The Race
Hey everyone! I'm back with another chapter! Thank you so much for all the reviews, it truly inspired me to get this chapter written quickly for y'all.
**That being said, I did write this with the intention of cutting back on my descriptions and moving the story along at a faster pace and skipping unnecessary scene. I realize I have a tendency to overanalyze, describe and repeat things to the point where it could come off as too much or boring. I do like realism, but I understand in some situation that it can really drag the plot and make one impatient for more exciting things (which, I confess, includes myself). I hope this to be an improvement, so it would be really helpful to get some feedback on this chapter. It is still descriptive and my writing style is, essentially, the same, but I attempted to modify it and hold back my twitchy fingers in hopes of speeding things along. An added bonus in all this is my ability to post faster which is always plus. However, please note, you may come across more grammatical errors than usual due to my attempts to write quicker.**
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy it.
The grey clouds that cast a dreary haze over Nebraska's farmland seemed depressingly fitting as a light drizzle speckled steadily across the windshield of the black Ford Ranger that Ellie 'burrowed' from the back lot of the Bakerson's Inn. While the vigilant teenager ensured there were no security cameras in the back parking lot, and despite her full intent to return it, it didn't make it any less nerve-racking and morally disheartening to, essentially, steal someone's vehicle without their knowledge or expressed consent. No matter her dire reason for doing it, Ellie's conscience was fully aware of how wrong it was. Not to mention the obvious, that it was against the law and if anyone caught her, she would be in the deepest shit of her young life to put it mildly. However, in Ellie's young and desperate mind, it was simply a necessary evil and risk she was willing to take as she was just doing what she had to do to save someone she cared about. And the astounding fact that she found an unlocked vehicle with the damn keys inside, only proved to her naively optimistic mind, that this was all just meant to happen. Her determination and desperation to make her little escapade 'good' blinded her to the harsh reality of her misdeeds, diluting the severity of her action as she continually tried to convince herself that the end result of Dean living would be overshadow all of the 'bad' she had done to get to it.
Knowing she was egregiously pressed for time and her ass literally depended on her ability to complete her task quickly, with her slender backside seated on the edge of grey cloth seat, Ellie recklessly pressed her sturdy brown boot down on the gas pedal racing down the wet country road at an astounding speed. In the rain and in a stolen vehicle, it didn't seem to make a difference in the teenager's adolescent mind, as she had the daring audacity to surpass the legal speed limit tenfold. With her lungs constricted and heart wedged in her throat, Ellie's brown eyes, wide and alert, scanned the gently rolling hills of the vast and open landscape of Nebraska's farm country, vigilantly taking in the distinct and familiar landmarks she had locked in her memory.
Then, expanding into her view on the right side of horizon, Ellie's alert eyes caught sight of the familiar dirty-white decrepit steeple of the modest church, which was just peeking into view behind the mature branches of a stately oak tree that was rooted next to it. Ellie's eyes cut down from the steeple to the rusty red tube gate that blocked the entrance to the property which she was approaching at an alarmingly fast rate, carelessly flying down the wet road like a mini drag racer.
In an unfamiliar vehicle and not having the best judgement at the moment, the panic-stricken teenager shifted her boot over to the brake pedal and abruptly and forcefully pressed down causing the pickup truck's blading tires to slide across the slick asphalt. The rough friction against rubber and cement generated an ear-piercing squeal causing Ellie to grit her teeth and scrunch her face into a regretful wince. Ellie's muscles tensed fiercely under her skin as she held the steering wheel in a death grip, like the tighter she squeezed the 'safer' she would be. Once the skidding front tires aligned with dirt path entrance, the rash urgency within her took hold and she thoughtlessly pushed aside any rationality involving her personal safety as she jerked the wheel onto the dirt path causing the backend of the truck to swing out and swerve behind her.
Ellie's unbending determination to avoid any setbacks that might cause her to waste the precious time she did not have pushed her rash and frantic mind into thinking small things, like having to turn around and back trek due to a missed turn, could cost her the entire mission. It never even crossed the teenager's mind, as it was so full of urgency and impulse, that crashing and possibly getting injured would be a far worse setback, then simply having to turn around.
The pickup truck jolted and wobbled on the uneven ground of the dirt path as Ellie pressed on the brake pedal causing her to jerk forward and back in her seat as the vehicle came to an abrupt halt. There was just enough room on the dirt path entrance between the road and rusty tube gate for the small Ford Ranger to fit. In fact, Ellie was damn lucky she didn't slam into the medal with her reckless swerving as the truck's grille sat only a few feet from chipping metal bars.
Looking out the rain speckled windshield, with the black wipers sweeping across her sight in a slow rhythmic pattern, Ellie's eyes locked onto the familiar weatherbeaten black and white sign tacked onto the center tube bars which read 'Private Property, No Trespassing'.
Ellie reached up around the steering wheel and shifted the gear lever into park before twisting the key and cutting off the engine. She slipped the keys into her slate brown jacket pocket to accompany her cellphone before reaching over and hastily snatching her backpack off the passenger seat. The owner of the vehicle may have felt safe to leave the keys in the truck, but Ellie sure as hell wasn't going to. Despite the unlikeness, in a small town such as this, Ellie couldn't fathom how shitty it would be if someone stole the vehicle she stole first. The irony would be astronomically gutting and disastrous and despite her unusual good fortune as of late, Ellie was about to press her already pressed luck.
