Chapter Text
He was tapping the steering wheel in time to the music blasting from the speakers. Sam had complained, of course, saying he could barely hear himself think. But he couldn't really care. The music, the open road, the spring breeze blowing through the window, the satisfaction of completing another job, nowhere to be, no obligations. Just him and Sam and the rumble of the Impala.
"Hey Dean, this might be interesting. Small town, no unexplained deaths as far as I can see, but a lot of people claiming they were attacked at night by some sort of creature. Lots of discrepancies, though. Like they're all describing different things. Could be some mass delusion or maybe a shapeshifter of some sorts. Still, with that many attacks, maybe it's worth checking out."
He groaned. "Come on, Sam. Another shapeshifter? That means I'm either going to end up behind bars again, or covered in goo. Nope. Not interested."
Sam turned towards him. "I don't think it's a shifter, Dean. Like I said, no deaths. We could just check it out, maybe talk to some of the locals. Seriously, it might not even be our thing, but that means we can take it easy for a few days while we figure it out."
He still wasn't entirely convinced. He just wanted to keep driving for a while, keep his mind on the road. Small towns always meant it was either boring as fuck or a total life-or-death shitshow.
"They have a bar."
He waved his hand towards his right, not looking over. "Okay, Sammy. Whatever. Just tell me what exit to take."
They did have a bar here, and a library. But no motel. Man, this place was a dump. Half the roads were just dirt, and the other half were uneven cobblestones that were probably doing a number on the Impala's suspension. He vaguely wondered how people here even had enough of an internet connection to get all those crazy stories out. Sam was on it, though. He didn't pay attention to the conversation Sam was having, just eyed the selection of bottom shelf whiskeys and held up a finger to the girl behind the bar.
"Cheapest one you got, thanks. Oh, and a beer for the dork over there."
"You got it, honey! Don't think I've seen you around here before? We don't get many visitors in the valley."
Oh, great. A chatty bartender. He looked her over, noticing her blue hair and bright smile. She was pretty, in a way. Like she didn't give two fucks about how others saw her, with that strange hair color. Most people who dyed their hair like that did it to be edgy. However, this girl had no edges – she was all soft curves. He smiled and winked at her.
"Just passing through, sweetheart. Hey, now that I've got your attention, do you know of any places around here where me and my brother could crash for the night? Something not too fancy, but preferably without any bedbugs."
She laughed. "Like I said, not many people come out here. We don't have hotels or motels or anything like that, sorry. But the people here are a friendly bunch, I can ask around and fix you up with a spare room, at the very least. No trouble."
He raised his glass to her and turned towards Sam, still deep in conversation with an old dude who looked like he'd been a newspaper delivery boy during the Great Depression and stuck to that aesthetic ever since. Not that he had any right to criticize anyone for choosing a vibe. Chicks loved his leather jacket and his muscle car and his air of broody disinterest. Never mind that half of it was just stuff he got from his dad, and the other half was knowing that no matter what he wanted, he would always have to move on. He didn't have a choice.
Sam walked over, pulling him towards one of the booths. As soon as they sat down, he leaned over and said in a low voice, "I just talked to the mayor. Lucky coincidence, I guess. Anyway, he said that those reports are all blown way out of proportion, but then he also mentioned that usually when people are having problems, they just put something on the public notice board. I don't know man, that seems like an unusual thing to say when someone asks you about unexplained nighttime attacks."
He raised his eyebrows. "Huh. Weird town."
The blue-haired girl came over to their table to ask if they needed another drink, and when she returned with their beers, she told them that two people could offer them a place to stay for the night, but neither had enough room for the both of them. "I'd let you stay at my place, but my sister isn't picking up her phone, and I don't know how she'd respond to finding two handsome boys asleep in the living room." She winked.
He and Sam quickly discussed their options, and they agreed that Dean would drive Sam up to the place owned by someone called Robin, then come back here to follow Marnie, whoever that was, to her ranch just outside the city limits. Privately, he thought he might hang around at the bar a while longer, see what time this girl Emily got off her shift.
She turned out to be just as soft and curvy as he'd thought, but also extremely loud. Which he discovered just as he was bending her over the mattress and her sister walked in on them, giving him a scornful look and telling them to keep it down. Awkward. He finished things up and beat a hasty retreat, assuring Emily that everything was alright and he'd talk to her soon. It was nothing short of a miracle, how they always believed him when he said stuff like that. He got into the Impala, following the directions Marnie had given him. Straight out of town, first farm on the right. Easy.
Marnie came out of the farmhouse only seconds after he'd pulled up and killed the engine, her plump arms wrapped around her waist and a worried look on her face. "Oh good, you're here! It's usually safe in this area, but you never know, right? I've got the pull-out bed ready for you. But you might want to wait until Shane gets here before you go to sleep, he's always so noisy when he comes home from the bar."
He let himself be led into the house, smiling at her. "I guess it's none of my business, but your husband is an idiot, spending his nights at a bar when he could be having fun with such a lovely lady as yourself."
She looked puzzled, apparently not picking up on his flirting. Then she suddenly smiled back at him. "Oh! Shane isn't my husband, he's my nephew. I thought you were talking about Lewis for a sec. But we're not married." Lewis? Wasn't that the mayor Sam had been talking to? Man, small towns. He suppressed a small shudder at the thought of that wrinkly mustached face pressed between Marnie's ample thighs. She could do so much better.
