Chapter Six

No, this is not a new chapter, but I was revisiting this one and added a couple things. Enjoy the additions!

Tish waited for an explanation from these Winchesters. What followed was the weirdest conversation she'd ever had, all beginning with Priestly's exclamation of "Vampires!"

"We're, uh…we're not F.B.I.," said Sam.

"F.B.I.?" asked Tish, looking at Priestly and wondering why he never mentioned that little fact before.

"That's what they'd told me," Priestly told them. "That was the reason I had the insurance card for Boaz Priestly. They said I was undercover. But, apparently, they were lying."

"Yeah, we were," said John. "You wouldn't have believed us." He took a deep breath. "It's true; your mother's death was caused by arson. But the thing that started it was a demon."

"A demon?" asked Priestly skeptically.

Tish didn't blame him. Talk of a demon killing your wife would definitely be enough to put anybody in the loony bin.

"A Yellow-Eyed Demon," said John. "He killed Mary in Sam's nursery the night of his six-month birthday. So, I became a hunter. And I trained you boys to be hunters, too."

"Hunters?" asked Priestly.

"We hunt supernatural beings that hurt or kill people," Sam explained.

"Like what?" asked Priestly.

"Spirits, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, demons, ghouls, zombies, djinns, shtrigas, rugarus—" Sam listed off.

"Whoa, whoa, what now?" asked Priestly. "What were those last ones?"

"Djinn are like genies," said Sam. "Only instead of granting you a wish, their venom traps you in a catatonic state, living out your wish while they feed on you."

"Shtrigas are witches," John explained. "They disguise themselves as humans and feed off of your life force, mostly going after children and working its way through families."

"Rugarus are like cannibals," said Sam. "It's a gene passed on in humans that makes them crave human flesh. It gives them superhuman strength and causes their skin to decay."

This is insane… Tish thought, unable to believe the things she was hearing.

These two were talking about beings she'd never even dreamt of in her worst nightmares as though they were discussing the weather.

What kind of life was Priestly forced to grow up into? Tish wondered, feeling pity for her boyfriend.

"Uh-huh…" mused Priestly. He looked at Sam. "And, uh, that migraine you had?"

"About a year and a half ago, I began having dreams that started coming true," Sam explained. "After a few months, I started having these visions while I was awake, giving me killer headaches. Last night, I had a vision about that vampire attacks, so we went to take care of it before it was too late."

"You're a psychic?" asked Priestly.

Sam shrugged. "Sort of. There are, apparently, other kids like me. The Yellow-Eyed Demon killed their mothers the night of their six-month birthday, and they now have a psychic ability. One kid could move things with his mind, another used mind control; it's different for everyone."

Priestly suddenly began laughing. "Alright, guys, very funny." He glanced around at the other shop employees. "Who put them up to this?"

Trucker gave Priestly a serious look. "I don't think it's a setup, Priestly."

"No, seriously, what's next?" chuckled Priestly. "Am I gonna find Bigfoot in my apartment when I get home?"

"It's no joke, Dean," said Sam. "You saw us decapitate those vampires yourself. How could we set that up?"

The laughter slowly faded from Priestly's eyes.

"Two years ago, I sent you on a werewolf hunt," said John. "That's how you landed in the hospital. It must've banged you up pretty bad."

"Alright, this isn't funny anymore," said Priestly, all traces of humor gone.

"All the injuries you had, there didn't happen to be any claw marks or scratches?" asked John.

The color drained from Priestly's face as he stared at John, his hand moving absently towards his chest where Tish knew he had five lined scars across his chest that did indeed look like claw marks.

"We're not making this up, Dean," said Sam. "I'm sorry, but it's the truth."

Priestly slowly shook his head. "No…" The shaking of his head became more forceful. "No, it's impossible." He turned and marched towards the door.

Tish saw something like resolve flicker on Sam's face before he charged up behind Priestly, wrapping an arm around his throat. Priestly instantly grabbed hold of Sam's arm, ramming his elbow into Sam's gut. He pulled Sam's arm off of him and spun to face him, nailing him in the head with a backhand and following it up with two fierce punches. The look on his face was one Tish had only ever seen the night she had ditched Tad for good: the face of a predator.

As Sam toppled to the floor, Priestly stared down at him, frozen in shock. He looked down at his clenched fists and back over at Sam, eyes widening.

"No…" Priestly muttered, staring down at Sam in fear. "It can't be…" He kept glancing between Sam and his raised fists.

But Tish found herself drawn to Priestly's eyes. They seemed to be staring not at Sam, but at a phantom nightmare.

He remembered something… Tish realized.

"It's a lie…" Priestly muttered, still staring into space. "It's a lie!" He turned and bolted out the door.

