Even the sands of time cannot be stopped. People will be set up for certain destinies, but the choice to change is there. If one is strong enough. Beware the falling sand, for if you try to stop time, you will drown in the dangers.<^>
I sat in the small motel room, listening for the Impala. Yesterday had been a blur, and the clothing still smelled like Antiseptic. The leather jacket was hanging on the chair in front of my head.
Dean Winchester. He wears a leather jacket. He has brown-Green eyes. He likes Jeans, and has a really cool necklace. Some mystic guy with bull’s horns. He has a brother named Sam. Sam’s in the Hospital, he got shot in the Shoulder. And it’s my entire fault.I turned over and kicked the other end of the couch in Frustration. He was going to be okay, Dean had gone to get him. But still, I wish everyone would stop shooting at me.
It had happened really fast. One moment I was crawling into the old Impala, hoping to get a few minutes of sleep before the drunken owners came out, when they walked out a little earlier than expected. I haven’t had the best experiences with people, and worse with boys, so when Dean and Sam looked at me, I ran. And they chased me. Chased me right into an alleyway. They had seen a Gang, but I had seen a pack of hounds. The next thing that happened, the leader shot at me, and I threw a knife. Then someone else opened fire, and Sam got hit. The hounds got nervous and raced off, leaving me with men I had never known, one of them unconscious and bleeding. An ambulance had pulled up, and then the same Impala that I had tried to break into was pulling up, and Dean was telling me to get in.
The hospital dragged on for hours. That’s how it felt. Every time a Whitecoat walked back, we both tensed up. He wanted to learn, I wanted to escape. One came along after a while and told us to go home, Sam would be okay tomorrow. We slowly made our way to the parking lot, and drove away. I had been getting ready to get out when he stopped, but when we came to a red light, and I grabbed for the handle, he put a hand on the sleeve of my sweater,
my sweater.
“You look like you could use a nap. I know a vacant Motel near by. Stay the night, see how my brother’s doing tomorrow. Have a bite to eat—“
At the mention of food, my gut gave a small, hopeful growl. Dean smiled when he heard it. He looked better when he smiled, more ready, more alive. A little more than anyone else I had seen smile. I thought for a moment.
You talk, you die… but I don’t have to talk. Just eat.They were looking for me. And one of them was interested in Sam. Maybe I should stick around, see if I can make the Runaways again, fight back, rebel. I like rebelling.
***
“Dean, are you mad? We’re on the run, your still being sought by the police, only not as much, so nobody’s looking hard… but that’s no the part. We’re only getting food by stolen credit cards. And we have no clue how girls in the tween years act. Remember Stacy in grade 6? You asked her out when she was on a sugar high? The next day she went and sent murder notes to you the whole day unless you broke up with her.” Sam had just been informed about the young girl sitting in the Motel that they were staying in, and he wasn’t happy about it.
“Dean, you don’t even like kids.”
Dean held up a finger.
“Don’t start. We already had this conversation, and you lost.’ Sam looked at his brother with that special look reserved for him only. The look that said ‘ you’re an idiot, I can’t believe we’re brothers, your music sucks, and you are crazy.’
“I dunno, Sammy, this girls different. Damm, it was like one of your vibe things, except it was me. She seems to know something, and I want to know what it is. She can stay for a little while.” They finally reached the small Motel, on the side of the highway. Dean blocked Sam out as the younger Winchester ranted on. Dean was a little worried about the girl though, she hadn’t said much. Only that her name was Mia, and she was a fan of Fall Out Boy. She was skinny, like starving skinny, and didn’t take off her ’30 seconds to Mars’ hoodie. Her dark, yet sandy blonde hair was limp, one layer framing her face, to other layer tied back in a small tail. Her face is what got Dean. The brothers had killed things that looked better than the poor kid. Her pale face was sharp, and her dark, blue/brown eyes were sharp, although sunken deep into her face. She was always rigid, scared, ready to run at the slightest noise. Sam was going to get a kick out of her.
The door to their room seemed like a welcoming thing. Safety, sleep, possible food, Sam in the same area, and a nice stretch of highway—an escape route—just outside, these were all on the other side of this door.
