Hunter Academy
Summary: With the number of deaths by demons and other supernatural creatures on the raise, it's time to train a new generations of hunters. Hidden from mainstream society, Hunter Academy has been established to train up and coming hunters to eventually join the fight between demons and humans. It will take hard work from the students and patience from the experienced hunters teaching, but eventually they could become an army to be reckoned with.
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural, however the idea and the OC characters are mine.
2. Test
Rori's eyes widened—she could see her breath. Which could only mean one thing: something supernatural was coming, and fast. She reached behind her and pulled out her loaded pistol that had been hidden under her shirt. A quick scan of the room revealed that other's had starting doing the same. Some carried silver knives, while others brought out guns. Those who were near the door and windows quickly created salt lines. Rori looked at Seanna and wasn't surprised to find her weaponless.
"Here," She began, tugging a knife out of her combat boots. "You might need this."
"What's happening?" Seanna asked, eyes wide. She was visibly shaking, unsure what to do. "I thought we were safe here."
"When you're a hunter you're never truly safe," Zack said, his right hand clutching a black pistol. His green eyes looked at her in scrutiny. "You don't know what you're doing, do you?"
"She's new," Rori snapped, giving Seanna a moment to catch her breath. "Now how about we figure out what the hell is happening."
"Maybe they summoned a ghost to scare us," Justin said. "I mean this place is old enough to see a death or two."
Rori agreed with the theory, but it didn't help their predicament. She took a moment to steady her mind—to look at the situation from all angles. If this was a ghost—a vengeful spirit maybe—then they needed to find a way to figure out who this was and where their remains were located. As she tried to formulate a plan, she heard guns being fired outside of the dinning hall and shouting between hunters—of course there would always be those who decide to rush ahead rather than stay calm and think things through.
"Rori," Seanna began, gaining her partner's attention. "There's a stack of books over there that might help. I had read that if this was a ghost protecting its property then the best way to get rid of it is to find out who it is and what their attached to."
Rori sent her a tight smile, impressed that she was able to spot the books while under pressure. "Awesome, let's go take a look at it."
The two girls headed across the room to the books in the corner—passing other groups of hunters who were strategizing, waiting for the ghost to make its move. Brothers Zack and Justin followed after them, claiming they would be safer in numbers.
"We're behind a salt line. The only way we can get attacked is if the spirit is strong enough to blow the lines away," Rori said, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure it would have done it by now if it was, so I think we'll be fine." However, the young men didn't leave—instead picking up the books and helping them skim through the information.
"What are we even looking for?" Justin questioned after ten minutes of silence.
Seanna showed the small group a new article she had picked up, saying: "This says that the kitchen had burned down in late 1880's—killing the owner and a maid. But a lot of people don't think this was an accident because there were rumors that the owner was having an affair with the maid."
"So who could have killed them?" Rori asked.
"Ella Rosenberg, wife to Ray Rosenberg. The maid's name was Kate Ramsey," Seanna flipped to another article. "After the kitchen burned and Ella left, the house was left untouched until a nearby university bought the land decades later and expanded the house into what it is today, however it was a struggle to do so because of so many freak accidents. It took them ten years to complete this building instead of five because so many people died during the remodeling."
"So, it could be Ray or Kate haunting this place or a worker that was killed," Zack summarized. "That's fantastic. You know it would have been nice if Hathaway had checked into this before moving us here."
"She probably did and thought it would be a good first day experience," Rori replied. "You know—weed out the people who don't have what it take."
"Hey!" A girl called to the group, power walking over to them. Her hazel eyes flashed at them in suspicion. "What the hell are you guys doing? You should be helping us!"
"We found some books and it turns out it's about the history of this mansion," Rori replied, ignoring the girl's irritated gaze. "So, we're researching."
"Researching?"
"If you don't know what or who you're fighting, how do you expect to win?" Rori questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Well do you want to share with the class what you found?" A man, who appeared to be in his early twenties, growled. "We'd like to get this over with." By now the group of four had found themselves the center of attention—gazes ranging from interested to annoyed bore into them.
"Well, Seanna it was your find," Zack said.
Seanna's eyes darted over to Rori, silently pleading with her to do the talking instead. With a sigh, Rori decided to cut the girl some slack. She took the news article from Seanna and hoisted herself up to stand on top of a table. Only about twenty-five hunters stood before her; the rest having left to try to fight the unknown entity. After taking a quick breath to steal her nerves, she quickly explained their findings—not forgetting to give Seanna credit for it.
