"It starts in the theatre, a night of encounters. If I hadn't been there, if not for a cigarette. And you could see it change, look past the blinding light, look past the blinding light." (Two Door Cinema Club, Cigarettes in The theatre)
Kugel's Keg was a squat; dank little bar surrounded by motorcycles and the stale taste of old beer. The inside was small and reeked of smoke and sweat, but the beer was cold and cheap so the little bar was full of people. A gang of bikers surrounded the pool table, laughing and drinking as their friends looked on from the bar stools. Next to the pool table were Sam and Dean Winchester discussing their case with not-so-hushed tones.
"Apparently there were signs of a struggle." The youngest said from his place at the table as he watched his brother throw another dart.
"Well, they could be right, it could just be a kidnapping. Maybe this isn't our kind of gig." Dean replied. A slender woman with short black hair stood behind the pool table, waiting for her turn while closely observing the brothers. She leaned against the long stick in her hands and tried to focus on the voices of the young men, but her drunken partners were distracting her ears.
"Your turn, doll face." The bikers laughed and drank while she slowly shifted her gaze from the strange men to the green felt pool table. With a smirk she walked around the corner and began to aim her shot, positioning herself within earshot of the two men huddled over a junky leather bound book.
"Don't phantom attackers usually snatch people from their beds? Jenkins was in the parking lot."
"Well, there are all kinds." Dean walked back to the dart game but the woman could feel his eyes roaming over her backside as she bent to steady her shot. "Springhill Jacks, phantom gassers. They take people anywhere, anytime. Dean, I don't know if this is our kind of gig either." The woman followed her cue ball after sinking the shot and bent again towards the table, this time facing the brothers directly.
"Yeah, you're right. We should ask around more tomorrow." Dean locked eyes with the woman and threw her a wink before turning once again to the dartboard. For a moment the woman stared in shock, a scoff building its way up her throat only to be silenced with a bit lip and a roll of the eyes behind her black fringe. She missed the next shot on purpose, much to the oblivious joy of the bikers she was betting against. They took the table and she sunk against the dingy wooden wall, watching as the brothers' split up, Sam heading outside and Dean heading towards the bathroom. Crossing her arms she waited and wondered about the interesting pair of hunters. When Dean left the bathroom he walked past the woman but she was too busy counting her winnings to notice his glance. He didn't mind though, because it gave him the opportunity to really drink in her appearance. She was a little shorter than he was and though her short bob hid her face from view, he could tell from her slim figure that she was a looker. He walked past her and could feel her stare follow him out of the bar. Dean would definitely be visiting this bar again.
His smirk was short lived however, as he slowly realized that Sam had vanished. He observed his Dad's journal abandoned on the trunk of the Impala and immediately feared the worst. As more people exited the bar his fear began to peak. The woman exited the bar and lit a cigarette, not looking up when Dean approached her.
"Hey, have you been outside within the past hour?" She looked at him and shook her head. "You didn't see where my brother went, did you?" The woman took the cig from her mouth and gracefully blew the white smoke away from Dean.
"You mean the attractive tall guy?"
"Uh, yeah I guess. Did you watch him leave?" The woman shook her head slowly.
"I've been inside all night." Dean turned away and began to pace the parking lot, yelling for Sam. The woman took one last drag of her cigarette before smushing it out beneath her black leather boots.
"Hey, there's a security camera up there." She mentioned as she caught up to the panicked Dean. He stopped his movements and followed her finger to the street light/security camera duo stationed between the bar and the empty country road. "But it's a traffic cam and can only be accessed by the town police." Dean gave the woman a thankful nod and raced to the Impala. She watched as he sped away, lighting another cig in the silence.
"Nice car..."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Dean sat on a park bench outside of the police station, disgruntled with how his conversation went with Kathleen. As he was looking out at nothing, thinking of other ways to find his brother, he didn't notice as a familiar person walked up to him.
"Any luck?" The woman from Kugel's asked kindly, taking a seat next to Dean. He glanced at her quickly before looking in the opposite direction.
"Not really, the deputy is more by the books than I'd prefer."
"Did you tell her it's your brother? Kathleen is a tough broad, but she's not heartless."
"I told her enough." Silence settled over them, thick and heavy.
"I can help you if you want. I know a few locals, a few palms I could grease." Dean looked towards her at first but didn't look at her face.
"I appreciate the gesture, but Sam's my responsibility. I don't want to get you involved with anything dangerous." The woman scoffed and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
"What brings you two around these parts anyway?" She questioned before popping the cig in her mouth and returning the pack to her coat pocket.
