Chronicles of Absolution: Pack of Strays

Chapter 1

Now

"Now I think you owe me an apology."

"Why? I only spoke the truth." Angela didn't bother looking at the douche who was trying to get into her face. She merely sat at the bar cradling the whiskey she had ordered and stared straight ahead. Her first finger and thumb rubbed the glass before she lifted it and downed the shot.

"You insulted me, bitch." The douche then pushed on her right arm.

Angela face forward but her eyes shot sideways. She poured herself another drink from the bottle. She had been hoping to get a drink and maybe some information the good old fashioned way. Well as she learned, life wasn't always fair so she had to make the most of it. She glanced at him and said, "I would advise you not to do that again."

"Then apologize for insulting me," the guy gritted his teeth in anger. He then pulled out a really big hunting knife and showed it in a menacing way. "Apologize and maybe I won't have to mess up that pretty little face of yours." He lowered the knife to touch her shoulder and gently drew the tip down towards her breast.

Angela wanted to deck the guy but she did make a promise. She was a person of her word. She gave a wry smile and replied, "You know they say that big knives say something about men."

"Really? And what is that?"

Angela made sure her drink was away from her as she turned to look at the guy who had tried to be cute with her. She made a slight pout in her face as she replied, "That they are always trying to overcompensate."

The guy grew angry and a slight growl that was more animal like came from his throat. He lunged towards Angela and tried to stab her with the knife. He didn't even get a hit since she swerved to avoid the blow and then using the spinning motion of the stool, she shoved the guy using his own momentum forward. He did make a hit all right as he collided with a table, knocking it over and spilling drinks. He stood up angry and looked at Angela.

Angela was still sitting on her stool and she downed two shots one after the other. She then turned towards the paper that was sitting on the bar where she left it. She flipped the page to read what was on the page. Her lack of acknowledgement only caused the troublemaker to charge at her again while calling her a bitch.

Angela was waiting for it and blocked the strike and shoved him and let his momentum carry him again. As much as she would like to punch the guy, she did promise and she aimed to keep it. Of course she couldn't keep it up forever since the guy seemed intent to start a fight. Oh well, it had been a while since she had been in a good bar fight.

The guy came with his knife and he was still intent on stabbing her. Angela blocked the thrust and held on. She knew that the guy was going to punch her with his free hand. She blocked with her free hand and then gave a punch to his cheek. At the same time she released the guy and he fell back and landed on another table.

That sparked a reaction from the douche's drinking partner and Angela found herself being grabbed in a front chokehold and pushed onto the bar. Angela narrowed her eyes and brought her knee up and gave a nice strike to the guy's nether regions. It caused him to let go and she gave a kick to his stomach and followed with a punch across the face. "Compliments of the Winchesters."

Angela looked to find that a fight seemed to start throughout the whole bar. Apparently the douche that started it all had angered other patrons in the bar and they started fighting. She gave a slight roll of her eyes but the respite wasn't for long. Another patron came at her but it was one who just wanted to swing a punch. She gave a slight moan and grabbed the guy and flung him aside and he collided with a sack of something.

There were fistfights throughout the bar and she noticed a couple of the 'ladies' joining in. Angela lifted her brow as she watched the scene. She glanced over at the barkeep and said, "I apologize for this."

"No need. It's been a long time coming. These idjits have nothing better to do except drink." The barkeep shrugged his shoulders as he took to wiping the batch of glasses that just been cleaned. He gave a look of disinterest.

"Still here," Angela pushed some folded bills towards the barkeep. "Here's for the whiskey and the damages." She gave the barkeep a look to say that he was to take it without asking any questions.

The barkeep took the bills and glanced at them before putting them within a pocket in his pants. "You find what you are looking for?"

"I'll know," Angela replied as she poured herself another drink. At that moment the first guy that had tried to start the fight spotted her and took a swing. She blocked and gave two swift punches to the head. That just encouraged others to join in. It looked like it was going to be a full-fledged fight.

Angela gave a sly grin as she was surrounded. She downed a drink and said, "Okay, step right up. Who wants to go first?"

One drunk was holding an empty bottled and charged at her with it upraised. Angela gave a short laugh and gave him a back kick in the gut. She then turned her attention towards the others and began to move against them as they came at her. At one point she gave her war cry and using the table nearby, she flipped on top of that and let them come to her. The table was rickety but she kept her balance as she flipped, punched and kicked the drunken patrons.

