Hi, guys! It's 3:01 am here and I'm soooo tired... I have so much projects on my head, I'm literally drowning myself in designs of posters, magazines and logos, and... it's nightmare.. Though, I hope your week wasn't as busy as mine... lol, I'm babling nonsense,,, sorry
Anyhow, thanks, deadone1013, for your review :)) it melts my heart with joy when I see anoter review from you
So, here's the latest chapter and I really hope you'll like it :) Enjoy
I hear the familiar click as the kid thumbs off the safety of the gun he's pointing at us through the door.
"Who the hell are you?" Ben looks alert and determined but I can see the fear in his brown eyes
Sam, Dean and I are still too dumbstruck to respond properly to the question. The last time I saw the kid was years ago when Crowley kidnapped him and his Mom, Lisa, in order to manipulate Dean to do whatever the demon wanted. We saved them but Lisa was badly hurt, she was a goner… That's until Cas showed up and healed her. And then Dean did something unbelievable. In order to ensure Lisa and Ben's safety he made Cas to erase their memories of the past year – a year he spent with them – the happiest year of his life. He gave up on them in order to provide their safety. They were literary the best thing in his life. I couldn't imagine how much inner strength he had to summon to decide to give up on them. In my opinion this was the best year of his life – he was happy and God knows he deserves that. After Lisa and Ben didn't remember him any longer… he was heartbroken. Dean never talked about it but I knew it, I knew him too well. He believed Lisa and Ben are safe and able to go on with their lives without him messing all around.
But finding Ben here, in the middle of a hunt… it means something has really gone terribly wrong. Dean is so dumbstruck, pain all over his face, shock in his widened eyes. Sam is sunk in complete stupor, not sure how to react. The only information Garth has given Sam about the young hunter is that Garth came across him about an year ago, investigating some mysterious disappearing. The kid was on the same lead as the hunter explaining that… he's after his mother's killer… Our silence only irritates Ben more.
"Answer the damn question!" he demands "How do you know me?"
"Relax" I raise my hands trying to calm him down "Garth sends us. We're here to help"
"I told him I don't need help" the kid grumbles as he steps aside to let us in
I elbow Dean getting his attention. He's still completely shocked. I nod for him to get inside, giving him a silence glance to get together. Sam follows us and closes the door. It's so awkward. We know Ben but he doesn't know us, he doesn't remember us. As the kid puts down his sawed shotgun, we exchange worried looks. How are we supposed to proceed from here? Should we tell him we… But Dean just jumps on the question.
"Are you alone?" and as Ben shrugs Dean presses further "What about…" he stops himself from saying Lisa's name in the last second "what about your parents?"
"My mom's dead." The kid says flippantly, voice cold and emotionless "I don't know who's my father … but what do you care?"
Ben's bitter, the cruelty of his life has made him built walls of sass and scurrility. I can see it in his eyes. Eyes that looks too old on his young face that bares a weary and wry look. He's seen too much, he's been through too much… at this fragile age… this is too much for a child. I shake my head and out of the corner of my eye I see Dean's stoic face – the mask he always wears when he wants to hide his emotions. But I know him too well. He's wrecked, heartbroken, guilty… realizing that his sacrifice's been all for nothing… his jaw is clenched as he eyes Ben. I quietly approach him and brush my hand against his in a reassuring supportive gesture. He needs to know I'm there for him. He squeezes my fingers and I turn to Ben.
"It was just a question" Sam tries to get to him with his sympathetic look and puppy eyes, making sure everyone's calm and reasonable "I'm Sam, this is my brother Dean" and he points to me "And this is Braeden"
"We're here to help" I say and raise my brows to emphasize my words "we promised Garth. And we're not going anywhere. So you might as well tell us what's going on and why Garth sent us"
Ben glares at me in defiance and I can see the typical teenage irritation in his behavior. He believes he can manage all alone and there are too many people who question his capability. He huffs in exasperation and rubs his neck.
"It's kinda long story" he states
"We've got all the time in the world" I pointedly say as I push Dean on one of the beds and sit next to him, quietly hissing as my left side burns in pain because of the movement; I really need to get some painkillers.
Sam follows my lead and occupies one of the chairs. I look around the room. There're papers everywhere, scattered around or pinned to the walls; articles and documents over every vacant plane and an opened laptop with handwritten notes. The kid's been working hard on this. And how could he not? It's his mother we're talking about. Hell, if this was about the demon that got my mother killed, it's sure I'd be thorough as Ben. Guns and blades, different lore books, maps hanging on the walls... this is a typical hunter's layer I realize and look closely at the kid. He's grown since the last time I saw him, he's tall, thin but fit and his broad shoulders hint at what handsome man he'll become one day.
Ben sighs deeply and sits on the other vacant chair and stares a couple of seconds in the air. His face's grim and I can see his pain through the stoic mask he's trying to hide behind. When he starts his story his voice is calm and emotionless, monotone. His aunt, Caren, was having financial problems after her divorce and was doing a lot of clinical studies for the money. And then all of a sudden she disappears. Lisa filed a report to the police but they came up with nothing, assuming Caren just took off, hiding and laying low because of her financial problems. Lisa, however, never believed that, she and Caren were very close and she knew her very well. So Lisa started her own little investigation. She started asking questions, visiting the clinics and the doctors her sister had gone to and gathered some information on her sister's last whereabouts which put Caren near one private office hold by someone of the name Joe Turner. Obviously, Lisa had asked the right questions because only a week after her sister's disappearance she was dead. The worst part is that the one who found her was Ben himself.
