Chapter 1

Theodore Jacobson woke, stretched and rolled out of his twin-sized bed.

After brushing his teeth, he pulled on a black tee just as his cell phone started to ring. He caught a glimpse of the time, 8:43pm, before answering.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Theo! It's mom."

Theo smiled, pulling orange juice out of the fridge, "Hey mom, what's up? I just saw you two days ago."

Born and raised in Alexandria, South Dakota, Theo never truly left his hometown. He had gone to the nearest college and gotten a degree in economics but hasn't been using it; it just wasn't in his character to leave everything he knew. And anyways, his mom lived in the town's only old forks homes, at the ripe age of 64.

"How was work last night? Still working the 2-9am shift, right?"

Theo had recently turned 26, marking the fifth year in which he had worked in the only 24-hour bar in town.

He rolled his eyes.

"Yes, mom, as always," he balanced the phone on his shoulder as he poured a glass of orange juice, "But Andy called in sick this morning and Barney wants me to come in for the shift. I'm on my way over there now."

"What?"

Theo paused, "Mom?"

He could hear Jennifer Jacobson was hyperventilating over the phone, "Mom? What?"

"Is there any way to get out of doing the shift?! Call in sick, something?"

"Um, no and they really need me tonight. I'm the only one on duty. Why?" questioned Theo as he slid on his jacket. He paused in the bathroom again and mussed his blonde hair, "I know how much the 9pm-1am shift bothers you for some reason but you've never told me why. So what's up with that? Why not?"

But, Jennifer didn't respond, hysterically saying, "Theo, just please, please don't-"

"Mom," Theo said, exiting the bathroom and downing the orange juice. He grimanced at the taste, as he just brushed his teeth, "I have to go. Please relax and get some sleep tonight. Love you."

Theo hung up, grabbed his keys and walked out the door, unaware that his mother was frantically calling a number she hoped she'd never have to use.


She stuck out like a sore thumb.

Dark brown hair, pulled back into a casual ponytail and wisps framed her face. A simplistic, black v-neck t-shirt and tight jeans tucked into black boots. A thick, brown flannel hung over the backside of her chair. She sat at the end of the bar, practically inconspicuous except for one fact.

A pair of dark sunglasses sat on her nose.

It was almost midnight.

Theo couldn't keep from continuously glancing up at her from the other end of the bar. He couldn't place a finger on it but he felt like he had seen her before. Seeing a stranger in town happened every once and a while, but, in this bar, at this time, alone, and causing him to feel like he'd met her before? Confusion and curiosity stared to slowly crept up on him.

"Theo, you going to keep staring at her or are you going to go get her order?"

His head snapped to his boss, Barney, who had snuck up behind him and was smirking. Heat flushed into his face as he nodded and made his way over to the young woman, who looked up at him, expectantly.

"Um, sorry about the wait, what would you like?"

She smiled, "It's alright, just a beer would be great, thanks."

He nodded and turned around to get it, swallowing the blush as he could feel her eyes watching him.

"I'm Jaqueline Anders. But, most people call me, Jack."

He whipped around at the sound of her voice. He played it off by putting the beer in front of her, "Theodore Jacobson, Theo, for short."

Jack nodded and Theo thought the conversation was probably done but decided to just go for it.

"So, what are you doing here? Alexandria isn't exactly a tourist spot."

"Ah, just doing a favor for a friend of mine," she responded casually, taking a sip of beer, "Jennifer Peterson, ya know her?"

Theo froze, the sudden feeling like something was up hitting him in the gut.

Jack tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Um, well, my mom's name is Jennifer is all. She's the only Jennifer in town," he shook his head, "Probably just a coincidence."

Jack took off her glasses, setting them down on the bar. Dark brown eyes stared into his soul, glinting as she grinned.

"Huh, so your Peterson's boy. She never did bring you around very often when she met with Tony and Bobby. I'm not entirely surprised now though; Theodore is such a soft-boy name."

"I'm sorry," he started, his senses starting to blare an alarm, "What?"

Jack just smiled, taking a look around the room.

A few stragglers sat in the corner, playing a pick-up game of poker. In another corner, a man had passed out and was snoring softly; his wife had kicked him out. A drunk couple sat in a booth, drinking more and laughing obnoxiously.

"Your mom never told you anything as a defense mechanism. Stupid mistake but not uncommon. Lots of hunters don't want their kids to know. But, you? I always thought Jennifer would have told you due to your… condition but," she laughed humorlessly, taking another sip of beer, "No, of course not. That's why I get a panicked telephone call almost 4 hours ago from her, crying and begging me to watch over you tonight since there was no way of avoiding you experiencing the Dark Hour."

Theo stared, "The Dark Hour- what-?"

