Stepping into the line of fire
Chapter 7
The chirping of thousands of birds woke the boys up before their dad could. The sweetness of their song contrasted very vividly with John's usual dulcet tones! This cabin seemed enchanted. It was so cosy and the beds made them feel like they were floating in some fluffy, crisp, white clouds. It smelt good too… That was the worst thing about motel life. The dirt and the smell. You never quite got used to it. It assaulted your senses and made you feel miserable. It was going to be hard to go back to that, after this cabin of delights!
The boys got up and saw their dad about to prepare breakfast. Dean quickly moved towards him and said, "Dad why don't you go n' have a wash at the compound…I'll do breakfast…"
John turned around, looked at Dean quizzically and replied, "Do I smell son?"
"No dad, of course not…we can' go wash after you and when you come back there'll be a magnificent breakfast feast care of yours truly!" Dean said with a flourish. Sam was praying for a divine interruption and got it when John gave his eldest the wooden spoon he held in his hand.
"I won't be long boys. Thanks' son."
With a long sigh of relief Sam smiled at his brother and sassed, "That was a close call! I thought we would have to endure those goddam' awful scrambled eggs…I don't know what the ol' man puts in them but they are not scrambled they are annihilated…it must be something to do with Nam'… I suppose learning to cook wasn't a top priority!" Dean laughed at that and got to work.
Forty minutes later the excellent breakfast of perfectly scrambled eggs and crispy bacon had been devoured. John praised Dean for the tasty meal and made his son blush. It wasn't often that the ex-marine gave him a compliment and Dean always found it hard not to react. Blushing was embarrassing though. He needed to work on that. He wasn't a little kid anymore. Sam did the washing up as John started to brief the boys.
"Bobby will be here at about 15 hundred hours. You've got to get washed and ready to track. My plan is to go to the wooded area that Bobby has mentioned as having charred patches. We'll try to follow the trail if there is one. As ya' know boys that area is huge but we'll work together until Bobby gets here. Then we can split, Dean you can go with him and Sam you come with me..." Sam turned around from the sink and couldn't help voicing his extreme displeasure...
"Why can't Dean go with ya' and I go with Bobby? it's not fair!"
John took a long breath and replied calmly but forcefully, "Sam… since when do you give the orders around here? You're coming with me when Bobby gets here and that's an order!" Sam looked hatefully at his dad…
"Is it because I cannot look after myself without you overseeing things? I can track dad…I'm really good at tracking…you said so yourself… I want to go with uncle Bobby" he pleaded with a slight note of desperation in his voice.
"Sam I don't have to justify my reasons to you. You're with me and Dean's with Bobby." Sam threw down the towel he was wiping the last dish with…
"I'm going to the compound to get washed. Coming Dean?" Dean glanced at his dad who nodded yes and they left the cabin. He was angry at his brother for causing a scene. Why did Sam always have to ruin his dad's good moods. It made him feel caught in the middle and it had somehow ruined his perfect morning. He gave his brother a none too gentle shove forward.
"Why do you have to rile the ol' man dude? He runs the show. You're fifteen damn it! What dad says goes!"
Sam turned on his brother and he yelled, "Leave me alone, it's OK for you, you're not stuck with him all day…he's going to call me out for every little thing, you know that Dean… don't ya'? I'll be doing PT all night or worse! It's going to be hell…I'd rather be dead dude!"
Dean laughed at his little brother. "Whoa princess! Don't get your panties in a twist! The ol' man will keep you safe and he'll teach you stuff…I think you're lucky personally!"
"Well I could do without that sort of luck dude! Thanks' for rubbing it in! I hate my life!" Dean let his brother sulk for awhile and before they knew it, they had arrived at the compound. The boys disappeared into the bathrooms and emerged squeaky clean and visibly more relaxed. It took a short while to get back.
John was waiting for them, packed and ready to go. "Get your gear…hurry… we've got quite a lot of ground to cover today. It was a sunny day so he reminded his sons to put sunscreen on their faces and take some with them in their rucksack. Dad had prepared sandwiches and a flask of coffee. Soon they were off in the direction of Icelandic State Park Loop. It was 8.4 kilometres in length.
"I spotted an ice cream stand near the beach dad…any chance of getting one?" Sam questioned.
John was going to tell his son that they were not on holiday… yet again… but suddenly he thought it might work in their favour. "Sam if you follow orders and track diligently and effectively you and your brother can have an ice cream."
Sam beamed. "Thanks dad".
