Title: "What Ben Saw"
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. Lisa and Ben belong to Mr. Kripke and Co. WingVerse belongs to the incredible SavingFaith.
Pairing: None
Author's Note: Please read this in context with SavingFaith's wonderful series WingVerse
Ben huddled down in the foot well of the car.
"Stay down, Ben!" Lisa whispered, fear coloring her words with an urgent sharpness she rarely used on her son.
Ben stayed as still as possible in the moving car. Things had been going from bad to worse for days now. It made the awful changeling experience after his eighth birthday seem like a picnic. First, people started acting odd, doing weird things or getting really paranoid. Then people started disappearing, stopped coming to school or going to work and stuff. The garbage stopped getting picked up. It just kept piling up outside on the curb.
And once the water and electricity started messing up, mom decided it was time to go. She'd already spent hours online, looking for any information on Dean and Sam Winchester. The phone number Dean had left with mom didn't seem to work anymore. So far all she'd been able to find out was that they were in a lot of trouble with the police in a lot of places. And that Dean had supposedly died a couple of different times.
Huh.
Mom was scared. She tried to make it seem like everything was fine, that she was fine, but Ben was smart. Smarter than that anyway. He had eyes that worked after all. It was pretty obvious that something really bad was happening and not just in Cicero. From the news he saw on TV it looked like bad stuff was happening all over the place. Some days the news wasn't even on. Those days scared him more than any of the other weird stuff.
Lisa drove around the corner, trying to maintain a casual speed so as not to attract any unwanted attention. Who knew what would be a threat these days? Everyone was suspect; everyone could be a monster at a moment's notice.
It had taken days to find a scrap of decent information that might lead them to Dean. To finding Dean and his brother. That was the thought that kept her going through the panic and fear and monumental uncertainty. She just needed to find Dean and Sam and they would know what to do, how to keep Ben safe.
The only real lead she had found was a bar in Nebraska called the Roadhouse. But that had been ashes when she'd arrived, long since burned to the ground. She'd broken down then, at the site, kneeling on the ground sobbing with near despair. Almost everywhere they went, things were out of control; mad, insane. People were dead or crazed or killing other people. Necessities like food and gas and medicine were getting harder and harder to come by and this made those who survived the madness all the more desperate. Lisa found herself doing awful things to ensure Ben's survival; stealing cars, stealing food, breaking into abandoned stores for medicine and supplies. Once she even fought with an old woman over the last bottle of antibiotics. Ben had been cut by some psycho's knife and she knew that if it got infected they'd need the medicine. She'd fought the old lady, thrown her to the ground to keep the precious bottle of pills.
Lisa winced at the memory. But she knew that was the least of it, the least of what she would do to keep Ben alive and safe, to get him to Dean. She breathed a small sigh of relief as they left the small town behind them, driving into the country and headed for the only other place she could think to go now.
"It'll be okay, mom," Ben said softly. "We'll find him. Dean'll know what to do."
"I know, baby. I know." Lisa tightened her hands on the steering wheel of the old station wagon they were currently driving. They had maybe an eighth of a tank left. Their three bags were tossed in the back seat. Those stupid bags held all they had left in this world besides each other. She smiled, remembering Ben's agony over how to choose between his favorite classic rock CDs or his classic matchbox car collection.
Ben shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position while scrunched up on the floor of this smelly old car. "Are we close to Lawrence?"
"A couple of hours to go yet." Lisa kept her voice light, not wanting her worry to show. There was nowhere near enough gas for the miles they still needed to drive. And the area she was currently driving through was flat and empty. There'd be no one to help them once the car stopped running. Not that being in a city or town was any better. Worse usually. That's where most of the monsters lived. It was their territory now that the world had gone crazy. And to think those mere months ago she had thought all of this was behind her; that the supernatural wouldn't touch her or those she loved again.
"Mom, it's okay. You don't have to pretend."
"What?"