"Business." Dean replied gruffly, eliciting another laugh from the woman. She lit her cigarette and took a long drag before turning to face the Winchester.
"Would that be the business of monsters?" Dean's eyes snapped to hers, completely taken aback. The woman blew her smoke out of the corner of her mouth and flashed him a sly smile. Dean noticed how brightly her eyes stood out against her dark olive skin. She had thick brows and a sharp jaw, with freckles dusting across her cheeks and nose. She wore little makeup, just black liner and mascara, but her cheeks flushed against the cold while her lips puckered against the butt of her cigarette, making them seem fuller.
"What did you say your name was?" Dean asked, his eyes trained on her lips, which curved into a smile.
"I didn't." She let out another long stream of smoke, this time not being as careful to avoid Dean's face. "See you around." She gave him one last look before standing and walking away. Dean was about to follow her but he heard Deputy Kathleen calling out his alias.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Dean pulled his hand against the cuffs, hoping to break the handle off the car door but having no luck in doing so. He looked around for something that may be helpful in getting free and found the antennae to the police car as his only option. Stretching as far as possible, he tried to unscrew the plastic rod.
"You're having some bad luck lately, huh?" Dean jumped at the sound of a woman's voice and turns to see the some woman from the park and the bar standing in front of him with a smirk.
"Trust me lady, my whole life is one long list of bad luck."
"Oh, I don't think that's entirely true." She pulled out two thin pieces of metal from a pocket inside her dark brown jacket. "After all, you're lucky to have met me."
"Name's Dean," He said with a smile, "Dean Winchester." She woman returned his smile and crouched next to the car door, plunging the metal rods into the cuff attached to the handle. Dean kneeled down next to her and watched as she gracefully poked and prodded her way into the lock.
"Lailah." She informed him.
"No last name?" Dean questioned. She gave him a look.
"Nope," One final twist of the metal and the cuff popped open, "At least none that concern you."
"How did you find me?" He asked after a beat, allowing Lailah to take his hand in hers to work on the second lock.
"I was out on my bike and just happened to come across the police car. Lucky for you, cause I was just on my way out of town." The second cuff popped off.
"I would have gotten out eventually." Dean claimed as he started to stand up.
"Uh-huh." Lailah scoffed before jerking him back down to the ground. He glared in protest but fell silent at the sound of people near by. "Before or after they found you?" She crouched lower and slowly made her way around the car and into a thicket of trees, Dean following close behind. For a while they walked in silence, through fog, trees, and mud.
"So are you a hunter too?" Dean broke the silence. He noticed that she kept right hand close to her unzipped jacket and figured she must have a weapon ready.
"Yeah," She answered with an empty laugh, "Yeah, I guess you could call me that."
"How long?" He asked, scanning the clearing they were about to enter.
"Hm?"
"How long have you been hunting?" Dean repeated, watching as Lailah paused to look up at the overcast sky. Soft droplets of water fell on them and the sky looked like it would open at any moment. She found something in the horizon and motioned silently to Dean, who followed her finger. There was smoke coming from beyond the trees; A chimney fire in the distance.
"That must be where they hold up." She explained before taking a small pistol from inside her jacket. "Where's your gun?" Dean sighed angrily but didn't reply. Instead he forged ahead, briskly crossing the clearing and heading back into more trees. "I guess I'll cover you then." Lailah said under her breath, slightly amused.
They broke through the trees again and came across a dilapidated old farm that could have been straight out of any horror film. Dean motioned for them to hit the barn first, noting that the smoke was coming from the main house and meant their target was probably inside. Lailah nodded and followed him, walking silently with both hands on her gun. They reached a rotted door and paused a moment to look at each other. It was then that Lailah noticed the small brass amulet hanging from around Dean's neck. Her eyes grew wide and she quickly inhaled to speak, but Dean had already turned around. He entered the barn silently, leaving a dumbfounded Lailah in the sprinkling rain. When she finally snapped out of her daze and made it into the barn, Dean has already found Sam.
"Damn it's good to see you!" He exclaimed, his mood noticeably lighter than before. Lailah approached the cages, a sick feeling beginning to pool in the pit of her stomach.
"How did you get out of the cuffs?" Kathleen asked from the opposite cage.
"That was me." Lailah spoke, causing the three to snap their attention to her as she approached. "I know a trick or two." Dean smiled before turning to inspect the locks. "You must be Sam then." Lailah dropped to inspect the other Winchester, crouching low at his cage. Sam gave her a confused look.
"Uhh, yeah." He replied, taking in her unfamiliar appearance. "Um, and you are?" She reached her hand through the bars with a smile.
