Chapter Ten
Jane peered through the veil of her hair at the three men. The man named Bobby picked up a dining chair and with a quick flex of his arm spun it around so that it faced outwards, moving it a few feet closer towards her in the process. From the sidelines the brothers watched silently. Dean, bow legged, his stance and face stiff and still, hiding his emotions underneath; Sam the more relaxed of the two, his face showing both his concern and curiosity.
The black, and red of the cards blurred in her vision as she tried to calm the hammering in her chest as the tension and fear began to creep its way to the surface, trying to push its way through the control she was desperately holding on to even as she began to feel it slip from her grasp.
Reaching out for one of the cards her hand trembled slightly.. She curled her fingers inwards in an effort to keep the fear at bay.
Refusing to let Bobby's presence unnerve her further she straightened her fingers out at the last second and picked up the black five, pausing as she pretended for a moment that she was considering her options and carefully placed it on the red six. Satisfied she turned herself towards the room, unfurling her bent leg as she did so. Placing both feet firmly on the floor she faced Bobby, hands resting on her thighs, her gaze focused squarely on the three men, her manner resolute.
Bobby knew what she was doing and admired her for it. She had guts which only confirmed his belief that she was a hunter. Damaged and confused yes but still with a hunter's instincts and determination. Controlling fear was never an easy thing to do and he felt kind of bad that he was about to try and punch a wall right through it but he knew that it was the only way. She'd either fight or flee.
Either way they would know one way or another how much of being a hunter was still a part of her.
"Jane, this is Bobby. He's a friend. He's here to help."
Jane's only indication that she had heard Sam was to glance between him and Bobby, her face a calm mask.
Just as Bobby had studied her she studied him, quickly taking in every detail. A flannel shirt, hanging unbutton over a t-shirt, a faded cap, its brim a dark green, whiskers, brownish red with flecks of gray, and eyes, patient and determined, though the bags underneath hinted at sleepless nights. It was his hands though that drew her attention the most. Callous fingers that spoke of a lifetime flicking through pages of old and dusty books. A layer of grime embedded in the skin and underneath nails that hold her that this was a man who worked with grease and oil that no amount of scrubbing could wash away clean. Faint scars here and there, a proclamation of the battles he had fought, an ode to all the lives he had saved and lost too.
"Maybe we should just skip the pleasantries and get right to it," said Bobby, crossing his arms, "What do you remember about what happened at the diner that night?
"I don't…"
The words died in her mouth, frozen by the fear that had been mounting since the older man's arrival and she shook her head no in reply.
Bobby wasn't surprised by her reaction but he was determined that she needed to try to remember. Lives depended on it. Now was not the time to be gentle. "You must remember something. You were there. You saw something. The same something that attacked and killed your friend."
"No..., no …"
Bobby ignored her reply and carried on as if she had said nothing, hoping that he might shock her into remembering. "What was it? A vampire? A ghost? A demon? Maybe a skin walker?"
As the words came thick and fast Dean and Sam shared a brief and quiet look of communication, both of them wondering the same thing.
What was Bobby up to?
Bobby could hear the question as clear as if it had been spoken out aloud and appreciated the fact that the boys had said nothing. It didn't take much imagination to figure out how hard it was for them to remain silent in the background, putting their faith and trust in the single thought that he knew best. From Bobby's perspective he was glad of the silence as it meant that he could give his sole attention on the woman sitting across from him instead of being distracted by pointless questions. He needed to see her reactions, to judge for himself how much remained of the person she had once been.
Hearing each of those words Jane's eyes widen a little and her fingers tighten their grip on her legs as she fought against the traitorous inner voice that told her that those monsters were real.
"You're lying. Those creatures they're not real, they don't exist."
Bobby saw her stubborn stare but he was just as stubborn. Sitting down he looked her calmly in the eyes, his manner unflinching. "Their real alright. Sam, Dean, Me. We hunt them. It's what we do. It's what you use to do…"
"No!"
