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chapter seven:

⤵︎ ⤹
⤷ HOOK MAN ⤶
01 x 07

❝ YOU BE QUIET ! ❞

❝ HOW ABOUT BOTH OF YOU JUST SHUT YOUR MOUTHS !? ❞

❏❐❑

FOLLOWING THE events of the shapeshifter, Dean had forced Sam and (mainly) Eirene to go to the nearest hospital to check up their injuries. Sam had many cuts from being thrown into a book shelf and from being beaten with a crowbar, and Eirene had lost much blood from her head as well as being chocked to near death which left (much to Dean's fury) a handprint of blue and purple bruises that littered the skin of her neck.

After the pair had been dismissed, the man had taken a look out even more so for the two. Without the brother's father here, Dean was the one who had to look after Sam (though it appeared John didn't do much of a good job when he was present anyway). However, Dean didn't seem to mind all that much as his main goal was to find, hunt, and kill anything that stood in the way of finding the said man.

So, this currently led to where they were right now. Dean and Eirene were sitting in a small local coffee shop as Sam was at the pay phone located near the outside of the building.

"Alright, thank you for your time." The man thanked in a disappointed tone. He then hung up, the phone making a shrill ring sound as he did so, and walked back to the table where the other two hunters were sat.

Dean peered up from his laptop and grinned at him. "Your, uh, half ━━ caf, double vanilla latte is getting cold over here, Francis." he teased.

The brunette glared at him and shoved his shoulder, somewhat making him grab the table for support as onlookers stared at them in confusion and alarm.

"Bite me." Sam sneered as he sat down.

"So, anything?" Dean asked hopefully, but his positivity deflated as Sam shook his head.

"I had them check the FBI's Missing Persons Data Bank. No, John Doe's fitting Dad's description. I even ran his plates for traffic violations." Sam replied.

"Sam, I'm tellin' ya, I don't think Dad wants to be found."

The man looked hurt at his words.

"Check this out." he turned the laptop around to face his brother, which showed an article about Rich's death. "It's a news item out of Planes Courier. Ankeny, Iowa. It's only about a hundred miles from here."

"'The mutilated body was found near the victim's car, parked on 9 Mile Road.'" Sam read from the screen, the white screen illuminating his face in a white glow.

Dean nodded. "Keep reading." he urged.

"Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer. The sole eyewitness, whose name has been withheld, is quoted as saying the attacker was invisible."

"Could be something interesting."

Sam shrugged. "Or it could be nothing at all. One freaked out witness who didn't see anything? Doesn't mean it's the Invisible Man."

Eirene peered to the brothers hesitantly, feeling as though an argument was about to break out. Usually, it was the other way around during these types of discussions.

"But what if it is? Dad would check it out." Dean argued.

AFTER THE ineffable argument of 'would John check it out?', the group all eventually agreed to go see what they were dealing with this time after all, an 'invisible man' wasn't exactly much to go on and was much different from anything they'd heard of before.

The trio had been on the road for a while until eventually they pulled up to the fraternity where Rich lived.

"One more time, why are we here?" Sam asked as he closed his side of the car door.

"The victim lived here." Dean replied as they walked up to some guys fixing a car. "Nice wheels." he complimented, but it only earned him a strange look from the men. Dean motioned to him and Sam. "We're your fraternity brothers. From Ohio. We're new in town. Transfers. Looking for a place to stay." he added while grinning.

The group nodded before turning to Eirene with a questionable gaze. Noticing this, she smiled lightly at them. "Oh, I'm just passing through." The brunette waved off dismissively.

SHORTLY AFTER the awkward encounter with the fraternity boys, they made their way to where the brothers would be 'staying'. What they weren't expecting was a shirtless frat boy in yellow shorts. He was stood painting his face and body purple. Eirene grimaced slightly and looked to Sam before knocking loudly on the door.

He immediately stopped in his actions. "Who are you?" the boy asked with a snag of scepticism in his voice.

"We're your new roommates." Dean replied. He smiled and walked over to the boy. In response, the boy held out the brush and paint can out to Dean with an unknowing smile. "Do me a favour? Get my back. Big game today."

Dean's grin faltered slightly before he pointed to Sam. "He's the artist. The things he can do with a brush."

Sam quickly glanced to his brother with a short glare, clearly mortified. However, knowing he had no choice the teen took the brush and can.

Eirene laughed quietly as she sat down on a chair next to Dean who was holding up a magazine. "So," He began as he looked at the name on the magazine. "Murph. Is it true?"

The boy, now identified as Murph, looked to the pair with confused eyes as Sam painted his back. "What?"

"We heard one of the guys around here got killed last week."

Murph's face suddenly turned sad as he answered the question given to him. "Yeah."

"What happened?" Eirene questioned while looking to him with a sympathetic gaze.

"They're saying some psycho with a knife. Maybe a drifter passing through. Rich was a good guy."

"Rich was he with somebody?"

Murph shook his head. "Not just somebody. Lori Sorensen."

Dean furrowed bis brows. "Who's Lori Sorensen?"

Before Murph could reply, he turned to Sam. "You missed a spot. Just down there there." he spoke gesturing to his back. While Sam threw an annoyed look Dean and Eirene's way, Dean only grinned widely at his brother's disgust.

