I could see her from where I sat in the backseat of her car. I could see the hollows of her cheeks, I could see the bruises around her eyes, I could see her chapped lips, I could even see her tired soul. She had been driving for over twelve hours straight with her passenger sleeping every jolt when she hits a pothole on the road and with every sharp turn her hand would shoot towards her passenger, making sure that her passenger does not get woken up.
She stopped near a diner, with a silent sigh escaping her lips. Her eyes lighting up, she has found them. Her eyes were fixed on that 67 chevy impala and she knew she has found what she was looking for. Glancing at her passenger silently she got out of the car to sit on the hood, enjoying the night's breeze. Long hair flowing but not doing much favor to her demeanor. She was not ugly but she wasn't pretty either. She was barely 30 but right now with her demeanor, she was looking like an old witch. She had that longing vulnerable gaze but I knew what she was capable of. I could not see her now but I could feel the pain rippling through her soul. I knew she is waiting for them and I knew they will be coming out soon and they did, but before them two goons found her.
Like I said she wasn't pretty, she was an average looking person, would blend in the crowd and no one would look back at her twice, but her passenger, her 18-year-old sister was another question. Her sister was a work of art and therefore the sleeping-barely-legal girl was the center of attention of those goons. I heard the tall one exclaiming with delight about his find and that is when she turned towards them. I take it back, she could not blend in the crowd. I could sense the change in her stance, her shoulders squared, her eyes burning like fire, her face distorted in extreme hatred. "Don't even think about it", she warned, they laughed, drunk with booze or power, I don't know. They said that they would let her watch when they play with that pretty little thing. She moved like lightning, kneeing one in the groin and grabbing others jugular. She hissed, "I warned you and I am warning you again. If you as much as look at her, I will push my hand in your throat, take out your intestines and strangle you with them". They gulped and she continued, "Now look me in the eye and say I am joking and I am not actually going to do it". I saw her eyes and her tone and I knew she meant every single word.
"O'Donnell?" - just then I heard and so did she. She let go of the jugular and turned towards the sound. There they were, the two people she was looking for, waiting for. Both of the goons took the chance and fled the scene but she was not concerned with them, she was smiling broadly at those two boys. I take it back, there was no way she could blend in the crowd, with a smile like that she could be the center of attention anytime she wants to be. The stockier one opened his arms and she ran to fit into them, "Dean", she exclaimed. She was was happy to see him, to see them.
"Sam, this is Cam O'Donnell" Dean said to the tall guy standing behind him and then turned towards her, "and Cam this is my brother Sam". She extended her hand towards Sam, smiling broadly at him and said, "I have heard so much about you Sam." "Ah, hey, so how do you guys know each other" Sam was wondering, the wheels in his head running. "Dad and I hunted with her father when you were away at Stanford", Dean told him. Dean turned his attention towards the car and said "Don't tell me you brought Joelle" and jogged towards the sleeping passenger of the car. He rapped at the window and the Joelle stirred. She opened her bleary eyes and focused them on Dean. "Dean", she exclaimed, opened the door and jumped into his arms. "I thought I would never see you again, how are you, where are you, what are you up to, what have you been doing, why didn't you ever call. Apparently, Joelle had to ask a million questions in a minute. "Joelle my brother Sam", Dean said pointing towards Sam "and Sam, this is Joelle, Cam's younger sister." Like any teenager, Joelle has a tiny attention span as she turned towards Sam, "You are Sam, THE SAM? Oh my God, finally it is so good to meet you". I could see Sam was overwhelmed by the hyper teenager. "Joelle, did you know Sam studied at Stanford for a while?" Cam pitched in and I could see from the glint in her eyes that she is just using Sam as a bait and she wanted to have a private conversation with Dean
"So Dean, how are you?" maybe it was awkward to start conversations like old friends even though I am guessing at one point in time they were pretty close. "Nothing much Cam, what are you doing here in Utah?" "Was looking for you, how did the hunt go? A wendigo? huh?" She said, and Deans eyes grew as big as saucers "What? How? How did you know?" "Hey, hunting network is not as bad as you think it is." She said laughingly and I could see Dean was transported back in time. "Ah, it's good to see you, Cam, after 12 freaking years. I can not believe how big Joelle is now, last I remembered she was a toddler and used to follow you everywhere. She's still the same? hunts with you I mean?" She smiled tiredly "No Dean, I could not do this to her, she is going to UC Berkley, a CS major over there." Dean turned towards the Joelle and Sam and could see they were in some heated debate about the best pizza in Southern California. "So no hunting for Joelle?" Dean asked, "No, she knows what is out there and she can protect herself but I feel better if she has some other future ahead of her", she said and Dean smiled knowingly.
