Holly stood up, rubbing her arm. "I need to clean up a bit, first," she said awkwardly. She could tell she was a walking disaster. "Don't try leaving without me."
"I would if I could!" Dean called after her as she stepped into her bedroom.
Holly pulled up to the bathroom mirror, blinking at her ghostly reflection. Her face was pretty banged up. Aside from the bandage on the side of her head, the skin on her face was cut up with tiny scratches and bruises. There was a giant bruise on her arm, and as she peeled back her dress, which was also cut up, she found a bloody, black mark on her stomach where the vampire had nabbed her. She groaned.
Turning the tap on, she grabbed a few towels. She splashed water on her face, feeling the cool moisture run off her skin. Her makeup was splattered all over her cheeks, and she scrubbed it off with a cloth. After that, she washed all of her cuts and placed a couple of bandages over the gash in her side. It stung bad, especially after she splashed peroxide on it.
She needed new clothes. Holly picked at what was left of her dress, sighing. It had been one of her favorites. Fucking vampire.
Leaving the bathroom, Holly dug through her closet, searching for something that would take some wear and tear; something that would be easy to move in. She grabbed a tight black long sleeved shirt, and slipped on some comfortable jeans. Pausing by her dresser, she saw her purse.
Digging through it, she grabbed her lucky pentacle charm, hooking it around her neck. It glowed beneath her collar-bone as she stared in the mirror. She looked pretty haggard, but what did it matter anyways? She was going on a Hunt. With Hunters that weren't exactly on friendly terms with her kind.
Holly slipped her hands in her pockets, gazing around her room. Would this be the last time she saw it? The vampire's words echoed in her head, taunting her. I came back to finish the job.
She swallowed hard, focusing on the drawings of Sam and Dean on her wall. There were a bunch of them, she realized — shadows in the distance, menacing figures with guns and knives. Somehow, her witch consciousness had been trying to tell her that they were coming. If only she had known that this would be the result of it.
"Holly?" Sam's voice came through the door, along with a soft knock. "Are you alright?"
Why did he care? she thought, pausing with her hand on the doorknob.
She opened the door, and brushed past him. "Let's go."
"Right," Sam said, following her out her front door. Holly turned to lock it. Dean was waiting outside, looking anxious. "Finally," he said. Holly raised an eyebrow at him. He held up his hands, as if to say, "Peace."
Sam looked between the two of them, his eyes glowing in the hallway lighting. Holly realized he was a good head taller than her, and it made her feel even more intimidated by his presence, though it was numbed by the comfort she felt at Dean's closeness. It kind of gave her the creeps, the need to be near him.
Okay, it did give her the full-on creeps.
"Holly, before we get started, did you...did you see anything suspicious yesterday? Maybe you saw the vampire somewhere in town? We don't have much leads on where this thing keeps its nest, as a matter of fact, it's pretty much a ghost to us. But we do know," Sam hesitated, "that it has its eye on you."
Holly rested her hand on the wooden ledge of the wall. She thought back to her cemetery visit the day before. Her neck prickled.
"What is it?" Dean asked, frowning.
Holly shifted on her feet. "Were you guys, by any chance, visiting any old cemeteries yesterday?" She glanced from Dean's to Sam's face, and knew they didn't know what she was talking about.
"Shit." She took off down the hallway, feeling a bit light headed, but she tried to ignore the instinct to go running backwards to Dean. The bonding thing was a tad bit inconvenient.
"Holly, wait!" Both Hunters paced after her. Sam grabbed her shoulder, turning her around. "What are you talking about?"
"Yesterday, when I was visiting my parent's graves, I saw someone. I thought it was one of you two!" She twisted out of his grip and entered the stairwell, her voice echoing. "I should have figured it out last night."
"You mean this thing has been following you?" Dean's voice boomed behind her as she made her way down the steps.
"It must have been him. Though why he didn't make a move, I'm not sure," Holly said, pushing open the front doors. Outside, the sunlight hurt her eyes, causing her to avert her gaze to the sidewalk. Her headache returned.
