Chapter Twenty Three
"No one else is here"
"Really?" Kate kept her hand on Nicki's shoulder as she regarded the younger Winchester.
"You sure? Because I can smell your partner."
She sniffed the air again.
"Only one partner though, where's the older guy? Where is he?"
"There's no one else here I swear. Listen, it's me you want so why don't you let the women go?"
Kate smiled and licked her lips. She cocked her head to the side and absently began rubbing her fingers through Nicki's hair.
"Now why would I want to do that?"
Turning her attention to Grace, Kate beckoned her with one finger to stand . Grace carefully pulled herself from the floor. Her arms ached from the way she had held onto Nicki and her throat was soar from the cut of the knife. All this served only to fuel her anger at this woman treating her family, her new friends this way.
"Do you have a pantry?"
"Why?"
Kate backhanded Grace before Nicki could intervene.
"Wait wait! There is a pantry, just through the door to the side of the kitchen"
"At least your young friend here is willing to cooperate"
Kate pulled Grace and Nicki with her into the kitchen , she bound them together in the pantry, backs to each other, sat in the middle of the cold floor, surrounded by bags of flour and cans of food. There was barely enough light in the small room for them to see properly but the flash of silver within Kate's eyes was visible enough to send shivers across both women as they separately tried to stay strong for the other.
Once the door closed they were lost in the darkness with only racing hearts and quick breath's as their only sign of existence in the absence of light.
Kate stood before Sam again, with one hand under his arm she lifted him to his feet.
"Where is your partner? And where is the older guy? The murderer?"
"Why don't you let me go and I'll go get him for you"
"Funny, for someone who almost died at the hands of Luther you don't seem to be taking this seriously"
"You forget that Luther didn't take us seriously and look how that turned out"
Sam's head exploded in an agonising tsunami of rainbow colours and pain. He stumbled back but before his body was allowed to crumble to the floor Kate lifted him high and threw him back against the wall with a sickening thud followed by a gut wrenching crack as Sam's right shoulder broke from it's joint in a sudden dislocation.
He lay panting on the ground, determined to stay awake, to stay conscious. This was not good, they were supposed to have time, another day at least.
"Wh…what are y….you d….doing h…here?"
Crouching beside her fallen enemy Kate leaned in close, her breath brushing across Sam's lips.
"I heard your partner was joining us for dinner, thought I'd grace him with my presence."
"Y…You're not due back un..until t..tomorrow"
"We do know how to use cell phones you know"
Kate sighed and stood, towering above Sam as he lay sprawled on the ground. She regarded him carefully, now that she could truly smell him there was something oddly familiar.
"The other one, he's…..your brother?"
Sam's wide eyed expression betrayed him before he could reel in his reactions.
"I thought you two smelled similar. Guess what goes around comes around. You killed my family, so I'm going to kill yours. I'll make you watch baby, you'll get to see as I strip his skin and taste his blood."
"You leave him alone" The growl Sam found was a shock to not only Kate but also Dean who stood behind the open door in the hallway.
Little brother was really mad.
Big brother was injured and had no weapons.
The plan was definitely, without a doubt, not, coming together.
Which reminded Dean. He needed a plan. The weapons were in the car, he needed to make it back there and get the machete. They had no more arrows and the dead man's blood was all but gone. It was going to have to be a sudden, decisive strike by Team Winchester, minus his point man.
Slowly padding across the floor in his socks Dean made it to the reception area undetected. He walked around the desk and froze as the feeling of air hit his neck, it's repetitious warmth confirming that maybe Dean needed to work a little harder on his stealth mode.
"You still draw the line at necrophilia?"
Dean didn't turn around, didn't move, instead he kept the knife he had pulled from the kitchen held firmly within his grasp in front of him.
"That depends"
"On what?"
"Is this our second or third date?"
"Oh baby this is our second"
"Then yeah, we have a way to go before I agree to get all busy with your rotting corpse"
Kate smiled and playfully ran her tongue across the nape of his neck.
