Kim laid in the back of her family Jeep, her eyes open as she stared at the ceiling of the car, just as she did as a kid. Her hands were folded together and placed on her lap and she stared ahead, blankness filling her mind. Moving her neck slightly, she heard a crack and felt a slight sting. Her muscles and bones were aching from the uncomfortable position she had been stuck in for hours, but she was used to it.
Moving her eyes down the frame of the car, she saw the slither of dim light shine through the misty window. It must be the early morning and Kim had been up all night, again. Ever since Dean's death, she had trouble sleeping - just as she had after Ash's death. And when she was forced into sleep by exhaustion, she would be riddled with nightmares that stirred her awake in an hours or so. She hadn't eaten anything significant in days and her body was getting heavier to move with each second.
Kim was finding even the little things difficult, but she mustered on, like always.
After her dad was sent to Hell, the only thing Kim did for ages was research. Research ways to get him out of Hell, save him. Somehow, someway, seven-year-old Kim pushed herself to the limit and failed. She had not found a way, and she knew she would never. And although that doubt still lingered in her mind, she was too stubborn to listen to the facts; so she researched.
Kim sighed as she sat up in her car, rubbing the back of her neck. Looking around, adjusted the thin clothing she had on to cover her more, the cold morning air of the country outside her car seeping in. With a numb hand, she wiped off some frost from inside the car window and took a peep outside.
The sun was just peeking over the horizon, setting a dim shade of yellow over everything. The sky was slowly turning pink and the clouds were softly drifting from one side of the sky to the other. Although the countryside looked pastel and welcoming, it was littered with the morning cold, so she kept herself in the car and waited for the window to defrost from the outside.
Kim rubbed her heavy eyes, crawling into the front driver's seat of the Jeep, letting the many books she had laying over her lap fall to the floor. They were so used, Kim had already read them when she was younger.
Not much time had passed since Dean's death. It had been a little over a week and Kim was not adjusting.
Kim had experienced a lot of death for a person her age, so the pain was something she had experienced multiple timed before. But no matter how many times Kim felt the same agonising pain over and over again, she never got used to it, and it never got easier. It was just as difficult and traumatising as the first time.
With so much experience with death, she knew that the pain never faded. It was always there and always would be there, but it eventually got easier to carry, but Kim was already carrying so much pain from so many deaths.
It was less than a week after Dean's death that Sam decided to leave. So in the middle of the night, while Kim was thrashing in her sleep, Sam packed everything he owned and left. Barely an hour later, Kim woke up sweating and panting to an empty motel room.
No note. No warning. Nothing. He just left; taking the Knife of Kurds Kim fought so hard for with him.
Kim was beyond furious.
She had spent that whole day tracking him down. She hacked into websites and called some companies. Using the skills Ash taught her, she managed to hack into the tracker on his phone and turned it on. She had located him in a motel room not far from her.
After locating Sam, she threw out her old phone and get a new one with the same number, just in case there was a tracker in hers.
She then hitchhiked her way to Bobby's to get her car, but when she arrived, he wasn't there and she wasn't prepared to wait around until he returned. So she shuffled through the collection of car keys Bobby had lying around until she found hers. Smirking, she rubbed her eyes and collected her car, driving away.
Just as she did when she ran away from Ellen and Jo, she planned to go off the map. As long as she had an eye on Sam, she would be fine. So she changed credit cards, used names she had never used before, moved in different patterns that she normally wouldn't, making sure it wasn't too obvious.
She had always been good at lying low, so much so that it was nearly impossible to find her.
So, a week and a bit after Dean's death, she sat in the front of her Jeep as she drove down America's countryside, hoping to find a small cafe nearby where she can have breakfast and research.
After a healthy drive, she found a cafe that was open in the early hours of the morning. It had no customer in it, but the welcome sign was beaming. So she parked her car in the empty car park and hopped into the chilling countryside. She rushed for the cafe door, opening it and stepping in and instantly, her finger and nose began to defrost.
The door open and closed with a small chime of the bell above the door, informing the employers that someone was entering. She rubbed her hands together and wiped her cold nose as she walked into the warm cafe.
"What is someone doing up this early?" an old lady chuckled as she exited the kitchen, wiping her hands on a small apron she wore. Kim's head was down as she answered.
"What's a cafe doing open this early?" Kim repeated, taking a seat at the bar the lady stood behind. She smiled sweetly at Kim.
"Early bird gets the worm," she told, pointing her finger about as she smiled. Kim nodded once, still looking down.
