And here we go with the next chapter! As always, I hold no ownership nor right over anything Supernatural. I own Ariella and her alone. With that being said, I hope you enjoy! I'm dying to hear some feedback on this story, so let me know what you think so far! -Xoxo NickyLynn
The ride to Jericho had, thankfully, been fairly quiet through the night. Ariella ended up dozing off in the backseat, using her bag as a pillow, finding that the vibrations of the rumbling engine lulled her to sleep. She had spent many nights of her childhood within the confines of that car, usually huddled together with Sam or Dean, and so, she found a strange comfort in stretching out within the backseat. She had managed to get a few hours of rest in as Dean drove them south, and by the time her eyes cracked open again, morning light was filling the sky.
She let out a groan as she sat up, the wounds along her back throbbing from her sleeping in such an awkward position. By the way hues of red and pink still clung to the sky, she assumed it was still early. Knowing she would be getting no more sleep, she pushed herself up, rubbing at her eyes as she did. Sam still seemed to be lost to the depths of sleep, softly snoring as he lay propped up against the door, jacket shoved between his head and the window.
Ariella covered a yawn with the back of her hand before catching sight of Dean looking at her from the rearview mirror. He quickly looked away as they locked eyes, fingers gripping tighter on the steering wheel as he adjusted himself in his seat.
"I have to pee." She said as took in the isolated stretch of road they were driving down, nothing but dry sand and rocky structures stretching along the horizon. "Please tell me we're close to some sort of civilization."
"Just passed a sign for a gas station up ahead." Dean responded briskly, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Wonderful." Ariella breathed out as she sat back in her seat, eyes falling back to the barren scenery outside. Silence ensued once again as she stared outside, mind beginning to spin as she was sucked into a whirlwind of thoughts. After a while she let out a sigh, mind stuck on something Dean had had the night prior. "So, you've been hunting alone?" she asked, eyes moving to the side of his face. She knew it shouldn't have bothered her so much to know Dean was out there hunting alone when she herself was doing the same, but it just didn't sit right with her. John was supposed to be out there with him…protecting him.
She watched his jaw twitch before his eyes flicked up to the mirror again. "Have you?" he countered.
Ariella shrugged in response. "Here and there." she said evasively.
"Bobby know?" he questioned.
"Bobby is not my father." She said in response, knowing full well that if he knew how serious the cases she took on were, he would blow a fuse.
Ariella had been taken in by John when she was seven and raised with Dean and Sam, but after she had gotten hurt badly during one of his hunts, he had practically dropped her in Bobby's lap. She had been fifteen at the time. She spent the remainder of her childhood with the mechanic, learning how to tear down and rebuild cars with him, but as soon as she was old enough, she had gone off on her own. She cared about Bobby immensely and would still check in with him at regular intervals, but there were things she kept from him. Like her latest brush with death, for instance.
The car filled with silence again after that, and stayed quiet until Dean pulled them into the gas station a few miles later. Though, Ariella was reluctant to call it even that. Really, it was just a small, wooden building, decorated with worn and peeling paint on top of warped walls. She raised a brow at the decrepit state of it as they pulled up beside one of the two pumps, but she supposed she had been in worse, and beggars couldn't be choosers. Once Dean cut the engine, Ariella got out of the car, stretching out her sore muscles as she did. She made her way towards the building as Dean got out of the car, just praying the bathroom would be in working order.
As she pushed open the door, a bell above her chimed. She gave the old man sitting behind the register a tight smile and bid him good morning, not even getting a 'hello' from him in return, before quickly making her way towards the door at the far side of the room, catching sight of the sign for the restroom. As soon as she stepped into the small bathroom her stomach did a flip. She was sure it hadn't been cleaned in years, the floor being covered in questionable puddles, but she did her best to hold her breath and get it over with. Once she was done using the toilet, she paused in front of the mirror, just as dirty as the rest of the room had been, and wiped the lingering makeup from the prior day away before drawing her hair up into a ponytail.
