"Slow down, boy, yer not making any sense!"
Dean leaned away from the phone to growl in frustration.
"I found a freaking borrower in my jacket, Bobby! I can't put it any more simply than that."
"Hell..." Bobby's stunned silence was not reassuring.
Sam motioned for Dean to hold the phone closer to him. "Is there anything out there that can, um… shrink people? She mentioned seeing her shadow moving."
"Nothing that I've ever heard of. Vetala venom reduces the size of the victim's bladder long enough to permeate the system… But there ain't anything that fits that description. "
They couldn't hide their disappointment.
A staticky breath came through the speaker: "This don't make a lick of sense."
"Tell me about it." Dean rubbed his temples. "As far as weird cases go, this takes the cake. We'll try to get more details outta her when she wakes up."
"I'll keep diggin'. In the meantime, you best keep an eye on her." Bobby said.
On cue, the boys looked over to where the tiny woman lay unconscious on a pillow.
"Will do." Dean pressed 'end call' and dropped the flip-phone into his jeans pocket.
Her jaw was relaxed, her brows unknit. The "peaceful breathing" routine was pretty easy to keep up, but Ash had to really work at keeping her train of thought from showing on her face. She could feel one of them watching her at almost any given minute, both sometimes. She knew they weren't going to hurt her, because they believed she was one of their own kind. As reassuring as it was to make fun of them to herself, Ashling knew they weren't stupid. It was only a matter of time before they figured her out.
"I'll run the name through missing persons database." Sam pushed himself to his feet, then stopped short. Dean whirled from his seat on the edge of the bed, following his gaze. The girl was sitting up, staring at the pair of them with wide eyes.
"Hey there," Sam greeted her, lowering his voice like he was trying to coax a kitten into the light. "Sorry if we woke you-"
"AHGERAWAYFROMMEH!" She squealed something incoherent and scrambled backward. He started to reach for her, but she lost her footing and slid off, landing in the shady crevice between the two pillows.
"Oi…." Dean muttered.
Her body went rigid when a giant hand slid down from above, picking her up like she weighed no more than a grape. Her stomach was left far below as he lifted her up to chest level, trying to address her more like an equal.
"Take it easy. We're not going to hurt you, remember?" Dean tried a softer expression. Apparently, it didn't work very well.
"Put me down!" She screamed, pushing at his coiled fingers with all her might. In his effort to be gentle, he gave her too much leeway. She pulled her knees up and used his bent middle finger as a stepping stone to escape his grip.
"Whoa! Just-unh- hang on a second!"
She was fast for a tiny thing! Dean hastily adjusted his grip, and added a second hand to extend the platform when she tried to leap off a second time. When she continued to squirm violently., he trapped her between both hands. He could still feel her little fists pounding in vain, searching for a way out.
"Stop it! Let me go!" His heart twisted at how terrified she was.
"Dean.. Maybe you should put her down." Sam stepped in, sitting down near his brother to get a better look.
"I will when she stops making suicide leaps!"
"Shh!" Dean would have snapped at him for hushing him, but let it go, given the situation.
"Morgan." The other hunter's voice permeated her prison of flesh. Ash could see him leaning down towards her in her mind's eye, given the volume of his voice. Oh right, that was her name. She stopped moving around for a moment, listening. "We're trying to help you, but you have to calm down for that to work, do you understand me?"
Ash grunted, but they didn't hear her. She glared at the back of a ring he was wearing, visible from her crouched position. God, it's hot in here.
When she stopped panicking, Dean cautiously lifted his upper hand. The cool air was like the breath of heaven. This time, she was prepared for the sight of two colossal human beings staring down at her. The younger one gave her an encouraging smile, reassuring her that she had made the right decision in trusting them.
Sweet kid. Bad judge of character.
"I'm Sam." He introduced himself. "This is my brother, Dean." She glanced over her shoulder at the blonde hunter currently scrutinizing her with a heavy gaze.
"How can you possibly help me? I mean… Look at me!" She threw her arms up, gesturing to her size.
"We can track down whatever changed you and reverse the effects. We're hunters, it's what we do."
They make it sound so noble. I bet they think they're heroes.
"You think some type of animal did this?" Her annoyance with the tediousness of this conversation slipped through, but they attributed it to nerves.
"Honestly? No." The other voice rumbled. She tilted her head, looking at the vast torso looming behind her. "There are legit reasons to be afraid of the dark, and it's not a frickin' elk."
She shifted in his palm. "So.. what, monsters?" She laughed nervously. They didn't smile, and her look dropped. "Oh my gosh…"
Ash took a moment, pretending to her flabbergasted by this notion. They're still staring… Am I accepting the whole "monsters exist" thing too easily?
They watched her, utterly intrigued despite their professionalism. Her bangs shifted when she lifted her gaze again, a new resolve in her voice.
"What do you need to know?"