February 12th, 2020
Austin, Texas

Power flooded through Jack's veins, and it was nothing he'd ever experienced before. He'd felt power, but not to that scale. It was like he'd taken the best drug he'd ever been given and it completely engulfed him, wrapping him up in a sinister embrace.

He heard Ash calling his name, but the sound was distant and muffled. Somewhere in the very back of his mind, he knew he should try to respond, but the thought disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared.

"Jacky!"

Jack's mouth opened and he spoke without being fully in control of what he said. "This is only the beginning." Even to his own ears, it sounded like more than one voice was speaking.

He blinked and his surroundings changed so rapidly, his brain had a hard time grasping the extreme difference. As his eyes fluttered completely open, he found himself laying all alone in an empty unfamiliar field, with his head pounding and feeling like he'd been asleep for days. Sitting up, he rubbed at a knot of hair and blood on the back of his head, and winced as soon as his fingers brushed an old wound. He had no idea where he was or even what day it was.

The last thing he remembered was standing in Christine's living room, and catching a reflection of himself with black eyes. After that, it was all one giant blank slate. It seemed like only a couple hours had gone by, but that couldn't be right. Luckily, he was still dressed in the jeans, t-shirt, and hiking boots that he last remembered wearing, except that he thought he'd had his coat on too.

When he tried to get up, his muscles were all stiff, and his ribs felt like someone had kicked the shit out of him, like he was back in school, roughhousing with his friends. He also had cuts and bruises running up and down his arms, which appeared to have already started healing. It made no sense to him, he'd just been with Ash. And Sophia. Fuck, she was gonna kill him. Or maybe never talk to him again, which actually sounded worse.

Not sure if Keala was anywhere near, he whistled loudly, sighing in relief when she came running out of the brush with her teeth barred, and a low growl reverberating through her chest as she inched closer and closer.

"Shit, girl. It's just me... What the hell happened?" He reached out and stroked her fur gently. She whimpered softly, snuggling up to him after a few more moments of eyeing him suspiciously.

Slowly, Jack dragged himself to his feet, and with Keala loping loyally just ahead, they set out to find a road or anything really that would lead him to some answers. He walked for five and a half hours, which he had no way of knowing without his phone or watch, until finally a truck speeding passed stopped to pick him up. Jack hadn't even really been actively hitchhiking, but he wasn't about to turn down a free ride.

"Where to?" the burly trucker asked him offhandedly as he started coaxing his semi back down the long, empty stretch of road.

"I... uhm... where are we?" Jack tried to ignore the bewildered look he received from the middle-aged man with the beer gut and the beard down to his belly button.

"Middle of Nebraska. You okay, kid?" He squinted his eyes in genuine concern, before turning his attention back to the road.

Jack balked. "Nebraska...?" he repeated under his breath, trying to figure out how the hell he'd gotten from Austin, Texas to somewhere in the middle of Nebraska, in what felt like no time at all. "Uhm... sir, do you know what day it is?"

"You sure you're okay, son? Want me to drop you at a hospital or somethin'?" The trucker eyed Jack out of the corner of his gaze incredulously.

"No. I'm okay. Just a little disoriented. It's been a hell of a couple of weeks," he lied hoping the guy would believe him and not really question it after that. "My name's Jack, and this is Keala. Thanks for the ride."

"Soapy. Soapy Smith. It's nice to meet ya, Jack. Your frat brothers drive you all the way out here and leave ya? I heard a that happenin' when I was a kid." Jack just shrugged silently, which didn't seem to deter the man in the least. "I'm drivin' from Dodge City to Bismarck. I'll drop you wherever you need to go, though. Runnin' ahead of schedule." He grinned proudly and Jack couldn't help but smile back.

"Thanks. You can just drop me off once we cross into North Dakota."

Soapy frowned. "You sure? That's probably about five hours away, give or take."

Jack shrugged again, his mind firing a million miles a minute as his thoughts jumped from one thing to the next. "That's fine."

"Suit yourself, kid." Soapy spent most of the time talking about everything. He told Jack all about how he got the name "Soapy" when he was a smooth-talking conman in his younger days. "Now I'm just a charmin' truck driver with a wicked sense of humor." Once Jack finally gave in and humored the guy in conversation, it wasn't so bad. He was a nice enough man, and he appeared to enjoy their time together, however brief it might've been.

