Closure (A Supernatural Fanfic)

1 - The Call

                A couple of hours have passed with the countryside passing in front of my eyes, in silence with only a few words exchanged between us. I can feel myself in this deep state of meditation, only vaguely aware and vaguely caring. Naturally, Dean has his music playing on some local rock station, though what's currently playing, I stopped listening to it a while ago. But it's his phone suddenly ringing that cuts through the static loop of noise that has proceeded it that snaps me back into the moment and out of the blur I was facing before. I feel myself involuntarily gasp in surprise and start.

I sit up, and feel my spine pop after settling in the last position I had myself in. I roll my shoulder and crack my neck, blinking a number of times. I turn to Dean, who continues to stare out onto the endless stretch of highway in front of us. With one hand grazing over his jeans pocket, I watch him carefully fish his phone out and fumble with it for a moment before he turns to face me.

"Rise and shine, Sammy," he says. He glances at his phone screen for a flash of a second and the slightest tug of a smile jerks at his lips. "It's Jody." I rub my eyes, even though I'm not really even that tired, probably to bring me more into focus, or just a small habit. I sit completely up in my seat, and notice that the radio station that my brother has been listening to is crackling and buzzing static, indicating we're leaving its range.

"Hey, you. How's everything holding up?" Dean says. There's a moment silence, and his previously relaxed state turns stony. He pulls over for a moment. I feel my heart sink. He never pulls over when he's talking on the phone, and I doubt me nagging him about focusing on the road's going to take hold now when we're in the middle of nowhere out in the countryside of Montana. Are we still even in Montana? I'm not entirely sure. I scan the road in front of me, and see no signs that could give away our position. Dean pulls up, the car brushing against some sagebrush as he swings on to the side, pulling off to the shoulder of the road. He speaks again. "Yeah, of course he's with me. Okay, give me a sec."

Dean places his phone on his chest, facing downwards. He looks towards me, his eyebrows pushing together, straight as an arrow, his eyes alert and focused, his jaw tensed up. "Something's wrong," he says. He flips his phone over and brings it into his view, tapping on the screen once. Dean taps his phone screen again, then clears his throat. "Alright, you're good to go, Jody."

I hear her sniffle before she speaks. Her voice is thick, either with fatigue or emotion, I'm not exactly sure at first. "So, a while back, before he died, Bobby told me that there was this kid that lived down the road from him that you boys would play with whenever your dad dropped you off at his house. He said you guys were really close for a long time until you started getting old enough to go hunting with John. Do you know who I'm talking about?"

Dean and I glance at each other. His forest green eyes are tired, dark circles under his eyes, and I can see him struggle to stay focused. We're going to need to change hands at the wheel soon, or at least find a motel to spend the night. The gears in his thinking box need a little oiling, and I can tell he can't really recall who Jody's talking about.

"Chandler? Yeah, I remember him. He was the one friend we had that was at least slightly normal." I said.

"Normal, as in he didn't know anything about what Dad did or where we would go whenever we had to leave, or anything to do with Hunting. He was a strange kid otherwise. As in, he was a giant nerd," Dean clarifies.

"He wasn't that bad," I say, almost defensively. Though now that I think back to it, he was a little strange.

"That was because you two were like twins. You were both weirdos."

"I didn't keep a snakeskin collection, Dean."

"Probably because we didn't stay where there were snakes long enough for it to be worth your while. Saying he's not weird..."