Winchester Surprise

Chapter 6 The Davidson's Shack

Sam and Dani sat in the front seat of the impala as they sped down the road. Dani had marvelled at the sleek car the moment she saw it, even more so when the engine rumbled to life.

"This car is so freaking cool!" she'd gasped.

"Thanks. It was my brother's, his pride a joy."

Dani had gone quiet after that. She spent most of the drive seemingly memorising every part of the car. Why? Sam didn't know, but her eyes seemed to pick out every little scrape and dint.

They arrived at the shack. Dani had been right. Really freaking creepy.

"This is it?" He asked.

"Yep" Her eyes scanned the place. "I hate it." She sighed. "You know when you enter a place and there's just this weight that goes on your chest. That place dose that." She pressed her palm over her chest rubbing gently back and forth in a nervous gesture. He knew that feeling all too well.

 He climbed out of the car Dani followed suit not long after. As Sam dug around in the trunk Dani unzipped her bag she hissed a curse under her breath.

"Something wrong?" Sam asked.

"I just forgot my gun." In her stressed state, she had left it on the coffee table in her apartment. Sam sighed.

"Just borrow one of mine."

Dani grudgingly got to her feet muttering scoldings to herself.

"Real professional impression I'm making right?" Dani let out a self-deprecating chuckle. He offered her a reassuring smile.

Sam's eyes landed on the gun. His brother's Colt. The stainless steel detailing glinted in the flashlight rays. Though Sam hadn't used it he still kept it in immaculate working condition.

"You okay?" Dani's voice pulled him from the emotional pit in his belly. He hadn't realised he'd zoned out.

"Uh," He coughed, clearing the lump from his through "Yeah fine." He reached out grabbing a shotgun instead, holding it out to her. "Take this."

She took it, checking it over and loading it. He nodded. She clearly knows how to use it. He watched her for a moment.

"What happened to your face?" He asked. "You said you were on a hunt?" She stopped.

"Oh uh, a demon had me against a wall and uh...cut me."

"Demons." He scoffed. "They can be brutal." He nodded. "You get 'em?"

"Sent 'em back to hell. If that's what you're asking."

"Hm."

"So you wanna check out the house first or...?"

 -ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

The duo climbed the porch. Dani went to turn the handle it wouldn't budge. Her brow furrowed.

"That's odd."

"What?"

"It's never locked." She leaned against the door with all her weight. "Even when kids started to camp out in there and vandalise it, they never closed it off. They don't give enough of a crap."

"So if someone did?"

"They're probably trying to hide something."

Sam squinted out at the darkness his gun clasped in his hands as Dani picked the lock. A click finally hit his ears. Dani leaned against the door still nothing. She tried again.

"There's something blocking the door."

Sam gently nudged Dani to the side.

"Let me try." He pushed with all his weight the door opened but only about three inches. "Crap."

"There's a small window out back I can fit through, be right back." She sped off jumping over the porch rail before Sam could say another word. Sam pressed his ear to the door.

 -ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

The moment that she forced the window open. The smell of death filled her nose. The smell was so strong that Dani retched. She pulled her scarf up over her nose and mouth in an attempt to cut out the smell. She climbed nimbly up onto the sill. Catlike she slipped onto the small room landing silently on the balls of her feet. Her eyes scanned the shadows of the room. There was no movement. She flicked on her flashlight. The light filled the room. The instant it did she regretted it. Corpses lay strewn across the floor in various states of decay. Big fat black flies danced around them. They looked as though they had been torn apart by some sort of animal. One's face was sliced open, one eye slashed and jellying out onto the floorboards. Some of the faces she recognised, not people she knew by name but people she had seen in passing around town her whole life. The same faces that matched the missing person posters in Sam's hotel room. Something in her gut twisted, whatever did this was going to pay. She stood there for a second just listening. Nothing. The floorboards creaked as she crept through the house. When she reached the door her mouth gaped open. Almost every piece of furniture in the shack had been shoved against the door pinning it closed. Dani turned to scan the room again. Still nothing.

She set to work hauling the splintered furniture away from the door, cursing as splintered embedded themselves in her palms and the space between her thumb and forefinger. Finally, after what felt like forever, she got the doorway cleared and yanked it open. She saw Sam flinch and cover his nose when the smell hit him.

"It's pretty bad in here," Dani said her eyes watering a little the smell still lodged in her nose.

"You okay?" Sam asked as he passed her.

"Yeah, I'm good." She muttered her voice muffled from the fabric pressed to her mouth. Dani watched as Sam paced the room taking as much as he could stand.

"They're all here." He said after a long moment. Dani nodded solemnly. She wandered over to a cupboard on the left wall.

"Hey, Sam?" He turned to the girl.

"Yeah?"

"I think it was hell hounds." Sam looked over her shoulder. A rusty tin sat on a table tucked into the cupboard. Bones sat inside and a handful of dirt.

"Somone made a demon deal." A small photo sat on the table not far away. It was faded and tattered.

"That kinda looks like Gerald Hastings."

"Who?"

"He's my singing teacher he used to be a big Broadway star."

"Then he made the deal."

"He can't have. His courier took off a lot more than ten years ago. He was my age. He's at least sixty-five now. The deal would have come due already. Plus that doesn't explain all of these people."

"Well, whoever it is their photo isn't in here." Sam dug through the clutter. "Maybe whoever or whatever is killing these people has targets. Hastings might be one of them."