"Your sister is dead. Sarah is dead." If her mother would have never repeated the statement for clarification, Katie would have thought that she had misheard. Her younger sister, the one she would have given up her life for, was dead. What would have taken anyone else at least a few minutes to process took her mere seconds. She was fully dressed in her singed shorts and wrinkled shirt; out of the room just a few minutes after she had hung up the phone.
Kim followed behind Katie all of the way out of the hospital. Determination ruled over concern in that moment for the human, she did not care what kind of consequences lied ahead for her. To leave a hospital without permission sounded like it would be troublesome and illegal. None of that mattered to her; all she cared about during that time was confirming that the only blood related family member she ever cared for was no longer breathing.
Katie barely said anything on the taxi ride to the hospital two towns away. The angel was the exact opposite; she asked all of the questions she could possibly ask about the situation at hand. After being bombarded with questions half way through the ride, Katie spoke. It was the only time she said anything during the trip, "I will answer all of your questions later. Please be patient." In a way, Katie was saying that to prolong her denial; she believed that if she did not have to explain it then it never happened.
The driver of the taxi pulled up to the curb of the hospital, and Katie immediately handed the man her payment. Kim was finding it hard to keep up with her companion. Katie moved so quickly despite just being healed by an amateur angel who was not even confident that her abilities fully healed the wound. If the wound had reopened Katie would not feel it, although it was unlikely that it would have.
Many nurses approached the two on their journey up to their destination. With each one that they got passed, the less they had to explain. By the time they were on the right floor, all Katie had to say was, "My sister is here," and the nurse let her pass. From the whole way down the hallway, the two could see a weeping woman in her early sixties sat in the chair across the room where Katie's sister was being held. The woman was Katie's mother, also probably the angriest person she had the displeasure of knowing. Her unhealthily large weight, artificially colored hair, and make-up that had absolutely no assistance to the mess of a face that she had was something Katie hoped she would never have to see again.
As the human and angel approached the room, the weeping mother brought up her head to see the daughter that she would much rather not call her own in that very moment alongside a person she had never met before. "Who is she?" It was probably the most inappropriate time to ask such a question, like it mattered either way if her mother ever found out who the angel was. Katie did not answer the question, nor did she plan to ever answer it. She was staring through the large glass window at a sight she never believed she would have to see, especially in such a horrifying state.
A bullet hole in the center of the forehead, that's how she died. The younger sister who was supposed to die long after her, the younger sister she took care of up until the moment she had to leave for college. The shock forced Katie to take a seat in the chair just a few away from her annoyed mother's. She shook her head slowly, the denial completely sinking in. Kim took a spot next to Katie, on the opposite side of the mother. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, placing a hand carefully on Katie's shoulder.
The contact lead Katie to look up at Kim, revealing the hazel colored eyes that were beginning to drown in a layer of tears. Not a single tear fell down her cheek, and the angel imagined that being more painful than letting the tears fall. Katie was attempting to be strong, as strong as anyone could possibly be after losing their only family they were ever proud of.
Presence of Kim's mentor was the sole reason the angel left Katie's side. It was for a short time, merely to just find out if the three men had figured out anything about what had happened. While Katie was sat alone, her mother took the chance to swoop in and slowly tear away every shred of dignity she had left. The first thing her mother did was shove a crumpled up piece of paper into her lap. Katie did not look up at her mother for even a second; she did not even question what the piece of paper was. She knew what lied within the words on the destroyed notebook sheet.
It was exactly what she thought it was. A note, it was what people left behind when they initiated their departure from life. None of what she was reading was processing, mostly because all of it was enraged scribbles about how the life that her sister lead lacked purpose. As Katie read down the paper, near the bottom of the page the sentences turned more and more into scribbles rather than words, and the more hateful they became towards her directly. "I hope you're happy with yourself," Her mother's grievous vocals scratched at her ears.
Katie looked directly at her mother for the first time since she had left for college so long ago, and it was with the most venomous glare she could ever give to someone. The piece of paper crumpled up in her hands and returned to the small ball that it had been before she had unraveled it. She was reminded of the very last things she ever said to her sister, the way she acted when she had left, and how she would give up anything to take all of that back. It was obvious that she was blaming herself entirely for her sisters' death, it had been written out for her in ink.
