Highly Dangerous

By:

Emmeline's Embers and DeeDee's Box

In the dark, silent atmosphere of the Audi, the two women let their minds review the recent events. They both had things to discuss with the other, but it was clear without communication that it could wait. They had the rest of their lives to talk to one another.

One comfortably silent car ride was more than necessary from time to time.

Laney drove until she couldn't keep her eyes open. They settled, about seven hours after leaving the estate in West Virginia, on a hotel room that looked like something out of a horror movie.

It had a vacancy sign, and it was the only one they'd seen for miles.

Laney parked next to the office's front door, ignoring the shrill sound of the bell as she opened the door. No one was behind the desk, but there was a bell. It was four in the morning, and she hated to wake up the disheveled looking Indian woman whom emerged from a back room to check her in, but she needed sleep.

"A double room, please." The blonde handed her credit card over, following the woman's line of sight to Genie's form in the passenger seat, barely visible through the tint on the windshield. Genesis needed to rest, but was unable to sleep sitting up in the front seat. Instead, she mentally rested, her body covered in a warm blanket they stole from the back of the couch at the Johnson's residence.

"A king?"

Laney's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "No, a double."

"Yes," the woman's accept was thick. "A double bed."

"No," Laney hissed. "Two beds in one room."

The clerk's face clearly showed confusion. "You and your girlfriend sleep in separate beds?"

"No!" Realizing her mistake, she quickly uttered out her next words along with obscene hand gestures. "Us both, strictly dickly."

"Ohh," the woman smiled and nodded in understanding. "Two beds! Okay!"

Genesis used the key to unlock room seven, the blanket and a bag of take out in her hands. Behind her, she could hear Laney retrieving their two bags from the trunk. Her eyes settled on the worst hotel she'd seen yet, and that was saying something.

Three of the walls were piss yellow, and the other brick red with white patches in places. The night stand held a dangerous looking electrical outlet that she'd rather not touch, even if her phone was dead and needed charging.

The television had a major crack in the screen and the chairs and the table in the corner did not match. A single, rusty and ancient looking window unit was framed into the wall four feet above the top of the nightstand, far out of her reach. 'That thing better work, because it's freezing.'

She walked further in the room, her lips formed in utter disgust. So far, the bathroom was no-where to be found.

Behind her, Laney's obnoxiously loud footsteps announced that she'd entered the room. The crash of their bags sounded out as they hit the floor before she stated what was on both of their minds. "Well, this is the murderiest hotel I've ever seen."

"Including the haunted ones."

The bathroom door was finally located, hidden behind the room's exterior door when it was open. The doorway was quite narrow, and the bathroom even more so. Sink stains and a moldy shower made her want to reconsider washing the blood from her hair, after all.

"How much was this room?"

"Twenty seven dollars."

"I think they owe you a refund."

The heat did not work. Genesis added her new blanket over her comforter, shivering despite the fact that she still wore her pull over and winter fleece lined tights.

She was very angry.

Looking over to her partner, she noted that the girl was dead asleep. She had not moved from her position on her back, still on top of the covers, for the last six hours.

It was approaching ten in the morning, and they needed to leave soon for check out. Genie hated to wake Laney, but they needed to leave and she craved the heat in the Audi.

Warmth. She needed it.

An idea popped into her head, forcing her out of bed and stumbling towards the tiny bathroom.

Luckily, under the sink was a full container of Ajax and a scrubber. 'Unused, obviously,' she thought as the mold encrusted shower came into view. 'Seems a little backward to be cleaning a hotel shower myself.'

Her hands made quick work of the mess, and she noted that if she told Laney to wake up the moment she got out of the shower, the blonde would be ready to leave by the time Genie's hair was styled.

The shower handle was turned all the way over to hot, but the water remained frosty. If at all possible, the water coming from the tap was colder than the outside temperature.

She kept her hygiene routine short, except that her fingers continuously moved shampoo through her long, thick strands. As much as she was now considering red highlights, blood was not sanitary.

Stepping out in a towel, she opened the bathroom door. Dripping on the threadbare carpet, she yelled at the blonde. A laugh almost escaped her lips at the sight her best friend's awakening before she stepped back into the room to complete her hair routine and choose an outfit. "Only you, Lane."

