【─── Chapter One 】
Suburban Utopia
A lone candle perched atop the mantle above a fireplace, flickering like a dance of flames, casting shadows that seemed to mirror the uncertainty in Serafina's heart.
Despite the grim circumstances, the room was filled with a warm and inviting aroma of bourbon vanilla.
The images on the mantle portrayed a family with wide smiles and joy. Their eyes sparkled with innocence and radiated familial love. Until now, they had been the embodiment of a picture-perfect family, blissfully unaware of the lurking horrors that threatened their suburban existence.
Abruptly, the piercing shriek of a kettle snapped her back to the grim reality of the present.
The jarring sound brought her back to the reality of her existence - her solitary life as a hunter.
It was a job that she, over many unwavering years, had taken pride in.
"I'll be out with the tea in a moment!" The shrill voice of Evelyn Turner called out from the kitchen.
"Take your time," Serafina responded back to ease the troubled woman's nerves.
She understood the inherent dangers, the constant risk, and the sacrifices involved in trading the comforts of a white picket fence for a life of motels, monsters, and quick-money schemes from beating grown men at pool and high stakes poker tournaments.
Her roots were deeply entrenched in a family of famed hunters, The Lockhart Legends, renowned for their prowess in hunting the supernatural. Serafina had been meticulously trained by some of the finest hunters to have ever walked the earth, and her own brother, Jeremiah Lockhart, was also a fellow hunter.
Though, he was more of a recluse and a lone wolf when it came to hunting. They rarely saw each other, only sporadic phone calls every now and then. Sometimes, without warning, he'd pop up randomly.
The man had ESP or something and always knew where she was.
Jeremiah was ten years older than her and though their relationship had been strained over the years, she knew if she ever needed him she could count on him to be there if it meant killing monsters and getting his hands dirty.
But Serafina rarely called.
And Jeremiah wasn't the coddling type.
Their relationship was complex, marked by distance and the weight of their responsibilities.
The notion of a normal life had never been a possibility for her, no matter how hard she tried to envision it. Her destiny was woven into the very fabric of this job, and she couldn't picture herself doing anything else.
And at the end of the day, when she lay her head on a musty old pillow in a motel room, she slept peacefully, knowing that the world was a little safer because of people like her.
She owed her very existence to John Winchester, the man who had rescued her from a more morbid fate.
Without him, she might have been left for dead or, even worse, placed in the unforgiving foster care system, ending up in a broken home.
No....her life had not been by accident - it was all by design.
And now, Serafina stood in the heart of a living room, confronting the unsettling mystery of a family who had recently reported their youngest son missing. The boy was the second child to have gone missing from that specific area within a few weeks time.
Ellen Harvelle's call about a friend of a friend in Rockport had interrupted Serafina's ongoing investigation into a string of eerie cult-like murders spanning the vast expanse of the Midwest .
It wasn't often that she received calls from Ellen, and when she did, it usually meant something sinister was afoot.
Serafina was already in the vicinity, and it was only an hour's drive to Rockport.
Without hesitation, she had agreed to heed Ellen's call for assistance.
The eerie murders across the Midwest would have to wait for now.
"I'm so sorry about the wait," a high-pitched voice drifted in from the kitchen, as a disheveled woman with greying medium-length hair, untouched by a brush for days, emerged around the corner.
"I can never find what I'm looking for after my son has been in the kitchen," The older woman laughed nervously.
Her button-down shirt was crumpled beyond repair, and her movements had a frantic energy about them as she hurriedly carried two saucer plates and petite glass tea mugs.
She had a nervous edge to her energy as she set the plates down on the glass coffee table, wiping her hands on her hip-hugger blue jeans.
Serafina waved her off, "It's no problem, ma'am," Her typical feisty energy was masked completely.
In its place was her hunter game face - the one that put a barrier up around her heart.
She tried to at least.
Sometimes, that wall was weak as hell.
Other times, the wall was like a reinforced steel door and she'd drown the dark parts of the job out with a bottle of whiskey.
Serafina was, at her core, an empathetic person, but getting overly attached to the cases she saw day in and day out was a dangerous slope. She was a hunter who teetered on the edge of feeling everything all at once and yet...nothing at all.
Her adoptive dad, Henry Lockhart, would always tell her that she was a goddamn hurricane, and if she didn't become the eye of the storm she'd get washed away by the tides of the job.
She sat down on the opposite side of the beige couch as the woman took a seat in a plush off-white-colored chair. The woman wrung her hands nervously as the steam rose from the two mugs, wafting around them.
"You have a lovely family." She smiled as she gestured towards the photos. "You mentioned your husband was on his way home from China?"
Serafina learned early on that small talk had a way of making people more at ease and it also got them to feel a little more comfortable opening up.
