DISCLAIMER: When I own something, I will ring!
SHADOWS IN THE DARK
THE HUNT
Everyone was up bright and early the next morning, mostly due to the clamouring of numerous alarm clocks that pealed out to awaken their sleeping owners. Everyone met down in the kitchen where the morning preparations of breakfast were starting.
Josh and Dean looked at each other in puzzlement, as the unsettled silence seemed to invade the room.
"Come on guys, what's with you all?" Josh loudly asked all the hunters in the kitchen.
Everyone looked up startled, jerked out of their own private worries by Josh's loud and demanding voice.
'We have all hunted before, why are you all so quiet? Anyone would think we were going to get slaughtered today!" Dean chimed in.
Both of the older guys looked around at all the others.
"Sammy?" Dean asked "What's with you, you're never this quiet?"
Sam blushed and looked at Dean and then quickly averted his eyes.
"Oh Damn!" Dean ranted, "You had another dream didn't you?"
Sam looked at Dean; with a pleading 'Please let's not do this in front of the others' look in his eyes.
Dean sighed, rolled his eyes and turned away. He raised his hands and then dropped them to his side saying "Okay if you guys want behave like we're going to a funeral so be it, but I am not eating my breakfast here with you! I so do not need this crap today!" And so saying, Dean picked up his breakfast plate and took it outside.
Josh, glaring at the rest of the group, picked up his breakfast and said "Hey, I'm so with him", nodding his head towards Dean, and following him out. The remaining people looked embarrassedly at each other, picked up their breakfasts and followed their respective leaders outside and into the sunshine.
After a markedly more relaxed breakfast then had been started, everyone retired back to their rooms to get them selves ready for the hunt.
"Right," Josh said, "You guys have 40 minutes to get ready and fall in by the cars. Do not be late!" With that Josh went upstairs, followed by Dean, who looked straight at Sam and nodded. Sam sighed and rolled his eyes thinking that he was a big boy and he certainly didn't need Dean to nag him about getting ready on time.
Jenny walked up to Sam and put her hand on his arm "Er Sam," Jenny started hesitantly, "You know if I was you, I think I would already be moving."
Sam went to answer Jenny, but was abruptly cut off by a loud shout from the top of the stairs
"Sam!" Dean shouted "Move it"
Sam rolled his eyes and muttered one word that had all the rest of the group nodding and smiling. Brothers!!
At the due time everyone rendezvoused at the cars and climbed in. Josh led the way to the hunt, followed by Jenny and then by Dean, bringing up the rear. It was only a short drive through the town of Littleton, and then up into the base of the mountain and on into the forest. The cars were all parked close together, having reversed into spaces, ready for a quick and easy exit, in case it was needed.
All the hunters emerged from the cars, standing and listening uneasily as the peace of the forest flowed over them. They each reached into the cars and took out the tools of their trade. Josh and Dean checked everyone over one last time, ensuring that no one looked overly scared and that all had their amulets on, securely tied around their necks. With a final nod, Josh and Dean led the group off into the forest.
After a short walk, Mael called to Josh, "Josh, stop for a minute man."
Josh stopped walking and everyone stood in a group wondering what had caught Mael's attention.
"Listen" was all Mael said.
Everyone stood and tried not to fidget or to breathe too loudly. Slowly they all became aware of what it was that Mael was talking about. The normal noises of the forest were getting drowned out by a loud mass of noise. The group could soon tell that the oncoming noise was not the sneaky sly creeping of the Shadow creatures, but what sounded like a tidal wave of animal feet, mixed in with the growling and chittering of animal voices. The group of hunters quickly rearranged themselves and stood in the protective embrace of sturdy tree trunks as the horde of animals swarmed past. After they had fled on panic stricken paws, the silence within the forest was deafening.
Josh pushed away from the protection of the tree and looked at the gathered group. "Okay guys, you know what happens now. Let's look sharp and all do our jobs. Hopefully this will go by the numbers and we will all be meeting back by the cars before you can say Bob's your uncle, okay?" Josh made sure he had eye contact with every member of the group, including Sam and Dean. All nodded back and straightened up, tightening grips on their respective weapons.
"Okay, let's get this done then," Dean said authoritatively.
Josh and Dean led the group off again, walking ever deeper into the forest.
Finally, Josh and Dean stopped in a large sun filled clearing. Dean looked around the group and found his brother's face.
"Sam," Dean nodded," This is where you stand, okay?"
Sam nodded and swallowed nervously. He looked about and started slightly when Josh spoke.
