A very short story in 8 chapters. I wish I could say it was written in 8 days too, but that would be just too much of a coincidence now, wouldn't it. I hope you enjoy the story in itself and the hidden references in there.

– Enjoy and review a lot-

PIECES OF EIGHT

-Fit the First-

"So talk me through this again Sammy. We are going where and why exactly?"

Sam, who was battling with the big Arizona roadmap on his lap, didn't dare to look at his brother. He feared that if he took his eyes off the map for only one second he would loose track of the location he was trying to direct them to.

"Dude!" Dean said, glancing at the vast flat terrain around them, spiked with giant cacti and even a rare Boojum tree once in a while.

"There is just desert for miles! And it's freakin' hot too!"

"I know. Just keep going for another few miles. What does the odometer say now?"

"61 miles, why?"

"Keep going for 3 more miles then stop."

"What? In the middle of a freakin' Interstate?"

"Yeah! In the middle of a freakin' Interstate! Dude! You pull over on the hard shoulder of course!"

"Mnm-nmn-mnjeee!" Dean said, mocking Sam and giving him a dirty look. "So when do you tell me exactly what we're after?"
Sam sighed and impulsively crushed the map down into his lap.

"There has been an accident on this very highway a few days ago."

"An accident? Phew, wow! I mean, that is pretty unusual Dude, even for us!"

"Oh shut up Dean!"

"64 miles, here we go!" Dean announced and whilst only briefly checking for traffic, he let the car abruptly swerve over 2 lanes into the dusty soft shoulder. The sudden turn took Sam by surprise and he was trying to hold on to anything as the Impala ended up on a rather soft shoulder, bouncing and hurling dust and gravel up into the rims.

"Hard shoulder my ass! This isn't health for ma' baby, you know!"
"Stop whining!"

"Ok, so now what, Navigator-Boy?"

"We look around; see if we can find some debris from the accident."

"Man, I hate the desert" Dean complained as he got out, the hot dry air hitting his face like nuclear wind, his lungs seemingly petrifying with every new breath.

Sam had already opened the trunk to get the EMF from his rucksack.

"We got any water?" Dean said looking as if he was in terrible pain, rubbing his chest.

"Yeah, here" Sam said pushing a plastic bottle into his stomach.

"Huh! Thanks!"

"Don't mention it" Sam mumbled and started off, searching down the soft hard shoulder for clues, while Dean went into the other direction, looking miserable. It must have been over 100ºF as he was already sweating through his shirt, so he took it off and wrapped it loosely around his hips leaving him only with a washed out black T-shirt with a faded Metallica print. He suddenly wished he had a cowboy hat to keep his brain in the shade.

Dean loved the sun on a nice beach when there were always plenty of women to look at and cold drinks to sip, but as he looked across the vast desert, framed by some vague shape of a chain of mountains on the horizon, he felt really lost. There was no one for miles and the rough sand was not exactly kind to the Impala's paintjob. He had been through a sandstorm once, unable to see beyond the black bonnet and he really didn't fancy another visit down the bodyshop to get his whole car re-sprayed just yet.

"Found anything yet?" He yelled back at his brother who, in the distance, shook his head.

"Like a needle in a goddamn sandpit!" Dean mumbled and took another sip from the water bottle keeping his eyes pinned to the ground. He suddenly stopped to avoid an unexpected rendezvous with a signpost. He tilted his head back to see what it had to say.

"Yuma 25 miles. For Casino Follow Next Exit. Next Services 57 miles"

Dean couldn't remember if they even had enough fuel in the tank to get to the next gas station in time. He somehow had a horrible feeling it was down to 6/8 by now. He turned around to look at Sam in the far distance kicking some sand with is shoe inspecting something, it seemed.

If they ran out of gas in the middle of Arizona he would make Sam walk all the way to Mexico just for the sake of it he thought, clenching his teeth.

"How far are we from Mexico?"

"What?" Sam yelled back.

"Do you have sand in your ears?"

"What?"

"The idiot says what?"
"What?"

Dean giggled satisfied with that answer and decided to walk back to the car.

