A slimy, warm tongue licked up the brunette's face. Large paws of a Rottweiler was standing on the small compartment between the two front seats with his legs still extended to the back seat. The stress his owner was feeling had caused him to remove himself from his comfortable laying position and smother the pressured female with affection. These dog kisses brought a smile to the woman's face, and she rubbed the top of her companion's head. "Thanks Spike." The dog saw this as an invitation to the front seat, so he took it immediately. The owner sat up in attempts to grab the papers in the passenger's seat before they were crushed under the dog, but it was too late.
The woman's name was Lisa Maloret, an underappreciated demon hunter and one of the trickiest thieves that no one could ever accuse. She had a heart of gold but a silver tongue, making anyone without great patience immediately grow a disliking towards her. Her dog was her best and only friend; the two of them had been together for eleven years and had a bond stronger than most people had with their closest family. Both of them had been sitting in the old, white Chevy Cavalier for a few hours before Spike had made his way into the passenger's seat.
Heavy eyelids fell over dry optics in exhaustion. The papers that the Rottweiler sat on were an application for a credit card. Something about cheating people out of large amounts of money did not bode well with the infamous criminal. She could steal junk cars every one or two weeks, steal food for her dog every three days, and gamble stumbling drunks into emptying their pockets, but she could not simply fill out the form. There was also the thought that the credit card would be following her, so being tracked would be much easier for police and a hassle for her.
The debate with herself had been going on for so long and she had absolutely nothing filled out on the form. She was somewhat grateful that Spike had decided to sit on them. There was no way she was going to send in a crinkled application, and seeing as that was her only copy she had no choice but to forget about it. Spike had gotten himself comfortable in the passenger's seat, curled up with his head relaxed over his front legs. A quiet whimper was heard from the dog, and Lisa frowned slightly. "I know, boy. We'll get you something to eat tomorrow." She reassured while rubbing behind one of his ears.
It did not take long for Spike to fall asleep. He was weak from being hungry, and it had been past his normal bedtime in the first place. For the female however, it was much more difficult. She stayed up longer to think about all of the things she had to do the next day. Not only would she have to steal some food from the nearest convenient store, but she would also have to ditch the car that she was in and find a new one. This routine had become normal for her, but no matter how that lifestyle grew on her she would always remember the time when she almost had happiness.
Before she could think about how she lost that happiness, she rested her head against her seat and attempted to go to sleep.
How Katie had ended up in her sister's room, she was unaware of. The only thing giving off any sort of light was a laptop screen that was sat on the double bed in the corner of the room, pointed towards her. Katie looked around the small room and saw her sister sat in the computer chair. She was hunched over a piece of paper, her face barely visible in the dim room.
The older sister believed that Sarah was just drawing, so she was about to leave the room. Then something came on the laptop screen, a face. It was fuzzy, like a static texture had been placed over the image, but Katie could still see what it was. The cambion who she had killed was grinning on the screen, and suddenly Katie realized what was happening.
Slowly, Katie stepped towards Sarah just as she picked up the pistol from behind a stack of sketchbooks. She could not move any faster, no matter how hard she tried to. Her younger sister placed the pistol against her forehead and pulled the trigger in the same time it took Katie to move a single step. The room suddenly got brighter just to give Katie the terrifying sight of her sister's lifeless body and brain spewed on the wall behind her. The paper in front of her was not a drawing, but the suicide note Katie had read in the hospital.
She fell to her knees, heartbeat pounding in her ears and tears streaming down her face. Defeated with her head bowed, she fell forward while she heard a voice hiss in her ears, "You can't save her."
Cold sweat beaded down her face while her torso jolted upward in fear. She began to breathe heavily, as if she had been suffocated in her sleep. This fear she was feeling was irrational to her, only because even immediately after she woke up there was no memory of the nightmare she had so vividly experienced. With a sigh, she reminded herself that it was probably just a nightmare, even though there was nothing to confirm it in her memory.
Katie saw it best to get herself a glass of cold water to drink, so she went to her mini fridge and pulled a bottle from the top rack. Still facing the fridge, she took a long drink from the bottle. While she drank she turned around and saw Kim sitting on her bed with her hands folded in her lap. "I felt a sense of distress." Kim said. Mouth full of water, Katie removed the bottle from her lips to hunch over quickly and attempt not to choke from being startled.
