Disclaimer: Not mine.
Riley looked up at Jack at her words and opened her mouth to say something. Instead of words however she screamed at the top of her lungs. Jack jumped back eyes wide and looked to the brother's in bewilderment.
"Is it my breath?" She asked edging backwards towards Sam.
"We got get her to shut up before someone calls the cops on our asses." Dean said pulling a bandana out of his pocket.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked him wincing as Riley continued to shriek.
"Gonna gag her." Dean explained advancing on the scared teenage girl.
"You can't do that." Sam exclaimed.
"Fine you explain to the cops why we have a screaming kid in our room while the towns looking for a bunch of missing girls." Dean retorted. Jack looked from her friends to Riley and let out an exasperated scoff. She walked to Riley and pulled back her fist. Jack supposed she should have felt guilty about decking the girl after what she'd been through that night, but it was either eardrums or a black eye for Riley.
"Damn." Dean said as Riley fell back on the bed out cold.
"Problem solved." Jack said.
"We need the first aid kit." Sam said grabbing Dean's bandana and tying it over the deepest part of the slash on Riley's arm.
"Hey, how come you didn't yell at her for being insensitive?" Dean demanded pulling their kit out of his bag.
"I'm prettier than you." Jack answered.
"You wish." Dean said. "Here, I'll do your stitches while Sam takes care of hers."
"The rock salt didn't do much damage, but its gonna burn like a bitch when she wakes up." Sam said critically, looking over the unconscious girl's scratches and bruises.
"And she's gonna need a shower to get all the boogeyman cooties off of her." Jack pointed out, then grimaced. "Which reminds me, I need some mouthwash. I've got idiot aftertaste."
"That's what happens when you kiss an idiot. I've got half a mind to beat that punk Alex." Dean said. He lifted the back of her t-shirt to get at her wound. The bite was a deep graze; the bleeding already slowing. All he ahd to do was clean it and stitch it up.
"One of your tats got chopped." He told her.
"Shit.Damn.Hell.Fuck." She let off a stream of swear words as he patted the wound with antiseptic.
"I hope it hurt the things mouth when he tasted it." She said annoyed.
"How's she doin, Sam?" Dean asked hos brother when he was finished with Jack.
"Good." Sam said bighting off end of the thread and tying it off. The neat little stitches would ensure less of a scar, but somehow he didn't think that would comfort her when she woke up.
"You should put her in my room. So she won't see all this stuff when she comes to." Jack suggested gesturing at the weapon bag on the floor, the pictures of the missing girls on the wall and the table that still had the remnants of their spell casting on it.
Sam nodded, putting the first aid kit aside and lifting her carefully from the bed. With Dean and Jack covering him he carried Riley to the room next door and placed her down on the empty bed on the far side of the room.
Jack got to work drawing charms on the mirror facing the beds while Dean worked on the one in the bathroom. He considered nailing a sheet up too. The manager will just love that, he thought dismissing the idea. He knew a sheet wouldn't keep that thing out of it wanted to come in through the glass.
"We killed the spirits of those girls." Sam said at the bathroom entrance.
"We had to, Sam. It was us or them." Dean reasoned. He felt bad about that. The article was very specific that in order to be freed they had to break the summoning spell, now the ones they'd destroyed wouldn't get the chance. But he couldn't regret choosing to protect his brother and Jack and Riley over those creatures.
"I know. But you didn't see Tyler today. He w as so broken looking." Sam said shaking his head sadly.
"He wouldn't have gotten her back anyway and I don't plan on telling him that I might have gotten rid his girl's ghost." Dean told Sam.
"Me neither." Sam said.
"Where am I?" They heard a soft whimper from the other room.
"Your safe." Jack was telling her when they went out to rejoin her.
"Where am I?" Riley repeated with a note of rising hysteria in her voice. She was huddled against the headboard, shaking with fear.
"The Straylight Motel." Jack answered.
"I was attacked by a monster." Riley said seemingly more to herself t han to them.
"Yes." Dean said. "But you're okay now."
"She hit me." Riley said pointing an accusing finger at Jack.
"You were screaming." Jack said shrugging.
"Jack was just trying to help." Sam said in a placating tone, shooting a sour look at Jack who just rolled her eyes.
"We needed to fix you up and it was better you weren't awake." He finished. Riley noticed the line of stitches up her forearm then and went even more pake than she already was.
"You could've taken me to the hospital." She said fighting back tears.
