Thanatophobia

Disclaimer: Sam and Dean Winchester as well as the Supernatural universe and various other characters were not created by me. They belong to Eric Kripke and the CW. I am merely using them to tell my story that has been in my head for awhile. However, the characters Riley Cadence and Kale Magnum were created and written by me. Most places referenced are fictional.

Thanatophobia

When your worst nightmares can kill you.

Ch 1. Visions and Vampires

She could hear it behind her. Gaining. Her chest burned, legs ached and it stung where the dead branches whipped across her exposed flesh. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She had to get back. No matter what it took, she had to get back.

She hadn't expected the creature's surprise attack. This one was much smarter than the others had been. That doesn't matter, she thought, it will still end up the same way as the others did once I get back. She held her left arm in front of her face as she pushed back the leafless branch that hung in her way. She'd found her way back to the worn path she'd strayed from when she'd first heard the creature. Her long hair caught in the branches but she couldn't risk stopping. She turned north on the path towards the light coming in from the full moon and continued running. Streams of moonlight shone through the thick canopy above adding to the eerie feeling of the woods. The dead leaves and fallen twigs crunched and broke under her weight. It was the only sound she could hear aside from her quick, even breaths. I could get back to the clearing so much faster, she thought, but then I risk loosing it and I'd have to go through this mess all over again. She heard the growl behind her and realized she had slowed her pace while debating. She summoned what little energy she had left and pushed forward. At that moment, the black mass with the two glowing, yellow eyes came skidding onto the path throwing leaves into air. It slid over the path and crashed into a nearby tree with a crack. It didn't slow down a bit as it dug its claws into the soft earth propelling itself with surprising speed after its prey. White strings of slobber dangled from its jaws.

The light was getting closer in the darkness. She was almost there. Suddenly, two tall figures emerged from the shadows and onto the path in front of her. They blocked the moonlight, darkening the tunnel between the trees. In an effort to stop, she fell back and slid into the silhouettes.

"Keep running!" The shorter of the two figures called out to her. He cocked the sawed-off in his hands and took aim at the approaching creature.

"No!" She cried. "You have to run."

"Don't worry, we know what we're doing. We'll explain later. Now, go." The taller figure assured her, giving her a hand to help her to her feet.

"You don't understand." She took the man's hand and pushed upward with her legs. They were so tired, but she had to keep going. "Shooting it won't work! We have to run!" The men glanced at each other with puzzled looks strewn across their faces. "Run!" She yelled again. She pushed passed the two men, continuing up the path towards the clearing. They're not taking my warning. Fine then, let them figure it out for themselves. It's not my fault if they want to be dense.

The taller man shrugged and took off after her while the other fired at the creature, quickly discovering the young woman's point. He'd hit the creature dead on, but it didn't even flinch. He spun around following the path after the others.

It's got to be close. I could have sworn this was the direction that I came from. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears and knew that she couldn't hide if she had in fact been mistaken. It could find her no matter where she hid. If she'd gone the wrong direction, she had to find a way to kill it.

Just as she thought her legs would give out on her if she had to go any farther, she came to the clearing. From behind a dead bush, she pulled out a crossbow, arrows and a jar of dark liquid. She quickly dipped the tip of an arrow in the liquid and armed the bow. "Get out of the way." She ordered as the tall brunette ran into the clearing. Seeing the determined look in her eyes, the man didn't question her orders.

"Dean, down!" He called out. The other man hit the ground shy of the entrance to the clearing just as she let loose the dripping arrow. It struck the creature square in the chest as it leapt towards Dean, falling just inches away from where he lay, shaking the ground around it. Dean rolled away as the creature tried to get to its feet only to fall to the ground again.

"Who are you?" asked the taller man.

"That's a great question." Dean called from the forest floor. He rose to his feet dusting off the dirt and leaves from his worn leather jacket.

"I'd thought you'd know a fellow hunter when you saw one." She smirked as she grabbed a machete out from underneath the brush piled up against a tree trunk that surrounded the clearing. "Riley Cadence is the name. It's a pleasure to meet you…"

"Sam Winchester" He extended a hand; the common gesture seemed out of place given the circumstances.

