Author's Note: Woweeh! It's been a long while, hasn't it? My apologies. I always kind of lose my way when life gets busy, and writing takes a backseat when it happens. But! To those that are still around, here's the next chapter! I hope to get another one up before the week ends. Cheers!
The rumble of the Impala was a comfort to Arielle as they raced down the highway. Bobby had received a call from Rufus an hour after Castiel's visit, with the only discernable message being River Pass, Colorado. Arielle rode in the front with Dean as Sam took a rest in the back seat. The blonde craned her neck and saw him sleeping, his brow furrowed.
"Even when he's sleeping he has that sad puppy look," she sighed, reaching over and carefully smoothing out the skin over his eyes. "I didn't think it was possible to always have that look." Dean drove on in silence and the girl sighed once again. "How much longer?"
"Not too much," he replied, his eyes flicking from the road to her. "Why don't you rest?" She shook her head. "I'm sorry you were dragged into all this."
Arielle rolled her eyes. "Please. I make my own choices," she stated, going through a couple of cassettes before picking one and popping it in. "You need to stop pretending you can make all of our choices and hold all accountability for them." She noticed the way his jaw clenched and knew she'd hit a point. "Besides, who else would keep you two jackasses out of trouble?" The twitch on his lip set her easy.
"Here," he said and she reached towards the back seat again, shaking Sam's arm. The trio step out, their eyes set on the lack of bridge where there should be one. "This is the only road in or out."
Sam pulled out his cell phone, looking at it before running a hand through his hair. "No signal," he added before putting it away.
Dean exhales. "Rufus was right," he said, kicking a rock over the edge. "Demons got this place locked down."
"Who's up for a hike?" Arielle grinned, heading back to the car.
"And the hits just keep on coming," Dean said with a shake of the head. He popped open the trunk and the siblings loaded up.
It was a lot easier than any of them expected. Entering the city, Arielle felt the hairs of her neck stand. The backpack soaked up the sweat rolling down her spine and she held her gun pointed to the ground, though her finger was on the trigger. The streets were empty, along with the stores and homes. They noticed an overturned blue sedan and a sporting goods store. Arielle watched as Dean ducked while walking and Sam took a wider berth, both heading towards the car. The woman watched the surrounding area, every sense alert to sounds and smells.
When both brothers stood, they continued on. The tension in the air was more than palpable as they continued their trek. Another car was in the middle of the straight. It sat, idling, music playing out from the open driver's door. This time Arielle accompanied Sam and when they found it empty as well, Sam turned off the car.
The walk was beginning to grind on the blonde's nerves, until she spotted a classic cherry Mustang. She watched Sam dismiss it when it showed to be empty and she heard the whistle Dean gave after admiring it. Arielle, on the other hand, stood before it. "Guys," she muttered, making the two stop. "Isn't it a bit weird?"
"I know you're a little young," Dean started, a smirk on his face. "But with the car you have, I would imagine you know it's a classic." The blonde shot him a look. "Or I'm completely off."
"Everything else is destroyed or in some awkward state of use… except this," she said, maintaining a low voice. "Not weird at all to either of you?"
"Maybe this one didn't get caught in their car," Sam said with a shrug before turning away and continue. Dean followed, and after a couple of moments, so did Arielle.
Her gut told her differently, though, and she kept that red beauty in mind while perking up her senses a notch higher. They reached a gas station where someone's blood pooled next to a four-door vehicle. There was a baby stroller next to the door and it was also drenched in blood.
Arielle was the first to turn at the sound of a gun cocking, weapon pointed at a woman behind them. "Ellen?" Sam asked, the surprise in his voice evident. The blonde kept her gun up, though, as did the woman.
"Hello, boys," the middle-aged woman replied. "Who's the blonde?"
"She's one of ours," Dean said, placing a hand on Arielle's shoulder. "Put it away."
"Not in a town full of demons, no," Arielle replied, aim level to the woman's head. "Give her holy water."
"For god's sake, Elle," Dean practically shouted. "I know Ellen!"
"This isn't a game. Give her the water," Arielle stated, jaw clenched. She noticed the woman's lips twitch into a grin. "What are you smiling about?"
