A switch flipped on soon as the smell of brimstone hit his nostrils. Whatever son of a bitch was coming would have to go through him to get to the kids waiting for him in the car a few steps away. Another howl sounded, closer this time, and longer in duration. He hurried over and rapped on the glass of the Impala with his knuckles.
"Unlock the door, Dean," he ordered, eyes scanning left and right, and hand near the pocket where he stashed a gun before going to call Bobby. "Hurry up."
"Dad!" A thin note of urgency coated Dean's voice and burned in his eyes as he reached over the seat to pull up the lock. "Do you hear that?"
"Yeah, I hear it, Dean." He slid behind the wheel and slammed the car door before more ice and snow could blow inside. "Heard it while I was on the phone with Bobby."
"What is it?"
John hesitated for half a second. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell Dean what the thing out there was. He just didn't want to spook Sammy or the girl gazing at him with eyes far too old for one so young. He swore to teach his boys about what was out there, though. No better time than the present, he decided as a second howl joined the first.
"They're called Black Schucks."
Hellhounds, devil dogs, same damn thing,he amended silently. Fido with sharp ass teeth and even sharper nails.
"Black Shucks?" A frown feathered Dean's brow. "What're those?"
"They lore calls them omens of death," John replied as he scanned the darkness for sign of either the damn things. "Some say they guard the entrances of the dead."
"Like cemeteries and stuff?"
John glanced at Dean in the rearview mirror. He could see the curiosity on his face despite his fear. He's gonna make a damn good hunter one day, he realized with a small kernel of pride. He already has the instincts for it. His gaze shifted over to where Sammy slept against Aydan, oblivious to the danger outside.
If he'd follow in his brother's footsteps remained shrouded in doubt. Sammy was different from Dean. Quiet, watchful. A problem-solver, he decided as another howl sounded. His boys complimented each other through their differences. Where Dean wanted to tackle things head on, Sammy chose to study them so he could figure out how they functioned.
"Dad?"
"Yeah, Dean?"
"What're we gonna do?"
"We're gonna stay in the Impala until Bobby gets here."
"What if it tries to attack us?"
"She won't," came from the small figure huddled next to Dean. "She isn't here to attack you."
"She?" John twisted around to stare at Aydan. "How do you know the damn thing's female?"
"Cause I know her name." Aydan lowered her eyes to the back of the seat. Not before he caught a glimpse of the worry, fear, and something else he couldn't define. "I know why she's here."
"Why?" His tone was that drill sergeant one he used when he wanted him and Sammy to straighten up and fly right. Dean squirmed despite not being the one he spoke too. He softened his tone to avoid scaring her further. "Why is a hellhound here, Aydan?"
"Cause of the man in black." She lifted her head to stare out the window. John wondered if she could see the hellhound. And if she could, why. "Ramsey is here to make sure he and his hellhound stay away."
"Stays away?" His brow puckered. "Stays away from who?"
"Me."
Her eyes shifted from the world outside to Sammy, still blissfully asleep, before lifting to his. A silent message. One that punched John in the gut. This yellow-eyed man wasn't after Aydan.
He was also after Sammy.
Over my dead body, John swore as a low growl sounded right outside the driver's door.
A/N: Hello, all! Hope this finds you well!
I'd like to thank Sharzdah and umbrella0326 for their lovely reviews!