Hand of Doom

[Aiden]

Things had been shaky after Teagan's return. There was that awkward feeling between Teagan and Aiden, since he had been the one to nearly have a shtriga kill her. There was still animosity between Yuki and Teagan, Yuki having reacted violently when finding out that Teagan was behind the pranks. Not to mention that supernatural activity had dwindled, so there was a lot of sitting around, training, and just acting like normal people for once. Aiden still had matters to attend to around town, checking up on people, meeting up with other hunters, just his usual downtime business. It was one night during a busy rush in the tavern's main bar area that Aiden caught word from another hunter that a demon had been spotted with a cursed object near the banks of the Willamette River, some shack a couple miles up the road.

Taking his lead the following day, Aiden trudged down through the brush and the sand, feeling much like an explorer wielding a machete as they made their way through the jungle. He could hear the water lapping against the shore, and as his eyes scanned through the foliage for said shack, he couldn't help but wonder how this whole faction situation would evolve. He was supposed to be recruiting people, but no one needed to join their ranks. Luckily, Casey had backed off some, (whether it was due to a long text message rant Aiden sent one day, or the lack of supernatural activity, he wasn't sure) so he wasn't being forced to just pick up everyone on the street. Yes, finding the Winchesters and helping to continue their work in their absence was necessary, but he couldn't just pull anyone from the streets.

Finally, the shack came into view, and as he peered into the window, and saw the black, withered hand set up a sheet, he smirked. That was easy enough. He moved around to open the door when he caught sight of a person near the riverbanks. He paused, hand hovering above the doorknob. If this object was cursed, this person might have touched it, and been affected. Deciding that checking to assure they were fine would be the best thing, he walked over, only to be met by the black eyes of the demon upon calling out. Taking off after it, Aiden pulled out his cell phone. Dialing the first number that came to mind, when Teagan answered, he wasted no time in telling her what to do. "Willamette River banks, wooden shack five miles from the tavern. Take the car outside, come, and take the black, withered hand from the shack. I'm chasing a demon. Oh, and Teagan? Don't touch it."

[Teagan]

Phantom fingers slipped around her neck, sending a chill of fear down her spine. She struggled against the heavy weight, but her small size could never hope to match up to the force that slowly guided her back down to the hard floor. Her mouth opened to scream, but instead her gut wrenched as the monster before her reached out to claim the rest of that which it had been denied. Her vision grew hazy and spots randomly speckled her sight. The darkness held a claim. A claim which it would not forget.

Teagan flew out of the bed with a desperate shout and knelt on the warm, summer floor gasping for breath. Sweat trickled down her forehead and the pounding of her heart deafened her ears. Breathe, it was just a dream. Relax. She gritted her teeth and began to regulate her breathing. Fists clenched, she moved back up to her bed and slumped against the wall. Couldn’t she get any sleep without reliving another nightmare?

She had told Aiden and Yuki that she didn’t remember a thing about the incident back at camp. In truth, Teagan just didn’t want to talk about it. She would be perfectly comfortable with the memory locked away in a forgotten chest in the dusty storage room of her mind. And that had been her plan, originally. But two weeks of haunted nights and the feel of elongated fingers creeping around her throat wouldn’t stick to the plan. Each night she had woken up shouting. It was a wonder Yuki and Aiden didn’t hear her. Or maybe they did and wanted to give her space. Getting back into the flow of living at the Crossroad’s Tavern was much welcomed, although she still had an odd feeling around Aiden. Guilt, if she could peg it. As a result, she promised herself to change.

Eighteen days had passed without Teagan pulling a prank. Three more, and statistically speaking she would have broken the habit. Or so her mother said growing up. Twenty-one days, and you could stop doing anything. Or vice versa. Honestly though, if the awkwardness the flowed between Aiden and herself didn’t exist, she wasn’t sure how much longer the hiatus would last. Probably not long.

