A boy, no older than nineteen, ran frantically down the tunnel; flashlight flickering in one hand, and a video camera in the other. The only thing that could be heard was the boy's quick, panicked breathing as he ran. Turning corridor down corridor, he kept looking behind him as if he were expecting something to be following him; but he would spot nothing each time. Eventually, his frantic running and not paying attention to what was really in front of him caused him to stumble on a downslope and drop both his flashlight and camera. But, too rushed in his quest to escape whatever chased him, he left both behind and continued to run into the pitch black of the tunnels. This, of course, was when a few moments later, one could hear his terrified and pained scream echo.
"And how long has it been since you've seen him?" Professional-looking Sam Winchester asked a young, brown haired woman as he sat on a couch, the girl sitting directly across from them on the other one.
The boys had been near Denver when Sam had seen the news report of a missing persons in Denver's underground caves, and with nothing better to do, they decided to investigate.
Based off of the initial research before interrogating townsfolk, a young man named Matt Knolls had went down into the tunnels late one evening for a homework assignment for class, but had never came back up. A week and a half had already passed before anyone filed the missing persons report. Investigating the tunnels revealed both a dead flashlight and a camera, which showed Matt's last minutes before showing him dropping the camera and running into the darkness.
"Since he left for the tunnels. He told me that he'd be up and out by the end of the week, but obviously that hasn't happened," Clara Benston, girlfriend to Matt, told them as she wrung her hands together. "Do you still have the tape? Would you mind if we took it as evidence?" Sam addressed her.
"The videotape?" she blinked away her forming tears, "o-of course, let me go get it." she responded as she rose to her feet, leaving the room to fetch the item. As she went to do so, she passed Dean, brother of Sam, who had been searching the house while Sam questioned her. "Find anything?" Sam murmured questioningly, and Dean shook his head, "No sulfur, no nothing. Not at least that I can see from here," he responded. "We should look around and ask the locals."
Sam opened his mouth to say something else when Clara came walking back into the room, "The officers in town really didn't consider it evidence because it didn't really give anything away on the recording, but here." She said as she handed the camera over to Dean, who lifted it in a silent thanks. "Alright, we'll contact you if we find anything," Sam told her as he rose from the sofa, shaking her hand. "Thank you," she simply responded.
And so the two brothers turned and left the house.
"This video shows us nothing," Dean complained as he looked up from the computer screen to give his brother a bored look. Sam glanced over at him, "nothing? You sure?" asked Sam, coming over to look at the computer screen as well. Silently, Dean reached over and tapped the spacebar; playing the video feed. The clip was short, barely even a minute long; and nothing except for Matt's heavy, panicked breathing; and the blur of the corridor could be seen and heard. It wasn't until the screen showed Matt dropping the camera and continue running did Sam command for Dean to pause it.
"What, see something?"
"Look at this," Sam began, taking the mouse from Dean and clicking at the screen a few times, revealing a dark, ghastly looking foot following seconds after Matt. "Sammy, a foot isn't going to tell us what it is." Dean stated, "If anything, it just makes this hunt harder."
Pursing his lips, Sam leaned away from the screen and straightened out. "Maybe we should ask the locals about any town lore?" He supplied helpfully after hearing Dean exhale loudly. "Yeah, yeah. Let's go get ready." Dean responded, pushing himself up from his chair and strolling into the bathroom.
A few minutes later found the Winchesters patrolling the streets, every now and then asking locals for information, and coming up empty each time. Hours passed, and they were growing both tired and annoyed at the lack of information the townsfolk gave them. "It's like they have no clue. How do you not know?" Dean had grumbled, "You've probably lived here your whole damn lives."
Giving up once the streetlights came, Sam and Dean went back to the Impala, planning on going home to the motel to call and ask Bobby for help, when they were stopped by a young boy. He looked no older than 14, with short, dark hair and hazel eyes.
"Some of th' townspeople were sayin' how two men were needin' help on myths in town. Those you two?" he asked softly, tugging on his hoodie sleeves. Dean raised an eyebrow as he looked at him. "Yeah, that's us. Do you think you could help us?" he cautiously asked.
The boy nodded, "Yes, I can lead you to her," he stated as he turned and began speed-walking away. Sam and Dean shared a look before they hurried after him. As he led them away, the boy chattered about the person they were headed to; "She's been in town for as long as I can remember. She knows almost everythin' there is to know! She takes care of us, and protects us." He rambled, and the brothers shared yet another confused look from over him. "Really? That's interesting!" Sam said, and the boy grinned, "She's really nice." He replied.
