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Supernatural fanfiction chapter 1 part 1 Date written: September/28/2018 - October 31st 2018  Important note****: this chapter takes place in season 10 just after the Oz episode (When Charlie returns for the first time.)  The title of that episode is “ There’s no place like home”.  For specifics it was Episode 11. It released on January 27th 2015. This would make our Main character in this fanfic (Phaedra), 19 almost 20 in june five months after the episode air date. I hope you enjoy this. Feel free to leave constructive criticism in the comments, I will most likely reply to all of you. I hope you all have a happy Halloween/Samhain. I sincerely apologize for the lengthy post and the delay on writing. I hope to have the second part of this chapter to you soon. Stay well my dears! Love, Alta Graye.
Series title: A Supernatural Odyssey

Chapter 1: Green with Envy:

Cassadaga, Florida:
 All was still in the house on the only hill in Cassadaga. If you could call it a hill, it was more like a mound, but with the flatness trademark of Florida it might as well have been a hill. She was just closing up shop when she realized there was one more customer. Marie Baudelaire III was still tired from a long days work of reading tarot and telling fortunes, giving some of them false hopes because no one wants to hear bad news. No one else was with the young woman on this muggy summer night. It was late, already dark, but Marie felt she had to make an exception to her ‘no customers after 7pm’ rule, that was clearly posted on her home door. The door protested with a loud screech as she opened it.“Hello dear, C’mon in Sugar” said Marie while straightening her hair in its neat bun. The girl was meek but entered anyway. The screen door slammed back and gave the girl a jolt of fright. Marie chuckled, “Baby don’t let the door slap ya ass on the way out.”  Marie trudged off to her kitchen to get supplies. She grabbed tea leaves and some herbs that promoted visions, not the illegal kind mind you.“Are ya allergic to lavender or Verbena sweetheart?” Marie called from her stove, reaching in the cabinet above. Since her late customer didn’t give a peep, Marie snatched the glass jar of lavender and turned to see a horrifying sight. Marie screamed in disbelief, prayed to Jesus and blessed herself the way Catholics do.“B-B-B-But you’re supposed to be dead!” Marie cried in fear.  Her customer was not there for a reading, she was there for the woman’s life. Quite painfully the woman froze in her place. The jar of herbs falling to the kitchen tile with a shatter. Marie tried and tried but she couldn’t move at all. One tear streamed from her right eye.“I get that a lot.” said the girl with a smirk.The monster left her house and that old wooden screen door gave it’s good old cry. That was the last thing Marie Baudelaire III heard before her heart froze. 
Lebanon, Kansas:
He was stirring about uncomfortably for a dream, yet they were ripe conditions for a nightmare. Nightmares greeted Dean like an old and unwanted friend that still stuck to him like a desperate puppy. Much like the stragglers in high school that followed about in his shadow after he’d knock a dweeb’s teeth in for messing with his Sammy. In his nightmare he was somewhere different. This was somewhere he’d never been before, but it reminded him of Louisiana and of Benny. The sweltering and suffocating humidity and big oak trees crowned in spanish moss, ominous yet strangely beautiful in their own right. He appeared in the middle of an orange tree grove.      Their scent permeated the air. He walked for about 50 yards until a small figure appeared from beyond the grove. It was a girl in a yellow sundress. She looked like Shirley Temple but with black hair and piercing green eyes. Dean noticed that she had no shoes on and deduced that she could not have been above 11. Dean crouched down on her level, groaning a bit from his knees cracking, he was getting older. He gave the girl a generic smile.     “Hi there little girl, do you know where we are?” He asked her.     “I’m not little, and besides, we are at home dummy-head.” she retorted twirling about innocently. Dean winced at her answer. They were probably ten yards from the girls house, enough for hearing distance, not enough though to make out what anyone was saying. There was an argument going on in there, a tense one. Suddenly the girl started to cry, it was a gentle suppressed cry. Dean felt sorry for the girl and felt it was necessary to give her a pat on the arm. An innocent girl like you shouldn’t have to cry ever, he thought.     “Mama says I’m too old to be playin’ with imaginary friends. But Mama don’t get it. I know you’re real.” the girl said choking back tears. The front door opened with a crash, making the girl jump and turn to see who was leaving.     “You might not treat me with any respect and that’s fine, you’ve done it for years, but what about our daughter? Huh? Doesn’t she mean anything to you?” said what Dean could only assume was the girl’s father. He was the first to exit the house toting a duffle bag and suitcase in hand.     “She doesn’t mean a thing if she can’t learn properly. Everything was perfect, a perfect bloodline, all that work for nothing. Fruitless! She’s already an embarrassment in the mundane world! I can’t bear to call her my own!” Screamed the woman stomping behind him.     The man chucked his luggage into the bed of his truck. The girl was sobbing uncontrollably, ran up to her father, and clung onto his shirt.     “Daddy! Don’t leave me. I’m sorry I wasn’t good. I’ll do better. I’ll do better next time! Daddy!” she cried. With that final word something snapped in the man.     “There is no  next time!” he yelled turning around to face his weeping mess of a daughter. Seeing her in such a weak state enraged him. He struck her on the face for the first time. He did it with enough force to knock her back in the dirt.  Oh Hell no! Thought Dean as he bounded forward toward the man, ready to clock him.     “Is that the way you treat your daughter you son of a bitch?!” Dean swung but his arm went right through the man as if Dean were a ghost again.       “Phaedra Eris Tomilson, if you remember anything from this, come back to me when you grow up, no, when you’re powerful enough to take me on, then will you be worthy to be my daughter.”  He said slamming his truck door shut, and driving away. “Good riddance Jaime! I never loved you anyway!” Phaedra’s mother taunted from the porch. Phaedra sat up wiping the tears from her cheeks. Dean was standing a few feet from her. She raised her head and thanked Dean. “oh  Phaedra, who’re you talking to? Only numbnuts talk to their imaginary friends.” said her mother from the porch with her hands on her hips. “Why don’t you come in, so that you don’t frighten the neighbor?” “I don’t wanna go anywhere with you!” Phaedra said grabbing Dean’s pant leg.“I said come in!!” her mother grunted. With a flick of her wrist phaedra’s hair stood on end as if someone were pulling it. Dean cursed under his breath, no, no , no! The woman jerked her arm back and with it Phaedra was dragged by her hair, through dirt, up the porch stairs and into the house. Her mother slammed the door shut, and all was quiet. Dean woke, sitting up right, jolted from his dream. The fresh smell of the orange blossoms were still crisp on his nose. He was drenched in sweat. He took a deep breath and sighed. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, and took a long hot shower. During that alone time he stared at his scuffed knuckles, remembering how he beat up bad Charlie. Maybe I shouldn't’ve saved that girl. I'm not in my right mind with the Mark still being here.  Dean grabbed a beer and some cereal and sat with a loud thud at the table next to Sam. Sam was enthralled in his laptop. “Rough night?” Sam said. “You don't know the half of it. What do we got this time?” Dean said through a mouthful of wheaties. “ Glad you asked. Looks like a case down in Florida. A woman was found petrified to death in her home in Cassadaga.” “ Petrified? You mean turned to stone kind of petrified.” Dean pondered. “ Yeah that's what I'm thinking”  said Sam. “So, we're gonna hunt friggin Medusa?” “Looks like it. C'mon let's go. It's a 22 hour drive just to get there.” Sam closed his laptop abruptly. “Hey! At least let a man finish his breakfast!” Dean yelled as Sam rounded the corner to go pack up the Impala. 
Cassadaga, Florida:
    They drove all through the night and most of the day too. Being tired and looking tired were very distinct differences that the Winchester brothers were masters at. Most of the time they were always tired and by now coffee had near no effect on their systems, yet they chugged a good cup of colombian joe down anyway, just for kicks. They were crashing at the aptly named, Orange Motel. It was painted an ugly shade of orange that was probably faded from the sun and age. It took them ten minutes to get there from the motel. Something Sam didn’t mention, not even as they drove through the town of Cassadaga, was that Cassadaga was one of the country's most prominent “Spiritualist” community. If anything meant anything from the word Spiritualist to Dean, it was witches. The brothers exchanged looks, causing Sam to chuckle.     “C’mon man, it’s nothing we haven’t dealt with before.”     “Witches! Friggin’ witches! If this case turns me into some animal, I swear to G-. Uggggggh Sammy. You couldn’t’ve told me? At least a warning. ‘Hey we’re working a  case but it’s in a whole town full of witches’ .” Ranted Dean.     “Quit whining, the address is on the rural side of town.”     Dean gave a groan in protest. Passing through the town wasn’t all that bad, just nearly every house with a sign or two in their yard posting “Psychic” and “Natural Healer”.  Dean wasn’t sure if that was the thing that made his stomach churn or if it was when they pulled in, that he recognized the area. He couldn’t help but stare at the neighboring house. It’s age and wear and tear weren’t the way he’d remembered in his nightmare. How many years had it been? Are you okay? Did you move out to escape that Hell? The orange groves were to the left of that old house. The groves were still healthy and bearing fruit. No car was in the driveway or near the house.  Maybe your bitch of a mother is out, huh?     “Hey, you alright? What are you looking at?” Said Sam snapping his fingers in front of Dean’s face to take him out of his trance.     “What? Yeah I’m fine, let’s get this over with.” Dean regurgitated giving Sam a pat on the shoulder and walking into Marie Baudelaire III’s house. The local sheriff was in the kitchen where her body was. A number of nameless officers were about the house and it’s grounds scrounging for evidence.     “What do we have here chief?” said Dean strolling into the kitchen after snapping a glance at a particularly hot cop passing by. Dean flashed his badge to the Sheriff and smiled, later crouching down to get a better angle at the perfectly still and preserved corpse.     “ I dunno, in all my 25 years here in this quirky town, I ain’t never seen this.” Said the Sheriff taking off his long brimmed brown hat to fan himself from the heat. Even in the dead of winter, which for Florida wasn’t much with no snow, Marie’s house seemed to emanate heat.     “Does the deceased have any known relatives?” Asked Dean just strolling in. He put on some gloves with a snap and picked up some of the herbs that were strewn about the floor next to her. He did it carefully as not to pick up some broken glass with it. He recognized the lavender but the second herb he couldn’t recognize right away. Lavender and Verbena?      “No she never had any children and never married. She moved here from New Orleans about 20 years ago. She was quite popular until 9 years ago, just fell off the map, so to speak. Her neighbors the Tomilson’s were the only thing relatively close to her. And that’s not saying much.”  Said the sheriff.     Dean felt his heart drop to his stomach as her name echoed in his head from her Father’s voice. Phaedra Eris Tomilson. He wanted to know so desperately if she was alright. He didn’t know why, but it was like they were connected somehow. Snapping out of his daydream, Dean shook his head rose up from the floor and stretched his back out.    “Man I am really stumped about this one Sheriff.”  Said Dean as Sam entered the room.     “Like I said I’ve got nothing, so to be honest I’m glad I’m leaving it in the hands of you boys. An old man like me needs his beauty sleep too you know? Eh, you’ll understand when you’re my age. Just catch the sumbitch will ya’?” That was the Sheriff’s final goodbye. And with him most if not all the police and csi crew were gone within the hour. Sam and Dean went to a nearby Mom-’n’-Pop joint for some burgers.     They returned to the crime scene, parked Baby in Marie’s bricked driveway, and decided to interview the neighbor. Dean exhaled a nervous sigh for the first time in a while.     ############## end of part 1.Spn fanfiction (A Supernatural Odyssey)Chapter 1 part 2 CONTINUE READING CH 1 BELOW.Series title: A Supernatural OdysseyDate: Friday, March 1, 2019- Thursday March 21, 2019Chapter 1 title: Green with envy.Date of story setting: January 27th 2015(shortly after the airing of episode “There’s no place like home”)  They returned to the crime scene, parked Baby in Marie’s bricked driveway, and decided to interview the neighbor. Dean exhaled a nervous sigh for the first time in a while.Noticing this Sam furrowed his brow in mix of concern and confusion.“You alright, cowboy? Haven’t we done this a million times? What’s up?” Asked Sam looking at his older brother intently. It wasn’t like Dean to act like this, not at all.“Yep, dandy.” Said Dean, giving his brother something, he didn’t want to hear. It was so automated. Sam knew there was something bothering him. And it was killing him because he knew Dean was lying again. Even still he brushed it off and gave a loud knock at the door,“Hello? Is anyone home? FBI open up. We want to ask about Marie.” Said Sam in his big boy voice. Dean mustered up the courage and banged on the door loudly.“Ugh. Who is it now?” came a disgruntled voice from inside. Dean recognized the voice to be Phaedra’s mother. He wanted to give her a piece of his mind, maybe even with a knuckle sandwich on the side. The door opened with a horrible squeaking sound.“What da ya want? I was already questioned by the police.” Said Isadora grumpily. She took one look at the Winchester boys and knew who they were. It was like she had magical sight or something of that sort. She gasped audibly and rushed to close the door. Dean shoved his foot inside and grabbed for his gun. Sam was a bit confused and thought Dean was using excessive force. Maybe he was still having angry side effects from the Mark of Cain? Sam thought. Phaedra was there in the kitchen washing dishes, diligently doing her chores as she had been told. She was startled by the disruption, but her mother’s actions horrified her. Isadora yelled at her, “How dare you bring hunters into this house?! You; ungrateful worm!”Isadora gripped her daughter by the jaw and dug her sharp nails into her frail skin, drawing blood. Dean was already fuming, now this just iced the cake. Phaedra dropped a freshly washed dish on the floor, shattering it.“That was a priceless gift! Unlike you, ‘Gift from the Gods’ the Oracle told me. You’ve never once blessed this family. That’s why your father left me, because you were always too weak!”“Stop it!” yelled Dean as he approached Isadora. When Dean touched her, she motioned her hand and Dean and Sam flew across the room hitting the wall, they were pinned there. Isadora reveled in her control over her daughter. She just kept slapping and punching her until she was satisfied. Isadora pinned her daughter on the opposite wall, so that she could see the hunters clearly. Phaedra’s lip was busted, and blood was flowing from a cut above her eyebrow, her face was bloodied, and her beauty now mangled. No child should ever have to go through this, thought Sam.Dammit! If I could only move, then I can do something! Thought Dean. Phaedra was crying, she couldn’t help but cry even if she never wanted to cry. She thought it was another reason to think that she was weak and feeble.“Stop your whining and answer my question stupid girl. Did you summon these hunters?”“No! of course not!” Phaedra said through her sobbing and sniffling through her nose. Why can’t you just let me be? She thought.“Look, and use that dumb brain of yours, I know you’ve been in the Astral. Do you recognize them?” Isadora’s harsh words rang through Phaedra’s head like a hot knife through butter. With the blood stinging her eyes she answered,“I don’t think I saw the tall one. But maybe the short haired one?” She said trying to hide a white-lie. She was certain she’d seen Dean before. She was the one who reached out to him in the first place. She had never been a good liar. It just wasn’t in her nature, or perhaps that was an attribute that had been submitted out of her long ago.Isadora was brimming with anger. How dare this blight of a child summon a hunter here and subject me to danger? She thought. She knew she didn’t have a lot of energy left, Dean could wriggle about now in the suspended space. Isadora cursed under her breath and let her hold go on Phaedra and the boys. She made a quick escape through the back door. Sam tended to Phaedra and Dean instinctively went to find where Isadora had escaped to.Seeing that she’d found a car and was driving away, Dean shot at it to no avail. She’d escaped.The boys took Phaedra back to the Orange Motel and started to make sense of it all. With a wince, Phaedra backed away from Dean, tending to her cuts with a bottle of whiskey he found stashed in the back of Baby.“Ow, dammit. Don’t you have a first aid kit or something?” She said, grabbing hold of his arm that had the Jack Daniels soaked cloth.“Does this look like a hospital to you? Sorry princess.” Dean said putting the cloth back on her cut.“Don’t call me princess. I hate that word.” She retorted.“So far, no leads on Marie’s case. But I have a hunch.” Said Sam walking in with a bag of goodies from the local Gas n’ Sip across the street.“What’s that?” Dean said, washing out the bloody cloth.Sam gave a look at Phaedra, like he didn’t want to talk about it with her here.          “There might be a connection between our Medusa and Isadora.” He said tossing Dean a sandwich. Gingerly he passed a second sandwich to Phaedra and gave her a quick smile.          “Thank you.” She said.          “Spill it. But before you do, I have a problem.” Said Dean through a mouthful of sandwich.          “Problem?” asked Sam.          “Yeah, Pie! We’re in Florida there should be Key lime pie, everywhere right?”           Sam tossed a slice of pumpkin pie to his brother, he hadn’t forgotten about pie in a long time.          “So, I didn’t find any Hex bags, which is weird. But I did find a lot of Greek things in Phaedra’s house.”          Phaedra couldn’t control her laughter,“You think we use Hex bags? That’s a Celtic tool. And those things you found are images of the Olympians on our altars. My mom is a bad person, that doesn’t make her a murderer.”“What’s the Astral? That’s something she mentioned. And how do you know Dean?”“I don’t know Dean. But I’ve seen him. It’s a bit like Déjà vu on steroids. The Astral is short for the Astral Realm. Maybe you’ve heard of Astral Projection? I can’t do that yet, it’s advanced magic. The ancient people used it to receive messages from the divine. It’s a lot like dreaming. Here’s an example, I make a phone call, and someone answers that call. Dean answered my call.” Phaedra explained.“Why so far away? Across state lines, how come there wasn’t one closer that answered it?” Asked Sam finishing his dinner.“Not if they aren’t strong enough to pick up the phone.”“And I just magically was enough to tap into you?” Asked Dean looking confused.“I guess so. I don’t know why that memory decided to show up either.” Said Phaedra.“Has your dad showed back up yet?” Asked Dean. She shook her head, no.“Maybe you could tap into the killer?” Sam asked, reading the room. Dean shouldn’t’ve asked that question.“I can try.” Phaedra stated.“Well, let’s get some shut eye. We’re gonna need it.” Said Dean rising from his bed and shutting off the lights.Phaedra covered herself with the stiff motel comforter and began to weep. This was her first taste of freedom, and to have it by these strangers. She thought she didn’t deserve it because she didn’t fight for her own freedom. She was letting someone else do the work for her, again. She was failing, again.Sam and Dean heard her crying, and their hearts were heavy for her.“Guys? Thank you, for saving me. You’re such nice people.” She managed to choke out.“No problem, kid.” Dean said.“You’re welcome.” Replied Sam.Getting sleep was no problem for Phaedra. Crying herself to sleep was a habit. But this time it was different, it was happy. She knew it wasn’t over yet. Her mother would surely find her, and this time she was fighting back. This time getting into the Astral was a little more difficult than before. She was transported back home, this time in her parent’s orange field. Something was coming for her. Through the shadows of the night she couldn’t make out who it was.It came out of the trees swiftly, her mother. She was desperate to tell Phaedra something. She was naturally hesitant and tentative towards her mother but this time something was off about her. It was as if she were from a different time period. The time when she had a strong, unconditionally loving, and healthy relationship with her mother. She spoke and spoke, but Phaedra could never hear her.Just then she heard Dean calling out to her. Was he there? Or was it a trick of the Astral Realm? She looked about around her but couldn’t find him. Something grabbed her arm tightly, long nails scraping at her soft skin. She looked at its face. It was beautiful at first like porcelain. Simultaneously her hair turned to snakes hissing and snapping at her. The creature screamed and open her eyes.Shook from fear, Phaedra screamed reflexively. She jolted up from her sleeping position. Dean and Sam were already awake, perhaps not for long. Dean comforted her and let his hand rest on her shoulder,“Are you okay?” He asked her looking slightly worried.“Do I look okay?!” she retorted.“What did you see?” questioned Sam.“I saw my mom. But she was different. She looked like she was when she loved me. She was talking to me but my ears. I couldn’t hear. And you called for me but never showed up. And then ugh. It grabbed me and showed me it’s eyes. I thought I was a goner.” Phaedra explained gripping her arm where the Gorgons claws had been.“Do you think she killed again?” Asked Sam.“I don’t know for sure. Maybe if we leave for my house tonight, we’ll find out?” Phaedra said trusting her hunch.“Woah. Wait. Do we even know how to kill one of these?” Dean said, throwing on his jacket. Dean and Sam shot looks at Phaedra.“What? Do I look like a Greek encyclopedia? The last person to kill a Gorgon was Perseus. One hasn’t been seen in centuries.”“So, then what do we do now?” Asked Sam.“We wait for nightfall.” Stated Dean plopping back down on his bed.
*Later that night:
 Dean put Baby in park and glanced at Sam, “Ok ready?”Sam put one in the chamber, a witch killing bullet. They were sure how to kill at least one of the things they were hunting tonight. It was worth something to at least try. Phaedra made an attempt to exit the car but was abruptly stopped by Dean. He made quick of himself and handcuffed both her hands to the steering wheel. She yanked at the cuffs in a short fit of disbelief and rage. Dean peered at her through the open window as Sam rounded the Impala to meet up with his brother.“I could help you!” Phaedra rose her voice at Dean, not understanding why they were underestimating her.“We can handle ourselves little lady.” Retorted Dean taunting her by waving the key in his hand and putting it in his pocket.“We’re sorry, we just don’t want you to get hurt.” Said Sam from behind his brother.“Oh, you happen to have one of those hairpins, do you?” asked Dean.“So now you think I’m a skilled jailbreaker? Not everyone knows how to do that.” she replied sharply.“Nice to know sweetheart.” Dean waved at her with his back turned, ready to move on to his next objective. The front door opened with a soft creak. Immediately upon stepping foot in the house it hit them like a ton of bricks. Dean sniffed the air, he knew that smell. A few years ago he would wake up to that. It made him uneasy at first, but the more he sniffed, the more he was certain she was there in that house. Completely infatuated with her, he left his brother alone in the front of the house, as if he had gone into it alone. Dean started up the stairs. Sam whispered loudly at him,“Dean?!” he said looking from room to room, Sam was getting nervous and scared. That wasn’t normal. At the top of the stairs, still in Sam’s’ sight He heard Dean call out to Lisa. Sam heard a familiar voice calling him as well. He walked forward to the kitchen, “Amelia?” he called in disbelief.Back in the Impala, Phaedra sighed. It had been an hour and thirty minutes since they entered. Something came over her, an intense feeling of sleep. It was effortless, she saw black at first but when she opened her eyes, she was back in the Impala still cuffed to her wheel. She wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or if she’d entered the Astral Realm. A strong gust of wind blew through the open car window. She had an ominous feeling followed by a pit forming in her stomach. She needed to get out of that car. She closed her eyes and focused her energy.“Helios!” with that utterance she was free from her cuffs, they lie on the floorboard of Baby glowing as if they’d been cut by the rays of the sun. The fog had rolled in while she was sleeping. Now she could barely see in front of her face. It was an unusually cold night. Something typical that Phaedra knew about the weather here, where she’d always lived, was to expect bipolar style fluctuations. Baby’s door thudded loudly as she shut it.“Phaedra? Please I don’t have much time. I need you to listen to me.” Said a voice from beyond the fog. Her mother was there standing before her, except she was beautiful, ethereal really.“Mom?” she pondered inching closer tentatively.“I’m not gonna hurt you anymore Baby. I know you won’t forgive me for it, I did all those horrible things to you. Someone tricked me, cursed me. And now my time is up. They are coming after me. I can’t let them have you. You’re meant to do great things sweetie. I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to be there for you. Gods, I’ve missed so much. He made me ruin you. You have to run. Get out of here!!!!” At the end of her plea, Isadora was engulfed in heat, smoke, flames. Fears that were quintessential to anyone who called themselves witch.Phaedra woke with a jolt. A solitary tear fell from her cheek as she found herself still bound to the Impala. She didn’t understand her mother’s words, but she knew she needed to act fast or else. Helios! Free from her bindings she stepped out of the Impala. The fog was already there, but for how long? How many hours has it been? Where are Sam and Dean? Her mother?Chills went up her spine, a familiar feeling was clutching at her again. Claw-like nails drawing blood. She shut her eyes as hard as she could. She whimpered as she felt the snakes’ coil around her neck and through her long curly hair. The hissing of them loudly in her ears. I can’t look!  She heard her mothers voice again.“It’s okay Baby, open your eyes. There’s nothing to be afraid of. I love you, I always have. He cursed me. Can’t we start over? We’ll live a life that others envy. Don’t you want to see me?” it said.“You’re not her. You’re not real!” Phaedra reassured herself. The Gorgon’s grip tightened, making wounds. A flash of bright white light struck the Gorgon’s arm, loosening it’s hold on Phaedra. The Gorgon writhed and screamed in protest. Her arm was severed and limp on the ground. Next to the appendage stand a silvery arrow. Artemis? Thought Phaedra. Before her eyes, the arrow changed itself into an ancient dagger. She took it with her thinking it would be strong enough to kill the Gorgon.Angry the Gorgon slithered around the Impala before topping the trunk, Baby’s metal whining against the Gorgon’s weight. Phaedra closed her eyes again. She knew one peak would petrify herself. She waited until it got real close, feeling it’s hot breath on her neck, fangs scratching at her skin. She gave one good thrust, she’d made contact. The snakes hissed shrilly until she turned to stone, the dagger still lodged in her chest. Phaedra felt around, making sure that she could open her eyes once again. She let out a sigh of relief. The dense fog had disappeared.“Phae! Are you okay?” Dean low voice called to her. 5 minutes ago,Dean couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Lisa sitting on the bed in the room at the end of the hall.“You have to trust your heart Dean. I know leaving me and Ben hurt. But that girl out there, she’s written in the stars. I know you may not feel like it now but she’s yours. You’re drawn together. Something keeps you two together, fate maybe? She is going to feel more like yours than you thought Ben was.” Lisa uttered.“What the hell are you talking about?” Dean said trying to make sense of it.“You’ll understand in time. Dean, it’s so important that you don’t give up on her.” Lisa whimpered, her wrist bled profusely. Dean set down his gun on the bedside table and ripped a piece of his shirt off to make a tourniquet.“That won’t be necessary. I’m not real after all. I’m just a messenger. But she’s out there fighting all alone. Ben, he uh, started high school today. And I remarried. But you’re not forgotten.” A tear fell from her face as blood started to gush from her chest. Dean couldn’t help himself from trying to comfort his former lover, real or illusion didn’t matter to him. He held her hand and sat on the bed beside her.“You’re too sweet.” Were her last words as she cupped her hand into Dean’s cheek lovingly. Dean stared into her eyes as she turned to stone and crumbled into dust. Dean furrowed his brow and covered his face with his hands. She wasn’t real. Taking a long sigh, he pulled himself together and strode down the stairs.“Sam?!” he called. No answer wasn’t a good sign. He searched every room in the house and finally found him in the kitchen. He was sitting in one of the dinning room chairs shocked and starring at a pile of dust in the adjacent chair.“She was right there. Her chest.” He numbly answered.“I’m sorry. It happened to me too. C’mon, we gotta find Phaedra.” Dean gave Sam a tender pat on the back. They stepped out onto the porch a dense fog was clearing. Dean could barely make out figures in front of his Impala.“Phae! Are you okay?” He called out to the figures. Seeing clearer now, he rushed over to Phaedra. Noticing the deep wounds in her arm, he used the ripped flannel piece as a makeshift bandage for her.“Good going kid. Hunting 101. A+” He said as he tied it tightly and smiled.“Did you find my mom?” She asked looking worryingly at Sam and Dean. In the distance they all heard a shrill scream from the orange grove. Wasting no time, Phaedra bounded after it.“Hey! Dammit, kids.” Scoffed Dean as he followed her, Sam backing him up guns, drawn. Phaedra came upon the scene in shock and confusion.“Mama? Who hurt you?” Phaedra knelt beside her mother, who was stabbed and in bad shape.“Run, before they see you. The Vanquishers. They won’t hesitate to kill you off.”“You need a hospital, Dean call 911. I’m not leaving you.” Phaedra said grappling for her mother’s arm in an attempt to help her up.“Just listen to me just this once! Get out of here, far away. You can live with them. Please don’t get yourself killed because of me.” Isadora rose her voice. She made a motion with her hand, sending her daughter back to the Winchester brothers. Sam helped Phaedra from the dirt.The flapping of wings was a sign to Isadora that they were too late. The vanquishers had arrived to collect their bounty.“Isadora Tomilson. You have been sentenced to death by incineration for your transgressions of dark witchery. As seen and evidenced by the human population, the summoning of a Gorgon. Your sight has been clouded with envy. For the death of Marie Baudelaire lll. You will be shown no mercy.” The three angels spoke in unison. One of them holding her hands behind her. Another with an angel blade in hand ready to strike while the other one just watched.Just before the angel blade pierced her, she whispered a spell. Icarus. Grandiose brown wings sprung forth from Phaedra’s back as the angel blade thrust into Isadora. Phaedra managed to grab Sam and Dean’s hands, taking them with her. The fire was what Phaedra remembered the most, it’s unrelenting heat confirming her mother’s death. She didn’t have time to say goodbye, or even cry. The wings had taken them back to the front of the Bunker, far away from Cassadaga. Phaedra aimlessly crossed the street and trudged into the grassy field as she wept. The sun came up to greet them. Its rays struck Phaedra’s wings harshly, burning them off. When the light faded, she slumped down in the soft grass unconscious. The last thing she remembers was Dean’s voice calling for her, both Sam and Dean’s heavy-footed sounds, and a bit of nudging to try and wake her.End of Chapter 1.