"And said what? A monster attacked this kid could you lend a hand?" Jack scoffed.
"What she means is, it would have been dangerous to take you from here. We can protect you here." Dean said carefully.
"Protect me from what? What was that thing? How did it come out of my mirror? Who the hell are you people?" She demanded her voice rising again.
"Shhhhh. I don't want to have to gag you, Riley but I will." Dean said calmly. Riley gulped at t hat and shut her mouth.
"First of all that thing you saw was a spirit, something called a Schneewittchen. Its what's been taking your friends." Dean said sitting against the dresser top arms crossed over his chest.
"It was going to take you too." He said so she'd understand the direness of the situation she was in the middle of. "My names Dean, this is my brother Sam and our friend, Jack." He said nodding to each of them in turn.
"Why do you care if that things been hurting the girl's form around here?" Riley asked tentatively. She was still shaking but was starting not to look like an extra from a zombie flick, so he guessed they were doing good so far.
"Its sort of our job to care. When something like this happens we stop whatever was behind it." Sam answered.
"Why would you want a job like that?" Riley asked.
"Dental plan." Dean answered flashing a grin at her. The girl blushed and seemed to relax a little more.
"Why did it want me?" She asked looking down at the bedspread. Sam looked at Dean questioningly, but he hadn't thought this far ahead either.
"Someone's controlling it, picking the targets." Jack said stepping forward. She sat slowly on the edge of the bed, so as not to spook her.
"Do you know anyone that might have a grudge against you or any of the missing girls?" Jack asked gently. Riley watched her like a bird eyeing a hungry cat.
"I'd say yes, but a few of the people who don't like me are on the missing persons list." Riley said sniffling.
"Why didn't they like you?" Dean asked frowning.
"We didn't run in the same circles." Riley answered with a slight smirk.
"They hung out with idiot brother and his friends and I have an IQ above thirty."
Jack snickered and noticed the confused look on Riley's face.
"What?" She asked.
"You were hanging out with him. So why do you caer what happens to me?" Riley asked warily.
"I was trying to get info on the missing girls, he was a means to an end." Jack said dismissing the question.
"Well he'd know. He's dated almost all of them." Riley said rolling her eyes. She unwrapped her arms from their iron hold around her knees, relaxing a bit more.
Jack sent an invisible look to Sam, who acknowledged this with a subtle nod. If all the missing girl's dated Alex Moore than that was a lead they needed to look into.
"You must be tired." Jack said turning the conversation around. "I know this shit sucks but its not safe for you to go anywhere right now."
"Where am I going to sleep then?" Riley asked looking around her like she already knew the answer and wasn't very happy about it.
"Here, in my room." Jack told her.
"Your room?" Riley asked glancing at Sam and Dean with a question in her voice. Jack curbed the urge to say something smart.
"Yeah, the boys are in the next room, close just in case something happens." Jack said reassuringly.
"I don't have any clothes." Riley said.
"Borrow some of mine. We can swing by your house tomorrow and get some of yours." Jack asked. Riley's eyes widened.
"How long am I going to have to stay here?" She demanded.
"We'll figure out who's controlling this thing and then you can go back home. But until then, its better for you to be here." Sam said. Riley's lip was quivering like she was about to start crying again.
"What if it comes back while we're sleeping or something?" Riley asked them.
"Don't worry. You'll be safe tonight. Jackie Girl kept you alive at the school didn't she? This room's a lot easier to cover." Dean said winking at Jack.
"Why don't you get cleaned up while me and Sam pick up some food for all of us." Dean said smiling.
"Okay." Riley said nodding in agreement.
She rose, walking cautiously to the bathroom. When they heard the shower turn on Sam, Dean and Jack walked quietly out the door, staying just outside so they could hear any disturbances from inside the room.
"So we look at the brother?" Jack asked.
"If he's involved than he might not know what the spirits really are, just that they'll kill on command." Sam said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, but would he really set that thing on his own sister?" Dean asked doubtfully. He'd heard of some fucked up shit in his time but setting an evil spirit on your own sister was a whole different kind of cruel.
"You said so yourself, people are crazy. We nee to know more about him." Jack said.
"We'll look into him, you'll take care of Riley. I knew I didn't like that kid." Sam said firmly.
"I'm on babysitting detail!" Jack whined. She didn't mind never being in the same room with Alex ever again but she didn't want to miss the action either.