The barkeep continued to wipe his glasses only to duck when he saw a bottle come flying towards him. At first he thought it would be dull as any other day in his backwater bar but then she walked in and he just had a feeling that there would be entertainment. He certainly was getting it now and he was being compensated for the damages.

The glass shattered against Angela's forearm as she blocked the blow. She looked at the offender with narrowed eyes and she gave a slight growl as she gave him an open palm strike to his chest and at the same time gave a back kick to another drunk. She spun around and caught one more just as the door to the bar opened.

"Did we miss something?"

Angela turned towards the source of the voice and gave a slight grin and replied, "I see you two decided to show up." She shoved the guy she was holding aside and stood there looking like nothing was out of place.

Dean looked around the inside of bar. There were a whole bunch of drunken hicks lying on the ground. Some were groaning. In fact the only one that seemed to be moving besides Angela was the barkeep. He couldn't help but say, "Damn Angie, I thought you said that you were going to wait here for us."

Angela threw a slight pout at Dean, not quite acknowledging the look that Sam was giving her. She replied, "I did and I was. It wasn't my fault that these piss poor drunken skunks thought that I insulted them when I merely commented on their body odor."

Dean couldn't help but laugh at that. He knew that at least one of those guys started getting fresh with her while she came here to do whatever it was that she was doing. However the fact that she was fighting so soon after being rescued from hypothermia and still recovering from cracked and bruised ribs along with some bruising to her leg bones was a bit of concern for him. He could still see shadows under her eyes.

He knew though that she was going to be insistent about getting going and back to work but at least she was willing to compromise. She agreed to take it easy but still contribute to the hunts until she was a hundred percent. He replied with a slight grin and teased, "I knew your nose was going to get you into trouble. So did you find what you needed?"

"I did and I was hanging around waiting for you guys to pull in," Angela replied as she walked back to the bar. The barkeep had brought out two more glasses and she poured three shots. She handed one to each of the boys.

Dean downed his right away. He had to nudge Sam to take his drink and watched as his brother faced off with Angela as she downed the last of the whiskey. She put the empty bottle on the counter along with her glass and picked up her paper. "Not bad for whiskey," he commented as they walked out.

"Compliments of the Podunk," Angela replied, "And that really is its name."

Dean laughed and replied, "You know how to pick em. I'm gonna go gas up and we'll head out." He walked to where the Impala was parked at the pump and went to buy the gas.

Angela gave a satisfied sigh as she watched Dean head over to the pumps. She knew that it was time to acknowledge the look that Sam shot her when he walked into the bar with Dean. She stopped and turned on her heel to face Sam and looked at him. "Say your piece Sam."

Sam was surprised that she wasn't even going to try and get out of the discussion. Then again lately she had been trying talk about things. She had been trying to live up to the bargain she made with him when it came to talking about each other's pasts and problems and the like. He found that he had returned the favor at those times too. The fact that she was telling him he had the floor said a lot. He looked at the shadows that still lined her eyes and said, "You promised."

"I know I did." Angela put her hands behind her back. "I kept it."

"Somehow I don't think six to eight guys looking like they got beaten with a two by four figured into that." Sam tried to keep his voice under control.

"Can I ask you a question? Would you have let said drunks beat you up and not defend yourself?"

Sam sighed. He knew the answer to that. She did keep her promise and he didn't want her to let herself get beaten up trying to literally keep it. "Point taken. Can I ask you something?"

Angela smiled guessing at the next question. She responded, "I may have played a part in it but it was force of habit. He was being fresh with me and I said something that didn't translate well in his head so… You can be a little mad with me."

The manner in which she said it dispelled any thoughts about being angry and it wasn't even on Sam's mind anyway. He figured that something she said would have triggered the fight and he knew that she would have let the guy make a fool of himself by just sidestepping out of the way and let the guy fall. He replied, "I'm not mad. Just concerned since you are still… you know."

Angela rotated her arms slightly and took a deep breath. She could feel the tenderness in her ribs and her legs were still sore and they made themselves known now that the adrenaline had died down. It had only been a few days since they left Darby, Montana but those kinds of injuries didn't go away overnight. She still had the scratch marks on the back of her right arm. "I know. Some things do heal faster and bone injuries are not in that category."

"You are okay though right?"

Angela looked on her person when she noticed some slight red on her forearm. It was a small scratch. She said, "Oh I think a broken bottle did some damage."

Sam looked at the scratch she showed him. "Did they try to stab you?" He took her forearm and slowly rotated it to look at it closely. It wasn't that bad.

