Black Raven Ch.1

Dean Winchester awoke to the sound of rushing water.

His brother, Sam, was in the shower.

He opened one groggy eye and glanced at the clock on the motel bedside table. It read 6:00 AM.

"Oh God…why am I awake at all?" he grumbled.

Groaning, he turned himself over to his side, trying to drown out every single sound that dared disturb him.

He sighed in content against the softness of the motel bed. This motel was in better shape than they usually booked, since Sam had picked up more money than Dean expected when he was in Hell.

He was about to drift into sleep again when he felt a pillow hit his head.

"Get up, dude." Sam called to him.

Dean moaned. "Sam. We just finished a job. Sleeping late is my reward for saving a family from a poltergeist." he stated.

"You can sleep in the car." Sam suggested.

"And let you drive? Not a chance. Anyway, why are you talking about getting in the car so soon?" Dean asked.

"I just got a call from Bobby. There's been some brutal animal-like killings that came out of nowhere in Ohio." Sam explained.

Dean sat up in his bed, and since his chest was bare, he grabbed a shirt and threw it over himself. "Werewolf?" Dean guessed.

"Maybe. We might as well check it out." Sam said, reaching for his duffel bag.

Dean yawned and got up from the bed. Deciding that he really needed a shower, he threw off the shirt he had just put on and headed for the shower.

"Fine with me. But I need a shower. Oh, and we're stopping for breakfast. I need some bacon."

Sam rolled his eyes. "I thought pie was your favorite food."

"It is. But bacon is my favorite breakfast." Dean said.

Sam shook his head and shuffled through his bag.

"Seriously, Sam. I need me some bacon."

****

"Livin' easy, livin' free…"

"On a season ticket to a one way ride…"

"I'm on the highway to Hell."

"Yeah I'm on the highway to Hell…"

Dean sang along to ACDC's "Highway To Hell" as if there wasn't a care in the world.

They were now about 20 minutes away from (put city here) Ohio and it had been a good 4 hours of driving. Dean was ready to grab some food, find a motel, and start working the case tomorrow.

Though he knew Sam would want to start today. Lately Sam had been very insistent on hunts, making sure they checked the very convincing paper ads, or Bobby's suggestions, and Dean really didn't mind.

He would do anything to at least try to make up for his time in Hell, not saving people. Hurting people.

Nothing could really take that away, or make up for that, because it was there, in his mind to torture him for the rest of his life.

"A tortured mind for the tortured soul," he muttered ever so quietly.

Sam looked up from his map. "What was that, Dean?" he asked.

"Nothin'. Just thinking out loud." Dean said quickly.

Sam looked skeptical, but he let it go. "So, we have a witness."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, her name's Kara Josone. She saw her husband mauled by a…" Sam paused to read. "by a large, growling and snarling, black animal."

"Kinda sounds like a werewolf."

"Yeah, except that when the bodies were found, the flesh was literally ripped to shreds. More skeleton than body. And that's not really what werewolves do. They just take the heart and go." Sam mused.

"Dunno, Sam. A crazy animal out there or something? Dean ,said shrugging.

"No, I think there is something. We'll just talk to this Kara girl and look around."

"So, no connections to the murders?"

"Not what I can find. They were pretty random people. All around town, no rap sheets, good families, all the happy ending stuff." Sam sighed.

"Great. Well, this is pretty much a longshot, so…I say we grab food and then swing in by a motel. I'm starving." Dean said, nodding toward a diner.

"Of course you're hungry."

"Don't judge Sam."

******

The next day, Sam and Dean dressed in suits, and decided to go as FBI, just to get the information by authority.

Dean grumbled as he buttoned his suit, as he did almost every time. "I still and always will hate suits."

"I've got that into my head, Dean. You say it more than I can count."

"Doesn't mean I can't complain."

When they finally headed to the car, and they were driving to Kara's house, Dean remarked, "You know, I kinda expected you to be all over stopping the seals from breaking. Instead you're pretty determined to kill every supernatural bitch we come across."

Sam shrugged. "I just want to, I guess. I want to save these people. It seems like we're the only ones who can, you know?"

Dean nodded. "But we also need some fun time. I say we head to Vegas after this hunt."

"Vegas?" Sam said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I mean, in my year when I sold my soul, I kept suggesting that go to Vegas. And you turned me down. So, why not go there in the tense times?" Dean smirked.

"Whatever, Dean."

"…You say that a lot."

*****

"So you….saw your husband being torn to shreds?" Sam asked, his face concerned and sympathetic.

"Y-yes. The animal….it was huge. I-I thought maybe it was a black bear or something, but…" Kara looked away. She ran a hand through her short blond hair, her blue eyes stifling tears.

"But what?" Dean asked.

"I think maybe I was seeing things…yes, I'm sure I was seeing things." Kara said shakily.

"Ma'am, we need to know everything." Dean stated.

Kara looked at him. "Um, all right. I think…I maybe saw….when it turned to look at me, in the forest, its eyes….they were…they were yellow. Bright, bright yellow. Like a big cat's. Have you…you ever seen anything like that?" Kara asked fearfully.

"No, ma'am, but we'll definitely look into. Thank you for your time."

They got into the Impala again, and Dean sighed. "I dunno, Sam. This is pretty weird, but not our kind of weird."

"Dean, I spoke to another of the victims on the phone while you were drinking coffee with Kara. He mentioned that there was a break in, to take his daughter and wife when he was gone, but the lock was picked. Do you honestly think that a big black animal…thing with yellow eyes could do that?"

"Uh, no. Think a psycho is controlling a weird animal thing to cause trouble or shit?"

"Its possible, I suppose."

"I say we check out the forest area tonight. That's our biggest lead." Dean said.

"I guess. Won't the police be there, though?"

"Not when we order them to screw off."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Okay then. I suppose you'll that to yourself?"

"Of course."

**********

Sam packed up his guns, sorting out different weapons.

Dean walked into the room and grabbed a beer. "Well, I called the cops. Believed me when I said to back off for our FBI investigation."

"They believed you? Wow. This town must be kind of down in the brain." Sam snorted.

"Hilarious."

For what it seemed to be the hundredth time, Dean and Sam got into the Impala and headed to the forest.

It was a short way, so Dean and Sam remained at the ready in the clearing of the woods.

Dean sighed. "What time is it?"

"11:30."

"And how long would we have to wait?"

"No idea."

"Helpful."

And still they waited. A crow cawed, the trees rustled, the moon shone.

No stars appeared, only a blackish purplish sky.

And it was almost absolutely silent.

But then, right when Sam's watch ticked to 12:00 AM, a low growl echoed through the trees.