Delaney spent another five minutes on the floor between the beds, tangled in the comforter that landed with her before she raised her head. "Ugh," she groaned. Her hair was covering her face and she could taste her own breath. 'Did I get hit by a truck?'

Her bag sat at an odd angle where she threw it the night before, across the room. From where she was coming to a stand, Laney could see the duct tape and latest zipper fix had not survived meeting the corner of the table. "Damn it!" Just picking up the bag let half of the contents fall to the floor in a wrinkled mess. 'Oh, darn,' she thought sarcastically. 'I'll have to refold those.' A snort left her nose at her inside joke.

Bending, she used her arms to rake the clothing off the floor and set them on her bed. Unsure and uncaring if what she chose matched or was clean, Laney pulled a shirt over her head as Genesis emerged from the steamy bathroom. "Oh, you look fancy for a concussion victim!"

Genesis continued to secure her jewelry to her ear piercing, "I always look good."

"Do you?" Laney pulled a strip of silver tape from the roll. "I never noticed."

Genesis threw an eye roll in the blonde's direction. "Are you going to fill me in on the last hunt?" Sitting on the edge of her bed, she flipped her hair out of her face so that she could concentrate on placing her very pretty shoes on her feet. The whole event was a blur in her mind. While it was abundantly clear she fell, she didn't know quite how.

"The demon had back up." Laney's bag was now more tape than fabric. "I was thrown against a wall," she tapped her ring finger on her temple. "Good thing this skull of mine is so thick."

"How did I take the dive?" Shoes now gleaming, securely fastened to her feet, she made eye contact once more with her friend. "I know I didn't jump."

"You were thrown in the opposite direction…where there was a window." To avoid hazel eyes, the huntress focused on stuffing her clothing into the tape-bag.

Genie contemplated her next question for a short while, deciding it wasn't a wise thing to ask, and doing it anyways. "And your parents came into the equation…how?" Again thinking on how badly this conversation could go, the brunette squinted her eyes at the other girl. Her own emotions were a mixture she hadn't yet sifted through, but she could see Laney's very clearly on her pale face.

"The demons did something new." The girls each gathered their bags, eager to shake off the memory of the twenty dollar hotel room. "They all smoked out at once but, instead of disappearing back to Hell, they all hovered together in the sky. It was freakish."

Laney opened the trunk, watching as her partner placed her bag on the otherwise empty surface. "Then they started moving towards us."

"What?" Genesis looked up with wide eyes. "That is new."

"Exactly."

Genie contemplated the meaning of this new demonic behavior. Demons seemed to be popping up more and more these days, no matter how many they sent back to Hell. It was like a global game of Whack A Mole. "Then what?"

"I grabbed you and hauled ass out of town! It followed us for a while, but I outran it in the Audi. You hadn't woken up, yet, though so I made the decision to get you to help."

"Why not a hospital?" Again, she blurted out her question despite thinking better of it. "You could've just as easily taken me to any one of them in the state. Why your parents?" Genie knew her best friend inside and out, with the exception of this area of her life and personality. Even with recent events, actually meeting her parents, it didn't shed much light on the situation. Or answer a fraction of her questions.

Laney closed the trunk, her thumbs coming up to wipe the sleep from her eyes. "You hate hospitals, and we're wanted by the federal government." Slow steps brought her to the driver's door, to which she opened without managing eye contact even still. "My parents have a whole medical staff at their disposal."

"Yeah," Genesis squeaked. "What's the deal with that? That house was massive!"

Throwing her body into the interior of the Audi, Laney's eye twitched with a pang of annoyance. "My family is the family when it comes to banking, and credit cards." Furrowing her eyebrows, she quickly added, "And real estate. And oil. And FedEx."

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed, hiding a giggle behind her hands. "Did you go to boarding school?" Silence filled the car for a stretch, punctuated only by Genie's evil smile until a squeal announced, "You totally did!"

"Harper, too?" If at all possible, the girl's eyes went even wider. "This is precious information!"

Focusing on backing the Audi from the parking spot, Laney muttered a dark: "I'm glad you find this so amusing."