Teagan unclenched her fists and opened her eyes. So much for taking a mid-afternoon nap. It was almost time to start making dinner, she realized as she glanced at the clock. Dinner would take a couple hours to make that day. A pie took some time to prepare. Her feet slid off the side of her bed, and she had almost left the room when her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Flipping it open, she recognized the number as Aiden’s.

“What’s up?”

If she didn’t know any better, Teagan would’ve guessed that Aiden was…running? What the heck? She quickly jotted down the address on a nearby piece of paper with a crayon. She paused when the word “demon” came over the line.

“Aiden-don’t you dare take that alone! Remember the last ti-“ The line died
before her warning could get across. Crud. Well, there went dinner plans.

“Yuki!” she called, her voice echoing throughout the tavern. “Game time!”

[Yuki]

Two weeks had transpired between the time from the events in Nevada, to where they were now. Fifteen days, to be exact. Yuki wanted to believe that everything was back to normal (or at least, as normal as they could be), but the truth was far from it. For starters, now present was an air of stillness between all three of them, especially between Aiden and Teagan. The girl seemed repentant for her actions prior to her kidnapping by the shtriga, and had subsequently apparently decided to stop her pranks, for there had been none within the span of those fifteen days. Aiden, on the other hand, also appeared apologetic, and had been rather quiet around her. She herself remembered the outburst she had dispayed when she had gone after Teagan with the knife, and although she still felt somewhat justified, she supposed that the fight might have been a little intense for her.

So now, the three members of the Portland faction sat at the table, speaking little other than what had to be spoken. The girl did not recall much about the events at the camp, but what she did recall, she was negligent to speak about, so Yuki let it be. Several nights, Yuki had woken up to Teagan's shout from the room across. Nightmare. Could she really not remember a thing from when she was kidnapped? She could just bee repressing the memory. It was obvious the girl had suffered from a traumatic experience. But Yuki knew that such happenings could only fade with time. Even if she did go to the girl's room to calm her down, what would come of it? Yuki saw no point. Time was the real healing factor, not words.

However, on that particular day, one of these shrieks came when it was almost evening, not the middle of the night. Yuki had been reading a book on the supernatural, one concerning ghosts. She paused when she heard the Teagan. "Perhaps I can find an herb that would allow the girl to sleep better..." she thought to herself. It had hardly been a couple minutes before this thought crossed her mind when she heard Teagan's voice calling out.

"Yuki! Game time!"

Yuki sighed as she closed her book and got up to get her purse. She was quick to head out the door and join Teagan as they headed outside, but reluctant as well. True, it had been relatively boring at the tavern, what with the downturn in supernatural activity, but still...mendokusai.

[Teagan]

Teagan shut the car door behind her and immediately reached for her seat belt out of force of habit. But as a Hunter, the faction didn’t have that much money to buy a new, state-of the art vehicle. Well, state-of-the-art was considered out of the reach of most of the population. To be fair, Hunters could rarely afford anything short of stolen. ‘Borrowed’, as Aiden would amend whenever she protested during a mission. So when she reached for the seat belt and discovered that the car did not boast that particular feature, she wasn’t surprised.

The girl sighed and glanced to her left. Yuki placed the key into the engine and gripped the steering wheel tight. Teagan wondered if she had driven much back home, because the girl looked uncomfortable behind the wheel of the American vehicle. Teagan inconspicuously reached over and locked her door. This would be a bumpy ride. Taking extra precautions would help in the long run, she was sure.

“We’re heading up about 15 minutes, turning right on at the divide. From there it looks like we get to hike to a cabin.” Teagan explained as she opened the glove department and took out a small vial of salt. “Aiden mentioned a demon and some artifact, so be on the watch for strange things popping out on the road.” Like the crazy ghost a week and a half before that nearly had Teagan jumping out of her skin when it randomly appeared in front of the car, causing Aiden to swerve into the divider. Luckily, they hadn’t been near a cliff.

The reminder of the close encounter with death sent a shiver down Teagan’s spine as echoes of her nightmares resurfaced. Just leave me alone!

