Sam's P.O.V
My heart felt heavy in my chest after they pronounced my dad as dead, I need to get away from the room. I couldn't look at him, not like this. I held back the tears as I wandered back down the hallway, I should probably tell Dean. Walking back to the room I noticed that Alice was standing in the doorway of Akuma's room, a piece of paper in hand, her face even more pale than normal.
"Alice? What's-" I glanced into the room to find Akuma gone. I peered back to her concerned, I reached out and grabbed her shoulder and shook her slightly. "Alice?" She was staring at the note, her fingers slowly crumpling the paper, her hand starting to shake.
"She's gone." She spoke through her teeth, anger plastering across her face as she shoved the note into my hand. "What if he has her again?" She paused and freaked out a little before she stopped and grabbed my arm, and giving it a squeeze. "She left us, she left me." I felt her body begin to shake. I looked at the note in my other hand and skimmed over the words.
"Alice, just take a breath." I dropped the note and reached out with my other hand to comfort her now. I knew by the shortness of the note that Akuma had picked up and left and that she wasn't kidnapped. I didn't know which one would hurt less and the last thing I wanted was for Alice was her to be upset, even though there was nothing I could do to stop that from happening. "I don't think that a note would have been left if she was taken. Alice, it will be okay, we'll figure this out, we just need to, and we need to get out of here." The thought of my dad struck a nerve and I could feel the tears start to form behind my eyes again. I half turned away from her to gain control over my emotions, I felt a small hand slip into mine and tug at me so I turned back. I watched as Alice wrapped her arms around me, hugging me and burying her face in my shirt. I reach around and hugged her back, tangling my fingers in her soft, red hair. "I'm sorry about your dad." Her voice was slightly muffled by my shirt but I understand what she said, and I rested my chin on top of her head. I think that she needed this hug more than I did, but it still made me feel better.
"I should go tell Dean." I finally spoke after the long, silent hug. She nodded and we broke apart, though I let my hand linger on her arm for a moment before I swallowed and walked back to Dean's room. He was sitting up in his bed reading dad's journal when I stepped into the room with Alice. He half smiled from behind the book and I slipped into the chair beside his bed, reaching out and pushing the book away.
"Hey." He grumbled, giving me a slightly grumpy look and I swallowed hard. I really didn't want to do this, and I wasn't sure how he'd take it, though it probably wouldn't be good. I swallowed once more before I spoke, cracking my knuckles nervously.
"Dean, there's something I need to tell you..." I muttered, letting my words trail off. There was a silence in the room and Dean looked at me, his face twisting up with confusion. "Umm, dad's gone." I finally pushed out, dropping my gaze for a moment before looking up again.
"What do you mean he's gone?" Dean questioned, his voice weak. His face still had confusion in it but his eyes had darkened and he had swallowed a bit hard. He probably knew but I knew that he wouldn't want to believe it, hell I still didn't want to believe it.
"He's dead." I ran a hand through my hair and leaned back a bit, sucking in a painful breath and refusing to let the tears leave my eyes. My voice had cracked a bit so I cleared my throat and continued to stare at my brother. He had scooted a bit closer to the edge of the bed now and looked like he was ready to get out and go check for himself so I pushed him back a bit, biting down on my lip as the room fell into a brief silence
"What? How?" Dean finally demanded, his voice cracking as well as he dropped his head into his hands for a moment, rubbing one through his hair and the other over his face as he lifted his head again, his eyes dry but cold as he looked between me and Alice. He looked like he was looking for any reason to lash out at anyone right now, but it was quickly covered up by a straight face. Dean had always been good at hiding his emotions.
"They aren't sure what caused it, but they say it was heart failure…" I answered, watching him nod and press his lips into a solid line as I sighed. He shifted his weight and moved so his legs were over the side of the bed, his hands balled into fists around the sheets. He opened his mouth to say something but Alice started talking first.
