Chapter Five: Safety in Numbers
"Blood's thicker than water, and when one's in trouble it's best to seek out a relative's open arms."
The next morning came bright and early as I was woken abruptly, before being ordered to eat something and take a few laps. I knew that the early morning run was most likely punishment from what happened yesterday; Dean's way of reminding me that it shouldn't happen again. As I ran around Bobby's warded property, I allowed my mind to wander. Unlike Aiden, being made to run wasn't something I really considered a punishment. Granted I could change my tune if the temperature was warmer, or if I was being made to run more that four miles but for the moment it was actually pleasant. Of course the early morning wake up was less than wanted.
Even though I was young, my instincts were strong, which is why when I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, I stopped what I was doing, and hid behind a stack of wrecked cars. Seconds later a figure darted by my hiding space, and I held my breath, before lunging at the figure. The person ducked out of my punch countering with one of their own. They were too slow, enabling me to grab their wrist and send them flying to the ground.
"Christ, Hails, is that any way to greet family?"
"Charlie?" I gasped, immediately stepping back, coming out of my offensive stance.
"Uh, yeah," The girl on the ground scoffed before jumping to her feet and threw me a sharp glance. "You've certainly gotten better."
"Thanks to you," I replied.
"Glad I could help," Charlie grinned, dusting herself off.
I took the time to look my cousin over from head to toe, aside from our brief struggle she looked okay. Her dark brown hair was up in an unkempt ponytail. Her caramel eyes were bright. She was tall and slim wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Wasn't really feeling Ipswich," Charlie shrugged. "I'm home from Harvard and Manor Garwin isn't that appealing of a place to stay."
"How'd you even…?"
"A witch has her secrets, after all," Charlie smirked.
Of course, Charlie wasn't actually a witch that was little brother Reid, along with his three friends. Within the four founding families there existed a power. Those powers were passed on to the first-born male of each family, making locating a nomadic family fairly easy.
"How is every one?"
"We're good, Hails," Charlie shrugged. "The boys are nervous. They're gonna be getting a taste of their power soon."
"Just a taste?" I wondered.
"Yeah, they ascend when they're eighteen, get to do the cool shit," Charlie replied. "Until then they just cause mischief, which they had done well without abilities so god only knows what little terrors they're gonna be."
"Caleb will keep them in line," I shrugged.
"He can try," Charlie grinned.
A shrill whistle cut our conversation short. I whipped my head towards the noise unsurprised when I heard my name being called seconds afterwards. Knowing that she would follow me, I broke into a dead sprint back to Bobby's house. As the house came into view I saw Dean waiting on the porch. As I skidded to a stop at the bottom step, Dean looked like he had been ready to chew me out then stopped as his eyes skimmed over me before settling on our cousin.
"Charlie?" Dean questioned. "The hell are you doing here?"
"You Winchesters and your hospitality," Charlie scoffed. "First munchkin throws me to the dirt then that greeting. Starting to feel like I'm not wanted."
"Cut the crap, Chaz," Dean scoffed, knowing our cousin better than to fall for the hurt feelings routine.
"First year of college is done with, Dean-o," Charlie replied. "Didn't feel like going to the mansion, skipped town."
"And your mother is just okay with that?"
"She's on a business trip," Charlie responded. "Probably doesn't even know I'm gone. Won't care either way."
Dean glared at Charlie, who seemed unimpressed with the nasty look. Charlie had a completely different upbringing from my brother's and I. But, the absentee parent thing was something all of us had experience with. However, unlike my brothers and I, who had Dean looking out for us, Charlie didn't have anyone. She looked after her little brother Reid, and his three friends but there was no one to look after Charlie. It was obvious that the independence at such a young age was starting to take its toll.
"What happens if our father comes home?" Dean asked. "He'll whip your ass and send you straight back to Ipswich."
"Yeah," Charlie shrugged. "If it happens, it happens."
"Chaz," Dean sighed. "You being nineteen ain't gonna change his mind."
"Dean, I understood the risks when I skipped town," Charlie replied. "For what it's worth, we do have summer break."
"You just left Reid by himself?" Dean realized.
"He's not alone," Charlie scoffed. "He has his friends. He's never alone."
