As the deeper memories unfolded in Esme’s dream, she fell into a deeper sleep, one deeper than most she had ever drifted into. Which was pretty much to be expected after meeting up with the group, everything they had gone through together, her kidnapping by demons, and her lack of a good sleep. Yes, she wasn’t a stranger to sleep deprivation but it was nothing compared to what she had recently gone through. Her powers of empathy being in hyperdrive, becoming a demon nuke, and dealing with angels hadn’t come into play back then. It had all left her mentally and physically exhausted. So, with her mental state being weakened, and that wall she had built being weakened, no wonder traumatizing events from her past would be coming back to haunt and torment her. Events that caused her to flinch away from a small touch, or freak out after waking up after falling unconscious. One of those events she hoped Dean and Duke would never hear about, for she knew it would hit them hard emotionally. She also knew they would mentally kick themselves for not being there for her during that time to help her through it or out of it. But when that event came around, Dean and Duke had already gone their separate ways, and she didn’t have any idea where either of them were. Even after escaping the situation, she couldn't bring herself to call either one of them to help her through the trauma she was going through from the ordeal.
The first memory to rear its head was the Vampire hunt in Toledo. Where she and Duke were trapped in a cellar and Duke gave her his deathbed love confession. Telling her that he had loved her since the first day she had shown up all pissed off and ready for a fight. The confession wasn’t anything she hadn’t already known but he had never been in on knowing she was an Empath. When he told her, she tried her hardest not to react any other way then strong in the situation. In fact, she had been quite hard on him while trying to keep her emotions in check by calling him by his full name and telling him not to give up on her. With no one one really knowing where they were, she was in overdrive mentally and emotionally, especially since Duke was out of it, bleeding out on the floor, and a horde of bloodthirsty bloodsuckers were outside the door trying to get into the cellar. After using one of her shirts to stop the bleeding of Duke’s wound, she stood up and tried to collect her thoughts the best she could. After turning back to Duke and telling him they were both going to make it out alive even if she had to take on everyone on her own, she knelt down and grabbed his machete with her free hand. Now with a machete in each hand, she turned back towards the door and stared at it, watching it shake, bow, and creak as the Vampires tried to get through the door. Esme took a battle stance, her knuckles going white as she gripped the machetes tighter. “Alright you horror film rejects, come and get it!” she yelled at the cellar door. The door was ripped from its hinges and the Vampires spilled in, Esme charged forward slashing at every Vampire she met and projecting emotions to confuse them to get the upper hand. The memory faded just before she reached the door of the cellar. Her grip on Duke’s arm tightened.
Esme got a small break before the next memory began to play out behind her closed lids. This one took place awhile after she had parted ways with Dean and Duke and teamed up with her father and some family. Which she soon regretted because she missed the boys so damn much but she couldn’t bring herself to go back and admit that she had been wrong and slightly scared by Dean’s plans for them. It started off with her, her father, and aunt sitting in a motel room in Tulsa, discussing their next case, a haunting taking place in an old house that was being renovated about a mile down the road. “What is with all these Ghosts lately?” she said thinking out loud. “We just took care of two the day before yesterday and the week before that.” She sighed heavily and looked at her father and aunt to see if they had anything else to say. “I don’t know, but the increase in restless spirits seems to be unusually high.” her father chimed in. Esme and her aunt nodded in agreement, then she took her to her feet and grabbed her bag. “Daddy, Aunt Davina, let’s get going before it gets too much later in the day.” she said, throwing her bag over her shoulder. They had already changed into their federal suits, so they could begin questioning witnesses as soon as they arrived. Once the questioning had been taken care of, and they had the information they needed, they changed into their normal clothes and were about to head back when her father received a call. As he spoke, his emotions rose more and more. After the call, he looked at Esme, worry shown in his eyes even though he tried to hide it.