"And Akuma's gone, she left us." She blurted, her voice shaking hard with every word. I checked over my shoulder and shifted at the sight of her barely holding it together. She looked pissed but her eyes were rimmed with red and filled with tears that looked like they were about to spill but didn't. I turned back to Dean and noticed his narrowed eyes and slumped shoulders. He didn't say anything and I couldn't tell if he was just upset over dad and even upset over Akuma as well, though I suspected it was a mix between the two. He could say he hated her as much as he wanted, but it was hard to hate her. She was on our side and had been through hell helping us. She had lied to us but it was understandable… to me anyways, and though Dean might agree that she was doing it not to die, I couldn't understand why she lied to Alice about who her father was.
"I'm gunna call Bobby to come pick us up." I muttered as I stood up and pulled out my phone. I waited a moment for them to both nod before I dialed the number, walking out of the room, leaving Alice and Dean to talk for a while. After three short rings the phone connected.
"Yeah?" The familiar voice on the other end of the line made me smile, though it quickly dropped from my face. I took a deep breath as I wandered down the hall, stopping outside the door to the room that dad had been in. It was empty now and everything had been remade, it was all so fast and like he had never been here.
"Bobby? It's Sam, I need a favour." I turned away from the door and pinched the bridge of my nose, fighting a headache that was building behind my eyebrows. It was the last thing I needed right now, but my body didn't seem to care right now.
"What is it kid?" Bobby asked, sounding a bit worried. The tension and sadness was clear
"Can you pick Alice, Dean and I up from the hospital?" I moved further down the hall, dragging my feet. I moved out of the way as two nurses walked past, chatting and giggling. I resisted the urge to snap at them to shut up and found an empty chair, plopping my ass down in it, stretching out my legs as Bobby replied.
"Uh, sure thing. Why only you three? What 'bout John and Akuma?" His voice was filled with confusion and more worry than before. I didn't know why it was up to me to continuously break the news but it was and so I did, trying to make sure my voice was solid.
"Akuma's gone, she up and left. And uh...dad's dead." I choked out, my voice barely above a whisper as I finished speaking, but it didn't crack this time. There was a long out of silence before Bobby said he'd be here in about half an hour before the line went dead. I closed my phone and shoved it back into my pocket, leaning forward and resting my head in my hands.
Alice's P.O.V
I stood by the pyre as the boys wandered off and watched the last of the smoke swirl off and up into the night sky, the light grey being swallowed up by the dark blue and stars. I kept my head trained back and stared up, not moving until I felt a hand on my shoulder. It shocked me, but not enough to bring a reaction from me. Instead I turned around to see who it was, my heart dropping when I noticed it was Bobby. I didn't realize that I had hoped it was my sister but I had, and now I felt sick, a twisting pit forming in my stomach. "Come on, let's go inside." The older man said, his voice low but gruff. It would have been soothing on any other day, but today his sympathy made a wave of anger rise in my chest. His sympathy and kindness wasn't needed or wanted. I needed and wanted Akuma but she fucking abandoned not only me and everyone else, just like the selfish bitch that she always is. No matter what I felt I slowly followed Bobby inside and planted my ass in one of the kitchen chairs, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at Bobby across the table, waiting for him to speak. "What's going on?"
"You know what happened. John died and Akuma abandoned me." I snapped. I could hear how pissed off I sounded, the sharp sound of the words ringing through the room, but I didn't care. I currently didn't care who I yelled at or who got hurt because it made me feel something through this numb state that had taken over my body. Even the voices were gone and I had thought that I wanted them to be gone the moment they showed up but I felt like I lost something important, everything was so lonely now. I leaned back and took in the look of shock on Bobby's face but I just shrugged it off. "Just get me a fucking beer…. please." I growled, digging my nails into my forearms and watching as he got up and walked to the fridge, his steps slow.
"I know that… I want to know how you're feeling. Talk to me Alice." Bobby sounded sincere as he set the beer in front of me but I rolled my eyes anyways, popping the bottle open with the palm of my hand and tightening my grip around it. I didn't want to talk. I wanted to be left alone and I wanted to hunt and beat the living hell out of some monster. I lifted the bottle to my lips, relaxing a bit at the touch of the cold glass before I tilted my head back letting the bitter liquid fill my mouth and travel down my throat, drinking for a long while to avoid talking. I eventually set it down, leaving only a small amount in the bottle, and let out a sound that was low and somewhere between a sigh and a growl. I felt it rumble in my chest and I bit down on my lip, swallowing a deep breath so that I wouldn't completely lose it on Bobby and yell at him about everything that had happened. I was pissed, but it wasn't his fault. Even so, it took nearly all of my willpower not to scream at him about everything.