Ben sighed. "I'm nine years old! I get it. Things are bad and we have a long way to go and you don't even know if Dean will be there." He pointed at the dashboard. "And we're almost out of gas."
Lisa chuckled. "Not much get's past you, huh?"
Ben rolled his eyes. "Duh. It's kinda obvious with you freakin' out and everybody going nuts and everything."
She smiled, glancing down at him. "You can come up now. Just stay low, okay?"
Ben scrambled out from under the dashboard and situated himself into the passenger seat.
"Seatbelt."
"Yeah, I got it."
They both stayed silent, driving through the empty country, heading for a city that might yield far more dangers than answers, that might not offer any help in finding Dean Winchester. Exactly fourteen miles later, the tank ran empty and the car spluttered to a stop.
"Shit!"
"Ben, language!"
"Mom, like it matters. We're miles and miles from Lawrence and we have no car and no gas and…"
"And it's almost dark. I know, I know." Lisa took a shuddering breath. She glanced around at the landscape and looked down at her map again. Well, there was nothing for it but to start walking. "We better stay off the road as much as possible. Grab your bag?"
It was cold. It was dark and cold and scary and the wind just wouldn't stop. They'd huddled down next to a giant tree, hoping for some protection from the wind. Ben's arm ached where the wound was still healing. Cold always seemed to make it hurt. It hadn't been that deep, not enough to need stitches or anything. But it had bled a lot and mom was still worried about it getting infected.
Next time he saw Dean he'd make sure he got some real lessons in fighting. Knowing how to kick a fat bully in the groin doesn't really help much when it's a full grown man holding a knife to your mom. But it had caused enough distraction to get them away.
Mom was sleeping now. She'd tried so hard to stay awake but Ben wasn't sure he could remember the last time she'd slept. She was always watching and listening, driving them somewhere or sneaking up to steal something. Ben tried to get her to sleep or at least to rest a bit while he watched but she always argued that he was too young, that he wasn't strong enough or was in too much danger.
Man, it sucked being a kid!
Nearby, a bird screeched and Ben jumped a bit. Well, at least now he was wide awake. He shivered, pulling the blanket they'd found in the trunk closer around him. He'd looked at the map earlier when mom was busy fixing "dinner". Lawrence was still a few finger widths away, which according to the little chart meant at least thirty five miles! That would take awhile to walk. Mom thought it would be about another week with any luck.
A cacophony of bird calls woke them both in the morning. Dawn was breaking, or at least Lisa thought so. It was grey and drizzly and so damn cold!
"Damn it damn it damn it!" She jumped up and started tossing things back into the duffle she'd used as a back-rest. "Stupid to fall asleep."
"You needed it," Ben replied, glancing worriedly at his mom. She didn't look so good. Even after the sleep she had dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks were red, like she had a fever or something.
"No, what I need is to get moving. Here," she said, shoving a granola bar and a banana with brown spots in his direction. "Eat. We should get moving as soon as possible."
"Okay," he muttered, taking the food without any enthusiasm. They'd been eating granola bars for six days now. And the fruit never tasted good anymore. The apples were always mushy and had bruises, the bananas had those gross brown spots and the oranges were hard and sour.
But it was food. Mom always managed to find something to eat and drink. He'd seen other kids without anything, shivering or running scared. They always looked hungry. Still, what he wouldn't give for a double cheeseburger with extra onions. And some pie. Mom always made the best pumpkin pie! It was almost Thanksgiving according to a calendar he'd seen at the house they'd slept in two nights ago. Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie was just…wrong.
They headed out, following the highway but staying out of sight of the actual road. This would give them time to hide if a car drove by. It slowed them down, walking through the brush and bushes, but using the cover was the smartest idea. Between the bushes and Ben's arm still hurting and having to hide anytime she thought she heard something it seemed they'd never cover any ground.
Lisa had told Ben that it would take them a week. Privately, she prayed it would take far less than that. They only had enough food for four more days and only enough to drink for roughly three. Maybe out here in the country they'd come across some lonely farmhouse or even an ancient gas station that might have something left to take. Or buy. She did have some money, not that anyone seemed to really use it anymore.
