Hello! It's me again! This popped into my head and now I'm going to write it. So, yeah. This takes place after 1.14 Nightmare and before 1.15 The Benders.
Disclaimer: The Supernatural characters and universe do not belong to me. I only take ownership over my OCs throughout the story.
Enjoy!
Winona Stark looked out the window of her bedroom, her arms crossed across her chest, her face set in a deep frown. She couldn't fight the feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong. She jumped when a pair of arms wrapped around her small waist.
"Is something wrong, sweetheart?" Her husband, Daniel, spoke softly. Winona sighed and leaned in to her husband's comforting touch.
"I have a feeling, Daniel," she muttered, continuing to look out the window. "A bad one..."
"You're just paranoid, Winona," he reassured her. "Now, come on to bed, we have to be up early."
"I'll be right there," Winona promised. Daniel pressed a kiss to her cheek before walking to their bed and getting in to it. Winona turned back to the window, continuing to stare. Daniel was right. She was just paranoid. She gave one last glance to the window, before turning from it. She didn't notice the pair of golden eyes that were hiding in the shadows.
Still having a bad feeling, she quietly made her way to her daughter's room. She opened the door and walked in. She smiled to herself. Her eldest daughter, Brynn- four years old- was laying fast asleep in her princess bed. Winona bent down, pressing a kiss to Brynn's forehead. The little girl smiled in her sleep. Winona smiled again before walking out and going to the nursery, down the hall.
The six month old baby Verity babbled nonsense the moment her mother walked through the door. Winona walked over to Verity's crib, picking up the small girl.
"Are you okay, baby girl?" Winona cooed to Verity. Verity gave her a toothless smile and reached out for her dark curls. Winona brought Verity close and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. Too wrapped up in her daughter, she didn't notice the silhouette in the doorway, until the little baby started fussing in that direction. Winona turned, holding her daughter tight against her chest.
"Daniel?" She questioned.
"Time's up, darling," the silhouette in the doorway spoke. Suddenly she saw a flash of gold. She gasped. She tried protecting Verity from the man, but it was in vain. She pushed past him and ran.
"Mommy?" questioned a sleepy-eyed Brynn. Winona grabbed her hand, pulling her, while still holding on to Verity. They ran until they got outside. Brynn was starting to cry when Winona turned to her.
"Brynn, sweetheart, listen to Mommy," Winona choked out. "When I tell you to run, you run. You take Verity and you run. Don't look back. Go to Ms. Violet's house, she'll take you two. You look after Verity, okay? You protect her and you look out for her. You two are family. You are all that is left, so you need to look out for her. I love you. Daddy and I love you both so much."
Tears in her brown eyes, Brynn nodded, taking Verity from her mother's arms. Verity whined, but went quiet soon after she realized who was holding her. Brynn looked down at her, then back up at her mother, before crying out, "Mommy!"
Winona had no time to prepare herself as suddenly she was being pulled back into the house by an unknown force.
"Run! Brynn, run!"
And then she was pulled into the house and the door slammed behind her. Brynn hesitated on running, still staring at the dark house. But suddenly, the house blew up in flames, and Brynn stumbled backwards, with a shriek. She turned on her heel and began running down the street, a wailing Verity still in her arms. She tried blocking the sound of pained screaming, and the deafening silence that followed. She continued to run, even though her legs hurt and her tears were prohibiting her to see where she was going.
But in the end, she made it. She made it to Violet Roberts' house, which was at least a mile away. She weakly knocked on the door, hoping that Violet would be able to hear it. Fortunately, she did.
"Hello?" She opened the door and stopped in her tracks upon seeing the small girls.
"M-Ms. Violet...my mommy told me to come here, I'm sorry for waking you up," Brynn muttered quietly, and tearfully.
"No, it's fine, Brynn," Violet tried reassuring the little girl, "Come on in. It's freezing out there."
Brynn nodded her head in agreement, holding Verity tighter to her chest, before walking inside. She made a beeline for the couch, sitting down and cradling Verity.
"It's okay, Vee, I got you," she told the baby. "I'm going to look out for you. Because you're my little sister and I'm your big sister. Mommy told me to look out for you, so I will."
