Yasss. So much time for writing! I was able to get this next chapter done pretty quick, so hopefully things keep rolling like this over the next few days so I can get a good chunk of this story done before I've got to start school up again! We're going to be jumping ahead in Supernatural and move into the episode Scarecrow. Per usual, I hope you continue to enjoy how it goes! Xoxo-NickyLynn
Harrison, Ohio – April 10, 2005
Ariella pushed open the door to the diner she was supposed to be meeting Sam at, the strong smell of coffee and bacon hitting her nose as soon as she stepped inside the small restaurant. She had been on a case in Michigan when Sam had called and had sequentially spent the remainder of the night driving down to the outskirts of Cincinnati. He had told her that he and Dean had split ways and was in need of a ride. It had been nearly five months since Ariella had last seen either Winchester, but the sheer desperation emanating from Sam's voice over the late-night call had been all she needed to pack up and be on her way.
The bell above her chimed as she stepped into the fairly empty diner, her eyes sweeping around for Sam's familiar face at the few taken tables. Her eyebrows dipped together when she caught sight of him, finding him already sitting across from a young woman with short blonde hair. A knot of uneasiness began to grow in the pit of her stomach as she walked over to him and the unknown woman. Sam's back was to Ariella as she approached, but the woman was facing her, and as she stepped up to the table, her eyes flicked up to her and Ariella could swear she saw the ghost of a smirk forming on the woman's lips.
"Hey, Sam." Ariella said in greeting as she swept around the table and into his view.
"Oh, Ari! Hey." Sam responded, his previous conversation cutting off as he took notice of her.
"So you're her, huh?" the woman said as she took Ariella in. "Ariella, in the flesh."
Ariella's eyebrows dipped together at the woman. That knot in her gut rolled as she flashed Ariella a smile, suddenly feeling uneasy. "I'm sorry, who are you?" she questioned, the query coming out harsher than she intended.
"Ari, this is Meg." Sam explained quickly, motioning to the stranger. "She's trying to get to California, too. She's been keeping me company while I waited."
Ariella's brow quirked up at the introduction. She couldn't explain why, but something about the other woman set her on edge. "Right." She said, brushing the thought away and attributing it to her lack of sleep.
"I suppose I should excuse myself now." Meg said, flashing that smile of hers towards Sam again. "It was really nice to meet you, Sam. You've got my number now. You call me if you need anything." She told him before standing and moving herself around the table, laying a hand along one of his shoulders." "I hope you find what you're looking for."
"Yeah, you too!" Sam chirped back, casting her a warm smile. "Thanks again for the talk. It was nice."
"Any time." Meg responded before her eyes flicked back up to Ariella, her brow arching in the air. "Nice meeting you." She said before spinning on her foot and walking away with an air of confidence.
Ariella watched her for a moment before her eyes fell back on Sam. "What's with the look?" he asked, taking in the look of apprehension that had taken over her features as she watched Meg walk away.
"What look?" Ariella chose to say as she dropped herself down in the empty chair next to Sam.
"That look." Sam said, motioning to her pinched brows and frown.
"I don't trust her." She told him honestly, shrugging.
"Ari, you don't trust anyone." Sam laughed. "It's fine, really. She was just being nice. We had a lot in common, actually."
Ariella only hummed in response. An older waitress stepped up to the table then, pulling their attention away from Meg. "Can I get you a menu, Honey?" she asked Ariella as she reached forward to fill the empty mug in front of her with coffee.
"I'll just take the coffee, actually." Ariella told her, the thought of food only turning her stomach further.
"Well, alright." The waitress said as she pulled away. "You just let me know if you change your mind."
Ariella reached out and grabbed the steaming mug as she walked away, bringing it up to her lips to blow on it before taking a cautious sip. "So, what's with the falling out with Dean?" she asked after swallowing the hot liquid, curious eyes falling on Sam.
"My Dad called." He revealed.
"What?" Ariella breathed out in shock, slamming the cup back down on the table. "When?"
"Yesterday." He explained with a sigh, bringing his hand up and running it through his messy hair. "He called to tell us to stop looking for him."
"Of course he did" Ariella said with a roll of her eyes.
"And to tell us that he's looking for the thing that murdered our mom. That….that is was a demon." He added, sending another jolt of shock running through her.
"He said that?" she asked in disbelief. "He told you about yellow-eyes?"
"Yellow eyes?" Sam repeated in confusion. "What are you—" he began to say before his eyebrows dipped together. "Wait a minute. You knew about this?" he asked, it being his turn to be surprised.
