Much to the immense pleasure of Avery and Aubrey Cooper, their father hadn't been lying when he told them their next job was a simple salt and burn haunting. It wasn't often that a 'simple' case actually ended out as such, normally spiralling into something entirely different, and a thousand times more complicated and dangerous. But not this time. The entire job from start to finish took them no more than half a day, arriving in the quiet town mid afternoon, speaking to their mom's friend for a little while before waiting for sunset and heading off to the cemetery.
It always amused the girls, how casually and without question they grabbed their shovels and made a start on digging up a grave. There was once a time where they would have thought this was insane. They probably would have been concerned about being arrested for grave robbery or being locked up in some kind of facility for clearly being mad. But those thoughts didn't even cross their minds any more. No one in their right mind would be hanging around a graveyard in the middle of the night, so there was little to no chance of them getting spotted, so they often spent the time digging and chatting, chatting and digging. A nice bit of sibling bonding.
They'd stuck around the next day, just to make sure there wasn't anything else tying the spirit there, stopping them from moving on. But all was quiet. Not a sign of any spirits, or hauntings, or anything unusual for that matter, so after receiving an incredibly grateful thank you from the friend, who was glad to see the old factory foreman head into the light, the sisters made their move. After finishing off three jobs in a row, they had decided between them that it was about time they head home, eager to get a few days of rest before they would inevitably be back on the road again. However, in typical fashion, nothing ever worked out the way the Cooper's planned.
Aubrey took her eyes off the road for a moment, glancing down at the phone in the centre console between her and her sister, which was now vibrating as the screen glared up at them.
"Get that, will you." She turned her eyes back to the road, quirking her head towards the phone and addressing her sister.
"Unknown number..." Avery muttered to herself as she pressed accept and raised the phone to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Aubrey, that you?" The gruff voice on the other end of the line was easily recognisable, and Avery smiled, sinking back into her seat.
"It's Ava, Bree's drivin'. How can I help ya Bobby?" Aubrey's eyes lit up and she shot a smile in the direction of the phone.
"Hey Bobby!" He returned her greeting in like, which Ava relayed to her sister before clicking the speaker button and turning the volume up, holding the phone between them to save having to repeat the conversation again later.
"I got a job for you girls," He started, and Avery closed her eyes with a silent sigh. No time off yet then.
"I would have called Sam and Dean but I'm thinkin' they got their own problems to deal with right now."
It was Aubrey who picked up on what he had said first, her head flicking almost comically between her sister, the phone and the road as her eyes widened.
"Did you just say Sam and Dean? Sam's huntin' again?" The sisters shared a look of confusion and concern as Bobby replied.
"Crap, yeah I suppose you haven't heard. Sam's girlfriend was killed, apparently the same way as their mom, god rest her soul. So he's back in, itchin' to find the son of a bitch who did it."
For some reason, this news hurt Avery more than she had expected it to, and by the look on Aubrey's face, she was none to pleased herself.
"Don't tell me they've jumped on the revenge bandwagon too, they're headin' down the same slippery slope as their daddy."Avery nodded at her sister's words, shaking her head silently.
"You don't gotta preach to me girl, I tried to talk the idgits out of this suicide mission but they weren't havin' it. Anyway, you want this job or not?"
"We'll take it Bobby." Avery cut in. As much as she wanted to go home and take a break, right now definitely wasn't the time to be sitting around on the sofa letting her mind wander. A job would be the perfect way to take her worried mind off of the Winchesters and whatever danger they were no doubt running headfirst into. Aubrey glanced at her sister, who was intentionally avoiding her eye, assessing her for a moment before shrugging with a sigh.
"Where you sendin' us this time?"
They continued on their drive, altering their course slightly to head for Iowa instead of Lawrence, stopping briefly for a food break and to switch drivers. Avery had remained silent for the majority of the journey, and knowing her sister well, Aubrey opted not to pry, allowing her to turn everything over in her mind until she was ready to talk. However, after another long and tedious hour of this silence, Aubrey had had enough, folding her arms over her chest and quirking a brow at her sister.
