In a matter of seconds Sam was out of the car and barreling towards the motel room door. His years of experience gave him a clear advantage over Shane, who upon hearing the scream began to search around clumsily for something in the car. Sam pushed open the motel room door and slid into the room only to have his heart jump up to his throat at the sight before him.
The Asinaedo had Dean pinned to the bed, her legs straddling his hips, her hand forcing his face to the side so that it was impossible for Sam to see his brothers expression. The Asinaedo had her face pressed against Dean's ear and Sam could see she was mouthing something into it. If Sam didn't know any better he would have assumed that he's stumbled across Dean during the early stages of one of his many sexual endeavors. But because he did know better he was extremely alarmed, especially at the fact that Dean was showing no signs of struggle and Sam had no way of knowing whether he was even conscious. What had happened between the time of Dean's scream to the time Sam entered the motel room that had made his brother stop fighting?
"Dean!" Sam yelled as he tried rushed to his brothers' aide only to find that, like when they were in the woods, his legs wouldn't budge. "Get away from my brother!" he cried, angry with his body for not doing what it should be doing at a time like this. The Asinaedo looked up at the paralyzed brother of her victim, smiled then turned her attention back to Dean. Seconds later Sam felt someone crash into the back of him and then witnessed as a small glass vile was hurled across the room, colliding with the Asinaedo with such force that the bottle shattered on impact. The Asinaedo reeled backwards, her back arched as she cried out in pain. She spun around and gave the two occupants of the doorway a cold stare before she disappeared into thin air.
Sam's mobility returned and he quickly ran to his brothers' side. When he shifted Dean's head he fully expected to see his brother unconscious but was startled to see Dean staring up at him, a puzzled look on his face. "Dude," Dean said pushing Sam's hands away from his face, "What the hell was that?"
"You were awake?" Sam asked as he pulled Dean into a seated position on the edge of the bed. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I couldn't." He said rubbing the side of his face that had been exposed to the Asinaedo, a look of disgust plastered on his face. "I thought she was gonna stick her tongue in my ear. Any other girl and I wouldn't have minded but I'll pass on the kinkiness from the demon chick. It's just not my style."
Sam would have laughed at his brothers' remark had his confusion not taken priority over Dean's wisecracking. "Why couldn't you move?"
Dean shrugged, "You couldn't either." He pointed out, "Maybe the bitch has some kind of ability to paralyze people."
Sam nodded. Great, not only could this thing materialize without being detected, but it would freeze them in place making them defenseless against her. Then Sam remembered Shane crashing into his back. He glanced back at her noticing that she was still standing by the open motel room. "What did you throw at her?"
"Holy water." Shane said as she closed the motel room behind her, realizing that any passerby could easily eavesdrop on their conversation and depending on what they heard or saw it could land all three of them in a mental institution. "I didn't really know if it'd work but I figured it was worth a shot."
Sam nodded, grateful at her quick thinking, noting that next time he would be prepared with not only a rock salt loaded shotgun but also a bottle of holy water, just in case. "What was she saying to you?" he asked redirecting his attention back to Dean.
Dean shrugged his shoulders, "Nothing."
"Dean, she was clearly moving her lips. You're telling me that she wasn't saying anything?"
"Not that I could hear."
"That doesn't make any sense," Sam moved over to his laptop, preparing to do some research before he realized that he had no idea what he was looking for. The last time he had attempted to research the Asinaedo he had gotten random search results, none of which had anything to do with a demon that lived in the woods and ate farmers. Lived in the woods. He turned to Shane. "I thought you said this thing didn't leave the woods."
"I never heard of it leaving." Shane replied her attention focused on the manila folder full of her research that was strewn on Sam's bed. She crossed the room and began to absently flip through it, hoping to find something to answer any of these questions.
Sam stood up and headed for the door. "I'm going into town to do some research. I think there's something we missed."
Dean stood up, "I'll go with you."
"No," Sam stopped, his hand hanging loosely on the doorknob, "You stay here," Sam paused and gestured with his chin towards Shane, "with Shane."
Dean glanced over at Shane who had her arms crossed in front of her, confused eyes trained on Sam. Dean grabbed Sam's arm and pulled him towards the corner, "Dude, I do not need a babysitter!"
"The Asinaedo only seems to attack you when you're alone or me and Shane are unconscious so the way I see it," Sam pulled his arm out of Deans grasp, "you do."
"Dude, I've been doing this my whole life. I do not need Little Ms. Shane the Demon Slayer here to keep me safe." His voice came out in a sharp whisper, "She's not even old enough to drink. How am I supposed to get into a bar with her tagging along?"
"One hour Dean. I'll be back in one hour."
"And for one hour you're gonna leave me here with-" Dean's eyes drifted to Shane who was watching them with a raised eyebrow.
"The female version of you." Sam cut in, grinning.