Verity looked curiously up at Brynn. Her small hand wrapped around Brynn's shirt, and she snuggled closer. Violet watched the two with a heavy heart. They were so young, and their parents- oh, god. Violet pressed a hand to her mouth, to silence the sobs threatening to pour from her mouth. She had been friends with Winona and Daniel Stark since she could walk. They'd always been there for her, and she in turn, for them. She started watching over little Brynn for them, and when Verity was born, them, too. If something were to happen to them, she was to take care of them both.
She looked back over to Brynn and Verity, who were fast asleep on the couch. She sighed before placing a blanket over them both. Her home phone rang and she answered it.
"Hello?"
The phone dropped to the ground, and soon after, Violet followed. She shook with sobs as she curled in to herself.
Daniel and Winona Stark were dead.
There was a girl staring out the dingy motel room. She was none other than 20-year old Verity Stark. She sat in the chair closest to the window, her laptop open but being left unattended. Her wavy chestnut hair was over her still child-like face; it had fell from the bun she had attempted hours ago. Her eyes, which were hazel but changed depending on her mood, and usually shining, were dull and full of fatigue. The slight sun shining through the blinds made them look a beautiful green, at the moment. Freckles dotted across her face, but they were barely noticeable. She looked worn out. And to be truthful, she was. She had been up all night, researching. She and her sister, who lay in the motel bed feet away, had just finished a case the day previous. It was a rugaru, they had found. Sweet Ophelia Richards suddenly flipped on everyone she knew, shocking them all. She got an affinity for meat, and then flipped and ate her little sister. That had been years ago, and by the time Verity and her sister, Brynn Stark, had gotten to Lansing, Michigan Ophelia had killed 25 people. But she was ended as soon as she was set on fire. Verity flinched when she saw fire. She never knew why, but she just did, and she was uncomfortable around it.
After setting Ophelia up in flames, they grabbed dinner, and came back to the motel; they ate and then Brynn crashed. But Verity couldn't sleep. She had washed her face, brushed her teeth, watched a pointless show, and even went on a late night jog. Nothing. So, she did what she always did when she was restless; research. She searched for any cases that could be close to them; nothing. She searched and searched, tapping away furiously. She never found a thing. Her eyes felt heavy and she felt as though she would collapse at any moment , but she kept going. When her eyes started to droop, she even went to go get herself a coffee, though she despised it, and a box full of donuts. Sweets always helped her wake up. And then she continued typing away.
"Come on, there's gotta be something," she mumbled, hopelessly, her voice sounding raspy. She sighed heavily, closing the laptop, and rubbing her forehead due to an oncoming headache. She needed to sleep. But being an insomniac, it was impossible. She stood up, grabbing her hoodie and phone, also putting on some jeans before leaving the stuffy motel room and taking a walk to the local diner. The mild Michigan wind blew around her as she walked. There weren't many cars or people around due to it only being, taking out her phone, Verity saw the bright 6:15 flashing back at her. She groaned. It was too early. When she did go to sleep, she hated to be woken up anytime before 11 a.m.
"Hey, it's Beanstalk!" Said the lady standing behind the counter, next to a young blond boy. The blond boy, who's name tag read 'Cody' instantly looked up, his face lighting up. Verity laughed at the woman's nickname for her. It was true; Verity was a beanstalk. She was tall for a female, standing at 6'0.
"You decided to come back?" grinned the young boy from behind the counter. Verity smiled at him.
"Yeah," she answered, shrugging. "Just can't get enough, you know?"
"I know exactly what you mean," he said, nodding in agreement. Verity sat down in front of him. "So, same as the past three days?"
Verity nodded. "Same as the past three days."
The lady nodded, going into the back, leaving Cody and Verity alone. Cody rested his hands on the counter and slightly leaned towards her. "So, why are you here so early?"
Verity sighed, running a hand across her eyes. "Couldn't sleep all night. And I needed a break from that disgusting motel room. Plus, I was hungry. So, I'm here. Why, got a problem with me, Cody?"
Cody shook his head, making his blonde locks move with it. "I don't have a problem with you. I was just asking-"
Verity cut him off with a laugh. "I'm just messing around with you, Cody."