For a moment, the tears nearly rolled out of Katie's eyes and down her cheeks, but she was able to bring both of her hands up and wipe her eyes before they were able to do so. Just as she was wiping the tears away, her mother removed herself from her chair and began to scream, all of the rage being unleashed in the public hallway.
"You are so selfish!" Her mother cried, "You had to go and say such awful things to her before you left, didn't you? She had so much potential to get far in life, much farther than you will ever go, and now all of that is gone because you could not even call and apologize. You are such a selfish brat."
Listening to her mother blame her for anything bad that happened was not something new to her. Katie was used to it, after eighteen years of receiving blame it became something that she would take just as long as it would not be directed towards her sister. But her sister was gone, so why would she just sit there and take it anymore? Because she lacked the confidence she had only a few moments before. Katie sat in silence.
Security for the hospital came and asked for Katie's mother to leave, and when she had refused they forcefully escorted her out. Everyone in the hallway was grateful, even the people who were unaware of the situation. The tension that had risen from the screaming had sucked the air out of the hallway; suffocating most of the people nearby, including Sam and Dean.
The angel returned to Katie and stood diagonally from her, hesitating to say anything after witnessing such a terrible verbal beat down from a person who was supposed to be a role model in life. One of the nurses approached the two again, and then informed them that they must leave as well due to some of the patients complaining about the noises so early in the morning. Katie did not fuss because she wanted to get as far away from the hospital as possible. She did not want to see her sister like that any longer.
Both of them walked out of the hospital with the three men behind them by a few steps. Katie did not think to take the time and thank her rescuers when it was a perfectly good chance to do so. The two small groups parted ways once they were out of the building, and Kim called a taxi using the technique she had picked up from Katie just a few moments before.
Their destination was Katie's home, where Kim would stay as well. Kim had initiated the decision by asking if she could stay as close to the broken human as possible to make sure she would be alright. There was no refusal or agreement to the suggestion; therefore Kim believed it would be alright for her to stay. By the time they had arrived at the small home it had been twenty four hours since Katie had left to go to the bookstore. It was unbelievable how quickly her life had been turned upside down, and such a drastic change was exhausting. The first thing that Katie did when she arrived at the home was lie down on the sofa and fall into a deep sleep.
While Katie slept, Kim was sitting in the armchair across from the sofa. She watched the clock as each prolonged minute passed until the clock read six in the evening. Occasionally she moved her gaze around the room to admire the simplicity it. There were no extra miscellaneous items that would distract any visitor's eyes from the structure of the room. Various shades of grey painted the furniture and walls, a color that usually represented gloom and was a bore to the usual eye. Kim did not see it that way; she saw the limited pallet as a sign of security, intelligence, and modesty. This was mostly due to the fact that as she was growing in heaven, Cas told her that the color grey was one of the most admirable colors, even against the purest of whites. As she looked back on the memory, she began to realize that the reason he always reminded her of that was because her own wings were the same light grey she was admiring on the walls in the room.
Eight hours of resting was all Katie could get because she was abruptly awoken by a nightmare she could not remember having. Her breath was quickened, and beads of sweat ran down her forehead to indicate that the dream was horrifying. Kim stood up, moving without thinking. She immediately took a seat next to Katie and placed her index and middle finger against the middle of her forehead. The look on her face was blank, showing absolutely no emotion at all as she ceased the sense of fear from Katie's mind temporarily.
Quick breathes turned into one long exhale and then a gasp when the angel removed her hand from contact. Katie reached her hand up to her forehead, questioning how it was even possible to remove an entire emotion, especially one as strong as fear. "I will not do that again. Fear is a key emotion in humans, however for right now I need you to be as focused as possible on what I'm about to tell you."
Katie almost wished that Kim did not speak so formally, but she knew it was something that Kim would have to grow out of eventually. The angel's stomach released a prominent roar that could not be overlooked. Kim stared at her midsection questioningly; it was obvious that she had never felt that kind of hunger before. The human stood up and walked into the kitchen to grab two peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches. She gave one to Kim when she returned to the living room.
