Chapter Eight
Priestly approached the ramshackle warehouse after work, frowning down at the address Sam had texted him. "This can't be right."
He glanced around the building, unsure if they had taken the Impala there or not. Not seeing the car, Priestly took a deep breath and headed towards the building. He found the thick door out front standing ajar, and it creaked as he pushed it open.
"Sam?" Priestly called, not stepping inside. "Dad?"
Getting no response, Priestly glanced around before making up his mind.
"This is a stupid idea…" Priestly muttered, stepping into the building.
As Priestly cleared the door, someone tackled him, sending him hurtling to the floor. Before he could get his feet under him again, his arms were pinned to the floor and a knife was pressed into the skin of his neck.
"Rule number one."
Priestly looked up at the person on top of him, knees on his arms and knife held at his throat.
"Never let your guard down," said John.
Priestly's lungs finally remembered how to breathe again, and his heart pounded against his ribcage. "You almost gave me a heart attack."
"That was the point," John said, easing back onto his feet and holding his hand out to Priestly.
Priestly took his hand, and John pulled him up, stowing the knife in his jacket.
"I take it the training has started," said Priestly.
"Welcome to Hunting 101," said Sam, stepping away from a dark corner. "First lesson…" he handed Priestly a pistol, "target practice."
Priestly hefted the gun in his hands, smiling. "Alright! What am I shooting?"
John turned and gestured at a line of aluminum cans lined up along the far wall maybe a hundred yards away. Priestly stepped forward a little, raising the pistol with both hands and closing one eye so he could aim. He got a can in his sights and pulled the trigger. The bullet echoed through the warehouse as it hit the concrete wall three feet above the can. Priestly lowered the gun a little as he stared at the bullet hole. There was silence behind him for a moment.
"Well…not bad," said John. "You're a little rusty, but I'm sure we can job your memory. Let me show you some pointers."
Priestly moved one leg back to brace himself as he raised the pistol, lining up his shot and keeping his eyes open this time. He gripped the pistol tight and pulled the trigger seven times. The cans went flying one by one as each bullet hit its target. There was silence once again as Priestly stared down at the gun in his hands in amazement.
"See," said John in pride, "you're a natural."
"Nice shot, Dean," said Sam.
Priestly turned to them. "It kinda just all came back to me right there. Guess I'm a good shot."
"One of the best," said John. "Well, since you got the gun down, let's start on combat training."
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Two hours later, Priestly was slipping his socks and shoes back on as Sam sat on the floor next to him doing the same. Priestly began chuckling.
Sam looked at him. "What?"
"I feel like I'm getting out of a karate class or something," said Priestly.
Sam laughed a little. "I doubt karate instructors teach you how to snap someone's neck."
Priestly chuckled. "True." He leaned over to grab his other shoe.
"What's that?" Sam asked.
Priestly looked back over at him. "What?"
Sam gestured at his neck. "That a necklace?"
Priestly grabbed the cord around his neck, pulling the necklace out from under his shirt. "What, this?"
Sam stared with wide eyes and slack jaw at the pendant hanging from the cord.
"You okay?" asked Priestly.
Sam looked up at him. "You still have it…"
Priestly looked down at the bronze pendant. "I was wearing it when I woke up in the hospital." He shrugged. "Don't really know why, but I never had the heart to throw it away." He glanced back up to find Sam staring at him with a nostalgic smile on his face. "What?"
"I gave you that amulet," Sam told him. "Christmas, '91. It was supposed to be for Dad, but he was off on one of his hunts. That was when you finally told me the family business. I gave you the amulet for telling me the truth. You haven't taken it off since."
Priestly smiled a little, his hand closing around the amulet. "No, I haven't."
Sam smiled at Priestly's indication that he hadn't taken it off since the hospital. "I was so afraid you'd thrown it away, not knowing what it was."
"By the sounds of it, there no force on this earth that could make me get rid of this," said Priestly.
Sam smiled again, looking back down at his shoes as he tied them. "So, where you off to?"
"Not me," said Priestly. "We." He finished tying his shoe and looked up at Sam. "You, my brother, are hanging out with me and the gang tonight."
