Typical Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side.
I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it.
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A/N: Even though John died in the beginning of Season 2, I have included him in this story. I guess you can say it took place between "Dead Man's Blood" and "Salvation".
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Vampire Hunter
Dean's phone started ringing, waking him from a nice dream. Grumbling he rolled over as Sam started stirring too and grabbed the phone. Coordinates displayed back to him.
"What is it?" mumbled Sam as he propped himself up on his elbows.
"Coordinates." Dean grumbled as he let his head fall back on the pillow. He rubbed his face with his free hand and took a deep breath. Glancing at his watch he noticed that it was just a little after 5 AM. "Not like we were actually going to sleep much longer anyway," he grumbled some more as he pulled himself out from under the covers. He tossed the phone to Sam as he passed by heading for the bathroom.
Sam caught the phone and headed for the laptop.
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"Kate, are you sure about this?" the small female standing next to the slightly taller female whispered nervously as they looked down the hill towards an old abandoned barn. It was a familiar sight, similar to their previous home.
They had traveled a long way; both were tired and extremely hungry. They had been careful to eat only when they had to and hid all the evidence to avoid detection. The taller female, Kate, nodded, "we need a home, and I'm tired of running. Besides, there's been no evidence that anyone's been following us anyway."
Taking a deep breath, Kate left the tree-line and headed for the barn. She stood outside, about 100 feet from the entrance, and waited. After a moment or two, the door opened and six individuals walked out, led by a large burly looking man and his mate, who was built like a female wrestler. Kate shifted nervously but stood her ground. The smaller woman with her swallowed hard and stayed behind Kate.
The group sized up the newcomers for a few minutes. The leader of the group walked up to Kate and glanced behind her to the companion that was obviously more scared. His skin was so dark that he could easily be mistaken for a shadow at night and he towered at least a foot over the two women. The smell of fresh blood on his lips caused Kate to shiver and her second set of teeth descended automatically.
The man smiled at her and nodded. "Where have you traveled from?"
"Colorado," was Kate's simple reply.
"Anyone following you?"
"We've been very careful, so not that I am aware of."
He nodded again, "come in then." He turned and the group followed behind Kate as she followed behind him and his mate.
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Chris looked at the patterns of the bodies found and the number of missing individuals. The pieces fit just as they always did. He just couldn't figure out why another nest would be formed in the same area. Yeah, the town was a great place to hide, but real hunters knew what to look for and while the signs were spread out, most in Houston, these vampires didn't seem to be worrying about the possibility of hunters. Of course with that said, why hadn't any hunters seen the pattern like he had and come down?
Well that was a week ago. Yesterday an interesting individual showed up. Rough and worn looking, he seems more in need a good meal and night's sleep than just a place to organize.
This wondering hunter had the same information. Chris had no idea how he'd learned that St. Mary's in Houston was a safe haven for hunters, but Chris assumed that it was a word-of-mouth thing between hunters. So the gruff man was welcomed into the church and shown to a small room where he could rest and prepare. Chris had seen the hunter's research this evening when he knocked on the door to see if the hunter wanted anything to eat. The maps and data figures taped to the wall were almost identical to his. That's when he decided to ask the hunter to review his information to see if they had a lead to the nest.
Unfortunately, all their information pointed to the same wide area in Texas, but no specific location other than the small town in the middle of it all, Colmesneil.
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"So what have you got?" Dean walked out of the restroom, toweling his hair dry, and headed for the table where Sam was looking up the coordinates.
"Looks like Texas. A little place called Colmesneil. Pretty remote and out of the way, it's a little over 100 miles northeast of Houston. Papers don't show anything that might interest us though." Sam shrugged as he leaned back away from the screen and rubbed his eyes.
"Well you know how it goes, if Dad sent us coordinates then there must be something down there to kill." Dean said as he pulled out clean clothes and got dressed. Sam just nodded and headed for the shower.
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"You might need some help with this one John. Even though the signs are evident, if this is a group, they're hiding well." Chris said as he poured John another cup of coffee.
"Thanks, I've called in some reinforcements, you might say." John said as sipped the drink.
"Well, you might consider someone that might still be nearby. This hunter has been tracking and hunting vampires for a long time, retired now, but she's taken out an entire nest or two in her time." Chris offered with a slight smile.
"She, huh? Not too many female hunters out there, much less that could take out a whole nest of vampires." John doubted the priest's confidence was in the right place, but tried not to insult him while he was a guest.
"Trust me," Chris' smile broadened and seemed almost a little mischievous, "she's one of the best hunters I've ever met."