"Thanks, again, Soapy. We really appreciate it." Jack had probably thanked him twenty times already, but his gratitude didn't seem to be enough for everything Soapy had done for him. He'd stopped and bought Jack lunch and dinner, and he got food for Keala too.

It wasn't until he smelled the crappy hamburger stand burgers, that Jack realized just how ravenous he really was. He had no idea when he ate last, but even Soapy noticed how quickly he'd scarfed down his meal. The trucker left him at the picnic table outside the roadside stand for about ten minutes, before he came back with another full meal and set it right in front of Jack.

"You eat. I've got all day," he'd insisted, stroking his beard as he regaled Jack with tales from his misspent youth.

By the time they'd reached a little town called, Westfield, just inside North Dakota state lines, Jack had a new backpack, a new set of clothes, and a burner phone. He tried to refuse the stuff, but Soapy wasn't having any of it. He shoved it all into Jack's arms right after they'd pulled into a truck stop just inside the town limits.

"I put my number into the phone. You reach out if you ever need a lift from me or one of my buddies, or if you're in a spot a trouble. I've got trucker friends across the country. You call, we'll help."

"Thanks, man. Hey, same goes. If you ever come across some weird shit, call me. I might be able to lend a hand." He'd told Soapy about his profession, against his better judgement, but the guy had acted like it was as normal as being a mailman.

"You got it, kid." He didn't say anything else as Jack and Keala jumped out of his truck and headed toward the intersection, running across the highway when the light turned green, to where an old saloon was located amongst barren storage yards.

He waited out front in the pitch black night until the truck disappeared back down the dusty road, before he pulled out the phone Soapy forced him to take and dialed one of Ash's numbers. It rang and rang and rang without an answer. He called three others before his brother finally picked up.

"What?" Ash snarled, hostility dripping from his voice, startling Jack at first. He was about to say something, before he was interrupted. "I manage to get one fucking hour of sleep in the last few days and you go ruin it and you can't even say a fucking word?" A sharp click signaled the end of the call, leaving Jack staring at the phone in his hand.

The screen flashed 4:21 AM, and he almost kicked himself. Everyone was probably sleeping. He was about to stuff the phone back into his pocket and start walking again until he and Keala found a nice bench to curl up on, when it started ringing in his hand, Ash's number glowing in the darkness.

"Ash?"

"Goddammit, I fucking knew it." He thought he heard his brother laugh, which seemed weird considering he'd just gotten an earful not twenty seconds earlier. "Jacky. Where the hell are you?"

"Uhm... Westfield, North Dakota?" he answered slowly, trying to remember if that was the right name. The sign on the way in had been shot full of bullet holes, making it difficult to read.

"What the fuck are you doing there? What the hell happened, man?"

All of a sudden, panic struck Jack out of nowhere. "I don't know. I don't know anything. I woke up with the biggest fuckin' headache in the world in some field in nowhere fucking Nebraska and I don't know-"

"Whoa. Okay, Jacky. Slow down. I can make it to you in half a day. Go find some no-tell motel and hunker down until I can get to you. 'Kay?"

Jack took a deep breath, as Keala sat down beside him, nipping lightly at his free hand that was swinging back and forth anxiously. "Yeah. Alright."

It took him twenty minutes or so to find a roadside motel with the sign half burnt out and flickering. The guy behind the counter looked like he'd been ripped straight out of the seventies, and true to form, he didn't ask a single question the entire time. He didn't even glance twice at Keala, either.

Jack passed out practically the second his head hit the pillow, and he didn't wake up again until he heard someone pounding on the door and shouting his name. Sleepily, he stumbled out of bed and barely had time to flick the locks, before the door flung open, knocking him backwards further into the room as Ash burst in, slamming it shut behind him.

"Goddammit, Jacky!" He grabbed him in a rough hug that knocked the wind out of him right off the bat, even with his left arm wrapped up in a tight sling. Ash pushed him back a little, with his giant right hand gripping Jack's shoulder, looking him up and down. "Wow, you look like shit. Anything broken?" Jack winced when his brother grabbed his face and started poking and prodding at the bruises that stained his left cheek.

"No... I don't think so."

"Good," Ash nodded approvingly before socking him hard in the shoulder.

"Ow! Fuck. What the hell was that for?" Jack rubbed his arm, glaring up at him with watery eyes. "That hurt like a sonofabitch."

