Secrets in the Hunt (Book 2)

Wanted Dead or Alive

I stretch out in the backseat, waiting patiently for the drive to begin. Dean turns the key and it sputters, not starting. I sit straight up, frowning. He tries it again, but it just sputters. A knock on the top of the car makes me jump, until I realize it's just Bobby.
     "Where do you think you're going?" Bobby asks, showing Dean a car part. Dean hangs his head for a second before getting out of the car, Sam and I following. 
      "We got the knife." Dean says, throwing his arms up.
      "And you intend to use it without me." Bobby says flatly. "Do I look like a ditchable prom date to you?" I stifle a laugh, knowing Bobby is actually pretty upset with us.
      "No Bobby, of course not." Sam says apologetically and suddenly, the mental image of Sam taking Bobby to prom pops up. If only I could draw....
     "This is about me....and Sam and Tori. Okay? This isn't your fight." Dean says, shaking his head. Bobby steps closer to Dean, his face contorted with anger.
      "The hell it isn't!" He snaps, and my eyes widen. "Family don't end with blood, boy. Besides, you need me." My heart warms a little at the reminder that, no matter what, Bobby is family.
     "Bobby." Dean says, shaking his head.
      "You're playing wounded. Tell me, how many hallucinations have you had so far?" Bobby asks and I frown, looking at my brother.
      "Hallucinations?" I ask, my eyebrows furrowed together.
      "How'd you know?" He asks Bobby, ignoring my pointed stares.
      "Because that's what happens when you've got hellhounds on your butt. And because I'm smart." Bobby counters matter-of-factly. Dean just stares at the ground and my heart drops. Why does he think he has to do this alone? Bobby holds out the car part, handing it to Dean. "I'll follow." He says, turning and walking towards his car. "Don't be stopping to pee every ten minutes either." He adds and I frown.
      "You're the one who always stops!" I argue, smiling when I see his shoulders shake a little before he climbs into his car. Indiana here we come.
***
I yawn as I sit up, blinking in surprise at the dark night that surrounds us.
      "You know if this doesn't uh... this doesn't go the way we want, I want you to know –" Sam starts, and my heart drops as I remember exactly why we're going to Indiana. It's not just another hunt. It's to save Dean's life.
     "No. No, no, no, no." Dean says, shaking his head.
     "No what?" Sam asks.
     "No, you're not gonna bust out the misty good-bye speech, okay? And if this is my last day on earth, I do not want it to be socially awkward." Dean insists and I snort. Dean glances back at me with a grin.
     "Guessing you don't want to talk to Stiles, then." I say, glancing down at the missed calls on my phone. Dean snorts and shakes his head.
     "Not really." He says. "You know what I do want?" He reaches down and flips the radio on. I grin as "Wanted Dead or Alive" bursts through the speakers.
      "Bon Jovi?" Sam asks, the shock clear in his voice.
      "Bon Jovi rocks, on occasion." Dean insists, and I frown.
      "Bon Jovi always rocks." I argue and Dean just snorts again.
      "And I walk these streets, a loaded six-string on my back! I play for keeps," Dean scream sings, glancing at Sam. "Come on." he insists, nudging him.
      "'Cause I might not make it back. I've been everywhere." Dean and I sing together, and even though I can't see his face, I know he's grinning.
     "Oh yeah." Sam sings lacklusterly. I cheer, laughing before continuing to sing with my brothers.
      "I've seen a million faces and I rocked 'em all. 'Cause I'm a cowboy. On a steel horse I ride I'm wanted." We all sing roughly.
      "Wanted!" Sam riffs, and I giggle.
      "Dead or alive. Dead or alive. Dead or alive!" We all continue singing, and I smile. I've missed times like this in the Impala. I remember the missed calls from Stiles and decide to text him.
      Hey, sorry, we're in the car and I literally just woke up. I text, knowing that he'll probably respond pretty quick.