Evelyn nodded, though the pain was evident in her eyes that her husband wasn't by her side during this time, "Yes, he's in oil and gas. He sells piping and supplies. He wasn't able to get a flight booked right away, but he should be home today,"
The soothing scent of chamomile brought back memories. Her adoptive mother, Regina Lockhart, used to make her chamomile tea when she woke up screaming from night terrors.
With a gentle nod toward the woman's mug, Serafina offered encouragement, saying, "I know it may seem inconsequential given the circumstances, but a warm cup of tea works wonders for the nervous system."
The woman nodded in agreement, her aging features brightening with a warm smile. She reached for her mug, cradling it close to her lips as she blew gently on the steam.
She avoided eye contact with Serafina, but the hunter was used to that by now.
Serafina had a complex presence - both intimidating and yet utterly magnetic. It didn't help that her eyes were an unnatural shade of hazel with flecks of amber and gold that created a vexing and almost feline gaze.
"Evelyn, can you walk me through what happened again?" Serafina coaxed gently. She blew on her own mug and took a sip, the tea immediately creating a soothing balm as she felt the warmth flood her hands as they cradled her own mug.
"My oldest son, Timothy, was meeting up with his friends. His little brother begged him to go with him and I told Timothy-" She hesitated through the lump in her throat, "I told him that he needed to be a good big brother and let Harper tag along from time to time,"
The woman sniffled and shook her head, "I didn't know they'd end up at the cemetery, but I guess boys will be boys.." Her bottom lip trembled and a flare of frustration flushed red against the soft features of her face, contorting her mouth, "Timothy and his friends thought it would be a good idea to play hide and seek as the sun went down..."
She choked out a sob, "And he said Harper just vanished," She dabbed at her eyes before sniffling again, and the anger faded into deep grief, "The police looked everywhere, tore the entire cemetery upside down and they say it's as if Harper was never even there.."
"They said his disappearance was similar to another case. The Myers boy who lives a few miles up the road. He went missing from the public trails near the woods,"
Serafina's mind was already moving through all the possible creatures.
"Did the boys see anything while they were out there that night? Anything out of the ordinary?"
"I told the police I saw a weird woman standing at the edge of the woods that backs up to the public trails where the other kid went missing."
A boy, no older than sixteen appeared from around the corner of the main hallway, his demeanor full of guilt and unprocessed grief. He crossed his arms, his lips flattened into a thin line as he sulked against the edge of the wall.
Timothy.
He was clad in a black band shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans, his hair was a greasy mess of strands that nearly covered his eyebrows and flowed over his ears. His eyes were hooded and she noticed the tinge of red that flecked around them as if he had been crying.
"A whole lot of good they did with that tip.." He huffed with a small disgruntled snort.
Evelyn turned quickly to see her oldest son had joined them across the room.
"Honey, I know you've been over this already, but she's not with the local police,"
"Then who she?" The kid was clearly suspicious as he slowly pushed off the wall and rounded the sofa, walking towards his mother and leaning against the plush chair she sat in.
"I'm the person who is going to find your brother," Serafina followed up as her eyes flashed brightly with determination.
Evelyn cleared her throat and flattened her hands against the wrinkles of her shirt as if smoothing them down would help, "Timothy, she's a-uh-special investigator for missing children and she's here to help,"
Serafina quickly cut in with a no-nonsense tone, "Timothy, what did you see? I need you to tell me everything,"
She noticed that he seemed apprehensive and she followed up more gently, "Trust me, kid, I'm the last person that's going to judge you or tell you that you're crazy,"
He stared at her as if weighing his options before his mother gave him an encouraging nod.
"I saw a woman while we were out in the cemetery. She was oddly....hot. Like in the dangerous sort of way, I don't know...and she was just staring out from the edge of the woods. I turned away for a split second, but when I looked back...she was gone,"
Timothy looked down, almost embarrassed, "I thought I was seeing things, like maybe a ghost or something.."
Serafina whipped out her small notebook and flipped the page over, scribbling notes.
Evelyn's right hand reached towards her neck, clear panic rising in her voice, "Do you think this woman took Harper? The police didn't seem to think it was related..."
Serafina leaned forward, her expression a mix of empathy and determination. "Look, we can't jump to conclusions. But right now with Harper being missing for a full twenty-four hours, nothing is off the table.."
Serafina continued her questioning. "Can you remember any specific details about this woman? Anything that stood out? Maybe her clothes, any distinctive features, or tattoos?"
Timothy furrowed his brow, trying to recall. "The sun was already down when I saw her, but I was close enough to notice that her hair was curly and blonde, maybe mid-shoulder length, and she was wearing what looked like a dark green shirt and a pair of blue jeans.."