"I do!" Genesis ignored the pounding in her head that came with each giggle, smiling as she curled into her spot in the passenger seat, feet tucked into her chest. "I need to call Harper!" Her phone was in her hand before Laney could cut her eyes toward her.

"As much as I look forward to sitting through that conversation, could you first tell me where I'm going?" The blonde drove to the only exit in town, a bridge leading back to a major highway, with a deep sulk marring her slightly dirty face. "And I need food."

Laney listened to her friend giggle on the other side of the booth into the phone, food nearly gone from the shoveling into her mouth. Though the volume was set to low, the blonde could hear her brother's grumpy voice mutterings. He was almost as unhappy about the questions concerning their childhood as she was, except she could tell by the look in her best friend's eyes that he was filling her in on at least a few of her own embarrassing escapades.

The waitress came and collected her plate before Genie could get off the phone to start eating hers, the waffles now cold. "Would you like anything else, dear?" The older woman looked down at her kindly, her pad and pen poised in her hand.

"Yeah," she muttered. "If you could drag me into the kitchen and behead me, that'd be great." A kick from under the table made her reconsider her sarcasm to the stranger. "Just kidding," she beamed.

"Can I get an order of waffles, too?"

The waitress took a deep breath. "After you ate an entire plate of chicken tenders for breakfast…now you want waffles?" The woman, her name was Cindy, looked as if she had lived a life too long filled with sadness. The lines in her face settled mostly around her eyes and mouth, the parenthesis around her mouth deepened with age, but she had never seen a skin and bones girl eat as much as she had. Nor had she ever seen anyone order chicken tenders and fries at ten thirty in the morning.

"And bacon."

That's it, Cindy was finding another job.

Genesis ordered a to-go box for her cold food. Her phone was back in her jeans pocket and the smile wouldn't wipe off her face. "You graduated top of your class in Charm School," she wiped the tears of laughter from the corner of her hazel eyes. "That's the best thing I've ever heard."

The blonde continued to mutter to herself as she licked syrup from her lips. "You still haven't told me where we're going."

"Oh," the brunette placed her stomach, which was aching from laughter. "I found a vampire nest in Washington."

"Yeah, it's called the White House." Laney pried her bare legs from the booth and stood to stretch. At sixty degrees, she was sweating. Her partner was in a sweater and stylish jacket, but there couldn't be enough cold breezes in the world to cool her over heated skin. Fondly, she remembered all their earlier arguments about the temperature in the Audi.

"The state on the west coast, not Washington D.C.," Genie rolled her eyes as she too stood, throwing three twenties on the table top and reaching for her box. Their bill was always outrageous at diners like these because Laney always ate her way through the menu.

Taking a look at her friend, she furrowed her brow. Now that she thought about it, the opposite was true lately. Laney hadn't been eating much at all these days. Neither of them had. Maybe seeing her family had restored her appetite? When was the last time they'd had a bag of Cheetos? Genesis reminded herself to start eating more. They ate maybe once a day since her mother…Since the events of the previous year occurred.

Genesis wasn't quite ready to talk about what had happened. What bothered her the most was that she spent her time fighting palpable evil, the kind you can behead or exorcise or burn. But that's not what took her mother. She had a fleeting thought that maybe she should've spent the last few years in medical research instead of chasing evil from one end of the country to the next.

Shaking her head of shoulda, coulda, wouldas, Genie made a silent vow to herself that they'd eat more, her eyes taking in Laney's ribs through her shirt and knowing she didn't look much better. The mixed woman started this year in a size four or six, and now those clothes hung off her. Her once ample hips now in size two jeans. It wasn't a good look for either of them.

The tortured look wasn't in this year.

"That's weird." Genie checked her phone. It read zero messages. She'd left Bobby and the Winchester's two voicemails each a few days ago. They hadn't gotten back to her.

While she didn't doubt that the boys could be face down in a ditch somewhere from their stupidity, it wasn't like Bobby to ignore her. 'I'll leave another message with Bobby,' she thought.

"What's weird?" Laney set the cruise on the Audi, giving her sore leg a break from the accelerator.

