Highway to Hell: Episode Two: "Lookout for Hell"
Episode 2 : Lookout for Hell
Chapter 3: Stop Stuttering
Chapter Wordcount: 1600
Sam awoke in a cold sweat, thankful that for at least once he didn’t remember what the hell he had been dreaming
He laid in bed a few minutes, sleep refusing to come easily again when he heard something. He held his breath and tried to pinpoint the sound.
Scratching. Claws scratching. Claws scratching at the door.
“No way…” He whispered. Silently jumping out of bed and moving towards the window just to confirm what he already knew. The full moon wasn’t for another three days.
“What the hell…” He quick grabbed his backpack and pulled the revolver waiting there, popping the chamber out and grimacing when he saw only three silver bullets within. “Shit.” He hissed. He sure as hell hoped Dean had more stashed somewhere.
He stalked his way down the hallway, the revolver cocked and partially raised. As he made his way towards the kitchen the scratching intensified and he could hear a slight whine accompanying it.
He reached the kitchen and crept his way along the wall and over to the door, looking out through its window carefully. All he saw was air.
Slowly he looked towards the ground and saw a red shape wiggling by the doorjamb.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He scoffed, shaking his head and dropping his gun to open the door for Phoenix to come back in.
He was just about to turn when he heard soft laughter in the distance and saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and squinted through the darkness to see Monte and Dean on horseback by the lake. Dean looked like he was having a hell of a time just staying on the horse. Monte’s horse standing perfectly off to the side as she laughed at Dean’s inexperience.
Sam smiled as he watched the two of them. Monte was intentionally playing with Dean’s horse. Making sure not to do enough to actually make him fall, but enough to piss off Dean.
Sam leaned against the frame of the open door as Dean finally got his horse stopped and watched as Monte maneuvered hers close enough to the side to lean over and into a kiss, before Dean’s horse skipped to the side and once again threw Dean into a panic.
Sam laughed. He remembered the last time he, Dean and their father had ridden horseback through Colorado looking for some sort of black cat that had been picking off flocks. It hadn’t sounded supernatural at first until they saw a farmer’s home video. The old man had shot the thing in the head and all it had done was look straight into the camera with glowing red eyes and trotted away. They never did find it. But that whole trip was made miserable by Dean’s constant complaining. He never did like riding.
Sam felt a cold nose in the back of his knee making him jump. “Damn girl.”
Phoenix wagged her tail.
He smiled and leaned down to rub her soft red head as he watched Monte ride next to Dean, grabbing his horse and bringing it back down to a walk before heading back to the barn.
“I hope he knows how lucky he is.” Sam whispered. “She really does love him doesn’t she?”
Phoenix whined.
Sam laughed. “Relax girl, I’m alright. Good, even. He needs her, she needs him…and hell, I don’t want her to leave either.”
Phoenix responded by covering Sam’s cheek in slobber before he could fight his way into standing again.
“Thanks.” He joked as he grabbed a kitchen towel and wiped his face.
He looked back out the window in time to see Dean fall on his ass while trying to get off the bay gelding he had been riding.
Sam laughed and went back to bed. Phoenix following him and making herself at home at the foot of his bed.
In the morning when Dean and Monte finally drug their asses out of bed and down the hall they heard laughter before they ever made it to the kitchen
“Oh hell no…I’m gonna kill you, you little bitch.” Monte said as she turned the corner.
Rylee just smiled…with an open box full of photos from when she and Monte were kids.
“What?”
Sam had a handful and smiled.
“What is it?” Dean asked, shouldering his way around her.
Monte snatched a dog-eared picture from Rylee’s grasp and laughed when she looked at it. It was a picture of her in her diaper when she was like two.
“I can’t believe you kept these.”
“Why the hell wouldn’t I?”
Monte just glared.
“What the hell are you in?” Dean asked, peering over her shoulder.
“Oh that?” Monte laughed. “My mom went for an interview that day…left me with my dad and…brother. They couldn’t figure out how to use the damn diapers so they kept it on me with fuckin’ duct tape.”
