Highway to Hell: Episode One: "Hell's Belle"
Episode 1 : Hell’s Belle
Chapter 4: Calm Before the Storm
Chapter Wordcount: 1980
Morning broke earlier than any of them would have liked. Dean awoke to the sound of the shower running; Sam had snagged it first.
He groaned and popped his neck and back. Squinting and rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he sat up.
He grabbed his jacket and walked out into the cold air to see Monte leaning against her car dragging on a cigarette.
He shrugged his jacket on and walked over to her.
“Those things’ll kill ya you know.”
“Good.” She stated, as she took another hit.
He walked over to her, grabbed the cigarette from her hand and tossed it away.
“No not good.”
“Why?”
“’Cause I don’t want you to die.”
She had no snide-ass comeback to that. She just stared at him in disbelief; swallowing hard and finally dropping her gaze and shoving her hands into her hoodie’s front pocket.
He sighed and turned away from her as Sam emerged from the hotel room.
“So what’s the plan?”
Monte squinted against the rising sun, “Gladys is cooking us breakfast, we can eat first, then I figured we’d ride down to the cave. I know a great place we can park the cars where no one will see ‘em, and we can approach the entrance from the south.”
Sam nodded.
“Monte!” Gladys called from the main office building of the hotel. “Breakfast is ready child, bring your friends and feed yourselves.”
Monte twisted around. “Yes ma’am. Be right in.”
Dean smiled. “Good ol’ southern hospitality.”
“Ain’t nothin’ like it.” Monte smiled.
Plenty of bacon, sausage, waffles, biscuits, eggs, grits, cereal, toast, milk, coffee and orange juice later, they finally pried themselves away from Gladys’ motherly grasp.
Dean furiously wiped his cheek on his shirtsleeve after tearing himself away from one of her sloppy kisses.
“What is with that woman?!”
Sam laughed.
“You boys never spent any quality time in the south have you?” Monte smiled as she led the way to the cars.
“And when did she have time to cook all that food?”
“What that?” She said, turning and pointing to the office, “probably started at five…but I’ll tell ya, that ain’t nothin’.”
Dean looked at her like she was out of her mind.
Monte just laughed.
She walked over to her car and popped the trunk. She stripped off her hoodie and rummaged through her duffle bag pulling out a butter-soft black leather jacket.
Dean grinned absent-mindedly.
She pulled out two holsters and wrapped the straps around her shoulders, cris-crossing in the back, before pulling her jacket on. Next, the Glock and Magnum made themselves at home on either side.
She propped her foot up on the rear bumper and strapped her blade back onto her ankle; the switchblade already in place in her back pocket.
Next a handful of shotgun shells were shoved in an inside pocket of the jacket and a bottle of water on the other side.
“Holy water?” Sam asked.
“Yep.” She said as she continued rummaging.
She then grabbed a belt and slid two sheathes on to it, pulled it through her belt loops and walked to the driver’s side, pulling twin daggers out from under the seat and sliding them into place.
She leaned over to the passenger side of the car, opening the glove box and pulling out her double-barreled .38 which quickly made its home in the waistband of her pants.
Finally standing up and returning to the trunk to pull out a sawed off shotgun and checking to make sure it was loaded. She grabbed her toolbox and placed it on the ground before finally slamming the trunk closed and meeting the eyes of two awe-struck guys.
“Anything else?” Dean asked, raising his eyebrows.
She smirked. “Yea, but I ran outta room.”
He just laughed and shook his head, making his way over to his own car and popping the trunk, pulling up on the false bottom.
“That’s effing awesome.” She praised as he lifted up the floor.
He smirked right back and proceeded to arm himself and Sam.
She went back over to the toolbox and opened the dual clasps, lifting the top and pulling out the top tray that actually had tools in it. In the bottom were boxes and boxes of ammunition. She pulled some out, stashing them in her pockets and tossed a couple to Sam.
“We have our own.” Dean stated.