"Neither the Winchesters or Bobby have returned my calls." Genesis finished dialing the number and placed the phone to her ear. The power cord was scratching her face, but she was so worried, she almost didn't notice. "I'm calling Bobby again. Can you turn that down?" Hazel eyes pointed to the radio.

"But, it's Bohemian Rhapsody." Her voice held a tinge of disbelief, even as her hand reached out to turn down the volume on the car stereo.

"Hey, Bobby!" Genesis started. "It's me. I'm starting to get worried. Call us back." Her frown deepened. Where could he be? Was he with the Winchesters? They weren't answering either. Dean always missed the call, but Sam wasn't one to leave calls unanswered. He was the responsible one from their group.

Laney swerved from the right to left as she reached for where she'd thrown her cell weeks ago, otherwise known as the last time she used it. "I'll call Dean. If he thinks it's a booty call, he might answer."

The device in her hand rang fourteen times before the generic voicemail recording told her to leave a message. "Hey, get your dick out of your hand and call us back." She was kind enough to leave it at that.

Neither girl said their name or the boys in the messages. Being wanted by the federal government made them careful. A switch in license plates and phone numbers was necessary every few weeks. They didn't know Laney's real name so they'd occasionally withdraw cash from her ATM card, but even that was sparingly done.

Genie's hair would not do well in prison and Laney would end up in permanent solitary confinement.

"Maybe call Ellen?" The shorter woman asked as she dialed. "Ellen, thank God!" Their favorite bar owner and all around secondary mother figure was confused at their call. They'd just checked in a few days ago.

"What's the matter?" Her voice was filled with concern. "Are you girl's okay?" A mental image of Ellen standing at her bar, face deep in a frown with a dish rag thrown over her shoulder entered Genie's imagination.

"We're okay, now. Have you heard from Bobby or the Winchesters?" Genie switched the phone over to speaker for her partner to hear. "They haven't called us back and it's been a few days." Normally, the girl's wouldn't bother. But it'd been a weird couple of months. Things had been happening that raised their internal alarms to max. "Did they change numbers again?"

This whole situation was giving them a bad feeling.

On Ellen's end of the line, there was the muffled sound of glass clinking together and another voice. "Not recently. I'll put the feelers out and get back to you, though I'm sure they're busy with trying to save Dean's soul."

"Dean's what?" Both women exclaimed together.

"Where have you ladies been?" Ellen sighed, a hint of sadness coming through her tough exterior. "Idiot sold his soul a while back now, and it's coming due soon."

Laney and Genie spoke at once, their voices rising to cascade through Ellen's end of the connection.

"I thought you had ten years after selling your soul?" Genie could feel her blood pressure rising. How long had they not informed them of their dire situation? If Dean sold his soul, they needed to be focused on helping them. How had Sam not mentioned anything? They'd spoken to him just a few weeks ago. He seemed stressed, but he's been that way for months. She'd accepted it as how he was these days. Was this cause? Of course it was, she answered herself. If her dad or she loved was going to die and be dragged to hell, she'd be a mess.

"We've been busy with our own problems!" Laney's words finally soaked in, past Genie's own worries. "We're not the Winchester's baby sitters. This is their problem."

"Laney!" Genie shouldn't be surprised, but she could at least be admonishing. "They're allies, remember?"

"They're dumbasses, is what they are." Laney turned the cruise off and accelerated down the road at an angry speed. "We just got out of our own mess, where you almost died, I'll remind you. Hell Hounds are no joke."

"What are Hell Hounds?" It was rare that one of the girls knew of a supernatural creature and not the other. She's learning a lot about her partner today, it would seem.

"They're not Pomeranians, I'll tell you that much." Laney sucked in a ragged breath. "They're what's sent to collect payment on this sort of thing."

"How do you know about them, Delaney?" Ellen's voice crackled through the phone. The connection wasn't the greatest because they were miles and miles away from one another.

Laney held her breath for a minute, her entire face turning beet red. From anger or from pain, her friend didn't know. "I told you," she gasped once more. "My family is some of the richest of the rich. You don't get that way without help."

