Chapter Seven
Just had my 24th birthday May 13! Woo-hoo! My boss bought me Supernatural season seven! And now I get the Season Eight finale for my birthday!
"He really said he was buying the tampons for his awesome girlfriend?" asked Sam, chuckling.
Piper nodded. "Uh-huh. And a couple weeks later, Jen and I did a supply run and found two of the guys who had been there standing at the checkout line with tampons, feminine wipes and lube."
Sam and John laughed loudly.
"We told everyone when we came back, and Priestly got a kick out of it," said Jen.
John nodded, chuckling. "Yeah, that sounds like a tall tale worthy of Dean."
"He lies a lot, huh?" asked Trucker.
John shrugged. "Nature of the job. Kind of a necessity. But he's honest when it counts."
The bell above the door jingled, and they looked to see Priestly and Tish walk in.
"Hey, you sleep good?" greeted Trucker.
"For the most part," Tish told them, giving Priestly's shoulder a squeeze and heading back behind the counter.
Priestly was staring at Sam and John with a slightly spooked look in his eyes.
"You okay, Dean?" asked Sam.
Priestly stepped over to them, frowning at Sam uncertainly. "The night Mom died in your nursery…" he pointed at him, "I carried you out the front door?"
Sam's gaze shot over to John, who was staring up at Priestly with a slight smile.
"You did," John nodded.
Sam's frown dropped as he stared at John. "He did?"
John looked at him. "Yeah. You never knew that?"
Sam shook his head. "No." He looked over at Priestly with a new look in his eyes, one of admiration and gratitude.
John looked up at Priestly. "How'd you know that?"
"I dreamed about it last night," Priestly told them. "About Mom dying…the fire…the heat…It was…" He struggled for the word.
"Terrible," supplied John.
Priestly's eyes locked onto his, sharing a sorrowful look. "Yeah…" He stepped over to the table where they sat, easing down into a chair himself. "So, listen, I've, uh…I've been thinking."
"Yeah?" asked John.
"I, uh…" began Priestly. "I want you guys to train me."
"Train you?" asked Sam.
"Yeah, train me to be a hunter," said Priestly. "I don't know if I'll ever get my memories back, but I need to be able to take care of myself if I'm gonna hunt."
Sam frowned, glancing over at Tish cleaning the tables for a second before looking back at Priestly. "You want to leave with us to go hunting?"
Priestly shook his head quickly. "No."
The two of them looked a little hurt.
"Well, I mean, not yet, at least," Priestly told them. "My life is here right now. And to be honest, I don't know if that will change if I get my memory back. But if anything comes for me or my friends…I can't know these things exist and not know how to defend myself."
Sam and John exchanged looks.
"So, what do ya say?" asked Priestly.
John looked back at Priestly and shrugged. "Sounds like a plan."
Priestly smiled. "Great."
"First things first, though," said John. "You're taking a test."
Priestly frowned. "Test?"
"To see what you remember from yesterday," said John.
Priestly shrugged. "Okay."
"What works against ghosts?" asked John.
"Salt and iron," answered Priestly.
"How do you get rid of 'em?" asked John.
"Salt and burn the bones," said Priestly.
"Werewolves," said Sam.
"Silver bullet to the heart," said Priestly. "Same with shapeshifters and, uh…skinwalkers."
"Wendigo," said John.
"Burn 'em alive," said Priestly. "Just like a rugaru."
"Vampire," said Sam.
"Stake to the heart," said Priestly.
Sam faltered a little. "Uh, well—"
Priestly chuckled. "Kidding. Decapitation."
"Zombie," said Sam.
"Stake 'em in their coffins," said Priestly.
"Djinn," said John.
"Silver knife dipped in lamb's blood," said Priestly.
"Demon," said John.
"Salt, iron, holy water, devil's trap, exorcism," Priestly listed off. "Can only be killed with that Colt thing you told me about."
John glanced around the empty shop before reaching into his jacket and pulling out an ancient, wicked-looking revolver.
Priestly stared at it. "Is that it? You have it?"
John nodded. "A hunter friend was killed by vampires about a year back. He left a note for me saying he'd had it. Sam and I went looking for it to kill the demon." He reached across the table, holding the Colt out to him.
