Supernatural: Chronicles of the Order 8
Chapter 13: A Pocketful of Drowners, Part 1
(DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Supernatural because it belongs to Erik Kripke and Warner Bros. So, enjoy the show! Rated M for graphic violence, adult content, and adult language.)
Two thousand years into the past…
Sam was up and alert as he got out of bed in which he was ready to start the day. Ever since Dean's disappearance, it had been quiet in the Men of Letters bunker as he was still reeling from the injury after going up against Ailnoth a week ago. The pain in his shoulder gave him trouble as he heard his phone ringing the moment he used his good hand to answer it.
"Hello?" he said.
"There's a case in Salt Lake City just waiting for you to investigate," said Seto over the phone.
"What kind of case?"
"Last night, a bunch of college kids were busy lighting off a bunch of bottle rockets in which one of them felt fish hands forcing them directly into the Great Salt Lake. The cops found the body of Jennifer Bowers, whose father is reeling from this tragedy in which whoever is in the lake, is still at large in which the cops are baffled by this crap."
"I'll go there, but after this, I'm still looking for Dean and Crowley."
"Fair enough…"
Sam hung up his phone as he went towards his laptop and saw the headline that was there. The words, "Mystery monster kills college student," in bold black letters piqued his interest as he had to meet up with Seto in Salt Lake City, for this was a case unlike no other that he has seen in a long time…
A few hours later, Sam arrived in Salt Lake City as he was dressed in his usual fake Fed outfit. What he didn't expect was that Seto was there as she was also dressed in a sharp suit with a skirt and stilettos in which she was there to investigate what went on the moment they were in the police station morgue seeing the corpse of the college student that was on the slab. It wasn't long until the coroner entered into the morgue as he was ready to be interviewed by both Sam and Seto, for they were aware of what happened here.
"Good morning, Agents… Plant and McVie?" said the coroner.
"We're here to exam the body," said Seto.
"You mean Jennifer Bowers? She was a high school cheerleader, honor student, and a great kid who avoided caffeine and premarital sex until she went with her friends to the Great Salt Lake to shoot off some bottle rockets."
"This is all wrong," said Sam as he saw the corpse's lips turn purple with dirt in her mouth. "She was forced face down by something strong to the point of suffocating her."
"There's even dirt on the cadaver's legs," said Seto as she saw it exposed with the tag on one of the feet. "Whatever did this to her knew that she was a threat to them. As for the college kids who were with her, they need to talk about how she died before jumping into conclusions."
"Well, one of the park rangers was there in which he refuses to go to any body of water again after talking to the cops about this," said the coroner.
"We'll talk with him soon enough," said Sam.
It wasn't long until both Sam and Seto left the police station morgue as they went towards one of the slug roe homes that Totsuka left behind. Going inside for the night, they were pondering on what caused the death of the college student who was at the Great Salt Lake with her friends. Armed with his laptop, Sam looked at the evidence and lore as he had to find out what was lurking around the lake all of a sudden, for this wasn't over right now…
Meanwhile, back in the present…
Rain poured everywhere on Cordell Island as some of the Norsefolk were busy covering their fishing trawlers due to the weather. What they didn't expect was that there was trouble in the waters as one of the Norsefolk found a dead body of a dock worker face down on the shore near the harbor. They were facing drowners as everyone had to keep away from the beaches for protection the moment they took the body away to the morgue. It wasn't long until Seto arrived as she was looking for me in which she noticed something familiar from the Elder Days, for she was aware of seeing drowners lurking all over Cordell Island.
"This isn't the first time that drowners attack in full force," she said.
The sight of seeing dock workers being dragged to drowning to their deaths was nothing new to Seto as she saw Yavanna getting out of her trawler with some fresh fish that were caught in her net. Even though most fishermen refused to go in the storm, but nothing stopped Yavanna as she was doing it to help keep her inn afloat and continue to give the rich who lived in the Grand Hill district the finger. Just as she was about to return to the inn, she confronted Seto as she was concerned about the increase in drowner attacks, for it once happened before.
"You know how to catch your fish in the rain, don't you?" she said.
"Greyfin tuna always enter once it rains," said Yavanna as she was putting her catch into a large cooler. "These whoppers will be worth a fortune when I take them to the Neo-Tsukiji market."