She quickly made her way out of the bathroom and then browsed through the aisles, hunger nagging at her stomach. The shelves were nearly as barren as the terrain around them had been, unfortunately, and after letting out a sigh at her limited options, she settled on a couple of protein bars and apples from a basket near the register. She paid for the items, only getting a couple of grunts from the man taking her money as she tried making conversation, before nearly sprinting from the store in relief.
She came out to find that Sam was now awake, rifling through a box of cassettes as Dean offered him breakfast in the form of potato chips and soda. She rolled her eyes at his choice of food before coming around the car, holding out one of the protein bars and apples for Sam to take. "That is not breakfast." She told Dean as Sam took the much healthier option from her. She took a bite of her own apple then, leaning against the side of the car as Dean pulled the pump free and hung it back on its cradle. "How'd you pay for that stuff anyways?" she said around the chunk of fruit in her mouth. "Still running credit card schemes?" she asked cynically, knowing most of her childhood with John had been funded that way.
"Yeah, well, hunting ain't exactly a pro ball career." He said in defense, crossing his arms as he came to a stop in front of her. "What's got gold running through your pockets these days?" he threw back at her with an arched brow.
"Well, it isn't identity theft." She said, taking another bite of apple. As she swallowed Dean's eyes dropped down onto her throat, mouth dipping down in the corner. Realizing where his gaze had been fixated, Ariella reached up to cover the lump of scar tissue on side of her neck…the remnants of the hunt that had landed her on Bobby's lap. She did her best to cover it with her hair the majority of the time, as she hated the sight of the jagged patch of white skin and the memories it brought up, but with her hair pulled back, it was completely exposed.
His eyes snapped back up to hers as she covered the scar self-consciously, before he pulled away entirely. "Come on." he said, moving around the car again towards the driver's side. "We still have road to cover."
Ariella slipped into the backseat as well, blocking out memories trying to resurface, before Sam, thankfully, changed the subject completely. "Dude. You've got to update your cassette-tape collection." He told him with a laugh, the music selection he had been rifling through having been incredibly dated to say the least.
"Why?" Dean asked, sounding genuinely offended by the notion.
"Well for one, they're cassette-tapes." Sam told him with a shake of his head. "And two, Black Sabbeth?" he said, holding up one of the tapes. "Motorhead? Metallica?" he continued, pulling each out and holding it up. "It's the greatest of Mullet Rock."
Ariella leaned across the seat then, reaching between the men to pull the cassette out of Sam's hold. "He's right you know." She said as she studied it. "Sometimes I wonder if you're really an old man trapped in a young man's body."
Dean reached behind the seat then, snatching the tape from her, looking more offended by the second. "House rules." he said as he turned around, opening up the case before pushing the cassette into the dash. "Driver picks the music and shotgun shuts his cakehole." he declared, tossing the now empty case back into the box on Sam's lap. "And little stowaways don't get a say because they're not supposed to be here to begin with." He then added, casting Ariella a smile through the rear-view mirror as he started the car, the loud drumming beat of the rock song coming through the speakers as the engine powered to life.
"You're such an ass." Ariella said with a roll of her eyes, finding it hard to hear anything above the music now blaring through the speakers.
"Sorry, I can't hear you!" Dean shouted back to her with a grin, even though she knew he had. "The music's too loud!" She dropped her mouth open to say something else, but Dean quickly switched the car into drive and pressed down on the gas, tossing her backwards with the sudden motion. She let out a groan as her back hit the seat, her injuries being aggravated, watching as Dean shot her another satisfied grin.
"Ass." She said again, turning to look back out the window as Dean steered them onto the road again.
It only took another hour to make it to the borders of Jericho, and Sam had spent the entirety of that time calling around all the local hospitals, checking if anyone matching John's description had been brought in. "Alright." He said as he snapped his phone shut, having just gotten off the line with the final hospital he could find within a fifty mile radius. "No one matching Dad's description has been brought into any of the hospitals or morgues." He told them. "So, that's something, I guess."