"He's eleven," Dean retorted.
"We have maids," Charlie rolled her eyes. "It's not like I abandoned the kid at the side of the road. Dean, you don't know the lifestyles of the very rich."
Dean didn't answer, instead choosing to sigh, "This won't go over well."
"No, it won't," Charlie agreed.
"Hails, you still have laps to run," Dean ordered. "Get to it."
I didn't argue but it was a near thing. I chose instead to glower at the ground before I sprinted off. I wondered if my life would always be like this. Being treated like a kid who was still to little to sit with the grown-ups. It wasn't fair, who said that I was less competent just because I happened to be born last and with a vagina to boot.
Both Dad and Dean would state, had stated over and over being a girl had nothing to do with their treatment but it wasn't true. I was treated with kid gloves, pushed out of conversations that my brother's wouldn't have been at my age, or treated rougher in order to 'toughen me up'. I understood that they just wouldn't to protect me. But, the best way to do that was train me.
It only took a half hour to finish the rest of the laps. With the running done for the moment, I burst back into the house to find Aiden watching TV with a bowl of cereal in his lap.
"Hay," Aiden greeted.
"Where's everybody?" I asked
"Sam's still asleep, Charlie's showering, and Dean's getting a progress report from Dad," Aiden rattled off.
"Dad called already?" I wondered. "That's not a good sign."
"Nah, he probably got held up in New York wanted to give us the heads-up," Aiden shrugged.
"Guess so," I sighed, dropping into Bobby's recliner, content to watch whatever Aiden had been watching.
We had only been watching Jerry Springer for a few minutes before, Dean came into the room, and I glanced in his direction about to ask about Dad when Sam came down the stairs with Charlie at his heels.
"I see that Sam still has that goody two-shoes streak," Charlie announced to the room at large.
Sam scowled in her direction as he dropped next to Aiden on the couch. "Excuse the hell out of me for not wanting to get my ass whipped because you decided to cross state lines."
"Oh, come on, Sammy," Charlie grinned. "Live a little."
When it seemed that Sam and Charlie were really going to start to argue, Dean stepped in, "Guys, enough. It's too earlier for this shit."
"Speaking of Dad, what'd he say?" I questioned, looking over at Dean.
"There's been a hiccup," Dean said. "He and Bobby are going to be in New York City for longer than expected."
"What kind of hiccup?" Sam grumbled. "And for how much longer?"
"I don't know, Sam," Dean retorted. "The man didn't seem to be up for twenty questions. Would you like to call him back?"
Sam glared at Dean, the latter of whom just raised his eyebrow unconcerned. The silence that fell was tense in nature as we watched Jerry determine whether or not the man in question was a kid's father or not. We watched a block of reality programing before Sam peeled off, going upstairs and closing the door to his bedroom. The shut door didn't slam but it was a close thing. If it bothered Dean, he was good about not showing it.
"Come on, Hails, time for some homework," Dean ordered. "You too, Aiden."
I didn't bother complaining, knowing that with Sam's hissy fit, Dean was probably in no mood for any back talk. Instead both Aiden and I wandered over to the kitchen table, picking up the small pile of paper's we had left on the counter. It was mind numbing busy work that the school had given us. Just enough to give them peace of mind that we were staying on track grade-level wise. Sometime during our studying, Dean came in and started to make lunch.
"Alright, break time," Dean announced, "Aiden go get Sam."
"Sweet," Aiden replied, gathering his papers and dropping them on the edge of the island. He ran through the living room up to the base of the stairs, "Sam! Meal time!"
"Thanks, Junior," Dean laughed.
"Anytime," Aiden smirked.
Lunch came and went with little conversation. Every one had a sandwich, with some chips and a soda. After lunch was over, every one spread to different areas of the house with the acknowledgement that we'd be training in an hour or two, Charlie included. I decided to do more worksheets, just to get them over with. Because while it was Dean who was overseeing the homework, if I didn't do it then I'd probably answer to both Dad and Dean and that was not what I wanted to happen.
"Ready?" Aiden asked.
"Once I change into sweats, yeah," I replied. "We starting."
