A/N: Sorry I haven't been as consistent with posting new chapters like before. School started up for me again, so it'll probably be this way for a while. As usual, please let me know what you think! Any tips are greatly appreciated.
She felt as if she was swimming in a pool of molasses. Her movements were slow and sluggish and her eyes could barely take in what was around her. It was too dark to see.
"Hello?" she heard a voice call.
She tried to move her body towards the sound of the voice, but her limbs responded sluggishly. "Hello," she echoed, her voice slurred.
"Hello, hello," the voice repeated in a sing-song voice.
She froze when she suddenly recognized it.
"It's you," the voice said.
She whirled around, straining against whatever was slowing her down. "Louise?" she asked, her eyes wide. "You..." In front of her stood a familiar face with round cheeks, curly brown hair and wide brown doe eyes.
"I've missed you, I haven't seen you in so long," Louise said, smiling a dimpled smile, as pretty as ever.
Her mind fought to keep up, bewildered and confused. "Louise... I've missed you too. But you shouldn't be here." She was suddenly afraid, sensing her father nearby. "You need to go, he can't know you're here."
Louise's face melted into a pout. "I don't want to go. I want to play with you."
"Louise, please," she begged, reaching out with her arms to push her away. "Louise." She finally managed to touch Louise's shoulder, but quickly pulled away when it felt wet. She looked down at her hand, gazing at a bright red bloodstain coating her hand. "No..." She looked up to see her father looming over Louise, a small smile on his lips. "No!" Her voice grew louder.
Louise stared at her with a blank gaze, the dimpled smile gone. Blood creeped over her shoulders and her neck. She started to move backwards, Father and her melting into the shadows behind.
"Wait!" she called, but her voice choked off as the drilling pain in her head came back. She stumbled forward and gripped at her head, a small scream escaping her. "Stop. Stop!" The drilling only increased.
She bolted upright in bed, a scream building in her throat. A quick glance around told her she was in the motel. "A dream, a dream..." she murmured to herself. Amon had delivered on his promise the night before. That was low, she said to him, Louise's dimpled smile dancing in her head before being replaced with the bloody, blank stare.
Demon, he reminded her. Unhappy demon.
Time to get up, she chanted to herself, trying to shake off the dream. She hadn't seen Louise in years, and the reminder of her left her dazed. She found herself washing her hands, even if she knew it had all been just a dream. She stepped outside the motel room, more than ready to leave it behind her.
She took a deep breath outside, tilting her head back to drink in the sun. Despite the fall season, the sky was blue and the sun shone brightly. She took off her jacket and rolled up her sleeves. The warmth felt incredible. Regardless of all she knew she was supposed to worry about; her dad, Amon, the two men from before; she felt rather content. She had endless choices in front of her, and the freedom of it felt good. She could go anywhere, and the thought of it excited her a bit. There was so much of the world she wanted to see.
A growl from her stomach caught her attention and she glanced around to see if there was anything in the immediate area. There was something called a diner across the street, but she had no idea how those worked. She assumed it used money, and that she didn't have. She started walking, hoping to find another store with food like the one she found before. She preferred not to go back to that one, the image of her pinned above the counter making her shiver slightly.
She found another store and smiled to herself, a light spring in her step at the thought of the dark brown squares from before. They had been delicious. Carefully she stepped up to the doors and took a deep breath, her mind prepared to jump at any moment. Then she froze, hand hovering above the handle. Inside were the two men from before, handing the cashier what she assumed was another picture of her. Unfortunately the counter was close to the door, and all three of them turned in response to her movements. There was a moment where everyone stood still, as if time had slipped out of its wheel for a moment, and she stared at them with wide eyes and gaping mouth. The two of them seemed a lot bigger now than they had before. Time clicked back into place and suddenly she was running, shouts echoing behind her. There was a bang as the doors of the store slammed open.
"Stop," one of them shouted.
She did the opposite and pumped her legs harder, although they did not appreciate the sudden morning run. She swerved into an alley, slamming into the wall. She used it to push herself off, trying to go faster. The shouts sounded closer now. She leaped over a fallen trashcan, risking a glance behind her. She sucked in a sharp breath at the sight. They were way too close, and they did not look happy. Suddenly a hand snaked out and latched onto her arm, yanking her to the side. A small gasp escaped her as she was pulled through a doorway. The door shut behind her, and there was a loud thud as if a bar fell into place behind it. She looked around in a panic, her eyes straining to see in the sudden dark. The hand that grabbed her tightened its grip and dragged her along. Confused, she stumbled over boxes and pieces of wood that littered the floor, barely keeping up. The echo of their steps told her they were in a large room.