The angel tilted her head at the gesture, unsure of why Katie would be frightened by her sudden appearance since she had been doing that for the past week. She imagined that the hunter in training would be used to it by then, but she was wrong. Katie wiped her mouth with her wrist and took a deep breath. It took all of the patience in her to hold back a comment about how Kim needed to stop teleporting in without warning, because she knew what the answer would be. 'I have no way of warning you before I am in your presence.'
With an exasperated sigh, Katie placed her half empty water bottle on top of her fridge. "It was just a nightmare." She forwardly explained, even though she was not sure herself if it was a nightmare or not. Katie took a seat on the bed and then let her torso fall back so that she was half lying on the mattress. "Nightmares are a sign of stress or anxiety. Are you anxious for tomorrow?" Kim asked while she looked down at the tired girl.
"Not really," Katie said with a shrug, "It might just be the stress from all the bickering." For the past three weeks, Katie had been learning from the Winchester brothers on how to hunt and exorcise a demon. She was taught how to shoot a gun, having never picked up a firearm before in her life. Then she was introduced to the magic of salt and how it could save her life, or at least extend it long enough for her to think up a plan. She also took notes in a journal on what different kinds of creatures there were. The last thing she learned was how to fight physical creatures by sparring with the brothers. Dean was very reluctant to teach her anything until she gave a short speech on how it was her decision and that she would really appreciate the help. Sam was supportive as long as the angel's thought she would be some kind of help. Even after her little speech, Dean did not feel happy training her, so she ended up telling him, "If you aren't going to help me then I'll just find someone else who can, they probably won't be as keen to hunting as you are though." The discrete flattery was what really convinced Dean to help her in the end.
When Kim referred to being anxious about the following day, Katie was reminded of the plan she had concocted after she was told that the brothers had to leave town for a day to check out a vampire nest that had been recently ransacked by a group of hunters who had gone missing. Dean told Katie that she had to stay and continue practicing her shooting or do some more research because she was not ready to take on a case just yet. Katie had been insulted by this because before all of the teaching she had taken on one of the most powerful kinds of creatures alone and won, however that had just been pure luck.
Due to her irritation, Katie decided she would secretly follow the brother's for the case. She told Dean that she would stay home and continue researching, but as soon as she got home she told Kim that they were going to the nest just so she could prove to Dean that she was capable of doing this.
The angel's reaction to Katie blatantly disobeying orders was much stricter than Katie had imagined it to be. "You should listen to your teachers. They obviously have their reasons for not letting you go along with them." Kim stubbornly said. There was some kind of passion behind her tone, and Katie understood that this was because Kim had been following orders as an angel all of her life. Alongside learning things about demons and spirits, Katie was told a thing or two about angels; and from what she heard some angels were worse than demons.
Instead of fighting with Kim about it, the new hunter dropped the subject for a few hours until dinner time came around and the two were eating in her living room. Katie brought up the topic again casually, and added that she believed it would be her best bet at learning how to do this job right. Kim did not want to fight just as much as Katie, so she set aside her beliefs to agree with her human.
Kim stared at Katie, the dim light of the moon barely making any effect on the darkness in the room. Anyone could see that Katie was hesitant to start her new life; any normal person would feel this way jumping into such a career. A reassuring pat on the shoulder was issued by the angel, who could both see and feel Katie's nervousness. "I swear as your guardian angel, I won't let anything hurt you."
A tired smile weakly spread onto Katie's face. "Thanks. I just hope I'm cut out for this." She sighed. Kim had told her a few weeks ago that she was going to be a hero. After a few questions from the brothers, she had confessed that the main reason she was doing this was because of that reason, because an angel thought she could be so much more than she believed she could be. Dean and Sam were very forward about saying that there was no such thing as heroes, and that no matter what she could not believe that she would be able to save everyone. Katie arrogantly blew these warnings off, but as she sat in her bed she began to question if she should take their words more seriously.
Katie turned to pick up her water bottle from the fridge, and when she turned back she saw that Kim had vanished. Tired and skittish, the girl took one more drink of the water before she curled into a ball under the covers and went back to sleep.
The heat of summer had immediately fell upon the small suburban town that Katie settled in. She could only hope that the town she was driving to would have the same warmth, however driving across states meant that the weather would be much different.
A duffle bag filled with a large amount of clothes, a messenger bag protecting a computer and a drawing tablet, a suitcase filled with miscellaneous items for both hunting and everyday life, and a new weapons rack that had been cleverly installed to look like the bottom of the trunk occupied the once empty place in the back of the car. Surprisingly, there was still enough room in the trunk to fit a few more bags but Katie believed that what she had packed was enough. She was ready to leave home and start traveling, but she did not put the house up for sale just in case she ever needed a place to return to.