Ash ran his fingers through his light brown hair as anger darkened his oaky brown eyes. "Well, let's see... You fucking vanished seconds after Stix took his last fucking breath, and then we don't see or hear from you for two fucking weeks. You're lucky it's me here and not your Ice Princess."

Jack shook his head, disbelieving. "Two weeks...?" His light blue eyes widened. "What...? How...? No. That can't-"

"You turned into a goddamn monster and bolted out a broken window. We've had all the Exterminators we know and trust on the lookout for you, but your call was the first break we've had. You've been completely off the radar."

"Is Sophia okay?" Jack asked, feeling the panic start bubbling up again, before Ash socked him a second time.

"Knock it off," he grumbled. "She's fine. Well, ya know, not fine. But she's a hell of a lot better than you right now. You look like you got your ass kicked up and down the highway."

Jack sat down heavily on the bed. "Yeah. Feels like it too."

Ash took a seat next to him, picking at the loose threads on his jeans. "I contacted every psychic I freaking know, man. No one could find you."

"Really?" Jack's eyebrows shot up at his brother's confession.

"Every damn one. Hell, Christine and Finn have been staying out at one of Dad's old safehouses in West Texas. I was there every few days in between hunting everything I could find and corresponding with Will, Marley, Piper, and Charley."

"You actually worked with psychics willingly?" Jack knew he should've asked about how his siblings, Piper, and Charley were doing, but the fact that Ash searched out any psychic to ask for help was really the thing sticking out in his mind.

"Yeah, and they were just as annoying as I always thought." Ash grumbled something Jack couldn't hear under his breath. "Well, I take that back. Not all of them were bad people, they just had a lot of bad shit to tell me."

"What do you mean?" A frown pulled at Jack's features.

Beside him, Ash sighed heavily, running his fingers through his hair. "It started right after you disappeared. Maybe even the next day. A man in New York was brutally murdered. Blood started pouring out of every orifice of his body."

"That's gotta be a witch," Jack interjected, his stomach dropping. He had a really strong feeling he wasn't gonna like the end of the story.

"Yeah. Only the guy was totally normal seeming. Had never even crossed paths with any big bad monster that I could tell. He was an immigrant from Serbia who'd been driving a taxi for about ten years."

"So, what gives? Why'd he get iced?"

"Another body turned up in Quebec, same kind of deal. And I heard about another one from one of Kit's contacts out in Mexico City. These people were all dragged out of their houses onto the streets and died horribly in front of people. The psychics all predicted it. I couldn't freaking believe it at first either. They were all half-breeds, Jacky."

"No way."

Ash nodded solemnly. "Took me time to find the evidence. But it's true. The psychics all said the same thing. The witch that set all this in motion sent out some kind of monster PSA. They put a hit out on all half-breeds. And there's a reward for finding one."

Jack's stomach churned. "What kind of reward?"

"Not sure I wanna know. But the bigger problem is protecting-"

"Marley! Is she okay?"

Ash shrugged. "For now. We've got her stashed somewhere safe with only very minimal contact. We're trying to lower the chance of leading someone right to her."

"So, I can't go see her?" Jack asked, disappointment radiating from his being.

Ash slowly stood up, shaking his head as his eyes grew cold. "No. You've been off the radar so long, any number of things could've gotten to you."

Hanging his head at his brother's words, he said, "You're taking me back to Louisiana?"

"Nope." A knock sounded just outside and Ash smirked, opening the door to Emmaline Balestreaux. She moved quickly into the room, closing the door and securing the locks behind her.

She stood in front of Jack wearing a long, heavy black coat. Her hair was held back out of her face with a bright blue bandana, and a briefcase dangled from her fingertips. Her warm brown eyes settled over him, and she smiled softly.

"Jack, sorry to have to do this to ya," she apologized quietly. "I promise it won't be as bad as the last time."

"Meaning no scars?"

A grim expression crossed Emmaline's features. "Afraid not. But not as many. Can you handle it, or do you need a gag?"

"He can handle it," Ash answered for him before he could say anything.

Jack wasn't sure where his blind faith came from, but he didn't question it either as Emmaline gently grabbed his arm and moved him to stand directly in the center of the room. She gestured for him to take his shirt off, which he did, conscious of the scars that already littered his body.

