffy, this isn’t just about looking at a bunch of animals,” says Xander. “This is about not being in class!”

Buffy instantly cheers up. “You know, you’re right! Suddenly the animals look shiny and new.”

“Got to have perspective,” says Xander.

Kyle and his friends find a new victim to torment: Lance. They find him by the chimp enclosure, taking notes. They tease him a bit and take his notebook away from him. Lance tries to get it back, but they won’t let him have it.

They are interrupted by the appearance of Principal Flutie. “What’s going on here? I’ve had it up to here with you four. What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” says Kyle.

“Did I asks you to speak?” asks Flutie. “Okay, I guess I did, but I want the truth. Lance?”

“They weren’t doing anything, really!” Lance laughs nervously. “We were just playing around.”

Flutie doesn’t believe him, but there isn’t really anything he can do about it. He leaves with a warning that he’ll be watching them.

Kyle and his friends are pleased with Lance for not ratting on them. They decide to take him along when they go to check out the hyena house.

“But I think it’s off limits,” says Lance.

“And therein, my friend, lies the fun.” Kyle puts his arm around Lance’s shoulder and drags him away.

Willow spots Kyle and the others ducking under the yellow tape blocking the entrance to the Hyena House. “What are Kyle and his buds doing with Lance?”

“Playing with him as a cat plays with a mouse,” is Xander’s assessment. “Every school has ’em,” he tells Buffy. “You start a new school, you get your desks, some blackboards and some mean kids.”

Buffy thinks that maybe she better follow them to make sure that Lance doesn’t get hurt.

Xander stops her. “I’ll handle it. This job doesn’t require actual Slaying.” He ducks under the tape and heads into the hyena house.

Buffy and Willow watch him go. Buffy is still a little worried. Willow tells her that Kyle and his group are all talk, mostly. They decide they should follow.

Buffy and Willow duck under the tape to follow Xander.

“Hold it! Are you blind, or are you just illiterate?” asks the zookeeper, Dr. Weirick. “Because hyenas are very quick to prey on the weak.”

“Why is it off limits?” asks Buffy.

“It’s a quarantine,” says Dr. Weirick. “These hyenas just came in from Africa, so keep out… Even if they call your name.”

“What are you talking about?” asks Buffy.

“The Masai tribesmen told me that hyenas are capable of understanding human speech,” says Dr. Weirick. “They follow humans around by day, learning their names. At night, when the campfire dies, they call out to a person. Once they separate him, the pack…devours them.”

Kyle, his friends, and Lance reach the hyena enclosure. At first they don’t see anything of interest. Dioramas of the African savannah are scattered around the room and there is large circular hyena head symbol painted in red on the floor. Then a hyena shows itself from behind the rocks in its enclosure.

Having seen the hyena, Lance wants to go. but Kyle and his friends have another idea. They think it might be fun to feed Lance to the hyenas. They grab Lance and push him up to the enclosure fence.

Xander pulls Lance away from Kyle and the others. “Why don’t you pick on somebody your own species!”

“What, are you going to get in my face?” asks Kyle.

Kyle and the others are distracted by a growl from the hyena. As they look toward it the hyena’s eyes flash yellow. Kyle and his friends’ eyes flash in response.

Lance turns and tries to run away. He trips and falls. Kyle and his friends look at him lying on the floor and start to laugh like hyenas. Lance picks up his notes and runs.

Xander turns to watch Lance go. His eyes flash yellow too. He joins in the laughter.

Act I

Xander is late arriving at the Bronze that evening. Willow is a little concerned about him. He didn’t seem quite himself on the trip back from the zoo. Buffy hadn’t really noticed, but she isn’t as hyper-aware of Xander as Willow is. She isn’t constantly monitoring Xander’s health, mood and blood pressure.

“One thirty over eighty!” says Willow.

“You’ve got it bad girl!” says Buffy.

“He makes my head go tingly,” says Willow. “You know what I mean?”

Buffy dimly recalls. Willow wonders if there is anyone in Buffy’s life who’s done that for her lately, such as the tall dark and mysterious stranger whose leather jacket Buffy is wearing.

“It goes with the shoes!” says Buffy.

“Come on. Angel pushes your buttons!” says Willow. “You know he does.” Their boy talk is interrupted when Willow spots one of one of the topics of their discussion. “There he is!”

