"Scully, you have to check this out."
Mulder sat on the edge of his desk, eagerly stretching his hand out, offering a newspaper clipping to Scully, who had barely walked through the door.
Scully sighed, but couldn't help but smile slightly at Mulder's excitement, as she took the paper clipping from him. She quickly scanned it and immediately noted the title first: Vampires Leaving Their Mark in Oak Town. Her arm dropped to her side in exasperation.
"Oh, c'mon, Mulder. Vampires?"
He replied with a smug grin, which, to his satisfaction, only frustrated her more.
She waved the paper in the air. "We've already been through a case like this, remember? Chaney, Texas? That case never proved the existence of vampires, so I see no need to go galavanting across the country in search of another similar, fantasy land case."
Mulder raised his hand and closed his eyes, still smiling.
"I know, Scully. We didn't have irrefutable proof then. I mean, other than Ronnie coming back to life after I stabbed him with a wooden stake, and the fact that I was surrounded by a bunch of green-eyed, pointed teeth monsters, and you even said that goofy looking sheriff had green eyes before you passed out..."
"He wasn't goofy looking. And I was in a drug altered state! That doesn't pro..."
Mulder laughed, "Alright, alright. However, I think you may want to read the rest of the article. It's a lot less fantasy land than the one in Texas, I promise."
Scully stared at Mulder for a moment, feeling a nearly overwhelming urge to continue the debate. Instead, she started reading the article and, as much as she hated to admit it, it did sound like a very interesting case:
In Oak Town, following the recent disappearence of two local teens, two police officers, Jackson and Smith, stumbled upon an abandoned building in woods near the location where the teens were last seen. The two officers called for backup, but proceeded to enter the building without waiting. Immediately, they both saw ten bodies on the ground, two of which were the teens. Some of the bodies had fang marks on their wrists, and blood around their mouths. They checked each body for pulses and found that none of them had any sign of life. When the backup arrived, all of the bodies leapt up and ran out the door. One of the creatures attacked Jackson, biting his own wrist and forcing it over the officers mouth, according to his partner, Smith. In a flurry of events, the creatures escaped, and Jackson was immediately taken to the nearest hospital. The doctors tried to save him, but they called his death at 3 a.m. that night, due to no pulse. According to his partner, Smith, he went into the room to say his goodbyes, and was extremely disturbed to find Jackson wide awake, sitting on the edge of his bed, with fanged teeth bared at him. Smith managed to get backup in the room in time and they subdued Jackson. He he currently being held in isolation for further inquiry, however, according to the doctor, he appears unresponsive to reasoning. The case is currently still under investigation and it is unclear the cause of Jacksons strange behavior and return to life. Many of the towns residents have speculated, but the most common theory is that vampires are responsible and that, Jackson, was turned into one himself and is proof of their theory. Officials won't verify or deny this speculation, but we will keep you updated on new discoveries and breakthroughs in the case.
Brows furrowed, she pulled the paper away and looked at Mulder, completely unsure of what to think or say. She couldn't believe it herself, but she was suddenly very intrigued, but tried not to show it.
"Who wrote this piece anyways? Is this computer paper? Geez, Mulder, did you just print this off from the internet?"
Mulder ignored her string of complaints and instead replied breathily, on the edge of seat for Scully's decision. "So? What do you think. Should we go check this out or what?"
Scully paused, biting her lip.
"Okay, it's intriguing, I'll give you that." Mulder raised his eyebrows in suspense as Scully paused. He knew she was doing this to him on purpose.
Scully sighed in defeat, but Mulder could see a sparkle in her eyes; he got her.
"When do we fly out?"
Mulder practically leapt off the desk, grabbing his coat, and pulling Scully out the door.
"Does right now work for you?"
Scully smiled as the followed Mulder out the door and onto their next, great adventure.
The next day, in Lebanon, Kansas...
"You know what I want, Sam?"
Sam looked up from his newspaper and coffee, his demeanor suddenly overcome with mock seriousness.
"What's that, Dean?"
Dean pulled out his computer and set it on the dining table, opening it up.
"A good old-fashioned case. Like we use to work back in the old days."
Sam stared quizzically at Dean.
"You know, everything's kind of balanced out...up there, since Chuck and Amara made up. And mom's out there "figuring things out" or whatever and I just think it would be nice to go on a regular old hunt, like we used to."
Dean looked up from his computer expectantly and Sam stared back, surprised that Dean would even suggest it.
"Yeah, I'd be down with that, it's just...I thought you might want some time to "figure things out" yourself."
Dean waved a hand dismissively and turned his attention back to his laptop.
"Nah, the best thing for me to do it get my hands dirty. I've been sitting around too long as it is anyways."
Sam nodded, suddenly aware of the familiar, creeping buzz of excitement that always happened before a hunt. He scooted to the edge of his seat and glanced at Dean's laptop.
"Have you found anything?"
Dean mused. "Well, like I said, things seem to have balanced out a little, it looks pretty sparse as far as weirdness goes out there...oh, hang on, I think I may found something."
Sam was now in danger of falling off his chair; he hadn't realized how much he had wanted to go hunting too.
Dean let out a victorious laugh. "Oh, this is perfect!"
"Lay it on me, Dean."
"Alright, so according to a newspaper from Oak County, Oregon, there have been vampire sightings in the area. Apparently, 10 have been seen, and they even turned a police officer who they now have in lockdown. They're trying to question him on what happened." Dean snorted. "Good luck with that."
"So, what do you think? A nest trying to repopulate? Starting to come back out into the open now that the threat of the Darkness is over?"
Dean nodded, suddenly immersed in thought. "Could be both." He shut his laptop and stood up. "Either way, it looks like our kind of gig."
Sam followed suit, standing up, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
They both shared an awkward moment until Sam burst out, "Meet you at the Impala in 10?"
Dean grinned. "Sounds good to me."