"It's this way," she motioned ahead, and the two followed behind her. People were milling around on the sidewalks, as usual. In the summer, Savannah was quite the attraction. Tourists especially liked to flock to the "haunted" houses, taking tours and riding the buses. Holly knew it was all a load of bullshit. She had checked out all the houses herself.
Sam stepped up beside her. "Were you in the vampire's vision when you saw him?"
"He was across the lot. I don't know if he saw me, but I didn't take any chances. I spent the rest of the day inside," Holly answered, turning the corner. The cemetery was a few blocks away.
"Do you think he was making sure I was the right target? I was at my parent's graves..."
"It doesn't matter— this thing has your scent now, and there's no way we're letting you out of our sight," Sam said, still walking beside her. "If he's hunting you, then he won't stop until he gets you where he wants you."
Holly shivered. Even with two relentless Hunters by her side, she knew the vampire wasn't going to stop until it killed her, or until they killed it.
"Here," Holly pointed to the left, at the rusted iron gate. The cemetery was surrounded by hanging willows, hiding it from the public. Sam stopped at the entrance.
"You said he was outside of the cemetery? At the fence?"
"Yeah. Right over there." She swiveled her gaze to the far end of the cemetery's limits, over by a rotting willow tree, bent with age. Beyond the cemetery lay a road with a row of houses, but Holly saw no bustling activity. Sam began walking around the edge of the fence.
She was about to make a move to follow, when Dean held his arm out.
"Wait," he said. "What's that?" he pointed inside of the cemetery, and Holly followed his direction. Her gaze focused on the headstones of her parents.
"What?" she shaded her eyes, trying to figure out what she was seeing. There was a big, dark splotch on both headstones. Her heart thumped in her chest.
"Dean," she said, slowly.
"Let's go," he said, brushing past her, and for a moment his shoulder grazed hers. Holly felt a charge of energy, like a sudden sugar rush. She felt breathless.
It felt so good.
Dean turned to face her for a second, his eyes narrowing. Holly wanted to say something, but she swallowed, her heart still racing, and she bowed her head, opening the rusted gate.
She made her way to her parent's graves, the ecstasy just barely wearing off. She felt refreshed; alive. Her mind was a jumble. Dean walked a few steps behind her, but she could tell he was feeling the same thing.
The feeling became numb when she laid her eyes on her parents' burial place.
Her breath caught. Before her, blood was splattered all over the two headstones, thick and dark, and it smelled so horrible that Holly placed a hand over her mouth, choking. Flies were forming over the mess, the buzzing creeping up in her ears.
"Good God," Dean exclaimed, waving a hand, and stepping closer. "This is...your parents...?"
Holly shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. He knew. That son of a bitch was marking his territory.
Her hands shook, gripping her throat. The tears rolled down her cheeks, and she fell on one knee. Dean bowed down, investigating the blood.
"I'd say he came last night. He's definitely on the hunt." His attention turned to the ground, where the dirt was torn up and the grass had been ripped out by the roots. Holly saw her rosemary scattered everywhere. She gasped.
Dean held up something in his fingers, and it glinted in the sun. "What's this?"
Holly saw what it was, and the tears fell hot from her face. "Francis's ring," she said, wiping the liquid off of her cheeks, trying to stop the flow. The vampire was making it clear he didn't care who or what he hurt in order to get to her. "He's the boy that was killed last night. That was his class ring," she continued, stepping up and taking it from Dean. Blood was molded into the cracks, and Holly could feel the death lingering upon it.
She shook, and it was a mixture of fear and hate she felt. She closed her eyes.
"Holly? Are you alright?" Though she couldn't believe it, Holly could feel a bit of concern emanating from the Hunter.
She re-opened her eyes, knowing she couldn't be a coward. "This is clearly a warning," she stated, tucking the ring in her pocket.
