Not that she enjoyed any of the classes she had to attend on a daily basis before ultimately dropping out, but history had always been the Slayer’s least favorite. Why spend so much time looking into what used to be when life was pretty hard and sucktastic in the here and now? Not to mention the gut-wrenching boredom of reading about wars and eras gone by, with nothing more than artists’ renditions to visually depict what were supposed to be the planet’s great happenings.
Boring with a capital B and capital ORING.
But this? Wandering through the various exhibits on display at the Field Museum, Faith couldn’t wipe the wide-eyed expression off her face. She never went to museums as a child, deciding to ditch school whenever a field trip was on the horizon. Other students saw field trips as a fun diversion from the classroom; Faith saw nothing more than boredom even more pointless than being trapped in a tiny room for six hours a day with 17 or so other kids she didn’t like.
The main attraction at the museum was a collection of medieval artifacts, ranging from actual knight’s armor to art and accounts of the architecture of the period. As impressive as that was, the Slayer was even more impressed with everything else the museum had in store; right now, the object of Faith’s amazement was what the museum called the world’s largest, most complete and best preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil ever discovered.
They called it Sue.
Faith wasn’t sure what was more impressive: the bird-like feet, the massive legs and pelvis or the tail. Or maybe it was all those teeth and the powerful jaws that tore into dozens, maybe even hundreds, of creatures during the dinosaur’s life. It was one thing to see a picture of a T-Rex in a textbook, or to even watch one inexplicably rampage through San Diego in a movie, but to stand inches from an actual skeleton?
Even as the chills ran down her spine, Faith couldn’t help but smile. Her mind drifted to the era of the dinosaurs, as she suspected many did when they laid eyes on Sue. But Faith’s questions were … a little different. What were the vampires and demons like back then? Was that the age of the Old Ones? Did the monsters dare attack the world’s dinosaurs?
Something told the Slayer ol’ Sue here could’ve held her own against a pack of vampires. Since she was so large and could just stomp the monsters into bloody pulps. It might not have killed the vampires, but Faith had a feeling getting stepped on by a T-Rex helped no one.
Wandering through a few hallways, hands stuffed in the pockets of her jeans, Faith examined the paintings adorning the walls. Some she’d seen before, either in books or on television, but others were completely foreign to her. And even if the Slayer had no idea what half of them depicted – some of them looked a lot like some form of devil worship – the artwork was exquisite, and it almost felt as if Faith was being whisked away to another world.
A quick right led the Slayer to an exhibit that was so popular it made a comeback. The Field Museum debuted “The Aztec World” in October 2008, and this was its third tour of duty in the museum. Chicagoans and tourists loved the exhibit, and as Faith glanced at the sculptures and artwork and pots, the awe continued to grow.
Looking around, Faith noticed she was the only one in this particular exhibit; everyone else was still enjoying the medieval show. Though her ticket had been for that specific exhibit, the usher at the main entrance had told Faith to feel free to browse the rest of the museum at her leisure. Despite her misgivings regarding museums, the Slayer readily did so, glad she decided to step out of her comfort zone.
Passing a statue of an eagle warrior, complete with bird claws just below its knees, Faith stopped in front of a life-sized statue of what was called an Aztec sun dancer. Her traditional feathered headband seemed to explode out from the back of the female form’s head, the feathers all different manner of blues and reds and browns. Her hair, what little Faith could see among the headdress, was a flowing chocolate, matching her sleeveless top.
Gold wrist plates shone under the museum’s dim light, as did the traditional breastplate that was a kaleidoscope of reds and light blues. The sun dancer was posed in mid-dance, a bundle of brown feathers in her right hand and a wooden spear in her left.
Faith frowned. Why did sun dancers need spears? Wooden ones at that?
The Slayer’s eyes returned to the statue’s face, taking in the dark look of determination etched into the dancer’s features. A smaller sun dancer statue stood to the right, that woman’s eyes closed as she appeared to be in mid-twirl. The taller one was in a bit of a crouch, and if Faith didn’t know any better, she could’ve sworn the expression was more predatory and less celebratory.
Then it hit her; this sun dancer was probably a Slayer. Even though this was a statue, that energy seemed to radiate from it. Faith could feel that energy in her gut, standing on the opposite side of the glass partition. The sculptor captured this woman not in mid-dance, but in the heat of battle. Faith wondered how historians related her trials; were they hunting expeditions, designed to bring food back to her fellow Aztecs? No, that didn’t make sense; if she remembered what little history she paid attention to, the men were the hunters in Indian tribes.
Was she protecting her village from an outside invader? Possibly; Faith envisioned the men off hunting the village’s next meal, leaving the women and children to fend for their homes when someone or something barged in.
The feeling in her gut grew stronger; it wasn’t completely unlike what Faith felt the one time she held that scythe – the one Willow used to share the power of the Slayer with every Potential on the planet.
The information plate on the glass to the right of the figure said nothing of battle or defending one’s home; it made no mention of the spear. Rather, the paragraph only talked of the role of sun dancers in Aztec culture. Faith wondered how many others would notice how out of place a spear seemed on this statue, or if people would just assume the spear was part of the ritual, some ancient tradition of the Aztec tribes.
Faith stared into the statue’s eyes again, feeling as if the dancer were staring back at her. Even though this was nothing more than a sculpture, Faith felt a connection to it. This was definitely a Slayer, probably from the days of the Chosen One. Faith smiled, glancing over her left shoulder to see a few people starting to make their way into the Aztec wing.
Taking that as her cue to leave, Faith considered reaching her hand across the glass partition and brushing her fingers along the statue’s cheek. But knowing what little she knew of museum security – and remembering something really odd happened at the Field Museum over Halloween – the Slayer thought better of it. Instead, she gave the statue a sideways grin and a single nod.
“You go, girl,” she whispered.
Leaving the exhibit, and thinking she’d give Sue one last visit before going on patrol, Faith stopped and looked over her shoulder. The statue remained frozen in that pose, but as a family of four passed by it, a middle-aged man pausing to admire the beauty of the headdress, Faith could’ve sworn she saw the sun dancer’s eyes meet hers.
It was a comforting feeling, as if something was affirming that Faith was on the right track. Weaving through the halls once more, Faith’s smile grew; she was glad she’d decided to come to the museum.
But not nearly as glad as she was knowing she’d never have to deal with a T-Rex.