Even though Katie hated lying to someone who had practically treated her like family, she had to tell Jake that she was going to be studying abroad and would appreciate if someone looked after her house while she was gone. Jake teased her about having Emmett stay at her house while she was away, and then maybe he would just decide to move in with her when she returned. This brought a slight blush to Katie's cheeks and she asked Jake to be serious about this. The mechanic said that he was being serious, but then he laughed loudly and ruffled the top of Katie's hair. "Don't worry; I'm sure he won't destroy anything. If he does I'll tell him to take you out on a date to repay you." Jake had joked. Katie huffed quietly at his continuous joke, although she was half hoping that he was being serious.
Kim and Katie left Jake's Garage at eight in the morning after eating breakfast, which was cooked and served by the mechanic himself. Katie hugged Jake, squeezing him a little bit harder than usual because hiding underneath her cocky exterior she still had her doubts about being able to pull this off. After she hugged Jake, she visited Emmett in his room and he was still sleeping. She muttered that she would miss him while she was gone, and then she left before he could wake up and ask where she was going.
Lying flatly to her father figure was really difficult for her, but her innate ability to be dishonest outshined her hesitance towards the matter. As Katie was driving, she began to think about all the money she had spent to get all of the things that the brother's had said she would have to keep in the car. The only reason this thought had come up was because she wanted to get her mind off of Jake and Emmett. An entire payment was spent on the weapons and supplies Katie had bought, and she was sure that she would have to work with at least five more clients before she could get another payment equal to the one she had just blown away within a few days. She sighed, glad to know that her savings were still there for her to use in an emergency.
"So, what exactly are we doing on this job? I know it has something to do with vampires." Kim asked, honestly unaware of what the actual job was, "None of the others told me what we were supposed to be doing. Because, well, we are not really supposed to be going." The angel had taken every possible chance to remind the brunette that what they were doing was against what the brothers had said.. Katie laughed to try and show her friend that there was nothing to worry about. This was successful. "A group of hunters has gone missing after taking on a job to destroy a vampire nest," Katie took one hand off of the steering wheel and waved it dismissively, "Apparently there was some big bloodbath. All we really have to do is make sure all the vampires are cleared out."
The angel was hesitant to see Katie in any actual combat. Kim was very aware that Dean and Sam had been going easy on Katie during their sparring matches. Sam made it so that Katie focused on dodging any attacks he threw out, while Dean showed her different ways to get out of a tight spot. She was getting good at these two things because of all of the training she was doing, but neither of them focused on actually dealing damage. As far as Kim could see, Katie was too confident in her abilities to take down any supernatural creature, and that confidence had nothing but a sneak attack mastery behind it.
It was a long drive across many towns, took nearly five hours. Katie had not spent that long driving a car since her last vacation, which was four years ago after she graduated high school. The impala pulled into a gas station once they reached the town where the nest was located. She filled the tank and then went around to the other side of the car where the passenger window was. "Want to grab a few snacks?" Katie asked Kim. Kim nodded, and she was about to teleport out of the car and into the shop, but Katie caught her before she could. "Use the door." Katie said, opening the car door from the outside and letting Kim out. Kim's stomach growled and she placed her hand over it in attempts to silence it. She had not eaten since breakfast, and they had skipped their normal noon lunch time by an hour.
"Do they have those things we had for breakfast here?" She asked curiously. A questioning gaze was shot at the angel as Katie tried to remember what they had for breakfast. "We had a few things for breakfast. What exactly are you talking about?" Katie asked to try and get a better picture of what Kim was talking about. "The small, round disks with small chunks in them." Kim explained. Katie laughed slightly, "Cookies? Yeah, they have them here." Kim shuddered in joy and followed Katie inside the station.
Lisa was sat on the hood of the Cavalier just across the lot that was next to the gas station. She was lucky enough to make it to the parking spot, completely out of gas after the little trip she had. Driving two miles was all she could get out of the old pile of junk. Her original assumption was that the car would at least last the rest of the case. The nest was still half way across the city, so she would need a new ride if she wanted to get there by sun fall.
