Chapter 14

The Goddesses of the coast

Thank you to all those who reviewed, its really nice to know you are enjoying my story. I am really surprised I got this done, I worked on it all day yesterday and the day before, off and on during the holidays, and now a new chapter for you guys. :)

FUN FACT: The idea for this story spawned when I was in grade seven, yes I know, cringing. It has changed a lot since then, obviously.

casmybftheotaku- I'm glad you're enjoying the story, this story never was going to be a Destiel one, mostly just friendship, but there may be more in the future *evil laughter*. This isn't going to be anything like Twist and Shout is what I'm saying.

Okay so this story is officially OFF HIATUS! Yaaaaayyy…. I'm going to try and post a new chapter every month but we'll see how that goes. :/ Here you go, chapter 14….

I sat alone on a park bench watching the teenagers play volleyball and the kids laugh as they ran about screaming at each other for pointless reasons. It had been over five years since I played volleyball without a care like them, except I never was very good at volleyball.

Hunting without Garth was kind of lonely, but nice at times. Without having his high voice, over dramatizing little things and really easily getting drunk, hunts were more peaceful, went more smoothly.

Recently, I'd been taking small cases. Manageable cases. For some reason, the larger cases I'd heard of never lasted long.

And plus, as soon as Garth gets back from Germany we can start with bigger cases. Garth has only been gone for about three months. And, he's supposed to be back in a week.

I leaned back and watched as a little girl ran over to her mother and wrapped her tiny arms around her leg.

"What is it honey?" The mother asked.

"The creepy ice cream lady is back," the little girl whispered.

I laughed slightly then followed her pointing finger to see a tall thin pale woman with deep black fuzzy hair and blotches on her skin. She was wearing a black long sleeve dress and sandals.

"Yikes," I whispered to myself.

She was pretty freaky. She casually walked over to stand behind her little ice cream stand again. She was just staring at the ground but for some reason I couldn't take my eyes off her.

There was something about the way she blinked, the way she shifted her weight, the way she breathed...

I stood up abruptly. How could I have missed that for so long? Why did her blinking look strange? She wasn't blinking. Why did the way she shifted her weight look strange? She wasn't shifting her weight. She stood completely still, shoulders not moving, eyes not twitching.

I slowly walked over to the ice cream stand.

"How much is your ice cream...?" I asked.

She flinched and stood up tall, "Oh! Ice cream... Ice cream... Ice cream... Oh yes! Three dollars for a small cone... Uh... Four dollars for a large? No wait I don't have a large cone..."

"Hmm...Uh, what's your name?" I asked.

She stared at me for a moment, then blinked rapidly and said "Audumbla! My name is Audumbla!"

"Okay you don't have to shout everything you say," I muttered.

"Sorry...!" She said, her voice a little more cautious but not any quieter.

"Okay, I'll have a cone," I said, and handed her the money.

She took it gratefully.

"What flavor?" She asked.

"Uh..." I looked down at her options, there was only one tub and it was vanilla.

"Vanilla, I guess."

She scooped three big scoops onto the little cone then wrapped a napkin around it and handed the whole works to me.

"Oh, okay..." I took it and tried to make sure the ice cream didn't tumble out of the cone.

"Thanks," I said awkwardly and turned away, she was pretty weird, I assumed it was only how far away I was that I couldn't see her breathing due to the fact, she breathed and blinked normally when I was buying ice cream.

I took a lick and stopped in my tracks.

"Holy shit!" I said. Several mothers gave me evil glares.

I spun around to see Audumbla looking very frightened.

"Where did you get this?" I demanded.

"I- I make it..." She stuttered.

"This is so good! How?!"

"Uh... Uh... Uh... Uh... Uh... Uh... Cows!" She yelled.

She turned away and walked away the ice cream stand muttering, "Cows... Cows... Cows..."

I stood there momentarily then turned around to see a lot of people staring at me.

"What...?" I asked.

A guy about my age walked up to me and said, "she's always here, never really says anything, no one knows her name and even the police have tried to get her to leave but she won't. I don't know where she's going now but the bathrooms are in the other direction, there's nothing where she's headed. And for some reason she told you her name... What's so special about you?"

"She didn't have a name tag and I was curious," I said quickly, "but seriously, this ice cream is so good."

