Hollowing Souls

What Lies Beneath

July 15, 2012

Duluth, Minnesota

Alex tore down the darkened street, tennis shoes slipping in the puddle-ridden roads. Something flashed in the corner of her eye, and she slid to a stop, breath bated and shoulders dropping low as she prowled closer. She paused by the alley, slowly counting to three before she leapt forward to confront what lay beyond.

Nothing.

Alex's shoulders fell in confusion and frustration, eyes scanning the darkened dead end that lay in front of her. She knew she had sensed something out here, something dark and inhuman, lurking in the streets. But it was gone. Where had it gone? A low growl rumbled through her chest at the thought of losing the trail. She had been so close.

She and the Winchesters had come up here to Duluth after catching wind of a case of weird. So far two people had gone missing for a day, only to be found . . . different. The first had been a kind, quiet, and strictly religious woman who, after going missing, came back and brutally murdered her entire family. It was that that had brought them up here, and that's when they had discovered the second case. A woman had . . . apparently became a man overnight. Alex was baffled as to what it was, but then again, she supposed that was why they were here.

She continued down the street, shoving her hands in her pockets to hide her frustration at losing what she had been hunting. With a sigh, she turned back onto the main street and walked back towards the motel where she and the Winchesters were staying.

The sky was still dark as she darted across the street, but she recognized the black side of the Mercedes-Benz parked at the end of a row of cars. Gravel skittered beneath her feet as she crossed the parking lot, and with a flick of her hand the door flew open and she stomped inside.

Both Winchesters looked up in surprise, faces blank with shock, and Alex stopped in her tracks. "What?" she snapped, crossing the room to dig through her bag of things.

"W-Where the hell have you been?" Dean finally asked, crossing his arms. "We've been calling you for hours."

"Sorry. Must have left my phone in my bag." Alex dug it out, shaking it for confirmation. "See?" She glanced behind her to see that both Winchesters wore a displeased smile, and she was quick to mimic it. "What?" she added, tossing her phone back onto her stuff and wiping her hands on her black shirt. "I'm fine. I felt something out there, thought maybe I could hunt it down, but I didn't find it."

"Yeah, except you've been gone all night," Dean snapped. "We were getting worried, dammit. You should have called us."

"All night?" Alex repeated, scoffing in disbelief. "I was gone for like an hour, Dean."

"An hour?" Sam stood up in confusion, a hand coming up to run through his hair. "Pip, it's almost five in the morning."

"What?" That stopped Alex in her tracks. "That's . . . that's not possible." She let out a small laugh. "I left at nine. It's felt like forty minutes. How the hell could I have been gone for eight hours?" Her face darkened as she realized, "Eight hours and I didn't even catch that son of a bitch. I had him too." Her eyes flashed with anger. "I was this close —"

Suddenly both Winchesters drew their guns, and Alex jumped backwards, hands going up in defense. "Whoa," she warned. "Whoa whoa whoa. What's that for?" In Dean's hand was the demon-killing knife, and her knees bumped up against the bed. "Hey. Mind putting that down?"

"What the fuck did you do with Alex?"

"W-What? I'm right here —" Alex turned her head to look at the mirror hanging on the wall and a small squeak fell from her mouth at the sight of her eyes, as black as her shirt. "Oh my God." She flinched at her own curse before turning back to the Winchesters, backpedalling hastily. "I can explain," she insisted when the Winchesters stepped forward. When they paused, she added, "Okay, okay, I can't. I can't. I . . . I swear it's me, guys. I'm Alex."