Hunter

Halfway to Sioux Falls, South Dakota

July 5, 2007

It was nearing nightfall when Dean pulled into the parking lot of a rundown hotel. The neon sign announcing 'vacancy' flickered from the dark window of the office. A light drizzle had begun to fall, forming tiny bubbles of liquid on the windshield. The lights of the city began to reflect their colors across the wet parking lot as Dean stepped out of the car.

"Wait here," he told Sam. His brother nodded. He was sitting in the backseat with Elizabeth who was fast asleep. Through her tangle of hair, Dean could see the angry bruises that spread across her face. He felt a stab of anger toward the demons. Whatever they wanted with Elizabeth, he wouldn't let them near her. He wondered what it was both the angels and demons thought Elizabeth knew. Clearly she had no idea what they were talking about. How could she?

Entering the hotel office, Dean tapped the bell. A thin man came slowly into the room, favoring his left leg. "How can I help you?" he asked, eyeing Dean.

"Do you have a room with two queens and a twin?" Dean inquired.

"All checked out. I do have a room with two queens though."

"Alright, that will work." Dean slapped his credit card on the counter.

The man swiped it. "Thank you Mr. ... Jimmy Page?"

"Yeah." Dean took the card back and accepted the key for Room 4. Back at the car, Sam pulled Elizabeth out of the car, carrying her to the room. She didn't stir.

"She still alive?" Dean asked as Sam set the sleeping form on one of the beds.

"She's had a rough time," Sam retorted, shooting his brother a stern glance. "Um, there are only two beds."

"Good observation, genius. This was all they had," Dean replied, tossing his stuff on the spare bed. "She's your girlfriend."

"She's not-" Sam glared at Dean. "Never mind, one of us can sleep on the floor."

"That's what little brothers are for." He grinned at Sam, ignoring the impatient glare he received.

"So what's the plan?" Sam asked as he uncomfortably rearranged himself on the floor.

"I say we head to Bobby's. We're nearly there already. Maybe he would know more. At least we'd have somewhere safe to stay."

"Good idea." Sam pounded his pillow, trying to make it softer.

"Comfortable down there?" Dean asked. Sam could picture the smirk on his face.

"Shut up," he retorted.

…

Elizabeth was standing in her childhood home. She could hear her parents arguing in the next room. It seemed strange to her. They never fought. Never argued. Never said an ill word against the other. She was young, too young to fully understand what was going on. She crept closer until she stood at the door, just out of sight but within hearing distance of her parents' argument.

"So you've been lying to me all along!" her mother was sayxsing.

"Not lying, I just didn't think-"

"Didn't think I'd believe the truth?" Her mother laughed without humor. "I can see why. This is crazy!"

"Why is it so hard to believe? You've gone to church your whole life, read the Bible. Why is this so hard to believe?"

"Because you're telling me that you're not human."

"I am now."

"But you weren't." There was sadness in her mother's voice. Elizabeth couldn't figure out what her mother had meant. How could her father not be human?

"I only lied to protect you and Elizabeth. I left that life behind me. I've tried to erase my past, but I didn't realize this would happen. I didn't realize they'd come looking for me."

"Why? Why are they looking for you after all this time?"

"I have something they want. It's not safe, they believe. I hid it well though. No one will ever find it."

"No more lies. What is it you hid? What are they looking for and who are they?"

There was a pause, a moment of silence that lost Elizabeth's interest. She turned to walk away, but before she could leave behind the voices, she heard one word: "Angels."

…

Dawn light filtered into the hotel room through a crack in the curtains. Elizabeth stirred, opening her eyes and scanning the room. At first she was confused by her surroundings, but she realized Sam and Dean would have checked into a hotel. She must have slept through everything. Shaking the hair out of her face, Elizabeth's thoughts went to a hot shower. She stole into the bathroom, careful not to wake Sam and Dean. Poor Sam seemed to have ended up on the floor while Dean lay sprawled on the queen sized bed next to her. Salt lined the doorway and window.

The hot water felt like Heaven washing over her grimy skin. She used most of the shampoo in the tiny hotel bottle and spent most of the hot water before getting out to dry. She donned her clothes, brushing dust from them. She would have to somehow find more clothes to wear and money and… Elizabeth realized she had lost everything. If she went home now, the police would ask her questions. Lots of questions. She was already suspected in the murder of her best friend, Rae. She was lost. Her life as she knew it was gone. Elizabeth felt a surge of hatred rising in her. The demons had taken everything from her. Just like Sam and Dean – they too had lost people they loved because of demons.

At this thought, Elizabeth felt a new resolution building up within her. Leaving the bathroom, she went over to where Sam was sleeping on the floor. Feeling slightly guilty, she nudged him until he stirred. He sat up when he saw her, rubbing his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, concern in his voice. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm-" What was she exactly? "I'm just mad…" she trailed off, not knowing how to express how she felt. "Those demons took everything from me. My life is destroyed. I can never see my parents again, I can never go home, I can never go back to school, I can never live a normal life. Not with what I know, not with what happened." Elizabeth took a deep breath and looked directly at Sam. "I want to become a hunter."

There was a pause, Sam looked slightly crestfallen. "I knew you were going to say that."

"You did?"

"When I went to University, I thought I was leaving behind hunting for good. I was going to marry Jessica, become a lawyer, and settle down to a normal life. But after she died… after she was murdered. I just couldn't go back to that life, you know?"

Elizabeth nodded. "I can't either. I have nothing left. All I have is this anger that's burning inside of me that I can't hold in forever."

"I know the feeling."

"Will you teach me?" Elizabeth asked. Sam hesitated. "I need to at least know how to defend myself," she added.

"Alright," Sam finally consented. "Today we're going to a friend's house. We'll be safe there, and we can teach you how to… defend yourself."

Elizabeth nodded. "Thank you. When I first saw you in the warehouse, I thought you were going to be killed, just like my parents. And I couldn't do anything to stop it."

"I know how that feels. Don't worry though, Dean and I can take care of ourselves." He smiled. "You have no idea what all we've been through."

Elizabeth smiled too. "I look forward to hearing some stories on the way there."

…

Dean wasn't as accepting of Elizabeth's idea. "She's going to get herself killed," he told Sam as they made ready to leave the hotel. He cast a glance at Elizabeth. "She's inexperienced and mad. That anger is going to make her careless."

"We can teach her. Dean, she's set on becoming a hunter," Sam pleaded her case. "She's got nerve, you have to give her that."

"Whatever, just wait until we get to Bobby's before you start filling her head with hunting." Dean slammed the trunk.

"It is her choice. We can't do anything about it. We can either help her learn to defend herself or let her go off on her own." Sam knew he had Dean cornered, but his brother just let out a sigh, climbing into the driver's seat. Elizabeth joined them, climbing into the backseat. Dean turned up Led Zeppelin.

"So," Elizabeth started, "tell me some stories about hunting."

Dean turned his eyes to Sam, casting him a warning glance. Sam ignored him. "Well, where to begin?"