"Let me remind you that the drowner attacks have increased since the nest near Skald Island was eliminated. More and more, drowners have been attacking people by drowning them to their deaths. This isn't the first time that this has happened."
"There's a book at my inn known as the Supernatural Appendices in which you can find what you're looking for."
"Thanks for the warning."
Seto went to the inn as she went towards the sitting room in which she found the same book that Yavanna mentioned earlier. The same book dealt with tales and events that weren't depicted in the popular Supernatural books as she opened it up to see the events of the Elder Days. When she got to the pages that she needed, she saw images of drowners that have ravaged Salt Lake City once in which she remembered that event very well. When she was about to close the book, she saw Castiel appearing out of nowhere as he was aware of what she was looking up, for he also knew of what happened very well.
"I take it that you're interested in Tolkien's little black book like I do," she said.
"The Supernatural Appendices have documented events that were in the time of the Elder Days," said Castiel. "The case that you're looking up was when the Sam of Old went there with you to deal with a nest of drowners."
"As I recall, you were running on borrowed time when that grace you stole was wearing thin. That was also when the Dean of Old became a demon while hanging around with Crowley. As for the incident that I got involved in, I had experience with going up against drowners and how to kill those fuckers and that is by silver and fire."
"The only set of blades that are meant to kill drowners were known as the Phoenix Blades in which they were crafted by Totsuka the moment they were once earmarked to be delivered to the Elkins Clan."
"Nibori now has the Phoenix Blades, but she wasn't the only one who used them. Twenty years before my tussle with the drowners in Salt Lake City, the John Winchester of Old also used them when he spotted them causing havoc in Modesto, California. The blades have a history when it comes to killing drowners in which they cause the monsters to combust on contact. From what I heard, Nibori and another group of hunters tracked down the nest of drowners on Skald Island and finished them off, but the bastards have a hive mind when it comes to some of them being skewered by the Phoenix Blades."
"Drowners are a lot of things, but having a hive mind is irrelevant."
"Drowners do have a hive mind like bees and when a nest dies, others feel the pain of it being eliminated. They know how to attack their victims off-guard by catching them near any shore whether it's a beach, rocks, or a place by the lake. They sink their victims and then use the bulk of their bodies on them by suffocating them into the water, shallow or deep."
Seto continued to read at the book in her hands as she remembered what happened in the time of the Elder Days. When she saw a picture of the Phoenix blades, she had a feeling that the set itself would be in play once again, for this wasn't the first time that this has happened…
Two thousand years in the past… again!
The next morning, Sam was outside as he was going towards the skeleton car that was in Totsuka's collection as he was ready to go and find more clues about the presence of drowners and how to kill them. Even though he was most likely to be hunting what killed Jennifer Bowers, he had a gut feeling that the monster he was finding would claim another victim who would be dumb enough to walk near the shore of the Great Salt Lake. Just as he was about get ready to drive, he was stopped by Seto as she got into the skeleton car's driver's side, for she was aware of the injury he sustained a week ago.
"I've got this," he said.
"Let me remind you that you got your ass handed to you by a Knight of Hell when you went to Chicago," said Seto as she started the car. "I know that you're still looking for Dean after he got killed by Metatron, but you won't like what he is now."
"I've driven with my good arm before."
"Don't even think about doing it! Now, if you don't mind, I suggest that you get in before I break your other shoulder."
Sam reluctantly agreed as he got in on the passenger's side. With Seto taking the wheel, they left the slug roe home and were on their way to the library until they saw a crime scene near a swimming pool in which another body was recovered. When they stopped the car, they got out as they flashed their fake badges to the police in which they noticed something was wrong indeed.
"What happened here?" asked Sam.
"The body of Ezra Wilkes was found by one of the pool cleaners this morning," said a cop.
"How did he die?" asked Seto.
"Ezra was a good kid, but his obsession with swimming with perfect scores got the better of him, I'm afraid…"
"Were there any eyewitnesses?"
"Some guy was recording the incident with his smartphone in which he uploaded it up on the internet. He got freaked out when he gave me his phone." The cop hands it to Seto as she accessed it without difficulty. "I've seen some weird stuff that appears on those old In Search Of… shows, but this takes the cake. This is getting monotonous. First, Jennifer Bowers gets killed while shooting bottle rockets near the lake, and now this? What in God's name is going on here?"