"So, what do you suggested we do then?" The hazel eyed girl asked with arms crossed.
Well first I suggest you calm your attitude, Rori wanted to snap. However, she knew that if she said one wrong thing then she would lose the fragile respect that she had at the moment. "Well, first we need to know who exactly we're hunting."
"I just got a text from a friend that went to hunt it," Zack said, his fingers swiping across his phone. "He said that the ghosts are a man and a woman in 1880's clothing and seem to be trying to corral a lot of them in the kitchen."
"Well that solves the mystery of who we're dealing with," Rori commented.
"He also says that they keep shooting the ghosts with rock salt and slashing through them with iron but they come back within minutes."
"Alright," Rori breathed out. Her mind was going on hyper-speed. They needed to burn the remains before someone ended up dead.
"We need to burn the remains, right?" Seanna questioned, rushing over to her roommate with a book in her hands. "Their bodies are buried in a cemetery about a mile south of here."
"I've got my car keys. Everything else we need is in the car," Justin said, tugging his keys of his jean pockets. "We need to get going now."
"Woah!" A girl said, moving to block them from leaving. "Why do you get to go?" Rori felt her blood boil at the question. This was a matter of life and death, and someone is asking why they get to burn remains?
"Do you have a car?" Justin asked through his teeth. The girl slowly shook her head. "Then shut up. No car, no opinion. We have people who are people being attacked by ghosts, how about you go help them?"
The four of them then rushed out of the mansion and into the cool night—Rori and Seanna scooted into the back seat of the silver pick-up truck while the brothers took the front-Justin driving at illegal speeds. It took them roughly five minutes to get to the cemetery and find the resting place of Ray Rosenberg and Kate Remsey. Ella Rosenberg had them stuffed at the back of the property where no one would venture to pay respects.
Rori and Seanna stood guard while the brother's dug up the graves. Rori couldn't keep herself still—wanting all of this to be over. She heard them reach the wooden caskets six-feet below and breathed a sigh of relief. We did—
"Woah!" Seanna screamed, fumbling for her knife.
Beside Zack was a woman who had limp brown hair and dead grey eyes, dressed in a black uniform that had singe marks in various places. This was Kate Ramsey, the maid. Wordlessly, Kate threw Zack and Justin away from the holes before turning her attention to Rori and Seanna.
"Cove the bones in fluid so we can light 'er up!" Rori order while she shot at Kate. She kept shooting until the ghost had weakened for a moment and disappeared.
"I don't have a match!" Seanna shouted in panic after dosing the remains in gasoline.
Justin clambered to his feet—pulling a match box out of his pocket. "I got it, just move." In one fluid movement he lit the match and set the bones ablaze. Kate's reforming body writhed in pain as she screamed—fire engulfing her. Moments later she was gone, leaving nothing behind.
"Well…that was—"
"Bro," Justin sighed, cutting Zack off. "This is no time for one of your stupid puns. Let's just go and make sure everyone's alive."
The four tiredly stumbled to the truck, anxious to get back to the school. When they arrived, everyone was in the dining hall—some injured while others just seemed to be exhausted. Rori was relieved to hear there weren't any casualties.
"Well," Rose Hathaway's voice sailed above the room, claiming the attention of everyone. "I'm glad to know everyone is okay."
"You almost got us killed!" Someone yelled from the back of the room.
"I assure you none of you were in mortal danger. This was a very controlled exercise." Her eyes roamed the room until the landed the group of four that were covered in grass-stains and mud. "Will you four please come forward?" Rori shuffled forward along with the other three—feeling the glares of other hunters. She didn't want to be recognized for something that should be second-nature. "Tell me, how did you figure this all out?"
After a moment of silence Zack chose to speak—explained how Seanna noticed the stack of books and that while researching the history behind the building they came across articles. "And after that everything fell into place."
Rose's eyes crinkled, a small smile gracing her features. Rori observed that Rose appeared to be proud of them. "Really? I like your approach. Now tell me, how long have each of you been hunting?"
"Zack and I have been hunting for six years," Justin replied.
"Five years," Rori said.
Seanna fidgeted with a hair tie that was on her left wrist—a red hue spreading over her pale face. "Going on three months."