“Well, my little wolf, you’re going to have to finish this one on your own. Davina and I are needed somewhere else right now. I know you can get the job done on your own.” he said, forcing a smile onto his face. “But Daddy, I can…..” she was cut off as he placed a hand on her mouth. “You’re an amazing hunter, I know you can help us but someone has to stay here and take care of the Ghosts.” he told her, slowly removing his hand from her mouth as he spoke. “Your aunt and I will be fine. We’ll meet you back at the motel when we’re done. Okay?” Esme reluctantly nodded to her fathers words. “Okay, just be careful and try to come back in one piece.” she told them. Dropping her bag, she hugged them both and kissed their cheeks. “I love you, both of you.” she told them as she stepped back against her car. “Love you too.” they said in unison. They turned and walked away from her, Esme hesitated to get in her car, watching them go. “What’s going on Wesley?” Davina asked in a hushed tone as they walked to his car. He sighed heavily and shook his head. “I’ll tell you on the way, Davina.” he replied in a similar hushed tone. Once they got into Wesley’s car and pulled out of the parking lot, Esme snapped out of it and got into her own car with a heavy sigh through her nose after putting her bag in the trunk. “With everything that’s been said about this place, it should be an interesting case.” she told herself as she pulled the car door shut.
Things skipped ahead to after the Ghosts were taken care of and Esme was coming out of the house a bit battered from being tossed around the house. Reaching her car, she unlocked, opened the door and threw her bag into the backseat, not taking the time to put it in the trunk like she normally did. Once in, she pulled her phone from her jacket pocket, noticing she had a missed call and voicemail from her father. Sinking into the seat, she held the phone up to her ear to listen to the message, a knot forming in her stomach as she listened to her fathers voice and gunshots in the background. “Looks like you’re still dealing with the Ghosts.” he sighed. “Well, it looks like you were right again. We should have all gone into this together but I was afraid for your safety even when I know how capable you are as a hunter.” He sighed heavily then cleared his throat before continuing. The knot in Esme’s stomach tightened more at hearing the pain in her father's voice, the screaming, and more gunshots in the background. She could feel her fear for them creeping up on her as well as tears beginning to burn her eyes. “I’m sorry Esme. My daughter. My little wolf. I never thought it would end this way, not with all of us here on this one. “I…… Get back you son of a…….” Wesley trailed and rapid gunshots followed, then a yell of agony. “I’m sorry….” he grunted before the voicemail ended. “NO! YOU DIDN’T TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE!” Esme yelled as she yanked the phone from her ear. She quickly went to her recent calls and selected her fathers name, then put the phone back to her ear, tears streaming down her cheeks as she listened to the call connecting.
“Come on…… Come on, pick up.” she cried. The call was finally answered but no one spoke. All that could be heard was heavy and wheezy breathing that gripped Esme’s heart. “Daddy?!…… Daddy, tell me where you are so I can come to you!” she demanded. “No!” he snapped weakly. “It’s not safe….. To come alone, even with your gift…… Get out of town now and don’t look back….. Don’t come looking for us….. We love you. I love y…..” Wesley trailed off and fell silent. “Daddy! Daddy no! Don’t you leave me! Not like this!” Esme cried into the phone. She received no answer back, though she could hear heavy footsteps on the other end. “Whoever or whatever you are!” she yelled into the phone. “Know that I’ll be coming for you!” Deep maniacal laughter from several individuals came through the phone that sent a shiver up Esme’s spine, then the line went dead. She then remembered she had snuck a tracker on her fathers phone because he had the tendency to run off from time to time to take on a case he thought would be too much for her. After going through the steps to find his location, she found out he was on the east side of town in an old flour mill. Starting the car and putting it in gear, she pushed the gas pedal to the floor and sped the whole way there. Pulling into the place, she slammed on the brakes causing the car to skid a couple of feet next to her fathers car, killed the engine, grabbed her gear, and headed inside. The place seemed deserted and it was eerily quiet compared to what she heard over the phone. It was like whoever or whatever was here didn’t want to wait around for her.