Sam and Dean both laughed as Monte shook her head and threw the picture back at Rylee.
“I shoulda known you were gonna try to blackmail me with these things one day.” She joked as she went and grabbed a cup of coffee for her and Dean, and sat down next to Rylee, thumbing through the old photos.
“I’m not blackmailing you! I’m just showing our new friends.” She grinned evilly.
“Bitch.” Monte hissed as she sipped her coffee.
Rylee just smiled.
“What’s that?” Sam asked pointing in the box.
Rylee pulled out a photo that was larger than the rest and placed it on the counter as she threw a nervous glance in Monte’s direction.
Monte’s coffee stopped halfway to her lips and returned to the table encased in a trembling hand.
Dean was munching on a biscuit and swallowed quickly when he saw Monte reach across the table for the photo.
It was an old professional portrait of her and her parents…and her brother.
Tears started to well in her eyes.
Damn him. Damn him for making her weak.
Without a word she tore off the side of the photo, completely obliterating Kevin from the picture.
Rylee jumped a little and Sam shot a look at Dean.
She then placed the now jagged-edged photo on the counter, stood up and walked outside without a word.
Dean quietly went outside.
*Sugarcult’s “Counting Stars” playing in the background*
“Hey…you okay?”
“What the hell do you think?”
He bit his lip. “Sorry.”
She hung her head. “Don’t apologize. You had nothing to do with it.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Than please enlighten me, ‘cause I sure as hell don’t know what it is.”
“Just let me help you.”
Silence.
“I don’t know how.” She whispered.
He walked over to where she was leaning over the handrail of the porch. He leaned his back against it next to her and propped the heels of his hands on the wooden board.
“Look…I’m not asking you to get over it or let it go. I know it’s not that easy…”
“No it’s not…he was…family.”
“I know.”
“I see the way you look at Sam…like he’s all you have left. I know you know how much family means. I can see it in your eyes the way you panic when he puts himself in a dangerous situation. Like you would die if he did. That’s how I was with Kevin. My world revolved around him. He was all I had.” She paused.
“But…he’s gone now. I mean…I don’t even know how to function anymore. Each breath I take I almost have to consciously think about. Each movement, each bite of food, each night when I go to sleep is like a battle. I mean, hell, it was bad enough after he left and now all I can see his is bloody body on that cold stone floor, and all I can hear is his voice begging, and the click of that damn trigger. And then…the red. The blinding, mind-numbing blood-red…knowing I killed my own brother.”
“It wasn’t him.”
She shook her head. “Yea it was. I mean, it wasn’t. He wasn’t the one that killed my parents. He was already gone by then. But…it was him…at the end…when I killed him.”
Dean didn’t say anything, all he did was pull her into his arms where she rested her face against his warm chest.
She didn’t cry. She hadn’t cried since the day after his death. Not that she hadn’t wanted to…she just couldn’t. It’s like her body had no more tears left to shed.
“Monte…” He sighed. “This is new territory for all of us. Just…at least let me try to help you.”
She nodded.
He kissed the top of her head and stood in silence for a few minutes before Sam and Rylee came out of the house to join them.
“Hey Dean…I meant to ask you…are we out of silver bullets?”
“We shouldn’t be…why?”
“’Cause last night I looked in my Colt and was very comforted to see all of three bullets.”
“What?” Dean unwrapped his arms from Monte. “Shit…there might be some in the trunk somewhere…come on.” He said going down the steps with Sam behind him.
“So…” Rylee started.
Monte smiled. “Don’t give me that ‘so’ crap…you know me better than that.”
Rylee smiled this time, walking over to lean next to Monte.
Monte sighed. “I think…I mean…you know I don’t like saying it. But there’s just something about him…but I can’t…I mean…I’ve tried…and I can’t…”
“Stop stuttering at me.”
Monte laughed and rubbed her face. “What the hell’s wrong with me?”
“Him. He’s a guy, thus screwing you up.”
Monte laughed again.