Emmaline's eyes flashed darkly as she set the briefcase on the bed, opening it, and pulling out instruments and tools. She glanced back at Ash, her expression dour. "You might wanna go grab some coffee or burgers or something."

Ash shook his head stoically. "I'm good."

"Seriously, Slayer. I'm about to cut into your brother. You should go find something else to do." The way she looked at him, made Jack's blood run cold. It was clear she wasn't asking him. "And take the dog with you. I really don't like the way it's looking at me."

Keala had been laying on the bed, her head lifted, and a low growl reverberating through her chest. But she went with Ash easily just outside the motel room.

When they were gone, Emmaline started cutting into him with blades made of silver and iron, and did a few other tests before she was finished. It surprised Jack how fast it was over when the first time took so much longer.

"That's it?" he asked, gingerly pulling his shirt back over his head.

"Not quite." Emmaline stood directly in front of him, almost a full two inches taller. She hesitantly lifted her hands up to his temples without touching him. "I just have to look inside you for a second. I have to check for-"

"Evil," Jack interjected simply.

She nodded. "Sorry. Mama wanted me to do it. She said to remind you that we're witches, but we're Exterminators too. Friends of your dad's. He'd want to make sure you weren't turning."

Dread pooled in the pit of his stomach. "Yeah, he probably would." But he couldn't help wondering if his dad would've put him down already, if he would've treated Jack as just another job if he were still alive.

Emmaline shot him a sheepish smile as her fingers hovered around his face. "This won't hurt. But it might feel uncomfortable."

"Okay-" She touched his temples and he felt her poking around in his head, it was a feeling he couldn't have described even if he tried.

Emmaline was right, it wasn't exactly painful, but he hated it, he just wanted her to stop. She was chanting words he didn't understand, but they were seared into his mind. It wasn't a long process, even though at the time it felt like it might never end.

When Emmaline finally dropped her hands, it was like she'd been burned. Her face was set like stone as she slowly backed away. Jack's whole body slumped over exhaustedly, feeling drained. Casting his gaze slowly upward, he caught the fear bleeding through her eyes, even as she tried to push it away.

"Y-y-you're..."

"I'm what...?" Jack asked, not even sure he really wanted to know the answer.

"You're all cold and dark inside. I've never seen anything like it."

Standing, Jack took a single step forward and she held her hands up in front of her. "That can't-"

"Please! Don't hurt me."

Jack froze, staring at her, his eyes wide as he did his best to settle the room in a nice blanket of tranquility. "I wouldn't hurt you," he said softly. He could feel what she was talking about, the iciness, the emptiness. He'd felt it from the moment he woke up in that empty field. He'd pushed it as far into the back of his mind as he could, holding onto the tiny piece of warmth he could still feel.

"B-but you-" She was cut off by Ash shoving the door open and barging in carrying a tray with three coffees and balancing a bag full of pastries on top.

"Everything cool here?" He looked between both of them and frowned, placing everything in his hand on the little table near the door.

"No," Emmaline answered sharply, before Jack could try to handle the situation. "He's got something bad growing in his soul. I could feel it as soon as I touched him. Whatever he's become, it's not good, Ash. Your brother is..." His gaze snapped to Jack, questions dancing in his eyes and his hand hovering over his holster underneath his shirt where he always kept his sidearm.

"You agree with her assessment, Jacky?" he asked curiously, his dark eyes stony and unreadable. But Jack had the feeling Ash expected him to hulk out or something, the way Emmaline was acting.

"Yes, but I can control it. I'm still me." All of a sudden an image of being trapped in the veil with all the other monsters invaded his head. In the back of his mind, he heard Death saying, "If you don't wanna end up here, you'll learn to control it."

"Yeah, you've said that before. And then you pulled this whole disappearing act. How the hell am I supposed to trust you?" He took out his gun, and Jack's eyes widened, and his fists clenched, at the obvious threat. He felt the coldness inside start to take over, until he heard a sharp intake of breath from Emmaline.

All of a sudden, the locks on the door clicked, and it opened and closed quickly as someone bundled in too many layers to see their face slipped into the room, sauntering between Jack and his brother. The stranger pulled back the hood, and Jack felt the relief flood through his entire body.

"Ash, I'll happily put another bullet in your shoulder if you don't put away your weapon." Sophia Knight pulled out two guns and smirked. "Dare ya to try something."