Ellie flung open the driver's side door and stepped her boots onto the soggy clay of the dirt path. The cold damp air caressed over bare hands and face as Ellie threaded her arms through the black straps of her Jansport. After swinging the driver's door shut, Ellie hastily marched up to the tube gate that was chained tightly against the thick wooden post of the surrounding barbed wire fence. Without a second thought, climbed onto the sturdy metal bars of the tube gate which were rusted in spots where the red paint had been eroded and chipped away. With athletic and agile ease, Ellie scaled over the top and thudded her boots onto the soften muddy ground on the other side. Ellie brushed her palms across the outer sides of her jeans ridding herself of the wet grainy residue that lingered on her hands from the rusty tube gate, as she tilted head up to gaze upon the old abandoned church under the brim of her navy cap.
The traditional weathered structure sat alone against the dark grey clouds of the open horizon except for one mature oak tree that stood majestically to its right. The tree was bare except for a few sparce brown and reddish leaves that still clung to the fringes of its outer branches. Its dark brown truck and branches contrasted, almost strikingly, against the faded white paint of the decrepit old church, which was pealing and chipping from decades of weathering decay and neglect. The long narrow arched windows that once aligned the sides of the church, along with the double door entrance, were boarded up with planks of discolored and rotting plywood. The surrounding wheat yellow grass that swept across the flat landscape was high and overgrown, except for one clear beaten path that circled to the side and rounded to the back of the church.
Not wasting a moment, Ellie high tailed it across the flattened path, pounding her thick books into the saturated muddy ground feeling her weighted backpack, rock and sway against her stiffened back muscles, the hardened shape of the hefty bolt cutter tapping against her shoulder blades. The steady drizzle of rain droplets spritzed against her flush freckled cheeks and pattered lightly against the top of her navy cap as her brown locks swooshed behind her. Once Ellie rounded the back of the church, which was concealed in the surrounding high vegetation and underbrush, the old cellar hatchway came into her view. Ellie knew the only way into the building was through the old cellar's hatch, which is exactly how Pastor Jim strategically designed it to reduce the possibility of unwanted civilian trespassers snooping around, namingly, mischievous and bored teenagers.
Ellie halted her boots in front of the whitewashed thin wooden slats of the cellar's hatch doors which were tainted and smudged with dirt and debris, a few brown leaves from the old oat laying scattered in contrast over the dirtied white color of chipping paint. Four black strap hinges ran half the width of the scuffed double hatch doors and in the center was a silver padlock securing the doors shut. The spare key to that padlock was secured on her uncle's tactical key ring strap which he had hooked onto his belt and tucked safely into his left jean pocket.
While she had the skill and the handy tool to pick the lock in her backpack, Ellie didn't have the time nor did she have the patience to go about this neatly. She needed to get in there, find the spell book and get out as quickly as possible. The anxious girl could practically hear every precious second tick away in her head, like the unnerving sound of a ticking time bomb that could detonate at any moment. Despite Dean's declaration of 'one damn hour', Ellie truly had no idea how long they would be gone. It could be one hour, a little bit more, a little less, hell, it could be fifteen minutes for all she knew. And that dreadful uncertainty zapped Ellie's nerves into a jittery panic of grave urgency as she was relying completely on fate.
Of course, a large very prominent part of her anxiety certainly had to do with the horrid prospect of getting her ass tanned with Dean's belt. However, the fact that the man's life could very well ride her ability to complete her task quickly and undetected, is what truly terrified the young teenager the most. So much in fact that it was seeping deep down into her core leaving her feeling overwhelmed with the intense responsibility. She had to succussed, she just had to.
Ellie dropped her knees onto the saturated muddy ground in front of the cellar's hatch feeling the wetness of the dense clay seep through the tight fibers of her blue jeans. Ellie unthreaded her arm through one of the black straps of her Jansport flinging it around to the side of her torso. With her muscles bulging tensely against her skin and her heart racing out of her chest, Ellie shook with jittery adrenaline as she worked to unzip the main compartment of her backpack pulling out the Winchester's black handled bolt cutters. Shifting off her knees and back into a standing position, Ellie slipped the sharp clamping blades of the bolt cutters between the shackle of the silver lock. To gain more leverage, the smart and resourceful young teenager situated one of the handles against her center of stomach while she gripped onto the other handle with both hands. After adjusting her clammy palms around the black handle grip, she pulled down feeling her slim arm muscles strain and stake with tension as she forced all of her strength down against the sturdy cutting tool.
The pleasing sound of the metal splitting and snapping hit her ears as the well sharpened blades compressed together releasing the tension instantly. With an elated spark of encouragement that surged through her adrenaline filled veins, Ellie shifted her body to side as she pulled back on the black handle grips and carelessly chucked the well-maintained tool behind her leaving it to lay on the wet and muddy ground. Ellie dropped down into a deep squat and, with her fingers shaking, shifted the shackle around before pulling the freshly split metal through the hasp loop. Silently apologizing to Pastor Jim for breaking his lock, Ellie hastily tossed the lock onto the muddy ground before flipping the silver latch open. Ellie curled her fingers under the lip of wood in the center and, without taking much care, flung one panel open swiftly before doing the same to the other.
As soon as the bulkhead doors were open, the impatient teenager bolted down the old concrete steps, feeling her opened backpack jerk and sway loosely against her shoulder.
