Author's Note: Hi, everyone. First off, I want to thank NewbieOnTheBlock, new21writer, emebalia, Hasmik Aharonyan, PyschoPicasso, CandyCakes, DWMutt, Eliza Ghost, agent iz hyper, Supernaturalfreak, and snseriesfan for their awesome reviews. You guys are great. And now, finally, you get some answers...

Chapter Seven: Metentis Animarum

"Bobby? It's Sam. Have you found anything yet?" Sam asked as soon as he knew that the older hunter had picked up the phone.

"If I found somethin' I woulda called ya."

"I know, I was just hoping…"

"Actually I think I just got somethin' right now."

"Really?"

"No, I'm sayin' it just to amuse myself. Yeah, I got somethin'."

Sam was pretty sure he heard Bobby mutter 'idjit' under his breath. "What is it?"

"You said five coma patients every twenty-five years, right?"

"Yeah."

"And they're all pretty good folks?"

"Yeah."

"And they all got jack o'lanterns?"

"Are you going to repeat everything I told you?" Sam was getting anxious to figure out what was going on so that they could put a stop to it before something else happened to his brother. He had a sick feeling that Dean had become a target.

"Ya want my help, ya answer the question. If any details are wrong I might be pointin' ya in the wrong direction."

"Sorry, Bobby. You're right. Yes, there are jack o'lanterns."

"Okay. I think yer dealin' with Metentis Animarum. That's Latin for The Harvester of Souls."

"What is it?"

"Well, there's no physical description except that it's tall and cloaked in black. But this thing needs to consume five souls every twenty-five years to keep its strength. And not just any five souls. Five good souls. And the better the soul, the more power it gets. The souls of the corrupt give it no power. When confronts its intended victim, it places a hand on their head and reads their soul. If it finds that the person's a jackass, it gets enraged that it can't use the soul and slaughters the person."

"That explains the murder victims. But what about the ones with good souls. Why put them in comas?"

"The Harvester of Souls can only consume souls on Halloween. It takes the souls from their bodies and keeps them somewhere until October thirty-first. It uses its powers to keep the bodies from dying."

"Why?"

"What happens when someone dies?" Bobby questioned.

"A reaper comes for their souls." Sam exclaimed. "And if that happens then the Harvester can't consume it, right?"

"Correct. But after he has his little soul snack, he no longer needs to keep 'em alive."

"So that's why they all die on Halloween." Sam thought about what Bobby had told him. "Bobby, I think it may have its sights set on Dean."

"Boy, you keep yer brother away from that thing. It wants only the best souls. Yer brother's the type to give his own life to save others. The Harvester's gonna want 'im."

"He's not here right now. Dean went to collect another jack o'lantern."

"Damn it all! The Harvester uses them to spy on its victims. It infuses the pumpkins with part of itself and watches for when its target is by themselves. And yer brother's gonna be alone with one!"

"Actually, he's going to be alone with four of them." Sam corrected.

"Damn idgit!" Bobby growled.

"I'm going to go after him." Sam declared. "Does your information say how to kill this thing?"

"Decapitation."

"That'll work."

"But ya gotta destroy the head afterwards or it'll grow a new body."

"That's disturbing. Thanks Bobby."

"Yer welcome. And watch yer own ass too."

"Will do." Sam hung up the phone. He had to get to Dean before the creature could take his soul. And what was it with everyone trying to get their hands on his big brother's soul anyway? Sam was still trying to figure out how to keep Dean from Hell, but this case was much easier. He just had to get to the older Winchester before the Harvester attacked him.

It was then that he realized that he had no clue as to where Dean could be. And his older brother had taken the Impala. Dean didn't know the town well, so he probably stopped somewhere for a map or to get directions. And that place would probably be somewhere that he could get a cup of coffee.

Sam left the motel and went down the street to where he'd passed a used car lot on his walk the previous day. After making sure that no one was around, Sam broke into and hotwired a blue 2002 Honda. It wouldn't stick out like the kind of cars Dean liked and hopefully wouldn't be missed. Then he drove around until he reached the first gas station with a Quickie Mart.

Sam walked in and up to the counter. A pretty blonde was sitting on a stool, painting her nails. Good. If she was here when Dean came in, she'd certainly remember him.

"Excuse me, Miss. I was wondering if you remember a man who came in here not too long ago. He's slightly shorter than me, short hair, leather jacket…"

"You mean that cute FBI guy?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"Sure he was here. Needed directions for his investigation."

"Can you tell me where he was going?" Sam asked as he showed her his badge.

"He was headed to Riverview road. I'll give you the same directions I gave him. It's fairly simple."