Dean kicked some dirt on the ground. "This is probably the craziest vampire I've ever had the luck to meet," he said."There's something off about him." He awkwardly tucked his hands into his jeans. Holly knew he wanted to say something, but she wouldn't give him the chance.
Holly watched Sam reach the far end of the cemetery, making his way around the area, investigating. "Sam!" she called, waving her hand in the air, and pacing across the yard. Sam looked up, but Holly wasn't close enough to see the expression on his face.
"Dean? Holly?" he yelled, hopping over the collapsing barrier. Holly reached him, out of breath.
"It's the vamp," Dean said, coming up behind her. "He was here last night."
"Is everything alright? What did he do?" Sam looked around, his gaze anxious.
"He poured Francis's blood all over my parent's graves," Holly said, gritting her teeth. "And Dean found this." She showed him the ring. "It was his." Holly raised her eyes to meet Sam's, hoping the tears wouldn't return. "He's going after people I know."
"Okay," Sam said, walking forward, and placing a hand on Holly's back, leading her out of the cemetery. "If we're going to hunt this thing, then you have to promise me, you won't leave our sides. This guy is serious, Holly. I've never seen anything like this before."
Holly didn't feel the rush she felt when Dean had touched her, but something like butterflies erupted in her stomach. Sam's hand was heavy and gentle on her shoulder.
You're breaking the rules.
"Right," Holly said, swallowing. She couldn't bear to turn back and look at her parent's defaced headstones. The thought of the vampire even stepping on the sacred ground made her fingers curl. "What did you find?"
"Well," Sam said as Dean closed the gate behind them. "There was nothing. No sign of a struggle, or anything, either. Not even footprints."
"Maybe he is a ghost," Holly muttered, folding her arms. People brushed past her, heading down the street. She knew they needed to get out of there and talk privately.
"I still can't believe we're going on a hunt with a freaking witch," Dean said, and Holly shot him a look.
He smiled slightly at her, and Holly just really wanted to punch him. Instead, she just looked at Sam again. "Why couldn't I have been Bonded to you? Cause I can't hit him without punching myself," Holly said, and smiled fakely at Dean.
Dean mimicked her, his voice high-pitched.
"Alright, you two, stop." Sam held out his hands. "How about we find a nice place to just sit and talk? We need to plan things out."
Holly turned a bit, staring down the street. She felt bubbly, which disgusted her a bit.
"There's a secluded park down this way," she gestured to the opposite direction from her apartment, "Or, if we want to try hiding amongst a crowd, I know this great sandwich shop."
"Bingo, food," Dean said. "I say we grab ourselves some grub and talk over lunch."
The three of them crossed the street, and Holly hoped neither one of them would slip up and expose their weapons in public. She knew the last thing they needed was an investigation.
She walked a bit behind the brothers as they made their way down the sidewalk. Cars and horse carriages rumbled by. Holly knew she would never look at her beloved hometown the same way again.
"Here, Holly." Sam opened the door, waving her into the building. She smiled at him.
You're breaking the rules again.
Dean slid into a booth at the far end, away from the bulk of costumers. Holly felt the air-conditioning cool her skin. She saw the glint of a knife as Dean made himself comfortable in the seat, and she sat beside him, not because she wanted to, but she needed the comfort.
She felt better as soon as her elbow brushed his arm, inches separating them.
"Well then," Dean said, flipping through the menu. "Let's see how good this place really is." Holly knew he was trying hard to ignore her. She tried to hide a smirk, the horror of the defaced graves fading; but she knew she'd be having a good hard cry over that later.
Sam sat across from them, folding his hands.
Holly suddenly was hit by another chill. Hunters. She was sitting, planning a job, with Hunters.
Don't get in the way.
She had broken her most important rule.
Holly played with a napkin as Dean discussed salami or beef with himself. Sam had pulled out a notebook and was scrawling notes.
But then she thought about the graves. About Francis' ring. And she suddenly didn't care if she broke the rules.
She just wanted to kill this vampire.