“Just a heads up, Mia’s a little—“
“Mia?”
“Hey, that’s her name Sammy. Don’t like it? Anyway, she’s kind of… she likes to say--”
Dean opened the door, and Mia was standing there, as soon as she saw the brothers, she tensed up.
“I’m sorry.” She blurted, staring intently at Sam.
“What?”
“Told you.” Dean whispered.
“I’m sorry you got shot. It was all my fault and I should g--”
“Hey, Mia, it’s going to be okay. Sammy’s gone through worse, and you need someplace to sleep for a while.” Dean pushed Sam through the doorway, “Move buddy, there’s a room calling me.”
Sam popped Dean one as he went by. Then he smiled at Mia, and made his way to the other room.
***
My wings are spread out, and the sun is beating down. There’s a thermal forming to the left of me. I lazily make a turn and head towards it. I want to laugh, so I look up, and laugh. But something’s wrong. I feel strange, like I’m being put back together. The sun is too white, too bright. Then, everything disappears. It’s white, and I’m burning. The white’s all around me, and I need to get out. No wait, it’s fire, I’m in my apartment, and the roof’s on fire, someone is screaming. The lights gone, and I’m in the dark, absolute dark. Get me out let me go… wait, it’s the Impala, and Deans behind me, he’s a mess. I feel like a truck has hit me. A truck has hit me. Dean’s moving, he doesn’t seem hurt. He’s laughing, and then sharp teeth close around my neck, and I feel the blood drain from my face. Someone else is laughing.
“I’m going to find you, and I’m going to get you.”***
I woke up to screaming. It wasn’t me this time, which kind of made me happy. Dean runs out of his room and into the next one. Sam’s the one screaming, then I hear him start to toss his cookies. I seriously need to keep to myself.
That’s when I hear it, the soft, icy, yet beautiful, laughter.
“Mia, can we come up and play? We missed you so much.”
We need to get out of here. They found me, and the brothers are in danger.
I jumped when Sam staggered out of his room. He had a t-shirt in one hand, and the other one is waving around, looking for something to grab. He looks… like he just lost it all, and needs a years worth of sleep. He fell onto the couch and gave a soft groan. Sitting up, he put his hands in his head. I slowly snuck off the couch and into the corner.
Coward, fool, they’ll die and you’ll watch it. Just like your friends.
Go away, I need to think.Dean walked out of the room, and looked around for me. He found me… and then the door rattled with a knock.
“Hey, is everything alright in here? We heard screaming.” There was someone outside that sounded oriental. Under was the icy sound I heard earlier.
Hounds“Go away. You can’t get in freaks.” I screamed. There was no way they were getting in. I heard a snigger, and then the fake cover voice was gone.
“C’mon Mystirque, we just want to take you home, lets play.” The icy voice floated through the door. Dean and Sam looked with a bit of horror, but mostly anger. They knew that things that sounded like that weren’t good. Dean reached to his belt, then a look of worry flashed through his eyes. No gun, no weapon. I felt the cool touch of the Egyptian knife I had under my pants and sock. Left side. Sam probably didn’t have any, and there were two hounds out there.
That’s when they decided to show. The two beasts phased their way through the door, two lean mean fighting beasts, ready to have fun killing other things. They were a cross of a Jackal, a demon, and a wolf like creature. The coal black coat was a shade or two lighter than the dark eyes that seemed to hold nothing, yet everything evil. They were the first memory I had, them laughing as I screamed in pain.
The two Hounds looked around the room, inspecting, wondering who to go for first. The smaller one, possibly female, caught sight of Dean.
“Ohh, he looks good. Let me have him Tryvac, please. You can deal with the freaks. I want to see how he tastes.” She licked her chops and stepped forward, the eager look of a possible kill seemed to give the eyes some light. There was no way I was going to watch this.
The hound leaped at Dean, giving a howl, then stopped dead in the air and fell as a flash of gold raced across the room. It landed on its side, and gave a scream. The death scream of a hound can’t really be described. It’s like the screams of hundreds, and behind it all, is the laughter of whoever made the Hounds. It’s scary, horrible, and could give the bravest thing in the whole world nightmares.
