Supernatural Fresh Meat - By Alice Henderson Page 0,100
a short period of time out here, why the aswang had managed to stay off hunter radar until now.”
Dean frowned, disgusted. “It had to gorge on human organs to get itself pregnant? I may not eat a burger tonight after all.”
“Usually only one or two of the eggs hatch,” Bobby continued. “And often they die afterward, when they’re young.”
“So those eggs were its last chance,” Sam said.
Dean moved past them, leaving the cabin. “Then let’s fry the suckers.”
He retraced his steps to the little creek, looking for familiar landmarks. Now that he could actually see more than thirty feet into the forest, things looked different. He followed the stream, looking for the large jumble of boulders.
At last, gleaming with snow in the sunlight, they came into view.
“There!” Dean said.
They moved to the largest of the two boulders, and Dean found the crevice where he’d stashed the eggs. He borrowed Bobby’s headlamp and shone it inside. He saw the patch of soil where he’d buried the makeshift sack.
“I’m going in.”
He slid into the narrow space, squeezing his way along the cold granite. Once again, the tightness of the place made breathing difficult. When he had shimmied all the way in, he kicked his feet at the clump of dirt covering the eggs. A hint of the carpet appeared and he used the toe of his boot to hook underneath the cord binding the top. Then he lifted it up, saying another silent prayer that the things weren’t about to hatch. His grasping fingers took the carpet from his foot and he started to shimmy out. A gust of fresh air blew through the tiny space, sending up a spiral of dirt. He continued on, finally reaching the entrance, and climbed out, throwing the carpet of eggs onto the snow.
“All right. Let’s do this,” Bobby said, untying the cord.
The carpet fell open to reveal all the leathery grey eggs. None had hatched.
Sam pulled the whip out. Holding the barb, he pierced one of the eggs. Vile grey mucous spilled out. The egg rolled, pulsating, then the shell burst into flames. Dean kicked it away from the others. It simmered and spat, sparks flying outward. A billow of black smoke consumed it and, with a muffled whump, the egg turned to ash.
Sam pierced the other eggs, one by one, destroying them all.
When only ash covered the carpet, the three hunters stood around it, gazing down thoughtfully.
“Well, that’s that,” Bobby said finally.
“What’s next?” Sam asked.
Bobby looked thoughtful. “There’s still that possible rakshasa eating folks near Springdale, Utah.”
Dean smiled. “Your favorite, Sammy. Maybe it’ll be posing as a clown again.”
“I still can’t believe you made me stay at the Three Ring Motel.”
Dean looked to Bobby. “So we’re going to gank the sucker?” His stomach growled. “After we eat, I mean.”
Bobby nodded. “After we eat.”
“I get to drive,” Dean said to Sam, thinking of his beloved Impala waiting at the trailhead.
Sam smiled. “Be my guest.”
They gathered their belongings and made their way back through the now-sunlit forest.
Acknowledgments
My deepest gratitude to Jason, for his unending encouragement, support, and belief in my writing. Thank you to Draven for bringing me laughter, and to Lynne for championing my work. To Becky, Sarah, and Francesca, I give my love and thanks for their longtime friendships and encouragement.
Once again, my agent Howard Morhaim proved invaluable, and hearty thanks to Jo Boylett and Cath Trechman at Titan Books. The feedback of Christopher Cerasi and Rebecca Dessertine at Warner Bros. was most helpful.
Many thanks to the cast and crew of Supernatural, whose collective work makes the show such a delight to experience. It was a pleasure to write this novel.
And finally, I extend much admiration to the spectacular area around Lake Tahoe, with its snowy peaks and abundant wildlife. I hope that the residents of the Tahoe Basin can forgive the few geographic liberties I took with the area for the sake of storytelling.
About the Author
Alice Henderson is a writer of fiction, comics, and video game material. Her horror novel Voracious pits a lone hiker against a shapeshifting creature. She has written Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels, and her Buffy novel Portal Through Time won the Scribe Award for Best Novel. Her work has appeared in Dark Horse’s Creepy comic. While working at LucasArts, she wrote video game material for several Star Wars titles. She holds a master’s degree in folklore and mythology and her graduate research focused on monsters such as Bigfoot and El Chupacabra. Please visit her at www.alicehenderson.com.
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Table of Contents
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Forty-Six
Forty-Seven
Forty-Eight
Forty-Nine
Fifty
Table of Contents
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Forty-Six
Forty-Seven
Forty-Eight
Forty-Nine
Fifty