Chase could smell the ocean, which meant that she must be getting close. Her headlights illuminated the forest, which was becoming more and more dense with trees. She wished she could call Aria, but it would be too risky. Her sister still had the demon's threat hanging over her head. Chase's mind drifted again and she remembered the last time she drove this highway, which was almost five years ago. She had been running from death then, but now she was running right back towards it. The blond hunter laughed for a moment, but her chuckles died away as soon as she realized that she recognized the scenery around her. She felt her mouth go dry as the short driveway to the roadhouse appeared on the left side of the road.
She slowed down and turned into the bar's old dirt parking lot, stopping in front of the charred remains of the building. She stared at it, stared at the blackened support beams and little plants sprouting from piles of ashes. Memories flashed rapidly through her head; Mom's records, gruff hunters playing poker, picnics, drinking her first shot of whiskey at the bar, admiring cars parked in front of the roadhouse, rainy days spent outside in the garage, dead bodies on the ground, blood on the walls, red puddles pooling on the floor, mom's cold hand.
A choked off sob came from her mouth and her head fell into her hands as she tried to fight off the memories.
Get a grip, Chase. You know what you have to do.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pushing back the urge to break down into a crying mess. She didn't want to admit it, but she was scared. Scared to be back in this place, scared to face the demon, scared of what would happen to her family if she didn't.
Family, Chase. You have a family. Aria and Dean and Sam and Cas. Protect them like they would protect you.
Chase sat up and gritted her jaw, working to lock away her emotions behind iron walls where they wouldn't interfere with her actions. When her hands stopped shaking, she reached down below the seat and closed her fist around the grip of the angel blade.
"Bye, baby." She told her car as she opened the door and stepped outside. Then she set out for the remains of her old house
Cas was getting close. He could feel it. He'd picked up on Chase's trail a little while ago, recognizing her car in the recent memories of some random person in Oregon. He had continued to narrow down his search bit by bit, and now he was so close he could almost sense the missing hunter.
Chase shoved down her feelings as she came near her old house, which hadn't collapsed into a pile of rubble like the bar. As the beam of her flashlight fell onto the building, she could see that it was still standing upright, dark and charred and foreboding and bearing almost no resemblance to the house that she'd lived in all those years ago. She shuddered at the thought of what lay inside but didn't allow herself to turn back. She just paused for a second and looked up at the sky, and for a moment the clouds parted and Chase got a glimpse of the stars. She stared at them until they were covered once more, and then she gritted her jaw and pushed open the front door of her house.
Hey guys! Short chapter, I know. My schedule has decided to be a pain in the ass and it has left me with no time and no inspiration. Please leave any thoughts that you have in a comment! They really do help me write faster and better.
XOXO, Emma
PS... Any thoughts on the new BMTH album?