Chapter 7

"When I find her, I'm gonna…"

"Dean you better not say that you'll tie her to the bed."

"Actually put her over my knee and teach her a lesson," Dean spluttered as he waved around a piece of paper like it was the most offensive thing imaginable. "A note Sam. A frigging note!"

Sam sighed trying not to contribute to his brother's indignation. Honestly he had no idea what Dean was getting up in arms about. After his error in thinking that she ditched them when they first encountered Katherine the Failed Demon, he took to checking things out completely before making assumptions. "Dean, she's only following a lead…"

"Yeah and we're supposed to be doing this job together. Last time she nearly got herself killed."

"And this time she told us where she was going and she's not doing anything more dangerous than asking questions." Sam hoped that Dean would catch onto that last part. That would mean that he could suggest that they follow her or Dean would make that suggestion. "I mean who knows her better? And besides maybe she's doing this to keep us from getting called out on. God knows you can't stop making comments."

Dean was grousing as he replied, "Hey no one pushes us around." He the way out of the boarding house and down the street still grousing over what happened. He spluttered a bit when Sam took the note away.

"Yeah and if you went Angie's route, we would have found out what they wanted. Didn't you notice how they seemed to think we were supposed to know things?"

"Yeah and real pushy about the whole thing."

Sam sighed a bit, "That's not the point Dean."

"The hell it isn't."

"Never mind," Sam replied with a sigh. He wasn't even sure about it but he suspected that the way they were treated was not consistent of how they would treat a tourist. He had seen a few outside when they left the boarding house and they were given smiles and the like. It was puzzling since he noticed the fourth person to give him and Dean a look and they whispered to their companion. They really couldn't do much. "So what do you want to do?"

Dean grumbled a bit. He didn't like the idea of waiting but it seemed to be the best thing. Angela was the people person like Sam but she always seemed to have people eating out of her hand. His stomach grumbled, "I guess we get some chow."

"Seriously? All you can think about is food?"

"Hey what is it that Angie always says? First order of business is survival." Dean shrugged his shoulders. "Or would you rather we pester her with a phone call?"

Sam pulled out the note that he had put in his pocket. He looked at it and noted the script like penmanship. It looked like one of those fancy engraved invitations and it was legible. Her printing was even engraver worthy and he had seen it. He read the note again. "She said she would meet us at the diner at ten."

Dean checked his watch. "We got about an hour. What do you want to do?"

Sam shrugged his shoulders. They could try following her but given the fact that they were being shot a gimlet eye every other time, it would probably just annoy people. Or probably they would end up in a fight given Dean's penchant for saying a non sequiter and pissing people off. Still they needed to find out more about this job. "Talk to the sheriff?"

"You're kidding me right?" Dean looked at Sam like he was nuts. He really wasn't in the mood to talk to the guy. "You wanna talk to the dick sheriff that hauled us off and nearly had us man handled?"

"Part of that was you," Sam reminded Dean.

"And you helped."

Sam said nothing about that. He paused a moment and then continued, "Dean, he knows the town and he's probably well aware of what is going on. He would know the area." He studied his brother's expression knew he was going to have to say something that might temper Dean's bad mood. "Look at it this way, we don't have to go with the usual covers."

Dean grumbled a bit as he looked at Sam. His brother had a point on that note. That didn't mean he was happy about it. "Whatever."

It was enough to go on and they headed back to the jail to look for the sheriff. They walked in to find the secretary sitting at the desk. She was a pretty dark haired woman that had a little to no nonsense attitude when it came to certain things. She looked up at them and barked, "What do you need?"

Dean would have snapped at her but Sam intervened, "Is the sheriff around?"

The secretary looked at Sam with a raised brow. She gave him a smile and replied, "He's actually out on a call. He won't be back until later. Did you want to leave a message?"

"No but you have any idea where he might have gone?"

"He's out on call," the secretary repeated. "He covers not only the main street of town but the outlying properties." She looked at the pair. "If you want to know about the other thing, you will have to wait."

Sam would have said something and Dean definitely managed to get, "Hey…"

"Hi Linda, anything going on?"

Sam and Dean turned to see another woman enter. She had long hair down to her elbows, straight as could be. She was pretty and even though she was scarred, it looked good on her. She had dark eyes that bore a serious expression and a knowing look that seemed to say that she knew what was going on.

