Chapter 8
Soon, the Winchesters were ready to leave. The Impala was packed and Dean had the engine running. Sam was sitting in the passenger's seat and Elizabeth in the back seat. An awkward silence filled the car, a place usually full of loud music and the joking of siblings.
It wasn't until after they had been going for three hours that Dean finally spoke up. "Okay, I can't take this anymore. You two feel free to throw your pissed-off energies at one another, but I'm not going to sit in silence while you do it. I'm going to enjoy myself." And with that, Dean turned on the radio. Music blasted loudly through the car, defusing only a little bit of the tension.
Dean sighed a little, but it went unnoticed over the din of his music. It hadn't even been a whole day and he knew that this fighting between Sam and Eli was going to be unbearable. He just wished that his life didn't feel like one disagreement after another. First it was Dean and Sam fighting over Eli's disappearance, now it was Eli and Sam fighting about the circumstances of her disappearance. Sometimes he couldn't tell if it was better to be one side of the argument or to be on the sidelines. Both we pretty bad, to say the least.
Sam was devastated. He knew that his little sister had every right to be upset. But he wished that he had been able to control himself. That none of that had happened. He could have just saved his little sister and the three of them could be living carefree. Or as carefree as they could get in their line of work. He looked into one of the car's rearview mirrors. Eli was laying in the backseat, tapping her finger against her leg absentmindedly.
Elizabeth could tell Sam was watching. She felt eyes on her and saw he was turned towards the rearview mirror nearest to him. She didn't care. He could stare all he wanted. It wouldn't change a damn thing. Soulless or not, it had been Sam that had left her in prison. She had been so happy to see him and then he had turned around and stabbed her in the back. That wasn't something she could forgive, no matter how hard she wished she could. She would love to be able to rejoice at Sam's return, but she couldn't anymore. It was impossible.
All of a sudden, Dean's phone started to ring. Dean reached over and turned down the music. He went for his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Both Sam and Eli watched him with slight curiosity.
"Hello?" Dean asked after answering the phone. He listened for a second, then said, "Bobby, yeah. I'll put you on speaker." Dean turned on speaker phone and held the phone up for Sam and Elizabeth. Dean kept his eyes the road, driving with his free hand.
"Did you boys get Eli back?" Bobby asked, his extreme worry and concern evident in his voice.
"Hey, Bobby." Eli spoke up, answering the question.
"You okay, kid?" He sounded relieved this time, but still uneasy.
"Great." She told him, sounding a bit sarcastic, but not enough to worry Bobby any more than he already was.
"Good. Well, you all have a job if you're up to it."
Sam was about to suggest some time off when Eli answered for them. "We're ready. What's the job?"
"The Mother of All has been sighted near you. It's a small town, but I'm worried that she's goin' to start turning people."
"Great. More Jefferson Starships." Dean said sarcastically.
"What are you talking about?!" Eli questioned.
"We'll explain later."
"If you could take care of it, I would be mighty grateful. The town's just a few miles out from where y'all were before. Just look for the murder."
"We got it, Bobby." Sam said.
"See you around." With that, Dean hung up and shoved his phone back into his pocket. Returning his other hand to the wheel, he made a U-turn and headed towards the town where their next job was.
