Bound: A Supernatural Story ✔️

TEN

"Alright." Sam pulled out the news article Holly had seen earlier, placing it in the middle of the table while Dean excused himself to go order food. Holly traced the words "drained of blood" with her finger.

"We know this man and the boy Francis were killed around the same time the vampire figured out you were his target," Sam continued. "How many he's killed before that, we don't know."

"He's been here for at least five years," Holly said softly. "Maybe longer."

"Do you know of any reason why he would have a motive to kill your parent's friends?"

The memory popped up fresh in Holly's mind, and she shoved it away.

Moonlit clearing, piercing screams, blood painting the grass red...

"Holly?" Sam was gazing at her, waiting for an answer.

"Um," Holly played with the charm around her neck. The metal felt good in her hands. "I don't know. They were my parent's closest friends. They had just been going out for a drink."

"They called me..." Holly continued, as Sam listened, "around ten o'clock that night. It was a weeknight, but of course I did what they told me to do. They asked me to come meet them at a bar, which was odd, because I was only fifteen. But I got a taxi and the next thing I knew, one of the customers was telling me my parents had taken off out the back door. I tried calling them, but it was going to voicemail. So I ran after them. Things got scary when I saw the blood. It was trailing off in a pattern out in the backyard. It lead to some kind of clearing."

Holly closed her eyes, cringing. It was difficult to relive this memory, but Sam was patiently waiting to hear the rest. "I saw them there. My parents and their friends, and one other guy." She swallowed. "That must have been the vampire — I thought he was a Hunter. My parent's friends were already dead, and I hid in the bushes, terrified. I didn't know what to do. But the next thing I knew, my dad was attacking the vampire and — he was gone." Holly tried to keep her voice from shaking. "My mom was next to follow. It was my worst nightmare, in real life. After that, the vampire took off into the woods. I made my way back home. The rest is sort of blurry. I didn't know what to do, who to go to, I was so cared the police would realize I'm a witch and come looking for me. Their bodies... I called in an anonymous tip." 

"So, after that, I lived with my grandma for a while, but after she moved away I've been on my own," Holly finished, still playing nervously with her charm. "I got myself that apartment, got into art school, and tried to live out the rest of my life, well, normally."

Sam and she just looked at each other for a moment. "I'm sorry," he said. "That must have been horrible."

"Wow." Holly turned to see Dean holding a foot-long sandwich, hovering at the edge of her table. "You know what I think?"

"What?" Holly asked him, feeling a bit irritated as she got out to let him in the booth.

"I think this guy has some kind of problem — other than the vampire part." Dean placed a glass of water in front of him, and Holly suddenly felt thirsty. "There's something off about him. I mean, the whole stalking one specific prey thing, in a whole city full of blood bags, and now the defacing of the graves? The dude's messed in the head."

"He's consumed by the hunt," Sam said, taking a sip out of Dean's water. "That can make people crazy, Dean."

"No, not just that." Dean frowned, then took a bite of his sandwich. "Mm. This is really good."

Holly raised an eyebrow at him, but she felt satisfied as well. It was such an odd feeling, the bond. It was going to take a while to get used to it.