"Is it happening again?" Ellen pants, watching as I pop my neck. We've been throwing kicks and punches at each other for a while. Right before we started though, I told her about what happened with Dean and the voice. She looked slightly shocked but shook her head and told me if I didn't punch her right now she would've shot me. So I considered it then clenched my fists and kept my arm and wrist level as I hit Ellen in the gut. She and I quickly got into it then. She's checked up on me a few times though to make sure I'm not about to kill her from the voice or something. But, I haven't heard anything.
"No. I'm fine. Kind of. Dammit, you kick hard." I pant back while holding my throbbing stomach. She's taken me down four times, and I took her down this last time. It took a lot of my energy and focus to do so, but the rush of not failing was definitely worth it.
"Good. That's good. We- uh- we should head in-" She takes another deep before doubling over, trying to catch her breath. I wipe the sweat off of my face and walk slowly over to her before bending down, still trying to catch my breath.
"Jesus Christ. I feel like I'm sixty." I mutter and Ellen gives a short laugh before patting my back, a drop of sweat from her face falling onto the gravel.
"Yeah, well I feel like I'm ninety-six." She mutters and that's when we lose it. A laugh bursts out of me and I suddenly feel like I just want to laugh for the rest of my life because I'm not focusing on the bad right now. I'm focusing on my bouncing stomach and my short, loud breaths as I laugh about a small joke with a random woman I met with almost two complete strangers that I left the hospital with. But, it's bittersweet because I know the last time I did this was with my brother. Four years ago. This is such a foreign concept that I'm starting to wonder if my lack of air while laughing is regular. But, it cuts off as Sam and Dean walk out the door, heading towards the car.
"We got a hunt. You coming?" Dean asks and Ellen answers for me before I can.
"No. Jo and I will train her the rest of the way. Lot of potential with this one." She says and I shift uncomfortable at the compliment. Sam stares at me and opens the passenger door before speaking.
"Be careful. Jo has our numbers so call if you need anything. We'll be back shortly." Sam says, climbing into the van along with Dean. I smile at him and nod before Dean shares a look with Sam, sighing, and sparing us one last glance and reversing out of the parking lot, going to wherever their hunt is. We stare after the van for a few seconds until Ellen pats my back and we both limp into the roadhouse.
"Wait. So the first time you met Sam officially, you met a demon and you still went with them?" Jo asks as she puts down her lemonade. We just got back from gun training and I was telling them about how the boys and I met. I take a drink of the water bottle Ellen handed me earlier and nod.
"Why?" Ellen asks and I cast my eyes up to the ceiling for a few moments, thinking of a good enough answer.
"Why not?" I ask softly and she gives a breathy laugh, almost as if she is thinking my answer over, letting it sink in. Jo shakes her head and finishes off her drink before slapping her hand on the bar and pushing back the seat, standing up to wash her cup.
"That's a pretty good answer, I suppose." She mutters and I shrug, making sure I don't finish my soda as Jo is cleaning her cup so she won't feel complied to wash mine too. She finishes washing the dish and puts it on the towel next to her for it to dry.
"So what's up with your family? Where are they?" Ash suddenly asks from his laptop he brought out here a few minutes ago. I go tense and look down at my feet.
"Probably in Missouri still. That reminds me, could I call my uncle?" I say, forgetting to tell my uncle that I'm alright and to not send my cousins to find me. Ellen nods and hands me a flip phone as Ash suddenly quickly looks back to his laptop and taps faster on the keyboard. I dial the number I've saved in my brain for a while and waits for a few seconds before he answers.
"Hello, Jim's whorehouse. You got the dough, we got the ho." He picks up and I smile at his usual answer. It's always a different saying though. Once he even went 'Pizza hut. Buy the pizza or you get cut.'
"I have like three quarters. Will that get me the one who dresses like a bunny?" I ask and I hear a loud intake of breath before his surprised voice comes through the speaker again.
"Samantha?! You're awake?" He yells and I hear loud voice in the background asking about me. Damn, this has never happened before. The only family members that really talk to me are my uncle and his, kind of annoying, daughter.
"Yeah. Have been for like three days now, I think. But, listen. I'm not at the hospital, so don't come."
"What? Where are you?" He asks hurriedly then shushes whoever is in the room with him.
"I'm at a roadhouse somewhere. I'm with these two brothers I met at the hospital. I'm staying with them for a little bit. Don't worry, I've done background checks. The whole nine. They're clean." I lie.
"We can come pick you up righ-" He starts arguing but I quickly interrupt him.