Seto looks at the video on the smartphone as she saw the young man getting ready to go swimming for exercise. What she didn't expect was that a fish-like creature came out of the bushes and shoved him into the shallow end of the pool face down. What happened next was that the fish-like creature smothered the young man to the point of dry drowning the moment it left when the body was no longer alive. Turning off the smartphone, Seto gave it back to the cop at the crime scene as she had a gut feeling that one of the worst monsters imaginable. By the time she returned to Sam, she was ready to go to the library as she was more than likely to get to the bottom of the lore problem that has plagued some of Salt Lake City's residents.
"Turn on your phone," said Seto.
"What's going on?" asked Sam as he did so.
"You'll see what's going on."
Sam saw the video of Ezra Wilkes being dragged into the pool to the point of drowning in which the fish-like creature was strong enough to lift a rhino. He never saw anything like it before as he would soon face this monster like any other in this time of terror.
"This monster has a thing for attacking people, but college kids?" he said.
"Well, this creepy crawler is more Jason Voorhees than The Creature From the Black Lagoon," said Seto. "If we find out what it is, then we'll gank the son-of-a-bitch."
Sam continued to look at the video as he paused it briefly. He had a gut feeling that the creature itself was mainly attacking its victims instead of doing random attacks. Just as he was about to leave with Seto in tow, he saw a young man dressed in a green jacket and red shirt standing there as he was scared to death about what happened. Seto noticed the young man as he was also carting a backpack that was too heavy for him until she chased him when he ran. She was dogging him as she finally caught up with him near a Mormon temple the moment she tackled him to the grass, for she wanted answers from him soon enough.
"Looks like you're not in the study group, are you?" she said.
"You don't understand, lady," said the young man as he got up on his feet. "I came here to get rid of a drowner nest that's been here near the Great Salt Lake."
"Drowner?"
"Si. Ever since John Winchester helped out my papi in Modesto twenty years ago, I've took up his line of work by becoming a hunter."
"How do you know John Winchester? Spill it!"
"My name's Manuel Esparza and I've been undercover just to flush out the nest of drowners that have been making their nests inland. I know how to take them out by fire and silver and I've got a lot of lighter fluid just to make a molotov cocktail to burn them."
"You know how to kill them, don't you?" Manuel nods as he unzips his backpack. "It seems that you've taken a page out of John Winchester's playbook, didn't you? I bet that your father was blessed to team up with him to get rid of those things you've been hunting."
"My papi, Angelo Esparza, worked with John Winchester when they spotted a nest of drowners in Modesto. I was five years old at the time, but I remembered how they flushed out and killed the nest. They may have gotten rid of the drowners, but the rest of the nest fled elsewhere and I'll stop at nothing to get rid of them"
Manuel made his point clearly as Seto was aware of what she was facing. Drowners were a new kind of monster that were in the annals of the lore, but this wasn't the end of them as the time to flush them out of Salt Lake City was just the beginning of what would happen next…
Meanwhile, back in the present… again!
I was in a hospital room as I was being observed my other members of the Medical Corps. The place itself was more elegant than shabby as it was right in the center of Cordell Island's Grand Hill district, but I had to deal with it. The testing was unbearable as I had an oxygen mask over my face in which it was hard to breathe in while I had my vitals examined. I hated being in hospitals and sickbays as I just wanted all of this to be over with. By the time I was finished, I was wheeled in a stretcher as I was put in a different hospital room the moment I saw Reuben entering just to check up on me, for he was mainly concerned about my well-being after yesterday's omen.
"It seems that your vitals have returned to normal, but that doesn't mean that you're in the clear yet," he said to me. "From all the food you've eaten, your metabolism has processed a lot more, but you're still weakened from what you faced in that battle against Sawney Masbath two years ago."
"It never ends, but I'm used to it," I said as I was being placed in a hospital bed.
"That's what some of the dock workers say after some dumb shlub ends up getting killed by a pack of drowners. Even the townsfolk here on this island stay away from the beaches here after dealing with multiple attacks by the bastards."
"There's a book known as the Supernatural Appendices that details the account of the presence of drowners in which my past self and Seto once helped a young man named Manuel Esparza take out a nest of them in Salt Lake City back in the Elder Days."