"Does that make me the worm?" Kim huffed a polite laugh as the lady thought about it for a second.
"Why, yes," she smiled taking out a notepad. "What can I get you, love?" Kim looked up at her and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Kim fixed her eyes on the elderly woman and instantly felt a homely aura radiate off her. It was simply comforting to be under her gaze. Kim fixed herself slightly and mumbled some words.
"Uh, I'll have the largest serving of coffee you have, please," Kim sighed as the lady looked at her, astonished.
"My God, love. It looks like you haven't slept in days," she muttered as she went off to get Kim her coffee. Kim nodded and before placing her head down again, she could practically feel the dark bag under her eyes.
"If you only knew," Kim murmured to herself. Moment's later the lady returned with a rather large mug of coffee.
"On the house," the lady smiled as she watched Kim sniff the coffee and take a sip. Kim slurped her first sip and sighed satisfied. Kim looked down at the dark coffee swirled in the mug, the aroma filling her nostrils. Kim traced her eyes from the coffee to the old lady in front of her, who hadn't moved since she gave Kim her coffee. Kim shuffled once, turning to see the cafe was empty and the lady had nothing to do.
"Oh, sorry Hun," the lady smiled sweetly. Kim squinted at her suspiciously before taking another sip, "but it looks like you have an interesting story," the lady finished, making herself comfortable in front of Kim.
"Do I?" Kim asked lightly.
"Yeah," the lady nodded. The two of them stayed silent for a moment as Kim slurped her coffee, "I mean if you don't mind me asking." Kim sighed, she had once thought that the lady was too polite, but that's what little old ladies do.
"Christo," Kim whispered but there was no reaction. The lady gave her a weird look but Kim just smiled once. The cafe filled with silence as the lady waited. She didn't mind the silence, obviously.
"Story, right," Kim nodded, looking around and filling her mouth with coffee, "I'm an insomniac."
"Oh, my grandson has that. But it's not severe, thank God," she smiled, making a small sign of the cross. Kim nodded as she watched her.
"Yeah, so I'm awake early and fall asleep late, if at all," Kim explained as the lady sighed in sympathy.
"You poor girl, you seem so young," the lady put a reassuring hand on Kim's as she rested it on the coffee mug. "I mean, you can't be older than..." she thought for a second, a cocky smile on her face, "twenty."
Kim squinted at the lady, the cocky smile that graced her lips as she guessed her age correctly seemed oddly familiar. She looked at her suspiciously. She could have sworn she had heard those exact words before. Kim moved her posture upright, holding her shoulder straight as she thought.
The lady's smirk only grew as a flicker settled over the lights. Kim sprung off her chair as she watched the lights flicker, grabbing the iron knife she carried around everywhere. Holding it up, her expression stern, she turned from the lights to the lady, and watched as with a click of her fingers, her body morphed into an entirely new person.
A new face emerged from behind the flicker of the lights, with the same smile that seemed to haunt her and she knew exactly who it was.
"Trickster," Kim spat as the whisky eyed man that stood before her, tensing as she recognised him. A power surged from him as he moved to his natural position, for he had no fear in her presence which would strike fear in any hunter and it became instant knowledge to her that she had nothing to protect herself with. The Impala had most of the intricate weapons, that was gone.
"What do you want?" Kim asked loudly. The lights had stopped flickering and the Trickster had moved to lean against the bar, arrogantly leaning closer to Kim.
"You know, just want a chat with my old buddy," the Trickster smirked, hopping up and swinging his legs around the counter and landing beside Kim. She didn't move as he took a wrapped candy out of his pocket and popped it in his mouth.
"We have nothing to talk about," Kim said defensively, but the Trickster smirked egotistically.
"Oh, sure we do!" he cheered, shrugging his shoulder, "We're more in common than you think," he snickered as Kim furrowed her eyebrows, but before she could ask any questions, he wiggled his fingers.
She felt her body lift from the seat she was in, and in an instant, she was transported into a completely different setting. Her body tensed as she landed in the unfamiliar surrounding. The land was dark and she was no longer in the middle of the country. She stood at the edge of a deserted highway, the road at her toes. The moon was high in the sky, supplying Kim with a small amount of light. It was difficult to see, especially with a midnight fog rolling in from the forest behind her.
It was silent except for the wind that brushed leaves of the trees. It howled softly as surrounded her. Kim shivered as she reached for her knife, but it was no longer in her waistband. Her phone was no longer in her pocket either.