Keeping her gun and flashlight pointed straight ahead, she carefully and quickly made her way through the building searching for her family. When she made it to where they were, she wasn’t prepared for the scene she came into view. She was stopped in her tracks, she couldn’t breath, she couldn’t even make a sound. What she was looking at looked like a scene from a horror film, it couldn’t possibly be real. Blood was everywhere she looked, the bodies were spread out like a child's toy collection in their playroom. Esme’s eyes darted around looking for her father, until her eyes landed on his hardly recognizable body. She ran towards him, passing by other bodies she could barely recognize. Each one was torn up pretty bad by something with huge claws, which could be a Werewolf or something else. When she reached her father, she dropped to her knees next to him, her gun and flashlight hitting the ground beside her. She checked for a pulse but didn’t find one, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled his torso into her lap, holding him close as she broke down in uncontrollable sobs. Resting her cheek against the top of his head, she looked around at the rest of her family that lay torn and broken on the floor of the mill. Her entire family had been taken out in one night by who knows what and she wasn’t there to stop it. “Why did you have to do this without me?” she sobbed. “If it was time for the Stirling's to go out with a bang, we could have gone together.” With a trembling hand, she pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed the first number she could think of, before calling the number, she tried to control her sobs so she could be understood.
The line rang a couple of times before a woman’s voice answered. “Esme, Sweetheart, it feels like it’s been ages since we’ve talked. How are you, Sweetheart?” the woman asked in a cheerful tone. When she heard the familiar sound of Esme holding back tears, her tone changed to one of concern. “What’s wrong, Esme? What happened? I know it has to be big for you to be crying like that. You don’t cry like that for nothing.” Esme took a deep breath and stuttered a bit before the words finally came out. “They're gone, Seraphina….. They’re all gone.” Esme choked out. “I….. I need your….. Help.” Seraphina’s gasp was loud and she was shocked into brief silence. She cleared her throat before speaking again. “Don’t worry, Sweetheart. I’ll be there with help as fast as I can. Where are you?” Esme choked out where she was and Seraphina said she was on her way, then the memory faded away. The memory had caused her to curl into Duke and hold onto his arm even tighter as tears escaped her closed lids.
The next memory was one that was relatively fresh in her mind, for this one happened a little over two years ago. Sometime after the loss of her family, she teamed up with three others for a short while to help them on cases of their own. The four were in a room pouring themselves over dozens of books, researching information for their next case. “Any luck, Liz?” he called over, looking up from her book. “Nope, nothing yet.” she replied with a shake of her head. “Brad, Ty, how about you?” she asked. Both shook their heads to her question. She mumbled something under breath before standing from her chair. “Well, I don’t know about you three but I need a break.” she said with a stretch. Lifted her left wrist, she looked at her watch and sighed heavily. “We’ve been about this for hours, five to be exact. I’m going to get some food and drinks. Anything special I can get for you guys.” They all shook their heads with a smile. “You’ve been with us long enough to know what we like. We trust you not to screw anything up.” Brad teased with a chuckle. “Haha, very funny Brad.” she replied, mocking being annoyed. “While I’m out, why don’t you three take a break from pouring over all these old books and walk around a bit. Go outside and get some fresh air. “Yes, mother.” they teased in unison. Esme shook her head as she walked over and grabbed her jacket, opened the door and walked out. There was a little diner within walking distance from the motel they had decided to camp out and do their research. Once across the street and in the diner, she looked over a menu and flagged down someone to take her to go order.
Ten minutes later, Esme returned to find Liz, Brad, and Ty outside as if they were waiting for her to return. She looked at them with a single raised brow, thinking it a tad odd for them. “What? Were you afraid I’d eat and drink your stuff too?” she asked with a light laugh. None of them cracked a smile at her joking. “Are you three alright? You’re acting a little off.” That’s when the three turned to her and nodded. “Yeah, we’re fine. Just tired after pouring ourselves over all those books today.” Ty answered quickly. “If you say so. Did you figure anything out about what we’re after?” Esme replied. “Actually we did.” Liz chimed in. “Looks like we’re dealing with a young shapeshifter who’s still learning the ropes. “I guess that does make sense with everything we’ve heard. Which means it shouldn’t be too hard to take care of……. Anyway, let’s get inside and eat. I’m starving.” Things skipped ahead a week, the group were in a diner grabbing a bite to eat after taking care of another case, this one involving a Siren. She felt the Siren was taking care of a little too easily but she didn’t question it for the job was done. After eating, they all went back to the motel, hung out for a bit in Esme’s room, before they left for the night. Later that night was when everything went to hell for Esme. Ty, Liz, and Brad got into Esme’s room as she slept and attacked her in her sleep. Esme woke and put up a fight in her groggy state. “What in the hell are you three doing?!” she yelled at them. They said nothing as they continued to fight her to tie her hands and feet and were surprisingly strong.
