A/N: Here is the next chapter for you all!
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural
The Impala drove up to a bridge that was missing the other half that would get them to the other side. Dean shifted the car into park and turned off the ignition. Looking into the backseat, Dean saw that Natalie was passed out and he couldn't help but smirk. "We'll give her a few more minutes of nice sleep." He said before he and Sam got out of the car to get a closer look.
The two of them walked over to the edge of the bridge, as Dean kicked a rock over the edge. They both realized that there was no way they were going to get the car across. "This is the only road in, or out." Dean said.
Sam pulled out his phone and held it up, "No signal."
Dean took a quick sweep of the surroundings, "Rufus was right. Demons got this place locked down."
Sam took a moment to take in their surroundings as well, "Looks like we're hiking in."
Dean shrugged, "And the hits keep on coming."
Dean and Sam head back towards the Impala. Sam continues on towards the trunk, while Dean stopped next to the door Natalie was leaning against. He knocked on the window but Natalie didn't respond to it. Dean stood up and huffed out before hitting the top of the Impala.
Natalie jolted awake and began to rapidly look left and right. She blinked her eyes and turned to face out the window and saw Dean smirking at her. "Time to get up sleeping beauty." Dean joked.
Natalie narrowed her eyes at him which only caused his smirk to grow, then Dean walked to the trunk of the Impala. Natalie groaned and rubbed her eyes before opening the door and got out. Natalie stumbled-walked to the back of the Impala, but was gazing around her with a confused look.
Once she reached them Dean pulled out her bag and handed it to her. Natalie took it, her eyes still looking around, "Why are we stopping here?" She asked curiously. Dean looked at her before pointing to the edge of the bridge. Her eyes fixed on the spot and she walked forward to get a better look. Reaching the edge she stopped and her brows raised in realization, "Oh, I see why now."
Natalie turned back around and walked over to Sam and Dean. She looked into the trunk and took out the pistol that Bobby had given her and checked to make sure it was loaded. Dean handed her one of the shotguns and she eyes him skeptically. "You are going to need more than that pistol." Dean answered, seeing the doubt in her eyes.
Natalie sighed and took the gun, "Alright then." Sam closed the trunk of the Impala and the three of them began their walk towards the town.
...
Within time the three of them had reached the entrance to the town and the town looked like hell. Cars were overturned and buildings had been partially destroyed. There was no sign of anyone else in this town. They continued their walk into the town and soon music began to fill the air. Natalie looked over at Sam and Dean, who made their way over to the car where the music was coming from. Natalie slowly walked over to a sports good store and peered in through the windows. There was no one inside and it looked like the place had been ransacked.
Natalie walked to the entrance of the store and took another look before deciding there was nothing of importance there. They continued down the street and soon could hear more music coming from another car. The three of them approach it, their guns ready, only to find that it was empty. Sam reached in and turned off the music and there was nothing but silence. It was so unusual for a town to be so quiet. Natalie could feel a chill run down her spine. She felt like she was in one of those apocalyptic movies where towns got wiped out. Sadly, they were in a situation like that.
They turned away from the car and continue their walk deeper into town. A banner was hanging over the street, welcoming everyone to the seventy-fifth anniversary of River Pass. Natalie could almost envision what this town must have been like before all hell broke lose. People walking the streets, running errands to the stores, getting ready for the celebration of their town. It always shocks Natalie how something going so right could take a turn for the worse. The three of them paused at a red classic Mustang, Sam loses interest but Natalie and Dean admires the car for a moment. Dean whistles and Natalie nodded her agreement.
A spark at the gas station gained their attention and they made their way over to find a pool of blood next to a minivan. They scanned the car, only to find that it was empty, and they move on. The sound of a gun cocking came out of nowhere and the three of them turn, their guns leveled up. There was a woman standing before them, a gun pointing at them, Natalie had no idea who she was, but she saw Dean and Sam lowering their guns, therefore she did as well.
"Ellen?" Sam asked.
"Hello, boys, and girl." Ellen said, her eyes casting a glance at Natalie before lowering her gun.