Ash immediately holstered his weapon, sticking his one good hand up carefully, with his palm facing forward. "Whoa, chill out."

"You know this crazy chick?" Emmaline demanded, staying behind Ash and as far back from everyone else as she could get.

Sophia craned her neck to get a good look at her, and a sinister grin stretched across her lips. "Ah... Creole Witch Girl. I remember you. I thought I warned you to keep your nose clean?"

Emmaline backed off a little. "I-I'm only here 'cause-"

"Stop with the whole ice bitch routine, Knight. I asked her to come out and make sure we were getting 100% Jack back. You followed me all the way from Oklahoma?"

Sophia scoffed. "No. I was heading South from my sister's house when I saw your stupid truck. It's not a difficult thing to identify. I figured I'd see what you were doing so far North. Guess I got lucky." She slowly turned toward Jack, who'd managed to regain control of himself. "Hey, Jack. You okay?" Her whole demeanor softened when she caught his gaze.

Jack shrugged. "No worse than usual."

"Good. Someday you'll have to tell me where you've been the last two weeks." She tried to keep up with her stony façade, but her voice broke on the last word. She still had her weapons in both hands as Jack took two steps toward her and her face fell, her mask disappearing for a few moments. She put her weapons away and didn't fight it when he wrapped his arms around her. Sophia buried her face in his t-shirt, staying in his embrace for longer than he expected her to.

Ash shrugged. "Alright, Jacky. Keep yourself in check or you know what's gonna happen."

"That's it?" Emmaline questioned as she grabbed her suitcase and stuffed her arms back through her coat. "Mama was right to be suspicious. Your brother's gonna hurt a lot of people."

Sophia's eyes snapped in Emmaline's direction. "Your mama is a paranoid whack job who should just stick to selling crystals and herbs to hippies. She doesn't know Jack. She doesn't know how strong he is, or how much good he'll do with what he's got. If you know what's good for you and you don't want me tracking down every member of your family, you'll tell your mama that all is well with him and the rest of the Slayers."

Even though she wasn't talking to him, Jack still felt chills crawling up and down his spine, hearing the unwavering promise in her voice. Every person in the room knew she wasn't bluffing either, which made it all the more intimidating.

"Fine," Emmaline relented, fire in her eyes. "I won't say anything to anyone else." Her gaze met Jack's. "But you have to stay away from me. You want my help, or my family's help, send Will."

"Hey! What the hell did I do?" Ash grumbled, handing her the keys she'd dropped, trying to gather up all her stuff.

"Nothing," she snapped, taking the keys from his outstretched hands. "But just send Will anyway. Uhm... And just don't call me for a while." She left after that, slamming the door behind her.

Sophia finally stepped away from him and sat down carefully on the bed, picking at the hangnails on her fingers. "I heard about those dead people. You're investigating, right?"

Ash raised his eyebrows, handing her one of the coffees he'd brought and digging into the bag of pastries. "Which bodies? That could mean just about anything."

Sophia shot him an icy glare. "You know what I'm talking about. Blood running out of their bodies for no damn reason. Four so far, from what I've heard."

"Four?" Jack asked, surprise evident in his voice. He looked over at Ash who frowned.

"Yep. Another dropped this morning. Heard about it while I was tailing you. So, you are investigating?"

Ash shoved a whole donut in his mouth. "Yeah. It's grim."

Sophia nodded her head, steeling herself. "Well, clue me in. I need a good job to take my mind off everything." Jack sat down next to her and took her hand. Running his fingers over a fresh-looking scar.

"How's your sister doing?" he asked softly, ignoring her question for one of his own.

Sophia lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "Not great. She didn't want me leaving, but I couldn't be there anymore. I had to go get out my aggression before I snapped. So, what's the deal with the bodies. It's our kinda thing, right?"

"Yeah. Ash says they're all half-breeds."

"What? No way! That's impossible. I didn't even think there were any others out there besides your sister. Where's she at, by the way? I figured the whole clan would've come to make sure Jack wasn't foaming at the mouth evil."

"All busy. Couldn't make it. Marley's safe, though. For now." Ash finished off his coffee and started drinking the one he got for Jack.

"Well, shit. What do we do about the murders of the half-breeds?" Sophia grabbed Jack's backpack and started stuffing his dirty clothes in, and straightening the room out.