Ariella hadn't honestly been expecting anything from the calls and knew it didn't really help narrow the field for them all that much. She let out a breath, before flashing lights caught her attention further up the road, seemingly filling a bridge they were heading straight for. "Guys." she said, tapping their seat to garner their attention. "We've got police coming up." she warned.
Dean and Sam caught sight of the red and blue lights as well, Dean slowing down as they rolled closer. He pulled them onto the side of the road just before the bridge, coming to a stop and cutting the engine as they all tried to get a look at what was going on. There were at least a dozen police vehicles filling the area, completely blocking off the bridge as they investigated what looked like a crime scene.
"Think we've got another victim?" Ariella asked, pulling her eyes away from the police force milling about the area to the front seat.
"One way to find out." Dean said as he reached over to the glovebox, dropping it open to remove a cigar box. He pulled it onto his lap, flipping it open to reveal a stack of various IDs and badges. He pulled one of them out, turning to flash Sam and Ariella a smug grin.
"A Federal Marshal?" Ariella asked skeptically, eyebrow raising at his choice of alias.
"Yup." He responded before reaching over to push open his door. "Let's go." he said excitedly as he stepped out.
Sam followed suit, but when Dean noticed Ariella still sitting in the backseat, pulling the elastic out of her hair and looking not at all inclined to join, he ducked back into the car with furrowed brows. "You coming?"
"Oh, no." she said as she combed through her hair with her fingers, doing her best to make it look halfway decent. "Have fun with that." She told him.
"Oookay then." Dean said before shutting the door and turning, making his way towards the bridge with Sam.
Ariella leaned across the seat then, checking her reflection in the mirror for any smudges to her makeup, before drawing back and exiting the vehicle as well. Instead of following Dean and Sam towards the crime scene, however, she instead headed in the direction of one of the cops stationed at the edge of things, doing no more than establishing a perimeter.
He was considerably younger than his fellow officers and was shuffling back and forth on his feet uncomfortably, making him the perfect target for questioning. He took notice of Ariella as she approached, and she swore a swatch of red flashed across his face as she shot him a smile. "Hi!" she called out to him as she walked closer. "I'm sorry for bothering you while you're on duty and all," she told him as she came to a stop in front of him, eyes darting over to the bridge with a look of concern. "I was just wondering if you could tell me what's going on." She explained, eyes sweeping back over to him. "Has there been an accident?" she asked worriedly. "Is someone hurt?"
"Don't worry ma'am." The young officer said, doing his best to puff his chest out as much as he could. "We have everything under control. Young gentlemen went missing last night is all."
"Oh my." Ariella said, blinking in surprise. "Is he okay? Have you found him?" she asked before acting abashed. "Oh, I'm sorry, you probably can't tell me any of that can you?"
"It's okay." He told her with a wave of his hand. "We don't have a lot of details yet, but we're still looking for him. They think maybe he jumped into the river."
"Gracious." Ariella said, bringing her hand up to her chest in faux shock. "Well, I do hope he's alright. You wouldn't happen to have a picture of him or anything would you?" she asked him then. "So I can help keep an eye out. We're just passing through town, but another set of eyes can always help, right?"
"Sorry, I don't." he said, lips tilting in a frown. "But his girlfriend, Amy, she's been handing out missing person flyers downtown. You might be able to get ahold of one from her. She's actually Officer Ford's daughter." He revealed, motioning to one of the men on the bridge. "Poor thing has just been a wreck ever since she called it in."
"Really?" she asked, the officer he had pointed out looking no older than forty, at best. "She must be awfully young."
He nodded. "Her and Troy graduated high school only last year. Still just kids, really."
