Reaching for the Ground: Prologue
Prologue
The sky looked ominously gray as the tall figure walked across scrubland, tugging on a leash as a strange creature lolloped behind him. The chains rattled loudly as the creature stopped, apparently fascinated by a broken tree stump. It crouched low beside it, and the sound of running water filled the air. The figure waited patiently as the creature shook itself, sniffed some apparently interesting vegetation, and continued his walk. The creature moaned low in its throat, and when the man turned, he saw it staring at him with wide, red eyes.
“Look,” Sam said, “we’re nearly there. I promise, as soon as we get to Cicero you can have all the food you want.”
The creature cocked its head to the side, eyeing the man curiously, before continuing on its way. Sam laughed. “Dude, you remind me of someone with that look,” he said, before looking to the sky for a moment. He shook himself. “Enough of that, let’s go.”
Griesey Farms Riding Academy, Cicero, was full of parents. It was their annual showcase, with riders of all ages, from the ones who boarded there to the others who just came on a Saturday, showing off their skills. Sam waited, concealed behind a line of stables, holding tightly on the leash. The creature was getting restless, rattling its leash as it stood on its hind legs and made whimpering noises. Sam stared at the thing, at its leathery skin, red eyes and yellowy-brown fangs. “You know, I’ve seen a lot of ugly creatures but man, you’ve got to be in the top ten.” The creature growled, pawing at its leash in a desperate attempt to garner sympathy. “A few more minutes, I promise.”
Sam waited, surveying the crowd until he could see the familiar figure of Dean walking towards the main jumping area and holding Ben’s hand tightly. He saw him bend down and say something to Ben, before they took up a spot next to the fence so they could see the action. From his observations, Sam knew Ben liked horses, and the local annual showcase would be too much for him to miss. Lisa was working, which meant Dean had to bring him to watch the show. The boy was chattering excitedly, pointing out things to Dean who tried his best to look interested. Horses weren’t really his thing, but Sam knew he would do his best to encourage Ben in whatever pursuit he wanted.
Sam took the leash and walked to a point far away from the main arena. He leaned down to the creature, and fiddled with the chain around its neck. “Now, I’m telling you,” he said, catching the creature’s gaze and staring into its eyes. “See that horse over there? The old one, gray, without much hair?” Sam pointed to a rather thin, slightly mangy horse that was stood on its own in a field. The creature nodded, as though understanding every word Sam said. “You go after that one, ok? You can suck on that until your heart’s content. No others, just that one. I find you’ve hurt any others, or any people, there’ll be trouble. You got that?”
The creature stared at him. “Good enough,” Sam said, as he undid the chain around the creature’s neck. As soon as it was free, it bolted to the other side of the stables, completely in the opposite direction of the gray horse. Sam ran after it, muttering, “Shit!” under his breath, hoping the other horses were fast enough to get out of its way. Presently he heard people screaming, and when he rounded the corner, he saw the stables in absolute chaos. People were running everywhere in an attempt to get away from the creature, who had managed to find a food store and was now merrily chomping its way through a bag of carrots. Some woman, who Sam assumed to be the owner, was screaming for people to keep their pets under control, and threatening to sue whoever had taken their dog off its leash.
The horses, who had all lined up ready to perform a demonstration, had bolted in the chaos, some crashing through or leaping over fences to get away. Dean grabbed Ben’s hand and walked away, turning around to shout, “Place is a joke! Kids just ain’t safe here.” He opened the door of the Impala and pushed Ben inside, before getting in to the driver’s seat and screeching off. Sam watched the familiar taillights as Dean broke to avoid a frightened horse, before pulling away.
Sam stood there, watching as the owner tried desperately to herd the horses into an enclosed paddock, flapping her arms around manically. “Great.” He muttered to himself. “It’s a vegetarian.” He sighed heavily, pulling a notebook and a pen from a pocket. In meticulously neat handwriting, he wrote:
Attempt 7: Chupacabra. Failed.
Sam sighed again as he put the notebook and pen back in his pocket, wondering who he could ask to clean up this particular mess. Barbas, his mind thought instantly. Barbas had really gotten him pissed over the whole ‘sink hole’ thing in Guatemala City, and he was waiting for a suitable punishment. Sure, the workers in the clothing factory had left an hour before it happened so no one had been injured, but still. Can’t have rogue demons pulling crap like that, especially when he was working so hard to improve their reputation.
“Yeah,” he muttered to himself as he watched the chupacabra leap joyfully into a sack of turnips, tearing it to pieces with its fangs while a young stablehand screamed and ran away. “Barbas can clean up this one.”
With the sound of fluttering wings, he was gone.
Chapter One - Heaven and Hell