"I'm taking Jack to Fog Hills, and then I'm going to finish looking into it. Hopefully, I'll run into something I can exterminate along the way."

"What? No way. I'm not going to sit around and twiddle my thumbs while you-"

"He's right," Sophia interrupted. "You need to go rest for a little while. Even I got to take some time off. But, Ash, you should probably stay with him. Keep an eye out. I'll go check out the latest victim. I'll start tracking down half-breeds if I can. Maybe warn 'em before they're slaughtered."

"You're snakin' my job?" Ash grumbled, but understanding glowed in his eyes. "Fine. Whatever. I'm gonna go find Keala." He turned to leave, but Sophia called him back. "Yeah?"

"Uhm, thanks for sending the flowers and the card to my sister. She really appreciated it." She wouldn't meet his eyes, but Ash grinned anyway.

"No problem. Stix was a good friend of mine for the last ten years. I just wanted to make sure Annie knows how much he'll be missed." Ash left then, while Sophia teared up and wrapped her arms around Jack again.

"Goddamn, I really miss him," she murmured into his chest, while Jack tucked some of her flyaway hairs back and kissed the top of her head.

"I know. I'm so sorry..." He let his words linger in the air for a minute, before saying, "Are you sure you wanna go out on a job by yourself."

Sophia pulled back and looked up at him stonily. "I can handle a solo job. I'm not a freaking newbie." But when she met his eyes, her façade seemed to melt away.

"I know. You're the best Exterminator I've ever met. I'm just saying, you can come back and hang out in Arkansas for a week or so, with me." Jack paused for a second before adding, "Ya know, if you want to." When he glanced down at her she was smiling.

"Sometime soon, when this mess all starts to calm down, we'll take a weekend to ourselves. I have some contacts in Canada, and I know of a few places we can stay." She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Jack passionately. "I'm really, really glad you're not dead. Keep it that way, alright?"

Jack kissed her again before finally releasing his hold and taking a step back. "I promise I'll keep breathing."

"Good. 'Cause I love you." Sophia left without another word, leaving the door wide open, while Jack stood there with a silly little smile on his face.

"Jacky! What the hell's taking you so long?" The sound of Ash's footsteps startled Jack into remembering what he was doing. He grabbed his few belongings as his brother filled the doorway with Keala at his side. "You ready? We still have a fourteen-hour drive ahead of us."

"I'm ready." He was too. As much as he had weighing down his mind, going back to Fog Hills and having a real home-cooked meal sounded heavenly.

They'd been on the road for about six and a half hours or so, when one of Ash's phones started ringing. Jack was driving and Ash was passed out in the seat next to him, so instead of waking his brother, he reached into the middle console and answered it himself.

"Hello?" They were driving through Nebraska, which was nothing but flat fields for miles. The monotony of it was starting to make him really tired, even though he'd just finished sleeping for twelve straight hours.

"Ash Slayer?" He didn't recognize the shaky voice on the other end of the line.

"He's not available right now, but I'm his brother. Can I help you?"

There was nothing but silence for a long time before the person spoke again. "Thanks, but I really need to talk to your brother."

"Why? Is there something you need help with?" Ash was going to kill him when he found out what was happening. They were supposed to be resting.

"Actually, yes. Can your brother make it out to New Mexico? I really need him." The frantic sound in the voice alarmed the hell out of him.

"Okay, okay. Give me your address, we'll head your way. What's your name? And what's going on?" Jack asked softly, trying his best to calm down the person on the other end.

"Ash knows me. I'll text him the address. Just please start heading toward Slaughter's Gulch, New Mexico."

"Okay, alright." Jack got off on the next exit taking him in the opposite direction. "We'll be there soon." As soon as he hung up the phone he tossed it back among all the other phones Ash carried around with him. Reaching over, he shook his brother awake.

"Dude, really?" Ash grumbled, pushing Jack's arm away roughly. "If you need directions, use the GPS. I'm on break."

"I don't need directions to Kit's place." He laughed, shaking his head a little. "You got a phone call. I answered it."

That actually seemed to wake him up a little. "From who?"

"Don't know. Real squirrely type. Wants us to head to Slaughter's Gulch, New Mexico."

Ash groaned. "Shit. Slade. Guy's wife gets spooked real easy when he's out on a job. I go by from time to time, check in on her and the kids, and calm 'em down about everything. This'll be an in and out kinda thing." Jack couldn't even hide his surprise. "What? It's not even a full day from Ouray. We can stop at the Lockwood compound for a few days."

