Hunter Unknown

In the Past

Six months. Six months with the Winchesters. It's October 30th, the night before my 25th birthday. I lay on my bed reminiscing the last six months.
It started out rough working with the Winchesters. It was hard to change the methods of hunting that had been drilled into me by myself. Of course, Dean and I had a rough start as well. Sam always said we were too much alike to get along which always was followed by a middle finger from me and a cold glare from Dean. As time passed the three of us became a team, we had each other's backs and we each knew it. It felt good to have that even though I don't like to admit it. I hate being honest with myself like this. Truth be told I broke the rule: Never trust, never love. Ironic considering where it came from.
Now Sam, Dean, and I can communicate without words while hunting. They sometimes call me their secret weapon because they usually trap or lure whatever the monster be in and then I come in and take it down. That means they're usually the bait I guess.
We have started to enjoy each other's company, instead of just treating each other like business partners. Dean no longer cringes when trying to address me. He likes to give me stupid nicknames especially ones that piss me off. He was particularly proud of himself when he called Sam and I, Ren and Stimpy. He also called us Pinky and the Brain, though I'm not sure which of us he was calling which. He liked to sarcastically call me princess when he was ready to jump on a case and I was taking too long to gather my things. Miss Pris is another name Dean calls me as though I am actually prissy and because of one of my names, Priscilla. I, however, was just as good at giving it back to him like when I told him,'just because you have a dick doesn't mean you have to act like one.' Sam choked on his water at that one and as hard as Dean tried to be mad, he was too amused with it.
We no longer discuss that first hunt, the past is past. See from the moment Sam read the case out part of me immediately knew we had a lamia on our hands. But kidnapping wasn't lamia mo. In Greek mythology Lamia was a queen turned demon-like creature after being cursed by Hera because she found out Lamia was one of Zeus' mistresses. It is said that the goddess Hera killed or took away Lamia's children then cursed her to hunt and devour other women's children. Lamiae (plural) later appeared in folklore all across Europe as a monster similar to a vampire or succubis, who lured young men, squeezed their hearts and drank the blood. Lamia have been written in lore of having the upper half of a woman and the lower body of a snake, some just have a disfigured face, while we know they look like beautiful women and can turn into a disgusting creature.
Usually Lamia don't take victims they just go for the kill. That one, however, got greedy. I essentially allowed Dean to become the bait. As much as his man whoring ways annoy me, at that point in time they were useful. I knew the monster was Melanie because of my "abilities". Of course, I had a blessed silver knife which I stabbed her with. Then for good measure Dean and I had doused the body with rosemary and salt before setting it ablaze.
Dean was mad at me for a while after that, not only for going at it alone while using him as bait, but because of the accusations I threw his way. We've gone on so many hunts since then that it's all water under the bridge.
We all owed each other in some way or another. Like the time Sam and I saved Dean from freezing to death or drowning. We were hunting some lake creature killing people up in Minnesota. That thing was tough, it would kill someone and take over their likeness and lure others onto the thin ice of the lake then drag them to the depths. Sometimes it would walk on land, but mostly it would lure people to the river. One night a guy heard someone crying for help, he went out to the lake and made his wife stay inside the cabin. Lucky for her in a way, but she watched something reach out and drag him under. Minutes later he reemerged, but something was off about him she knew it. She was smart enough to lock him out and fortunately the creature was unable to survive long on land without returning to the water.
Anyway we were on the case saw the thing, disguised as a woman, leading a kid by the hand toward the lake. It told the kid they could go ice skating. Dean went running after it and Sam grabbed the kid. The creature fled for the water, but decided it wasn't giving up without a fight. Damn thing flung Dean out about ten feet and then disappeared under the ice. Dean was freaking out because we all knew it wouldn't just drag him out there and leave. He kept yelling at us asking 'Where the hell did it go?!'. Sam and I couldn't see it, but she flew up above the ice and started toward Dean who was now lying on his back on the thin ice afraid to move. He shot at the creature making it disappear below the surface again. Finally Dean made the choice to get as close to shore as he could even if the ice broke. He managed to stand halfway up before the ice between land and him completely broke. Now the creature had him exactly where it wanted him. He tried to swim to Sam and me on the bank, but the freezing temperature made his muscles move uncoordinatedly. The creature grabbed Dean's ankle and began to drag him back out and under again. He fought against it, but began to lose. Quickly I ran to the car and grabbed a tie down rope from the trunk while screaming for Dean to hold on and keep fighting. I ran as hard as I could towards the water nearly falling five times. My lungs burned as I knotted an end and threw it towards Dean. Sam, who had been consoling the scared boy was now helping me drag Dean to the bank. The creature couldn't hold all three of us, but because of shock and beginning staged of hypothermia Dean's muscles could no longer push his body through the water leaving us to drag him in. When he was close enough to the edge, I grabbed him by the jacket and began to pull him up the bank. He tried to crawl up, but his entire body was trembling. Sam grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him further away from the water. He now was lying in the snow. Sam and I removed Dean's soaked clothes, or at least most of them, before wrapping him in a military issued wool blanket. We helped Dean to the car where some of his warmth and mobility returned. *end flashback*