"This is a big clearing Sam, and the shadows shouldn't be able to touch you for quite a few hours, okay?"
Sam nodded, still looking nervously around.
Josh nodded at Matt, "You stay near Sam, okay? Anything comes close to him, that aint one of us, just let loose with the Tinkerbelle powder, got it?"
Matt nodded. Sam felt uneasy that he had to have personal protector, as if he couldn't protect himself. He was after all a very competent hunter, having been doing this for years. Dean scowled at the look on Sam's face. He and Sam had already had this conversation before and Dean was well aware of what was going on in his younger brother's nerdy mind.
"Sam!" Dean barked, "It's not going to happen, so just get used to it. Matt stays! You have to be protected, without you doing the chant we can't unmake these crappy Demon Satan Shepherds, so just Chill dude! Stay and do your stuff and do as you're told without arguing, just for once man!"
Sam dropped back a step at the anger in Dean's voice. On checking the expression on his brother's face and seeing the sheer determination to protect Sam on Dean's face, Sam gave in, sighed and nodded in agreement.
"Okay," Sam sighed finally looking at Matt, "Thanks Matt".
Matt knowing what was going on in Sam's mind; put his hand on Sam's shoulder, "No problem dude. You'll be concentrating on reading the chant man; you can't do that and look over your shoulder, so you need a body guard! Chill dude, it's cool!" Matt looked up and nodded at Dean, letting him know that he would protect Sam with all he possessed, as if Sam was his own younger brother. Dean nodded back to Matt acknowledging the commitment in Matt's face.
With that the remainder of the group walked off further into the dark and forbidding forest.
Sam soon warmed up and decided to take off his jacket, figuring that if he started sweating too much he might not be able to concentrate when the crap hit the fan. Matt nodded as Sam started his preparations. Matt decided to follow suit and prepare himself for the oncoming battle. Matt was making no mistake, this was going to be a battle, a battle for a chance to live and there could only be one winner. The winner would either be the Shadow Shepherds or the group, and Matt knew which team he personally wanted to see win.
Sam opened his book and started going over the chant. Matt kept a close watch on the areas of forest surrounding them. He kept busy noting which shadows were where and how much they were changing. Matt sure as heck did not intend to have to face Dean after the battle and tell him why his younger brother had been hurt!
After the group walked off leaving Matt and Sam behind in the clearing, they all became more attuned to the forbidding and slightly cloying silence that now enveloped the forest. Josh halted a bit further in a small clearing, void of trees and bathed in warm sunshine.
"Okay, Jenny, you and Stevie, this is your place to stand." Josh directed them.
Jenny and Stevie looked around and nodded.
Josh went on, "Stand back to back and keep a weather eye out, on each other ok? Wait for the signal and then start with the Tinkerbelle powder. Do not leave this clearing unless you are being over run, okay? The shadows are far more perilous then we can ever understand ok? This clearing where you are looks to be one of their main trails through to the trailing edge of the forest where Sam is. We think they will come through here to get to Sam. Sam and Matt need you to weed out some of the shadows before they get to them, got it?"
Jenny sighed "Josh, we have been over this like a billion times already! You are just wasting time and making us nervous… well nervouser anyway! Stop please!"
Josh chuckled "Nervouser! I will so add that to our book of new words when we get back! Okay, Dean, Mael and I will go now, be care you two!"
Promising they would indeed be careful, and extracting the same promise from Dean, Josh and Mael, Jenny and Stevie soon started their own preparations for the upcoming hunt. Like Sam and Matt, they decided to take off coats and jumpers, not wishing to be diverted at a crucial time from the fight.
Dean, Josh and Mael moved further into the forest, pulling out bags of powdered herbs. Dean looked at Josh and then at the bags of dust and snickered "Tinkerbelle dust." Josh and Mael both snorted and felt the tension inside them both ebb slightly.
With a nod to each other, all three young men separated and went off into separate directions, quietly entering further into the forest, as quiet as a hunter stalking its prey.
The shadow creature hissed as it saw the Man-thing carefully walking further into the forest. The Man-thing was walking slowly and looking all around. If the Shadow creature had been human it would have noticed the cat like grace and stealth this young man had, the way his breathing was controlled and his nerves were kept at bay. Any human being would see that this was a human, hunting machine.