"It was…" the boy closes his eyes for a second fighting with all of his emotions, trying to be strong
I feel as next to me Dean tenses so I find his hand and squeeze it reassuringly. I cast a side long look only to see his jaw clenched and murder in his eyes. But there's more to it, I can see beyond this, I can see the guilt and the pain he feels. He intertwines his fingers with mine and my thumb gently caresses his skin, in hope to soothe him at least a little. We can't afford an outburst, not right now. Not before I had the chance to talk personally and alone and most importantly separately with all of them.
"I was coming home from school" Ben continues, unaware of the drama happening around him, inside me and the boys "She was supposed to be home, she promised… I couldn't find her so I went to the kitchen… there was so much blood" his voice goes hoarse and broken, his eyes determinedly staring at the ceiling "I… dialed 911 but I knew it's too late… they said she was dead for hours…"
"The police?" I gently ask "What else did they say?"
"Nothing" Ben shrugs "They found the gun in her left hand" his voice now is all business "Gunpowder on her palm, no signs of break in, the neighbors didn't see or hear anything…"
"So they called it a suicide, didn't they?" Sam intervenes
"Yeah, the bastards did. They never even tried to listen to me" a flash of anger lights Ben's eyes
"What do you mean?" I inquire, there's obviously something more…
"Lisa is right handed" Dean answers instead of Ben
"Was." Ben flatly corrects him "She was. And how do you know that?"
"Uh…" this catches Dean off guard "Um, lucky guess"
"Plus" I intervene "Women usually choose less messy methods to end their lives, like drug overdose or poisoning, for example." Ben looks a bit surprised by my statement so I push further hoping to distract him from Dean's remark "What happened next? How did you end on the road?"
The police called the socials and when the social worker took Ben home so he could pick up some of his possessions, the kid collected all of his stuff that could fit in a backpack and took all of the research Lisa had done and sneaked out of the back door, riding his bike as fast as he could. I have to admit, the boy's clever, really intelligent. He managed to stay off the radar for really long time, trying to figure out who killed his mother and why. Meanwhile he stole and lied and did only God knows exactly what so he could survive on the road.
I shake my head. This is no life for a kid. He's been following different leads, some of them getting him to a dead end, and some just showing him the killer of his mother is always a step ahead, if not even more. The only thing the kid knows for sure is that the killer always disposes of his victim's stuff by the nearest garbage can to the crime scene. He's got articles for missing people from all over the country.
"So did you check it up?" I ask and seeing Ben's confusion, I add "The case you're here for. Did you check it?"
"I didn't have a chance." Ben shrugged and looked at his watch "But I might be lucky enough to catch the Sherriff before he goes home."
"No" I shake my head and Ben opens his mouth "The Sherriff will be in hurry to get home, he'll be irritable and will rush through any questions we have…"
"We?" the kid looks at me grumpily
"Look, Ben" Sam tries to reason him "We're hunters. And we're good at what we do. We're here, why don't you let us help?"
"Fine" Ben grumbles "So if we're not visiting the Sherriff, what will we do?"
"How about we go through whatever your Mom found?" I suggest looking to Sam and Dean for support
"It'll be easier to ask the right questions later" Sam agrees
Ben huffs in irritation but gives us a file. There's information about some pharmaceutical companies that are doing clinical studies. I see a hand written note from Caren with the address and the name of this doctor Joe Turner she had an appointment with. Then Lisa wrote a short description of the man – tall, handsome, blonde, blue eyes, wearing glasses and having a beard. There was a lot of research for all the other clinics her sister went to but nothing than his description for Joe Turner. After asking around Lisa found out that this guy was walking around and giving flyers about his clinical studies gathering volunteers. But she could not find any of those volunteers…
"Damn" I mutter under my nose and look around to realize that Ben's hidden in the bathroom, just to stay away from us for a while, I get my attention back to the volunteers "And if that's not suspicious…"
"I know" Sam huffs in dismay staring in his laptop's screen "And there's squad on this dr. Joe Turner…"
"What about the kid's current case?" I ask and look at Dean, but he's somewhere deep in his thoughts, sadness written all over his face "Dean?" he doesn't hear me so I reach out and gently squeeze his hand "Dean?"
"Uh, what?" he blinks in confusion
"What about the current case?" Sam repeats my question
"Nothing…" he sighs deeply "The girl's a college student, her mother filed a missing person report but the police don't buy it…"
"You okay?" I ask in concern, he looks distant and troubled and I hate it
"Yeah" Dean rubs his neck "I'm fine"
"Ben deserves the truth" Sam quietly states
"I know. But it doesn't make it any easier…"
"Sooner or later, you'll have to tell him" I gently say "And it'd better be sooner. He has to know. You have to tell him…"
"Tell me what?" Ben's standing on the bathroom's door, grim and stubborn expression on his face so typical for the discontent teens
"Oh, balls!" I hiss
The Third World War is about to begin…
So what do you think about this story development? Drop me a review and tell me! :) Happy weekend and sweet dreams from Bulgaria! :)
