The red dawn should have been warning enough for Bonnie. Nature was telling her that this day would end badly, but she didn't notice it. She woke up fresh and ready for another day of perfecting her craft. Gathering up her grimwoire and putting on her hiking boots , she left the small cottage and headed out into the woods. The air was crisp and Bonnie could feel how she was breathing in the cold morning air, making her lungs burn. She hiked for a few miles before setting up her circle. She placed her grimwoire in front of her, watching the pages intently as she turned until she reached her project spell for the day. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, relaxing her shoulders, sheer determination on her face. Her eyes opened. The green irises reflecting the darkness of the woods around her. Bonnie stood to her feet, lifting her arms as she started to pick up random objects with her magical abilities. She gracefully started to make items float around her, nothing too out of the normal. Suddenly she started lighting each item on fire, the flames reflecting in her eyes. Green had turned to bright orange. It was a scene of utter chaos if somebody had been watching, but to Bonnie it was pure beauty. Now, instead of items swirling around her it was the bright fire that was forming a tornado around her. She smiled as she felt the power of her deeds, closing her eyes and suddenly throwing her hands up, causing the flames to grow higher. Destruction erupted as Bonnie was distracted by the sound of a bell ringing in the distance. The loss of concentration causing trees to start catching alight around her.
"Shit!" She cursed as she started to extinguish the flames magically.
Once all the destruction she had caused had been laid to rest she started to listen for the noise that had caused her to falter. She followed the sound as much as she could, not identifying any particular source. The closer she got, the further away the sound travelled. Bonnie attempted to use her magic to locate the sound, but nothing. She gave the wooded area a concerned look before turning back to her spot in the woods and eventually the cabin that she called home.
The bell had started ringing on queue as the lady at the diner had predicted. Sam and Dean made their way into the woods to investigate for themselves.
"Why do all creepy things happen in the woods?" Dean mumbled as he trudged on through the forest, his backpack armory slung over his shoulder.
"Not ALL bad things happen in the woods." Sam entertained his moaning.
Dean stopped walking and looked sternly at Sam. "Name one good thing that happens in the woods."
"Dean, look." Sam walked up to a blackened tree. "Wonder what burnt through here."
Dean touched the bark of the tree. "Its warm, so whatever it was is probably nearby."
They carried on walking for a few more minutes until they heard twigs snapping close by.
Both brothers scanned the area meticulously, in search of the cause of the noise.
"What I tell you? Creepy."
Sam could hear his heart beating in his chest. "Probably a deer or something."
Dean tapped Sam on the shoulder, pointing into a darkened area of the woods a few yards away. "Its not a deer Sam."
The silhouette was that of a human, but there was an oddity about it. Its hands had claws and it had a tail. It started to stalk towards them.
"What the hell is that?" Sam asked, finding his knife on his belt.
"Fugly." Dean took the backpack off of his shoulder and searched for a weapon of his own, while keeping an eye on the approaching figure. "Fugly and dead." He stood, holding a shotgun towards the approaching creature.
When the spooky silhouette started to come into the clearing both Dean and Sam were shocked. It was a man, but it had lizard like qualities. Its neck was scaly, it had a long tongue coming out of an elongated mouth and of course its clawed hands and lizard like tail. It stalked towards them and let out a horrifying sound that almost had Sam and Dean on the floor blocking their ears. Dean stood and took a shot at it. He hit it and it flew backwards against a tree.
Wide eyed, both Sam and Dean crept towards the creature, ensuring it was down. Dean pointed his gun at it while kicking it, to invoke any moving. It did. The creature lashed its tail at Dean's legs, knocking him to the ground. Sam moved to stab the creature with his silver knife, but it was too strong for him and with one swipe of its arm knocked Sam flying a few feet across the clearing.
The creature seemed to have its sights set on the brother that had shot at him and returned to Dean who was still on the ground. It bared its teeth at him and went to make a move to claw at his chest. Dean rolled out of the way but was swiftly picked up by his leather jacket and tossed against a tree, making the bark fall with him as he slid down the side. The creature made its way back to him, determined to claw at him.
"Dean, roll away." Dean obeyed as Sam lifted the shot gun and fired at the lizard like creature's back, sending it hurling forwards. "Run!"
Dean picked his battered and bruised body off the ground and ran alongside his brother. They heard the screeching following them through woods. Dean swore that he felt the breath of the creature on his neck at one point. It wasn't giving up anytime soon.