There was a flash of recognition in her hazel eyes. She quickly hid it and grasped the brunette's hand before the boys could notice. His large hand consumed hers as she shook with a wavering confidence.

He's cautious. But, he's got every right to be, Riley thought.

"What the hell was that?" Dean walked towards Sam as he pulled twigs and pieces of dead leaves out of his short light-brown hair. The blood from the cuts on his face accentuated the green in his hazel, adrenaline-filled eyes.

"Haven't you ever seen a vampire before?" the female retorted as she sauntered over to the struggling creature.

"Never one like that. Was it even human?" Riley lifted the machete, bringing it down in one fluid motion severing the head of the vampire from its body.

"No. It was, at one point, a dog. The vamps turned it. Guess they wanted a pet." She cleaned off the edge of her blade on the fur of the animal and tossed the machete towards her crossbow. She picked up the head its snout was contorted in an eternal snare revealing the enlarged fangs. "Not really something I'd want to have licking my face." She threw it to the center of the clearing inside a ring of large rocks that she had placed there before her run.

"Yeah, me neither." Dean made gagging sound as he heard the hollow thump of the severed head hitting the ground. Riley grabbed the fur from the shoulder of the beast and dragged it to join its head. Sam realized what she was doing and began to gather the dry leaves and twigs from the area, tossing them onto the corpse. He motioned for Dean to do the same.

A muffled version of Black Dog began to play from behind the dead bush where Riley stashed the crossbow. She ran over to it and produced a faded, beat up gym bag. She dug around her bag searching for the source of the music. Ignoring the curious glances the brothers were exchanging behind her, she had found her phone between the folds of her favorite navy blue hoodie and next to her taser gun. The left corner of her full lips lifted up into a smirk as she read the name on the caller ID.

"So you're still alive, eh partner?"

"Haha. Very funny." The husky voice on the other end retorted. "Apparently you are too. I never thought you'd have made it past those nasty dogs."

"Their bark was worse than their bite. Why don't you come around and pick me up? I have some new friends to introduce you to." She hung up before the voice had a chance to respond. She ran her free hand through her long locks, pulling it back from her face. She could see Dean taking his bag off his shoulder. He set it on the ground, opened it and reached inside. Riley straightened, she had let her guard down and turned her back on these two suspicious hunters she had just met.

As she put her cell phone in her back pocket, she reached for the .45 that was tucked in the waist of her blue jeans. She couldn't get a read on Sam causing her to be on edge, but she could hear that Dean didn't like what was going on. She had to be extra cautious until she was sure that they were truly on her side.

"Who was that? Your boyfriend?" Dean laughed. She relaxed her grip when she saw that he pulled out a can of gasoline. He tossed it to Sam and got pack of matches from the local motel out of his jacket pocket.

"Your partner?" Sam questioned, hoping Riley would ignore Dean's typical comment. He unscrewed the cap off of the gas can and poured its contents onto the mixture of twigs, leaves and vampire corpse.

"Kind of. I met him on a hunt out in Maryland. Nasty Siren. Anyway, he was pretty good so I let him tag along." Dean lit a match and tossed it into the pile. It was enveloped in flame; the stench of burning wood, fur and flesh filled the air. "That should burn down in no time," she capped the jar of dead man's blood placing it carefully in her bag along with the crossbow and arrows. She bent down to grab her machete and shouldered her bag. "This is the way out," she called to the men as she headed through a small path that lead the way back to the main road passing by the woods. They weren't far, but she knew it wouldn't be long before her lead-footed cohort would be passing by their location.

"Are you sure it's her?" Dean asked when Riley was out of hearing range.

"Yeah, pretty sure. I haven't had a vision since you shot Yellow Eyes so I think I'd remember the face of the girl in the first one since then." Sam bent down to pick up their bag and headed out after Riley.

"I sure hope you're right about this" Dean mumbled under his breath as he followed his younger brother.