During the time the two were eating, Katie took much longer to chew her food. She was distracted by her thoughts, most of them wondering how such an untimely end could come to her younger sibling. Suicide was something she never imagined her sister doing, she was stronger than that. There were times where Katie grew worried that her emotional state was in dire need of surveillance, however it was never to the extent of suicide. None of it made sense, especially knowing that her sister was the kind of person who always felt the need to prove herself to the ones she admired. Taking her own life would be giving up, and that was one thing she would not do.
Half of the angel's sandwich was left sitting on the paper plate by the time she was ready to confront Katie about the issue that she had been keeping quiet about. Whilst Kim began to speak, the brunette continued eating quietly. "Your sister was killed, and she did not initiate it herself." Kim said flatly. The smaller girl was unaware of the kinds of effects that being so straightforward had on certain people. A choked cough came from Katie after she had tried to swallow while inhaling sharply. Once she was able to wash down the feeling in her throat with a bottle of water, she questioned why Kim would make that kind of assumption.
"It is not an assumption. It is the truth. I can prove it." Kim then went on to explain how the three men that had helped save Katie in the storage cells had arrived at the scene thanks to some ability that Sam had. This obviously sprouted many questions that Katie would hold onto until Kim was done explaining. "They found sulfur on your sister's window, and sulfur is a sign that demons have been in the area." Eyebrows scrunched at the reason why sulfur and demons would be at all related to one another, however no inquiries were verbalized.
The sulfur was the only evidence Kim had towards her story, and she was very adamant about it being the only thing she needed to prove her case. She even went to the extent of using a few examples of previous instances where sulfur was the only clue towards a demon. It was not that Katie did not believe that this was the handiwork of the demon, because after the events of the day before it seemed to be the only thing that made the least bit of sense. However, she did question why her sister was the one to be attacked.
A wrinkled sandwich wrapper was tossed in the general direction of the garbage can, making it into the bin with ease. There was a moment of quiet between the two, just to allow Katie to think things over for a short period of time. As the dead air consumed the room slowly, the brunette was left to her thoughts. To keep from digging too far into her mind, Katie stood from the sofa and into the kitchen.
Only a minute later, Katie returned with a small orange bottle. The label on the bottle looked faded; however the lid had never been removed from the looks of it. It was as if the medication had never been prescribed because after picking it up, Katie simply tossed it into one of her cupboards and forgot about it. Kim tilted her head as Katie fiddled with the lid, obviously contemplating whether or not she should even hold the object.
Three pills were taken, and Kim noticed that the recommended dose was only one every twelve hours. It was worrisome; however before Kim could point out the instructions Katie started to speak. "I'm going to kill this thing."
Kim does not respond immediately. For some reason there seemed to be something else on her mind, like she just remembered something very important. Her hands fidgeted slightly in her lap, and her shoulders tightened. Katie noted this odd body language. "It will be dangerous." Kim warned. Suddenly her anxious gestures seemingly made sense. "You are facing a very powerful creature; a half demon, which in some cases can be more powerful than a full one."
"I don't care." The stern tone in Katie's voice caused Kim to bite her tongue. It became eminent to the angel that no matter how many times she would warn her new companion, nothing would get through her determination. Katie stood up again, and just as she began to move, Kim questioned what she was doing. "I'm going to research. I'm not going to go in blindly swinging." Katie shrugged and sat at her computer, getting right to work. Again, Kim was impressed. All of the things that the two brothers did while hunting a demon were naturally coming to the seemingly average girl. The brunette could have simply asked her for the information required to take down the creature, although she decided to get straight to work alone. The more the angel watched over the other, she was realizing that Cas was right before at the hospital. This human was special, and the angel's needed her kind of special.
Katie picked up the remote to the flat screen television from her desk and pressed the power button. She wanted to keep Kim entertained while she did her research. The sound of small puppies whimpering and a narrator explaining their young lives was what the two listened to. By the time Katie was finished, the next show had started, this time revolving around small kittens. "I liked the puppies better." Kim openly stated.