"Lailah, nice to make your acquaintance." Sam shook her hand awkwardly, causing her to laugh. "I was at Kugel's the other night, overheard your conversation. Don't worry, I'm here to help."
"These locks look like they're gonna be a bitch." Dean said angrily.
"There's a control right there." Sam explained, pointing to the large button panel. Lailah stood up and met Dean at the controls, trying each button to no avail.
"Have you seen them?" Dean asked his brother.
"Yeah. Dude, they're just people."
"And they jumped you? Must be getting rusty there, kiddo." Lailah rolled her eyes before putting her gun back in its hidden holster.
"What do they want?" She asked Sam.
"No idea. They let Jenkins go, but that was some sort of trap. It doesn't make any sense to me."
"Well, that's the point." Dean said as he closed the control box. "With our usual playmates, there's rules, there's patterns. But with people, they're just crazy."
"But evil is evil." Lailah said, crossing her arms. "And most creatures start out as human anyway."
"This thing needs a key. Key?" He motions to Sam, who shrugged in response.
"Best guess is the house then." Lailah said, reaching for her gun again. She nodded at Sam and Kathleen before heading to the door, Dean following behind her.
"Hey!" Sam yelled, stopping them in their tracks. "Be careful."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Silently they broke into the basement, the only light coming from Dean's torch. Lailah felt a prickling at the back of her neck as they walked through walls of human parts and murderous devices. They stopped at a wall of pictures, set up to be a hunters trophy collage. Lailah cringed at the pictures, her heart growing heavier as time went by.
"I'll say it again," Dean whispered to her, "Demons I get. People are crazy." She remained silent as they looked through the pictures. Dead men and women, hunted like animals. It made her sick.
"These aren't people." She finally replied, placing the picture of a deceased Mr. Jenkins back down on the table. "They're monsters."
The rest of the house was equally disgusting. Human remains and filth covered every inch of the space, boasting more prizes from years of hunting. When they reached the stairs Lailah jerked her head towards them and Dean nodded, silently agreeing to split up. She climbed the stairs silently, her gun down but ready to fire at a moments notice. At the top of the stairs there was a small hallway leading to the left with several closed doors. She slowly walked through the hallway starting with the last door, which turned out to be a bathroom. The stink that permeated the room was too much for her to bear so she quickly closed the door and moved onto the next room. It had a dingy cot and a stained rug, so it must be a bedroom. She went to leave but her eye caught on something in the corner of the room: a small wooden dollhouse. She walked over and looked it over. It was obviously homemade and quite old. There were no real dolls however, just a rag tied with rubber bands and what seemed to be a dead mouse.
"Ugh!" Lailah looked closer into the toy bedroom and found a piece of paper shoved under the wooden bed. She pulled it out and found it was a photograph of a woman with sandy blonde hair. She had deep cut wrinkles but couldn't have been older that 30-35. Her eyes were tired.
"What the hell is this?!" A male voice broke the tense silence and Lailah turned just in time to see a large boot sailing towards her head.
Then everything went dark...
"So you with that pretty cop? Or the other one, over there?" Lailah groaned, a painful throbbing in her head radiating from where Lee had kicked her. She opened her eyes to find the three men leering at her and Dean tied up as well. When her eyes fell to Missy she reflexively tried to get up, but rough ropes bit into her skin and kept her anchored against a chair. "Are you cops?"
"If I tell you, do you promise not to turn me into an ashtray?" Dean snarled, blood running down his face. Jared, the other Bender brother, stomped over and slapped him across the face. Lailah cringed and struggled against her bonds while observing the room. She felt eyes on her and turned to head to meet eyes with Missy.
"Oh eat me!" Dean yelled before considering his words and adding, "No, no, no, no, you actually might." Judd grabbed his head and held it tightly as the father brought an iron out of the fire.
"You think this if funny? You brought this down on my family. You wanna play games?" He nodded to his other son, who immediately went to Lailah and pulled her head back sharply by her hair before placing a wickedly sharp knife against her neck. "We're gonna have a hunt tonight after all boys. And you get to choose the animal. The boy or the cop?"
"Wait, wait!" Dean stammered, staring at Lailah's exposed neck in horror.
"There's nobody coming for us." She said in an almost gentle manner. "It's just us." Pa nodded happily and Lee dropped Lailah's head. He then brought the knife that was on her skin to his mouth and slowly licked it while staring into her eyes.
"If you don't choose, I will." The father said before poking the white-hot iron into Dean's shoulder, eliciting a scream from the man. Lailah struggled against her ropes again, hoping to free at least one hand.
"You son of a bitch!" Dean yelled. Pa smiled as he brought the poker up to Dean's face.
"Next time, I'll take an eye."