"And what would we be doing?" asked Sam as he grabbed his jacket and stood.
Priestly stood with him. "Going to the movies. There's this theatre down by the pier that shows older movies instead of new releases. They've got The Descent playing this month."
Sam frowned. "What's that about?"
"These people go down in a cave where they're attacked by these freaky cave people," Priestly explained, grabbing his own jacket.
"Oh, I remember those previews," said Sam. "Sounds good, but, uh…" he glanced uneasily at him, "you didn't ask Dad to come, did you?"
"Yeah, he said no," said Priestly, frowning. "He busy, or something?"
"Uh, sort of," grimaced Sam. "Dad…doesn't really like horror movies."
Priestly frowned deeper. "What? But his whole life is a horror movie. Shouldn't he be used to it?"
"Well, that's just the thing," said Sam. "Dad says that he deals with the horror so much on the job that he tries to get away from it as much as he can."
"Oh," said Priestly. "Well, we'll have to go see a chick-flick with him later."
"Actually, I cater more towards action flicks," said John from the doorway.
"Good to know," said Priestly. "So, what are you planning to do while we're at the movie?"
"Maybe check the papers for a simple hunt for us to go on this week," said John.
"Really?" said Priestly. "You think I'm ready for a real hunt?"
"In about four or five days' time, yeah," said John. "It'll be a simple salt 'n burn. One hunter can take care of it, and there'll be three of us. Don't worry."
"Okay," said Priestly. "Well, we'll…see you later."
"Have fun, boys," said John as the brothers headed towards the door.
"Sure thing, Sensei," called Priestly as he headed out the door.
Sam and Priestly laughed together as they left, John shaking his head fondly.
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Three days later, the Winchester training sessions were going really well. Priestly had mastered use and maintenance of the guns, both pistols and shotguns. He had also refined his combat skills, tracking skills and hunting techniques. It was almost like everything was coming back to him. Unfortunately, no other memories had returned. It seemed only extreme shock was jogging anything loose.
"Hop in," said John as he, Sam and Priestly strode from the warehouse towards the Impala they'd drive this time. "We'll give you a lift to the grill."
"Thanks," said Priestly, opening the back door and getting in.
John got behind the wheel as Sam sat in the passenger seat. He started up the car and headed into the street.
John glanced in the rearview mirror at Priestly. "So…you propose to Tish yet?"
Priestly shook his head. "Haven't found a good time yet."
John smiled. "I wish your mother could be here to see this. I know she'd be proud of you."
"Thanks," said Priestly. He glanced down and saw a box on the floor. "What's this?" He picked the box up to see it was full of cassette tapes. "Aw, man, what an awesome collection!"
"They're yours," Sam told him.
"Oh, sweet!" exclaimed Priestly, picking up a few and holding them up to read the labels in the streetlights. "Motorhead…AC/DC…Metallica…Foreigner…Def Leppard. You can't find these anymore! And it just isn't right to douche up a classic like this with an iPod jack."
"I am in violent agreement with you there," said John.
"You two are so old-fashioned," grumbled Sam.
"Hey, the classics are the best," said Priestly. "They don't make anything like they used to anymore."
"You got that right," said John. "Everyone just needs to appreciate the finer things in life."
"Right on," said Priestly.
"Whatever, you hippies," muttered Sam.
"Wrong decade, dude," said Priestly. "You're thinking the '60s. The '70s and '80s is where good classic rock came from."
Sam turned his head towards the backseat with a smile. "You are never gonna change, are you?"
"Wouldn't count on it," said Priestly.
"We're here," said John, pulling over on the side of the street in front of the grill.
"Thanks, guys," said Priestly, hopping out of the car and closing the door. He leaned down to talk to them through the passenger window. "I'll see you for training tomorrow."
"You got it," said John. "By the way, I found us a haunting. We'll be leaving in two days. If you could ask your boss…for…"
Priestly frowned at the look on his face and found the same one on Sam. They were both staring past him. Priestly turned and looked into the sub shop, spotting Trucker unconscious on the floor in front of the counter.