The television was turned off while Katie stood from her chair and took her notebook to show the angel her findings. There was a drawing of a devil's trap on the first page, and then some notes on how cambions were conceived, but nothing on how to kill them. Katie explained that she was at a loss, and that there was no way to truly kill a demon as far as the internet would tell her.
Smaller than average hands flipped between the two pages and Kim nodded at the thorough work. "There is a way to kill a demon." Kim informed while she pulled her hand away from the notebook. "The Winchester's, the two men who saved you, they have a knife that can kill any demon." After the angel said that, Katie jumped from her seat and ran to grab her keys. After she confirmed that there was a way to destroy the thing that turned her life completely upside down, and just realizing that it was so close, her excitement bubbled over.
"What the hell?" Katie spoke rather than thought. Frantically, she began to search the living room and herself for the keys to her car. If there was one thing that she never misplaced, it was her car keys. So when they were not in their usual place next to the door where she knew she had left them the morning before, her anxiety picked up. She froze in place as a thought crossed her mind. Kim stood up and attempted to approach Katie carefully in hopes of calming her down, however Katie bolted for the garage outside of her house.
It was gone, the car was missing. Katie had been leaning into the garage with her hand on the doorframe, and when she saw that the beloved automobile was not occupying the structure, her palm slammed against the side of the garage. She shouted out a derogatory term without thinking, going on about how when she finds the person who took her car she would kill them in some very unpleasant ways. Kim felt a sense of familiarity with this scenario. That was the very first time Kim had seen Katie angry, and it was amazing how quickly the human was opening up her emotions to the angel.
Katie spun around on her heels, about ready to storm off of her property and head into town to look for her vehicle. The thing that stopped her was her injury, the plaster cast hit against the doorframe as she tried to walk. Her wrist bounced off of the inside of the cast and sent a shock up her arm. A small groan of pain was muffled by pursed lips. Kim immediately stepped closer to Katie and looked at the cast in wonder.
"I did not want to do this, but now that I see that this is causing you more harm than good, I think you should allow me to speed up the healing process." Kim suggested, and almost immediately after, Katie agreed. Katie forgot about the incident in the hospital when Kim tried to heal her, and the pain that was caused in order to reach the product, however she was in too much pain at the time to think about that.
The power that Kim demonstrated in that one moment was both amazing and scary. A simple poke to the plaster cast was enough to shatter it into small pieces. Then, when Kim took Katie's hand in both of hers, a loud pop of the bones moving back into place was heard. The pain was like nothing else the human had ever felt before. She muttered a few choice words to herself and walked around in a small circle while flailing her wrist slightly.
This silly dance occupied her for a few seconds, and the only reason Katie stopped was because she realized that no matter how much she moved her wrist, there was no more pain. It was like nothing happened to it. A grateful smile appeared on her face and she thanked Kim with a simple nod. Kim, despite not understanding many human gestures with multiple meanings such as a nod, seemed to grasp the purpose.
Rejuvenated and pain free, Katie turned back to the empty garage and narrowed her eyes. She would look at her options, listing them in her head and crossing out the ideas that would be least likely to succeed. The first thought that came to her mind was that she could call the police; however she did not like getting involved with them because one of her relatives was part of the department and he would eventually tell the rest of her family how she had lost her precious car. She could also gather a search party, but by the time she could get enough people that she trusted enough to assist her, the criminals would be long gone. The brunette came to the decision to just go looking on her own and headed towards the town's main shopping district.
A small breeze moved around Katie as she walked, and that was only because she was walking faster than she would normally. Kim followed quickly behind her, taking two strides for each single stride the human took. There was a brief thought about whether or not this smaller human vessel was the best choice, but she knew not to question the archangel's decisions.
In the parking lot of a local supermarket was where the two found a 1967 Chevy Impala, absorbing the sunlight with its glossy black paint job. Katie was certain that the car was hers. Even if she had thought about the night before, there was nothing that would convince her that anyone else in town had an exact duplicate of her car.
Katie's attention immediately went to the two brothers who were stepping out of the car just as the girls had gotten within sight of the automobile. Anxious and reckless, Katie approached the car and slipped her arm into the gap in the window that had been left to keep the inside aired out. She got the door unlocked and entered the vehicle without a second glance at the interior. There was absolutely no doubt that this was her car.
