Being Alone (D. Winchester)

2.82Benny

At the fuel barge.

Dean yelled "Benny?"

We walked down a flight of stairs and there was a guy leaning against a wall.

Dean "Benny? Not lookin' good. "

Benny chuckled "Up yours. "

We walked to him.

Dean opened the ice chest.

-----

Dean and i were leaning against the table. The empty blood back were lying on the table.

Benny walked out of the bathroom, wearing clean clothes and drying his hair with a towel.

Dean nodded "Wow. You, uh... look okay. "

Benny nodded and looked at me "You must be Elena then, right?"

I nodded "yeah"

He grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it "I'm Benny, nice to meet you"

I smiled a little "likewise"

Benny "I've heard a lot about you, trust me. Once Dean started talking about you there was no one to stop him"

I smiled a little. 

Dean said more sternly "When are you gonna be back on 100%? I mean, you were double-hamstrung. "

Benny " Yeah, well, a little rest, a half a cooler full of AB-negative – most wounds short of an amputation will mend up... vampirically speaking."

Dean nodded "Uh-huh. "

Benny picked up a bag and put on his cap " I'll be 100% before you know it. "

He picked up the ice chest and held out a hand to Dean "Thank you, brother."

They shook hands.

Dean asked worried "Benny, what's going on? "

Benny "Oh, your work here is done, Dean. You already saved the day. You know, I got my, uh, deal, and you got – what'd you call it? A family business?"

Dean asked sternly " Benny. What's going on? "

Benny rolled his eyes annoyed "You and that whole "friend" thing, man. "

He eyed Dean "Well, it's good to know you're still dumb as ever. "

Dean "Yeah, well, some things never change. Now, why are you getting into machete fights with your own kind? "

Benny "Quentin, the one I came for?"

Dean nodded.

Benny " We were in the Same nest. I'm hunting the vampire who turned me, my maker. "

Dean" Well, now, don't get me wrong. I'm down with the hunting, but, uh... why? "

Benny "Kill him before he kills me... again."

---

A bloodstained wallet, money clip, keys and matches are spread out on a table.

Benny picked up the money clip"Quentin and I went way back – one of the old man's favorites, next to me, it turns out. "

Dean looked through a notebook" Listen to this. "Age of Aquarius II, 0800," and then there's some other numbers all crossed out. Some other weird names here, too – the Big Mermaid, Solitaire – it's all crossed out, except this one – the Lucky Myra. "

Benny "Yachts. Names of yachts – Lucky Myra.."

He took the notebook ""Age of Aquarius II."Look at this one – "Sea You Later,"spelled s-e-a. I mean, come on. "

Benny put the notebook down on the table and Dean pointed to it.

Dean" So, then these are launch times. And what – destinations? "

Benny "Mm-hmm. Except none of them ever get there. "

Benny "The Lucky Myra left yesterday afternoon. I guarantee you it's already been hit. "

Dean " What do you mean, "hit"? "

Benny "Boarded, burned, and buried at sea. My nest – that's how we fed... How we always fed. We kept a tight little fleet, maybe a half-dozen boats. Nothing ostentatious, just pleasure craft. I must have circled the Americas ten times during my tour. A few of us would act as stringers and patrol the harbors, looking for the right-size target – fat, rich yachts going to far-off ports. Take down the boat's name and destination, radio it to the crew in the water. And then we just, uh... let the ocean swallow up all our sins."

Me "Vampire pirates? That's what you guys are?"

Dean " Vampirates"

I rolled my eyes.

Benny "You know, all the years we ran together, I can't believe nobody ever thought of that. "

Dean" What do you mean? It's like the third thing you say. "

Benny shook his head "No, it isn't. "

Dean "All right, so, y-your maker is set up to feed around here, right?"

He took money and a piece of paper from the wallet on the table "Well, what are we looking for? "

Then he put it in his pocket.

Benny "Well, he likes to live in style. He usually rents legitimately. Always remote, always coastal. "

Dean unfolded the piece of paper" So an island, maybe? You got a cable bill here. Hmm. Quentin's got the NFL package. Prentiss Island. Heard of it? "

Benny "Oh, yeah. "

On the road. Night.

Benny was in the backseat while Dean and i were in the front.

Me "Yeah, so, if you were your maker's favorite, why did he kill you? "

Benny "When you get turned, it's like you're reborn into a vampire nest. Your maker – he means everything to you. "

He took blood out of the ice chest "I mean, you really start believing he's God. Now, if your maker happens to believe the Same thing, well..."

He started to drink from it.

Me "See how that could be a pickle. "

Benny nodded "Mm. "

Dean "Well, uh – you really have to do that? I mean, right now? in front of her?"

Benny chuckled "I'm sorry, brother. I'm better, but I'm still on the mend. "

I shook my head and turned to Benny "i don't mind, seriously"

Benny nodded "Anyway...our father – he was a jealous god. He kept the family together but kept us apart from the rest of the world, always at sea. I always did what was best for the nest... till I met her. Andrea. Andrea Kormos. Beautiful. I mean, words don't even cut it, you know? Greek, heiress. "

Dean chuckled "Come on. "

Benny "She was sailing a 42-foot sloop to the Canary Islands. Now, I should have called her boat's destination in to my crew, but instead, I joined her on it. "

Dean "Seriously? Was Fabio on the cover of that paperback? "

He chuckled "My life changed when she entered it, Dean. Everything I had been or done up to that point just... seemed to vanish... into what we had become together. I mean... We found it, man. you know that feeling?"

Dean nodded, not taking his eyes of the road.

I smiled.

Benny "Eventually, we settled in Louisiana. And then one night, we were coming home, and the old man – he was just there. Quentin, Sorento, my oldest nestmates. It was only that night I understood what a crime it was to him – me leaving him. They pinned me down, and they beheaded me. The last thing I saw was the old man tearing out Andrea's throat. "

Dean "Well, that's what payback's all about – am I right? "

Benny "Docks are up ahead. Should be able to find a dinghy to use. "