Highway to Hell: Episode One: "Hell's Belle"
Episode 1 : Hell’s Belle
Chapter 2: Georgia Welcomes You to Cave Spring
Chapter Wordcount: 1755
They reached the hole in the wall town of Cave Spring about an hour after dark set in. They were both beat and ready to crash at the one motel the town sported. As Dean drove down the two-lane blacktop, breaking every speed limit in town, he spotted something. Sitting in the parking lot of a shady looking bar, was the 1987 Monte Carlo.
He slammed on the brakes so hard and turned the corner so quick, Sam almost tumbled into his lap; the car’s tires screeching in protest and the back end swinging wildly.
“Dean! What the hell are you doing?!”
He quick cut the wheel, parking it crooked in the only open parking spot.
“Look!”
“What?!”
“Look!” Dean roared, jabbing his finger out the window.
Sam saw it, and shot a look at Dean.
“And…”
“And I think I need a drink.” He said as he yanked open the door and got out.
*Blue County’s “Good Little Girls” playing in the background*
Thick country music was playing as the two brothers entered the bar. They were just short of standing out like sore thumbs. Dean saw Tabrina sitting at a stool by the counter and ordered Sam to find a table before he spotted her.
Dean then made his way through the smoke filled room and over to the seat next to her.
She was taking a swig from her Budweiser bottle as he took a seat next to her and ordered beers for himself and Sam.
She sighed and put her bottle down, spinning it in its watermark on the counter.
“Jimmy.”
“Yea, Monte?” The tattooed bartender asked as he grabbed a couple longnecks for Dean.
“These boys’ drinks are on me tonight.”
Jimmy shot a look at Dean and nodded before handing him his beers.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“And you don’t have to tell me what to do.”
He bit the inside of his lip. “Look, I’m sorry about before…”
“Shut it.”
“What?”
“I don’t want your lame ass apologies. Besides I wasn’t exactly the nicest girl either.” She smiled, shooting him a glance from the corner of her eye.
“True.” He said, with his own grin.
She sighed again and looked at him. “Where’s Sam?”
He shrugged and glanced around the bar, “I told him to go get a table.”
“Boys like you shouldn’t be stag in a place like this, come on let’s go find him.” She said reaching over the counter and grabbing a bottle of Crown Royal, winking at Jimmy and walking away.
He looked at Jimmy and back at her. What the fuck?!]
Walking fast and trying to act normal as he watched her hips sway in front of him in those worn blue jeans, he shouted over the guitar and fiddle pouring from the jukebox.
“You own this town or what? And what do you mean ‘boys like us?’”
She spun around walking backwards taking a swig straight from the bottle. She winked at him with a heart-stopping smile and almost made him trip over his own feet.
She had somehow managed to walk straight to the table that Sam had picked. Dean had no idea how she had ever known were to look through the crowd.
Sam immediately straightened up when he saw Tabrina walking towards him…with Dean, of course, in tow.
“Hi.”
“Hi yourself.”
Sam smiled. “You seem like you’re in a better mood.”
She shot him a look as she slid into the booth.
“I’m a girl…I have the right to have mood swings.” She smiled.
Sam just laughed as Dean took a drag on his beer and slid into the seat next to her.
She took a big gulp of whiskey, feeling the burn as it traveled from her mouth, down her throat and into her stomach. Radiating a heat through her entire body.
She sighed deep and looked at Sam and Dean. “Alright…we gotta get this shit straight. Are we gonna tell each other the truth…or are we gonna keep skirting around this shit?”
The brothers exchanged looks. Sam not being sure if he wanted to take her up on her offer. Especially after the lecture he had given Dean about telling Cassie their big ‘family secret.’
Dean stared at the stained and scratched table as awkward silence hung in the air like before.
She rolled her eyes, grabbed both of their beer bottles and smashed them against the backrest of the booth, the shattered glass scattering all over the floor and misting the entire area in beer.
“Now somebody better fucking say something.” She said as she brandished a busted bottleneck.
Dean was staring at her like she had lost her mind. “You just wasted two beers.”
“I bought ‘em, whadda you care?”
“They were two perfectly good beers!”
“Damnit! Fuck about the beers! YOU came up to me in this joint! Now either we shoot straight in here, or we can go outside and shoot straight, now what’s it gonna be?!”
Sam was nervously looking around as they started to draw the attention of the other patrons of the establishment.
“Dean…”
“What the fuck is your problem?” Dean yelled right back, oblivious to the bull of a man that was walking up to them.
“Dean…”
“You are one spoiled little bitch you know that? You just…”
“Dean!”
