"I guess you have a right to know. I mean, it's not every day that you encounter the supernatural this closely. Don't look at me that way, I promise I'll explain it as best as I can but I need you to promise me something: you will save your questions till the end and you will allow me to finish the story, deal?"

Seven faces looked confused to each other and finally they nodded. The eighth member in the room sighed deeply, eyes closed, gathering all the ideas and organizing them in a coherent order. The air was filled with silent expectation. All of them were sitting on the comfortable couches, yet they shuffled uneasily, sensing that this was not the kind of story that wraps up with a beautiful bow. This felt dark and sad but they wanted to know everything. No more lies or half truths.

"I was born a very long time ago. It almost feels like an eternity now but I guess it hasn't been that long yet. I've seen so much, learned so much, but it all dulls in comparison of the last decade. This… this is certainly an astronomical event after the other and most of the times I look around and ask myself: is this real? Has this really happened? Each time I find that the answer to both questions is yes and that pains me. All these feels like a wound that hasn't been able to heal and keeps getting infected. It hurts.

"As fate would have it, I moved to the US in 2005. I wasn't sure as to why exactly but it felt right at that time. Loup City, Nebraska to be precise. I rented a little place in the outskirts and bought an old car from my neighbor. I love that bad boy. A 1990, silver Chevrolet Camaro. Must admit I was quite intimidated by it in the beginning but we got along just fine. Two doors, black interiors, huge trunk and that beautiful low roar when I start the engine. Anyways, not the point. The important thing here is that the car was old and not in the best condition when I first bought it. That was also perfect because without those imperfections I would probably haven't met them.

It was a nice Sunday and I went out for a ride like every week. Used to work as a clerk in a convenience store and had Sundays and Mondays off. Point being, I got farther away than usual this time and, suddenly, my boy starts to make this weird noise slowing down each second until it stops completely. I try to ignite it a couple times but it doesn't work. I give up.

For a moment I feel lost but I see a dirt path just off the road to the left. By instinct I take out the keys, close the car and start following the path by foot. It's perfectly visible so I know that it's used a lot. That reassures me and I keep going. After a couple minutes, a building is visible. Nothing fancy, a Roadhouse actually. The sign read Harvelle's and all around it, old cars and rusty trucks were parked.

I stood right in front of the entrance for a minute before convincing myself that it was all right to go in. Once I crossed those doors, my life changed drastically. All eyes were on me.

"Hey," came the voice of a woman behind the counter (the boss, I later learned), "can I help you?"

I walked quickly and with my eyes looking everywhere except the owner until I could touch the counter. I gulped.

"Uhm… well… you see. My car broke down a little way back just wanted to know if I could use your phone."

This lady looked mature, around her forties. She wasn't especially tall or broad but had a commanding aura around her that transpired respect. She was kind of intimidating to be honest.

"I'm sorry. A guy smashed it last night. Haven't got time to replace it yet," she said honestly sorry. "But, if you don't mind, my friend here has his way with cars," she added, nodding to her right.

There was a middle aged man sitting on the stool. Short beard that covered his face, mustache, cap and a zipper vest; jeans, plaid shirt and a permanent scowl on his face. Everything about him looked worn out and a bit dirty but there was something about his eyes and how the lady looked at him that felt reassuring.

I smiled, out of instinct I guess and agreed to the offer. The man finished his drink in one go and stood up.

"Alright. Show me."

We walked to my boy in silence, not even bothering to introduce each other. That was until he saw it.

"That yours?" there was surprise and a little disbelief in his voice.

"Yeah. That's ma boy. He was a bit out of shape in the beginning but the mechanic did a pretty decent job. At least that's what I thought."

The man asked me to pop open the hood. I did and remained seated inside while the man looked over.

"Got tools?" he asked.

Retrieved them from the trunk and stepped back to see him tinker with my boy for a couple more minutes.

"Well, all in all he did an OK job but he missed the most obvious," he took something out. "He forgot to replace the filter."

"WHAT?! He said he did change it."

I was surprised and quite angry to be honest. If it weren't for the man in front of me I would have probably thrown a fit.

"Got some replacements back at my place but that ain't close by. I can tow you into town but the filters might take a while to get to you," he scratched his head.

"I would appreciate it thanks Mr.…?"

"No Mr. Just Bobby, Bobby Singer," he extended his hand.

