The Dark Horse preview
Below the cut is some basic information on what to expect in the upcoming story entitled "The Dark Horse" as well as an excerpt.
Please note that the following excerpt has not be edited and is likely to change slightly.
Title - The Dark Horse
Summary - What is a father suppposed to do when he hears whispers that his fifteen-year-old son is tainted by the very thing that killed the love of his life? John Winchester uncovers the terrifying truth about his youngest son's cruel destiny and will stop at nothing to protect him from the truth.
"The Dark Horse"
"Chapter One: Shoulders of Giants"
John Winchester vowed he'd never step foot in the place again. It had been three years, and he still felt the weight of guilt residing on his shoulders. He was uncertain if he could face them. Except, the Harvelle's Roadhouse was the only place that could help him find Douglas Hale and Ben Seraph. They were the only people who held answers on what happened to Mary.
Cutting the engine to the Impala, John leaned back into the leather bench seat as he stared up at the building. It had taken him a year to build up enough courage to even drive towards the Roadhouse. A year before when a demon twisted his thoughts around and made him attack his oldest son. A year since a demon named Abaddon asked him to get rid of a fellow demon that went by Azazel. Azazel had known Mary and her family and brought the same tragedy to both the Seraph and Winchester families.
The door to the Impala squeaked open loudly as John hauled his tall from out of the muscle car. Straightening his jacket, he walked towards the saloon's doors and entered. The bar was empty except for a couple hunters John didn't recognize in the corner and two at the bar.
Danny Travis stood behind the bar pouring a shot of liquor into a glass for a young guy John didn't recognize. There was no way that the kid receiving the alcohol could have been older than his nineteen-year-old son Dean. John squared his shoulders and walked towards the bar.
"What the fuck are you doing here, Johnny?" questioned Danny. "Ellen made herself clear when she said she didn't want you coming around here anymore."
Danny Travis had been with the Harvelle family since he was fifteen. The kid's parents had been murdered by a shape shifter when Bill found him. He'd taken the kid in, given him a home, and allowed him to work to earn his stay. Ellen and Bill had taught him the horrors that lurked in the shadows, had taught him how to defend himself against the creatures in the closets.
"Is Ellen here?"
"What makes you think she even wants to see you let alone talk to you, you son-of-bitch?" Danny stood his ground as he settled the bottle of alcohol on the table. "Get out."
"What? You gonna act like a tough guy, Danny? You gonna throw a punch at an ex-Marine, because I will kick your ass into next Tuesday if you even think about punching me out."
The air grew tense as the three pairs of eyes in the Roadhouse focused on the two hunters. Danny and John never got along. There had never been trust between the two. On more than one occasion, John told his friends to kick the kid to the curb. He was more trouble than he was worth.
"Danny," Ellen spoke as she appeared in the doorway, "go get some beer from the basement. Rick, why don't you see if those two gentlemen in the corner need anything for me. Hmm?"
"Ellen," started Danny.
"Basement now. Go get Jo if you need some help."
Rick grabbed his beer when Ellen snatched it out of his hand before throwing it in the nearest bin. She pointed towards the patrons before giving Danny a stern glare. Both boys retreated to do what Ellen had asked of them. Turning her attention on John, she forced a weak smile onto her face.
"Rick is best friends with Danny and only eighteen. I'm constantly slapping that boy's wrist to stop handing out alcohol like candy," said Ellen to break the ice. "Stupid kids. I swear, Danny's twenty-five going on fourteen."
"That's little Rick, huh? Hamilton Slane's kid who could forge documents like a pro at thirteen?"
"More like Hamilton's kid who's a pain in my ass."
John chuckled and suddenly began to realize how much he missed Ellen. They were like his home away from home. They meant the world to him. He could remember the long nights where Ellen and him would drink beer and talk about their pain in the ass children. He missed their late night talks. They had been best friends at one point: John, Ellen, and Bill until one grave hunt changed that all.
"Look, John, hunting is a dangerous gig. Bill's been hunting since he was real small. He would have died if you were there or not. If Hamilton or Bobby or anyone else had been with him that night, it probably would have turned out the same. I forgave you a long time ago, John, so don't become a stranger."
No, Bill would still be alive if John had nothing to do with the hunt. It was him, purely his fault, that Bill died. No one else would have pulled that trigger.
"Do you… you know a pair of guys named Douglas Hale and Ben Seraph?"
"Doug and Ben? Yeah, I know 'em. Why?"
"I'm looking for them."
Ellen leaned back onto the bar as her eyes wandered over to the hunters in the corner of the room talking with Rick. Her eyes glanced back at John. She took her time formulating the words in her mouth.