Once Ellie made it to the bottom of cellar steps, it was only then a panicking realization swiftly knocked into her body hitting her brick wall. A loud gasp emanated from Ellie's parted lips that seemed to echo within dark open space of the cellar as she brought her racing feet to an immediate and desperate halt. The abrupt stop and the force her momentum caused Ellie to shoot up onto her toes as her limbs locked in frozen trepidation. With her arm flung stiffly outward, Ellie stood rooted on her toes like an awkward rigid statue, not daring to move a single muscle out of place.
With her breath wedged in her throat, Ellie, with her russet eyes as round as saucers, cautiously tipped her head downwards glancing at the threshold into the cellar. The dull grey daylight shinning down into the entrance of the cellar cast a gentle reflective glow onto the barely visible thin trip wire which was distressingly only centimeters from the fraying cuffs of jeans. If she had taken just one more half-step she would have, surely, triggered it and Pastor Jim would immediately be notified that some uninvited person had entered his lock-up location in Red Cloud which was a gut-wrenching thought that made Ellie feel downright nauseous as her plan would be crusted into a pile of dust.
Although, thankfully, the trip wire wasn't hooked up to any explosives and Ellie was not in danger of being blown to bits, she would, undoubtably, be in danger of getting caught and damn quickly. The trip wire was a detection device designed as a precaution to catch snooping trespassers. Although, the man was all the way in Blue Earth, Minnesota, Pastor Jim, being the well-connected and, frankly, likeable man he was, had contacts in law enforcement, not to mention the excessive number of friends within the area that could be at the church within the span of just few minutes as tripping the wire would be considered an emergency. Hunters were very serious about keep their world hidden and Ellie knew firsthand, the worst things came about when citizen began poking their noses where they didn't belong. It could range from annoying headaches and setbacks to something as serious as someone losing their life. Despite Ellie's status as a versed Hunter's kid and an arm's dealer's niece to boot, that did not permit her to have free rein to come here announced anytime she pleased. As much as Ellie wanted to downplay her actions into something more acceptable, she knew she was, essentially, breaking and entering and Pastor Jim and Hunters alike would not take kindly to it to say the least. There was very dangerous stuff in this church and Ellie knew, as a thirteen-year-old child, she would never be allowed to come alone and go snooping, let alone take one of the dangerous items without permission. Ellie cringed at the notion if her uncle ever catching wind of her breaking into Pastor Jim's lock up location. She would get her ass beat six ways till Sunday and then some. And, God help her, if he knew her intent was to a steal the Grimoire and look into black spells, let just say she would be fixing to meet Jesus sooner rather than later.
Ellie ever so carefully shuffled backwards on the balls of her boots. It wasn't until she was several steps away did she flatten the sturdy soles of her boots onto the dusty dirt floor, heaving her heavy chest back down with a weighted sigh of raddled relief. Ellie cupped her forehead under the brim of her ballcap before swiping her heavy palm down her careworn face. She needed to get a freaking grip or she was going to blow it.
Feeling the ever pressing urgency egging her on, Ellie whirled her opened backpack to the side of her torso. She reached down to the bottom and pulled out her small, but durable black flashlight that situated perfectly within her grip, running the width of her palm. With the flashlight firmly tucked within the crease of her palm, Ellie raised it up until it was in line with her ear squinting and straining her eyes as she stared into the darkness of the cellar. Pressing her thumb against the protruding button on the opposite end, sending a sharp click against her ear, the artificial white glow of the flashlight flicked on illuminating the open space in front of her.
Old windows leaning stacked against one wall, a cluster of paint cans from decades ago under the far wooden steps, several sets of old folding chairs and other miscellaneous things one would expect to find scattered around the dirt floor of an abandoned church cellar. Anyone who entered would be utterly fooled by the convincing facade, completely unaware that behind the solid concrete wall that divided the room concealed secrets that would have any normal civilian's blood run cold.
With extra caution and care this time, Ellie stepped over the thin trip wire and booked it down the path toward the stairs that ran parallel against the far concrete wall in the far back corner of the room. After ascended the old wooden steps, Ellie emerged into the large open space of the one room church. Knowing exactly where to go, Ellie rushed down the center aisle passing the dust-covered pews that ran on either side of her until she made it to the modest platform of the sanctuary. In the center of the platform sat the simple wooden structure of a modest podium, stained in dark walnut finish that had become washout and faded over the years of neglect. With purposeful haste and efficiency, Ellie rounded the side of it and bent down slightly as she shoved her slender shoulder into the side of the wood, leaning her weight into it as she scrapped it across the scuffed wooden slats until a small nick the size of her pinky thumb nail was revealed. Looking at it one would think it was just one of the many dents and imperfection of the old battered church which is exactly what the shrewd Pastor intended.