"I-" Ariella began, instant regret filling her for not biting her tongue. She let out a sigh then, reaching up to rake her hair back out of her eyes. "Look, John swore me to secrecy over it." She told him, knowing the cat was out of the bag now. If John felt comfortable enough to finally let them in on what killed Mary, then she figured she no longer had to keep her trap shut on the matter either. "He made it explicitly clear how he felt about the two of you knowing."
"And since when have ever given a shit about what my dad says?" Sam asked, anger biting at the edge of his words.
"This is different Sam." She said with a shake of her head. "The only reason I've known about it, is because of everything that happened with my mom. Believe me, I wish I didn't know it was a demon. It…" she said, mouth falling shut as her eyes fell to the table. "Sam, it's haunted me my entire life."
"Why wouldn't you say anything?" he pressed. "When Dad went missing or…or when Jess died. You let us believe that you were just as in the dark as us."
"I am just as in the dark as you, Sam!" she responded in defense. "Let me ask you something. Now that you know it was a demon, does that change anything? Do you suddenly know how to find it? Or why it targeted our families in the first place?" she asked pointedly.
"You should have told us." Sam maintained disappointedly. "If we'd known, we could have been out there looking for it…together."
"Sam, I've been looking for that demon my entire life." She hissed, leaning forward as she dropped her voice so no one would overhear. "John's been looking for it since it killed Mary….and yet, we've got nothing. It's exhausting. I wanted to tell you, believe me, but I wanted to give you answers…not just more unanswered questions."
"So you were just trying to protect us?" Sam scoffed. "Gee, why does that sound familiar?"
"I'm sorry." She reiterated with another shake of her head. "Really, Sam, I am. But knowing it was a demon wouldn't have changed anything."
"We could have convinced my dad to let us help find this thing instead of going off on his own." He countered. "Instead, he's out there trying to take it head-on by himself."
"Sam, this isn't just some run of the mill monster we're dealing with." She bit out. "I have gone against this demon, and you want to know what happened?" she asked, never before having given him the full story of that night. "It slipped inside my head like a fucking parasite and forced me to murder my mother." She revealed. "What's to say it won't slip into your head just as easy and force you to kill John…or Dean?" she questioned. "As frustrating as it is, John was right on this one. Keeping you as far away from that bastard as possible was the one and only decision I'll ever side with him on."
"That thing killed my mom." Sam said, refusing to budge despite her reasoning. "And Jess. I had a right to know."
"Well, you do now, Sam." Ariella huffed, not sure how else she could defend herself. "So what are you going to do now? Go after John?" she assumed. "Is that what you and Dean argued about? Let me guess, you want to keep going after John and Dean, as always, is just content in being the obedient son?"
"Something like that." Sam said, one shoulder lifting in agreement. "Dad gave us a list of victims that have gone missing over the years in Indiana. He wants us to forget about him and focus on saving people. Keep us busy while he deals with the demon alone."
"So Dean's heading to Indiana to work the case while you go off to find John?" she surmised.
"I tracked the payphone he called from down to the Sacramento area." He explained. "I was hoping you could give me a ride."
"And what about Dean?" she asked. You really okay with knowing he's out there hunting all alone?"
"You've aways told me to forge my own path." Sam said. "To live my own life. Why is this any different?"
"Because it's not life you're after, Sam. It's vengeance." Ariella answered lowly. "And I've watched it consume your dad. I won't watch it consume you, too."
Ariella watched the muscles in Sam's jaw tense as they fell silent, tension high between the two. After a moment, his mouth fell open as his eyes narrowed down onto her. "Are you going to help me go after my dad or not?" he asked point-blank.
Ariella let out a long sigh as she contemplated her options. "Of course I will." She said after a moment, knowing she would never forgive herself if she let Sam go out on his own, especially when she knew what he was trying to hunt down. "But not today." She quickly added with a shake of her head. "I've been up for two days, and California is one hell of a drive. Let's get a room for a few hours so I can get some real sleep in and we'll head out this evening."
"Fine." Sam said curtly, not sounding entirely pleased with the proposition, but knowing he had no better options.
So, the two of them found the first cheap motel they came across, renting one of the rooms to share while Ariella tried to catch up on some rest. She crashed hard once she let herself plop down on one of the beds, sleeping through the majority of the day. By the time she managed to feel rested enough that she would be able to drive safely through the night, it was well into the afternoon. Unfortunately, however, she woke up to overhear a conversation that quickly derailed her plans. She woke to the sound of Dean's voice on speaker phone, and what he had been relaying to Sam had given her enough reason to question if leaving for California was the right thing to do.
"The scarecrow climbed off it's cross?" Sam was asking, concern lacing his voice.
"Hey, I'm telling you—Burkitsville, Indiana…fun town." Dean responded sarcastically.
"It didn't kill the couple, did it?" Sam asked.