The scream lasted for about 3 minutes, as the monster slowly shriveled into wisps of smoke, which floated into the air vents. The other hound whipped around and snarled at me. Then it turned and launched at Sam. There were three cracks, and the hound screamed. It landed at Sam’s feet, which were pulled up and onto the couch.
“I’m gonna get you freaks.” The hound looked at me, and then disappeared. I looked at Sam, who was panting, and holding a smoking gun.
***
The Impala dove alone in the night air; it’s three passengers sitting in darkness and silence. Mia had crawled into the back, and had her back to the diver side door, no seatbelt. Dean and Sam were in their usual spots, Dean driver, Sam shotgun. No one had said anything after the Hound had left. Mia had crossed the room quietly and picked up her knife. Dean and Sam disappeared into their rooms, and then came out, Sam now in a shirt and brown hoodie, Dean in his leather Jacket. The three made their way to the Impala, and hurriedly drove away. Mia didn’t even have to ask whether she was welcome or not, Dean just gave her a look. They had been on the road for an hour now, and had stuck to second hand Highways. Dean had decided to leave the ‘Mullet’ music off, and the trip had stayed in the silence.
“So, what the hell were those?”
Sam looked at his brother. Dean usually cracked a joke to break the silence.
“I don’t know Dean, some kind of Demon. Something that hasn’t been seen before, hasn’t been talked about, I know that.”
“What do you mean Sammy?”
“I mean, I’ve never read about these things, never heard about them. What ever it is, it’s either new, or no ones ever,
ever, lived to talk about it. Which creeps me out.”
“Their called Hounds.” Mia whispered.
You just talked, You gonna die, they all gonna die little freak.Dean looked in the rearview mirror, “What you call them?”
“Nothing, they just look like hounds.”
“Dean, what if this is something the Demon made up, or sent after us? What do we do now?”
“It’s not the Demon, not entirely.” Mia was staring out of the window, ignoring everything. She could here the screams. That cold laugh. There was no way anyone else she knew was going to go through that.
“What are you talking about? How do you know who I’m talking about?” Dean looked in the rearview mirror again, not taking his eyes of Mia.
“Dean, the road. If you’re going to talk, pull over.” Sam glared at his brother.
“I think I will.” Dean said under his breath. He caught Mia whispering something.
“… There all gonna get you….”
The Impala screeched as Dean twisted on the wheel and slammed on the breaks. Mia and Sam both jumped at the sudden turn and noise. Dean wordlessly turned off the car, then opened up his door, turned and grabbed Mia’s handle. She was ready for him. Curled up like a snake, spring loaded, ready. He opened the door, and caught the girl in the chest as she leapt out, feet first. Mia probably would have gotten away, if she hadn’t stumbled. Dean grabbed her foot and twisted slightly, causing her to fall in front of her. They scrambled up, running. Dean grabbed onto the hood and yanked Mia back.
“What the hell do you know? Why are you even here? If you know about the Demon, then you better speak up, or I’ll tie you to that post over there, and leave you for whoever comes along. They can deal with you. But if you have info that could keep my brother and me out of danger, spit it out.” Dean had the girl by the shoulders, yelling. He was scared, and he was trying to hide it.
“Dean, Dean stop. Get off of her.” Sam grabbed this brother by the shoulder, and pried him off. The two staggered back to the car, Dean trying to get his brother off of him. They left Mia on the side of the road. She stepped off and leaned against a tree.
“Dean, what the hell was that? You scared the s**t out of that girl, and for what Dean, so you could blow off some steam? I don’t care if you’re stressed, we’ve got something we’re not used to and we need to keep our heads.”
“Sammy, I want answers, and that girl… Mia, she seems to know them. I’m not letting her near us, or in my car, unless she spills.”
“Well, there is no way she’s going to talk to you; you’ve scared her so bad she’s shaking Dean. Man, what the hell is with you? You think you can go and poke old people who have had strokes with sticks, and scream at some girl you don’t even know. Hell, you brought her in our lives In the first place. Get in the car, and wait for us. When we come back, don’t say anything to her, got it?” Sam looked hard at his brother. Dean stared back, then looked away.