"I knew that," Cody responded, quietly, his face going slightly pink. He turned when he heard the loud calling from the back. Verity could've sworn she heard him mutter, "Very smooth, Cody." to himself. But she didn't question him about it. She waited as he came back with the order she's had for the past three days.
"Mmm," she hummed in appreciation, stuffing a piece a piece of bacon in her mouth. "I'll never get over your bacon."
Cody laughed. "Yeah, our bacon is pretty good." He paused. "So. You've been here for 3 days...are you staying for a little while longer?"
Verity swallowed her piece of bacon, going silent for a moment. The hopeful look in Cody's eyes made Verity evade looking directly at him. "To be honest? I don't know. We're supposed to be leaving today, but my sister isn't up yet, so I don't know our plans just yet."
Cody's shoulders slumped slightly, but he nodded. "My shift ends at 12, do you want to, uh, I don't know..hang out? I can show you around town..."
"Sure, I'd love that, Cody," Verity gave him a dazzling smile. She winked, poking his arm. "I've got my own personal guide!"
Cody laughed, Verity laughing right along with him. They carried on with conversation after this, Verity still eating her breakfast. The only time their conversation stopped was when Cody had to serve other customers, but then he'd come right back to continue the conversation. To the surrounding others, they could see the obvious chemistry, though the pair themselves couldn't see it. Soon, it was 9:30 and the diner was a lot more busy than it had been 3 hours ago. Suddenly, in the middle of the conversation about which animal would dominate in a fight- a coyote or a wolf, Verity's phone began to ring. She answered it, slightly turning away from Cody.
"Hello?"
"Where the hell are you?" Came her sister's raspy-just-woke-up voice.
"At the diner, why?" Verity replied.
"Why? Seriously? We're done here. Next case we go!"
Verity bit her lip, glancing at Cody, who had moved to another customer for the time being. He flashed her a smile which she returned. "Uh, can't we stay a few more hours?"
"What?"
"I said can't we stay-"
"I heard you."
"Then why did you ask?"
"Why do you want to stay? We took care of Phi Phi and we gotta go."
"But, I just want to stay a bit longer, Bee. That's all."
"...it's that waiter boy, isn't it?"
"Why do you think that?"
"He's cute, Vee. You should hit that. I'll let you have your fun. But please, use protection."
"Brynn!"
"Bye!"
Verity pursed her lips, tucking her phone back into her pocket. Sometimes, her sister was so embarrassing. Shaking her head, she waited for Cody to finish with his current costumer. He noticed her, getting the slightly drunken man's order, then heading back over to her.
"Hey. Guess I'm not leaving until later," Verity gave him a dazzling smile. "So, I've got some time to kill."
"Great!" Cody exclaimed. "My shift is over in an hour. I stay from midnight to 10:30, to take care of the late night stragglers and early morning birds. Do you want to hang around until then?"
"Sure," Verity nodded. "Hey, do you think I can help? I can't sit for a long time, hint why I kept getting up and stretching in the middle of our conversation for the past 3 hours."
Cody laughed. "Yeah, sure. I'm sure my mom won't mind."
"Thanks," Verity said, getting up and walking around to go behind the counter. "Mind being the teacher for a bit?"
Cody nodded. "I'll be glad to be the teacher, as long as you don't mind being the student." And Verity laughed softly. So, Verity followed him around to each and every customer, until she got the hang of it and started going around by herself, serving tables. She was so involved, she didn't even realize that it was 10:30 and Cody was suddenly tapping her on the shoulder.
"My shift is over, and unless you want to stick around, so is yours," he joked, lightly. Verity looked back at the customers- a young woman and her two children.
"Here's your order, guys," she said, with a smile. "I have to go, but there are other waiters and waitresses who will gladly help you. Have a nice meal!"
"Thank you, Miss," smiled the woman and Verity nodded back in reply. She turned to follow Cody out the door, which he was still holding for her.
"Why, such a gentleman," Verity teased.
