Supernatural: The Infernal Book

Back in the Saddle

"Do we even know how to find these guys?" Miles asked as he got into the passenger seat next to Ryder. "Is there a group chat or something?"

Ryder kept quiet and focused on the road ahead. In his silence, he contemplated the turn of events that had drawn him back into the world he craved to be separate from. A world that had already stolen enough from him.

"Ryder?" Miles prompted. "Earth to Ryder?"

"Sorry." Ryder cleared his throat. "I was just thinking."

"About?"

Ryder made the turn onto Belle Crossing's main drag and out of the town. "How funny life is. I spent so much time distancing myself from this world but it pulled me back anyway."

"Mom and Uncle Leo would love this, wouldn't they?" Miles chuckled. "Seeing us on a hunt together. Carrying their weapons."

"According to the notes in The Room, the Winchesters are nomadic. Very active." Ryder needed to stay on track and avoid the emotional components of what they were doing; he wasn't ready to face them.

"So we just need to keep our eyes peeled for any activity that could attract them," Miles surmised. "I wonder what they look like."

"None of the notes we found describe them," Ryder said.

"Probably a couple of grizzled, old boys," Miles laughed. Noticing that his humor was lost on Ryder, he reached over and patted his arm. "Hey?"

"I'm fine."

Miles began to laugh, much to Ryder's annoyance.

"I'm fine," Ryder repeated, his voice more stern.

"Oh, boy, you are not fine."

"I'm driving in a car, going on a demon hunt with you," Ryder snapped. "Of course I'm not fine."

"Okay, I think we need to unpack some stuff," Miles decided. "If we're going to go through with all this then we need to travel lighter. If you know what I mean."

"Okay. I'm fucking mad!" Ryder shouted. "There. How's that for unpacking?"

"It's a start. Keep going."

"When we were kids, everyone glamorized the hunting life. Locals treated all of us like celebrities. And our family made it all seem like there was no other way. That this was our one and only path. And we drank the fucking Kool-Aid. I used to watch dad practice with Demongard and I'd get so excited, thinking one day I'd be using it. And when they started taking us on those little, low-risk hunts? Man, I was excited. Finally kicking demon ass with my dad? It felt good."

"I know," Miles said.

"Then I started to grow up," Ryder carried on. "And the dots started to connect more for me. Mom abandoned us when I was six. The hunts were endless and Aunt Clarice and Uncle Matt practically raised us."

The mention of Miles's father caused a noticeable shift in his demeanor. "Yeah," he murmured.

"And then...well, you know the rest." Ryder was knew he didn't need to go on; both of them knew the rest all too well. How Elenor and Leo were killed during a hunt. How Matt couldn't bring himself to face another day without Eleanor. How he followed his wife into death by his own hand. How Miles was the one to find him.

"I know the rest," Miles silently agreed.

The open road stretched out before them, wide and mostly empty. The white lines made Ryder feel like he was in a cage. Or a monster's mouth. "This is like a nightmare," he said in a voice barely above a whisper. "The harder I try to escape, the more it pulls me back."