Raise Hell

Chapter 4: The Journal

           Alex doesn't know how long she lays on the floor of the storeroom for once the demons disappear, but she does know that it's long enough for Dean to slowly pull himself to his feet and move to retrieve the guns from the other side of the room. She can hear him swearing under his breath while his heavy footsteps shake the ground beneath his feet, the dull vibrations thrumming against the side of Alex's face, but she pays him no attention; all she can think about is Noah and his current predicament.

          Figure out where the journal is.

          What journal?

          515 Howitt St.

          That's several blocks away from Jackson's main street.

          Eight o'clock sharp.

          What time is it now?

          Tick tock.

         There's a heavy thud right beside her head and seconds later, Dean appears standing above her. In his hand, he holds her gun, and he stretches it out for her to grab. "You good?" he questions, his eyes scanning over her for any obvious injury.

          She snaps out of her worried haze at the sight of him, and her eyes narrow to slits as she pulls herself up, practically snatching the gun from his hand. He only raises a brow as he watches her pocket the weapon, but his jaw is quick to slacken when she angrily accuses, "This is all your fault!"

          "Excuse me?"

          "Oh, come on. A group of demons just happen to walk into town and kidnap my uncle the day that you and your brother show up on my doorstep? I'm not buying it."

          "My brother and I had nothing to do with this-!"

          "Then how the fuck do you explain this then?"

          "I don't know! Bad luck?!"

          Alex scoffs and shakes her head, but Dean isn't ready to back down just yet.

          "If anything it's your fault-"

          "What did you just fucking say?"

           "You're the ones with the bookstore! That's not exactly being fucking discreet if you're trying to lay low-!"

          "Do you honestly think that we would be that stupid enough to register the store under our actual names?!"

          Her lips press into a thin, almost non-existent line as she pulls away from him, knowing that she would likely punch him in the face if she didn't. She threads her slim, shaking fingers through her thick locks to give them something to do instead, and her eyes squeeze shut. She had thought that her day couldn't get any worse; clearly, she had been wrong.

          It's been almost three and a half years that she and Noah have lived in Jackson. Three and a half years of nothing but peace and a rare sense of safety that they haven't felt since Santa Rosa. Aside from occasionally crossing paths with them on her cases, she hasn't been bothered or hunted by demons since relocating to the small town, and she had truly thought that she and Noah were in the clear.

          But now that peace has been torn apart on the very same day that two other hunters come looking for her, asking her for help. It can't be a coincidence. It can't.

          There's a shuffling noise behind her but with her back facing him, she can't tell if Dean is inching closer or shrinking away at her little outburst. Either way, he still awkwardly clears his throat. "Look, I'm sorry about your uncle. But I'm telling you right now, that Sammy and I had nothing to do with this, alright?"