“You stay close, where I can see you, in case she does something I don’t like. Got it?” Dean looked at Mia, sitting at the base of the tree. Sam nodded, then turned and made his way towards the scared girl.
***
No one wants me, everybody hates me, guess I’ll go eat worms… why me, eh, what sets me out? I was just a little kid. Why can’t I just be left alone? No ore hounds, no more Demons, no more…I looked up at the sound of Sam’s footsteps. Dean was in the car, so I eased up a bit. Just a bit.
“Hey,” he said, “Can I sit with you?” Sam gave her a smile. He was nice, somewhat trusting. I silently laughed at myself. Trusting, yeah, so was my ‘brother’. And look what happened to him. Selling me to the evil, then getting killed himself. I thought for a moment, and then nodded. My cocky thoughts with myself wouldn’t stop me from shaking. Sam eased himself beside me, slowly, non-threatening. But he also did it in a defensive way. Farthest hand up, in the air, incase someone attacked from above.
Smart boy, pretty boy… good bait for it all eh?
Go away, I don’t want to talk to you. So, just go away.“Sorry about Dean, he’s a bit of a Jerk, and can jump the gun in the best of times,” he looked at me, hopping for a smile probably. When he didn’t get anything, he looked back at the car, “Can you tell us anything?”
You talk you die.
But I’m already dead, so what the hell.
He’ll get hurt.
They’re already hunting him.“What were those things back there?” Sam looked back at me, pleading in his eyes.
“They’re called Hounds, and they all need to go back home. To hell.” I wanted to cry, and then go to sleep, right here, leaning against a tree, beside a complete stranger.
“Are they some kind of… ghost? Demon? Do you even know about that stuff?” Sam pushed on. I gave him a look.
“So you do know about that stuff. Are they part of it? Or are they something new?”
I sat there; thinking… then it all came out. Well, almost everything
‘There’s this guy… Demon, he has yellow eyes, and he’s out to turn this place into his home sweet home. He’s working with this one guy. He calls himself the King of Thieves. He’s called a lot of names, Bakurax, Ladrón Del Demonio, but we all called him Derion. It means Dark. He loves it. Him and the Demon have this place called Valhalla. That’s the first place I remember, and the only place I hate. Anywhere is better than that place. Food came once in a blue moon. If we died, it didn’t matter. They had this thing—the Magic Box—it just woke you back up. We could only drink what water formed in the crates and the cells. There were tests, and torture, and ‘Lessons’, and fights. The Hounds were the only ones happy there… but they were so twisted, anything seems nice, home. They run on instinct, and the mind of one pissed off demon. They want you. I don’t know why… but they’re hunting you. They’ll probably kill Dean; maybe make him into a Hound. I don’t know what they want with you. You guys need to get out of here. I can….’ I shrugged. There really wasn’t a plan, guess I would wing it.
“Mia, we don’t even know you. But I’ve seen those Hounds, and if the Demon is involved with this, then there is no way we are leaving you alone. See,” Sam stopped and swallowed, “The demon, the same one by the way you described it, killed my mother and my Girlfriend, not to mention others we know. Dean and I have been hunting him for a while now, and my father, ever since my mom died, all the way until he died himself. We’re in this with you, and I’m not going to leave some poor kid by the side of the road.” Sam took a breath and gave me a look that told me that if I wanted to complain, I was wasting breath.
“C’mon, were going to get a hotel, and then something to eat.” Sam stood up and gave me a hand. He had no Idea how much that meant. I was getting back into the fight. I had a chance. Someone beside me.
I had just signed my death papers.
***
“Hey Jo, it’s Dean. Look something’s come up, and you need to either come to… Sunridge, Pennsylvania, or phone me. We really need to meet face to face. It’s about our little friend.” Dean clicked the phone off, then unlocked the doors as Sam and Mia walked towards the car.
“Who’d you call?” Sam asked as he got into the car. Mia slipped into the back, behind Sam.
“Jo’s voice mail.” Dean threw the phone at Sam.
