Another Life / Book Ten / The Life Series / Supernatural

Into the Mystic

I was in the bunker's kitchen, cooking breakfast.

Dean was holding Aiden, feeding him.

 Sam walked in.

"Hey," Dean told him.

"Hey," Sam told us, walking toward the table, sitting down. "How long you guys been up?"

"Not long," I answered.

Dean looked at Sam. "You okay?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Dean asked. "'Cause you haven't left the bunker in days."

"I'm fine," Sam told us.

"Well, good," I told them. "'Cause I think I found you guys a case. Harold Miller, 65. A resident of Oak Park, an old folks' home, was found yesterday in his room with his head bashed in. But get this. The doors were locked and there was no sign of break in." Dean nodded. Sam didn't respond. "Ghost? Demonic possession? I figure it's worth a look. What do you think?"

"And what about the Darkness?" Sam asked. "What about Cas? We haven't heard from them."

"Okay, first of all, we've got zero on Amara," I told them. "And Cas? Cas will be fine. He always is."

  ~~~~~~~~~~    

The boys were still gone.

I was in the library the next morning, researching.

Dean called.

I answered. "Hey, you said the vics heard a scream in their heads that no one else seemed to hear and that the monster would feed on their brains, right? Long flowing hair, blood red eyes?"

"Yeah. And according to the coroner, part of their frontal lobes were missing."

"And that tracks with banshees."

"Banshees? I thought banshees were good."

"The ones tied to fairy lore are. They cry out as a warning to a victim's impending death. But these guys are malevolent banshees. They use their piercing scream to drive their prey crazy. Forces the vics to crack open their own eggs, and then the banshees feed on the yolk. Oh, and the only people who can hear the banshee's scream are the vics."

"Well, that would explain why Mildred didn't hear anything."

"Oh, and they, uh, travel through mist, which explains how they get into locked rooms. And they only prey on the vulnerable."

"Harold did just have hip replacement surgery, and Arthur's wife just left him. Broken heart."

"That's a kind of vulnerable, I guess. They hunt the same place until it's picked clean. And they only hunt at night, so that just gives you guys a few hours to figure out who's next."

"Then how do we kill it?"

"Gold blade." I heard a noise from further in the bunker, hesitating. "I'm gonna have to call you back." I hung up, drawing a gun, walking down a long hallway, hearing a clattering sound, running toward it, gun raised. I approached a room with the door half open, kicking the door fully open, aiming my gun into the room. "Hey!" Castiel was standing in the room with his back to me. "Cas? What the hell are you doing, man?"

"Hello, Ness," Castiel told me.

I lowered my gun. "Right, yeah. We don't hear from you for days, you show up, you start wrecking the joint?"