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A slow and eerie creak of the rusted swing set swaying back and forth in the late night winds could be heard all throughout the small village; the crunch of boots against slightly frosted twigs hidden beneath the swings dedicated solo.
The blood was seeping, seeping through the walls as the floor burned. It was all burning, slowly but surely. Flaking away into an ashen grey cloud in the sky. What was once such a peaceful village seemed to just drift away.
She couldn't hear the flames, all she could hear was the swing set, the crunch of the boots as they approached. Then, as the footsteps became louder, the wind began to sing.
"Ladybug, ladybug fly away home,
Your house is on fire,
Your children will burn."
Her snow white hair twisted and turned against her limbs and white nightdress as she span around, searching for the source of the childlike voices.
"Except for the little one whose name is Ann,
Who hid away in a frying pan!"
She attempted to scream, but her breath was stolen from her the second it left her mouth; so she ran. Her eyes teared up from the ashes flying around her as the buildings slowly disintegrated. All but one building was on fire; an old victorian house, it stood tall and terrifying amongst the old fashioned village. She didn't know why, but the increasing sound of the footsteps sent sharp chills down her spine; fear.
Bursting through the front door, she slammed it behind her. Inside the house seemed so pleasant, warmly lit with red velvet curtains, mahogany floorboard and plush black armchairs surrounding a beautifully lit fire place. She almost felt safe, almost. The half empty glass of wine on the small side table brought back that sense of fear. She stood back, pressing herself against the wall as her heart started to race again. A wet, slimy sensation came from her forehead, raising her hand she gently touched it and brought her hand back to look. Blood, familiar blood.
Glancing upwards, she saw a motherly woman, perhaps in her 40's, long chestnut hair and blue eyes so wide with fright. Then she could hear it again, the screams. The blood poured down the walls as the ceiling set alight, as the door began to rattle and fear peaked. This was her home, this was her coffin!
Lurching down the stairs in fright, she tumbled into the basement as the flames engulfed the once beautiful home, licking at her back and arms as they chased her down the stairs. Landing on her hands and knees, a lone sob escaped her finally as a chuckle vibrated throughout the room. Snapping her gaze to the centre, she saw the familiar and horrifying sight of a metal pentagram hanging over a pit of coals.
"You can't escape, Serenity." A male voice echoed through her very bones as yellow eyes stared into her soul, slowly, the screams and cries of the villagers finally came back into focus.
"Monster!" "Freak!" "Witch! Kill her!" "She must be punished for her inhumanity!" "You housed this whore and now we all suffer!" "Burn her!" "Burn her!" "Burn her!"
"NO!"
A mop of lilac hair bolted from the cheap motel bed as Serenity panted and wiped away the sweat on her brow. She glanced at the clock that read in painfully bright green letters '5:38 AM'.
"Fuck."
Slumping back onto the bed, she stared at the ceiling. That night had happened over a hundred years ago now yet it still seemed to haunt her. Never could she decide what was worse on this planet; the demons or the humans. They're all been so insistent that she was evil because of her unnatural white hair and her odd mannerisms that they hadn't noticed their beloved mayor's eyes take on the colour of a haunted waxing moon. Times had changed since then, surely, but it didn't make the pain of losing her loved ones to the irrational fear humanity possessed any easier. Poor Beth didn't know anything, she had merely taken what she thought was an unusual but unfortunate orphan in her time of need, she'd been the mother she'd never had. She'd been hiding ever since that night, ever since the 'Lord' had transported her from the hell on earth to safety.
'Bigoted jerk hasn't helped since, whilst I've been cleaning up his messes to protect his precious humans.'
She damn well knew what that angel Castiel wanted from her as well, a civil war in heaven? Fat chance of getting her to help, those angels weren't much better than the demons she ganked in her opinion. Spending hundreds of years weakening her species, one by one, until eventually they gave up. They thought they were winning but the truth was, they all just got too tired and laid themselves to rest. She didn't think it was a bad idea at this point; get close to anyone and they kill them to try and play with your head, so you have to spend eternity alone. She had a few distant friends in recent years but they all had to pass her subconscious self defence tests, and what fun was that? She knew being different was always dangerous, after the amount of time she'd been around she'd be moronic not to, but she was lonely. That's the best way to kill a star singer, her father said. Loneliness.
"Real positive morning thinking there, Sere. Start the day with sunshine and rainbows, huh?" Serenity grumbled as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, scratching her head as she approached the bathroom.
"Looks like it's going to be another beautiful day."
"This SUCKS!" Dean slammed his hands on the steering wheel as they drove to the next dead end this 'Serenity' chick had left for them to chase.
"Dean, calm down. Cas knows what he's doing and if he thinks this girl can help then she can help. We do kind of owe him." Sam tapped his fingers nervously against this kneecap. Dean had been getting more and more restless the longer they spent chasing this mystery woman and not working a proper job.
"Damnit Sam, we've been chasing this chick for MONTHS! As far as we've discovered she's like a fricking ghost! 'Sept a ghost would be easier to track! How far are we on the list anyway?" Dean huffed. The 'research' Cas had given them was basically a list of different obscure locations a woman that MIGHT fit the profile of who they were looking for had been.
"We're about 15 more away from the end of the list." Sam sighed, having memorised the list a thousand times over in the stuffy car ride from the previous state.
"She's in South Dakota." Castiel appeared suddenly in the back seat, staring out onto the road as Dean swerved the car, nearly hitting an oncoming truck.
"Jesus Cas!" - "Sound Dakota? Are you sure?"
"Positive. There were unusual power fluctuations there early this morning. She'll be at this address." Castiel passed a scrap of paper on to Sam and disappeared again as Dean attempted to regain his composure.
"This one better be right because I'm really starting to lose my cool here!" Dean all but shouted as he turned off of the freeway, heading to their new destination.
"He said he was positive, come on, the sooner we do this the sooner we can get back to normal.