"The guy!" Lailah shouted, trying to help Dean. "The guy! Take the guy. Hunt him!" The men shared a sickening smile before Pa handed over a key to Lee.
"I like this one," He snickered. "Go do it. Don't let him out though, just shoot him in the cage."
"I thought you said you were gonna hunt him!" Dean struggled against his bindings. Lailah did the same.
"You were gonna give him a chance!" Lailah added.
"Lee, when you're done with the boy, shoot the bitch too." Pa turned to Lailah and smirked. "Not this one though... She may be useful." Judd walked to her and put his face near hers. Lailah gagged on the smell coming from him, but it only made him smile more.
"I like her Pa, she could make some fine babies." He stuck his face in her hair and took a long breath through his nose. "She smells like sunshine." Lailah pulled her face away from him and caught eyes with Missy, who was watching her closely.
"Yeah, we'll keep her around, put her to work." He sat on an easy chair and pulled his daughter into his lap. "Missy needs a new mommy anyway. Innit that right baby?" He asked soothingly, stroking the child's filthy hair.
"I'll take my chances on a hunt." Lailah replied bitterly. Suddenly a gunshot rang through the air.
"You hurt my brother, I'll kill you, I swear. I'll kill you all." Dean yelled, knocking his chair from leg to leg in desperation. Pa got to his feet and motioned for Judd to follow him.
"Missy, you watch them now!" He said before leaving with his son. Missy nodded gleefully before pulling out a knife and teasing Dean with it.
"I saw your dollhouse upstairs Missy." The little girl stopped her toying and turned around slowly. "It's a pretty house, isn't it?" Dean shot Lailah a questioning glance, but she ignored it, focusing intensely on the little girl between them. "You don't have any dolls though, do you?" She shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving Lailah's. "That's too bad Missy. I had lots of dolls when I was a little girl."
"Who gave you dolls?" Lailah tilter her head slightly, a kind smile on her lips.
"I made them myself."
"You made them?"
"Yep," Lailah nodded, gesturing for Missy to come closer, which she did reluctantly. "It's very easy to make dolls. My daddy showed me how. I made lots of pretty dolls with pretty hair and pretty dresses. I could teach you Missy." The girl stopped in front of Lailah and gently began touching her face with her left hand while keeping a tight grip on the knife in her right. Lailah laughed happily, ignoring the sickly feeling crawling up her spine. "Do you want to learn Missy? Do you want to make dolls with me?" The girl nodded as she stared into Lailah's grey eyes. "What type of dolls do you want to make?"
"Pretty dolls." Missy repeated, her hand moving to Lailah's short hair.
"We can make lots of pretty dolls Missy. I need you to go get some supplies first, ok? Can you do that Missy?" The girl nodded her head again, a smile playing on her lips. "Good girl! I'm gonna need some string, a towel, and some wooden chair legs. Can you find those?" Missy smiled wide before running out of the room to fetch the supplies. Lailah paused for a few seconds, straining her ear for Missy's movements before she stood from her chair, completely free of the ropes that had bound her. Dean stared quizzically as she approached him, quickly squatting behind him to untie his hands.
"How did you—"
"I know a few tricks, remember." She interrupted quietly. Three gunshots rang out and they both became still, tension rapidly growing within them. The pitter-patter of naked feet rang through the hall, growing louder and louder as Missy approached. Lailah swore to herself as she fumbled with the knot in her hands.
"What are you doing?" The little girl asked sternly. She stood in the archway with one arm full of doll supplies and one hand still brandishing the little knife. Lailah got to her feet and slowly walked in front of Dean, shielding him.
"Listen Missy, we have to get out of here. It's not safe. I can take you somewhere pretty, where you can have all the dolls you want. But we have to help Dean's brother and the police woman."
"You can't leave. You're my new mamma." Lailah put her hands up, trying to calm the little girl.
"I know baby, I know. But we can't stay here. You need a pretty house with flowers and dresses. Not this place. Let me help you Missy."
"You're gonna leave me, just like she did!" Another gunshot rang out, startling the girl. "I ain't gonna let you." She dropped the bundle of fabric and rushed at Lailah with her knife slashing through the air. Lailah readied herself and shot forward, grabbing Missy's free hand and spinning her around. Missy managed to plunge the knife into Lailah's thigh before she was subdued, but Lailah ignored the pain. In one swift motion she pulled the little girl kicking and screaming out of the living room and swiftly threw her in the nearest closet before locking it tightly. After a short breath the woman returned to Dean, ignoring his stare as she moved to release him.
"You have a knife in your leg."