Ariella went to question him more, but she caught sight of a couple of federal agents heading towards the bridge, so instead she flashed the officer a quick smile. "Well, I'll try to keep an eye out and make sure to call you guys if I see anything." She told him. "Thanks for all your hard work!" she told him then before moving back towards the Impala.
She kept the corner of her eye on the federal agents as they moved towards the scene, fear that Dean had been caught using a fake coursing through her momentarily as she watched them pull to a stop in front of Sam and Dean. She practically sagged in relief, however, as she watched them continue on after only a moment, Sam and Dean then turning to head for the car. She let out a breath of relief before opening the backdoor and sliding in again.
A moment later, Dean and Sam pulled open their own doors and got in, the entire vehicle shifting with their weight. "That went well." Sam commented, sarcasm practically dripping from his voice.
"What's wrong? The federal marshal over here not get anything useful?" she asked, tilting her head towards an irritated Dean.
"Well, that's what happens when a bunch of inept police officers are in charge of a case like this." Dean responded with a frown before reaching forward to start the car.
"So, would anyone like to hear what I found out?" she asked, looking between them with an arched brow. Both Sam and Dean turned around in the seat then, looks of confusion plastered across both their faces, not having noticed her even leaving the car. "Victim is a young man named Troy. Went missing last night. His girlfriend, Amy, who just so happens to be Officer Ford's daughter," she explained, pointing him out for them. "Was the one to phone it in. She's currently downtown handing out flyers, so I'd say that having a quick chat with her would be the best place to start."
The look that flashed over their faces was almost enough to make Ariella burst out laughing, but she controlled herself, letting a smirk pull up her mouth instead. "And how do you know all that?" Dean asked, sounding as if he didn't believe it.
Ariella shrugged her shoulder before sitting back in the seat. "You have your ways of conducting investigations and I have mine." She said before grabbing hold of her sunglasses and sliding them on her face. "Now, let's go. I'm in serious need of a good cup of coffee."
It didn't take them long to make it to small downtown, and even less time to find Amy. The miserable looking young girl was walking along the sidewalks, putting flyers of Troy up on nearly every inch of town, making her easy to spot. Dean had pulled over and parked along the street after they had spotted her, the three of them getting out to catch up to the grieving woman.
"Look, I think I should talk to her." Ariella said as they made their way up the sidewalk towards the girl.
"Well, considering this is my investigation and my dad, I'm going to have to disagree with you." Dean said in response "Just follow my lead." He said then before speeding up to catch up with Amy, who was now putting up one of the flyers on the front of the theatre. "You must be Amy." He called out as he came to a stop next to her, Sam stepping up to his side. Ariella hung back slightly, watching Dean work his magic with her hands shoved deep into her coat pockets in an attempt to keep warm. "Troy told us about you. We're his uncles." He told her in greeting. "I'm Dean. This is Sammy."
"He's never mentioned you to me." Amy told him in response as she turned and kept walking, looking as if she hadn't bought his lie for a second.
"Well, that's Troy for you." Dean said as he trailed after her, trying to keep the lie going. "We're not around much. We're up in Modesto. So, we're looking for him too." He said before swinging around in front of her again to force her to a stop, him and Sam practically towering over her as they blocked her path. "We're kind of asking around. Mind if we ask you a couple of questions?"
Amy's eyes flicked between him and Sam, apprehension filling them. Another girl, presumably her friend, came up to her then, seeing her look of distress at being cornered by two large men. "You okay?" the friend asked in concern.
"Oh, good lord, Dean." Ariella said with a huff then, stepping forward to push herself between him and the young girls. "Could you be any creepier?" she asked him before turning her attention to the young girl. "I'm sorry about him." She said, throwing a thumb in Dean's direction. "The truth is, we're looking for someone, too. Someone who went missing like Troy did. We were just hoping to talk to you for a moment…maybe there's something you could tell us that can help us make sense of what's going on." She told her honestly, knowing that sometimes the best way to get information from someone was by using the truth. Amy studied Ariella for a moment, before her eyes moved back over Sam and Dean, and it was then that Ariella took notice of the dark circles under her eyes. She looked downright exhausted. In fact, she doubled the girl had slept a wink all night. "Let me buy you a coffee." she offered, motioning to the café down the street. "You look like you could use it."
