Thanks for the reviews!
Also a huge shout out to amycoe37...if you haven't read her story, seriously, what are you waiting for? :D
Need to give some song credits...not sure how to do that in fanfiction...but Jorie sings a song called 'One Tin Soldier' by The Original Caste... a super old song from the '70s I think. I sang it at the Music Festival when I was like 10 years old or something. If you want to hear what it sounds like just look it up on youtube. I think it was on an old tv show or something but I've never seen the show.
Labour Day weekend where I live and school starts Tuesday. I'd like to say I'm excited but I'm not LOL
Summer was way too short!
Does anyone know anyone who is in the CAF? (Canadian Armed Forces?) My brother left for Air Force BMQ and I miss him!
Enjoy the story!
Reviews cheer me up.
PEACE and chocolate.
Your sad because she misses her brother but friendly neighbourhood fanfic writer,
Claire
Jorie was startled when the trunk slammed close on the impala. The gravelly voices of the men outside were growing louder enabling her to hear what they were saying more clearly.
"Have some compassion, Dean. She's a scared little kid!"
"Did anyone have any compassion on us, Sammy? Did we ask to be hunters' kids, huh? I don't seem to remember dad codling us when we screwed up. She isn't a newbie to this kind of life, Sam. Mac has been hunting her entire life. She's not entitled to some kind of get out of jail free card from me."
"You sheltered me all the time, Dean," Sam shot back.
"Yeah, I did. You're my brother, and I would have done anything to protect you from this nightmare but I'm done, Sam. I don't have it in me to do it again."
"No one is saying you have to, Dean," Bobby said.
Dean turned to look at the older man he respected so much. "Did you see that picture of Mac? How the hell are we going to unplug him from those vines? He's not going to make it, Bobby and where does that leave that kid?"
Jorie choked on her tears and flew out of the car. She didn't care what they thought anymore. She wasn't giving up on her dad even if they did.
"Shut up!" she stomped up to Dean, kicking him as hard as she could in the shin. "My dad is a fighter…" Sam attempted to grab her but Jorie was quick enough to sidestep him and turn to face the three imposing men.
"What the hell? You brought his damned kid?"
Jorie spun around to see a rough-looking hunter with a mullet haircut staring at her and looking incredulously at Dean, Sam and Bobby.
"What else were we supposed to do with her?" Dean barked.
"Get a babysitter or something. I don't know anything about kids."
"And you think we do?" Dean gruffly responded, dropping his weapons on the trunk and walking towards the passenger side of the impala. He swung the creaky door open and fished around in the glove compartment for something.
Sam used this moment to grab Jorie by the arm. You need to stay in the car.
No! I won't. You heard Dean. He's already given up.
No, Jorie, he hasn't given up and he won't.
Their inner conversation was interrupted as Dean hauled Jorie up into his arms and carried her back toward the impala.
"Dean!" Sam protested.
Dean ignored Sam and sat Jorie in the front seat of the car, snapped some handcuffs on one wrist and threaded it through the wheel and fastened the other cuff tight.
"Is that necessary, Dean?" Bobby asked, looking unsure.
Dean stood and glared at the other men. "Unless you have any other bright ideas, this will make sure she's still here when we return."
Jorie quickly pulled her tiny wrists free of the cuffs and darted to the other side of the seat, flinging the door open and running off. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as she ran for the abandoned warehouse directly ahead of her. Then she froze mid-step. Her pulse raced as she heard footfalls on the pavement behind her.
Sam grabbed her arm at the same time he released his compulsion on her. He swung her up into his arms and returned to where the other men stood. Sam opened the impala door and set Jorie down with a firm command to stay. Jorie was unable to move a muscle.
Dean paced in front of Sam, Ash and Bobby. "How the hell are we going to do anything if we can't trust she'll stay put?"
"She'll stay," Sam assured Dean.
"No, Sammy, you can't go into this fight with only half your mind in it. Compelling her takes effort, and we need all of you in this fight."