Serafina noted this down in her notebook. "Good, those details could be helpful." She glanced up at the teenage boy as he gnawed at his lower lip nervously.
There was something else he wasn't telling her.
"If there's something else you're not telling me now would be the time," Serafina directed her attention towards Timothy, her eyes coaxing him to share more.
"Her teeth...." He shivered violently as if recalling the moment before glancing back over at Serafina with a mixture of disbelief and apprehension, "When she smiled at me I swear she had really sharp teeth...,"
Serafina felt chilled to the core. Not even the mug of tea could warm her blood anymore.
She paused with her pen raised in the air right above the page of her notebook, her face growing solemn as the gravity of this new piece of evidence gave her pause.
It was normal for humans to try and talk themselves out of what they had seen. To try and rationalize the horrors they saw, which made it all the easier for someone like Timothy to leave this piece of evidence out when being grilled by the police.
Of course, the cops wouldn't believe him. They were indoctrinated by logic.
Most people preferred to be blissfully ignorant of what lurked in the dark.
Serafina's mind raced as she considered the implications of Timothy's revelation. She knew that vampires and vetala, two types of supernatural creatures, were known to have such teeth. And vetala were known for their cemetery escapades.
Her stomach felt leaden as she thought of the little boy, Harper, possibly taken by either kind of creature. It only fueled her fire to find answers and hopefully get him back alive.
Evelyn looked taken aback at her son's admission, "Why didn't you say anything about this?"
Timothy pushed off the side of the chair, pacing the living room as he wrung his hands through his greasy locks of brown hair, "Why would I? It's not like you or the police would believe me. You never believe me with anything else so why would you believe me about this?"
His outburst clearly echoed teenage angst and a roller coaster of hormones. Serafina glanced between the mother and son who clearly had their issues well before Harper went missing.
The angsty teen stormed past with heavy footsteps.
He announced his departure with a harsh slam of the front door, the impact so forceful that it reverberated through the house, leaving a palpable tension in the air.
Evelyn teared up and glanced down, clearly embarrassed by his behavior, "He's been so irritable since his little brother went missing. I know he blames himself, but I was the one that talked him into taking Harper along.." She wiped quickly at a trail of tears.
The older woman looked up at Serafina, though she was clearly rattled, she finally asked in a hoarse stutter, "Did s-something out there take my baby?" Her bottom lip trembled and she could see the gears turning in her mind that maybe, just maybe, something she couldn't comprehend had happened to her son.
Serafina treaded carefully as she gave a short and curt, "I want you to know that I'm going to do everything in my power to bring your son home, okay?"
There was a moment where Evelyn looked like she might completely break down and lose her shit, but she cleared her throat, sat up straighter and wiped her eyes once more as if she were pulling herself together. She nodded, finally meeting Serafina's eyes, and in that moment she saw a spark of hope flicker in the woman's eyes.
It was all the hunter could give the woman - hope.
Serafina walked out of the house half an hour later after getting more details from Evelyn. She stood on the front porch and noticed that Timothy hadn't actually left the house. He was seated on the porch swing, staring out at the front yard, but upon hearing her arrival he glanced over.
She took a deep breath and walked over to the kid, leaning against the railing of the wooden porch, her back to the street. "You should go easy on her your mom, she's really moving through it," She suggested with a pointed look.
Timothy made a face before glancing up at her, his eyes squinting as the sun started to melt over the horizon, "She thinks it's all my fault, but it's not like she's wrong." His hair fell unkempt over his eyebrows, but he didn't even bother to brush it aside.
Serafina shook her head, "She doesn't think it's all your fault. Trust me. I think she blames herself more than anything, but you should really go in there and talk with her. Right now, you both need each other more than anything. Plus, your dad isn't home yet so be the man of the house and help your mom out."
Her tone ebbed with an authoritative edge as she fixed him with a pointed look.
He sighed dramatically, blowing out a long-winded breath as he hesitated, "You really think something out there took my brother?"
She noted that the kid said something and not someone. He was catching on quick, even though no one would come outright and say that something unnatural happened to his little brother.
Serafina glanced around as she noticed a hummingbird flit by them, looking for a feeder most likely. She felt a swell in her heart upon seeing it - she believed in good omens and signs.
She nodded grimly to confirm his suspicion, "I do, but I also know that I'm going to do everything in my power to get him back."
Timothy asked pointedly, "So, what are you really? I mean, I know mom said you were a special investigator for missing children, but I get the feeling there's more to it than that."
He gave her an unabashed once over. Probably taking in her skin-tight skinny jeans, black dock marten boots and black v-neck button down that tucked neatly into her jeans.
