Chapter 10
Dean grilled me about what Sam and I had found out. I had already told him but he wasn't paying attention apparently, so I had to go through it all again.
"There's a hunter here huh?" Dean crossed his arms, impatiently tapping his foot on the ground while we waited.
"It seems so. She almost shot me." I replied, shivering at the thought of it. Dean stopped and turned to me with furrowed brows.
"She did what?" He asked more insulted than surprised. I stuck my hands in my jacket pockets and took a deep breath.
"Well, Sam and I were going to 'investigate' her room, which I thought was a bad idea to begin with. But we went anyway and she found us. She obviously didn't know who we were so she took the defensive position, which happened to be a gun to my back." I explained, trying to sound a little braver than I felt. Dean uncrossed his arms and just stared at me for a moment.
"Well, at least she didn't pull the trigger and then ask questions." He shook his head seeming a little nervous himself.
"Thank God for that." I breathed out, looking up at the disappearing sun. I'd always loved sunsets, even when I was little. Something about them made me feel warm. It was a trait I inherited from my mother.
Another minute and Sam was pulling up and sure enough Felicity was in the front seat. We didn't waste any time in climbing into the back even though it was Dean's car and he preferred to drive. I felt a little wary with the woman who tried to kill me a few hours ago sitting stoically in front of me but didn't say anything and neither did she. Sam filled us in on what he knew on the way and like he suggested I tried to prepare myself for what I was going to see.
"I'm Agent Kelly and these are my colleagues." Sam motioned to us as he spoke to the police officer in charge of the scene.
"This one is fresh. The medical examiner says it's not even two hours old." The policeman commented, lifting the 'caution' tape so we could pass through. Felicity gave me a strange look before walking in ahead of me, followed by Sam. Dean nodded at me and I closed my eyes for a brief moment before opening them to the sight before me.
Sam was right. It was gruesome. Blood was spilled all around the pale, lifeless body. The girl's face was blank and bruised. Her arms and neck were covered in bite marks, which looked like the flesh had been completely torn to shreds. It was utterly sickening.
Bile rose up into my mouth as I took it all in. My hands were shaking and I felt my knees weaken. I wasn't the type prone to fainting, but I felt very close to doing just that.
"I got ya." I heard Sam say from beside me and a strong arm grabbed me from around the waist to keep me up.
"I'm fine," I whispered, trying to keep a level head but my vision started to blur.
"No you're not." He replied lowly, pulling me back across the tape. "Newbie." He commented to the police officer who gave me a cautious glare. The officer nodded in understanding before getting back to work on crowd control.
Sam led me out of the noisy bustling people and flashing lights to a more secluded street, which faced the woods. The darkness kept us out of the line of sight for a decent amount of privacy.
"Are you okay?" He asked, checking my face and saw that my color had drained from it.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be such a weenie." I said, looking down at the dirty ground, feeling ashamed of myself.
"You're no weenie Stella. You're one of the braver people I've met. And I've met a lot of people. It's a shocking thing to see. Trust me, when I saw my first body I was sick for days." Sam reassured me, rubbing my arm.
"Thanks Sam. You're always taking care of me." I sighed while my head started to clear up.
"I'll always take care of you." He patted my shoulder lightly. I half smiled glad to have him with me.
"I promise I won't be like this all the time. I'll get used to it." I muttered, feeling strength return to my limbs. He shook his head again.
"We won't think of you any differently. You're new and to be honest, you're handling it better than a lot of people I've seen." Sam answered, looking around the alley. It was his nature to keep an eye on things.
"You're the best." I smiled and stood back up, taking a deep breath as I did so. He chuckled and made sure I was steady.
"Okay, are you ready to get back out there?" He inquired, looking at my eyes one last time. I nodded determinedly.
"Let's do this." I closed my eyes and willed myself to move forward. One step at a time we made our way back to the crime scene. I still felt queasy at the sight of the body but kept my composure as best I could.
"Are you alright?" Dean asked walking up to me as soon as Sam and I returned.
"Yea, I'll be fine. It was just a little shocking." I cleared my throat, looking up into his steady eyes.
"You don't have to be here you know." He whispered, glancing around suspiciously like Sam did.
"No. I do have to be here. If I can't look at a dead body I don't know how I'm going to face Cirian. You've read what he's capable of." I insisted, adjusting my coat jacket so not to let in the cool wind.
"Fine, but don't leave my side." Dean instructed, and lifted the tape for me to walk under. I looked at the body and forced myself not to vomit.
"You look horrible." Felicity raised an eyebrow at me while she examined the body closely. I rolled my eyes in frustration. I still hadn't forgiven her for almost shooting me.
"Bite me." I retorted with a bitter tone. Her eyes flashed with humor as she studied me for a moment.
"Don't worry about me. I don't eat women." She smirked stealing a glance at Sam with appraising eyes. I narrowed my gaze.
"Why are you here again?" I asked crossing my arms indignantly.