Jane bolted upright, standing up as the word flew from her mouth with force.
Bobby stood up fast, pushing the chair back with such sudden force that it fell backwards, hitting the floor with a thud as Sam moved also, taking a step towards her, wanting to ease the situation but Dean interceded before him, saying her name as he too took a step towards her.
"Jane."
Pulling her gaze away from Bobby, Jane's eyes latched on to Dean's at the sound of her name coming from his lips.
"Don't do this. Please."
The words, desperate and imploring tugged hard at the emotions Dean kept buried deep and the connection he felt with her pain made him look over at Bobby. "You sure about this Bobby?" he asked, expressing his doubts as to whether pushing Jane this way was the right thing to do.
"She needs to remember." Bobby hated saying those words, knowing how harsh they sounded.
"Bobby…"
"Sam, I know what you're gonna to say but this needs to be done. She's the only one who got a look at the thing. And until we know what it is and can hunt it, it's out there just waiting for the next meal to come along. Do you wanna be responsible for that?" The silence that followed was all the answer Bobby needed. "I didn't think so."
Sam knew that Bobby was right but he wasn't yet willing to give up on finding another solution. "There must be another way. Something else we can do?"
Bobby signed, relenting a little at the silent entreaty in Sam's eyes. "Okay. It may not work but we'll try something else."
Picking up the green canvas weapons bag that was sitting on the floor Bobby opened it up and began to pull objects out, laying them on the dining table. An emf meter; a strange looking device that looked like some of souped up radio with its row of red lights along the top. A wooden cross, a silver flask with a cross embossed on the front. As each item was placed down Bobby tried to gauge her reaction.
A handful of salt cartridges tumbled onto the table as they were dropped from Bobby's grasp, making a faint clunking sound as they hit the surface. A handgun followed; Jane's eyes widening at the sight of it. Hesitatingly she ran the tips of her fingers gently across its surface before she pulled her hand abruptly away.
"You recognize any of this stuff? Any of it seem familiar?" asked Bobby.
Jane shook her head frantically, her eyes flashing with panic and fear.
Glancing at the boys with a look that told them that he thought this was achieving nothing, Bobby carried on.
He pulled out a knife, banishing it out in front.
At the instant flash of silver Jane's eyes to widen in alarm and the second her brain registered what it was that Bobby was holding she stumbled hurriedly backwards, the backs of her legs hitting the bed with a muffled thud. The impact sent her falling backwards so that she sat abruptly down, her hands gripping the edge of the bed, raw terror on her face, her mind lost in fragments of memories.
A masculine arm with dark brown shirt sleeve rolled way up.
A hand with long capable fingers wrapped around a wooden handle of a knife, an intricate design carved into it, the blade long with just the slightest of curves along the edge near the point.
A man's face, angular and handsome with dark eyes and dark hair, stubble along his jaw, a ghost of a smile upon his lips.
The knife again . Held this time a woman's hand, with the man's hand wrapped over the top of hers, guiding her as she tried to throw it.
The sensation of warmth as the man's body pressed up hard against her.
The gentle heat of the sun's rays upon her head, the soft feeling of her hair tickling the side of her face as a breeze caused her hair to flutter, hands strong and gentle that held her, one wrapped over hers the other resting against the curve of her waist, the heat and feel of it burning through the dress she worn...
Snow covered ground. The fresh cool air tingling against her skin, a faint smell slowly filling her nostrils. One of blood and death.
Cold bitter and stinging wrapping itself around her body, making her teeth chatter.
Droplets of red upon snow covered ground, slowly running thicker and fanning out.
A silver blade, long and lethal and shining brightly against a glare of white light.
A pale hand gripping firmly the smooth handle of the silver blade, a hand of strength and will, an edge of menace to it.
A figure moving, a blur of black against her vision which seemed dimmer, a shape of a man within.
The silver blade flashing and glinting as it moved.
A gush of red splattering across her vision, drowning her sight away, leaving only the sensation of cold and pain,that seared through her body agonizing slow.