“Tell me again why you get to drive?” Teagan asked, attempting to pretend her chills were simple a gesture of annoyance. “I am a legally licensed driver, even without the fake IDs.”

[Yuki]

As Yuki turned the keys to the ignition and the car engine started, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of frustration. She hated driving in America. First of all, the steering wheel was on the left. Who could drive like that?! Going along hand-in-hand with that fact, it was necessary to drive on the right-side of the rode instead of the left. She had to focus as much as she could on turning into the correct lane, lest she illegaly drive against the flow of traffic. To make matters more complicated, speed was measured in miles-per-hour, not kilometers. Although the car's speedometer would tell her how fast she was going, she constantly had to remind herself that she was driving with a different unit of measurement.

But, all those factors combined were nothing compared to the sheer speed. Americans were insane drivers. Why anyone would drive so fast was beyond her. She was accustomed to the 60 km/h that she would normally drive at, and that was about 40 mph here in the United States. Only on national highways had she driven anywhere above that, and even then, that was only around 100 km/h, a mere 65 mph. She could not bring herself to push the pedal down and have the car accelerate anymore than that. Preposterous! Those crazy Americans, driving at nearly 120 km/h! Or should she say, 75 mph?

So, it was only natural that she react violently to Aiden's driving. As if the ridiculously high speed limits weren't bad enough (which, were actually more like required speeds, since there were no speed minimums either), Aiden drove beyond speed limits. Completely unsafe, absolutely hazardous! She was bewildered he hadn't gotten himself killed yet in a car accident.

And now that Aiden wasn't here, she wasn't about to let Teagan drive. No, she had to take matters into her own hands. If Aiden was a maniac driver, who knew what the girl would be like at the wheel?

...And now she had be on the look out for supernatural beings appearing in front of her without warning. Perfect. Just perfect.

"You, child, cannot drive because it takes all my strength and self-restrain to allow Aiden to drive, if it can even be called driving, and since he is absent, I shall not entrust my health to your skills. Or rather, lack thereof. You may be licensed, but I value my life," Yuki said through gritted teeth, not averting her eyes from the road in front of her.

[Teagan]

While Aiden's driving did tend to lean toward the unnaturally fast side of the spectrum, Teagan didn't see any reason to call for alarm. Speeding was one thing, but Aiden did technically follow all traffic laws. And, she was the licensed one who knew all of the laws. Unlike Yuki, who learned them on the opposite side of the road.

"Fine. But if you make one illegal maneuver, I'm taking control of the vehicle for the duration of the trip." Teagan crossed her arms and turned out the window. Luckily for Yuki, she must have been paranoid enough to have read the driver's training manual. That in itself was an accomplishment; Teagan fell asleep three times in the first section.

A quarter past the hour later, the road unexpectedly disappeared. Teagan looked out the window in disbelief. One would never compare the wildlife here to the wildlife surrounding the Crossroad's Tavern and believe they were within a half hour of each other. Tall grass surrounded them on all sides, the only sure marker of distance the numerous trees towering toward the sky. Stepping outside of the car, a wave of reluctance washed over Teagan as she felt the humidity of the weather. This would not be fun.

"Aiden mentioned a demon, so we should take salt." The teenager made her way to the trunk of the car and lifted it open. Dozens of weapons that would make any supernatural entity shiver greeted her. "What else do you think we should bring?"

[Yuki]

Once the road disappeared, Yuki felt somewhat more relaxed. There were no speed limits to worry about here, nor were there any lanes to turn into. She just had to focus on the fac t that the steering wheel was now on the left. That was it. Once parked, she cut the engine, stepped out of the car, and observed the surroundings. Yuki was unfamiliar with their location, but there were numerous oak trees and fowers, which were of some variation of a camas flower. The plant was edible, but other than that, it would serve of little use.

As she approached the trunk, Teagan had already opened it and was staring at the array of weapons inside. "Aiden mentioned a demon, so we should take salt. What else do you think we should bring?" she asked Yuki.