Tears ran down her cheeks and she sniffled.
"Look, the longer we stand around wrestling with his stubborn ass kid, the more apt that damned creature is to drag Mac back onto another dream then we're all screwed. Leave her and let's get him out," Ash snapped, annoyed at all the drama.
Bobby removed his hat and smacked it on his dirty pant leg. "Go get Mac, I'll watch Jorie."
Dean shook his head. "No, we need you too." He turned to Jorie. "Do I need to smack your ass or are you going to stop with this shit and let us go get your dad?"
Jorie closed her eyes, a look of sheer torture washing across her face. Sam had her so tightly compelled that she couldn't even move her head. She fought to hang the sheet up in her mind but couldn't even do that. Sam could hear and see every thought that crossed her mind.
"Ash, take Bobby in and let him gauge how Mac is doing," Sam said releasing some of the hold he had on Jorie.
When Jorie felt her upper body being released, she covered her face and sobbed.
Bobby and Ash took off towards the warehouses leaving Sam and Dean glaring at one another.
"You're the only one who can go into Mac's head if need be. You can't be compelling her to stay at the same time."
Sam ran his hands through his hair knowing it was the truth. Jorie, it's true. I can't rescue your dad if I'm not 100% there.
Jorie lifted her head. Let me help.
Sam shook his head. No.
"Stop talking in your gawd damned heads. I know you're doing it, dude and it drives me insane!" Dean leaned over and stuck a finger in Jorie's face. "I'm not negotiating with a freakin kid. Are you staying put or do you need a taste of what will happen if you don't? Because news flash, kid, I'm already going to bust your skinny little butt when this is over but I'm more than happy to give you a preview right now. I'm done with this shit."
Sam shrugged his shoulders in defeat. Dean was going to do what he was going to do. He was a carbon copy of John Winchester.
Jorie looked at him with every fibre of her being dripping with defiance.
Dean reached for Jorie and hauled her out of the car by her arm. He stepped one foot on the interior edge of the door and flipped her over his upper thigh landing an impressive smack to the middle of her backside.
Jorie screeched and began kicking her feet wildly.
"Stay in the impala. Lock the damn doors and wait for us." Dean stated fiercely, landing another just as hard in the same spot.
Jorie bit down on her lip to keep focussed. Blood, mixed with saliva, pooled in her mouth enough to make her gag but the sensation forced her to stay alert. When her brain was sharp and alert, she had an edge to manipulate. She grabbed Dean's leg to centre herself.
Let me GO! The power behind her compulsion made Dean stumble a little but he managed to hang on to Jorie and land another sharp swat to her upper thigh.
Jorie shrieked.
"Stop messing around in my head!" Dean bit out through gritted teeth, sounding as if he was in a lot of pain.
Jorie, stop it. Sam scolded and grabbed Dean's arm before he could strike again.
Dean shrugged Sam off. "You can't control her, Sam."
Sam grabbed his arm again, pushing Dean off balance. Dean stumbled and Jorie's feet landed on the ground with Dean still holding onto her arm. Sam crouched to her level and touched her head gently. Sleep.
Blackness enveloped her.
XxXx
Jorie felt herself floating, not being able to move a muscle but only lay limp in Sam's arms. She could feel his arms around her, hearing everything around her but only on some kind of subconscious level.
"What'd you do?" Dean asked.
"I put her to sleep."
Dean heaved a sigh. "You couldn't have done that before?"
"I don't want to control her, Dean."
"Why the hell not? Dude, she's out of control and she gets more brazen as time goes on."
"I told you, she's scared. Have a heart. Dean, why are you being such a hardass about this? I've never seen you like this."
Dean was quiet a moment then he moved to pick up the weapons he'd set on the back of the impala.
"Put her in the car and let's go catch up with Bobby and Ash. Can you keep her asleep and still be on your game?"