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Chapter 2: Welcome to the junglePhaedra’s age: 19Phaedra’s P.O.V.:

Sleeping was almost no problem, almost. I couldn’t lay down on my back because Apollo burned it where my wings had been. I’d cried myself to sleep again, partly because of the physical pain of the burn and the loss of my mother. Maybe it hurt more because I knew we could have started to fix things? I saw my good future with her engulfed in flames, never to come back. That killed me, I tried so hard to impress her when all my good efforts would get me beaten up in the end. My self-esteem was non-existent. There were brief moments of hope, the light at the end of a dark dreary tunnel. Those were moments when I thought I could escape. Thoughts of getting a ends-meet job and just starting anew.But this was something completely different. How did these guys make money? Surely, they weren’t real FBI. Waking up, I felt refreshed. The kind of feeling you get after taking a long hard sleep, or getting a well-deserved professional massage. It felt dreamy, and beyond relaxing. My back didn’t hurt anymore, and it felt as if some of the tensed muscles had been soothed as well. I was being healed magically by some divine being. I stretched thinking I was alone in my bed inside the bunker, glancing behind me quickly realizing I was in fact, not alone. A man with a trench coat and piercing blue eyes was staring back at me.“Oh, Hello.” Was all he could spit out before I rudely interrupted him.“Notus! ” Gesturing with my hand I sent him flying out of my room, into the hallway and crashing against it. He landed with a grunt. Heavy feet came from beyond the hallway. A disgruntled Dean responded, “What the Hell?”“That’s what I should be saying. Who is this?” I said, shocked, up from bed and ready for a fight. Sam poked his head through the door way and smiled a bit at the defensive damage I’d done to him.“Dean, your guest is very rude.” Cas said getting up from the floor with a grunt.“Yeah sorry about that. Uh, there isn’t an easy way to say this but he’s an angel. But he’s not like the others, he’s good.” I felt uneasy about it.“you can’t expect me to be hunky dory with it.” I told Dean. I didn’t let the blue tied guy escape my gaze. I shouldn’t have trusted these hunters. When I get the chance, I’ll escape. Sam gawked at the broken wall and cursed under his breath. Realizing my mistake, I fixed it the only way I knew how, by magic.“Watch this, Gaia!” I said while snapping my fingers, and the wall fixed itself, it’s drywall and tiles forming together again to its previous perfect state. I smiled at my work, just like new! Pleased with the job I did, Dean turned to me,“I knew I liked you. No need for a handyman anymore.”Sam checked his phone that was violently vibrating.“Looks like we’ve got a case.” He announced to no one in particular.We all followed him to the main lobby, where the table with the map was. “What do we have now?” asked Dean.“couples have started to commit murders together, and then offing themselves in Rothbury, Idaho.”“So, Bonnie and Clyde plus Romeo and Juliet?” pondered Dean. Cas looked confused at first but then remembered Romeo and Juliet were fictional characters.“That’s all? Why can’t the local police handle that?” I asked.“Well, they can’t because there are too many of these murders happening. Rothbury has too much on it’s plate, local PD can’t keep up.” Explained Sam.“let’s leave in 10.” Dean said before leaving to pack up Baby and make sure her bells and whistles were all straightened out.“My name is Castiel. But Sam and Dean call me Cas.” The blue-eyed angel said to me. All I did was look at him and take a step away from him.The drive over was awkward; I sat next to Cas the entire ride over. Driving through Rothbury was eerie. Barely anyone was walking around the streets and the people who were looked like they were all scared. It felt good to stretch my legs once we got out of the Impala. Dean parked in front of the police station. I felt a bit out of place since I wasn’t dressed like the rest of the crew. Cas and Sam came around from the passenger side of the Impala.“What’s the plan?” Asked Cas getting a little too close to me, making me back up against the car.“Sam and I will see what’s up with the Sheriff. Phae you can interview the locals but no magic, that’ll just complicate things.” I crossed my arms and started walking down the barren sidewalks of Rothbury. Dean put a few more words in to Cas before letting him go. I was curious to find out if they were talking about me. I don’t know the slightest thing about hunting. I don’t even know how I can adjust to this, life. I suppose I don’t have to be like this. But eventually along the road, won’t there be some hunter waiting for me to get checked off his kill list too?I am a witch but, I don’t want to be like the others. My mom. I kept walking looking in the little shops and boutiques through their glass. I stopped to look at a real old sewing machine. The kind that had the manual foot peddle. Momma had one like it, I remember her usin’ it to sew my yellow sundress. She’d made it herself; I was so happy that she’d made something for me. Being a ten-year-old I had no comprehension how long she’d spend on it. The countless hours. I remember being so sad when it was dirty, because it was the first thing Momma ever made me with genuine love. That’s when she’d started to treat me like an unfit dog. All I wanted was to make her proud of me. To stop screwing up in school and do something with myself. I have been so confused over these past few weeks. What did she mean she’d been tricked? Wasn’t she just psycho? There had to be some kind of scientific explanation for her actions.I put my hand to the cool glass, “Momma, what happened?” I spoke to no one. I closed my eyes and put my forehead to the glass. I didn’t let myself cry. I was sick of tears and hurting. But still my heart ached. Will I end up like you? In flames for existing here on Earth? I can’t just up and lose my powers. I’m terrified. Those angels are going to hunt me down.“Do you want to purchase that?” Cas asked startling me.“No, I’m just looking.” I told him giving the dusty sewing machine a last look before continuing. No one was around until a bookstore clerk fervently opened his door and went inside.“Excuse me. Sir? Wait. We want to ask you about what’s been happening here.” I tried to stay polite without being overbearing. He locked the door from the other side.“I’m sorry ma’am I have nothing to do with it.” He said and continued about his humble business.“What the hell? I’m just trying to help.”“Seems this will be tougher than we thought. Here, I have an idea.” Cas trailed behind me like a puppy or rather some creepy stalker. It didn’t make me feel any better that he dressed weird either. Who wears a trench coat anymore? I reluctantly followed him across the street to Betty’s bar. Usually you’d expect a bar to be full of people but this time it wasn’t. The aroma of beer was nice and thick, it was an unfamiliar smell. There was a couple at the bar too busy sucking face to pay attention to anyone else. Cas and I sat at the bar. The bartender stood in front of him silently asking him for his drink of choice.Cas gave him a small smile and reflexively said, “Hennessey, please.” As the bartender left us to fix Cas’ drink, Cas leaned in closer to me to talk.“You see the couple to our right? Isn’t that our target? All the victims have been couples.” The bartender came back with the drink and Cas thanked him for it. The bartender gave me a glass, but I politely pushed it back towards him and waved my hand as a thank you.“So, you think we should wait for the prey to come to us?” I surmised.“And so, the hunter becomes the hunted.” Cas said. We waited as Cas downed his 20th drink.“Dude, do angels even get alcohol poisoning?” I asked him.“I suppose it’s possible, I drank a liquor store once.” Cas said.“A whole store, just down the hatch?” I was amazed. Cas chuckled a bit.“Yeah.” He responded. Our attention was diverted from the door opening. I was trying hard to keep my cool. I’m a bad actress and an even worse liar. I started to get increasingly queasy, just like when I was in sixth grade drama class. I upchucked all over the stage during my part. It was painfully easy for Cas to see that something was wrong with me. The woman looked phenomenal. She was the embodiment of a playboy cover. She was fully equipped with a very red dress, dirty blonde hair, perfect makeup, tanned skin, ruby red lipstick, a voluptuous rack, and heels that I could only hope to wear.She waltzed right up to the couple, embraced them across the shoulders and smiled,“Young love. You should be celebrating. Bartender, two White Russians on me. And would you be so kind to give me a Bloody Mary?” The couple were astonished at the generosity of the strange woman and thanked her. The woman sat one seat next to me. Oh Gods, I can’t do this. I covered my mouth; I could feel the sickening sting of bile rising in my esophagus and a knot forming in my stomach.“I have to go to the bathroom.” I managed to say muffled through my hand. Cas had a look on his face like I was abandoning him. I found the nearest stall and let it rip. The smell was atrocious and the feeling even more so. I washed my hands at the sink and looked at my face in the mirror. C’mon, Phaedra! I can’t handle just one hunt? My new family will think I’m just as useless as my old family thought I was. Of course, they’ll think that. Once a failure always a---.The restroom door swung open. It was the incredibly pretty woman. She stood next to me and reapplied her lipstick. I stood there frozen.“You know, people pay good money to have curls like yours. If only it wasn’t so dry. A leave-in-conditioner should fix that. But I know what you really want.” She ran her fingers through my hair, twirling a curl admiringly. This was way too close for comfort.“I appreciate the beauty tips, Barbie. But has no one taught you about personal space?” I tried to be polite, but it ended up sounding rude.The woman chuckled at me creepily and put her hands on my shoulders, she kissed my forehead and left the bathroom. I felt a wave of energy wash over me like hot shower water. It gave me chills, and then I felt good. Like I had no worries anymore. I didn’t know where that strange woman went afterward but I wanted to thank her. I rounded the corner to see the couple from earlier had the Bartender and Cas at gun point. I stood next to Cas like nothing was wrong, but I still stared the couple down.“What took you so long? I’m in a cucumber here” Cas said through his teeth. I laughed and corrected him,“It’s pickle, you’re in a pickle. Hey, we’re all in pickles. Hahaha.” I sat in front of Cas on the bar stool and spun myself around like a kid.“Well, lovebirds? What’s all the bark without some bite? You gonna shoot or not?” I challenged them.“Phaedra you’re not acting like yourself. Where did that woman go?” Cas asked.“Shhhh, let them have some fun. Sorry continue” I rolled my eyes.“I have the perfect idea, Lawrence?” the woman’s significant other pointed the gun towards the bartender. The bartender pleaded for his life, stammering over his words, “Please, I have two kids at home.” Cas felt the need to chip in too. “Lawrence, you don’t have to be a killer. Put it do—”Lawrence gave the bartender no mercy and unloaded the whole clip into his chest, some of his blood got on my face, he slumped down against all the liquor. Some of the bottles fell. Lawrence and his wife were very pleased with themselves, giddy even. They embraced each other and kissed passionately. Cas looked very disappointed, but I was the one who started crying, oddly enough. I interrupted their make-out session.“Hey, that wasn’t nice. He said he had kids. Do you have any idea what it’s like to grow up without a father? Your mother greets you home from school with a fist. And Daddy won’t help you even when he watches. He leaves because you’re not strong enough.” I grabbed a half empty bottle of Fireball that was nearest to me and started chugging. It burned a lot, but that was okay. The couple gave each other one last kiss, joined hands, and blew themselves away.Sam and Dean saw it happen too; they were at the door when the couple pulled their triggers. They must have come when they heard the Bartender get shot. The brothers had shocked looks on their faces. Sam holstered his gun first and came through the door.“Why didn’t you stop them?” Sam asked panning over the carnage.“They held us hostage, I didn’t want them to hurt Phaedra.” Cas explained as he got up from his chair. I stared at the couple and the bartender for a moment. I’ve never witnessed murder before let alone see a real dead body. I felt sad for them, more so for the children of the bartender.“Well, that sucks.” I said to no one in particular, I took another swig of Fireball and banged on the bar from the sting. Dean looked at me and then back at Cas. Dean waltzed over to me and snatched the fireball out of my hand.“What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked wiping the bartender’s blood from my face. He looked a little more concerned.“The blood ain’t mine dumbass.” I took back the bottle and stormed out of the bar. I didn’t get far, only to the end of the street. Out of habit I pressed that button on the crosswalk. I couldn’t help myself from crying breaking down once again. Seems like that the only thing I’m good for, self-destruction. I drank the rest of what was in the bottle. I could hear Dean calling out for me. I leaned against the crosswalk and slumped down on my knees. I broke the empty bottle against the pillar. The neck was still intact, it’s ends sharp and jagged. I knew what I wanted, I’d done it before, as cruel punishment. I knew it was wrong, but it was the only thing that gave me relief.I pressed it against the soft skin on my forearm, I let it rip and tear, and the blood flowed so easily. It hurt, bad, I let out some kind of cry. I guess Dean finally realized what I was doing to myself. He got to me first.“Phae! Dammit why’d you do that?” he raised my arm above my heart, looking at the gashes, getting blood on his suit. I felt dizzy and wanted to throw up. Weakly I responded to him as Cas and Sam caught up to us,“I just want everything to go away. No one’ll miss me anyway.” All I could think about was monsters from my past, the real ones. Not gorgons or ghosts or ghouls. These monsters were supposed to love me unconditionally. My parents. I used to be very close to my father and mother, before they started the Trials. Since I was this “prophesized” chosen one for the Gods, much like Heracles and all the other demi-gods, I would be put to trails from a very young age. It started when I was 8. The trails were grueling and cruel even for a common fully-grown man. It’s a lot like getting one of those old-school allergy tests. The type where they put a bunch of scratches on your back and see what you react to. Except they exposed me to magic of the Gods. Once a week for 2 years I would be put to the test to see what I could handle. What was too much or too little? I never succeeded once, or so I remember. They injected me with Hydra venom, made me experience the weight of the world and the Heavens just like Atlas, and they’ve broken my bones more times than I can count. The Trails stopped once Dad left, but those events never really left me. Mom was still aggressively abusive.The feelings I was experiencing now, they were too real. I needed escape. I knew I was free from my parents, but I don’t know how to handle being with another family. I don’t ever want to let my guard down again. I’m too afraid of being hurt or abused, again. Naturally I started crying, something I hated doing, because throughout the Trials, I would do it non-stop. Mom beat it into my head that crying was a sign of vulnerability and weakness, most times she’d taught me that lesson literally.I could feel the calming warmth wash over me again, Cas was healing me. In my confused and broken state, I couldn’t exactly differentiate from Dean and Jamie, my real father. When I spoke, I was speaking to Jamie but looking at Dean, “No more. Please Daddy, no more Trails. I can’t take anymore. I’m never going to be your demi-god.” Dean, along with Sam and Cas, were speechless. They didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. Even though Cas was healing me I felt some other pull, a strong gravity, I’d passed out before I knew anything else.I remember going in and out of consciousness. I remember the rumble of Baby’s engine, my head cradled in Dean’s lap in the backseat, and talk of demi-god lore. I remember feeling like a burden to them, my new family, all my baggage was now out in the open.“Greek lore states demi-gods are to be tested through Trials. Grueling exercises that included injecting the prophesized demi-god with Hydra venom, breaking bones, burning parts of their body, depriving them of food and drink. The list goes on.” Cas sounded like he was reading from some article. I would have laughed seeing him read from a tablet or phone.“Jesus Christ, they tortured her. If I only knew back in ’05. Then I could’ve come and got her. I was so close, New Orleans, just a 5-hour drive. That’s nothing.” Said Dean.“You would have been too late, once the prophesized demi-god turns 8 years of age the Trails start. Very few test subjects survive. The children usually die before their trials are completed.” Informed Cas further.“Savage sons’ o’ bitches.” Cursed Dean.“that’s terrible but it makes sense why there are so few demi-gods in history.” Sam spoke up.“Some special cases have arisen throughout Greek history. If the test subject can wield sacred weapons of previous demi-gods their trails are complete. At this point they have reached their goal and are now full-fledged demi-gods. Special circumstances may take place where the child is able to fight with all the sacred Greek weapons, if such occurrences are true, the child will ascend to God or Goddess-hood. Thus, transcending their initial purpose.” Cas stated.“That’s crazy. I didn’t know it was like that.” Sam said. I rustled a bit in Dean’s lap, he instinctively combed the hair out of my face. I fell back into a deep dark sleep. I didn’t dream about anything this time and I didn’t go to the Astral. That’s something I’m thankful for. I woke up with Cas staring at me from the other bed in the motel room.“Are you always this creepy?” I asked him, sitting up in bed.“I don’t sleep.” Cas responded, “How do you feel? You scared all of us.”“I have a headache. I’m hungry. I’m sad. I’m angry. I feel like I’m not worth anything.”“You think what happened to you. The Trials and your abuse, you think that’s what dictates who you are today? You deserve so much better. Dean, he’d do anything to see you happy.”“I just. The wool is over my eyes. I can’t see it yet. I need time.” I told him.Cas gave me a tender smile, “ we’ll give you all the time in the world.” Before I could say thank you and tell him that he was an alright angel, Sam and Dean opened the door.“well look who’s up and at ‘em.” Said Dean with a smile on his face. Sam sat at the small hotel room table and pulled out his laptop. Dean grabbed a beer and something from the mini fridge.“Tell them your theory Einstein.” Said Dean through a mouthful of burger.“Okay. So, as we know, couples have been offing themselves and murdering other people. And from what we saw with Phae. Plus, this influence of this gorgeous blonde woman. I think we are dealing with Aphrodite” said Sam.“How do we know she just wasn’t a witch?” I asked.“we don’t but we have some pretty good hunches. Cas, you said the couple acted normal until she touched them. We think she took away their love for others, hence murder would be as easy as swatting a fly” Sam explained.“So then what happened to me?” I asked.“Well, you downed that Fireball like it was nothing. That’s odd because five minutes before chugging it you refused alcohol from the bartender.” Cas recalled.“And with cuts that deep, Sweet P. You weren’t trying to discipline yourself” Dean said throwing his burger wrapper in the trash bin, as if he were playing basketball. He whispered a small yes to himself when he made it in. Sam gave him an evil eye for being inappropriately childish when we were clearly talking about something serious.“I think Aphrodite took away your ability to love yourself.” Sam concluded. I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.“I haven’t loved myself since I was 8, Sam. How can she take away something I never had?” I replied to him.“It doesn’t matter, it’s gone and you need it back. So let’s go get it.” Said Dean loading his gun with a bullet and holstering it behind his back. Sam looked surprised and walked after Dean who had opened the door and grabbed his bag, to leave for Baby.“Dean! Wait! It’s the middle of the night. Where would she be with no leads?” Sam said.I put my hand on Sam’s shoulder. I smiled at him, genuinely, “It’s okay, let’s go.” Cas followed behind us and we all hastily packed up our things as Dean started the car. We got into town about 10 minutes later. Rothbury was even more of a ghost town at night. I liked it being in it’s devoid streets. If I wanted to smash all the store windows, I felt like I could have. They all got ready in a few minutes and were ready, I noticed something was missing.“Uh, so no weapon for me?” I asked. Dean sighed and rubbed his forehead.“Phae, you’ve got Ju-Ju-juice. And I don’t want to risk anything. You can get this back when you get better.” He tapped a knife clipped to the outside of his pocket, ready to slice against flesh. I understood his concern and felt the same way. I kept my mouth shut, that would be best for everyone. We all paused in front of the building we were ready to go into. I took a deep breath. I had never been in a club before, but I’ve heard what goes on in them.Walking in we stood out a little. Maybe more so I and Cas with his trench coat. I wasn’t offended by the dancer’s beautiful bodies. It made me a tad jealous since my own body wasn’t filled out in certain areas. I looked around to find Aphrodite, was she wearing the same dress? The stench of beer permeated the club and was thick in the air. Dean motioned to Sam to split up and yelled in his ear. I couldn’t hear him speak even though we were packed in like sardines. The music was too loud.Some strange man grabbed me from behind. His hands treading where they shouldn’t, his lips coaxing veins in my neck. Every effort to shove him away was thwarted, he was simply to strong. In that moment I couldn’t act on my powers, I had forgotten how to use them. Dean turned noticing I wasn’t near him. A flash of confusion was washed away by pure red rage on his face. Dean grabbed the knife from his pocket and stuck it into the man’s shoulder with ease. The man let go of me. Dean punched him square in the jaw more than a couple times. The music stopped, the lights turned on, I looked around. All the patrons were gone, even the dancers.“You fuckin’ touch my daughter again I won’t hesitate to kill you” Dean warned the man removing the blade without mercy. Clapping came from behind me on stage. It was Aphrodite in her rosy red dress.“Do you see now little one? How much you are loved?” She preached. Dean was irritated. Sam and Cas caught up with us. Sam asked if I was alright, and I nodded.“You got our attention by molesting her? That doesn’t sound like the goddess of love to me” Dean said wiping the blood from the blade on his jeans.“There are many kinds of love Dean. I’ve exposed you to them all, this should be no surprise to you.” Aphrodite replied.“Give it back, her self-love.” Dean demanded. Aphrodite tensed her eyes at him.“I don’t do well with requests. The heart wants what it wants. And you, poor girl. I have tried so hard to get you to love yourself. You’re feeling it now, you’re afraid of it.” Aphrodite hoped down from the stage and walked up to me. I was sobbing uncontrollably.“I don’t know how. Not after the Trials. I’m so confused, mama. She did unspeakable things to me. How can I love myself after that?” I confessed. Aphrodite placed her hand gently over my heart and uttered one word, Kardia. Aphrodite looked at me sadly before looking at the boys.“I know you’ll treat her well. She deserves every ounce. Goodbye my darlings.” She said with a smile. She burst into fluttering doves and the club was back to normal with all their inhabitants. Kate Bush’s “running up that hill” was playing loudly over the speakers. I was the first to exit the building. A couple walking down the sidewalk grazed my shoulder and made me trip. The man apologized to me but kept walking with his wife. It was Lawrence and his wife, the ones that killed themselves in the bar earlier that day.“Well, looks like she restored the town to it’s former loving glory” stated Cas. Sam and Cas loaded up in Baby, just as I was going to hop in my seat, Dean came from around the driver’s side. He put his hand on my shoulder, “Hey, there’s still hope.” He told me and hugged me tight. He kissed my head sweetly. I got in Baby and he started her up smiling at her familiar purr.“Oh, you can have this back now.” Said Dean waving the knife in my face.“Thank you. All of you.” I said. I watched the town lights as we passed through. It was easy for me to fall asleep, the rumble of Baby’s engine soothing me to sleep.End of Chapter 2.