Rose quickly silenced the murmurs that erupted around the room. "Three months in and you have established a foundation that many hunters still need to learn: research what you're fighting or it will kill you. Your keen eye for detail will help you with your studies." Seanna grinned nervously at the compliment. "As for those who rushed ahead to fight the unknown, I know who you are. You are worse than those who tired pulling facts out of your arse. Do you not understand how powerful these creatures are? Even a ghost can kill you if you are not prepared." She paused for a moment to let her words sink in. "In your classes tomorrow you will go over tonight's events and go back over basic rules and protocol. For now, good night." Rose let her gaze fall on the four young adults in front of her one last time, saying: "As for you four, I'm interested to see how you will grow."
"We did okay tonight, right?" Seanna questioned. She sat on her bed waiting patiently for her roommate to finish her nightly ritual.
"Yep. We figured out who was attacking us, took them out, and saved those who were stupid enough to rush ahead," Rori replied from the attached bathroom. She had just finished her shower and she was working on wrapping her hair in her silk cap. She didn't care much about her clothes, but she would be damned if her hair looked a hot mess. "By the way, how did spot those books and realize that researching was the best way to get the job done?"
Seanna ducked her head down and busied herself with taking off her rings and bracelets. "I had a friend who was always reading. At first I thought he was just a book-worm, but sometimes while we were hanging out he'd get calls and have to step away. I sometimes would hear parts of his conversation. He was always telling the person how he would 'look into it and get back to them' or 'Just give me a few hours to research that'. For the longest I let it slide because I didn't want to pry, but one day I got curious about his books and snooped a little," she let out a dry chuckle. "I remember thinking: 'what the heck is this? What are all these symbols and pictures'? He caught me and naturally got mad, but I got him to give me some answers." She paused, her eyes holding an emotion that Rori knew well: pain. "He said that he helped people hunt the supernatural…that he was a part-time hunter. At first I didn't believe him and got mad because I thought he didn't trust me. I thought he had joined a cult. I didn't realize he was telling the truth until I found him dead in his apartment a week later. All of his books were scattered around him and he left me with one a note that said: 'research everything that can kill you—fight everything that can kill you'."
Rori let her story sink in from her spot at the bathroom doorway. She was taking her friend's dying wish to heart and setting herself up for a world of pain and misery. "Is that why you're becoming a hunter?"
"Partially."
Rori decided not to push for the other part of her story, instead telling her: "I hope you know that this rode isn't easy. Your mind and body will be tested and you might lose people you care about. This road that we hunter's walk is a thin line between madness and sanity. I mean we literally fight the things that go bump in the night."
"I know," Seanna replied. "Rori, I don't have much to live for so I honestly don't care how hard this road is. If anything, maybe helping people will make me feel alive again."
Rori felt her heart break for her roommate. This girl had so many invisible scars on her and Rori was only aware of one. In her mind's eye she could see the day her mother introduced her to her last partner, saying: "This is your sister in arms. You protect each other, because when you're on a hunt no one else will have your six." Maybe this time she could keep her partner alive.
"Hey Seanna," Rori called from her bed. The blond paused before entering the bathroom to look at her. "If anyone gives you crap about being a hunter for only three months, don't let it get to you. I can see that you're going to do great." Though there was more she wanted to say she couldn't bring herself to be totally open with the girl. She could only do one heart-to-heart conversation a day—every three days preferably.
A smile tugged at the corners of Seanna lips. "Thank you Rori, I appreciate that." A playful glint that showed in her eyes. "I wonder if Justin thinks the same."
"I thought you had a thing for him, I could see it in your eyes! He's a cutie all right."
"You could have Zack and we could double date!"
Rori shook her head with a chuckle. "We barley know them. For all we know they only helped us to get in our pants later."
Seanna's eyes widened. "What? Don't say that!"
Rori shooed her off, saying: "Oh go take your shower already. I was joking."
Once Seanna was in the bathroom Rori crawled under her covers, checking to make sure her gun was securely under her pillow. She then leaned over to her nightstand double check that her knife was in the drawer. When she felt she armed herself to the best of her abilities, she let her mind roam. She was confident that Seanna would eventually become a skilled hunter, but in the present time she needed a lot of work. Rori wanted to build trust with the blond; however that was tough when she didn't exactly know how much knowledge Seanna held about the supernatural. She seemed competent, and proved she could use her knowledge under pressure, but was that enough?
Just look on the bright side Rori, She thought to herself. I'd rather have a newbie that is willing to learn and trust me then someone who will stab me in the back and try to use me as a meat shield.