"Doug died last year. A demon got the best of him."
"Do you know where Ben is?"
"John, look, Ben Seraph is dangerous and unhinged. The guy would rather kill you than work with you. The only person he ever worked well with was his uncle. When Doug died, Ben came in here looking to get completely shitfaced. The guy drank himself into the hospital. I misjudged his weight, and he just collapsed. Danny had to haul him to the hospital to get his stomach pumped. Ben came back here once released and beat the living daylight out of Danny for allowing him to live." Ellen sighed. "Ben is not someone you want to go messing around with."
John could picture Ben being the jerk that Ellen was describing. He could remember the last time he talked to Ben Seraph. Mary had gone to Billings, Montana because Doug had wound up in the hospital. He went there to be with her when Ben broke down into a fight with John in the middle of the waiting room. That was when Mary picked John. The only contact after that incident was random postcards from Doug to let her know they were all right. It wasn't until years later did he actually understood that they were hunters.
"Trust me, I know. I gotta talk to him though."
"You see those guys in the corner? That's Gordon Walker and Jack Kubrick. Gordon was out on a hunt down in New Orleans. Small groups of fangs were down there so he went to investigate. He ran into Ben down there. Gordon was used as bait and nearly died. Ben left Gordon there to die. It wasn’t just using him as bait; it was tying the guy up and cutting him open for the fang to come feast. He was damn lucky Kubrick was in town."
"So this Gordon almost bled to death?"
"Yeah, and he's only twenty-three."
--------------------------------
There's a little spoiler for you guys since I'll most likely be taking a couple weeks hiatus before I start posting this story. This is a huge piece in "The Dark Horse" series. You'll see basically all of the characters in the story including Ben Seraph, Caleb Lyons, Bobby Singer, Jim Murphy, and introducing Joshua Harper, Gordon Walker, Danny Travis (who worked at the Roadhouse accoring to Jo's blog before Ash), Rick Hamilton (who was a regular at the Roadhouse according to Jo's blog), as well as others. It's huge.
I suggest that you read all of the stories posted in the series thus far. Although, "Extempore" is not finished. I must warn you of that. It's a purely the John/Mary love story and the mystery that revolves around her family. In what is posted, you meet Ben Seraph (her brother) and Douglas Hale (her uncle) as well as what happened to her parents. It's major to understand this piece.
I hope this is enough to keep you extremely interested.
Please note that the following excerpt has not be edited and is likely to change slightly.
Title - The Dark Horse
Summary - What is a father suppposed to do when he hears whispers that his fifteen-year-old son is tainted by the very thing that killed the love of his life? John Winchester uncovers the terrifying truth about his youngest son's cruel destiny and will stop at nothing to protect him from the truth.
"The Dark Horse"
"Chapter One: Shoulders of Giants"
John Winchester vowed he'd never step foot in the place again. It had been three years, and he still felt the weight of guilt residing on his shoulders. He was uncertain if he could face them. Except, the Harvelle's Roadhouse was the only place that could help him find Douglas Hale and Ben Seraph. They were the only people who held answers on what happened to Mary.
Cutting the engine to the Impala, John leaned back into the leather bench seat as he stared up at the building. It had taken him a year to build up enough courage to even drive towards the Roadhouse. A year before when a demon twisted his thoughts around and made him attack his oldest son. A year since a demon named Abaddon asked him to get rid of a fellow demon that went by Azazel. Azazel had known Mary and her family and brought the same tragedy to both the Seraph and Winchester families.
The door to the Impala squeaked open loudly as John hauled his tall from out of the muscle car. Straightening his jacket, he walked towards the saloon's doors and entered. The bar was empty except for a couple hunters John didn't recognize in the corner and two at the bar.
Danny Travis stood behind the bar pouring a shot of liquor into a glass for a young guy John didn't recognize. There was no way that the kid receiving the alcohol could have been older than his nineteen-year-old son Dean. John squared his shoulders and walked towards the bar.
"What the fuck are you doing here, Johnny?" questioned Danny. "Ellen made herself clear when she said she didn't want you coming around here anymore."
Danny Travis had been with the Harvelle family since he was fifteen. The kid's parents had been murdered by a shape shifter when Bill found him. He'd taken the kid in, given him a home, and allowed him to work to earn his stay. Ellen and Bill had taught him the horrors that lurked in the shadows, had taught him how to defend himself against the creatures in the closets.
"Is Ellen here?"
"What makes you think she even wants to see you let alone talk to you, you son-of-bitch?" Danny stood his ground as he settled the bottle of alcohol on the table. "Get out."