She looked down the highway, each end of the road disappearing into the horizon as if it would never end. Her teeth chattered in the cold air.
"Trickster!" Kim called into the emptiness, a cloud erupting from her lips as she spoke but the only response she received was an echo. "If your plan is to kill me, I can tell you now, another way would be a hell of a lot faster!" she screamed into the abyss.
In an instant, Kim became aware of her situation and growled lowly, not even sure if she had the willpower to get herself out if there and she was more willing to sit down and let nature take its course then she was to keep walking down the endless highway into an inevitable trap.
She thought for a second, her war tongue rolled over her lips. She felt the cracked skin on her lips before feeling the instant cold reverse back o her lips the second her tongue was back in her mouth. She then thought about her knife, and how it felt to have something of her fathers so close to her after such a long time and she was suddenly left with no choice.
Groaning, she pulled the thin material she wore over herself and started walking down one end of the highway, either option was as good as the other and she decided that she would walk until she reached some form of civilisation.
She walked. She walked for an endless amount of hours. She walked until her feet turned bare and her whole body was aching but it was as if she hadn't taken a step. The highway still reached the horizon at each end and there were no buildings in sight. The light from the moon had become obnoxious as the day was still to come, although it felt like it should have come hours ago.
As Kim looked up into the sky she realised that the moon was still straight above her head as it was all those hours ago. It hadn't moved an inch and neither had time; nor had the trees she had been continuously passing as if she was walking in a circle.
She stopped, not daring to take another meaningless step and groaned. She growled deeply from her core and listened to it echo as she screamed. A screech of crows erupted from the forest behind her as she massaged her poor feet, that were blistered and worn from the walking she had done. She turned to the noise and watched as the birds flew from the tops of the trees.
She took a step towards the forest in hopes it would get her somewhere and she watched for the first time in hours as the world moved around her when she walked.
A smile appeared on her lips as she moved away from the road and towards the forest, her walk turning into a run. She felt the wind push against her as she ran, feeling the breeze blow through her hair but as her foot entered the forest, she found herself standing at the edge of the road once again.
She breathed heavily from the running as she stood, shocked at the edge of the road. She looked around her frantically to see she was in the same place she was, not a foot out of line, not a toe out of place.
She screamed. She screamed until her throat started to bleed and her voice cracked. Her face turned red and her knuckles white as she fell to her knees. Anger boiled inside of her, making her hot and sweaty. Her heart was racing so fast and her feet became restless, but a rustle from behind her caught her attention.
Within a second, she twirled to the left, feeling the air of the passing creature gush against her as it ran past her. She had moved out of the way just in time. Kim's eyes adjusted to the dark to see a man, hunched with rugged fur and sharp teeth emerging from his mouth, dripping saliva that illuminating in the moonlight. His eyes glowed in the abyss of the dark, the cloud of mist swirled at his feet. His eyes stared at Kim, claws extended and teeth bear. Kim instinctively reached for her knife but remembered it was missing as she grabbed at the air behind your back.
"Shit," she whispered under her breath as the werewolf launched at her but her reaction was too slow. The werewolf clawed her side as she moved and she felt its claws rip through her flesh. Blood poured down her said as she turned to the werewolf, a slight form of terror in her eyes. She had no idea what to do, the Trickster had taken all of her weapons. She couldn't outrun the creature and she couldn't hide from it in the forest. She was utterly helpless as she stared into the glowing eyes of the werewolf. She held onto her side, feeling the blood pour from her wounds and it became incredibly easy to accept her consequence.
The werewolf launched again, but she was quicker this time, grabbing a large branch she found on the floor. Her bloody hands wrapped the branch and she swung it at the werewolf, sending him tumbling down. Kim smirked as he whimpered, preparing her branch again as he charged at her. The werewolf captured the branch in his jaws and broke it in half, but before he could do anything else, Kim sent the end of the branch through the creature, ripping through its flesh. She watched as he transformed back into his human form, his teeth and claws retracting back as he became limp. Kim wasn't sure if he was dead, she had never heard of a werewolf die from another weapon other than silver, so she skewered the branch into the ground, pinning the werewolf to the ground.
Wiping the blood in her hand off on her shirt, she placed pressure to her wound as she walked away from the werewolf, exhausted and bleeding.
"It would b easier for the both of us if you just killed me yourself!" Kim shouted into the sky, hearing the echo of her words sound through the highway.