"Have to warn you, it sucks the first time around but that's why I'm here," Jack cut him off easily, "You're lucky I made it here. I had to drop my case in Iowa to get here in time. Those vamps will get to live another few hours. Bobby is cleaning up that mess but your mom owes us big time."

Theo's confusion doubled into panic and he shifted into high gear. Barney was starting to notice Theo's expression and made his way over; he thought Theo needed a wingman.

But, what Theo really needed was to never have taken that shift.

He would have stayed blissful, happy even.

But, as fate would have it, it was time.

"Look, I have no idea what you are talking about-" Theo started, shaking his head as if to clear out his brain as you would with an Etch a Sketch.

"You will in about a minute."

Theo's green eyes darted to the clock.

"Is everything ok here?" Barney asked with a grin, glancing between Theo and Jack, who nodded with a polite smile.

"Everything is great. Teddy was just telling me this great story."

Both hands itched towards midnight. The noise in the room grew dimmer as all Theo could hear was the ticking of the clock.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

"Good! Theo, take the rest of the night off and take this pretty lady out on the town. Joe will be here in a couple hours and its pretty quiet tonight."

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The ticking began to grow louder and a high pitched ring started to squeak in Theo's ears. His chest constricted, breathing slowed and grew shallow. It was almost like all the air was draining, circling down a drain.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

"Aw," Jack smiled, "It is a pretty quiet night, isn't it?"

Then, the hands struck midnight.

Everything paused.

Barney was gone.

The poker game, the drunk couple, the man sleeping in the corner, vanished.

The clock stood still.

No more ticking.

Theo couldn't hear a sound besides the thumping of his own heart.

Until Jack spoke.

"Welcome to the Dark Hour, Theodore Peterson."

His eyes stared widely, his voice still not working as his mind raced to try and piece together the information presented to him.

It failed to form an answer.

Theo's breathing dropped to erratic, his hands clenched to the bar behind him and his skin turned a deathly white.

"Train your mind on me, Peterson, or else you may lose it all together."

His eyes returned their gaze to the young woman, sitting across from him.

Nothing seemed to be fazing her.

"Now, breathe."

Automatically, almost entranced by her voice, he breathed deeply. The oxygen flooded his lungs, colder than usual.

"Now, sit down and take a beer."

Theo's steps echoed around them, the sound bouncing everywhere, and yet, the deadly silence of the world seemed to be swallowing him.

He sat down, swirling the chair to face her as he did so. His panic was still evident as she leaned over to him and gently placed her lips on his own.

The world seemed to pause.

A pause within a pause.

His eyes fluttered closed as his brain eagerly used the kiss as a distraction. It was the only thing that made sense right now. The only normal thing happening around him.

He kissed back eagerly, a hand going to cup her face.

Jack pulled away and Theo found that he was calmed significantly, but bitterly disappointed, from just moments ago. His pale cheeks were now healthily flushed underneath his blonde hair.

"Why-?"

"You aren't my first rodeo, Peterson."

Theo smiled sheepishly at Jack, "So you've calmed others that way?"

Jack returned the smile with a smirk, "Only the cute ones. It calmed you down, right?"

He shrugged, turning away and taking a chug of the beer in front of him.

He ignored the slight sting of knowing that she had only kissed him to calm him down. Why should that bother him?

It was silent for another minute before Jack broke the silence again.

"I'm sorry you had to experience your first time like this, Peterson. Most people experience the Dark Hour as a child and either grow out of it or grow used to it. It's harder for a matured mind to grasp the concepts of the Supernatural."

"Why do you call me Peterson?"

Jack chuckled, causing Theo to look at her, "Of all the questions to ask, that's the first you go with?"

"Well, yeah, I guess."

"To answer that question, I guess its because that's your actual last name. Your mom used Jacobson as a cover so no one and nothing could find out about you and come after you both."

"Who would be after my mom?"

Jack sighed, looking at her phone. Theo was able to see that it displaying a timer. It was currently counting down from 55 minutes.

"We need to move."

Just like that, Jack was out of her seat, pulling on her oversized flannel and heading towards the door. Noticing that Theo wasn't following, she exasperatedly turned around.

"Are you coming or not?"

"What about-"

Jack rolled her eyes, "If I recall correctly, your boss just let you off your shift so you could hook up with me. I'm sure this wasn't what he had in mind but hey, take what you can get, Theo. You better come up with a hot sex story for him, though."

With that, she walked out the door.

Theo's cheeks flushed once again as he followed after her.

The moment Theo walked outside, a soft hand grabbed his shirt and dragged him behind a car.

"What-"

"Shut your cakehole," Jack snapped in a harsh whisper, pressing a hand over his mouth, "Listen up. There are very few people like us, Peterson, but the information I need to tell you will come after we survive the next hour."