Buffy turns expectantly. “Angel?”

It’s Xander. He pauses in the doorway to exchange a look with a pretty girl. She doesn’t react the way girls usually react to Xander. She watches him appreciatively as he walks across the Bronze to join Buffy and Willow.

Xander is hungry. He picks Buffy’s croissant up off her plate and starts to eat it. He doesn’t like the flavour. He takes her drink to wash it down. “What is this crap?”

“Well, it was my buttery croissant,” says Buffy.

“Man, I need some food!” says Xander. “Birds live on this!”

Buffy and Willow look at Xander in surprise. There is definitely something off about him tonight. They ask what’s bothering him, but he says it is nothing. He sniffs at Buffy’s hair.

“Okay, now what?” asks Buffy.

“You took a bath,” says Xander.

“Yeah, I often do, I’m actually known for it.”

“That’s okay,” says Xander.

Buffy and Willow exchange a glance. “And the weird behaviour award goes to…” says Buffy. She spots the entrance of Kyle and his friends. “Oh, great. It’s the winged monkeys.”

Kyle and his friends walk past Buffy’s table, pausing to exchange a stare with Xander. They continue on to a table where another group of students is sitting, and evict them.

“Shouldn’t you be hovering over the football stadium with ‘Goodyear’ written on you?” Rhonda asks one slightly overweight guy as he gets up from the table. Kyle and the others all laugh.

Xander laughs too. He sees the look Buffy and Willow are giving him. “The kid’s fat!”

Buffy finishes up a training session with Giles in the library, and leaves for class while Giles goes to get an icepack for his shoulder.

Buffy finds Principal Flutie chasing Herbert—a small pig, and the school’s new mascot—through the hallway outside the library. Buffy catches the pig, and lifts it up in her arms.

Herbert is “dressed up” in a Razorback costume, with a small football helmet, a green styrofoam spine down his back, and styrofoam tusks. A small group of students gathers around to see what’s going on.

“He’s so cute!” says Buffy.

“He’s not cute!” says Flutie, “No! He’s a fierce Razorback!”

“He doesn’t look mean, Mr. Flutie,” says Buffy.

“He’s mean, he’s ready for action! See?” Flutie points at the tusks and the spine down Herbert’s back. “Here are the tusks, and the scary razorback!”

“You’re right,” says Buffy. “He’s a fine mascot and will engender school spirit.”

“He better,” says Flutie. “Costs a fortune to feed him.” Buffy tries to hand Herbert over to him, but Principal Flutie seems more comfortable to let Buffy hold the pig. He directs her toward Herbert’s cage.

Willow is helping Xander with his geometry homework in the courtyard. He doesn’t seem to be getting it today. Willow is a little puzzled by that, this is stuff he had down last week.

“Why do I need to learn this?” asks Xander.

“Because otherwise you’ll flunk math,” says Willow.

“Explain the part where that’s bad,” says Xander.

“You remember, you fail math, you flunk out of school, you end up being the guy at the pizza place that sweeps the floor and says, ‘Hey, kids, where’s the cool parties this weekend?’ We’ve been through this.” She notices Xander rubbing his temple. “Do you have a headache?”

“Yeah, and I think I know what’s causing it.” Xander takes the math book from her and tosses into a nearby trash can. “Ah! That’s better, it goes right to the source of the pain.”

“Xander—” says Willow.

“Look, forget it, okay? I don’t get it. I won’t ever. I don’t care.” Xander leaves Willow sitting on the bench.

Buffy follows Principal Flutie down the corridor with Herbert in her arms.

“See, the problem is you kids today have no school spirit. Hold on, let me get his outfit off.” Flutie stops and starts to remove the bits of Herbert’s costume. “Today it’s all gangs and drugs and those movies on Showtime with the nudity.” He notices the look Buffy’s giving him. “I don’t have cable, I only heard. When I was your age we cared about the school’s reputation and the football team’s record, all that stuff. Of course, when I was your age I was surrounded by old guys telling me how much better things were when they were my age.”

They’ve reached the student lounge where Herbert’s cage is kept. Flutie goes ahead into it to open the cage.

Xander walks in from the courtyard. He passes by Buffy without seeming to notice her. Herbert notices Xander though. He starts to squeal, and struggle in her arms.

