I'm so excited, everybody! I like where this story is going this chapter... Anyway, thanks for any alerts, favorites, or reviews. (Sorry I couldn't respond this week!) Here's the next chapter:
The sun was just touching the horizon when Dean made it to Grab'N'Go. This was the kind of sunset from those westerns Dean loved, but now was far from the time to reminisce.
He couldn't help but shudder when the bell jingled at his entrance and the familiarity of the place sent a shiver up his spine. The pinkish stains on the floor only seemed to reverberate the sickly memories.
"Help ya?" A younger woman asked. She must be in her late twenties, hair pulled back in a low braid and eyes tired but kind.
"Uh, yeah." He pointed at the surveillance camera eyeing them from the ceiling. "I'll need a copy of your footage from every camera you have installed," He instructed, flashing an ID of some sort. He honestly had no idea which one it was, nor did he care.
"Oh, sure." She stated quickly. Dean gave her the date and roughly the time, mentioning the event.
"Murder?" He tried to jog her memory. "Two thieves, two bleeding men, and a shot older fella..." Her face was stoic as she nodded, but Dean wasn't so convinced.
"Come on, little place like this, something like that's gotta be memorable-"
"I remember." She said bluntly, her face emotionless. "That man was my grandfather." Without another word, she disappeared into the back room, slamming the door noisily behind her. Dean cussed himself. Just like him to make a horrendous first impression. Sam was always the one who gently consoled and questioned the witnesses. Yet another reason Dean couldn't live without him.
"Here they are." She pushed the tapes to him across the table.
"I'm sorry." Dean said, trying to patch things up. "I didn't know..."
She shrugged. "It's alright. Did you want to watch those?" Dean followed her gaze to the video tapes, then glanced at the TV suspended from the wall.
"If you wouldn't mind." He answered. She popped the first one in. It was from the inside, a close to arial shot of the hold up. Dean told her to find the one for the parking lot. No way was he reliving this, and from her expression they seemed to be on the same page. The screen went fuzzy until she switched out the tapes, then he was watching a clear view of the parking lot.
There was the Impala, hurt and broken, and beside it a larger van. He watched as the men ran back out and jumped in, quickly speeding away. "Pause it." She did so, and Dean jotted down the barely perceptible license plate number. He also noted that the twosome drove off in the direction they came from, away from the small town a few miles in, and heading back towards the wilderness and the Grand Canyon.
He was about to leave when the girl called, "Wait!" And he listened, returning in case she'd found something of importance.
"That's... you..." She muttered in recognition. Sure enough, there was Dean on screen, being transported into the ambulance by stretcher. "Oh... no. No, it's not."
"Yes it is!" She said. "That's totally you!" Her hand hovered over the phone receiver beside her. "You're no cop. Tell me what's really going on or- or- I'll call the real police."
Dean had to admit, she was smart, but he couldn't risk the Feds getting involved. "Alright," He put his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "But you've gotta hear me out."
She motioned him around behind the counter. "The truth?" She asked.
Dean sighed. He began with the basics, the whole Monsters Are Real speech, followed by a run through of what he and Sam did. "You saw what happened when I came in for supplies." Dean said, waving his hand in the general direction of the screen.
"So... what about Sam?" She asked, and seemed genuinely worried.
"He's not okay." Dean paused before continuing. "The virus- from the stabbing and then no treatment for a while, plus the blood loss and other things..." His voice trailed off and she waited politely for him to continue. "Leukemia, they say. But- I can't be with him. Something's just not right about sitting at his deathbed while the killers run free! Not to mention, I'll have to find some hoodoo curse or something to help him."
She cleared her throat before talking. "The men that hurt your brother?" She asked. "And killed my grandfather? You want revenge, right?"
Dean nodded. Lips pursed in deep thought, she pulled open a drawer and Dean caught a glimpse of the fun that lay inside. She held the weapon in her hands like a foreign object and set it on the table. "Count me in." She said.
...
Dean didn't know what to think when he asked the girl- her name was Claire- what she preferred to listen to and she responded with "anything Zeppelin." This girl knew him inside out, like they'd met before. They seemed to have the same tastes.