Ellie squatted down on her heels and hooked her finger into the tiny space. Pressing her curved finger upwards the concealing hatch of the staggered planks lifted and reveal the hidden trapdoor. Ellie flipped the staggered plank hatch all the way until it came to rest on the floor. With her flashlight in hand, Ellie quickly descended the steep wooden steps which led directly to the lock-up room placing her on other side of the dividing concrete wall. Once Ellie's boots hit the dirt floor, the anxious teenager pulled up her flashlight by her ear once again and scanned the familiar contents of the room. Just as she remembered it, on the right side sat an array of weapons display neatly on a pegboard with an impressive variety of knives, guns, flairs, small blowtorches, and Hunting bows and arrows. It was a good stock, although nowhere near what her uncle processed as a well-equipped arms dealer who had several large bunkers of munitions, but, still, a good array for a lock-up sight. Underneath the pegboard sat an old wooden workbench with old army green ammunition boxes, sharpening tools, bullet molds, jugs of gun oil and cleaning supplies, along with several handy workman's tools, camping type equipment and a box of MRE ration pouches beneath. Ellie moved her flashlight to the left wall across from the weapons which sat an old industrial shelving unit which housed several books, maps, and Hunters journals. On the far wall across from the stairs sat another section of the room which was divided by a half concrete pony wall. It was the 'dark' section of the room her uncle adamantly forbade her from walking into. It's where Pastor Jim stored all of the cursed objects he collected over the years and various specific items used for Hunting rare and power entities and, to Ellie's great recollection, a Grimoire.
With her flashlight illuminating a bright beam ahead, Ellie trended her boots across the dirt floor towards the ominous section of the cellar. However, as soon as she crossed the threshold of the half pony wall, Ellie felt an uneasy heaviness weigh against her body, like an invisible wet blanket had suddenly been cast over her limbs, along with an uncanny pressure that seemed to clamp against her temples making her head feel like it was caving inward. Ellie halted her feet immediately as her face muscles twitched into wince feeling a grunt of discomfort vibrated in her throat. She reached up and cupped her forehead as she rubbed her thumb and pointer finger against her temples in an attempt to alleviate the encumbering pressure. Why the hell was she getting a headache all of a sudden?
She could only fathom it had something to do with the abundance of sinister supernatural objects in the room as she was astutely aware she had tendencies to be very sensitive and susceptible to paranormal energies. Whether that was because she grew up in a Hunter's world or her inherited connection to magic, Ellie did not know, but she often found herself drawn to the supernatural in some strange way. Not drawn in the sense that she enjoyed the company of ghost and supernatural-beings, of course not, as it would be over her dead body to relish with the likes of the creatures she was trained to kill. Drawn in the sense that she was instinctively aware and attune to the presence of the supernatural.
Despite the heaviness in the room not being unusual, the damn headache sure as hell was. She could only guess that perhaps being excessively stressed and overwhelmed with the high stakes of everything in addition to the sinister weight of the room could've played a part in agitating a headache out of her. However, that didn't explain the suddenness nor sharpness of it as it was disturbingly abrupt, baffling Ellie's comprehension to a disconcerting extent. But as it stands, right now, she didn't have the time to mull over the reasons behind the odd occurrence. She had a job to do and she couldn't let a simple headache get in the way of her objective.
With her feminine brow creased in a pained grimace under her navy cap, Ellie determinedly gritted her teeth and hummed out an enduring moan before removing her fingers from her compressed temples. With her posture somewhat hunched by the uncanny weigh of the room and the bothersome headache, Ellie lifted her flashlight in line with her ear once again and began to move about the small space of the divided room. The illuminating white light of her flashlight scanned the various standing shelves that lined the cement walls of the room. On the old wooden planks of the industrial shelves sat a couple of black wooden and metal boxes in varies location. They all had distinctive white runes painted meticulously on all faces of the boxes, some covered with a heaping amount of dust, while others seemed recently located. Recognizing the white symbols, Ellie knew, without a shadow of a doubt, those black boxes contained cursed objects which were imbued with dark magic intended to bring grave misfortune to anyone who touched them. Ellie crinkled her nose in disturbance feeling a fitting shiver crawled up her spine as cursed objects were extremely dangerous often leading to people's untimely demise.
Voodoo objects, old relics, bones of unknown origin, rare herbs, questionable liquids in marked mason jars and all short of odd and creepy paraphernalia Pastor Jim obtained over the decades which smart little Ellie had to the good sense not to touch or even look at for too long. Ellie knew some objects in the room were stored here for the purpose of hiding them from the public due to the inability to destroy them and some were used for Hunting entities and monsters that require specific means to wipe them from existence.
Ellie's swept the flashlight across each shelf carefully, her sharp eyes wide and alert as she vigilantly looked for anything that remotely resembled a book. She didn't know exactly what it looked like, but she was certain, if it was going to be anywhere, it would be in this section of the room. It wasn't until Ellie's flashlight past over the old dusted leather spine of large book, did her frantic searching come to an immediate halt. The book was lying flat on its cover with the unmarked dark leather spine facing outward. It was plain except for the three distinct protruding raised bands that wrapped around the curvature of the old leather spine.
Ellie's eyes widened and flashed feeling a potent spike of encouragement shoot up her spine and, without pause, Ellie reached up from the second to the top shelf and snatched ahold of the old dark leather spine. With the book firmly grasp in her eager palm, Ellie shinned the white glow of her flashlight onto the faded and worn dark brown cover which had a slight reddish tint to it. The hard cover was plain and unadorned except for the tarnished brass edge guards that were tacked onto the four outer corners of the old book. The edge guards were simply in design with a single rivet tacked in the center of each holding the sturdy leather binding in place. The book was only a touch larger than the standard size and about as thick as the typical Law student's textbook making it strain a little heftily against Ellie's slender wrist.