Dean glances at Sam and Natalie as Ellen walks closer to him. "Ellen, what the heck's going on here?" Dean asked.
Suddenly, Ellen splashed Dean in the face with holy water and raised her gun towards him again. Natalie's eyes flickered between Dean and Ellen, waiting for Ellen to see that it wasn't burning him. "We're us." Dean said, wiping the water from his face. Ellen lowers her gun once again and walks between them towards a church. The three of them eyed each other before following her.
...
The four of them entered the church, but there was a devil's trap drawn inside the doorway, and a line of salt across the threshold. They all stepped across with no problems and Ellen turned back to them. "Really glad to see you boys." Ellen said as she wrapped Dean in a hug, then she pulled away and slapped him across the face.
Natalie's eyes went wide and she saw the shocked look on Dean's face. "The can of whoop-ass I ought to open on you." Ellen accused.
Dean pressed his hand on his cheek, "Ow."
"You can't pick up a phone? What are you, allergic to giving me a peace of mind? I had to find out that you're alive from Rufus?" Ellen nearly barked out.
Dean rubbed his cheek before dropping his hand, "Sorry, Ellen."
Natalie couldn't help the smirk that appeared on her lips and this didn't go unnoticed by Ellen. Her eyes scanned over Natalie curiously and this caused Natalie to wipe the smirk right off her face. "Who is this then?" Ellen asked curiously.
Natalie could feel a sense of nervousness wash over her. The only hunters she had known was Bobby, Dean and Sam, even when she met Dean and Sam she never felt this kind of shyness or nervousness. Natalie walked forward slightly, "I'm Natalie...Natalie Collins."
Ellen offered her a small yet warm smile and offered her hand which Natalie took, "Ellen Harvelle." Though Ellen had began to test out Natalie's name. She had heard it from somewhere before but she couldn't figure out where. She continuously repeated Natalie's name, she heard it from somewhere. .
Finally, Ellen's face lit up in recognition, "Collins, is your father Tom Collins?"
Natalie's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. Sam and Dean were surprised to hear this as well. "You-you know my father?" Natalie asked.
Ellen smiled and nodded her head, "Of course I do. Your father was a frequent visitor to my bar...also he and my husband were good friends. I knew your name sounded familiar...Natalie. He always talked about you."
Natalie smiled sadly at her words. "How long did you know him?" Natalie asked curiously.
Ellen didn't have to think long, "Oh, a couple of years. But, after my husband died we just, lost contact with each other. How is he? Your dad?" Ellen asked.
Natalie's face fell, Dean and Sam eyed Natalie carefully watching to see if she would react strongly. Natalie cleared her throat, "He, uh, my dad...died two years ago."
Ellen's warm expression soon turned grim and sympathetic. She didn't know what to say in that moment and shook her head, "I'm so sorry..."
Natalie shrugged it off, "No it's fine, really."
They stood in silence for a moment before Ellen sighed and turned around leading them further inside. Dean glances at Natalie and Sam before following Ellen. Natalie went to follow when Sam grabbed her arm, stopping her, she looked at him and could see his worried expression. "You alright?" He simply asked.
Natalie nodded with little confidence, "Yeah, I'm fine." Sam gazed at her with doubt but decided to leave it alone. His hand pressed against her back and guided her in the direction Dean and Ellen had gone.
Sam and Natalie caught up to Dean and followed him down a set of stairs. "What's going on, Ellen?" Dean suddenly asked.
"More than I can handle alone." Ellen admitted.
They reached the bottom of the stairs and made their way towards a door, "How many demons are here?" Sam asked.
Ellen walked up to the door, "Pretty much the whole town, minus the dead people and these guys." She stopped and turn to look at them, "So, this is it, right? End of Times?" The three hunters merely looked at each other, "It's got to be." Ellen offered.
Sam shifted uncomfortably, "Seems like it." He said with hesitation.
Ellen raised a hand and knocked on the door, "It's me." Someone looks through a peephole, and then opens the door to reveal a group of people taking refuge in this room.
