This chapter is a bit shorter than I would like...but I'm shooting for my normal length on the next chapter.
:o) Enjoy.
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By the time we arrived in the Trenton, it was almost dark. My body ached, but my mind and heart (as cheesy as it sounds) was on cloud nine. I haven't felt this used and tired in a long, long time. And no, I'm saying that feeling was bad…trust me, it was no where around the definition of bad. Of course, Dean had been my first in a while and I have to admit, it took me a few times to get back into my groove. I even commented on the fact that I was rusty and Dean disagreed…repeatedly…especially when I was on top.
I smiled as I gazed out the window. I loved this weather, the dreariness of it…just an alternating pattern of mist and rain. It played hell on my hair, but I loved it. Something about this weather just eased my soul. I think it may have stemmed from my mom, she always loved this weather too and my dad thought she was nuts. I felt a warm hand circle mine as my thoughts were pulled back to the man sitting beside me. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles softly. I let my eyes roam over his face in the dim lit car. This was man was a stone cold killer when it came to hunting and here he was treating me as if I'd break if he kissed my hand with just a fraction of any type of pressure. And then, it hit me…Cas was right all along, even if he was a bit of an ass about it…Dean was my one. A fear swarmed through me and I pushed it back as he glanced over at me quickly.
"Thinking awfully hard again…" He said letting my hand go as he turned into a funeral home. I gave a small laugh. If only he knew what I was thinking about. I wondered if he felt the same way. I suddenly wondered if Cas had the same conversation with him.
"Know me too well already huh?" What if I lost him? Just like I had lost everyone else?
He smirked and cut his eyes at me before running them over the old brick building, "If I didn't know you before- I sure do now."
I smacked his shoulder with the back of my hand before I eased out of the Impala. I was moving a bit slower than usual, but I had a good reason. I'm sure just resting tonight was what I needed, but I was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen. Dean watched me for a moment and then tried to hide his smirk, "Are you okay babe?"
I waved my hand at him, "Just been sitting for a while I guess."
He chuckled before heading to the back entrance of the building. I imagined myself chunking a rock at his head before I fell in step behind Dean. I let my eyes room over the older building. This guy was apparently an ex hunter or something and now he ran a funeral home. His way of staying in the business up to an extent…keeping his eyes peeled for weird cases. He had called Bobby with a weird one and Dean jumped at it. The door flew open and we were met by a short balding man with petite green glasses. They were the kind of modern glasses that you would find on twenty something year olds with nerd written across their forehead. He gave a short nod at Dean before his eyes ghosted over me than back to my partner, "Dean."
"Pete. This is Ava…she just joined the Winchester army," Dean said with pride as he wrapped his arm around me, to show dominance I'm sure. Pete gave a tight lipped smiled and threw nod behind him.
"It's back here." Pete led the way and I trailed behind Dean again as he strutted off in tow behind the short waddling man. He had to be at least sixty or so.
"It?" I chimed in. I peeked around Dean to look down the pale blue hallway. The lights were barely on, the halogen bulbs were humming as we paced underneath them. Talk about creepy especially when the wood floor creaked under our weight. Dean glanced back at me and I smiled gently. He turned his attention back to our tour guide and the smile fell off my face. This place was giving me the willies'.
Pete shook his head with a small shrug, "Not sure what to call it. Not anything I've ever seen before in my forty years. Of course, I've been out of the loop for the past ten. With all these new creatures popping up- thought maybe you'd know."
Dean made an inaudible grunt as we made our way down six steps. Since I had been with the Winchester's, I had seen Bobby answer his phone or phones more times than I could count. Dean had a few calls every now and then. Other hunters, although they didn't much care for the Winchester's, valued their opinion on some things. Pete held open one of the double doors that had Morgue- Employee's Only printed on the front. A sense of dread flowed through me. I absolutely hated morgues. I should have waited in the car. "My granddaughter is actually the one who found it…"
Dean chuckled a little bit before he caught himself and stopped abruptly. After that, Pete eyed Dean with scrutiny, "You remember Ginger, don't 'cha Dean?"
Dean swallowed as he inhaled slowly glancing over at me. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion and moved them to Pete. I was thoroughly lost in this private conversation of sorts. He looked suddenly upset. Dean laughed uneasily, "Of course…how is Ginger nowadays."
