Sam was first to wake up from his stupor. He rolled his head around on his neck, trying to get his eyes to focus. He was sitting on the ground tied to a tree. The rope job wasn't great and he started struggling in an attempt to loosen them. Next to him Dean groaned, tied to his own tree.
"Dean!" Sam yelled, pushing his chest forward to try and stretch his bonds. "Wake up!"
Another groan escaped Dean and his eyes opened slowly, "What the fu…."
The sound of a shotgun cocking ended his sentence abruptly and both brothers looked towards the noise. It was dark, the moon hidden behind a wall of clouds and they could only just barely make out the silhouette of a person in front of them, leaning against a tree, blending in with its shadow.
"Who are you?" A female voice asked. "Why are you following me?"
"We weren't following anybody, lady." Dean said, his voice low and angry. "So why don't you tell us who the hell you are. Wait let me guess…..Dorothy?"
Sam swallowed hard but said nothing. There was a loosening in his chest that didn't have anything to do with the ropes around him.
The woman spoke again, "No offense, Cupcake. But you're the one tied to a tree. I'm asking the questions here."
Dean chuckled darkly and looked over at Sam, "Cupcake? Cupcake?" He thrashed hard against the ropes trying to lunge towards the silhouette, "This cupcake is going to kick your ass!"
"Dean, stop." Sam whispered, his eyes not leaving the shadowy figure. "I'm Sam," He said loudly and squirmed against the ropes, "That's my brother, Dean. You don't have to leave us tied up like this. We won't hurt you."
The woman scoffed, "Right." She grew quiet for a moment and then the brothers heard a rapid intake of breath, "What a minute. Sam and Dean…." There was another pause before the figure moved away from the tree and a bright flashlight was clicked on, shining directly into their faces. "Sam and Dean…..Winchester?"
Dean squinted against the glare, "You're a hunter. You've heard of us?"
"No. No, I'm not a hunter but I have heard of you."
The clouds slid away from the moon and its pale white light returned to the cemetery. The woman moved away from the shadows and stepped closer to her bound captives, keeping the flashlight positioned just right so as not to allow them to see her face, "I already took care of the remains. You have no reason to stay in town."
She tossed a knife on the ground near Sam's bound hands, "It's dull but you'll be able to cut yourself out quick enough. By then I'll be gone. Don't try to follow me. Don't try to figure out who I am. Just leave."
Sam did his best to scoot towards the knife. He had managed to loosen the ties up a little since the rope hadn't been that tight to begin with, "How do you know us if you aren't a hunter?"
"You swing a shovel like a hunter," Dean said, leaning his head back against the tree with a wince. "And you salt and burn remains like a hunter. And you tie knots like a hunter…almost." He looked back down at the ropes restraining him.
The flashlight turned off and the woman was hidden back by a cluster of trees, "Leave town."
They heard the rustle of her feet through the grass, trailing away, and then they were alone. Sam had already started working on the ropes and the only sound was that of the dull knife scraping against the twine. Eventually there was a snap and he fought his way out of the bonds, crawling over to help out Dean, who had managed to loosen up the knots enough to move around a bit, "Why did you tell her our name?"
Sam sawed through Dean's ropes and helped him get unraveled, "Because that was her."
"Her? Her who?" Dean stood and brushed the grass off his jeans.
"The reason we came here in the first place, Dean. My better half." His tone was sarcastic and he walked over to the shovels and bags they had brought, picking them up.
Dean's eyes grew wide and his brows lifted, "You mean that woman…who beat us over the head with shovels, tied us to trees, and pointed a gun at us is your soul mate?" He stared at Sam who only shrugged. Dean shook his head, "Well, that figures. Why do you think that anyway?"
"I just felt…different…around her. Lighter or something."
Dean shot him a critical look, "Lighter? Fluffy bunnies lighter or bubbles in the spring breeze lighter?"
"Shut up. It's her…and I have no idea who she is or what she looks like. She kept that damn light right in my eyes the whole time."
"She works in the medical field," Dean said taking the shovels from Sam to carry.
"How would you know that?"
They started walking back towards the Impala, "Because I looked at her feet. She was wearing muddy boots that were too big for her and scrub pants."
"Maybe she just likes to dig graves in scrubs," Sam said, adjusting the bag over his shoulder.
"Maybe. Or maybe she works a late shift at a hospital, swings over to the cemetery afterwards, throws on some boots that aren't hers and then digs up a grave in scrubs."
"Ok so that brings up another question. Why would a nurse or a doctor or whatever she is be digging up graves in the first place? How would she even know to do that."
"Well, I doubt they ran out of cadavers at the hospital for carving practice so I'm going to assume that she is familiar with the ways of the hunter…somehow. She noticed the signs with the sorority house, followed up and we just happened to show up right as she was finishing the job. Lucky bastards that we are." He rubbed the back of his head with his hand, feeling a large knot forming where the shovel had connected. "Also she must work out."