"Let us go back the hotel we are staying at. It is not good, mind you, but it is not crowded." Dean suggested and Cam smiled politely "Sure, we should do that but I will come later. I need to go and drop Joelle to her friends. They are having some sort of get together in Salt Lake City and these girls will go to California together." She turned towards Joelle and said,"You should eat something from the Diner, and then we drive straight to Salt Lake City. After dropping you, I will come back and maybe help these boys for a while before I take off as well." Joelle nodded silently. Joelle said her goodbyes to boys and turned towards the Diner to get something to eat accompanied by Dean and Sam gave Cam directions to their hotel.
When both teams started their separate journey, I decided to tag along with boys. I knew one teary-eyed sayonara is in order for the ladies and I didn't want to be part of that. As both cars started their respective journeys, I kept my eyes on her car. For a moment I forgot about Cam's pain but it is getting stronger and stronger as the time to part with Joelle comes near. "So ummm, Dean, who is Cam? I have never heard of her", Sams question pulled me back to reality. "Like I said, she was a hunter. We hunted together couple of times when you were at Stanford." Dean said. "You never mentioned her, was she someone special or what? your face says you guys had some connection but your words are different." "Look Sam, there is nothing like that. We did go for couple of dates but essentially she is completely different from us. Did not want to keep in touch with her and still don't. I don't know how did she find us." "What do you mean by that? I could sense there is a lot more to the story" Sam persisted. Dean replied with a sigh "She is just different. Crazy protective of her sister, when it comes to her sister, she does not care who is in her way, monster, human, friend or foe. She just kills and kills and it is always merciless, no regret painful way of doing things," he stopped for a while and continued again "She is a damn fine hunter, but when the question is of her sister, she goes crazy. I just pray I am never the person who comes between her and her sister. Did you hear what she was saying to those guys from the diner, I can bet on my head or better yet, your head that she would have done exactly that if they had messed with her a little more". Sam gulped and concluded he does not like Cam. He is a person of very high morals and she is not someone he would like to have in his circle. Since they had already invited her to stay with them, they could not do much to avoid her but they planned that they will use any excuse to get rid of her.
While I lounged around in boys room, she did come back, as I knew she would. Her eyes were swollen like she had been crying on her way back, Sam and Dean both noticed that but she chose to avoid their questioning gaze. She was all business the moment she stepped in their room. Eyes determined yet tired, face set yet calm. She had reached a decision. With Joelle not present, all the pretense put to a side. "Winchester, I know you don't like the way you do things, but I need a favor and you are the only person I thought I could trust." Deans eyes were cautious, guarded, his demeanor relaxed but he made sure that he is not far from his weapons. "What do you want O'Donnell?". Her eyes flicked towards Sam and Dean got in between her and Sam and said "He stays", she moved towards Sam like a flash, and with more speed Dean was once again between them, stopping her attack midway. Her hands clamped in his hands."Whatever you want Cam, if you think about pulling a stunt like this once more, I will kill you." Fight seemed to leave her body once more as she muttered, "Just was checking if you still are the person I thought you were. You are. I need your help". She pulled the gun from her waist band and Sam and Dean both took out theirs to point at her, not trusting her. She pushed her gun towards Dean, without acknowledging the guns pointed towards her. "I want you to take care of Joelle, the way you kept an eye out for Sam.