"Don't touch Sirius. It's Akuma's stupid fucking car. Don't let Dean or Sam try to touch him either. The stupid demon bitch can fix him if she decides to fucking come back." I finally spit out, finishing the last of the beer and slamming the bottle on the table, a fresh wave of anger filling me. Even if she was leaving us she could at least take the time to fix Sirius. He was my dad's car, he's our home and as far as it seemed she was going to leave him here to rot? I'd fucking kill her if she didn't fix him. I met Bobby's gaze slowly as he nodded slowly, his face filled with shock again. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, tugging at it a bit and closing my eyes, silently pleading for the voices to come back. Not having them was driving me crazy and making me feel lonely again, I had always thought that they were annoying and creepy before but now that they were gone I could barely stand it. When calling to them didn't work I opened my eyes and shoved my chair back and stood up. "Don't let anyone fucking touch him." I instructed before storming upstairs. I knew it was immature to stomp my feet and slam the bathroom door behind me, but I didn't know what else to do. I was completely pissed without a way to deal with it and so stomping and showering was going to be a first attempt. Hopefully we could get on a hunt after this.
With a small groan I shoved my hands through my mess of curls before slowly undressing and staring at myself in the mirror while I let the bath tap run to warm up the water. I looked the same, with the same mess of bright red curls, the annoying freckles covering my face and shoulders, and scars covering my arms and torso from old hunts, but everything was different. I looked dull and lost now and I hoped it didn't last long… I hoped that Akuma would come back, or even the voices… just something so I didn't feel so damn lonely. I turned my gaze away as I started to tear up and pulled the tab to make the water come from the showerhead, though I sat on the bottom of the tub, pulling my knees to my chest and staring at the wall. I didn't bother fighting the tears, I just rested my face in my knees and let go.
Dean's P.O.V
I laid under baby, wrenching one of the bolts tight. My hands were covered in oil and grease from tuning up the new engine. I groaned at the thought of having to build Baby from the ground up, it was tedious work but somewhat soothing as it got rid of the whole idea that Akuma left us behind. It had only been four days since we got back from the hospital but we had all been pushing ourselves away trying to cope with everything that has happened, dad dying, the funeral and of course Akuma's whole drama shit. I rolled out from under Baby and wiped my hands off on an already dirty towel, sighing at the sight of her roof dented inwards. Rolling my eyes I slipped onto the bench seat, laying on my back and placing my feet on the roof to try and push it back into place.
"Hey." I heard a voice call and I tilted my head back to see an upside down Sam approaching me, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slumped a bit.
"Hey." I turned over and slipped out of the car. "What's up?" I asked, wiping my face on the towel, not realizing that I had just smudged black grease all over my cheek. Sam chuckled slightly before he spoke, lifting a hand to his hair.
"I found a message on one of dad's old phones." I straightened up suddenly, watching Sam more closely now waiting for more of an explanation. There was a silence between us before I spoke next.
"And, what was it about?" I asked, now leaning against Baby with my arms folding over my chest, tilting my chin back and narrowing my eyes a bit against the glare of the sun.
"There was a hunt that he was planning on doing. I tracked it down to a Roadhouse in Nebraska. I think we should take it, you know finish dad's last hunt for him." Sam voice almost dropped into a whisper. I nodded, understanding what he wanted to do and placed my hand on his shoulder to comfort him, as well as myself.
"Yeah, I like that idea. I think we all need to get out and stretch our legs a bit, get back on our feet and hunt. We need a good hunt." I smiled slightly and went around to the front of baby where a cooler had been sitting. I pulled out two beers and cracked them open, handing one to my brother before taking a swig from mine.