"Dean!" John called, making for the door.

Tish stepped forward, putting her hand on his chest. "Let me go. I think he'll talk to me."

John glanced back up at the doorway and then down at Tish, nodding before turning to see to Sam.

Tish turned and walked out the door, heading towards the one place she knew Priestly would take refuge.

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Tish sighed as she watched her boyfriend sitting at the shore on a log. He just looked so lost staring out at the ocean. She slowly walked towards him, sitting down on the log next to him. She didn't say anything; she only reached a hand over and wrapped it around his.

"You know, I guess I always knew," said Priestly after a few minutes. "Deep down, I knew there was something dark inside me."

"You are not dark," Tish told him. "You suffered a terrible tragedy at a young age and did something great with it. From the sounds of it, you've saved a lot of people from the things out there in the dark."

Priestly was silent for a while before speaking up again. "I watched myself shoot a werewolf in the heart—something that had once been a person—without a hint of hesitation or remorse. I stabbed something over and over and over until it was dead. How can a person like that not be bad?"

So, that's what he had remembered, Tish thought.

When his instincts had taken over as Sam grabbed him, Priestly had flashed back to some hunt he had been on at some point in the last twenty years.

So, it was all true, she thought.

Half of her had been hoping it wasn't, but if Priestly's memories were backing their story up, then what the Winchesters said had to be the truth.

Tish reached her hand up, turning Priestly's face towards her. "You grew up in this life. It was all you knew. Those things you killed hurt and killed people. You had no choice. You probably stopped them from hurting other people in the future." She stroked the side of his face. "You are not a bad person." She smiled. "You're my hero."

A small smile finally formed on Priestly's face as Tish leaned forward and kissed him.

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"So, vampires can go out in the sun?" asked Piper.

"Yes," said John, sitting at one of the shop tables with Sam.

"And you can't kill them with stakes?" asked Jen.

"No, just decapitation," said Sam.

"Wow," said Jen. "There goes, like, a thousand years of vampire lore out the window."

"What about werewolves?" asked Piper. "Do they transform into actual wolves, or are they more like the Wolfman? You know, human-wolf hybrid."

"Actually, werewolves don't grow wolf hair," said Priestly from the front door with Tish. "That's a myth."

John frowned. "How did you know that?"

"I remember," Priestly told them.

John and Sam's eyes widened in hope.

"No, not like that," Priestly clarified. "I just got a flash of a werewolf hunt earlier."

John stood, stepping towards him. "You okay?"

Priestly hesitated a moment, sighing. "No. But I'll get over it." He stepped further into the shop, frowning over at John and Sam. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We wanted to wait until you started remembering more stuff," said Sam. "We didn't want to scare you off."

Priestly chuckled with a smirk. "Too late for that."

"I'm sorry we sprung it on you like that, but it's not how it sounds at first glance," said Sam.

"It's okay, Sam," Priestly waved him off. "Tish kinda helped me see what you guys really do…what we really do. Saving people…hunting things…"

John smiled and nodded. "The family business."

Priestly nodded as he and Tish stepped towards the tables where they all sat.

John sat back down next to Sam. "Oh, by the way…"

Priestly stopped and looked at him.

"Bigfoot…big hoax," John told him.

Priestly chuckled as he and Tish sat at a table. "So, give me the low-down."

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"AAAAHHHH!"

He snapped awake, eyes darting around the room in fear at Mommy's scream.

"Mary!"

Footsteps pounded down the hall outside the door, and a door slammed open in the next room. He slowly sat up, pulling his blankets up to his chin to protect himself. Daddy had sounded very scared when he had called Mommy's name. He waited for a few moments, wanting to be brave and help his daddy, but he couldn't bring himself to get out of his bed.

"No! Mary!"

Hearing his daddy's shout and a strange whoosh sound, he climbed out of his bed, peeking around the doorframe into the hall to see bright orange light coming from Sammy's nursery. Daddy ran out into the hall towards him.

He rushed towards his daddy. "Daddy!"

Daddy handed Sammy over to him. "Take your brother outside as fast as you can! Don't look back! Now, Dean, go!"

He turned and ran down the stairs, heading for the front door as he cradled Sammy close. He darted out onto the lawn, looking up at the glowing window upstairs.

Mommy… he thought in fear.

"Mom!" Priestly shouted as he jolted up in his bed.

"Priestly!" exclaimed Tish, sitting up quickly beside him. She put a hand on his arms, trying to calm him down. "You were sleeping. It's okay. It was just a dream."

Priestly's eyes darted around the dark bedroom before settling on Tish, replaying the frightening images over again in his mind. "No, Tish…I don't think it was."