I walked away, leaving the rest of the families confused but they continued what they were doing before.

I finished my ice cream and got in my car, I drove down the side street heading back to my hotel. I turned a corner and saw a tall thin woman in a black dress, wait.

I slowed down next to Audumbla and rolled down the passenger seat window.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"COWS!" She screamed at me and ran away back down the road.

"What the hell..." I muttered.

I shook my head and continued to drive, a few minutes later my phone rang.

I groaned and reached over to check the number. It was Garth.

I clicked talk and said, "yep?"

"Hey Cas, so I'm just heading out tomorrow I just want to check you're in Irvine?"

"Yeah I am. So... How's it all going?"

"Hmm?"

"Your family..." I muttered.

"Oh yeah they're good, this is why I wasn't happy with them moving because when someone is going through a crisis I have to make a vacation out if it."

"A crisis, Garth?"

"What? It was a tough divorce. The simple trouble still matters to me, not everything is ghosts and demons."

I laughed, "yeah, any who, I'm still in Irvine, same hotel and what not."

"Okay, see ya!"

"Bye."

I opened the hotel door and threw my bag on the couch. There was nothing for me to do in Irvine except sit around, I didn't have anything to do, and I was bored.

But what was really weird about that was, instead of my being bored because of a lack of games or excitement to hold my attention like in all those years of being a kid, I was bored because I wasn't on a hunt. I didn't like the fact that I wasn't fighting monsters.

That's what made my skin crawl. That I enjoyed what I did, and when I wasn't killing demons, I was unhappy.

I checked my watch, it was 4:00pm.

"I'll just go get food, I guess…" I muttered, I knew there wasn't anyone there, but talking out loud helped me cope with the silence. I left the hotel and got in my car, for a moment I thought there was something in the bushes on the edge of the parking lot, a large shape seemed to dart away as soon as I laid my eyes on it, I shook my head. It was nothing.

I drove to the nearest diner and casually walked in, there was only one booth left open, on the end next to a window. I shrugged and sat down in it, the waitress arrived a minute later and gave me a menu.

"Thanks," I muttered and she filled up my water glass and left, saying nothing.

Dinner passed as normal, the only thing that was a little odd is how every so often, I would see something out of the corner of my eye, a large shape in the trees, but as soon as I looked, it would dart away.

I didn't think much of it until I realized something. They all looked the same as that creature Garth and I saw five years ago, as we were burning the body of Duncan Simm. But it was a ghost, right? And that was in Mesa… this is only one state over.

I shook the thoughts out of my head, it wasn't important.

I finished my meal and got up to pay, the woman at the front smiled slightly and took my cash.

"Thank you," she said, barely above a whisper.

I nodded, and turned away to leave. As soon as I closed the door a cold breeze pierced my skin.

"What the hell this is California stop being so cold, damnit," I muttered and got in my car.

I breathed out and put my keys in the agnation.

"Wait…" a girl's voice said.

"AH!" I spun around to see Audumbla sitting peacefully in the backseat.

"What are you doing?!" I demanded.

"It was unlocked," she said, her icy eyes not breaking eye contact.

"No it wasn't!" I retorted.

"…Oh," She said, "s-sorry."

I stuttered, and blinked several times.

"Get out of my car!" I ordered.

She leaned forward slightly, "I need to tell you something…"

I leaned back, "Get out!"

"I know you're a hunter and I need you to listen to m-"

Before she could finish I climbed out the car and tore open the backseat door, it was obviously broken. She looked startled but I grabbed the back of her dress and pulled her out.

"I need you to listen!" She continued.

"Piss off!" I yelled and got back in my car. I quickly drove off, before I was too far she screamed, "I'm not killing people!"

I shook my head, she is crazy and needs to stop selling ice cream and go to a mental hospital.

The next morning I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on my door.

I groaned and rolled over, who the hell was at my door at 7:30am?

I crawled out of bed and walked to the door. I looked through the peep hole, it was Audumbla.

"Oh my God…" I muttered.

I swung the door open but before she could say anything I said, "How the hell did you find my room?"

"Your car was parked and I asked the lady at the front which room you were in," She said quickly.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"I need to you to know something…" She said.