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Chapter 3: Voodoo Child:Phaedra's age: 19Phaedra's P.O.V.: Getting to sleep was hard to do. I stared at the ceiling for hours before finally falling out from sheer boredom at 1am. It's been a few months since our encounter with Aphrodite. I woke up around 5 am. My stomach was growling, and I was already awake so I figured I could put myself to good use. I got up and made sure no one was up. Cas wasn't around or at least not near the kitchen. I rummaged through their cabinets and the retro looking fridges to scavenge. Man, these people need some food. I could whip them up some great dishes, given the right ingredients. I decided to make pancakes, and Sam came in groggy with his hair disheveled."Wow, you didn't have to cook you know. This isn't that kind of house." He told me slathering his hotcakes in butter and drenching them with a half empty bottle of syrup. At first, I was a bit confused from his question then I realized it."Oh, no. I don't mind cooking, really. It relaxes me. And I get to test my cooking skills on you guys. Well, minus Cas.""Oh my God, this is really good. I 've had a lot of pancakes but damn. How did you make these so good?" Said Sam through a mouthful of pancake. I chuckled."A good cook never reveals their secrets." I said."It is the ass-crack of dawn, whatever food I'm smelling has to be good or I'm breaking something." Dean said unsteadily plodding into the kitchen."It's good. Sam approves and it's not my best work, but I think you'll be left drooling." I said with a wide smile on my face."it ain't even in my mouth yet, oh. Oh, my gawd! How is this even possible?" Said Dean with a mouthful of fluffy pancake."a great cook never reveals their secrets" I laughed as I made myself a helpful of my famous pancakes. We finished eating and the sun came up. There was nothing for us to do momentarily. Sam and I had our faces in books and Dean played around with some of the artifacts."uggh. Can you guys speak or something? It's like the both of you are The Brain. How many books can you read anyway?" Dean confessed."If we're The Brain, then that makes you Pinky. It wouldn't kill you to read." I said with a heavy dose of sass."No way, Pinky is an idiot. And I read!" Dean got defensive."What? Road signs, texts, and local strip bar pamphlets?" Sam joined in getting a kick out of verbally poking his brother. Simultaneously Sam and I turned pages."Nice rebuttal." I stated, we gave exchanged a high five, our heads still fully immersed in ancient literature."See that's what I'm talking about. This is virgin- nerd behavior. It's unhealthy. It's socially awkward." Dean said getting annoyed at mine and Sam's instant connection. Just then we heard a crash coming from the kitchen area, everyone was on high alert. I managed to shove a bookmark into the book I was reading and put it down in my seat. Sam and Dean went ahead of me, their guns drawn. I had my knife in hand, the one Dean gave me, but I felt underprepared. Bringing a knife to a gunfight, so cliché.I rounded the corner as I heard Dean exclaim Cas' name. the Winchester brothers put away their weapons, now that the possible danger was extinguished. I still held my knife firm in my hand, the grip seeming to slip from sweat. I was nervous. I took a deep breath and put my knife away. Dean and Sam talked to Cas. He was battered up. I've never seen him like that before, but Dean seemed to act like Cas was sticking his hand in the cookie jar again. Dean was annoyed and I could tell he was slightly worried. So, Dean's default is to scold. That much I knew even from my short time living here.I got distracted from a kind of singing, almost like a siren's call. I turned around to see what it was and there was a skull with black markings painted on it sitting on top of the metal table. I walked over to it and touched it, as I did Cas noticed it. He yelled at me to "Stop! Phaedra!" but it was too late. The four of us were sucked into another place. It was different, though something was familiar to me, the mugginess of summertime. I woke up in a large bed, Apollo's searing sunshine brushing my face. I had a nightgown on, but it felt more like a sheer drape, very see through.A woman came in, "Madam! Ye must hurry nah. Ye can't sleep the day away." She was dressed in a period dress with rips in it. She was skinny and full of zest. She looked even more svelte than I. Her hands were rough and calloused over. She practically pushed me out of bed, landing ungracefully to the hardwood floors[AJ1] . She undressed me and I pushed her away from me and covered my nakedness."Woah! Lady? What is wrong with you? And where am I?" I asked her. She shyed away from me for a minute before she spoke."you've never struck me befah nah. Missus, did ya hit ya head nah? Don'tya know this is the mayor's house. Ya father's home?" she walked up to me confused and concerned for my well-being. She examined my head, looking and feeling for welts. Mayor? What's with everything? Where are Sam, Dean, and Cas? Did I fall asleep and step into the set of Interview with a Vampire?"Did ya fahget my name too child? Babet Leblanc, the one who raised ya since ya mama died." I was taking a long time to answer her question. Oh Gods, I felt my stomach tense up, the way it did when I was horribly stage-frightened. I'm clearly in some other place and some other time. So, unfortunately, when in Rome."My apologies, Babet, I did not sleep properly." Bleh! Who talks like that? It almost came out like a British accent, which would blow my cover. So, the mayor is my dad, this poor lady- Babet has been taking care of me long enough to say she has raised me, and now she is dressing me in Victorian style clothing? Awesome Phaedra, way to go.Babet straightened me up, taking care not to rip or step on the dress. It was quite beautiful, more stunning than I had ever worn or seen in real life. The color of the dress was a soft blue that complimented my fair complexion. It was embroidered with black designs. Oddly enough, it made me want to twirl around like a kid. Babet fixed my hair, braided it and put it neatly in a bun. She gave me satiny gloves that stopped at just past my elbow. She tightened the back of the dress where the laces were, and it was rough to breathe. She helped me into a pair of baby blue heels, the fit perfectly but I was not the most lady-like person. It would take my full focus to walk in these sore excuses for shoes. She stared at me for a long moment, admiring her work and my natural beauty."Ah! I fergot. Stay there." Babet quickly went into another room and came back, holding a blue flower in her hand. She placed it strategically in my hair."Fit fer the fairytales." She said. "Now, go. Ya father has been waitin' on ya.""Thank you, Babet." I said smiling at her genuinely. For the first time in a long time I felt pretty. Babet led me downstairs to the dining hall. Dinner was prepared in lavish ways I could only dream of. A whole roasted pig was in its center with a cliché apple in its mouth. Wow all of this beauty prepping for hours made me forget that I was famished. There were doors at the end of the dining hall, expensive looking, heavy, and stained beautifully a cherry oak. I opened the door and walked inside. I was nervous to see who my "father" was. My heart was beating a million miles a minute. I swallowed to bring back saliva to my dry mouth, so that I didn't choke on my words as I spoke. I let out a tiny breath and bit the bullet."Father? You requested my company?" I asked standing straighter than normal. The man turned around in his chair. My mouth fell open. It was Sam, in traditional garb of the era. Was it really him or a distant ancestor? Mayor huh? Not too bad Sam. Sam got up, "Yes I wanted to speak with you." He moved stiffly as if he didn't want to break his clothes. He looked around to see if anyone was around and closed the doors. He turned around, "Phaedra?" he asked in a whispery tone.I let go of my breath, relieved it was the Sam I knew. "Why are you here? Why am I here? Where are we?" I panicked for a few seconds. Sam spoke, "I think it had something to do with that skull Cas brought back. And from these papers on my desk, we're in New Orleans and it's 1866." I processed his words thinking of a strategy to try and get us back to our own time."Woah, right after the civil war. This is crazy! It's kinda cool though being in the past. But I don't want to stay here. Wait, if we're here, then are Dean and Cas here too?" I was thinking out loud hoping for Sam to have an answer. Babet banged on the office door and made me jump."Sir, company is here. Ya must come eat Missus." She warned. I looked at Sam worried with a lump forming in my stomach. Don't puke! I can't get stage fright now?! Why did I have to suck in acting class? Sam saw the fear in me and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, "It's okay we can get through this." I took a deep breath and straightened out my dress. Sam opened the door. "You can bring them in now." Said Sam exerting his rich-man voice. We quickly sat down at the table. Sam was at the head of it, a subtle sign of power. "Ah thank you Miss!" said an unfamiliar voice from the front door. A snazzy looking man with a top hat and a cane came in, he tipped his hat to Sam. "Hello Monsieur Mayor Beaumont. Ah! The lovely-Margaux! I haven't seen you since you were in swaddling clothes. My you are such a beautiful young lady." He said casually approaching me and kissing my hand. I'm freaking out! Who are you? My name is Margaux? Stop touching me. The man sat down laughing. He sat across from me and next to Sam. "Oh. Come now! Be civil. I brought you the traveling merchants you summoned for, Monsieur." He said tucking the satin napkin into his shirt.I almost choked on my glass of water, in came Dean and Cas dressed a tad better than beggars. Dean sat next to the strange man and Cas sat next to me. Sam smiled awkwardly, "remind me of your name again?" he asked taking a mouthful of roast pork."Hahahahaha! You're a funny man Beaumont. Don't you recall? It is I, Andre Magnier. Your old crewmate on the CSS Louisiana." Andre took a wealthy amount of food and put it on his plate. Dean and Cas started eating to diffuse the tension. It looked particularly hard for Cas to eat. Maybe he couldn't stomach human food? Andre continued to talk."As I was riding in, I came upon these two in a tiff. They said they were merchants and I have brought them upon your humble request.""Thank you, Andre" replied Sam. We all continued to eat for a few minutes until Andre smiled at me and gulped down his wine."Say, Mademoiselle. Have you bared children yet?" said Andre blatantly. My cheeks were burning from embarrassment. I couldn't answer. Dean choked on his drink a bit from the raw question."What? Did I speak obscenely? Oh. My young merchant friend, I know, you have the eyes for Mademoiselle Margaux, no?" Andre taunted while snapping off a large piece of bread and devouring it."What? No. not at all.—" Dean was interrupted by Andre. Andre clapped his hands slowly. There was a moment of confusion for the rest of the table. Andre smiled wide revealing his unkept teeth."It's okay Dean, I just wanted to see your juvenile reactions. It never gets old when playing with humans. They never suspect to be in the presence of a God. Well, three of you are humans, don't think I didn't know about you Castiel." With a snap of his fingers, Andre made the table grip Sam, Dean, and Cas. It was powerful magic, the likes of which I have never seen."Mademoiselle Phaedra. I do advise you to run. The townspeople will be here soon. I informed them of a Witch and they want to vanquish it." My heart was beating out of my chest. Just then I saw a torch through the drapes of the window. They were here, they were beating on the front door. I grabbed Dean's ensnared wrists, touching the bewitched cedar. "Helios!" I said trying to counteract Andre's magic. The cedar glowed for a few seconds and I thought it was working but, Helios' fiery aura dissipated into nothing. The banging on the door got louder and louder. I tried again, and it failed. I went to Cas and Sam, trying the same thing, and nothing worked."Phaedra! Look at me." Yelled Dean. I was so scared. I can't face them by myself. this kind of fear has been built into witches for centuries. The next worst thing was the band of angels that killed my mother among countless other witches throughout the eons. I didn't know which was better, being chained to a steak and burned or getting skewered and charred by angels. My mind was frantic, I was panicking. I looked at Dean, my eyes welling up with tears."Run, Phae. That's your only chance. Just go. Go!" he pleaded. The door broke down and I ran, out the back, down the stairs stopping only because Babet was in front of me, just as panicked as I was. I heard them parading through the house. I took Babet's hand and dragged her with me. This slowed me down. We got outside, thankfully there wasn't anyone outside to grab us. I felt a resistance on my grip. Babet let go, I turned."I'm sorry Missus." was all I heard from her before blacking out. She hit me with something, a rock maybe. I felt myself being chained up. My body rested on something hard and cold, a steak. My head was lolling back and forth. I heard shoving and grunting, like the townspeople forced Dean, Sam, and Cas to the ground. They were probably still tied up. I gotta wake up, don't hurt them! They're my family! They're all I have!I gasped myself awake. I tugged aimlessly at the chains."tug all you wish, spawn of Satan. The Lord keeps you entrapped!" one woman spat."Repent! Witch repent and commit your redemption!" shouted a man from the back of the crowd. I opened my eyes seeing my family in front of me. Dean my dad, Sam my best friend, and Cas my awkward uncle. The angry mob raised their pitchforks and torches in the air. Andre was next to me cheering them on. Andre dragged Babet next to me, she was upset and frantic. Andre handed her something that I couldn't quite make out.Dean, Sam, and Cas looked shocked."No! You have the wrong person. Let her go." Said Dean."You don't have to do this, Andre" Sam pleaded."I cain't strike her. I raised her. I cain't" Babet begged Andre."If you want to be free of my grasp, you will do as told. This is the only way you can gain freedom." Andre ordered. "Do it!"Sam looked away but Cas and Dean wouldn't avert their eyes. Dean looked like he was going to murder Andre.The searing pain against my back rang through my body. Someone was screaming but it didn't sound like me. By the third strike of the Cat-o'-nine-tails I realized it was me who was making those sounds. By the fifth strike I almost blacked out and Babet couldn't wield the whip any longer. She was sobbing uncontrollably."I'm sorry. Please forgive me Missus! Forgive me!" she cried. I felt nauseous and soon my stomach couldn't hold itself, I threw up from the pain. The townspeople guffawed in disgust. One man said, "The Lord is working to expel the Witch!""Cast the Witch to the watery depths!" Andre demanded. The townspeople wasted no time unhinging my shackles, lifting me up, taking me to the edge of the dock and throwing me in. the waters stung my wounds. I was too weak to fight the mob back. The water was cold and dark. In the murky depths I saw something shining, I was almost about to reach it when I ran out of breath. It sprang into my hands, I felt the Earth, quake beneath me, and my breath was better than ever. I felt invigorated, the gashes on my back healed up. It felt different from how Cas healed me. There was none of the sleepy feeling.The next thing I remember is washing up on shore and taking a gasp full of air. My dress was soaked clean through. My hair came undone from its neatness in the current. My family looked relieved to see me. But once that blew over, they seemed apprehensive. Andre had a shocked look on his face. Babet kept thanking the ground. I trudged up the hill to the stake wear I was beaten."You forget Andre, or should I say Kalfu, that all rivers go back to the sea. You do know what this is right?" I boasted. In self defense Kalfu bared a blade ready to strike. I laughed in his face. "you're a God! Fight like one! C'mon don't you have any Voodoo tricks up your sleeve?" I egged him on, trying to take the attention off my family. When Kalfu wasn't looking I winked at them. The mob looked terrified."Idolator!" shouted one woman. I rose the trident in the air, the Mississippi behind me bent to my will. With it I created a wall of water between Dean, Cas, Sam and the deranged mob. The mob stricken with fear, ran with their tails tucked and back to their homes. It didn't matter that they thought I was some spawn or whore of Satan. I knew what I was, and I was far from any of that. My family knew that too. Kalfu took Babet hostage, using her as a shield, and pressed his blade against her jugular.With a swish of the trident, a whip of water appeared from the wall, reached down and disarmed Kalfu. It was a tad of ironic justice that I used a whip, considering he was the one who gave those orders just minutes earlier. I opened the wall for a little bit freeing Babet."Free my friends. Take them back to their time!" I ordered wielding the trident in attack mode. "Now!" I insisted. He was not compliant. I drove the trident into his calf, drawing blood and weakening the deity. Kalfu snapped his fingers and they were gone. Hopefully to the right place. "Girl, we are one and the same." He panted. "The moon is our Empress." I gave him a confused expression. I didn't want to kill him, but something in me knew that I could do it if I wanted to.Dean's P.O.V.:I woke with a gasp. Cas and Sam were just getting up. I found a cast iron skillet and took the liberty upon myself to smash the Voodoo skull to smithereens. I rushed to Phae's side. Slapping her a little to wake her up."Phae, wake up. C'mon. Cas, she's not waking up. Shit, she's not breathing. Cas!" I lifted her up, resting her back on my thighs. Cas came quickly and touched her forehead with his fingers. We waited, nothing. Dumbfounded I looked up at him, "Wha- Why isn't it working?! It worked before." Suddenly she burst to life. I sighed relieved and covered my mouth. I helped her up from the floor and checked her back for blood, no gashes."Well, let's call it a day. Good job, kiddo." I complimented Phae as I poked my head in the fridge, grabbing a well-deserved beer. Everyone sort of tended to themselves. It was now nighttime. Phae took a shower and went to bed. I would have liked to see her eat something but, there's always tomorrow. I watched her for a little while, making sure she was okay medically. I downed several beers. I finally came out to the mapped table where Sam and Cas were researching something. Cas had his nose in a book and Sam was skimming an article online. I sat down, rubbing my aching knee, next to Cas. He gave me a look. Yeah, I know you don't have to fix everything Cas."Got another case?" I asked."Is Phaedra asleep?" Sam asked still fixed on reading his article."Out like a light, poor thing. Man, I wanted to nail that Andre dude. Or, Phae called him by a different name. Kahlua." I pondered."Kalfu. Not Kahlua the drink. You mean Kalfu He's the Voodoo God of the moon." Sam corrected me."Okay, Einstein. Why is that important?" I asked finishing my beer and setting it to the side of me."Phaedra single-handedly defeated a powerful God with Poseidon's Trident. That doesn't send up red flags Dean?" said Sam."Yeah, it was friggin' kickass! No wonder she gets it from me.""No Dean. It is not kick-ass. She was able to wield a sacred Greek weapon. That means she ascended to Demi-Goddess status." Said Cas semi-annoyed with Dean's drunkenness."One more sacred Greek weapon and she's a Goddess. She was whipping that trident around like it was nothing. What do you think she is going to do with other weapons?" Sam brought this idea to my attention.I sighed. "Don't remind me."-End chapter 3.

