Redeemed

Chapter 5: Double Trouble

[[Warning:  This is a short chapter I'm sorry!!]]

Dean and I finally make it back to the motel to tell Sam what we've found.  We take the grimoire with us, using it to study the gem.
"What'd you find?" Sam asks, looking up from his laptop. His eyes look slightly tired, he's been researching the entire time Dean and I have been gone. Dean drops his phone onto one of the beds and plops down on the edge of it, letting out a deep sigh. He looks over at me, letting me answer Sam's question. I look over at him, realizing he's wanting me to speak. I hold out the grimoire in front of Sam's eyes. "Well, we found this. Oh, and a secret room. You see this green gem on the spine of the book?" I say, pointing to it. "The secret room that we found had this on the outside of it. We moved the gems close together pretty much on accident and it somehow opened up the room.  Like magic." I say, raising a brow as I plop down next to Dean who softly places his hand on my knee. "Oh. So do we have witches on our hands? How does that explain the bodies practically being robbed of their insides?" Sam asks. Dean takes a deep breath, "Well, we aren't sure yet. All we know right now is that the victims had something to do with witchcraft, obviously.  I mean there was an entire "secret" room dedicated to witchcraft." After he says this he gets up and walks over to the case of beer, getting himself a drink. "We also found a mini fridge full of human flesh.  That could explain maybe why the bodies' insides had been taken.  Maybe the person who killed them lived inside of the house.  Maybe there's a person who's a part of this that we're missing; someone who killed them and stored their flesh inside a mini fridge to be eaten later.  Like some sort of cannibal."  I suggest.  Cannibalism is definitely likely considering the flesh we found. No one just puts human flesh into a mini fridge for nothing. Not even witches, unless they're messing with really dark magic.  But even then, it's odd.  I run my fingers through my hair, sighing. "Did you find anything while we were gone?" I ask Sam. His eyes look over toward me and he quickly nods. "Yes, actually, I think I did." He turns back toward his laptop. Dean walks over to Sam and stands beside him, looking at the computer screen. He leans into the table.  I get up and walk beside the both of them, watching the screen also to see what Sam has found.
  "I stumbled upon a few things, but one of them really stuck out to me.  The police report says the bodies' insides had been stolen, there were bite marks on the bodies, they were just torn apart.  It's pretty ironic that you found human flesh being stored because I thought since there were bite marks, then something could've eaten the insides. But, maybe the insides weren't eaten yet.  The flesh you found could've been some parts of the victims?  I'm not sure how the witches tie into this, but I think I do know what we may have on our hands." Sam says, clicking on an image he has set on another tab. Once he pulls it up, I narrow my brows in confusion. Dean does the same, sitting his beer down onto the table. "What the hell is that?" He asks. The image is creepy. It's like a drawing, or a cave man painting. The thing that we're all looking at looks human, but it's face is wormy and almost inflamed-like. The teeth are jagged, and it looks as if the spine is arched like a werewolf or something. "It's called a Rugaro. They're basically cursed humans who have a strong hunger that's impossible to ignore. They start out by eating, well, everything. Just basic foods or meat. Until eventually they find themselves craving what they really have wanted the whole time: human flesh. Once they take even just one bite of human flesh, a transformation overcomes them. Their skin becomes wormy and gross. Their bones reshape themselves slightly and their teeth become jagged so that they can rip into human flesh better. Once they pass this transition, they can never go back. They become a monster forever." Sam explains. Dean and I both wear looks of disgust on our faces. "That's....gross." Dean says, taking a sip of his beer. "Yeah, it is. I mean, I'm thinking this is what it could be. I'm not one hundred percent sure but I really believe this is what we've got. We'll do some more investigating and figure it out. This could either be an easy case, or a crazy one." Sam says, shutting his laptop softly. "I'm gonna get some shut eye." Sam says as he gets up from his chair, walking over toward a bed. He falls onto it, closing his eyes immediately. He's exhausted.  "I need a nap.  We'll start again in a few hours."  Sam says, his eyes still shut.
I sit down in his spot while he says this, opening up the grimoire. I begin to flip through the pages, trying to see if I can find anything, anything at all that connects with what's going on. Dean looks at the clock, and then back toward me. "Are you okay? I'm gonna take a nap too, I'm pretty tired myself." I look over at him as he says this, smiling. "I'm fine, you get some rest okay?" I say. Dean smiles warmly at me, leaning in to kiss my forehead. He rests his hand over my pregnant stomach before pulling away. "Wake me up if you need anything." He says, walking over to the bed. I turn back around, getting back into the book. The bed squeaks as Dean nestles into the blankets. I flip through the pages, starting my research.

[[Katherine P.O.V.]]

"Why are we meeting him here? Isn't it a bad thing that we're out in the open? Shouldn't we stay hidden?" Cassie asks. I become annoyed with her very quickly as she asks me all these unimportant questions. "I already told you. We want them to know we're out and about. They have no idea that you're a vampire. I want Castiel to see you. He's been watching us.....every move we make. We must always be one step ahead Cassie. Always." I say, taking a sip of my bourbon from the bar. Cassie and I are at a bar just outside of Greenwich, Connecticut.  We're meeting Crowley here for some plan making.  Mainly just to have a few drinks and freak Castiel out because I know he'll be watching.  But, we do need to talk about what we are going to do with Elena.  She's pregnant, which changes everything.  She'll be easy leverage for Sam and Dean, and that means I can practically get anything I want from them. 
   Cassie looks around nervously, waiting for Crowley's presence.  I take another sip of bourbon, just people watching, when I see a familiar face in the crowd of people.

[[Elena P.O.V.]]

I finally come across a page that contains a few images of a green gem.  The same green gem that's on the spine of this book.  I begin to read, trying to figure out what it is.
  The page says:  "The Gem of the Greenwich Coven.  A symbol of strength, large numbers, and dark magic.  This gem is a sign of the dark magic created by The Greenwich Coven.  The Greenwich coven specializes in curses, creating most of them that are out there........"  Blah blah blah....
   I stop reading after that paragraph.  Well this makes sense.  Sam said the Rugaru is a curse.  Maybe the victims were eaten by Rugaru's.  The Rugaru's were humans from this town that The Greenwich Coven cursed.  All of this is most likely because of this coven.  It's all starting to make sense now.  I flip through more pages, hoping to find something on the Rugaru curse.  Maybe there's a way we can save them.  Maybe they aren't cursed forever.  I continue to read, flipping quickly through every single page.

[[Katherine P.O.V.]]

"Cassie, stay here.  If Crowley comes while I'm gone, tell him I said give me a minute."  I say as I pick up my glass of bourbon, slowly walking in my loud heels toward this familiar face.  Cassie begins to blab, trying to stop me as I walk away because she's nervous.  But I ignore her.
  I get to the other side of the bar, walking up behind this person.  I lightly tap them on the shoulder, clearing my throat.

  "Jeremy Gilbert.  What in the hell brings you here?"  I ask, raising a curious and surprised brow.