"Woah, Stella. Cool your jets." Dean piped in motioning to the suspicious policeman who was watching us.
"Don't expect me to play nice." I said lowly before following Dean to interview a witness.
~O~
"This has to be it. I can almost smell him." Felicity gripped the hilt of her machete tightly as the four of us made our way through the dank and deserted warehouse. Apparently it had been shut down for years and people believed it was haunted by something. This was the only logical place in town for the vampire to be hiding.
"I say we split up. We'll cover more ground that way. I'll take Stella and you get Felicity." Dean spoke to his brother in a whisper so we wouldn't be heard. I pushed passed a few cobwebs and dusty pieces of equipment before looking back at the others.
"Good idea. We'll go this way." Sam pointed towards the right side of the building while Dean and I took the left.
We crept along carefully and listened as best we could with our human ears. The short sword in my hand was heavy, but I held it for dear life. There was no way I was going to be left stranded, leaving Dean to have to worry about me.
"Just remember, when a vampire attacks you, you have to sever the heads from the body or they won't be stopped. No stake, no garlic, or fire is going to help us now. And don't forget that they're strong so don't let them get a hold of you." He instructed lowly as we pushed through the plastic curtains to the next room.
"Got it." I replied sounding as calm as I possible. I could feel my hands shaking with anxiety and adrenaline. Poltergeist were bad, but vampires? They are my top five of creepy. Only clowns, dolls and bugs won out. A loud thud hit our ears and both the hunter and I looked up in enough time to see a chain carrying a large looking barrel was hurdling towards us in an insane amount of speed.
"Look out!" Dean exclaimed running and pushing me out of the way with reflexes to rival a cat's. I hit the ground so hard it nearly knocked the wind out of me, not to mention the fact that Dean landed on top of me as well. The canister hit the wall with a sickening crack, and the bricks practically crumbled under the force of it. I tried to catch my breath from the rush of it.
"Are you okay?" Dean asked with a shaken voice, looking down at me. I nodded briefly and couldn't help feeling awkward in the rather precarious position we were in.
"Enjoying yourself?" I questioned, quirking an eyebrow at him when the realization of our situation hit him. He smiled his signature bad boy smile.
"And if I said yes?" He questioned back, mirroring my expression. I chuckled, forgetting the fact that we were actually hunting a vampire.
"I'd say get off of me and better luck next time." I grinned cheekily and patted his cheek sarcastically. He groaned and rolled off of me to let me up.
"Killjoy." He muttered, brushing off his dirty jeans. I shook my head and stood up to look around.
"How did that happen?" I commented noticing the strength of the huge metal chain. There was no way it just 'gave out'.
"Beats me. But if I was going to guess," Dean picked up his blade and nodded towards a shadow. "I'd say we have company." He glanced at me with a look that said 'prepare to fight'. I felt a surge of fear rush through me but I pushed passed it and grabbed my own weapon.
"Show yourself." I ordered, looking around nervously. Dean and I stood back-to-back waiting for the monster to come out of hiding.
"Nice job in finding me." A dark and slithery voice said in a terrifying manner. I knew exactly what it was. The sound was unmistakably evil.
"It's what we do. Now why don't you come out so we can play a little huh?" Dean spoke up louder than before. I turned around to face the sound of the voice, wondering when it was actually going to make an appearance.
"As you wish." A loud hiss broke the silence and not one but two vampires flew towards us in terrorizing flashes. Dean and I were separated with a lunge of one beast. I looked around frantically, gripping my sword with all of my might trying to keep a level head.
"Don't worry Stella. You'll be fine." Dean encouraged me, looking around for any sign of the now disappeared vamps. I didn't reply but tried to walk back to his side when a cold presence took shape behind me.
"Stella!" Dean pointed but a hand grabbed my neck before I could react and began squeezing. My instincts kicked in and the fear I had before quickly vanished into anger and determination. Swiftly I elbowed the creature in the side before using the momentum to swing my fist around to its face. The monster was caught off guard and I took my chance to strike my sword at its throat and missed by half an inch. Still I went forward, motivated to win this fight not just for myself, but for my family as well.
"You can't win." The vicious vampire growled and dodged my blows with what seemed to be ease.
"Watch me." I retorted and dropped down to kick its legs out from underneath it. I could hear Dean fighting with the other vampire and by the shrieks of pain I knew he was winning. My leg his right behind my enemy's knee and made him fall. This time I swung my blade directly down and I reached my target. Two chops and the vampire was dead. His head was completely severed from his body and blood was oozing all over the ground. I panted heavily and dropped the sword before turning to look at Dean who stared at me in awe.
"Where in the name of all that's holy did you learn that?" He asked sounding indignant. His foe was already killed and beheaded. I brushed a piece of hair out of my face and tried to stay cool.
"Umm, I took a lot of Ju-Jitsu and self defense classes." I replied, still trying to catch my breath. Dean walked over to me and helped me up.
"Remind me not to get on your bad side. We'd better go. I'm sure there are more in here just waiting to come out."