"No. Guy tried to hit me with an empty bottle. I blocked. I guess a piece of it cut me." Angela shrugged her shoulder. "I don't think it's that bad. Just a slap of antibiotics and a Band-Aid and I'm good to go."

Sam had to agree. They walked back to the Impala and he reached in through the open window into the back seat and pulled out the small kit and fished out a bandage and some rubbing alcohol. He cleaned it off and put it on with minimal fuss. "You're good to go like you said."

Angela grinned and replied, "Only because I have good backup." She got into the back seat and took the kit and put it back where Sam pulled it from. "Thanks Sam."

"You're welcome."

Ellis, Oregon

Sheriff Talbert looked out the window of his patrol car. There was nothing unusual about tonight's patrol. He had his deputies out as well since they had pulled in a beat up body. Well beat up remains. The coroner was still going through them and trying to identify the remains. The press was all over it and he was getting pressure from the mayor to find the guy.

The thing was that was the only one that had happened. He wasn't sure they were going to find anything tonight but he did promise that they would patrol and make sure nothing was out there. Right now he was Perry Lane and so far he had nothing. He called on his radio, "E-1 to E-3, Charlie you there?"

Deputy Charlie Russ pulled over on the Mill Creek Road to answer, "E-3 here. Copy."

Sheriff Talbert replied, "Charlie, I finished Perry Lane and I'm finding nothing. I'm going to be heading back."

Charlie replied, "Copy that Sheriff. I'm at Mill Creek now. Going to do a walk through. Shouldn't take long."

"Keep it tight in there Charlie."

"Roger that Boss." Charlie smiled as he put up the radio on the car unit. He pulled the hand unit that all officers carried and put it in the carrier in his belt and got out of his car.

Mill Creek was a bit too muddy for the patrol car and Charlie wasn't sure if it was necessary to drive all the way up to the entrance of the old abandoned mine up there. The remains they had found weren't even found anywhere near there. He figured that the sheriff was just appeasing the mayor who was trying to appease the town and get re-elected this year. That was usually the case.

The path up to the mine was muddy from the rainfall and Charlie cursed the fact that he was going to give automotive something to gripe about when he brought his unit in. Sighing he moved his flashlight all around to see if there was anything unusual around the area. He could just go up halfway and then turn back but he did pride himself on being a thorough man. The sheriff appreciated his attention to details.

The Mill Creek mine was what started the town. It was a small coal mine, smaller than some of the well known ones. Hell their town wasn't even on a map. The mine though brought to life the town and was a major part of the employment for the people. Then the mine shut down. EPA said environmental health but some people said that the mine baron Gerald Ellis just wanted out. Rumors said that there was something that lived in the tunnels and would prey on the miners. Charlie remembered though that the mine closed because it wasn't cost effective; in short the mine ran dry.

However Ellis continued to thrive. The lumber business was still in business as well as a few other businesses. There were even some spreads of a sort mostly with horses. There were also a couple of farmers in the valley section of their town. Now the mine was more of a symbol to the man that brought their town to life. It was also the source of pranks for the kids in town. Some of the boys liked to take the younger ones up and scare them with tall tales about some of the more famous miners that were known for causing trouble.

Charlie knew that because he used to do that crap when he was a teenager. His favorite was the air shaft by the mine. He used to tell his gullible best friend Frankie that Old Mad Eye Garrison liked to grab unsuspecting miners and pull them down the airshafts and some were still stuck in there moaning to be let go. Frankie was forever scared of the shafts even though Charlie later told him that it wasn't real.

Thinking about those times, Charlie made his way up the familiar path towards the entrance to the mine. He could make out the main entrance that was pretty much boarded up. Like it was worth it. The elevator had been left down at the bottom and there was no electricity running up here. Still Gerald Ellis made sure that no one would fall in and sue him for anything.

Charlie walked around what used to be the point where the miners lined up and walked in. He had seen the pictures of the men. One going in and one going out when the shift change occurred. They were available in the historic museum along with pieces of the gear and equipment used by the miners in those early days. Charlie had visited when he was a kid and that was when he learned that many of those miners died of a cough call black lung disease and they got it as a result of working in coal mines. It was some nasty stuff.

Of course since there wasn't as much coal down there, it wasn't too much of a problem. The only problem was the kids being stupid and breaking a leg or something because they fell down an airshaft or something. That's why they had the gates on the entrances and of course if the sheriff caught them but it wasn't always a fool proof way.

