Silence
Chapter Three
"Good morning sleepy head!" A voice said loudly, startling me awake. I blinked away the sleep in my eyes and Dean's bright smile appeared in front of me. I looked around where he was standing to see Sam in the doorway with an apologetic look on his face.
"At least it wasn't AC/DC or Metallica," he spoke up with a shrug.
"I absolutely refuse to let Sam make us shove our noses in those books without any breakfast," Dean announced. I sat up and rubbed the rest of the sleep from my eyes.
"Uh, there's a diner further into town," I said, stretching. "I don't really have much here."
"Sounds good," Dean said, clapping his hands together loudly. I squinted at him wondering where all of his energy came from. I stood as he twirled his keys around his finger. I adjusted my shirt that had twisted around in my sleep. Pulling my hair back out of my face into a loose bun, I followed them out the door. My landlord was across the street getting the morning paper from her driveway. She looked up, surprise across her face as she saw the two with me. She waved, and I gave her a small wave in return. I slid into the back seat of the Impala as Dean started the engine. He pulled out of the drive way, turning up the radio, bobbing his head to some old rock music and headed off in the direction of town.
By the time we pulled up to the diner I wanted to rip my hair out. Dean sang along with the music, very poorly, the entire way. I could see a grimace on Sam's face through the side view mirror where I sat behind him. I was out of the car and slamming the door behind me before Dean could fully put the Impala in park.
"Hey!" Dean hollered at me. "You can be hostile towards me, but not baby!"
I rolled my eyes and waved slightly towards the people who were staring at us curiously. I only waited a moment for Dean to check over his "baby" before heading inside. It was a little too warm inside the diner, but homely. It was a little mom and pop place that had the best pancakes I had ever tasted.
"Emery!" a male voice greeted to the left of the restaurant. I resisted the very strong urge to roll my eyes. I turned stiffly to the voice with a tight smile.
"Dillon," I answered.
"Haven't seen you in a few..days," he started but trailed off when the two brothers entered in behind me.
"Damn Emery, for short little legs you sure do walk fast," Dean said behind me. I glanced up at him when he stood beside me. He was a full foot taller than me and I could see him sizing up Dillon in front of us. Dillon was tall and lanky, though he was somewhat shorter than Dean. He had short flaxen hair that he spiked up and clear blue eyes, and he thought he was God's gift to women. And women sure did fall for it.
"Uh..who are these guy's?" he asked, his brow drawn together.
"We're her brothers," Dean spoke up before I could say anything. My eyes shot up to him and he smiled charmingly at the smaller man. "Decided to visit our long lost sister for a few days."
"Half-brothers," Sam clarified quickly when Dillon looked at me oddly.
"Oh.. You never mentioned having brothers," he said slowly, but I could see the relief in his eyes.
"Yeah uh. Family decided I was the black sheep of the family and kicked me out," I said tightly, elbowing Dean in the kidney. "Table for three please," I urged.
"Oh! Right!" he marked something at the hostess stand and pulled out three menus. He lead us to a booth and I slid in first. Dean sat beside me, and Sam across.
Dean watched Dillon as he took the orders for our drinks and disappeared into the back of the restaurant.
"So, who was that creep?" he asked me, flipping the menu open.
"Not that it's any of your business, bro, but it's just some guy who wants to take me on a 'date' so he says. Doesn't know how to take no for an answer," I answered, untwisting the napkin from my silverware.
"Sound's familiar," Sam said, hiding a smirk behind his menu. Dean shot him a look and I laughed under my breath.
Dillon soon returned with our coffee. He took our orders and tucked the menu's under his arm. As he walked away he winked at me. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again and focused on scratching a spot off of my spoon.
"So this is what your life has been for the last few years?" Sam asked, bringing his cup to his lips.
"Pretty much," I said blandly, glancing out the window. "It's quiet here. Quaint. Peaceful. No one knows who I am, or about the other life. No one bothers me," I glanced at them. "Until now."
Dean leaned back in the booth and stretched his arm out over the top of it with a loud sigh. "Yeah well, you need company and who else would be better than us?" he said, shooting me a charming smile. I slid further away from him towards the wall with a pursed look.
"Only for a few days, before people start asking questions," I said stiffly. "Seriously? Long lost half brothers? You couldn't have said cousins or something? I can already hear the rumors stewing."