Sam gently set Jorie in the back seat of the impala. "No, not if I want to have my full wits about me. She'll wake up and we'll have no way to keep her in the car."
Dean tossed the handcuffs in Sam's direction. Sam caught them without thinking. The two of them exchanged a look before Sam sighed and reached into the backseat, cuffing Jorie's ankles together over her jeans and threading it through the door handle. He brushed her hair off her forehead and covered her gently with a blanket, locking and closing the car door softly. Several minutes later, Jorie opened her eyes and sat up.
"AHHH," Jorie screamed in exasperation as she kicked her feet.
XxXx
Jorie heaved a loud sigh and flopped back down in the back seat. Handcuffs on her ankles were a new one. Her small wrists being attached with adult handcuffs was simple, even in the tightest position, her tiny wrists slipped out with ease. All she had to do was maneuver her thumb in a certain way and they fell off her wrists but her dad had also shown her how easy it was to get out of handcuffs. She could do it with her hands behind her back and locked in the trunk of a car. Her dad was nothing if he wasn't thorough. Jorie felt around her messy mop of hair for any hair clips. To her great disappointment, she didn't find any. That would make things a little more difficult but still not impossible. She remembered Dean's sunglasses that she'd seen him wear. The arm of the sunglasses could work to shim and open the cuffs.
Jorie flipped to her side and tried to see if she could see where Dean left his sunglasses. The car was dark and it was hard to see. She slipped to the floor, groaning as her ankles were pinched by the cuffs. She started blindly feeling around with her hand. The one thing that Jorie had noticed time and time again with Dean is he dropped everything under the seat. He was constantly fishing his sunglasses, wallet and other things out from under the seat. The car could have used a center console. Jorie made a face when she felt something squishy under the seat. She didn't even want to know what that was. It felt sticky and she imagined it being some old leftover uneaten pie or something worse. Then a smile formed on her face when she felt the thin wire of the arm of his sunglasses. Bingo! She was in luck.
She pulled the desired item out and worked to get herself back up onto the backseat of the impala. It wasn't easy considering she was basically hanging by her feet and stretching as hard as she could to reach under Dean's seat. She was thankful that the oldest brother was consistent in kicking everything under the seat. Once she was back on the backseat she sat up and rubbed at her ankles. She was thankful her jeans were thick and that Sam had attached the cuffs over her pant legs. He probably thought it would be less likely for her to slip out of them with the cuffs attached tightly over her jeans. Jorie felt for the keyhole to the cuffs which was thankfully facing her. Figuring this out in the darkness of the car was trickier but she was still confident she could do it.
Sucking in her bottom lip, she shoved the end of the arm of the sunglasses into the hole and bending it towards her made a little angled tip. She pulled it out and felt it with her fingers. It felt like it would work. She couldn't tell if Sam had double-locked the cuffs or not and she didn't dare try to see if they would tighten further or not in case she was unsuccessful. The cuffs were already uncomfortably tight as it was.
Hanging in there, Jorie?
Jorie froze when she heard Sam's voice in her head. She'd forgotten to hang the curtain again in her mind. She quickly concentrated on doing just that to make sure Sam couldn't see what she was thinking. Popping the lock open was going to take some mental self-talk.
Jorie didn't answer him as she concentrated on feeling around for the mechanism in the keyhole. She stifled a sob of relief as the cuff clicked and popped open on one ankle.
I-is he okay, Sammy? She couldn't resist asking.
He's alive, honey. He's talking to us but I have to be honest with you, your dad isn't doing well and we have no idea how to free him yet.
Jorie allowed the tears to wash down her cheeks as she succeeded in popping open the cuff on her other ankle. She dropped the cuff to the floor and unlocked the door of the impala. Her feet hit the pavement but she forced herself to stop to catch her breath. She knew once she stepped outside of the car the curtain hiding her thoughts would fall. Sam would see everything she was thinking. She needed to control herself and clear her mind.
Jorie?
