Previously:
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Who the hell is it at this hour?
The knock had awoken Cas and when Dean slid to get out of bed, Cas mumbled his disapproval.
"Where you going?" Cas whined like a child.
"Someone's at the door."
He grabbed his gun on the nightstand, walking into the main room to open the door. Sam was sitting upright, giving him a confused look. He just shrugged and went to open the door. Looking through the peep-hole, he gasped the sight.
"Jesus fucking christ!" he threw the door open.
Leaning against the door frame, was a girl, no older than 14. Her face was caked in blood and bruises. There were cuts and marks everywhere. Swaying on her feet lightly, she managed to get out, "Please. I need help-" before collapsing into his arms.
Dean's POV
Sam jumped up, rushing to help Dean with the unconscious girl. Cas was fully awake now, coming out of the secluded bedroom. His eyes widened at the sight of the bloodied girl.
Dean dragged her to the bed, and gently lifted her up to set her body on top of the bed.
"Cas, go out to the Impala and grab bandages and rags!" Dean commanded.
There was no way he was letting the girl die. He lifted her shirt up, feeling the ribs for any cracks. Thankfully finding none, he pulled it the rest of the way over her head, revealing the long, deep cuts along her abdomen.
Doing a quick once-over, he found no bones that were broken. Cas scurried back with the needed materials. He threw the rags at Sam and told him to get them damp. They didn't carry disinfectant or ointment with them, so the wounds needed to be completely cleaned before he bandaged them.
Sam brought over two wet rags. The two got to work dabbing the blood away from her face. Cas paced nervously, not sure what he could do to help, it wasn't like he had dealt with this before.
It didn't take long to remove the blood from the girl's face. As Sam started on the cuts, he took a moment to survey the damage. The poor girl had cuts everywhere except her legs. Some were so deep, that even with stitches, they would take a month or more to heal.
Cas came over with the bandages and began covering the slits on her face. None of the cuts there were deep enough to need stitches. If she was lucky, only light scars would remain once completely healed.
He had to say, she was beautiful. She had a defined six-pack and biceps, seemingly from countless hours of working out. Her ripped blue jeans fit snugly around her waist and slim legs. She had been wearing a blue band shirt and a thin, Green Bay Packers sweatshirt before Dean had peeled the layers off. If she had walked, the December wind had probably chilled her to the bones. He picked up thread and a needle, starting to stitch up the gashes on her arms after Sam had cleaned them.
The three worked effortlessly together. No one had to say a word, they just worked.
It took another hour before the mysterious girl was bandaged and clean. Sam had taken off her shoes and tucked her into the bed. Later, they would need to ditch the bloodied bedspread and sheets for clean ones. The girl was unconscious for the rest of the night. When morning rolled around, Dean was worried she would never wake up.
But she did. The girl awoke with a harsh cough, bolting upright in the bed. Her eyes flew around the room wildly as she backed up against the headboard. She grimaced while she moved, but apparently that didn't stop her from bringing her knees up to her chest. She threw the blankets off of her and inspected the rest of herself. Seemingly satisfied with the results, she meet each of the men's gazes in turn.
When she finally spoke, her voice was hoarse and barely audible, "Sam and Dean Winchester?"
Sam and Dean both nodded, but of course Cas did not.
"Who are you?" Sam asked gently.
The moose always did have a way with kids.
"My...my name is Paige. Paige Hudson. My dad told me to find you if I ever needed anything and he wasn't around," she pulled out the business card that Dean had given to Bucky, "He told me where to find you while you were still in town."
"What happened?" Dean asked, he was genuinely concerned now.
"After you left, that's when he came and talked to me. Told me you were good people I could trust with anything…"
Paige's POV
A knock at the bedroom door startled her out of her daze. She had watched the two men with the fancy car come and go. Her dad seemed to be comfortable around them, so she had no worries. Turning off the music, she rushed to open the door. Slowly opening it, she found her dad.
"Can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked.
"Yeah, sure," she pushed the door the rest of the way open, going to sit on her bed.
He stayed standing, nervously shifting from foot to foot.