"Why so tense big sister? What did that wheel ever do to you?" She questioned, gesturing towards the way Avery's fingers were wrapped, white knuckled, around the steering wheel. She didn't take her eyes off the road as she replied.
"I'm fine." Aubrey's breathy laugh made clear that she wasn't buying it.
"Yeah, sure you are, and I'm Beyonce. Out with it already." Avery flicked her eyes towards her sister, then back to the road, shaking her head as she loosened her grip slightly.
"It just bothers me. He got out, you know... if anyone was gonna do it, it was gonna be Sammy. And he did it. But I suppose he's walkin' talkin' proof there ain't no gettin' out of this life." The disappointment was clear in her tone, and Aubrey had to agree with her on this one. She couldn't say she wasn't also extremely bothered by the revelation.
"You sayin' you want out?" Avery laughed, shaking her head.
"Hell no. But I wanted him to get out."
"Yeah." Aubrey nodded with a sad smile, turning her gaze to the road as well. "Me too."
The rest of the drive was spent in silence, a silence which remained as they checked into their motel, grabbing their bags from the truck and heading into the small room they had paid for, neither of them noticing the familiar black car that passed the motel as the girls disappeared out of sight.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" Avery asked her sister as they changed into outfits that were far less their style and far more college sorority girl. Well, if they wanted to get answers they needed to look the part.
"Our names are now Elena," she paused as she handed a fake ID and other similar documents to her sister, "and Samantha Everett. We're college transfers from another Sorority chapter, stayin' for a few weeks to work on our philanthropy efforts in town." Avery snorted a laugh, taking the documents and stuffing them into the small handbag which she wasn't entirely sure was capable of holding much more than her phone and wallet.
"Well aren't we charitable, hm." She muttered, slipping her arms into her oversized denim jacket before grabbing her sneakers and dropping to sit on the bed.
"Pretending to be sorority girls, this is truly gonna be an acting experience for both of us." Avery quirked a brow at her sister, pausing in putting her shoes on with a confused look.
"Bree, I was a sorority girl... remember?" Aubrey snorted out a laugh, eyes widening as she recalled what she had forgotten about her sister.
"Oh man I forgot about that! I remember you telling us that you wanted the 'full college experience'." Avery finished tying her laces with a grimace.
"I really hated those sorority girls..." Picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder, Avery headed for the door, swiping the keys and throwing them to her sister in the process.
"Everyone hates sorority girls."
The house was quiet when they arrived, most likely due to the fact it was midday, and the majority of students would be in classes, or out getting lunch. This was a good thing for the sisters though. It would be easier to convince a few people of their reasons for being there than convincing a whole crowd of girls. They entered through the large front doors, pausing in the spacious entrance hall and glancing around.
"Wow, this place is pretty..." Aubrey mused, though they were interrupted before Avery could comment.
"Hi... can I help you?" A smiling girl approached them, dressed in a floral blouse and skater skirt, but with bare feet.
"Oh hi!" Avery began, enthusiastically and with a wide smile on her lips. "My name is Elena, and this is my sister Samantha, we've been transferred for a couple of weeks for our philanthropy work, and we've been placed at your sorority."
She dug in her bag, quickly pulling out the documentation that Aubrey had forged a day prior, detailing the specifics of their transfer. The girl took the papers with a quirk of her head, scrunching up her nose as her eyes flicked over the details.
"I swear, literally no one tells me anything." She sighed, handing the papers back to Avery with a frown.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, you weren't expecting us?" She girl shook her head, quickly shrugging and morphing her frown back into a smile.
"No matter! We have a spare room upstairs you guys can take, I'll show you. Do you have luggage?" They followed close behind as she made her way towards the stairs, taking each step with a little hop.
"Oh yeah, it's in the car we can grab that later." They reached the top of the stairs and she turned to them with a smile.
"Great! I'm Amanda, by the way, if you need anything at all, you can find me down the hall, third door on the right." She paused outside of a door on their left, using the key on her chain to unlock it before passing that key to Aubrey.
"This is your room, make yourselves at home. You're gonna love it here!" With that, she turned on her heel and skipped off back towards the stairs, leaving the sisters alone to settle in.