“Yea, but those are blessed.” She said as she closed the toolbox again.
“Blessed?” Sam asked astonished. “How did you get a priest to bless bullets?”
“I didn’t.” She smiled. “He blessed a dead hamster.”
“What?” Dean asked with a grin.
She leaned against the fender of her car, shotgun still in hand. “Paid a kid twenty bucks to carry a shoebox full of those up to a priest and feed ‘em a sob story about wanting his dead hamster to go to heaven. The priest fell for it, blessed the box and the kid brought it back to me.”
Sam shook his head and laughed.
“That’s incredible.” Dean laughed. “You’re evil you know?” He joked, pointing at her.
She smiled. “Yep.” Resting the shotgun on her shoulder.
She sighed deep; steeling herself for what she knew would be a day of days. She swallowed hard and tried to force back the fear that was rising like bile in the back of her throat.
“You guys ready to roll?”
Dean slammed the trunk closed on his car. “Let’s do this.”
Monte led the way down some back roads and gravel paths, finally making her way slowly down a hill and parking next to a creek. They were far enough away from the road that the cars’ parking place was completely hidden from view.
She got out as Dean and Sam pulled the Impala up beside her and parked.
Dean glanced around the surroundings as Sam walked over towards the creek.
“The creek runs out of the cave’s natural spring. The cave is up there.” She pointed with the shotgun.
Dean twisted around to look up the hill and prepared himself for whatever baddie he might face this go-round.
Monte leaned against the fender of her car, completely zoned out and staring up the hill at what she was certain was going to be her death.
Dean turned around to see her staring up the hill. “You alright?”
She met his gaze and nodded.
Sam was watching the exchange between the two. “Alright…now or never.”
Monte took lead walking up the hill and towards the cave. Sam and Dean throwing nervous glances between each other behind her.
She reached the mouth of the cave and cocked the shotgun. Grabbing the barrel and using the weight of it to cock it with one hand, her left hand being preoccupied with the .38. She then tossed the shotgun in the air just enough to let go of the barrel and catch the handle perfectly.
Dean raised his eyebrow.
As they walked in the first section of the cave they realized it was deserted. Worse than that, there weren’t even signs of anything ever taking place within its walls. They split up to check the adjoining sections and Monte waited to see where the boys would go.
She followed Dean to the right and got him alone. He leaned against a wall and looked around.
“Doesn’t look like anything’s here.” He stated as she walked in front of him and stopped. He could tell by the look in her eyes something was wrong.
She holstered the .38 and held the shotgun behind her as she slowly leaned forward and place the slightest of kisses on his perfect lips. Meeting his eyes when she pulled away; which were full of questions.
She hesitated a moment. “In case I don’t make it out of this.”
He pulled her towards him and kissed her again. His hand cupping her cheek lightly, but enough to let the warmth of his hand penetrate into her soul, his lips barely making enough contact to electrify her entire being, before pulling back; their faces mere centimeters from each other.
“We’re all getting out of this…okay?” He whispered.
She nodded ever so slightly and swallowed hard before pulling back just in time to see Sam walk through the entrance.
Dean turned to look at his brother and shot a glace to the side where Monte was finding the ground quite interesting.
“There’s another room in back…I think you two should see.”
Monte and Dean exchanged looks before following Sam deeper into the cave. After a few twists and turns and a couple of tight squeezes they entered into a large room. Immediately they were met with the scent of copper…or more precisely, blood.
There were altars and red-stained bowls. Strange hieroglyphs and symbols on the walls. And at the far back a stone table; with some very wicked instruments making themselves at home on top.
Dean grimaced.
Monte traced some of the symbols on the walls with her fingers and walked over to the table. Dark red stains littered its surface, marking where rivulets of human blood once ran.
She swallowed hard to keep from puking. Dean and Sam watched carefully.
Her eyes traced all the jagged lines on the surface, before once again staring at the walls.
Dean and Sam stood in silence, trying to figure out what was going through her head.