Tucking her flashlight in between her neck and collar bone, Ellie cocked her head to the side and raised her shoulder up to meet her ear squeezing the flashlight in place as it beamed a direct stream of light down onto the weathered leather cover. With her hands now free, Ellie quickly flipped open the book to a random page in the middle sending an earthy and woody musk wafting into her nostrils with the unpleasant stale combination of dust particles. The aging pages were tinted in a yellowish brown hue, but it did not seem to disturb or impair the neatly handwritten texts that Ellie noted were distinctly in Latin which made her want to groan in recalled dismay at just how difficult and annoying the dead language was to decipher, even with a Latin dictionary and the help of the internet.
As Ellie flipped through old linen pages, she got unpleasant fleeting glimpses of the distinct ritual diagrams and dark runes, along with the abundance of handwritten texts alongside. And if Ellie wasn't certain before that this was a Grimoire, the disturbing drawings and unsettling depictions of black magic was a dead and unnerving giveaway. Although Ellie was turning the pages rather quickly and her eyes only passed over the illustrations at brief glances, an unsuspecting chill rustled against Ellie's nerves sending goosebumps across her skin as it didn't take much of discerning to know this was very dark book she had in her hands. She could feel it down to her bones as her instincts warned her against it. Yet, amazingly, that didn't deter the tenacious girl. Whether that made her brave or stupid, Ellie didn't rightly know nor did her impulsive mind care at the moment, all she knew was she couldn't back down just because things were scary or dangerous, not while a man's life hung in the balance. She faced scary and dangerous things her entire life and if her skilled mother was able to sift through the sinful practice and manage use it for good, Ellie saw no reason why she couldn't at least try to do the same. Tampering with dark magic was dangerous, complex, and excessively touchy and Ellie knew she had to be extremely careful if she was to succeed or things go bad unbelievably quick to degrees that were chiastolitic.
Although, undoubtably difficult and a taboo notion, Elizabeth Colt was the proof that it wasn't impossible. And it was her deceased mother who provided the hope Ellie needed that not all was lost and that Dean could be saved and Ellie was not about to let that go just because it was a hard and terrifying task. She was braver than that.
Suddenly, the horrid pressure that was compressing her temples amplified tenfold making Ellie cry out loudly at the unexpected sharp and concentrated pain that was crushing her skull inwards. Unable to help herself Ellie squeezed her eyes shut as her face muscles tightened, deepening the indents of Ellie's pained expression sharply. Humming and gasping in distress as her muscles constricted into a braced stance, Ellie reached up and cupped her forehead under her navy cap. The crushing pressure was shocking sparking an intensifying panic within her making her desperate for relief. Ellie slammed the book shut, grab her flashlight from between her neck and shoulder blade, and rush stumblingly out of that section of the room with every intention of racing up the stairs to get out of the confining heavy space. However, as soon as Ellie crossed the threshold of the pony wall into the supply section of the cellar, like a light switch flicking off, the headache instantly disappeared without a trace. There was no lingering twitches, twinges, or aches one would expect after such an ordeal. There was not one shred of evidence that it even occurred.
Ellie halted her feet absolutely dumbstruck with shock. What the hell?
Ellie pivoted her slender frame around to look behind her at the 'dark' section of the room, her brow crinkled in disturbed confusion. Her wide brown eyes began to dart back and forth wondering what about that space made her hurt so suddenly and, as far as she knew, for no apparent reason. Her uncle entered that space, Pastor Jim, and many Hunters alike. Why was she different?
Fretful questions reeled through her mind as she tried to make sense of it all. Was there a specific item in there that affected her so intensely? Only affected kids perhaps? Or was she just that overly sensitive to this many supernatural objects in one space? Ellie shook her head as there was an uneasy feeling that whirled in the pit of her gut making her chest constrict with an unsettling disturbance. She, honestly, didn't really know if she wanted to know the reason as it couldn't possibly be anything good.
Ellie glanced down at the old spell book clasped firmly in her grip, sparking a sudden and realized urgency that rapidly snapped her out of her brief distraction. Ellie gasped loudly as she pulled back her slate brown sleeve back with her finger, shinning the flashlight onto her watch awkwardly as she simultaneously held the book in her hand.
11:58AM
"Shit." Ellie exclaimed feeling her heart shoot up into her throat as her muscles tensed and jolted with an intense burning motivation to move her ass.
Jerking her body swiftly around, with her long brown locks swooshing behind her under her navy cap, Ellie bolted up the steep steps like hell itself was on her tail, the white beam of her flashlight jerking wildly against the darkness of the room. Once she made it up to platform of the sanctuary, where the cracks through the plywood bords over the large stain glass windows provided a spec of more light than the dark confines of the windowless cellar, Ellie carelessly swung the concealing wooden hatch shut. A loud bang clanged against the large open space of the abandoned church making Ellie cringe slightly at sheer volume that echoed in her ears.
After pushing the old wooden podium back over the hidden hatch, Ellie hustled down the center aisle, elongating her strides like she was racing down a track. Her heavy boots pounded against the wooden slats of the old floor boards sending a thudding vibration against the loosely tacked pews.
Once she made it down into the front cellar room, Ellie recklessly hurdled over the trip wire without breaking her hasty strides. It would seem, now that time was really of the essence and her butt fully depended on how quickly she could make it back, Ellie's reckless disposition was in full swing.