A noise startled Charlie and he turned in the direction he thought it came from. They were still in the forest so there could be animals like wolves and the like. They left when the mine was in operation but now that it was closed it was like the wilderness was reclaiming what was once theirs. Charlie could feel his breath pick up in slight fear. He really didn't want to get into a tangle with a predator tonight.

He moved forward to investigate when the rustling sound got louder. He had pulled his piece out by then and had it pointed while his light provided illumination. He edged his way forward until he was close enough to move the brush. He felt his heart starting to beat faster and his breathing sped up a little. He tried not to make it too obvious. He was a trained police officer after all. With a quick movement he rustled the brush and stood waiting to see.

A couple of old pickaxes fell over and out shot rabbit. It darted out in fright and took off in the darkness. Charlie followed it the best he could with the light after the initial scare. He couldn't help but chuckle. "Damn I was getting spooked by frigging Thumper. Man Frankie would never let me down if he were here."

Charlie relaxed and put his piece back in the holster. He started to turn when all of a sudden his feet were yanked out from under him and he fell, face forward. His hands absorbed most of the impact but his head did pound the earthen ground and he saw stars. He barely had time to recover when he felt his body being dragged and it felt like whoever it was didn't care if he got banged up or not. He groaned trying to protect himself from the worst. It was pointless to shout for help since there was no one else up here.

He was dragged for what seemed like a great distance but it was only above a few feet. It was then Charlie heard a voice coupled by a slight snarl that was more animal like than anything. "Another trespasser. He'll do. Bring him to the chamber and make sure he doesn't cause trouble."

Charlie had managed to open his eyes to see two men talking. He couldn't quite make out the shapes but he was sure they were men. He was going to say something when one of them walked up to him and punched him in the face and the next thing he saw was black.

Charlie woke up later to find himself on a dirt floor and he had been stripped of his gun and radio. He blinked to clear away the clouds and tried to get up. The pain in his head prevented him from standing up so he took it slow. He kept his head down and then cautiously tried to stand up. It worked this time and the ache was a dull throb but he was able to take a look around.

He was in a cave of some sort and it was dimly lit. The only source light was the lanterns that were spaced throughout the tunnels. Judging by the fact that he could see multiple tunnels, Charlie guessed in was at a cross point or something like that. Just where though was a mystery. He put his hand against the wall to see what kind of rock it was.

When Charlie moved his hand away, he saw specks of black that smeared like soot did. He then realized that he was somewhere inside the mine. How in the hell did he get in there? As far as he knew there was only the main entrance and the elevator was at the bottom and the power had been cut off. The air shafts were a possibility but they were often too small for someone like him to fit through. There had to be another entrance or a cave or something that was never mentioned.

It wouldn't have surprised Charlie of Gerald Ellis had a secret entrance dug and it was probably a practical thing. Maybe the mine ran deeper than most folk thought and a second entrance was needed. That was a good theory and put weight on the possibility of getting out. At least Charlie could be grateful that he wasn't tied up or anything. He was just missing his gun and radio. Well he could explain that if he got out of that mess alive and he might find something like an old pick to use as a weapon on the way out.

He didn't know if it was a coincidence or just luck that the tunnels happened to have signs posted on them. One mentioned the exit and Charlie was quick to take it. He managed to find a rock that he could carry without being weighed down by it. He held it in his hand as he jogged through the tunnels, looked for the signs that pointed him out and he followed them.

It became disquieting when he didn't see anyone try to stop him and he began to wonder if he was being misled by whoever took him. It became apparent when Charlie ran into a giant chamber and more lights lit up the cavern. He could see that his was big enough to look almost like a stadium for something. For what exactly he was going to find out.

"Ah you made it. I was right in that you'll do."

Charlie turned to face the voice but saw nothing. The cavern still wasn't completely light and all he saw was a silhouette. He didn't particularly feel happy when he heard the guy announce, "Let the competition begin."

The crowd cheered but it was overpowered by another sound. There was growling and snarling that sounded like a pack of angry dogs. Charlie held the rock in his hands and slowly turned around. When he got a full on look of what was behind him, it charged and the last thing that came out of his mouth was a loud and piercing scream.

A/N: And we kick off Episode 2.08 with a bar fight and Angie seems to be a little on a drinking binge. Something lurks at the old mine in Ellis, Oregon and I wonder what it is. Stay tuned for next time on Pack of Strays...