"I have a gift I would like to give you…" her dad pulled a key out of his pocket.
It was attacked to a chain, meant to be worn as a necklace.
"I gave it to your mother, when we got married. I'd like you to have it now. Although, I must warn you. If anyone one comes looking for it, you mustn't let them get it. Do whatever it takes to keep this key safe. Understand?" Paige nodded her understanding, "Good."
He handed her the necklace. Carefully, she inspected it. She found a bunch of numbers inscribed into the top, along with an unknown symbol. It had six points and looked really cool.
She smiled, slipping the chain around her neck, "Thanks dad!"
He returned her smile, "Alright now, I must be getting to work. If you need anything while I'm gone, call this number. The two guys who were just here are good people. Their staying at the Trails End Motel, room number 15 in case of emergency. They'll be there until tomorrow morning."
"Um. Okay dad," she was immensely confused as to why she would need their help.
Before she could ask, her dad left, leaving get to turn her music back on. She preferred the newer country, but classic rock and metallica were fine too.
She watched her dad pull out of the driveway. Opening the shades widder, she turned the music up more, drowning out all other distractions. She started to sing, lost in the world of music and lyrics.
Maybe that was why she didn't see the black SUV pull into the driveway, followed by her dad's truck.
She definitely noticed when she turned to the window, looking out to view the garden. Instead, she noticed the two vehicles. When three men got out of the black SUV, she noticed their guns and knives tucked into their belts. She continued to watch as her dad got out of his truck, one of the men held him at gunpoint as he shut the door.
Realizing that this is what her dad meant when he said to protect the key, she took it off of her neck. She slipped a tennis shoe on and put the key in the bottom of the other one before putting that one on too. It was quite uncomfortable, but would do the trick. Hopefully.
She tried to make a break for the back door, but was a second to late. The three men and her father were already in the house. The tallest one grabbed her wrist, janking her away from the door. There went her one and only plan. She looked to her father with sad eyes. He just mouthed, 'I'm sorry'. A silent tear fell from her eye.
The gunshot resonated through the entire house. Her dad's lifeless body crumpled to the ground in a heap.
She knew this was coming, "No!" but that didn't stop the tears and screams.
She punched and kicked at anything she could make contact with, but it didn't seem to have an effect.
The man dragged her dead dad out the back door. It took the other two men to drag her downstairs. There, they found a chair and some old rope to tie her up with. She was forced to sit in the chair and one of the two men tied her hands behind the chair and her feet together.
"There are two ways that this can go. One, you can tell us where the key is and we'll kill you quickly. Or two, we'll beat it out of you and you'll die slowly and painfully," after the man finished she could've swore that their eyes flashed black.
"You fucking killed my dad! Die in hell!" she shot back.
"Just remember, we gave you the choice," the other one said.
The first one opened up a folded towel, revealing the nastiest looking knives. He skimmed his fingers offer a couple. Deciding on a short, pointy knife, he came over to her.
He skimmed the knife up her arm, continuing until he reached her left cheek. The tip dug into her flesh, leaving a line of red. She flinched a little but didn't let a single noise escape her lips. She wouldn't allow them that pleasure.
He created four more cuts on her face, varying the depth. The one he cut on her forehead was so deep, she couldn't help the small whimper than escaped.
"Anything you'd like to tell us now?"
"No," she said firmly.
The man with the knife cut deep into her arm. She cried out, screaming from the searing pain. He didn't even give her a chance to rest her hoarse throat, he just moved to the other arm and cut another line. He only stopped after both her arms were covered in cuts and blood.
"Stop! I'll…I'll…" she screamed at them.
He stopped and they both stared intently. And then she remember her father's dying wish. She couldn't, she wouldn't tell them it was in her shoe. So, she remained silent. The two men must've caught on, because they both lost their temper. They came barreling towards her, fists clenched. Punch after punch was thrown. Some were aimed towards her face, others at her stomach. At one point, she nearly lost consciousness, but forced herself to stay awake.
