3: Jaded
Dean dreamed that morning of Sam. Dean kept running toward him, but he could never get close enough to reach out to him. Sam didn't look distraught, but more like he was concerned for Dean. Finally Dean got close enough to ask, "You alright, Sammy?"
"Dean, don't worry about me, there are other things that you need to watch out for," Sam said.
"No, Sam, I need to make sure you're alright," Dean argued.
Jess appeared next to Sam and wrapped her arms around him. They looked like the perfect couple together. He saw John appear beside them, then John said, "Dean, look out."
Dean opened his eyes and realized he was back in the motel room. The door to the bathroom was closed, and he could hear the sound of the shower. He looked over to the other bed, and Sedona wasn't there. Dean got up, thinking to himself about how he could be very sinister and invite himself into the bathroom, but when he reached for the door, he thought the better of it. Spending a year chasing demons with Sam had taught him that some women would rather hit him over the head with a blunt object than let him into their shower, so he went to the table and started to undress.
He took off his shorts and stood naked in the room, looking for a clean pair of pants. One thing about demon hunting was that there wasn't much time to wash clothes. He rummaged through his bag, not paying attention to the room around him. He heard a noise behind him, and he turned around, but no one was there. When he turned back, the wall in front of him became crushed as a man jumped through it and grabbed onto Dean. He saw a whir of a red leather suit, and the man was very muscular, almost crushing Dean with his strength. Dean managed to free his right arm and he punched the man back, then when he got up, ready to fight him. The man pushed Dean into the wall and held him up by his neck. Dean couldn't breathe, but he felt that didn't matter much, since he was unable to die.
The door to the bathroom opened slightly, and both men stopped to look. It suddenly burst open, and another man shoved Sedona out onto the bed. She too was naked and wet from the shower that she had been disturbed from taking. The man looked similar to the one holding Dean. She kicked the man in the face, then she pushed herself back up to her feet and her white wings spread out wide from her back. She looked at the man holding Dean, and there was a sign of recognition on her face. The man let go of Dean and said, "Time to go, Remus."
They started out the door, so Sedona got under Dean's pillow and took the knife from it, then she held it up, ready to fight as she said, "What the hell are you doing here, Randall?"
The man who had held Dean against the wall, now named Randall, turned to look at her, brushing his hand through his dark hair. His brown eyes seemed to snicker as he said, "There's no need to fight. We were just checking things out."
He walked out the door before they could argue any further. Sedona relaxed, then she looked at Dean. He was watching her as well, and they were both undressed. She asked him angrily, "What?"
"Nothing, it's just...you look better," Dean answered.
She got down off the bed and went back to the bathroom, saying, "I can't say the same for you."
They sat in a diner for breakfast, barely speaking a word to each other through most of it. Dean watched Sedona for a long time, then he asked, "Isn't there something you should tell me?"
"Like what?" Sedona asked, unamused.
"Like where are you from? Who are you? What brought you here? What was with that Randall guy in the motel?" Dean asked.
"It doesn't matter, Dean, just don't worry about it," Sedona answered.
"You know I'm going to keep asking you until you tell me," Dean said.
"Fine. I was a waitress once," Sedona replied.
Dean thought about that for a moment, then he said, "Well, that's something. A waitress, huh?"
Sedona looked up at him, seeing that he really was interested in hearing more, then she put her fork down and sat back in her seat, saying, "You really don't know who I am, do you?"
"Well, I've hunted demons all my life, and you don't look like one of them," Dean said jokingly.
Sedona looked at him more seriously, then she got up to leave, saying, "I think I should go now."
"Wait," Dean got up to follow her.
When they got outside, he continued, saying, "Please don't leave. I'm sorry I upset you, alright. I need someone to talk to when I'm going on these hunts. I spent my life hunting for demons with my father, then with my brother, and now they're gone. Would you please just come with me, be a companion on the long road? No friendships, no commitments, just talking."
Sedona stared at him for a moment, then she said, "No, Dean. You don't want to get to know me. Forget about me."
Dean started to argue, but Sedona had already produced wings and she was flying away from him in no time. He thought about chasing after her, but there were other things to worry about. He got into the Mustang and thought about what happened, then he heard his cell phone ring. Dean answered it, asking, "Hello?"
"This is Ash, your demon expert," the voice on the other end said.
"What do you have for me?" Dean asked.
"Looks like your demon is in hiding right now, but I've got everything set up to find him. If he makes a move, I'll let you know. For right now, there's another case that you might want to look into. It's a doozy," Ash explained.
"What's it about?" Dean asked.
"The ice man legend. A person who can control the freezing temperatures. I think you'll enjoy this one," Ash answered.
"Give me a location and I'll check it out," Dean said.
Dean got to the home of the supposed ice man in less than four hours, reaching Springfield, Illinois in less time than he believed. He started up to the door of the house, not thinking that there would be much to say except, "Do you control ice?"