"As woman such as you deserves one," He teased right back. He held his arm out and slightly bowed. "Now shall we go m'lady?" Verity threw her head back and laughed, looping her arm through his slightly larger arm. They walked any and every where they could for hours, Cody being a good tour-guide like Verity had expected he would. Somewhere through the touring, they had started holding hands, standing so close to each other that it was impossible to see where they started becoming two people. The sun had set about an hour ago, and it was pretty dark.
"I didn't know there was so much to see in Michigan," Verity said, breathlessly, still looking around in wonder.
"And this isn't even half of it," Cody laughed. Verity opened her mouth to say something when a ring interrupted her. Cody used his free hand to grab the phone from his pocket, answering it.
"Hello?...Hey! I was kind of busy...yes...with a girl...shut up, Chris, will you? Maybe. If she's okay with it. Okay, see you, bye." Cody seemed relieved to hang up on the person on the other line. Verity looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"If I'm okay with what exactly?" Verity said.
"That was my friend- Chris. He and some of my other friends are at our hangout we've had since middle school. And he invited you to come. But it's getting late and you and your sister are leaving tonight so I just assumed-"
"What happens when you assume, though, Cody?" Verity told him, smirking. "My sister can wait just a bit longer. Besides, I've never been afraid of the dark."
Cody smiled. "Okay, let's go then."
Almost 30 minutes later, they had finally arrived. Verity was secretly glad because it hadn't gotten colder as the night wore on and her hoodie did hold some protection against the cold, but she was still shivering. Cody had offered his own jacket, like the nice gentleman he was, but Verity declined- her pride getting in the way. She regretted it so much now, but was obviously relieved to see when they reached the hangout- deep in the woods- that there was a raging fire going on. She almost ran to it, but didn't want to leave Cody's comfort just yet.
"Ah, Cody! I was wonderin' when you'd get here," smirked a tall- even when he was sitting- boy with spiked dyed black hair and striking blue eyes that looked as though they were contacts. His arm was slung over a pretty brunette, who was drinking out of a large beer bottle. "And you brought your friend! Well, go on; don't be afraid, we're all kind and we don't bite. Tell us your name!"
"I'm Verity," Verity smiled politely. The 6 others sitting around grinned at her, immediately bombing her with questions like 'Has Cody asked you out yet?' 'Has he even made a move?' 'Have you two kissed yet?' "Whoa, whoa, we met 3 days ago- this isn't Romeo & Juliet; sorry to burst your bubble."
"I like her," stated a blonde who was curled in to herself, most likely to block out the cold. "All you guys are pathetic; leave poor Cody alone, look at him, he's a tomato!"
And she was right. Cody was bright red like a tomato and he had dropped Verity's hand the moment the questions started. Verity frowned at him, and then his friends. What douche bags.
"Come on, Codster, have some booze," a mousy-brown haired boy said, raising the bottle the brunette had earlier, to Cody. Cody looked uneasily to all of his friends, then glanced at Verity. The boy smirked. "Come on, don't want to look like a bitch in front of your girl, do you?"
Verity opened her mouth to tell the boy off, but was cut off by Cody jerkily grabbing the bottle and taking a large gulp. Everyone besides Verity and the blonde girl whooped and hollered.
"That's my boy, Cody!" A red head cheered, slapping him on the back. "Drinks all around!"
5 of the 8 cheered in agreement, while 3 of 8 sat there, frowning at the already half-drunk teens. Verity refused to drink. She would drink any other time, even if she was under age, but these idiots needed guidance. Without her being completely sober, they'd end up doing something stupid and ending someone's life. So, Verity sat there, curled up next to Cody next to the fire. He had an arm slung around her and there was a beer hanging loosely from his other hand. He hadn't touched it since they forced him to drink minutes ago. It was obvious he didn't like drinking much, but did it under the pressure.
"I'm sorry for them," the blonde girl came crawling over to sit by them. "They're...wild."
"Believe me. I've dealt with crazy," Verity laughed. "They aren't crazy. They're just the stereotypical teens- getting drunk, having sex, doing drugs, ignoring their parents and what not."
"I shouldn't be friends with them," Cody spoke quietly. "But...they were so...different when I first met them, in middle school. Then, as we hit high school...it all changed. Suddenly, people were off doing their own thing and where was I? By myself. But each time they decided they wanted to talk to me, I ran back to them. I knew no one else, and no one else liked me. I ran to familiar faces. But now...they're strangers to me."