Jack peeked up above the car hood and swore under her breath.

"They've found you."


"Now if you want to live, you're going to do exactly what I say, got it?"

Crouched into a highly uncomfortable position behind a car with a very attractive young woman who might just be crazy, Theo decided he didn't have much of a choice.

He pried her hand off his face and whispered, "Ok, ok. But what exactly are we running from?"

Jack rolled her eyes, "We don't have time for this."

And, with that, she whipped out a gun from her back pocket, stood up and started firing.

"What the fuck!" Theo yelled out in surprise as he covered his ears. They weren't accustomed to gunshots. In fact, this was the first time he'd ever heard one.

"Follow me and keep close!" Jack sharply barked at him.

Theo tried to keep up with her as she took off in a sprint towards a black car. A ferocious growl came from the right of Theo but when he looked, nothing was there.

Then, he felt teeth sink into his lower calf.

He screamed out in pain as he fell to the ground, causing Jack to whip around and fire three bullets into the thin air.

A dog-like yelp rang out and Theo felt the teeth disappear.

"Damn it, Peterson," Jack growled almost as ferociously as whatever had tore into his leg, "I said keep up."

Theo didn't respond as he clenched his jaw in an attempt to handle the pain.

Growing up, he'd never really experienced harm or pain. His mother had made sure of that.

"Oh, grow a pair," Jack said, rolling her eyes, "It's not even deep enough for stitches. Come on, let's get you to the car."

She helped him up and balanced him against her shoulder.

Guiding him into the backseat of the car, Jack continuously glanced over her shoulder, eyes sweeping over the grounds.
She glanced up at him and for a second, Theo saw a flash of sympathy cross her face.

"Sit tight."

Jack closed the door and turned only to be punched across the face.

She fell back against the car but immediately pushed herself back up and took a swing herself, making contact with the face of her attacker. It grunted and barred its fangs at her as he lunged. She dodged and kicked it in the gut.

The attacker growled and successfully lunged again, pinning Jack to the ground.

"Well, well, well, isn't it Jack the ripper. Me and my kin have been after you for quite some time."

"Quit talking!" Jack bit back, punching it across the face again.

A feral grin cross over the human half of its face.

"Oh come on, darling, I'm going to enjoy this-"

The creature never had the chance to finish its sentence as the car door flung open, effectively knocking it out.

Jack tossed the body off of her and stared up at Theo, astonishment blatant on her face.

"Peterson?" she breathed out, a slight smile on her face.

"Yeah?" he groaned out.

"Nice one," Jack pushed herself up and gave a nod before shutting his door. She shook her head, confused for a second, before getting into the driver's seat, "Let's get out of here."

As she drove off, her phone binged.

Thirty minutes left.


"There."

Jack had just finished wrapping his leg up, sitting on a chair while he sat on one of the twin beds. She looked up at Theo, who hadn't taken his eyes off of her since they'd reached the motel.

"Do you want any aspirin or pain killers?" she asked, tilting her head.

"I want answers."

Jack sighed, standing up.

The rooms layout was rather cramped, with a television on one side of the room, two twin beds, a table in the back corner and a desk in the front.

She opened the back window, listening carefully before walking away from him to the small bathroom beside the TV.

Theo could hear the water running, "I'm serious. Who and what are you? A cop? FBI? An alien?"

Jack returned to room, chuckling as she wiped her hands off on a towel, leaving a blood stain.

Theo's eyes narrowed, jaw clenched in frustration.

"What were those things that attacked us? Why do all the clocks still say its midnight? Why is there a count down on your phone? Are you even listening?"

Jack unzipped a duffel bag sitting on a table, whipping out an intimidating shotgun and army-grade, automatic, assault rifle. She tossed a skeptical look at the man sitting on the bed.

"Have you ever shot a gun?"

"What? No!" Theo sputtered out, "Guns are dangerous and I've never needed one."

Jack snorted, holding in laughter but failing. She didn't turn to face Theo, simply placing "Oh Jenny, we are in so much trouble. Honestly, how could you not at least have taught your son how to shoot? Filling his head with gun-control nonsense…"

Theo glared at the woman, "It's not nonsense!"

"Considering I own 32 guns and none of them are licensed, it is kind of nonsense. But, look," Jack offered, loading the shotgun, "I'm all for gun control but with the exception of hunters like me, Bobby, Tony and your mom. We need guns because saving people is our job. The only reason why your mom is in that home at the young age of 62 is because she got out and can't function within society like a normal person anymore."

"Are you going to answer any of my questions or are you going to keep dancing around them?" Theo snapped, "I have a right to answers."