She sighed, rubbing her head as she walked. An urge told her to look behind her after she walked a few hundred meters away from the werewolf, but when she looked over her shoulder she saw the skewered were vanish in a haze of static. She licked her teeth unsure of any way she would be able to get out of that place.
She walked through the silence, her hand pressed to her wound but blood continued to spill between her fingers. The cold air of the night gave her shivers, the breeze causing her damp fingers to go numb. The moon was still above her head and she had no way out.
As she walked her meaningless steps, she saw a car's headlights head towards her. It was the first thing out of place she had seen in this place. She smiled in relief as the car pulled up beside her, a young girl hopping out. She was slightly taller than Kim and looked a little bit older than her and of Indonesian descent. She hopped out of the car and ran to Kim, a sense of concern in her eyes that she hadn't seen in a long time.
"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" she asked quickly, her tone filled with worry. Kim huffed as she pressed her hand harder to her wound.
"Just dandy," she replied as she panted. The lady wrapped her arm around Kim and helped her to the car where she leaned on the closed door while the girl went and got a first aid kit from the trunk.
"It's going to be okay, I'm here and I won't let anything happen to you," the girl said as she pulled out some whisky from the kit and poured it on the wound. Kim hissed in pain before laughing.
"You just met me," she huffed with a smirk. This girls presence seemed to calm her as she felt her clean her wounds. "Can I have some of that?" Kim asked. The girl looked form the bottle to Kim.
"Not before I have some first," she said, taking a sip before handing the bottle to Kim, who took a quick swig.
"What's your name anyway?" Kim asked.
"Sri," she replied with a smile.
"Kim," Kim responded, nodding.
"That's a nice name," Sri complimented. Kim smirked slightly and nodded her head.
"Thanks," she replied. Kim watched as Sri bandaged her wounds and took care of the mess. Kim poked her wound, feeling the slush of her insides. "Well, thanks for the help," Kim said, about to walk away.
"You, my friend, are one brave chicken if you're fine with walking all that way in the dark all alone," Sri smiled playfully. "How about I give you a ride to the nearest bar and I buy you a drink? With a wound like that, a couple of vodka shots wouldn't go astray."
Kim thought about the offer and if it was wise to get into a car with a complete stranger or if it was wiser to walk down the path the had led her nowhere for the past hours, where creatures lurked in the shadows, ready to attack. Kim inspected Sri for a moment. She looked harmless, to a degree. She looked down the road into the oblivion, feeling a shiver creep over her, but when her eyes travelled back to Sri, it all disappeared and before Kim would think rationally, she was in the front seat of her car.
In the car, time seemed to move and in a matter of minutes, the two of them were in a town filled with life for such an odd hour of the night but Kim didn't think twice as they went into the bar and sat down at the stools.
"So, what's your poison?" Sri asked but Kim shrugged.
"Anything strong," she sniggered. Sri laughed and nodded her head, ordering a few shots between them.
"I like your style," she complimented. "So, what's your story?" she asked. There was a moment of silence before Kim shrugged.
"It's a long story," Kim replied, downing a shot. Sri did the same.
"We got time," she shrugged.
"I don't know man, it's just-" she took a breath as she looked up at Sri, who looked like she genuinely wanted to listen to her. Kim felt something rise in her, a vulnerability she had never felt before. The comfort of this strangers eyes conjured her to feel safe, like no matter what she said, she would be okay. She had felt a craving to release whatever heaviness was inside her. She was so heavy and she was growing weak, and she looked into Sri's eyes she felt a little lighter. "I'm useless. I'm fucking useless and worthless and no matter what I do, I always fuck up and let down the people I love. They all leave me, all of them. No matter what I do and I've tried so hard. I really did." Kim's eyes started to water, but a choked laugh escaped her throat as she looked down at the bar. "My mom's dead. So are my dad and my big sister. When I was alone, a man came and helped me out, he died too. My brother died after that, and just recently, my best friend died and the other left me alone in a motel room." Kim scoffed a pathetic laugh. "The only ones that haven't left me are my other family, Ellen and Jo."
Kim hadn't realised that the whole bar had fallen silent.
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"So, these two people you left, they mean a lot to you, don't they?" she asked. Kim sniffled back before nodding her head, feeling her cheeks, surprised to see that they were still dry.
"More than anything."
Sri smiled evilly.
"Kill them," she instructed. Kim's head snapped in her direction, an expression of utter disgust across her face.
"What?" It was at this moment that Kim realised that the bar was empty and completely silent, not a sound to be heard. She looked around and watched as the bar faded into the Roadhouse, just how she remembered it. She stood quickly, her feet shaking as she took a step further into the room. Everything was how it was. It even smelled the same. Kim ran her fingers over the bar one last time before turning to a noise behind her.
