Chapter Four: Darkness on the Edge of Town
"Hurry up, Kiddo, or I'm leaving without you!" Josh called from behind the pickup truck's steering wheel.
With a slap of the screen, Mouse ran out of the trailer, duffel bag in hand. Tossing the piece of luggage through the passenger's side window, the boy made to open the door for himself.
"Did you lock up?"
Mouse paused.
"No, sorry," he replied and returned to the trailer, taking a key from his pocket and locking the thin metal door behind the screen.
"Ready?" Josh asked when the boy returned to the pickup truck and sat down on the long bench seat.
"Ready," the boy confirmed.
Josh pulled the truck onto the dirt road that meandered through the trailer park and told himself that maybe he'd been wrong, that having company for the nearly fourteen-hour long drive would be nice. Besides, Mouse had been to Bobby Singer's place a number of times and was always welcome there.
Feeling better about his decision to let the boy come along, Josh reached over to the radio and turned it on, humming along to a song on the country music station he preferred.
W
They arrived in Sioux Falls early the next morning, only having stopped for gas, grabbing meals from Drive-Thru windows, and quick bathroom breaks. Josh drove all night while Mouse stretched out beside him on the bench seat.
Still dozing, the boy groaned when Josh took his hand off the steering wheel to rouse him.
"We're here," he told the boy.
Mouse sat up, yawning widely and rubbing at his eyes.
"How'd you sleep?" the hunter asked, knowing the pickup's seat wasn't really all that comfortable.
"Okay," the boy answered, "You really drove all night?"
Josh nodded, "Bobby said it was an emergency."
"I wonder what it is," Mouse thought out loud.
They drove through the quiet residential streets of Sioux Falls; Mouse watching the handsome houses and well-manicured lawns easing by the side window.
"Hey Josh," he spoke up.
"Yeah?" the hunter asked.
"Why didn't we ever buy a house?"
"What's wrong with the trailer?" Josh asked, paying more attention to his driving then the boy.
"Nothing wrong with it," Mouse replied quickly, "It's just… a lot more people live in houses than trailers right?"
"Hm," the hunter muttered, "Well there are a lot of trailer parks all around the country, Kiddo."
"A house is expensive," Josh continued, "You have to maintain it and then there's taxes and heat and hydro to pay. I just don't have that kind of money, Mouse. But there's no reason you can't get a good, well-paying job and have your own house when you're older."
Mouse stared out at the houses they passed, some with sprinklers watering lawns, some with huge trees shading them, some with hanging plants decorating their porches, and decided that he would like a house.
They soon left the residential area and passed through the industrial section of Sioux Falls, quickly coming to the edge of the town.
Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, Josh handed the Motorola to the boy, "Give Bobby a call an' let him know we're almost there."
"Okay," Mouse said and opened the flip phone, scrolling through Josh's list of contacts- the majority of them hunter, though John Winchester's name was absent from the list- and found Bobby Singer's name and phone number.
Putting the phone to his ear, Mouse listened as it rang twice before being picked up.
"Whaddayawant?" the gruff, irritated voice of Bobby Singer asked and Mouse smiled.
"Hi!" he chirped, "It's Mouse. We're almost at your house."
"Decided to bring you along for the ride, did he?" Bobby asked.
"Yup," the twelve-year old replied.
"All right," the hunter continued, "Well tell Josh I'll see y'all soon."
With that the connection was broken and Mouse closed the phone, handing it back to his uncle.
They drove in silence for the next ten minutes, passing warehouses and factories, until they reached the edge of town, where the houses were more dilapidated than those in the residential areas, and became few and far between.
Then, Josh was pulling his pickup through the gate in the chain-link fence surrounding Bobby Singer's property, tires crunching on gravel and sending small puffs of dust into the early morning air. Turning the pickup to the left and pulling onto the grass beside the dirt driveway, Josh parked the vehicle.
Mouse jumped down from the truck and ran up the wooden porch steps, pressing the ancient doorbell with his thumb.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Bobby's rough voice called from inside the house, "Don't get yer panties in a twist."
Mouse giggled and stopped pressing the doorbell. He peered at the older hunter through the screen door and smiled.
"You two made good time," Bobby said as he held the door open for the boy and his uncle who stepped through right after the child.
"You made it clear it was time sensitive," Josh reminded him and the older man nodded, his expression grim.
"Mouse," Bobby said, turning to the boy, "Why don't you go into the den and watch some TV for a little bit? Your Uncle Josh and I need to talk in private."
Looking a little put out that he couldn't hear about the hunt Bobby was helping with, Mouse nodded and walked into the living room just off the front entry that contained a ratty old couch, a couple of patched armchairs, a large bookshelf stuffed with tomes on the supernatural and Bobby's desk strewn with papers.