"Get in." She commanded the angel while she tore off a piece of rubber from the side of her shoe. This piece of rubber was used to twist two wires together and avoid being electrocuted. Hotwiring a car had become second nature to her after she had to do it just to get her car started when she first started using it.
"I do not think you should be doing that. Dean is going to be-." Kim warned, attempting to stop her blinded companion from going any further. The roar of the engine cut her off, and then again it purred with each time Katie touched the three wires. The car started, and a proud grin appeared on Katie's face. "Dean is going to be road kill in a few seconds. Get in."
Obediently, the angel got into the car. She continued her attempts to convince Katie that it was not her car that they were sitting in; however all of her attempts went into one ear and out of the other. As the brothers left the shop with plastic bags in hand, they noticed the revving engine and figures sitting in the vehicle. Dean dropped his bags and let the items roll out onto the road.
Katie pulled out of the parking place and sped up with every intention of at least bumping them with the car. She was more interested in scaring them with the thought that she would run them over rather than actually doing so. Sam dropped his bags and grabbed his brother's arm, tugging him and running in the opposite direction of the car. Dean hopped sideways while being tugged, but then joined his brother in running off.
The absence of a trademark vinyl sticker on the dashboard of the Impala was the one thing that kept Katie's foot from completely flooring on the gas pedal. The car gradually came to a calm stop, and the sudden change of heart from the driver caused the angel in the passenger's seat to stare curiously.
Before any questions were asked, the driver's seat door swung open and Katie was on the ground within seconds. Dean was furious and he had no trouble demonstrating that fact. The guilty brunette lying on her side slowly sat herself up. She waited to be lectured, head fallen in shame that she had so carelessly stolen a car.
Black vans with little white dots stepped in front of Katie, the back of the shoes facing her. Katie raised her head to see Kim protectively standing between her and Dean. Then, with a slight tilt of the head, she looked past the angel to see Sam pushing Dean back and scolding him until he calmed down. The older, angry brother looked over Sam's shoulder and noticed Katie peeking around Kim, and the simple sight of her set off the rage once more. "Is this how you repay everyone who saves your life, ya' friggin' bi-?" Dean was cut off when his brother shoved him aggressively, the agitated younger brother's brooding eyebrows scrunching over brown optics.
Kim turned around to assist Katie to her feet, but she had already gotten up and had been brushing herself off. The smaller female then directed her attention back to the brothers when she was sure that no harm had been done to Katie. "This was just a misunderstanding. She didn't-." Kim began to explain, however Katie touched Kim's arm to stop her from wasting her breath. "He's right to be angry," Katie said, "I would be too if someone tried to steal my car and then attempt to run me over with it."
Dean popped his shoulders to straighten his jacket that had been wrinkled when Sam had pushed him. "Let's go, Sammy." He demanded, turning to get into the car. Suddenly, Katie remembered that originally she was supposed to search for the brothers, and if she lost them at that moment then she was sure she would never see them again. Desperately, she stopped Sam. "I can fix the damages. There's a garage on that corner over there." She pointed to a faded red brick building with a large front window that read 'Jake's Garage'.
"Oh, hell no!" Dean interjected, which caused Sam to elbow him in the upper arm. Sam nodded at Katie, and then she gave him a quick nod back as thanks. Dean rolled his eyes, entering the car and slamming the door shut. He waited for Sam to get into the car before quickly driving to the shop, leaving Katie and Kim in the dust.
Both of them began walking to the shop at the same time. When they arrived, Sam and Dean had already entered and had looked for the owner. The two of them saw that he was underneath an identical '67 Chevy Impala. Katie maneuvered around the two large men, calling out to the owner and beginning to explain the situation about the cars. "Jake, you're not going to believe-." Katie's eyes widened when she spotted her car sitting in the garage space.
