"Dean, I really don't think that we're going to find anything with this story," Sam Winchester said, taking a sip of his coffee and wincing. Even after so many meals in diners, he still couldn't get over the foul taste of some diner coffee. "I mean, the deaths are probably caused by wild animals like the paper says."
Dean Winchester looked at his brother over the top of the newspaper he had been reading, one eyebrow rising a bit. "Seriously, Sam? You really think that some sort of alligator or something can rip people into that many shreds?" He scoffed and chugged his coffee, burping softly. "Gotta be something up our alley. A demon or a werewolf. Maybe another wendigo."
"Care for another cup of coffee?" the waitress asked, a little smile on her lips. Dean looked up at her and winked, extending his cup for her to fill.
"If you're offering, I'm taking," he said smoothly, which made Sam roll his eyes and focus on his laptop again. "Say, what time do you get off?"
The waitress flipped her red hair over her shoulder and put her free hand on her hip after filling up the mug. "Not any time that you'll be available," she retorted, walking off.
Dean leaned out of his seat a little to watch the waitress, a grin on his face. Sam reached over to grab the newspaper and smacked his brother in the head with it. "She's jailbait," Sam said, rolling his eyes and leaning back while Dean whined about getting hit in the head. "I mean, she can't be older than 18."
"And that, my dear brother, makes her not jail bait." Dean opened the newspaper and pointed to the article he had been reading. "Now look at this. It says that all of the bodies they've found were missing their hearts. Animals don't get all selective about what they eat or carry away. We're dealing with something on another level."
"It might be a really smart alligator, Dean. I mean, we're in Louisiana. This place is crawling with gators," Sam retorted, shutting his laptop and pulling out his wallet to pay the bill. "Let's just get out of here and find some actual things worth hunting."
Slapping the article, Dean scowled at his brother. "We're always investigating the odd things that you find, genius. Why not investigate something I found for a change?" he snarled, taking another sip of his coffee. "I've got more experience doing this kind of thing than you do, anyways."
"Will you stop pulling the older brother card already?" Sam groaned and put the money for their breakfast on the table, looking around for their waitress. "It's getting really old."
The waitress sauntered back over to their table, picking up their money. A pendant slipped out from the neckline of her shirt and Dean's attention snapped to it. Still staring, he reached forward and put his hand on the money before the waitress could walk off with it. "What's that necklace you've got there?" he asked, his grip tightening when she tried to slip the money out. "Looks familiar."
"My grandfather gave it to me. But I doubt that you'd have met him. Seeing as how you fellas are from out of town and all," she said smoothly, trying to get her hands out from under Dean's.
"What, is it some kinda Cajun thing?" Sam asked, his attention also focused on the silvery pendant. "Like, voodoo or something?"
The waitress gave Sam an infuriated look and tugged the money out of Dean's grip, tucking the pendant back down into her shirt. "I think you guys need to learn to respect a lady's privacy," she said calmly, tucking the money into her front pocket. "I hope you enjoyed your meal. Now get out."
Sam was going to argue, but Dean cut him off, sliding out of the booth and grinning down at the waitress. "With pleasure, sweetheart. But you should keep something like that out of sight. You can expect us back at closing time," he said, grabbing Sam's wrist and dragging him out of the diner with him.
Once they were outside, Sam snatched his wrist away and glared at Dean, tucking his laptop under his arm. "What the hell was that all about?" he hissed, opening the passenger door of the car. "You totally just insulted our waitress just because she was wearing some weird jewelry."
Dean turned on the ignition of the car and threw it into reverse, backing out the parking lot and then driving out onto the street of the small town. "That wasn't just weird jewelry, genius," he said, pulling up in front of the library. "That was a talisman. The last time I saw one was on a werewolf who was trying to shift when the moon wasn't full."
"Grandpa? It's Adelaide. I think we might have a problem."
"What is it, baby?"
"A couple of hunters were just in the diner. One of them noticed the talisman."
"Do you think they're here about the maulings?"
"I'd be surprised if they weren't, grandpa."
"All right. I'll tell the pack to get ready. You go distract them. Do anything you have to."
"Yeah, I will. Good luck."
"You too, honey bee."