Murph, not noticing the shared looks between the hunters, continued speaking. "Lori's a freshman. She's a local. Super hot. And get this: she's a reverend's daughter."

"You wouldn't happen to know which church, would you?" Eirene questioned while leaning forward slightly.

AFTER THEY'D gotten the much needed information from Murph, the three hunters had ventured to the funeral of the college student he'd known. It was a nice but rather small service with people scattered all about.

"Our hearts go out to the family of a young man who perished. And my personal prayers of thanks go out as well because I believe he died trying to protect my daughter." a man, presumably Lori's father, spoke. As all eyes turned to Lori, she looked down in embarrassment, not liking all of the attention on her. "And now, as time heals all our wounds, we should reflect on what this tragedy means. To us, as a church."

As they enter, the door slammed shut behind them creating a loud bang. The congregation went silent as they all turned to look at them. "as a community, and as a family. The loss of a young person is particularly tragic. A life unlived is the saddest of passings."

The three continued walking forward and sat down. Lori turned back and stared at Sam with a subtle grin on her face. The man smiled weakly back at her. Noticing this, Eirene nudged her friend's shoulder and raised her eyebrows suggestively. After Jessica, she wanted him to find happiness even if it was only for a little while. "So, please, let us pray. For peace, for guidance, and for the power to protect our children." Everyone then bowed their head in prayer, except Dean. Glancing over, Sam elbowed him, and Dean, noticing everyone else, did the same.

NOT LONG after the service, the trio of hunters had begun their new task, find Lori Sorenson.

"Excuse me, you're Lori, aren't you?" Sam asked once they'd walked up to a woman who seemed to fit Murph's vivd description of her.

The girl, now identified as Lori, nodded. "Yeah."

"My name is Sam." he spoke while pointing to himself. "This is my brother, Dean. And my friend, Eirene."

Dean grinned and waved at her with a smile on his face while Eirene just mudged him slightly before sending Lori a smile too. "Hi."

"We just transferred here to the university." the younger brother added once he saw her minimal look of confusion.

"I saw you inside." She replied with a skeptical look pulled upon her features.

"We don't wanna bother you. We just heard about what happened and . . ." Sam trailed off.

Dean cleared his throat and gave her a sympathetic look. "We wanted to say how sorry we were."

"I kind of know what you're going through. I ━━ I saw someone . . . get hurt once. It's something you don't forget." Sam said in a sad tone. Lori nodded slightly while Dean and Eirene sent him knowing looks. It didn't last long however as Reverend Sorenson, Lori's father, walked up to them.

The woman beamed at her Dad's sudden appearance and readily introduced the three supposed college students. Admittedly looked a bit older than the rest of the students around them but neither of the father, daughter duo seemed to notice. "um, this is Sam, Dean and Eirene. They're new students."

Dean leaned forward and shook the reverend's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I must say, that was an inspiring sermon."

The man nodded at his words and shook Dean's hand back. "Thank you very much. It's so nice to find young people who are open to the Lord's message." Dean chuckled at the Reverend's words but didn't say anything.

It was silent before he spoke up once more. "Listen, uh, we're new in town, actually." the older brother then began to leas Lori's father away from the three remaining.

"Tell me, Lori. What are the police saying?" Sam asked as he and Eirene started walking with her.

Lori paused for a second before answering. "Well, they don't have a lot to go on. I think they blame me for that."

The brunette hunter furrowed her brows as her face screwed up in almost faux visible confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"My story. I was so scared, I guess I was 'seeing things'." the college student replied as they stopped in their tracks.

"That doesn't mean it wasn't real." Sam defended as he looked at the girl with a small grin. Eirene nudged the man, therefore breaking him out of his locked gaze on her. She definitely had to tell Dean about this later on.

"SO YOU believe her?" Dean questioned as he peered up to his younger brother. He still didn't understand how he was taller than him though he'd always theorised it was the excessive ( and perhaps rather uncecessary ) exercise he did.

Sam nodded affirmatively. "I do."

"Yeah, I think she's hot, too." Dean added which earned the man a rather harsh shove from the brunette in response.

Sam sighed and rolled his eyes slightly in annoyance at his older brother's usual personality. "No, man, there's something in her eyes. And listen to this: she heard scratching on the roof. Found the bloody body suspended upside down over the car."

Eirene leaned forward, suddenly more interested in the conversation and thinking what the two were talking about sounded vaguely familiar. "Wait, his body was suspended? That sounds alot like the ━━━"

"━━━ Yeah, I know, the Hook Man legend." Sam cut off, coming to the same conclusion as his friend.

"That's one of the most famous urban legends ever. You don't think that we're dealing with the Hook Man." the oldest Winchester brother spoke with hesitance.

"Every urban legend has a source. A place where it all began."

"Yeah, but what about the phantom scratches and the tire punctures and the invisible killer?"

"Well, maybe the Hook Man isn't a man at all. What if it's some kind of spirit?"

UNFORTUNATELY, IT had come to the part Eirene Blackwell hated most about hunts. Research. While Sam always soared past she and Dean in reading through different books and looking up local myths / legends, the brunette saw no point in it apart from the obvious fact that it'd help them find what the monster was and kill it without hesitation.

A big box being dumped in front of the three broke them out of their conversation.