"Pleasure Mis… Bobby," I almost missed. "I'm Myriam Seol."

"Ain't that name? You don't look Korean at all," he pointed out.

"I'm not. M-my… husband was," my voice diminishing as the sentence came to an end.

"Husband?"

I was only able to nod. Now he looked a bit uncomfortable but didn't push it any further. Instead, he cleared his throat.

"Well, uhm… let us head back so I can take you home."

Again, we walked to the Roadhouse and I was able to notice a tow truck near the other side. Guess I hadn't seen it before because the building hid it pretty well.

"Whoa! So you own a towing service?" I asked.

"Nah. I own Singer Salvage Yard back in Sioux Falls."

"Sioux Falls? Where is that?"

"South Dakota."

"Oh, I see. And, if I may, what are you doing so far away from home?"

"Came to visit some ol' friends," was his immediate answer.

He got down the truck and hooked my car. We hadn't exchanged that many words but I could tell he was lying and that alone bothered me a lot. Considering if I should confront him about it, I came to the conclusion that it was none of my business so I kept quiet just watching him work.

"Gotta guide me from here miss," Bobby commented as he got in again.

I smiled and started with the instructions. Two minutes into the road he startled me with his questions.

"Been living here long?"

"Uhm, no. Actually it's only been a few weeks. It's nice."

"You on your own?"

"Yup," I answered without hesitation.

"Wait just a minute!" one of the seven faces interrupted. The storyteller blinked rapidly at the sudden disruption that brought her back to the present.

The young man in question was one of the oldest but was considered the leader of the group. He would stand with pride amongst the others looking after them like a loving dad. Myriam waited for the question.

"You told a complete stranger that you lived alone? Not only that, you guided him to your home?" his dad instincts had kicked in and Myriam had to contain a smile.

"Yeah," was her blunt answer.

Some eyebrows were raised but nothing else was said from any of the males. Myriam saw some doubt in the leader's eyes.

"I had a good feeling about him Namjoon," she shrugged, "and besides, there is nothing he could have done to harm me."

Namjoon gulped a little but the girl ignored it and kept going.

"You make sure you lock well doors and windows at night," Bobby said with a serious face.

I remember smiling sadly at his advice.

"Are you talking about the mysterious disappearances in the next county?"

"Ya' know about those?"

"I read the papers. So far five people have gone missing. Four young women and a man in his 40's. No signs of forced entry, struggle or clue as to where they could have all gone. But one of the weirdest part of the case is that three of the missing disappeared the same night and the other two vanished the next day."

"You're pretty well informed."

"It's a small town. Not a lot happens around. Something like this is huge news."

"Thought you said you had only lived here a couple of weeks."

"Yeah but it's not my first time in a small community. They all work more or less the same way."

Bobby agreed with a side nod and a quick eyebrow movement.

"How did you learn about it from all the way in South Dakota? It's not like it made it to the big news."

"My friend Ellen back at the Roadhouse was telling me."

He lied again.

The rest of the trip we continued in silence. I didn't want to be rude and it appeared as if Bobby had run out of things to say.

"Believe me when I tell you that I have never lied. If I feel like I can't or shouldn't speak about something, I rather not talk about it at all rather than lie. I also hate being lied to and prefer to assess the situation instead of being rude but that I think you already knew."

Before I knew it, I was home. Bobby unhooked my boy and commented that he would send the filter when he got back to Sioux Falls. I thanked him and waved him goodbye.

Two nights later it happened. I was comfortably putting my feet up against the wall after a 12 hr. shift, waiting for my tea to be ready when I heard a scratch against my door. It was very faint at first. The second time was a bit louder but by the third scratch I was already at the door.

A dog. Who would have guessed? It was a gorgeous black husky with a white spot on his right eye. Let me be honest, my first impulse was to embrace it. I tried to recall anyone I knew so far that had a dog like this. I couldn't and the lack of a collar indicated it was most likely a stray.

Still, when I hugged it, I noticed something odd. Consider this, if a dog is a stray, it usually either avoids contact or gives in entirely. This dog seeked my attention but stiffened at my touch. Almost as if my love caused him disgust but it had to allow itself to be touched.

Strange.