"What..." she began in a weak voice, pulling away slightly from the grip on her arm. It was beginning to hurt. There were loud bangs on the door behind her, muffled shouts leaking through. Eventually they stopped, and she let out a sigh of relief. She almost thanked the person but stopped herself. "Please let go," she said instead. The hand only tightened its grip in response. "Let go," she repeated, her voice more firm. Her mind flexed in her head, ready to strike. "Let-" She cut off as the hand suddenly released her. She rubbed her now sore arm. "Thank you." Suddenly the hands reached out again and gripped both her wrists. She jumped, her instinct suddenly screaming at her to run. Before she could move cold metal tamped down on her wrists. "What...?" The other hand released her and she lifted her arms, peering at her wrists in the low light. Handcuffs. She blinked in surprised, but relaxed a bit. Handcuffs wouldn't hold her if she wanted to escape.
"What are these for?" she asked, trying hard to see who the hands belonged to.
A light suddenly flickered on above her, and she saw an older man, seemingly in his fifties, staring back her. He stood stiffly as if he was unsure how to use his body. His gaze was blank, and it looked as if he was incapable of even thinking for himself. She peered at his eyes and then froze when she saw familiar pale orbs looking back at her. A sign of a spell her father frequently used.
The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone. "I have her," he said in a monotone voice.
Get out, get out, get out, her instincts screamed, and she flexed her mind to break the handcuffs off of her. It flexed for a few moments but then stuttered, falling back helplessly. What? An icy feeling crept down her back, and she lifted up her wrists again to take a closer look at the handcuffs now that a light was on. Her heart pounded at the sight of symbols etched on to it, the familiar pentagram shape repeating itself all around the one side. She looked back up in a panic, the man gazing dully back at her with the phone to his ear.
"Okay," he said to the voice on the phone and hung up. "We wait here."
She darted away, trying to go back the way they came. The man's hand suddenly snaked out again and latched onto her before she could get away, his fingers digging into the same spot as before.
"We wait here," he repeated, eyes staring straight ahead.
She fought down the tears that pricked at her eyes. Just this morning she had been in such a good mood. She struggled against his grip but he didn't let up. She tried to kick at him but he didn't flinch. She should've known better, the spell doesn't let them feel any pain. Her mind repeatedly flexed on its own, pushing helplessly against the handcuffs that tamped it down.
All of a sudden there was a loud bang and she froze. The man barely twitched, turning his head slowly towards the sound. There were a few heartbeats of silence and then the two men from the store melted out of the shadows. Not good, she thought. On instinct she pulled away from them, but the man's tight grip kept her anchored.
"This seems fun," the one man said. He was the shorter one of the two. Both of them had guns pointed at her and the man, their aim steady. "Hate to interrupt."
Both her and the man remained silent. Her muscles tensed in preparation, ready to escape at the slightest chance. Time was running out for her.
"Not very talkative are they, Sammy." The same one spoke again, smiling. It was the type of smile her father would have; a smile given to something he didn't particularly like. Any hopeful thought she had before of them being good guys flew out the door.
The other man, presumably "Sammy", didn't respond. He took a few slow steps closer, the gun still pointed directly at her. She wasn't so much afraid of the guns; unless they knew better, regular bullets wouldn't harm her. But both of them looked entirely too comfortable in the situation. The man behind her didn't look much like a normal man anymore. The stiff posture and pale eyes would normally be enough to unnerve anyone, especially with a handcuffed girl thrown into the picture. But the two men didn't seem fazed. Instead, they looked as if this was barely the worst thing they had seen, and that made her wary.
"At least this makes it easier for us," the other man spoke again, still slowly moving closer. His eyes rested on her, glancing at the handcuffs. He seemed slightly surprised to see the handcuffs. She wondered if he thought she should be capable enough to break out of handcuffs. Normally, he'd be right, she thought, pulling her wrists apart to yank helplessly at the handcuffs.
"Can't run away now," he said. "Just have to figure out what to do with you and Chuckles over here. I'm guessing you won't be helpful enough to tell us how to kill you." He waved his gun lightly in the air. "Unless a simple bullet will do the trick."
"No," the man behind her said, recognizing the gun as a threat.
The man who'd been speaking looked over at the man behind her, an eyebrow raised. "No?" he echoed. "Guess you won't be making things easier after all."
"We wait here." The man repeated his earlier command.
"Dean," the man called Sammy said, his voice a warning. Dean pointed his gun at the man again.
"Step away," Dean said, his face hardening.
The man was beginning to recognize the growing threat. "No," he said. "We wait here. No."
Dean and Sammy only moved closer still, guns still raised.
Suddenly the man exploded into action, lunging at the two men and dragging her along. A shot rang out and the man stumbled back, a steaming bullet hole in the center of his forehead. It was an amazingly clean shot. She didn't have much time to appreciate it, though. The slack in his grip was all she needed and she bolted. Shots rang out behind her but she kept running, holding her handcuffed hands close to her chest. Miraculously she didn't trip and she shoved open the closest door she could find. The sun streamed in and she flinched at the bright sunlight for a moment before pushing on. Her legs pounded the sidewalk and she gratefully left the building far behind her.