Jake rolled out from underneath the Impala and rubbed his greasy hands on a towel that was tied to one of his belt loops. He was a man in his mid-thirties with light brown hair that was normally slightly gelled to stick up and dark grey eyes that could be mistaken for an off blue color in the right lighting. His teeth were as white as white could get, and straight due to the correction that braces had done for him as a child. He stood at a tall five feet eleven inches and was going to greet his close companion, but she simply ran past him to look under the hood of the vehicle. When she was done scanning all of the newly refined parts, Jake was standing next to her. She lifted her fist up and punched him in the arm, but then gave him a quick hug. "Don't ever take my car without telling me." She threatened; it sounded more grateful than intimidating.
With everything piecing together, Dean came to a slow realization. Sam pursed his lips at his brother in a way that said, 'she just thought it was hers'. Before Dean could come up with some sort of expression to counter his, Kim pulled Sam aside to chat with him about the knife.
While Kim and Sam were conversing, Dean stepped closer to Jake and Katie and listened to their conversation. "Where's Emmett?" Katie asked, looking around the room as if he was hiding somewhere. Emmett was Jake's childhood friend and co-owner of Jake's Garage. He was also Katie's high school crush, something Katie never liked to admit even though everyone who came to the garage regularly could have seen it. "I'm a little hurt, I get greeted with a punch to the arm and Emmett gets the look of an anxious puppy waiting for him." Jake teased, which caused Katie to narrow her eyes at him. The repairman put his hands up in his defense, chuckling through his teeth. "I sent Emmett out to do a few errands. I need some new tools."
There was a short pause before Jake began talking again, not allowing Katie to think of any kind of response to his previous statement. "The hospital called and told me that you had broken your arm. I thought it would be nice to surprise you by tuning up your car a little." Jake explained. Katie pulled the rag from Jake's belt loop, finding a clean spot on it and wiping off his cheek that had gotten some oil rubbed on it while he was working. The repairman did not pull away, obviously showing that this was not the first time Katie had treated him like a child. "But now I see that you look fine." A slight suspicion was in Jake's voice, and Katie smiled softly. She played it off casually, she knew that Jake would have questions the moment she heard the hospital had called, but she stayed calm.
"Yeah, they thought it was broken because I complain a lot when I'm in pain, you know that." Katie joked, tying the rag back onto the belt loop she had gotten it from. Jake laughed, nodding his head and looking as if he was recalling such a moment. When he had returned from his reminiscing, he noticed Katie had turned to face the car and bowed her head the slightest bit so that she was not exactly looking at anything in the car, but she was not looking ahead either. He knew exactly what that meant.
"Something wrong?" Jake asked. Katie looked up at him and forced a weak smile. "My," Katie hesitated, turning back to the car and taking a deep breath. It was hard to say it, that her sister was gone. In all honesty, she was still in denial that it had happened. "Sarah died." She said, feeling more comfortable saying her sister's name rather than calling her 'my sister', it lost a little bit of intimacy that way.
The immediate sympathy that scrambled onto Jake's face gave Katie a push to strengthen her weak smile. Forcing the happiness was her way of saying that she did not enjoy receiving the pity. "I have to go fix this car." The brunette said, leaving Jake before he could say anything. Jake joined Sam and Kim, introducing himself to the two. Katie walked over to the car where Dean was standing. The tall man turned to look at Katie. "You know, for a bitch you have a pretty good taste in cars." He said, eyeing the identical Impala through the window.
Katie rolled her eyes with a quiet laugh. "And you have a great sense of humor, for a jerk." She emphasized the sarcasm in her statement, stepping towards the car and beginning to fix the wires with the tools she had grabbed from the inside of the shop. It did not take long to patch up the mess she had made, and when she stood outside of the car a few minutes later, she raised an eyebrow curiously when the hunter went out of his way to triple check whether she had done it right or not.
"I think I know my way around my own car." Katie said. Dean looked back at her, releasing a sigh when he came to the conclusion that she was right. He still felt the need to come up with some sort of retort. "You probably learned everything from the guy in there." Dean said, pointing through the window at Jake who was laughing at something Sam had said. Katie gave a questioning expression to Dean. "Jake, and yes I did. I'm sure you learned from someone else too. You don't look smart enough to figure out something like this on your own." Katie muttered the last sentence, although Dean still heard her.