"Should we tell Alice? I think she needs to get out more than anyone else. She's not taking this whole thing very well. I think a distraction might help." Sam sipped at the cool liquid and joined me in half sitting and half leaning against the hood of Baby. I nodded after taking another long swig of beer. As much as it sucked, I knew that the car wouldn't been ready in time for this hunt; we would have to ask Bobby for a car.
After we had both downed our drinks, we met with Alice in Bobby's living room. She was laying on the couch reading a book again, but she was actually dressed and out of pajamas now. Bobby agreed to lend us a car, or rather a crappy ass van, but it was the only thing that he could salvage in the short period of time that we gave him. Alice was mostly to herself but when she had something to say, she would say it without caring who it might affecting. She had been bitching at Bobby about Akuma's car recently and it was starting to get annoying. Sam spoke first, as if he could see the annoyance in my face.
"Hey Alice?" His voice was soft and smooth. She peered up from her book in silence and watched my brother, her green eyes a bit dull and looking annoyed. "Dean and I found a hunt, you wanna come with us?" She placed the book on the small table beside the couch, stood up, and stretched before running a hand through her hair.
"Anything to get me outta here for a while." I half groaned to myself knowing that the car ride to the Roadhouse would be hell, but I didn't say anything out loud. We packed up our stuff quickly and Bobby pulled out the old, beat up van. I winced at the sight of it as he handed me the keys, a small smirk on his face.
"It's all I got kid." He said, though he sounded like he was a bit entertained by the idea of the van. I looked at it again and sighed, a new surge to get Baby fixed immediately running through my body. I wish that she was already fixed.
"I feel like a soccer mom." I mumbled as I climbed into the driver's seat and started the vehicle, wincing a bit at the sound of its engine. The drive was just as bad as I thought it would be, Alice back talked every idea that Sam and I had, acting like it wasn't good enough and looking as if she was enjoying getting her attitude out. She needed to get her shit together now, it was risky bringing a moody ass girl on a hunt, she needed to get over everything and get ready for this hunt. I got being upset about this entire situation, but I and Sam were both fine and not bitching at everyone else, she was acting like a giant child and it was taking all of my strength not to bitch her out. Thankfully the drive wasn't very long and we arrived at the Roadhouse in silence. I waited for Alice to comment on how lame this trip was or something else along those lines, but nothing was said. I climbed out of the uncomfortable driver's seat and stretched, feeling the sting inch its way up into my back.
"Looks closed." Sam mentioned, he was already at the door waiting for Alice and me to catch up. He reached out and pushed the door open, I stared at him with slight shock and suspicion and gestured for them to stay back before walking in and looking around. I frowned a bit, taking in the building that looked abandoned but shrugged.
"Come on." I called, walking further in. I heard Alice and Sam come in behind me and shuffle off in a different direction together. I sighed and rolled my shoulders, swearing softly as I felt something hard that vaguely fit the shape of a shotgun barrel get pressed into my back. In one swift movement I stepped back and twisted, grabbing the gun from what turned out to be a small, attractive, blonde woman. I smirked and opened my mouth to say something but was cut off by her fist hitting my face hard.
"The hell?!" I demanded, using one hand to hold the gun and the other to press against my nose, my vision a bit blurry from pain. I gently rubbed the area and blinked a few times before concentrating on the woman in front of me. She was short and thin and had a super pissed look on her face. I lifted my eyebrows a bit and adjusted the gun in front of me as protection from her.
"Who are you and what do you want?" She demanded and I narrowed my eyes, I'd had enough of dealing with demanding little brats and I really didn't want to deal with her now. I had the gun and the upper hand so if she wanted answers she wasn't getting them. In fact, she'd be giving me answers. I was about to tell her exactly that but was cut off by Sam's voice.
"Dean." He muttered and I turned to see him and Alice being led into the wider area by a woman holding a gun in each hand to both of their heads. I groaned and adjusted the shotgun in my hands, keeping my eyes flickering between the two women while trying to figure out the best way of escape. There was no way that I'd be able to get both Sam and Alice back for the one woman beside me. There was no doubt that I would trade her for Sam only, but it was always easier to try and save everyone.
