Chapter 10: The Secret of Prioroty

Sam and Dean looked at each other, the shock of the situation apparent on their faces. Earl looked at each of them in turn.

"Are you trying to tell me that you knew nothing of this?" he said as he looked at their faces again.

"N-no!" Sam said after he had recovered from the initial shock. "We spoke to him at 9:30 this morning and he told us to meet him here."

"Yeah." Dean said also recovering from the initial shock. "When we left Father Bennit he was walking towards the front of the church."

The men looked at one another, wondering whether to trust the brothers or not. A man stepped forward that Dean recognized as Bud from the general store.

"Why did Father Bennit tell you to meet him here?" he asked. The men nodded, it was a good question. Sam and Dean looked at each other and Dean stepped forward.

"I don't know." he said as he looked Bud straight in the eye. His voice got louder as he continued talking to them. "Father Bennit said he was being watched, that he couldn't talk at the church. He believed that we could help you people, but if you don't want our help then we'll leave you the hell alone and you can deal with your own banshees!"

The men looked at each other as he spoke, wincing as his voice got louder and louder. When Dean had finished speaking Bud stepped back into the group and looked at Earl. He nodded his head and the men lowered their weapons. Earl looked at the brothers and smiled.

"We have decided to welcome you to our sanctuary." he said as he motioned to the tents in the clearing. "If you will help us to defeat the banshees we will be eternally in your debt."

Dean smiled and winked at Sam. Sam just shook his head at his brother and followed Earl to one of the tents, Dean following right behind them. Earl motioned to some chairs and the brothers sat down in them. Earl sat down across the table from them and looked them over again.

"So how do you plan to help us?" he said as he continued to study the brothers. Sam and Dean looked at each other before answering.

"We're not exactly sure…" Sam said choosing his words carefully. Earl looked at them in astonishment for a second before letting Sam continue. "We know how to kill them and why they are here… we just need to find a cursed object." Earl laughed at them; Sam and Dean just looked at each other and rolled their eyes waiting for him to stop.

"So you think that this town is cursed?" he said when he had stopped laughing. He wiped his eyes and looked at them as if they had gone crazy.

"No…" Dean said looking him straight in the eye. "There is an object or building that is cursed. That's why the banshees are here."

"Oh?" Earl said as he sat back in his chair. "Then how do you explain the Watchers? Or the Takers?" Sam and Dean looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

Finally Dean looked at Earl and said, "Why don't you tell us who the Watchers and Takers are and we'll answer your question." Earl sighed and rubbed his temples.

"This might take a while." he warned. Sam and Dean just sat back in their chairs and got comfortable, waiting for him to start. He sighed again and began his story…

"When this town was first built in 1754, the first building they built, after all the houses, was the church. The problem was that no one had time to go to church, as the town was constantly being attacked by natives and most of the town was dieing.

"So the local priest warned the town's people that if they did not go to church they would have the devil to pay. Of course, no one took him seriously and the priest was said to have gone mad with rage. He told the town's people that they would forever have to live under watchful eyes and monsters.

"Everyone grew so alarmed that they tarred and feathered the priest and exiled him to the wilderness. Soon after this people started disappearing and strange women were seen to be wandering around town in black dresses and white faces.

"Eventually a message was found that said that the women were banshees and that there was a higher group that watched the town for any wrongdoers or people talking about the banshees. The note also said that this higher group was in charge of taking the wrongdoers and either turning them into banshees if they are women or turning them into animals if they are men. And the transformations always occur in front of a crowd. It's horrible to watch." Earl paused for a moment, as if the memory was too painful to go into detail. Dean and Sam looked at each other. This information was almost too astounding for them to grasp, but it was their job and they were going to free this town.