“What?!” And then he saw him. The 6’ 3” tower of pure muscle that had silently made his way to the table.
“Everythin' awright Monte?” He grated out.
“Yea, Billy, it’s alright.”
The man didn’t move…neither did Dean.
“Really.” She assured him.
“Awright.”
“Thanks hun.”
The man smiled and walked away. Dean almost shaking as the threat receded. Now he could see the half-dozen or more other people that were all staring at them.
“What the hell is with you and this town?”
*Trace Adkin’s “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” playing in the background*
She laughed and dropped her head.
“And what the hell is with this song?”
She laughed even harder as the lyrics hit Dean’s ears.
“Come on.” She said clutching the whiskey bottle and all but climbing over Dean’s lap, shooting him a look in the process and making her way back out the door.
Out in the parking lot where the blare of the music was just slightly subdued, she walked over to the pickup that was parked next to her car and dropped the tailgate down, hopping up on it and swinging her feet.
“You boys walked into one hell of a place.” She chuckled.
“So I see.” Dean said sarcastically.
“In case ya haven’t noticed this is a small town. Less than 2,000 people. Everybody knows everybody here. Billy in there…” she said, tossing a thumb back towards the bar, “was my Dad’s best friend…and also my cousin. Jimmy’s just an old school buddy…but practically anybody in there would fight you guys if you tried to lay a finger on me.”
“What are you the town princess or something?”
She glared sarcastically. “No, everybody’s just family here. This is my hometown. We’re vicious when it comes to friends.”
Sam was smiling. “Seems like a decent place to grow up.” He said turning to look at Dean who just looked at him like he said the sky was pink.
“Sure…outsiders say that.”
Sam looked at her. “Why do you say that?”
“Sometimes everybody else knowin’ your business and everythin’ about you ain’t always great.” She laughed.
“True.”
She looked at Dean. “So what’s your take?”
“I dunno.” He shook his head.
She nodded. “Typical.” She quipped.
He shot her a glare and she smiled right back, making him break down and laugh.
“Lemme guess…you guys are staying at the Full Moon Motel.”
“Of course, it’s the only place in this town.” Dean said.
“I know.” She smiled. “So…we gonna talk now?”
Dean and Sam again met eyes.
“Fine! I’ll go first…you bunch of pussies. My brother left after my parents died. Moved to Chicago. Said he had to get out of this dead end hole of a town. I stuck around a couple years, then thought I’d see the countryside. Went up to Chicago to see ‘em, but nobody had ever heard of him. Spent the last few years followin’ dead end trails and clues. Come to find out…he came home. But he’s not the same.”
Sam scrunched his eyebrows and Dean listened attentively.
“Apparently nobody had ever heard of Kevin, because he changed his name to Jackal. Joined some legion of the dead cult or some bullshit. Found out about that maybe a year ago, before I found out he came back. Been huntin’ him ever since.”
“So he’s here?” Sam asked.
“I hope. Haven’t had a chance to go to the cave yet.”
“Cave?”
“Yea…the namesake of the town. I think that’s where they’re meeting.”
Dean paced, walking around in the light of the one streetlamp that lit the gravel parking lot.
He then stopped in front of her and met her eyes. “We hunt shit like that. Ghosts, demons, poltergeists…you name it.”
There. He had said it. Now he just had to wait for her reaction.
Sam stood in silence watching her to see what she would do.
All she did was nod and take a swig from the bottle.
“A couple years ago…I woulda said you were nuts and probably have called a couple of my buddies out here. But now…after looking for my brother…and seeing the shit I’ve seen. I believe you.” She said as she again took a drink.
Dean sighed and then rubbed his eyes.
She laughed, “Tired?”
“A bit.”
“Alright, let’s head out.” She said, screwing the top back on the bottle and hopping down off the tailgate.
“Wait…what do you mean ‘let’s’?”
“I’m staying at the motel too.”
“Thought you owned this town?” He said sarcastically.
“Doesn’t mean I want to.” She said with a smile, climbing into her car and firing up the engine.
“You gonna follow me?” She asked, leaning out the window.
“Sure.”
She pulled up to the exit of the bar and waited for the Impala to pull up behind her before slamming on the gas and heading down the lonely two-lane.
“She drives worse than you Dean.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Dean asked, shooting a look at Sam before returning his eyes to the road in time to see the taillights of the Monte take a curve at at least eighty.
“Nothing.”
“Damn that girl can drive. She sure ain’t scared of anything is she?”
“Doesn’t look like it.”