Anyways, I let him in, fed him some ham I had around and prepared him a bed to sleep in with an old rug and some blankets I had around. That was another thing. Usually dogs are love seekers and will try to cuddle with you as much as the can, specially the strays that have just been rescued. This husky didn't even try. I became suspicious.

I went to sleep around 11, or was it midnight, hmph, … I don't remember that well. But the important thing here is that I woke up a few hours later because I felt a cold breeze. As I walked out of my room I could see the main door wide open, a black van just outside.

Next thing I remember is feeling my hands tied to my back, my ankles too, gagged as a final touch. To be honest I was a little surprised they had acted so fast. It meant they were pros or, at the very least, they had enough practice to feel confident. I was absolutely positive that these men were the responsible for the other disappearances. What I wasn't sure was how many more of them were in the pack.

"See!" Namjoon interrupted again. "That's exactly why you don't trust strangers."

Myriam smiled and countered, "Why's that according to you?"

"W-well… y-you said… Ah!" he made a face of defeat. "Keep going!"

She giggled before continuing.

To keep it short, I ended up in the middle of the woods, surrounded by five more men (plus the two in the van), among a group of four women (which I assumed were the missing girls), a corpse and a pretty heated discussion.

"You'll just have to friggin share this time," one was saying. Not very tall but quite bulky.

"Why me?! I shared last time too," a second scrawny man replied. "The boss had his meal and now you're telling me there's no more time to get one more?"

"Look man I don't make the rules, I'm just informing. We're out. That hunter is on our heels. He already got Trent and you know it."

"And now the boss has taken off. On his own!"

"Look Chett, own it and leave it. We gotta eat before he gets here. We'll take care of him quick and you may have the rest."

"HEY! Not fair! What about me? I'm the one who's gotta share with that moron!" a third man said.

"You want old man for dinner?"

The third just gave the first a disgusted look and said no more. The others were still arguing when I stopped paying attention. Their squabble was boring so I focused on the other victims. The ladies were terrified. Three of them were crying through the gags, the other one was in a, seemingly, perpetual state of shock. Eyes wide open, body trembling and completely mute.

I felt sorry for them all. No one should go through something like that, supernatural or not. Yet, here we were. Anyways, I started fidgeting restlessly to get their attention. One of my captors from the van noticed.

"Stop it. You're making me nervous," he said aggressively. He was tall, with broad shoulders, black stubble and dark hair.

I guess this rude/violent behavior of his had worked for him in the past but I'd heard worse so I kept going at it.

"I said," he lifted me from the collar of my pj's, "STOP IT!"

"Mek me," I defied through the gag.

"Guys! We have a live one!"

To my surprise, he took the piece of cloth out of my mouth. Guess he knew I wasn't going to scream. Which I didn't, there was no need really.

"So you wish to die first, huh?" the... lets call him Beta, asked threateningly.

"Die? By your hands? I don't think so."

"You've no idea who we are but consider it an honor to die for the pack," Beta kept going.

"An honor? Dying for mutts is an honor? Well, I guess it depends on the mutt but you lot certainly do not make it into that category."

Some looked surprised, some even offended.

"You've no idea what you're talking about," Beta seemed a tad nervous.

"Skinwalkers," I replied in a soft tone.

"Now, before you ask. A skinwalker is like a distant cousin of the werewolves but there are a couple of significant differences to them. Firstly, they do not need a full moon to transform. Skinwalkers can shapeshift at any time of the day regardless of the time of the month. The second main difference is that they do not get wolf characteristics but they rather transform into dogs. Hence the strange, non-violent abductions. Who would doubt of a lovely dog in need? But just like their cousins, they feed mostly on human hearts and livers. Some develop a taste for a special kind of prey. Call it kids, young females, mature men, things of the like. They claim all of them have a unique taste so it is up (mostly) to the Alpha of the pack to decide on the kind of prey they will attack. Moving on.

Everyone froze for a second, followed by a raucous of voices that all spoke at the same time. One of them even tried to lunge forwards. Beta stopped him and that was their doom.

I remember looking down at this point. I needed to focus a little for the next part. Took one deep breath and began the chanting under my breath. When the pack realized what I was up to, it was too late. The high pitch in their ears had begun and, with their enhanced senses it was near fatal. Five of them were laying on the ground, heads down, blood dripping from their ears. The other two howled out in pain, on their knees, hands on the side of their heads, unable to move.

I think that's about the time I heard the first shot.