A gas station was always her best chance at grabbing a new car because not only was it a place where she could get a full tank of gas, but also most people left their doors unlocked while they went inside to pay. When the impala had pulled into the gas station that Lisa was watching, she could not help but to admire it from afar. It was obviously an old car, but it looked like it was in mint condition. "It'd be a shame if someone stole that." Lisa said to herself with a grin on her face as she shook off the guilt that was biting at the back of her neck.
"C'mon Spike." Lisa ordered and Spike immediately stood up to follow after his master. When they approached the car, Lisa got into the driver's seat and tossed her bag into the back of the vehicle. "Just like always boy, keep a look out." Lisa whispered to her dog. Spike held his head up high while he sat by the passenger's door of the car.
It was not long before the Rottweiler stood up and hunched his head down with a low growl as a warning that someone was approaching. The thief had been too obvious; Katie knew something was wrong when she saw a dog sitting outside her car. "Damn." Lisa muttered and peaked over the door to see the angry owner of the vehicle drawing near. She noticed a short Asian woman trying to stop Katie from getting any closer to the dog in fear that it would harm her, but Katie just persisted while saying, "It's just a dog." Kim distracted Spike by offering him affection, and the loving animal companion happily rolled onto his back for belly rubs.
Katie demanded that Lisa get out of her car, and she did as she was told; head bowed in shame. It was only a matter of time before she was caught for all of the crimes she committed. Lisa saw it fit that she try and apologize for her actions, but Katie cut her off. "Save it. Just take your dog and get out of my sight before I think twice about not calling the cops." The brunette hissed quietly.
The angel looked up at Katie while she continued rubbing Spike's stomach. Every hint of rage that came out of the brunette was sincere, however her words were not. There was no way Katie would bring the police into the situation because she was too worried about the authorities stumbling upon the cache of weapons in her trunk. The two had a conversation about it when she was acquiring the weapons. Kim's enjoyment in playing with the dog came to an end when Lisa snapped her fingers. Spike immediately stood up and followed after his master.
With a deep sigh, Katie got into her car and checked to see if anything was destroyed or stolen. Luckily she had arrived when she did because the thief was just about to cut the wires needed to hotwire the vehicle. "I promise I'll never leave you unlocked like that again." The worried owner said as she patted her hand against the dashboard of the car. The angel in the passenger's seat raised an eyebrow in question, but soon forgot about it when she opened her bag of bite-sized chocolate chip cookies.
After being so enraged Katie lost her appetite and decided she would just save the snacks for later. She turned around to put the bag in the back seat, but an unwelcome surprise was in the way. Lisa left her bag in the back of the Impala without realizing it. A small frown tugged at the corners of Katie's lips and she pulled the bag into her lap.
For a moment she was hesitant to open the bag and rummage through it. Her view on privacy instinctively made her hesitate until she reminded herself that the owner of the bag just tried to make off with her car. This was enough to motivate Katie into opening the bag and look through it.
On the top of the bag was a metal canteen with a cross etched into the bottom right corner. The first thought that came to Katie's mind was that Lisa was some religious, crazy woman. She pushed aside the canteen to see a container of salt, spray paint cans, and a dog bowl. Suspicions rose inside Katie the more she dug into the bag, all signs pointed towards the girl being a hunter. A leather bound journal was the thing that confirmed Katie's assumptions. There were pages upon pages of notes about different creatures that looked similar to the journal that the bookworm had been instructed to read by the Winchester's.
Toward the end of the journal were a few loose newspaper articles that were dated around that current day. The headlines read that animals had been attacking innocents in great numbers. Kim peaked over, munching on a cookie while she pointed at one of the articles that Katie had not picked up. Written in pen was an address, circled boldly and underlined three times. Katie could only imagine the kind of emphasis Lisa was trying to put on those few lines. Hazel iris' followed an arrow backwards down to another circled word, all capitalized letters, "NEST".
"Huh?" With a bite of her tongue and a quiet chuckle, Katie put the address into the GPS on her phone and mapped a path. She then returned all of the articles to the back of the journal. There was one final object in the duffle bag, a small wooden box that would be meant to hold jewelry. When Katie opened it, she found various photos of a Pitbull, the Rottweiler that was with her, and a few puppies. Kim frowned at the photograph, already very much aware of Lisa's situation because of the contact she had with Spike.