As soon as she emerged out of the musty old cellar into the damp open air, Ellie whirled her body around. Tucking the spell book under her arm, Ellie flung hatch doors shut, sloppily disregarding the fact that she they weren't closed properly, let along the fact that it wasn't locked. In all of her haste, Ellie didn't give it a thought as she was solely concerned on one task and that was moving her ass as quickly as humanly possible.
The steady drizzle of raindrops drip onto Ellie's shoulders and navy ballcap as she slipped her flashlight and the spell book into the main compartment of her backpack. With her hands shaking with the built-up surge of adrenaline, Ellie snatched the bolt cutters off the muddy ground where she had tossed it. Caring little about the muddy wetness, as the cleanliness of her backpack was of little priority at the moment, Ellie hastily shoved the dirty bolt cutter into her bag before shakily zipping the zipper shut securing everything inside.
Without a moment to spare, Ellie flung her heavy backpack over her shoulders and raced down the dirt path toward the red tube gate. Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest as her lungs labored with the familiar and practiced exertion of her training. The excesses weight of her backpack proved to be of little hinderance as the athletic teenager pounded her sturdy boots into the soft muddy earth feeling her wisping brown hair shoosh behind her like a cape. The biting damp air rustled across her cheeks and whistled in her ears as she fled across the beaten path.
Never slowing her pace, Ellie rashly jumped onto the sleek tube bars of the rusty metal gate. Snatching her palms onto the top bar and slamming her boots onto the one below, Ellie hurled her slender body over the gate making impressively short work of the blocking optical.
Not bothering to take off her backpack or even put on her seatbelt, once Ellie got into the driver's seat and slammed the door shut, the frantic teenager reversed off the dirt path onto the asphalt road completely overlooking the possibility of oncoming cars, but to Ellie excessively great fortune, on the back country road, there was not a car in sight.
Once the tires rolled over the asphalt, Ellie reached up and jerked the gearshift into drive before recklessly slamming her sturdy boot onto the gas pedal causing the truck's balding back tires to screech and spin in protest, a cloud of smoke emanating from the intense friction. The little Ford Ranger swerved and skidded, hydroplaning on its wearing tires against the wet road before abruptly gaining tread and jolting forward at an angle emitting a startled gasp from Ellie as she jerked the wheel to her right in an attempt to straighten the tires and stay on the road. By the seat of her pants, Ellie managed to gain control just enough to keep the speeding wheels of the pickup truck from running off the road.
Ellie breathed a huffing sigh of both relief and exasperation feeling her tense shoulders heave downwards as her body trembled in an edgy agitation. If she wasn't on the brink of losing her mind, she sure as hell was now. She wanted to smack her head against the steering wheel a few times for how utterly stupid and, frankly, incompetent that was. She may be just thirteen, but she knew fully well that roads were slippery when wet. Before Ellie could not imagine a more devastatingly catastrophic outcome than Sam and Dean making it back to the motel before her, but now seeing that she almost crashed the truck she stole into a drainage ditch made her come to the enlightening realization that it could be a hell of a lot worse than that.
With her muscles tensely rigid, Ellie expelled a shakily breath through nose as she attempted to control her breathing and force herself to calm down enough to keep a level head of rational composure - at least enough to get back in one piece. She pressed on the gas accelerating the vehicle gradually down the back country road feeling her anxiety swarm like a buzz of agitated bee knocking against every corner of her body leaving her with an intense jittery restlessness that only seemed to intensify by every passing minute making her squirm in her seat and ring her constricted fists around the steering wheel in dreadful agitation.
With her chest bound in tense knot and her heart wedge in her throat, the entire way Ellie contemplated all the dreadful 'what if's', playing out the horrible scenarios in her head like a dramatic Shakespearean tragedy, torturing her mind into frenzy of panic. Now, that it had come down to possibly facing the consequences of her actions, her bravado, that was once so strong, had been reduced to nothing more than a puddle of adolescent nerves. The long and the short of it was, she didn't want that promised spanking and judging by all the transgressions she accumulated within the span of a single hour, she was certain it was going to be absolute hell and his declaration of taking off his belt and not being 'nice' anymore raddled her 'tough' disposition far more than she cared to admit.
For what seemed like an egregiously long time, when in actuality it had only been eight minutes, Ellie finally pulled through the back alley and into the back parking lot behind the Bakerson's Inn where she 'burrowed' the Ford Ranger. After strategically parking the truck exactly how it was next to the blue industrial dumpster, Ellie killed the engine and placed the keys back in the cupholder where she found them.
Feeling her spastic nerves tingle and jolt within her tense body, Ellie swiftly got out of the truck swinging the door shut behind her before booking it along the side of the brick building, begging and pleading with fate every step of the way.
Once Ellie rounded the brick wall of the building leading towards the front, in the far corner of her vision, Ellie caught a glimpse of the distinct sleek black frame of one very familiar 1967 Chevy Impala pulling into the entrance of the parking lot. Ellie inhaled a rushing stream of air as she gasped embarrassingly loud feeling a powerful blow of terror strike against her chest sending her nerves into a wild fluster. Her muscles tensed harshly against her skin in a jolting rigidness as a fierce dread began to bleed and spread to all corners of her body. Ellie immediately jerked her body back around the corner out of sight feeling a reeling panic like no other zap at her spastic nerves.