Bonnie was busy making some tea when she heard the first gunshot. She stood frozen in place, surprised. Nobody hunted in these woods. She stood still, breathing deeply and listening for more sounds. A few moments later another shot rung out. Bonnie didn't know what to do. She didn't have any weapons, besides her magic. Deciding that it was probably some kids playing around, she walked to her door, took a deep breath and walked outside. She made her way to the edge of the woods, listening intently for more sounds of gunfire. There was nothing. She breathed a deep sigh of relief and started to walk back to her cottage, until she heard footsteps. She looked up in a flash and saw two figures running, coming over the small wooded hill. Her heart beat faster and she balled up her fists, preparing herself. Then she saw why they were running. Her eyes widened at the sight of the creature chasing the two men.
"Run!" The tall one shouted when he spotted her. Bonnie blinked a few times, as if coming out of a trance.
"Run lady!" the second one grabbed her arm and helped her along as he ran up to her, heading for her house. Bonnie finally snapped out of it. She ran as fast as she could, keeping up with the two strangers. They made their way to her door and went inside the wooden cottage, bolting the door behind them.
"What the hell?" She was slightly breathless.
"Our thoughts exactly." The shorter one was obviously nursing some sort of injury as he hunched over.
The taller one walked to the door and started to barricade it with a cupboard. "Do you have any weapons?"
Bonnie shook her head. The sound of blistering wood made all three duck for some sort of cover. The creature had started to break through the door, easily pushing past the tall one's makeshift barricade.
Sam turned and shot at it once more with the shotgun he still had in his hands. The short one grabbed Bonnie around the waist and hid her behind the small kitchen counter with him. She gladly went with him, not wanting to be in the creature's sights, but her safety was short-lived. The creature seemed to notice her and actively stalk towards her. Its eyes glowed red as it searched for her, teeth being bared in a rage.
Bonnie screamed as it jumped on the counter that she and the short guy hid behind. Chivalry wasn't as dead as Bonnie thought when he moved in front of her, effectively blocking the creature from her.
"Back off Lizard boy." He taunted the creature.
The creature stopped all aggressive movement and climbed off the counter, heading out of the broken down front door.
The short guy was seemingly surprised that the scaly creature had obeyed his intructions. They stared at the door, convinced that it would be back, but once they saw the retreating figure headed into the darkness of the woods they visibly relaxed. Bonnie and the short guy simultaneously slid with their backs against the wall of the kitchenette. They were both breathing heavily, trying to catch their breath.
"Dean, you okay?" The tall guy rounded the corner.
"Yeah Sam, I'm good. You?" Sam nodded. He looked towards Bonnie that was sitting against the wall next to him. "You okay?"
She nodded, still breathing heavily. "Wait, Dean?" Their faces were inches apart. She looked towards the tall one, "Sam?"
Both brothers looked at each other, completely confused. "Yeah… and you are?"
Bonnie smiled, whether out of nerves or sheer relief, she wasn't even sure. "The Winchesters…" she seemed to be talking to herself, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Do we know you?" Sam asked this time.
"Yeah, you do." She was still smiling. "I believe you stayed at my house for a couple of days when you were younger."
They were both confused and since they had moved around a lot when they were young her description hadn't really narrowed it down for them.
It was as if a light switch went on in Dean's brain. "Bonster? Um, Bonnie Bennett?"
"In the flesh." She almost laughed. "Why am I not surprised that when I met up with you two again you would bring a monster to my door."
Dean started to stand and held her hand, helping her up from the floor. "Come here you." He hugged her tightly, then taking a step backwards he unashamedly checked her out. Her cheeks reddened.
Sam hit him on the shoulder and moved in to give Bonnie the same embrace. "Wow, it's been years."
"Yeah. It has." Bonnie looked at the broken door. "Always known how to make an entrance though. Mind telling me why you're bringing your friends over to my place?"
She sounded so relaxed about the situation, which made the brothers wonder why. Dean hunched over again, causing Bonnie to hold onto his shoulder. The flashes of torture, death and black eyes gave her a surprise, but she played it off coolly, removing her hand from him. Dean caught the slight look of fright, but didn't acknowledge it due to his side hurting from that lizzard boy's swipe at him earlier.
"Let me see." Bonnie prepared herself to touch him again, not reacting to any visions she saw again. When she lifted his shirt she gasped at the claw marks across his abs, very well defined abs. "let me get you something to clean that up with." She moved around the small cottage, finding all the necessary equipment.
"What are you doing here Bonnie? When did you leave… Mystic Falls was it?" Sam questioned as Dean sat on the sofa, ready to be doctored.
"I live here now. For about a few months." She didn't elaborate.
"Finally had enough of your grams pie?" Dean joked. Bonnie gave a small smile, but the sadness was easily noticed. "What happened?"
"My grams died, a couple of years ago." She carried on attending to Dean's wound.