The angel swallowed another cookie before she decided to speak. "You should return that to her." Her tone made the statement seem more like a demand rather than a suggestion. Too engulfed in her own thought process to immediately respond, Katie looked up to Kim while she put twenty dollars into the journal and the rest of the items back into the bag. "Why don't you? You're the one who can pop in, set it next to her, and then disappear without bothering her." Katie pushed the bag off of her lap and onto Kim's, "Besides, I don't want to deal with another hunter this early on. Stupid and Sasquatch are all I can handle."
Kim raised an eyebrow at her friend. She wondered how Katie already fit in so well with the boys, sarcasm and all. As far as Kim could see it, Katie had the kind of personality that crashed so terribly with the Winchester's that it actually worked out to become a blooming friendship. She returned back to the conversation at hand by placing the bag back onto Katie's lap. "She is in the grocery store around the corner. I cannot just 'pop in' there." Through Katie, Kim was picking up subtle sarcasm. She was also using Katie's words against her, having been told multiple times through the past few weeks that she was not allowed to teleport to and from public places.
"Fine," Katie simply said, unable to argue with her own argument. She started the impala and drove to the grocery store Kim pointed out. It was not long before she saw Lisa trying to leave the store with her hand holding something underneath her black hoodie. "Unbelievable." The brunette muttered as she strapped the bag to her shoulder and grabbed her wallet. Spike growled at Katie as she approached the store, but she paid little attention to the hound because she knew Kim would handle him with ease. Quickly, she ran inside to stop Lisa just as the shop owner was going to keep her from stealing.
Katie touched Lisa's shoulder and pushed her away from the door before she could leave. She put on a smile and turned Lisa around to lead her towards the cash register. "I told you to wait for me near the cash register, Lzzy." Teasingly Katie pointed out that she knew about Lisa's alter ego and her career all in one little sentence. Lisa looked absolutely shocked, jaw dropped and eyes widened.
Thoughts of knocking out the arrogant stranger and running out of the store popped into Lisa's head. They were thoughts that she knew where ungrateful, especially as Katie paid for the food that was nearly stolen, but she could not help but feel slightly bitter towards this girl who had dug into her work life without a care for what she was getting herself into. As the two left the store Lisa asked, "Why'd you do that?"
A warm smile that was put up as a façade turned into a carefree straight expression. Katie handed over the duffle bag that she had on her shoulder. "You left your bag in my car. Unlike you, I'm not a thief." She was being harsh, still very much upset that her car was nearly taken from her again. The seasoned hunter grimaced at the comment, wanting so bad to retort and start an argument. She bit her tongue though, all because Katie had just paid for Spike's meal.
No 'thank you' was issued, and it was also not expected. Pride was something that Lisa shamelessly demonstrated and she was not going to completely throw it away to someone she knew nothing about. Lisa approached Spike, who was being bombarded with affection by Kim. Spike stood like the soldier he was when he saw his companion while his tiny tail wagged quickly back and forth. Kim joined Katie, and the two departed from the thief and her dog once again.
The two girls went back into the impala and Katie began to drive off, obviously conflicted with something because her nose scrunched indecisively. Katie took a U-turn and drove back behind one of the buildings where they could still see the girl and her dog. Guilt was biting at the brunette's heels. Despite her anger, the urge to help someone in a difficult situation shadowed her emotions. "Why are we watching her?" Kim asked; not sure if Katie thought there was something wrong. There was no response.
While her dog munched away at the dog treats happily Lisa was searching through her bag to make sure nothing was stolen. She was more than surprised to find the money inside her journal, and when she looked up she half expected to see Katie standing in front of her with a smug look on her face. Lisa hated handouts, but desperate times called for desperate measures. The huntress went back into the shop and bought a bag of dry dog food and some water bottles for Spike to consume over the next few days. It did not matter if she was hungry herself, her best friend always came first.
Annoyed groans came from Katie as she pressed her forehead against the top of her steering wheel. Kim was not quite sure why Katie was acting in such a manner, but she decided not to ask. Instead, she asked about something different. "Maybe we could offer them to come with us? There is plenty of room for-." The angel was not even given the chance to finish, because Katie looked up at her and cut her off, "There's no room for a dog. He'd just make a mess of my car." That was not the true reason, and it would take a while before she would feel comfortable talking about it.
Two sudden knocks at Katie's window caused her to jolt up in her seat, heartbeat racing faster for a short period of time. The frightened girl turned her head to see Dean angrily glaring down at her, obviously upset that she had disobeyed the brothers. Sam was stood a few feet behind his older brother, seemingly exhausted from trying to stop Dean. Katie put the car in park and tried to sneak one last look at Lisa and Spike, but the two were already gone.