Yuki looked down at the arsenal they had to choose from. Only bringing salt would get them killed. "Have you not been reading the material we were instructed to read? Salt will not be enough to fend a demon. We need holy water, the rock salt guns, the book with the exorcism written inside, which I'm assuming you haven't memorized," Yuki added, with a pointed glare, "and some spray paint as well, in case we have the opportunity to form a devil's trap."

[Teagan]

Yuki didn't give Teagan much credit; she had, as a matter of fact, started reading every book in the tavern on the supernatural. After summer camp, the teen had sworn to herself that her ignorance would never be a problem again. The desk in her room had book after book piled upon it, to the point where one of the staff members commented that it was more of a bookshelf. Teagan took pride in her ability to digest the information quickly, because she now realized that any mission was a matter of life and death. Before, no one could blame her for not taking it seriously, but now determination drove her to reset her mind frame on the entire issue.

So Teagan devoured every book available-until it mentioned a shtriga, that is. The moment she found any mention of it, the book found itself isolated in a dark cupboard that Teagan would never go near unless to add another volume to the those already in solitary confinement.

Teagan internally sighed, acknowledging the older girl's displeasure and moving on. "I've got the spray paint already and the incantation book is right here." She lifted it from the trunk, as well as a small backpack she usually brought with her. One would never know when a survival kit might be necessary. On that line of thinking, Teagan reached for a small ebony pistol and tucked it behind her shirt.

"Exorcisms don't always go as planned," she defended herself at Yuki's odd glance. The foreigner's confusion was valid because before the summer camp, Teagan had strayed far from gun training after her rough introduction to it. Now though? Things had changed. "Insurance."

[Yuki]

It was strange that Teagan now carried a gun. Honestly, it was odd seeing the girl in possession of a weapon at all. Yuki had been accustomed to the girl's constant apprehension around the guns, but now, she grasped it firmly. Yuki sensed she was still a little hesitant, but definitely held more determination than she had revious times. At least she had enough sense to overcome her uneasiness around the weapon after the shtriga incident. It appeared as if the girl had finally realized that whether she liked it or not, carrying a gun was an important safety measurement when it came to the supernatural.

"For a change, you are correct," Yuki said somewhat absent-mindedly when Teagan claimed that the gun was "insurance." Not removing her eyes from the items in the trunk, she mentally formed a check list and made sure they had gathered everything. Salt, weapons, holy water, exorcism material...yes, they had everything they needed to fend off a demon. If Aiden had identified incorrectly the title of the being and it was in fact not a demon, or if Teagan had misheard Aiden, than they would have to make do with what they already possessed on hand.

Slipping the gun into a pocket inside her vest, she closed the trunk and locked the car. The girl had said that Aiden told them to head for a cabin. Looking around, Yuki failed to spot any form shelter, wood or otherwise. All she could see was a faint hint of blue from the water running through the banks from behind the trees. That, and an abundance of grass, bushes and trees. "Teagan, do you know where the location of this cabin is, exactly?" she asked the girl. She was the one who had spoken to Aiden. She would know how to answer that question. Or at least, she should know. Unless, of course, Aiden hadn't told Teagan, which was quite the possibility. Or if Teagan had forgotten, which was even more likely.

[Teagan]

From her pocket, Teagan withdrew the sketchy map that she had drawn based on Aiden’s verbal instructions. Basic, really. They had already driven four miles and only had about one to walk on foot. “This way.” Teagan broke into a brisk jog through the northern trees, where it looked like someone had already cut a path through the thick brush. If there was any shot of still catching up to Aiden, a snail’s pace would jeopardize it. What had he been thinking, running off like that? Did he think he could handle it alone? Last time he had tried to fight a demon he was unconscious within the first five minutes. The only difference between now and then was that he had finished training his back up. To leave them behind did not bode well.

