In to the Shadows

Hayley, Kiley, and I had decided that we were going to back to our old house in South Dakota and we were going to be leaving the following week.

Hayley and I were over at Matt and Val’s house having a few beers with the gang, while Kiley stayed at home (Jimmy and Leana’s guest house) with Chloe and Cole. I was sprawled out on the couch, leaning against Jimmy; Hayley was in the same position as me but on his other side. Brian was curled up somewhat behind me with his head resting on the curve of my hip and Michelle was leaning against him with her head on my thigh. Hayley was pretty much in the same position with Matt and Val. Zacky, Gena, Johnny, and Lacey were curled up on the floor in front of us, and all of us had a beer in our hands while watching a TV show. Johnny, the little asshole, decided on Evil Twins.

“Twins are crazy, man,” Johnny commented halfway through the show. Hayley, Val, Michelle, and I all leaned forward and stared at him.

“Excuse me?” All four of us said in unison in a monotone voice. Even I had to admit it sounded pretty creepy.

“Uh,” he stammered. “I said that twins are awesome, man,” he corrected sheepishly.

“Good save.” Again, in unison. I snuggled back into Jimmy’s side and we continued watching the show.

“Ow,” Brian complained randomly, lifting his head off my hip.

“What?” I asked. He lifted my shirt up slightly and slipped one of my knives from the waistband of my leggings. He held it up, shooting me a look of disbelief.

“Seriously?”

“What?”

“Why do you have a knife on you?”

“You only have one?” Hayley asked, leaning over Jimmy to question me. I shook my head.

“Of course not. I also have my gun and two other knives.”

“Same.” I saw Matt slowly lift himself off Hayley, giving her hip a distrusting look. “Calm down, Dimples. Riley and I hide our knives and guns in different places.” He nodded in understanding, snuggling back in. I laughed slightly and took the knife from Brian’s hands and sat it on the table.

“There, you can lay back down, you big baby.”

“Thank you.” We watched the rest of the episode in a comfortable silence and I felt myself start to doze off against Jimmy’s chest.

“I’m going to want a phone call every day.” My eyes shot open and I looked at Leana.

“Huh?”

“When you and Hayley go back, I’m going to want a phone call every day. I’m…we’re going to be worry every second about you two. We’ve already lost you both once and we really don’t want to do it again,” she explained softly, her voice almost a whisper. Hayley and I glanced at each other, coming to a mutual agreement.

“Alright,” Hayley agreed. “We will call every day unless-”

“No,” Jimmy said. “No unlesses or buts.”

“If we’re on a hunt we can’t just stop in the middle to give you a call,” I said.

“I guess that makes sense,” Zacky mused. “Alright, but we want a forewarning if you’re going on a hunt.”

“Deal,” Hayley and I said.

“Ooh, look! Another episode of Evil Twins!”



I was in Chloe and Cole’s room, packing up their clothes and Hayley was packing up their toys. Kiley was in the living room, entertaining the two children so we could work quickly. All of our things were mostly packed up, as were Kiley’s. Speaking of Kiley, she walked in and leaned against the door frame, looking at us both. “I’m getting some lunch. You guys want anything?”

“Where are you going?” Hayley asked, hefting a large box into her arms and putting it on Cole’s bed.

“McDonalds,” she answered. We gave her our orders and she nodded before walking back out. “I’m taking the kids with me!” She yelled back.

“Okay!” Hayley and I called back in unison. I heard her talking to Chloe and Cole, the two children replying in high-pitched voices that were bordering on excitement, and then the door shut. “I wonder whose car she’s taking,” I mused. Hayley jogged to the front door and walked out. A minute later, she walked back in with a smirk.

“She took Matt’s Escalade.” A surprised laugh escaped my lips.

“Why does everyone steal that poor man’s SUV?”

“Cause it’s there?” She laughed, and we both continued to pack. Ten minutes later, the door opened.