Suddenly something dawned on her. She let her head go limp and tried to slow her ragged breathing. It seemed to have worked, the men stopped punching and she faintly heard their heavy footsteps thunder upstairs.
Opening an eyelid, she scanned the basement. Apparently, they believed that she was out cold and wouldn't try anything. Man, were they wrong. She worked the noose around her wrists until it slid to the ground. She used her stiff wrists to undo her bound legs. Standing and stretching for a moment, she groaned in pain. The walk to town was going to be hell.
Silently, she unlocked the basement door and slipped outside undetected. Making a break for the woods, she realized just how tired she was.
But she knew that the only way to survive would be to make it to Sam and Dean Winchester's motel. Somehow she knew that they could help.
Being as quiet as the fallen leaves that crunched underneath her foot would let her, she made her way through the dense forest. She had to watch her footing carefully, for there were fallen branches and trees everywhere. The valley came into view before her. The long valley was barren of trees, but instead was covered in tall grass that was knee-high. She followed the old four-wheeler path to the left until she came to where it looped back around on the other side.
She double checked to make sure she knew where she would come to the road. If her calculations were correct, she would be plenty far enough away from her house. Remembering the key, she took it out of her shoe and pocketed it. Making her way through the foliage, it took her a good fifteen minutes in the condition she was in to make it to the road. Deciding against the idea of walking alongside the road, she walked just inside the woods. She figured that she had a good hour before her captors found out she had escaped.
Sudden panic took over and she started to sprint. No way in hell she way allowing her dad's killers to capture her again. Pushing the horrible pain aside, she continued to run. She realized just how long of a run she would have to make until she got into town. Lucky for her, the sun was just beginning to set and the darkness would provide good cover.
If anyone stopped and asked about all the blood she would just make a break for the woods and lose them. Of course she had remember to put her watch on this morning, so she had something to keep track of the time.
It was well past dark when she first saw the town's lights. She had slowed to a walk awhile back. Her body was aching and numb from the cold. The only warmth she had was a lightweight Green Bay Packers sweatshirt, and that didn't help much. It was close to midnight now, and her body desperately needed rest. But, she kept pushing. No way she was giving up now.
She made it to the motel. Scanning the room numbers she found the one she was looking for. Stumbling up to the door, it took all of her strength to knock three times. It was a good thirty seconds before the door swung open.
"Please. I need help-" was all she could say before falling into a sea of black.
Dean's POV
Paige managed to get out her entire story before breaking down into sobs. Not one of them knew how to comfort her. Dean himself was filled with rage. When she had mentioned the part about thinking she saw their eyes turn back, all he could think about was ganking those demon sons of bitches.
He watched as Paige pulled something out of her pocket, rubbing it between her fingers. It looked almost like a key…
"Hey. What is that you've got there?" he asked.
"A key my dad gave to me after you guys had left the house. He told me to protect it at all costs," she held out her palm, offering the key to Dean.
It seemed as of she only trusted him, although he wasn't exactly sure why.
There were eight numbers inscribed into the key and a weird symbol that he didn't recognise at all. He handed it to Sam, who scrutinized every inch of it.
"Well, then. Do you have any family you can stay with?" Dean asked softly.
Paige shook her head sadly, "I don't have anybody anymore. My mom and dad were both only children and my grandparents died a long time ago."
Dean frowned, what were they supposed to do with her? The poor girl had been traumatized for life and they couldn't just drop her somewhere, now could they?
One step at a time, "Alright. Why don't we go over and check on your house and get your things, okay?"
"Okay…" Paige sniffled and threw the blankets off.
When she stood, he saw her visibly grimace. But when Cas stood to help her, she gently pushed him away.
It was then that he realized just how strong this girl was.
She had survived demon torture and walked the twenty miles from her house to their motel room. And, she didn't want help.
Well, hell. I've think we've just found a fighter. Dean thought to himself as he grabbed his jacket and the Impala's keys.
AN: Things are starting to pick up again! Yay! Anywho…please leave a review. Hope y'all liked this chapter and the 'road so far' ;)
Carry On,
TeamFreeWill2.0