"You sure baby? Because I think really, deep down in side you want to be rid of all that pain, all that anger that you're carrying. I could free you, you'd have no remorse, no regret and no consequence"
"I'd also have no pulse which isn't really on my to do list for this month"
Dean moved around as quick as his bruised body would allow and imbedded the kitchen knife deep into Kate's abdomen. As she stood, shocked, staring at the protruding implement Dean made a run for the door, getting outside into the morning sunshine and running as fast as his leg, ribs and concussion would allow toward his awaiting Impala.
Kate pulled the knife free and glanced outside into the harsh light.
He'd be back, no need to risk a sunburn knowing that he'd be back to finish her. She turned and stalked back into the living room, intent on dislocating Sam's other shoulder, as she entered the door and turned toward the wall she was greeted with a drying blood stain on the carpet where his head should have been.
She swept the room quickly, no sign. Smiling she licked her lips at the anticipation of the hunt.
She always liked it when her prey fought back, they tasted so much sweeter when their blood was full of hope, adrenalin and hatred for their attackers. Luther would often allow an unsuspecting woman escape, he'd watch as Kate stalked them in whatever warehouse was home to them that month, she would silently advance, their hopes and false sense of salvation short lived as she crept cat like through the shadows to engulf her prey in one deadly move.
"Here boy" She whistled as she made her way into the kitchen.
"Come on now baby, it's time to eat, you wouldn't want to be the last one to the table now would you?"
The pantry door was wide open, Grace sat in the corner, huddled with her legs pulled close to her chest, she raised her head as Kate walked in, before she had time to realise the woman was smiling triumphantly at her , Sam stepped from behind and hit her hard across the back of her head with the bacon burned frying pan.
"Grace, quickly come on!"
Without need for second instruction Grace sprinted from the pantry as fast as she could and grabbed Nicki's hand , together they helped Sam close the door and push the kitchen table up against it.
"Wait!"
"Aunt Grace no, we need to go, now!"
"No, no Nicki you don't understand"
"Grace? What is it?" Sam stood before her, hand braced against the table as he fought the vertigo that assaulted him.
"The door opens inward"
Crap. Sam pulled himself upright and began pushing Nicki and Grace toward the door.
"You two need to go, now. Run to the bar up the street and stay there. Please"
"No, we're not leaving you here with that, thing, you're injured" Nicki grabbed Sam's jacket and tried to pull him with her.
"Nicki you have to protect your Aunt. Remember what I told you? This has to be finished or you'll never be free. Remember?"
Nicki looked deep into Sam's eyes, full of pain, anger and determination.
Once the vampire has your scent, it's for life.
"I can help"
"Help by protecting Grace."
"Grace can protect herself thank you very much young man"
"Grace if this woman gets passed me then you and Nicki will need to protect each other"
"He does have a point honey"
"Heads up"
The three turned in unison as Dean entered the room, leaning heavily on the door frame, carrying two massive machetes.
Grace was about to demand an explanation for the weapons, was going to insist on his explaining himself and his intentions, but at that moment movement from within the pantry struck freezing cold fear within her heart and throughout her veins.
"Go. NOW!"
Nicki took one more look at Sam and grabbed her Aunts hand as they ran out the door and up the street.
"You ok?"
"Yeah. You?"
"Yeah. Your shoulder looks kinda funny"
"So does your face"
Dean frowned at his younger brother as he handed him a machete. They both stood facing the pantry, one leaning slightly on the other, both leant forward, one in an attempt to keep the vertigo at bay, the other in an attempt to allow his ribs to relax and release some pressure from his abdomen.
One with a useless arm.
The other with a useless leg.
Both looked sideways at each other as they realised that maybe this plan wasn't the greatest. Too late for rethinks and brain storming. As both brothers released the breath they'd been holding the door flew open in a spray of wooden splinters and anger.
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