“Ty, Liz, Brad! Why are you doing this!” Once again they didn’t answer, they only looked at her and grinned, their eyes flashing black quickly then going normal. Esme’s eyes went wide in shock as she continued to fight them, mentally kicking herself for not seeing the signs. The harder she fought, the more of their strength they used before one held out a hand and drew his fingers in and started choking her. Gasping for breath, she began to project fear onto them to get a leg up in the fight, and she could see it starting to work. “What the hell?” Demon Liz called out. Confuse was written plainly on her face, she loosened her grip and pulled back a bit, then you could see it click. “She’s a damn Empath! Did you two know about this?!” she cried out. Esme was just getting a leg up when Demon Brad shook his head. “We can’t have any of that now.” he growled. Turning he grabbed a heavy object and bashing Esme’s head with it, knocking her out cold. When she came to, she found herself stripped down to her bra and underwear in a strange place, tied tightly to a bed with a pounding headache, and tubes attached to her. She fought against her restraints, which only made them dig into her flesh causing her to hiss. Her head snapped to the right at the sound of approaching footsteps. “Well, well, well. Looks like the last of the Stirling's is finally awake.” Demon Ty sneered. He stood in the doorway with a large grin plastered on his face as he looked over at her, he got a glare in return from her. “Release my friends before I make you.” she demanded. He chuckled and shook his head, taking several steps towards the bed. “Oh, you stupid girl. Those three have been dead for at least a week.” he told her with another laugh. “They were so weak, it was easy to kill them and take over their bodies.” Esme clenched her fists and jaw as he grinned down at her then called to the others. “She’s awake! Get in here!”
The other two came in and leaned against the wall next to the door, smug grins rested upon their faces as they looked at her. Esme’s eyes darted between the two at the door and the one near her, a low growl building up in throat. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done.” she growled. All he did was laugh then closed the gap between him and the bed, then leaned in close to her. He brought up a hand and brushed some hair from her face, then took a hold of her chin when she pulled her face away from him. “We were going to kill you quickly with you being a Stirling but….” he grinned mischievously, leaning in close, his nose just inches from hers. “After finding out what you are. We’ve decided to have a little fun with you first and get you to help us with some things.” Esme tried to pull her face from his grasp and away from his face but he only held on tighter. “I’ll never help you.” she spat. She then slammed her head into nose, hearing the sickening crack of it breaking. He cried out in pain pulling his face back, holding his nose with one hand, he used the other to backhand across the face. Working his nose back into place, wiping the blood from his face, and blinking the tears from his eyes, he glared down at Esme who was glaring back. “I thought you’d say that. We have ways of making you more compliable.” With a new grin plastered on his face, he looked over his shoulder at the other two and held out his hand, and one of them quickly put a syringe in his hand. Close his fingers around it, he brought it around and examined it, almost playing with it to see if he could get a reaction from her.