Dean remembered the call he had received to his Dad's phone from her. "You called my dad…"
Bonnie looked at him, shocked that he had known that. "Yeah, I did. He didn't call back though, so I figured he had listened to my grams when she told him not to worry."
"Yeah, that's not the reason." Bonnie looked up at Dean, noticing his very own uncomfortable look.
"Oh," she realized that he was dead too. "I'm so sorry."
"Yeah. So what happened with your grams?'
"Look, I'd rather not talk about it, plus I think we need to talk about that thing…out there." She got up from the sofa and went to the kitchenette to wash her hands.
"Sorry, Bonnie. I know we brought that thing to your doorstep, but you really don't seem too freaked out about it."
"Is that a question?"
"more of an intriguing observation." Sam continued.
"Look, I think we all know that my grams was…special, so I'm not exactly immune to the 'other'world."
"Are you…Special?" Dean asked. His eyes accusatory.
Bonnie wasn't sure how to answer. She played the avoidance game, because that seemed more practical at the moment. "Look, I came here, so I could get away from… everything. So how about I just help you guys out for the night, then we can all go our separate ways."
The brothers gave each other a look. They had gotten their answer. Dean's hard exterior was now on show. "What says you won't gank us in our sleep?"
"What? Gank?" She then noticed his sudden attitude change to her. She'd be damned if she would be a victim because he didn't like anything that wasn't human. "You know what. It was great seeing you again, but maybe it'll be better if you just leave."
"Dean." Sam scolded. "Bonnie, we're just on edge, plus WE really don't want to leave you out here alone with that thing running around."
"I can take care of myself." Bonnie crossed her arms, stubbornness she inherited from her grams.
"Yeah Sam, she can take care of herself." Dean started for the door. He stepped over the front door that was now a pile of broken planks. When he lifted his head he felt the telltale wind of a weapon pass his head. He looked to his left hand side and saw a knife sticking out of the wooden frame. "Shit!" He quickly ducked inside again. "We've got company…again."
"What?" Bonnie went to look through the window, avoiding the door area. "I've been here for 3 months and there hasn't been one single person come by." She turned to face them. "You two rock up and all of a sudden I'm throwing a Halloween party." She continued to stare out of the window, eventually noticing something in the tree line. Her eyes narrowed, trying to decipher what it was.
"Should we go and look?" Sam asked Dean.
"NO! I will." Bonnie butted in and headed to the door. Dean grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the entrance.
"Are you on voodoo juice or something?" Dean was visibly thinking.
"Look, firstly" she removed his hand from her arm. "Don't touch me without asking. I see everything you are every time you do…and its not pretty…" Her tone was mater of fact. "Secondly, as I've said. Been here for months and nothing has tried to hurt me." Dean was shocked at the first part of the sentence and therefore speechless when she walked out of the door.
"Bonnie are you sure?" Sam asked, obvious concern in his voice.
She relaxed a little. "yeah. I'm sure." She started to walk forward and tried to convince herself. "It'll be fine." She slowly made her way across the open field towards the tree line. She could feel the eyes of the brothers on her. Her eyes scanned the area, searching for the figure she had seen a few moments ago. Her hands were hovering at her sides, preparing to use the power behind them to defend herself. She saw the figure standing behind a tree, just his head sticking around the side. It looked like a person.
"Hello?" Bonnie called nervously. "Who are you?"
The figure didn't move, just stared at her from behind the tree.
"What do you want from them?"
He pointed in the direction the lizard creature had gone to. Bonnie didn't know what to do. She felt her heart pounding in her chest. "is there something you want me to see?" She took a step forward. The figure suddenly disappeared. Bonnie ran to the tree that it was standing behind, it was gone. She looked around, scanning to see if she could get a glimpse of it again. Sam and Dean walked up behind her.
"What was it?" Sam asked.
"I think…"Bonnie seemed unsure, "I think it was a ghost."
"Well hasn't this day turned out just peachy, Sam?" Sam deadpanned his brother with a 'not now' look.
They had finally come to an agreement. The Winchesters would stay the night, much to the grumbling of Dean. Sam and Dean had used one of her interior doors to replace the front door that had been mangled by their lizard friend. Bonnie busied herself in her kitchenette, making them all dinner. She had decided on a lasagna, which seemed like it will fill the two grown men up. She was still astonished at all of the events of the day. It had been a little overwhelming when she had a few minutes to think about everything. These two hunters take a walk through the woods and all of a sudden everything is coming after them. Why hadn't she seen any of these anomalies while she had been here by herself. Then there was the visions she had gotten from touching Dean. The images were torturous. She tried to block them out, but they kept creeping back into her subconscious. She saw him being tortured, him torturing, she saw a bright light, she saw blood, plenty of it. She wished her grams was here, she would know what all of this was about.