"You need to go a mental hospital."

"Please…. I know you're a hunter and I need you to know about…" she paused, looking around, "the goblins…"

I nodded, "You're insane."

"I really need you to hear me out."

"Get off my porch."

"This isn't even you're house, it's a crappy motel and you need something to occupy you're time, you're mad you're not on a hunt, you want you're friend to come back from Germany, and you want me to stop bugging you, yeah I get it. Can you please listen?"

I stared at her. "How do you know all that?"

She looked back into my eyes. "How do you think?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking," I said in an obvious sarcastic tone.

"My name is… Audumbla. That's just a normal name to you?"

I paused, uncertain to where she was going.

"I'm a Goddess, okay? I can read minds… That's why I'm so shaky all the time, its hard knowing what's going on in everyone's heads."

I stared at her, "Say that again?"

"My name is Audumbla, I am the primordial Cow Goddess of ice cream. I emerged from the ice of Niflhiem and fed Ymir, a frost-giant ice cream to keep him alive."

I stared at her, I mean come on, cow Goddess? That seemed made up.

"I'm not made up." She whispered.

"Oh yeah, you can read minds."

I glanced down at the floor, "Fine, come in, but don't expect I'm going to feed you or anything."

"I don't eat," She whispered and walked in.

"Okay so first, you are a… cow…. That immerged from stuff and did stuff how are you a girl?" I asked.

"I can't go around talking to people like a cow can I? I had to adapt, change my form… Of course, I still have black hair and blotches on my skin but… you know."

We stood in silence for a moment; I really didn't know what to say to a creepy lady who used to be a cow.

"All I want to tell you is that, the people that have been dying…"

"What people?" I cut her off.

"Well… Matt, Colin, Sandra… You didn't hear? I suppose the police are keeping it very hush hush…" She murmured. "Anyway, the goblins are the one's killing them, they're getting very anxious, something's up… Something's started moving again, a demon, a God… Who knows."

"So, what do the goblins look like?" I asked.

"Oh! Very large, muscled, relatively tall… They have a lot of hair… silvery eyes, grey skin, creepy. I've never seen one clearly, they're always lurking in the shadows."

She paused and studied her fingernails for a moment.

"People here know about them, they think they're a cult or something, have you noticed how everyone is very sad?"

"Now that you mention it…" I muttered but my mind was racing. Muscled? Lots of hair? Silver eyes? That's exactly the thing Garth and I saw five years ago, in Mesa. The things I've been seeing in the bushes.

"How many are there?" I asked.

"Who knows? Tens… Hundreds… THOUSANDS?"

"Is that realistic?"

"Not really, oh no." She said.

I looked at her, "What is it?"

"They could be tracking me… They could be here, ready to kill…"

"Wait, why are they killing?"

"I told you!" she shouted, "They're anxious, they can sense something afoot, maybe nowhere near Irvine, but somewhere, and they want to stock up on meat so they don't starve!"

"What could be afoot?"

"I don't know!" She glanced at the window, nothing was there, and "A demon could've taken another victim, maybe a powerful demon, one that hasn't killed in a long time"

"Oh no! They could be here, I'm afraid I may have put you in great danger…" She said.

"How can they track you?"

"I'm Goddess! I have an aura!"

I picked up my duffel bag and fished out some guns, "I can fight," I said as I shoved various knives into my jacket sheathes.

"Can you?" She asked, "The force that has woken up the goblins could be him… him with the yellow eyes…"

Suddenly, outside the door, a dog barked.

"Time to go!" Audumbla screamed.

She spun around and darted out the door, I followed close behind, "Where are you going?" I yelled, slamming the door shut.

Audumbla was running across the parking lot and out onto the street, I was on her heels.

I heard the dog bark again, then growl. But I didn't dare look back.

Audumbla stopped at an old parking lot. She looked around and sat down on the edge of a garbage can.

I finally caught up. The parking lot we were in was almost deserted; a couple old cars were parked near the back.

"See?" I panted, "No goblins…"

She looked around suspiciously. "I don't hear anything," she muttered.

I nodded, "Exactly, which is why I'm going to go to that gas station and use the bathroom and get some breakfast."

Adumbla looked around suspiciously but didn't stop me from running across the street.