Ellie's heartrate elevated to newfound heights feeling her blood pound in her ears as the dire urgency to spare her backside and her secrets took hold with unparalleled potency. There was no way in hell she could race to the front entrance without them catching sight of her. Therefore, she had to find another way into the building and damn quickly or not only would she be receiving the 'grade A' butt whopping of the century by a very angry Winchester, but she would have to face the very real possibility of them finding out about the Grimoire she had in her possession. Which, undoubtably, would lead to them trying to pry information out of her as to why she stole it and she was certain, without a shadow of a doubt, they wouldn't even try to understand. They were Hunters through and through and the scrutiny, the judgment, the condemnation, the hate for even thinking of meddling with dark magic would be unbearable. Sam and Dean were good men and good Hunters, but they could never find out about her connections to witchcraft, ever.
At the young age of thirteen, Ellie thought she just might have a heart attack as she fled towards the back of the building, her wide fearful eyes frantically searching for other ways into the building. Another door or, hell, a half open window would be good enough for Ellie.
Just before the desperate teenager was preparing herself to bang on windows, her eyes caught sight of the most beautiful thing she could have seen in this moment. And if it wasn't for the evidence staring at her directly in the face, Ellie would have never believed her pure dumb luck. Where had this luck been all my life?!
The black back door into the motel was propped open like a welcoming invitation casting a ray of vital hope onto the desperate teen. Ellie's wide brown eyes locked onto the door like a hawk and, without a second thought, she raced over to the back door like her ass depended on it, which it damn well did. Once Ellie made it to the door, she shuffled her feet to slow down just enough to grab a hold of the black metal door frame swinging it open further. But just as Ellie hurled her whisking frame across the threshold, her racing feet came to a swift and abrupt halt as she banged into a startled housekeeper who was just about the walk out the door. The woman gasped out a surprised grunt and took a few stumbling steps backwards as she dropped the two full black trash bags she had in her hands.
Ellie jerked her head upwards to see the stunned expression of the middle age woman with a pair of thin silver glasses situated half way down the bridge of slender nose. With her thin lips part in dumbfound shock, the woman's striking sky-blue eyes blinked down at Ellie behind the frameless rectangular lenses of her glasses. The lady's dirty blonde hair was pulled back in a messy bun with just a few flyway strains hanging by her temples. The cobalt blue polo shirt that hung over her plump frame loosely seemed to enhance the hues of blue in the woman's bright eyes adding to the appearance of a gentleness in the soft wrinkles of the woman's aging face. On the left chest of her polo shirt stitched in white thread was the embroidered lettering of 'The Baterson's Inn' labeling the woman's status as an employee.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am." Ellie apologized hastily, her breathless voice sounding winded as she quickly moved around the woman. She was genuinely was sorry for bumping into her, but that didn't mean she had the time to stay and chat about it.
"Wait." The woman called after her as she turned around to look at the back of Ellie's quickly retreating frame who was already halfway down the short hallway. "Young lady, you can't come in this way…" Although the woman was undoubtably serious, the deliverance of her words was rather mild and passive with no real assertiveness in her soft manner.
"Sorry." The rushed apology flew off her tongue frivolously as she barely glanced over her shoulder to acknowledge the woman. She knew that was not an acceptable apology by any stretch of the imagination nor was it right to disregard the woman's words entirely, but the truth of the matter was, according to Ellie's desperate thinking, getting to the motel room took precedence over polite etiquette at the moment.
"It's an emergency." Ellie explained hastily, without breaking her stride for an even moment, which, all things considered, was not a lie from Ellie's perspective.
The housekeeper opened her mouth to dispute, but the young teenager had made it down the hall and out of sight before she could get another word in. The woman sighed heavily with a reluctant acceptance pressing her thin lips together as she let it go. Shaking her head slowly, she moved to pick up the two full trash bag she had dropped during their collision, thinking the young teenager must have really had the urgent need to use the restroom by the way she almost trampled her over.
Once Ellie made it to the adjacent hallway where their room resided, Ellie picked her legs higher and lengthened her strides kicking her speed into a whole new gear as she booked it into a dead sprint down the hallway. Feeling a knot of salvia gag her all the way up to the top of her throat, Ellie's wide brown eyes locked onto the dirty white door at the end of the hallway with intense fixation. As the door drew closer with every desperate stride she took, Ellie hoped and prayed with all her might that Sam and Dean would not suddenly round into the hallway and catch sight of her. As soon as Ellie reached the door, she took a brief daring glance down the length of the hallway utterly relieved to see not a single soul. But just because they weren't there now did not mean at any second that could round that corner and see her standing outside the door. Grabbing a hold of the tarnished chrome knob giving it a rough twist, Ellie swung the door open and bolted past the threshold. Ellie heaved the door shut behind her as quickly as she could before turning the lock.
Ellie's petite chest was heaving up and down in short labored breaths which seemed to fill the silence of the empty room as she backed away from the door. With an alarming realization knocking her upside the head, Ellie darted her eyes downward to look at the muddy splatter that speckled the bottom half of her Levi jeans, along with the two distinct grimy blotches that encircled her knee caps from when she had kneeled in the saturated clay. If her sounding like she was having an asthma attack was not enough to spike some serious suspicion, the apparent muddy evidence of her damp clothes and the bulky contents of her backpack sure as hell would.
