The Thomas case: part 2: First leads

The Thomas case: part 2: First  leads

A/N: Slowly finishing the setup. I <3 you.

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Silence, there was a deafening silence at the hospital cantina. Sarah had one foot on the chair and laid her cheek against the warm palm of her right hand. She looked at Oya who managed to calm down and stare into the distance. She was cold, distant even, as her mind was now focused on trying to understand what could have happened to him. She wasn't able to get closer to his body and wasn't therefore able to identify his injuries, but it didn't seem to have been caused by a vampire, or a werewolf. She couldn't say, for Joshua was really far away, but she needed to know. Her hazel eyes stared at the blonde who was still shivering.  Sarah was playing with her tea mug and was tucking her blonde locks behind her ear. Her eyes were dry and it was starting to hurt, but she didn't want to let them know just how bad that was. Oya looked into her bag and handed her some eye drops to use.

« Thanks. » -Was all she said before she took the drops and poured them onto her eyes.-

«Have you been able to see him up close? » -She asked while holding her cup of coffee. Dean was sitting next to Oya, one of his large hands on her thigh to bring her comfort. Sarah nodded. « Good. I needed to make sure that he actually wasn't attacked by vampires or werewolves. Have you seen bite marks or claw marks? »

« Yes, but I looked up and they don't look like animal claws. It can't be werewolves. I tried to see if he had been attacked by a man-made weapon, but he had no bullet wounds, no blade wounds..nothing made by a human. »

« So....what ripped open his chest like that? » Oya stroked her chin and then dropped her head. She couldn't come up with an idea, not with so little information. Her hazel eyes drifted to the left and she stared at Dean, seeking comfort. He cleared his throat and took over.

« Do you know what your brother was working on? Maybe we could take over his case and find out what attacked him. » The blonde nodded and took a sip of her tea.

« Joshua and I.... we've always told each other what was going on, so in a situation like these, we could help each other. He knows where I am, what I want to do and he lets me know what he's been working with. I have his bag with his research and notes. » She took another sip of tea. « He came here because there was a rumor about a priest who was thought to be a vampire. Josh first looked into it and quickly realized that they were just urban legends. The priest wasn't a vampire, and he wasn't a monster but he was acquainted with someone who might be one. He met with the priest three times and concluded that supernatural things were happening around him. »

« What type of priest is this? »

« What type? » Sarah blinked at Dean and scratched the back of her head.

« What's his deal? Is he preaching about something? I know we met people who believed in the Apocalypse and tried everything they could to make it happen. They summoned demons to help them fool their flocks into thinking the end was near. »

He calmly explained. Dean wanted to know if the Priest was eventually, one of these people and was working with a good old fashioned demon to bring about the Apocalypse. Oya shrugged and swallowed hard. She hated demons, was eventually scared of them, to the point that her fear sometimes was debilitating during a fight. She always managed to avoid cases involving demons, and would instead let Dean and Sam deal with them when it was still possible to do so. Sarah pondered his words for a minute and chewed at her bottom lip as anxiety was taking over. She was obviously exhausted, and in dire need of rest, but her mind couldn't let go until she was certain she helped as much as possible. Oya was looking at her, regaining confidence with each passing seconds. Despite the sadness and revolt in her eyes, she was now fully invested in the hunt and was able to manage the whirlwind of emotions that was storming in her head.

« I think the Priest used to be barely popular in the area until 5 years ago. A string of accidents and unexplained deaths occurred and suddenly, his church began to be filled with god-fearing believers and hopeless souls. He became popular, yeah, five years ago. I read that in Josh's notebook. I think he suspected the priest of something but never got to visit him a fourth time. »

« I see... The Priest is in it. There's a solid lead. What attacked Joshua might have been a demon. How good was your brother at hunting? » Oya furrowed her brows and pinched her lips together, but she understood why he asked the question. It couldn't have been a simple demon. Seasoned hunters usually knew how to deal with regular demons. An inexperienced hunter, however, could easily be killed by any of them if he wasn't careful. Josh wasn't inexperienced. As a Thomas' he had had experience hunting and killing demons and was very well known within the community. He was ruthless, with both monsters and humans and he wouldn't have had been surprised and mangled like that, by a regular demon.

« He's very good, Dean. Maybe not as good as you Winchesters... but he was very good. He excelled in fighting and he was knowledgeable too. This demon, whatever it is, is not regular if that's what you're asking. » Sarah sneered at him, her voice cold and distant as Dean touched upon sensitive matter.  How could he talk about her brother and question his capability as a hunter? How dared he? Oya shook her head and gently put her hand on Sarah's.

« He didn't imply this. He's trying to see how bad the threat could be. Josh's excellent at what he does and if he was surprised by a demon, then either the demon is not regular, or the priest kinda trapped Joshua and blindsided him. » She said, as she gently rubbed Sarah's hand. « You gotta rest up, Sarah. You're falling apart right now and you're beyond exhausted. Josh won't wake up anytime soon, he's still under intensive care. Please, go take a shower and go sleep for a good day or two. »

« You're probably right. I am indeed tired. I just can't go home until we found who did this, okay? I won't get in your way, but keep me posted. I'll keep visiting Joshua and protect him from a potential attack. »

« One more thing... Have you met the Priest yourself or not? » Sarah nodded, much to Oya's dismay. « When? »

« A couple days ago. He came to see Joshua. He gave me the creeps. That fucker pretended to be concerned but I couldn't help but see malice on his face. I had put protection spells everywhere in the room and the lights are constantly on just in case we're not dealing with a demon... so he didn't do anything. He just came to gloat. »

« Okay... let's make sure he won't ever come back here. We will pay him a visit. » Dean said, determined to follow the lead of the Priest. « Do you have Josh's things with you? »

« They're in my car. I'll give it to you before I go to the motel room. » Oya nodded and removed her hand from Sarah's. She glanced at Dean and both nodded to each other. It was time for them to work.
-TBC-