“Why did you call her? Did she call you? Is she okay?”
“Sammy, shut up. She’s fine, I just want to tell her what’s happened, and tell her about these….” Dean looked at Sam.
“Hounds, they’re called Hounds. I guess your right. We don’t know if they’re going after Hunters. She needs to know.” Sam relaxed and closed his eyes.
Dean looked out into the night, “They’re any places we could hide, reenergize, maybe do some research?”
“Well…” Sam thought, “They didn’t demolish that old inn with Maggie and Rose. Maybe we could stop at Susan’s place and get the keys. Call Jo, tell her to meet us there.” Sam looked Dean for an opinion.
“Who’s… who’s this… Jo?” Mia barely whispered her question. But this time, Dean heard.
“She’s a Hunter like us, a friend. We’re a little worried about her, so I phoned to get a tab on her.”
Sam glared at his brother. Mia jumped whenever Dean spoke, and she was still shaking slightly. If Mia was going to help, she needed to get over Dean, but he needed to help a bit. Let her get used to him.
They soon pulled into a small town, Sunridge. There was one inn, and a handful of bars. The room in the inn smelled like barf, and smoke, but it was better than nothing. And, there were no hauntings in the town, which was a bonus for the boys.
The bars didn’t seem to care about the young girl that followed the Brothers into the bar, and the Waitress smiled warmly at her when she handed out menus.
“What can I get you boys tonight?”
Dean looked up, and gave a dopey smile to the waitress. Sam looked at his brother’s face, then shook his head and sighed. A bit of fear had left Mia’s eyes when she saw Dean under the Woman’s spell.
“I’ll take the Salad special, and a side of shrimp. My brother would like a burger, well done, with everything on it. He also wants a beer, I’ll take a Sprite.”
The Waitress scribbled it down then looked at Mia.
“And what would your sister like?”
That snapped Dean out of his trance.
“Uh, she’s not—” He gave a slight gasp of pain as Sam drilled his foot in Dean’s shin.
“Amy, You made up your mind?” Sam looked at Mia, ignoring as Dean glared at him. Mia glanced at the Menu, then stared. She hadn’t eaten anything for more than two weeks, except for a loaf of bread. The menu was singing to her with beautiful pictures.
“Uh… can you come back to me? I… I haven’t decided yet.” Mia was trying so hard not to drool. There had to be a catch, there was always a catch. But these people didn’t even know her, why slip poison or something to see how she reacted.
“Alright little lady,” The waiter gave another smile, the looked at the boy’s, “ I’ll be back with your meals soon.” She sauntered off, casting another spell on Dean.
“Man, she isn’t even that good looking. Get a grip, before we all drown in your drool Dean. It’s gross.”
“What… What’s pizza?” Mia was too busy with her nose deep in the Menu to notice Dean drooling. The brothers looked at her with horror on their faces.
“You don’t know what Pizza is? How deprived are you kid?” Dean was amazed.
“Pizza… well it’s good. You’ve got bread, and then some sauce, then Cheese, and then—if your ambitious—some toppings. It’s from Italy. You should try the triple cheese.’
“What about Fries?”
“Well…”
“They’re fried potatoes that are crunchy and can go with anything. Even Ice-cream.”
“So, can I have some fries… and a Pizza?”
“What about a dessert, every meal needs a dessert.”
“In the crazy world of Sammy.” Dean laughed as his brother hit him. They were loosening up, getting over the Hounds. There was only one thing missing….
“Hey boys, I thought I’d find you here.”
Dean and Sam looked up, then, both broke into grins.
“Jo, how the hell did you get here so fast?” Sam stood up and hugged the young blonde girl. She was about the same height as Dean, and wore a tight, leather jacket, and hipster jeans. Dean got up and gave the girl a hug.
“I was near town, and decided to come in for a room. Saw Dean’s Impala, and decided to check out the bars to see where you were. So, what’s new? You sounded pretty stressed when you phoned me.” Jo shrugged, and then caught sight of Mia.
“Who’s your new friend boys?” She offered a hand to Mia, “I’m Jo, one of the many victims of the Winchester brothers.”