Previous: Chapter One | Next: Chapter Three
Highway to Hell Master Post
Chapter 2: Georgia Welcomes You to Cave Spring
Chapter Wordcount: 1755
They reached the hole in the wall town of Cave Spring about an hour after dark set in. They were both beat and ready to crash at the one motel the town sported. As Dean drove down the two-lane blacktop, breaking every speed limit in town, he spotted something. Sitting in the parking lot of a shady looking bar, was the 1987 Monte Carlo.
He slammed on the brakes so hard and turned the corner so quick, Sam almost tumbled into his lap; the car’s tires screeching in protest and the back end swinging wildly.
“Dean! What the hell are you doing?!”
He quick cut the wheel, parking it crooked in the only open parking spot.
“Look!”
“What?!”
“Look!” Dean roared, jabbing his finger out the window.
Sam saw it, and shot a look at Dean.
“And…”
“And I think I need a drink.” He said as he yanked open the door and got out.
*Blue County’s “Good Little Girls” playing in the background*
Thick country music was playing as the two brothers entered the bar. They were just short of standing out like sore thumbs. Dean saw Tabrina sitting at a stool by the counter and ordered Sam to find a table before he spotted her.
Dean then made his way through the smoke filled room and over to the seat next to her.
She was taking a swig from her Budweiser bottle as he took a seat next to her and ordered beers for himself and Sam.
She sighed and put her bottle down, spinning it in its watermark on the counter.
“Jimmy.”
“Yea, Monte?” The tattooed bartender asked as he grabbed a couple longnecks for Dean.
“These boys’ drinks are on me tonight.”
Jimmy shot a look at Dean and nodded before handing him his beers.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“And you don’t have to tell me what to do.”
He bit the inside of his lip. “Look, I’m sorry about before…”
“Shut it.”
“What?”
“I don’t want your lame ass apologies. Besides I wasn’t exactly the nicest girl either.” She smiled, shooting him a glance from the corner of her eye.
“True.” He said, with his own grin.
She sighed again and looked at him. “Where’s Sam?”
He shrugged and glanced around the bar, “I told him to go get a table.”
“Boys like you shouldn’t be stag in a place like this, come on let’s go find him.” She said reaching over the counter and grabbing a bottle of Crown Royal, winking at Jimmy and walking away.
He looked at Jimmy and back at her. What the fuck?!]
Walking fast and trying to act normal as he watched her hips sway in front of him in those worn blue jeans, he shouted over the guitar and fiddle pouring from the jukebox.
“You own this town or what? And what do you mean ‘boys like us?’”
She spun around walking backwards taking a swig straight from the bottle. She winked at him with a heart-stopping smile and almost made him trip over his own feet.
She had somehow managed to walk straight to the table that Sam had picked. Dean had no idea how she had ever known were to look through the crowd.
Sam immediately straightened up when he saw Tabrina walking towards him…with Dean, of course, in tow.
“Hi.”
“Hi yourself.”
Sam smiled. “You seem like you’re in a better mood.”
She shot him a look as she slid into the booth.
“I’m a girl…I have the right to have mood swings.” She smiled.
Sam just laughed as Dean took a drag on his beer and slid into the seat next to her.
She took a big gulp of whiskey, feeling the burn as it traveled from her mouth, down her throat and into her stomach. Radiating a heat through her entire body.
She sighed deep and looked at Sam and Dean. “Alright…we gotta get this shit straight. Are we gonna tell each other the truth…or are we gonna keep skirting around this shit?”
The brothers exchanged looks. Sam not being sure if he wanted to take her up on her offer. Especially after the lecture he had given Dean about telling Cassie their big ‘family secret.’
Dean stared at the stained and scratched table as awkward silence hung in the air like before.
She rolled her eyes, grabbed both of their beer bottles and smashed them against the backrest of the booth, the shattered glass scattering all over the floor and misting the entire area in beer.
“Now somebody better fucking say something.” She said as she brandished a busted bottleneck.
Dean was staring at her like she had lost her mind. “You just wasted two beers.”
“I bought ‘em, whadda you care?”
“They were two perfectly good beers!”
“Damnit! Fuck about the beers! YOU came up to me in this joint! Now either we shoot straight in here, or we can go outside and shoot straight, now what’s it gonna be?!”
Sam was nervously looking around as they started to draw the attention of the other patrons of the establishment.
“Dean…”
“What the fuck is your problem?” Dean yelled right back, oblivious to the bull of a man that was walking up to them.
“Dean…”
“You are one spoiled little bitch you know that? You just…”
“Dean!”