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Chapter 4: Runaway TrainPhaedra’s Age: 19

Phaedra P.O.V.:I woke up and instinctively looked at my alarm clock hoping it wasn’t still nighttime. It read 9 o’clock in bright red letters. I exhaled and closed my eyes. Thank you, Hypnos. My dreams kept weighing on my mind, maybe brushing my teeth and a hot shower will help? I let the water race over my body. I turned the knob further and further to the left. My skin turned red from the heat it felt nice even though it scorched a bit. Poseidon, do you want me to do something? Why did you help me?  When I got out my nose was filled with the distinct aroma of sizzling bacon. It made my stomach growl ferociously. Warm bacon filling my stomach is just what I need.The thought of having a home cooked breakfast was thoroughly intriguing. Bacon, grits, and toast were among my favorite breakfast foods. I dried myself off and changed into PJs adorned with grey cats. I wrapped my hair in a towel so it could dry faster and more naturally. I have been researching how to take better care of my curly hair, something no one has ever taught me before. I think of it as following through with being on the good side of Aphrodite. Once I rounded the corner to the kitchen, I noticed I was a bit late to the family breakfast meeting.  Sam was already entranced in his phone, probably looking up articles for leads on a case. He pushes himself too hard. When does he just decide to relax a little bit?Dean was dressed in a grey robe and was just getting the last few strips of bacon out of the pan before he said hello. “Mornin’ sunshine,” he said with a smile. “good morning.” I replied, grabbing the pot of already prepped hot coffee. I opened the cabinet of coffee mugs and strained to reach for one. Dean chuckled at my height deficit and handed me a mug with no problem. “we could get you a foot-stool or something, unless you know a spell to make yourself taller.” He said pilling a generous heap of bacon on my plate.“magic isn’t supposed to be used for trivial things like that. It goes against the natural order of things.” I said. Pouring my desired amount of joe and adding in all the extra accessories. I made myself a slice of toast and liberally coated it with a pad of butter. I gave myself two slices of bacon and decided it was okay for me to have another slice.  Dean sat down opposite me, his plate overflowing with bacon and some eggs. He examined my plate.“there’s some eggs left if you want ‘em. Help yourself.” Dean said through a mouthful of crispy bacon. “no thank you eggs don’t sit well with me.” The way he eyed my plate, made me feel weird. Part of my past, food was a reward for good behavior. I was used to eating like a bird. I scarfed down my breakfast and guzzled my coffee. I needed the caffeine desperately. I was already starting to feel tired. I volunteered to clean the dishes, once I was done I sat back down at the table with a second cup of coffee. I added ice to it this time, the heat makes me sleepy and reminds me of winter. Sam shuffled around in his seat, “Get this, I just got a text from Garth. The fifth disappearance in five months in Denver. One of his werewolf friends kids’ gone missing. Sounds ritualistic.” I jumped at the opportunity to get out of the bunker.“Let’s go. Now. I’ll pack my stuff.” I said quickly, getting up to start getting ready, my mind racing with the things I needed, my knife being one of them. Dean stared at me and pointed in my direction, “What was that?” he asked Sam. Dumbfounded, Sam replied with, “ I guess we’re going.”I heaved my bag out of the Impala’s trunk eagerly. I felt ready for a win. The nearly 7 hour drive gave me time to sleep. I need to be on my toes more, I don’t want to put Dean, Sam, or Cas in jeopardy anymore. I need to be stronger. They were put in danger because I couldn’t defeat Kalfu fast enough. We got all our stuff inside the hotel room. I waited until Sam and Dean were asleep. My mind kept racing, so I figured I would put that mental energy to good use. I snuck out of the hotel room, but before I did I left a note on the coffee maker. It read, Be back soon sleepyheads. Out for a walk.It was dark out which was something I liked. I would not have been able to sneak out if Cas was with us. Since he doesn’t sleep and all. I wonder what he does to fill all that spare time? The night had a different feel too it. I had never been this far west and the air was much thinner than the low altitude of Florida. It was a little tough for me to breathe. I found a trail across from the hotel where we were staying. It’s gravel road was unfamiliar territory.My inner child was elated at the sense of adventure that was building with each step I took. I had my knife with me for protection and I knew a few handy defense spells. The night felt good. All the stars were out, what I could see of them at least. I was eager to get out and explore the city around me. It’s been years but I still had hope. We met in freshmen year. Emmanuel Johnson. He was a military brat so he was never in one place long. We spent days together rambling about books, he would vent about how football was taking a toll on his body.I was extremely apprehensive at first. I was the wallflower and he was untouchable. We fell into our puzzle pieces almost perfectly, superficially. But underneath my shyness and kindness I wanted to be like other girls. I wanted to have a knack for makeup, go to huge house parties, be adventurous. I wanted to be as free as the girls in the books I read. And I wanted to write like the famous authors I adored.  He and I, we would reminisce about the future, how I would become a famous author and he would gladly illustrate them for me, his dream was to be an artist. To us, color didn’t matter we were blind to that. But if each of us took the other home to meet our parents, we knew they’d have a problem with it. Despite his father being a staunch Christian, Emmy believed, but never took that as an obstacle to be great friends with me. He knew I was from Cassadaga and knew there was a possibility that I was into the fuufuu crap.Emmy, he was forced into football practice from a young age. His father said, “you ain’t a man if you can’t play a sport.” In secret I have always liked him, no loved him. And I’m sure the feeling was there on his side too. He was going to take me to prom, until that night he never showed up. I waited and waited, and he left without an answer or reason why. It took me three nights of tarot reading to figure out he had moved to Denver. He was probably dragged by his coat tails.I told myself there were plenty of other fish in the sea, but I never could keep my mind off him. Now that we’re here, if there was some way I could find him, maybe just say hello. I knew there was a chance that if I did run in to him I might get heartbroken, see him with another girl. Even if I see if he’s happy I think it would hurt less, I just need to know.I Don’t even know where or how to look for him. I wandered from the trail letting my mind race faster than a nascar driver on speed. I slumped down against a huge oak tree by a small pond. I let my head thud against the trunk, a beam of moonlight peered through the branches. Artemis? You must know how I feel. It was the same with you and Orion right? He was the best man you’d ever met and you never got the chance—the chance to say I love you before he was just gone. I can’t leave this town without seeing him. it’s the little things you remember most, the way he would always brighten me up after a bad weekend at home. He was everything I wanted to be. And he made me feel whole. He never judged me for anything and we never got into any fights. It was ignorantly and blissfully perfect, the two of us.  Sitting in the quaintness of it all made me think of him more and more. Until I heard a howl. Wolves? This far into the city, I doubt it. Could it be werewolves? But isn’t this a public park? How many people have passed by you dummy? No one, the park is closed at night, duh! I wasn’t exactly eager to check it out but, I had nothing better to do, plus, this could be a lead to our case of missing people. Monsters are still people right? If anything they should be like me. Toeing the line between normal and freak. The one who went missing was a werewolf too and it was the kid of one of Dean and Sam’s friends, Garth if I remember right. I got closer and closer, and the strong smell of iron filled my nostrils. I was able to crouch down behind the cover of a bush and listen in on the scene in front of me. It was near an old beat-up road, in the road was a candy van. The shady kind, where people get abducted.  Below the road was a gruesome scene. Fleshy parts dripping sloppily from the mouths of monsters. Werewolves, I recognized.My stomach was doing backflips from looking at it. I wasn’t used to seeing it, smelling it, feeling it in my bones. The way these things devoured humans, it was purely repulsive.  Some men got out of the van and retrieved some fancy looking guns from the back. They aimed it at the pair of werewolves. One shot, silent, masked by a nearby thunderstorm.  The male werewolf grimaced and fell to his side, the female in shock. The men went further down into the gully of the woods, where their prey were.The male werewolf was not dead but instead, dazed and rather floppy. Some kind of tranquilizer? I thought to myself as I leaned in to listen. The female wailed, “no! Please don’t take him from me! he’s all I have!” the male tried fruitlessly to fight against the men but they overpowered him easily. Two more shots came and the werewolf fell down finally, in a hypnotic state. The men heaved him up on their shoulders and threw him in the back of the candy van.I inched closer to see the license plate of the van. The female werewolf bounded through the thick foliage to reach the van, she was so close, but she was no match for the tranquilizer. She lay at the foot of the van defeated as she watched them drive away with her companion. She crumpled in on herself in sheer despair. I inched further still this time slipping on a slick part of foliage and making a thudding noise. She noticed it. Oh shit oh shit oh shit. She bounded across the wooded area with ease, I managed to stumble to my feet and race down the gravel of the trail. She caught up with me. Pushing me to the ground and pinning me into the gravel. I fumbled for my knife.She was livid, “you bitch! Where did you take him?! You sent them after us. Where is he?!” I tried to reconcile with her, to explain my side- to no avail, “I don’t know! I was just passing by, I swear!” she picked up the handle of my knife which wasn’t silver and chucked it across to the other side of the trail, far from reach. She slammed my body down against the gravel, grinding me into the rocks against my bones, she had a furious and tenacious grip on my arms. It was so hard I thought she was going to break them. She went into my neck for a bite but I was able to flip my palm open and cast Helios. The fire equal to the heat of the sun sprung from my hand and into the bowels of the werewolf. It maimed her just enough for me to get away. I lunged for my knife and caught it.She tugged and slashed at my jacket revealing its innards, throwing me to the cold ground. When she was on top of me again I thrust the blade into her gut as hard as I could. I felt the warmth of her blood seeping into my clothes, feeling it spread to my shirt and soaking through my jeans. I watched her eyes the entire time, watching her pupils dilate and turn back to human eyes as she breathed that infamous death rattle. Her fangs receded back into normal looking teeth. She just stared at me lifeless, yet her body itself was still warm. With an arduous tug I removed the blade and let her body slump down on the trail.  What do I do now? Do I leave her body in the trail for people to see? The cops would eventually come, so then would that circle back to us for investigation? I’m not strong enough to pull her through the foliage myself. I took the time to snap off some branches from nearby trees and shelter her body from anymore trailgoers.Once I was done my first instinct was to go back to the hotel room. I had to do it now, my clothes are soaked in blood. If anyone walked by or noticed me, they’d think the worst, that I was some murderer. But I had to do it she was gonna kill me. I managed to trudge out of the trail unseen and across the road to the hotel. Light from the morning sun was illuminating everything so I was on edge. Luckily access to the rooms were on the outside of the building, so I didn’t have to walk into the lobby.  My heart was pounding through my chest and into my head. Sam was up and by the flush of the toilet I surmised he had just gone to the bathroom.I thudded my head against the thin wooden door and slumped down to my knees. My legs felt like jelly. Sam came over to me immediately. I couldn’t get myself to calm down. I heard Sam talking to me but all I could think about was the knife piercing her, and her life leaving her body. Sam put his hands on my shoulders and twisted me around to meet his gaze. I brandished the silver knife still slick with blood.  He gawked at it. He set his eyes back to my face.“Are you bitten?” he said looking me over.  Without hesitation he took my jacket off and checked for bites. I heard dean get out of bed, waking him from his momentous slumber. Dean came over, checking out what was up. I was overcome by emotion. “I-I killed her. She wasn’t human, but, She just came right at me like it was nothing. I h-had to do it. I was protecting myself, so why does it hurt so bad?" I was shaking in my bones. Dean as if presented with this situation many times before, took the blade from my hand and set it on nearby table. Tears stained my face and my nose was running. Sam took my arm and raised it to meet Dean's perfect green orbs. The deep grey indentations made me turn my head, ashamed that I didn't know better.  "You're damn lucky you didn't end up dead. Or worse bitten." said Sam getting worked up. Dean looked more forgivingly, which honestly was not true to his nature. But I know he treats me differently than anyone else, that's so unfair.  Dean checked my body for scratches and bites before he took his own dark denim jacket off the chair sitting at the small hotel table. He put it on me and said a few words to Sam, who'd retreated to the bathroom.  "Hey, calm down, she's alright. she's a good fighter." Dean reassured his younger brother from the threshold of the bathroom. Sam was out of sight but I was able to hear their conversation pretty well through the paper-thin walls of the hotel.  Sam sucked his teeth, “Why are we even doing this? she's in jeopardy. She's not even supposed to be with us, Dean." I inhaled the aroma of Dean's cologne still lingering on his jacket, it was surprisingly calming.  I felt safe; my mind was miles away from the crippling fear I experienced just thirty minutes ago. I could hear Sam's voice choke and his volume lessened,  " We're just starting to be-- I dunno, friends, I guess. But you know what happens to our friends Dean, it's like we're cursed; it's been proven time and time again." Sam pleaded in between sniffles. Dean moved inside the dingy bathroom, past the threshold, he put a hand on Sam's shoulder. "Hey, I get it, I really do. I was avoiding the same thing with Charlie, but it turned out okay in the end. Besides, Phae is badass. If you want we can train her a little more. teach her how to do things Winchester style, huh? C'mon, let's go hunting." Dean reassured his little brother. Sam came out of the bathroom behind Dean, his eyes inflamed and puffy. How much have they lost? I whispered a spell to myself, out stretching my hand just a little, Persephone. A lively green stem grew out of thin air, from the bottom to the top it grew with pleasant vigor. a bud formed the crown of the stem and from it was born a humble and simple daisy. it was my weird little way of telling Sam I was there for him. The daisy floated over to him in perfect magical prance. he held out his hand to receive the kind gesture, in awe at what he was seeing unfold before his eyes. "Thanks." he said almost forgetting to. Something inside me told me not to go back out there. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, making me shiver and squirm. “What happened? How did you get attacked?” asked Dean plopping down on the bed beside where I was sitting at the table.  Rubbing my forehead and trying to focus I replied, “um, I was just walking on the trail when I saw them eating. I couldn’t tell if their dinner was human or not i-it was so mangled up. There was a woman and a man. And they weren’t hurting anyone. There was a dark van and some guys took the male wolf-dude. I was tryin’ to get a closer look when I tripped and made a sound that the girl heard. You can guess what happened from there.” I wrung my hands, feeling the cold nervous sweat permeate from them, and wiped them on my jeans. I took a deep breath and exhaled, letting the bad energies try and release. It didn’t quell my brewing nervousness.  I glanced back at Dean and Sam, both shoving carefully placed guns in their backs hidden cleverly by their flannels. I pressed my back against the door, wishing not to go out there; into the vast unknown. The brothers’ mighty scaffolding towered over my small 5”0’ frame, even avoiding eye contact, I felt their intense stares. It was a near sickening feeling that was akin to a parental drag-by-the-ear. We took the anxiety driven path across the highway, and into the forest beyond. I led them to the brush where I covered her body, the sun illuminated the scene. Dean thrust the branches to one side with a fair amount of ease. “Nice, right to the heart.” He complimented me. “How long do we have to stay here? I’m getting the creeps.” I talked to no one in particular, rubbing the back of my neck incessantly, to try and quell my nerves. I shoved my hands into my pockets, searching frantically for cops or even better pedestrians. Dean turned around and looked at me intently. "you said there was a van?" he asked.            "uh. yeah over there on that road. they tranquilized him and nabbed him. and then she uh. just woosh, right on me." I said very nervously. I couldn't look at her, the limpness and pure pale white of her lifeless body would have been etched into my brain if I had looked. knowing that I had done such a thing, that would only make my nightmares worse.             "Did you catch the plate number?" pondered Sam joining up with us after scoping out the scene. I shook my head, my curls waving about wildly. I felt like a pool of water about to overflow or a ticking time bomb about to blow. I was wholly overcome with guilt and agitation. I brought the edge of Dean's jacket to my mouth and mindlessly chewed on the fabric. What happens from here? Once the cops come will I be able to keep down my breakfast? What use am I as a hunter if I can't lie?               "Phae? Hey! Quit that, my jacket ain't a chew toy."  Dean said grabbing my arm with some force. I flinched out of reflex. a voice echoed in my head. Phaedra quit that, chewin' retard!! I could almost feel that old sting in my cheek again.              "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I won't do it again, Mama-." my voice cracked as I spoke and I tended to my cheek, which I realized had not been hit.  Dean stood in front of me, his grip no longer handling my arm. Sam stood behind him, both of their eyes examining me, my state of mind.              "Phae, I'm not ever gonna hit you. Ever." Dean vowed gently and sincerely. I felt the heat quickly well up in my eyes and my throat started to tighten. No. Don't you cry. Not now.             "I- I'll be in the motel room." I informed them briefly.  
Dean:
 I watched her walk down the trail. I could imagine what she was going through. She probably felt like a redneck ornament. One put together with Elmer’s glue. I knew what it felt like to be alone in that situation. I would never show it, the way Dad affected me to Sam, or to anyone I knew. But I would almost always be alone whenever Dad gave me a piece of his mind. She was alone too, but she didn’t have anybody. She was up shit’s creek without a paddle. My paddle at times was Sam. I always had him to fall back on. Or at least I had him to focus on.   “Dean. we can’t keep walking on eggshells man. She needs help. Real help.” Sam said bluntly. I looked at him, really?  “You don’t think we need help? Sam, if she’s gonna survive, it’s best if she stays with us.”  I told him. “C’mon, let’s get this case done.”   The door to the motel room creaked when I opened it. Phae was sitting on the bed and looking at me through a mirror. I gave her a little smile, “Did you get your stuff packed?” I asked her walking further into the mothball scented hole-in-a-wall.  “Yeah. my bag is packed in case we solve it tonight. And I have my knife on me.” she answered.  “Hey, so what if you can’t lie. Then don’t. If you start feelin’ queezy puke when they reveal the body. Just let me and Sammy do the heavy lifting.” I said grabbing the key card from the center table. I nodded my head in the direction of the door. She stood and trudged off to Baby, opening her backseat passenger door. Sam was waiting holding up the shotgun side of Baby as the morning came into full view.  I paused a few seconds.  This was something I didn’t get often,  somethin' so beautiful and serene should be savored.  We moseyed around town, grabbed a bite to eat at the  local diner. I stuffed myself full o' bacon, Sammy had pancakes and Phae, she only downed a cup of coffee and two sausage links.  Poor thing, she’s still tore up about it all.   With everything that she's been through in the past few weeks, hell, I’d be too.  Not to mention hearing about what her parents put her through.  It's better if you don't think about that shit.  So, I’ll just have to keep her busy.   I noticed she was lookin' around the diner like she was looking for someone.   She was enjoying her coffee, but she seemed frozen in time. Sam cleared his throat loudly and startled her, which made me smile, and chuckle under my breath. Sam, deeply analyzing his tablet, regurgitated the address of Garth’s friend and bluntly stated that that was the next stop. Phae put on a smile and guzzled her coffee down to the last drop. Sam yanked a few laundromat washed dollars out of his wallet and left it as a tip for the waiter.  I turned my keys and felt Baby’s rumble again. She never let me down. I gave her dash a tender pet. “That’s my girl.” I said to her. We headed down the road, following Sammy’s directions to Garth’s friend’s house. The victim is where you always start first. Then we need to get a feel of the cops, see if they’re dirty or involved. Last is the townspeople, ‘till we find ‘em. I eyed Phae in Baby’s rearview. Her face blanketed with a dismal expression but her eyes showed how hard she was looking around.  I turned the music off for a bit. “Alright, time for a pop-quiz.” Phaedra emerged from her trance, once the music is off she knew something was up. “How do you gank a vampire, Phae?”  She thought for a little bit, her face wrinkled in decision making.  “If they’re rowdy, dead man’s blood to slow them down. Decapitation for the finisher.” She answered.  Sam turned his head around in approval. She smiled at him.  “Alright, that was an easy one. Werewolves?” I asked, pumping on Baby’s brakes at a stop sign.  “Decapitation works for them too. Silver for identification, they’ll yelp like schoolgirls at it. Silver knife to the heart is the most common cause of death.” she said. I chuckled at her, “You’ve been studying, whaddaya expect from a bookworm like Sammy?” Sam gave me a piercing look. I returned a smirk. “Vetala, huh? How ‘bout that one?” “Oh. uhhhhh. You stab them in the heart too. Silver, and watch your back because they always feed in groups of two. How’d I do, Professor X?” She said happily leaning in her seat, placing her arms on the back of the front seat, her forearm touching my back and Sammy's.“A minus. There was something you forgot.” I replied firmly. She lightly slapped my shoulder. “What?! I-I’m sure I answered every question correctly.” She turned to Sam, who raised his eyebrows and shook his head, No.  “Can’t think of anything?” I asked. She gave me a blank stare through the rearview mirror. “With Vetalas you have to give the knife a good twist to gank ‘em. You know, after you shish kabob them.” I stated bluntly. “Wow, I dunno how you guys keep up with it all the time. How to kill which monster of the week. Hey, I’ve been thinking, our whole situation isn’t normal. I mean I’m a witch. You guys are my number 2 natural enemies. I should be running from you, not with you.” She pondered. I couldn’t help but chuckle in the moment. “I’m sorry, I know we’re having a moment here. But, There has been plenty of times when I and Sammy have been in your shoes. And not everyone, monster or not, has been killed. Hunting, I used to think it was all white and black all the time.” I stopped talking, thinking I was losing her in the conversation. “What my inept brother is saying is, this life is complicated, and we take it day by day. Case by case. We’ve seen good in monsters and monsters in humans that used to be good people.” Interjected Sam. We’ve been monsters ourselves Sammy. You gonna tell her that too? “Exactly. Thanks Brainiac. Alright we’re here. Showtime ladies.” I said putting Baby in park and straightening up my suit.   
Phaedra:
Taking their advice to heart was easy to do. But it was difficult juggling my uneasy stomach at the sound of the bold knock from Dean. He looked back at me, giving me a smile. I really don’t want this to end up like the bar and Aphrodite. I need to pull my weight. I need to prove myself, if not to Sam and Dean, to myself. I can do this. A middle-aged woman opened the door, leaving a screen between hunters and herself. Part of me wanted to tell her to run or ignore the call at the door. They’d get you in trouble. But I showcased a smile instead. “Hi. I’m agent Simmons and this tree here is agent Stanley. We’ve been investigating some missing persons reports in the area.” Dean said grinning from ear to ear. She seemed very nice from what I could tell. She was dressed modestly. Parts of her reminded me of the warmth of Hestia, the Goddess of home and hearth. Brushing a lock of graying hair from her face, she noticed me, trying to stay in the background. I swallowed harshly. She smiled widely at me. “And who is this lovely lady, Agents?” She asked placing her hands on her hips. Dean smiled at the ground, playing bashfully. “Thank you, ma’am. It was bring your daughter to work day at the station.” “Oh? Is it now? Well looks like you’ve done good, kid.” The lady complimented Dean further, making him blush a bit. Sam looked a tad annoyed as he folded up his faux F.B.I. badge and shoved it hastily in the breast pocket of his suit jacket. I sat patiently and made sure my back was straight. It would be rude to slouch like I normally do in this situation. I kept glancing at the family photos on a cedar drawer in the living room. I recognized what could only be her son, and only child, like me. It was the man stolen from his midnight meal. Gone, so quickly. If I were taken would my mom look for me? The lady came waltzing in with refreshments after Dean gave me a quick thumbs up, letting me know I was doing great so far. I was barely managing. I didn’t want to say one word. She sat down sipping her tea gingerly. Placing it on the wooden coffee table with a soft clink, she cleared her voice. “Detectives I really am glad you’re here. Ever since Jacob left, it was difficult raising Caleb by myself. it would have been a little easier if Caleb were younger but since he was 15 when his father, just poof, no call, no note. Hell Jacob could’ve sent me a letter in the mail and told me. Caleb was a daddy’s boy. They were always so close. Jacob never got to see him graduate. He and I would fight almost everyday. Caleb he just never understood why I wasn’t out there, searching. I-I had my reasons, you know. We lost contact about a year ago. So I always say my prayers.” A tear rolled down her face. She smiled a bit and waved her finger, “ Don’t wander, Caleb. You’ll get lost.” She sniffled. Sam sat next to me and Dean used the arm to place his bottom. Sam triggered those puppy-dog eyes and sincerely said, “I’m sorry for your loss. Do you know when the last time you spoke with Caleb?” She took another sip from her cup, pondering his question. “Well he hasn’t lived here in a while. A year or so. But I would call him from time to time. I just worry so much. Is he hungry? Cold? Alone? Oh God. Have you found him in a ditch somewhere? My baby.”  Dean put out a defensive hand, “ah, we haven’t found him yet. We’re just retracing our steps. Looking for things we missed.” “the last time I spoke with him, he seemed upset about. A-a parking ticket? Some ridiculous reason to bring him into the station. There’s something fishy going on there, at headquarters. We have an unusually high amount of missing young people here in Denver. I’ve heard all the conspiracy theories about alien abductions, psycho serial killers, and there’s even talk about spirits revenge for Sand Creek.” She stopped herself. And brushed her hands through her hair. She let out an exhausted sigh and relaxed herself against the back of her couch, letting her eyes linger on the ceiling. “Detectives I just want the truth, and I want Caleb back. He’s still out there, I know it, he’s a fighter.  Detectives, you should be careful at the station, but there is one you need to look out for. Emmanuel- my neighbor, he just started there a few weeks ago, he’s an amazing kid. Whatever happens just don’t let him get hurt, he’s a rare gem.” I couldn’t believe my ears. Was this my Emmy? After all it wasn’t too far fetched to see him working as a cop. That would’ve been a way out of military life. I smiled at the thought of him sketching at his work desk instead of filling reports. My smile quickly left my face, returning to the reality of the situation I was in. The mother leapt at the sudden ringing of the doorbell. All three of us waited as she answered the door.  I allowed this moment to let myself relax. Dean took a cookie from the tray in front of him sitting on the coffee table. Dean wasted no time shoving more cookies into his breast pocket. Sam gave him an annoyed look. A smile spread itself across my face and I started to laugh, as silently as I could. “G’morning Mrs. Everett. Do you need help with anything before I head off for my shift? I couldn’t miss the beauty in your driveway. Do you have visitors?” that voice reverberated in my head for a few seconds. Chills went up and down my spine and into my heart. This was my only chance. Hearing it I knew, it was Emmy. My legs moved on their own. I sprinted to the hallway. I ignored Dean’s call for me. Mrs. Everett gave him a good luck and was about to close the door. “Emmy!!!” I yelled. I took the pleasure of yanking the door open, quite rudely. He was halfway down the front yard before he stopped and turned. For a long moment, he stared at my face. Did he recognize me? Remember me? I stepped out away from the threshold and into the glorious morning light. My throat began to tighten and ache, my eyes welling up with emotion. Behind me, I could barely make out what was happening. Dean walked up beside me, and Sam was thanking Mrs. Everett for her time. The front door closed with a click. Emmy’s face alit with joy. His smile warmed my aching heart.“No way?! Phaedra?” I hugged him tight, my tears soaking into his police uniform. Pressing myself against his belt was uncomfortable but I didn’t care. His warm arms embraced me, he was holding back just a little bit, maybe because this time he was more fit than I lost saw him. He didn’t want to hurt me. The hug ended, “H-how did you get here?” Emmy questioned looking at me. I choked on my words, “I-I. I’m on a job. That’s how I got out.” Emmy wiped my cheek with his hand. I wasn’t lying. Sam stayed back a bit giving us space. Dean was more protective and cautious, but I’m sure he picked up on who Emmy was to me, solely on body language. Emmy looked pretty confused but glad to see me nonetheless. Emmy looked at Dean and then glanced at Sam, “Who’re you? The Blues Brothers?” Dean smirked, “I’m her father, who’re you?” Dean cracked his back with a flex of his shoulders, bucking up. Emmy’s expression was caught by surprise. “Oh? Really. Hm.” A flash of disbelief washed over his face. Emmy landed a good punch into Dean’s jaw. I gasped. “That’s for leaving her in that Hell-hole you son of a bitch! Do you have any idea what your wife did to her? How can you call yourself a father?” Emmy got in Dean’s face, watching him rub his sore jaw. I quickly got in-between the two, pressing on Emmy’s sturdy frame, “Emmy stop! Let me explain. I know how you feel. This is Dean, not Jaime. Dean, he saved me. Got me out of that place.” I put a hand around the back of his neck, my thumb resting at his ear. I tugged to make his eyes focus on me. “Stop, please.” I ordered. He scanned my face and I felt him back off a bit. Emmy’s brows furrowed strongly before looking at me seriously. “Are these guys take advantage of you? I-Is that how you got out? Did your mom sell you?” His voice cracked at the word sell, his mind wandering to dark places. “What? No. No! They saved me from her. I’m doing cases with them. Voluntarily.” I spoke truthfully. Just as I saw his body decompress from my words, he got an urgent message on his radio. A body had been found in the park downtown.We drove in tandem, Baby following behind Emmy’s police car. I had so much to tell him. But what could I tell him? Where would I start? I’m a witch and I saved myself by contacting a hunter through the astral realm? My mom died by getting stabbed by an angry mob of angels? You won’t believe what happened to me last week, I overpowered a Voodoo God. Which version of crazy would he accept? My stomach began to turn into knots at both my future talk with Emmy and, the body of the girl-wolf that I had killed, laying exposed in front of my eyes, just a distance away. I can’t lie, especially not when Emmy is around. A man in a ten-gallon hat came up to me in a burley voice, “Excuse me ma’am, no civilians on the premises, this is a crime scene. Are you family?” I completely froze up. I couldn’t even tell him my name.Dean touched my shoulder, “It’s fine officer, she’s with me.” He gave the officer a polite smile and proceeded to the crime scene. Emmy walked up to the officer that questioned me, “Good morning Lieutenant Whitley. What do we have now?” Emmy asked. They walked together to where the body was. I stood back and zoned out. I stared at her, pale, still, and stiff.Someone must be missing her, like Caleb’s mom. I must have locked my knees standing there, while Dean, Sam, Lieutenant Whitley, and Emmy examined the body. I remember my head hitting something hard, the ground. This wasn’t the first time I’ve fainted. I did it plenty of times when my parents put me through the Trials. Maybe this was a result of me not eating? Although, it could have been from the stress of having to tell Emmy what I really was. I mean, what if I told him and he hated me?When I came to, I felt the softness of the stretcher and winced at the brightness of the ambulance lights. Someone was holding my hand, I gripped it back.“Hi, Humpty Dumpty. How’re you feeling?” Emmy said.“Mm My head hurts. I’m sorry.” I told him, opening my eyes tentatively.Emmy furrowed his brow, “What are you apologizing for?”“I ruined your investigation; you should be with your Lieutenant.” I stated, automatically degrading myself.“Nah, it’s no big deal. Whitley said I could catch up later.”I started to get up from the stretcher slowly, hanging my feet off the edge.“I have to go join Sam and Dean, they need me to help them solve the case.”Emmy chuckled, “No they don’t they already left. They said they could handle this one by themselves. Plus, Whitley said I could have the rest of the day off.” Emmy informed me. I looked at him puzzled and a bit shocked. They didn’t need my help? Emmy grabbed my shoes from the bumper of the ambulance and put them on for me, gently.“So, that means you and I get the whole day to ourselves. Isn’t that awesome? It’s like skipping school. And we need to make up for lost time. Talk about each other’s stories you, know?” He effortlessly lifted me off the stretcher and put me on the ground, making sure I had my footing before letting go. Chivalry isn’t dead.“So, hop in the shotgun. I need to go back to the station to get my stuff. Do you want to see a movie?” he asked, tossing the keys in his hand. Was this a date? Even with friends, Mom never let me sleepover or anything like that. This was so alien to me. I had butterflies overwhelming my stomach but, it felt, good. The fabric of the seat felt comfortable and the throbbing in my head had subsided. Instead, my cheeks started to blush on their own. He was asking me on a date, he really was. The pocket of my sweatshirt jacket had an unfamiliar heft to it. A phone was carefully placed while I was passed out. It was dated, but functional. Dean, what a helicopter parent.Emmy entered his police cruiser making me jump. He smiled, “Scared-y cat.” I smiled back. There was so much I wanted to tell him. So much had happened since he left. I wanted to dump everything that was filling up my mind and my heart to him. He was such a good friend to talk to. We would talk about anything. I tried to hide my blushing but that was near impossible with my fair complexion.  Touring center city for a little while was magnificent. There was such a different feel to the city than any other place I had been. The bustle of people living out their daily lives, friends going out, shopping, pure mundanity that made me feel like  I was living for the first time. Emmy laughed a bit as he pulled into his parking spot in the police station.“What?” I looked at him. He shook his head.“Uh. You look cute, like a kid in a candy store.” He shifted the gear in park and let go of the brake. I smiled awkwardly.“Creepy. You’re into kids?” I replied with a heavy dose of sarcasm.“C’mon, I didn’t mean it like that. Hey, come out, we’ll leave in my car.” He suggested. I obliged and exited the vehicle. I leaned my body weight, which wasn’t saying much, into his police cruiser. “I’ll be right back, alright?” he confirmed with a gleeful smile from ear to ear. I smiled back and gestured with my hand to let him know I had heard him.Once he entered the premises I spun around where I stood. There’s no way he doesn’t have feelings for me. I could still feel the burning in my cheeks. I pressed my hands to my cheeks trying to quell my nervousness. I took this time to rudimentary text Dean from the cell phone he gave me. I wrote, ‘Thank you guys. This is the best day of my life. I’ll let you know when the night is over.’ A few minutes later with a pleasant-sounding ding, Dean replied, ‘No problem. Be safe. Have fun. ;)’ My cheeks were starting to get sore from smiling so much. When had I truly been this happy? One of my birthdays before the Trials?A strong thud on the frame of the passenger side door shook me out of my happy mood. Lieutenant Whitley was in my face in no time, eyeing me seriously. Near my feet he spit out excess saliva from a wad of dip obviously making an ugly lump in his lower lip. I swallowed.“I know what you are girl. It’s a shame too, I gotta put a such a pretty face on a stake ‘n’ light you up.” He said searingly. My heart started pumping uncontrollably. Was he one of those Angels? One of the ones that killed my Mom. “There ain’t nothing those Winchester boys can do to help you neither, girl.” He was very intimidatingly.“Hey Lieutenant. You’re pretty close, why don’t you give her some space?” Emmy called protectively walking out of the police station in a change of clothes. Whitley’s demeanor changed instantly. A very fake smile spread itself across his face, he backed away from me and shoved his ten-gallon hat further onto his forehead. With the click of his cowboy boots he walked away toward the station with a glare that could kill. Emmy watched his behavior and turned my body away from him, placing his strong arm on my shoulders, leading me in the direction of his car. Emmy’s car was pretty nice. It’s polished burgundy red color was mesmerizing. A BMW 328i. Wow, how did he get this?“I know she’s pretty, but you can’t just gawk at her. C’mon, we have places to be.” Emmy said happily. I got in and was taken by surprise by how immaculate its red leather was. I sat in the passenger seat and closed the door with a loud thud, realizing the doors were much lighter than the force it took to close the Impala doors.“Alright, tough question. Favorite movie genre?” he asked. I pondered his question for a little while until I finally made my decision.“Suspense sounds cool.” Emmy smiled as he turned the key into the ignition, making the car come alive. My cheeks burned with giddiness, as he backed out of the parking spot and toward the movie theater. 
Phaedra:
We saw The Visit. It was hard for me to focus on it because I couldn’t believe what was happening. To normal people, this was such an overrated event. My over sheltered childhood and adolescence felt long gone. The day had turned to night and we went to a very nice dinner. I felt grossly underdressed. But talking and eating with Emmy made those bad thoughts melt away so easily.We walked underneath the downtown lights, enjoying the nightlife atmosphere. We stopped by a fountain near downtown, it’s silver-spoon intricacy far beyond my artistic ability. Emmy rummaged through his jean-pocket and pulled out two pennies. Opening his hand, he offered me one, “Make a wish. Ready? 1-2-3!” What would I wish for? I couldn’t think of anything better than more moments like these. Simple, forgetfulness of past scars, and full of love. If I could ask for anything, that’s what I’d want. Both of our coins dropped into the fountain with an inaudible plop, taking their sweet time down to the bottom.“What did you wish for?” I asked him.“Oh That would be cheating Phaedra.”“How do you do it?” I asked.“Do what?” he replied.“How are you so nice to me? Without wanting something in return?” I said bluntly.“Hmmmm, don’t know. Just happens.” Emmy rubbed the back of his head and shook it in disbelief. Under his breath he whispered, ‘Nah, that’s stupid.’ I inched closer to him on the edge of the fountain, the coolness of the stone prominent through my jeans.“What’s on your mind? You know you can tell me anything.” I told him truthfully and reassuringly. He looked at me seriously before using his hands to push off the fountain’s edge.“I have an idea. I have someone I want you to meet.” My stomach made a jump for the first time in hours. Who’d he want me to meet, I wonder?About 15 minutes outside center city I found myself at a vaguely familiar place. Emmy pulled into the driveway carefully, so as not to collide with the adjacent beat-up pickup. Emmy sighed before putting his fancy red car in park and turned off the outside lights.“Here goes nothing.” He said exiting the car, he came over and opened my passenger door, being careful not to touch his fathers’ truck. More Chivalry, is it bad that I could get used to this? He was nervous and that made me hurt a bit. He never usually showed this side of him. I grabbed his hand holding it in mine. He spinned his keychain around his finger once before opening up the front door.Emmy called out for his dad. From the dark came a figure trudging through the living room. Into view was his father in hand a bottle of Jack. He’d been crying. His eyes met mine. I waved gently, “Hi Mr. Johnson.” The scene was tense.“Dammit, Emmanuel! What did I tell you about bringing friends over without permission? You’ll anger your mother! You better not be datin’ that Honky neither!” His tone reminded me of my mom and made me jump. I was lucky I heard him swing, the bottle of Jack nearly missed my head, but I was able to dodge it. My fight or flight mechanism told me to run back to Emmy’s car. I had heard tense arguing that ended in a strong door slam. I had to keep telling myself that it wasn’t happening to me, but I still managed to shed some tears.The door to the car unlocked. I wasted no time in confiding in the safety of the passenger seat. Emmy hastily got in the driver’s seat, panting and upset, he backed out of the driveway quickly. He drove through his neighborhood speedily. I kept my eyes on the road, looking for obstructions.“Emmy, slow down. Please.” I pleaded with him calmly. “Emmy?” I repeated.He slowed off the gas a bit but not completely to my satisfaction. It was only until we reached the light of the cathedral that I noticed his lip was busted. I had no iota of an idea that this was happening to him. For how long? Was this why we gravitated to each other so easily and suddenly? Because we were both even more alike than I knew? “Your lip.” I said, leaning over in my seat getting closer to his, touching his wound with my finger. He jerked his head away.“It’s nothing. C’mon, I need to go in.” He told me. My stomach fell down to my feet as I slowly trudged up the cathedral steps. I paused at the door.“Emmy I- I really don’t think I should go in. I mean really don’t.” I said trying to get my point across. He grabbed my hand gently, “Whatever it is that’s on your mind, it’s okay.” He said leading me into the unknown. Rows of wooden pews in a gigantic dimly lit room were before me. A strong scent of Frankincense permeated the air. I recognized it, an ingredient I used in some of my offerings and rituals. Emmy pause before entering to dot his forehead with Holy Water. I chose to not take it. Before entering an empty pew he kneeled and crossed himself in four corners of his body. Again, I did not participate. I sat next to him very silently, barely making a sound when breathing.He looked intently at the showcased crucifix with the image of an emaciated God I did not know. There weren’t many people inside the cathedral, but I was watching out for any sight of Angels. After a moment Emmy pulled down the knee-rest, kneeled, and pulled something long out of his pocket. A cherry stained wooden rosary and held it tightly in his palm. All of this was foreign to me. I didn’t know what to do, or even if to speak. There was a certain majesty about this place that I found oddly beautiful. But it was nothing like my Gods and Goddesses. The ones I saw in nature around me, not imprisoned in stone walls. Now was not the time to discuss such things. Although, one thing was final, I wouldn’t want Emmy any other way. Once he was done praying, he draped the rosary on his neck, and tucked it in his shirt.We left the premises and returned to his car. Where I had to talk to him about who I was, who I really was.“Emmy? I have to tell you something.” I prodded gently.“Yeah?” he retorted.I took in a deep breath and released. “I don’t know how to put this, but there are things in this world that have been lurking beneath our noses for centuries. They live among us and in some cases they’re our neighbors. There was some truth to the nursery rhymes and fables we grew up with. Are you… following?” I paused. He chuckled a little, “ loud ‘n’ clear. Yeah.”“That’s how I got out. I contacted Dean and Sam, but not by phone. And I was able to contact them because I’m not exactly normal.” I gripped his hand, Please believe me.“Just watch, don’t blink.” I raised my hand, Demeter. Countless daisies formed from thin air and intertwined themselves to make a crown, which dropped itself in my hand with a firm rustle. I put it on my head and smiled. Emmy smiled too.“That was awesome! It’s like you’re Hermione.” He gleamed. My smile turned to a frown.“That’s your answer? Emmy, I’m a witch. You’re not freaked out by that?”His face wrinkled from my retort, “That doesn’t change the fact that I love you.” He said bluntly. Hearing it come from his mouth, after all these years. I didn’t know whether to cry or scream or laugh.“Hey, I’m sorry about my Dad. He took Ma’s death real hard. The bottle became his best friend. When it gets real bad, he gets violent. You know, he still makes her a plate every morning.” Emmy sniffled before continuing, “She, uh, hit a tree after she hydroplaned down on sycamore drive. EMTs said it was instant, no pain. We moved out here two years after.”“I’m so sorr—” static interrupted me mid-sentence. It was his police radio inside his car.“Rookie, to Whitley. I repeat Rookie to Whitley.” It said. Scoffing, Emmy fumbled through his console and found his walkie.“10-4, Rookie is listening.” We waited for a reply. My stomach dropped to my feet again. This Lieutenant Whitley was bad news.“B ‘n’ E on Wymore, 528. Intruder is armed.” It said stoically.“That’s my house. Dammit he’s drunk, he won’t be able to defend himself.” He put the BMW in reverse and sped off onto the blacktop.“Emmy, it’s a trap, you realize, that don’t you?” I told him, thinking he might listen to reason.“I don’t care. Whitley has been on my radar ever since I started this job. And it’s my Dad we’re talking about. He’s all I got left.”“You have me, Emmy.” I said being brutally honest.“And I always will.” He finalized.I was able to text Dean one short-lived message.
528, Wymore. Help.
                      Dean:Worry started to gnaw its way into me when I heard that ding. “Fashionably late, looks like there’s one girly quality about her.” I joked. Sam chuckled while he closed his laptop for the night.“Shit! Sam it’s go time. Phae’s in trouble.” I blurted out. Snatching Baby’s keys from a hook on the motel room wall. Wymore road, that’s where we were earlier today. Sam hoped in the passenger seat. Baby rumbled to life again, and we were off. Please be okay. My phone rang to the tune of Sweet Child O’ Mine. I tussled it out of my pocket it and gave it to Sam to answer. I was too concentrated on driving, and my mind was racing to dark conclusions.“No surprises,” Sam made a sarcastic comment about the ring tone I set for Phae’s contact. Sam put the phone on speaker, “Phaedra you alright? We’re coming to get you.”“Brothers Winchester, you know your famous right? I have a show prepared for you. An epic. Tickets are half price, for a few hostages.” Said a grizzly voice on the other end.“You’re the Lieutenant right? I swear to God if you hurt her—” I threatened.“About that. I’m gonna have a lotta fun with that sweet lil’ Sabrina o’ yours. Tick tock gentlemen, the pyre’s lit, and that witch bitch is gonna burn. It’s a shame too she’s got a nice pair of legs on ‘er.” The call went dead.God dammit. I pressed harder on Baby’s gas pedal. Sam made the executive decision to call Cas. He poofed into the back seat in an instant.“What happened?” asked Cas.“No questions, go to 528 Wymore Road.” I demanded. I was 2 minutes out, that was too long for me. I glanced back in the rearview, and Cas was gone.I barely remembered to put Baby in park before getting out. Sam followed suit. I ran, my gun loaded and ready to fire at the first movement of any shadow. Sam and I noticed a crown of daisies on the ground and tattered next to a red BMW. Daisies, definitely Phae. Sam went through the open door and into the house.I went around back, no sign of Cas, yet. In the distance I could just make out the outline of a blue van. One like Phae described earlier that day.“Sam! ‘round back!!”  I yelled out, hoping he could hear me. My knees started aching again, that brought me back to when I first met her, in that yellow sundress. Damned knees. I gained some ground before Sam started to catch up, his stride a tad longer than mine. The side door to the van was open and Cas was there, almost at that door.Suddenly a flash of white light lit up near the van. “Banishing sigil!” Sam relayed. Cas disappeared with the fading light. Whomever Whitley was he was smart, and now I know he isn’t one of those angels that wants to off Phae. We got closer; I could make out her pale complexion kneeling in the middle part of the van. Something was across her mouth, a gag. Whitley was watching me.He waved something shiny, the glint of it flashing for just a moment.“No!!!” I yelled out. Whitley shoved it into her gut, where I could see. He’d stabbed her with her own knife. He said something to the driver, and tossed the knife, it’s white handle clattering on the blacktop. The navy-blue door to the van closed with a swift yank.I reached the road and booked it still. Maybe I could make out the license plate number? Nothing. My feet stopped once they turned away out of sight.“Dean! She’s gone.” Sam called out. I turned back joining my brother, resting on his hands on his knees, panting, out of breath. Cas had reappeared holding Phae’s knife now slick with red.“She’s been taken”, Cas said. I held my head in my hands, not believing myself for letting her down again.I took a deep breath. “We finish this by dawn. No casualties.”End chapter 4.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chapter 5: Cold Blows the WindPhaedra’s age: 19Approximate season: 10“Cold blows the wind,
O’er my true love,