The shadow creature turned its thin black shadowy body and signalled to the others in its tribe. Suddenly the forest came alive with black sliding sneaking moving shadows. Before the Man-thing realised it, he was surrounded by a dense wall of moving shadows, weaving in and out, backwards and forwards. The Man-thing moved and pulled out something shiny. It put its fingers inside it and then brought them out, flicking its fingers towards the Shadow creatures. Something flew off the Man-things fingers, something which burned the shadow creatures making them emit angry pained hisses. Suddenly, the Man-thing turned around and moved its head, listening. Quietly at first, and then growing louder, came an unmelodic sound, almost a chant with no meaning to it. The Man-thing stiffened, and slowed its movements, until it ceased to move at all. The un-chanting increased slightly in volume, enveloping the shadows and the Man-thing held in its sway. A shadow creature slipped up to the Man-thing and reached out to it. It hissed as it came into a pain filled contact with the Man-thing. The Shadow creature leaned in closer to the statue like Man-thing and slowly twisting this way and that it sniffed the Man-thing. It sniffed the man-things eyes and blew its fetid breath over the frozen face of this thing. It moved slightly lower and sniffed the ear and then down the chin until it moved slightly further down and… froze. The Shadow creature let out a loud hissssss when it found the death dealing amulet on the Man-things neck.
After the others had left, Sam and Matt had organised themselves ready for the oncoming battle. There was only two things left to do now and Matt had started doing one of them already. Starting a small distance away from Sam's left foot Matt spread a growing trail of crushed herbs into the circle that he had dug around his and Sam's position. Both he and Sam knew that they had to stay inside this circle of herbs no matter what, and as a result they had come up with a solution to hopefully stop either one of them accidentally stepping over the herb circle, or risking the wind blowing a gap in the circle. When he had completed the entire circle Matt stood up and brushed his hands off and then re-sealed the half empty bag of herbs and put them back in his pocket. Then standing shoulder to shoulder, Matt and Sam stood and waited for the battle to come.
Jenny and Stevie had also dug and lined an herb circle to surround their position and provide spiritual protection for themselves against the shadow creatures. Then they too, unknowingly similar to Sam and Matt, stood shoulder to shoulder and waited for the battle to come to them.
The Man-thing was frozen statue stiff. He felt the shadow thing approach him and felt its evil foul shadow fall on his skin. His mind felt like it was made of thick gluggy mud, but even so he felt his skin crawl when the shadow creature breathed its foul breath across his face. He tried not to dry heave as his body rebelled against the very evil contained in the slimy evil black shadows. He heard it hiss in pain as it tried to touch the amulet, and he felt a momentary flare of hope. He soon realised however that with each new hiss of pain, the shadow creatures tried to tug and break the amulet from off his neck. Sooner rather than later, he knew the amulet would break and he would be powerless to stop the possession of his body by one of the shadow creatures. His eyes widened in horror as he realised what his immediate future was going to hold for him and the others.
Suddenly the Man thing felt a sharp tug and heard the change in the hissing noise. He realised with absolute horror that the amulet had been snapped and that his fate was sealed.
The Shadow creature slid over to the Man thing and slid into his body. The Man-things body moved stiffly and unevenly, slowly improving in mobility as the shadow creature gained control over the body. It slowly moved out of the group of the shadow creatures and walked down the forest into the thinner areas of trees, where more man things were, ready and ripe for the betrayal.
Inside his body, the man felt the horror as he was shoved aside, inside his own mind and he could only watch with horror at the things control of his body. His mind tried to rebel at the un-chant that was echoing through out his mind, but the pain, the pain was incredible. The more he rebelled the hotter the pain, until… darkness over whelmed him and he knew no more.
The Shadow creature/ Man-thing blend moved further towards the other Man-thing he could see. The other man- thing looked at him/it and said "What are you doing down here? Why are you not patrolling up the other end? You know we can't afford to let one of those suckers get in here lose!"
He/it looked at the speaker and tilted his/it head. The other man-thing walked up close to him/it and he/it turned away as if going to move back to his/its original area. Then, unbeknown to the man-thing he/it slid a large shiny knife out of the sheath at his/its back. Turning around he/it sliced the following Man-thing across his back, blood pouring out from the massive wound.
The man-thing fell to the ground and looked up at him/it, blood pouring out of his back still.
"You," the man-thing gasped out, "What the freakin' hell do you think your doing?"
Suddenly, he/it heard a scream and saw another of the Man-things come running towards the Man-thing that he/it had just sliced open. He/it knew this one was dangerous and he/it had to get away before it got him/it.
The oncoming Man-thing slid along the ground lifting the bleeding Man-thing into his arms,
"Dean," sobbed Sam "Don't you leave me."