Don't Open That Door - GoM 1

BW - 11

The road felt like a deliberate intrusion of civilization, stretching black and straight across the old forest. Thick walls of tall, ancient trees flanked it, their canopy touching above to shadow the paved line and the underwood.

Alex kept a steady foot on the gas, humming along Alice Cooper's song while Claire studied the map on her phone.

"We're two miles away," the girl said.

"You should've stayed at the motel with Mark," Alex grumbled, not for the first time. "I could've taken care of this with Aidan."

"Told you I ain't letting you shut me out again, Al," Claire replied, calm and firm.

Alex cursed under her breath. Claire wasn't giving up, and that made two of them.

"Fine, you're right. Grandpa was a hell of a hunter as far as I know, and he did teach me some things. But you're missing the point, Claire. Why d'you think he dropped it and came back home? If being a hunter was such a blast, why would he leave it all behind to come hide in our farm?"

"Grandpa wasn't hiding!"

"And how would you know? Maybe he told you so?"

"C'mon!"

"You keep saying I was his favorite, right? Then trust me: he left it all, and moved back in with us, 'cause he'd seen enough shit to haunt him for the rest of his life."

"Then why teach you any of it?"

"So there'd be someone to keep the family safe when he was gone."

"Safe from what?"

Alex controlled her impulse to yell in her niece's face. "From what's out there, Claire! He knew we'd come across the supernatural eventually, and he wanted me to be ready."

"And here we are. Then why would you keep me in the dark, ignorant and helpless!"

"Shit!"

Claire grasped the dash when Alex slammed on the brakes. The girl looked out the windscreen and smirked.

"Told ya we took too long with the shopping."

Up ahead, right were the dirt track to the Campbell cottage started, was a car parked on the shoulder. The Challenger.

Alex cursed under her breath. Of course Aidan wouldn't risk his precious old junk into that muddy, bumpy trail. They'd gotten there before the Corbans because they already had all they needed in the trunk, while the Corbans were forced to stop at the gas station and the hardware store before hitting the road.

She stopped by the Holster brothers, who greeted them with nice smiles.

"Morning, girls," said Aidan. "Out for an early drive?"

Claire lowered her window, flashing a merry grin. "Hey, guys! Did you even have breakfast?"

Aidan kept smiling but he set his jaw, too proud to admit that not an hour earlier he would've killed the Corbans slow and bloody. Not nice, waking up to find them gone, he and Mark played like rookies and left behind in their sleep.

"C'mon, guys, get in," Alex said.

The Holsters brought a big duffel bag and a couple of large cans from the Challenger, left everything in the back of the Hilux and got in the backseat. Alex geared in and turned carefully onto the dirt track. She resourced to the holly excuse of paying attention to the trail in order to keep quiet and avoid eye contact with the brothers in the rearview.

"You should've waken us up," said Mark, nice and diplomatic as usual.

Aidan leaned forward and pointed a serious finger at Claire. "And you should've stayed at the motel with Mark, safe. Al and I could've taken care of this."