"Wow that was way too easy... this place needs to work on its security." Aubrey muttered, dropping onto one of the beds with a loud sigh.
"Right?! Anyone could walk in here, it's a surprise any of these girls are still alive." She followed her sisters lead, dropping onto the bed beside her and stretching her arms above her head.
"We probably shouldn't get too comfortable, we got a job to do remember." Avery glanced over at her sister with a frown.
"Can it Samantha, I'm takin' a break." Aubrey laughed in response as a pair of girls passed outside their bedroom door, a name on one of their lips that the sisters immediately recognised. They shared a wide eyed look before scrambling up from the beds and rushing back into the hallway, aiming to catch the girls before they disappeared into their rooms.
"Hi!" Avery called out to the pair, both of them pausing in synchronicity and turning back.
"Hey..." One of the girls replied cautiously, most likely because she didn't recognise them.
"Sorry, I'm Elena, this is my sister Samantha, we're transfers here for the next few weeks." She explained quickly with a laugh, and the curious expressions on the girl's faces disappeared almost instantly.
"We heard you walking by and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to make some friends." The smaller of the girls, a kind looking brunette shot them a smile and a small wave, taking a few steps closer.
"I'm Lori," she turned, gesturing to the dark skinned, curly haired girl behind her, "and this is Taylor."
Thankfully, the quick knowing glance Ava and Bree sent to each other went unnoticed by both girls, as they silently confirmed that this was the girl they had read about. Lori Sorenson, the girl who had seen her boyfriend murdered no more than a few days ago. The sisters had questioned Bobby when he first mentioned what was going on, but had quickly understood his concern when he explained how the girl and her boyfriend had been attacked by a disappearing man, leaving poor Rich hanging above the car, long dead and covered in blood. That was the part that had sparked their interest.
"Do you think you would be able to show us around the house a little? We really have no clue where anything is." Aubrey asked politely, directing the question entirely towards Lori.
"I got a whole load of work to do..." Taylor chimed in from behind, but Lori waved her away with a smile.
"Sure, I can show you guys around. I'll see you later Taylor." The girls said goodbye to each other, and Lori gestured for the sisters to follow her as she led them back down the hallway to begin the tour.
It ended up taking a little longer than they had expected, what with it being a huge house and all, but eventually they were done, and it was time for the girls to finally get to the job at hand.
"I really hate to mention it but... you're Lori Sorenson, right?" Avery asked quietly and tentatively, not wanting to upset the girl and stop her talking. Lori sighed with a weak smile.
"You've seen the papers then?" Aubrey nodded, placing a hand over Lori's comfortingly.
"I'm so sorry about your boyfriend." Lori shook her head sadly, steadying herself with a long breath.
"Thank you."
Avery nodded gently. "I know we just met but if there's anything we can do to help, just let us know."
Lori glanced between the sisters, looking moderately happier at this statement, a small smile even making its way onto her lips.
"There's a memorial service tomorrow, at the church. I know you didn't know Rich, but you're welcome to come along." The sisters both nodded in sync.
"We'd love to pay our respects, and if you need anything, we'll be there." Lori seemed pleased by this response, placing a hand on Avery's arm before slipping past the girls and heading for the door.
"I've got some work to do, but I'm the last door on the right, same hallway as your room. If you need me I'm normally in there." The girls said their goodbyes, and Lori headed on her way.
Ava and Bree didn't linger in the kitchen for long, returning to the room they would be staying in for the duration of this job, which they had to admit was a lot nicer than the motel they had paid for. It was helpful to have the motel room though, it wasn't as though they could bring all their research in here, that might get a little attention from their new sisters.
After agreeing that the memorial service for Rich would be the perfect place to do a little people watching, maybe get some kind of idea about what was going on in this town, they headed back out, in search of some kind of clothing store that might offer a suitable memorial service outfit. Somehow, they didn't think their usual denim, boots and leather jacket was appropriate.
The next morning came quickly, and Aubrey couldn't help but sigh in quiet satisfaction as she burrowed deeper into the soft sheets and fluffy pillows that their sorority beds offered. It was a quiet morning in the house, likely due to the sombre mood that encompassed the girls in anticipation of the memorial service today. From what Amanda had told Ava and Bree the previous evening, the majority of the sorority would be attending, in support of Lori.