Previous: Chapter Two | Next: Chapter Four
Highway to Hell Master Post
Chapter 3: Stop Stuttering
Chapter Wordcount: 1600
Sam awoke in a cold sweat, thankful that for at least once he didn’t remember what the hell he had been dreaming
He laid in bed a few minutes, sleep refusing to come easily again when he heard something. He held his breath and tried to pinpoint the sound.
Scratching. Claws scratching. Claws scratching at the door.
“No way…” He whispered. Silently jumping out of bed and moving towards the window just to confirm what he already knew. The full moon wasn’t for another three days.
“What the hell…” He quick grabbed his backpack and pulled the revolver waiting there, popping the chamber out and grimacing when he saw only three silver bullets within. “Shit.” He hissed. He sure as hell hoped Dean had more stashed somewhere.
He stalked his way down the hallway, the revolver cocked and partially raised. As he made his way towards the kitchen the scratching intensified and he could hear a slight whine accompanying it.
He reached the kitchen and crept his way along the wall and over to the door, looking out through its window carefully. All he saw was air.
Slowly he looked towards the ground and saw a red shape wiggling by the doorjamb.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He scoffed, shaking his head and dropping his gun to open the door for Phoenix to come back in.
He was just about to turn when he heard soft laughter in the distance and saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and squinted through the darkness to see Monte and Dean on horseback by the lake. Dean looked like he was having a hell of a time just staying on the horse. Monte’s horse standing perfectly off to the side as she laughed at Dean’s inexperience.
Sam smiled as he watched the two of them. Monte was intentionally playing with Dean’s horse. Making sure not to do enough to actually make him fall, but enough to piss off Dean.
Sam leaned against the frame of the open door as Dean finally got his horse stopped and watched as Monte maneuvered hers close enough to the side to lean over and into a kiss, before Dean’s horse skipped to the side and once again threw Dean into a panic.
Sam laughed. He remembered the last time he, Dean and their father had ridden horseback through Colorado looking for some sort of black cat that had been picking off flocks. It hadn’t sounded supernatural at first until they saw a farmer’s home video. The old man had shot the thing in the head and all it had done was look straight into the camera with glowing red eyes and trotted away. They never did find it. But that whole trip was made miserable by Dean’s constant complaining. He never did like riding.
Sam felt a cold nose in the back of his knee making him jump. “Damn girl.”
Phoenix wagged her tail.
He smiled and leaned down to rub her soft red head as he watched Monte ride next to Dean, grabbing his horse and bringing it back down to a walk before heading back to the barn.
“I hope he knows how lucky he is.” Sam whispered. “She really does love him doesn’t she?”
Phoenix whined.
Sam laughed. “Relax girl, I’m alright. Good, even. He needs her, she needs him…and hell, I don’t want her to leave either.”
Phoenix responded by covering Sam’s cheek in slobber before he could fight his way into standing again.
“Thanks.” He joked as he grabbed a kitchen towel and wiped his face.
He looked back out the window in time to see Dean fall on his ass while trying to get off the bay gelding he had been riding.
Sam laughed and went back to bed. Phoenix following him and making herself at home at the foot of his bed.
In the morning when Dean and Monte finally drug their asses out of bed and down the hall they heard laughter before they ever made it to the kitchen
“Oh hell no…I’m gonna kill you, you little bitch.” Monte said as she turned the corner.
Rylee just smiled…with an open box full of photos from when she and Monte were kids.
“What?”
Sam had a handful and smiled.
“What is it?” Dean asked, shouldering his way around her.
Monte snatched a dog-eared picture from Rylee’s grasp and laughed when she looked at it. It was a picture of her in her diaper when she was like two.
“I can’t believe you kept these.”
“Why the hell wouldn’t I?”
Monte just glared.
“What the hell are you in?” Dean asked, peering over her shoulder.
“Oh that?” Monte laughed. “My mom went for an interview that day…left me with my dad and…brother. They couldn’t figure out how to use the damn diapers so they kept it on me with fuckin’ duct tape.”