Marnie sat him down at the kitchen table while she bustled around fixing them something to drink. "So, Marnie. You mentioned something about the area being safe. Are there other parts of town that aren't?"
"Oh, yeah. There's all sorts of critters, especially up near the old Allen farm, and I've heard that it can be dangerous near the mountain lake as well. I hardly ever go there, though. I almost ran into a shadow brute one evening taking the shortcut from the bus stop, and once was more than enough for me. I stick to the main roads now and let Shane handle the deliveries to the outlying areas."
Shadow brute? What the fuck? "Hey Marnie, will you excuse me? I'll be right back, I just want to give my brother a quick call."
Sam picked up on the first ring. "Dean! I was just about to call you. Hey, get this. Apparently, Robin's husband is a scientist, and he says there's all sorts of creatures down in the mines here, which doesn't make any sense. I asked him if anyone ever goes down there and he just shrugs and says there's a group of people who take care of the monsters when they become dangerous. He said monsters like it was nothing, Dean. Do you think this group could be hunters? Hunters living in this town and letting people in on what kind of work we do?"
"Huh. I don't know man, this place is weird. I was just talking to Marnie and she mentioned something about a fucking shadow brute. Have you ever heard of a creature like that?"
"I'll have a look at Dad's journal again, but nothing comes to mind. Maybe I can get this Demetrius guy to tell me a bit more. I have to say, I really wasn't expecting a scientist to be so... factual about the horrors we deal with. It's kind of refreshing, actually."
He laughed. "Of course you would go and become nerd soulmates with the first science guy you run into. Have fun and let me know if you discover anything, okay? I'll see you tomorrow."
"Night, jerk."
"Night, bitch."
Well, Marnie might have bad taste in men, but she was a damn fine cook. He couldn't eat another bite of scrambled eggs or slice of bacon even if his life depended on it. He took out his phone and shot off a quick text to Sam, saying he'd be there in 30 minutes. He could make a quick stop at the general store in town on the way, pick up some snacks, see if they had any magazines.
When he stepped inside, though, someone grabbed his arm. His hunter instincts immediately kicked in, and he had them up against the wall with his arm pressed against their throat before he realized that he was, in fact, throttling a very young woman. Couldn't be more than 23. Bright purple hair, big blue eyes, some very nice boobs.
"Sorry. Reflexes. You really shouldn't be touching strangers like that, young lady."
To his surprise, she grinned at him. "That was seriously impressive! You were like a tiger or something. Just... woosh, pounce! Can you teach me how to do that? I'm Abigail, by the way. You're Sam's brother, right?"
"Yeah, I'm Dean. How the fuck do you know Sam?"
She laughed. "I'm best friends with Robin's son Sebastian. He hates interacting with strangers even on a good day, so you can imagine the non-stop complaining he's been subjecting me to since last evening. Especially because your brother seemed to hit it off with Sebastian's stepdad. Apparently they ruined his entire late night coffee routine by being in the kitchen, talking about research and shit."
"Yeah, that sounds like Sam, alright. Hey, listen, it was nice meeting you, but I got to go. Sam's expecting me."
She nodded. "That was actually what I wanted to talk to you about! Can you give me a ride up the mountain? It's much faster than walking and your car looks awesome."
Okay, unlike the girl from last night, what was her name again... Allison? Emma?... this girl was definitely dying her hair purple to be edgy. Black velvet choker, sleeveless denim jacket, combat boots, the works. But it was kind of working for her, to be honest. She seemed sharp. Not the kind to get scared easily. As he got into the car, she ran her hand reverently across the Impala's frame.
He tried to keep the pride from his voice. "I fixed her up myself, you know."
She dropped into the seat beside him, laughing. "Wow. A guy with many talents. You should talk to Sebastian, he loves restoring old motorbikes. But I guess we should gear up first, if you're wanting to check out the mines today. Seb will probably join us, he has all my weapons. My dad would have a fucking aneurysm if I kept that stuff at home."
He'd already started the engine and turned the car in the direction of the mountain road before he'd realized what she'd said. "Wait. Your weapons? The mines? Am I missing something here?"
She looked over at him. "Didn't your brother tell you? He was asking Demetrius about the monster attacks, so Demetrius said he should ask Seb since he has a lot more experience fighting than Demetrius has, he just records whatever we can kill. So then Seb asked me if I was up for a little expedition today, and I said sure, so here we are."
"Hang on. You're telling me you're hunters?!"
Abigail shrugged. "Uh, I guess? We just try to make sure that the monsters stay inside the mines. Most people here don't have the time to do any combat training, or they're getting old, so it's mostly just me and Seb and Maru, and sometimes Haley and Sam. Not your Sam, our Sam. Haley and Sam don't like going into the mines though, she says it's too dirty and he gets claustrophobic, so they usually only do outdoor patrols. But there's only so much five people can do, you know? So we really appreciate you guys giving us a hand."
What the fuck was up with this town? And why hadn't Sam told him that he was roping in a handful of fucking kids to take them into the mines? He really had to talk to his brother before he was going to agree to any of this.