They hadn't seen the girl in question, as apparently she had spent the night at home, helping her father prepare for the memorial. As the preacher's daughter this seemed like a given. This left them to head over to the church along with Amanda and three other girls, whose names were announced on the walk over there, but the sisters had already forgotten. They hadn't seen Taylor, but Amanda had explained that was because she had headed over there ahead of everyone else to give Lori a hand.
The memorial service was nice, as nice as it could have been considering the circumstances. Aubrey had found herself thinking, while friends and family said kind words and shared fond memories, that she had never really experienced anything like this. Yes, she had experienced death, and plenty of it, but memorial services weren't something you frequented as a hunter. Hunter's funerals were a lot more cut and dry, matter of fact, get the job done. The last 'funeral' - if you could call it that - was that of their great uncle Christopher. As always with a hunter's funeral, they had burned his body, ensuring that his spirit had nothing tethering him here, so that he could pass on and, hopefully, finally be at peace. But there were no memories shared, no kind words spoken, just silent contemplation from the group as they had watched the pyre burn, until it was no more than smouldering ash.
Lori had offered the sisters a kind wave from her seat as they arrived, and they had settled into one of the pews a couple of rows back from her. Avery had noted that there was nothing suspicious about the girl. She had sat silently, tears glistening in her eyes as she did her damned best to hold herself together. There was no way she had anything to do with this, she was just as much a victim, that much was clear.
The service came to a close after around an hour, and people began rising from their seats, offering quiet words to the family and making their way out.
"Did you see where Lori went?" Ava muttered the question to her sister, who shook her head before glancing around the room. They filed out of the pew along with the rest of the girls, letting them know that they would catch up with them back at the house later, sharing a few hugs and waving their goodbyes.
"I don't know how you did it." Aubrey laughed, folding her arms over her chest and resting against the wooden pew with a grimace.
"Did what?" Ava responded, still glancing around in the hopes of spotting Lori.
"Survived an actual Sorority. I would have thrown myself off a bridge after a week." If Avery had been listening, she probably would have laughed, but her attention had been directed away from her sister with urgency as her smile morphed into a frown, followed closely by a groan.
"Oh lord help us." Aubrey pushed off the pew in response to Ava's muttered words, moving to stand beside her sister and attempting to discern where she was looking.
"Oh." Her expression closely resembled her sister as she realised what she had spotted across the church, breathing out a sigh and pinching the bridge of her nose. The sisters shared a look before steeling themselves and heading towards the two men they had certainly not expected to be seeing today.
"They're gonna make this hard for us, aren't they?" Aubrey groaned, though it was hard to miss the small hint of excitement in her tone. Avery offered a dry laugh.
"Wouldn't expect any less."
They approached the group from behind Lori, who had her back to the sisters while she talked to the familiar pair. It was Sam who noticed them first, eyes widening a fraction as he spotted the Cooper sisters over Lori's shoulder, nudging Dean with his elbow as subtly as he could manage. Ava simply narrowed her eyes at the brothers, completely ignoring them as she turned her attention to the girl.
"Hey Lori," She shot her a sympathetic smile, holding out her arms and pulling Lori into a tight hug. "You did great, the service was beautiful."
Lori nodded with a smile. "Thank you, it was harder than I thought... but at least it's over now."
Aubrey mimicked her sisters action, giving Lori a quick hug and squeezing her hand comfortingly before taking a step back.
"Thank you for coming, I really appreciate you guys being here..." She paused, taking a breath and wiping a stray tear from her cheek. "I think I'm gonna head home, I'm kinda tired. I'll see you back at the house?"
The sisters nodded in uniform agreement, falling silent as Lori turned and said goodbye to the brothers before sweeping past them and out of the door, leaving the four of them alone in what was an entirely unexpected situation.
"What the hell are you two doin' here?" It was Dean who spoke up first, eyes flicking between the two girls with a furrowed brow. Sam however, had not taken his eyes of Ava since he had first spotted her.
