Song Remains the Same

Chapter 60: Back in Black

Trigger Warning: attempted sexual assault

"Forget the hearse 'cause I'll never die!
I got nine lives, cats eyes, usin' every one of them and runnin' wild..."
- AC/DC

Dean hung back uselessly, kicking dirt like a chump in the woods somewhere as Samuel Campbell led the huge hunt for the alpha vamp. That man was hiding something, and Dean knew it. Him and Alex being stuck in background positions proved that all over again. Dean had gotten stuck with his cousin Gwen and Alex was babysitting cars about a half mile back, probably bored out of her skull and pissed about the bullshit assignment Samuel had delegated her to. Dean let out a growling breath of impatience as he peered through the trees. The misty morning air felt damp and cloying and made him all the more restless. He couldn't see anything through the thickly wooded, foggy expanse but he knew that a quarter of a mile ahead, the hunters were closing in on the alpha vamp's compound. Dammit, he should be there too. What was Samuel up to? Dean couldn't shake the instinct that something was really off.

Gwen ambled over his way with crossed arms, her boots cracking on the pine needles. Her features made Dean think of a strange doll and he gave her a terse little glance which she caught and returned.

"Hey, so—sorry about the 'reject' thing back there," she said, trying a contrite smile. The first words she'd spoken to him since back at the cars when she'd been told to stay with Dean. I'm in the rear with the reject? she'd asked, incensed. Samuel had ignored her and she'd gone all sullen and stony.

Dean brushed it aside. "Ah, I've been called worse." It wasn't really his biggest problem, some family member chick he didn't really know dissing him. He had other things to worry about. Like Sam, his missing soul, and how the hell life was supposed to work from here on out.

Gwen was still trying to start a conversation though. "I'm just, uh, get sick of getting left behind," she explained then shrugged, smiling nervously. "Think it's probably cuz I remind him of his daughter or something."

That comment caught Dean's attention. This girl Gwen, like Mom? He didn't see it. But he decided to humor her if for no other reason not to be rude. "Well, you do speak your mind."

His cousin smiled a little. "I'll take that as a compliment." Another silence stretched out and Gwen paced around, glancing at him sidelong. "So, your sister. Do you always leave her behind on dangerous runs like this one?"

Dean tried not to look as mistrustful as he felt. "What's it to you?"

Gwen shrugged defensively. "Just wondering if I'm the only one who gets stuck in the dugout during the big game."

Ah. That made sense. Dean figured it couldn't hurt to tell her the truth. "I mean... it depends. But usually, no. She's a damn good hunter. We, uh, we look out for each other." Though here lately, he wasn't sure about her being involved in all this, especially if soulless Sam was gonna be around for awhile. The guy wasn't trustworthy and didn't seem to give two craps either way about the safety of his siblings. Dean looked at Gwen, who he had no clue about. Was she a good fighter? A decent hunter? He didn't know. He barely knew her from a hole in the wall. "Samuel always stick you in the rear like this?" He asked her, trying to figure it out.

"Yeah," she said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms again. "Especially whenever Sam's around. Samuel doesn't like him around me."

Again, Dean's attention was piqued and he felt a strange, dark suspicion in the vicinity of his stomach. "...Why not?"