Genie's eyes grew wide with understanding. "Who?" What had Laney witnessed? Was it why she started hunting in the first place, or why the girl had started drugs in college? Genie's own father had briefly considered selling his soul a while back, if it meant a little longer with the love of his life. She didn't consider it a viable option, or condone the act, but she did understand. Out of love or desperation, people had fallen into this trap for years.

Humans were a "right now" species. She was guilty of it herself. Of having to act right that moment, even though her emotions clouded her judgement. It was human nature.

"It's happened a few times in our family. Most recently, my great grandfather. During the great depression," another pause. "The business was failing. He'd already sold two of his daughters into marriages, and his sons were dying in the war one by one as they all were drafted straight out of high school."

Genesis hugged herself to hold in the pain emanating from her ribs. She felt as if it were her own soul, crying out for the suffering of Laney's long dead family members. "He was down to his last two children, my grandmother and my great uncle Harper, when he sold his soul. He negotiated with the demon so that the family would be set for years to come."

"He didn't just sell his soul, did he?" Ellen was a smart lady. She had a feeling this story was taking an even deeper dive.

"No. He promised my uncle's soul, too, but after he'd lived out his full life."

A long silence filled the Audi until the hum of the engine finally broke past the screaming in Genie's head. "WHAT A BASTARD!" Her voice seemed as if it would break the glass in the car. "I didn't even know that was possible!" The whispered words seemed more deadly than the shouting.

"Look," Ellen needed to get back to work and her own heart now felt heavy with this information. "I'll get to work on contacting the boys. Where are you girls?"

"We're heading to Washington." Genie answered automatically, her eyes staring off at nothing. "A vampire nest."

Ellen's exhale was audible through the phone's speaker. In the back ground, they could hear Ash talking. "Look, you girls go on about your hunt. Once I reach one of them, I'll put the word out that you want to help, and that they should call you."

Laney shook her head as Genesis thanked the older woman and ended the call. "I'm serious, Genie. I don't want you anywhere near those things. I'll help if that's what you really want to do, but I'm not fighting off a hell hound. And I'm not letting you, either."

Normally, the brunette would argue and remind her friend that she had no business telling her what she could and could not do, but she saw the ghost behind Laney's normally carefree eyes. If Laney was scared enough to avoid the things herself, she might want to take the clue that being far away from that fight was a damn good idea. "Okay," she hesitated. "I'll be cautious."

Almost the entire cross country drive was silent. Both girls were deep in their own thoughts, too preoccupied for more than a discussion about where they wanted to stop for food. Silence between them was near uncomfortable, for once.

When did they get like this? Genie wondered. While she knew that Laney's past was mostly a mystery, she thought she knew at least a few small details. Was this why Laney acted the way she did? She was broken, Genie realized. Just like herself. Losing Ian and her mom were the worst things that could've happened to her. She never imagined Laney had felt the same loss. Was that why the blonde didn't get mad at her for running off to kill a vampire nest by herself? Though things had ended up fine, she always wondered why her partner had remained silent following her solo killing spree. It wasn't the Laney she knew then.

Was it the Laney she was beginning to know now? Did Laney know her? Were they strangers to each other, after all this time?

Just as the pain of the whole world rested on her shoulders, Laney handed her an opened bag of skittles. "What's this?"

"I picked out all the grape ones," Laney tossed a handful of purple skittles in her mouth that she hadn't noticed before. "You can have the rest."

Genesis was allergic to grapes.

Just as a depression was settling on her like a heavy blanket, her best friend, without much thought, brightened her whole world outlook. With a stupid bag of skittles.

Slicing off vampire heads was her favorite part of the job, but today, she might change her mind. Laney let a Joker like smile slip over her face as Genie gave the signal from the other side of the house's porch for her to open the shutters. It was the middle of the day, and their plan of action was a particularly violent one.

Open the windows, pour sunlight in to the house so none of the blood suckers could escape, and then set it on fire. Anyone brave enough to come out the house towards the shade of the trees would have their head lopped off. Laney was excited, though she wanted to come at night to make it more of a fight.

She could use a good fight.

Genie leapt of the porch over the railing, landing with a tuck and roll. Her hands pulled the match box from her pocket. This was the part her partner was most excited for, and she would only secretly admit that she was, too.

