A/N: ok, here is chapter 7. it's a bit shorter then the rest, but it should still be good. the action is going to start picking up really soon. i hope no one is getting bored with it. thank you again to everyone for the reviews. i love writing dialogue, so i am really happy that some of the characters are together again too. so, on with the next chapter.

SHADOW STALKER

Chapter 7

Joshua looked deep into the darkness, his fear growing with each passing minute. The darkness was unfathomably dense, and he could feel it seeping into his mind, stealing away his thoughts. This wasn't right, it couldn't be. He had been driving for three and a half hours, but somehow he was still on Shadow Pine Highway. 'This cant be, we only drove for three hours.' Joshua knew that he should have made it back to the main road by now, or at least seen some signs that he was going in the right direction. But there was nothing. 'The road was straight.' He told himself, knowing that he hadn't missed any turnoffs. This just wasn't right.

He pressed down harder on the accelerator, wishing for nothing more then to be out of that god forsaken forest. He should never have let John drag him in there, they had no business there. Boys or no boys, Joshua knew that they never should have gone down that highway. He continued to stare into the darkness ahead, the headlights of the truck barely reaching more then a few feet ahead. He swerved dangerously across the road, shadows jumping out at him like animals from the tree line, taunting him, chasing him. He took one shaking hand off the steering wheel and ran it down his worn face. This was not going well.

Then ahead of him, just at the edge of his vision he saw another shadow form, clearer then all the rest. "Shit." He swerved hard to the right, the truck running into the forest. He braced himself against the steering wheel as the car came to an abrupt stop among the trees. Doing a quick check of his body he let out a long sigh when he realized that nothing had been broken. He then rested his head back and let out another long breath, willing away the fear that was pushing its way deep into his soul.

"I didn't want him here."

Joshua let out a short screech and jumped up in the seat, the top of his head hitting the roof on the car. "I tried." He said a few moments later, his mind still racing, his eyes still refusing to look at the shadow sitting beside him. He was like a man, but not quite, almost like a half finished portrait. There was an outline, and there were features, but he was still not completely whole. And that terrified the seasoned hunter. It was like this man was stuck somewhere between the living and the dead.

"Obviously you didn't try hard enough." His voice was so cold it felt like ice hitting Joshua's face. Its tone sounding almost like a faded echo, its sound on the edge of dying whispers. A voice like a shadow itself. "I didn't want John Winchester involved. Not yet anyway."

"His sons were missing."

"This I know. I had not asked you to keep him away forever, just long enough."

"There was no way he wasn't going to look for his kids."

"But you could have had him look somewhere else." The shadow answered, its voice dripping with an intense anger, an anger Joshua could feel. It was cutting into him, expanding inside his mind, clouding his eyes.

"Why haven't I gotten out of the forest yet. I thought you said I was safe here."

"That I did, as long as we had our bargain. But we don't have that now do we. All I wanted were the boys. You were to lead them here, tell them about the shortcut, and you were to lead the father away. So it seems to me that you have forfeited our agreement."

"What! No, I got you the boys, and even if John his here too, he is lost right along with them."

"True."

"So, why am I not still protected?"

"Oh, you are. For now. I just don't want you leaving my forest. Not just yet."

"Why?"

"I have my reasons."

"Look, I have nothing more to do here."

"This I know."

"Then why make me stay."

"Because it is fun. I enjoy feeding off your fear, it is so blatant. For a hunter I have to say, you are a bit of a disappointment."

"What's that supposed to mean."

"Real hunters wouldn't run from a fight. They wouldn't hide from the danger."

"I am not hiding."

"No, but you were running. Now, those three you have helped me trap. They are hunters. They are stronger then you, stronger then most I have encountered. And they are far braver."

Joshua just sat there, still staring ahead of him, refusing to look at the shadow. He had been hunting for thirty year, longer then all three of the Winchesters. Before John came along he was considered one of the best, one of the authorities on demon hunting. It enraged him to sit here in his friend's car and listen to that thing beside him belittle him, speak to him as though he were nothing more then a speck of dirt.

"I needed more time with the youngest."

"What?" Joshua asked, fighting his way out of the cloud of emotions that was encasing him.

"I needed the youngest, I was about to have him but then the father came. He saved him."

"What about Dean?"

"He has already been dealt with."

"I don't want to hear this." Joshua turned angrily from the voice, staring out the driver's side window. He had known the boys for most of their lives, he had helped patch them up when they were injured and he had looked after them while John had been hunting. He had seen just how much the family cared for each other and he had seen just how much others had cared for the family. He felt dirty leading them here, giving them over to the shadows. He knew that he was sending them to their deaths, but he did not want to hear about it.

"You care about them."

"Of course. I have known those boys for years. They don't deserve this."

"Then why agree to help me."

"You know why."

"Oh yes, your fear. You sold them out for fear, another shortcoming of yours."

"Its called survival."

"Call it what you may. Be it survival, or revenge, or one of countless other terms, the emotions are always the same. Fear. Deep, unrestrained fear. You should not be too ashamed. All humans fall victim to it. There are only a select few that can truly beat it."

"Let me guess. The Winchesters."

The shadow only laughed softly, almost to itself. "You call them your friends, but yet you loath them. Why?"

"You tell me."

"Jealousy. They are everything you once pretended to be. Everything you know you will never be. And they are barely more then children. John Winchester is good, but Sam and Dean, there is a power there that I have never felt before. That is why I want them, you know. That is why they are so valuable."

"Lots of things are after them."

"This I know. But I was the first to take them. At least, I will be the first shortly."

"Then I can leave."

"You can try. But you will be walking."

"And you promise those shadows of yours wont attack."

"No. But if you are as good a hunter as you think, then you should be able to beat them and find your way out of my forest." And before Joshua could answer the shadow misted away, leaving no trace of its once overpowering presence. Joshua then sat there, gathering himself together, trying to push his fears away. Slowly he got out of the truck and made his way to the weapons locker. Taking the supplies he needed he turned and headed off down the highway, bracing himself against the shadows as they followed him into the waning darkness.

TBC..

next chapter will hopfully be up tomorrow.