Cold are the drops of rain,

I only had but one true love,

In the greenwood he lies slain,

I’ll do as much for my true love,

As any a young girl may,

I’ll sit and mourn down by his grave,

For a twelve month and a day.”

-The Unquiet Grave sung by The Morrigan.

Phaedra:
 I tried to stay awake as long as possible. To somehow map my way to where we were going. The blood loss was making it hard to focus, I was laying on top of Emmy, who’d been beaten to unconsciousness. I don’t remember exactly how long it’d taken us to get to our destination. Once we got there, I was taken out, dragged by my arms and into a dark, damp, cell like room. They’d injected me with something. When they were done with that, they’d threw me into another room, with actual cell-doors. I was able to shimmy my hands behind my back and touch my wound, Helios. I howled cauterizing it, with the click of his boots, Whitley let himself come close to my cell door. “A fine specimen, welcome home Gladiatrix.” He got real close to me, removing his ten-gallon hat. I spat on his fancy shoes. That’s for almost spitting on me and hurting Emmy. Whitley grabbed my shirt and yanked me closer to him, grinding my face into the cold iron bars. “You’ll regret that, sweetheart.” He said before roughly kissing me, during it, I found his bottom lip and bit down. Hearing him yelp, was satisfactory. The corners of my mouth grew into a smirk. Whitley took something out of his pocket, the glint of it shining in the dim industrial lights. He shoved it harshly into my shoulder. The metal of the cell next to me, creaked in protest. Whitley’s minions dragged someone out of his cell, Emmy. My surroundings started to go blurry. My heart racing out of my chest, my breathing labored. Whitley took out another syringe and mercilessly shoved it into his jugular.“Please, don’t! D-Don’t hurt him.” Those were the words I managed to choke out before everything went black. My ears picked up Whitley commanding his minions for his next subject.   I woke up with a splitting headache. It seemed to be dark, but in my stupor, I couldn’t tell how long I had been out of it. I waited patiently, making sure no one was around. I used Helios again to burn through my ropes. I had to peel off the rest of them, revealing sore rawness underneath, making me suck in my teeth. Mine and Emmy’s cages were not the only ones in the room. there were others. Maybe five more. Emmy wasn’t awake yet. What did they do to you? What did they do to me? It was cold and that was getting to me, besides my stomach making embarrassingly loud growls. I probably should have had more than just a coffee this morning. How long has it been? How long have we been down here? I listened tentatively for footsteps, nothing. Something did catch my ear though, a faint but definite sound of a train and it’s horn, racing through the night. I breathed in and whispered Helios a third time, my hands a light with fire, I put my hands on the cold bars of my cell.It was getting hot enough so I could just budge the bars a bit, but in that second, the bars lit up bright white with Greek letters strategically placed all around them. The force of the warding sent me flying back to the damp cold ground of my cell. Warding? I never knew that stuff would work on someone like me. My hands felt like they were burned, it was the kind of feeling you get when you forget to wear mitts and take something out of the oven. I used the coolness of the ground below me to quell the pain in my palms. There has to be some way out of this shit. Realizing I might still have my phone, I checked my pockets quickly. Nothing. Duh, if Whitley is smart enough to put warding on my cell, then he is way smart enough not to leave me with any way to contact the outside. I started to cry, which was something I vehemently hated. Dammit, you can get out of this. Dean, Sam and Cas are coming for you. Wait a second, Cas! Okay, uh, how the hell do you pray to something you’re not familiar with? I recalled earlier in the night, when Emmy and I went to the church. I closed my eyes and spoke in my head. Cas, I hope you can hear me. We’re all locked up, in cells. I’m pretty sure there is a train nearby. Please hur-. I never noticed Whitley come in and check on his merchandise. He had shot me with some kind of tranquilizer. I could open my eyes just enough to see him adjust that hat of his, before everything went black.
Dean:
 By now I was over my, I’m gonna slaughter your entire family, limit. I was beyond sick of letting people I love get hurt. Sammy was almost out of options. For about 4 hours already he was eating through police databases and historical documents. His eyebrows raised and he called my over to him, “Dean, I got it. Those missing people, they always come in sets of seven. It’s a ritual, a sacrifice. Whitley’s family has been doing it for generations. And it involves monsters, he’s some kind of sick hunter. Dean they all end up dead, every single one.” Cas came in giving us an urgent look, “I got a message from Phaedra. Is there a train near here? It’s underground, I think. She spoke briefly, I couldn’t get any more information from her prayer.” Sam frantically checked maps for a train. And there was one that runs right through Whitley’s property. “Let’s go.” I said, not bothering to lock the motel door. Baby’s rubber met the road, I didn’t care if I was going 80 or 90, I needed to get to her, now. Sam was unnerved by my driving, but he’ll get over it. We left Baby in a secluded area on the edge of the forest and nearing Whitley’s property. Cas was able to bust through a chain-link fence with ease. It would have taken Sam and I a little while longer even though it’s something we’re skilled at. We didn’t have time. Knowing that he stabbed her, and now she’s probably somewhere bleeding out, I can’t stand it. There’s miles of track to look near. Deep into Whitley’s property, about 20 grueling minutes worth of following the track, we found a small shed. Thinking we’d catch them by surprise, we approached the minuscule building silently. I busted through the old door, not thinking of anything else but a cry for help.The shed was empty however an area rug was something I have seen all too much. It’s always under the rug. Lifting up the dust laden mat, revealed a heavy wooden door in the floor. Sam and Cas pried it open. The both of them tailed behind me, my grip on my gun now getting clammy. I didn’t know what I was getting into. Not knowing, that’ what scared me to death. The stairwell down was damned near pitch-black. Once I got down to the bottom, I could hear muffled grunts. A light was flickering ominously in the center of the room. beneath it was a hair and someone bound and gagged, it was an older man. I kind of recognized him as one of the people Whitley was taking in the van. I deduced this guy could have been Emmanuel’s father. Sam and Cas worked on getting him unbound and out of his bolted chair. There was a heavy scent of whiskey on his breath. It was a poison I knew all too closely. I looked into his eyes, to judge his character and see if he was still hungover or not. We’d have to carry the weight of saving him too, an innocent, albeit, inebriated civilian. He looked a bit hungover but not enough to wear Sammy or I would have to carry him over our shoulders. Everything inside this damp dark cellar was eerily quiet. Too quiet for my liking. My heart started pumping more adrenaline through my veins as bright haze from flood lights engulfed the room with white. My eyes couldn’t take the sudden change, I rose my arm up to keep the backs of my eye sockets from aching. “Welcome brothers’ Winchester, to the Septennial Propitiatory Games.” Said the gruff-voiced Whitley, rising from his throne across the vast room. I was far beyond taking any shit from this guy. I cocked my gun and aimed it at him with intent to fire. “In English Dickbag.” I replied, finger on the trigger. “Oh I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You’d hurt that witch girl ‘o yours.” He said snapping a light switch on, to reveal what was caged in front of me. Seven people sitting, bound and hooded in black burlap sacks. The one in front of me, it had to be Phae. It was her skinny body type and her shirt was soaked with dried blood, but I couldn’t see a wound. In its place was a nasty looking scar, a burn mark. I lowered my gun, what was he planning on doing with them. I hated this helpless, worthless feeling. It brought me back to when I left Sammy alone, only for a minute or two and that Shtriga was after him. Whitley flipped another switch, the burlap sacks attached to tethers, fluttered up into the ceiling, revealing their faces. My eyes met hers, she seemed surprised that we were here. Maybe she was feeling this moment for the first time. Having someone here, someone who cares to rescue her. The man we’d freed earlier stirred in place. “You let my boy go, bastard!” he spoke with strength, though he was in the same helpless predicament as us. Emmy was seated next to Phaedra. Along with those two familiar faces I saw one other vaguely, it was Mrs. Everett’s son, the werewolf Phae saw get taken on the park trail. The poor boy looked scared out of his wits. Next to him were four other nameless people, or what I thought were people. Some of them were bound to their chairs with steel. Cas touched the chain link, unable to sit on his hands and be spectator, the only thing between us and Whitley’s seven victims. His hand quickly retracted from the fence, his face twisted in a grimace. Whitley began to laugh mockingly. “Sorry, you can’t be the hero feathers. Ah, I almost forgot. For the gentleman, a gold- plated axe. And for the witch bitch, long have they been asleep, the infamous Dead Goddess Blades. You see your fellow competitors aren’t exactly human, so you want to take a weapon.” Whitley had an annoying smirk on his face.  Phaedra: it was a mad dash to my weapons, Emmy did manage to get his Axe too. My swords, were beautiful, elegant and powerful all at the same time. I recognized them, a Xiphos, a rather plain looking sword meant for short jabs and its sister the Kopis, a blood thirsty weapon built for decapitation equipped with a curved blade and an adorned hilt and a lion’s pommel. These were weapons fit for an ancient King. The heft of them in my hands, felt so exhilarating like they were meant to be mine in the first place. The monster before us, were hungry. It wouldn’t surprise me if Whitley had starved them to get more oomph out of them. Emmy and I were back to back, an old strategy used too much in the movies. I had no idea if it would work or not, but that was our best chance. I felt overwhelmed, distracted. This was my first big fight, and I needed to protect Emmy too, but how? What’s some dinky old Axe gonna do against these things? Just as I started to feel alone, I saw beyond the cage, Sam, Dean, and Cas’ worried faces. I in fact, was not alone. Dean was pressed up against the cage, fingers laced in the cold chain, itching to join in, but unable to protect me himself. This was my fight, it was a chance to prove myself. My heart was pounding in my chest loudly to the point of distraction. I flipped the Head-cutter in my hand, like I had been using it for decades. “C’mon wusses!” I taunted the crowd. The monsters got closer to us, not knowing which of the two to attack first. I could feel Emmy’s rapid breathing on my back, he was scared, and so was I but all of this was probably a culture shock to him, a huge one. Emmy chuckled a bit, “Stick ‘em with the pointy end for me, alright?” he said to me, eyeing a group of monsters before him.“Really? Game of thrones references, now?” I questioned him. “Seemed like a cool idea at the time.” One of the monsters lunged at me, what are you? I hope these swords have silver in them. One of the monsters, Caleb, the one I saw get taken was dejected from the ferocious group, huddling in a corner, not wanting any part of this ordeal. Do I have to protect him too? The man in front of me kept eyeing my neck. I had a slight hunch but it was one I had to go with. I placed the sharp edge of the Xiphos to my neck drawing blood. If you are what I think you are, this should work. The man brandished his teeth like an animal and grunted at the sight of my delicious red life-force trickling from my neck, soaking down into my shirt. Vampire. Decapitation. He needed to get closer to me. But I couldn’t leave Emmy’s side. “Yeah, you like that huh? I’ll let you have a taste, Twilight.” I craned my neck in his direction. Not being able to resist his primal urges, he lunged for my jugular, his sharp teeth itching to have a few seconds of bliss. I gripped the Kopis hard and steady in my hand, my knuckles turning white and took my strike. The blade cut through his entire neck like a steak knife through a frozen stick of butter. The creature’s blood whipped onto my face, narrowly missing my lips. Don’t ingest it, I’ll turn. His head rolling onto the ground near my feet. I did had to give a little effort, because well, frankly I had never lopped off anyone’s head before. I carefully wiped the blood away from my my mouth, smearing my cheek with faint red streaks.Emmy was up against the cage, defending himself against two of the monsters, keeping them at bay with his weapon. “Holy shit! That was awesome!!” he exclaimed at my first successful Vamp kill. The two monsters that ganged up on him were pressing harder into him, one snapping at his neck. Another Vamp? That’s not usual. I didn’t break my stride though, determination solidifying my expression. I looked at Emmy’s eyes. “Close your mouth.” I raised my weapon, and with one fluid strike I decapitated it, the headless body slumping onto Emmy. The gore too much for Emmy to take. “Oh, God get it off!” he said shoving the corpse with a leg. Something grabbed me by the hair, yanking me to the ground harshly. “You’re mine Hunter-girl!” the female said, she brandished sharp short, piranha like teeth and her pupils compressed making her eyes look like she was part shark, no it was more similar to a snake. Vetala. Vetalas! They always come in couples. Wasting no time, seeing that the other one was handling Emmy. Emmy had fire in the backs of his eyes, territorial. “Don’t you hurt her!!” he warned the monster. The other Vetala, the male, had a hold of one of Emmy’s arms, tightening, making him grunt from the crushing pain. We made eye-contact. I chucked him my Xiphos and he caught it, his expression surprised. I yelled out the directions to him, as I did them to my Vetala. “Jab to the heart, and twist!” I saw the lights in her eyes disappear and her body started to lose it’s weight, making her look emaciated. Her flesh turned hard as if she had dried mud on her skin, almost reptilian in nature. I panted still staring at her body, what was left of it. Exhaustion was inching it’s way into every fiber of my being. How long was I fighting? I heard the clank of metal hit the ground and pleading. No! Did Emmy not follow my directions exactly? I turned on my heels, not wanting to see what was behind me. My Xiphos and the axe were left abandoned on the cold concrete, unneeded.The pleading and whimpering did not come from my lover, but instead from his prey. Caleb, the docile werewolf, was in his corner, cowering. “Please, I just want to go home! I don’t want any part of this.” Caleb begged. Emmy took the boys arm and ripped it from his body with relative ease. My body started to quiver at the animalistic violence before me. My throat echoed a tiny confused whimper. “E-Emmy?” my eyes welled up, not knowing what was happening to him. I watched as blood flowed like fast moving river water from one of Caleb’s arteries. Caleb was wailing in pain. Even for monsters, this was unbelievably brutal. My knees quaked beneath me, sending me to the cold ground. The regal Kopis clanking on the solid ground, caused by the shaking of my hands. Emmy took Caleb’s head and twisted it around, like an owl, breaking it so easily, parts of his neck exploded outward from the impact. I felt bile rise up into my esophagus. My breathing was racing at an alarming pace, akin to hyperventilating. I was able to drag myself to the edge of the cage, not letting Emmy out of my sight. A gutteral cry came from Emmy. “Whitley!! What did you do to me???!” “That’s an impressive record Rookie. 10 minutes is the longest anyone has lasted with Minotaur blood.” Whitley explained rising from his throne and walking up to the cage to take a better look at his experiment. “Minotaur?!” I heard Sam exclaim. Whitley looked very pleased with the outcome. A grin opened up on his face, from ear to ear, laced with malice. His eyes met mine, Whitley made a clicking noise with his tongue like he was sicking a dog, “You got one left.” In a few long bounds Emmy was on me, gripping my ankle with tenacious strength, to the point of bruising. He dragged me to the middle of the cage where he met me face to face. I was overcome by fear and panic, during the drag, I had no control over my fearful screams. I still held my Kopis in my hand gripping it white-knuckled. In the distance I heard Dean’s familiar bellows, “Phaedra!” he almost never spoke my full name. There was desperation in his voice.Emmy had complete control over me. His grip pinning my armed hand to the cold ground. His other hand moved to cup my cheek tenderly. Looking into his eyes, there was so much sadness. “I can’t stop, I need to kill.” his tears fell onto my cheek. He leaned over and gave me a shaky yet still tender an innocent kiss on the lips. Our first kiss, robbed, stolen by a maniac who got his rocks off by watching people mutilate each other with an ancient curse. He took his fist and pounded it into the ground next to me, showcasing his restraint to rip me limb from limb. He looked at me with sad eyes and glanced at the Kopis in my hand. He smiled back at me.“Phaedra. I’m a monster. You need to put me down. Please, before I hurt you.” his voice started to crack at the word hurt. I was crying too, again. “I can’t. Not this.” I said gripping my sword even tighter, making my fingers go numb. I felt his grip clasp around my windpipe. I knew Emmy was holding back the best he could. With one final wail from the depths of my heart I felt the pain, sorrow, of having to kill the one man that I loved so much.The blade struck flesh and I buried it deep into his core. All was silent for a moment with his body collapsed onto mine, pinned underneath him.

I could hear a faint and grief stricken utterance of my name coming from Dean, surely worried if I was dead or dying. In one swift movement I removed the blade from Emmy’s body, revealing warm gushing blood. I was inconsolably hysterical. I managed to flip him over and rest his torso on my legs, his sickly face looking at me from my lap. He gave me a very weak smile. I called out, “Cas! Cas! Please help me. He’s d- dying.” Emmy’s blood soaked into my light colored jeans. I covered his wound with my hand, fruitlessly trying to stop the blood-loss. My tears dripped down onto his cheeks. He was wheezing intensely. The blood pulsed with every beat of his heart, I felt it slowing down, slower, slower. He looked up at me and in a very raspy voice said, “Don’t cry.” those words only made me cry more and more. Knowing there was nothing I could do to heal him or help him. Even in his last moments he thought of me.With a final shaky breath he closed his eyes peaceful, and passed in my arms. I knelt down and kissed his forehead. I love you.In the distance I heard Daniel, Emmy’s dad wailing, having just witnessed the death of his only child. The pain was so much, something in my chest cavity ached. I stared at his lifeless face for I don’t know how long, until in my periphery, a flash of blue caught my eye. A beautiful blue and black butterfly perched itself on Emmy’s police boot. A dark shadow engulfed itself over me and Emmy’s corpse. I looked up only to see a deity face to hood. The hooded being skeletal in nature, could have only been one thing. Thanatos. He was the very primordial embodiment of Death in Greek mythos. He was unlike the grim reaper, no scythe, a dark figure, yes. However, he had a certain aura about him. Drenched in agony of millions of souls and of mourning. The shadowy figure brandished his magnificent bright blue feathery wings. It was a haunting beauty. If Thanatos could weep, I bet he would, his dark necessity of a job was one that never ceased to bring pain. The deity was silent and did not speak. The butterfly, one of Thanatos’ ancient symbols, fluttered up to Emmy’s chest, in this moment an epiphany came to mind, and I knew I had to act fast. “Wait! Not yet. If you take him, he won’t be able to cross the river. He needs a Death Coin right? Here, take mine!!” I held out my wrist to the deity, who hesitated. Thinking Thanatos would not accept my offer, I pleaded with him. “I forfeit my Death Coin, to Emmanuel Johnson, for eternity.” my statement was finite, it was an Oath, and if the Greeks took one thing seriously Oath was it. The butterfly floated it’s way up to my wrist, it’s springy legs grabbing something, a golden glinting Drachma. I watched in painful awe as a white smoke-like mist exited the chest of my love, the Psyche, soul. The deed was done, finalized. Thanatos was indeed gentle. Maybe that was what made him so sad. Having what he needed, as effortlessly elegant as he came, Thanatos left, the only noise he made was the flapping of his wings. My throat was raw from crying, it felt like someone had shredded it with a grater. The sound of inappropriate applause jolted me. It was Whitley, his face aghast and awestruck. “Amazing! Such a tragically beautiful ending hasn’t, happened since Orpheus and Eurydice. And you, you’re the first victor in 2,000 years. I mean, to willingly give up one’s own Death Coin, to save your lover. Darling, you’re the epitome of Greek tragedy. Tell me Orpheus-gal, you gonna retrieve your Eurydice? Oooooooh, wait. You might not be able to, that deal you just made, once you die, that’s an eternal afterlife of strolling the banks in anguish. Incredible.” Whitley contemplated out loud. I stood resting Emmy’s body gently onto the coldness of the concrete. My grip tightened on the Kopis in hand, Emmy’s blood dripping from it’s sharp blade. I was almost completely numb. The pain I felt hadn’t passed, maybe it never will. But something else was brewing, festering from darkened depths inside me, pure animosity. I lifted my hand to Whitley’s side of the cage. “Helios,” I uttered just barely above a whisper. My hand lit up in brilliant orange flare, the pulse of light was sent streaming from my hand, to the warded chain-link. Burning a big enough sized hole for my small frame to fit. Whitley was dumbfounded, “You’re not supposed to do that, Witch-bitch! I warded this place to the brim.” Slowly, with purpose, I walked over to where my Xiphos lay. I picked it up feeling it’s shape in my palm, it begged to be there, back home. Once outside the confines of the cage, I raised my heel and clicked it onto the ground, the chains burning simultaneously until nothing was left of them. In the very back of my mind, a part of me knew that wasn’t right. To be able to perform a spell without the need of it’s incantation, was something only deities were capable of. But that concern was the farthest from my mind. I threw my Xiphos at Whitley, the cretin’s, feet, the weapon clattering loudly against the solid ground. He gawked at me. “Fight me like a real man! C’mon.” I interjected with all my heart.Whitley straightened that dumb hat of his and picked up my sword. “Alright, if I win, I get to spend the night with ya, huh? How does that sound?” anger prevalent in my eyes, I whipped around and slashed at his hand, severing a tendon in his thumb, making him drop my blade. He didn’t deserve to touch it anyway. “Ahhhh, you bitch!” he knelt on the ground. I stood over him. My lion-pommeled sword itching to sink her teeth into his flesh, to exact justice. I placed the blade on his shoulder and pressed down, dragging it towards me, making a slice into this worthless meat pile. Whitley grunted and hissed at the pain, I hoped that this would make me feel better, but it didn’t, I still felt the pain gnawing at me. Whitley raised his head to look at me wanting to speak. “Your boy-toy wouldn’t want you to kill me.” he said. For a moment I hesitated, lifting the blade from his unworthy flesh. He was undoubtedly trying to guilt trip me. I turned and let him taste freedom for a little while, walking my way to some near by cages. The cages had two very emaciated looking werewolves in them. I felt great pity for them. “You’re right. He probably wouldn’t. Actaeon.” Whitley squealed and doubled over in pain, his eyes opened wider at what was happening to him. His hands hardened and blackened and compressed down into hooves. Brown fur sprouted from every place where there was skin. His face slendered out to form a snout. Antlers poked their way through his ten-gallon hat and grew to a full rack. During his transformation I unlocked the cage where the two werewolves had been. Whitley’s screams were now calls that a Buck would have made. The two werewolves exited their cage. Waiting anxiously for my approval. I smiled at them. “Let them eat venison.” with that they howled gleefully, in the way real wolves did and ran after Whitley devouring him and ripping him to shreds while filling their stomachs. With Whitley’s anguished sounds echoing in the background I picked up my mistreated Xiphos. I walked over to where Emmy’s body was, still and silent. I used my Xiphos to tear off pieces of my shirt, revealing my burned scar along with my midriff. I used the cloth to wipe Emmy blood off of my other blade, the Kopis. I neatly tucked the fabric into Emmy’s stiffening hand. Angry plods made there way in my direction. “Mr. Johnson, I’m really really sorry.” I spoke to him now in front of me. I felt a sting across my jaw, knocking me to ground with an unkind force. He’d punched me. Maybe I deserved it. I know I did. “Sorry?! You murdered my son! I should have taken him out of that Satan’s- whore-town sooner!! You bewitched my son into loving you, and this is how he ended up?! Now I have nothing! All thanks to you, Honky!” His vile words stung me in places I thought couldn't have hurt anymore. Cas held him back from trying to engage in hitting me further. Sam and Dean came over to my side. Emotion over came me and as a response I put my blade to Daniel’s neck. “You wanna try that again?” I threatened. Sam and Dean’s arms dragged me back quite easily, away from the dark place I was feeling, one of hate- yet at the same time one of real primal emotion that I couldn't deny was a part of me. “Phae?! What the Hell is wrong with you?” yelled Dean now standing in my way between myself and Daniel. Not wanting to face my own reality, I couldn't bare to look either Dean or Sam in the eyes. They were too close to me, their opinions meant too much to me. I blinked some tears away and held out my swords to no one in particular, they levitated for a few seconds before bursting into cool purple colored flames. The flames turned into purple-ish balls of energy and then planted themselves into my wrists, one for each arm. A mark formed where they planted themselves, making an outline of a shape, dark like I was in the middle of getting simultaneous tattoos. They filled themselves out to form their final shape, two twin torches. Dean, Sam, and I as well stood and stared in awe at what had just happened. Sam uttered a, “Woah.” and Dean still stood silent, watching. I’m guessing out of all the things these guys have been through, this was something they didn’t see everyday. My head felt dizzy and clouded, and then I felt trapped in my own head as I watched my eyes roll into the back of my head, everything went dark.
Dean:
Watching her go down must have taken forever, or at least felt like it. I thought I could be fast enough to catch her, but Sammy did it for me. Her body was limp in his hold. Worry dripped its way down the back of my neck, ever so slightly, in the form of a light sweat. I slapped her cheek lightly, to try and jolt her awake, but it didn’t work. Sam took her legs and hoisted her up to carry her easily.Cas came over while Daniel mourned, sitting next to the carcass of his son. Cas ran a hand over her, checking for critical medical emergencies, a nod of his head meant she was okay for now. He examined her new, marks. For the first time in what seemed like many hours, I could breathe wholly again. Daniel weighed on my heart like an anchor. Cas volunteered to stay with him while Sammy and I made the 20 minute trek back to Baby.

There was no way we weren’t going to build pyres for the dead, even the werewolf-boy deserved it. Sending them up in the air with a bonfire was the least we could do. An honorable hunters- send off. When Sammy got tired of carrying Phae, I very willingly would switch the load, letting him stretch his back out and rest a little. By the time we got to Baby, I put her gently in the back seat, she was still knocked out cold, asleep.

We were able to find a different trail back to the train-cellar next to the Candy-van. I rolled down Baby’s windows in case Phae woke up and got out two axes from the trunk and two white sheets. Sam and Cas started to chop down some trees, while I descended back into the war-zone first going to Caleb’s mangled mess of a corpse. Jesus Christ.

I carried Caleb out of the cellar, being careful not to trip on the steps. I set him down on top of the white sheet, pausing a bit. The dead needed a moment of respect. Sam and Cas stopped chopping for a little bit, staring at me.

“No one deserved the hand they got dealt today. But, I’m glad Whitley’s horror-show is over.” I told them as I covered up Caleb body with the sheet. I sighed, how’re we gonna tell his mom? That was the rough part I could never get over about this job, this life. Being the bearer of bad news brought with it a weight, an ache. Cas and Sammy continued to cut down wood for the funerary pyres. I grabbed another white sheet from the pack we stored in Baby’s trunk, bringing it down to Daniel. His eyes were still wet and swollen from a pain I couldn't empathize with. I set it down next to Daniel, patting him on the back.