Amy took a moment to contemplate her offer before nodding her head in agreement. "Yeah…yeah, okay." She said. "A coffee does sound nice, actually."
Ariella swung her head around towards Dean then, casting him a smile as he practically glowered at her. She patted him on the chest as she moved past him, falling into step with Amy and her friend as they headed for the café.
While talking to Amy hadn't ended with a huge break in the case, they did end up learning of a local legend from her and her friend. Apparently, a woman had been murdered several years ago and legend was she could still be found hitchhiking off Centennial Highway, luring victims foolish enough to pick her up to their death. It wasn't much to go off, but it was the best lead they had. So, Amiya, Dean, and Sam made a quick stop at the library next to do a bit of research on the matter, in hopes they could dig something up.
They had taken up one of the free computers, Dean taking over the keyboard while Sam took up a chair next to him. Amiya stood behind the pair, watching the screen from over Dean's shoulder. She watched as Dean typed the words Female Murder Hitchhiking and then Female Murder Centennial Highway into the archive search bar, both of which yielding no results. Ariella let out a sigh at his poor choice of search words just as Sam reached out to take control of the mouse from him.
"I got it." Dean said as he reached out to smack the back of Sam's hand.
"And I would like to get out of here sometime within this century, so-" Amiya said, grabbing hold of Dean's chair and pulling it away from the desk, wheeling him out of her way. "Move."
She stepped up to the keyboard and leaned over it just as Dean pulled himself back towards the computer, shooting her a glare. "You've always been such a control freak, you know that?" he bit out grumpily.
"And you've always been exceptionally bad at research." She responded as she typed in her own key words. "And murder isn't the only type of tragic death." She added as she swapped out the word Murder for Suicide. Sure enough, the search pulled up a news article of a drowning from 1981. "See?" she said, clicking on the link. "Constance Welch, twenty-four, of 4636 Breckenridge Road, leapt off Sylvania Bridge at mile thirty-three of Centennial Highway and subsequently drowned last night." She read from the screen.
"Does it say why she did it?" Sam asked, peering at the screen as well.
Ariella read through the article quickly, her gut dropping as she did. "Yeah." She told him, a frown. "Something happened with her kids. They drowned in the tub or something. There was a 911 call from her an hour before she jumped. Apparently, she left them alone for a minute and when she came back they weren't breathing."
"Our babies were gone and Constance just couldn't bare it, said husband Joseph Welch." Sam read for himself as Ariella scrolled down further.
"That bridge look familiar to anyone else?" Dean asked then, motioning towards the black and white photograph printed within the article…the same bridge Troy had gone missing from the night before.
"Well, I say we wait until the cops clear out of there and go do some fishing tonight." Ariella said, eyebrow quirking up with the thought.
"Fishing?" Dean repeated.
"Well, men seem to be Constance's prime choice when it comes to victims, and seeing as we have two of them, I'd say we go poke around and see if she wants to come play." She explained with a shrug, looking between him and Sam.
"You want to use us as bait?" Dean asked, sounding offended by the idea.
"Got any better ideas?" she asked with an arched brow. With no response, Ariella bobbed her head in finality. "Good."
By the time the cops had cleared out the scene and left the bridge it was well into the evening. The sun had just dipped under the horizon, leaving everything bathed in darkness as the headlights cut off, Dean having parked them at the edge of the structure. Ariella was the first out, being greeted by the sounds of chirping crickets and frogs as she stepped into the night. Sam and Dean followed after, and the three walked the length of the bridge, footsteps echoing through the quiet area as they did.
"So, this is where Constance took a swan dive?" Dean asked as they approached the middle of the bridge, leaning over the edge to take a look down at the water below.