“Is this it?” Teagan asked out of surprise as the cabin drew into sight. Paint peeled away from all edges, fragments of wood littered the perimeter, and a layer of dust covered most of the outer surfaces. Wet leaves squished under her shoes as Teagan drew closer to the building. “Aiden! You there?”

[Yuki]

After a bit of a walk, they had made their way to the cabin Aiden had directed them to go to. However, upon their arrival, Teagan's surprsied tone mirrored Yuki's expression. It looked more like an abandoned wooden box that was ready to collapse at any second. Water from the river had worn away at the wood, and that parts of the shack that weren't wet were covered in dust. Absolutely filthy.

Yuki wrinkled her nose and they neared the cabin. The smell was foul as well, musty and rotten. Teagan called out to Aiden, but in vain, for there was no response. Cautious, Yuki's hand reached for her gun and drew it out. Along with the information of Aiden going after a demon of some sort, the girl had mentioned an artifact. It had to be an item of supernatural origin. But what, exactly? If Aiden had told them to get it, perhaps it was the source of energy of the demon that he was going after. As they entered the room, Yuki peered into the darkness. Luckily, she had brought the flashlight. Turning it on, she wearily aimed it inside, not sure what she was looking for, but ready for anything.

Within the shack, she found cobwebs and more dust, as well as a few leaves that had somehow made their way inside. Shattered glass was littered across the floor, and there were several old cardboard boxes, all empty and soggy. Looking closely, she also saw a few candles on the floor, the wax oozing onto the floor from the heat. But she saw no obvious "artifact," no object that stood out. Walking further into the room, the light from her flashlight shone upon something dark, near one of the cardboard boxes. ...What was that thing? She approached it carefully, subconsciously tightening her grip on both the gun and the flashlight. "Teagan, come take a look at this," she said, crouching down to examine it. It looked like...a hand. A withered, black, flesh hand. No wonder the cabin smelled so vile. "...Is this considered an artifact?" she asked, one hand on her gun, and the other steadying the light on the object before her.

[Teagan]

Upon receiving no answer to her call, Teagan sighed in disappointment. He had run off without them, headfirst into trouble. That hot-headed, no brained…. She started to inspect the outer rim of the house. Numerous insects thrived in the environment, and more than once she slapped her arm. No need to give herself another reason not to sleep through the night. About a dozen feet away, Teagan noticed footprints in the mud.

Two sets lead away from the cabin, heading to the east. The larger pair belonged to a person who took long strides. Probably Aiden…running, from the exaggerated span. A smaller pair could be traced all around the house and past the river bank. The demon, she supposed. From the looks of it, the demon had been there awhile. She shivered, thinking of exactly how close the cabin really was from the Crossroads Tavern. Not too far…

Her attention shifted as Yuki called for her. Teagan jogged back to the cabin, frowning when the stench slammed into her. “What died in here?” Ahead of her, Yuki knelt, examining a-what the heck? Was that a hand? Yeah, they were definitely in the right place. No one just left a random hand lying around. Well, no one normal, that is.

“Well, from personal opinion, no. It’s not. It’s a withered, black, smelly hand. But doesn’t old and smelly define an artifact?” Teagan pinched her nose. “It’s disgusting, honestly.”

[Yuki]

She didn't particularly want to pick up the hand. She was disgusted by it, but if she had to carry it, she would. Yuki inched closer to it, wrinkling her nose even more. It was the only item out of place in the entire room. She thought for a minute that perhaps someone--presumably the inhabitant of this cabin--had contracted a sort of disease, such as the bubonic plague, which infested the hand on the floor, and then that inhabitant cut it off in order to prevent it from further spreading. But honestly, the odds of such a thing occurring in the same cabin Aiden had directed them to were slim. Everything that appeared normal now had to be observed through a supernatural lens. There was no such thing as "normal."

Without looking at the girl behind her, Yuki kept her flashlight steadily aimed at the hand. What now? Aiden hadn't left any specific instructions. Were they supposed to destroy the artifact? Bring it back to the tavern? Keep it away from the demon? Figure out a way to use it? Yuki had no idea what the hand was. She didn't remember reading about it in any of the books she had sifted through. Yuki sighed. Mendokusai.

