𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐍

𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

"Look, I know you're just doing your job, but the police have been here all week. I don't see why we have to go through this again...the more he tells the story, the more he believes it's true."

"Mrs. McKay," Katherine looks up at the woman across from her from underneath the brim of her hat. "We know you spoke with the local authorities already, but this seems like a matter for the state police."

"Don't worry about how crazy it sounds, Evan." Sam smiles a bit at the young boy. "Just tell us what you saw."

He sighs heavily. "I was up late, watching TV, when I heard this weird noise..."

"What did it sound like?"

"It sounded like a monster."

"Tell the officers what you were watching," Mrs. McKay prompts.

"Um...Gozilla vs. Mothra."

Dean laughs. "That's my favorite Godzilla movie," he says. "So much better than the original."

"Totally," Evan agrees.

Sam looks disapprovingly to Dean. "He likes the remake."

"Ew."

Katherine sighs a bit. "Evan, did you see what this thing was?" She asks.

"No, but I saw it grab Mr. Jenkins! It pulled him underneath the car!"

"Then what?"

Evan glances to the window. "It took him away. I heard the monster leaving. It made this really scary sound."

"Like what?"

"This...whining growl..."

Katherine glances to both brothers before nodding at Mrs. McKay. "Thanks for your time," she says, and the hunters get on their way.

Earlier that week came a nasty fight with a nest. Everyone's worn down, bruised, cut. It was the intention to sleep all week, but...

Here they are, sitting in a dive, surrounded by country music, pool table clatter, general liveliness.

Dean sits down in front of Katherine and slides an open beer towards her. She shakes her head and passes it back to him. He frowns. "You good?"

"I think if I drink that, it's gonna have to be a nightcap."

Dean chews on his lip. "We can still back off the case," he says. "If you're not one hundred percent—"

"No, I'm fine," she insists. "I'm just tired and sore. I've dealt with worse." There's a jovial cheer from the pool table directly behind her. She turns to look at the fuss.

If she wasn't so tired, she'd love to play a game. How long had it been since she properly hustled one?

"Anyway," Katherine hums, looking back over her computer. "The local police have now ruled out foul play—apparently, there weren't signs of a struggle."

"Well, they could be right," Dean hums, looking to the dart board. "Could just be a kidnapping. Maybe this isn't our kinda gig."

"Or it is," she chirps. "My dad and I blew through these parts a couple years back—possible hunting grounds for a phantom attacker."

Dean frowns and wanders over to their bar top. "What'd you guys find?"

Katherine tries to ignore how close he's standing to her. "Found a lot of local folklore about a dark figure that comes out at night, grabs people, then vanishes. Did you know this county has more missing persons per capita than anywhere else in the state?"