"Here you go. Arrest records dating back to 1851." the librarian spoke with a kind and rather suspicious smile. Eirene supposed it was because it wasn't everyday someone came in asking for arrest records from years ago. Dean grimaced and blew some dust off of the surface of the cardboard box and coughed quietly when some went down his throat in into his lungs. He then looked up to the old woman and sent her a small appreciative smile. "Thanks."

The hunters all watched as she nodded and then walked away, presumably finding someone else to help in the large building of never ending books and shelves. And, surprisingly, arrest records dating back to 1851.

The older brother peered to the youngest with a look of disgust. "So, this is how you spent four good years of your life, huh?"

Sam merely sighed and began to dig inside the box with Eirene's help. "Welcome to higher education."

Eirene grinned while slamming a folder down in front of the disgruntled man with a wide grin. "That's right. Now get looking Winchester, these aren't going to read themselves." she added, smiling even more so once she noticed a cloud of dust make its way into his lungs once more.

IT TURNS out that what they thought would be only an hour or two, was actually four. Research was not easy. Eirene was starting to understand why Sam always stuck to looking everything up on his beloved laptop instead.

"Hey, check this out." Sam suddenly spoke which interrupted the two next to him. The brunette was laying her head on Dean's shoulder, drifting between the land of the conscious. She jumped up and swatted the man on the shoulder harshly in order to wake him up as well, as if chastising him for falling asleep on the job and letting poor Sam do all the hard work. "1862. A preacher named Jacob Karns was arrested for murder. Looks like he was so angry over the red light district in town that one night he killed thirteen prostitutes. Uh, right here, 'some of the deceased were found in their bed, sheets soaked with blood. Others suspended upside down from the limbs of trees as a warning against sins of the flesh.'

Dean, however, wasn't looking as he was now staring at another page with Eirene looming over his shoulder. "Get this, the murder weapon? Looks like the preacher lost his hand in an accident. Had it replaced with a silver hook." He spoke while the brunette grimaced. Why would anyone want that? It was very pirate like.

Sam pointed to another page gaining the pairs attention once more. "Look where all this happened.

"Nine mile Road." Eirene read out. The trio all peered to each other in realisation.

"The Same place where the frat boy was killed." Sam concluded.

The older man grinned in amusement, slightly impressed. He knew his brother had always been smart as he'd literally gone to Stanford but it never failed to shock him somewhat how quickly he was catching on. It's like he'd never even left. "Nice job, Dr. Venkmen. Let's check it out."

"Wow. Ghostbusters reference, fitting. Can I be Janine?" The brunette questioned with a ( rather flirty ) smile. 

Dean smirked and glanced to her, green eyes gleaming. "Yeah well I guess that makes me Spengler."

Sam scoffed laugh at the reference. If only they knew what they were saying. Oh how oblivious the two were.

AFTER A long drive ( and many Metallica song later much to Sam and Eirene's dismay ) they had finally arrived.

The woman in mention leaned forward and stopped the music from playing any longer which earned a glare from the man while his brother just smirked, happy that the ruckus was now over.

They collectively got out of the car and Dean opened the trunk, handing  Sam and Eirene both a rifle.

The shaggy ━━ haired man looked down to the weapon in his hands apprehensively. "If it is a spirit, buckshot won't do much good."

Dean looked at him as if he was stupid. "Yeah, rock salt." He said dumbly and handed it to him.

'Huh. Salt being a spirit deterrent."

Eirene tossed the gun up in the air shortly before catching it. With a grin she looked up at him. "You wouldn't think would you?"

The man to her left stepped back in shock. "Hey, be careful with that thing would you?"

The brunette scoffed. "I know my way around a gun, Winchester alright? This isn't my first hunt." The woman then started walking off to the trees near the building they had pulled up outside of.

Sam gave Dean a knowing look to which he rolled his eyes at. What was he trying to suggest? "Oh shut up."

Ignoring this, he spoke up once more, hurrying after the brunette that was far ahead of them. "It won't kill 'em. But it'll slow 'em down. And that's what we need."

"That's pretty good." Sam agreed. "You and Dad think of this?"

"I told you. You don't have to be a college graduate to be a genius."

The two's brotherly banter stopped when they heared noises from among the trees. They both stopped walking as Sam raised his gun and looked around wearily.

"Over there. Over there." Dean pointed to some nearby rocks.

In turn, Sam aimed the gun and cocked it when a figure came out from behind the trees.

"Well hello boys."

Both men immediately let out sighs of relief once they saw it was just their female hunter friend.

However, it seemed to be the calm before the storm as the rustling noise continued once more. Sam and Eirene aimed their rifles while Dean aimed his bundled up rope. It was laughable really. They had a supposed invisible man gutting people with a hook for a hand and all they had were two rifles and some rope. Yeah that'll get him for sure.

Much to the hunter's relief, though, it was the sheriff. Although that situation wasn't particularly ideal either as they had armed weapons in their hands. Who also happened to be aimed at him. Yikes.

"Put the gun down now! Now! Put your hands behind your head."

"Okay, okay!"

"Now get down on your knees. Come on, do it! On your knees!" They all looked to each other nervously before complying with his request. Not wanting to get on another sherrifs bad side. They'd done that enough already. "Now get down on your bellies. Come on, do it!"