He didn’t receive the reaction he hoped for but could feel a change in his emotions, he could feel fear creeping up on him and laughed. “Trying again I see. We're going to have to put that to better use. Into something more productive.” Holding the syringe in his fingers, he thumped it a couple of times. Pushing the plunger lightly, some of the liquid shot from the needle, then he injected it into the tub coming from her arm. “You son of a bitch. When I get out of here, you’re going to pay for what you’ve done.” she managed to get out before she started to feel light headed. She closed her eyes and shook her head to clear it but it did no good, making the already spinning room spin more. They had given her some kind of muscle relaxant and she soon couldn’t hold up her head. Her body felt as if it were made of lead. He then took the opportunity to get another syringe and inject it into the tube as well. “Alright, now that you’re mellowed out and can’t play with our emotions, it’s time for some fun.” Whatever he’d given her was hitting her hard. It was making it hard to concentrate on the situation but she was determined not to give in and become a puppet of theirs. She wasn’t going to become a Demon's plaything, she was strong enough to fight this, strong enough to fight against whatever they pumped into her. “I’ll never do what you want.” she said, her words coming out slurred. “I beg to differ.” he laughed. “You’ll lose this fight like so many others and become putty in our hands.” He turned to the other two, giving them a quick nod, they returned it with matching smirks.
The days passed by slowly and soon blended together, making it hard to know just how long she had been held captive. The room had no windows, smelled damp, and was cool, making it seem like she was in a leaky basement or a cellar. The only source of light she had was from the lamp the Demon’s brought with them when they would come in for their daily torture session and to pump her full of drugs. Every day they were relentless in their methods to break her and bend her to their will, but they failed. They soon started to get more inventive with their methods, adding shocking, burning, and starvation to the mix. When that didn’t work, they went more personal with their methods. They were holding back on one last option, they were sure it would work but didn’t want to go there just yet, just toe that line for a while. The Demon’s soon became frustrated after breaking through Esme’s wall only slightly after all the time they spent working her over during the weeks they had her. Even with how physically weak she was, they couldn’t understand how she could keep fighting against them. They were sure she couldn’t take much more before she finally broke or they killed her during the process but they still wanted to use her gift for their own gain. More days passed and they hadn’t made any more progress in breaking down Esme’s wall. Now, more frustrated than ever, they felt they had to play their last card, which had worked every time on strong willed human women.
All three came bursting through the door, startling Esme out of a sleep she had drifted off into, then blinded by the lamp when they turned it on. “Alright Stirling! No more games! Today is the day we finally break you!” the female Demon exclaimed happily. Both men rushed to the bed, one at her hands, the other at her feet and untied her from the bed. Esme tried to fight them off but was super weak from the lack of food and everything else she had been put through. As they maneuvered her, it clicked in her mind, she knew just what they were planning to do and her eyes turned into saucers. Never did she think this was something that would happen to her, especially at the hands of Demons. She continued to fight and try to project other emotions, but it was no use in her weakened state, they were unfazed and carried on with their plan. They both forced themselves upon her, one covering her mouth to silence her screams of protest. It was only seconds, but to Esme it felt like hours went by before someone came rushing through the door. “What the hell? How did you find this place?” she heard the female Demon cry out. The men jumped up and spun around just as a handful of others came through the door, giving Esme the chance to see who had entered the room. “Seraphina.” she said weakly. “Don’t worry, Sweetheart. We’re going to get you out of here.” Seraphina told her. In the blink of an eye, a fight broke out in the room. Esme curled up close to the bed to stay out of the way since there was nothing else she could do. Seraphina made her way to Esme, knelt down and covered her bare form with a jacket causing Esme to flinch harshly. “Easy, Sweetheart. It’s just me.” she said softly to her.
The memory ended and Esme woke up with a start, covered in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. Forgetting who she was with and feeling the touch of another in the dark, she scrambled off the bed, falling slightly over the edge and tripping over Sarah as she tried to get out of the room, causing her to growl low. She stopped seeing it was Esme in a panicked state. Taking to her paws, she gently pushed Esme over into a chair before she could go anywhere, then placed her head in Esme’s lap. Sarah gave a whine feeling how badly she was trembling and how tense her muscles were. Lifting her head, she moved her body closer to the chair, wrapping her large body around it and Esme to comfort and calm her down. Now remembering where she was, Esme dropped her face into her trembling hands, rested them against Sarah, and silently cried into them, not aware of Duke or what was going on in the next room.
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