Pete narrowed his eyes, "Just fine. Stay away."
My eyebrows shot up instantly and I cleared my throat awkwardly, "Um…so the…it thing…."
Pete shifted his eyes to me and then back at Dean sending him another glare before turning toward the slotted coolers. "As I was saying, Ginger found this one on the outskirts of town."
I cocked an eyebrow at Dean as Pete pulled the drawer out. Dean shook his head and mouthed later. I sighed and shoved my hands into the pockets of my jacket. The grumpy man pulled the sheet back and I felt my eyes widen involuntary. The…it…was human like, hairy, and was…blue. Dean gave an uhhh, what the hell. While I tilted my head closer to get a better look at the face. "Do you think its dead?"
"Beats the hell out of me," Pete said before lighting up a cigarette and I felt myself grow jealous. I hadn't had one in days. He must have noticed me eyeballing his smoke and he offered. Dean shook his head, "She quit. So…this thing was where exactly?"
I rolled my eyes…quit my ass. I reached for a glove and slapped it on. Nodding as I felt for a pulse, "No pulse. This thing is burning up."
"Tell me about it. It's been in the cooler since it got here…almost like it's feverish. I tried everything….silver, iron, spells, chants, holy water. Hell, even spoke to it in other languages…nothing. It's dead."
"Or in hibernation…" I added as ran my fingers over the coarse hair only to find it falling out. "Hmm…well."
"It's molting," Dean said with a disgusted town. I rolled my eyes, "Seriously? You have a problem with hairballs?"
I held it out to him and he backed away quickly, "I'm gonna…call Bobby."
With that he immediately left me alone with baldy. I gave a small, nice smile and discarded the hairball into the trash can. It was blue…never had I seen a creeper with blue skin. The only time I had seen something this hairy was when Aaron and I took on a werewolf in Cincinnati one time. I placed my hands on the table and stared down at the blue form that was slowly balding itself. The dark grey hair was patchy almost like it had the mange or something.
"Been with the Winchesters long have you?"
I glanced up at Pete then back down. Shaking my head I answered, "No…a few months or more."
Pete gave a grunt of some sort before he lit another cigarette up and pointed down at the thing, "Any ideas?"
I shook my head wondering where Dean was. I sighed as I looked down toward the cooler, "What's that? It's feet?"
"Huh," Pete moved around the door and mumbled something with his smoke hanging from his lips, "Yea, fuckin' big, huh?"
He pulled the sheet off of the entire body and I noticed water…like it was sweating. The feet were humungous and the body wasn't even that large to begin with. "Where on the outskirts of town was it at?"
Pete scratched his forehead thinking, "North side, heading to Mount Rainer. She stopped at the gas station and there it was…hanging out of the damn ice machine."
"Dean!" I think I had an idea what this was. I remembered another hunter telling me about it as a child.
He popped his head back in the room, phone pressed tightly against his ear. I gave a swift nod, "Ask Bobby what he knows about Yeti's."
Pete and Dean were both staring at me like I was nuts and I probably was. Dean stepped into the room and looked from me to the creature, "Like the Abominable Snowman?""
"No such thing," Pete said from behind me.
"Not here…the far east has reports of them. We have Big Foot in North America…" I opened it's eyes and they were a deep purple. I reached for it's mouth and lifted the gums gently- they were dull, blunt.
Pete chimed in, "Yea…those don't exist."
"They aren't supposed to exist…but they do. Obviously." I pointed down at the specimen. It was true that I was calling this a Yeti before actually having proof, but I was pretty sure. If you put the facts together and had an open mind….I'm sure you could believe it…within due time.
"Um, Bobby's gonna check…get back with us later. You sure?" Dean snapped his phone closed as I nodded and Pete sighed heavily.
"Pretty sure Dean," I peeled off the glove and tossed it in the trash. Pete was already covering up the creature. "Do you have anywhere colder to store it?"
He quirked an eyebrow and I sighed, "If you don't store it somewhere cooler. We aren't going to have anything left by morning. It's melting. If there is another one out there…we need to know everything about it."
Pete growled as he threw his cigarette on the concrete floor shaking his head, "Be back before seven in the morning. I have a funeral to hold at eight."
"Yes sir," I grabbed Dean's hand and led him out of the room. He looked a little frustrated to me. Just after we exited the Morgue, he pulled his hand from mine and crossed his arms definitely and didn't budge. "Seriously, you're going to play the five year old card?"