The secretary looked at the newcomer and then at the Winchesters before saying, "Nothing out of the ordinary."

Dean would have said something but Sam held him back. The newcomer said, "Alright. I'll handle it." She looked at the two and motioned for them to follow, "You two… come with me."

Sam looked at Dean and motioned with his brows. He followed the woman out, knowing that his brother would follow and prayed that Dean wouldn't say anything. Dean had a habit of saying things and getting them into trouble. For once though he kept his mouth shut and followed Sam out of the sheriff's office. Sam and the woman were waiting for him. She said, "You're lucky that Laura decided not to unleash hell on you. She's got a mean right hook."

"Didn't look like it but I can appreciate that," Dean replied with a slight smile.

The woman smiled back, "Save the flirting for the next time. Most of the people here are spoken for. Keep it in the family kind of thing." She held out her hand to shake, "Laurel Crow."

The boys returned the shake. Sam replied, "Sam, my brother Dean."

"I know," Laurel replied with a knowing smile. She could tell that this was going to be interesting. They were somewhat surprised but she sensed they had been thrown in situations that were similar to this one. "You Sam are a Champion and Dean is a slayer of demons."

"Great. More of the following," Dean replied with a slight rolling of his eyes.

"Don't be quick to dismiss those who have acknowledged the honors that you received. You are both well known within the community." Laurel gave a slight warning look. "I am surprised that you don't recognize it considering your choice of companion but I suspect that she's not one for acknowledging things like that."

"What you know Angie?" Dean looked at Laurel with a suspicious look. "How?"

Laurel studied them and started walking. She didn't doubt that they would follow her. Once they were flanking her she said, "I know this place makes you feel out of place but we are protective of our people. We have lived here for over four hundred years after we arrived there." She stopped to look at them. "We are all hunters here. Most of us are descendant from the tribe of Ojibwe with some who are outsiders like you."

"So this whole town is a town of hunters?" Sam was curious about that. He had read about it before in school about whole communities of people that specialized in trades and the like. He had never heard of anything like it.

"Yes," Laurel replied. She gave a slight smile as she thought about what she was going to do. She gave a slight chuckle and then said, "So you are here because of the creature that haunts our forests." It wasn't a question but a matter of fact statement.

"Yeah," Dean replied, his temper now calmed down somewhat. "We heard hunters going after it and few coming back." He had given Sam a slight look. He didn't want to discuss what happened with the old woman before they got there. "We figured that it was in our line of work…"

"You don't need to sugarcoat it Dean. We're all hunters here." Laurel motioned to her face.

"Fine. We thought it was something we could handle; a monster."

"Do you even know what it is?"

"That's why we're here."

Laurel made a slight humming sound. She was amused by them considering that they were like the opposites of extremes but no doubt they would be quick to defend each other. It also hid her assessment of what she had sensed the night before when their friend half carried/half assisted Sam up into the rooms above the jail. She was curious about it. "I can tell that has worked out well in the past."

"Listen, sister, you don't know anything about us," Dean spat back.

"You're right I don't," Laurel replied in a matter of fact tone. "The truth of the matter is that no one is certain of what it is. It has plagued the area but never taking more than one hunter yearly. Recently it seems to have picked up pace; like it knows that something is coming."

Sam realized that they were being given a limb to stand on and replied, "So your town has been hunting it and…"

"Most disappear," Laurel put out in a matter of fact tone. "We don't know what has happened to them. Many think that it is what the stories say about animus…"

"Animus?"

"Yes." Laurel paused in her walking. She didn't look at them but added, "You were injured by one before you came here."

"How do you know?"

Laurel looked at Sam. She then looked at Dean. "Those that have returned suffered such injuries. Before you ask your next question Sam, I will tell you that the animus is something of a mystery. Most stories and lore speak of them as the living dead, vastly different from the vampires. They stink of death and are malformed creatures; like the worst of mankind."

"I can tell you that they are ugly mofos," Dean replied giving a knowing nod. It was no good to pretend they didn't know since the woman seemed inclined to call them out on it. Besides Dean could see that she was trying to help them and she had been more friendly than others.

"I'll agree with you on that assessment," Laurel replied with a smile. She became a bit sober. "The other part of the lore is that it goes back to the first demons…"

"You mean the Ancients," Sam clarified. He noticed that Laurel seemed a little surprised that he would know that. "We… met one before," he offered. "Sort of."