"Yup," Aiden said. "Dean and Sam are setting up the mats."
I stood up and cracked my back, stretching my limbs before I ran up to my room. It was a quick change into sweats. I laced up my sneakers and ran back through the house and into the backyard. The others stood stretching out around the mat.
"So, who's up first?" Charlie grinned.
"Let's flip a coin," Sam suggested.
"Pick names out of a hat," I offered.
"That works," Dean agreed.
He walked back into the house and it took a few minutes to him to come back out, when he did he was holding one of Bobby's spare hats.
"Alright," Dean announced as he walked back towards us. "First up is Charlie and me." He crumbled the two slips of paper in the hand and let it just drop to the ground. "Then it's Aiden and Sam. And I guess the winner of those two matches will spare with Hails."
Everyone nodded in agreement as Dean and Charlie walked to the center of the mat. It would be a curious match, but I was sure that Charlie could hold her own. She bounced on the balls of her feet, sinking into a fighting stance as Dean mirrored the movement. They circled one another, sizing the other up. Charlie charged at Dean, throwing a punch that was immediately blocked and countered. Charlie reacted quickly grabbing Dean's arm and rolling backwards, using her center of gravity to roll flip Dean down into the ground, she landed as well holding Dean's arm in a lock.
"Son of a bitch," Dean wheezed. He attempted to break the lock but Charlie had a good grip.
"That all you got, Dean-o?" Charlie teased.
Dean growled under his breath as he punched Charlie's leg with his other hand. Charlie winced at the blow but didn't relent. The rules of sparring were clear either you tapped out or there was a clear winner. It was interesting to see Dean in a position of weakness, it wasn't often that one got the drop on him. Dean attempted to buck her off but with the grip on his arm airtight he couldn't maneuver her off. He tapped on the mat. Instantly Charlie let him go, and sprung to her feet. She offered Dean a hand, which he took, only to use his grip to pull her into a hug.
"Where'd you learn all that?" Dean asked.
"Self defense lessons," Charlie shrugged. "Just because you may be lighter and smaller than your opponent does not mean you're beaten."
"Okay, guys, let's go," Dean prodded moving to the side of the mat.
Aiden and Sam moved at once, taking opposite sides. With a handshake, they both sunk into a defensive position. Both Aiden and Sam were pretty evenly matched. Both were tall and skinny, yet surprisingly muscular. Sam made the first move, closing the distance between them to throw a devastating punch. Aiden jumped out of the way, leaving the punch skimming against his arm. He grabbed Sam's wrist using the latter's momentum to toss him to the ground. Sam did not stay down for long, quickly rising to his feet. This time when Sam lunged he took Aiden down in a tackle. He popped Aiden in the stomach, not too hard but definitely enough to wind him. When Aiden doubled over, Sam wrapped his arm around Aiden's neck pulling him into a headlock. Aiden struggled against the hold but couldn't get out of it, he tapped Sam's arm. Sam let Aiden go, careful not to let him go to quickly, lest Aiden land on his face.
Aiden got to his feet, grabbing one of the water bottles and taking a healthy swig.
"Okay, Hails, you're up," Dean said. "Charlie, you good?"
"Sure," Charlie grinned. "Ready, Hails?"
I nodded sinking into a fighting stance. We circled around one another gauging strengths and weaknesses. Charlie had taught me some of my best moves so she knew what I had up my sleeves. Charlie moved first with a kick. I jumped away from it, knocking her slightly off balance. Charlie recovered quickly though, wrapping herself around my legs, knocking me to the floor. I hit the mat with an audible thud. Charlie came down right after me, attempting to pin me down. I bucked my hips, rolling us over so that I was the one pinning her down. With one more quick movement, I had her in a pin.
"Nicely done, Hailey!" Dean praised.
I was almost beaming at the praise. Charlie clapped her hand on my shoulder giving me a smirk.
"You're catching on quick, Hails," Charlie said.
"Thanks," I smiled.
With sparring done, we had homework to do. By that I meant that Sam, Aiden, and I had homework to do. Charlie and Dean settled into making dinner. All of us were congregating in Bobby's spacious kitchen. The mood was jovial, despite the boring busy work we had been given. Once dinner was ready we settled in front of the television, watching whatever caught our eye.