"Teagan, did Aiden say what to do with the artifact?"

[Teagan]

Teagan blinked for a moment, attempting to recall the specifics of Aiden's instructions.

"That a, um, valid question," she replied, face twisting in confusion. "I know he said we needed to take it, but I don't remember if there was anything after that." She looked back toward Yuki. "Take it back to the Tavern, you think? That would make some sense."

Or they could try just burning it there. But, if the chance occured that it either couldn't be burned or was somewhat important, they would be in trouble. Her hand still protecting her nose, Teagan stood and glared at the hand. "How is that little thing worth so much trouble? You can carry it, Yuki. I'm sure you have more experience with...artifacts, then I do."

Or dead body parts.

Or things that were just plain nasty.

Faded newspapers were scattered in the nearby corner. Teagan quickly picked some up and tossed them to her partner. "Use these. It'll help."

...

"A bit."

[Yuki]

Yuki got up, tucked away her gun, and swiped the newspapers from the girl's hand. "Hold this," she said, handing her the flashlight. Then, giving her a cold glare, she crouched back down with a scoff. Pathetic child. Yuki didn't want to handle the "artifact" either, but she wasn't so weak as to hand over the task to someone else, as the girl had done. Furthermore, Teagan had seemed hesitant to respond to her question. If Aiden had left the instruction to burn the hand immediately, and they waited until they got back to the tavern to contact Aiden, it would be a waste of valuable time. They could just end everything right here. The hunt would be over. But, because Teagan obviously didn't recall anything, they couldn't act without knowing for sure. That child clearly underestimated the severity of any situation. She would tell Aiden to call her in an emergency situation next time, not Teagan, who would end up forgetting everything he had said.

With a sigh, Yuki wrapped the newspaper around her hands and reached for the item in front of her. She winced a little as she felt the flesh of the black hand though the paper. Slowly, she retrieved the object, careful not to touch any of its flithiness. As she got up, she shifted her grip on it from her right to her left hand. And then she felt it. A cold shiver ran down her spine as her finger made contact with the spongy skin. She looked down and noticed that a part of the newspaper was ripped, creating a hole where her hand could make contact with the flesh. Resisting the urge to launch the black hand away form her, she closed her eyes and breathed in, despite the foul smell in the air. It's just skin. It is unnecessary to feel -that- disgusted by it.

"Let's take this vile item back to the tavern," she said, taking a step forward.

Suddenly, something whizzed past her face and she felt an acute pain across her cheek. In alarm, she quickly touched the spot where the object grazed her. Blood? She blinked, and then looked around. There was nothing in the room to cut her. Something wasn't right. A small, light sound, like that of fingernails clicking against wood, could be heard from within the cabin. Yuki looked down and her eyes widened. The glass on the floor was moving. "Teagan, run!" she commanded, and bolted for the door.

As they made their way out, the shards followed in pursuit and darted everywhere like missiles, aiming for whatever part of the girls' bodies that they could hit. Yuki tightened her grip on the hand in her arms, ignoring the fact that the newspaper was now falling apart. The object was cursed, that much was apparent, but what kind of cursed object caused inanimate objects to attack humans?! And it wasn't as if they could destroy the glass that was attacking them in any convential sense. Glass did not burn, it shattered. The only way to dissolve it would be with hydrofluoric acid, and seeing as they obviously had none on hand, all they could do was run.

"Head for the river! And stay nearby!" Yuki told Teagan while dodging the flying glass. The river was nearby, maybe they could outrun the shards if they went through the forest. Running, and failing to hear any small whizzes or rustles behind her, she sensed that their speed was indeed faster than that of the glass. Catching sight of Teagan, Yuki yelled, "Aiden must've left some kind of warning about this! If you are so simple minded as to forget such an important detail, now would be the ideal time to remember!"