Even if Dean could have thought of something to say to counter that insult, he could not disagree with her. He had learned from his father after all. He simply narrowed his eyes in her direction to keep a small shred of his dignity. Katie started to realize that she was being rude. "Sorry, that was mean." The front of her right foot rubbed the back of her left leg nervously. "I should be thanking you for saving me, so thanks. My name is Katie." Out of respects, she held out her hand in hopes that he would accept her handshake. Deep down, she knew that her apology was useless. It was pointless to apologize for being rude, because it would not take back the fact.
There was a definite hesitation on Dean's part of the handshake. For a few seconds he simply stared at the appendages that had been extended in his direction. Katie was worried that he would simply let her stand there like a fool. Dean remembered that Katie had gone through a lot in the past day, one of those things being that she lost her younger sibling. The hunter could not imagine anything worse than losing his younger brother, so he started to forgive the annoying female for the misunderstanding and the insults.
"Dean," He introduced himself curtly and took her head firmly, shaking it twice and then releasing. A big, relieved smile lifted the corners of Katie's lips. She was almost certain that Dean was adamant on not coming in contact with her after how she was acting, and to be honest she would not have blamed him. However, he did eventually shake her hand, and that was a start.
From the inside of the garage, Kim was watching Dean and Katie through the window. She could sense the happy aura coming off of Katie from the small distance, wondering what it was that the two were talking about. The angel observed Dean and realized that he was no longer bitter about earlier, in fact he looked like he had completely forgotten about it. That was strange, she was sure Dean would continue to be furious.
The two outside of the shop entered the garage once more. They parted without any sort of established farewell. Dean spoke with his brother for a moment before the two went outside. As Sam walked around Katie, he handed her a holster with a knife inside it. She looked down at the object handed to her and turned to look back at Sam just as he was stepping into the Impala. He nodded to her discretely, and then the Impala drove off.
A small piece of paper slipped through Katie's fingers and fell to the ground. She noticed it, picked it up, and then quickly scanned over it. A phone number was scribbled diagonally on a crinkled piece of scrap paper. Katie shoved the slip of paper into her pocket and quickly put the knife into her car glove compartment.
Just a few feet away, Katie could overhear Jake and Kim talking. The two had been conversing since the moment Sam and Dean had left. "So, I hope this isn't strange to ask, but how do you and Katie know each other exactly? I only ask because Katie has never mentioned you before." Jake asked. Katie felt her skin crawl, she knew that Kim would give a completely honest answer and that was exactly what Katie did not want. She did not want Jake involved in this situation at all, so she immediately cut into the conversation before Kim could even open her mouth to speak.
"She is one of my clients." Katie blurted out, which caused Kim to stare at her questioningly. Katie shot a stern look at the angel, which forced the confusion off of her face. "I was going to show her what I have drafted, but then I saw the car trouble that the guy that just left was having and thought I would help him out." Katie further explained. The way she was lying about every single thing that had happened was surprising to Kim.
Jake believed everything Katie said without any doubt. The fact that Katie was such a natural at lying was also a big shock to the angel. She would have never guessed after seeing such positive qualities. Katie was lead over to the car by Jake, who lifted up the hood and began to explain what he had done to the car while she was away. Once he was finished under the hood, he led her to the driver's seat and pointed to the stereo. "And this is the best part; I took out that fuzzy, sorry excuse for a radio and replaced it with something a little more modern. It took a while, but I got it." Jake said proudly.
It was obvious that Katie was giddy at this news, just the simple thought of being able to listen to music without the background noise of static bothering her was enough to bring whatever negative spirits she had up. She was so happy that she hugged Jake tightly, thanking him for being such a great friend. The mechanic chuckled and rubbed her back gingerly. Jake placed a fatherly kiss on the top of Katie's head before she pulled back, and this caused Katie to look up and make eye contact with him. She understood why he did it after looking at the expression on his face. He still felt sorry that she had lost her sister, so he was showing some affection in hopes it would cheer her up.