Jack smiled. "How's Lee doing anyway?"

Ash grunted, leaning his head back against his seat. "She's fine. Just ya know, a lot more her. She wants me to be around more, but every time I go out to spend a week or two with her, she always kicks me out and tells me to go to hell."

"She probably doesn't really mean it."

Ash laughed humorlessly. "Oh, she means it. Last time she threw a hammer at me when I was trying to help her put a crib together. I haven't been back since, but I've talked to her more than I ever did in the past."

"That's 'cause she's having your kid." They fell easily into conversation until Jack's eyelids grew too heavy, and the road started to double ahead of him. Ash forced him to pull over, so they could switch places.

Once he was settled into the passenger seat, Jack drifted off to sleep, and he didn't wake up again until Ash shook his shoulder lightly. "Yo, we're here."

Sitting up, he looked around seeing that they were out in the middle of the desert, parked outside a large home that looked like it was made entirely out of old shipping containers. There was a large school bus, with curtains covering all the windows parked outside what looked like a giant garage.

"Come on, let's go." Ash was out of the truck and heading toward the house almost as soon as he cut the engine. After letting Keala out to run wild, he followed his brother up to the front porch.

The door was yanked open before either one of them even had the chance to knock, and a woman around Ash's age stood in the doorway. "Ash! You came! I can't believe you got here so fast."

"Your mom said it was urgent, and I owe your old man. A lot." He paused for a second before saying, "Oh, Clover Slade, this is my little brother, Jack."

The woman, with shining dark eyes and spiky, bright purple hair, smiled at him, sticking her hand out. Jack shook it for just a moment before she gestured for them to follow her inside.

"Nice to meet you, Jack. Thanks again for coming so fast."

"Is this about your dad? Last time I heard, he was out on a job way up in Maine, working with a crew to snuff out a pack of werewolves."

Clover shook her head leading them down a long narrow hallway to a large room at the end of it, which was mostly empty except for the group of people all sitting around in a circle surrounded by candles and some kind of incense.

"No. I heard from my dad last night. He's fine, but they've still got a lot of work to do. This is about us psychics. I got a message from a friend that you need some answers from our kind."

"Oh, uh... Yeah, but as you can see, I already found my-"

"No. This is about something else entirely."

One of the people sitting in the circle in front of him stood up, a man who looked to be in his early sixties. "Hello. I'm Peter. Peter Resnick. Clover is my niece, and my protégé. I've been working with her and her sister, Poppy, for years to understand their gifts."

"What about the rest of them?" Ash nodded his head toward everyone else, not even trying to be subtle about it.

Another person stood up, a younger guy, probably in his late twenties. "We're from all over, but we get together every few months, or when there's an emergency that we all need to be aware of."

Ash snickered. "So, this is basically some psychic fair. What do you all want with me?"

"We've got information for you," Clover answered, sitting down and gesturing to them to join the circle. There were nine psychics in total and they looked like they had absolutely nothing in common. They were all different ages, races, genders, and with vastly different religious and political views. Yet, they all sat peacefully in the same room, united by one thing. Their psychic gifts.

"So, what is it? What're you gonna tell me, my future?" Ash joked, not taking a single thing they said seriously. Jack nudged him lightly.

"No, Ashton." Clover's younger sister, Poppy, stood up, eyeing them with a look that had chills crawling up and down Jack's spine. "We've all come to see something horrible happening, and Uncle Res thinks you might be able to stop it." She nodded over to the man who'd introduced himself as Peter Resnick. "Monsters are coming for you. Not today or tomorrow, but soon, in the next couple of months. And they're going to tear through everyone they have to in order to get to you. It's going to be a bloodbath. And it's gonna happen in some random field in Virginia."

"Ash-"

"Not now, Jacky."

"We're sorry to have to be the bearers of bad news," said an old man they all called, Warren, speaking in a low, calm voice. "But hopefully our warning will help you be prepared. We want to give you a chance in this fight. You'll need all the help you can possibly get."

"So, sometime in the next few months there's gonna be a big monster showdown in Virginia. That's no different from what we normally put ourselves through." Ash stood up, breaking the circle and stretching. "Thanks for the info. Really, we appreciate it, but honestly it's nothing we didn't already know. Have a great night." He pulled Jack to his feet. "Is your mom around, Clover? I wanna say a quick hello before we leave."

