Chapter Three
Sam and Athena had gone out to the shooting range leaving Autumn to go meet up with Marc, and Dean to fiddle with his car. Though, as soon as they were gone he followed Autumn. The pair made their way around to the back of the main cabin, to the bar entrance. Dean felt a sudden rush of pride, that Autumn was on his arm, when the several of the hunters within turned to watch her move through. She stopped and flirted with Andy, the bartender, for a moment until he gave up the location of Marc Lyming. She thanked him and gave him a wink.
"Come on Dork." she grabbed hold of his shirt sleeve and tugged him out the door that led deeper into the cabin toward the family quarters.
"You know this place pretty well." he teased.
"I get around." she grinned releasing him and jumping over the rail of a set of stairs.
"I thought you said"
"I didn't lie, he was my only. But sometimes you gotta play into their fantasy." she cut him off.He mimicked her move jumping the flight of stairs when he caught up with her, Autumn grinned and took off. "Nana nana boo boo, you can't catch me." she laughed running down the call and smashing through a door.
He heard her scream followed by a male laugh. Dean spend up and screeched to a halt just within the door. Autumn lay on top of a mousey haired man, a little younger than Sam, propped up on her arms she stared down at him and both were laughing. The young man had apparently been standing near his bed when Autumn had burst into the room and tackled him.
"Autty, I thought we were just friends." he joked rolling her off him and sat up. "He with you?" the man nodded toward Dean.
"Yea, Marc, this is John's oldest." Autumn forced herself into a sitting position on the bed and held out a hand toward Dean.
"This is the Dean Winchester?" Marc jumped to his feet and Dean suddenly found himself trapped in the young man's grip. Marc ran his tongue up Dean's neck, leaving Dean so stunned by the sudden affection he couldn't even think about moving.
"Marc!" Autumn chided as if talking to a small child. Marc released Dean and came to sit on his bed with Autumn.
"I got you something!" he grinned and bounced.
"I'd like the past thirty seconds back." Dean remarked moving into the room.
"Can't do that. Believe me, dude, I've worked on it. Time travel just isn't an option right now. At least not to civilians. The government knows how though."
"What'd you get me?" Autumn reminded him of his previous topic. Marc's grin widened, making it look like his face would split in half.
"Just a sec." he dove under his bed and emerged with a festively wrapped box. "I saw this and thought of you. I tried to not get it but," he handed it over and shrugged. "I don't get to see you much and when I do I shouldn't come empty handed. So what'd you want?" Autumn shook the box, though no rattle met her ear.
"I need to know where Will is." she said dropping the box into her lap.
"Autumn," both hunters could hear the resistance in Marc's voice.
"I know. I know." Autumn bowed her head and looked up through lashes, giving Marc a heart breaking look. Dean smirked knowing full well the very same look would break him in a heart beat.
"I can't tell you where he is, last time you mentioned him you swore to kill him." Marc watched a spot on the wall just above Autumn's head.
"I was angry. Now, I need him." Autumn crawled closer to Marc.
"I'm sorry, I can't do it. Now, open your present." he redirected her attention and Autumn savagely ripped off the wrapping paper to reveal a tin box with the picture of a young girl, arms wrapped tightly around a large rottweiler. She looked up at Marc, her oh-woe-as-me look gone, laughter in her eyes.
"It's adorable." she exclaimed.
"That's just what you store it in. Open the box." Marc prompted. Dean stood awkwardly in the center of the room watching the old friends. Autumn carefully removed the lid and gasped. She gently excavated a large pocket knife. "Pure iron." Marc said proudly as Autumn exposed the blade. "I won it off that guy that was causing you problems a couple years back when you were out here. You know right after Red died. Well, the blade I won, I was gonna just clean it up switch the handle for this nice oak handle I had but when I got the blade off I had to find a handle just for you!" he reached for the blade and Autumn handed it over without hesitation. "See, the handle that came with the blade was all rotten. But, it wasn't the first handle this baby had." he turned the knife over in his hand and pointed to a small engraving near the handle. "AAD," he read.
"That was already on there?" Autumn asked in disbelief.
"Yea." he handed back the gun and looked toward Dean. "So, what is John Winchester's pride and joy doing with a couple of snot nosed bar maids, like Autumn and Athena?"
"Hunting." Dean answered in one word.
"What you hunting?"
"Family business." Dean tried to cut the conversation off but Marc wouldn't have it.
"Daemon's aren't your family."
"No." Dean agreed.
"Boys, do we have to talk shop?" Autumn asked tucking the knife back in its box. "Marc, you been working on your aim?"
"Yes," he nodded slowly.
"Then why don't you show me?" she bounced out of his bed and started for the door. "Unless, of course, you'd rather sit here forever."
Sam squared Athena's hips and gave her better instruction on how to hold the gun. He was seriously starting to think she was screwing it all up on purpose. Jen sat not far off with a blanket over her legs and a coat wrapped tightly around her torso. She was intently watching one of the young hunters a few booths down, and had spent most of the last ten minutes running her ungloved fingers through her long black hair. Athena cleared her throat bringing him back to reality, where his hands were still firmly planted on her hips.