They built home-made flame throwers for this hunt.

Laney climbed up on to the back railing, all the window shutters now open, before jumping flat footed onto the ground. "Ow, shit!" She proclaimed. "My knee!"

"You're getting old." Genie picked up the metal cylinder, turning the knob on the tank and handing the first one to her best friend. "Try to behave yourself." Her face was stern, eyes narrowed. "I mean it."

Laney nodded, grabbing the flame thrower and pulling a lighter from her pocket. With a spark that almost burnt her hand like a burger on Fourth of July weekend, the blonde ignited a massive flame. She was so excited, her heart racing out of control.

Running around to the back of the house, she looked back to see Genie's small hand lite a match, sparking her own flame. Despite her small frame, she held onto the massive handle and tank that controlled the direction of which the destruction went. Her hazel eyes reflected not only the fire, but her own burning desire to kill something.

Everyone deals with stress in different ways, she reminded herself.

The house was engulfed in what seemed to be one massive fire, but was actually two separate flames, for now. Screaming echoed from inside the house, spreading the delight in her blackened soul.

A vampire caught in a full body blaze came shooting out the back door, all teeth and long nails. His screams deepened her smile that much more. Would she go to Hell for this? Probably. Did she care? Not for now.

Looking at the other side of the house for Genie, Laney turned off her device for now, pulling out a massive blade from its holster at her waist. "If you can't stand the heat," Laney pounced on the burning man, hacking through muscle and spine.

Watching the body burn would've given her great pleasure, but she heard a distinct thump from Genie's side of the house. Turning, her expression falling, she started in an all-out run to her friend.

Coming around the corner, she saw Genesis with a flame thrower in one hand, a machete in the other, and a cell phone held to her ear by her shoulder. "You could've told us! We would have helped you. No, we're not busy." Genie punctuated the end of her sentence with another kick to a flaming vampire, this one a woman.

The creature's hair had been burned off, as well as the flesh around her mouth and shoulders. The bones of her partial skeleton made her an even more frightful sight, one that her friend wasn't paying much mind to as she kicked her once more to the chest.

Genie was playing with her prey.

Her hazel eyes jumped to Laney quickly, a wicked smile on her lips. "This one is mine."

"Tell Bobby I said hello." Another creature emerged from the half burnt down home, distracting her.

"It's Dean." Genie made the unfortunate decision to stop playing and swung her massive blade to end the beings life.

"Oh," the blonde sprinted towards the other flame thrower. "Tell him to go fu-" Her sentence was interrupted with a resounding thwack as another vampire, this one not burning, hit the girl in the back with a flaming piece of wood.

Cold black eyes stared down at her, his arms unable to reach where she'd rolled into the sunlight. "Genie!"

"Dean, I'll call you back." A shed on the edge of the property, under the shade of many trees, had apparently housed many more vampires. At least eight more stood behind Laney's attacker, their eyes black and rage fueled. The brunette ended the call, her flame lighting the trees as she ran to her friend where she laid on the ground.

The fact that Laney was still on the ground startled her. How hard was she hit? "Hey!" Her soft voice was at an alarmingly loud volume, calling their attention to herself. Her flame thrower aimed at them, but they had an escape into the trees at the back of the wooded property. "Can you get up?" She asked, her voice lower.

"Yeah," Laney rose to her knees. Her shoulders felt as if they weren't going to compromise with the rest of her body. "You burn, I'll chop?"

"Sounds awesome," Genie's attention was on what was left of the crowd. They stood in place in their agony, burning before her eyes. She tried to avoid the thought that these were once people as she recognized some of the faces from the missing flyers around town. They needed to be put down, she told herself. They'd killed people.

Drinking blood and becoming a vampire wasn't something you can come back from. It was a sickness of the mind. The person they once were was gone, swallowed by a thirst for blood. A tiny voice echoed in the very back, darkest parts of her conscience, 'isn't that how you are, now?' A war cry left her mouth, increasing the amount of fuel that came from the heavy tank she'd been lugging around. The flame grew larger, swallowing the forest at a terrifying rate.

