Movement exploded from the corner of the room, giving Dean precious seconds to aim and take a shot or move out of the way. Taking the second option, he tossed his pack behind an old desk that was in the room and followed quickly after. Hearing a snarl and splintering wood, he put himself in a crouch before standing and taking aim.
Firing off a series of three shots, he heard an inhuman cry of pain and then crashing at the creature tore through the building as it tried to escape. Grabbing his pack, he gave chase, trying to keep up with the beast. His flashlight strobed across the walls as he ran, revealing claw marks and dark blood as he went.
Stopping at the base of the stairs, he flashed his light up the stairwell as he heard a rooftop door slam open. Taking the steps two at a time, Dean paced his breathing as he rounded the stairs on the fourth floor.
The rooftop access door swung gently in the breeze, tapping slightly against its frame. Dean walked up the door and peered through the crack. Pushing the door open with one hand, he led with his pistol in the other. Stepping onto the roof, gravel crunched underfoot as he tracked the blood to the edge of the building. Sighing, he looked over the edge and then out across the sleepy city. "Damn it..." he whispered and returned to the stairway as a light rain began to fall.
Slowly descending the stairs, he reached the ground floor and paused for a moment, trying to catch his breath as his body tried to regulate from the fight or flight response. Leaning his hands on his knees, he felt sweat drip off his nose and onto the scuffed floor. Shining his light, he scrunched his brow in thought as he saw that fresh boot tracks circled around the gouges in the floor. Fear trickled down from the base of his hairline and sent shivers through his body.
He still wasn't alone and he was being watched.
A second round of adrenaline coursed through him, eliminating the need for rest. He moved quickly to duck into a room as a shot rang out, showing him in splinters. Taking inventory, he growled in frustration as he heard the new assailant change their position. Gathering himself, Dean heard them rush past the room he was in and he took his chance.
Leaning out into the hallway, he tracked them and fired another set of shots.
Misses.
The assailant ducked behind a solid wall towards the front of the building. He heard sounds of magazine checking and scrambled back to his pack. Removing the shotgun, he flipped the barrels down and loaded them. Clicking the break closed, he stepped out into the hallway and fired an exploratory shot at the wall they had hid behind.
"You're being a real pain in my ass, you know that?" a woman's voice called from down the hall.
"Oh, yea? Well, here's some more attitude for you!" Dean had reloaded in this time and took another shot at the wall, forcing the assailant to move into the more open portion of the building.
She cried out in surprise as a second round of shotgun blasts ripped through the wall, showering her with concrete and plaster, forcing her to dodge roll into plain view. Looking back towards the hallway, she saw the man charging at her. Making a decision, she threw her weapon away, raised her hands in a surrendering manner, and closed her eyes. "I'm a Hunter like you. You took me by surprise. I reacted in a shitty way. I'm sorry!" she yelled and held her breath.
She expected to be dead, but opened her eyes cautiously to see that he had slowed to a stop, but didn't stop pointing his weapon at her.
"A Hunter? Prove it," he said, keeping his distance as he looked her over.
"Okay. Okay, wait," she said hastily and shrugged off her jacket. Pulling her shirt to the side revealed an anti-possession tattoo. "I can't be possessed. I, uh..." she stumbled for something else. Grabbing her necklace, she held it up in a shaky hand. "This is a protection charm."
Dean seemed skeptical, but lowered his gun to a neutral stance. "Hmm, well, I guess that checks out..." he murmured and gave the woman an annoyed look. "What were you even thinking? Do you know what you were messing with?"
"I..." The woman paused as she shrugged her jacket back on. Retrieving her pistol, she cleared it and turned the safety on. Tucking it into it's holster on her thigh, she stood slowly. "I fucked around and you ran across me in the 'find out' stage."
Making a face of reluctant agreement, he shrugged and retrieved his pack from the other room.
"I'm Dean," he stated as he returned. "So, who do I have the pleasure of almost shooting?"
Fixing her wavy brown hair in a messy bun, the woman gazed him up and down with piercing hazel eyes. Returning her gaze to meet his, "Artemis," she said simply and gathered her pack.
Retrieving a flashlight from her pocket, Artemis began casually looking for an exit. Dean leaned against a back wall and crossed his arms, watching her as she moved about.
"So what brings you here?" he asked. Her flashlight swung up into his face for a brief moment before returning to her search; Dean shielded his eyes and chuckled.
"Hunting, what else? This one is a bit on the personal side, though," she said and located the correct way to return to the rest of the building. Shining the light across the broken floor, she called out to Dean. "Come on, it's this way."
Following Artemis, he kept pace as they navigated the hallways. He heard her sigh in relief as they came across the door they had both entered the building from. Jogging over to it, she pushed it open and stepped out into the dark alley. Following her out, Dean readjusted his pack.
"So, what's next?" he asked.