Mia looked at her, then hesitantly stood up and took the hand. Jo seemed nice, and she was a girl, so there wasn’t much threat there.
“Hey Mia, why don’t you go up to the bar and order. Jo needs to hear the latest lame joke Sam’s come up with.” Dean handed her a twenty, then tried to give her a warm smile. Mia just took the bill, then turned and walked away.
“What’s her problem?” Jo looked at Dean with question in her eyes.
“Uh… why don’t we talk about why I called you? Do you want something to drink?”
***
I sat at the Bar, and looked at the three at the table. I had really good hearing and was picking stuff up over the other noise. I could also read lips, so it was easy to see what they were talking about. Sam told Jo about the Hounds, and what had happened in the apartment. Neither of the boys told about Dean exploding. Jo then told them about someone called Bobby, and how he needed to see the boys soon. Then Dean asked if Jo wanted to come to this hotel with us. She nodded, then they stood up. They all walked over to the door, then Sam came back for me.
“Hey, were going now, do you want anything?”
“What about your food? You ordered, so… what will they do with it?”
“It’s okay, we didn’t pay, and Jo wants to get moving.” Sam put a hand on my shoulder, and I slid off my chair.
We walked out the door, and Dean walked towards us. Jo was starting up her tin can car. She shot a look at Sam, and then turned to look at Dean. I tensed up. My back began to itch.
Fight or flight. They’ve figured it out. Your little secret. Get ready.“Hey Sam, can you give us a moment? To get some things straight?” Dean smiled, and looked really goofy for some reason. A part of me wanted to trust him so bad. Sam looked at me and then looked at his brother. He walked away, leaving me at the front door, with his crazy brother.
Well, jeez buddy, thanks. “Can we walk?”
I nodded, and walked towards the car. There was no way I was staying with this guy.
“Hey, wait… Mia.” Dean looked down then sighed, “I was an a**, and I want to say sorry. You gave us some good info, and the more people I have looking out for Sam, the better, so… can we shake and forget?” He looked back up and offered me a hand. The animal in me growled, but the kid, the girl, the weakling, was in control. I gave a shaky smile, then took it and gripped hard. Then everything after that went upside down.
***
The old hotel/ house was just what you would expect for some strange haunting. There was this old guy who had been keeping it in semi good shape, but vines still snaked around windows. There was an old pool and greenhouse in the back, and leaves were scattered everywhere. It was big enough that I felt safe and crept out at the same time. Big enough to hide in, but big enough to get lost. This was going to be all right.
“So, do you think the girls will give us any troubles?” Sam looked at his brother.
“Well, hopefully Maggie can forgive and forget. If not, Rose can keep her busy.”
“So what happened in the end?” Jo grabbed her bags and stood beside the brothers, surveying the house. I was leaning against the Impala, backpack at my feet. I was hearing things probably, but laugher seemed to be coming from a small field to the right of me.
“Rose died, and Maggie just stopped. Then someone came along to do an inspection, to see how the house should be demolished. He walked back to his car, and the engine caught fire. The bulldozer came, and it rusted up overnight. There were some other things, but no injuries. Everyone finally said ‘forget it’ and no ones touched it except Sherwin. Girls have been playing nice.” Sam picked up his bag, and then walked forward. We all followed.
The next hour was spent looking for rooms. I found one that made me want to never ever leave. It was a tower room. Two huge door windows faced the east, while another faced the west, with a small porch for both of them. There were smaller windows all around after that. Beams criss-crossed above my head, and a nice bed was against one of the walls, in the middle of the two door windows. The view was of the pool in the back, the forest that surrounded us, and I could see parts of the only road that led here. There was a closet, which was empty, and a bookshelf, which was chock full. I was starting to relax. Things were looking up.
I really need to stop lying to myself.
***
Day two. Everything was fine. Sherwin had scared the pants off of Mia when he had snuck up on her last night, but everything was fine after that.
So why the hell can’t I shake off the feeling that we’re going to get an unwelcoming surprise soon? Dean was sitting on the steps in the front area, beer in hand. Mia hadn’t been seen all day, and Sam had moved off back into his room. Jo was exploring, so Dean was alone.
