Chapter 2 is up, here we go!
The next morning, Jack meets up with Sam and Dean in the kitchen for pancakes. The wondrous smell of maple syrup wafts through the air, making Jack's stomach rumble. Since Castiel is already gone to talk with the angels, it's just the three of them. He sits and starts devouring the delicious circles.
"I just want to thank you for inviting me on your quest. I know I haven't been much help since I lost my grace, but I'm willing to do my best. I've been training!" Sam chuckles a little.
"We know. We're still trying to get your knife from the ceiling. Fortunately, there won't be much need for weapons this time. We're just investigating a hole in the ground." Jack just shrugs.
"Still, I'll be ready!" Too soon, all the pancakes are eaten, and they head out to the crater. Jack pulls his jacket a little tighter around his thin frame as a breeze rustles the leaves. He's still not used to the cold. When they get to the site, there isn't much to it. The crater is about 10 feet in diameter, with a heavy odor of scorched earth. Sam pulls out various instruments to check for supernatural presence. Dean checks the surroundings for evidence of disturbance. Jack feels kind of useless just standing here, so he jumps into the middle of the crater and looks around.
"Be careful, Jack, the crater could turn into a sinkhole if we're not careful." Dean growls. He crouches down, slowly, sifting through the dirt. His fingers brush against something small and metallic, and he lifts it up, smiling at Sam and Dean.
"I think I found something!" Sam comes up and inspects his prize. It's a metal chain with a ring looped through it. The ring has strange symbols engraved on it, and studded with rubies. It looked very old. Dean takes it from Jack and looks closer at the symbols. He shakes his head.
"It doesn't look like any symbols I've seen before. Sam?" Sam takes it from Dean, but looks just as puzzled.
"Maybe Cas will know. We'll show him when we get back to the bunker. It also could have been there before whatever it is created the crater." Jack notices something else. He goes to the western edge of the crater. Blackened earth in the shape of footprints can barely be made out among the leaves. Dean comes alongside Jack.
"Ok...so whatever fell here crawled out with its own two feet...size 6 maybe. Definitely woman." Jack looks up, puzzled.
"A woman? You're saying a woman fell from the sky, unharmed, and just walked away?" Dean shrugs.
"All I'm saying is what the facts are saying. The ring, these footprints, all suggest a female. Couldn't be human, cause no one could survive a fall like this."
"Or Nobody!" Sam exclaims. "The girl, Nobody, she just came out of nowhere, confused, disoriented. Could be a coincidence but..."
"But I don't believe in coincidences. She seemed very human though."
"Looks can be deceiving." A voice exclaims from behind them. Dean whips out his knife and Sam draws his gun. Jack kind of puts up a defensive pose, still feeling very useless. A man steps out of the trees, eyes completely black.
"Demon!" Dean growls, tightening his grip on the blade. The demon chuckles.
"Winchesters!" He peers around and looks straight at Jack, making him freeze in terror." And you brought the halfling!" He smiles menacingly and steps forward. Sam cocks his gun.
"Step closer, and I blast you back into the hole you crawled out of. And his name is Jack. You will leave him alone." The demon just chuckles and shakes his head.
"Another time, another place. For now, I'm not actually here for Satan's son. I'm here for the same reason you are." He pauses melodramatically. "'The Mysterious Woman'." He sighs. "Looks like I'm a little late to the party, so why don't you fill me in on the deets? Master expects to hear very soon." Dean growls again.
"How about I just exorcise you here and now, demon? All this talk is boring. Lets just skip to the part where I rip your throat out!" The demon sighs again.
"We're supposed to be on the same team here, Dean. We find out who the woman is, make sure she's not a threat, if so, we take her out, if not, we'll all be on our merry way! No need for...unpleasantries." He steps forward again, but Sam pulls the trigger. Unfortunately, the demon dissipates before he can go for the kill shot. Dean puts away the knife and Sam holsters the gun. Jack's hands fall to his side. Dean huffs, annoyed.
"Well, I'm not gonna stand here and wait for the son-of-a-bitch to come back with reinforcements. We need to go back to the bunker and look over what we have, talk to Cas." So off they go.
Meanwhile, my splitting headache is overbearing as I stumble through the streets. 'Drunk' and 'Whore' follow me as I go, and I reach a taco stand. My stomach rumbles loudly, cramping slightly like I haven't eaten in days. I probably haven't. I reach into my pockets, finding a wad of cash in my leather jacket. No wallet. Still have no idea who I am. I passed an antique shop earlier, and studied my reflection in an old mirror. Short blonde hair, hazel eyes, thin frame, leather jacket, ripped jeans, combat boots. I do kind of look like a hooker. I even have a crazy amount of tattoos on my arms and back and chest, weird symbols that I don't understand. A knife is strapped to my belt. I have no idea where I got it, but I seem to know how to use it, what with the vampires yesterday. And now I have a wad of cash, maybe $200 at least. No cellphone, no I.D, no way of figuring out who I am. I try to access my memories, but the voices and flashbacks are too much. I know that I am good with computers. I look maybe twenty. And I remember falling. A long time. Hitting the ground really hard. And my stomach growling in protest. Right, food. I walk up to the stand and stare at the menu. I don't know if I'm even allergic to anything, but I'm so hungry, I don't think it will mind. So I order the number one.
"Name?" The lady drawls with a heavy Spanish accent. I wrinkle my forehead, trying to remember. The lady sighs. "Any day now, sweetheart. I suggest you lay off the alcohol and drugs. Pretty thing like you needs to be careful around here." A name pops in my head.
"Jack!" I frown. That is definitely not my name. But the boy's name is being pounded into my head, I can't think straight. The lady lifts an eyebrow.
"Jack? Short for Jacqueline, I assume. Alright, your order will be done soon. That'll be $6, Hun." I hand her the bills and step aside. As soon as the order comes up, I snatch the basket and scarf it down. Then I order another and scarf that too. Finally, my stomach is satisfied and my head is quieting a little. I'm not sure how I'm going to find Jack. But at the moment, my eyes are drooping, and my legs feel like jello. I stumble through the streets again, and find an alleyway with a tent already pitched. The guy in there seems nice enough, and lends me a tattered blanket to use. I thank him and hand him a fifty. He looks at me with delight. He says I can use the tent tonight too and races off, glee and laughter trailing after him. I smile. Then I crawl into the small tent, ignoring the smell of stale cigarettes, and pass out. I dream of the boy with black wings and golden eyes, and a metal door to an underground bunker.
I want to thank my few followers for the wait. College sucks, and I easily get writers block. I hope to keep the chapters coming on a regular basis from now on. Ta-ta!