"It's a small town," Sam said, his tone apologetic. "They'll find something else to talk about soon."
"Here you go!" Dillon's voice interrupted sitting a plate down in front of Sam. After sitting all of the food down, he lingered for a moment eyes on me. "You weren't at work last night," he said, factually. "I went to see you."
"Left early," I replied in the same tone. "You know. Family time. Just like I'm trying to have now," I continued pointedly.
Before he could say anything, someone called his name and he scurried away. I shook my head.
"Man, he's still chasing you after you treat him like that?" Dean laughed. "You should sleep with him just because you should feel sorry for the guy."
I turned my irritation towards him. "You want another cup thrown at your head? Because I won't miss this time."
He let out another laugh and started stuffing his face with the pancakes he had ordered. We ate quickly, at least Sam and I did. Sam was eager to get back to research. He told me that he felt like we were going to find something and we were close. I tried to reciprocate his optimism, but I just couldn't. He didn't seem to notice. Dean was silent when Sam spoke about it. I could tell he was on edge about something with the whole situation. I would have to corner him alone before they left and ask what his problem was.
After almost having to drag Dean away from the diner, and another very irritating car ride back to the house, I was thankful for the quiet that research brought. The silence was soothing. But this was a different type of silence. It wasn't cold, and lonely. It was warm.
Research continued, though the pages weren't telling us anything else. The same thing repeated over and over again on the pages. But each time I read the same thing written in a different way, I would turn the page silently praying for an answer. Something to be written differently. But there wasn't. Not that I could find. Every so often in the corner of my eye, I could see Sam perk up, thinking he found something. But just a few moments later he would deflate. I felt sorry for him even more.
I couldn't begin to imagine waking up everyday, counting down the days that he had left with his brother. Each minute ticking by was a timer on his brothers life. If we didn't find something soon, he'd have to face the facts of what his brother did. Whether or not Dean did it for himself or for his brother, Sam was going to end up alone.
I glanced up at the two brothers. To my right, Sam was focused on the book in front of him, his eyebrows drawn together. In front of me, Dean was staring blankly at the table at the top of his book. I narrowed my eyes at him and gave him a light kick under the table. He jumped in surprise and his attention focused on me. I nodded to the door signaling for him to follow me.
I stood, excusing myself for the bathroom. I gave Dean a pointed stare. Sam didn't answer, just turned a page in his book. I left the room, making sure Sam didn't see where I went, and headed for the kitchen. I heard Dean a few minutes later say something to his brother, then his foot steps follow.
"So what's with your 'don't worry about it, I'm damned' attitude?" I asked, leaning against the counter once Dean rounded the corner. I stared out the kitchen window waiting for his answer. The sky was beginning to churn gray.
He didn't answer me for a moment as he shifted awkwardly. I gave him a minute before I turned my gaze to him. He wasn't looking at me. He was staring at his feet. I could see the thoughts turning in his mind when he glanced up at me. He shifted again and sat at the table.
"You have to promise me you won't tell Sam," he said reluctantly. I raised my eyebrows in response. He chewed the inside of his lip. "Part of the deal was that if I do anything to try and break the deal, the deal is off. Period. Sam dies."
"..Damn it, Dean," I said pressing my fingers into my eyes. "You have got to be kidding me."
"I wish I was," he admitted.
"So let's say we find something here..which I doubt" I confessed after a moment, turning to him. "How are you going to talk Sam into not doing whatever he has to do to save you?"
"That's why I've been trying to avoid it," he answered. "You can't tell him Emery. He won't take it well."
"Has anyone told you how stupid you are recently?" I asked, walking passed him and back to the research.
Once again I left the boy's to research. At least Sam. I was fully convinced now that Dean wasn't even reading what was in front of him, just focusing blankly on the pages and turning when it seemed like he had done it for long enough. I wanted to scream at him. This is why you should play God. What's dead should be left dead. But Dean was making sure to grab a few more books than either of us, so we couldn't read them. I figured he was hoping that he would grab the book with the answer, so he could lie and say that they all said the same thing. I could feel my blood slowly boiling at the thought. And I felt bad for getting angry. I could almost understand what Dean was doing, no matter how stupid. Dean wanted to protect his brother. I didn't want Sam to die, but I didn't want Dean to die either. Especially by the hands of demons. It was one painful and bloody death.
"Hey space case," Jesse said, interrupting my thoughts, with a smile. "Customer."
