Death's Daughter | Supernatural, D.W.

The Hunt, Part II

Sam leaves Dean and I, and walks around to the back of the house. Dean leads the way into the house. It's massive. Quietly, I follow close behind him, and find myself gripping the iron for some security, even though it's not exactly what I'd like to hold onto. Dean navigates carefully, using his flashlight sparingly to light the way. He finds a blood trail and follows it to a door.

"Stay behind me," he instructs me quietly. I nod.

Dean opens the door, leading in our descent into a pitch black, maze-like basement. The smell of stale blood and death fills the damp air. I wrinkle my nose; it feels like I could catch my own death just by breathing this air.

As we reach the bottom of the steps, the door above us slams shut. I hold back a jump and take a deep breath.

"We've got company," Dean says. "Don't worry. You have your weapons. Listen, we have to split up. There's too much ground to cover down here and not enough time. Can you do this?" His eyes search mine for an answer, piercing me, even in the dark of the basement.

"Yes," I reply. I don't want to disappoint him.

"Alright. You go right, I'll go left. We'll meet somewhere along the way. If you find anyone alive, get somewhere, make a circle and stay. I'll find you. If you find anyone dead, keep moving. If you -"

"I got it, Dean," I interrupt. "Not a lot of time, remember?"

"Right," he nods.

I start down my path. The walls are covered in dust and spider webs, like your classic haunted house. The further down the hallway I go, the stronger the stench becomes. I worry; I don't want to find a dead body.

I find a doorway a ways down the hall and decide to take it. The air in the room is freezing cold. The temperature, mixed with my nerves, sends chills down my spine. Across the room, I see two people chained to the wall, and assume they're the missing people.

"Hey!" I call out to them. "Alexis, Dawson!"

I approach them carefully. They're both alive, but barely. Alexis stirs, waking up with a confused look.

"Who are you?"

"My name's Mallory, I'm here to help you out," I tell her.

Before she responds, her face becomes horrified, and she lets out a loud scream that echos in the room. I turn around to see a man three times my size in bloody clothing. Without thinking, I swing the iron rod right through him, and he disappears.

"Okay, we don't have long. Is Dawson okay?" I ask.

"I - I think so," she nods. "He's been out for a while."

"I'm going to pick these locks and get you two out, be my eyes for me."

As I work on the chains, I begin to feel panicked, wondering where Dean is, and how far Sam's gotten. Surely Dean isn't lost. All I know is that I can't fight a ghost and drag an unconscious man out of a basement by myself.

I unlock Alexis's cuffs and she stands weakly, stretching her limbs.

"Mallory!" She yells. "Look out!"

I turn to see the ghost again, this time taking a swing at me. He knocks me off my feet, but disappears as I reach for the iron again. I scramble to stand back up and struggle to catch my breath.

"Okay, here." I take my salt out, and pour a half-circle connecting to the wall around Alexis and Dawson, giving them shelter. "Whatever you do, don't break this salt line, don't cross this salt line, and don't do anything else. The ghost can't cross this."