"Right, now, uh, match your shoulders to your hips," he exchanged hips for shoulders and proceeded. "Then when your ready aim and shoot." Athena let go a round almost immediately and smacked the button retrieving her target. "Wasn't that easier?" he asked.
"I've been shooting as long as I've been walking, and I've never tried to change my stance. So, Sammy, it was completely foreign." she tugged off her target and held it up so they could both examine it. The holes were well grouped, not that he'd expect otherwise from her, and close to the center, off by fractions of an inch.
"See? Set yourself up again and keep going at it like that. It'll be natural in no time." Athena rolled her eyes but obeyed. "Who taught you to shoot anyway?"
"Autumn." she answered without looking away from her task of pinning up a new target sheet.
"I wonder what sort of catastrophe her stance is." Athena plucked up her gun and squared her hips, but turned at the waist to look at him.
"I wouldn't try and correct her if I were you. Autumn armed and offended is not good." she teased aiming and firing still watching him. Again she had her target come in. A dozen shots dead center, she handed him the sheet. "And don't try and correct me either. I hit my mark blindfolded." she stepped out of the booth and handed over possession of the gun to let him shoot a while.
Sam lost himself in the steady, smooth pace of loading, aiming, firing, retrieving, and repeat. He went through the motions three or four times when Athena's squeal of protest made him turn around. Autumn stood practically against Dean, both watching a guy with his arms wrapped around Athena lick the back of the blonde's neck. She managed to wiggle free and though her face was contorted in disgusted she still looked glad to see the man.
"Marc, I swear." she ran a hand over the back of her neck.
"I know." he grinned. Athena rolled her eyes and placed her hand on her hip cocking it to the side, the sass stance, Sam was so used to. "So, why aren't you shooting Blondie?"
"Taking turns. Elmo always said it was the right thing to do." Marc nodded.
"I see. That'd be Sam, then?" he asked looking in his direction. Sam returned to his shooting, surely the guy wouldn't approach him while he was shooting. When Sam finally emerged from his sport Autumn was holding a shut gun and grinning.
"I bet she has a good kick. Best guns usually do." she said before thrusting it in Marc's hands. "Now, show me whatcha got, 'migo." Marc stood just under six foot, and was a scrawny looking guy. He had mousy brown hair, and eyes too blue to be his real color. The man just looked like he'd been put together a little wrong, there was something off about him, making it unnerving to watch him holding a loaded weapon. It really didn't help the was wearing a tinfoil dunce hat.
"Fine, you done their buddy?" he asked turning is gaze on Sam. Sam obliged moving out of the booth. "Please and thank you."
Marc fired a shot, it threw his arm back and he repositioned himself to better hold the gun. He finished up a dozen shots then pulled in his target and handed it to Autumn. She stepped away from Dean to inspect it then took the gun for herself. Something was going down. She too shot off a dozen bullets and called in her target then handed both hers and his to Marc to examine. He smiled proudly, he'd grouped better, and even been closer to the bull's-eye The pair continued on like this, occasionally sharing advice or taunting the other, for a half hour. Neither seemed to care that a small crowd was gathering around them.
"She's throwing this, why?" Athena leaned over and whispered to Dean.
"Don't know." his brother answered her. Athena crossed her arms over her chest and watched her sister blow another round. Again, Marc beat her and Autumn looked fed up.
"Okay, wise ass. Make you a bet." she grinned and several of the onlookers started pulling out their wallets ready to bet on Autumn's bet. "I bet that I can hit the center twelve times in a row."
"Autumn, you're obviously having an off day don't embarrass yourself." Marc said handing over the gun.
"No, no. I don't have off days. I win you tell me how to find Will, you win…?" Marc eyed her suspicious.
"You don't hit twelve dead center, you tell me what you're hunting." he held out his hand and Autumn shook it. The crowd around burst into a frenzied of bets. Autumn waited for the betting to end before she started firing. Sam wasn't sure anyone breathed while she took her time shooting. To prolong the agony of waiting she manually reeled in the target and inspected it herself first. Marc greedily took the offered target and his face quickly fell.
"You're not supposed to gamble, it's bad." Autumn smirked. The men who had gathered dispersed after that, money ex-changing hands and offers for beer being made.
"I… How'd you do that?" Marc questioned. Jen rolled up in her wheel chair and claimed the target. She looked at it approvingly.
"Little brother, she had been shooting since you were in diapers, she's been playing men as long as I can remember." Jen grinned. "You've seen her do the same thing with pool, and drinking contest back in the bar, why should she play by different rules out here?"
"Because it's me." Marc thumped himself in the chest. "She's not supposed to cheat friends." Autumn hung an arm over his shoulder.
"Don't worry, I cheat you because I love you." she pressed her cheek to his. "Now, little buddy, why don't you make good on your bet and tell me how to find Willy?" Marc sighed and looked the group over.
