Solving the Unsolved

We're Dealing With The Devil

Ryan and Shane had been screaming at each other all night after the event. But could you blame them? They had just had a run-in with The Devil himself and honestly were already sleep-deprived and anxious. But the guy on the radio had been right, they needed views. Unsolved had been so incredibly popular in the beginning, but as Ryan got braver, Shane got more bored, and less stuff was happening, not many people wanted to watch. Buzzfeed had even written them a lengthy letter about how they had to meet a certain quota each time. It was stressful.

"Ryan, demons aren't real and whatever or whoever that was was not The Devil!" Shane yelled at Ryan the frustration in his face not mixing right with the concern in his eyes.

"Even so, they said they had something that could save Unsolved!" Ryan countered.

Shane grimaced. He wanted to say, 'Unsolved was already long dead", but he knew better. Unsolved was Ryan's baby and he was extremely desperate these last few episodes to get something out of the footage. Shane had watched Ryan pull all-nighters at the office researching to find something interesting enough to save the show, and it hurt to watch his friend dig his own grave like this, so he obliged.

With a sigh, he asked, "So what do you suppose we do? How are we supposed to find, catch, and exorcise a demon?" There was an incredulous tone he couldn't get rid of in his voice no matter how much he tried to conceal it. It was obvious to Ryan. He still didn't believe. However, instead of arguing Ryan decided to take what he could get from his skeptical friend.

"I could try researching this demon. He said the demon's name was Lilith?" It was said as a question that Ryan already knew the answer to, Shane nodded anyways.

"That's something, I suppose..." And a new journey begins, he thought. He whipped out his phone as Ryan got his laptop and they started their search.

They had found the information they needed from plenty of sites, all stating similar things. Lilith was from Jewish culture known for being, what is believed to be, the first female demon and Adam's first wife before Eve. Some even tell of her being the mother of the incubi and succubi. What they could tell, she was powerful, strong, and would probably be popular enough to have a part in the satanic cult, for sure. This made them very uneasy. But soon after the boys had put down their wiki pages of demonology and changed settings to a comfy, small-town diner on the outskirts of town. It was humble with its old retro decor, 90's style jukebox, and the quiet clatter of ceramic dishes clanking together from the kitchen. The early morning buzz was a breath of fresh air from their previous tension, sitting down at a booth by the front window.

Shane and Ryan ordered and sat in silence as they waited for their breakfast. It would have been almost completely quiet if it weren't for the three men who came barging in the front door. The first one was loud and squirrelly with a gruff voice and chiseled face. The second was a man in a trenchcoat that made Shane think of his persona, C. C. Tinsley. He had this curious look about him that faltered his 'sex god' look. And finally the third guy. Ryan would probably lose his mind if he was stuck standing between Shane and this stranger. The moose of a man stood tall with long hair that met his shoulders. Ryan and Shane's eyes absentmindedly followed the group of men as they sat near the wall a few booths down from them.

Their food came so their awkward staredown of the strangers was ended abruptly. Ryan looked up at Shane quizzically, a sort a telepathic question asked, to which Shane simply shrugged and took a huge bite out of his burger. Ryan took the moment to wonder why a man would get a burger for breakfast, but he didn't question it as he himself didn't much care for breakfast.

"So you're telling me Lilith's on the loose again. I thought we ganked that bitch?!" The loud male practically screamed, the other two quickly shushing him. Ryan just about spits out his toast. "And why would Lucifer, of all people, want us to get rid of her? I thought she was part of his little club?" the man continued slightly quieter, but still loud enough to reach Shane and Ryan.

Shane set down his burger and Ryan looked to him with a shocked look. Were these guys after Lilith too? Did they get communicated by Satan too? Ryan's head was reeling and he barely had time to catch Shane standing up and walking towards the group of three. Ryan let out a quick 'Shane!' that went ignored as his friend stomped up to the group.

The men's attention was now on the both of them and Ryan cowered behind a far too laidback Shane. "So I hear you're looking for someone named Lilith? How fun. We happen to be looking for somebody like that too. A certain 'King of the Bottomless Pit' contacted us about it." Shane singsonged as he rocks back on his heels. The three guys looked at each other in silence before the trench coat spoke up.

"I believe Lucifer did say there would be others on the hunt..." the phrase seemed to be directed to no one but himself, and an awkward silence ensued before,

"Oh! You guys are from that show Unsolved! I'm a big fan, really." the tall one stood up raising his hand to offer a shake. Shane smiled ad took his hand as the two met eye-to-eye. Something very uncommon for both of them. Ryan, excited at the idea of meeting a fan, bounced out from behind his friend to greet the guy until the man's massive height made him hesitate.

"Look, Ryan! We're the same height!" Shane said gleefully as Ryan's excitement melt into slight annoyance. He was about to retort with something clever and witty when the squirrelly dude spoke up.

"Aw great, first Sammy's fanboy shows and now we have to deal with two skyscrapers!"

"I do believe they are humans, Dean, not skyscrapers. Skyscrapers are much taller and-"

"It was an expression, Cas" was the retort as the green-eyed male turned from his friend in the booth with him to the three still standing, "So you two know about the demon Lilith, huh?"

Shane and Ryan nodded.

After some awkward introductions, Shane and Ryan had pulled up two chairs to the end of the booth and joined the three men. It had been a rough start. Sam and Ryan had explained who Ryan and Shane were, much to Dean's dismay (he did not like ghosthunters after the only other ghosthunters they had run into), and Shane made it clear of his disbelief. This, however, left a stark look on Castiel's face. And soon after, Ryan had asked who they were.

"Well, I suppose if you're gonna be on the hunt too then we might as well tell ya." Dean huffed out, obviously not too fond of sharing information about himself, "We're hunters."

Ryan squinted, "Hunters? Like as in deer hunters?"

"No," Sam answered quickly, "We hunt the things you look for. Well... most of them, at least." Giving a look to Castiel.

"So ghouls?" Shane inquired.

"Basically, vampires, werewolves, demons. You name it! We-"

Sam was cut off by Shane's abrupt laughter, Ryan smacking his arm for him to stop. The two short men looked at Shane as though he had offended them, and Sam sweat dropped clearly his throat.

"I mean, Cas here is an angel so..."

"Wait what?!?" Ryan stammered, his eyes grew large. Even he couldn't seem to believe what he had just heard, but Dean's head nod confirmed it for him. Unfortunately, not his friend.

"Prove it." had tripped out from Shane's lips with a touch of almost bitter sarcasm. Castiel sighed and reached forward touching a bruise on Shane's forehead he had gotten the day they visited Annabelle. He, being the tall man he is, had hit his head several times in the wooden beams on the house. Thus, a faded bruise had started to plum on the side of his forehead by his hairline. As Castiel touched the bruise Shane forced himself not to recline back at the sharp pain. What it really that bad? He remembered trying to run in after Ryan and banging his head pretty hard. But as soon as Castiel touches his forehead a light shone and his head no longer felt a dulling pain. He reached up to touch the bruise but it seems as though it was never there. In fact, Shane felt even better. Like he had just woken up from a lovely 8 hours of sleep and was feeling in prime.

Ryan's face only diminished Shane's lasting skepticism.