“What?!” And then he saw him. The 6’ 3” tower of pure muscle that had silently made his way to the table.
“Everythin' awright Monte?” He grated out.
“Yea, Billy, it’s alright.”
The man didn’t move…neither did Dean.
“Really.” She assured him.
“Awright.”
“Thanks hun.”
The man smiled and walked away. Dean almost shaking as the threat receded. Now he could see the half-dozen or more other people that were all staring at them.
“What the hell is with you and this town?”
*Trace Adkin’s “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” playing in the background*
She laughed and dropped her head.
“And what the hell is with this song?”
She laughed even harder as the lyrics hit Dean’s ears.
“Come on.” She said clutching the whiskey bottle and all but climbing over Dean’s lap, shooting him a look in the process and making her way back out the door.
Out in the parking lot where the blare of the music was just slightly subdued, she walked over to the pickup that was parked next to her car and dropped the tailgate down, hopping up on it and swinging her feet.
“You boys walked into one hell of a place.” She chuckled.
“So I see.” Dean said sarcastically.
“In case ya haven’t noticed this is a small town. Less than 2,000 people. Everybody knows everybody here. Billy in there…” she said, tossing a thumb back towards the bar, “was my Dad’s best friend…and also my cousin. Jimmy’s just an old school buddy…but practically anybody in there would fight you guys if you tried to lay a finger on me.”
“What are you the town princess or something?”
She glared sarcastically. “No, everybody’s just family here. This is my hometown. We’re vicious when it comes to friends.”
Sam was smiling. “Seems like a decent place to grow up.” He said turning to look at Dean who just looked at him like he said the sky was pink.
“Sure…outsiders say that.”
Sam looked at her. “Why do you say that?”
“Sometimes everybody else knowin’ your business and everythin’ about you ain’t always great.” She laughed.
“True.”
She looked at Dean. “So what’s your take?”
“I dunno.” He shook his head.
She nodded. “Typical.” She quipped.
He shot her a glare and she smiled right back, making him break down and laugh.
“Lemme guess…you guys are staying at the Full Moon Motel.”
“Of course, it’s the only place in this town.” Dean said.
“I know.” She smiled. “So…we gonna talk now?”
Dean and Sam again met eyes.
“Fine! I’ll go first…you bunch of pussies. My brother left after my parents died. Moved to Chicago. Said he had to get out of this dead end hole of a town. I stuck around a couple years, then thought I’d see the countryside. Went up to Chicago to see ‘em, but nobody had ever heard of him. Spent the last few years followin’ dead end trails and clues. Come to find out…he came home. But he’s not the same.”
Sam scrunched his eyebrows and Dean listened attentively.
“Apparently nobody had ever heard of Kevin, because he changed his name to Jackal. Joined some legion of the dead cult or some bullshit. Found out about that maybe a year ago, before I found out he came back. Been huntin’ him ever since.”
“So he’s here?” Sam asked.
“I hope. Haven’t had a chance to go to the cave yet.”
“Cave?”
“Yea…the namesake of the town. I think that’s where they’re meeting.”
Dean paced, walking around in the light of the one streetlamp that lit the gravel parking lot.
He then stopped in front of her and met her eyes. “We hunt shit like that. Ghosts, demons, poltergeists…you name it.”
There. He had said it. Now he just had to wait for her reaction.
Sam stood in silence watching her to see what she would do.
All she did was nod and take a swig from the bottle.
“A couple years ago…I woulda said you were nuts and probably have called a couple of my buddies out here. But now…after looking for my brother…and seeing the shit I’ve seen. I believe you.” She said as she again took a drink.
Dean sighed and then rubbed his eyes.
She laughed, “Tired?”
“A bit.”
“Alright, let’s head out.” She said, screwing the top back on the bottle and hopping down off the tailgate.
“Wait…what do you mean ‘let’s’?”
“I’m staying at the motel too.”
“Thought you owned this town?” He said sarcastically.
“Doesn’t mean I want to.” She said with a smile, climbing into her car and firing up the engine.
“You gonna follow me?” She asked, leaning out the window.
“Sure.”
She pulled up to the exit of the bar and waited for the Impala to pull up behind her before slamming on the gas and heading down the lonely two-lane.
“She drives worse than you Dean.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Dean asked, shooting a look at Sam before returning his eyes to the road in time to see the taillights of the Monte take a curve at at least eighty.
“Nothing.”
“Damn that girl can drive. She sure ain’t scared of anything is she?”
“Doesn’t look like it.”
Previous: Chapter One | Next: Chapter Three
Highway to Hell Master Post