A/N: Happy Friday!
Chapter 13: We've Been On Our Own
By evening Sam and Dean were on the road once more, crossing the country for the second time in so many days, and although they were well fed for this leg of the journey, the further they traveled the more like a fools errand it all seemed to become.
"So talk to me Sammy, what's up with these Thunder Birds?" Dean asked on the second day of driving.
"Mythical creatures in line with the phoenix but keepers of the realm above. Now if that means heaven or just another layer, I don't know, but they seem to be powerful enough," Sam answered as he scrolled through the files on his phone.
"Will the Colt kill them?" Dean asked.
Sam shrugged. "Haven't gotten that far just yet but they can kill you with electricity," he added as he read.
"Anything on Aiyanna?" Dean asked to keep the conversation flowing.
"Lot's, she's well know, well liked and a great teacher of her people, whichever those are, all of them by the looks of things. She can't be pinned down to one tribe or another, though the Thunder Birds are Ojibwa." Sam explained.
"They're a long way from home," Dean commented. "Great Lakes regions for the Ojibwa, no?" He asked.
"Generally yes, but it sounds like she picked them up somewhere along the way and they stay with her because of her powers. It looks like she is well traveled. Says here she hails from the northern tribes with great ties to the southern peoples and a name for herself among those in the Great Plains. She's a medicine woman to all, she brings fertility and prosperity where ever she goes, oh, and she is know for her activism and understanding of the Great Spirits; like all of them. People believe she's as old as creation itself and that it is by her various incarnations, known as her ancestors, that the curses set out by Native Americans against the white man have come to be. She is part of the deep magic, a thread that runs through all living things."
"Please don't remind me of the bees and the bugs and all that mess in Oasis Plains," Dean grumbled.
"You have to know there are worse curses in the lore than just that one. Phantom creatures that destroy crops and settlements. The water turns to dust and the forests that over take the people," Sam said still reading. "She does seem pretty great though."
"Of course you'd find an ancient witch to idolize," Dean huffed.
"She's beautiful," Sam said and held out his phone to his brother. "She's keeping a blog now and is staying in the ghost town of Sulphur Nevada."
"Why the ghost town?" Dean asked.
"Says here that there is a gateway to the spirit world in Sulphur but that the tragic deaths of the miners have the spirits trapped. She's there ghost busting," Sam explained. "For the purpose of reclaiming the land for the people of that area. Most western thinkers believe her to be a fraud but the Native Americans follow her wherever she goes."
"She's a woman spouting off about the supernatural in a world of skeptics. What do you expect of "red blooded American" types?"
"Skepticism is relative to ones upbringing," Sam commented haughtily.
"Sure, whatever, I'm just saying a woman making waves like that is bound to bring out the critics," Dean said. "Especially in todays connected world. I wonder what it would take to enact a curse in this climate of water warriors and pipeline protesters. Could she shut down the internet to all white people? Could you imagine a curse like that? The Millennials would die off in days! She should watch herself though with the Men of Letters trying to eradicate the supernatural from this country, she's bound to be on their radar. Are we looking at another cultural genocide brought on by western ideologies and big business models?" He asked philosophically which made his brother turn and look at him with great interest.
"Who's side are you on?" Sam asked.
"I really don't know anymore Sammy," Dean answered with a sigh. "But I'm sure they'll see us as the enemy while we are fugitives of the federal government, again, or dead men with bounties on our heads because of the Men of Letters, or myths to those in the know about what we really do. All I know is the Men of Letters are literally threatened my livelihood and by doing so maybe they are working to have a horrible history of disinterest and disregard for other beliefs make a come back in a big way. Now I know that sounds hypocritical of me but I'm one man just trying to get by after ten plus years on my own in this wilderness with ground shaking revelations and lives lived in ancient lore. I know you see the world changing around you but can you say you're ready to change with it?"
"I don't know," Sam answered thoughtfully. "I'm not ready to roll over and die but I also don't know what I'd do if the supernatural was eradicated from this country. Do we flee or do we stand our ground with the rest of the people trying to protect this planet from the onward march of capitalism and the global economy?"
"I'm old fashioned, I think my car speaks to that, and the fact that I kill with my hands and I still have cassette tapes. But am I at a point where I would join forces with a team of witches or whatever to stop the tides of progress? I don't know. The lines are so blurred these days that I don't know which side I'm actually fighting for anymore," Dean rattled on as the road rolled by under them. "I mean I'm all for saving people, that's my side, isn't it, but how do we do that when whole groups of people with different beliefs are the ones being marginalized and attacked by the march of progress and the old ideals? Black and white isn't all that cut and dry anymore, it's all the shades of grey that bring out the shadows and light and we're the ones left to stumble onward."
"Our plight sure doesn't seem as big as all that until you put in into the bigger picture," Sam commented.
"The weight of the world, not just this country or this highway, or the dolls in the trunk, it's all on our shoulders, all of it Sammy. That's what those dolls mean. We have met and saved God himself, we are the bearers of the worlds weight, the universe's weight, and there are forces beyond our control working against us. The more I think about it, the more I see why Chuck would write our gospel even though I do not agree with him profiting off of us," Dean said and as he spoke he unconsciously pushed the impala to move faster as if fleeing his thoughts.
"I guess we just keep on moving forward because there's no going back now," Sam sighed and dove back into his research.
"Yeah, no going back but the road head is full of twists and turns and forks and the path to all those regrets. We'd better come up with a plan to survive it all or we'll be swept away too."
"Will God let that happen to us?" Sam asked.
"He handed over the dolls didn't he? It almost feels like he's giving up and wiping his hands clean of us," Dean said darkly and silence fell between them.