Alex lay on the couch, asleep. His dirty blonde hair fell over his eyes, and his tall figure was cramped on our small sofa. I smiled at the sight of him looking so peaceful. We had been dating for 3 years and I had never been more in love with someone. And it was all because I had quit my job. I frowned at the unwelcome thought of my old job and pushed it out of my mind. I yawned, and closed my laptop. I needed to get some sleep. I walked over to Alex and pushed his long hair off his face, and kissed his forehead even though he wouldn't know I did.
I walked into my bedroom and pulled off my shirt and pants, changing into a tee and pj shorts. I pulled my long auburn hair into a messy bun and crawled into my bed, pulling my covers up to my chin. For the millionth time, I marveled at how wonderful having a simple life could be. I snuggled deeper into my bed and closed my eyes, a smile on my face as I fell into a deep slumber.
I woke up the next morning earlier than usual. For a minute I was instinctively freaked that Alex wasn't beside me, but then I remembered that he had fallen asleep on the couch. I'm being silly, I thought. I had quit all the danger years ago, I'm just a normal person now. There's no reason anyone would want to hurt me or Alex anymore.
I got up and got dressed. I grabbed a brush and began brushing my hair as I walked into the living room, where Alex was. I stopped dead in my tracks. He wasn't there. Oh my god, where is he? I panicked. Then I shook my head. Stop it, Ally. Everything's fine. You're just freaked 'cause you were thinking about your old job. He's probably in the kitchen or something, I scolded myself.
"Alex?" I called out. No answer. I put my brush on the coffee table and headed into the kitchen. The sight I saw next made me shriek in terror. The kitchen was a mess, there were pots and pans everywhere and the coffeemaker was smashed, along with several cups and mugs on the floor. The cabinets had been flung open and, the most frightening; there was a splatter of blood.
"Alex!" I screamed. I ran into the dining room, which was in a similar state. But that wasn't what made me almost pass out. On the walls, written in a red liquid that I guessed was blood, were the messy words: You'll never see him again. That was when I burst into tears. I shrank down to the floor, sobbing. Why was this happening to me? I had quit hunting years ago. And why Alex?! He never did anything, and for all I knew he could be dead! And it was my entire fault. I sobbed and sobbed until my throat was raw. Then I stood up. Crying like that wasn't going to help Alex. But I didn't know what to do. I hadn't hunted in years! I was going to need help if I was going to find Alex.
The big question was who to call.
Definitely not my dad. He may have been one of the best hunters I knew, but I just couldn't face him, let alone ask for help. Not after I ditched him all those years ago to be with Alex. But who? Then it hit me. Uncle Sam! He was an amazing hunter too, even though he didn't do it as much then as he did before. And he would understand what I was going through, especially after all those years ago when he too ran away from his dad and life of a hunter. And he knew how difficult his brother, my dad, could be.
I bolted to my phone and dialed Uncle Sam's number.
"Come on, pick up!" I muttered desperately as it rang.
"Hello?" I heard the sound of Aunt Sara's voice on the phone.
"Aunt Sara, it's me, Allison," I said quickly. "Is Uncle Sam there?"
"Ally, is everything alright?" Aunt Sara asked, and I knew she heard how panicked I was.
"No, that's why I need-"
"Sam, yes of course. Just a minute," She said. I heard her calling for my uncle, and then the sound of the phone being transferred.
"Allison? What happened? I haven't heard from you in a long time, not since you, well, ya know…" said the familiar deep voice of my favorite, and only, uncle.
"I know, but that's not why I called you. My boyfriend, you know, Alex? Well, he's missing, and the house is a wreck and there's blood everywhere, and on the wall in blood is written 'You'll never see him again,' and the only thing I could think of is that something from my hunting days found me and stole him! I didn't know what to do, so I called you," I explained in a rush, and I felt on the verge of tears again and knew it showed in my voice.
Uncle Sam got right to the point. "Okay, that definitely sounds like something supernatural. I'll be right over." He paused. "Um… what's your address?" He asked. I told him quickly, and then he said goodbye and hung up. I sat down on the couch where Alex's blanket still was. I knew from how warm the couch was that Alex was only taken a bit ago. I wanted to slap myself. How had I slept through that?! I should have been there to help him, to save him. Or maybe I should've just told him about my work to start with, so he could protect himself in case something like this happened.
It's my fault, It's my fault, I thought over and over as I hugged the blanket close to me. It smelled like Alex; coffee, shaving cream, and the outdoors. It was a bit comforting, so I closed my eyes and lay down holding the blanket to my face.
Not nearly soon enough I heard a knock at the front door, and I leapt up from the couch and bolted to the door, unlocking it and flinging it open. On the doorstep stood my Uncle Sam, a tall, well-muscled man with shaggy brown hair and greenish brown eyes. He wore his famous brooding face. I couldn't help but fling myself into his arms when I saw him. He hugged me back tightly, telling me everything would be okay.