Hell, if it came to it she'd offer sex in exchange for provisions. Whatever it took to get them to Lawrence and to Dean. Silently, she offered a prayer to anyone up there who might be listening. Please, please help them get to Dean safely. Please let her son be okay.
She was thirsty. She'd been so thirsty all day and she'd given the last of their water to Ben, telling him that she had more. He'd looked at her, that damned knowing expression on his face. He knew she was lying. But what could she do? They'd come across only one house in the last four days and it was bare and dry as a bone.
According to the map, they only had another four miles until they saw the outskirts of Lawrence. She could do this. Four miles while thirsty would be very uncomfortable but it wouldn't kill her. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and let Ben help carry the bag. They'd discarded two of the three bags this morning. One was almost empty anyway and Ben insisted that he didn't need his whole car collection anymore. He just kept his favorite, the one that looked a lot like Dean's black car.
It broke her heart to see her baby boy calmly making these grown-up decisions, only eating enough to have the energy to keep walking and rationing his water carefully so his mom could have some too. He kept practicing the punches Dean taught him all those months ago in the park, proudly showing her how he could help protect them, protect her.
'It's time', she thought. 'He needs to know'.
"Ben," she said with some effort. "I need you to memorize something. It's really important, baby."
She should have seen it coming. They were in the city now, surrounded by bungalows and family homes that looked deserted and empty. It was almost dark but she knew that had to press on. She'd forgotten how big Lawrence was and hadn't figured on how many miles they would still have to walk once they actually got to the city.
No one was here. It was a ghost town…ghost city. The first thing they'd done was check a house for water. Nothing was running but they'd found a couple of dusty bottles of Gatorade in a cupboard. But after that they'd found nothing else of use.
She was worried about Ben. She always worried about Ben, she was his mother, but this was different. He'd been so quiet the last few hours. And he looked as tired as she felt. His face was all screwed up with fierce determination and he never slowed his pace but she could tell he'd fall over the second they stopped.
That's why she should have seen it coming. She was the adult after all. She should have been paying more attention to their dangerous surroundings and less to Ben's current condition.
Ben had been staring at his feet, watching them eat up the cracked pavement, when the thing slammed into his mom. It was tall, slimy and it stank. Bad. Like dead, rotting stuff.
"Mom!" Ben dropped the duffle bag and ran at the thing. Before he took two steps, it reared back and leaped clear up onto the roof of the garage across the street. It still had his mom in its claws. He started running towards the garage. "Mom!"
She screamed, trying to pull herself loose from its iron grip, scratching, biting, kicking, anything to get away. She had to get away before Ben got too close. But the creature had no desire to play with its food and her scream cut short.
There was a loud crack and Ben saw her body go still. He ran faster. But by the time he'd crossed the street, the monster was long gone, taking his mom with it. On the driveway was a section of his mom's shirt. The garage door was spattered with blood and slime, some dripping down from the roof.
"Mom!" he screamed. "Mom! Mommy!" He held the piece of shirt close, eyes darting around to find that thing that took her. He couldn't see anything! He looked down at the piece of fabric in his hands. It was bloody with pieces of…stuff attached that he couldn't, didn't want to identify. He fell to his knees, puking up every bit of Gatorade and the last of the granola bars.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, trembling as he got to his feet. Mom was gone. His body started shaking harder. Gone as in never coming back. As in… He squeezed his eyes shut and scrubbed his hands over his face to wipe away any tears.
No time for that. He was alone in a strange, empty city. A dangerous city at night armed only with an address of a woman he'd never met before who might be able to help him find someone who'd saved his life more than a year ago. He needed to hide out until morning and then he could keep walking. Then he could find Dean and together, they could go kill the evil son of a bitch that just took his mom away from him! He wasn't going to cry. He was going to get angry!