Sam and Dean both laughed as Monte shook her head and threw the picture back at Rylee.
“I shoulda known you were gonna try to blackmail me with these things one day.” She joked as she went and grabbed a cup of coffee for her and Dean, and sat down next to Rylee, thumbing through the old photos.
“I’m not blackmailing you! I’m just showing our new friends.” She grinned evilly.
“Bitch.” Monte hissed as she sipped her coffee.
Rylee just smiled.
“What’s that?” Sam asked pointing in the box.
Rylee pulled out a photo that was larger than the rest and placed it on the counter as she threw a nervous glance in Monte’s direction.
Monte’s coffee stopped halfway to her lips and returned to the table encased in a trembling hand.
Dean was munching on a biscuit and swallowed quickly when he saw Monte reach across the table for the photo.
It was an old professional portrait of her and her parents…and her brother.
Tears started to well in her eyes.
Damn him. Damn him for making her weak.
Without a word she tore off the side of the photo, completely obliterating Kevin from the picture.
Rylee jumped a little and Sam shot a look at Dean.
She then placed the now jagged-edged photo on the counter, stood up and walked outside without a word.
Dean quietly went outside.
*Sugarcult’s “Counting Stars” playing in the background*
“Hey…you okay?”
“What the hell do you think?”
He bit his lip. “Sorry.”
She hung her head. “Don’t apologize. You had nothing to do with it.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Than please enlighten me, ‘cause I sure as hell don’t know what it is.”
“Just let me help you.”
Silence.
“I don’t know how.” She whispered.
He walked over to where she was leaning over the handrail of the porch. He leaned his back against it next to her and propped the heels of his hands on the wooden board.
“Look…I’m not asking you to get over it or let it go. I know it’s not that easy…”
“No it’s not…he was…family.”
“I know.”
“I see the way you look at Sam…like he’s all you have left. I know you know how much family means. I can see it in your eyes the way you panic when he puts himself in a dangerous situation. Like you would die if he did. That’s how I was with Kevin. My world revolved around him. He was all I had.” She paused.
“But…he’s gone now. I mean…I don’t even know how to function anymore. Each breath I take I almost have to consciously think about. Each movement, each bite of food, each night when I go to sleep is like a battle. I mean, hell, it was bad enough after he left and now all I can see his is bloody body on that cold stone floor, and all I can hear is his voice begging, and the click of that damn trigger. And then…the red. The blinding, mind-numbing blood-red…knowing I killed my own brother.”
“It wasn’t him.”
She shook her head. “Yea it was. I mean, it wasn’t. He wasn’t the one that killed my parents. He was already gone by then. But…it was him…at the end…when I killed him.”
Dean didn’t say anything, all he did was pull her into his arms where she rested her face against his warm chest.
She didn’t cry. She hadn’t cried since the day after his death. Not that she hadn’t wanted to…she just couldn’t. It’s like her body had no more tears left to shed.
“Monte…” He sighed. “This is new territory for all of us. Just…at least let me try to help you.”
She nodded.
He kissed the top of her head and stood in silence for a few minutes before Sam and Rylee came out of the house to join them.
“Hey Dean…I meant to ask you…are we out of silver bullets?”
“We shouldn’t be…why?”
“’Cause last night I looked in my Colt and was very comforted to see all of three bullets.”
“What?” Dean unwrapped his arms from Monte. “Shit…there might be some in the trunk somewhere…come on.” He said going down the steps with Sam behind him.
“So…” Rylee started.
Monte smiled. “Don’t give me that ‘so’ crap…you know me better than that.”
Rylee smiled this time, walking over to lean next to Monte.
Monte sighed. “I think…I mean…you know I don’t like saying it. But there’s just something about him…but I can’t…I mean…I’ve tried…and I can’t…”
“Stop stuttering at me.”
Monte laughed and rubbed her face. “What the hell’s wrong with me?”
“Him. He’s a guy, thus screwing you up.”
Monte laughed again.
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Highway to Hell Master Post