"They had the gun!" Dean defended while motioning to his brother and friend.

Eirene glared at the man, her cold blue gaze putting him on edge. Making him feel more chilly than the cold winter air outside. "Way to throw us under the bus Winchester! I admire your bravery and never ━━ ending commitance." She muttered between gritted teeth.

"What, he could see that anyway!" Was his rebuttal.

"I think that's the point." Sam groaned out in the uncomfortable position they were in.

IT HAD been a long ride to the Sheriffs station, mainly consisting of heated glares between Dean and Eirene. It also became very  uncomfortable for Sam as he was in ━━ between the two in the small and compact space that the car had.

And of course Dean had gone to talk to the Sheriff first. The man eventually came out smiling like a five year old at Christmas which made Eirene dread to think at what he had said in there.

The door swung shut behind him as he held out his arms as if asking for a medal. "Saved your ass! Talked the sheriff down to a fine. Dude, I am Matlock."

The two friends shared a meek glance. "But how?"

"I told him you two were some dumbass pledges and that I was hazing you."

"Dumbass?" The brunette questioned with wide eyes and crossed arms.

Sam, ignoring her asked, "What about the shotguns?"

"I said that you were hunting ghosts and the spirits were repelled by rock salt. You know, typical Hell Week prank."

"Yeah, typical." Eirene seethed out, still mad at the man for calling her a dumbass.

"And he believed you?" He asked in amusement.

"Well, you certainly look like a dumbass pledge." Was his reply.

"And do I look like a dumbass pledge to you, Dean?" The blue eyed woman questioned while walking towards him, arms still crossed and eyebrows raised.

The man in question turned to her in shock. "Uh . . . of course not. You don't look like anything."

Eirene furrowed her brows in confusion. What the hell?

"Uhh . . . I mean you don't ━━ you don't like like a dumbass. You look hot. Especially when you're um . . . I'll stop talking now."

She nodded and sent him a condescending smile. "Yeah, I think that's for the best."

Mere seconds later, several sheriffs run out of the building and sped away in police cars. The hunters all exchanged confused looks. 

"WHY WOULD the Hook Man come here? This is a long way from 9 Mile Road." Sam asked.

"Maybe he's not haunting the scene of his crime. Maybe it's about something else." Dean surmised as two sorority girls came out the side entrance of the building, but they didn't see the three. They were leaned against the side of the house next to some bushes to hide themselves. "Dude, sorority girls! Think we'll see a naked pillow fight?" He questioned with mirth in his eyes and a goofy smile. Eirene just shoved him harshly in response and watched as he fell to the floor. Dirt and gravel went up in mini clouds from the impact.

The man muttered something under his breath while getting up and smoothing down his black leather jacket and light brown, spikey hair.

"What was that?" She challenged.

"Nothing." He replied swiftly, not wanting to be held under her threatening state any longer.

"Whatever Winchester." Eirene said under breath before turning to face Sam only to see that he'd disappeared. A shuffling noise interrupted her suspicions as she peered up only to see the man trying to climb onto the balcony of the house. Dean went over to help him up and then climbs up himself followed by Eirene. His attempts at 'ladies first' hadn't worked as she'd merely shoved him once more and this time in the direction of his brother.

Once they were up there, they snuck in through Lori's window only for Dean to fall on top of Sam in a heap.   The younger man groaned in pain as he shoved his older brother off of him.

"Oh shit, sorry!"

"Be quiet." Sam chastised.

"You be quiet!" Dean replied.

"Hey what's with the holdup?" Eirene questioned while pulling herself up and into the window. However, the pair didn't seem to hear her.

"You be quiet!"

"How about you both be quiet?" She whisper yelled, this time catching their attention. Immediately, they both shut their mouths.

THE THREE were now in Lori's walk in closet. Sam was on look out to see when the coast was clear for them to leave. As he opened the door slighlty another sheriff left the room until they're the only ones in there once more.

"Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light? That's right out of the legend."

"Yeah, that's classic Hook Man all right." He tapped his nose as if it was his intuition. "It's definitely a spirit."

"Yeah, I've never smelled ozone this strong before." The younger brother agreed.

Dean moved over to the window while Sam and Eirene were across the room.

"Hey, come here." He whispered, gesturing for the man to come over to them and look at what they had found.

The green eyed man walked over to the pair as Sam pointed to the cross symbol beneath the writing they'd seen on the wall. "Does that look familiar to you?" He questioned.

AFTER REALISING where they'd seen the cross before, they had all raced out of the room downstairs back to the car while Sam reached inside to grab the picture of the cross they had gotten from their research.

"It's the same symbol. Seems like it is the spirit of Jacob Karns." He theorised.

"All right, let's find the dude's grave, salt and burn the bones, and put him down." Dean voiced the usual protocol that they were used to.

"After execution, Jacob Karns was laid to rest in an Old North Cemetery. In an unmarked grave." Eirene read out. Her voice tightning slightly as they all realised their current dilemma. Of course, just their luck.

"Super." Dean muttered in a sarcastic tone.

"Okay. So we know it's Jacob Karns. But we still don't know where he'll manifest next. Or why."