Charlie's voice said from behind him, "Dean, there is much work to do."
Dean turned to look at him and said, "I have some work to do here."
"Of course you do, but there are souls that are in need of you," Charlie replied.
He handed Dean a picture. Dean looked at it, and he saw a little girl, no more than 6, with long blond hair and blue eyes. He said to Charlie, "I will not let this girl die by the hands of a demon."
"I knew you wouldn't. That's why I gave you the picture too late," Charlie said.
Dean realized at that moment that the little girl was inside the house he was going into. He ran up to the house, opened the door and headed for the kitchen, where he felt she would be. She was there, but she was already encased in a block of ice, cutting off her oxygen. She was dead before he had even driven up to the house. Dean got down on his knees, feeling as though he had failed yet another soul. A voice next to him said, "I look scared."
He turned to see the soul of the little girl standing next to him, looking like her human form. She was watching herself encased in the block of ice, looking like it didn't really matter to her anymore. Dean asked her, "Are you afraid now?"
"No, I don't feel scared at all. Are you an angel?" she asked.
"Yes, I am," Dean answered.
"Where are your wings?" she asked.
Dean took off his jacket, and his black wings developed out of his back and spread wide. The little girl smiled and laughed, saying, "I knew you were an angel!"
"Are you ready to go home?" Dean asked.
"Yes," the little girl answered happily.
He took her by the hand, then he led her outside. By then, Charlie was gone, and no one was around. He saw a blue light near the road, then the light turned into a theme park. The little girl let go of his hand and ran toward the light, laughing all the way, as though it were the greatest thing she had ever seen. When she reached the light, they faded into nothing. Dean smiled, although deep inside he still felt broken. He didn't notice anyone was behind him until he felt the cold spray of ice around his wings. He fell to the ground from the weight of his wings encased in ice, unable to get back up. When he turned to see who had done such a thing, a woman was standing there. He became confused, saying, "I thought it was the ice man."
"People get that wrong a lot," she said, then she ran off toward the fields of corn across from her house.
Dean tried to get up, but wasn't doing well, so he sat there, waiting for someone to find him. It seemed like no one was coming, so he closed his eyes and thought about someone coming to help him. In moments, he heard a voice say, "Real sweet, jackass."
Dean opened his eyes and looked to one side of him, where Herb was standing. He scoffed at him and said, "What do you know."
Herb took out a blow torch and replied, "I know to carry one of these when facing an ice queen."
"Very funny, short stuff," Dean said.
"Hey, I'm the one with the blow torch, no short jokes," Herb replied.
He turned on the torch and melted down Dean's wings, until they were ready to fly again. When they were, Herb pointed toward the West and said, "She went that way. Better catch her before she hurts anyone else."
"I will," Dean started that way.
"Hey Dean, you alright?" Herb asked suddenly.
Dean looked back at him to see if he was serious, then he said, "I'm feeling good."
"That's good," Herb said, smiling back at him.
Dean thought it was a little awkward, but he started to fly away anyway, not taking any more time to think about what was going on. Once in the air, he spotted the ice queen fairly instantly, then he flew down in front of her and landed just before her. She stopped, almost running into him, then she tried to spray him with ice from her hands again. He moved out of the way to miss her, then she ran past him and out of the field to a lake nearby. She started to swim toward the middle of the lake, then she stopped, struggling in the water as though she couldn't swim. Dean couldn't believe it. He dove into the water after her, hoping that he could get her out before she drowned.
He grabbed onto her, but then she grabbed onto him and started dragging him under the water, completely panicking. In her panic, ice was forming from her hands and it was beginning to freeze the lake. Dean could feel his body temperature plummeting, but he struggled to try to help the woman anyway. He couldn't get her to the surface, and he was running out of air. The lake was getting colder, and Dean could feel himself losing feeling in his body. He thought he was going to freeze to death when he felt an arm grab him. He saw a woman's hand touch the ice queen's cheek, taking a black light into her hand, then she pulled Dean out of the water. He let go of the ice queen, not managing to keep his grip. The lake froze underneath him, encasing the ice queen in her own frozen tomb, as Dean felt himself flying through the air. He looked up and saw that Sedona was holding onto his arm with both her hands, taking him somewhere.
She brought him to a mansion on a hill, far away from society, then she brought him inside, letting him lean on her. There were pieces of ice across his stubble and eyelashes, and he felt like he was going to freeze to death. She brought him to a fire that was already made, then she set him down and started to take off his clothing. Dean smiled at her, regardless of his numb body and said, "This is not quite how I imagined us."
"Shut up and relax, Dean," Sedona replied.
She took off all his clothing, then she took off her own clothing, revealing a bra and underwear underneath. She got on top of him and held him close, trying to give him some of her body warmth. Dean continued to smile, feeling some heat for the moment.