Jorie closed her eyes and practiced clearing her mind. But she couldn't. Loud sobs racked her body and she collapsed into her lap crying.
Aw, sweetie, hang in there. We're not giving up.
Jorie's stomach churned with desperation. How was she going to make her way to her dad without Sam knowing what she was doing? If her dad was going to die, she had every right to see him. Suddenly the words to a children's song came to her mind. Her dad used to strum it on his guitar and she'd sometimes sing along.
Listen, children, to a story that was written long ago, 'bout a kingdom on a mountain and the valley folk below.
Jorie stood up out of the impala and shut the door. She felt the curtain fall and she could do nothing but run towards the warehouses. She kept singing the song in her head as she ran hoping none of her thoughts could be read by Sam.
On the mountain was a treasure buried deep beneath the stone, and the valley people swore they'd have it for their very own.
Tears still cascaded down her cheeks as she entered the darkened warehouse where she'd seen Ash and Bobby enter. She looked around trying to remember where the entrances to the underground tunnels began. She'd seen the map and had memorised much of it.
Go ahead and hate your neighbour, Go ahead and cheat a friend.
In the corner by some old crates, Jorie noticed that the dust had been disturbed. She rushed over and felt around the wall for any sign of a secret entrance. As she leaned in closer, she felt some stale wind on her face. There was definitely space behind the wall, probably an entrance to the tunnels.
What is that you're singing? Sam's voice popped into her making her jump in surprise.
Jorie decided it was better to not engage with Sam. The concentration it was taking to hum the song in her head and keep her inner thoughts silent was taking a huge toll on her.
Do it in the name of Heaven, You can justify it in the end.
Shoving as hard as she could, part of the wall moved to reveal a passageway of some kind. Being that Jorie was small, she didn't have to move it very far for her to squeeze her way in. Once she was inside, darkness covered her making her shiver in fear. Why did everything always have to happen at night? Everything seemed 10 times scarier when it was dark.
There won't be any trumpets blowing come the judgement day. On the bloody morning after, one tin soldier rides away.
Jorie took a few steps forwards only to find she was surrounded by cobwebs. She stifled a scream and clamped her hand over her mouth. She had to be heading in the wrong direction because all the men who had gone before her were much larger and taller and they would have swiped all the cobwebs away. Jorie turned and headed in the other direction, holding her hands out in front of her. It was pitch black dark, not even allowing her to see her hand in front of her face. Her heart was beating so loudly she swore it would be heard by someone. She forced herself to swallow slowly to help relax her heart rate. This hadn't been the first time she'd done something scary by herself.
So the people of the valley sent a message up the hill asking for the buried treasure, tons of gold for which they'd kill. Came an answer from the kingdom, "With our brothers, we will share, all the secrets of our mountain, all the riches buried there."
Jorie's mind began to reflect on the song she was singing, thinking about the words as she walked in the darkness heading towards the unknown. Her dad always sung it when he was feeling like the world needed hope…like he needed hope. The song had the perfect message of peace and courage but also it held a warning as well. More tears escaped down Jorie's cheeks. She was losing hope.
Now the valley cried with anger, "Mount your horses! Draw your sword!" And they killed the mountain people, so they won their just reward. Now they stood beside the treasure, on the mountain, dark and red. Turned the stone and looked beneath it... "Peace on Earth" was all it said.
As the last part of the verse echoed in her head, she began to see light ahead of her in the tunnel. She walked faster as she heard voices belonging to Sam and Dean as well as others she did not recognize. Jorie sunk to her knees and crawled towards the light, slowing her breathing and willing her heart to beat quietly. She kept humming the song in her head, starting the entire song over again. The tune was catchy and it was keeping her calm.
"You need to promise me you'll take care of her, please Dean, Sam, I need to know she'll be okay without me."
Jorie's heart almost stopped when she heard her father's weak voice pleading with Sam and Dean on her behalf.