Thunderstorms force gym class indoors that day.

The coach addresses the students. “Alright, it’s raining, all regular gym classes have been postponed, so you know what that means.” He holds up a rubber ball. “Dodgeball! Now, for those of you that may have forgotten, the rules are as follows: you dodge.”

Teams are drawn up and Xander, Kyle and his friends end up on the opposite side from Buffy and Willow. As the game progresses Willow is taken out early by a hard throw from Xander. She is surprised and hurt that he would do that to her, and goes to sit on the sidelines watching.

When the game draws to its end it is just Xander, Kyle and his friends, each holding a ball and Lance remaining on one side against Buffy on the other. Instead of throwing their balls at Buffy though, they all turn against Lance. He falls to the floor and tries to protect himself as one by one they all throw their balls at him.

Buffy goes to help Lance get up off the floor. She stands in front of him, and glares at Xander, not saying a word. Xander stares back, and then he turns and goes, with the rest of the pack following him.

“God, this game is brutal,” says the coach. “I love it!”

Willow waits for Xander by his locker. He shows up, along with the rest of the pack. “Xander, what’s wrong with you?”

Xander takes Willow aside, away from the other pack members. “I guess you’ve noticed that I’ve been different around you lately. I think it’s because my feelings for you have been changing.” Buffy arrives at her locker and stops to listen. “We’ve been friends for such a long time that I feel like I need to tell you something. I’ve, um, I’ve decided to drop geometry. So I won’t be needing you math help anymore. Which means I won’t have to look at your pasty face again.”

Xander starts to laugh, and he’s joined by the other members of the pack. Willow is devastated, and turns and walks away while they continue to laugh.

Buffy slams her locker shut, and steps up to Xander. He stops laughing. “You going to say something to me?” she asks.

Xander starts to giggle again, and walks off with the rest of the pack.

The pack walks out into the courtyard and up to where a group of Xander’s friends are eating their lunches. They are having a discussion on proper rock guitar technique, and ask Xander his opinion.

Xander isn’t interested in that now. He thinks that they should share their lunches with them. A couple of the pack members take the wieners out of the hotdogs in the kid’s lunches and sniff and bite at them. Then they toss the remains back onto the table. They’re too well cooked.

Xander sniffs at the air. He smells something that he likes better. He leads the pack off toward the school. Kyle doesn’t bother going around the table. He walks over it, stepping on the remains of the kid’s lunches.

The pack goes to the lounge where Herbert is being kept, and gather around his cage.

“Let’s do lunch!” says Xander.

Act II

Xander and the rest of the pack walk through the school courtyard. Xander stops when he sees Buffy and Willow sitting talking on the balcony overhead. He can hear what they are saying.

Willow doesn’t understand what’s happening with Xander. She’s known him her whole life, and he has never acted like this before.

“I think something’s wrong with him,” says Buffy.

“Or maybe there’s something wrong with me,” says Willow. “He’s not picking on you. He’s just sniffing you a lot. I don’t know, maybe three isn’t company anymore.”

“You think this has something to do with me?” asks Buffy.

“Of course,” says Willow.

“No,” says Buffy, “That still doesn’t explain why he’s hanging out with the dode patrol. Something’s going on. Something weird.” She gets up and starts to go.

“What’re you going to do?” asks Willow.

“Talk to the expert on weird,” says Buffy.

Buffy goes to the library and fills Giles in on what has been happening.

“Xander’s taken to teasing the less fortunate?” asks Giles.

“Uh, huh,” says Buffy.

“And, there’s been a noticeable change in both clothing and demeanour?”

“Yes.”

“And, otherwise all his spare time is spent lounging about with imbeciles.”

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” asks Buffy.

“It’s devastating,” says Giles. “He’s turned into a sixteen year old boy. Of course, you’ll have to kill him.”

“Giles, I’m serious!” says Buffy.

“So am I,” says Giles. “Except for the part about killing him. Testosterone is a great equalizer, it turns all men into morons. He will, however, get over it.”

“I cannot believe that you, of all people, are trying to Scully me. There is something supernatural at work here.” Buffy picks up some books off the table and hands them to him. “Get your books! Look stuff up!”

Giles puts the books back down. “Look under what?”