A cry followed by another and another, layer upon layer until the air was thick with screams…
Jane's scream cut through the quiet of the room, startling the three men out of their mute observations with the desperation and pain that they heard in that one sound. More screams followed, words jumbled up in hysteria as the barrier to all the fear came tumbling down.
In two long strides Sam was by the bed trying to calm the frightened woman as she wrapped her arms around herself, rocking backwards and forwards as she did so, her eyes wide and unseeing, as fragments of memories and emotions stumbled through the shattered parts of her mind.
"Jane. Jane. Shh, shh. It's all right. No ones gonna to hurt you. I promise."
Sam looked over at Bobby his face mutinous .
"Don't look at me like that boy. Hell was I suppose to know she'll react like that. Do I look like a Goddam mind reader to you."
His outburst over Bobby gave Jane a brief look of compassion, feeling regret that his actions had led to this. "Anyway you look at it, it had to be done. At least now we know."
Sam carried on glaring at Bobby as he ran his hand through his hair, his voice rising in volume, completely at a lost as to why Bobby had done what he had done, his anger and frustration spilling out from the control he was trying to muster. "It's a knife Bobby. How'd think she was going to react. Look at her, she's terrified!"
"You think I can't see that. You think this is what I wanted…"
"I don't know what to think…"
"Sam!"
Holding up his hand telling Sam to stop before he said anything further Dean's voice, low and gruff halted the argument that was brewing. With the attention of the two of them now on him he carried on, directing his comments to Bobby. "What do we know? You said now we know. So what is it that we now know?"
Bobby sighed as he collected his thoughts. "We know that she remembers."
Bemusement flicked across Dean's face. "Remembers?"
"Yeah, remembers. Her brain might be a plate of scrambled eggs at the moment but her memories, at least some of them, are still there. We also know that she was a hunter. Best guess is a hunt went bad…"
As usual the sarcastic edge in Dean's voice hid nothing as he cut Bobby off in mid-reply. "You think Bobby. The fact that she's acting like girl interrupted over there is a pretty good sign that something went haywire."
"Look you can bellyache all you want but yelling at me right now ain't helping and it's sure not helping her. So unless you're gonna call the lynch mob why don't we try and figure this out."
Sitting down on the bed Sam laid his hand on Jane's shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze as he looked at her with concern. "Jane, you okay?"
The naked terror in Jane's eyes slowly faded though her breathing was still labored as she gasped in panic breaths. Unable to speak she nodded yes in a furious manner, her mind obviously still grappling with the force of the memories that had attacked.
"Well I could use a drink," said Dean, taking a flask of whiskey out of the bag and pouring a shot. At the startlingly paleness of Jane's face he handed her the glass. "Here, you look like you could do with this."
Blinking a few times, the terror receding Jane mutely grasped the glass in her trembling hand, quickly wrapping her other hand around it in an attempt to steady her shaking. With a toss of her head she swallowed the amber liquid down all in one go.
Dean poured a couple more shots, passing one to Bobby. "Well that went well," he said downing his drink.
"Yeah.. well... I'm sorry, okay," said Bobby. Swallowing a mouthful of whiskey he turned to Jane. "I didn't mean to frighten you like that. Or us for that matter. But I gotta be honest with you the only way we're going to find out what killed that girl is for you to remember that night."
"Bobby…"
This time it was Dean's voice that cut through, his tone low and gravelly, a faint warning in its undertone.
Bobby heard the defensive veiled threat in Dean's tone and looked over at him, his voice weary as he spoke. "Look I don't like it any better than you but if we keep tip toeing around we could be here all night and in the meantime whatever is hunting out there is still there and we have no idea who it'll go after next. Jane's a hunter... or at least she was... and I get that something terrible happened to her but she's pretty much the only led we've got. She either knows what it is or she doesn't."
It was then that Jane spoke, whispered words that caused all three men to turn their attention back on her."It's a harpy."
