Blood Ties: The Winchester Legacy

Chapter Four - The Disappearing Act

The hum of the Impala vibrates in my ears as we're driving on the highway, heading back towards Crofton, Nebraska. I'm sitting in the backseat, sharpening my machete while Dean is humming to a Styx song that's playing on the radio, and Sam is doing something on his laptop. I realize it's Lorelei playing and I start mouthing the words. I guess Dean noticed because as soon as I did, he turns up the radio quite a bit louder and starts singing obnoxiously. I grin and Sam laughs and turns the radio back down, shaking his head.

    "Killjoy." Dean says to Sam before looking back to me in the rearview mirror. "You seem to be in a good mood this morning, kid."

I smile at this.

    "I am. I've spent the last seven years of my life waiting for the day when I finally get revenge for my mom. And now it's finally here." I say as I drag the machete through the sharpening block.

Dean nods but is silent for a moment.

    "What are you going to do after you get your revenge?" Dean finally asks and I think for a moment.

    "I'm going to hunt. Every single one of those sons of bitches I can. I'm going to make sure that what happened to me doesn't happen to anyone else. They took everything from me..." My smile falls. "And so, I'm going to take everything from them."

    "You know," Sam speaks for the first time in fifty miles. "I understand the need for revenge. I do. But, killing this nest of vampires isn't going to bring her back."

I stop sharpening for a moment.

    Is he serious?

I'm silent for a moment.

    "Do you really expect me to let them live after what they did?"

    "No, but-"

    "But what?" I interrupt and raise my voice slightly. "Isn't this your job? Killing monsters? They killed my mom. Yeah, I know this isn't going to bring her back, but at least if I'm successful, she wouldn't have died in vain."

Sam opens his mouth to speak but gives up and sighs, going back to his laptop.

    Good.

Is he really judging me for trying to take out some monsters? They have absolutely nothing to do with him. And of course I know it's not going to bring her back. I'm not that dumb.

Hot rage begins to take over my senses. I look down down at my hands, still holding a machete and the sharpening block, and realize I'm shaking violently. I close my eyes and control my breathing.

    Five... four... three... two... one...

The anger finally starts to leave and I open my eyes. The rest of the drive is silent. That seems to be a running theme with these two.

    We finally pass the city limit sign when Dean asks, "So, where's this vamp nest of yours?"

I reach in my bag and grab my map.

    "They never take people more than 5 miles outside of their nest. I have it marked here." I hand Dean the map, and he looks between that and the road.

    "Gotcha." He hands it back and I look at it again.

The red sharpie dots marking where they've hit form a circle around a field. I'm so close. We turn on a backroad and I'm looking out the window. It's about 11:00 a.m when suddenly, I see an abandoned and overgrown barn at the back of a field in the treeline.

    "There." I say, pointing at it.

Dean looks out the window.

    "Yup. Looks pretty vampy to me." Dean says pulling over.

I get out and grab my machete and hand Dean his.

    "Let's do this." Dean says, starting to walk toward the barn.

    "Woah." I say grabbing his sleeve, stopping him. "Uh-uh. There is no 'Let's'. This is mine. You two are following my lead. Got it?"

Dean puts his hand up in surrender and takes a step back.

    "Yes, Ma'am."

    "Good." I say as I start walking to the barn.

As we get closer, I slow my steps. They should all be asleep but you can't be too careful. I sneak up to the door and put my hand up, telling Sam and Dean to stop. They do. Slowly, I put my blade up to the door and the hinges squeak quietly as the door opens. I peek inside and see nothing but empty tables and chairs. I gesture for Sam and Dean to follow me inside.

Now, all we have to do is find where they're all sleeping.

I walk in slowly, Sam and Dean on my heels. The place is broken down and disgusting. It smells awful and there's trash everywhere. Undoubtedly from teenagers thinking this is a good place to party and homeless people using this place for shelter for the night. I've slept in several abandoned barns. I see a room directly in front of me and one off to the left. I motion for them to take the one on the left as I ready my blade. I hear their footsteps move further away from me. I can see a person laying on the ground a few feet from the doorway.

This is it. I bring my blade up, ready to strike at any moment and I take a step into the room. There are sleeping bags and makeshift hammocks and palets everywhere, but... they're all empty.

    No.

My eyes widen as I quickly move to the person on the ground to see a dead Charles Westley.

    NO.

I recognize his dirt and blood covered face from the news article. My heart drops.

    They're not here...

    "Hey, there's no sign of any- Who's that?" Sam asks from behind me.

Tears sting the corner of my eyes and I say nothing. I can't pry my eyes away from her as I try to process what's happening. Dean moves to come see the body.

    "It's Charles. Well, was. He now more resembles a raisin."

    "So, where..." Sam starts as I turn around and I walk out. "Harley, wait."

    I don't.

    I need to leave.

I get outside and begin walking to the car. I can hear Sam and Dean following me.

    "Harley, I-" Dean tries to put his hand on my shoulder.

The second it makes contact, I snap.

    "This is YOUR fault!" I scream as I turn around and point my finger in his shocked face. "I cannot believe I listened to you. I broke my own rule. I trusted someone other than myself and look where it got me! Right back where I was at the beginning!" I throw my arms up in gesture.

Tears sting the back of my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.

The cracks in my voice, however, I can't control.

    "I've spent seven years waiting for this, and two years planning and the second you show up, everything goes to crap!"

I can't breathe.

Everything goes blurry.

    "Take me back to my car. Now!" I yell as I turn and begin walking away.

    "Harley," Sam starts. "We didn't know."

I turn back around and face him.

    "No, but I should've. Take me back to my car."

And without looking back, I storm off.

    Five... four...

God, I need a cigarette.

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(Word Count: 1218)