“I don’t know,” says Buffy. “That’s your department.”

Buffy really hasn’t given Giles anything to go on. She adds one bit of extra data: Xander scared the pig.

That doesn’t give Giles any better ideas. “Buffy, boys can be cruel. They tease, they prey on the weak. It’s natural teen behaviour pattern.”

“What did you just say?”

“Um, ‘They tease?’” asks Giles.

“‘They prey on the weak.’ I’ve heard that somewhere bef—” Buffy remembers where. “Xander has been acting totally wiggy ever since we went to the zoo! Him and Kyle and all those guys, they went into the hyena cage. Oh, god, that laugh.”

“You’re saying that Xander’s becoming a hyena?” asks Giles, somewhat doubtfully.

“I don’t know,” says Buffy. “Or been possessed by one? Not just Xander, all of them.”

This still doesn’t seem too likely to Giles. He doesn’t recall ever hearing of anything like that. Before he can say any more they are interrupted by Willow, arriving with the news that Herbert the pig has been found dead, and eaten. Principal Flutie is freaking out.

“Testosterone, huh?” asks Buffy.

Giles turns and starts to walk toward the stacks. “What’re you going to do?” asks Willow.

Giles pauses and looks back at them. “Get my books. Look stuff up.”

Principal Flutie finds the pack, minus Xander, sitting at a table in the courtyard. He knows they are the ones who killed Herbert. “Oh, don’t think I don’t know. Three kids saw you outside Herbert’s room. You’re busted! Yeah! You’re going down!”

“How is Herbert?” asks Rhonda.

“Crunchy!” says Heidi. They all laugh.

“That’s it!” says Flutie, “My office, right now. You’re going to have so much detention, you’re grandchildren’ll be staying after school!”

Buffy, Willow and Giles are busy researching in the library. Buffy sits on the stairs reading a book. “Wow! Apparently Noah rejected the hyenas from the Ark because he thought they were an evil impure mixture of dogs and cats.”

“Hyenas aren’t well liked,” says Willow.

“They do seem to be the schmoes of the animal kingdom.”

“Why couldn’t Xander be possessed by a puppy, or, or some ducks?” asks Willow.

“The Masai of the Serengetti have spoken of animal possession for, for generations.” Giles comes out of the book cage. “I should have remembered that.” He has uncovered some information on a group of animal worshipers known as Primals. “They believe that humanity, consciousness, the soul, is a perversion, a dilution of spirit. To them the animal state is holy. They are able, through trans-possession, to draw the spirit of certain animals into themselves.”

“And then they start acting like hyenas?” asks Buffy.

“Only the most predatory of animals are of interest to the Primals,” says Giles, “So, yes that would fit, yes.”

“So, what happens to the person once the spirit’s in them?” asks Buffy.

“If it goes unchecked…” Giles hands Buffy the open book he’s carrying.

Buffy looks at the illustration and slams the book shut. “I got to find Xander.” She leaves the library.

Willow picks up the book and opens it to the page which is still bookmarked. There is a drawing on it showing several dismembered people.

Buffy starts her search in the student lounge where Herbert was kept. His cage has been ripped open, and only bones remain. She turns away from the cage, and is startled to see Xander is there, blocking her exit. She tries dodging around him, but he quickly moves to keep between her and the door.

“This is ridiculous. We need to talk.” Buffy turns away from Xander, and then suddenly turns back, grabs him and tosses him to the floor. Buffy lands on top of him.

Xander is amused. “Been waiting for you to jump my bones.”

Principal Flutie has the rest of the pack lined up in front of his desk in his office. “I have seen some sick things in my life! Believe me! But this is beyond the pale! What is it with you people? Is it drugs? How could you? A poor defenseless pig?”

The pack begins to make low whining noises, and slowly close in on Flutie, forcing him to back up against his desk.

“What are you doing?” asks Flutie.

Xander growls, and rolls over on top of Buffy, pinning her down. She tells him to get off her.

“Is that what you really want?” asks Xander as she struggles. “We both know what you really want. You want danger, don’t you? You like your men dangerous.” Buffy tries to explain the possession thing to Xander, but he isn’t listening. “Dangerous and mean, right?” asks Xander. “Like Angel, your mystery guy. Well, guess who just got mean.”