"That's it?" A middle-aged woman wearing a flowy turquoise dress and dreamcatcher earrings stood up, her bright orange eyebrows raised almost up to her forehead while her orange corkscrew curls stuck straight out of her head. "We warned you about monsters planning to kill you, and that's all you have to say?"

"Deana," Res snapped sharply, but the woman ignored him and kept her eerie gaze trained on Ash. He just laughed while practically the entire room held its breath.

"Lady, my days start and end with someone trying to kill me. That's really nothing new to us. I'm sorry it bothers you so much that I'm not more affected."

"No. It bothers me that some of us travelled a couple thousand miles to tell you this, just for you and your half-wit brother to act like it's the most normal thing you've ever heard."

"Sorry our reactions weren't as satisfying as wanted, but we've really gotta go prepare." Scoffing, he turned back to Clover and his voice softened. "So, is your mom around, Clover?"

She smiled up at him, and there was something like appreciation glowing in her eyes. "Yeah, she's upstairs making the kids' lunches for tomorrow. Poppy will take you up, while I say goodbye to everyone." She paused before adding, "Oh and one more thing, your brother," she pointed straight at Jack, "he's not going to survive this thing, no matter how many different ways you look at it."

Ash froze in his tracks for a few seconds. "Thanks, Clover. And all of you. Really." He made his way to the door, while Jack stood there staring at all of them in awe. So many psychics all together in one room was enough to marvel about all on its own, but the fact that they were telling him he was going to die again had him cemented in place. He stared at them all in a way that made them visibly uncomfortable.

"You okay, buddy?" someone asked him, but he wasn't able to answer before Ash came back and nudged him forward.

"Come on, man. Let's go." He kept pushing Jack a little more until he really started moving, following after Poppy. "Just ignore them." He only spoke loud enough for Jack to hear. "You're not gonna die."

He wanted to argue, he wanted to ask his brother how he could possibly be so sure, but he didn't. They'd have plenty of time for that conversation later. For the time being, he just followed the psychic girl up the winding stairs and to the kitchen where Mrs. Slade was humming quietly as she moved deftly around the room.

"Ma?" Poppy asked softly. "Ash Slayer's here."

The woman whirled around, wiping her hands on her apron as her whole face lit up. She held her arms out instantly. "Boy, you better get over here and give your Mama Danni a big hug." Her tone was sharp and serious, but her eyes glittered, as Ash did what he was told. When he pulled away her gaze fell on Jack and she opened her arms to him too. "You must be who I talked to on the phone. I never expected you to make it out here so quickly. Thank you for that." When she let Jack go, she motioned for them to take a seat at her breakfast nook. "Have you heard from my husband? Clover said she spoke to him last night, but that girl's always trying to spare my feelings."

Ash's demeanor softened toward the woman in that way he only had with Kit and their mom, it sorta surprised Jack a little bit. "I got a text from him two days ago. But I can head that way and meet up with him, if you need me to."

Mama Danni laughed loudly. Setting a hand on his shoulder, she said, "Oh, honey, you don't have to do that for me. I know you're busy. Did they give you the message? Sorry for the theatrics on the phone, we all know how you feel about psychics."

Ash snorted a little, standing up and hugging the woman again. "You know I love any excuse to come out and visit. If it wasn't so late, we'd stay and hang out with the munchkins."

Mama Danni's dark brown eyes filled with tears. "I know and they're gonna be so disappointed. Next time, though. You boys have a safe trip home now." She loaded them up with more snacks than they could eat and sent them on their way right as the last psychic was leaving.

Jack whistled for Keala, and she darted out of the shadows, licking blood off her muzzle. "So, you think they're right?" he asked once they'd all settled inside the Blazer and Ash started driving.

"No. You're gonna be fine. Nothing bad's gonna happen." He turned up the music on the stereo, singing along loudly for a few songs before he glanced over at Jack and turned it back down. "Hey, quit thinking about it. I promise, I won't let you die again."

Jack opened his mouth to protest, but Ash cut him off by turning the music all the way up. So, instead of trying to talk about something his brother clearly didn't want to, he grabbed his sketchbook and started drawing anything that came to mind. He managed to fill up almost four pages before it was his turn to drive.