Song Remains the Same

Chapter 1: Born to Run

"We face the path of time. And yet I fight."
- Alice in Chains

Late April 2008
Erie, Pennsylvania

Alex woke up to the closest thing to home in existence: the familiar growl of the Impala's engine. Van Halen crackled faintly on the stereo as she blinked sore eyes and groggily wondered what time of the day or night it was. Her muscles grumbled at the crammed position she'd slept in—which was funny because by now, she thought her body should be used to all this abuse.

With an internal sigh, Alex stiffly hauled herself upward to sit, grimacing as she kneaded a sore shoulder. As was all too often in her life, she almost felt more tired after resting than she had before.

In the front seat with one hand on the wheel, Dean acknowledged her with a slight turn of the head.

"Mornin', sunshine."

She could hear the affectionate smirk in his voice. Alex gave up on her shoulder, mumbling a reply as her eyes went to her slightly older twin brother Sam. A twinge of wistful jealousy ran through Alex. He snored softly in the front passenger seat, his giant head lolling onto his shoulder. The dude could sleep through a hurricane. Alex wished she'd gotten that trait from the genetic lotto.

The car slowed and pulled over, rolling to a stop at a rural gas station. Dean punched his snoozing brother in the shoulder, enjoying the reaction he got: Sam jolted awake, hands flying up to defend himself as he scrambled for his bearings and exclaimed something like "huh wha!?"

"Enough with the shut-eye, Sammy. Rise and shine!" Chuckling like everything was fine and dandy, Dean got out of the car and began fueling it up.

With a prissy expression, Sam exhaled his annoyance and rolled his eyes before glancing back at his twin. "Hey," he mumbled, voice rough with sleep. Then his face softened and whispers of concern appeared. "Nightmares again?"

Alex's eyes flicked up to his. Was she really that transparent? Maybe it was just part of being twins. Maybe it was because he had nightmares, too. She almost forgot to reply. Being able to speak was still relatively new. Clearing her throat when she realized she needed to respond, Alex went with a very eloquent, "Nah."

Sam looked doubtful. And he was right—it was a lie. Alex fought against lingering on the twisted dreamscape plagued by yellow eyes and crunching bones... the personal hell of screams ringing as she fought uselessly to stop clawed hands dragging Dean away to death.

She shivered, abruptly wide awake and sober. The reality they'd been running from for the past eleven months was getting more and more impossible to avoid.

Sam still watched, and his studious concern was only increasing. "You okay?"

Alex shook her head only just so, managing a softly defeated, "no." She gritted her teeth and looked away as her mind began to spin faster. A long, tense silence endured as she battled herself on how to ask the terrifying question she whispered next: "I mean, what are we gonna do, Sam?" She didn't have to specify about what.

Sam's jaw tensed and he went quiet. "We... we still have some time," he finally muttered, then turned away fully. "We'll figure something out." He didn't sound confident about his statement. The silence became unbearable. "I, uh, I need some coffee." And just like that, he exited the car, heading toward the dingy convenience store in his long stride like he could outrun reality. Alex stared after him, everything inside sinking slowly.

Ever since Dean had made the crossroads deal to bring Sam back from the dead, the Winchester three had lived it up wild and free, doing whatever the hell Dean wanted in between jobs. His 'last hurrah' he kept jokingly calling it. There had been a steady rotation of booze, women, and bad burger joints punctuating hunts. The Winchesters had never really talked at length about the approaching day that they all knew was coming: the day Dean would have to make good on his deal. Dean refused to talk about finding a way out and said that if he so much as tried to get out of the agreement, Sam would die again. However, Sam and Alex? They'd been trying to figure things out behind his back. So far, all their research and inquiries had come up luckless—and the proverbial clock was drawing close to midnight. For the past week, it felt like Sam was beginning to avoid Alex... like he couldn't face the issue anymore. Like he had given up.