      Sorry, I was just checking on you. I know the deadline for Dean is super close. Did you guys figure it out yet? He asks and I frown. I glance up at Dean, nodding along to the music.
      Not yet. I reply. I stare down at the phone, waiting for a reply, when sirens and flashing lights behind us makes me glance out the back instead. There's a cop behind us. Just our luck. Text ya later I send, setting my phone down.
      "Are we getting pulled over?" I ask, realizing that Dean is slowly pulling the car to the side.
     "I've got a busted tail-light." He says and I roll my eyes.
      "It's not like we're in a hurry or anything." I scoff.
     "Problem, officer?" Dean asks as the officer walks up to the car with his flashlight.
      "License and registration please." He replies tiredly. Dean hands it to him, and the officer glances at it.
     "Do you realize you have a tail-light out, Mr Hagard?" he asks.
      "Yes... yes sir. Uh... you know I've been meaning to... take care of that." Dean trails off. "As a matter of fact..." He adds before throwing the car door open, slamming it into the officer. I gasp in shock.
      "Dean!" Sam yells, shocked as well. Sam scrambles out of the car, trying to get Dean to stop beating up the officer. Dean manages to land three punches before he yanks out the knife and stabs the man in the throat. I stumble out of the car and my eyes widen in shock as a weird glow appears and a puff of smoke comes out of the officer's mouth. It was a demon. I glance over as Bobby throws his car into park and rushes over to us.
      "What the hell happened?" He asks, looking down at the body on the ground.
      "Dean just killed a demon." Sam says, and I nod.
      "How did you know?" I ask, and Dean looks at me, the worry clear on his face.
      "I just knew." He says, turning and glancing back at the body. "I could see its face. Its real face under that one."
      "Well that's awesome and terrifying all at the same time." I mutter, hugging my arms around myself. Bobby quickly gets to work, pulling the police car right into the trees so that we can hide it. Sam grabs the arms and I quickly grab the feet, groaning at how heavy the body is. We take it over and put it in the car so that it's out of the way. I start picking up sticks and limbs to help cover the car from sight. The guys all start to pick up limbs too, quickly covering the car.
     "So what, now you're seeing demons?" Sam asks, breaking the silence.
      "I've seen all kinds of things lately but... nothing like this." Dean replies with a huff.
      "Actually it's not all that crazy." Bobby says and I frown.
      "How's it not that crazy?" Dean asks defensively.
      "Well you've got, just over five hours to go? You're piercing the veil, Dean. You're glimpsing the B side." Bobby tries to explain and I blink.
      "English, please." I say.
     "He's almost hell's bitch. So, he can see hell's other bitches." Bobby says, rolling his eyes.
     "Fantastic." I mumble, angrily shoving another limb on top of the car. Thanks for the reminder of how little time we have left to try and save Dean, Bobby. Great job.
      "Well, actually it could come in pretty handy." Sam says and I huff.
      "Oh, well, I'm glad my doomed soul is good for something." Dean snarks and my breath catches in my throat. How can they talk about this like it's normal? I don't care what that dumb bitch of a demon says, my brother is not dying tonight.
     "Damn right it is. Lilith's probably got demons stashed all over town. We can't let them sound the alarm. She knows we're here, we're dead before we're started." Bobby says and I roll my eyes.
      "You sure know how to give a pep talk." I say sarcastically brushing my hands off on my jeans before turning and walking towards the road.
      "This is a terrific plan. I'm excited to be a part of it. Can we go, please?" Dean asks, and suddenly he's passing me to get to the car. I glance back to make sure Sam and Bobby are following. We can do this.
***
Another chapter. I hate being one of those authors, but can you guys please vote or comment if you like a chapter? It's super disheartening to see the number of reads that I have compared to the number of votes/comments. I know not everyone is going to like the story, and that's fine. But I'd like to know if more than ten people out of the couple thousand who read it enjoy it or not.