“Hey Dean.”
It was amazing how high someone can jump when surprised. Dean whipped around and looked towards to door, then dropped his beer. There stood the late John Winchester.
“Dad, what are you doing here?” His hands were shaking, and Dean wanted another beer, just to calm his nerves a bit.
“I can’t come and say hi to my son every once in a while? Se how it doing?’
“Dad, get to the point. Ghosts just don’t come back to see what’s up with his family.” Dean looked around, looking for something as a weapon. This could be on of the Hound things. Better be on guard.
“I’m not a Hound Dean, but you’re right to be on guard. I just want to say some things. One, keep the kid close. Mia is more important to you than you can imagine. Keep an eye on Sam—”
“Dad, what do you think I’ve been doing? Playing solitaire?”
“Dean, listen, there is something important going to happen. There’s a whole different game starting, so be on your toes. If you ever see someone who looks like me, shoot it. I’m not coming back, and if I do, shooting wouldn’t do anything. Now, I have to go. Make sure you know where everyone is.” And with that, John disappeared. Dean wanted to scream. He loved his dad, and missed him dearly, but this was insane.
“Sam, where are you?” Dean jogged down the hallway, looking for his brother. Sam poked his head out and saw his brother. Sam looked like he had been asleep.
“What’s the matter Dean?”
“Look, our dear Dad just paid us a visit, and he told me to look for you guys.”
“Wait, you saw Dad? What did he say?” Sam grabbed his brother.
“Sammy, we can talk about that later. Where are Mia and Jo?”
“Dean, I’m here.”
The brothers looked and saw Jo standing there.
“Mia told me she was going to see the pool and would be back soon.” Jo walked to the boys. There was a moment of silence, then they all turned and raced for the back door.
***
Holy DeJaVu. Sam ran ahead of his brother, remembering when they had raced down this path to save Tyler. They slammed against the door, only to bounce back. Mia was standing by the rail, staring out into the building. Jo began beating on the glass, calling out. Then there was a black flash, and John stood there, smiling. His black empty eyes made everyone stop. Hound. He waved, then whipped around and slammed his hands into Mia’s back, sending her over the rail.
***
I wasn't expecting it. Hell, I didn't even hear anyone. It wasn't until the Hound shoved his hands into my back, and I went over the rail, did I know how much trouble I was in. I hit the cover on my back, and part of me went in to freako mode.
Attack, escape, fight, fly, go go go. I began to struggle, and tried to breath, but the plastic covering on the pool had wrapped around me, and all opening were now leaking water. Fast. Part of me kind of became all robot-like, assessing the situation. This is how screwed I was. I hate water, and I can't swim. The pool was half empty, and the plastic was acting like a mist net, tightening with every movement I made. Oh, and there was a psycho Hound that had jumped in with me. I noticed that part when claws ripped at my side. I was dragged to the bottom as the stupid thing ripped at the plastic. Then it found my neck. Shaking me like a rag doll, it was happy. The thing is already dead in a way, so it didn't need air. Unlike a certain someone who was now loosing conscienceness. I think I blacked out, because I opened up my eyes, and there I was, below me. It’s kind of easy to know that this isn’t normal and not supposed to happen.
Great, I have died hundreds of times, and the first time I'm actually free, I get two week of freedom, and die. I looked up and saw Dean and Sam jumping into the pool. Jo was on the deck, ripping out a cell phone and running outside. The Hound looked around, and then launched himself at Dean, snout open wide. Then it crashed down into the pool floor, punched by a small girl in a weird dress, with blonde curly hair. The Hound looked around, then gave a scream and disappeared.
Sam grabbed me... well, what used to be me, and dragged me to the deck. I didn't see the rest.
There was a slight flash, and then, a guy stood in front of me. All around us was grey, and I felt kind of cold.
"It's not your time yet, you need to go back." He reached for me, and I backed off.
"What do you mean?'
'They're not ready for you, so go back. Your fights not finished."
***
I heaved, and half the pool spluttered out of my lungs. I felt like throwing up, and I think I did too. Sam was holding me up, Dean was yelling something, and I wanted to paralyze everyone so they would leave me alone and shut up. Jo was yelling back, and I heard her running towards us.