"He comes in ever full moon. He restocks, checks the books, makes sure no one is giving Jen a hard time of it. He'll wander around for a few hours get caught up on all the gossip and leave before day break." Marc licked his lips and looked Autumn in the eye. "He don't tell me where he's been or where he's going. You'll just have to wait until the moon is full again."
"That's going to be another month!" Athena exclaimed. "You have to have a better idea of where he is."
"Nope. He don't tell me as much as he used to. But I know he'll kill me for telling you as much as I've told you." Marc matched Athena glare and soon the girl backed down.
"Fine." she sighed. "So now what do we do? Are we seriously going to wait a month?"
Sam followed Athena to through the main cabin. The last time they'd been at the Resort he hadn't spent much time anywhere but the library and the bar. Under her arm was tucked a large yellow envelope and she was shuffling through her mail. She'd explained that she and her sister used the resort as a place of residency, since they also owned property there, and were more likely to be there than at the farm Billy-Jack had been renting since he'd married Martha. After Marc had killed all hope of talking to Will, until the following full moon, the foursome had decided they'd do just as they'd done while Autumn was re-cooping. They'd use the resort as home base and hunt with in a two or three day's drive, always returning between hunts.
Autumn and Dean had elected to stay at the cabin. Autumn to get a jumpstart on dinner. Dean claimed there was nothing better to do. Same wondered if either knew he'd seen them that morning. He wasn't sure he'd tell Athena he'd seen their siblings playing tonsil hockey, she'd just get all excited anyway.
"Look at this." she handed him one of her letters. "It's a letter from this hunter, Jimmy or something, he's been dead three years now and I just now get his letter. I'm in here at least every six months." Sam laughed looking at the post mark. Jimmy or something had indeed sent the letter over three years ago, but until recently it hadn't made it through the local post office.
"That's the US Postal for you." Athena shook her head and dropped the junk mail in a garbage can as they passed.
"They wonder why people complain so much. The man has been dead three years and I'm just getting his letter. Who knows what the letters about any more."
"You could always open it and find out." he suggested handing back the letter. She tucked the rest of the envelopes inside her coat before zipping it up.
"Eh, he's been dead three years. It's not going kill anyone to wait until we get back to the cabin and find out what this is." She waved Autumn's yellow envelope in his face.
"Autumn, you've got mail!" Athena called as they entered their warm cabin. Dean was on the floor trying to convince John to sit or roll over, or follow any of the commands for him that the dog followed for the girls. Autumn was in the kitchen cursing at the burners.
"What is it?" she yelled back. Athena and Sam shrugged off coats, tucking hats and gloves in the pockets and hanging them up before peeling off boots.
"How should I know?" Athena answered her sister who had come out to the main room. The sisters met half way and the envelope exchanged hands.
"I doesn't have a post mark or a name except mine on here." Autumn said flipping the package over in her hands looking for some way of telling who it was from. She finally broke the seal and undid the prongs holding it shut. She poured the contents into her hand, there was a manila folder and a letter within. She dropped the folder on the coffee table and slumped down in one of the arm chairs.
"My dear Autumn,
I know you'd probably like to burn this more than read it but just hear me out. I never once meant to hurt you and Athena. Athena was my world and when I left Sage's it was to protect both of you. I was, and continue to be hunted by that which I was hunting just before I was injured. The folder in here is the case information. I need your help.
You and Athena are the only people I'd trust with this case. People have been coming up missing in each town I go through, except the first two. The first I know it's because the creature had devoured my father and uncle. I can only assume it was still too full to claim another victim in the next town. I've done research and it has taken be the past two years to find a way to kill it.
I never wanted any harm to come to either of you, and I know I owe Athena a lot. But the way this thing hunts, it would have taken me down and then gone for you two. After that the hunter you were closest too. I know when scared you both tend to run toward John Winchester. I couldn't bare the thought that I'd be the death of the love of my life, her sister, and John Winchester. Who knows how many more after that. But I knew I could keep you all safe a while longer if I ran. I know this is no excuse to you. But had I told you can you honestly say you wouldn't have followed? See, I had to go. I had to move on alone and protect you. Neither of you were ready for this guy.
I've heard you're now traveling, with John's permission, with Sam and Dean Winchester. You're moving up in the world! You've obviously come a long way if John trust you with his sons. I was worried sick when I heard you'd been caught in a fire. You know I named you Plays With Fire because you're always getting into trouble and playing with the odds, not because you should actually play with fire.
It's getting early and I need to get out of here before anyone wakes up and sees me. Look over the case. If you decide to take it, I'll be in South Dakota, you know what bar and when. I'll be here for a week or two before I move on. I'll watch for you.
Until the sun no longer shines, I am yours,
Will Raining" Autumn read the letter out loud. Sam and Dean didn't understand most of what Will was talking about but it was clear from the look on their companions faces that they did. "What do you think?" Autumn asked looking at her sister.
"We have to talk to him anyway. Let's see what he's got."