Without any warning she yelled and hit the stone wall with every ounce of strength she had. Her knuckles, barely being healed over from the night before, busted open and blood ran anew down her fingers as she stood literally shaking with rage.
“Damnit!”
Dean yelled at her when he saw her strike the wall. “Monte! What the hell?”
He rushed over to her to take a look at her already black and blue hands. She snatched her hand back from him only to be met with a glare as she leaned against the cool stone. Sam was standing patiently by her side and held her shotgun for her as Dean insisted at looking at her hand. She winced as he touched the soft flesh and then he yanked a handkerchief out of his pocket to tie around it until they made it back to the hotel.
“You wanna try that shit again?” He asked sarcastically.
“Sure…still got one good hand.” She shot right back.
He glared.
“Fuck…” She whispered, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. “After all this shit. All that time. I finally track his pathetic ass back home and he’s not even fucking here.” She whispered.
Sam watched her. “Well they do obviously come here. Maybe…maybe they come at night. A lot of rituals and things do have to take place after nightfall.”
She sighed deep and looked at him, nodding slightly. “That makes sense. Thanks Sam.” She smirked.
He smiled.
She shook her head. “Sorry guys, guess I got a temper on me.”
Dean laughed. “That’s an understatement.”
“Shut it.” She warned jokingly. Looking down at her hand and flexing it experimentally, she watched as red slowly spread across the fabric.
She shook her head. “Fuck.”
Dean sighed, “Well, let’s go back to the hotel. We can figure out how we want to approach this, and we can take care of that hand, that is of course unless you feel like you might be hitting another wall in the near future. ‘Cause I don’t feel like wasting my time.”
She smiled shamefully.
“Come on.” He said more pleasantly, letting his hand rest on her shoulder for a moment, before turning to leave.
She watched him as he led the way out of the cave. This was why she never let herself get attached. It always ended bad. She had already lost Kevin and she would be damned if she would let anything happen to Dean and Sam. She’d die first.
Previous: Chapter Three | Next: Chapter Five
Highway to Hell Master Post
Chapter 4: Calm Before the Storm
Chapter Wordcount: 1980
Morning broke earlier than any of them would have liked. Dean awoke to the sound of the shower running; Sam had snagged it first.
He groaned and popped his neck and back. Squinting and rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he sat up.
He grabbed his jacket and walked out into the cold air to see Monte leaning against her car dragging on a cigarette.
He shrugged his jacket on and walked over to her.
“Those things’ll kill ya you know.”
“Good.” She stated, as she took another hit.
He walked over to her, grabbed the cigarette from her hand and tossed it away.
“No not good.”
“Why?”
“’Cause I don’t want you to die.”
She had no snide-ass comeback to that. She just stared at him in disbelief; swallowing hard and finally dropping her gaze and shoving her hands into her hoodie’s front pocket.
He sighed and turned away from her as Sam emerged from the hotel room.
“So what’s the plan?”
Monte squinted against the rising sun, “Gladys is cooking us breakfast, we can eat first, then I figured we’d ride down to the cave. I know a great place we can park the cars where no one will see ‘em, and we can approach the entrance from the south.”
Sam nodded.
“Monte!” Gladys called from the main office building of the hotel. “Breakfast is ready child, bring your friends and feed yourselves.”
Monte twisted around. “Yes ma’am. Be right in.”
Dean smiled. “Good ol’ southern hospitality.”
“Ain’t nothin’ like it.” Monte smiled.
Plenty of bacon, sausage, waffles, biscuits, eggs, grits, cereal, toast, milk, coffee and orange juice later, they finally pried themselves away from Gladys’ motherly grasp.
Dean furiously wiped his cheek on his shirtsleeve after tearing himself away from one of her sloppy kisses.
“What is with that woman?!”
Sam laughed.
“You boys never spent any quality time in the south have you?” Monte smiled as she led the way to the cars.
“And when did she have time to cook all that food?”