"I'll take a wild guess about why. I think your little friend Lori has something to do with this." The older man joked which earned him a testy glare from his brother. At least someone was staying positive, and also on the same page as Eirene.

SAM AND Eirene were officially back on the college scene as they were at a party being held. It was bustling with people who clearly didn't care about their fellow classmate being murdered.

Dean walked up to the pair with a drink in his hand and a huge grin on his face. "Man, you've been holding out on me. This college thing is awesome!" He then winked and smiled at a passing girl to which the brunette rolled her eyes once more. He really wouldn't quit would he?

"You know, college isn't all about partying, Winchester. It's more than that."

Sam nodded in response to his friend's words. She was definitely right but wether her words would actually get through to him was running through his mind. "Eirene's right. Besides, this wasn't really my experience. The only parties I went to were the one Jess or Eirene dragged me too."

The woman in mention chuckled at that. She missed when times were simple and she'd literally have to drag the man out of his room and away from studying just for one night to let loose and have a little fun.

"Let me guess. Libraries, studying, straight A's?" He asked.

Sam nodded.

"What a geek."

The woman shoved the shorter man once more and watched as his drinks spilled all over his hands amd jacket which earned her a glare. " Shut up, Winchester. At least he went to college."

This time it was him who rolled his eyes. "Whatever, you do your homework?"

"Yeah. It was bugging me, right? So how is the Hook Man tied up with Lori? So I think I came up with something." Was his reply as he took put a piece of crumpled paper from his pocket and unraveled it as best as he could so his brother and best friend could see.

"1932. Clergyman arrested for murder. 1967. Seminarian held in hippie rampage." Eirene read out over the shaggy haired man's shoulder as Dean was busy acquiring some tissues to clean up the spilled drink as best as he could all while muttering how he'd probably have to get it dry cleaned. How dramatic.

"There's a pattern here. In both cases, the suspect was a man of religion who openly preached against immorality. And then found himself wanted for killings he claimed were the work of an invisible force. Killings carried out ━━ get this ━━ with a sharp instrument."

By now, the man in the leather jacket had come back bht nkt without sending the brunette one pissed off look. He may have looked mad but Sam knew he'd never really be angry with her. Thay was impossible. "What's the connection to Lori?"

"A man of religion? Who openly preaches against immorality? Except maybe this time, instead of saving the whole town, he's just trying to save his only daughter."

"What, you think Reverend Sorensen summoning the spirit?" The female hunter questioned with furrowed brows. This was insane. This whole case was insane.

Sam shurgged. "Maybe. Or, you know how a poltergeist can haunt a person instead of a place?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, the spirit latches onto the reverend's repressed emotions, feeds off them, yeah, okay."

"Without the reverend ever even knowing it."

"Either way, you should keep an eye on Lori tonight." Eirene spoke with a small grin to which Sam agreed.

"What about you two?"

Dean looked over at an attractive blonde smiling at him by the pool table. Eirene peered over to where he was looking and immediately felt annoyance rise up in her. Could he not flirt with a woman for once in his life?

Noticing he wasn't saying anything but just staring, she answered for him.

"We're going to go see if we can find that unmarked grave." She said while grabbing his hand and dragging him away. The sound of her best friend's laughter could be heard echoing in the background.

THROUGHOUT THE whole drive there, Dean had insisted in continuing his session of listening to Metallica to which Eirene had protested heavily. It had gotten so bad that she'd almost snatched the tape out of the tape deck and threw it out the open window.

However, like all drives with the man it had fortunately come to an end and they were now walking around the graveyard trying to find the right grave.

"God, this is seriously giving me the creeps." Eirene muttered as she shone her flashlight around the place, not successful in finding the correct grave.

Dean gave a cocky laugh. "Well, if you need saving just give me a holler you know where I'll be. I'll save you anytime." He then winked at her with his apple green eyes which shon in the sparkling moonlight.

"Oh sure, Winchester. If I suddenly drop dead within the next minute or so I'll feel reassured that you'll save me."

It seemed that at her words he'd suddenly sobered up and the mood in the graveyard was now very much serious. He turned to her. "Hey, don't joke about that kind of stuff."

The pair stopped in turn right before a grave and simply stared at each other. "Why not? Would my death affect you so bad you simply wouldn't be able to live without me? I'm flattered, really Winchester."

"You know I wouldn't, Blackwell." Was his reply.

Eirene grinned at this before looking down in order to avoid his deep gaze. However, when the bright white light of the flashlight revealed what they had been looking for all this time. The smile fell from her face as she got the man's attention once more ( like it had ever left at all ).

"I think we found the grave of good old Jacob Karns."

The man smiled in relief. "We are too good Eirene."

"Hell yeah we are. Now, let's get digging. It won't dig it itself."

Dean grabbed the two shovels and handed one to her before they started to dig up the earth that layered the grave. It had been more difficult than the pair had originally thought as the ground almost appeared to be rock solid with a thin layer of grass layering it.

"That's it. Next time, I get to watch the cute girl's house." He muttered tiredly under his breath, not paying attention to the withering stare being sent his way. 

Before long, they finally broke through the wooden floor of the grave and saw Jacob Karns' remains. "Well hello, preacher." The two three away their shovels in unison and watched as they fell to the ground with a loud clang! noise.