"Think Dad would have been here?" Sam asked as he stepped up to the side as well.
"Well, he's chasing the same story and we're chasing him." Dean answered with a shrug.
"I don't know guys." Ariella said as she swept her gaze around. "Something just doesn't seem right about all this. I mean, John is a pretty good hunter….too good to fall victim to some vengeful ghost."
"She's got a point." Sam said in agreement, stepping away from the ledge. "What if Dad's not even here?"
"Then we keep digging around until we find him." Dean told him as he stepped away as well.
"Dean, I told you-" Sam said with a shake of his head. "I have to be back by-"
"Monday." Dean supplied, turning to give him a look colored with his displeasure. "Right….the interview. Yeah, I forgot. You're really serious about this, huh? You think you're just gonna become some lawyer…marry your girl?" he asked cynically.
"Maybe." Sam answered with a shrug. "Why not?"
"Does Jessica know the truth about you?" Dean pressed. "Does she know about the things you've done?"
"You don't get a right to question Sam's life." Ariella bit out at Dean, moving to step in between the two of them, pulling his eyes down onto her instead. "What? Two years of radio silence and you suddenly show up and want to throw around the concerned big brother card?" she scoffed. "You don't care." She accused. "You're just jealous that he has a life….something more than just blind obedience to John and his endless crusade!"
"Guys!" Sam called out loudly, trying to ease away the anger quickly boiling out of control between the two of them. "That's enough."
"Sammy is my bother!" Dean bit out in response as he stepped closer to her, eyes flashing with anger. "And I'll question his life however the hell I like! So, just stay out of this, Ariella!"
"No!" she refused, taking her own step closer so that they were nearly toe-to-toe. "I spent years biting my tongue whenever I watched you or John degrade Sam's every feeling and I'm done!" she told him with a shake of her head. "Sam's spend the last two years building this life for himselfand you should be proudof everything he's managed to accomplish! Hell, I am! Everything's he's gone through to get him here wasn't because of you. It was in spite of you! You're a shitty brother, Dean!" she said, giving him a shove against the chest, sending him stumbling back a few feet.
"Stop!" Sam told them as he stepped in between the two, physically separating them again. "That's enough!" he said more firmly than before, eyes flicking between them both. His jaw dropped open to say something else, but then he caught notice of something standing on the ledge of the bridge and he froze. "Guys!" he said more urgently, pointing to the woman watching them.
Ariella and Dean pulled their gaze away from each other, turning to find a young woman in a white dress teetering on the ledge of the railing. In the next moment the woman let herself fall forward, slipping off of the bridge and through the air below. The three of them ran towards the spot she had fallen, grabbing hold of the railing to peer down into the river below.
"Where'd she go?" Dean asked, seeing nothing in the dark waters.
"I don't know." Sam said, seeing nothing as well. Just then the Impala roared to life, its headlights shining on the trio as they turned in alarm. "Uh…Dean?" he asked, seeing no one behind the wheel. "Who's driving your car?"
Dean held up the car keys in response to his question as Ariella's gut rolled uneasily. "Anyone else getting Christine vibes?" she asked before the tires let out a loud squeal as the car lurched forward. It began speeding straight towards them and the uneasiness in Ariella's gut morphed into fear. "RUN!" she yelled before turning on her feet and taking off like a bat out of hell.
Sam and Dean were quick to follow suit, their feet pounding against the bridge as they tried out running the vehicle quickly encroaching upon them. "Go! Go, go!" Dean shouted as it got within mere inches from their heels.
"Just jump!" Ariella yelled out as she rushed towards the side of the bridge, knowing they weren't going to be able to outrun it. She catapulted herself off the edge just in time, arms flailing wildly as she free-fell through the air. She caught sight of Dean dropping through the air in her peripherals as well before the two of them slammed into the water, quickly sinking into its icy embrace.