In the middle of the room stood Jo. Kim hadn't seen her in a while. It brought a smile to her lips to see her, but as she felt an object appear in her hand, her smile disappeared. She lifted her hand to see her iron knife firmly in her grasp.
"Kill her," a voice repeated. It was intoxicating, the voice. Kim could listen to it all day. It repeated in her head and Kim's eyes landed on Sri in the back corner behind Jo. Her face was so sweet and her eyes were too irresistible to look away from as she mimed the words that repeated on Kim's head.
"I have to kill her," Kim obeyed, nodding as she stepped towards Jo. Kim twirled the knife between her fingers as a smirk lingered on her lips. It was so easy to move with Sri's words, like drifting along a stream.
Kim slashed down and she watched as her knife glided across the cheek of Jo, who cowered away from Kim's presence. It was nice to see Jo wither under Kim's power, but it felt wrong. It was wrong.
Kim looked down at the knife in her hands and watched the blood drip from the tip of the blade to the ground. In shock and disgust, Kim threw the knife out of her hands as her eyes travelled up towards Sri, a wicked smirk on her lips.
"You're a siren," Kim whispered, feeling herself move forward and towards Jo, striking her cowering form to the ground. Kim watched from behind her eyes as she bashed Jo's temple towards the ground. Blood poured from her head and pooled on the floor, her eye black with bruises. Kim watched with horror, unable to stop herself, unable to even look away. She had tried, she had pulled and forced herself to move away from Jo, but with each punch, the urge grew stronger and it was impossible to break.
"No," Kim screamed, pulling herself away with all her might, but it was as if she had attempted nothing. "No!" Kim threw herself off of Jo, a white light erupting from her palms and Kim was able to punch herself off of Jo, who laid there helplessly. Kim shook her head in clarity, looking up to see the true form of the siren approach her. Kim stood to her feet and threw her hand out in anger. She felt a heat rise from her palms and a light erupted from her. Kim crunched her fist into a ball and watched the siren stop where it was, its form collapsing in on itself until it was a pile of blood and bones on the floor.
Kim let go of a breath she was holding in, feeling her knees turn weak. She was exhausted, panting, barely able to lift her head to check on Jo. As Kim took a step towards Jo's limp form, she watched as the room turn to static, and before she knew it, she was back in the diner, sitting on the same stool she was before.
Turning around confused, she saw the Trickster standing behind her, this time with a lollipop in his mouth. Popping it out of his mouth, he plonked himself in a seat behind him and smiled up at her.
"Wow, sweetheart, dry cheeks. You really are heartless," the Trickster smirked, his eyes shining a hazel brown. It had seemed that no time had passed although it felt like she was trapped n that place for days. Kim felt her cheeks before tearing her hand off her face and straightening her stance, standing up to overpower him.
"Is Jo okay?" Kim asked instantly, but the Trickster just rolled his eyes.
"That's the first thing you wanna ask?" he sassed.
"Is. She. Okay?" Kim repeated lowly, waiting for an answer.
"She's fine," the Trickster waved off, uninterested. Kim sighed in relief, nodding.
"Why'd you do that?" Kim asked, "Why- Why did you send me there? How did I do that?" Kim breathed as the smirked found it's way back onto the Tricksters face. He hopped out of his chair and pointed to her enthusiastically.
"That's the question I was waiting for," he smiled. "'How did I do that?' What a good question, huh?" Kim squinted her eyes at him as he dawdled around the answer.
"You know what's happening to me?" Kim asked urgently, but he didn't answer.
"It's funny, cause when you're life's in danger, you couldn't give less of a crap. But the second someone you love was in danger-"
"Do you know what's wrong with me or not?" Kim hissed, interrupting him. The Trickster stopped, his playful posture straightening at her words and his eyes darkening. He stopped and looked at her, furrowing his eyebrows.
"There's nothing wrong with you," the Trickster stated seriously, a tone of wisdom rose in his voice. "You are here for a reason," he informed as Kim squinted her eyebrows.
"What reason?" she asked hastily. The Trickster walked over to her and stood right in front of her, arm's length apart. His expression stayed stern as he looked deep into her eyes, but his lips spontaneously turned into his unique smirk as he wiggled his eyebrows. With a snap of his fingers, he was gone, leaving Kim in an empty cafe with a mug of cold coffee.