A/N: Hello! Here is the next chapter! Just a warning, there is mild swearing late in the chapter, but nothing too drastic. I hope you enjoy!
I walk down the stairs slowly, dreading seeing what I am about to see, and as I round the corner, my fears are confirmed.
I see them, dead, torn apart by that monster: my beloved parents.
I scream, and it swings its ugly head and roars, a noise that sounds like nails on a chalkboard. It charges, and I try forcing my body to move, but I am rooted to the spot, and my legs refuse to respond to the "run" command I am sending them.
In two short bounds, the creature is on me, it tackles me to the ground, and I feel its claws sink into my sides. It looks me in the eyes and snarls, and I scowl back at it, pouring all of my anger into my face. It bares its teeth and buries its claws deeper into my sides as it bites down on my shoulder.
I scream in pain, the inhuman noise tearing itself from my throat, a sound full of more pain than I've ever felt.
I bolt awake, sitting up in my bed, gasping, covered in sweat. It was just a nightmare, only a fiction of my subconscious.
"You're alive, you're alive, you're safe, it was just a nightmare, you're safe…" I keep repeating this over and over to myself until I feel my heart rate subside to a relatively calm rate.
This has been a recurring nightmare since I woke up in the hospital after my parents died, and it never fails to scare the crap out of me. Sweat coats my body, my shirt is plastered to my body, and my hair is soaked in my sweat, sticking to the back of my neck.
I glance at the clock on the nightstand. 4:47. Great, I only got about 5 hours of sleep, and had a nightmare on top of it all, earning me no rest at all. And now I have no hope of falling back asleep. Lovely.
I decide to take a shower to clean the sweat off me. I would have taken one in a few hours anyway. The warm spray feels heavenly on my head, and I'm reluctant to get out, but my stomach insists otherwise, growling loudly, telling me to go eat some food. I turn off the spray of water, and get out, looking at myself in the mirror.
My golden hair is wet, plastered to my back, and my blue eyes shine back at me. My muscles stretch against my skin, and my tattoo stands out against my pale skin. An ugly, misshapen scar is raised against my left shoulder, and I turn away, not wanting to revisit those horrible memories.
I walk out of the bathroom and put on some clothes: a plain grey t-shirt, some loose-fitting jeans, and my flannel. I also put on my boots and lace them up. My stomach growls loudly again, reminding me to eat for the second time this morning. I grab my wallet from my bag, intending to walk across the street to the 24-hour diner I saw last night for some breakfast. When I was in high school, I used to wake up at 4:00 AM, so eating breakfast at five isn't that outrageous for me.
I leave my room, making sure to close and lock the door behind me, and walk across the street. The air is a little chilly, but I can't complain; the sun isn't even out yet, so I'm relying on the streetlamps to light my way. There are hardly any cars on the road, and I cross the street without incident. I end up in the parking lot of the small diner, and quickly walk inside the diner, making sure nobody followed me.
The smell of bacon and coffee assaults my nose, and my mouth begins to water. My stomach growls yet again, telling me to get some food. I sit down at the bar, and a friendly waitress walks up to me, and smiles.
"Hello there," she says. She has curly brown hair piled on top of her head, and dark brown eyes to match. She looks about late 30's, early 40's, and her nametag shows me that her name is Denise. "What can I get for you this morning?" She seems nice, and her accent sounds Texan, but it could just be from the Midwest in general.
I smile nicely at her. "I'd like a coffee, and some bacon and eggs please."
"Alright, I'll get that right up for you!" Denise spins on her heel, grabs a pot of coffee and a mug, and pours me a cup. She puts the coffee down in front of me along with some creamer, and I thank her. I pour some of the creamer in it, and take a small sip. The coffee is some of the best coffee I've tasted, but not the best.
As I sip on my coffee, I look around at the other patron in the diner. He's an old man, probably homeless judging by his clothes, and he's drinking some coffee. He doesn't seem like a threat, but I'll keep an eye on him all the same. There's nobody else, but it is five in the morning, and I'm not complaining.
As I'm waiting for my food, I hear the little bell by the door signaling someone coming inside. I turn to look, and am astonished by what I see: Sam and Dean. Great, the last thing I need right now is these two whackjobs following me. They glance my way and sit nearly right behind me. I decide to ignore them at least until I finish my breakfast or they talk to me, whichever comes first.
Denise walks up with my food, and sets down a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me.
"Thanks, that was fast," I say.
"Well there isn't much of a crowd this morning," Denise says, and refills my coffee. "Enjoy the food!" She's off, going to ask Sam and Dean what they want.
I dig into my food, intending to confront the Winchesters after I finish eating. This bacon is probably some of the best bacon I've had in a long time, and the eggs are comparable to the eggs I ate last year at summer camp, which were the best eggs I've ever had. I manage to finish the whole plate of food in about ten minutes. I wash the food down with the last of my coffee, and walk over to the register to pay. I pay for my food, making sure to give Denise a large tip, and walk over to the table where the Winchesters are sitting.
"Hey, guys," I say as I sit down, "So, following me now, are we?" I ask. They seem annoyed that I noticed them, but I don't care. Following people is definitely not okay with me.
"Ken, we didn't know you were here," Dean starts to say, but I'm not dumb.
"Bull," I say, glaring at him, "You both looked at me when you walked in, you didn't order any food, and you just coincidentally chose a seat right behind me in an empty diner." I cannot believe the nerve of these two.
The two brothers exchange glances, much as they did back at my house before telling me their hotel room.
"Yes, Ken, we did follow you, but it was for a good reason," Sam says, looking at me earnestly.
"Yeah, I know, because you don't trust me, I get it, I don't trust you either, but that's no reason to follow someone around, much less the person that needs your help." I'm angry, but more disappointed and saddened than anything. I thought these two were different than I first thought, but they aren't.
"We're sorry Ken, we didn't-" Sam starts to say, but I interrupt.
"Yeah, yeah, you didn't mean to break the little trust I had. Well, it's too late now. I don't need your help tonight; I'll kill the damn thing myself." I get out of my seat and storm out, fighting the tears threatening to fall from my eyes.
I practically run back to my hotel room, grab my stuff, and throw it in the backseat of my truck. I hurriedly check out of my room, ignoring the concerned looks the receptionist gives me. I walk back to my truck, still angry about the incident in the diner. I'm not mad at Sam and Dean, just disappointed, but I am mad about the fact that they followed me.
I climb into my truck and start the engine. I need to get some things from in town before I head to the mountains. I can only hope that the Winchesters don't follow me there too.
A/N: Did you like it? Did you hate it? Please tell me in the little review box below, it isn't hard. *Uses Castiel's puppy eyes this week* Happy reading!