“Food’s here! Eating at the main house!” The door closed again behind Kiley and Hayley and I got to our feet and walked out the door to the guest house, locking it behind us. I opened the patio door leading into the house and saw everyone grabbing for their food. Cole and Chloe were already seated on the couch, so I assumed everyone let them get their food first. Gena caught my eye, and tossed me a large bag. “Both of your burgers and fries and are in there.”

“Thank you,” I said, placing a kiss on her cheek. She smiled at me and got her and Zacky’s orders together. A couple minutes later, everyone was sitting on the two spacious couches, eating. I took a bite of my burger and then washed it down with a drink of Dr. Pepper.

“I don’t want you guys to leave tomorrow,” Johnny whined.

“You make it seem like we’re never coming back,” Hayley smirked.

“When are you going to come see us again?” He questioned. I shot him an unimpressed look.

“We haven’t even left yet.”

“I’m mentally preparing myself,” he defended hastily. I rolled my eyes and went back to my food. “Oh, now you two are going to ignore me? You guys are great friends. Great friends.”

“Shut up, Johnny,” the entire room chorused. He sputtered indignantly and decided to have a stare-off with the table in front of him while sulking.

“Cheer up, buttercup,” Hayley quipped with a grin. He just pouted at her. Lacey rolled her eyes, leaning over to him and whispering something in his ear. He immediately perked up and grinned at her. I looked over at Hayley and we both raised our eyebrows at each other with smirks. We knew exactly what she just whispered in his ear.

Hayley and I finished eating and went back to packing up our things. I had rented a large truck with a U-Haul attached to the back, and we started loading some of the things into the U-Haul. I leaned heavily against one of the boxes and took a deep breath. “I feel so out of shape,” I complained. Hayley was bent over with her hands on her thighs.

“Right there with you, twin.” She stood back up and I noticed a light sheen of sweat on her face. I was sure I looked the same. “I need a fucking shower.” I nodded in agreement. I went into my private bathroom, took a quick shower and then got changed. I grabbed a book from the box I had left out in case I got bored before we left and went into the main hallway. I checked on the kids first; they were both sound asleep. I pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads and then went to check on Kiley. She was also asleep, sprawled out on her bed on top of the bed spread. I let out a chuckle, and softly pulled the blanket out from under her and covered her.

“I don’t want the pickles,” she muttered, let out a soft snore, and passed back out. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing hysterically and quickly made my way out of her room.

“What are you laughing at?” I jumped, startled.

“Jesus, Hayley. Don’t sneak up on me.”

“You’re a hunter. I shouldn’t be able to sneak up on you.”

“Shut up.” Hayley shook her head with a chuckle and tossed me a pack of sour skittles and a purple monster energy drink.

“Seriously, though. What were you laughing at?” I told her what happened with Kiley and she let out a short laugh. “That’s funny.” We both sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. She gave me a look and then raised an eyebrow. “You know, this is the reason Jimmy thinks we’re freaks.”

“Jimmy thinks we’re freaks?”

“He thinks the way we dress makes us freaks.”

“Ah, yeah, that makes sense. I’d think we were freaks, too,” I said.

“You’d think he’d be used to twins. Val and Michelle do the same thing,” she mused, opening up her drink, skittles, and book. I did the same thing, resting my feet on the coffee table in front of us. Hayley rested her legs on top of mine, not like I minded since I did the same thing to her all the time.

“Mommy?” Hayley and I turned our heads at the same time at the twin echoes and saw Chloe and Cole standing there with wide, watery eyes. I shot up, and wrapped my arms around Chloe tightly and pushed her brown hair off her sweaty forehead.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, looking in between the two.

“Bad dream,” Chloe whispered, burrowing herself closer into my chest.

“’ellow eyes,” Cole stated in the same whispery tone. I saw Hayley clutch her son closer. We locked eyes and I knew we were thinking the same thing.

The yellow eyed demon was back.