Then there's the time Sam was almost ghoul chow. I shudder just thinking about ghouls, they creep me the hell out. Basically, we thought we were dealing with a vengeful spirit so naturally we were in a cemetery looking for the right bones to burn. It was dark and happened to be foggy that night. We had split up to cover more ground. After awhile Dean and I met back up and when Sam didn't show we knew something was wrong. Dean suggested maybe Sam had fallen into an open grave, but we both knew better. Eventually he showed up, but I warned Dean that something was off with Sam. He agreed and eventually we realized that the real Sam was in a mausoleum being picked over by two other creepy ass ghouls. *end 2nd flashback*
Then there's my case. After ten years going solo and no major screw ups I ended up well... We were on a hunt for a Djinn. I wish it had been the drink because that hunt was the worst I had ever had. We were clearing all of the rundown buildings in the area in search of its hideout. One was a huge out of use factory building. The 300-500 yard long building was a mix of ugly green paint and rust. The entire thing was made of metal with a small row of glass windows about thirty feet up, right up next to the roof. The inside was extremely dark despite the windows, because they were either covered in some filth or with old metal scrap. Everything was rusted inside too; pipes, old machinery, and catwalks. I was on the catwalk near the door while Sam and Dean scanned the ground on either side of the building. They were on the outside and I was cutting up the middle searching everywhere for sign of djinn. Sam yelled that he had found something, yelling proved to be a bad choice later. I started to run across the rest of the length of rusted grated metal suspended in air. Before I knew it I was falling to the ground speckled with miscellaneous metal objects just threatening to give me tetanus at the very least.
I woke up with a start, confused. Through the window against which my head was rested, I saw asphalt flying by quicker than my eyes could register. Looking to my left, I saw Dean already looking back at me as he continued driving the impala. "You okay?" He asked me.
"I don't know." I barely spoke. What the hell, I thought to myself. How hard did I hit my head? Best not to tell him I have no clue what's going on.
Sitting up, I cleared my throat and tried to shake off the fog that was in my head. "Where's Sam?" I asked looking to Dean.
"He's waiting for us back at the bunker." Dean said in a way so impartial that I wasn't sure if I should have known it already. For the duration of the ride Dean kept giving me weird looks. Finally we made it to the bunker and all seemed normal except I couldn't shake the feeling that I was somehow out of place. Am I dead? The question hit me right in the chest, knocking the air from my lungs. Oh God, what if I died and that's why Dean kept looking at me weirdly? What if they don't want to tell me that I'm dead? Maybe they're afraid I might turn vengeful. Oh God.
Now I was having a full on panic attack. The room felt like it was spinning out of control with each movement of my eyes. I gripped a table for support, as I struggled to even out my breathing which was coming in short panicked heaves. Nothing felt real, it was like I was in a movie or having an out of body experience (unless I'm a ghost which means I am having an OBE!). Sam was saying something to me, but I couldn't understand it. It was as though I was far away and his words had to travel through miles of thick gelatin to get to my ears. It took so much effort for me to focus on one thing, as I tried reading his lips. I was able to stumble to my room and as soon as I passed the threshold there was a shift. Everything now felt still, cold, and quiet, like the room itself was dead. I locked the door and went to sleep.
I woke up with a groggy feeling and the mind fog still lingering, so I went to the kitchen for a glass of water. After filling the glass and drinking all of the water, I started to call for Sam and Dean. I'm sure they were concerned. I got no response, not even the thud of boots heading my way. I found them, unfortunately. They were sitting across from each other at a library table with arms to their sides and the sides of their faces pressed against the table top. Their eyes were burned out.
Somehow I knew it was my fault, that I did this. I raised my palms in front of my face looking for the nonexistent blood on my hands. Then it happened. Someone struck at me from behind. Whirling around, I saw it was her. She was wielding the kitchen knife that should have been melted to ablivion along with her. I was helpless, no hunter's instincts, no fight in me. I was pathetic. I was a civilian. I started backing away from her before I was grabbed from behind. There he stood, I didn't need to see his face to know. Chills vibrated up through my skin. As I was held captive by his disgusting hold, she came toward me with knife in hand to finish what she had started years ago. As the knife plunged into my stomach and out again, I let out a scream with every shred of energy in my being and the world shattered, falling away.
A clouded image of a dark warehouse was set before me. Two deep voices making mutterings I couldn't decipher. My body did not feel attached to me, whatever I was. I had been under the trance of a djinn. This djinn was not the kind that put you in a world filled with your deepest desires while draining the life from you. I had become the victim of a more malevolent djinn who placed me amidst my worst nightmares. Dean and Sam managed to wake me from the trance before it was too late. *end of flashback*
I think that's when it all started for me. After that I no longer could boast that I had never had a major screw up while hunting. It took me awhile to shake the fog and believe that I had woken up at all, now I almost wish I hadn't.