"No. If I go back, I'll end up dead. I can't go back to that house." I say, thanking whatever shitty god is out there that my voice didn't crack.
"You'll stay here. We're all worried. We'll make sure you'll be okay." He argues again but I can tell he's giving in by the tone of his voice. The hardness is gone, now he sounds like he's more of pleading with me to come back.
"I'm safe here. I'll text you weekly, telling you I'm alright." I promise and there's a resigned sigh before he mutters to someone in the background.
"The second that a week passes by and there is no text, I'm coming to get you." He says and I agree, watching as Ash sends the others a look and disappears back into his cave.
"I'll talk to you later. I'm going to doze off, I've had a long day." I say telling the truth about the long day. I've learned about shooting guns, self-defense, and I even drove Ellen's truck down a back road for a few minutes, with Jo in the car of course. Jo and Ellen are quickly becoming the mother figure and sister figure that I've missed this whole time. Which means I'm getting attached, which means when they leave it's going to hurt. A lot. My uncle says his goodbyes and we hang up. I hand Ellen the phone back and nod at her as she sends me a look to make sure everything's alright. I go to get up and clean the dishes but instantly stop as my head bursts with pain. I groan and place my fingers on the top of my nose, wishing that this action would help.
"Are you okay?" Ellen asks as I groan again. I go to talk but then a firework bursts in my brain and I scream, falling out of the chair on to my, already bruised ribs, this is the worst one yet. I hear yells from the others in the room and even Ash coming out of his cave before it finally starts.
I feel gravel crunch underneath me and the disturbing smell of animal poop reaches my nostrils. I look down and Holy shit! When was I so tall?! I'm walking on a side road and as my head turns to the side, I see Dean is with me.
"I mean this "strong silent" thing of yours, its crap." I say, almost defensively. Apparently Dean and whoever's mind I'm in, Sam's?, are getting into an argument.
"Oh, god." Dean grumbles and my eyes roll, Sam's thoughts rolling through my head. Dammit, Dean! Talk.
"I'm over it. This isn't just anyone we're talking about, this is Dad. I know how you felt about the man." I argue back and I feel my subconscious submerge into a bucket of sadness and guilt.
"You know what, back off, all right? Just because I'm not caring and sharing like you want me to." Dean argues back and Sam's thoughts rush into my brain again. God damned, stubborn asshole. You decide to share with a young girl about our profession but you won't share one thought about dad with me?!
"No, no, no, that's not what this is about, Dean. I don't care how you deal with this. But you have to deal with it, man. Listen, I'm your brother, all right? I just want to make sure you're okay." I reply back and stumble as I almost trip over a rock on the side of the road.
That vision ends but I'm quickly pulled into a completely different one, this one more painful, so painful that I'm sure my voice will be hoarse by the screams ripping through my throat.
I feel the cement under my feet as I stand at the edge of a tent dressed as a clown, waving to a young girl. What the fu- My own body starts to wonder when the mind I'm in interrupts with his own thoughts.
Those god-damned hunters. Just what I needed. At least they're not smart enough to realize that I'm not actually blind. As the young girl smiles back at me and goes to tell her parents about me, I vanish.
"She just collapsed. She's screaming, okay hold on." I hear a slightly familiar voice say then someone lay a hand on my shoulder.
"She's stopped. I'm putting you on speaker." Ellen says and the next moment my shoulder is left cold and I hear the voice of Sam Winchester through the phone.
"Samantha?" He asks and I can tell I interrupted something, probably him and Dean walking on the side of the road, based on my vision thing.
"Why are you walking instead of driving?" I ask, not realizing that I actually spoke my thoughts aloud. It's silent for a few moments before Dean's voice fills the room.
"Did you just have an episode?" He asks and I gulp, holding my head in my hands from the pain of it still throbbing.
"Kind of. You're on a hunt, right? Like a killer clown?" I ask, remembering when Jo told me earlier about how she told the boys about that case while Ellen and I were having fun harming each other.
"Yeah. Why?" Dean asks, suspiciously.
"In the episode," I say, using Dean's word choices, "I saw through Sam's eyes and you guys were arguing then it transitioned into the clown guy. Dean, it's the blind guy apparently. He was thinking about how stupid you both were for not realizing he's not blind." I say hurriedly and I can practically feel the concern and curiousness from Jo and Ellen. I hear mumbling from the phone before they come back on the phone.
"Thanks, Samantha. You okay now?" Dean asks and I nod before remembering he can't see me, so I vocalize my nod.
"Alright. So we'll gank blindy and we'll be back tomorrow." Dean says and I smile before saying my goodbyes, still cradling my head.