Dean furrowed his eyebrows and pushed his head back slightly as if saying, excuse me. But Sam just laughed, "You'll live," he said as he reached for the doorknob again. "Oh and Dean," he paused, "Be gentle with her. She's had some hard times." And with that Sam was gone leaving Dean standing in the corner staring at the closed door in front of him.
He bit his lower lip before slowly turning and shooting a stiff smile in Shane's direction. "So," he said calmly, "How 'bout them Yankees?"
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Sam leafed through the pile of papers in front of him. The local library had little to offer in regards to material on the paranormal but he had found some interesting local interest stories. A few years back a farmer claimed that his rooster had saved him from a house fire by crowing at 3 in the morning which woke the farmer and allowed him to escape the house before it was engulfed in flames. A year after that a local girl had gotten a small part in a Quentin Tarantino film and had become a local hero. None of this of course was pertinent to the issue at hand and Sam was beginning to feel discouraged.
He glanced at his watch. He had been gone for almost two hours. He knew he had told Dean he'd only be an hour but he refused to give up this search. It was him, after all, who had been so eager for a hunt. Now, if felt as if his brother's life was in his hands. It was his fault his brother had been marked by a demon spirit. Just as Sam was prepared to tip over the table and possibly punch a wall out of frustration, a three ring binder caught his eye. It was hanging off one of the rows of books and he wasn't sure why he hadn't seen it before. He rose from his seat and picked it up. There was a thin piece of masking tape stretched across the front with the words "Local Legends" written in black marker.
He flipped it open and saw the yellowing pages of a number of news clippings each documenting one of the "Full Moon Murders" as they were being called. The clippings resembled the clippings that Shane had shown them earlier that day. There was even a clipping detailing the account of the priest who had been blamed for the original murders and had been killed. Someone had done their research.
He continued to flip through the pages until he came across and a piece of paper that stood out from the rest. The page looked like it had been ripped out of an ancient text book, the kind of text book that John used to force the boys to read as kids. He skimmed the page quickly, absorbing the information. He glanced around before sliding the page out of its protective sleeve and slipping it into his pocket. That would come in handy later. But first, he had to call Dean.
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"Shit!" Shane exclaimed as she rummaged through the mess of clothes and old food containers littering the floor of the motel room. Where the hell were her car keys? She glanced out the window and froze. Her car, which had previously been parked in front of the motel room window, was now missing. As was her cousin. The last thing she remembered was play fighting with Dean about a basketball game they had happened upon while flipping channels. Halfway into the fight, Shane's eyelids began to grow heavy and before long she was sound asleep. When she woke up Dean was gone.
Her first instinct was to panic. Obviously the Asinaedo had come back while she was sleeping. But now that Shane saw that her car was gone she was more than confident that Dean had skipped out on her and had found his way to some dive-bar along the interstate. And as soon as she found him she was going to thoroughly kick his ass.
A loud ringing caught her attention as she spun around to look at Dean's bed. Great, she thought, not only did the genius leave without as little as a word but he also forgot his phone. She grabbed the phone and saw Sam's name flashing across it.
"Hello?" Shane replied slightly hesitant.
"Shane?" She heard Sam ask, "Where's Dean?"
"He, ummm," Shane paused, debating on what to say, "He's...not here."
"Where is he?" Sam asked and Shane could detect a hint of panic in his voice.
"I'm not actually sure. But, don't worry, he wasn't kidnapped or anything like that. He, uh, well I fell asleep and when I woke up, he was gone, my car was gone-"
Sam cut her off abruptly, "So, you lost my brother?"
"Lost? No, no. I lost track of your brother. That's all." She heard Sam begin to say something but she continued before he had a chance to interject, "I'm gonna go look for him right now. Don't panic. I'll call when I find him." She hung up, grabbed her coat, shoving the phone into her pocket and headed out into the night. I'm so gonna kick his ass.
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After half an hour, three bars, twelve cheesy pick-up lines, and six sexual propositions, Shane was beginning to lose patience. As she entered the fourth bar her nostrils were attacked by the smell of cigarette smoke and cheap whiskey. This was going to be fun, she thought sarcastically.
As soon as her eyes adjusted to the smoky room, something in the corner caught her eye. There, sitting in a booth with his arm wrapped around a drunk looking blonde girl, was Dean. She grinned to herself as a plan began to brew in her head. Yes, this was going to be fun.
She advanced towards the table, strategically moving herself out of Dean's line of sight and into his blind spot. As she approached she saw Dean whispering something into the girl's ear. She took this as the perfect opportunity to slam her fist onto the table causing both Dean and his female friend to jump a little.
"Sha-" Dean attempted to smile but Shane cut him off.
"Where have you been?" She yelled, attracting the gaze of a few bystanders. "You're supposed to be watching our son and you run off to the bar!"
Dean's eyes grew wide with surprise, "What the he-" He was cut off again by Shane launched another series of false accusations.