I turned and saw a man sitting at the counter watching me closely. He looked vaguely familiar. After a moment I placed his face with the man last night that I served just before I left. I filled his drink that he ordered and he continued to sit at the bar after placing a few bills down. I took them and counted them quickly. I could feel him still watching as I headed to the register. A prickling sensation scurried across the back of my neck.
I turned back towards the customer and froze. With a foreboding smile, two pitch black eyes stared directly at me from the customer. I felt my stomach drop. He blinked and the black disappeared. My heart started to race. I had nothing to protect myself from a demon. He started to stand, and I backed up towards the entrance to behind the bar. I bumped into a solid body. I swallowed a lump in my throat as my skin started to go cold. I slowly looked up to see Jesse smiling down at me. His eyes two bottomless black pools.
"Now Emery," he said, his eyes still black. "I let you leave early last night!" With those words, he shoved me with an unseen force. I flew forward into the other side of the bar, where it curved and connected to the wall. I hit the floor with a thud and a loud cry, clutching at my ribs where I was slammed into the corner of the bar. My knees landed in broken glass as it rained around me where I had knocked off glasses from the counter. I quickly tried to regain my footing though my lungs protested as the demon slowly advanced.
"You know, you and your hunting buddy Iben caused us a lot of grief," he purred, his voice smooth. "So imagine our surprise when the Winchester's of all people popped open a gate and let so many of us out that you and your step-in-daddy forced back into Hell." He grinned. Another invisible force slammed me into the counter again. He watched as the force started to pull me down, sitting me against the bar with a crushing force. My already bruised ribs, and airless lungs struggled to breathe, as I tried to look around for something to protect myself. My eyes fell on a black bin of salt that we used to salt the rim of glasses for drinks. "So a few trailed the Winchester's and imagine our surprise when they told us that the brothers led us directly to you," he laughed. The demon that was sitting at the bar moved behind him. I slowly started to move my hand towards it, acting like I was trying to stand again. "It was so simple. Just had to sit back and wait. Though I am disappointed that I can only rip you apart. I would have loved to see what the inside of your step-in-daddy looked -"
He was cut off as I flung the salt in the bin at the two demons. Their skin started to hiss as they screamed in pain. I shoved passed them quickly, ignoring the protest in my ribs, darting for the nearest exit through the fire door sounding the alarm. I darted down the street away from the bar and the two demons who were likely almost recovered. I pulled my phone out as I ran for the house.
Sam answered on the first ring.
"I need your help now!" I almost yelled into the phone. "Get all of those boxes into your car, and head towards the bar as fast as you can! Demons are on my trail and they're probably coming after you next! I can hold them off for now, but make sure you get everything out of that room!" I hung up before he could answer. I turned down a street and slid to a halt nearly slamming into the possessed body of Jesse.
"That wasn't very nice," he sneered. I felt his hand before I saw him move. A loud crack across my face and ear sent me to the ground. Stars flashed across my eyes and I scrambled to my feet. He grinned as he watched me stumble to my knees. "You see, the thing is about you humans that makes you so endearing," he said as he calmly approached me. "Is you don't know when to quit fighting. But," he paused long enough to send a swift kick into my ribs. Tears pooled in my eyes as I bit my lip as hard as I could to not give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream. "That makes it fun for us."
I glared up at him, silently begging the boy's to hurry. Another blow came to my cheek. I spat blood onto the pavement as I pushed myself up to face the demon. I wasn't sure how long he was going to draw this out. But I had to at least distract him until they showed up. I gathered all the strength that I had and swung my fist. Before I could make any contact, I was sent flying through the air and I let out a yelp at the feeling of the pavement biting into my shoulder. I scrambled to my feet, but another wave slammed me into the side of a car. The alarm pierced through the night, echoing against the buildings. My entire left side screamed at me when I tried to stand. My shoulder was bloody, and I could already feel the bruise on my entire side forming from being thrown into the car. I used the car as leverage to help me stand, as air struggled it's way back painfully into my lungs. The demon approached slowly. It smiled a familiar grin that I had seen thousands of times though the years I lived in this town. But this was the only time it frightened me.
But this wasn't the first time I thought I was going to die.
I've already got the next chapter in the works. I'm really enjoying writing this a little too much. And I'm super excited to introduce Castiel into the story.
Please leave a review and let me know what you think!:)