Just leave me alone. Let me die.
Can’t die little rat, what’ll happen to me?
You can go to Hell, you retard.I really didn’t notice when Sam pulled me up and tried to make me stand on my own to feet, only to grab me when I was about to fall back into the pool.
“I’ll take her up to my room, see if we can get her cleaned up.” Sam let me rest against him as I tried to remember how to walk.
We finally made our way to his room, and I was proud of myself. I hadn’t hurled, I hadn’t blacked out, and I was moving… kind of. My eyes were open, and apart from shivering like a newborn mouse in a slight wind, I was showing no sign of weakness. Too bad shaking is a big sign. My sweater was weighing me down, and I just wanted to lie down. Sam sat me down on the windowsill, then went and grabbed a tee and Sweater.
“They’re a little big, but they should help with warming you up.” He handed them to me, turning to leave. I began to take my sweater off.
“Mia—” Sam turned to look at me, and I whipped my sweater down. The look on his face told me he saw it.
No, no, no, no, no, no!
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Hahaha.The silence stretched. I wanted him to say something, or leave. Just stop with the silence. I could hear a car coming up. Dean calling out ‘Susan, Tyler’. Him and Jo jogging to where the car had parked. Doors opening, laughter, greeting.
Sam, say something. Please.“… Mia, were you going to tell us?”
I hung my head and gave a shake.
“If… if I did, they would look for you, even if I did leave. I don’t want anymore to die.” I was crying now. Tears were running down my face, but I wasn’t making a sound. A trick I learnt at Valhalla.
I looked up at him. He wanted to see.
Aw man. He looks like a teddy bear with those eyes. Dammit. I need to toughen up more.I started to pull my sweater off. Underneath was a tee shirt that said ‘Don’t mess with the night queen.’ If only I felt as confident as my shirt was shouting out. Although it was kind of funny when Sam’s eyes popped out of his head. The reason was that he had seen my arms. Apart from the millions of scars covering them, midnight blue scales were scattered here and there in patches. I took a breath, and then turned around. I could here Sam hiss as he sucked in breath. On my back was a set of wings. They were the same colour as my scales on the upper side, and a shade darker underneath. They looked like bat wings, and if anyone asked, that’s what they were. I was biting my lip so hard it bled, trying not to cry. I would leave in the morning, closer to 2:00, fly away, start again.
“We should go down, show Dean. It’s better if you do that instead of leaving it for him to find out. Believe me, that’s the worst thing you can do, apart from hurting his car, or me.”
***
Dean seemed to handle the shock a little better than Sam. But his eyes still came out of his scull a good foot or two. He looked into the room where Jo, Susan and Tyler were talking, then looked back at me.
“Is that why you knew about the Hounds? And why the latest one went and tried to kill you?”
I gave a nod.
“Will you tell, us the whole thing when Susan leaves?” Dean was staring hard at me. I just wished he would look away, look at Sam, just do something that broke the interrogational look he was giving me. I gave another nod.
“We’ll show Jo later.”
We all walked into the Parlor and sat down. They all started to talk. Except for Tyler and me. She was cute, her long dark brown hair pulled through the hole in her baseball cap. She was drawing on a piece of paper, with a bored look on her face.
I looked around, and saw a small girl walking through the tables towards us. I recognized her as the same girl that had attacked the Hound in the pool. She walked up to Tyler and poked her. Tyler turned and looked, then seemed to shrink in fear.
“I’m sorry for hurting you. Rose wants to know if you want to play. We’re playing with her dolls.” The little girl smiled at Tyler.
Tyler thought for a moment then looked at her Susan, “Mom, can I go play with Maggie and Rose?”
Susan showed a bit of fear to, then covered it with a smile, “Sure honey, but be careful. We’ve had enough accidents for today.”
Tyler smiled then jumped from her chair and ran after Maggie. Just before both girls were out the door, Maggie turned and looked at me. I mouthed a ‘thanks’. She smiled at me, and gave a nod, then raced up the stairs to play.
***
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