“When you’re ready.” I told him, being as succinct as possible. I started to walk away when he spoke.“I'm sorry for hitting, your girl. She alright?” he pondered.“Sleepin’ for now. She’ll be ok, physically.” I replied.“Son, don’t you take her for granted, do you understand?” he taught me that crucial lesson, his words hitting a tender spot in my heart. Typically I would have snapped at him for calling me Son. Because John and Bobby were the only ones who could call me that. But I knew when to be quiet. I shoved my hands in my pockets and licked my lips.“Do you need help? Uh, carrying him?” Emmy was a big guy.“No, I’ll do it myself. Thank you.” he said solemnly grabbing the rosary from Emmy’s neck, pressing it to his lips with a quiver, setting it down on his body. I helped finish set up the two pyres, taking turns at being a very underpaid lumber jack when Cas and Sammy were too exhausted to do another log. A few minutes after we finished the pyres, put Caleb to rest in his spot, and cracked open some waters for Sam and I, Phae walked up to the scene. She sat next to me, scooting close and put her head on my arm, she was too short to put it on my shoulder.I craned my neck down in her direction, placing a kiss on her hair. I felt wetness soak into the sleeve of my shirt. She was crying, trying hard to keep it to herself and muffle it, still hanging on to her pride. I saw Sam looking at her, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, hiding his own sadness. He was probably upset for her, and at the same time, this entire situation bubbled up old wounds and reminded him of Jess.Daniel came up from the cellar, wrapped Son in hand, standing strong, processed, placing him onto the top of the pyre next to Caleb. We all stood respectively, Phaedra holding onto my sleeve in an attempt to keep herself together, among the reality of the moment. All five of us approached the pyre, Cas patting Sammy’s back in understanding. I shoved my calloused hand into my pocket grabbing a Zippo and handed it to Phae. She flipped open the lid and struck the wheel, letting a flame come to life.She gave it a good toss and we watched the flames engulf it in seconds. This was Phaedra’s breaking point. She bawled and wailed, letting her pain overcome her and echo through the forest. I embraced her, keeping her head flush against my chest. My throat started to ache to with rawness, it stung sharply to see her so torn up. All I could do was hold her tight to me. I had no words, none at all.

End Chapter 5.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Phaedra’s age: 20 (birthday: June 9th, 1995)Dean age: 35 (nearly 36 in January)Sam age: 32 (just turned 32 in May) {forgive me if my calculations are in-accurate}

Approximate season: Time skip! Now in season 11.

congruent episode: “Form and void”Approximate date in story: October/15/2015

“So I'm cutting that branch off the cherry tree

I'm singing this will be my victory then I...

I see them coming after me

And they're following me across the sea

And now they're stinging my friends and my family and I...

I don't know why this is happening” - ‘

Black Honey’,

Thrice.

Chapter 6: The Witch-Sense

Dean:

My mind could have been set on fire, that’s how I felt. In this moment. But typical of me I never showed it. Amara was this new challenge unlike anything we’d faced before. Knowing Sam had cured himself from the Darkness’ infection was a relieving step in the right direction. Another plus was stepping back into Baby and letting her rubber meet the asphalt. Just going somewhere, doing something quelled the pressure in my head. It’s been months since Emmy’s death and Phaedra was now a year older. Her birthday is on June 9th.To celebrate she wanted to eradicate a major vamp nest near Lebanon. I got her some pie, and quickly found out that the didn’t eat it which was more than fine by me, devouring it by the time the night was done. I let her drink a year early but watched her so that she didn’t mess herself up too much. Like Cas was when he was human a few years back, Phae is one hell of a light weight. I let her taste some beer, “all I taste is piss-water.” she remarked and grimaced harshly. Sam had a few varieties of wine for her to taste and so far Pink Moscato is her favorite, a sweet drink for a sweet girl. There was a point however, when I couldn’t keep her away from the Hennessy, behavior of an addictive personality. Not that I had any room to talk in the matter. When she was drunk the tops of her ears would turn bright red, and she would cuss like a sailor. Despite being a lightweight, she never got a hangover. Lucky.I am worried about her, truthfully. Emmy’s death, left scars. After that she barely ate and would spend hours either cooped up in her room or not wanting to stop hunting for days. Sam, Cas, and I have been researching her tattoos extensively. I was unbelievably happy to be free of my Mark, but as the cookie crumbles, Phae had gained some of her own. So far there’s no leads on what they are or what they do. It’s always one problem after the other. But it doesn’t hurt to keep stickin’ it to the man. Getting back to the Bunker was like hitting a huge reset button for me. Another setback was Cas beaming a ride to the Bunker and being sick from that bitch Rowena. Looked to me like Cas’ was Jones-ing for another dose of whatever Rowena put on him.Just as we were about to devise some plans on Phae’s inked up situation, I heard a scream, one that has been going on ever since Phae left Whitley’s shop-of-horrors. I sighed and patted the table as I excused myself, “I got it, this time.”

Phaedra:

There was a knock at my door before Dean walked in and sat on my bed. He could see how flustered I was. My breath unable to come to a steady pace for several minutes. For a long time he didn’t say anything. I wiped a fresh tear from my face with my covers and clasped my knees tight to my chest, as if to protect my heart from the hurt it was feeling.“Why won’t it stop?” I asked him.“Dunno, kiddo. It just happens, and I’m sorry it does, believe me I know how real nightmares feel. What matters now is that you’re awake. And getting some food might help.”“I want to work a case. Does Sam have any lined up?” I asked wanting to escape.“Maybe not now. How about you relax a little? All that pressin’ the gas and no rest, will wear you down.” Dean tried to coerce me into letting go, but I can’t. If I let go, I’ll break.“I need to keep hunting. I need to be one step ahead. Those Angels, aren’t gonna rest until I’m up in flames. You know that, right?” I looked at him, staring into his eyes.“I know, but that doesn’t mean you have to go at it alone. Besides, I’m not gonna let those feathered assholes hurt you anyway.” he told me. My lips moved into a complaisant smile. He tapped me on the knee, “Bacon??” he asked.“Yes, please.” I told him throwing the bed sheets over and getting out of bed.Dean gave us all a nice breakfast and even gave me a little more bacon than usual, as substitute for my missing eggs. He was worried about me, I could tell. At this point, I didn’t care if the Angels came for me right now. It looks like I can’t become what I was destined to be anyway. I’m not even much of a witch, Hell I’m not much of a decent human being. I examined my face in the mirror. Deep dark circles choking the life out of my eyes, my cheekbones were set in a little more, and when I tried to fake a smile it was like I didn’t have the muscle memory to do so. Flashes of Emmy came into my mind. His smile, the way he laughed, and then just red.I felt a deep purposelessness, like I was doing these cases for nothing. If he wasn’t around or at the very least out there, then what the Hell was I fighting for? My eyes were red and exhausted. If I didn’t know any better, I would think I had some serious disease like cancer, or something of that nature. Nevertheless I laced my boots and put on a good looking teal, white, and black shirt. As I rolled up my sleeves I couldn’t help but look at my tattoos. No witches I knew had anything like this, no power like what I had experienced.
With these marks, I should have become a Goddess by now right? But there are variables that don’t add up properly.
Just what am I?
I slung a bag across my back, a hunters’ goodie-bag,
and stuffed my white-handled knife into my boot
.
Even though I might not need it since I have my swords,
Although,
it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Before exiting my room. I checked myself, looking at my face in the mirror
again, making sure my curls weren’t too out of place
. I looked like a zombie. But I smiled as best I could anyway, putting on a brave face.
I went out of my room and set my bag down on the wooden table, staring at a blanketed Cas, who was looking very sickly.

“Didn’t know the bird flu was still around.” I crudely joked, sitting down in my seat.
Dean came in with several duffel bags, armed to the hilt I suspect. I stared at them thinking it was a little excessive.
“What?” Dean asked me.“Is all that really necessary? I mean are we hunting Godzilla?” I joked again.
“
We’re gonna need a lot of salt, where we’re going. Sammy, you gonna handle Hellen Keller and join us later?” Dean said, leaving a
spare duffel bag near Sam.

“Sure, no problem.
I’ll meet up with you guys soon.
”
Said Sam giving us a smile before we left.
 
Campbell, Nebraska- ~30 miles outside Lebanon, Kansas.

It was sickeningly quiet throughout the ride into town. I stayed silent but Dean blared the radio with classic rock and graced my ears with horrible singing.
I let him see me smile even though I didn’t feel,
right
.
I spend most of the time staring out Baby’s passenger side window. Looking at the scenery
around me
I had to
let my mind focus on something other than Emmy.

Dean pulled into a western themed motel and I popped the trunk and loaded up our bags into our room.
I changed into business attire and fixed my hair into a pony tail. I picked the bed closest to the door until Dean came in and locked the door.

“
U
hn uh. You get the second bed.” he demanded moving my backpack to the bed closest to the bathroom.
I scoffed and rolled my eyes.
“Why? Does it matter that much?” I asked.
“Because I said so! And yeah it does.
If something comes through that door, it has to go through me before it gets to you.
”
he yelled at me. I waited until he got out of the shower and dressed into a nice looking suit.
I tried to hide my blushing, he really did look
gentlemanly
.
He rummaged through a compartment in his duffel and handed me a wallet sized package. I flipped it open and glanced at the name,
Christine McVie
.
“Fleetwood Mac?” I noticed. Dean raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“Oh, I guess your generation
is
worth saving.” he prodded. We
got in Baby and started driving to the case.

“Let me do the talking. We’re looking for ghosts. Plural. This town has been ri
dd
led with ‘em recently, which is, unusual, but not impossible.
What we’re looking for is cold spots, poltergeist behavior, tragic deaths, vengeful spirits, that kind of stuff.” he informed me.
“How do we stop them?” I asked peering through Baby’s glass, gawking at the town’s scenery as we drove through.
“
Iron will make ‘em go poof if they show up. They can’t cross salt, usually they are connected to a person, or a place like an old house. So to protect the people
they haunt
we make a ring of salt so we can deal with them. There’s shotguns in the trunk, fill them with Salt rounds and the Casper’s will disappear for a time. But to get rid of them for good,
we find their grave ,
or any left over remains,
dig it up, salt and burn the bones.” Dean explained.

“That sounds, complicated.” I commented.
Dean chuckled as we pulled up to an old looking house.

“Yeah, it can be.” he said exiting Baby.
I took a sigh, to reset myself. I straightened out my suit and walked alongside Dean up to the house. Even with the houses age, it was well kept.
If I would settle down, this house would be a nice place to live in.
Dean rang the doorbell and I stiffened my back, making it ache a bit.
A middle-aged man opened the door, “Can I help you?” he asked.

Dean showed his pearly whites, “Ah, sorry to bother you sir, But I heard you lost your daughter about a week back, we’re just trying to clear some things up about the investigation.” He showed his faux badge and I flashed mine
barely able to smile at him
.
We entered his home, as I followed Dean through the house I stared at the scenery around me. Looking at pictures for evidence and trying to notice if any cold spots arise.
I saw the man’s daughter, smiles and graduation caps, a few cats and a dog from her childhood.

It was increasingly difficult for me to focus on their conversation, so I excused myself to
go to the bathroom.
I used the old wooden stairs up to the second floor and took a quick look around. I
t
seemed like he was a single father for a while.
No evidence that the mother had been around, I guess she died, from what I don’t know. I snooped around in the daughter’s room. She was a teenager, close to my age.

She was about to graduate high-school, a successful cheerleader. I looked around for a diary or something of the like and did find a small journal. I didn’t have time to search her computer for evidence. I was starting to take too long when I joined Dean down in the living room.
Dean got up from the man’s living room couch, “Thank you for your time sir, I’m very sorry for your loss.” Dean turned around, “Agent,
Mcvie
, we’re through here.” I nodded and followed him out of the house.

I trotted around to the passenger side of the Impala and opened the door before I gave the house a final look. In the daughter’s window, just for a second I could have sworn I saw a wisp of blonde hair. I blinked and rubbed my eyes and it was gone. Dean was in the driver’s side, and turned the key to rumble the Impala to life.
The sound made me almost jump out of my skin and instead made me plop into the passenger seat and close the Impala’s heavy door.
“Did you see something?” Dean asked me before switching the Impala into gear and revving the gas out of the subdivision. I shook my head, “No, but I got something.” I told him as I leaned forward and took the diary out of my back, tucked discreetly in-between my fancy business suit. Dean chuckled and playfully shoved my shoulder, “My girl!” he said.Over lunch, I read the diaries’ contents slowly, examining every note and detail, even down to the way she wrote it down. Most of it was daily cheerleader jargon. Until I got about halfway through the book. Her father, Justin, worked hard days to support her after her mother died. Maria, the daughter, felt responsible for her mother’s death, somehow.She said it was in a fire and that Maria could have saved her mother but didn’t. The day turned into night and I was sifting through my notes when Dean gave off a particularly loud snore. I turned my head looking at him from my creaky motel bed. Several emptied bottles of beer lay about the floor and on his bedside table, one bottle accompanied him in bed as he turned in his sleep.I chuckled under my breath, turning the TV down. Which had old re-runs of scooby-doo playing in the background for white noise. I closed the diary and set it down on my bedside table. I pulled the covers over my PJs and stared at the obsolete popcorn finish on the ceiling. I fought back sleep, my eyes getting heavy with exhaustion. Not wanting to know what would await me on the other side of my eyelids. The Scooby-Doo program changed into some info-mmercial for an at-home-gym. Sleep fully gripped me and before I could resist I plummeted down the rabbit-hole.The next thing I remember was in the Bunker. I traveled through the twists and turns of the back hallways, where the sleeping quarters were. I felt like I was not alone completely. I called out for Sam, Dean, or Cas. There was no answer. I checked the kitchen and no one was there, just empty space. I made my way tentatively to the library where the mapped table called home. There in the dim table-lamp light was a darkened figure. My heart was pounding in my head, making it ache incessantly. I put one foot in front of the other steadily, not letting my gaze leave the figure. A slow drip, caught my attention. From the chair he was sitting in, drenched in blood he raised his head, eyes to meet mine.“Hi Baby.” he greeted me. He got up from the chair, it’s cushion squishing, soaked with his blood, when he rose. Reflexively I backed away crashing into a threshold of a doorway, startling myself. He crept closer to me, leaving a blood trail on the floor. I felt a weight in my right hand, the Kopis appearing in my palm, I looked at it’s sharp edge and it’s ancient beauty.“Go ahead, use it. Carve me up again.” Emmy’s voice billowed into my ears. He inched closer still, but there was no other outlet for me to run. He gripped the sword in his hand, drawing blood. The blade pierced his clothing, going into his flesh like it didn’t hurt him at all.“Emmy. Stop!” I beckoned with him uselessly. There was a flash of darkness blurring itself into my vision. The snarling of a rabid animal, deep red eyes, ripped and snatched at the flesh of my lover. And I couldn’t stop it. With a frightened jolt I woke, sunlight peeking through the cheap shades of the motel room. A figure caught my attention at the foot of my bed wisps of blonde hair brushing the figures shoulders. I grabbed the loaded shotgun next to my bedside and wasted no time shooting the figure with a salt round. Dean woke with a jolt, not expecting to be rudely ripped from his dreaming state with the sound of a gun.The figure dissipated into wisps of mist. I sat upright in bed, my hand rattling against the gun. Dean rubbed his eyes and rose from bed, my focus was still diverged, stuck on where the figure, the ghost was standing. She was watching me sleep? Was she the wolf in my dream? The one that attacked Emmy? Was she trying to protect me in a way? My face probably looked as white as a sheet to Dean. He took the shotgun, my hands still gripping it tightly. “Let go, it’s okay. Let go.” he reassured me as I slowly came out of my trance, uncurling my grip around the weapon. My stress level was through the roof. How could Dean and Sam do this for so long? I didn’t realize how sweaty I was until I could barely peel away my night-shirt from my body. Dean sat down on his bed, waiting for me to tell him what I saw. I’m going to need a shower, nice and hot. I jumped when I heard a knock at the door. Making my heart race back up again. Dean patted my knee as he grabbed his firearm from under his pillow, going to check who it was. I closed my eyes and breathed trying to calm myself. Dean lowered his gun and let whomever was at the door inside, closing it and locking all the locks behind him. Sam came in with his burly frame, armed with breakfast in a plastic grocery bag. I didn’t feel like eating, even though I probably should. And Dean would chew me out if I didn’t but all I could think about was getting this sweat off of me before my body odor evacuates the building.

Sam gave me a smile, noticing my distress, no doubt. “Morning, Phaedra. Bad dream?” he asked being genuine. I let a corner of my mouth raise slightly and nodded a little. I didn’t really feel like talking about it. So I averted my thoughts by trying to talk about the case. Throwing the stiffened bed covers off my heated form, revealing short and form fitting night-shorts. That rid up my ass-crack uncomfortably. “You came a few minutes too late, just shot my first ghosty.” I told him. His eyebrows rose in surprise.

“Oh? Really? Here?” he asked confused. I tapped Maria’s journal on my bedside table. This must be the link between her and her ghost. But I thought there had to be some kind of physical evidence connecting the two? I didn’t really see anything that seemed out of the ordinary in there. Sam nodded in understanding. I got up from bed cracking my back as I did, making nasty sounding creaks that shouldn’t be appropriate for someone my age. Dean offered me a sandwich from Sam’s grocery bag but I put my hand up.

“Sorry, I wanna take a shower first. I can eat in the car. Saves time.” I said half-telling the truth. Dean smirked at my comment thinking I most likely wasn’t going to eat. I took a pair of dress clothes out of my suitcase and set it neatly on my tossed bedding. There were towels in the bathroom and I had to remind myself I already put my toothbrush and toothpaste in there, next to Dean’s. I didn’t have to worry about him accidentally using mine since it was pink. I smiled to myself at the thought of him using it though, such a macho man using a stupid girl-ly thing like that. I closed the door and heard some muffled conversation until the front door to our room opened and closed. I knew they were going to talk about me. And that made me feel uneasy, I wanted to know every word that spilled from their lips. It was a trust issue I had from my abuse. Needing to know what people I cared about really thought of me. But nonetheless I let the hot, near scorching, water soak into my skin and let myself enjoy it while I got ready.

Dean:

I rested my spine on the outside door frame of the motel room, crossing my legs at the ankles and shifting my weight to one foot. Sam turned around and brushed his locks from his face, resting himself on the bumper of Baby. He gave me those famous sad puppy dog eyes. C’mon, lay it on me Sammy. “Dean, she looks terrible. You gotta get her to eat. And I can talk to her about Emmy. I don’t want her trying anything with sharp objects one night.” I had thought of that, that’s why I always went to sleep after her, keeping an eye out for her cutting habit. She hasn’t done it in a while, since the Aphrodite case but that was then and this was now. There’s no telling what she could do now. Her nightmares seem to be streamlining. That’s neither bad nor good. I just wish there was some kind of spell out there that would make her forget for a little while. But knowing that, it would only backfire and get worse. So I’ll let Sammy talk her through it, it’s the blame that was the similarities I saw in him with Jess’ death. I haven’t thought about that in so long. It’s odd that, in a way it’s recurring now. I nodded in affirmation to let him know I was listening.“So did you find anything on these Dead-Goddess Blades? That’s what Whitley called them.” I gave Brainiac a little extra homework to do on the side, when Phae wasn’t paying attention. He nodded in confirmation.“The Kopis. The one with the lion on it. Was Leonidas’ sword that he took with him to every battle. I have Cas working on the other one. So far nothing on the Xiphos.” he said rubbing his face. I straightened out my back, shifting my weight to both feet at the news. My bare feet scraping with the concrete.“300, Leonidas? ‘This is Sparta!’ that Leonidas?!” I would have said it was totally kickass but decided not to, seeing that Sammy’d only scold me for it. I paced around thinking what I remembered from the movie that could have been useful.“Good news though, he was a king, not a God. So maybe this means she hasn’t turned full-fledged God mode yet?” I brought this notion to the forefront.“Yeah, it’s possible but we don’t know the origins of the other one and why Whitley called them Dead-Goddess Blades.” he brainstormed.“Right. Maybe they belonged to a Goddess somewhere down the line? I dunno man. I just wish we could stop this whole thing from happening.” I asked out loud.“Dean, that’s the thing we haven’t been able to stop it no matter what we do. Maybe it’s for the better. Like it’s supposed to happen, you know?” Sam suggested.“There you go with the destined shit again. Look where destiny got us! All it’s ever done is fucked us royally. So, what makes you think it’s going to be sunshine and daises for her?” I got angry at the thought that all of the shit that’s happened to her so far has been because of some grand plan. No one deserves what she has gotten. So if I can try to stop it from causing any more grief than it already has, I will. Sam bit his lip and gawked at me before changing the subject, knowing not to poke the bear.“We’ve been searching all the lore. And we’ve run into a problem. None of the texts say the Gods or Goddesses actually died. They’re immortal beings. So to call them Dead-Goddess Blades in the first place is a conundrum to begin with. Have you noticed anything off about her? Anything that could indicate her starting to change?” Sammy rambled and asked. I shook my head, no, and stopped my pacing.“Other than her standard Emmy related baggage no. She’s getting better at being with strangers I think. And she has pretty good pick-pocket skills. She took the Vic’s diary from the house we went to yesterday.” I mentioned pressing my fingers to my mouth, propping my arm up with my other one crossed against my chest, in full Thinker mode. I snapped my fingers remembering some key points from Maria’s diary.

“The vic said her mother died in a fire, and that she could have saved her. I don’t know what it is but I have a weird feeling about this case.” I told him.Sam perked up, my sentence gaining extra attention, “Fire? You think a demon is involved? What about signs of crossroad deals?” he pondered. Even though he wasn’t saying it I knew he was thinking about Yellow-Eyes. But that’s impossible, I’d killed him, with the Colt. He’s long gone. I shrugged my shoulders, I don’t know Sammy, not this time. Sam changed the subject again and continued.“Sounds like she’s learning from you. Alright, C’mon let’s go in, she’ll get out soon.” Sam said rising from the bumper and cracking his knees. The sound made me cringe.“God! Quit doing that. It’s gross. And don’t get jealous Sammy, cuz she learns from the best.” I boasted with a light chuckle and opened the door. The shower water was off and she was in a towel, wet, retrieving her dress clothes. I hesitated, thinking she might have gotten shy about us seeing her in a towel, but she was fine with it. She waved in our direction. Did the shower make her feel better? She grabbed her clothes and retreated to the privacy of the bathroom to change. I dug into my sandwich, getting suddenly famished and called dibs on the next shower. Sammy can go last. He needs opportunities to talk to Phae about Emmy anyhow. I really want to get this uneasiness out of my gut. I need to get this case over with. But most of all I need more dirt on Phae. C’mon Cas! A little feathery help would be great! I prayed exasperatedly to myself.

Phaedra:

I was able to eat my sandwich. But it didn’t make me feel any better. I kept flipping through Maria’s diary, looking for clues. I needed to distract myself, from Emmy and from my nightmares. A black blurring figure running with the speed of the car caught my eye, distracting me from reading. I could see it as clear as day. A pitch black dog keeping up with Baby’s speeds. I leaned forward in my seat trying to catch a glimpse of the speedometer.“Hey, how fast are we going?” I asked Dean, who I knew usually didn’t spare the gas pedal. Dean glanced at me through the rear-view mirror, silently questioning me.“’bout 65, why?” I glanced back, not wanting him to catch on that I was staring at something that most likely wasn’t there. I gave him a smirk, “You want to get lighted up? We’re in a 55, Dean.” I tried my best at lying, feeling the bile start to rise in my throat again. Don’t upchuck. Dean chuckled at me, “What a goo-die-two-shoes.” he mocked playfully. My crack at deception was working so far. In the corner of my eye I kept track of the dog. It never stopped, an effortless display of muscle and unbridled beauty. Once we got to the house and turned the corner though, the dog was gone. A figment of my imagination, possibly? Something inside me yearning for freedom? A lack of sleep? Stress from Emmy’s death? All of these were factors into my rationalization of what I’d just saw.We got out of Baby and knocked back on the door of Justin’s home. He’d answered and let us back inside. I sat on his couch patiently and poised, as much as I could feasibly be, or at the very least act so. I knew I couldn’t go investigating this time since I was the one to do it. So either Dean or Sam had to take the bait. My heart started to palpitate, my palms sweaty, my mouth drying, throat tightening. I was looking right at it. The Dog from earlier. But neither Sam or Justin seemed to notice. This vision, could it have been a waking sign from the Astral Realm? That’s impossible. I’d never heard of such a thing before. The dog was sitting in a corner of the wall, calm and staring back at me, as if into my very being. I couldn’t rip my eyes from its, I was entranced. Sam interjected, noticing my haziness. I jumped and spilled the hot tea that was inside a cup I had, which I didn’t know I was holding, onto my clothed knee, burning the skin beneath.“Ahh!” I sucked air into my teeth from the pain, Sam looked concerned, more so than usual.“Oh, Jesus! I’ll get the first aid kit.” Justin uttered and left the room, into his kitchen rummaging through the cubbards loudly searching for it. Sam looked at my eyes intently and spoke in a hushed but serious tone.“Phaedra. What did you see?” he said, rolling up my pant leg to examine the damage. My eyes started to well in part from the pain but most of it was from what I was seeing. It wasn’t too bad yet, but it’d need a bandage and cream.“It’s gone now, but, a black dog.” this was the second time I had lied today. The dog was still there in the corner sitting, and staring into me, its eyes boring into my every fibers. I was astonished that suddenly, I was able to lie to both my friends, more like family members, in one day. Especially without being overcome by the sickness that was commonplace to follow my fibbing. Sam seemed to be taken aback by my response. As if we needed to take extra-precaution or keep watching over my shoulder. Over our shoulders. Dean came back from his mischievous escapade upstairs. Dean saw that I’d injured myself and gave Sam a look that would have killed him.