"Don't thank me yet boy. We'll see how the day goes". Dean smiled happily that some sort of truce had been called, at least for now. The hunters walked towards their destination. It was a hot day but there was a pleasant breeze whistling through the trees. There was no feeling of impending doom. The birds were chirping and the occasional squirrel could be seen climbing up the trees. Mother nature at its most beautiful. It seemed to give the hunters some inner peace. It was a wondrous summer day.
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"Look out for any charring, anything that doesn't quite fit" John commanded. They followed the trail that led them to a clearing and then they went off the footpath. "Dean you go first, head north-east, Sam next, I'll take the rear."
"So… I'm sandwiched between mummy bear and daddy bear. Great!" Sam huffed. John cuffed his youngest behind the head. "Ouch dad!"
"Son you keep that up and we're going to have words. Right here in the middle of this forest."
Sam swallowed what he was about to say and decided that the safest thing to come out of his mouth at this precise moment was a "Yes sir." The hunters got deeper and deeper into the unexplored forest but could not see anything untoward. Just many trees that they had to weave in and out of. It felt like a pleasant family day out. Then all at once Dean was the first to notice something different. There was a peculiar smell in the air that seemed to be coming from nowhere in particular.
"Dad, Sammy… d'you smell what I smell?"
"Yeah Son. It smells like a woodfire but with a herby undertone…I can't think of the herb…"
Dean who had from the age of sixteen enhanced his cooking skills to spare his brother the pain of wading through one of John's stews, suddenly thought he had it, "Dill…I think… it smells a little like chives or dill." As he said that, the smell vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.
"This is weird dad, how can a smell vanish just like that, smells linger a bit don't they?" John thought that Sam had a point.
"I agree with you Sam. This is strange. Write down our coordinates Dean. We'll come back tomorrow with Bobby. Let's make our way to that beach and then home. I promised someone an ice cream and even though he sailed pretty close to the wind today I think we all deserve a treat." The hunters turned around back towards the footpath that they had ventured off from. It did not take too long to get to the beach much to Sam's delight. The ice creams tasted delicious. Sam had asked for three scoops of vanilla with multicoloured sprinkles on the top. Dean went for a mixture of peach, cherry and strawberry with raspberry syrup and John, a straight vanilla sort of man took a gamble and went for two scoops of chocolate without sprinkles! Dean began to think that whatever the ol' man was saying about this not being a holiday… he was certainly getting into that spirit! On the way back to the cabin Sam almost thought that he heard his dad hum a tune.
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Bobby had arrived in good time and made himself comfortable on that couch, whisky in hand and a big smile on his face as he heard the boys arriving. He opened the door and they greeted their uncle with far more enthusiasm than teenagers should ever show. John felt almost jealous.
"Bobby! The beds are terrific!" announced Sam. "This is a great place isn't it?"
"Well Sam, I've to agree with ya' it's rather special. We're here for a purpose though…me and your dad we're going to talk. You boys go and unpack and get comfortable. Why don't you check out the compound for a while?" Dean and Sam did not have to be told twice. They rushed out of the living quarters like it was on fire. John frowned at Bobby and shouted out "Be back in two hours, ya' hear me boys?" he was rewarded with a distant but heartfelt "Yes sir!".
John helped himself to a finger of Jack and joined Bobby on the couch. "Thank you for paying for this…I'll pay you back when I can…ya' know that?" Bobby nodded affirmatively and changed the conversation. "What d'you find out today from your tracking?"
"Nothing until we reached this point…" John showed the co-ordinates that Dean had written down. "There was this funny smell Bobby…like herb and wood smoke." Bobby swallowed at that and looked John straight in the eye.
"This ain't a good sign. That's the smell they give out when the're stalking you."
"You mean balrogs?"
"Yeah."
"You mean something there was tracking us?"
"John we've got to sit down with the boys when they come back and work out a plan…this is a big fugly and very powerful. I've something to show ya' though…"
"What?"
"This." Bobby took out a red velvet clad object from his duffel bag and revealed what looked like an ancient sword. John marvelled at the complexity of its design. "It's Narsil, John, an enchanted blade… it was forged by Telchar of Nogrod. This is the only thing that can kill a balrog. It weakens them until they cannot concentrate and then we have the advantage…" John looked at the blade with awe.
"Where d'ya get that Bobby?"
"A woman called Frode Holt…t'was many years ago but she told me that she wanted me to look after it. She called me a safe pair of hands…that's how I got it." John took the blade in his hands and stroked its luminous beauty almost like a lover would the object of his affection.
"It's just perfect Bobby."
"It will do the job." Bobby took a sip of his whisky and John did the same.
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