Dean dug his way through dry earth, choking from the lack of air. He had to get out of his own grave before he suffocated. Suddenly, his left hand tore through the surface, causing more dirt to fall onto his face. He felt a hand grab him by the wrist and pull hard. He could just about hear angry mutterings.
When he finally broke the layer of dirt between him and his coffin, his eyes ached at the blast of sunshine. He heaved himself out of the hole that was quickly caving in on itself and brushed the dirt off his face.
"Not every day you see a guy crawl outta his own grave huh." He looked over at the owner of the female voice.
A girl, or woman, stood beside him. She had long, wavy brown hair and hazel eyes that stared at him with intrigue. In her hand was a glass bottle that could only contain beer.
"Did I escape?" Dean choked out. The woman laughed, throwing her head back.
"Escape where?" She chuckled.
"Hell." Dean replied.
She eyed him for a moment.
"Hell if I know." She responded, grinning at her own joke. Dean groaned and stood up, brushing his clothes off.
"I did what you just did yesterday." She explained casually, then took a sip of her bottle. "Been walking around since."
She extended a hand, apparently unphased by the dirt covering Dean's hands.
"So you were in hell too?" Dean asked. She nodded, smiling cheekily.
"Got broken out, just like you."
"Broken out?" He repeated incredulously, the woman rolled her eyes.
"You didn't seriously think you got out yourself?" Dean didn't answer.
"Well there ya go." She said finally, then began walking off. Dean followed, uncertain he wanted to be alone in the middle of nowhere. As he looked around, he realised he was in the middle of what appeared to be a clearing made in the centre of a cluster of trees by a small explosion.
"How did you find me?" He pondered aloud.
"I was in the gas station looking for directions, then I heard a bang. Decided I'd go find out what it was since there was no one in the place." She swigged her beer. "Got a beer for the journey." Dean nearly laughed, it sounded a lot like something he'd do. "Are you... Sticking around?" She asked. Dean was caught off guard by her question.
"Strength in numbers I guess." He answered.
She didn't even glance over her shoulder.
"Let's get you a beer then." She said cheerily. Dean cocked an eyebrow, this girl was eccentric, but she didn't seem bad. Soon, the pair reached a slim, dust road that stretched past a rickety old gas station.
They approached it, it seemed to be abandoned.
"Came here for directions, but I don't think anyone's been here for a while." She informed him as they walked through the door of the convenience store.
"Weird, the fridges are all still on." Dean noticed. The girl shrugged, opening one and tossing him a beer.
"Grab some water bottles and crap, I'll get a bag." She suggested, hopping behind the counter to get two plastic bags, she placed another in each to reinforce them. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as he retrieved the water and random food items, she grabbed a pair of scissors and levered open the till. Snatching the bills out of it and stuffing them in her pocket, she jumped back over to help him.
"I don't condone stealing, but technically no ones here to own it." She told him, then helped him fill the bags with what they might need for their journey. They left the gas station and began walking down the road, the sun beating down on them. Dean took it as an opportunity to properly study his new companion.
She was wearing faded charcoal jeans, a stonewash tank top and a black leather jacket which she'd wrapped around her waist due to the heat. Embroidered on the back of the jacket was 'La Jefa' Dean had no idea what this meant but he deduced it was Spanish or something.
"La jefa?" He stated questioningly, she glanced over her shoulder at him, eyebrows raised.
"The boss." She answered, a smirk spreading across her lips.
"Good to know." Dean muttered, then took a few quick steps so he was walking at her side. "You gonna tell me your name?" She shook her head, never taking her eyes from the road. Dean's eyebrows raised involuntarily. "So what do I call you?"
"Read the jacket, pretty boy." She said simply.
"You ain't my boss." He chuckled.
"Yeah, okay." She laughed, clearly unconvinced. Dean opted not to respond.
"You got any idea how long this road is?" He said to break the silence.
"Well I was walking down it for about a day and half before I found you." She informed him.
"That's promising." Dean sighed sarcastically. "I need to find my brother." He added.
"Good luck with that." She snorted.
"Why'd you say that?"
She turned to face him, her face screaming 'Are you an idiot?'
"We got outta hell. The pit, el infierno. Need I go on?" Dean moved his head from side to side slowly, indicating he still hadn't grasped what she was insinuating. "Demon's are gonna be on our asses like pimps looking for business." It hit Dean like a tonne of bricks, she was right. "Not to mention we're unarmed and got no freaking idea where we are." She added.
"Aren't you just a ray o'sunshine." Dean snorted.
She raised her beer to him, he clinked his own against hers.
"To survival."
"To survival." He agreed. They downed the remains of the bottles and tossed them aside.
*
"It was around here, right?" Sam double-checked with Bobby who sat beside him in the passenger seat of the Impala.
"Mhm. Turn right in about ten feet." The old man instructed. As the car trundled onwards to the spot where Bobby had said to turn, they noticed another car. A short girl stood beside it, pacing.
Sam glanced at Bobby, who shrugged.
"We gotta get out here anyways." Sam pulled the car onto the side of the road, covered in yellow grass. The girl took notice of them and appeared to stiffen defensively. Sam got out of the car, hands raised to show he meant no harm.
"Hey, you okay?" He called over to her.
"My car just died on me." She admitted, walking over to them. Now that she was up close, Sam noticed she was pretty and possibly South Asian. She had tear stains on her cheeks. He had a feeling they were not due to the break down.
"Did something happen?" He asked, his tone showing his genuine concern. The girl sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"I was visiting my friends grave and... And..."
"What?" Sam pressed.
"She was gone, there was a big hole where she was buried and she's not there any more." She admitted, tears welling in her eyes.
"Was there anything strange about where you buried her?" Bobby asked, speaking for the first time.
The girl looked at him strangely, but answered.
"Yeah actually, everything surrounding the grave was dead."
"Son of a bitch." Bobby muttered, running off in the direction of Dean's grave. The girl looked up at Sam, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
"Come on, I don't think it's safe leaving you standing around alone." Sam ordered.
The girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded, hurrying along with Sam after Bobby.
"My names Sam by the way."
"Anna." She smiled weakly. Before they spotted Bobby, the sight of fully grown trees, scorched and flattened to the ground, came into view.
"The hell..." Sam breathed.
They ran past the trees, careful not to trip on any of them, then saw Bobby. He was on his knees in front of the makeshift grave, hat gripped tightly in his hands as if his sanity depended on it.
"He's gone." He muttered. Sam staggered over to the grave, shock taking control of his body. He stared into the empty hole in disbelief.
"Looks like we're in the same boat, missy." Bobby said gravely. "You a hunter?" Sam gaped at Bobby's directness, but to his surprise, the girl nodded. "Then you know exactly what could have happened here."
"You don't think-"
"I think we better find those two, and find 'em fast." Bobby interrupted Sam. "Before the demons do."