“What the fuck? I leave for five minutes and you’re hurt, again?” he directed his concern laced with anger to me. He thought I’d done it to myself.“It was an accident, I got spooked.” I told him truthfully. Sam got aggravated at Dean, as if there were much more pressing matter to be had.“Dean! You need to find out about deals, now.” Sam brought addressed the elephant in the room, still in a hushed tone now that Justin came back into view with the first aid kit in hand.“Sorry I took so long, misplaced it, you know a lot of things have been going missing in this damned house. Only to come back in a day or so. But I’m so sure I never moved it. Oh well, must be grief or something. Here you go Miss.” Justin said taking a quick look at my knee, curiously.“No problem, Sir. My mistake. Butterfingers. Thank you.” I joked and made small talk. Is it possible that I’m improving? How am I able to do this so effortlessly and suddenly? Dean turned to Justin.“Justin, may I have a word with you?” he asked and they moved into the kitchen, their conversation muffled by the closed door. Sam tended to my wound and smoothed out my pant leg sitting back into his seat on the couch. Sam waited being sure Justin was out of ear shot.“Phaedra, I need you to remember. Was there anyone you made a wish to when you were 10. maybe you wished for your father to leave? Or the Trials to stop? It would have been someone you knew. Their eyes would turn red, just for a second. They would have told you they’d come back in ten years. Did you make a deal? Yes or no?” Sam said turning in his seat and cupping my bony shoulders in his grasp. What he was asking of me was near nonsense. I searched my memory anyway. I had had no experience like he was describing. None. I was too feeble a broken child from the Trials that’d I’d barely had the strength to formulate thought or basic functioning needs. I shook my head staring into his tensed hazel eyes. He rattled me, “Are you one-hundred percent sure?!” he said fear present behind his voice.

“Yes! I never made any deals.” I told him. He sighed, a moment of relief for him. He hugged me to his shoulder. We never hugged. He let me go searching his mind for logic. But found nothing in frustration. Dean and Justin came back out and Dean shook his hand.

“Sorry to bother you again, Justin. We’ll leave you be. Take care of yourself, sometimes it helps to do volunteer work, if you have nothing else to do. Even if it’s just to cope.” Dean said before joining back up with us. Justin thanked us for our work as we left his house. My knee stung a bit but it wasn't enough to where I couldn’t walk on it. I didn’t say anything on the way back to the motel, my eyes getting very droopy as we traveled down the interstate. I rested my head against the glass of the back passenger side window. Looking out of it every so often when my grogginess would break just to swoop me back in again, like a rip tide, I saw my dog companion racing with the car. Since it hasn’t attacked me yet, my guess is that its intentions were not to harm me. I’d fallen asleep before we got back to the motel. I do remember the weightlessness of someone carrying me into our room and setting me down in my bed, tucking me under the stiffened covers. Dean’s cologne hit my nose. It must have been him.I was back into the clutches of dreamland. I most likely would encounter Emmy I thought as I scaled the steps up to a bedroom. This house was vaguely familiar. Until I realized it was Justin and Maria’s home. Was Maria’s spirit trying to tell me something? My feet guided me to Maria’s bedroom, where I heard crying. Entering her bedroom I saw her there on her bed cradling her head in her hands. I was apprehensive but still wanted to help her. She showed me there was a box under her bed that her father didn’t know about. Inside it were trinkets and herbs I recognized, the Wiccan pentagram, an Evil-eye, and a neat arrangement of lavender and rose petals. Implements of the witch-y sense. And in that moment I had understood. She had a different faith than that of her father, a Christian, loyal to his path. She was afraid that he’d hate her for it, a denouncing of everything she’d been raised as. She’d looked at me with saddened eyes.But that wasn’t all she needed to show me, I was flashing throughout her memories. At her school she was getting bullied, not something I would expect from a popular girl like her. Although I guess it wasn’t such an impossible outcome. She felt guilty for her mother’s fiery death. And had resorted to harming herself as punishment. That was something I knew too well, an act that I was too close to. It made me feel for her and her situation, and made me think of my own. Feeling guilty for my own cutting. Maria, your Dad cares about you. Don’t you see that? Unable to bring herself to talk to her father, feeling responsible for her mother’s death even as an infant, she couldn’t let herself live. So one night so took her car and wrapped it around a tree, at 80 mph. She made it definite. Her corpse left unrecognizable, only dental records were able to identify her. Before her death she had visions and powers much like telekinesis.That’s all she’d let me see before snapping me back to her bedroom, where she continued to cry.“Please! You’re the only one who can help me now. I need a resting place, before I go crazy and hurt my Dad. Won’t you help me? Goddess?” Maria begged me through her sobs. She called me Goddess. Me? No, I can’t be. I’m just like her, an average girl trying to press her luck against the currents. I don’t feel any major differences. No surge of power, in fact a lack thereof. No glory, no pride, just brokenness. I didn’t have time to react before I sprung up in my bed, severing me from my sleep, gasping again. My head felt like it was splitting in two. Maria’s words echoing in my mind, Won’t you help me, Goddess??? “Woah, take it easy. What happened?” Dean said sitting up in his bed, finishing a mouthful of food and washing it down with a swig of Schlitz. He set his drink down on the bedside table with a glassy clink. Even though I was covered by the bedding my body was shivering. Sam was at attention, his gaze averted from his laptop, staring at me across the table.“Maria, she showed me how she died. She said she needed me to help her cross over.” I told them, their expressions filling with curiosity. Looking from brother to brother I got the strong sense of urgency lighting from within me. I cast the covers aside and fumbled through my bag to get a change of clothes. “I have to help her!” my tone getting worried. Dean looked angry with me, for being so suddenly adamant. But I didn’t care. This girl and I, if this was the one thing I could do right about this case. Then I needed to do it. Dean got up and started to follow me around.“What do you mean? You have to help her? Did you forget, we’re a team? Three-amigos, not a one man pony show.” he said getting in my face.“You don’t get it! I’m the only one who can save her!” I yelled at him, my feet finding the bathroom and closing the door on his face. I didn’t have time to wait for his snooty remark. If I didn’t help Maria tonight, then she’d be lost forever. I got ready as quick as could, flinging the door open and checking my boots for the white knife even though I really don’t need it. The black dog yawned revealing his sharp protruding canines, resting his slender head down on his crossed front paws. He was laying there on my bed. I stopped, by my mattress, I jumped when he licked at my hand affectionately. I’ll have to give him a name for now.Pepper, sounds like a fitting name. He’ll get me in trouble if he keeps bothering me. Like the stinging burn of snorting ground black pepper, a real pain in the ass. Sam acted like he didn’t notice my reaction to what he would interpret as nothing. But I knew I’d been caught. Dean however didn’t catch it, he was outside letting the rumble of Baby sound out through the night. He figured there was nothing he could do to stop my persistence. We were solving this case, now. Pepper whined.“You ready?” Sam said rising from his chair, his eyes darting to my bed and then up to my face. I gave him a firm nod as a Yes and he locked the door behind him. Pepper followed and floated through the locked door. You’re just as stubborn as I am huh? I sat in my spot in the middle of the back seat as knots of nervousness bubbled up in my stomach, twisting themselves mercilessly, making me queasy. How can I save a lost soul? Aren’t you supposed to ‘salt ‘n’ burn’ the bones? If anyone can do that, why was Maria so adamant about me doing it? I’ve never known anyone to do that. Can I save her in time? What if I can’t do it?Pepper mewled and licked my hand again, resting his head on my knee. I glanced down at him when Dean wasn’t peering at me through the rear-view. I wish they could see you too, that way I won’t feel so insane.

Dean:

I sighed getting out of Baby and shutting her driver’s side door with a loud creak. Phae strode forward to the front door of Justin’s home, her shorter legs not able to keep up with my longer bound. I grabbed her by the shoulder, yanking her back. She gave me a pissed off look but I knew what was better for her. I understand her willingness to help, I do. But I can’t have anymore people I care about kick the bucket because of me. Not if I can help it.“You stay behind me at all times. No exceptions, ghosts can kill too.” I commanded her. I shoved my body between hers and the front door. Sam tapped her shoulder and gave her an iron fire poker for her own protection. Maria’s ghost might be presenting herself to Phae as a lure, maybe since Phaedra is a witch that makes her more susceptible to an attack? And since Phae is half way to Goddess-land it makes sense that they’d try and use that power to drain her.I was going to ring the doorbell when I noticed it was ajar. Not good. I kicked it open more with my boot, just enough not to alert Justin inside. Honestly, whatever beef he had with Maria, he might be dead. I got to the stairs and kept searching, adrenaline pumping through my veins. Phae stayed behind me, for now. Sam cleared the first floor.“Justin?! Sorry to show up, just doin’ a wellness check” I yelled out.“Maria?!! It’s okay. You can come out n--” Phae’s unusual loudness made me react, putting my hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. Getting the picture she stopped and I removed my hand. Once I did, she slapped my arm in a playful way but I still knew she was angry about my reaction to her outburst.Sam came back into view, the house was clear. I could see my breath suddenly and in front of Phae appeared a girl. She was every bit of the stereotypical Prep you’d might expect. Blonde hair and clad with a cheerleader’s uniform. She looked so sad.“Goddess?” she questioned taking a tentative step further. I took out Maria’s diary and a lighter from my pocket, ready to torch it if Casper tried anything funny. Phae noticed this and got instantly pissed. Goddess? Did Maria know something we didn’t? I thought Phae wasn’t one yet.“No! Put it down. Are you trying to make her suffer? There’s a better way. I know a better way.” Phae pleaded. My grip tightened on the spine of Maria’s diary. No way. I’m not going to subject you to danger Phaedra. Whether you like it or not. We’ve been bringing ghosts to their maker’s since Sammy was off his training wheels. Hell, I’ve been doing it for longer. I know you’ve been studying hard and gaining experience through hunting, but Phae, what could you possibly know that I don’t? I don’t trust this ghost. Every hair on the back of my neck was standing on end.When I don’t get a good feeling about something, that means it’s time to get the Hell out of Dodge. I want to do this as fast as possible. I grabbed the Zippo from my pocket, flipped open the lid and struck it on my pants, lighting a tiny flame. As soon as I brought the orange glow to close to the pages, the lid shut and it flung out of my hands.“Phae?!” My eyes flitted to her, but she was just as shocked at what happened as I was. Maria was the culprit, her arm outstretched. Phaedra got closer to Maria, her form flickering like a bad light-bulb. Sam got closer to Phae, ready to grab her if things went south. Sammy touched her sleeve but Phae shrugged him off. My heart was beating a million miles a minute inside my chest. If this bitch hurts Phaedra I’ll… Maria began to cry.“I’m so happy you’re finally here. Please bring me peace, Goddess.” Maria pleaded her blonde hair falling in her face as she bowed her head. Phaedra set down her iron poker, balancing it on the drywall, but not out of reach. Phae touched the back of Maria’s hand a dim purple glow flowing from it.“Maria? Your Dad doesn’t hate you. You have to move on, now though. You can be with your Mom, she’s waiting for you.” Phae said looking into Maria’s eyes as the purple glowing revealed a golden Death Coin. Phae wrapped Maria’s fingers around the coin. Look at her, getting all friendly with Regina George wannabe. Personally Phae is more like Janis. Oh God, what wrong with me? To even reference Mean Girls in the first place? I have no life. She touched the bathroom door near them and more purple light glowed, with more tenacity this time. Phaedra turned Maria’s body towards the door. How can she touch a ghost? Maria gawked at the coin, twirling it in her palm. Her brown eyes shifted to Phae’s crystal blue ones.“I’m scared. Where will I go?” She asked, looking to Sam and then me. I couldn’t comfort her either. I don’t know where she’ll end up. Sammy might have been thinking that she’d go to a better place, where ever that may be. Phae turned the knob of the door and it swung open slowly. Darkened stairs made of some kind of stone descended down into the depths. If I were her I wouldn’t go down there. Not without knowing what it was I’d be facing.Phae took her hand and a light strand of purple light flowed from it and encompassed Maria, like a halo of sorts. It glowed just enough to illuminate her the path that her feet took her.“There’s a boatman at the bottom of the steps, pay him and he will take you to be judged, where you go after is up to you.” Phae reassured her. Apparently those words were enough to do the trick. She descended down but before Phae could close the door Maria turned to her to utter her final goodbye.“Thank you, Phaedra.” she said with a smile. Phae was only able to nod in approval. She closed the door with a loud creak of its hinges. After a moment of silence I had to break.“What the fuck just happened?” I said looking to Sam and then to Phae. Sam lowered his shoulders, relaxing them from the tense situation. My hands went to the back of my head. As far as I knew, that wasn’t supposed to happen. Not that way at least. Salt ‘n’ burn bones or remains and ghosty goes to the afterlife. We didn’t even have to use iron. Maria wasn’t vengeful or anything. Was this a result of the Darkness? Is something weird happening with ghosts?Phaedra turned around to us, her face astonished at her accomplishment.“I guess I just brought a lost soul to Hades.” she said with a smile happy at the outcome. The Greek afterlife? That’s a thing? I’m guessing Hades doesn’t look a thing like Russell Brand, the real one at least. Sammy and I have officially befriended gender-bent Percy Jackson. Phae braced herself on the door. This caught my attention. Shit, is she gonna pass out again? Like last time when those torches showed up on her wrists? I went to her, setting down Maria’s diary on a random table.“How you feelin’ kiddo?” I asked looking her over. Her eyes were closed and she had an iron grip on the door handle. After a few seconds she came away from the door. She pressed a hand onto mine, which had gone to her bony shoulder as a reflex, shoving me off her gently.“Woooh. I dunno. I feel awesome! Better than I have in weeks. I guess, we go home right?” she asked. The wall clock dinged loudly as it struck midnight. Curious I fumbled with the knob of the bathroom door and opened it. I couldn’t believe what I was looking at, a normal bathroom. Just minutes ago it was a dank, lonely, dreariness. The descent into darkness. I closed the door and turned to Phae who was already walking out of the house.“Woo! I want pancakes and bacon, maybe some cake! Can I drink tonight? Hennessy sounds awesome! C’mon let’s party!!” Phae was so happy. I’d get her anything she’d wished in that moment, if she didn’t stop dead in her tracks with her fingers wrapped around the handle of Baby’s back driver side door.“Phae? What do you see?” Sam asked her looking at the direction she was fixed on. What? She’s seeing shit now? Why didn’t Sammy tell me about this? She looked terrified at whatever it was she was looking at. She gulped loudly, her eyes still staring at something on the sidewalk.“Um, guys? What kind of wolves have red eyes?” she asked her voice shaking like a leaf. Hellhounds. Dammit, we don’t have time to grab Goofer-Dust from Baby’s trunk. Sam acted fast and came around to our side of Baby. We need to run, but where? And what good’ll that do? Remember what happened last time? To Jo? ‘Course I remember. How can I forget? That can’t happen now. I won’t let that happen again.I took Phae’s arm, gripping it tighter than I wanted. I heard a growl, closer this time. Two Hellhounds.“Phaedra listen to me, we gotta run, that’ll buy us some time.” the best weapon I have on my person is a machete. That might work but it requires close combat, I really don’t want to end up as demonic puppy chow again. With the snarling and grass being ripped up by an invisible force I took that queue for me to bolt. I made sure Phae was ahead of me, her short legs going as fast as they could. Sam was on my heels. I heard more howls coming from behind the house where we’d just past.Five, no more, six? Seven! Phae stopped dead in her tracks something blocking her path as we cut through the open space out of the backyard and into an open field. Out of breath I told her,“Do not stop!” but it was too late we were already surrounded. Now the Hellhound count was up to ten. This is deep shit! Sam took out a gun from his back, not that it would do much in a situation like this but something was better than nothing. I brandished my machete. Phae’s Dead-Goddess Blades glowed in that purple light and fell into her palms. One of the Hellhounds got cocky and snarled, lunging in my direction. But something impaled its chest, the object whipping through the air with a whooshing sound past my head.Phae’s Xiphos embedded into the creature effortlessly. Black blood pooled beneath it as it whimpered away into nothing. A different one howled through the night as if to avenge its death. The mourning one charged forward but Phae was too fast, lopping off its head with Leonidas’ sword, the head falling at my and Sam’s feet. This time two more came up for the kill. Phaedra backed up closer to us, giving her some room for the strike. In the nick of time, Phae opened her hand, the Xiphos flying to it like magic. It had an eerie resemblance of how I handled The First Blade.The two Hellhounds lunged almost past Phae, the snarls and heated breath felt on my face, Sam’s too. But they were stopped by Phae’s expert execution style. Jabbing the dogs in the stomach and ripping the blades outward toward the back severing the vertebrae. Phae just took down four Hellhounds in the span of two minutes, like it was barely a challenge. What the Hell is happening? One more brave enough, or stupid, came up to Phae wanting to strike. Before it could bury it’s teeth into her, Phae yelled, “Halt!” the command worked, stopping the creature with a skidding noise and more torn up grassland. Phaedra’s irises glowed purple for a little while. Her gaze seemed to hold the Hellhounds in a trance.“Return.” she told them and they turned around and ran off into the night, howling wildly. “Such stubborn creatures!” Phae exasperated wiping the brackish blood off of her blades onto her jeans. I had a bad feeling about this, Sam looked to me confused. Phae doesn’t talk like that. The only one I knew to control Hellhounds like that was demons, Meg level demons. But Meg was toast, saw Crowley do it. And we made Phae get an anti-possession tattoo on her ankle. So it’s not like anyone is getting a free ride to Demonic-Disneyland anytime soon.Phae, or whomever was in her meat-suit started to walk down the hill toward Baby when I stopped her with my raised machete.“Who are you?! Where’s Phae?” she turned her head towards mine.“I am Goddess. Your friend is unharmed.” She said. Sam came into view on Phae’s other side his weapon lowered.“What do you mean, Goddess?” Sam asked. She looked annoyed that he would be asking in the first place. She sighed.“Tell him Goddess has returned at last.” She spoke to Sam.“Him? Him who?” Sam asked highly confused, his forehead scrunching up from her request.“The one you call Father.” she explained plainly.“Dad has been dead for years. How do you expect us to talk to him? You want us to play necro-telephone?” I was way beyond confused and starting to get pissed. Just because someone or something says Phae is fine, usually meant she was wasn’t.“I haven’t the time for such quarrels, infant. Search your wisdom.” she scoffed and escaped my machete, trudging down the grassy hill. The way this being was talking to us, it reminded me of how Cas used to be. And that was scaring the shit out of me. Sam and I caught up to her, now trekking through Justin’s backyard. I got to her shoulder first and swung her around. I needed to see her face. Needed to see if she was really gone. I looked at her blue eyes, like I was getting lost in the clear waters of the Florida Keys. Beneath all that beauty I still couldn’t find Phae.“You get the fuck outta her right now!” I yelled at her.“I cannot leave so easily. I will lay dormant in three hours time.” She shrugged my hand off her shoulder and continued walking past the house and out to the street. She looked around the empty street. Sam and I went to our respective sides of Baby. What the Hell have we gotten ourselves into?I opened the driver’s side door. And Sam opened his passenger side door. When she was taking too long I turned to her.“Don’t just stare at it, get in.” I told her. Her face was wracked with confusion.“Whomever rides in a horseless carriage is a buffoon. You cannot convince me otherwise.” she said crossing her arms underneath her breasts in a sassy way. I chuckled and turned to Sammy.“She doesn’t know what a car is Sam! What the fuck?! How are we supposed to deal with this? Help me out here, you’re the history buff.” I’m starting to panic. Out of all the crazy shit that’s happened to us, this might just be the craziest. If not hitting the top ten list for sure. Sam threw his hands up and smirked at me. Great he doesn’t know either. I rested my head down on the hood of Baby. I’m gonna need beer and pie for this. A whole Mac-truck full of it. I snapped myself out of my funk.“Here, this ‘carriage’ doesn’t need horses.” I told Goddess opening the back driver’s side door. Goddess’ face un-scrunched realizing my seriousness.“If you insist.” she replied and sat down in the middle, I closed the door and let myself plop into Baby’s seat with extra umph. I turned her keys and let Baby sound that familiar pur.“How interesting. You speak truthfully. Tell me how does this contraption work?” she asked standing and leaning over the front seat.“Sit down! Sam, give her the manual from the glove box.” I demanded. I need to get wasted right now. I’m not sure how long I can deal with this Goddess bitch. Grumpily she sat and Sam gave her the book from the glove box. She started reading it until I drove off. She was much more interested in watching me drive than reading. I don’t blame her, reading is boring. Whoever this Goddess is, she acts like a ten year old kid.Sam’s phone rang and made Goddess jump not knowing where the sudden sound came from. Please tell me she knows what a phone is. Cas was on the other line, sounding better than when I left him.“Sam, I have news on the Xiphos. How are things going with the case?” I could just barely make out Cas’ voice through Baby’s rumbling muffler.

“Uhhhh. Good. No, not good. Phae changed. There’s a lot to explain but we’ll be home soon. You gotta see this for yourself.” Sam tried to explain.“Why are you speaking to this device? Hello? Hello?” Goddess took the phone from him and fumbled it in her hand. Sam entered bitch-face mode and reached over the seat to take back his phone.“Give me that!” he demanded. He snatched his phone back. Goddess slumped down in her seat.“I see you have not lost your insolence, humans.” She barked.“Sorry about that. What did you find Cas?” Sam regained his composure and tucked a tuft of hair behind his ear. Cas explained his findings but I could only make out some of it. Sam thanked Cas and clicked the call dead, looking at me.“What?” I said at a red light.“Theseus’ sword. The one he used to slay the Minotaur.” he told me numbly.“That’s the other one?” I said surprised.“Yeah. I guess Demi-God qualifies as enough.” Sam concluded resting his elbow where the window met the door of the passenger side door. He propped his arm against it and rubbed his forehead. Yeah, Sammy we’re in deep shit here.“You do not know of the Xiphos and her legends?” Goddess pointed out surprised to hear that we didn’t know about it. Please I don’t want ancient weaponry story-time. I shook my head, not beileving the situation we were in.“Oh man, we are so screwed.” I said to the windshield, gripping Baby’s wheel a bit tighter, and laughing at this dumb situation.End chapter 6.