"I've heard of him before. According to the Order's higher-ups, Manuel Esparza became a staunch member and founder of the newly minted organization that sprang up from the Men of Letters in the Elder Days. According to some of the locals here, he left in a Draaza ship and spent the rest of his days here on Valinor before going to the Grey Havens. It's been said that his descendants still hunt for drowners to this day in which they proved to be a problem the moment they made their home here just like the vampires that have became the thorns in the sides of the Mahoney Clan."
"Please! I need to see my husband!"
I heard Reiko's voice as I saw her rushing towards me. I sensed that she was worried about something as I noticed her being worried about something. Still, I had to hear what she had to say as I had a gut feeling that something was wrong, for this wasn't the first time that I had to worry about what was about to happen next.
"Sammy," I heard her say to me. "I can't find Dirk and Gyatso anywhere on Skald Island."
"What?!" I yelled as I was concerned.
"They were there with the other children until they were gone. They even said that they wanted to see you before we left Cordell Island."
"They shouldn't be running off like that, not with drowners coming and going."
"We ganked that fish freak from attacking the dock workers with the grenades we found."
I heard Dirk's voice as I spotted him rushing into the hospital room. He was also carrying a bag as he was ready to show it to me. Opening it up, he showed me the proverbial weapons that were used to stop some of the drowners as I wasn't too thrilled to see him with such primitive weaponry in a hospital room, for I wasn't about to let him off the hook yet.
"You can't be bringing grenades in here, for this is a weapon-free zone," I said.
"Gyatso spotted them when we saw that fish freak trying his damnedest to kill one of the Viking men who was busy fixing his boat," said Dirk. "From what I heard, those freaks have proved to be a headache for the townsfolk who put up with them. They even close off the beaches due to influx of those things."
"I know those weapons," said Reuben as he recognized them clearly. "They're known as phoenix grenades that are crafted with phoenix ash, silver, and aetherial metal. Manuel Esparza and his descendants knew how to craft them, but like all relics, they're lost in memory. As for you and Gyatso, you're going back with Reiko to the Singer House and help out with Yavanna and her employees as punishment for disobeying orders."
"That's my job, Reuben," I said as I stared at Dirk. "He's right about both you and Gyatso for not doing what Reiko tells you, but as for the weapons, you should keep them just in case more of those drowners show up, but don't show them off in the hospital."
"I'll take them, Sammy," she said as she looked at Dirk sternly. "You had me worried! You shouldn't be out and about going hunting. You're too young for it. Now, if you don't mind, you're going to the Singer House to help Matriarch Yavanna do the chores as punishment for running off."
Dirk followed Reiko out the door as he noticed Gyatso standing there hanging his head in shame. Even though his curiosity got the better of him, he wasn't about to escape Reiko's stern demeanor as he was forced to go to the inn alongside Gyatso. Still, the presence of drowners proved to be a problem for the people who lived on Cordell Island as there was no end to it, for there would be an influx of them if not contained right away…
Later on in the afternoon, Dirk and Gyatso were busy in the kitchen washing dishes as they were forced to sit out on the hunt as punishment for disobeying Reiko earlier. Dish after dish, they washed and put them away as it was almost time for lunch. It wasn't long until they finished cleaning up the kitchen as they were ready to start on the sitting room until they saw Yavanna coming back with some red snappers just in time to make a fish stew with.
"You boys are hard at work after I heard from Ragnor Huskersson when you blew up a drowner that tried to kill him," she said.
"That fish freak went after him for no reason," said Gyatso. "That was also when I found that old bag of grenades that came in handy. They pack a punch on those things, but there could be more lurking everywhere if we're not careful."
"You and that Cat Sidhe boy may be enduring punishment for running off, but if you haven't stepped in, Ragnor would've been killed by now. As for the problem with drowners, I have a feeling that this isn't the end of them here in which they're also a problem in the Valinorian region of Andunevar, but some of them meet their ends in the jaws of alligators that parade the swamps there."
"Well the bastard kids of The Creature From the Black Lagoon have gotten worse when we came here to find Sam," said Dirk. "Still, we're gonna have to leave it to the grown-ups to hunt those sons-of-bitches."
"Let's take a break. Besides, I'm making a fish stew for dinner. As for what's in the sitting room, there's all the Supernatural books for your enjoyment if you want to read."