"What're you going to do about the store?" Dean asked at her suggestion to join him. She continued pulling her hair down and brushing it out as she talked and packed at the same time. "It was my grandfather's." She explained. "And I'm kind of alone out here, so I'll just close up for a while."
Dean didn't mind the company, as it often managed to take his mind off of Sam. He'd been gone for one day and had kept in touch, but only briefly. He thought maybe, if he just got rid of the cancer, Sam wouldn't be so glum. He said over the phone that he was just upset, but he seemed so calm.
"I guess I just felt at peace." Sam said. "I always thought my death'd be painful, so this isn't all that bad." Dean didn't know what to say to that.
"You're not going to die." He told him slowly.
"You don't know that. I could die tomorrow!"
"So could I!" Dean argued.
"Well, that doesn't count. You know our line of business." He sighed through the phone. "Look, I don't want to fight, Dean." He sounded tired and sick, and Dean wished he was there, just like he had every minute since he stormed out.
He couldn't explain it- besides, chick flick moments were out of the question- and Sam seemed to understand. Crotchety old Bobby, on the other hand, was great at holding grudges, but they all knew he wanted those men gone just as much as Dean.
"I don't either." Dean replied sadly. "What're the doctors saying?"
"Nothing much."
"Are you eating?"
Sam hesitated. "Not much..."
Dean groaned. "Put Bobby on."
"But-"
"Put Bobby on." Dean heard some rustling as the phone was transferred from hand to hand.
"Hello?" Bobby's rough voice answered. Dean couldn't help but smile at the sound of the old friend's voice.
"Hey, Bobby. So, is Sam really eating."
"No." Bobby said.
"Well... Guess I know who I can't trust for information anymore." Dean muttered.
"It's not that, son." He lowered his voice, so Dean figured Sam was attempting to eavesdrop. "He's ashamed, but I swear, he can not physically eat! They ended up sticking an IV in 'im just to keep him alive!"
Dean heard the muffled sounds of people talking. "Look, I've gotta go, but I'll talk to you soon."
"Take care of Sammy," Dean told him remorsefully. "He sounds horrible."
He hung up with a beep and focused on the road again, Claire watching him worriedly from the passenger seat.
"You okay?" She asked. Dean nodded. "'Cause it's okay to be upset, you know." Dean gave a painful smile. "Yeah, I know."
"Maybe some music will help. When I'm stressed, I always listen to Metallica."
"Me too." Dean turned up the music, loud enough to penetrate his soul, and drown out his thoughts until he couldn't hear his worries and troubles over the blare of the classic rock. And Sam wondered why he liked such loud music.
Dean looked over at Claire again. "You know, this is one of my favorite songs." She said. Claire smiled a little and Dean smiled back, wondering how she could be so cheerful after so much had gone wrong for her. They hadn't seen society since they left yesterday, but Dean knew this was about how long for him and Sam just a little more than a week ago. It seemed like forever.
She began tapping her hand along with the music, but it didn't make sense. Claire had been really close to her grandfather- the biggest reason why she'd wanted revenge- and was devastated by his violent death.
Dean chuckled to himself when she started humming and then singing the lyrics. "You, you're smothered in tragedy. You're out to save the world."
Dean caught himself off guard when he smiled, the first real one since Sam's accident in the woods.
"Misery. You insist that the weight of the world should be on your shoulders. Misery."
She smiled at Dean, her white teeth gleaming. Dean laughed a second, and just as surprising, time. Her voice was softer when she sang, like an angel, Dean reasoned. What would angels sound like if they existed? They would sound like Claire.
"There's much more to life than what you see." She finished. "My friend of misery..." Dean found himself smiling and laughing along with her. She was blushing. "I can't believe I just did that!" She laughed.
Hand over her mouth, she couldn't stop, and Dean joined in until they were both laughing so hard their sides ached. "I'm so embarrassed!" She squealed, but Dean didn't know why. He thought her voice was beautiful.
Oooooh... A new chapter. Did you like it? It wasn't the most exciting but there was a new character. If you have time, tell me what you think about her? I'll see you next week!