There was no debris to be found along the shoulder, so Sam waited for a gap in the scarce traffic first before running towards the middle partition of the 4-lane Interstate. Dean leaned against the hot Impala drinking more water, wishing it was a cold beer instead.

He couldn't quite share Sam's passion for this assignment; so far it didn't even look like a real case. Accidents happened all the time.

"Got something!" Sam shouted over, suddenly rising up between the concrete boulders.

"I'll be damned" Dean mumbled, throwing the water bottle on the driver seat and checking that no truck was going to get him, crossing the highway as well.

As he came closer he could hear the whining of the EMF meter Sam held over some glass chards and bumper pieces by his feet. When Dean looked along the dividers he spotted more debris, and some torn truck tires.

"How did the accident actually happen?" Dean's interest was sparked now.

"Well, that is yet to be determined. It was an 8 car pile-up, but only one person died in the crash. His name was Frank Zeller, heading west towards Yuma."

Dean looked towards the sign he nearly had wrapped himself around.

"You think what I'm thinking?"

"I doubt it very much" Sam truthfully replied.
"Perfect! I am thinking the Winchesters are going to Yuma!" Dean said, ignoring that last comment.

"Why? What's in Yuma?"

Dean grabbed Sam's head swiveling it towards the sign.

"A Casino is in Yuma!" he grinned and Sam rolled his eyes.

Yuma, AZ

As the Impala pulled up in front of the Casino, Sam's eyebrows had a crisis meeting.

"Oh come on Sammy! When's the last time we had a little fun, hm?"

Dean found an empty spot for the Impala and pulled in. Not in a million light-years would he let some penguin park his car for him!
"I hate Casinos and you know it!"

"Yeah, well, and I hate the godforsaken desert so now we are even. Anyway, these places always have great bars and food – Man I hope they have an All-You-Can-Eat-Special! I am starving." He said dreamily.
The doors squeaked with an additional creak, indicating that sand was trapped in the hinges. Dean was not amused about this.

It was an Indian Casino build on a reservation and Sam hated the whole concept about them. He felt that Native Americans should have been provided with better options than having to resort to gambling in order to survive. But the irony wasn't completely lost on him as he looked around to see rednecks and cowboys, or weekend couples from Florida or San Diego gamble away their tax money.

"Eat first, win money later?" Dean asked as if there was actually another alternative.

Sam had brought his laptop along so he could do more research while Dean was stuffing his face with endless amounts of Tacos and an extra portion of Buffalo wings.

"I can't put my finger on it, but something doesn't seem right about this pile up" Sam said when suddenly the waitress placed new drinks on their table.

"Are you talking about the pile-up not far from here?" she asked curiously and granted him a cute smile.

Dean, his mouth full and unable to speak for a change, raised his eyebrows at Sam.

"Yeah, actually." Sam smiled back. "Do you know anything about it?"
"It is pretty weird. One moment this guy leaves a big tip after he wins at Poker, the next I hear on the news is that he gets crushed to death under some truck on the I-8"

"So, he was here before he drove…wait! They said he was heading west, this means he was actually heading east from here?"

"Yeah, I told them they got it all wrong but wouldn't change their story. The casino has him on tape and all, but they said it was physically impossible…"

"Why?"

"Because he crashed westwards they said."

"That is weird. Well, thanks.." he took a moment to read her tag "Becky." He smiled like prince charming and made his brother very proud. After all they were carved from the same wood.

"No problem. If you are still around later, I get off my shift around 10" she suggested.

Sam briefly looked at Dean who smiled and nodded encouragingly.

"Yeah, we will be still around then" Sam nodded.

"Okay then" Becky smiled suggestively and traipsed off.

"Dude, nicely done!" Dean said, slapping his brother playfully on the shoulder.

"So I guess we will take a room for the night here?"
"Correct my brother and I will make sure I'll gamble all night so you have the room all to yourself." Dean said with a big grin and a full mouth, which looked gross and Sam could have happily done without seeing this.

"Quit it! It won't happen!"

"Dude! What is wrong with you!? A girl throws herself at you like that you take it!"

"No Dean, you usually take it..her. I don't!"

Dean sighed "I know" and looked longingly at Becky's cute tush as she was serving other customers.

"Dude, you are such a pig!" Sam muttered.