Jack laughed humorlessly, "Don't we all? But guess what, you know who whines like that? Babies and babies don't get answers. We still need to live for the next 15 minutes so I suggest you shut your God damn cakehole and sit tight. You don't deserve answers because you're absolutely useless against attacks at this point."

Jack finally refaced Theo, who had shifted himself to lean against the headboard, as she strapped the automatic onto her back.

"I am not useless! That... thing could have killed you if I hadn't helped!"

Jack's shoulders suddenly loosened, eyes looking far away as she looked him in the eye, "Yeah, ok, I'm sorry," Her voice softened to a surprising level, "You aren't useless but I need to focus and, with that leg, the only thing you can help with is by staying out of the way. Trust me, I've been doing this for a long time."

A bang caused Jack to snap back into action, moving to stand between the door and Theo, who stood between the twin beds in alarm.

Raising her gun, she looked like a soldier, some kind of protector of sorts. Her eyes were sharp again, jaw clenched, finger on the trigger. The light of the room's lamp glinted off the knife attached to her hip and Theo noticed another inside of her boot.

His observations were cut short as something broke through the door's little window, sailing into the back corner of the room, behind the table.

"GET DOWN!"

Jack tackled Theo down just as an explosion rocked the building.

Theo's ears rang, his vision went fuzzy. The only definite thing he could tell was that Jack was next to him, looking over the other twin bed and firing her gun at whatever lay beyond that.

Long moments seemed to pass before his hearing and vision returned to clarity. He'd later find out it had been mere seconds, which impressed Jack.

He moved to look over the bed as well, immediately noticing the blood covering Jack's right shoulder.

"Stay down!"

She barked her command, knowing that he was too inexperienced to know when a bullet was whizzing near him.

He obeyed immediately, but peaked slightly over the bed.

The three attackers looked almost human had it not been for how their faces were half melted off and how they roared at them. They branded their own form of guns, guns like Theo had never seen.

They had tipped the desk, hiding behind it as they took shots at the pair.

Jack ducked back down besides Theo, dropping the shotgun and readying the automatic.

"I'm going in, jump out of the window and get to the car. Get in and lock the doors. Keys are in your pocket. Don't let anyone in unless they give you the password. It's written on a sheet of paper in the glove compartment. These things can't get in it without permission."

Theo hesitated, watching her take a few shots, "What about you?"

Jack kept her gun up but looked back at Theo, "If I don't get out in 10 minutes, drive to your apartment. I'll meet you there. Just get your ass out of that window and follow orders! Now, on three."

Theo tensed, a sinking feeling sticking to his stomach.

"3…"

The bullets stopped flying.

"2…"

The sound of the desk flying towards the bathroom, caused Jack to yell, "1! GO!"

With that, Theo tossed himself over the twin bed, barely missing the bullets that started to fly immediately at his movement.

Once he climbed out of the window and ran a good distance, he chanced a look back.

Jack was locked into hand-to-hand combat against one of the things. One of them was dead across the television, a knife protruding from his sternum.

The last was starting to follow him.

Theo took off towards the car, as fast as his legs could carry him. The adrenaline pumped through his veins for one of the very few times in his life, blocking the pain in his leg. He flung the door open and got inside, immediately locking the door.

Silence.

The deathly silence felt similar to that he felt in the bar before. He gasped for air, as he reached over to the glove compartment and finding the piece of paper on top of a pile of maps, what looked like a leather-bound journal and a knife.

Patens

His eyebrows squished together as confusion flashed across his eyes.

It was short lived as something smashed against the car, shaking it violently.

"Shit!" Theo swore, tucking the paper back into the compartment and slamming it shut.

The shaking stopped and everything was still again.

He shifted to get a better look and felt something in his pocket. Reaching in, he pulled out Jack's phone. 7 minutes flashed on the screen.

If I'm not out in 10 minutes, go back to your apartment.

He breathed out.

2 more minutes before he'd have to leave without her.

Knock, knock.

Theo nearly screamed as a knock came from the window.

Standing outside, was Jack, looking haggard and clutching her bloodied shoulder.

"Theo, let me in."

Her eyes pleaded with him. He went to reach for the door handle but stopped short.

Don't let anyone in without a password

"What's the password?"

Jack made an exasperated sound, "We don't have time for this! Just let me in!"

Theo shook his head, "You're-you're not Jack."

'Jack' growled, "Theo, you're being an idiot! Let. Me. In!"

"Jack doesn't call me Theo!" Theo snapped back, his gut telling him not to let this bitch in.

"When I get my hands on you-"

CLUNK

The backside of a shovel hit against

And, there, standing in a pair of sweatpants and a loose shirt, gasping with a crazed look in her eyes, was Jennifer Peterson.

"Not my baby, you piece of shit."