While the man took a few items out of his bag, Eiren poured salt and lighter fluid on the preacher's bones then lit a match.

"Goodbye, preacher."

"Goodbye." Eirene nodded and threw the match onto the grave and together they watched as the bones burst into flames.

AFTER THE pair had burned the last remains of Jacob Karns, Eirene had received a rather distressed phone call from Sam claiming that he and Lori had just been attacked by the Hook Man himself.

When two sheriffs attempted to stop them both, Dean protested. "Hey, it's alright, we're with him. He's my brother."

The sheriff stared at him before turning to Sam who was down the hall. He and Eirene then watched as he turned to Sam and waved with a wide smile on his face. "Hey brother!" He called out gaining the attention of pretty much everyone in the vicinity of his loud shout.

Another sheriff nearby, noticing them both, spoke up. "Let them through." He commanded.

Eirene nodded in appreciation and ran up to the man, launching her arms around him tightly. "Oh thank goodness you're alright. You are okay, right?" The brunette questioned and separated from him to give him a once over.

Her best friend laughed at her antics and treasured her concern for his wellbeing. "Yeah. I'm alright."

"What the hell happened?" The older brother demanded with strict eyes and a harsh tone in his voice. Oh how he wanted that monster dead even more now. Not only had it attacked his little brother but it had clearly worried the life out of his friend too.

"Hook Man."

"You saw him?" He questioned in disbelief. With the information they'd heard from Lori, they were hunting an invisible man. Clearly not. Well, at least this made their lives easier.

Sam nodded." Damn right. Why didn't you torch the bones?"

Sam watched as his brother and best friend made eye contact with each other and then hurriedly looked away in what seemed to be embarrassment. "What are you talking about, of course we did. You sure it's the spirit of Jacob Karns?"

"It sure as hell looked like him. And that's not all. I don't think the spirit is latching on to the reverend."

Eirene merely scoffed. "Well, yeah, I hardly doubt the guy would send the Hook Man after himself. That'd be crazy." She mused.

The shaggy haired man agreed and said something the brunette had been dreading for a while now. "I think it's latching onto Lori. Last night she found out her father is having an affair with a married woman."

Eirene's eyes widened at that. What a betrayal.

Dean, however, didnt seem to care whatsoever. "So what?" He asked in an uncaring tone.

"So she's upset about it. She's upset about the immorality of it. She told me she was raised to believe that if you do something wrong, you get punished."

"Okay, so she's conflicted. And the spirit of Preacher Karns is latching on to repress the emotions and maybe he's doing the punishing for her, huh?" He theorised with a grim expression pulled upon his features.

"Right." Sam agreed. "Rich comes on too strong, Taylor tries to make her into a party girl, Dad has an affair."

"Remind me not to piss this girl off." Eirene muttered lowly under her breath, not wanting to be gutted by a man with a hook for a hand.

"But I don't get it. We burned those bones, we buried them in salt, why didn't that stop him?"

The ex college student shrugged his shoulders. "You must have missed something."

"No. We burned everything in that coffin." She replied while shaking her head. If he was still roaming the streets what the hell had they missed?

Sam thought for a moment before it struck him. "Well, did you get the hook?"

Shit!

"The hook?" Dean asked.

"Well, it was the murder weapon, and in a way, it was part of him."

Of course! How did they miss that? So much for being experienced hunters.

"So, like the bones, the hook is a source of his power."

"So if we find the hook . . ." Eirene began realising where he was going.

"We stop the Hook Man." The brothers both spoke at the same time. The two shared smiles while the female hunter grimaced slightly.

"Okay, that's kind of creepy. Do that again you'll be like the twins from the freaking Shining or something. Only, you know, male. And. . . . older."

"HERE'S SOMETHING, I think. Log book, Iowa State Penitentiary. Karns, Jacob. Personal affects: disposition thereof."

"Does it mention the hook?"

"Yeah, maybe." The older man replied as he continued reading aloud from the log book. "Upon execution, all earthly items shall be remanded to the prisoner's house of worship, St. Barnabas Church."

"Hey, isn't that where Lori's father preaches?" Eirene pondered.

"Yeah, it is."

"Where Lori lives?"

"Maybe that's why the Hook Man has been haunting reverends and reverends' daughters for the past 200 years." Dean speculated.

"Yeah, but if the hook were at the church or Lori's house, don't you think someone might've seen it? I mean, a bloodstained, silver ━━ handled hook?" Sam inquired confusedly.

"He makes a good point."

"Check the church records."

As fast as the trio were trying to be it had already been over five minute since Dean's suggestion of checking the church records and they'd found nothing. Well, until they did of course.

"Hey, come look at this." Sam spoke as the other two hunters walked over to where he was sat and leaned down to have a closer look. He then started reading aloud. "Barnabas donations, 1862. Received silver ━━ handled hook from state penitentiary. Reforged. They melted it down. Made it into something else."

Eirene internally groaned. Of course it had. Because when was good luck on their side? Never, apparently.

THE CAR pulled up just outside the St. Barnabas Church. This time, much to Sam and Eirene's pleasure, they'd driven in silence as it was a 'serious matter' in the words of Dean Winchester.

"Alright, we can't take any chances. Anything silver automatically goes straight in the fire."

"I agree. So, Lori's still at the hospital. We'll have to break in."