"I usually lead hunts and questions and…everything. 'Kay?"
I gave a shallow laugh and shook my head mumbling 'Unbelievable' as I headed back up the steps. He called out after me, "Hey. I know you used to do things on your own, but we use team work."
I turned around with a laugh and he skidded to a halt. I stood up on my tip toes and gave me a soft peck on the lips. His eyes glimmered in the low lit hallway and the corners of his mouth rose, "You're full of shit Dean and I mean that with all the love in my heart."
His laugh echoed down the hall as he slipped his hand in mine and pulled me toward the door.
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Our motel was just a few blocks walk from the library, so Dean (in his trustworthiness and a little bit of begging on my part) decided to drop me off at the library and I would promptly walk to the motel. With Dean, I was learning that pouty lips followed by shiny eyes would allow me to have my way. He shook his head and just drove off after making sure I had my phone…and gun. The two things that a hunter should never be without. Well, I could think of a few other things that you would need but at the moment those were the most important in my mind. Looking back I made sure he had turned the corner before I scrolled through my contacts and pressed Call.
I leaned on the brick wall of the library and watched a few high school or college students leave laughing. They were chatting aimlessly about angles. I smirked, oh to have no real worries.
Suddenly the voice filled my ears without a greeting, "Ava, you okay?"
"Hey, yea...I'm fine. So…how are things going?" I fiddled with the hem of my jacket while I was listening to muffled sounds. I could hear him breathing and then a door shut. He finally sighed into the phone.
"It's so good to hear your voice Ava. I was wondering when you'd call…you just left without a goodbye. I tried to get a hold of you, but you wouldn't answer."
I sighed and looked in the direction Dean's car had gone, "Yea, I know. Kendra need my help."
"That was nine months ago. Are you coming home?" His voice sounded strange. I hadn't heard it so long. It was deep and gruff, but didn't compare to Dean's. I closed my eyes.
"We talked about this. I left a note…'member? It was over anyways," I gave a short laugh. "There wasn't a point in trying Nick."
"Are you at Singer's? I could come there…talk…"
"No," I interrupted quickly. I shook my head and continued, "There isn't a reason for you to come…at all."
He scoffed, "There's someone else…I get it. Why did you call again? To rub it in my face?"
I inhaled deeply, "I need your help with something actually…you remember that case your dad took when…I don't know…you were 15 or so? That giant human thing that melted?"
"Umm, that was in the Philippines. Hairy bastard if I remember correctly."
"Yes," I stood up straighter. He laughed at my excitement.
"After a Yeti, hmm? In the States?"
"Yep. You know me…always the weird ones…" I smiled. "Can you email me some info on it? Anything that you can remember would be great."
"I'll have to look through dad's things. Rachel is here right now…I don't want to do that in front of her."
I nodded and mumbled, 'yea'. Rachel is his sister, about my age. She was still not over their father's death. For once, a hunter had died naturally. A heart attack was a blessing for them. Any natural cause of death is a blessing for a hunter. Supernatural deaths were ten times more painful for the family…and themselves. "Of course. Well, you know my email."
"Sure. And you still remember my number…" I could almost hear him smiling. I shook my head and laughed. I could see him standing by the window, forehead against the window pane, letting his beard grow for the winter. I sighed realizing I did miss him, but more so for his company. Cheater or not…he was a good man. A good hunter and he was my best friend at one time. He gave an awkward chuckle, "Well, that's it then. He better take care of you whoever this bastard is."
"He does." I answered softly.
"I'd probably like him huh?" I didn't answer his question. I wasn't sure if he would or not. If they didn't know each other, maybe, perhaps in another life they would have been friends. Of course, in another life- I wouldn't be a hunter. "Okay then Ace. I'll shoot you an email later. Take care."
"You too." I hung up immediately and took a deep breath. At some point, I was going to have to tell Dean that I had left Nick about nine months ago and that it hadn't been years like I'm sure he thought it had been. That conversation was bound to suck ass. I opened the door to the library and entered. I had 30 minutes to do three hours of research. Lucky me.
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Little announcement in case some of ya'll didn't know- I'm on Twitter. Follow me and I'll follow you- cause I'm cool like that.
:o) haha.
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