"Careful, you're going to burst a blood vessel." Dean had walked into the kitchenette while Sam had gone to shower. Bonnie was surprised that he was actually speaking to her.
"didn't know you cared." She scoffed back.
Dean knew he deserved that comment. "Look, I might have been a bit of a bitch to you earlier. It's just been one damn busy day." He rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger.
Bonnie nodded her head, seemingly forgiving his bad attitude earlier. "Yeah, tell me about it." She stared at him for a few moments. "What happened to you?"
The gas lamp flickered in the corner of the kitchen, playing with shadows on her face. "What do you mean?"
Bonnie didn't want to look him in the eye. "The torture. The fire. I saw it when I touched you."
"That's nothing that needs to be spoken about." His voice was gruff and angry, but Bonnie understood the need to keep everything to one self.
"Sorry." She finally looked up at him. He just stared back at her.
Sam joined them after a few moments of silence. Bonnie had dished up their food onto two plates and 1 bowl. She hadn't planned on ever having guests, so she didn't have the right amount of crockery.
Dean and Sam took a seat on the sofa. Bonnie made her way to sit down on the ottoman opposite them, but before she made it out of the kitchen there was suddenly a man in front of her. She yelped more than screamed when he appeared directly in her personal space, dropping her bowl to the ground with a loud crash.
Dean and Sam both rushed to her, only to see their trench coated friend standing infront of Bonnie.
"CAS! What the hell man?" Dean scolded.
"You …you know him?" Bonnie was backed against the island counter.
"Yeah, that's Castiel. He's an angel." Sam continued.
"Our guardian douche bag." He turned around and walked back to the couch.
"Um, can you get him to stop staring at me." Bonnie still hadn't moved.
Sam was the one to stand in front of Cas, disturbing his stare at Bonnie. "what are you doing, Cas?"
"She's the one Sam."
Sam raised his eyebrows "The one what?"
Castiel suddenly turned and walked towards Dean. "She's going to be the sacrifice."
Dean stopped chewing his food and scowled at Cas. "What are you on about? Nobody is being sacrificed."
"There needs to be a sacrifice of purity to stop the monster from descending upon the good."
Dean raised his eyebrows at the word purity. He and Sam turned to Bonnie and gave her a questioning look.
"Don't look at me like that, that ship sailed a while ago." Bonnie retorted a little annoyed at their stares and noticed the small glint in Dean's eyes.
"There you go Cas, the lady ain't pure. Problem solved." Dean carried on eating his food.
"Your virginity is not what I am referring to." Castiel said blankly.
Dean almost choked on his food.
Cas looked at Dean confused and then turned back to Bonnie, who was now blushing profusely. "I am talking about the power you hold within. Your magic. It's pure, no influence of evil."
Bonnie was now uncomfortable and Sam noticed. "Look, Cas, I'm not sure what you're talking about. Why don't you explain. In detail."
"There is no time, Sam Winchester." He disappeared.
Bonnie scanned the room, waiting for him to pop out again. "Okay, I would just like to know what the hell that was all about?" Bonnie asked.
Sam started to clear up Bonnie's now messed plate of food from the floor. "That's Cas, he does that."
"Yeah, annoying as all hell, but helpful in some tricky situations." Dean added while scoffing down the last of his food, seemingly unaffected by the disappearing of the angel.
Bonnie held her palm over her forehead. "Of course this is normal for you." She closed her eyes and was starting to consider all the events of the day.
"Here, eat." Sam held his food to her. "We'll make sense of it all in a bit."
Bonnie smiled at the sweet younger brother of Dean. "It's okay Sam. Not all that hungry. You eat. I'll grab something later" She walked past into the kitchen before he protested. She was now starting to get a little freaked out. An angel just called her the sacrifice. What the hell had these two dragged her into. She had escaped Mystic falls for this very reason. She also seemed to be the one to sacrifice everything.
"Shower?" Dean stood behind her, leaning on the wooden door frame.
Bonnie went bright again, "Excuse me?"
"Can I go have a shower." Dean looked amused.
"uh, yeah. Sure." Bonnie turned around and busied herself in the kitchen. She felt his presence before she saw him. Dean came to stand right next to her.
"So, pure magic huh?" Dean stated, not looking at her. Bonnie smiled meekly in return. "Do you have any idea of what Cas was talking about, the sacrifice and all."
Bonnie shook her head. "No, if you remember I hadn't seen anything weird around here until you two showed up." She raised a challenging eyebrow.
He just nodded understandingly and walked towards the bathroom. Bonnie watched him leave. "This is going to be interesting." She said under her breath.