"Mhmm."

He hugs her again. Hopefully this helps. Even if it doesn't help Karen it kind of helps Zeke a little, honestly.

Zeke hugs temporarily lift a good 27% of her inner turmoil.

"Thanks."

"Hey, no problem. What are friends for, right?"

Okay, where does he even start with this. He's not sure he remembers more than half of all the stuff she said.

"...so I think... sometimes the situation you're in kind of sucks, and all the things you could do about it kind of suck, because the world kind of sucks, and I think it's pretty normal to not feel great about that, because, like, it's bad when things suck, that's the whole deal with things sucking? This is not something I personally have a lot of experience with because I don't really do things, but I bet it comes up a lot when you're the Slayer, especially when you're trying to help people as much as you try to help people, which as far as I can tell is kind of a ridiculous amount? You're doing a lot of stuff that's really hard because you're a nice person and you want everyone to be okay even when they don't want you to be okay at all and are actually trying to murder you. And, like, I respect that about you. Kind of a lot actually."

"...you do?"

"Yeah."

" - you're a really weird vampire."

"That's very true."

"I guess I'm not, like, super archetypal for a vampire slayer either, though. - it's cool. You're really cool."

"Yeah, well, you're really cool too. So there."

"Thanks."

They do, eventually, proceed to the arcade. It's nice. Probably says something about her that one of the most normal downtime things she ever does is play arcade games with her vampire friend, but hey.

She's quieter on the way back to Zeke's crypt. At least until they get within sight of the graveyard.

" - hey Zeke?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't have to answer this or anything - really, I won't mind at all if you don't - but, uh, how many people do you figure you've killed, in the whole time you've been a vampire?"

"Man, I am way too bad at math to answer that question. Uh, what's one a week for a hundred and ffity years? Ish?"

"Uh, I think that's like...... seven thousand five hundred, ish? That sounds like the right order of magnitude. Wow."

He shrugs. "Sorry? Like - I'm literally incapable of remorse but I'm not a big fan of making you sad, so, not very sorry but at least a little sorry?"

"Nah, s'cool. I mean, don't ever do it again or I'll kick your ass, but I asked. I'm just thinking about stuff."

"Sure," he says agreeably.

"I'll see you around," she says, and gives him one last hug before leaving.

She tries to imagine seven thousand people on the way back home. Not just picture them, that doesn't get at the thing. It'd be - Azalea and Connor and Alex and Zeke and Wishbone and Dennis and Mercy. Times a thousand. Seven thousand people with hopes and dreams and backstories, seven thousand people with their stories cut short, seven thousand people whose parents and spouses and children must have wondered where they were. She would have liked most of them. She likes most people, if she thinks about it enough. She would have cared, if she'd known them, about each and every one of them, at least if her heart hadn't gone numb by the end.

And. Also. Zeke is her friend. 

She takes a deep breath.

Zeke hasn't heard anything about Drusilla.

Drusilla got someone else. Well, presumably her, it could be a different vampire but we had such a streak going - anyway, thanks for checking. Sorry it didn't pan out.

Where'd they find this one?

Worked the night shift at the gas station up by campus.

She sticks a pin at the location on her big labeled map of Sunnydale. And the one before that?

Laundromat. He gives the address.

She adds another pin. The locations aren't particularly close together.

How many hours ago was the second murder?