Chapter One: Beginning
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.
He stopped, his eyes darting across the playground suddenly; he was…so sure he had seen something…but it was there and gone so fast that he wasn't sure if he had seen anything at all…
He fidgeted for a moment and tried to remember what he thought was there. It was…a person? Or was it just a thought…
"Excuse me, son, I believe you dropped this."
He turned in surprised, dropping his Gameboy into the sand at his feet.
The man smiling down at him almost scared him. He could have sworn that he had been alone when he sat down to pick up his game. And there something about him, about the smirk on his face and the way the light seemed to bend around him that gave him chills.
"I didn't mean to startle you."
Embarrassed, he frowned and said, "You didn't."
The man seemed amused by his show of defiance. He held out his hand, a shiny piece of paper clasped between his fingers.
Despite himself, Ben reached over and took the picture from him. He glanced at it, swallowing hard when his stomach flipped uncomfortably. He swallowed hard and tried to push it back at the man.
"I don't know this person." He said.
"I think you do." The man insisted. "Keep it, and see if you…remember anything."
"And what if I do?" Ben asked.
"Then you come and ask me." He said.
"Mom says I shouldn't talk to strangers." He ventured.
"I'm no stranger." The man said with a smile, "I'm sure Dean will remember me."
"Who's Dean?"
"The man in the picture."
Ben's eyes darted down before he could stop them and fixed on the man's face. There was something oddly familiar about him and it confused him. He felt like he should know who it was…but he just…didn't.
"Maybe," He said, "My mom will remember him."
"You must not show your mother this picture. She'll only get angry with you." He said.
"Why?"
The man patted his head, "Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you."
"Why can't you tell me now?" Ben asked.
Instead of answering, the man bent low to him and asked, "Do you have secrets?"
"Yeah." He replied, unsure of how it mattered.
"Adults have secrets, too. This will be our secret. Now, run along. And come back tomorrow."
Seeing no other way and wanting desperately to leave, Ben nodded, picked up his Gameboy, and walked to the other side of the park. He glanced of his shoulder once, to make sure the man wasn't still there, and then he broke into a run, and he didn't stop until he reached his porch.
He waited there for a moment, catching his breath, before he walked in. The lights were on in the kitchen, and he heard his mother shuffling around the dishes. Pushing the door closed behind him, he tried to creep up the stairs, but she heard him and called out, "Hey, Ben! Are you hungry?"
"Hi, mom." He replied, feeling strangely guilty. "I'm not very hungry."
"Are you feeling okay?" She asked, pressing her wrist against his forehead.
He batted it away, "I'm fine. I just wanna be left alone, okay?"
He darted up the stairs before she could reply. Her call to him was punctuated with the slam of his door.
She wondered vaguely to herself what was wrong with him, but quickly brushed the notion aside. He was a growing boy. Hormones were going to figure into the picture eventually. It was frustrating that it had to be sooner rather than later, but she had always known it was coming.
With a sigh to herself, she walked back into the kitchen and packed away the leftovers. As she stretched a sheet of plastic wrap over a container, she couldn't help but think that something was missing from her kitchen.
It felt suddenly very…lonely. She swore she could almost feel the ghost of a hand on the small of her back and the brush of lips against her neck. But, then again, maybe she had been alone so long that she was only imagining it, hoping that one day that would be her reality.
"I'm here." Bobby announced himself gruffly as he walked through the door.
He was the picture of exasperation: his shoulders were dropped, his arms hanging limp by his side, annoyance radiating from his eyes, lips tight.
"Aren't you a picture…" Jodie trailed off, giving him the once-over.
"Spare me the flattery." He replied flatly, "I hear you have something for me."
"Last cell on the left."
"Thanks." He said dryly, marching past her and down the hall.
His footsteps echoed heavily right up until his voice replaced it, "Tamara, what in the hell are you doing here?"
"Attempting to get a hold of you." She told him, her rich accent cutting the edge in her words.
"Don't you think a phone call would'a sufficed?" He asked.
"You know I like to conduct business in person." She smirked despite the situation.
He rolled his eyes, "Let's get you outta here, and then we'll chat."
Bobby all but stormed into his house, tossing aside his jacket in his quiet rage. He turned once to face her, opening his mouth as if to say something, before he shook his head and told her, "Get your ass in here."
She stepped inside, her arms crossed over her chest. She kept her eyes low to the floor; he assumed it was guilt, or sorrow or rage…or any other emotion, really. Hunters were fucked up people in general when it came to emotion.
"Come on, have a seat, and tell me what the hell was so important you got yourself arrested for it?" He asked.
"I was attempting to rendezvous with some contacts. We had intended to raid and exterminate a vampire nest." She told him.
"That doesn't explain Jodie back there." He said, reaching absently beside his sofa.
"She thought I was suspicious."
"Still doesn't explain the arrest," He snapped a rifle up tight against his shoulder, "Or why ya haven't moved from the front door."
"What are you talking about?" She demanded angrily.
"You can't, can ya?" He asked.
Her eyes flared black and her lips pulled up in a smirk, "I should have known you would edit your traps."
"What can I say?" He smiled mirthlessly before cocking the gun, "Now, get talkin'."
"I have nothing to say to a human."
"You sure went to a lot of trouble to say that." Bobby said with a knowing frown. He lowered the rifle against his leg and sighed as he reached over the desk and collected a small book, "I was hoping to avoid an exorcism today."
He walked around her, careful not to break the circle that comprised the devil's trap, and flicked the lock on his door. There was no sense in Sam or Dean accidently getting caught up in it.
"Now, then," He said, "Where were we?"
"I'm tellin' ya, Sammy," Dean's voice was noticeably muffled by the Egg McMuffin he had hastily stuffed in his mouth, "It's nev'r this quiet."
"Chew with your mouth closed." His brother replied with a smirk as he closed his laptop.
Dean swallowed, smiling to himself as he pulled into the auto yard. "Home-sweet-home."
Opening the door, he stepped out and reached back blindly to retrieve his bag. Trying to helpful, Sam reached over to pass it to him, but out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash; glass shattered, and he yelled, "Dean! Watch out!" as a black cloud erupted from the front window.
Sam lunged forward, dragging his brother forcibly off his feet and into the car. Dean kicked hard of the ground as the polluted cloud grazed his calf. For a long moment, they sat in the Impala, panting hard, before the older Winchester fought his way back out of the car.
"Bobby!" He yelled, running for the door.
A fraction of a second before he collided against it with the intent of kicking it down, it swung open to reveal the man in question.
"Hey, are you okay?" Sam asked breathlessly as he climbed out of the car.
He didn't reply as he stepped back inside. Just past the edge of the door, Sam saw him crouch down and pull an old throw blanket over an eerily human figure.
"Hey…Bobby," Dean ventured as he stepped inside, "Who was that?"
"Tamara." He replied, standing up, "But by the looks of it, not for a while."
The brothers could already see red stains begin to bleed onto the blanket.
"Did you get anything out of the demon?" Dean asked as he closed the door behind them.
"Nothing. Not even the usual bull about makin' life difficult." Bobby replied as he walked into the kitchen. He returned a moment later with a shovel in one hand and a bottle of scotch in the other.
"Well, come on, boys," He said, "We've got a body to take care of."
TBC