Indestructible.

16- I missed you.

I jolt awake when I hear a high-pitched scream pierce the air and feel Barrett slam hard on the truck's brakes. I fly through the windshield with Dean's body right behind mine, landing on thousands of shards of glass that are spread across the road in front of the vehicle.

   I inspect the area as I sit up, trying hard to catch my breath, adrenaline sparking in my veins. The darkness blankets us, the only thing in sight for miles that I can tell, is us and the countryside.

   "Where the heck are we and what the heck happened?!" I yell at Barrett, who sits in the truck, staring at us with such hurt in his eyes that it would seem like he murdered someone.

   "I'm-I'm sorry..." Barrett replies, stuttering in awe of his action, "I-I thought I saw an animal..."

   Dean rolls over, pushes himself off of the glass-covered road, and then steps to his feet as if he wasn't previously thrown through a vehicle's window. After he wipes off his unharmed hands of any excess glass, he extends his hand out thoughtfully.

Before I am able to touch his soft hand, I feel something soft rub against my side, sending shivers down my spine. I raise my hand up to see what was hidden in the other side of it, and surprisingly, another pair of eyes gleam back at me.

Wide orange animal eyes stare at me with exquisite curiosity, the body of the animal not able to be seen in the darkness. Fortunately, the animal slithers towards me and draws itself right into the light of the truck's headlights.

A black cat.

After giving the small cat one glance, I turn and safely take Dean's warm hand in mine, his strength having no problem in guiding me to my feet. He smiles to me, but I don't even have time to think about it with the fumes that are almost exploding inside my clouded and tired head.

"Is that the stupid animal you decided to throw two of your friends out the car window to save?" I angrily bellow at Barrett, pointing my index finger right at the animal.

Dean's and Barrett's eyes follow where my gaze is pointing them, and Dean takes me by surprise when he smiles at the beast, letting out a long, "Awwww!!"

Dean crouches down for the small creature, grinning away when the thing runs up to him and rubs against his legs, purring like a motor. Standing there like a fool, mixed emotions crawl through my mind. Disbelief is one of them, surprised that he is interested in animals, especially one that just caused us to be thrown out of a truck... And the second feeling is one of... What?... Admiration... For the way he is petting the cat, scratching the orange-eyed critter just behind the ears and then letting out a gentle laugh when the cat sends a small meow of satisfaction to him in return.

    "Joni?!" Both Barrett and Ivy shout at the exact same time from the truck, the cat's head turning to the sound of its name.

   Barrett and Ivy seem overly excited, jumping out of the car as if they lost the animal when they were only five and thought they would never see it again.

   Suspicious and unbelieving, I glare down at the black cat, "You guys know this cat?"

   "Yes!!" Ivy beams, her tired eyes looking into the cat's as she crouches next to it, "How are you Joni??"

   "Um, seriously Ivy?" I start as Dean decides to back off of the cat and let Barrett and Ivy cuddle against it, "The cat isn't going to talk back."

   "Oh contraire." The words flow out of the small black cat's mouth, the animal's eyes inspecting me when my mouth nearly drops to the ground in awe.

   "What?" Ivy glances up at my astonished expression for one second and then looks back down at the cat to pet it some more, snickering when she spits, "You can be indestructible, but Juni can't talk?"