Dirk and Gyatso left the kitchen as they went into the sitting room in which they saw the Supernatural Appendices on the table. They never saw anything like it before as Dirk picked it up and looked at some of the events that weren't catalogued in the books on the shelf. When he looked at the entry about the presence of drowners, he saw a picture of my past self, Seto, and the inventor of the Phoenix Grenades, Manuel Esparza, as they were pictured fighting off the monsters many centuries ago. Even though that era was ancient, the time of the Elder Days was something that was recorded into memory, for all monsters in the lore were accounted for in the annals of the Order's archives.
"I never expected the Sam of Old to go up against drowners before," said Gyatso.
"This was when he was looking for Dean's past self after he took off with Crowley at the time," said Dirk. "The picture depicts him with an injury in his shoulder he sustained when he went up against Ailnoth. This time, he's going up against those fish freaks we saw near the beach."
"We may not be hunters, but we should also leave this stuff to the grown-ups."
"I know, but we can't let those drowners terrorize this island. As a matter of fact, we're gonna have to find and flush out the drowners who have been crawling all over Cordell Island. It's the only way when it comes to what we found on the beach."
"You will not!" yelled Reiko as she caught Dirk and Gyatso trying to get out of their punishment.
"And we're busted," said Gyatso.
"Just because you're wanting to hunt drowners, doesn't mean that you're ready to do so. You should leave the hunting to the grown-ups, is that clear?"
Dirk and Gyatso reluctantly agreed as they were at the mercy of Reiko, who refused to let them out of her sight. Still, both boys were under lockdown by doing chores all over the Singer House as they had no other choice but to finish up. When Reiko noticed the Supernatural Appendices on the table, she saw the story of my past self going up against the drowners in the Elder Days as she was aware of the old archives that occurred, for this was a reminder of how the monsters were there in the first place.
"This is a story about the drowners from the Elder Days," she said.
"We know," said Dirk. "It's been said that the drowners wreaked havoc all over in a place known as Salt Lake City in the Elder Days. It's been also said that Seto was there as well and she's over two thousand years old and still kicking. She must've went up against those things with that Manuel Esparza guy in which the Phoenix Grenades and the mythical Phoenix Blades were used to stop them."
"Wait! I've seen Nibori with those blades… If she were here, she could stop some of those creatures."
"Let's hope that she gets here…," said Gyatso.
Reiko was worried about the influx of drowners as she was willing to protect Dirk and Gyatso from harm. As for the story about the drowners, it was something that couldn't be ignored as it would prove that history from the Elder Days had a reason to repeat itself in spades. It wasn't long until an alarm siren blared as it was heard all over Cordell Island, for the drowner threat was getting much worse than anticipated...
Two thousand years in the past… once again!
Sam was looking into the lore in the public library as he saw an image of what was captured on video earlier. He never saw anything like it before as he assumed it to be a lot more than just some cheesy film monster. He remembered that time when he faced off with a lowerling who changed into old-fashioned movie monsters six years ago, including a Count Dracula knockoff, but this one was different. When he looked at the lore again, he knew very well that the monster was none other than a drowner as it was one of the worst monsters that was once faced by his father twenty years ago. He knew of the lore very well when he was eleven at the time in which the only weaknesses that the drowner had were fire and silver, but what could be used, exactly. It wasn't long until his phone rang as he picked it up in which he saw Seto's name on it, for he had to answer it anyway.
"Hey, Bullwinkle, about time that you picked up," she said over the phone.
"I got something about our mystery creature," said Sam.
"So do I and then some."
"What are you talking about?"
"Do you know about a guy who named Angelo Esparza? He worked with your father on a case twenty years ago in Modesto when you were on the cusp of puberty at the time. I found his kid and he's got some grenades that can put the kibosh on the drowners that have been terrorizing Salt Lake City. He said that there's a nest hidden here and it's located near the Great Salt Lake. If we can stop it, we can smoke it out."
"I'll meet you there."
It wasn't long until Sam hung up the phone as he left the library. When he was ready to meet up with Seto, he saw a suspicious person in a black hood stand in front of him as she was holding a metal case in her hands. Setting it down, she was wanting him to take them as she didn't want any more drowners terrorizing Salt Lake City, for the nest had to be eliminated before it was too late.
"Take these blades in the case," she said.
"Who are you?" asked Sam suspiciously.