“What that?” She said, turning and pointing to the office, “probably started at five…but I’ll tell ya, that ain’t nothin’.”
Dean looked at her like she was out of her mind.
Monte just laughed.
She walked over to her car and popped the trunk. She stripped off her hoodie and rummaged through her duffle bag pulling out a butter-soft black leather jacket.
Dean grinned absent-mindedly.
She pulled out two holsters and wrapped the straps around her shoulders, cris-crossing in the back, before pulling her jacket on. Next, the Glock and Magnum made themselves at home on either side.
She propped her foot up on the rear bumper and strapped her blade back onto her ankle; the switchblade already in place in her back pocket.
Next a handful of shotgun shells were shoved in an inside pocket of the jacket and a bottle of water on the other side.
“Holy water?” Sam asked.
“Yep.” She said as she continued rummaging.
She then grabbed a belt and slid two sheathes on to it, pulled it through her belt loops and walked to the driver’s side, pulling twin daggers out from under the seat and sliding them into place.
She leaned over to the passenger side of the car, opening the glove box and pulling out her double-barreled .38 which quickly made its home in the waistband of her pants.
Finally standing up and returning to the trunk to pull out a sawed off shotgun and checking to make sure it was loaded. She grabbed her toolbox and placed it on the ground before finally slamming the trunk closed and meeting the eyes of two awe-struck guys.
“Anything else?” Dean asked, raising his eyebrows.
She smirked. “Yea, but I ran outta room.”
He just laughed and shook his head, making his way over to his own car and popping the trunk, pulling up on the false bottom.
“That’s effing awesome.” She praised as he lifted up the floor.
He smirked right back and proceeded to arm himself and Sam.
She went back over to the toolbox and opened the dual clasps, lifting the top and pulling out the top tray that actually had tools in it. In the bottom were boxes and boxes of ammunition. She pulled some out, stashing them in her pockets and tossed a couple to Sam.
“We have our own.” Dean stated.
“Yea, but those are blessed.” She said as she closed the toolbox again.
“Blessed?” Sam asked astonished. “How did you get a priest to bless bullets?”
“I didn’t.” She smiled. “He blessed a dead hamster.”
“What?” Dean asked with a grin.
She leaned against the fender of her car, shotgun still in hand. “Paid a kid twenty bucks to carry a shoebox full of those up to a priest and feed ‘em a sob story about wanting his dead hamster to go to heaven. The priest fell for it, blessed the box and the kid brought it back to me.”
Sam shook his head and laughed.
“That’s incredible.” Dean laughed. “You’re evil you know?” He joked, pointing at her.
She smiled. “Yep.” Resting the shotgun on her shoulder.
She sighed deep; steeling herself for what she knew would be a day of days. She swallowed hard and tried to force back the fear that was rising like bile in the back of her throat.
“You guys ready to roll?”
Dean slammed the trunk closed on his car. “Let’s do this.”
Monte led the way down some back roads and gravel paths, finally making her way slowly down a hill and parking next to a creek. They were far enough away from the road that the cars’ parking place was completely hidden from view.
She got out as Dean and Sam pulled the Impala up beside her and parked.
Dean glanced around the surroundings as Sam walked over towards the creek.
“The creek runs out of the cave’s natural spring. The cave is up there.” She pointed with the shotgun.
Dean twisted around to look up the hill and prepared himself for whatever baddie he might face this go-round.
Monte leaned against the fender of her car, completely zoned out and staring up the hill at what she was certain was going to be her death.
Dean turned around to see her staring up the hill. “You alright?”
She met his gaze and nodded.
Sam was watching the exchange between the two. “Alright…now or never.”
Monte took lead walking up the hill and towards the cave. Sam and Dean throwing nervous glances between each other behind her.
She reached the mouth of the cave and cocked the shotgun. Grabbing the barrel and using the weight of it to cock it with one hand, her left hand being preoccupied with the .38. She then tossed the shotgun in the air just enough to let go of the barrel and catch the handle perfectly.