Dean tapped the window again and then gestured for Katie to get out of the car. Hesitantly, Katie stepped out of the vehicle with her head bowed. "I thought we told you that you weren't ready for a case yet." Dean angrily huffed, talking down on Katie as if she were a child. He stood firmly over her while she ducked her head into her shoulders, trying to hide away. Dean let out another angry huff, "You're lucky we spotted you before you went off and did something stupid."
"The best way to learn is through experience, though." Katie tried to defend herself, however this defense was hollow because she was still cowering into her shoulders. The hunter rolled his eyes, "That doesn't apply here. You can get killed trying to learn from experience." Kim had been listening to the conversation from her seat and if she did not do something soon it would go on for hours. The angel decided to stop the fighting. "We are wasting time bickering." Sam chuckled at the comment, about to make the same argument.
Dean glared at his brother before he turned back at Katie. She had pulled out her phone the second Dean got distracted so she could bring up a map of the local area. Quickly tapping away at the screen, she sent a message to Dean with a map of the area on the opposite side of town. "Some of the locals are suspicious of this area, you can go there." Kim stared at the back of Katie's head in hopes of burning guilt into her brain for lying again, but it was useless.
One of his many phones rang, so Dean pulled the source of the noise from his pocket and checked the message. His eyes suspiciously scanned Katie's face and then Sam cut in. "Looks like you got the research part down." He said, smiling at her progress. Katie laughed, thanking him.
"And what will you do?" Dean asked, still not convinced that she would just give up. Katie shrugged, "Guess me and Kim will just go out to eat or something." She got back into her car and smiled at the brothers. "Good luck." It took all of her power to keep herself from laughing at the thought of them driving around in circles.
Katie drove away, and the two brothers walked back to their car. Sam was grinning at Dean, the way he always would when there was a girl in Dean's life. Eyeing his brother, Dean questioned why he was giving him that look. The moose shrugged, "I dunno', you just seem to be a little less stubborn with her." Dean rolled his eyes. "Let's be clear, that is never going to happen." He said while waving around his hand for emphasis. The two got in the car and Sam mumbled, "Whatever you say."
Lisa approached the nest with Spike tailing her heels. There was a dumpster outside of the old wooden building on the outskirts of town that Lisa hid behind. Just in time, as well, because someone was coming around the house dragging something behind them. A thud sounded every time the creature took another step up to the porch, and then the noise suddenly stopped after the door closed. With a deep breath, Lisa peered over the dumpster to check and see if the vampire had actually gone inside. Luckily it had, and she waited a few minutes before she advanced to the porch. The door was locked, so she knelt down and pulled a lock pick out of her hoodie pocket. It took less than a minute to crack the lock, and she was inside. With shotgun in hand, she carefully opened the door and prepared herself for the worst.
In the opening of the building there was a small room with an open entrance that lead to a hallway with one door on the left and three more entry ways on the right. Everything was dark; the electric bill probably had not been paid for months with the way the wires were collecting vines because of the lack of maintenance outside the building. Lisa tested the floorboards with the tip of her converse boots. Loud creaking came from them, just as expected. A quiet sigh past her lips as she gave on the quiet approach and just walked casually through the home. The hardwood floors were stained with fresh blood that lead a path to the one door on the left, so that was where she had to go.
Checking the other entryways for other vampires seemed like the best idea since she did not want to get attacked from behind. First, she looked into the closest doorway and saw that all of the furniture in the living room had been torn apart and stained in blood. Debris from the walls and ceiling had fallen onto the floor and it was completely trashed. There were parts of both people and vampires scattered; it was just starting to smell because of how close she was to the room. Spike bowed his head to the floor and scratched at his nose, scampering away from the room. Lisa then checked the two other rooms, and both of them were very similar. She had to step over corpses in the hallways, just then noticing how untidy everything was because she was close enough to see in the dim light. When she was sure there was no one else but the one behind the door, she tightened her grip on the gun.
The door that she had to go through lead to the basement, and it was left open in carelessness. Wooden steps led down to a very dark, humid room. Lisa reached for the doorknob, expecting Spike to be behind her until she heard him near the front door, growling. 'Shit, there's more.' She thought, trying to look for a place to hide. It was too late though, she could see the shadows approaching. Without any other option, she readied her shotgun and put her finger on the trigger. The moment those things came into her sights, she would shoot and run.