PhantomNatural

Ch. 12

When Danny awoke the next morning, Bobby and the brothers were already busy, cleaning up any trace of themselves, and gathering ingredients for the potion. They didn't want to stay in the motel for longer than they had to even as Dean protested, for the motel offered a complimentary breakfast. Danny hadn't quite gotten the restful sleep he had hoped for, as the old woman from the antique store haunted his mind. 

Danny pushed himself out of bed, watching the Winchesters bounce around the room. He decided to chip in and help, shifting towards the low table to clean up the takeout mess they had left the night before. He yawned tiredly and gathered the trash, sweeping his arm across the table afterwards to clear the crumbs. It wasn't until he tossed the trash that he noticed the room had been silent for a while. Curiously, he looked between the men, finding their gazes stuck to him.

"...what?"Danny asked with uncertainty. He wondered if he had some extreme bedhead, or if anything else weird had happened while he was asleep. He had grown so comfortable around the brothers, he had hardly noticed the obvious reason they were gawking at him.

"Dude, you're... floating." Dean told him pointedly. He had paused in the middle of eating some leftover lo mein noodles, to gape at Danny.

"Oh, uh.. sorry." Danny dropped onto the floor, his socks making a soft thud against the worn carpet. He awkwardly waited for their glances to leave him, but decided to leave their glances instead. "I'm going to take a shower before we head out. I'm pretty sure I've still got ectoplasm in my hair somewhere from the other night." Without waiting much for the others to reply, Danny slipped into the bathroom to escape their sight. He closed the door behind him, letting out a silent sigh. Avoiding the bathroom mirror, he turned the shower faucet, producing a haunting creak. God, he felt like such a freak.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Danny sat on the edge of the motel bed, shuffling a warm towel over his head to dry his hair. Once his arms got tired of the movement, he pulled the towel to rest around his neck and let his hands fall to his lap. Bobby had gathered his ingredients in his bowl, but made sure not to mix them yet, in fear of setting off a reaction from Danny. The blood blossoms, of course, were kept in a sealed jar, deep in Bobby's duffel. 

"You all should get a move on. It's growing late and we're already pushing our time limit here. I'll finish up the potion here, but you should go on ahead, like we discussed." Bobby told the boys gruffly. He sat in one of the rackety chairs alongside the low table, bent over his boots as he laced them up. Once he was done he hit his heels against the floor to situate the boots. He looked up, finding the boys still  standing there. "Well? Get going!"

"Right.. right!" Dean and Sam chimed in, each grabbing their respective duffel bags and heading towards the door. Danny hopped up and tossed his towel on the bed, before following after the brothers. He felt like a lost puppy, trailing after them like he was. 

Bobby shot off one last warning before the boys left. "Make sure to watch each others back out there! I won't be there to save your sorry asses until the potion is just about done."

Dean chuckled and closed the door behind the group, hesitating before taking off. He headed North of the town, where the cave was located a short distance away. Dean lead the three, and Sam tied up the end, ensuring Danny's safety by keeping him sandwiched between the two hunters. 

The short grass from the town sidewalks turned to knee-high brush and bramble, before changing to a woodsy terrain. The town was small, so the woods surrounding the town was quite dense. More often than not, Danny could've sworn he felt ancient, dark eyes digging into his back, and his breath nearly turning cold to accompany each feeling. It took the group less than half an hour to reach the cave's entrance, where the opening had been roped off by bright yellow tape, labelled with "Do Not Cross". Dean rummaged around in his bag, taking out a sturdy flashlight to lead them through the cave. With a few smacks of the hard metal against his hand, Dean was able to get the flashlight up and working. He pulled the tape up, stepping under it in order to keep it intact, as Sam had so helpfully pointed out. It wouldn't do for the authorities to have reason to explore the cave before sealing it up.