The pack starts to close in on Flutie. He retreats behind his desk and grabs the phone, threatening to phone their parents. Rhonda takes the phone away from him and throws it across the office. Flutie tries to escape, but his path is blocked. He’s forced back into his chair.

“Do you know how long I’ve waited until you’d stop pretending that we aren’t attracted?” asks Xander.

Buffy throws Xander off her, and they both get quickly to their feet.

Xander starts to move toward Buffy. “Until Willow stops kidding herself, that I could settle with anyone but you?”

“Look, Xander, I don’t want to hurt you…”

Xander grabs Buffy by the shoulders and pushes her up against a vending machine. “Now do you want to hurt me? Come on, Slayer. I like it when you’re scared.”

Buffy tries to break free from Xander’s grip on her, but he has become stronger than normal.

“The more I scare you…” Xander sniffs Buffy. “…the better you smell.” He leans in and kisses her neck.

Principal Flutie gets up out of his chair. “You’re about this close to expulsion, people! I’m willing to talk to the school counselor, and we can discuss options…”

The pack forces Flutie back into his chair. Tor climbs up on his desk.

“Get down from there this instant!” yells Flutie.

Rhonda claws at Flutie’s face, leaving deep scratches.

Flutie puts his hand to his face. He pulls it away and looks at it covered in blood. “Are you insane?”

Tor leaps off the desk onto Principal Flutie, knocking him to the floor. The rest of the pack closes in on him.

Act III

Willow is researching hyenas when Buffy comes into the library. She’s dragging Xander by the collar of his jacket. “Hurry up. We got to get him locked up somehow before he comes to.”

Willow jumps up from her chair. “Oh, my God, Xander! What happened?”

“I hit him,” says Buffy.

“With what?”

“A desk,” says Buffy. Willow opens the cage, and Buffy drags Xander in. “He tried his hand at felony sexual assault.”

“Oh, Buffy, the hyena in him didn’t—”

“No,” says Buffy. “No, but it’s safe to say that in his animal state his idea of wooing doesn’t involve a Yanni CD and a bottle of Chianti.” They leave Xander in the cage, and lock the door. “There, that ought to hold him. Where’s Giles?”

“He got called to some teacher’s meeting,” says Willow. “What are we going to do? I mean… how do we get Xander back?”

“Right now I’m a little more worried about what the rest of the pack are up to,” says Buffy.

Giles comes in through the library doors. “The rest of the pack were spotted outside Herbert the mascot’s cage. They were sent to the principal’s office.”

“Good! That’ll show ’em,” says Willow. Giles says nothing. “Did it show ’em?”

Giles still says nothing.

“They didn’t hurt him, did they?” asks Buffy.

“They, uh…ate him,” says Giles. Willow sits down.

“They ate Principal Flutie?” asks Buffy.

“Ate him up?” asks Willow.

“The official theory is that wild dogs got into his office somehow. There was no one at the scene.”

“But Xander didn’t,” says Willow. She looks at Buffy. “He was with you.”

Buffy nods toward the book cage, and Giles sees Xander lying unconscious in it. “Oh, well, that’s a small mercy.”

Giles has been trying to figure out how to get the hyena spirit out of the students, but he doesn’t have all the pieces. There is some talk about a predatory act. He realizes that some of his references on demonic possession may apply. He should be able to transfer the spirit to another person.

“Oh, that’s great,” says Buffy. “Any volunteers?”

“Oh. Good point,” says Giles.

“What we need to do is put the hyena back in the hyena,” says Buffy. She thinks that the zookeeper may know more than he was saying. He had those hyena’s quarantined for a reason.

Buffy and Giles decide to go talk to the zookeeper. Willow volunteers to stay and keep an eye on Xander. Buffy is a little reluctant to leave her alone with him, but Willow insists. Buffy hands her the keys to the book cage, and she and Giles leave the library.

A woman walks home through the park, carrying her baby in a backpack. She walks into the middle of the pack, who are sleeping on the ground. They wake up, and start growling at her. She retreats away from them.

Xander wakes up in the book cage. “How are you feeling?” asks Willow.

“Like somebody hit me with a desk.” Xander looks around. “What am I doing here? You guys got me locked up now?”