Heaving in a sharp winded gasp, Ellie jerked her body around and raced to the concealing privacy of the small bathroom. As soon as Ellie entered the tight space of the bathroom, she whirled around and closed the door while simultaneously flicking up the black light switch. Bending over, Ellie placed her shaky and clammy palms on her damp denim-covered thighs for support as she desperately gasped in rushes of air. With her body trembling from her adrenaline high, Ellie straightened her posture and rested her palms on her hips as she paced back and forth inhaling and exhaling through her nose attempting to gain control over her breathing.
It was then Ellie's sharp ears honed in on the distinct sound of the motel door opening, feeling the subtle tremor of heavy boots trending against the thin carpeting. Ellie squeezed her eyes shut, a distressed expression ceasing into her young feminine features as she took in the terrifying notion of just how damn close she came to being caught. It was a matter of mere seconds that spared her. If she was behind even one single minute, she would have been done for and her hope, along with her backside, would have been busted with one swift decree of Sam and Dean's wrath.
Suddenly becoming overwhelmed with a plethora of intense emotions, Ellie felt a burning sensation engulf around her sockets as the threat of tears began to build up behind her eyes, but Ellie's stubborn disposition absolutely refused cry. No matter how distressing everything was, now was not the time to wallow in her grievances and have a self-pity party.
Ellie swallowed hard and forced the despair down her throat. As a defensive mechanism, Ellie forced her feelings deep down into her heavy chest pushing them away from her bruised heart as she focused her mind on what was important and that was saving Dean's life.
Suddenly, a brisk knock sounded against the cheap wood of the bathroom door making Ellie nearly jump out of her skin in startlement feeling a jolting spark of anxiety ignite within her sending a blossom of bleeding heat to radiate in the center of her petite chest.
"Ellie?" Dean's voice prompted on the other side of the closed door frame, sounding notably less tense then earlier.
"Yes." Ellie airily acknowledged, letting the word zip off her tongue far too quickly for her liking, making her face muscles twitch into a cringe of self-criticism. Although there was nothing really telling in her tone nor her deliverance, her heightened apprehension, which was reeling distress, made her analyze every little folly excessively.
"How ya doin', kiddo? You throwing up anymore?" Dean's normal casual tone inquired with the hope that she was feeling much better now that she had gotten some rest.
"No, sir. I'm-I'm actually feeling much better." Ellie assured with a slight elevation to be forced relaxed tone that sound surprisingly light and, even encouraging.
"Did-Did you get the medicine?" Ellie found herself asking as she picked and fidgeted with her fingers nervously. Despite, not wanting to strike up a conversation with the man, her caring heart couldn't help, but hope that the man's pain had subsided.
"Yep, quicker than expected." Dean acknowledged a bit dismissively, almost like he was brushing it off as something trivial which sent an unexpected slight ping of annoyance against her edgy nerves.
"Um, uh, you think I could, ah, take a shower? Cause, uh, ya know, I'm…dirty." Ellie awkwardly and choppily explained and not in a shy cute way either, but a bizarre way. The kind of bizarre that was suspicious and just came across as plain weird. She did not need to give him a reason as to why she needed to shower. And if that wasn't bad enough the awkward pauses, hesitations and the over use of 'uh' were downright cringy. How did she, all of a sudden, forget how to speak properly? Perhaps it had something to do with blatantly disobeying a direct order, lying to their faces, stealing a truck and breaking into a lock-up location or the little fact that she had a stollen Grimoire in her backpack.
Ellie could have smacked herself at just how fumblingly ridiculous and stupid she was sounding. Ellie rolled her eyes dramatically at herself and mouthed 'oh my God' before lightly tapping the brim of her ballcap against the avocado tile wall twice. Ellie could only attribute her stumbling words to the fact that she was so mentally and physically drained to the point where it was making her stupid. She swore if she talked to him any longer, she was going to give herself away somehow and after all she had been through to avoid detection that would be one shitty way to go down.
Although she needed a shower for her bluntly stated reason that she was indeed dirty and sweaty, it was, ultimately, a necessary cover up to hide the muddy evidence and dampness of her clothing. And she wasn't saying it directly, but it was also an excuse for Dean to simply leave her alone and give her the space she needed to keep her head. Call her antisocial, but she had no desire to converse with the man she disobeyed and lied to.
Dean brows furrowed slightly as a look of perplexity crossed over his masculine features feeling a brush of unease at her meek and odd manner. However, the man dismissed it almost immediately as nothing more than oddity of Ellie's, thinking perhaps she was just tired which, to his credit, was not far from the truth.
"Sure, kiddo." Dean agreed seeing no reason why not as they had plenty of time before four o'clock. Not to mention a shower might help rejuvenate her back to feeling like herself again after being sick which was a welcomed thought to Dean.
As she heard Dean's heavy boots tread away from the door giving the young teenager the space she desperately required, Ellie closed her eyes and sighed out a plume of relieved air through her nose.
She did it. By some miracle, she actually did it.
TBC
Well, managed to avoid detection…for now. How long do you think this girl's crazy luck will last?
I know it was rushed, but I tried to keep the descriptions to a minimum and move things a long at a quicker pace. Hopefully it is an improvement and you all enjoyed the faster posting. This could have easily been two chapters with my winded tendencies.
Please review! I'd love to know your thoughts, suggestions, input, etc. Like I said many times before, it really helps motivate me to write faster and just makes my day. So, if you got a moment, and you're enjoying the story, please consider.
Lots of love. Thank you so much for reading.
Stay tuned for more!