When Arielle saw that neither of her brothers would move, she gave an exasperated sigh. "Dean, give me the flask," Ellen called out. The eldest Winchester could have fit a whole pie in his mouth from how wide it opened. "And you can take mine to test yourselves. She's right. Ain't gonna trust any of you until you do it. Was planning on just splashing you myself, but…"
With a huff, Dean tossed her the flask. The woman caught it effortlessly, never once removing her aim from Arielle. Sam caught Ellen's flask and dumped some on his head before splashing some on Dean's face. The brother spluttered before taking it, and before he could pour any on Arielle's head, the blonde took it and poured it on her neck and chest, not wanting to get it in her eyes. She watched Ellen do the same and when no one screamed, the women put down their guns.
"You boys should keep this one around," Ellen stated, exchanging flasks with Arielle. "She's obviously the smartest one of the lot."
"Ellen, what the heck's going on here?" Dean asked while Arielle wiped off as much of the water as she could. The woman gave no answer as she walked between the trio, heading towards the church. They looked at each other before following.
The entrance of the church had a devil's trapped drawn just inside the doorway and a line of salt poured across the threshold. The group crossed it with no problem whatsoever. When they were all inside, Ellen turned back around to face them. "Real glad to see you boys," she said, a smile blooming on her features. She grabbed the closest one, Dean and hugged him tight. When she pulled back, though, a resounding slap echoed off the walls. "The can of whoopass I ought to open on you."
"Ow!" Dean cried, pulling away further and rubbing his cheek.
"You can't pick up a phone?" Ellen continued, ignoring Dean's cry. "What are you, allergic to giving me peace of mind? I got to find out that you're alive from Rufus?"
"Sorry, Ellen," Dean muttered, and it took all of Arielle's willpower not to laugh at his tone.
"Yeah, you better be. You better put me on speed dial, kid," she spat, poking a finger at his chest.
"Yes ma'am." They four of them paused, Ellen burning holes into Dean and Sam before turning and leading them inside.
Arielle placed her hand over her mouth as the brothers exchanged a look and an escaped snort earned her a glare from Dean before they followed Ellen. "What's happening here?" Arielle asked after clearing her throat.
Ellen stopped, startled at the voice. "Oh. And who are you, sweetie? I can't imagine anyone wanting to hang out with these two for fun," she asked, turning around to face her. Arielle could see the calculating way she studied her. "You a hunter, too?"
"Seems to run in the family, yes," Arielle said, attempting to smile. "Arielle Milligan-Winchester. That's me." She saw the way the woman's eyes widened. "Uh, I'm John Winchester's, um, other kid." Her eyes darted to Dean and Sam. They both nodded. "Hello."
"Well that…" she started, pausing then clearing her throat. "Explains a lot. Welcome to the business, then. What's happening right now is more than I can handle alone, so I'm glad you came with these two."
Sam tapped his foot, shuffling his weight. "How many demons are there?"
Ellen turned away and continued their walk into the church. "Pretty much the whole town, minus the dead people and these guys," Ellen said as they walked down another hallway. "So this is it, right? End times?" The siblings all exchanged a look before they arrived at a door. Ellen turned to them, her eyes full of something deeper than sadness. "It's got to be."
"Seems like it," Arielle responded and Ellen rose her fist, knocking on the door.
The muffled sound of shuffling came before a peephole on the far side of the door opened. A few seconds later, the door itself was opened. The four of them entered and the one who allowed them in, closed the door. He stood next to a bookshelf, a rifle held before his chest. "This is Sam, Dean and Arielle," Ellen introduced the group. "They're hunters. Here to help."
The young blonde did a quick head count. With themselves included, there were thirteen. She found it to be a little too much like a bad omen and a shiver crawled down her spine. "You guys hip to this whole demon thing?" the door guard asked.
"Yeah. Are you?" responded Dean.
"My wife's eyes turned black. She came at me with a brick. Kind of makes you embrace the paranormal," another guy said, raising his left hand to his line of sight.
Arielle watched the man as Dean turned back to Ellen. "All right, catch us up."
"I doubt I know much more than you," Ellen said to Dean, heading towards the middle of the room. "Rufus called. Said he was in town investigating omens. All of a sudden, the whole town was possessed. Me and Jo were nearby – "
Dean interrupted, unable to contain his surprise. "You're hunting with Jo?"
The middle-aged woman gave him a forced smile. "Yeah, for a while now. We got here, and the place – well, the place was like you see it. Couldn't find Rufus, then me and Jo got separated. I was out looking when I found you."