"My time is brief, but I beg of you, take the blades that your father once wielded to stop the drowners that were terrorizing Modesto twenty years ago. They are known as the Phoenix Blades that were once crafted by your late friend and were once earmarked to the late Daniel Elkins, but they are the only set that can stop the drowners."
"I'll do it." Sam picks up the metal briefcase. "As soon as I get to Seto, the better."
Sam saw the suspicious person leave as he later saw Seto driving the skeleton car to where he was. He also saw Manuel in the front seat as he knew of him before the moment he got into the backseat. It was time to hunt the drowner nest as it was needed to be destroyed, for the monsters were dangerous all over any form of water.
"It's been years since your trip to Modesto, Sam," said Manuel.
"Manuel Esparza," he said. "I take it that you took up hunting after our fathers destroyed the drowner nest in Modesto."
"I've been upholding the family business since Papi passed away four years ago. All I've been doing was hunting things that attack people, but drowners are a threat to everyone, both human and monster. Drowners are so dangerous that not even vampires can go up against them."
"And the weakness that the drowners have are silver and fire."
"That's not just all," said Seto as she was in the driver's side. "There was also the presence of a set of blades that Totsuka crafted for the Elkins Clan in which they were once effective against drowners. As for the rest of the arsenal, Manuel has some special grenades that are crafted from phoenix ash, silver, and aetherial metal just to make fishsticks out of our foes."
"I have the blades." Sam opens the metal case as he gets out one of them. "I never saw anything like them before, but let's hope they work."
"Let's take a trip to the Great Salt Lake."
And so, the hunters were on their way to their destination to flush out the drowner nest as it was time to stop them. This was a hunt to get rid of them as the nest of drowners had to go, for they proved to be a more brutal threat than any other monster that was seen by any other hunter…
The skeleton car drove towards the place where the drowners were discovered. The Great Salt Lake State Park was a site for plenty of things as the skeleton car stopped near the location where Jennifer Bowers was killed. Getting out of the car, Manuel was fearing the worst as he saw the dead body of the park ranger who tipped the police off on the drowner attack. Sam had a gut feeling that the monsters that lived near the Great Salt Lake would attack everything and everyone that lived near it, for he had to put a stop to the drowner nest once and for all. When Seto spotted a set of wet footprints on the shore, she followed them as the drowner nest was hidden in plain sight, for it had to be flushed out and eliminated before it caused a problem for the people who lived near the Great Salt Lake.
"Looks like our monster went back to the nest after drowning Ranger Rick," she said.
"It's time to end this mess," said Manuel as he was armed with his backpack of grenades.
"We're not splitting up right now," said Sam as he was armed with the Phoenix Blades.
"We're not going full on 'meddling kids' mode right now," said Seto as she got out her gun. "As soon as we get rid of the nest, the better."
The three hunters went towards a cave that wasn't used in centuries in which Manuel took the lead with a flashlight in his hand. The place itself was covered with slime on the walls as Seto spotted an orange cocoon that was shaped like a grotesque pustule in which she also spotted some drowners that were blocking the cave. Manuel knew what they were as he got out a grenade from his backpack and threw it at some of the drowners the moment it exploded on contact. With Seto shooting at the pustule, she alerted several more drowners as they emerged from the cave in which there was no way of escaping. As for Sam, on the other hand, he saw a weak spot in the pustule as he used one of the Phoenix Blades to stab into it. The hit caused the drowners to cry out in pain as they stared at Sam for trying to kill them.
"I bet that Aquaman would be shitting gold bars to see you squirm," yelled Seto as she fired several shots at some of the drowners. "You sure love to guard that oversized zit in here, don't you?"
It wasn't long until Manuel threw another grenade at some of the drowners as it exploded. More drowners appeared as Sam had spotted another opening in the pustule to attack it with the other Phoenix Blade. Just as he was about to do so, he saw a drowner sneak up from behind him and held him face down on the rocky ground. The monster was strong as it was doing its damnedest to kill him in which Seto fired a shot into it, but to no avail. Just as Sam was about to lose his life again, he used his telekinesis to lift the second Phoenix Blade and stuck it into the pustule as the gaping slash caused all the drowners to die to the point of exploding, for the threat was over for now. When he got up, he was covered in goop as he was still reeling from the injury in his shoulder, for he stopped the drowner nest once and for all. With Seto and Manuel helping him up, all three stopped the drowner threat as it was contained for another day, for the nest was no more.