"Dean? Winchester?" The second woman asked, her eyebrows raising and eyes widening a bit. I frowned at her reaction and narrowed my eyes as I stared at her harder. I had no idea how this woman knew my name but I'd play it up if it would help us out of this sticky situation.
"Yeah, and that's my brother Sam, and our friend Alice Heatherstone." I muttered, lifting my hand to my throbbing face. I groaned and dropped the gun in my hand as the other woman lowered her guns. Alice relaxed slightly, her face smoothing over, and her hands unclenching as she moved away. I met her gaze and gave her at what I hoped was a warning look for her to keep my mouth shut. I don't know if she actually understood me or if was just being smarter than she had been acting lately, but she stayed quiet and just walked away to stand to the side.
"Well, I'll be damned. What are you kids doing here?" The woman asked, moving forward and setting the guns on the bar before turning to face us all again. She looked more relaxed now as she leaned against the tabletop, a soft smile on her face. I lifted my eyebrows again and moved forward, setting the shotgun down beside the two guns she had discarded.
"Caught a hunt." I shrugged, taking a step back and glancing to my side and watching Sam walk up to me, his body still tense and ready to move at the slightest sign of any odd movement, just as I was. I turned my gaze to the other side and saw Alice still standing by herself. She had her hands in her pockets and her eyes were bouncing around the room, her small body relaxing as it leaned against a wall, though the look on her face said she was nowhere close to relaxation.
"You know these guys?" Demanded the woman behind me. I shifted my weight to see her and studied her face. She looked pretty pissed and just about as confused as I did as she walked up and stood beside the other woman. Seeing them this close together made it clear that they were related.
"Yeah, your daddy worked with their daddy. Then got himself killed, how is your old man anyways?" The woman explained and I winced, looking away. It made sense that she's want to know, but I didn't really want to tell her. The room fell silent for a while and I ran a hand through my hair, briefly meeting Sam's gaze before looking away. I shifted my weight, dropping my gaze to the ground, my shoulders hunching as my breath caught in my chest.
"He's dead." Sam finally choked out, his words were hard and strangled as he spoke. He cleared his throat while I rocked back on my feet and finally looked back at the older woman, taking in the sympathy on her face before turning my gaze to the younger one. She looked curious and had tilted her head, though she had sympathy in there as well. I studied her a bit longer, letting my eyes wander before looking back at her face.
"Sorry for your loss. Welcome to Harvelle Roadhouse, can I get you anything?"
"You're Ellen?" I looked over at Sam and watched him move forward, his eyebrows lifting as he stopped just across the bar from this Ellen woman. A glance over my shoulder showed me that Alice was walking forward as well, twisting her messy hair into a ponytail before she stopped beside me. She briefly met my gaze before looking away again, her eyes resting on the blonde, a small sneer crossing her face.
"Yup, and this is my daughter, Jo Harvelle and a good friend of ours, Ash. I'm the one who called your dad, but I suppose that you guys can handle this hunt then." Ellen said, her voice changing pace. I pulled my attention from Alice and looked between Ellen and the blonde, Jo, nodding a bit in response as my gaze finally landed on the guy named Ash. I hadn't even noticed him come in. I ran a hand over my mouth and coughed, eyeing some of the alcohol behind the bar.
"Yeah we can… mind if I grab a drink?"
Sam's P.O.V.
"Hey." Ash said, walking up to me with a small smile. I returned the smile and leaned back against the bar. "What do ya think 'bout my style? Lady Killer enough?" He asked, turning to show me his outfit and hair, a chuckle slipping from his lips. I laughed with him, and ran a hand through my hair. It looked like an older styled look from some of the artists Dean listened to.
"It's, uh, I've never seen it before. What are you calling it?" I said with a chuckle, I really wasn't sure what it was called but it looked funny and it was something to talk about after the silent pause from Ellen asking about dad. I let my eyes drift a bit and watched Dean for a moment before looking back at the guy in front of me.