"Don't worry, we'll find her," the oldest Winchester said. Arielle circled the room as her brothers tried creating a plan with Ellen. She watched a particular woman with a protruding belly from the corner of her eye. The woman rubbed her hand restlessly over the baby bump as her eyes studied the three new intruders, particularly Arielle.
The Winchester sister made eye contact and tried to give her a reassuring smile as she knelt before her. "How many months along are you?" Arielle asked softly, attempting to distract her from the gun talk the hunters were having.
The pregnant woman blinked and held her belly tightly now, shrinking from the blonde. "Seven months," she managed to stammer. Arielle back away just a bit, allowing her to breathe easy. "Are you here to help? My husband," she choked up at the word. "He, he's still out there. He was fighting someone, when I lost sight of him. When Ellen pulled me away." Arielle hesitated before placing a hand on her knee. "Please, help us find him."
"Of course," Arielle nodded, retracting her hand. "We'll keep an eye out for him."
"Elle," Dean called out. The blonde stood, shooting the pregnant woman a warm smile before following her brothers out the door. When Dean noticed Sam with them, he raised a hand. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa. Hold on." The trio stopped at the foot of the stairs, questioning looks on the younger Winchesters. "Why don't I just go with Elle?"
"What?" the two chorused.
"Well, yeah," Dean tried to reason. "Somebody's got to stay here and start giving them Shotgun 101. You're more experienced than Arielle."
The blonde felt a stone in the pit of her stomach. "Elle has even better experience than I do," Sam retorted, stepping towards the stairs again. Dean reached out and held back before he could grip his arm.
"I just think it'll go a lot faster if you stay and help. Two is company. Three's a crowd, you know?" Dean said as he motioned to Arielle.
"We need guns and salt and to look for Jo and Rufus. Not going as a crowd is stupid," Sam stated, annoyance peeking through now. In her head, Arielle had already connected this conversation to one had a few nights ago.
Dean rolled his eyes. "We can handle it."
It finally clicked in Sam's head too. "You don't want me going out there," Sam said flatly.
"He didn't say that," Arielle said, but Sam ignored her.
"Around demons," Sam continued.
Dean shook his head. "I didn't say that," he echoed Arielle.
Sam gave him a tight smile. "Fine. Then let's go," he said, bounding up the stairs without waiting for a reply. Dean looked at Arielle, who only gave him a pointed look before following Sam upstairs. Out in the street, the trio remained low, backs to each other until they reached the stores. "We'll get the salt. You get the guns," Sam said as he handed Arielle Ruby's knife.
Dean shook his head. "We'll all go together."
"Dean," Arielle interrupted. "It's right there."
"Can we at least do this like professionals?" Sam spat and turned away. Arielle hesitated slightly and before she could turn, Dean grabbed her upper arm.
His eyes were bright but hard. "Watch him." She gave her brother a nod and quickly caught up with Sam as he stepped into the shop. The two got to work, gathering cans of rock salt. Arielle turned, her eye caught by a sign. She quickly walked into the aisle, stuffing her backpack with vitamins, first aid kits and anything she thought would be useful. Before she stood, the door chimes went off. Instinct guided her hand to Ruby's knife and she gripped the handle tightly as she peeked through a crack in the aisle.
Two demons came in, one headed towards the water bottles while the one holding a bat studied candies on the counter. Arielle noticed Sam reaching for the shotgun left sitting atop a row of Campbell's cans. The movement drew the attention of the demon collecting water and the man rushed Sam. Arielle looked for the other demon and found him ready to strike Sam. Jumping on his back, she slit his throat just as Sam knocked the man on the head with a can of rock salt. "Sam!" Arielle called out, throwing the knife.
Her brother caught it and turned, stabbing the demon. The man crumpled and Arielle frowned when she saw the lack of fire-like light from the dying man. She leaned down to study the one she killed, rolling the body over to examine it. She looked up to ask her brother about the missing demon effects when she saw Sammy staring at the blood dripping from the knife then at the blood gathered on his fingers. Arielle watched and opened her mouth after a few seconds, but before she could speak, the door chimed again and her brother ducked, catching sight of her. A look of shame and despair reflected in his eyes and Arielle gave a light shake of the head, pointing at the door.
"Sammy? Elle?" Dean called out. The two gave out a sigh of relief before standing and facing their older brother. The trio quickly found their way back to Ellen's hideout and were greeted by relieved looks. "Right. Let's start class," Dean said, pulling out weapons from his pack.
