Hell's Greatest Weapon

Chapter 38: The Sound of Silence

You were on the side of a road after a pretty heavy rainstorm, judging by the masses of water in the ditches and forming random puddles on the road that stretched ahead of you.  The road seemed to go on for miles, just straight road, but the trees that hung over to block some of the sky made it seem much longer than it truly was; when you turned and saw that it was only another stretch of forest-engulfed road behind you, as well, you sighed.

You turned back around and jumped when your eyes landed on a middle-aged man wearing a plaid shirt and jeans with red suspenders; he had glasses on his nose and a small smirk on his face when he nodded to you before bringing his hands from his pockets and gesturing around him.

"How about this?"  He asked, his voice slightly raspy, the sound of a long-time smoker.  "Do you remember this?"

"It's just a forest," you pushed past Chuck and began walking down the stretch of road in search of anything that might serve as a landmark of some sort.  "But while we're walking, let's talk about my—"

"You must recognize this stretch, Gragnis," he sang from behind you before falling into step, his strides making small noise as he stepped on the pavement to your left.  "I'll give you a hint, yeah?  It's 2007, you're in New York state after a ghost that reminded you of something from the Sixth Sense movie, where—"

"I know where we are." You snapped at him, your hands slipping into the pockets of your jacket while your eyes rolled.  "But I don't care.  This isn't important to me."

"Ah, but it will be." You saw Chuck smile from the corner of your eyes but didn't turn to look at him, electing, instead, to fix your eyes on the road ahead; it seemed to stretch on for miles, no hills, no turns, just a straight road.  You knew where you were, though, you knew that a half-mile or so up the road would be a small driveway that lead to a country garage sale, but you weren't about to admit it. "We'll get to your issues soon enough, but first I need to show you something."

"I already know what you're going to show me," you muttered, your words slurring together into one large word, a large mess, and you looked over to see that Chuck smile.

"You do, now?" He nodded before focusing forward once again, clearing his throat in the process before saying, "Here I thought you were entirely forgetful of everything that was important."

"This isn't important."

"You don't think so?" Chuck waited a moment and, after seeing you weren't going to respond, nodded and focused forward. "See, I disagree.  I think this is pretty big."

You walked in silence for several minutes before you finally saw the driveway beginning to emerge from the woods; it was well hidden, even if not intentionally, and you remembered that Dean had decided to make a very last-minute stop in order to turn in. Sure enough, as you got closer you saw the "Yard Sale" sign posted on one of the trees, the bright pink a high contrast to the forest colors surrounding it.  

Almost as if on cue, the familiar roar of the Impala sounded behind you and you stopped walking, ignoring that Chuck had done the same, before turning to see it coming closer, speeding heavily down the road.  Just as you remembered, the Impala squealed to a stop while past-you pointed at the "Yard Sale" sign, a huge smile on your face as you laughed and slapped Dean's shoulder before he finally turned into the driveway.

You and Chuck turned into the driveway and watched as the Impala pulled into an empty space down the driveway before Dean and past-you hopped out and walked the rest of the way until you reached the paved area just outside the garage.  There were tables set up, racks of clothes that spanned from toddler to elderly sizes and styles, knick-knacks seemed to cover every surface.