"I don't doubt that. Anyway the animus are said to be the first attempt they made or they are the embodiment of sin and vice. No one is sure and some even said they are a product of hell."

"Kissing cousins maybe," Dean muttered mostly to himself.

"Either way, most think that the hunters that disappeared are twisted into the animus probably through means of torture," Laurel replied, not indicating that she heard Dean's comment. "I think that will be the biggest problem here apart from the creature."

"Any suggestions?"

"Of course. Let her do it."


The morning was peaceful. It reminded Angela of the colonial settlement days when there was a small settlement versus the vast wilderness. Now the jungles changed to concrete and pavement in most places. Still the same animal instincts dictated behavior and people thought that they were civilized. She had seen monkeys with better socialization skills.

Wandering through the town, she went looking for the elder that had spoken to them before. She wanted to know more from him without Dean getting bent out of shape over treatment. It was like lately he was taking over Sam's job of being the silly watchdog. It was a level of weird that she wasn't sure she wanted to contemplate fully except the possibility that Dean was trying to apologize for the things he said under the siren influence.

Perhaps it hadn't been a good idea to tell him that even though the siren had a hold, those things Dean said were a reflection of his feelings. Yet she felt the need to clarify that since both Sam and Dean seemed to operate that it didn't mean anything and that it was all the siren's doing. She knew better though and figured that it would be best to warn them since it wasn't like the siren possessed them.

Maybe she also wanted to know what Dean really thought. Sam was fairly easy and she had been surprised he had been aware enough to defend her to Dean. A part of her wondered how much of it was force of habit since it was automatic for Sam to do that. Dean showed her affection. Hell he kissed her once on the cheek and that surprised them both. With the whole thing about secrets, lies, the Ruby thing… she could see Dean's faith being shaken at its core especially where it concerned Sam.

I better stop thinking about it otherwise I'm going to think that he's trying to gank me in my sleep.

Sighing she walked through town, staying off the main street. At least the Lewis thing had tapered off a bit. He still was going to stick around much to her annoyance but she had to admit that she felt better having someone that was a 'freak' like her around. At least there was one person who didn't want to kill her and he was supposedly her kind's mortal enemy. He was hanging around in the forest since she didn't want to risk him being mistaken as something to hunt.

She realized that they were in a hunting town and not the kind of town that hunted deer. The town was made of families in the hunting business. Most of them were a band of Ojibwe Indians and some were migrants and they all worked together in that part of the states, hunting things. She had been surprised to learn that they even existed.

She had heard rumors of hunting communities that made their own towns and had normal businesses but they also did the night life business. It appeared that they were remnants of the old structures of the hunter clans, the ones that were rank and file above normal humans who wanted to be hunters like Bobby and Ellen and Jo, though they weren't wannabes. They were good hunters.

The hunter clans, as she racked her memory, were the seven clans that had been created by special blessing. They were the ones that would pretty much save people and hunt things, assisting the Champions that had become few in number even with the help of the Centurion and the smaller orders. They were human for the most part but with a little something extra that sharpened their senses just a little. They would never be the equivalent of say a vampire like her but they would be formidable. She wondered if this town was a remnant of one of the clans. There were seven of them and some speculated that it was one for each of the regions or something like that.

Seven. Just like the seven vamp clans, the seven elder gods, the six led by one. The number seven was like the holiest of numbers. The different judgments listed in Revelations… all with the number seven. It was something that would have fascinated Sherlock and she wouldn't have been surprised if the librarian did his homework on it.

"When Laurel described you, I didn't think that it would be you vampire."

Angela turned to see the sheriff looking at her from his vantage point. Apparently he had been following her and she had been too preoccupied to notice. She watched him warily as he approached, her own hunter instincts going on alert. She replied, "I didn't know that I was expected."

"You must have had some inkling. Vampires don't wander through this town unless they are looking for trouble. You seem to want to avoid it as your human pets showed." David looked at Angela, deliberately using derogatory terms with her. He wanted to see her reaction.

"Sam and Dean are not pets. They are hunters. We travel together," Angela corrected. "We came here because word spread about something interrupting the presentation ceremony for the young to go on their vision quests."