After a nice minute, I stepped back and let him into my home, closing and locking the door. I showed him to my kitchen, where the mess still was. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked around the kitchen, finally turning to me.
"Well, Alex definitely put up a fight. Can I see the writing you told me about?" He asked.
"Of course," I told him and walked into the wrecked dining room with Uncle Sam behind me. He walked up to the wall and looked closely at the words.
"Well, this is definitely blood, human," My uncle said. I suspected as much, but I gasped nonetheless.
"Right," I answered, my voice shaking. "Well… what do you think took him?" Uncle Sam just shrugged.
"I'm not completely sure-" He began, but suddenly stopped, looking around.
"Uncle Sam? What- what is it?" I stammered.
"Do you smell that? Rotten eggs," He answered, looking troubled. My eyes widened as I realized I smelled it too.
"Sulfur," I stated. Uncle Sam nodded, and looked for the source. After a minute he found a pile of the yellow powder on the windowsill underneath the shattered window.
"Son of a bitch…" My uncle muttered. I agreed.
"Have there been any lightning storms recently?" He asked me. I felt the blood drain from my face.
"My god, yea. All week. I thought… I mean, being in Florida and all… I thought they were normal! I should've known they were way too frequent though! God, I am such an idiot!" I exclaimed, on the verge of tears yet again.
"No, Allison, you're not. There's no way you could have known a demon was hunting you. And there's no way you could've stopped it from taking your boyfriend, either. It probably would've killed both of you if you had tried," Uncle Sam attempted to comfort me, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"What I don't understand is why he didn't just kill me in the first place! Why take Alex?! He never did anything. And anyways, I stopped hunting years ago! Why would a demon want anything to do with me?" I thought out loud. My Uncle sighed.
"You're a Winchester. Lots of demons have bones to pick with all of us Winchesters. And you can't run away from hunting. Trust me; I've tried more times than I can count. As for why it left you alive, my guess is it wants something from you. I have no clue what, or why it didn't just come get you. Demon's minds work in strange ways. I bet it wants you to come looking for it, which is why it took Alex. All I know for sure is this is a trap," He said.
"I don't care. It's my fault Alex was taken, and I have to get him back, no matter what," I replied stubbornly. Uncle Sam looked like he might have smiled, but didn't.
"Just like your father," He said under his breath. "I know that. But it's going to be dangerous. You can't go alone," He told me. I nodded.
"I know. But who's going to help me?" I furrowed my eyebrows.
"I would, but I can't," Uncle Sam said, not surprising me. He had his own family to look out for. There was no way he could leave Aunt Sarah and their kids, John and Mary, alone to fend for themselves.
"I know, and I could never ask you to leave your family for however long it's going to take to get Alex back. But I don't know who else to turn to," I said sadly. Uncle Sam looked into my eyes and put his hand on my arm gently and I knew what he was going to say.
"No, Uncle Sam, I can't. I can't, not after I left him. My dad probably hates me, there's no way I could ask him to help me save my boyfriend that I ditched my family for. In the three years since I left he hasn't even tried to contact me," I argued before my uncle could even say anything. I waited for him to argue.
"Okay," he said, surprising me. "You don't have to ask if you don't want to. You could call James, though." James is my brother. I haven't talked to him since I left, either.
"I never thought about James. Yeah, I'll call him. Do you have his number?" I asked my uncle. He nodded. We walked into my living room and I jotted down the number Uncle Sam gave me on a pad of paper. It was time for him to leave though. I gave my beloved uncle a hug and walked him to his car.
"Are you going to be okay?" My uncle asked. I could tell from his face that he knew it was a stupid question.
"I will be as soon as I get Alex back," I told him. He nodded and gave me a sad smile, a kiss on the forehead, and got into his car. But before he could drive away, he rolled down the window and looked me in the face seriously.
"You are the greatest niece I could ever ask for, and I support any decision you make, but I really do think you should at least call your father," He told me.
"But, Uncle Sam-" I started, but he cut me off.
"Allison, I know you think he hates you, but trust me, he doesn't. He's worried about you, and he's mad at himself. He thinks he repeated our father's mistakes and chased you away. The only reason he hasn't tried to contact you is the same reason you haven't tried to contact him; he thinks you want nothing to do with him.
I know my brother can be difficult and has done some bad things, and I know that you must be angry with him for raising you into this life. Trust me, I know a thing or two about being mad at your dad," Uncle Sam said with a wink. Then he was serious again. "But you really should try to make up with him. I know I can't force you, and you definitely don't have to, but that's my opinion.
Oh, and maybe try to call more? I really missed you. So did Sara and your cousins, and I'm sure your mom is dying to talk to you. I love you, Ally," He said, and drove away, leaving me to think about what he just said.