The hunters and Arielle spread about the room, each coaching a couple of people and helping assemble rock salt shells. The blonde smiled, patiently watching the pregnant woman try and load the shotgun. Sam stopped soon, taking a seat and watching his hands. Arielle noticed Dean taking a step away from the guy he was talking to and approaching his brother. The youngest Winchester attempted to keep her focus on the pregnant woman, but couldn't help eavesdrop on their soft voices, on Sam's hurt for having to kill teens and Dean asking about his way of saving them while on demon blood.
Arielle shifted her gaze to them when Ellen stomped towards them. "I'll be back," the woman said, shouldering a gun. The blonde joined the trio immediately. "I can't sit here on my ass. My daughter's out there somewhere. I'm not back in half an hour, go. Get these people out of there."
Both brothers stood with the women now. "I'll go with you," Sam said.
"Who, hold on," Dean interrupted. "Can I talk to you for a second?" The brothers leave the room, leaving at Ellen and Arielle facing each other.
"I'm sorry about your daughter," Arielle said after a few seconds of awkward silence.
Ellen snapped. "She's not dead." The blonde scratched at her neck, cheeks red, and Ellen exhaled a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I just. I know you didn't mean it that way." Arielle gave a small smile, standing sheepishly now. The door was open when they heard the thud and the women immediately head towards it to see Sam pushing Dean against the wall.
"If you actually think I –," Sam cut himself off before falling silent for a moment. He removed his hands from Dean and walked back inside, grabbing his things. Arielle gave Dean a look when he tried to make a move towards Sam.
"I'll go with you. Two is good, three's a party," she said, switching up Dean's earlier phrase with a lopsided grin. Sam sighed turning to her. Before he could say a word, Arielle held up her palms towards him. "I would rather my brother and new friend here didn't get overtaken, you know?" His shoulders relaxed and he gave an approving nod.
Dean's gratitude was appreciated in his face as Arielle shouldered her own shotgun and tucked her blessed gun into her boot. The trio walked out into the town, tense and hyper-aware. "So where'd you see her last?" Sam asked as they passed a tan car.
Ellen made a motion with her chin. "Up ahead," she said. "So what's up with you and Dean?" Sam's lips pressed tight before looking away from Ellen. "It was hard not to notice, how different things are between you guys these days." Sam remained silent as they walked, and Arielle hoped Ellen would stop the questioning. "Lot of bad road there, huh?" she continued after the silence. "What happened? Some girl come between you or something?" Arielle bit her lip as she scanned the open street behind them.
"Just – stresses o the job," Sam finally answered through gritted teeth. "You know how it is. Kind of surprised, you and Jo hunting. Weren't you always saying she couldn't hack the life?"
Arielle bit her lip again, this time to disguise the smile at how easily he turned the topic. "She can't," Ellen replied. "But if she's gonna do it anyway – ." Sam gave an understanding nod.
"You want to keep an eye on her," he finished as he looked down the street. "Hey," he added in a lower voice. Arielle followed his line of sight to the smoke rising behind trees. The trio stopped in the middle of the street.
"Is that a chimney going?" Ellen asked in disbelief. The trio skirted closer to the houses as they approached the rising smoke. Taking a spot behind a building, they peered around a corner. Inside the house, a black-eyed demon stood guard. "Guess we found base camp."
Sam shook his head, eyes studying the scene before him. "Demons don't get cold. Makes you wonder what they're burning," he said as he started around the corner, Arielle close behind him.
A sound makes the siblings turned to find Ellen in the grasp of another blonde and two more demons with her. Sam and Arielle both aimed the butt of their guns at them, slamming them into their chests. Another demon popped up, helping the blonde pin Ellen to the wall while the ones fighting with Sam and Arielle managed to rip the guns from their hands, turning them on the siblings.
"Don't move, you evil skank!" the new blonde said, almost a growl.
Arielle tried to fight off the man, tried retrieving her arm from his grip. She dropped to the ground as another blow landed. She heard Ellen cry out, "Don't you hurt her, don't you – ." Her words cut off with a gurgle. At the sound, Arielle screamed, kicking the demon off before tackling the girl with the blackened eyes.
"Arielle! Ellen! Run!" Arielle managed a few steps before everything went black.