"Could ask you two the same thing." Avery replied shortly, lips pulled into a thin line as her and Dean's gazes were locked in determination.
"We're workin' a job." Aubrey piped up defensively, breaking Dean and Ava from their staring contest.
"Uh no, we're workin' this job." Dean replied, his words clipped. "So it would be great if you stayed out of our way."
"Dean." Sam finally spoke up, tearing his attention from Avery as he was broken from his daze. "Maybe we can all work this job."
Dean laughed. "Us? Working together? With Avery and Aubrey Cooper? Yeah I don't think so."
"What's the problem, huh Dean? Worried we'll show you up?" Avery quipped back playfully, a smirk on her lips.
"Hardly." Sam stepped between the pair who looked as though they were close to descending into an actual fist fight at this point.
"We can work this case together, ok?" He held his hands up towards the pair, attempting to diffuse the tension. Dean simply glared at the eldest sister for a moment, perhaps hoping she might back down. But he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't.
"Fine." He grumbled with a shake of his head. "But don't expect me to be happy about it."
"You wouldn't know happy if it bit you in the ass, Dean Winchester." Aubrey laughed, brushing past him and heading for the door, clearly finished with their interaction and not afraid to show it. Dean followed after her, apparently also done and ready to leave. This left Avery and Sam, lingering in a somewhat awkward silence as they regarded each other for the first time in around eight years.
"Hi." Sam spoke quietly, a soft smile on his lips.
"Hey Sammy." Ava replied with a sigh, a touch of sadness in her eyes at the confirmation that Bobby had been right, Sam was back to hunting there was no doubt about that.
"Uh... how have you been?" She couldn't help but laugh at his stumbled words and awkward small talk question. She didn't get a chance to respond however.
"Sam!" Dean called out from the doorway, gesturing dramatically for him to hurry the hell up.
"I think we better go before Dean starts swingin'." Sam laughed, turning on his heel and following after Ava as she made for the door, punching Dean playfully in the stomach in passing, breaking into a jog towards her car before he could retaliate.
They had split up quickly after that, but not before Sam and Dean relayed what Lori had told them about that night, and exchanged mobile numbers so that they could effectively communicate throughout the job. They had then agreed that the brothers would head to the library and start looking into arrest records in the town, while the sisters had been sent to the police station once again, in an attempt to see what they could find from the evidence gathered at the scene of Rich's murder. Other than a few blood soaked items of clothing and photos of footprints that ultimately turned out to be either Rich's or Lori's, they weren't given much to go on. Thankfully, the library visit had proved a lot more fruitful for the brothers.
"You find anything?" Ava answered the phone, skipping the formalities and getting straight into the questioning.
"Actually yeah, we found a lot." The sisters climbed into the car, throwing their forged badges into the back seat and putting the phone on speaker.
"Please Sam, enlighten us." He leapt into an explanation of what they had found, going into detail on the story of a preacher from back in the 1960's who harboured an extreme hatred of the goings on in the local red light district. They were surprised to learn that his hatred had grown to such heights that he had gone on something of a murder spree, ending the lives of thirteen prostitutes in one night.
"Good lord, this guy had some pent up rage in him." Aubrey mumbled, her sister nodding in response.
"Yeah tell me about it. And guess what?" Sam continued, pausing after his question.
"The anticipation is killin' me Sammy." Avery replied with a quick roll of her eyes.
"The guy lost a hand and it was replaced with a silver hook, which is what he used to kill the women."
"Great, so Captain Hook is our guy. We got a grave?" Sam paused, the sound of him flicking through papers audible through the speaker.
"Yeah, but it's an unmarked grave. Not gonna be easy to find." Avery rubbed her temples in frustration.
"Nothin's ever easy. Stay where you are, we'll come meet you at the library."
"Sure, see ya." Avery hung up the phone, throwing the truck into gear and speeding away from the station in the direction of the library.
Once they had met back up with the brothers, and Ava and Dean had shared a few more pointed stares, they agreed that they needed to check out the location of Rich's murder themselves, seeing as it was on the same road the hook man murders had happened previously. Aubrey had been the one to offer to head back to the sorority, planning on spending some time with Lori to ensure her safety and see if she could find any more information on this hook man or the whereabouts of his body.