"Business up front, party in the back." Ash swished his hand over the back of his hair and Alice giggled, pulling another smile from me. It was the most positive emotion she'd shown all week. I watched her smile for a moment longer before my gaze turned back to Dean, frowning as he leaned closer to Jo. I narrowed my eyes and watched for a while before rolling my eyes and turning my back to him, looking down at Ellen.
What makes you think this thing is a hunt?" I shifted around and took the beer she held out to me, taking off the cap and lifting the bottle to my lips, drinking a small amount before setting it down again, listening intently to the older woman.
"I caught wind of it a couple months back and I've just been storing the information here." Ellen spoke quickly, holding out a folder to me. I took it from her and flipped it open, my eyes slowly grazing the page. I frowned as my eyes dropped down to where they listed the murder suspect. The moment my eyes landed on the word clown I set the file down and felt my stomach drop, hard. Why this thing had to be a clown, I had no idea, but it was and this was going to be a hard hunt for me at least.
"So this thing is disguising itself as a clown? Why?" I cleared my throat as I spoke, trying to make sure that my voice was even as a small shiver ran down my spine. I could fight vampires, I could fight demons, and I could fight nearly anything without caring, but clowns? I'd rather face off ten of yellow eyes before I fought a clown.
"I don't know, I mean I could be wrong that it's something of the supernatural world, it could just be a serial killer clown. But the cops don't have any leads yet." Ellen explained, closing the file for me. I shivered again and ran my hand through my hair before drinking more of the beer. I finished it quick and set the empty bottle back on the bar, shifting my weight when Alice stepped up next to me.
"A killer clown?" Alice asked, a smirk crossing her face as she looked between us. The smirk quickly turned into a smile and a small laugh. "It's probably some creep copying 'IT'". That was such a stupid movie anyways." She continued with another laugh as she tossed her hair back, pulling herself up onto one of the tall stools, her legs dangling, the fact that the barely grazed the foot step for the stool brought a smile to my face, though it didn't get rid of the totally creeped out feeling working its way up my back.
"It's a really messed up guy if it is a serial killer. It says that the most recent murder occurred last week, ripping this poor little girls' parents to shreds. Apparently he left the daughter unharmed and that he is dressed up as a clown from the Cooper's Circus, which is not far from here." Ellen continued, straightening up and getting rid of my empty beer bottle.
"Yeah, scary ain't it." Ash piped up, moving so he was standing next to Ellen before he grabbed the file and flipped it back open, his eyes falling to the page. We lapsed into silence for a while while I tried to calm down, Ash read the file, and Alice turned a glare onto Dean and Jo.
"We could go check it out and report back if we find anything." Alice offered, finally turning her gaze back to Ellen, though her green eyes were softened and held a kind of excited glaze. I smiled and relaxed a bit at how normal she looked, though I wasn't sure if she actually felt fine or if she was just putting on a show for the new people.
"Sam." I was about to stand and go tell Dean what was going on when I heard Ellen's soft voice call my name. "Your daddy was a good man, if there is anything we can do to help track down whatever got to him, you let us know. Ya hear?" She worded it more like a fact than a question, as if it would happen no matter what. I stared at her for a moment before giving her a nod and a small smile, feeling a quick wave of sadness crash through my body at the mention of my father.
"It was the yellow-eyed demon." Alice stated, her voice was harsh now and by the look on her face I could tell that she was starting to get pissed again. Her eyes were a darker shade of green and her top lip was pulled up a bit from her teeth. I moved towards her a bit and nudged her lightly, trying to signal that she should calm down or something but I only got a glare in response.
"You mean, the demon?" Ellen sounded shocked as I nodded in response, my teeth grinding together with anger and frustration at the thought of the monster. I wanted Alice to calm down, but I couldn't seem to do the same. "Ash can help you, he's a real genius when it comes down to tracking demons and such."
"Yeah, I can get this thing set up and let ya know if anythin' comes up on demon radar." Ash declared with an easy grin and swish of his hair. It was a really weird and old fashioned hairstyle but it suited him perfectly.
"Thanks man." I muttered, patting Ash's shoulder quickly before I turned and walked over to Dean and Jo.