Priestly slowly grabbed hold of the handle, holding it up in front of him. A pentagram was carved into the bottom of the handle. As Priestly ran his hand along the barrel, he noticed a phrase carved there.
"I will fear no evil…" muttered Priestly absently.
"You can read that?" asked Sam.
Priestly looked up at him. "What?"
"You can read Latin?" asked Sam.
"I can?" asked Priestly, looking down at the gun and realizing the words carved in the barrel were not in English but in Latin: non timebo mala. He glimpsed at the phrase again, realizing each word made perfect sense to him and not understanding how he'd read that so easily. "I know Latin?"
"Kind of a requirement for hunters," said John. "I taught you boys in junior high."
"How can I remember how to read Latin but not anything from my life?" wondered Priestly.
"The same way you remember how to speak English or brush your teeth or drive," Sam explained. "Things that you learn are different than things you experience. It's like muscle memory."
Priestly stared at him for a moment. "Psych class?"
Sam smiled. "Anatomy, actually."
"You need Anatomy to go to law school?" asked Priestly.
"You kind of have to take that no matter what you go into," said Sam. "You know, general education."
"Oh," said Priestly, admiring the gun one last time before handing it back to John.
The door to the shop opened, and John quickly stuffed the Colt back into his jacket.
"Alright, just one more question," said John. "What's the number one rule of hunting?"
Priestly smirked. "Never give out your real name."
John smiled. "That's my boy. So, when do you wanna start?"
"I passed?" asked Priestly.
John nodded. "You passed."
"How about after work tomorrow?" asked Priestly. He nodded at his friends helping the customer at the counter. "The five of us are getting together tonight to plan the last few things for Jen's wedding."
"To which you two are both invited," Jen spoke up from the computer.
"Thank you," said Sam. "We'd love to come."
"Cool," said Jen. "It's next Saturday at one o'clock. Priestly'll tell you where."
"Okay," said Priestly, standing and moving to the grill. "It's settled, then. See ya guys tomorrow."
"Yeah," said John, standing with Sam. "See ya."
The two of them headed out the front door as the Beach City gang set about opening for the day.
*************************************************S PN/TIH******************************************** **********************
"Did you book the caterer?" asked Jen as they sat in the pizza parlor that night.
Her sister Angie nodded. "Yep. Alessandro will be at the banquet hall at noon."
"Good," said Jen. "That'll give him about two and a half hours. Thanks, Ang."
"Hey, that's the maid of honor's job," shrugged Angie. She looked over at Trucker. "So, you'll be giving my sis away?"
"That's right," said Trucker.
"I'm glad Jen found people to count as family after our parents passed," said Angie.
"Well, she's not the only one," said Trucker, glancing over at Priestly.
Angie looked over at Priestly sadly. "Oh, your parents died?"
"No, no, they—well, my mom died when I was a kid, but…" began Priestly, going with John and Sam's cover story, "I got into a car accident two years ago. I hit my head pretty hard and lost my memory. These guys kinda became my family."
"If you have amnesia, how do you know about your mom?" asked Angie.
"My dad and brother found me last week," Priestly told her. "Little things are coming back, and they filled in the rest."
"Well, that's something," Angie told him. "I hope your memory comes back."
"Thanks," said Priestly.
"So, anyway, your bachelorette party," said Angie, looking at her sister.
Jen blushed as she looked down at the table. "Ang…"
"Oh, come on," said Piper. "You can't get married without a bachelorette party. I promise you won't regret it."
Jen hesitated before nodding. "Fine. Bachelorette party."
"Yay!" Tish clapped her hands as Piper, Jen and Angie laughed.
"You girls have fun," Priestly told them. "Trucker and I will be hosting Jeff's bachelor party." He waggled his eyebrows with a sly smirk.
"No strippers, Priestly," Jen told him.
Priestly inconspicuously avoided Jen's eyes, grabbing another slice of pizza.
"No strippers," Jen emphasized.
"What's the fun of a bachelor party without strippers?" Priestly told her.
"Priestly," Jen warned.
"Man…" Priestly whined. "I never get to do anything fun."