I grabbed some baked pretzels, water and a bag of chips. I paid for them, and then headed across the street again.

"Are you going to calm down and talk to me now?" I said as I ripped a chunk out of the pretzel.

Audumbla stared at the building across the parking lot.

"I've been around for a very long time, goblins don't usually kill so much like this, and the last time was…" She paused.

"1983." She stated, the yellow eyed force was moving around America. It killed once, in Lawrence.

I took another bite of my pretzel, "Okay, so it's the yellow eyed guy who is afoot?"

"It could be, I don't know."

I took a drink of water, "How do we stop them?"

Audumbla looked up at the sky, then to me, "These goblins have evolved from the original goblins I once faced, they have evolved like me. They grew, they multiplied, they traveled, obviously, like me, and all the other Gods and Goddesses."

"So… How do we stop them?"

Audumbla sighed, "If I knew that I would have done it already."

I sighed, still eating my pretzel. She was a very confusing person and hard to work with, how I'm going to kill these goblins is beyond me.

I ate the last bit of my pretzel and set my water and chips down. "Okay so you don't know but there has to be a way, do you know any sort of weakness they have?"

Audumbla shrugged, "Maybe fire."

"Okay, that's a start."

We stood in silence for a moment then Audumbla got up, "Let's walk," she said, "make sure the goblins don't find us again."

I shrugged and followed Audumbla as she wandered down the sidewalk.

We didn't talk as I followed the Norse Goddess down an old street, my mind was racing on any way to kill a goblin. Audumbla had said fire, so maybe an enchanted fire. I had never dealt with anything like a goblin, any sort of oogely-woogely creatures, something from Spiderwick, I'd never seen anything about them in books of lore. Hell, I didn't even know there was a Norse Goddess of ice cream, but here I am.

I returned to reality a while later, without coming to any conclutions. I realized that Audumbla hadn't stopped walking and we now stood on a dirt road with trees on one side and slightly less trees on the other.

Audumbla stopped walking, I stopped too.

"Well this isn't a very good spot to stop and talk, there's no civilization, goblins could be anywhere," She gasped, waving her arms around.

"You chose to stop here, Audumbla," I said in a monotone voice.

"Oh right," She muttered, "Oh well, here we are. Its about half day, the only way I know of that could kill a goblin is fire."

I sighed, "Maybe an enchanted fire or something."

She glanced to her right. "Why did you decide to stop here again?"

"I didn't!" I corrected, "You did, I just-"

My voice was cut off by a snap in the trees, a twig being crushed under a large foot.

"I must say, we probably shouldn't have stopped, the goblins could be watching," Audumbla said, her voice shaking.

I pulled out my gun. "I'm not going to run, lets face them."

"I don't think that's a good idea…" Audumbla said in a sing-song voice.

My eyes focused on the trees, I held my gun ready to shoot.

"The guns might not work…" Audumbla continued, still singing. I stared at the trees where I last heard the sound, its got to show itself, it has to-

"Time is up!" Audumbla screeched, I jumped and spun around to see a man standing by the road, only three meters away from me, mostly out of the cover of the trees. His skin was grey, he had bulging muscles and a mop of black hair, he was wasn't wearing any clothes which made it so I had to keep eye contact, but his eyes…oh, his eyes were the worst bit. They were silver and shone in the reflection of the sun, they seemed to stare into my soul, like it was eating me right then and there. It all seemed unreal, how he stood in the daylight, right in front of me.

Then suddenly it became real when he roared, his mouth was full of long teeth, spit rained on my face and with the roar came an echo, five more, ten more, fifteen more, all with the same grey skin and silver eyes.

They circled Audumbla and I, growling, their claws extended.

"I'm too young to die…!" Audumbla screamed, I tossed her a gun.

"Shoot them!" I yelled.

"I don't know how!"

They were getting closer now, closing in on us.

"Figure it out!" I screamed in reply. Man, I thought to myself, this has been a really tough morning. I cocked my gun, and fired it at one of the goblins, he stumbled back about a foot but didn't seem to be injured at all, he growled, obviously mad.

I gasped, he barely even flinched how the hell-

I didn't get to finish my thought before the goblins bared their teeth and closed in.

That's it for now, please review and tell me what you think.