"This is Sam, Dean and Natalie. They're hunters and they are here to help." Ellen told to the group before them. A man named Austin eyed the three of them not really ready to trust these new people, "You guys hip to this whole demon thing?"
Dean eyed him, "Yeah, are you?"
"My wife's eyes turned black. She came at me with a brick, that kind of makes you embrace the paranormal." Another man said.
Dean nods his head and turns to Ellen. "Alright, catch us up."
"I doubt I know much more than you. Rufus called, said he was in town investigating omens. Then all of a sudden, the whole town was possessed. Me and Jo were nearby-"
Dean gazed at Ellen with surprise, "You were hunting with Jo?"
Ellen nodded her head, "Yeah, for a while. We got here, and the place-well it was like how you saw it. Couldn't find Rufus, then we got separated. I was out out looking for her when I found you guys."
"Don't worry, we'll find her." Dean offered.
Ellen nodded trying to not show how worried she was about Jo. "Either way, these people cannot just sit here."
Natalie looked behind her at the people sitting around, waiting for everything to stop, though it wasn't going to stop unless they did something. "We got to get them out now."
Ellen was immediate to shake her head, "No, it's not that easy. I've been trying. We already made a run for it once."
"What happened?" Sam asked.
Ellen sighed and looked around the room, "There used to be twenty of us."
Dean, Sam and Natalie checked the room, excluding the four hunters there are only ten people. Dean looked at Ellen, "Well, there's four of us now-"
"You don't know what it's like out there. Demons are everywhere, and we won't be able to cover everybody." Ellen interrupted.
Sam began to think for a moment, knowing that these people needed to get out of here, they needed to come up with a plan. "What if we get everyone guns?"
Dean casted him a skeptic look, "What, are you gonna arm up baby bump over here?"
"More salt we can fire at once, more demons we can keep away." Sam offered.
Natalie thought about for only a brief moment, "It seems like it could work."
Dean sighed and glanced over at the people, "There's a sporting goods store we passed on the way in. I am pretty sure they got guns." Sam nodded and they dropped their bags. Dean turned to Natalie, "Maybe you should just stay here. We are only going practically across the street."
Natalie gave him an annoyed look, "Fine. I really don't feel like arguing with you."
Dean gave her a relieved look, "Good. Because I really don't want to hear an argument." Natalie rolled her eyes which caused Dean to smirk.
Dean turned to Ellen, "If we see Jo and Rufus we will bring them back." Ellen nodded before Sam and Dean left the room.
Natalie took a seat at an empty table and laid her head down on her arms. She felt incredibly exhausted and she didn't know the reason for it. While she was at her aunt's house she didn't get that much sleep. Then to top on everything she saw with Sam and where they were now, it was just adding on to the stress she was feeling. Being in this town that was being over run by demons just tipped everything off.
Ellen walked over to the table Natalie was sitting at and pulled up a chair to sit across from her. "How you holding up kid?" Ellen asked.
Natalie lifted her head and leaned back against her chair. Her arms dropped into her lap and her shoulders slumped, "Fine, I guess."
Ellen hummed in response but there was a hint of doubt, "By the looks of it, I'd say you have been through a lot lately."
Natalie stared at Ellen with not annoyance but amusement. This woman was incredibly intuitive and Natalie admired her for that. Natalie's arms crossed over her chest, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
Ellen clasped her hands together, "I know you don't know me that well but, I am all ears if you want to talk."
Natalie smiled but was considering turning her down. She just met this woman but it wasn't like she didn't trust Ellen. Sam and Dean know her and trust therefore she does. Natalie just didn't want to whine to her about everything after all she has to deal with now.
"Who is Jo?" Natalie asked, trying to change the subject to something else.
Ellen caught onto this but decided not to call out on it, "She's my daughter. Not much older than you. I think you and her could hit it off."
Natalie smiled, "Well, then I look forward to meeting her."
"So, how did you get into this business? I mean your dad seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn't want his kids to get involved in this." Ellen speculated and how right she was.