"We'll even pay you. Four bucks an hour." Dean told her.
"I charge six." She retorted.
"Five and I'll get you a Happy Meal." He said.
"With a race car in it?" She asked smiling.
"And the cookies, we take care of our employees." Sam said.
"Yeah, yeah. Go get the food, and get lots of it I'm running low on fuel here." Jack said yawning.
"Light weight." Dean accused.
Jack went to retrieve her duffel bag, which she'd left in Sam and Dean's room and returned to her room. She double locked the doors and set out rummaging through her few pieces of clothing to find something that would fit Riley. After her last motel room was burnt down, she was left clothingless and had only a jacket, two pairs of thrift store jeans, a pair of shorts, boots and a few t-shirts for the time being. After she pulled out a wife beater and her lone pair of shorts she laid out the only things she had a lot of right then; Weapons.
Riley came out of the bathroom to see her cleaning a dismantled .45 pistol and screeched.
"Safety precaution. Besides I've never heard of gun oil killing anyone on accident." Jack said holding up the bottle with a smirk. Riley nodded and grabbed the clothes laid out on her bed, ducking back into t he bathroom to put them on.
"Are all those yours?" Riley asked returning to the bedroom with her eyes trained on the spread of guns and knives in front of Jack.
"Yup." Jack answered looking critically down the barrel of the berretta she'd started on next.
"Where'd you get them?" Riley asked watching as she cleaned out the gun and put it back together.
"All over." Jack answered vaguely. She hadn't minded losing the weapons in the fire as much as she did the clothes. She had weapons everywhere; in one or two storage lockers in different states, a bag of them in Birmingham that Billie kept safe for her. A phone call was all it took to get the bag sent Missouri's house and if she ever needed more, she'd made sure to tell Sam and Dean where she had her supply.
"Your jobs really dangerous isn't it?" Riley asked softly.
"Yeah, but every job has its drawbacks." Jack answered flippantly.
"Why do you do it?" Riley asked chancing to run a tentative finger over a pair of brass knuckles that had Et Nomini Patri, Et Fili, Spiritus Santi engraved across the knuckles.
"Somebody had to." Jack said giving her half a smile taking t he weapon gently from Riley's hands.
"You can watch t.v. if you want." She said tossing Riley the remote control.
Sam was watching Alex Moore as from the passenger side window as Dean ordered through the drive through at McDonalds. He'd had to stop him form actually getting a Happy Meal for Jack as a joke, when he spotted Alex walking into the restaurant.
He had a pretty brunette on his arm and was laughing, the center of attention for a bunch of kids his age. The kids blonde all-American good looks would single him out even if they didn't know who they were looking for. Sam wondered if this boy, this kid could really do the things they were thinking he was doing.
"Sam?" Dean said waving a hand in front of his brother's face. He'd been calling Sam for a few minutes without any response. He followed Sam's line of sight and saw Alex. His hand tightened into a fist.
"We'll get the little bastard." Dean told Sam.
"And if he's not the one?" Sam asked.
"Well t hen we unleash Jack in him, punk won't know what hit him." Dean said breaking out in a grin.
"You want a shake man?" He asked remembering why he was trying to get Sam's attention in the first place.
"Chocolate." Sam answered distractedly, still watching the boy.
He was about to look away when a blonde woman walked inside. Anyone else would have missed it but Sam didn't. The woman passed by him barely brushing a hand across his shoulder blades before going to the counter. Alex stiffened slightly and followed her with his eyes as she ordered and left with her food. Sam remembered seeing her through the gym doors talking to Jack and Alex after her little show of control over the guy. He remembered hearing her introduced, through the thunderous noise of the gym, as his step-mother. But that touch and the looks Alex gave her were anything but maternal.
Then Dean was pulling forward and he couldn't see them anymore. He waited till Dean had the food and they were on their way back to the motel to tell him what he'd seen.
"Fucking small towns." Dean sighed. "And you want this shit?" he asked gesturing around him.
"I never said I wanted some small town drama shit. I said I wanted normal, you can get that in major cities too." Sam pointed out.
"Whatever man. I'll take our life over all this crap any day of the week." Dean said.
"That's why we're though, cause our life and this crap have collide." Sam said popping a french fry in his mouth.
"And we'll make it safe for young girls to not sleep with their boyfriends once more. I'm sure they'll be really grateful." Dean smirked, parking the car in front of their rooms once more.
TBC……………………………….
