When Dean wakes up gasping for air in total darkness, he's convinced that it's some new trick the demons have worked up to remind him that he's still Hell's bitch.
But pretty soon, as he waits and waits for the inevitable pain to arrive, for the snapping of bones and tearing of flesh, Dean realizes that he's incredibly hot. For the first time in forty years, the temperature around him has changed.
He's still convinced that it's some sort of cruel joke, but Dean fumbles around in the pocket of his jeans for some kind of light anyway. He's not going to waste the opportunity to escape, even if it is only in his mind.
When his fingers scrape along the cool metal of his well-used Zippo, Dean lets out a sigh of relief and flicks the igniter to life. When the flame illuminates the air around him, he's met with the lid of a pine box and the heavy scent of earth.
There's only one thing that runs through his mind.
Son of a bitch.
It takes Dean four hours of walking in the blistering sun before he stumbles across a small convenience store. It's run down, definitely your typical Ma and Pa stop you'd find in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, but Dean can see water and food through the dirty glass windows.
It's like the fucking Ritz.
Dean pounds on the door and calls out, but no one replies. So he takes matters into his own hands and busts through a pane of glass in the doorway and lets himself in. Desperate times call for desperate measures, after all.
When Caden lets herself in through the back door of Mr. and Mrs. Young's small store, she immediately senses that something's off.
The little store should have been locked up tight and eerily silent, considering it was closed for the day. And yet coming from the front of the store was the shuffling sounds of someone moving around and muttering to themselves quietly under their breath.
Stealing herself for anything, Caden slipped her hand into the inside of her jacket and pulled her Colt out from within its folds. She silently stalked toward the small doorway that would lead to the front of the store and peered around the corner in order to scope of what was happening.
What Caden saw was not exactly something she expected.
And handsome man covered in dirt and sweat was standing near the magazine rack, a plastic bag dangling from one hand as he smirked down at a copy of Busty Asian Beauties that was being cradled in his other. Caden had to blink a few times to lift the haze of distraction the other man's muscles had caused.
"Last time I checked, when a sign says closed it generally means you're not supposed to break in," she said as she stepped around the corner into the main section of the store, gun raised and pointed directly at the intruder's chest.
He jumped slightly, green eyes darting first to the gun aimed in his direction and then to Caden, apprehension and mistrust lining his features.
"Woah, hey," the man said as he raised his hands in the air as a sign of surrender. "I'm not trying to cause any trouble. I just really needed some supplies."
"So you break into an elderly couples store and steal their stuff?" Caden mocks in disbelief. "Real classy."
The intruder scowls and lowers his hands. "It's not like I knew some old people owned the place. Listen, I'll just leave the stuff and be on my way."
Dean tries to leave the store, but a shot whizzes past the left side of his body as soon as he takes a step backwards.
"Jesus Christ, lady!" he exclaims with a panicked expression. "What are you trying to do, kill me?"
"Oh, don't be such a baby," the young woman scoffs as she lowers her gun. "If I wanted to hit you, I would have. But I had to stop you from leaving the store."
"Oh, and you couldn't just ask me to stop?" Dean shouts in aggravation.
The woman examines the nails on her left hand for a moment before she responds. "Well, I'm sure I could have. But where's the fun in that?"
Dean gapes at her for a moment before simply shaking his head and really giving her a once over. She's short, probably only about 5'5" with dark brown hair and blue eyes. Dean actually thinks she's pretty damn attractive, especially with that silver Colt in her hand and the faded leather jacket she has hanging from her other hand.
Then again, Dean has been in Hell for what felt like forty years. Without a woman. He's pretty sure he'd find anything with two legs and a set of boobs attractive.
"So if I can't leave, what am I supposed to do?" Dean asks as he leans on a nearby shelf. Now that the woman has lowered her gun, he feels like he can relax for a few minutes.
"Well, I could call the cops," the woman responds absently. This immediately puts Dean on edge, because the last thing he needs are the cops on his ass. But before he has a chance to respond, the girl continues on. "But I really don't feel like messing with those idiots today. So how about you just tell me what your name is and what you're doing here."
Dean hesitates for a moment, every aspect of his training telling him to lie through his teeth to this person. But something else entirely tells Dean that she can be trusted and before he knows it, the words come spilling out of his mouth.
"The name's Dean, and I'm just trying to get home."
Caden likes the sound of his name. It's strong and matches what little bit of the mysterious man that she's gotten to see. But before she can form a response to his introduction, a strange ringing begins to buzz in the back of her mind.
The ringing grows in intensity, getting so shrill that Caden is sure her brain is going to explode like those of the aliens in Mars Attacks. It's the worst pain she's ever felt in her life.
With her eyes shut against the pain inside her skull, Caden doesn't notice Dean barreling towards her until it's too late and she's thrown to the ground, pinned under his weight just as the glass from the windows explodes in on them.
He takes most of the blow.
Just as soon as the ringing started, it stops. Leaving both adults on the ground rubbing their ears and cringing. It takes a few moments for either of them to notice how close they are to one another on the floor, and Caden can feel her cheeks turning red as Dean quickly rights himself and offers a hand down to help her off of the floor.
"What in the hell was that?" Caden asks in bewilderment.
Dean glances around a few times before turning serious eyes on Caden. "Something a hell of a lot worse than a robber. We need to get out of here."
Caden's not sure what it is about Dean that makes her want to follow him to the ends of the earth, but she doesn't spend enough time dwelling on it before she's following him out of the store.
"Where are you going to go?" she calls to Dean as she quickly catches up to his side.
"Like I said earlier, I'm going home," he responds. "To South Dakota."
"And are you planning on walking that entire way?"
"Honey, you don't want to know how I plan on getting home," Dean responds with a devilish smirk that makes Caden go a little weak in the knees, not that she'd ever admit it out loud.
Instead of acting like a teenage girl with her first crush, Caden straightens her back and pulls Dean to a stop with her hand around his forearm. "Well, since that obviously sounds illegal…why don't you let me give you a ride?"
She gestures towards her gleaming black and silver Harley parked just across the small, dirt lot and waits for Dean's reaction. Caden's named the piece of machinery Gabriel after her mother's favorite angel, and the bike has become her pride and joy.
Dean looks at the motorcycle with a little bit of trepidation before resolutely turning towards Caden. "Listen lady, I appreciate the offer, but I don't even know you're name. And…I'm totally not riding bitch."
Caden can't help but let out a round of laughter, and only smiles wider when she catches sight of the scowl Dean is sending in her direction. "I'm sorry," she apologizes with no real conviction. "The name's Caden, nice to meet you. And just so we're clear, I'm not going to let you steal someone's car. So either take the ride, or walk the whole way to South Dakota. Your choice."
Dean glares at Caden for a few minutes before sighing and shaking his head in defeat. "Fine," he concedes. "But I'm still not riding bitch."
Caden smiles to herself and turns to walk towards Gabriel. "Dean, if you don't want to ride like a bitch, you should stop acting like one."
She's pleased to hear the crunch of Dean's boots on the loose stone and dirt following behind her.