Verity looked up at him with a sympathetic look on her face. But he didn't look down to her. She realized how he changed drastically since they got here. She looked to the blonde, but she just shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm Moira, by the way," said the blonde girl, outstretching her hand. "Me and Cody here are the only ones who actually have sense."
"I can tell," Verity said, looking at the others who were laughing loudly and singing obnoxiously further away from them. She scowled involuntarily.
"Look!" a shrill voice suddenly broke all conversation. The redhead from either was pointing at a figure. "It's a horsey!"
Out from the shadows came a beautiful horse. Everyone else seemed amazed by it, but Verity was cautious and suspicious. Why would there be a random horse prowling around on its own? Especially in a forest. And this deep. Verity removed herself from Cody, standing up to get a closer look. It was definitely a horse, and it moved closer, drawing all the drunks to it.
"I wanna ride it!" the brunette giggled, reaching up to it. The spiky black-haired boy helped her up and then jumped on behind her, raising his beer up and yelling. The other drunks on the ground yelled drunkenly back. Before anyone had a chance to react, however, the horse dashed off towards the lake and the horse, the brunette, and boy all disappeared. But they soon saw thrashing around and heard screaming. It also sounded like flesh being ripped apart. The drunks stood idle for a moment, before running after their friends.
"No!" Verity screamed in attempts to stop them, but they were already in the water. And they also disappeared. More sounds of flesh were being ripped and screaming echoed from the lake. And then suddenly, it stopped. Verity looked back to Cody and Moira, who were staring in shock.
"Look, there's something washing up on shore!" Moira pointed out, running to go look at it. Verity ran quickly after her, grabbing Moira's arm in case she somehow got into the water. Cody was quickly after them. Verity gasped and Moira screamed as they saw what lay on the shore. 6 hearts and lungs. All belonging to the teens who disappeared in the lake.
It had been a day after the incident. Moira and Cody both still don't know what they saw yesterday night. They passed it off as a physco serial killer or something, but Verity knew better than that. It was something supernatural, it had to be. She saw the horse plain as day and then saw as it ran into the lake. Now, the question was, just what was it?
"Miss, tell me again what you saw?" the police officer spoke to her. Verity resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"I told you, sir. I saw a horse, plain as day. Then suddenly, as those two mounted on its back, it ran off into the lake. Moments later I heard the screaming," Verity replied, seriously. She knew they wouldn't believe her, and she didn't expect them to. In fact, she was hoping they would pass this off as a some wacko looking for some sick fun, so they would leave this case alone and she and Brynn could investigate it. If it was a supernatural creature, like she knew it was, then the police, FBI, all of them, needed to stay away.
"Okay, miss. Have you been taking any medication in the past couple of days?" The officer asked after writing something down in his notebook.
"Excuse you?" Verity bit out.
"It's just a routine question, miss-"
"Well you can shove your routine questions up your ass 'cause I don't wanna hear 'em," Verity cut him off quickly, hoping to drive him away. "Now, are we done here or are you looking to insult me even further?"
"That's all, miss. Thanks for your time."
"Any time, officer."
She walked as he walked away and sighed heavily. She was tired. She hadn't slept once since the incident, and that was a day ago. So, she hadn't slept for 2 nights now. And it was definitely taking a toll. She had nearly 2 boxes of donuts; nothing. Her sweets did nothing to cure her fatigue right now.
She was about ready to keel over and pass out right then and there when two more dudes walked over to her. One of them, the one with the darker, shaggy hair, opened his mouth to speak.
"Hi. You're Verity, aren't you?" He asked. "You were one of the witnesses yesterday night, right?"
Verity nodded. "That I am."
"Mind if we ask you some questions?" The second one, who was shorter than the first one and looked older. He had lighter hair and green eyes. Verity almost seemed drawn to him, but looked away quickly.
"Go ahead," Verity sighed.
"So, can you tell us what happened?"
"There was a group of 8 of us. 6 of them were drunk off their ass, and three- me, and those two over there- were completely sober. We were sitting around until a horse came out of nowhere. Then 2 of them got on the horse and it dashed into the lake. Moments later I heard screaming. Then the 4 others jumped in, stupidly and drunkenly. So now we've got 6 dead teens."