After a quick rock, paper, scissors, I had dealt the short straw with dish duty. I only wished that dish duty had been the only dark spot in my night. Unfortunately, I heard my father's truck.
"Aw, shit," I hissed.
I abandoned my chore and rushed into the living room to find others scrambling. It was one thing to have Charlie here, thinking we could spend some time with her before she was on her way. Only our plan must've hit some roadblock. Dad had said that they hit a snag in New York City, either that was true, and Bobby was holding down the fort or it had been a ruse. A ruse that we had fallen for hook, line, and sinker.
Loud footsteps heralded our doom, as the front door slammed open. There stood our father, his body an imposing figure in the threshold of the door. That was until he barked, "Charlotte Elizabeth Murphy!"
Charlie leapt to her feet, immediately snapping to attention. "Uncle John!" She greeted. "Great to see you."
"Save it, little girl," Dad growled. "What are you doing here?"
"Just wanted to visit my cousins," Charlie replied.
"Don't even start with me," Dad warned. "Imagine how I felt when my sister, your mother calls me in tears saying that you had vanished. They timed that business trip, knowing that you would be home from school. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Because they can't be parents that's one me?" Charlie retorted. "It's summer break and Reid isn't alone. He has his little friends and our maid looking after them."
"You made a promise to your mother, Charlotte," Dad stated. "We do not go back on our word in this family."
"Yeah because Reid isn't use to being abandoned already," Charlie sneered. "Either from my mother or Joe."
"I'm calling your mother," Dad said. "But, you and me aren't done. Basement."
"Yes sir," Charlotte sighed.
Charlie was a smart girl, knowing when she didn't have the upper hand. Right before she got the basement door she turned back around. "Uncle John this wasn't their fault. I showed up unannounced."
"I appreciate your honesty, Charlie," Dad replied. "But, they had their own hand in the proceedings."
It was a quick call to Aunt Hillary from the conversation I'd say that Charlie was in a world of trouble. When the phone call was done, Dad didn't join Charlie in the basement instead he stayed up here with us.
"You four front and center," Dad ordered.
We snapped to attention and assembled in front of our father. It seemed ingrained in us that not only did we jump to do our father's bidding but we had lined ourselves up in age order. Some habits died hard, I suppose.
"When did Charlie arrive?" Dad asked.
"Early this morning, sir," Dean stated.
It wasn't that we were throwing Charlie under the bus. It was just that, in our prior experiences, once Dad had figured out what we were doing, he knew everything. So lying to him would only compound infractions. Trust me when I said that was something you wanted to avoid.
"And the reason you didn't pick up the phone and call me was…?"
"We hadn't seen her in forever, Dad," I responded.
"I know we don't visit as often as we should," Dad sighed. "But that is no excuse to run around behind my back or your Aunt's. Taking advantage of the trust we put in you is not acceptable. Not in this world. Am I clear?"
"Yes sir," We all said.
"I don't think I have to say that I'm disappointed," Dad shook his head. "You all will have morning PT for a month. Dean, you'll be restricted from the impala except for necessary trips. In addition, all of you will hand over any laptops you have. Consider yourselves grounded."
"Dad, I'm twenty-one," Dean protested.
"You want to forfeit the keys for an indefinite amount of time?" Dad suggested. "I'm sure that Bobby can rustle up that mini van, or maybe he has a bicycle you can use."
No, sir," Dean sighed. "I understand your point."
"Good," Dad said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Charlotte and I need to come to an understanding."
Author's Note: Hey y'all. Long time no talk. I know I'm horrible. I don't know if people are reading this story. If they are would you drop me a review? Otherwise I'm thinking about abandoning this story, with random updates when the mood strikes. Or I move on the the direct sequel to Scream, Aim, Fire. That I have been working on for years now. I'm not many chapters in and I wanted to have a finished product. I may wait until I have a few more chapters as padding. But, if people could let me know if they care one way or another for this little universe of mine. I'd appreciate it.
I also know this chapter is not as long as it could be. But I'm really curious if people are still interested so I cut it a bit short. Apologies for that.
Thanks guys. And happy reading!