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John watched them with a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Sometimes they were so easy to follow, but those were the times when they were just arriving and beginning their investigations. Once they got into the job or they were leaving from a job completed, they were very good at covering their tracks and he could easily lose them if he didn't keep a close eye on them. He was proud of his boys, even if he never said it. Emotions cloud judgment and mistakes are made, best they keep on their toes and not think about pride or love.
Sam and Dean pulled into the small hotel in Colmesneil and grabbed a room. It didn't take them long before they were settled into the room. "How 'bout we get some lunch?" Dean piped up as he dropped his bag onto the bed he'd chosen.
Sam nodded, "sure, there's a couple of placed across the street." Sam tossed his bag onto the other bed and put the laptop bag next it before following Dean out of the door.
John sat back in the booth so that he could no longer be seen from the window. He knew the type of food his boys would be looking for, the very same food that he always looked for, and the same food they'd been eating all their lives. They didn't drive over, just jogged across the street, and he watched them as they entered the diner and the little bell overhead sounded, announcing the newcomers.
Sam was the first to see him, sitting in the booth on the far end of the diner near the edge of the last window. He grabbed Dean's arm before his older brother could move away, his eyes never leaving his father.
The grab was so reflexive that Dean jumped and turned to see what was wrong. He looked at Sam first, then down the row of booths to where his little brother was gawking, and rested his eyes on John, "Dad?"
John smiled a little and waved his boys to come join him. As they reached the booth they saw two cups of coffee steaming on the opposite side of the booth from their dad. Cream and sugar sat next to the one closest to the window, while nothing sat next to the one closest to the aisle. Sam just smile and slid into the booth before Dean and added the cream and sugar to his cup.
"Dad? What are you doing here?" Dean asked as they slid into the booth in front of him.
"Well," John started as he sipped his coffee and waved for the waitress, "we've got a possible nest that needs to be cleared out." As the waitress came over, "can you get my sons a couple of menus? I'll take the burger and fries, everything on the burger." The waitress smiled, "sure thing honey."
"A nest? Of vampires?" Dean questioned as the waitress walked away. "If they're supposed to be so extinct, how come we keep finding them?"
John just shrugged, "I haven't been looking for them because I thought they were extinct. Besides, Elkins and others like him were always hunting for them, so I concentrated on finding the demon and killing other things."
"So you're asking for our help again?" Sam snipped as he set his coffee cup down.
"Why not? We worked well together last time," Dean snipped back at him.
Sam just shrugged, "I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just strange. I didn't think you wanted us around until we really knew where the demon was going to strike again."
"I said we'd hunt the thing together and I meant it. I left because I needed to check these signs out. I'm pretty sure it's a nest, I just can't pin down its location."
"So we're not in the right spot? You just sent us the coordinates so we could meet up with you?" Sam questioned.
"Sort of," John started as the waitress returned and handed the boys some menus. "This seems to be a central location. Most of the disappearances or bodies found are in Houston. However, there have been a few in Zavalla, Seven Oaks, and Jasper. Now all these cities are hundreds of miles apart, but this town hasn't been hit at all. Which is why I thought it might be their staging area, so to speak. I think their nest is somewhere near here." John shrugged, "either that or we're dealing with a single vampire in or near each of those cities living and hunting alone."
Dean frowned, "do vampires do that?"
"Not normally. No records that I've found, but that doesn't mean it might not be the case." John pulled out a small piece of paper, "I met up with a priest named Chris in Houston and he gave me some information on how to contact a retired hunter who might be able to help. It's really weird on how we contact her, but there's no reason why we can't see if she knows anything."
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Dean picked up the paper and read over the article his father had placed there, using the exact words the priest had given them: "She lurks in the shadows watching the night, striking when necessary to join the fight." Dean snorted, "Seems pretty cheesy. And what kind of hunter is she if she only joins a fight when necessary? A real hunter would join the fight at the start."
John just shook his head, "it's just a message, Dean, to get her attention and see if she's in the area and willing to meet. From what the priest says, she's one of the best hunters he's ever met."
Dean snorted again, thoughts of a dark haired female playing through his mind. Her moves and grace brought a slight smile to his face and he mumbled, "I don't know, I think I might have met the best … female hunter …"
Sam looked at Dean and almost laughed. Instead he just smiled and shook his head before asking his dad, "This is the third town we've tried. Are you sure that priest sent us to the right area? I mean, we waste almost two days for each trip. One day to put in the message and then most of another day looking for the reply and moving on when it's not there."
"The priest said he didn't know exactly where she lived, no one does. And he stressed that just because she answers an ad in a particular location doesn't mean she lives there. She's really good at covering her tracks." John told his boys.