“’Cause you’re sick,” says Willow. “Buffy said—”

“Oh, yeah. Buffy and her all purpose solution: punch ’em out ’n’ knock ’em down. I’d love to see what she’d do to somebody who was really sick.”

“That’s not fair. Buffy saved both of our lives.”

“Before she came here our lives didn’t need that much saving, did they?” asks Xander. “Weren’t things a lot simpler when it was just you ’n’ me?”

Willow steps toward the cage. “Maybe…”

“When we were alone together… Willow, I know there’s something wrong with me. I think it’s getting worse. But I can’t just stand around waiting for Buffy to decide it’s time to punch me out again. Look, I want you to help me.”

“I am helping you.”

“You’re doing what you’re told.”

“Buffy’s trying to help you, too,” says Willow. “You know that. Or Xander does.”

“Yeah, Buffy’s so selfless,” says Xander. “Always thinking of us. If I’m so dangerous, how come she left you alone with me?”

“I told her to,” says Willow.

“Why?”

“’Cause I know you better than she does,” says Willow. “And I wanted to be here to see if you were still you.”

“You know I am,” says Xander, “Look at me. Look.”

Willow steps closer to the cage. “Xander…”

Xander makes a grab through the slot in the cage door for the keys hanging from Willow’s pocket.

Willow jumps back away from the cage. “Now I know.”

Xander starts banging on the cage door, and yelling at Willow to let him out.

Dr. Weirick is surprisingly unsurprised by what Buffy and Giles have told him. He knows of the Primals, and the breed of hyenas in his exhibit were especially prized by them for their viciousness, but he doesn’t understand how the hyena spirit could have gotten into the students.

“We don’t know exactly how the ritual works,” says Giles. “We know it involves a predatory act and some kind of symbol.”

“Predatory act?” asks Weirick. “Of course. That makes sense. Where did you read that?”

Giles starts talking about Sherman Geoffrey’s work on cults, but Buffy doesn’t have time for Giles and Weirick to exchange notes. They just have to know how to get the hyena spirit back into the hyena.

Dr. Weirick figures that between them, he and Giles have enough information to do the transfer, but they have to get the students back into the Hyena House to do it. Buffy tells him that they have one, but they don’t know where the other four are.

“No, I wouldn’t worry about that,” says Dr. Weirick. “After hyenas feed and rest they will track the missing member of their pack until they find him. They should come right to you.”

“Willow!” says Buffy.

Willow watches a video about hyenas on the screen of her computer in the library.

“Willow…” calls Xander from the cage.

Willow keeps her eyes on her computer screen. “I’m not listening.”

The rest of the pack look in through the library windows.

“Willow!” calls Kyle softly.

Act IV

“Willow!” calls out Kyle.

Willow looks toward the cage. “Xander, shut up!”

“Willow!” calls Kyle again.

Willow looks toward the windows, and sees the pack. She jumps to her feet and runs out of the library as they smash their way in through the windows.

The pack doesn’t chase Willow. They go to the library cage and start pulling on the door while Xander kicks at it from the inside. They rip the door off its hinges.

When Xander is free from the cage the pack all start sniffing him, getting reacquainted. When they are done Xander looks toward the door Willow left through.

Willow runs down the corridor, trying the doors as she goes. Most of them are locked. She finds an unlocked classroom, goes into it, and hides under the teacher’s desk.

Xander and Heidi enter the classroom and look around but they don’t see Willow. Willow hears them leave and close the door. She gets out from under the desk, and discovers Xander is still there. He tricked her.

Xander dives over the teacher’s desk to grab Willow as she makes a break for it. Willow manages to dodge around him, and throws a desk in his way. She opens the classroom door and sees that her escape is blocked by Heidi.

Buffy bashes Heidi from behind with a fire extinguisher. Willow runs out of the class and into Giles’ arms. Xander comes after her and Buffy bashes him with the fire extinguisher too. The rest of the pack is running down the corridor toward them so Buffy, Willow and Giles run back into the classroom and shut the door. Buffy holds it shut.

The pack pounds on the door for a few seconds, and then stop. Buffy thinks they’re going. Willow thinks it might be another trick, but Buffy is sure it isn’t. The pack will be looking for someone weak. Giles is worried. The pack members seem to be nearly as strong as Buffy.