"I know we didn't part on good terms but.." she trailed off, unsure of what to do and what to say next. Sam and Dean both looked at her quizzingly. Dean was dumbfounded, Cam was asking him to take care of one person he knew she cared for the most in the world. She was real life Katniss Everdeen and she was giving up her Primrose. She sighed and pushed her hair, exposing the back of her neck. She turned so the boys could see her neck and an audible gasp filled the room
"Damn it Cam." Dean moved towards her, holding her by the shoulder, "We need to find the one who bit you, cure you before you turn". She turned to face him, the facade of strength and bravery pushed to a side, "I killed him by own hands and I have already turned". "What?" Dean asked as she pushed a phone in his hand, "CCTV footage from my home last month during full moon." They both could see her turning into an animal right before their own eyes and I could tell they both did not like what they saw. "What can we do Cam, there is no cure now", Dean sat helplessly on his bed. "I know Dean, that is not what I want from you." "Then what?" Sam asked, counting his blessings that next full moon is over a week away. It was like she did not even hear Sam, her eyes focused on Dean, "Remember how you used to drive by Stanford just to Sam smile and play with this friend, or to see him get out of his class or to see him prepare for his exams in the coffee shop. Just do the same for her, every once in a while. Call her from time to time to let her know she has some sort of family left. Keep her out of trouble, make sure she dates the right guy, walk her down the aisle." By now her tears were flowing freely and she did not care. "What.. what are you going to do O'Donnell? what are you planning to do?" Dean asked and she looked at him straight in the eye "What needs to be done, I was this close to hurting my sister, ever since mom and then dad have passed away I have taken care of her like my own and I can't do this. I will make sure she stays safe from me, and I trust you and only you that you will be able to do it. You have a younger sibling, you will take care of her."
She looked at them and for once I could not tell whether she was sad, hurt, determined, angry or what. "I want you to make things easy for me, I want you to shoot me with silver bullet." Hearing that made Sam feel sick in his stomach, he knew Dean cared for Cam even though he strongly disagrees with her ways and he remembered how killing the one he had grown fond of made him feel. He did not want his brother to go through the same thing and Dean, well Dean was just sitting there, ashen-faced. "No, I can not do this. I will not do this. We will figure something. What will you say to Jo? What? How will I tell her? No no no you can not put me through this." Dean was rambling at that point while her look was of that of pity. She put her hand on his shoulder and said "Joelle thinks I have taken a job in Europe and I will be leaving soon. That is why she agreed on this road trip with me, for all she knows, bumping into you guys was a coincidence and we took this road trip because we needed to spend some time together before she goes to school and I go to Europe." Sam piped in, "She would know soon, she is a smart girl." She looked up and said, "I know", she pulled out an envelope from her pocket and pushed it towards Sam," when she does, you give it to her. She will understand. She is a good kid."
The hurt and pain in the room were so overpowering that I decided to step out. I knew these guys are going talk more about the issue and they are going to try and convince each other on things they thought are right. But only I know how soon the end is going to be. I stayed there, right outside their door all night. I could hear arguments, cries, sobbing and everything, yet I could neither dare to go in the room nor venture away from the room.
Early morning, the door was opened and they started crowding in Deans car. I followed them. It felt like none of them have slept the entire night. Dean had his mouth so tightly shut that I could hear the teeth grinding together, Cam was plain exhausted and Sam was a ball of nerves. A while later, Dean stopped at a remote area in the hills and they all silently started walking in one direction. I followed them without questioning. After reaching a clearing Cam, who was leading the way, stopped and turned around to face Dean. She took out her phone and dialed a number. The surroundings were so quiet that I could hear Joelle's sleepy voice coming from the phone. "Hey Cam, are you already in the plane? You stay safe? You will call me once you reach Spain? Have fun at the beaches? " Cam was patient with her but she quickly lied to her that the air hostess is asking her to switch off her phone and she has to go. After another teary goodbye and promises she had no intentions of keeping, she looked at Dean in his eyes, as Dean took his gun out. Sam turned his back towards both of them as they shared one last kiss before parting forever. Deans hands were shaking, but Cam was at peace. Dean closed his eyes, nozzle of the gun pointed towards her forehead. I extended my arms to touch her as she extended hers to touch Deans cheek and the shot rang.
Dean immediately opened his eyes and saw that her body has gone extremely still. A small red hole appeared between her eyes as she slumped forward and he caught her in his arms. His heart was hurting as he slumped down the forest floor and he started rocking with her in his arms. I could still see her eyes were open, vacant, staring into infinity as Sam joined both of them on the ground. Dean was hurting for the girl he once held dear and Sam was hurting for his brother and I thought that I have experienced enough emotions for a lifetime.
I started distancing myself from the ball of emotions surrounding them as I had to deliver a package to purgatory.