Sam listened to her instructions, thanked her, and left the store. He still had a while to drive and he needed to get to his brother as soon as possible. He just prayed that he wouldn't be too late.

…

…supernatural…supernatural…supernatural…supernatural…supernatural…

…

"You want a fight, douche bag? You got one. Let's do this."

With those words, Dean lunged at the creature. He plowed into the cloaked figure and they both tumbled to the ground. The hood slipped back off of the thing's head and the hunter got his first good look at his opponent.

The shape of the thing's face was human but the rest of it seemed to be more similar to the hideous jack o'lanterns that it had left for its victims. The skin was burnt-orange in color and leather-like. The eyes were dark slits and two small holes made its nose. Its mouth stretched from one deformed ear to the other and was filled with sharp yellow teeth. It had straggly dark green hair that was long but sparse.

Dean held the knife over the hideous creature. "Dude, you are one of the fugliest bastards I've ever seen. And that's saying something considering the things I've seen."

The jack o'lantern-like thing sneered at him. "To me, you humans are the most disgusting creatures that walk the earth."

"Yeah, I get it. Eye of the beholder and all that crap. But you're still nasty looking. And you smell bad."

Then the hunter brought his knife down and stabbed the thing right in between the eyes. The action made a terribly squishing sound and produced an even worse stench than before. The creature backhanded Dean, knocking the man off of him and onto the floor. The hunter's head struck the kitchen tile hard and he momentarily saw stars. He blinked rapidly to clear his vision and then the creature was hovering over him reaching its long fingers towards his forehead. Dean grabbed its wrist in both hands and snapped it backwards. It made a sickening crack and the thing let out a howl. It grabbed Dean's bandaged left hand with its good right hand and squeezed. Now it was the hunter's turn to cry out in pain. The creature released his hand and pressed his fingers to Dean's temple before the man could stop it. Once more he experienced a burning to his forehead. But this time he had no gun with which to protect himself.

"Yes! Oh, yes! Your soul is perfect! Just what I need." The thing crooned. But then it pulled its hand away from Dean. "No! I cannot claim your soul! You've sold it! You're useless to me!"

Dean barely registered the words. He felt terribly weak, his head was spinning, and his vision had almost completely blacked out. Dean felt a sudden impact on his ribs that flipped him over and rolled him halfway across the kitchen. Dimly, he realized that the thing must've kicked him. The hunter tried to force himself to get up, but he was finding it extremely difficult.

"You were to be my last! A powerful soul for me to take. But now… now you'll be just another corpse."

Dean was trying to put together what the creature was saying through the fog that hovered in his mind.

"Souls? You're taking people's souls? Why?"

"Why do you get cheese burgers and french fries?"

"'Cause they taste awesome."

"Sustenance, you fool!"

"So, you eat souls? Dude, just go to a diner and order the house special instead." Dean was hoping to keep the thing talking long enough to recover from whatever its touch had done to him.

"You understand nothing."

"And now you sound like my brother."

But the creature was obviously through talking. It stalked towards him, the hunting knife still protruding from between its eyes, and Dean watched as its sharp, pointed nails grew to about four inches in length. It suddenly sprang at Dean, but the he saw it coming and rolled out of the way. Using the kitchen counter, the hunter pulled himself to his feet. He felt some of his strength returning to him. Dean reached over to the knife block on the counter and pulled out the largest one. Holding his new weapon up, the young man turned and braced himself for the fight to come. The creature stepped forwards, slashing its claws at Dean's middle. The hunter hopped up to sit on the counter, avoiding the attack, and then kicked the thing in its chest. It fell back into the kitchen table and Dean launched himself off the counter to land in front of it. The hunter stabbed the creature several times in its head and body. Thick dark orange goo began to run from the largest wounds. It screeched with every new injury that Dean inflicted on it, but none seemed to be fatal to the thing. Then, as he brought the knife down yet again, the creature reached up and grabbed his wrist. Dean pushed downwards but the thing pushed back with even more force. Then it brought its other hand up and shoved Dean hard. He was thrown back a couple steps and the creature advanced towards him.

"My turn." It announced and slashed at Dean's face.

The hunter brought his left arm up to protect his face and felt the white hot pain as the sharp nails ripped open his flesh. Dean cried out and tried to fight back, but the creature avoided his knife. Then he felt the thing's nails slice open the skin on his right side just over his ribs. Dean pressed his bandaged left hand against the new injury, trying to ignore the blood running down that arm. He closed his eyes, fighting against the agony, and when he opened them again the creature's clawed hand was only inches from his face.

Author's Note Part Two: Hope you all enjoyed and just remember... if you kill me for this cliffhanger, I won't be able to write more. Now, please just take a moment and leave a review to let me know what you think. Dean's life depends on it...