"No…" Priestly muttered as his eyes flew to Piper and Jen cowering in fear at the tables and a man with a knife to Tish's throat behind the counter, holding her close to him. "Tish…"
As he took a step towards the shop, he heard Sam and John jump out of the Impala behind him.
"Whoa, Dean, you can't just rush in there," said John. "We need to—"
"You two create a distraction," said Priestly in a hard voice, never taking his eyes off his terrified girlfriend. "I'm going around the back. He makes a move, though, and you make yours."
As he rushed towards the side of the building to head around back, he heard John say to Sam, "He catches on quick."
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Jen held onto Piper at the table as the robber held onto Tish.
"Now, you two are gonna stay right where you are or sweetie here gets it!" said the guy.
"Don't hurt her, please!" begged Piper.
"That depends on you!" yelled the robber. "You stay put! Me and the little lady are gonna go get better acquainted." He kissed Tish on the cheek, running his free hand along her torso.
Tish grimaced as tears fell down her face. The bell jingled as the door opened, and Jen and Piper glanced over to see John and Sam walk in.
"And then we got the post-game party to go to, and—" said Sam.
He and John froze suddenly when they spotted the situation.
The robber pulled Tish a little more towards the back, digging the knife further into her neck as she screamed. "Don't move! I'll slit her throat!"
"Okay, okay!" said Sam, hands out in front of him and eyes wide. "We're not moving. Don't hurt the girl."
"You two, on your knees!" yelled the guy. "Now!"
"Okay," said John as he and Sam knelt on the floor. "We'll do whatever you say. Just don't hurt her."
Jen frowned in confusion. Why aren't they doing anything? They kill monsters for a living! They can handle one guy!
Jen glanced over at Tish and the robber to see Priestly sneaking up behind the guy through the back room. She nudged Piper, and she looked over at him, too. Priestly's eyes moved to them, and he held up a hand, giving them a stern look that told them to be quiet.
"Look, why don't you let the girl go?" said John. "We'll give you all the money we have."
Jen suddenly understood the Winchesters' behavior; they were playing decoy so Priestly could get to Tish. Priestly silently stepped up to the robber, holding his arms out at the ready for his moment.
"I didn't come for money," said the robber, licking the side of Tish's face.
Jen watched Priestly's face twist in rage as he suddenly made his move. Priestly grabbed the arm holding the knife, pulling it away from Tish's throat as he pulled the other arm away with his other hand. Tish broke away from the guy, darting around his arms and running around the counter. She barreled into Jen and Piper's arms, staring in fear at the struggle.
As soon as Priestly was sure Tish was free of the guy's reach, he brought the guy's knife hand down on his knee several times before the knife dropped to the floor. Priestly then used his grip on that arm to spin the guy away from him, giving him clearance to go in for the fight. The guy swung a fist, but Priestly ducked and nailed him in the gut with a punch. As the guy staggered back, Priestly hit him again and again with several punches.
As Jen watched Priestly's anger-bent face as he beat the would-be rapist, she recognized that the man standing in front of her was not her fun-loving friend Priestly. This right here was the hunter Dean Winchester.
Priestly brought his foot up and kicked the guy in the sternum, sending him flying back against the cash register and sprawling to the floor. Priestly glared down at the unconscious guy, breathing heavily. He quickly looked up at the three girls sitting petrified at the tables.
"Tish…" breathed Priestly, rushing around the counter towards her and not caring that he was treading on the robber's hands.
Tish leaped up from the table as Priestly enveloped her in his arms, holding her tight.
"I got ya," breathed Priestly, a hand cradling her head against his chest. "It's over now. I got ya." He closed his eyes as he pulled Tish closer, worry written all over his face. He finally opened his eyes again, looking at Jen and Piper. "You guys okay?"
Jen nodded as she glanced over at Sam checking on Trucker. She looked back up at Priestly holding onto a sobbing Tish. By the look on his face, Jen could tell that with all his supernatural training lately, he had all but forgotten about the many natural dangers there were out there as well…dangers that could come for any one of them.