"Stop talking like that, Mac," Bobby admonished. "We're going to figure this out. Sam has calls out all over the place…"
"No!" her father's voice sounding raspy screamed out. "Let's face it; I'm not getting out of here alive and I need some guarantees here!"
"Yeah, yeah, of course, man, Dean and I will make sure she's taken care of."
"That's not good enough, Sam. You have to keep her. Raise her. I don't want you just to find someone to take care of her. Jorie is special…"
"Hey, hey, hey… something is coming in this direction," another voice shouted from an area she couldn't see from her vantage point.
"What is it?" Dean said. Jorie couldn't see him either.
Daddy, I love you. Jorie projected the words in her father's direction without thinking. She was biting her lower lip hard enough to draw blood.
"Jorie?" she heard her father say weakly. "Sam, Jorie is here!" He said louder, desperate fear in his voice.
"What?" Dean snapped, anger leaking into his voice. "That's impossible. We handcuffed her ankles to the car."
"She could get out of those with her eyes closed," Mac said, breaking into a fit of coughs.
"Stop talking. Mac," Bobby said. "Save your energy."
"Dean, get over here!" an unfamiliar voice shouted.
Jorie kept low but couldn't see anything past a large stone that was blocked her view. She was afraid to go further for fear of being seen but her longing to see her father was beginning to win out. Even if Dean smacked her silly, it would be worth it to see her dad.
Gunshots filled the air and Jorie could hear shouts, grunts and screams. She sat on her haunches and covered her eyes as bursts of light blinded her.
Jorie, I know you're near. Stay down. The Jargeru is here. Sam's voice flooded her head with instructions to stay low and out of sight.
Jorie silently cried and trembled but her desire to get to her dad soon took over any common sense she had left. In a sudden burst of courage, Jorie stood and made a beeline for the voices she heard. Flashes of light enabled her to find where she was going as she stumbled out of her hiding place to see several large cocoon-like structures attached to the wall of the tunnel. Some of the cocoons were completely sealed shut and the others were in different states of being covered. Her eyes frantically searched over each person until she landed on her dad's pale face. Bobby was on his knees working at removing a vine that seemed to be fused to his side. Blood oozed out of it as another unknown hunter tried to contain the bleeding.
"Daddy!" Jorie screamed in terror and ran up to her dad, grabbing one of his free hands in hers.
"Jorie!" Sam shouted as he ran to her side. "I told you to stay down!" His voice sounded firmer than she'd ever heard before. He spun her to face him.
Jorie kicked him as hard as she could and pinned herself against her father's body.
"No, Jorie!" her father said weakly, attempting to push her away from him.
"Jorie, no!" Bobby shouted gruffly and ripped her away as one of the vines moved to grasp her waist. "Don't get near it or you'll be trapped too!"
The loud growl of the angry creature roared behind her. More bright flashes of light and gunfire went off as the hunters fought to contain or kill the Jargeru. Jorie imagined the creature was angry that someone was stealing his storage of food that he had worked so hard to capture.
"Daddy," Jorie cried out again.
Several sharp slaps landed on her backside as Bobby propelled her towards Sam. "Stay the hell back, kid. I mean it!"
Sam picked her up in his arms and carried her back towards the tunnel entrance.
"No!" she screamed, kicking and fighting him to get back to her dad.
Jorie, stop fighting me! Sam shouted in her head.
Jorie cringed at Sam's loud voice but it silenced her. Sam crouched to the floor and set her down, shaking a finger in her face. "Stay! Don't make me force you. It weakens my concentration. Do you want us to get your dad out or not?"
Jorie nodded through her tears. She was trembling all over. Seeing her father up close made it real. Her dad was going to die. There was no way they would be able to release him from all those veins. They were attached to his body, literally attached to him like he was a plant of some kind. It was like they were feeding off him. Sam patted her cheek gently and disappeared out of her sight. Jorie hugged her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself. All she could hear was the screams of the creature and the sound of her heart breaking.