Katie gave Jake a reassuring smile, "Guess we should get going, gotta' look at those drafts." She said, turning her head in the general direction of Kim. The angel nodded, entering the back seat of the car. Jake stepped away from the vehicle, allowing Katie to drive out. A simple wave was shared between the three of them, and the Impala was out of the mechanic's sights within a few seconds. The brunette had her music playing loudly for the beginning of the ride.
The main reason why Katie had turned down her music was because she wanted to ask Kim why she was sitting in the back rather than in the passenger's seat. This conversation would have been brought to a quick end when Kim had said that she prefers sitting in the back seat because it is where she had to sit when she was in Dean's car, but Katie insisted on staying on the topic. "You know, you can sit up front if you want. I'm not going to force you to sit back there." Katie said, eyeing the rearview mirror to look at Kim every few moments. Kim shook her head, "I want to sit here."
Acoustic guitar strums could faintly be heard from the stereo, which prompted Katie to turn up the music again. It was the fact that an acoustic guitar did not need anything else to sound complete that made her prefer the instrument over all others. "She sits up high, surrounded by the sun. One million branches and she loves everyone." Kim could hear Katie singing along to the music quietly to herself, which she had to confirm by leaning slightly forward and seeing that her lips were moving along with the words. Her singing was barely audible which gave the angel a sense that she was not comfortable or confident enough to be heard just yet.
Tires rolled to a stop. The car pulled over onto the side of the street, and Katie removed her hands from the wheel to turn off the music and turn her head around. "I just realized that I have no idea where this guy is." She blurted out. It was comical, in a way. They were that far, however the crucial detail of their target's location was missing. Kim chuckled at Katie's sudden realization, having expected her to somehow pinpoint the half demon's location without any assistance at all due to the brunette's innate capability.
"I am able to give you a general location; I am not able to pinpoint an exact spot." Kim explained which caused Katie to just stare with no real reaction to the statement. There was a long pause between the two until Katie nodded her head slowly and waved her hand to gesture for the smaller female to go on.
Eyelids fell shut as the angel focused. It took a few moments, but she got it. Two street names were called out, and because Katie knew the town well she groaned quietly at the information. The streets were five blocks away, and each block was two or three buildings away from one another. Down each road there had to be at least fifteen more buildings on each side. The brunette did quick math in her head, estimating there to be a little over one hundred and fifty buildings to check. There was no way she would be able to find him.
"If you drive past it, I will be able to tell you how close you are." Kim said, which made things a lot easier on Katie. She started the car to drive up and down the blocks mentioned. A little over halfway through the blocks, Kim told Katie to stop. "To your left." The angel said, looking at a small, new American styled home made out of dark blue bricks and white siding.
It was finally setting in that Katie would be killing something, but that did not stop her from reaching into the glove compartment and pulling out the knife. "Alright, let's-." Katie turned to look at the back seat and found that it was empty. Kim had vanished, leaving her to do the job alone. The knife was strapped to Katie's side as she left the car by herself. She walked around to the back of the house to scout the windows and see just where the cambion was located. The home was only one floor, so when Katie saw that the man was not inside, she thought it was the perfect time to break in. The backyard was surrounded by shrubbery and fence, so when she used the knife to wiggle one of the windows open, none of the neighbors had seen anything.
Average was the one word that could be used to describe the inside of the home, but Katie had not entered to critique the demon's decorating style. There was a can of red spray paint sitting on top of a piece of notebook paper in the middle of the hardwood floor near the door. Katie suspected that it was Kim who had supplied these things, which also made her question why the angel had gotten cold feet and left so abruptly. Her drawing of a devil's trap was located on the piece of paper, and so Katie used that reference to spray paint the symbols onto the floor.
Once she was done, she waited. All she could do was wait. Any moment, her target was going to walk in through the door and be stuck inside the trap. Katie was very well aware that she only had a few seconds after he was trapped for her to make a move, so whatever questions she wanted to ask would have to stay unanswered. She would not jeopardize her life just to get answers that she would not want to hear either way.
Anxiously she leaned against the nearest wall. The sun set and darkness engulfed the house. The clock struck midnight, and Katie was starting to believe that the half demon had already fled. But just as she had stood to leave through the back door, she heard the clicking of the front door being unlocked.