After a few moments of walking, the boy stopped in front of a house that looked so poorly maintained that it looked abandoned. Not knowing what to expect, the Winchesters tensed, getting ready for a fight at any sudden moment. But nothing happened; the boy simply strolled up to the door and knocked three times before waiting silently. A few minutes passed before the trio could hear a distant and muffled "coming!" from inside the house, and then immediately following, the door was pulled open.
She was not what either brother was expecting. Considering the information given to them by the boy, they expected an old little lady, but this lady was anything but old. She was very youthful-had to be 23 or 26-and had long, blonde hair. She wore a grey long-sleeved button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and tucked into her pair of shorts. Her blue eyes looked at them each before she rested them on the boy. "Christian? Who are these men?" She asked him, and Christian shifted his feet before speaking, "Uhm...these guys wanted to know some myths, and everyone knows that you know everythin', so I brought 'em to you." He said as he looked up at her nervously.
Reaching over, she ruffled the boy's dark locks, "Alright. Thank you, Christian. You head on home now, and tell your momma I said 'hi'." She said after she removed her hand. Christian nodded before murmuring a 'goodbye' to her and dashing away.
She stepped back into her house, leaving the door open for the brothers as she called over her shoulder, "Come on in, I'll make you boys some drinks." Sam murmured his thanks as they walked inside; Dean closing the door behind him. They immediately wandered into where they suspected the living room was, finding it easily enough. From their spots on the couch, they could both see their host puttering about in the kitchen, grabbing cups and pouring something into them. When she finished, she grabbed all three cups and easily strolled back into the living room. She placed two of the three cups in front of the brothers before she sat on the adjacent couch and sipped from her own drink.
"So, boys, I don't think I ever got your names." She said after a beat of silence. Dean raised an eyebrow, "I'm Dean Murdock, this is my partner Sam Styles." He responded to the unsaid question. "A pleasure. My name is Ellie." She introduced in return, smiling. "So, what can I do you boys for?"
"We're trying to write an article on old myths of this town, since it's Catacombs are the more known in the US," Sam lied smoothly, looking over at Ellie. He wasn't exactly sure what this young-looking woman could help with. The way the boy, Christian, had talked about her had made it seem like she was this old, brittle, I-feed-those-at-the-homeless-shelter kind of lady. Now knowing her appearance made him skeptical. How could she know more than the wrinkled, old people living in the town who've been there probably their entire life?
"Oh! Some good 'ol myth tales," Ellie grinned, "Of course. Anything you need to know, I'm a walking encyclopedia." She responded as she leaned forward, now interested in what the boys had to say. Well, to begin, we need to know if anything involved with death is a myth in the catacombs." Said Dean; to the point. Sam elbowed him; that was way too forward! "Sure, that's what myths usually revolve around, do they not?" She said back. "Let's see….there is a kind of popular myth about a woman secretly being a witch during the building of the catacombs. And another about hybrid werewolves, which one do you think is more interesting?"
"Whichever is more reliable-sounding."
"Hybrid werewolves it is!" She gave a smile. "So, legend says that putting all of those bones down in the catacombs caused the grounds underneath us to become cursed, and it's cursed scent led a pack of werewolves down below, where they stayed for the next few centuries; mutating due to the environment. It's said that if you go down there by yourself, they'll come and snatch you up to eat."
"And how is that reliable?" Dean asked, causing Ellie to turn her attention to him. "Just facts. Anybody who lives here knows that. When the disappearances started happening in the beginning, people would go down there in groups. When someone who was missing for weeks came up, he told us what happened. People tend to believe someone who looked as panicked as he did," She told him before she shook her head, "He left almost a month after that fiasco, though. Poor baby." Nodding his head, Sam rose to his feet, causing both his brother and Ellie to stand also. "Thank you for your time," he said, moving towards the door; ready to leave. "Yeah, thanks for the drinks." Dean thanked with a smile, causing Ellie to mirror him.
"It's no problem," she said simply as she followed them to the door. The boys passed over the threshold, and Ellie leaned against the frame of her front door as they turned around again to face her. "Well, I hope your article goes well, boys," stated Ellie.
"Thanks again; we'll come by again if we need anything," Sam promised before they waved their goodbyes.
So, in the end it turned out that werewolves was the myth that was most reliable, considering that when the Winchesters went down into the Catacombs, they were almost immediately fighting the beasts. Of course the tussle was ended quickly with the death of all of the werewolves, and everything went back to normal in the little town. The Winchesters packed up their things, and the left.
It wasn't until a few months later that they stumbled through the town again, catching wind of a possible hunt did they see the mysterious Ellie.