Dean raised his eyebrow.
As they walked in the first section of the cave they realized it was deserted. Worse than that, there weren’t even signs of anything ever taking place within its walls. They split up to check the adjoining sections and Monte waited to see where the boys would go.
She followed Dean to the right and got him alone. He leaned against a wall and looked around.
“Doesn’t look like anything’s here.” He stated as she walked in front of him and stopped. He could tell by the look in her eyes something was wrong.
She holstered the .38 and held the shotgun behind her as she slowly leaned forward and place the slightest of kisses on his perfect lips. Meeting his eyes when she pulled away; which were full of questions.
She hesitated a moment. “In case I don’t make it out of this.”
He pulled her towards him and kissed her again. His hand cupping her cheek lightly, but enough to let the warmth of his hand penetrate into her soul, his lips barely making enough contact to electrify her entire being, before pulling back; their faces mere centimeters from each other.
“We’re all getting out of this…okay?” He whispered.
She nodded ever so slightly and swallowed hard before pulling back just in time to see Sam walk through the entrance.
Dean turned to look at his brother and shot a glace to the side where Monte was finding the ground quite interesting.
“There’s another room in back…I think you two should see.”
Monte and Dean exchanged looks before following Sam deeper into the cave. After a few twists and turns and a couple of tight squeezes they entered into a large room. Immediately they were met with the scent of copper…or more precisely, blood.
There were altars and red-stained bowls. Strange hieroglyphs and symbols on the walls. And at the far back a stone table; with some very wicked instruments making themselves at home on top.
Dean grimaced.
Monte traced some of the symbols on the walls with her fingers and walked over to the table. Dark red stains littered its surface, marking where rivulets of human blood once ran.
She swallowed hard to keep from puking. Dean and Sam watched carefully.
Her eyes traced all the jagged lines on the surface, before once again staring at the walls.
Dean and Sam stood in silence, trying to figure out what was going through her head.
Without any warning she yelled and hit the stone wall with every ounce of strength she had. Her knuckles, barely being healed over from the night before, busted open and blood ran anew down her fingers as she stood literally shaking with rage.
“Damnit!”
Dean yelled at her when he saw her strike the wall. “Monte! What the hell?”
He rushed over to her to take a look at her already black and blue hands. She snatched her hand back from him only to be met with a glare as she leaned against the cool stone. Sam was standing patiently by her side and held her shotgun for her as Dean insisted at looking at her hand. She winced as he touched the soft flesh and then he yanked a handkerchief out of his pocket to tie around it until they made it back to the hotel.
“You wanna try that shit again?” He asked sarcastically.
“Sure…still got one good hand.” She shot right back.
He glared.
“Fuck…” She whispered, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. “After all this shit. All that time. I finally track his pathetic ass back home and he’s not even fucking here.” She whispered.
Sam watched her. “Well they do obviously come here. Maybe…maybe they come at night. A lot of rituals and things do have to take place after nightfall.”
She sighed deep and looked at him, nodding slightly. “That makes sense. Thanks Sam.” She smirked.
He smiled.
She shook her head. “Sorry guys, guess I got a temper on me.”
Dean laughed. “That’s an understatement.”
“Shut it.” She warned jokingly. Looking down at her hand and flexing it experimentally, she watched as red slowly spread across the fabric.
She shook her head. “Fuck.”
Dean sighed, “Well, let’s go back to the hotel. We can figure out how we want to approach this, and we can take care of that hand, that is of course unless you feel like you might be hitting another wall in the near future. ‘Cause I don’t feel like wasting my time.”
She smiled shamefully.
“Come on.” He said more pleasantly, letting his hand rest on her shoulder for a moment, before turning to leave.
She watched him as he led the way out of the cave. This was why she never let herself get attached. It always ended bad. She had already lost Kevin and she would be damned if she would let anything happen to Dean and Sam. She’d die first.
Previous: Chapter Three | Next: Chapter Five
Highway to Hell Master Post