"No." Dean reassured. "I can cope without you, you know."
"So, something must be animating it." Sam reasoned. "A spirit, maybe?"
"No, it's more than a spirt." Dean said. "It's a god…a pagan god, at least."
At that, Ariella sat up, fully attuned to the conversation as worry began to bloom in her. "What makes you say that?" Sam asked as his eyes swung over to her briefly, the two of them sharing a look.
"The annual cycle of killings." Dean answered. "And the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman…like some kind of fertility rite. Oh, and you should see the locals. They way they treated this couple—fattening them up like a Christmas turkey."
"The last meal." Sam echoed with a shake of his head. "Given to sacrificial victims."
"Yeah, I'm thinking it's some ritual sacrifice to appease some pagan god."
"So, a god possesses the scarecrow—"
"The scarecrow takes its sacrifice." Dean finished for him. "And for another year, the crops won't wilt and disease won't spread."
"You know which god you're dealing with?" Sam asked him.
"Nope, not yet." Dean informed him.
"You figure out what it is, and you can figure out how to kill it." Sam reasoned.
"I know. I'm actually on my way to a local community college to meet with a professor." Dean told him. "You know, since I don't have my trusty side-kick geek-boy to do all the research."
Sam cracked a smile at that, letting out a small chuckle. "You know, if you're hinting you need my help…"
"I'm not hinting anything." Dean said back to that before the line went quiet for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice held a seriousness rarely heard from him. "Actually…" he said, before letting out an awkward laugh. "I want you to know…I mean, don't think—"
"Yeah." Sam said, cutting him off before he had to say anything. "I'm sorry, too."
"Sam…you were right." He admitted. "You got to do your own thing. You got to live your own life."
Ariella's brow quirked up at that, it being so unlike Dean, she found it hard to believe it was actually coming out of his mouth. "Seriously?" Sam asked with a laugh, having been thinking the same.
"You've always known what you want, and you go after it." Dean continued, sounding completely genuine in the compliment. "You and Ari stand up to Dad…I mean, you always have. Hell, I wish I—" he said before he cut himself off. "Anyway…I admire that about you, Sammy. I'm proud of you."
Sam's eyes fell on Ariella, neither of them able to believe Dean was really being this honest. Hell, it was the most earnest she had ever heard him be. "I…I don't know what to say." Sam said, truly at a loss for words.
"Say you'll take care of yourself." Dean supplied.
"I will." Sam promised, voice growing thick with emotion.
"Call me when you find Dad." He said in finality.
"Okay. Bye, Dean." Sam said before pulling the phone away from his ear and ending the call.
"Did Dean manage to get involved with another shifter again?" Ariella asked as silence filled the room. "Because that was uncharacteristically authentic."
"I know." Sam said in agreement, brows still pulled together as he contemplated the conversation.
"Sam, you're not going to let Dean go up against a pagan god by himself, are you?" she questioned skeptically then, surprised he hadn't been more insistent on helping.
"He says he has it handled." Sam reasoned with a shrug.
"And you believe that?" she asked, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. "Sam, you know how many times we've had to save Dean's ass? When Dean says he can handle something, it usually means he can't."
"Ari, if he needed help, he would have asked for it." Sam denied with a shake of his head.
"Did you just listen to the same conversation I did?" she asked in surprise, motioning towards the phone still in his hand. "Because that Dean was trying awfully hard to convince both you and himself that he's fine with you just walking away. You really think he would try that hard to convince you he's okay on his own just to turn around the next sentence and ask for help?" she questioned. "Gods are dangerous. He could be in serious trouble."
"Look, I don't know how long my dad's going to be in Sacramento and we've already wasted too much time in getting out there. This is the first clue we've had on him in ages! We miss this chance; we might not get another one." He said, trying to persuade her to see things from his perspective.
"And what if Dean is in over his head and he ends up hurt? Or worse?" she challenged with an arched brow.
"Dean can handle himself." Sam maintained with a frustrated huff. "We need to stick to the plan."
Ariella gave Sam a bewildered look at that. "No." she said, coming to a stand before letting out a scoff of disbelief at his instance to let Dean handle a god alone. "You need to get a new plan." She countered before moving for the door. "Because I'm heading for Indiana with or without you." she declared. "You want to go to California, then find another ride."
"You can't be serious." Sam scoffed as he came to a stand, watching as she moved towards the door. "You've been avoiding Dean for months, and you want me to believe that all of a sudden you give a damn?"
"Honestly, Sam, it's more shocking to me that you don't seem to give a damn." Ariella tossed back to him as she reached for the handle. "Now, are you going to come with me or not?" The look he was giving her in that moment was all the answer she needed. "Fine." She bit out before pulling the door open and stepping out.