Ben drew a shaky breath and picked up the duffle bag. He glanced around, checking to see if anything was coming for him after all that screaming. He jogged down the street, reading street signs as he past them to be sure he was going the right way.
Seventeen blocks later he physically couldn't run anymore so he crawled into a cupboard in a kitchen of some random house, curled into the duffle bag that still smelled like mom and waited for sleep to claim him. It took him several minutes to realize that the phrase he kept muttering under his breath was the last thing his mother had said to him, the address to the woman's house.
He had no idea how long he'd slept. It was daylight. The same grey, dull light of yesterday. Didn't people in the movies always wake up thinking that everything was okay again? Like the person who died was still there or something? Ben woke up knowing he was alone. Alone and in danger and still furious. Okay, maybe a little scared but mostly angry and determined to find this lady who could get him to Dean. He hoped so anyway.
Ben carefully made his way out of the unfamiliar house. There had been nothing edible or drinkable in that stupid empty house. But he had found something by the front door. A bike! The tires were a little bit squishy and the seat was a too high but it was good enough. He'd cover a lot more ground on this thing!
He shivered in the cold morning air. He would get to this lady's house today. After chasing the dream of finding Dean for the last seven months, maybe he'd even find Dean before it got dark again.
His hand shook as he raised it to knock on the door. Every movement hurt, his joints felt like they were on fire. He'd been biking for hours and hours, getting lost three times before getting drenched in the icy rain.
He couldn't remember ever feeling this cold, this scared before. What if her house was as empty as all the others? He knew he couldn't keep going. Where would he go? What the hell would he do if no one answered the door? Then the worst thought of all, what if she's a monster too?
He knocked softly at first, then a bit louder. The door pulled back and a hand reached out and tugged him inside and out of the rain. He nearly crashed head first into a short, round, black woman.
"Oh, Ben, honey," said the black lady in front of him. He blinked in surprise. "I am so glad you finally got here. I was beginning to think I saw something wrong." She had the warmest, nicest eyes Ben had ever seen. She handed him a glass of water and started toweling him off. "Usually my sight is pretty accurate but when you didn't show up this morning I got to worrying."
Ben handed he back the glass and wrapped the towel around himself. "Thanks," he croaked, teeth starting to chatter.
"Oh, you must be freezing," she said hustling him into another room with a pile of clothes neatly folded on a chair. "Change your clothes and I'll get you some hot chocolate, okay, honey?"
"How'd you know…I mean..how?" Ben wasn't even sure which question to ask first. How did she know his name already? How did she know he'd need to change his clothes? And how the hell did she know what size clothes he needed? This new stuff looked like it would fit perfectly. And what was her name? Hands shaking, he wrestled his stiff limbs into the clean, dry clothes.
She bustled back into the room. "My name is Missouri and I'm a good friend of Dean Winchester's. I knew his daddy. And I saw you coming. I can see things sometimes, before they happen." She tucked blankets around him closer and handed him a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Ben took it but didn't drink. He just kept staring at her. "Ben, honey, I am so sorry about your momma."
Ben set the cup carefully on the table next to the chair. "You knew that too?"
"I knew she wasn't going to make it here. Just you."
Ben nodded. "Okay." He took a deep breath.
Missouri touched his face, smoothing back the hair that kept falling into his eyes. 'Poor little lost lamb,' she thought. Ben looked up at her, tears filling his eyes. "Come here." She pulled him into a hug, holding him while he sobbed, tears and spit and snot not mattering in the least as they soaked into her sweater. She just rocked him and crooned lullabies her own momma had sung to her once.
They stayed that way, wrapped in each other until his sobs became sniffles and then lulled into calmer breaths. Ben looked up at Missouri, another question forming in his eyes.
"He'll be here in a little while. Dean's coming. I saw that too."
Ben nodded, seemingly reassured and burrowed back into Missouri's arms.
Everything was going to change soon, all the forces were gathering for something big, possibly for the end itself. But tonight, tonight she knew they'd be safe here, safe with her arms wrapped around this child, giving him the only comfort she could think to give him.