Natalie leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. "Yeah, he didn't want any of us to be apart of it. After my dad died, I grew really close with Bobby and he knew I was curious as to how my dad died. So, he did some research for me and from what I learned, I felt that I needed to become a hunter, so that I could protect my family." Ellen stared at Natalie sympathetically.
"Though, it didn't do any good for my family. It's just my sister, my aunt and I, we're the only ones left." Natalie stopped herself from going any further and was mentally berating herself for showing weakness, especially right now. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go all mushy on you." Natalie tried to redeem herself from that episode.
"You don't have to apologize. Sometimes it's good to show a little emotion every once in a while." Ellen offered.
There was a knock on the door and Austin walked over, looked through the peephole and opened the door. Sam and Dean came walking in, armed with several guns they were able to get from the sporting goods store. Ellen stood up and began to make her way over to the others but stopped and put her hand on Natalie's shoulder. Natalie looked up at her and earned a smile from Ellen which she returned.
Natalie settled against her chair and sighed. She was able to fully absorb all the events that have happened in the past week. Dealing with Sam's addiction to demon blood, Lucifer being let out of the cage and Bobby not being able to walk again. All of it had just piled on top of each other, none of it had been dealt with until now. Just thinking about it made Natalie even more mentally exhausted. Natalie took a deep breath and stood up from her seat, she was ready to get this job done.
Everyone was doing their job to prepare themselves to leave. Natalie was helping a few people with assembling salt shells while Dean, Sam and Ellen were teaching the people how to load the guns. While assembling salt shells Natalie had gotten to know some of the people, one of them whom she learned his name was Rodger. He was a fairly decent guy, knew how to keep a conversation going.
She looked up and saw Sam and Dean talking but didn't think much to it. Her attention went back to finishing the round of shells and when she looked up again Ellen was standing before them but couldn't hear what she was saying.
Natalie walked over to Ellen, just as Dean and Sam walked into another room. "What's going on?"
Ellen looked at Natalie, "I just told the boys that I was gonna go out to find my daughter, Sam offered to go with me, then Dean pulled him out of the room."
Natalie nodded and folded her arms across her chest, "Well, if they can't settle it out, I'll go with you. Might as well prove to be of some use here." Natalie then heard the sound of something slamming against the wall and her heard turned to where Sam and Dean were. Sam had Dean pinned up against the wall, and Natalie began to walk to them but stopped halfway. "If you actually think I-"
It was all Natalie had to hear to know they were talking about the demon blood. There was a long pause between the two of them, before Sam let go of Dean. Both of them looked over at Natalie, who was giving them a look they couldn't really make out.
Sam's gaze fell and he walked back into the room, past Natalie not even casting her a second glance. Natalie closed her eyes, allowing her head to hand, the strain between Sam and Dean was growing and she could sense it so easily.
Sam was gathering everything he and Ellen needed to go out and look for Jo. Natalie hesitantly walked up next to him, but didn't say anything to him. Sam could feel the tension that was between him and Dean, was now affecting Natalie. He hated that she was apart of the whole fiasco with his demon blood. Dean should never even asked her to help with that. Regardless, Natalie would have found out either way and still get involved.
"Are you alright?" Natalie asked. The silence between the two of them had become unbearable for her.
Sam huffed and shook his head, "You and Dean really think that I am so vulnerable don't you? I am fine."
Natalie bit her lip and shook her head, "You know I just want to make sure. I'm not trying to, make you seem weak in any way. If you think I'm trying to chew you out...I'm not."
Sam pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, "Sorry, it's just everything going between me and Dean..."
Natalie turned around and leaned against the table, "You don't need to apologize. I am just worried about the both of you."
Sam gazed over at her and finishes packing all of the necessities he needed. He turned around and leaned against the table and slipped his hands in his coat pockets. "I just hope that everything will turn right sooner or later." Natalie admitted.
"Not sure if that's gonna happen Nad." Sam said.
Ellen waved for Sam, telling him that she was ready to leave. Sam picked up his bag and stood in front of Natalie. "Be careful, Sam. Come back in one piece." Natalie said. Sam nodded then followed Ellen out the door.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to review!
(edited 10/15/07)