Laney diced through the crowd, making a mental note to sharpen her blade. It was taking an increasing amount of effort to severe the heads of her enemies. Her shoulders were feeling the strain. Gone was the Joker like smile. A painful grimace created lines in the dirt and ash marring her pale face.

Her eyes were releasing a steady stream of tears from the smoke, and possibly the pain in her shoulders, but she couldn't let herself stop. Only a few more vampires to eliminate.

For a day that started out fun, she was really not feeling like attending this party for much longer. Her mood had gone from gleefully skipping along, beheading as she loved doing, to an agony festival.

"Hey, Genie?" Hysterical laughter bubbled past her lips. "Now we can say we've been to Burning Man."

If Genesis heard her, she didn't acknowledge her.

The hike back to their car was a long one. Genesis let herself sulk in her haunted thoughts. Laney thought her shoulder would fall off, mumbling about sheds and stupid vampires. The flame throwers had been too heavy after the first mile to carry, so they abandoned them and continued to outrun the forest fire that now burned its way up and down the country side.

A beep alerted them to the return of cell service. They'd lost it taking the back way out from the property, unwillingly to run into the firefighters and police that were trying desperately to extinguish the mess they'd left behind. Luckily, the girls only touched the flame throwers with gloves on due to the heat its metal put off. The authorities were sure to find it, and they were wanted for enough crimes. They didn't need to add arson and destruction of property to that list.

And, God forbid, they find the bodies of the vampires before they turn to dust from the heat.

"Five missed calls from Bobby and three from Sam." Genesis looked down at the display on her phone. "I'll call Bobby first."

"I'll call Dean." Laney smirked. "I didn't get to finish telling him off earlier."

"Bobby!" Genie's voice rose a pitch in volume when she heard the man's voice. "I was worried about you." She didn't like worrying about him. He was a positive influence in their lives, and now she knew how it felt for him to worry after herself and her partner all these years. 'I'll call him more,' she promised herself.

"We've been pretty busy, Genesis. I'm sorry for worrying you, though." Bobby's rough voice rarely spoke an apology, but it was as nice to hear as it was shocking. "I was, uh…working on something for the Winchester's."

"We know Dean sold his soul, Bobby. Ellen told us." His sigh on the other end of the phone did not go unnoticed. "I need details. We're going to help, even if I have to drag Laney and Dean along kicking and screaming."

There weren't many people whose existence she could tolerate, but those boys were among the list. Sam, though she didn't want it, offered his help in her most trying time. His weekly calls reminded her that someone could care about another person. If anything, she needed to fight as pay back for his support.

And there weren't many hunters out there, anymore. Not that there ever was a whole lot. Their numbers had been dwindling for months, and she didn't know why.

"Well, after Sam died at the opening of Hell's gate, Dean sold his soul to a cross roads demon for his brother." Stunned into silence, Genesis didn't interrupt Bobby as he continued talking as if she knew all about Hell's gate opening. 'WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?' she internally screamed. She'd done that numerous times in the last two days. "He didn't get a whole long time in his deal, and his time is up in a few days."

"We've been nose deep in books and killing every cross roads demon we can summon trying to find a way out of this deal. Those boys have given me more gray hair than I thought possible. Idjits."

A long pause came from her end of the conversation. "Hello? Genesis, are you still there?"

"When exactly did Hell's gates open? Is it still open? Are you all nuts? Like we couldn't have used that information?" Her voice rose until she was screaming at the end of her questioning and she was gasping for breath. Her head hurt and she felt as if she'd lose her voice soon if things didn't keep going south.

Bobby explained as much as he felt like saying, his sentences short and tone curt. Her eyes swelled with unshed tears. Ellen and Bobby were in on the opening and closing of Hell's gates and she wasn't even made aware. People she cared about fought almost to death and they didn't so much as leave a text.

Her eyes wondered to where Laney stood screaming at Dean into the phone's speaker. Her conversation was going about as well as Genie felt. How much more of this could she take?

"Where are you? We're coming to help." Genesis ground her teeth together. She wanted a shower but she wanted to help that dumbass Winchester more. "Don't even try arguing with me, Bobby Singer."

Thank you for reading the new chapter! What did you all think? Big things coming up.

REVIEWS:

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