Dean, Sam and Avery climbed into the Impala, Aubrey taking the truck and heading in the opposite direction. It was late evening by this point, and the sun had just begun to set below the horizon, making the location entirely more creepy than it would have been in the day. They pulled up in view of the bridge, Dean killing the engine and leaning forward in his seat to observe the area.
"Well this ain't creepy at all." He mumbled, mostly to himself, and Ava leaned forward between the seats with a smirk.
"Gettin' a little spooked, Dean?" His head flicked to the right, eyes narrowed at the girl. He didn't dignify her with a response, grumbling something inaudibly to himself as he climbed out of the car and slammed the door behind him. Sam and Ava followed with a quiet laugh between themselves.
Dean was busy rifling through the array of weapons as they reached him, the trunk propped open with a shotgun.
"Got somethin' in there for me?" Avery queried, only realising now that she had left all her weapons, bar a small hunting knife, in her own car. He reached to the back of the trunk, pulling out another shotgun and handing it to her, along with a case of rock salt bullets. Sam simply watched the pair with a frown.
"If it's a spirit, buck shot won't do much good." Dean glanced at his brother over his shoulder, while Avery continued loading her gun quietly.
"Yeah, rock salt. It won't kill 'em but it'll slow 'em down." Sam hummed at Dean's explanation.
"Pretty good, you and dad think of this?" Avery laughed at his question, finishing loading her gun and clicking it back into place with a quick look over her shoulder.
"Pretty sure every hunter's thought of this, Sammy. You've been out of the game too long." He quirked a brow, accepting the gun that Dean was holding out for him before frowning.
"As opposed to you, who it seems never left?" She knew what he was getting at. They had spent the majority of their childhood together talking about how they were going to get out, make something of their lives that was entirely normal, and most importantly, safe. But Avery had never deluded herself into thinking that this was more than just the ramblings of naive children.
She shrugged, adjusting the gun in both hands, clicking off the safety and cocking the fore-end, ready to shoot.
"A girl's gotta get her kicks somehow." Dean barked out a laugh, throwing the spare gun back in the trunk and slamming it closed before turning on the pair.
"Come on, let's get this over with." They made their way toward the bridge, all guns primed and scanning the bushes and trees surrounding them, ready should anything choose to surprise them.
Dean's hand moved to the bag on his shoulder, hitching it higher as his steps ground to a halt, Ava and Sam following his lead and stopping either side of him. Ava narrowed her eyes, mimicking Sam as he pointed his gun towards the tree line, where there was an audible rustle.
"Put the gun down now!" Avery's gun was on the ground in less than a second, as was Sam's, his hands held up above him in surrender as the police officer emerged from the undergrowth, his own gun pointed at the group. "Put your hands behind your head!"
The three of them complied, doing as the officer said, Dean dropping his bag to the ground.
"Woah woah, okay." He also held up his hands as he lowered to the leaf covered floor.
"Now get down on your knees, come on, do it!" The officer was unwavering, his gun still pointed, its aim flicking between the three of them as they did as they were told. "Now get down on your bellies, come on, now!"
Avery groaned as she lowered onto the dirty and damp floor, leaves and mud sticking to her chest uncomfortably. It wasn't exactly the way they had envisioned the evening going.
A high pitched scream roused Aubrey from her sleep, and her hunter reactions had her out of her bed and down the hallway without a second thought, the gun that had been safely tucked beneath her bed was clutched tight in her hand as she threw the door to Lori's room open. A quick scan of the room showed that there was no immediate danger, and so she tucked her gun into the waistband of her shorts before Lori spotted it, hurrying forward and clutching the girl tightly. Lori, it appeared, was unable to formulate words at this time, but the scene that lay before them didn't require an explanation.
Taylor was laying, eyes wide and half uncovered on her bed, the blood that dripped from her fingers and pooled on the floor making it clear that she was no longer alive. Aubrey pulled Lori into her chest, dragging her from her sheets and out of the room, but not before glancing up at the bloodied writing that stained the wall.
Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?