"Alright, take your pick." The older man replied.

Without any hesitation came his reply. "I'll take the house."

Eirene nodded. She wasn't surprised in his answer. What was he expecting Sam to choose? And with that he began walking towards the house before turning back and looked towards his brother. "And, staying out of her underwear drawer."

The hunter in mention just rolled his eyes in response while Eirene grabbed his hand for the second time that night and pulled him along. "C'mon perv. We've got a monster to catch."

"I'm not a perv." He muttered almost inaudibly under his breath.

"Yeah whatever, Winchester."

Before long, Sam came back with a huge bag of items. "I got everything that even looked silver."

Eirene nodded. "Better safe than sorry." Carefully, they threw everything into the fire watching as it all began to heat up and eventually melt leaving nothing behind except small remains of what looked to be a silver hair pin. Suddenly, they heard footsteps above them. All three of them peered up simultaneously, eyeing thr ceiling wearily.

Immediately, they all readied their guns above them. Slowly, they began to move up the staircase into the upper level.

As they moved closer the mystery person was only revealed to be Lori Sorenson. She was sitting in a pew alone, crying. Collectively, all three hunters lowered their guns. While Dean and Eirene go back downstairs. Sam walks over to Lori which earns him a small smile from his best friend.

As the two made their way back down the staircase feeling slightly relieved, the brunette let out a small sigh. Noticing this, the man glanced towards her with a concerned gaze. "You alright?"

Eirene nodded. "Yeah. I just can't wait for this case to be over. I mean, a Hook Man? That's just ridiculous."

In response to this, he just chuckled lightly. "Yeah, it's quite odd. According to his journal not even my dad's seen anything like this before."

Before another word could be spoken between the two, a loud bang sounded out from above and then muffled shouts were let out and a scraping sound. You didn't have to be a genius to know what was going on upstairs. God, this guy was incredibly committed to his cause.

Eirene groaned out loud when she realised that they'd have to go back up the stairs they'd just come down. "Up and down and up and down. It's like he's trying to kill us!" Her out of pocket comment went ignored because of course he was trying to kill them! Nevertheless, they rushed back up the staircase in order to help the two.

"Hey, Hook Man! Over here!" Eirene yelled to get the attention of the burly man away from Sam and Lori.

Dean, noticing what she was doing tried to stop her. He didn't want her ending up like that frat boy. All bloodied and gutted, face ending uo in the newspaper for all to see. "Eirene, don't!"

"Shut up! I know what I'm doing, alright." Was her response. She really didn't need him distracting her right now. Especially with a gun in her hand.

All three of them watched as the Hook Man made his way towards her with slow steps. The brunette was starting to slightly regret her rather sudden decision but nothing could be done now. A monster was coming towards her, she was a monster hunter and she had a gun. So what else was there to do but shoot?

"Yeah, come here ugly." The woman aimed the gun at the man and shot. The loud noise reverberating off of the church walls as smoke left the rifle from the speed of the bullet.

They all watched as the monster suddenly turned invisible. The only way to track him was by the long scratch marks embedded deep into the wooden walls of the building. So he really could become invisible. So poor Lori was right all this time. "Oh dear." She muttered under breath. That had just seemed to make him extra mad. And now, she'd probably find herself on the end of his hook before she got to see Sam make a move on the girl he was so clearly interested in.

"Eirene, run!" The older brother yelled when he noticed the scratch marks quickly making their way to where she was standing, his worry for her wellbeing now tenfold.

"Yeah way ahead of you!" Was Eirene’s reply as she turned around and ran through the church and back down the godamn stairs. If the Hook Man didn't kill her, these stairs sure would. There wasn't many rooms to go except for the small confession box to her right. Turning back, the brunette noticed he was catching up. So, it was either be gutted by a hook or hide in a wooden box.

Wooden box it was.

She quickly got inside and closed the door and then the shutter to the side so she couldn't be seen. Eirene didn't know how much capability the Hook Man possessed nor did she know if he'd know she was there but the hunter was only hoping that Sam or Dean would come help her before it was too late. If not, she'd have enough rounds to hopefully make him disappear forever.

Meanwhile, Dean would never admit it but he was having a literal mental breakdown. I mean, how couldn't he be? His friend was all alone with the monster who had shown he wasn't scared to gut anyone who got in his way. And right now, that was Eirene.

He could hear anything, and that was what worried him. There was no scratching along the walls, no creaking of the staircase to reveal the woman he was so desperate to see so she could prove she was okay, no bullets sounding and no signs of a struggle. That last one is probably what was causing both most of his distress and yet also his relief. If there was no sounds of struggle then that meant he hasn't found her yet. Though it could also mean that she was currently laying dead with her insides on the outside. The bright blue eyes he had always loved to secretly admire now dull and lifeless.

But he digresses. The sound of Sam and Lori speaking was muffled to his ears and a sinking feeling rose in his stomach. This needed to end now. He needed to end this.

"Sam, look." He pointed out the chain sat comfortably on Lori's neck. Silver.

"Lori, where did you get that chain?" Sam questioned, him being just as eager to save his best friend as his brother.

Confused, Lori replied. "My father gave it to me."

"Where'd your dad get it?" The older man questioned desperately, resisting the urge to march over there and rip it from her neck and throw it in the roaring fire.