"You're definitely a chip off the old block," said Manuel as he zipped up his backpack. "You did exactly what John Winchester did when my papi got his ass handed to him twenty years ago. You did what I've been doing the moment I saw the drowners camping out here near the Great Salt Lake."
"Looks like the threat is gone for now," said Sam as he was on his feet.
"We should get our asses back to the slug roe home to get cleaned up," said Seto. "With the threat gone, everyone is safe."
And so, all three left the cave as they were on their way to the slug roe home. With the threat of drowners gone, everyone was saved as the crisis was averted for another day, for there were other monsters that lurked in the shadows all over the place…
Sam was in the sitting room of the slug roe home as he was newly cleaned up after destroying the drowner nest. Even though he was ready to say goodbye to Manuel, he was thankful that he had backup as he also had to resume his efforts into finding Dean and Crowley, for they were still at large into parts unknown. By the time he saw Manuel, he was ready to take his leave as he was ready to hunt for another day, for he had his reasons to do so.
"I guess that it's goodbye," he said.
"Yeah, but at least we got rid of the drowner nest," said Manuel.
"I guess that we took up what our fathers did twenty years ago."
"With the drowner nest gone, there are other monsters that lurk out there. I guess that Dean's pissed at you for going solo on this hunt."
"Dean… disappeared after our battle against Metatron. I've been searching for him for a while, but to no avail."
"Whatever you do, don't give up on him. Familia is forever, but never apart. Remember that, Sam."
It wasn't long until I saw the suspicious person driving in a black sedan as Manuel got into it. When Sam saw them driving off, he went back inside of the slug roe home in which he saw Seto dressed up in a black nightgown and robe the moment she turned on the television. The sound of baseball playing on screen was slightly comforting as Sam sat down on one of the chairs in which he was looking at the Phoenix Blades that were given to him, for he had a feeling that they would be used again in the future.
"I take it that Manuel left," said Seto.
"He had some prior engagements, which is part of a hunter's job," said Sam.
"As for the Phoenix Blades, you should thank Totsuka for crafting them if you decide to meet him in the afterlife. For the record, I hope that you find Dean and get rid of that unholy mark that he has on his arm."
"I'm hoping to do the same…"
And so, Sam was ready to resume his search for Dean as he refused to give up on the search. As for the drowner threat being contained, it was gone for another day as there were other monsters besides them that were dangerous, for it was about saving people, hunting things, and upholding the family business that mattered the most...
Meanwhile, back in the present…, right now!
Seto went towards the hospital in Cordell Island's Grand Hill district as she went towards my room. Even though I was resting after being tested on, I had to hear more about the presence of drowners as I also had a gut feeling that there was no end to them. Still, I had to deal with the exhaustion that I had after yesterday's feast while using my raw power to fulfill an omen, for I also had to be vigilant into taking care of my health in this time of crisis.
"You're looking chipper today," said Seto.
"After spending the day being probed and prodded on, I'm fine where I am," I said.
"You're not into hospitals, are you?"
"I've spent years being in and out of hospitals and sickbays in which I've also gotten used to it due to everyone researching my raw power and how it nearly killed me two years ago."
"This isn't about your complaints about being in hospitals for too long, for the presence of drowners have been getting worse here on this island."
"Recently, Dirk and Gyatso arrived here and blew up one, only for Reiko to catch them in the act of going hunting."
"There's a drowner nest near this island in which it's deemed unreachable due it to be underwater. Therefore, I got word from some of your friends that are hunting those things in which they know where they are now. Drowners are fickle creatures, but they also have a hive mind in which an orange cocoon pustule is their source of life. If you gut that with the Phoenix Blades, it'll cause all the drowners around it to explode. This isn't the first time that it happened in which your past self also did away with such a pustule that was in a cave near the Great Salt Lake."
"Attention citizens of Cordell Island," said a voice over the intercom. "The presence of drowners have gotten critical in which all civilians must stay in their homes until the threat is passed."
"Son-of-a-bitch!" Seto clenched her fists as she had a gut feeling that the drowner threat has gotten out of control. "It never ends, does it"
I looked out the window as I saw more drowners on the beach near the harbor. With an alarm siren blaring, I had a feeling that the drowner threat was getting from bad to worse, for I had no other choice but to join in the fight against those creatures from the waters…
To be continued...