"Good thing I'm caught up on my shots." She replied grabbing hold of the metal handle and slowly pulling the knife out of her leg. Dean watched as she squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip, fighting the pain silently. The weapon came out bright red and dripping, but Lailah wasted no time in slicing through the rope that bound Dean to the chair. He pulled his hands forward gingerly, wincing at the pain his burnt shoulder caused him.
"Thanks."
"That's the second time I've gotten you out of a jam today. I'd say you owe me a drink or three." Dean smiled as they stood up together but the fell silent and alert as footsteps pounded against the front porch. The door opened and suddenly Sam appeared, at first looking deadly serious, then confused, then relieved.
"Oh thank god!" Dean sighed in relief.
"Where are the others?" Lailah asked quickly.
"The brothers are locked up and knocked out. Kathleen is watching the dad. He got shot in the shoulder."
"Missy is locked up in the hallway closet." Lailah said as she dropped the knife from her hand. It fell with a clatter on the hard wood floor and for a while the three stood in silence. A final gunshot rang out and they all looked at each other in shock before Sam and Dean bolted out of the house, leaving Lailah limping after them. When she finally reached the porch steps she knew it was all over by the looks on relief on the brother's faces. Kathleen had gone to find her equipment and call in for backup so Lailah sunk down to sit on the steps and fished out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. She reveled in the musky flavor that filled her mouth when she inhaled the flame, the tingle that started at the tip of her tongue and soon washed all over her body. Exhaling was another treat, a release of the fear and pain from their unfortunate afternoon. She closed her eyes and actively emptied her mind, knowing this event would just be another addition to her ever-growing collection of nightmares. Tonight Lailah would be treating herself to a supper of whiskey and chocolate, deliciously paired with a long shower and some hot sex. She mentally mapped out her next destination, cross referencing the numbers in her phone based on location, personality, and proven ability.
"We're gonna start walking. The feds will be here soon." Dean's voice interrupted her narrowing suspects and she opened her eyes to see the brothers looking at her.
"Yeah, uhh, thanks for the help." Sam added, "I'm Sam by the way, we weren't properly introduced." He offered his hand and Lailah took it, pulling herself to stand before discarding her cigarette butt.
"Nice to meet you Sam," She smiled at him tiredly. "Wish it was under better circumstances though."
"Well, I for one am glad you showed up. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't." Dean said with a bloody grin.
"Yeah, after Dean got sidelined by a 13 year-old girl."
"Oh, shut up!"
"What can I say?" Lailah chuckled before walking between the boys and heading for the road. "Us hunters have to stick together. My bike's about a mile up the road, so I'll walk with you till then." They caught up to her quickly and walked in silence until they escaped the darkness of the murder farm. After that, their moods lightened exponentially.
"How's your leg Lailah?" Dean asked after a while.
"Not that bad, she didn't get it straight in." She was no longer limping from her wound and hardly seemed injured at all. When they finally reached the road Lailah took a detour through a thicket of trees and returned pushing an old, beat-up black motorcycle in front of her.
"This is your bike?" Dean asked incredulously, causing Sam to snicker. Lailah narrowed her eyes at them dangerously.
"Yeah, what of it?" Dean shrugged with and smile and crossed his arms.
"Nothing. I was just expecting something more..."
"Girlie?" Lailah scoffed. Dean shrugged again. "Oh bite me." Lailah rolled her eyes as she pushed her bike to the road. "This is a vintage Manx Norton. First in its class for speed, durability, and smoothness. My baby's got about 17 years on your little Chevy. Show some respect." She threw her wounded leg over the bike and sat down triumphantly. Dean was working a retort to her Impala quip but Sam quickly interrupted.
"Where are you heading now?"
"The hell away from here, that's for sure. But I haven't decided yet. What about you guys?" They shared a glance.
"We need to get our car from town. Think you could give one of us a lift?" Dean asked, throwing her his most alluring smile.
"Well, Daisy is more of a one woman bike. Besides I wouldn't want to embarrass you with my 'girlie' ride, now would I?" Sam laughed at his brothers' expense and Lailah joined him before holding out her hand. "Let me see your phone Sam."
"Uhh, sure." He handed it over and she quickly typed in a series of numbers before returning it to him.
"There's my number, if you ever need any help just give me a call. I'll swing by and save you if I can." She threw him a wink before turning to Dean. "I wouldn't say its been fun, but its definitely been real." She jammed a foot down and her bike roared to life, one headlight illumining the empty road. "See you around." Lailah revved her engine a few times before peeling off and disappearing down the road. The Winchester's watched her leave until she had vanished and then looked at each other slyly. Dean whistled a tuneless scale and they started walking again.