Serafina met Timothy's gaze, appreciating his perceptiveness. She took a moment to choose her words carefully before responding, aware that the truth might be difficult for him to grasp.
"You're right, Timothy. I am a special investigator, but not in the way most people understand it. I handle cases like your brother's, cases that go beyond....the ordinary."
The hummingbird returned, hovering near them briefly before darting away, and Serafina took it as another sign.
Timothy nodded slowly, still absorbing the information. "So, you're like some sort of... paranormal investigator? Like that guy Zak Bagans from Ghost Adventures?"
Serafina barked a laugh at his comparison to the reality tv bullshit and shook her head, "Oh, you're killing me, smalls. That is an insult to what I do.." Her eyes flashed brightly with amusement, a tough of her fiery energy seeping through her professional mask.
Timothy blushed scarlet red and laughed nervously, "Okay, okay, geez. Sorry." He threw his hands up as if in surrender.
She paused for a moment, her expression turning serious. "Look, I'm going to do everything I can to bring your brother back home, safe and sound. But right now, I need you to go and be with your mom. Take care of each other,"
Timothy thought on it for a moment, nodded silently and started back towards the front door of their house before pausing, his eyes darting to her vintage muscle car parked on the street.
"Where are you going?" He asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.
Serafina smirked coyly, "I've got a date with a cemetery," Her eyes sparkled with a mix of mystery and danger.
She hopped in her 1979 sleek black Chevrolet Camaro, starting the engine and smiling widely as the purr of the deep growl always gave her a sense of joy. She had to manually roll the window down before heading out. It was a beautiful day, the sun was almost dipping below the horizon, and the weather was pristine for having the fresh air blow through her locks of dark hair.
She idled slowly down the street of their neighborhood before coming to a complete stop at a stop sign right as a sleek black Impala stopped at the same four-corner intersection as her.
The Impala had the right of way and smoothly turned onto the same cul-de-sac street she was leaving. As the muscle car rumbled past, the driver of the car, who looked rugged and ridiculously handsome, glanced her way, a peculiar look crossing his face as he seemed completely captivated by the woman sitting in the driver seat of the vintage trans am.
It had not gone unnoticed to her that both she, and the mystery driver, stuck out like a sore thumb in a suburban neighborhood that was filled with mommy vans and oversized SUV's.
Their gas-guzzling classics were a stark contrast to the family vehicles that lined the streets.
In the fleeting seconds of their silent exchange, she couldn't help but feel that he was giving her the same peculiar look that she was probably giving him. On instinct, Serafina responded with a playful wink before pressing the accelerator, guiding her car around the neighborhood's winding streets, eventually heading back toward the main road.
───
After they pulled to a stop alongside a home with a wooden porch swing, they both stepped out of the Impala, but Dean couldn't resist taking another glance down the road where he had seen the woman in the vintage Camaro just moments ago.
The last of the sun's rays cast a warm, golden glow over the meticulously manicured lawns and the flower beds, signaling that the evening time was fast approaching.
He shook his head in disbelief, a wistful smile still on his face.
"Sammy," Dean said, turning to his brother with a glint of amusement in his eyes. "I don't know what's going on here, but this place is like a slice of suburban heaven. Hot moms, cool cars, it's like a dream come true."
Sam rolled his eyes at Dean's comment, clearly more focused on the missing child case they were there to investigate. He folded up the newspaper with information on the previous missing child, tossing it on the passenger seat before closing the door.
Sam remarked with a hint of a smirk, his voice laced with a touch of humor. "Let's just stay focused on the case, Dean," he urged, knowing all too well his brother's tendency to get distracted.
Dean grunted in disapproval but turned his attention back to the case at hand.
Author's Note:
So chapter one was pretty long. LOL :P But if you are a fan of my writing and books you know that I like to write lengthy chapters so that's why it always takes me a hot minute sometimes to update these books.
I also added Jeremiah Lockhart to the cast list and I gave him the faceclaim of Ryan Reynolds because for some reason him and Sophia Bush seem to be a perfect pairing for brother and sister (even though she's technically adopted)
I'm also really loving the depth and the layers to Serafina's character - she has so much to bring and offer to this story and even to the brothers' lives as well...I'm really excited to bring her character to life and have her team up with the Winchesters. ;)
I'm thinking of peppering in some flashback chapters to give her character more context as well.
I'm SO excited for this story - ya'll have noooo idea how long I've been waiting to write a Supernatural fanfic and I know Dean/Sam can be complex characters with a lot of layers so I'm really hoping that I can do these guys justice. I'm actually watching the show as we speak. LOL
Thank you all for being here and please don't be a ghost reader. Leave me some love and let me know what you're enjoying most about it as the story unfolds. :)