The two men waited until they could hear the television playing before they went into the kitchen.
"Beer?" Bobby asked as Josh took a seat at the Formica kitchen table.
"Just tell me what's suddenly got you on edge, Bobby," the younger hunter told him.
The older man grabbed a beer for himself from the fridge but instead of sitting, leaned against the counter.
"Now, before you go flying off the handle," he cautioned the younger man, "I heard this from Rufus so I ain't completely sure if its true or not."
Josh frowned, his heart skipping a beat and adrenaline pumping into his veins.
"Rufus called me up yesterday," Bobby paused to take a drink of beer, "To let me know that Hawkins was blabbing about yer kid."
Josh's frown deepened. He had helped Rich Hawkins out with a werewolf hunt about a month ago. Richard Hawkins, also known unkindly as 'Motormouth' Hawkins, had a tendency to start gabbing whenever he drunk. Although he was supposed to be a recovering alcoholic, it seemed that the AA meetings he claimed to be going to had no effect. Josh, aware of the other hunter's weakness, hadn't even brought up Mouse in conversation; at least he didn't think he had anyway.
He guessed it didn't really matter how Hawkins had found out about Mouse, all that mattered was that he had… and who he had told.
"Don't say it, Bobby," Josh said, because the only reason the older hunter would call him to Sioux Falls for an emergency was the thing he'd been worried about for the past eleven years.
The grizzled hunter nodded, "Seems ol' Johnny Winchester and Hawkins were at the same watering hole and they suddenly became very chummy when Motormouth mentioned you had a kid."
Josh felt all the blood drain out of his face and he stood up quickly.
"Shit!" he snapped, "Shit! Shit! Shit!"
Bobby, remaining calm, continued, "Rufus tried to intervene, reminding John how Hawkins always told the most outlandish stories when he was plastered. I mean, besides Rufus and me, no one really knows about Mouse. But John wasn't having any of it. Hell, he even got this look in his eye, Rufus told me, that even scared him."
Josh raked a hand through his hair and took a deep breath.
"Do you think John would try anything? I mean, Mouse is no longer his problem, so why should it matter?"
The hunter shook his head, "Who am I kidding, this is John Winchester we're talking about."
From the living room, both men heard Mouse laugh at something on the TV before returning to their conversation.
"John knows where I live," Josh said, "I can't take Mouse back there."
Bobby nodded, "If you need to hide out, Rufus said you could use his cabin up in Montana. He feels really bad about what Hawkins did, son."
Josh didn't like the idea of hiding but he needed time to regroup and figure out how he was going to get John off his and Mouse's trail.
"I'll help you if I can," Bobby assured him.
"Thanks," the younger hunter muttered, "I appreciate it."
"You want that beer now?" Bobby asked but Josh shook his head.
"Mouse and I still have a long way to go before reach Montana."
Bobby nodded as the younger hunter stood up.
"I'm sorry it's come to this, Josh," he told him.
The younger man shook his head, "Not your fault. I should have known better than to go on a hunt with Hawkins."
"Mouse! C'mon we're leaving!" Josh called and he heard the television suddenly go silent.
The twelve-year old appeared in the doorway to the living room.
"Already? Did you help Bobby?" he asked and then frowned, "Josh, what's wrong? Did something happen?"
The hunter shook his head, "It's nothing you have to worry about, son."
Mouse followed his uncle as the man walked towards the front door.
Josh paused and turned to Bobby, who had followed them down the narrow hallway.
"Do me a favour?" he asked and Bobby nodded, "Next time you see Rich Hawkins, punch him right in the motormouth of his for me, okay?"
Bobby gave a thin smile, "With pleasure."
W
Bobby stood in the doorway and waved to Josh and Mouse as the hunter's pickup truck pulled out of the driveway.
Closing the door, Bobby sighed and suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck tingle. Footsteps on the steps to the top floor of the house announced John Winchester making his way towards him.
The hunter smiled, "Thanks Bobby, you're a good friend."
The older man did not return the gesture.
"Go to Hell," he muttered to the younger man as John stepped into the kitchen and used Bobby's phone to call his son.
"Now get outta my house," Bobby growled once the younger man had finished his phone call.
John, with a smirk on his face, walked out of the house and stood on the porch, waiting for Dean to arrive with the Impala.
Author's Note:
Chapter title comes from a song by Bruce Springsteen.
Thanks to Souless666, whimsicalbarwench, Ruby, mckydstarlight, SPN Mum, jensensgirl3, Sallyannerenee and Guests for reviewing.
Plot twist! O.o Not originally what I had in mind but it just kind of happened as I wrote and I had to go with it.
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