A.N. Sorry but gotta have my say – Those so called 'fans' currently attacking Jared – Get a grip you sad, sad numpties!

Chapter 24
-oOo-

The Sheriff walked back into her office and headed straight for the filing cabinet, grabbing out the remains of the half bottle of whiskey residing in there. Pouring herself another sizeable amount she carried the glass over to her desk. Sitting down she held the glass up in front of her face and stared at it's contents. She was a woman who rarely drank but here she was, about to indulge in her second triple shot in one day. With a shrug of her shoulders she took a sip from the glass, savouring the smooth fire of the liquid spreading over her tongue. There was nothing normal about this particular day anyhow, so why not have a second drink? Her gaze drifted towards her office window, noticing that she hadn't pulled the blind down. The window looked out onto the car park used by both public and officers and so she tended to drop the window blind in order to give herself some privacy while she worked. With the daylight dwindling all she could really see looking at the window was the reflection of herself sitting in her office. She raised her glass to her mirror image in salute.

Settling back in her chair, in her mind's eye she yet again replayed the moment when Agent Fo...Dean...dropped his gigantic bombshell in her lap, telling her that monsters weren't just fantasy and folk tales explaining, way too casually for her liking, that they were real! She wondered if she would ever sleep properly again? That thought instantly raised another, she needed to buy a new bed asap! One that didn't have legs.

The Sheriff's gaze shifted again to her window. Holy Hell! Some huge big freakin' monster could be out there watching me right now and I'd never know, 'cos all I can see is me staring back at me. Why didn't I shut that stupid blind?...Ok, c'mon, pull yourself together. I'll just stroll all casual like over there, reach up and close the damn thing like I've done a million times...Garlic! I need a new bed and a tonne of fresh garlic...And some not crazy reason to explain why the town Sheriff's suddenly decided dangling garlic round all the department's doors and windows is the next big thing!

Would it even work? Can garlic really stop vampires? And is it true that old Dracula has to be invited in?...Dracula? Oh man! Is he real? Son of a bitch!...Wonder who he'd look most like? Christopher Lee or Gary Oldman?...Oh wait...Yeesh! I'll lay money on the toothy bastard looking exactly like the other one. Scary ugly. Whassisname?...Nostferato! Oh yeah, real freaky looking creep. Wouldn't wanna meet him...Oh...Ok, forget garlic; how can I arm my team with wooden stakes and not be diagnosed a complete headcase? Chrissake. Where the fuck's Buffy when you need her?

I'm sure I've still got my mom's old silver chain and crucifix somewhere. Probably a good idea to try finding the damn thing soon as I get home...Oh! Mermaids! Wonder if mermaids are real? That'd be ok wouldn't it? I mean, I liked mermaids when I was a kid. Mermaids wouldn't be evil? And fairies; right? Yeah, there's gotta be some nice monsters out...You dumbass! Listen to yourself. A monster's called a monster for a reWhoa!...Did something just move past my window? Shit. Shitty shit...Ok. Screw this! That blind's getting closed right now!

The phone on the Sheriffs desk suddenly rang with the sound of an internal caller causing the Sheriff to flinch so badly she sloshed whiskey out of her glass and over her lap.
"What?...Oh, sorry Kath...No, just a bit uptight is all...Yeah, yeah. Coffee and a sandwich would be great!...Kath? Make sure the coffee's strong will you? Thanks."

The Impala rolled to a halt more or less in the same spot Dean had parked up the previous night. Climbing out of the car Sam looked up at a sky which was patchy with clouds.
"Forecast said it's gonna stay dry tonight."
Getting out, closing the car door and moving to the back of the Impala to open up the trunk, Dean glanced upwards, his expression sceptical.
"Seriously? And how often do they actually get it right? Only job I can think of where you get to cock up so regular an' not end up fired! I was watchin' the late news the other week an' the weather chick was goin' on about what a bright sunny day we'd all had. Sam, it had been rainin' so hard I swear I'd started thinkin' about ark building! I mean, jeeze! Dumb bitch screwed up tellin' me how it had been, never mind how it was gonna be!"

Sam was staring at his brother in amazement.
"Wow! I never knew the weather forecast turned you so old man! Sorry I ever brought it up!"
"It's a thing, ok? It irritates me is all...An' I'm not an old man, you overgrown dwarf. C'mon, lets go check on the tent area."
Hefting his duffel onto one shoulder Sam followed on after Dean, chuckling.
"Overgrown dwarf? Really?"

Hope heard Joel grunt as the first wave of pain hit him and, only a second or two behind him, she gasped as her own trial began. For the first time since Joel took the person she was and irrevocably changed her, Hope embraced the terrible agony of her transformation. She rode it willingly, surprised to discover that doing so actually served to lessen the hurt a little and seemed to speed up her metamorphosis. Fading into the deep background of her mind, the dwindling human part of the teenager logged this new learning for future reference.

Outside the hide, two werewolves were stretched out on the ground alongside one another, each waiting for the last vestiges of the change from their human form to subside. Eventually, one of the creatures began to carefully raise itself up from the leaf littered grass and onto all fours. It sniffed the night air and scanned the immediate area with it's heightened vision. With the limitations of human sight banished, the werewolf's world was one dominated by numerous shades of blue, a world in which every feature of the forest stood out in ultra sharp relief. Cutting in, out and across the background blues was a cornucopia of yellows, greens and reds. Heat signatures ranging from minute full stops of colour and on up to larger blocks of colour who's scent, shape and how they moved enabled the werewolf to identify what constituted food. There were those which were airborne, some moving erratically while others glided smoothly by. Trees and other patches of forest flora inhabited by bugs wore the different heat signatures like shining Christmas baubles or twinkling fairy lights. But it was those larger telltale signatures occupying ground level that were the ones that really interested the werewolf, their heat signatures cutting through the field of blues and betraying potential prey to the werewolf's' deadly night vision.

The werewolf waited and watched while it's companion gathered itself together before rising, slightly unsteadily, first to all fours and then continuing on up until it stood upright. Looking down, the monster locked eyes with it's counterpart. The two held each other's gaze in silence, an agreement was recalled and, with a slight nod of acknowledgement, a promise was upheld. Turning it's back, one of the pair moved off at a swift and soundless trot. The remaining creature watched until the heat signature of the other had moved beyond it's range. Finally turning away, the remaining werewolf set out in a different direction at a slow and stealthy walk. The nature of both supernatural beings was quick to surface, turning the focus of each one entirely onto the search for prey. Both seeking food animals that were large enough to satisfy the desire to slaughter, the want to drink hot fresh spilled blood, and the need to start filling their bellies with the freshly stripped organs that could begin to quell their raging bestial hunger. The night's hunt had begun.

-oOo-
Chick xxxxx :D