“They’re tough, but I think they’re getting stupider,” says Buffy. “You guys go to the zoo and I will bring them to you.”

A mother, father and their son are preparing to leave for home after an evening at a friend’s house. Their minivan is suddenly surrounded by the pack. Xander smashes a side window and grabs the boy.

Buffy grabs Rhonda and throws her off the van. She jumps up on the roof, and kicks Kyle away. She looks down at Xander, who is half way through the window into the van. “Didn’t your mom teach you? Don’t play with your food.”

Xander pulls himself out of the van and looks up at Buffy.

“Come on, you know what you want.” Buffy jumps down off the van, and runs away. The pack chases her.

Willow and Giles arrive at the Hyena House. Giles leaves her at the entrance to watch for Buffy and warn them of her arrival and goes in. He finds Dr. Weirick dressed in the Primal’s traditional ceremonial garb, his face painted, and their sacred symbol is painted on the floor. A large blood red hyena head inside a circle.

“Yes, you’d need that to, um…this would be here when the children first came. Why would you…” Giles figures out what has happened. “How terribly frustrating for you, that a bunch of school children could accomplish what you could not.”

“It bothered me,” says Weirick, “But the power will be mine.” He hits Giles with a club. He knocks him out, and drags him away.

Willow hears Buffy and the pack approaching and rushes in to warn Giles they’re coming. She finds Dr. Weirick alone, with no sign of Giles or the hyenas. Weirick tells her Giles is lying in wait.

“They’re almost here,” says Willow. “Shouldn’t you bring the hyenas out?”

“When the time is right. I’m going to need your help.” Weirick grabs Willow’s hands and starts to tie her up, reminding her the ceremony requires a predatory act. He pulls out a knife and puts it to her throat.

“Uh, right,” says Willow. “You’ll pretend to slash my throat and, and put the evil in the hyenas?”

“Something like that.”

Willow realizes Weirick isn’t pretending.

Buffy comes running in, with the pack close behind.

“Buffy, it’s a trap!” yells Willow.

Buffy is so shocked by seeing Willow with a knife to her throat that she stops, and Xander tackles her from behind. The rest of the pack closes in on her.

“Yu ba ya sa na!” cries out Dr. Weirick.

All of the pack looks toward Dr. Weirick, and their eyes flash yellow. So do Dr Weirick’s. The pack is dazed.

Dr. Weirick drops the knife grabs Willow by the head and tries to bite her. Xander leaps to her defense and tackles Weirick.

The rest of the pack gets off Buffy. They look around in confusion.

Dr. Weirick knocks Xander aside. Buffy gets to her feet and attacks Weirick. She punches and kicks him away from Willow and Xander. Weirick makes a couple of lunges at Buffy but she tosses him aside each time. Weirick charges at Buffy again. This time when she throws him he goes over the fence into the hyenas’ enclosure. He tries to climb back out over the fence but the hyenas grab him and pull him back down.

The rest of the pack run out of the Hyena House. Buffy rushes to the enclosure to help Weirick, but it’s too late. She can’t watch as the hyenas devour him.

Xander is untying Willow when Giles staggers in through a side door to the exhibit, with his hand on his head. “Did I miss anything?”

Epilogue

Xander walks up the stairs from the courtyard concourse to the balcony with Buffy and Willow. He tells them that he remembers nothing between going into the Hyena House and then seeing a guy attacking Willow with a knife. He’s a little freaked to learn that he ate a raw pig, even if he had nothing to do with Flutie’s death.

“You saved my life,” says Willow.

“Hey! Nobody messes with my Willow.” Xander gives her a hug.

“This is definitely the superior Xander,” says Buffy. “Accept no substitutes.”

“I didn’t do anything else around you guys?” asks Xander. “Anything embarrassing?”

“Nyah,” says Buffy.

“Not at all,” agrees Willow.

Buffy and Willow have to be going. Xander tells them he will see them at lunch. He’s going vegetarian.

Xander heads the other direction, and runs into Giles. Giles has been reading up on animal possessions, and in none of the accounts can he find any mention of the people involved suffering memory loss.

“Did you tell them that?” asks Xander.

“Your secret dies with me,” says Giles.

“Shoot me, stuff me, mount me,” says Xander. Giles gives him a pat on the shoulder, and Xander walks away.

Death Toll