"I should not have to come home from a double shift to find Dean Jr. crying on the floor while you're out getting drunk with some," Shane gestured rudely at the woman who had begun to slide away from Dean, "hoochie."
Dean glanced apologetically at the woman next to him and then excused himself from the table, grabbed Shane's arm and pulled her away from the crowd of prying eyes. Shane was biting her bottom lip in an attempt to control her impending fit of laughter but exploded into giggles when they were clearly out of ear shot of the bar-goers. She looked up and saw Dean's angry expression. She quickly stifled her laughter but continued smiling.
"What the hell was that?" Dean hissed.
Shane's smile faded. Playtimes over, she thought, time for some ass kicking. She reached out landing a hard punch to Dean's shoulder. Dean took a step back, wondering why he was being hit instead of the one doing the hitting. It was his game that had been stepped all over. He reached out to push Shane back but she caught his arm, spun him around and shoved him, face first against the wall, his arm twisted behind his back.
"You were supposed to stay put. I wake up and you're gone," She gave him a hard shove into the wall before releasing his arm. He spun around and gaped at her. "And," she continued, landing a swift kick to the shin, "my car is missing."
"Ow!" Dean cried out, through clenched teeth. He knew that if he really wanted to, he could take Shane down in a matter of seconds but instead of inflicting bodily harm he figured that subduing her would be in his and her best interest. He noticed Shane's balled up fists and before she could land another blow he grabbed her wrists and pushed her firmly against the wall. "1.) Stop. Hitting. Me. 2.) I'm an adult and if I wanna go to the bar, I can."
"Not when you have a demon stalker after you. I think that's an exception to the 'I'm an adult I can do what I want' rule." He released Shane's wrists and shook his head. "Fine." He said gestured towards the bathroom, "Just let me take a leak and then we can go back to the joy of sitting in the motel room, waiting for Sammy to finish his research." He replied sarcastically.
Shane nodded, "Good. But, uh, we're gonna have to sneak out the back because there's a cab waiting out front and I think I owe him about $100." Dean nodded with a smile and starting walking towards the bathroom.
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As Dean was about to walk into the bathroom the woman he had been sitting with leaned out from seemingly nowhere and put her arm across the doorway, blocking Dean's entrance.
"Hey-" Dean said with a smile as he tried to remember her name.
The woman, seeing Dean's mental struggle, smiled and replied meekly, "Angela."
"Right, Angela," Dean smiled dumbly, "About that thing in there." Dean wasn't sure how to explain it. "She's my cousin." Dean stopped when he noticed Angela's disgusted expression, "No, no, no, no," He said waving his arms in front of him, "Not like that. We don't have a kid, she was just mad 'cause we were uh," Dean stopped for a second, "gonna go to the movies tonight," he lied, happy at how easily the lie had come. "She's just mad 'cause I ditched her to come here. And meet you." He added with a smile. Angela returned the smile and then took Dean's hand in hers.
"Well, in that case," she said leading Dean towards the back door of the bar, "I wanna show you something." Dean glanced back to see if Shane could see him and was pleased to see that her back was to him. Five minutes wouldn't hurt he reasoned with himself as he turned back to face Angela. As soon as he saw the look on Angela's face he regretted his last statement. Five minutes, indeed could hurt him. He looked and saw that gripped in Angela's right hand was a 9 mm handgun. Before Dean had a chance to react she swung the butt of the gun at Deans' head and everything went black.
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The music in the bar was so loud that Shane hardly realized that Dean's phone was ringing in her pocket.
"Hello?" She shouted into it.
"Shane?" Sam called back, raising his voice to match hers. "Did you find him?"
"Yeah," Shane yelled, "He was at a bar."
"A bar?" Sam asked, his voice filled with concern, "Listen, Shane. I found something out about the Asinaedo. Once she has a victim marked, the mark acts like a tracking device and allows her to follow the victim. That explains how she was able to leave the woods."
Shane pressed a finger to her free ear in an attempt to block out the excessive noise from the bar, "Sam, I can barely hear you." She yelled.
Sam raised his voice, "I found something about this 'Blood In, Blood Out' thing too. Once she's found the victim, she needs a human host in order to complete the 'Blood Out' part of the ceremony. The Asinaedo can't speak. She needs the host to speak the written part of the 'Blood Out' ceremony in order for it to work but she can only possess a host on the night of a full moon."
Shane was nodding as she absorbed the information. Suddenly the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Human host- the girl in Dean's booth, Full Moon- tonight.
"Shit." She hissed into the phone as she broke into a half-run towards the bathroom. She was about to start pounding on the door when she noticed a small blood stain on the floor outside of the bathroom door. Shit. She barged through the room, ignoring the protests of the three swaggering men at the urinals. None of which were Dean. She then slammed open each stall door, finding them all empty.
"Um, Sam." She said into the phone as she felt panic begin to set in. "I think I did lose him this time."