Never in her life had Ariella had a disagreement with Sam. The two of them had always been two peas in a pod. And, if she was being honest with herself, she didn't honestly want to go after Dean…and Lord knew he would probably be livid when she showed in leu of Sam…but she couldn't bring herself to leave when her gut was screaming at her to stay. Despite her best efforts to stay away, she had somehow managed to get sucked right back in.
Luckily, it was only a few hour drive up to Burkitsville. She had tried to call Dean several times on her way up, only to be greeted by his voicemail every time. She didn't know whether or not he was purposefully ignoring her calls, or if something bad had happened, all she knew was that by the time she pulled into the small town around five, her guts were twisted in worry. She pulled into the first gas station she could come across, coming to a stop next to one of the full-service pumps. After cutting the engine and stepping out, she was greeted by a young woman who flashed her a warm smile.
"Hi there! You looking for a top-off?" she asked, nodding towards the car.
"Yeah, that'd be great." Ariella told her in response, it having been a long time since she had come across a full-service station.
The young girl pulled the pump over to Ariella's car then, slipping it inside the tank. "So, you just passing through?" she asked as the fuel began pumping into the nearly-empty tank, trying to make polite conversation.
"Actually, I'm looking for someone." Ariella said, coming to a stop next to the woman who had to have been just a few years her younger. "You haven't seen a guy driving a black Impala come through here, have you?" she asked, knowing it had been the only station in town and Dean had likely been there.
"Young guy in a leather jacket?" the girl asked after her eyebrows had pulled together in thought.
"That'd be him." She nodded.
"Yeah, he came through here yesterday." The young girl explained. "He was looking for a couple that had gone missing around here. He filled up and grabbed a bite at Scotty's before heading out, I think."
"You haven't happened to see him today, have you?" Ariella asked then, hoping it wouldn't be too hard to track him down.
"Sorry…no." the girl told her with a tilted frown.
"It's okay." Ariella said, waving the apology away. "I'm sure I'll come across him sooner or later." She reasoned before pulling out her wallet and passing a few bills over to her. "There a bathroom inside?" she asked, tipping her head towards the small building behind her.
"Of course!" the girl said, head bobbing up and down. "You go on in and I'll make sure your tank gets filled before you're back!"
Ariella muttered a thanks to her as she passed before moving inside to use the restroom. She asked around about Dean to the few other employees inside, all of them giving the same answer. No one seemed to know Dean's whereabouts. After making it back to her car, she passed on another thanks to the girl who had been kind enough to pump her gas before getting back on the road, heading in the same direction Dean had supposedly been sent. She tried his cell once more as she drove out of town, letting out a growl of frustration as she heard his voicemail pick up yet again.
A few miles down the road, however, she encountered one rather large problem in the form of a flat tire. She let out a curse as she felt the uneven thumping while she drove through what looked like a large orchard, pulling to the side of the barren road with a groan. Once outside, she moved around her car until her eyes fell on the problem tire, it nearly flattened down to the rim. She dropped down to her haunches to inspect it, wondering what she had driven over, when she caught sight of something that set her instincts on edge.
The side of her tire had a wide gash in it, which had most certainly not been caused by driving over something on the road. Her fingers trailed over it, feeling the last bit of air seeping out. Her eyes flicked around her surroundings then, suddenly feeling uneasy. She stood back up as she searched the tree line around her, hand subconsciously moving to the gun tucked into her waistband. Upon seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she moved towards the trunk, needing to get the spare and jack out.
As she pulled open her trunk, however, she caught sight of a police car rolling up behind her, eliciting another curse from her. The sheriff's car pulled over to the side of the road behind her, coming to a stop just a few feet from her. Ariella checked that the faux flooring of her hidden compartment was in place before pulling a smile onto her features as the sheriff's door swung open.
"Car trouble?" the young sheriff called out to her as he got out, shutting the door behind him as he moved towards Ariella with his hands on his waist.
"Just a flat." Ariella told him, hoping to be able to get rid of him quickly. "I've got a spare here in the trunk though, so I should be able to get going again real soon."
"Care for some help with that?" he asked despite her reassurances that she was alright. "Pretty lady like you shouldn't have to change her tire all alone."
Ariella had to actively suppress the urge to scowl at him. "I'm really alright." She tried to tell him as she turned to grab her spare tire from the trunk, having to lean over to get a good hold of it before lifting it out. Ariella should have known better. She knew this town was clearly in on the disappearances. She knew someone had purposely slashed her tire. She knew she should not have turned her back to the sheriff. Unfortunately, however, she did…and the sudden flare of pain that burst across the back of her skull sent her straight into a sea to darkness.