"What? You gonna act like a tough guy, Danny? You gonna throw a punch at an ex-Marine, because I will kick your ass into next Tuesday if you even think about punching me out."
The air grew tense as the three pairs of eyes in the Roadhouse focused on the two hunters. Danny and John never got along. There had never been trust between the two. On more than one occasion, John told his friends to kick the kid to the curb. He was more trouble than he was worth.
"Danny," Ellen spoke as she appeared in the doorway, "go get some beer from the basement. Rick, why don't you see if those two gentlemen in the corner need anything for me. Hmm?"
"Ellen," started Danny.
"Basement now. Go get Jo if you need some help."
Rick grabbed his beer when Ellen snatched it out of his hand before throwing it in the nearest bin. She pointed towards the patrons before giving Danny a stern glare. Both boys retreated to do what Ellen had asked of them. Turning her attention on John, she forced a weak smile onto her face.
"Rick is best friends with Danny and only eighteen. I'm constantly slapping that boy's wrist to stop handing out alcohol like candy," said Ellen to break the ice. "Stupid kids. I swear, Danny's twenty-five going on fourteen."
"That's little Rick, huh? Hamilton Slane's kid who could forge documents like a pro at thirteen?"
"More like Hamilton's kid who's a pain in my ass."
John chuckled and suddenly began to realize how much he missed Ellen. They were like his home away from home. They meant the world to him. He could remember the long nights where Ellen and him would drink beer and talk about their pain in the ass children. He missed their late night talks. They had been best friends at one point: John, Ellen, and Bill until one grave hunt changed that all.
"Look, John, hunting is a dangerous gig. Bill's been hunting since he was real small. He would have died if you were there or not. If Hamilton or Bobby or anyone else had been with him that night, it probably would have turned out the same. I forgave you a long time ago, John, so don't become a stranger."
No, Bill would still be alive if John had nothing to do with the hunt. It was him, purely his fault, that Bill died. No one else would have pulled that trigger.
"Do you… you know a pair of guys named Douglas Hale and Ben Seraph?"
"Doug and Ben? Yeah, I know 'em. Why?"
"I'm looking for them."
Ellen leaned back onto the bar as her eyes wandered over to the hunters in the corner of the room talking with Rick. Her eyes glanced back at John. She took her time formulating the words in her mouth.
"Doug died last year. A demon got the best of him."
"Do you know where Ben is?"
"John, look, Ben Seraph is dangerous and unhinged. The guy would rather kill you than work with you. The only person he ever worked well with was his uncle. When Doug died, Ben came in here looking to get completely shitfaced. The guy drank himself into the hospital. I misjudged his weight, and he just collapsed. Danny had to haul him to the hospital to get his stomach pumped. Ben came back here once released and beat the living daylight out of Danny for allowing him to live." Ellen sighed. "Ben is not someone you want to go messing around with."
John could picture Ben being the jerk that Ellen was describing. He could remember the last time he talked to Ben Seraph. Mary had gone to Billings, Montana because Doug had wound up in the hospital. He went there to be with her when Ben broke down into a fight with John in the middle of the waiting room. That was when Mary picked John. The only contact after that incident was random postcards from Doug to let her know they were all right. It wasn't until years later did he actually understood that they were hunters.
"Trust me, I know. I gotta talk to him though."
"You see those guys in the corner? That's Gordon Walker and Jack Kubrick. Gordon was out on a hunt down in New Orleans. Small groups of fangs were down there so he went to investigate. He ran into Ben down there. Gordon was used as bait and nearly died. Ben left Gordon there to die. It wasn’t just using him as bait; it was tying the guy up and cutting him open for the fang to come feast. He was damn lucky Kubrick was in town."
"So this Gordon almost bled to death?"
"Yeah, and he's only twenty-three."
--------------------------------
There's a little spoiler for you guys since I'll most likely be taking a couple weeks hiatus before I start posting this story. This is a huge piece in "The Dark Horse" series. You'll see basically all of the characters in the story including Ben Seraph, Caleb Lyons, Bobby Singer, Jim Murphy, and introducing Joshua Harper, Gordon Walker, Danny Travis (who worked at the Roadhouse accoring to Jo's blog before Ash), Rick Hamilton (who was a regular at the Roadhouse according to Jo's blog), as well as others. It's huge.
I suggest that you read all of the stories posted in the series thus far. Although, "Extempore" is not finished. I must warn you of that. It's a purely the John/Mary love story and the mystery that revolves around her family. In what is posted, you meet Ben Seraph (her brother) and Douglas Hale (her uncle) as well as what happened to her parents. It's major to understand this piece.
I hope this is enough to keep you extremely interested.