Some Kind of Magick

I pulled my hair back into a high ponytail and looked myself over in the mirror one more time. My simple natural looking make-up was perfect, my black leather jacket complimented my white top and small silver angel wing necklace well, and my tight and torn blue jeans really showed off my slim long legs. To top off the look, I had on black boots with a chunky heel, which, like my jeans, looked old and worn out, simply because they were. I picked up the small pistol (loaded with silver bullets filled with rock salt) and tucked it under the back of my jacket so it sat in the top of my jeans. There was no way I was going outside without back up a second away. Hunting on your own is dangerous, especially if you’re a female, but I had been trained well by many different hunters. At only 28 years old, I was the best at demon hunting, and no one could deny it.

I walked out of the bathroom and grabbed my bag off the sole bed in the tiny room before heading to the door. A minute later, I had checked out of the cheap motel and was sitting back in my crappy purple car rearranging my gun so it was comfortable. I began driving towards the next town I had to check out for demons. There was something going on lately, because the demons were going crazy, appearing far more often than usual and going to more extremes. I didn’t like it. None of my contacts knew what was going on though. It was horrible.

As I drove in silence (because the radio didn’t work) my phone started vibrating loudly in my handbag. I reached over while still driving and got it out, answering it as soon as I could.

“Hello?”

“Nichole! We really need your help. This town is swarming with demons... It’s incredible. You need to get here ASAP!” my good friend Jo practically shouted. She was breathless, as if she had just been running away from something, in this case, probably a demon. I heard another female voice in the background, probably her mother Ellen, who was like a mother to me. My parents mysteriously died when I was in my late teens, and that spawned my passion for hunting the supernatural. I had met Jo and Ellen early on my journey and they were practically family, Ellen teaching me a lot about demons.

“Sure thing. Where are you?” I replied, pressing my foot further on the gas when I realised she was only a few towns away. I hung up and did my best to focus back on the road instead of worrying about them. They were experienced hunters; they’d be fine until I arrived. When I did arrive, the bridge was torn down and there was no way I’d be able to get my car and all of my gear across there. I grabbed the necessities for a typical job and shoved them in my day bag, then found a way across the water barrier. As I walked around the town, shotgun in hand, I noticed the town was far too quiet for my liking. There was something really bad going down...

I walked down the middle of the main road, checking buildings and upturned cars for any signs of life, but I saw none. My cell phone showed no reception, so calling Jo and Ellen was out of the question, but my hopes rose when I located the town’s church. I quickly made my way over there and searched inside, not daring to call out for anyone in case there was a demon, or something else, lurking in the shadows. It was downstairs where I found the large familiar pattern drawn on the ground in front of a door, which I knocked on. The slot in the middle of the door opened to reveal a pair of eyes I knew well.

“Nichole! Thank God!” Ellen said from the other side of the door, making me chuckle to myself. I heard bolts unlocking noisily and then the door swung open. She stepped aside to let me in and I took in the scene. About 20 people stood in front of me, all looking shit scared, and I don’t blame them. They were average people, including a pregnant woman and a priest, and I knew just by the looks on their faces that their friends and neighbours would be dead because of demon possession.

“Ellen,” I said quietly as we walked over to a man holding a gun, wearing jeans and black jacket. He had light brown hair and strong facial features. “What have we got?”

“Don’t know anymore,” she answered simply. “Nichole, this is Dean Winchester, another hunter.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said with a smile as we shook hands, Dean repeating the sentence back to me. He was definitely hot...

“His brother, Jo, and another hunter Rufus, have been taken by the demons. But we’re not so sure they’re demons anymore,” Ellen explained quietly and I felt the rest of the people’s eyes on me. Ellen then proceeded to fill me in on the encounter that happened when Sam, Dean’s brother, was taken. They definitely weren’t demons, as demons don’t think other people are demons, so we started trying to think of other possibilities. Out of all of the lore I knew off the top of my head, I couldn’t think of any solutions. This was straight up weird. But it was Dean, this new guy, who came up with the solution. It was one of the Horsemen; War.

“You mean, the Apocalypse Horseman?” I questioned, slightly dumfounded by what Dean was saying. He simply just nodded and then it seemed to click. “That’s why the demons have been going crazy lately...” The Apocalypse was coming. Of course the demons would be getting excited about that. But holy shit, the freaking Apocalypse! I didn’t have much time to dwell on that as people needed rescuing, so we quickly came up with a plan of attack and then put it into action. We managed to convince Rufus and Jo that they were hallucinating, and we rescued Sam from a demon torturing site. Now all we had to do was track down War.