"Did the horse look like it belonged to somebody?"
"No," Verity shook her head. "We were deep in the forest, and the horse literally appeared out of nowhere. And you know what? The horse disappeared into the water and never resurfaced. That's a bit freaky, don't you think?"
"Yeah. It is. Anything else you can tell us?"
Verity shrugged. "Not really. It happened and it was over just like," she snapped her fingers, "that. But, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask a few of my own questions."
"Uh, sure why not."
"You seemed to believe me. Why?" Verity asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Uh," the two shared a look. Then the shaggy haired one cleared his throat. "Well, we've dealt with a lot of weird."
"Okay, fair enough. But why did you decide to take up the case?" Verity questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, 6 teens did die yesterday night. And I think this case needs to be solved," answered the light-haired one
Verity stared at them for a moment, before a small smile appeared on her face. "You're not cops. You don't work for the FBI. Now tell me if I'm wrong, but you're hunters."
They stared at her, obviously shocked. "You know about hunters?"
"Know about 'em?" She laughed. "I am one!"
"So you know this is not just some physco killer like the police are saying."
"Well obviously. I told you what I saw. The damn police didn't believe me, and quite frankly, I'm glad. The police will only get in the way."
"Exactly," the light-haired one said, nodding at her. "They're too nosy for their own good."
"So, are you working alone?"
"Every hunter knows that's suicide," she stated, giving him a look. "No, I'm here with my sister. She's...somewhere."
And just at that moment, the woman in question appeared in the midst of the all the police and FBI. She pushed past all those who tried to stop her. A smirk appeared on her face as her bright green eyes landed on Verity. She walked over to the trio.
"Can't leave you alone without you getting in some type of trouble," She snickered. She seemed to realize the presence of the 2 men. She raised an eyebrow, instantly becoming guarded and protective over her sister. "Oh, and who are they?"
"You tell me," Verity shrugged. "Mind telling us who you are, boys? We're all friends here."
"That depends," Brynn mumbled. Verity nudged her. Verity was the nicer of the sisters- the more trusting one. But her sister on the other hand, was guarded and refused to trust anyone besides her sister. In truth, she was a bitch. She was a bitch to all those except her sister. Spending all your life with one person, you definitely learned to trust them. Verity was the only one who could keep her tamed. And even though Verity was considered the "angel" of the two, she did have her stubborn and bitchy side that she would hesitate to bring out if she felt it was deserved.
"I'm Sam," the taller one spoke, pointing to himself, "And that's Dean."
"Hi," Dean waved. Brynn looked them over, obviously judging them.
"Sorry about her," Verity spoke up, rolling her eyes at her sister. "She doesn't play nicely with others. I'm Verity and that's Brynn. Nice to meet you."
"That's from her, not me," Brynn clarified.
"So, um," Sam spoke up. "You said you guys were hunters?"
Verity ignored her sister's stare, as she nodded. "Yeah. Have been since I was practically 6 months. And ever since she was 4."
"Really?" Dean said, disbelief in his tone.
"Really," Brynn stated. "Now, look, I'm guessing you're hear to work the case, right? Yeah, well, as you can see we're here and we obviously don't need help. So, toodles."
"Brynn, be nice," Verity said, sternly. She turned to the boys, clapping her hands together. "So, boys, ready to work this case?" And Brynn scowled.
Damn, this was long. But it was all worth it. I'm liking verity, what do you guys think? I'm trying to enforce the idea that she's nice, but when the police is questioning here and when she's being questioned by Sam and Dean, it seems like she's...well, not what I want her to be. So, I'll explain right now. She is nice. Definitely nicer than Brynn, who as you can see, is way too guarded and judging. But verity isn't afraid to be a bitch sometimes, so that side can come out if she deems it necessary. I touched on that in the chapter, but I wanted to clarify it. But yes, I'm liking them both and I'm liking this story so far. What do you guys think? Leave a review!
P.S. I am going to update "Little Sammy" today, tomorrow or sometime this week. I promise. I've been busy as of late, but I will update it!