"Hmm… I guess that makes you a clever librarian, vampire," David replied. "I figured someone sent something off to Pickwick. They always seem to know." He leaned against a tree looking very casual about it.

Angela resisted the urge to laugh. It reminded her a lot of Sacha but less broody. She studied the human and let her nose do the quiet inquiries. She suspected that he was testing her as she was sizing him up. She replied, "Hunters are going missing. Someone is always bound to notice."

"Indeed. Still I am curious about why a vampire is so interested and what's wrong with the hunters you travel with? Most would try to kill you."

"Maybe it's because I'm not a full vampire."

"Really? You are one of the Shadow Chasers?" David made polite conversation with her. He had the time to do it.

It had been a long time since someone referred to her by the poetic name of her race. Dhampir was the more common term and she was used to both. This time it seemed different, given the tone it was uttered in. She looked David in the eye and replied, "Yes. I am a dhampir. That doesn't seem to surprise you so I am under the assumption that you are merely sizing me up."

"One can't be too careful in my job," David replied. He took a few steps closer and looked at her. She did have eyes of a hawk. "But even I can see that you are the one that has been spoken of. You have the eyes of a hawk and the warrior heart of the wolf. An anomaly for certain but nothing worth killing you over." He walked past her and started walking in a random direction when in fact he was taking her to the elder.

Angela followed. She was in his territory now so she would play by his rules for now. "The story of my life, Sheriff. I still get people who can't believe that I hunt the things that go bump in the night."

"You defy what you are."

"We all have a choice, Hunter," Angela replied with a slight look. "It is only after you leap off the cliff that you find that you know that you can fly."

David turned sharply to look at Angela. "What did you say?"

"You heard me. To find out what you are truly capable of, you leap and it is only then you learn how to fly." Angela stared at the man. "There is a lot of truth to these old sayings you know. Now could you let me go?"

David had gripped Angela by the wrist to hold onto her. It was a dangerous move on his part since he could have been easily thrown aside or worse. He looked down and saw the grip and released her. "I apologize. You just said something that I hadn't heard in years and from someone who is rather… strange."

"Haida," Angela replied in a matter of fact tone. She looked at the expression on David's face and explained, "She helped us before we came to town. We were attacked by creatures and she saved us." She glanced around, noticing that there was no chance of eavesdropping from anyone and she suspected that people respected private conversations. "I found her to be… enigmatic."

"You are not the first to have spoken to her."

"You have exchanged words with her," Angela replied more as a statement than a question. "And I get the feeling that most of the People here have seen her and know of her and her pack. I actually saw them. The animus attacked us."

"So they have come out then."

It was enigmatic and it prompted Angela to ask about it. Before she could ask though, her shoulders went rigid and she pulled out her knife. It looked like she was going to attack the sheriff and he growled at her like a mountain lion would but she waved him off and walked right past him. She looked around and then…

They attacked. It was a whole herd that seemed to run through the town. Angela reacted quick and moved the sheriff out of the way. It was a good thing too since one of those Bigfoot types that took a swipe out of Sam had come barreling through. It took a swing at the sheriff and narrowly missing them both as she got them out of the way.

David almost lost his control there for a moment when he thought the stranger was going to attack him. It caught him by surprise when she walked right past him and started looking for something. Then the animus came and it was more than what he had seen before. Usually the hunters picked them off and they were small bands. To see that many, it was unsettling and he almost gotten skewered by a large one. It took him a moment to realize that he had been saved by Angela.

They had both landed in the dirt and actually avoided being trampled. Angela was first on her feet and took note of the direction. She was more surprised by the sheer number though and the stench was overwhelming to her senses.

David was on his feet. He looked at the dust cloud and commented, "They are heading to town."

That woke up Angela. She knew that Sam and Dean were there and considering the attack they had the day before… Without a second thought, she took off at a fast sprint. All that mattered to her were the boys. As far as she was concerned no one had the right to harm her boys otherwise they risked serious dismemberment. Her eyes glowed and David caught a glimpse of it as she took off.

It was as Laurel said. This woman could fly. "It really is the hawk," he murmured before starting after her. His truck had been left elsewhere when he noticed her alone and decided to follow but he was in pretty good shape. He just wasn't as fast. Still he had to protect his town.


A/N: Looks like the job is getting started and trouble a brewing. Keep watching for more A Hunter's Vision...