“I say Ellen, Jo and Rufus keep everyone safe, and Nichole comes with us to find War,” Dean suggested and I glanced over at Jo. She nodded at me, letting me know she trusted these men so I could too, then the other three walked off in the other direction, guns in hand.

“Whenever people started hallucinating, War would twist the ring on his finger. I think that’s where he gets his power from,” the tall handsome man called Sam said as we walked along a street, each of us keeping our eyes peeled for something to give away War’s location. We had to catch him before he got out of town.

“So get the ring, and he becomes powerless. Gotcha,” Dean continued as we walked through an intersection. Something caught my eye down the other road and I stopped walking as the brothers continued.

“Hey guys... Doesn’t War ride a red horse?” I questioned cautiously as I stared at the red Mustang that was parked down the street.

“He sure does,” Dean replied with an approving smile at me. I grinned back and we moved towards the car. War was nowhere to be seen, so we hid in an abandoned building as we waited for him to show. The brothers made small talk with me as we surveyed the area and I learned that they hunted everything and had done since they were little boys. Both of their parents were dead due to a demon, which was tragic, and their mother was killed when they were both very little, and Sam has no memory of her. Their story was so horrible and tragic...

“So what’s your story?” Sam asked me gently, as if he knew it would be a sensitive topic. Dean was squatting behind Sam, staring outside at the car.

“Well, I was only a teenager when my parents died. It was just all too suspicious for me. I was old enough to realise that something was wrong with what the police told me. So I did some of my own investigating and I learned about supernatural creatures. I decided to be a hunter to save people’s lives, before they end up dead like my parents. I still don’t know what demon killed them,” I explained briefly, not wanting to give away too much to the stranger. I realised my hand was up against my chest, clutching the angel wing necklace I always wore. “My mother gave this necklace to me the day before she was killed. It means the world to me...”

“Yeah, I know what that’s like,” Dean mumbled and Sam frowned. I figured that was something too personal, and decided not to continue that conversation. I realised I was almost crying, but luckily a man (that Sam recognised as War) started walking towards the red car. Suddenly we were all in business mode, the emotions from moments before completely disappearing. Sam and Dean hurried over to the other side of the room and gave me a nod. I jumped out of the building and ran over to the man.

“Excuse me sir!” I shouted as I jogged up to him. He turned around and gave me a warm smile as I moved myself so he had his back turned to the brothers who were now sneaking up on him. “Hi! I was wondering if you could help me out...” I acted all innocent about the situation and War seemed intrigued. Before War could say anything back to me, Sam and Dean tackled him, pushing him up against the car and slicing his finger off with a blade, the ring falling to the ground as War vanished.

“We did it,” Dean said as he picked up the bloodied ring. “I think we owe you a drink, Nichole.” I smiled politely up at the two new handsome men, eager to take them up on that. Later that night, I found myself at the next town with the Winchesters and Ellen and Jo, sitting at a table in a bar, having drinks and chatting to each other. I felt right at home, as if these new men were my family like Jo and Ellen were. It was strange, but it felt so right. At the end of the night, I exchanged cell numbers with the brothers and then headed to a motel room with Jo and Ellen while the boys drove off into the night.

“So what do you think of the Winchesters?” Jo asked excitedly as Ellen used the bathroom. “Pretty cute, huh?” We shared a little giggle as I nodded.

“So is the Apocalypse really happening?” I questioned eagerly, turning the conversation serious very quickly.

“Afraid so,” Ellen replied before Jo could, her tone solemn. “You said earlier than demons are going crazy, well, you know why. Things are really going to get shaken up soon. You need to really watch out for yourself, Nichole.”

“You know I do...” I stated but Ellen shook her head.

“I mean, you need to stop hunting by yourself. You get a partner or work in a group so someone always has your back. Hunting is so dangerous now. You can’t risk being by yourself,” Ellen told me in such a serious voice it was almost scary. I looked away from her as reality hit me. She was right. I needed someone to have my back. There were a few close calls in the last few hunts I had done, and it was scary. It needed to stop happening.

“Any ideas who?” I asked, looking over at Jo who just shook her head in response.

“We’ll let you know when we hear something,” Ellen said to conclude the conversation. “Promise me, no more hunting until we do.” I nodded in agreement before we all got ready for bed.