Wow…it seems like a long time since I wrote anything new. It has been a long time! Anyways, I starting working on this little Supernatural fic, and it turned out to be quite fun to write! Those Winchester Boys…they're good material, yes. And not too hard to daydream about. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story!
The town of Cariño, California was small; a remote hamlet in a world of modern conveniences. The people who lived there enjoyed the solitude; most of them had enjoyed it their entire lives, and had no desire to join the 'real world.' The few who did were usually gone by the second year, and the young people who sought greater things never returned, when they'd left for college or the city.
It was an old, quiet haven, full of traditions and customs that were supposed to have died away decades ago. Visitors enjoyed the remoteness, a weird, strange void in their contemporary world.
Patty Amly had moved here only a year ago, after her husband had died in an automobile crash. She had wanted a quiet life, after the bustle in the city, where common afternoon traffic led to death and the destruction of dreams and hopes.
Cariño had been perfect.
Her two boys had a difficult time adjusting at first; there wasn't much in the way of Little League and Gameboy© Advance's latest releases. But they were getting along fine, in their small school with it's slightly more traditional curriculum, and the small neighborhood groups that hung out regularly in Centre Park, in the middle of town square.
Today Aaron and Simon were at the neighbors; they'd be over there for a while, probably engrossed in a game of Scrabble. Anna was staying with Patty's best friend June, who took care of the little girl free of charge.
"It's my pleasure—reminds me of Amelia," June would say.
Her darling little Anna, who'd been the last gift given her by Mark. One he'd never had the chance to see.
Amelia had been June's little girl, who'd died sometime before Patty moved to Cariño. June's husband had left her a little after that. She didn't know when Amelia had died, or how, and she didn't have the heart to ask.
Dusk was beginning to settle on the town, casting a rosy light over the small town grocery mart, where she worked as an Assistant Manager. It might not have been a glamorous buyer's position, like she'd had in the city, but it was enough. And she saw her kids to bed every night.
The parking lot was empty. She was used to that by now. In the city, she'd walked to her car with her keys laced between her fingers. Weapons.
In Cariño, she didn't even have to lock her car.
Her purse clinked against something as she tossed it in the backseat. A doll sat in the backseat; a cute doll, with a slightly cracked porcelain face, and a teardrop under one eye. June had given it to her a few months ago, after Anna discovered it in Amelia's old nursery.
Anna…
For someone who was as attached to the doll as Anna was, you'd think she'd remember not to leave it in the car.
Patty moved it to the front seat. Nothing of Amelia's should be broken.
There was a slight fog crowding the growing darkness. Patty's headlights cut through it. The only thing she needed to fear on these roads was the occasional appearance of deer. Being in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada meant Cariño had its fair share of roaming creatures.
It would take her only a few moments to get home; perhaps another few to round up the kids for a quiet, home-cooked dinner. She wasn't the best at home-cooked yet, but she was getting there.
The wind rattled the antenna of her car. Something along the side of the road scratched against the tires.
She smiled; in the city, she'd been scared of muggers, and carjackers, and kidnappers. Here, it was ghosts.
Ghosts…who'd have thought I'd believe in something so silly?
The wind howled behind the car. She swallowed, turning on the AM, listening to the sound of the crackling static as it searched for some form of life beyond Cariño.
"…and we pick up with Mahler's 9th symphony, performed by the Grand Orchestra of the St. Petersburg…"
She cranked up the dial as the heavy brass sounded through the car's speakers. A little like her old life, but pleasant nonetheless.
Night was heavy, now. Her lights barely cut through the fog. Shadows danced upon the thick glass of the windshield. She thought of her kids, of her two boys, fighting over their little old computer. Of Anna, sweetly sucking her thumb in her high chair, watching Patty skim through the recipe books for a quick and easy dinner.
Hmm…I'm sure I have something quickly preparable. Pasta-something, or maybe one of those meat dishes…
"Mine..."
Patty stiffened, silencing her breathe. Mahler coursed through the sound system, filling the car.
The wind…
Anna, she'd told June once, laughed like the wind. A soft, breathy sound that rode on the air like a beach breeze.
Just the wind, Anna…
"Mine."
Patty's heart jumped. She turned to the back, scanning the backseat. Nothing but Anna's carseat, one of Aaron's jackets, and her purse.
Nothing.
Her breath was scattered, uneven. Here she'd been laughing at making fun, but she was getting a bit nervous. She exhaled slowly, the hot air puffing before her in a little cloud—a nighttime chill setting in, despite the early spring warmth.
Anna would laugh at how nervous I am. Everything makes her laugh.
Anna…
"Mine."
Patty's eyes jumped to the rearview mirror.
Anna's face stared back at her, her short hair in tight pigtails, her gray eyes glimmering in the dim light.
Patty screamed.
The car swerved, careening carelessly across the small paved road. Her hands gripped the wheel tightly as she pulled the vehicle into the center once more, avoiding the large, thick trees that defined the Yosemite Valley.
Her knuckles were white against the wheel.
She slowly lifted her eyes to the mirror.
Anna's face was gone.
She exhaled, her breath a cloud around her head. My stupid imagination. God, the hours must be getting to me. I need a good few days rest.
She reached for the dial, turning Mahler off. The last thing she needed was something to keep her stirred up.
Her heartbeat was beginning to return to normal.
I'll probably have to force Aaron to read tonight. I don't know why he hates it so much. In San Francisco…
She shook her head. No thinking of what had been. Only of what could be.
Of her strong, handsome boys, and her sweet, beautiful baby girl. Of what the future held.
"Mine. Mine, Mommy. Mine."
Patty turned. The little girl was sitting in the front seat, the porcelain doll clasped tightly in her hand.
Anna…
The girl's eyes glimmered. Silver.
No…not Anna…not…
"Mine. MINE. No take."
A gray hand reached for her. Pieces of a tattered dress flapped beneath it.
"No take, Mommy. No take…"
"No…PLEASE…"
On the outskirts of the town of Cariño, a soft, warm spring breeze blew through the air. The swings in Centre Park rattled only slightly, the merry-go-round turning on squeaky hinges. People shut their screen doors a little more tightly, to keep the early season bugs out.
Anna Amly turned her intelligent face to the front of June Arnette's walkway, staring down the road.
June knelt beside her. "She'll be here soon, sweetheart."
Anna stared at her with cold eyes. Her hair was tied into two tight pigtails, the blond ends curling softly near her ears.
"Mommy."
A deafening explosion ripped through the sky, the north side of town burst into a radiant display of orange and gold. June stared for a moment, her eyes wide, then rose, screaming down the hallway for one of the older boys to call the police.
Anna bent her head. The lights in the distance died down, flickering periodically over the thick line of trees. She stared at them, her eyes unblinking.
"Mommy."