"He said it was a church heirloom, he gave it to me when I started school."

"Is it silver?!" The younger brother asked this time.

"Yes!"

That was all the confirmation they needed. Sam, being closer to the woman than his brother, ripped the chain off from around her neck.

Noticing the scratch marks appearing again on the wall, Sam threw the necklace to his brother while he readied the rifle with the rock salt before shooting and then reloading.

Dean immediately ran back down to the basement. His mission, burn the godammn silver necklace.

Before he could make it far, a body collided into his. He grabbed the mystery figure and steadied them sligblty before realising who it was.

Oh thank god.

"Is that it?" She inqured in a slighlty out of breath tone, assumingly having just ran all the way back to find him.

Dean, realising they didn't have much time so he just took to nodding. This time, he grabbed her hand and dragged her to the fireplace before throwing the necklace inside. Then, they made their way back to where Lori and Sam were only to make it just in time as the man was now looming over them.

The Hook Man suddenly stopped with his hook in the air. The hook melted and the rest of his body burned into nothing. The two hunters made their way over to the pair, hands still entwined.

"You two alright?" Eirene asked the two while giving them both knowing looks.

"Yeah, we're fine. Thanks to you." Lori replied. "What you did was . . . you saved my life." She continued with a small smile while gesturing between her and Sam. "So what I'm really trying to say is thank you. Even though I don't know what just happened I know that I'll be forever grateful for you. For all of you."

Eirene grinned from ear to ear. This was one of the first times their acts had really been recognised. Usually the people were too dead to say anything.

Lori and Sam wandered off leaving the two alone. This time, it was Sam who gave his brother a look as if saying 'just do something already!'.

"What you did back there was incredibly reckless."

The brunette's eyes widened. Had he not just heard Lori's mini thank you speech?

"Reckless? I saved you guys. I saved Sam."

"By what? By nearly getting yourself killed?" He demanded. It appeared his serious ( and albeit rather cold ) demeanour from before was back. It was clear the hunter wasn't joking around. He meant business.

This shocked the woman. She didn't know he cared so much. Why did he care so much? They'd only met a handful of times before they'd begun hunting together and even they were brief. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that she was his little brothers best friend. Yeah, that had to be it. Nevertheless, she was still shocked when he brought her into his arms and wrapped her tightly in an embrace. It lasted for only a mere few seconds but for both parties it felt like a lifetime only ending when he pulled apart and grabbed her face gently with his ring ━━ covered hands. Oh, if only he knew what that did to her.

"Please, don't ever do anything like that ever again, alright?"

"Dean, I ━━"

"━━ Promise me, Eirene. Say you'll never scare me like that again."

Breathless and with absolutely no words on her tongue she just nodded. "I promise."

AMBULANCES CROWDED the scene among many other police cars accompanied by sheriffs and police officers.

"And you saw him, too? The man with the hook?" The sheriff reiterated to the older Winchester brother for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

"Yes, I told you, we all saw him. We fought him off and then he ran."

"And that's all?" He inquired with raised eyebrows and a suspicious gaze.

Dean shook his head in agreement. "Yeah, that's all."

He sighed. "Listen. You, your brother and your friend ━━"

"━━ Oh, don't worry, we're leaving town."

The hunter then started walking back to the car and getting in, waiting for his brother.

"Stop staring. You look like such a creep right now."

"I'm not a creep!" He defended.

"Says the man literally oggling at his own brother and the girl he likes.

After the two had finished talking, Sam came back and got in his usual seat in the front next to Dean.

"We could stay, if you want." Said man offered with a small smile.

However, Sam just shook his head while the other two hunters looked disappointed. If only he'd allow himself to move on after Jessica no matter how hard it may be.

"Well then, I think this calls for some Metallica don't you think, Sammy?" Well, that sure did break the silence.

Eirene let out an audible sigh of annoyance. Their sweet moment from before had been almost forgotten by the pair as their usual banter and friendly arguing had re ━━ emerged. "Oh god, please, no. I didn't almost die back there only for me to suffer in the long run."

From the front seat, Sam snickered but shut up when he made eye contact with his brother.

"

I think I should be able to choose for once."

At the realisation that he was about to state his usual music rules, she put a hand up to stop him. "I don't wanna hear it Winchester." And with that, Eirene leaned forward to mix through the different cassette tapes until she found one to her liking. She put it in and leaned back, beginning to tap her feet to the beat of the music.

Sam never knew why his brother had a Muse tape in his car but he had a certain fleeting feeling it most definitely wasn't for him.

ODI SPEAKS ! ━━━━━

The next chapter is finally out !! Fpr anyone reading this I'm SO sorry it took literally MONTHS to get out. Idk hwo accurate this is bcs it's been like a year since I've seen season one and I no longer have the streaming platform to watch it on. I may have to result in illegal streaming websites online 🫢

Also, Dean is such a sucker for Eirene but of course he doesn't do antrhing and of course their sweet moment was just forgotten about. But don't worry, it'll happen eventually ! You just gotta be patient : )

( sadly I can't add the gif bcs I've exceeded my page limit but oh well )

And as always, if there's any spelling errors or anything inaccurate please correct me !
Happy reading ♡

©️coast_by_coast