The Joys of Being a Winchester

Chapter 17

The tenacious and silent race to the Roadhouse had Jayde in a state of apprehension and hope. If this Ash character knew something that had anything to do with anything, it was worth it. Sam had been missing for hours now, every moment another where Jayde tried distracting herself from thinking the worst. Whilst Dean stared at nothing but the road ahead, Jayde let her eyes remain closed in something close to calm peace, despite knowing that her eldest brother's head was cycling through thousands of thoughts and feelings, just as hers was. Silence was the only thing they needed right now, no need for words to worsen the burn of fear.

"What the hell?" Dean gasped turning the corner and pulling up to what sounded like a gravelly road. Jayde opened her eyes and brought a hand to her mouth, hiding the loud breath that slipped from her mouth. The building she assumed was the Roadhouse was no more, half of it rubble on the ground and the other blackened and burnt, barely standing. The fire was out, but the smoke still lingered all around, billowing from piles of broken and charred wood. The siblings shared a look of pure confusion and dead seriousness, carefully getting out of the Impala and hearing Bobby pull up behind them. He too stopped for a moment in shock before joining the pair and making way through the blackened ruins of a doorway.

"Oh my god." Bobby managed, stepping over a pile of smouldering support beam. Jayde tried being careful with every step, but everywhere her foot rested she was met with raw heat and the crunch of more debris breaking under her. Dean ventured out further, looking amongst the wreck for bodies, Jayde taking his word for 'hunter's pit stop' and assuming he expected several to be around.

"You see Ellen?"

"No. No Jo either." Bobby was hesitant in his search for people, trying not to look at the blackened corpses Jayde was starting to notice all around her. Somehow she managed to stay calm, despite the fact that she assumed someone so anxiety-ridden like herself would've probably broken into a mental breakdown at such a sight. She saw Dean bend down and examine something among the ash, suddenly standing back up and stepping back.

"Oh, Ash, damn it!" he cried, turning back to escape from the mess of debris. Jayde and Bobby followed in suit, the young girl's little bit of hope now a distant memory. The one lead they had - a lead that would no doubt save Sam - was dead, burnt to the ground by who knows what. Her thoughts were distracted as Dean kicked a piece of wooden support whilst walking, frustration diverting him of grief for the fallen hunters caught in the fire. Jayde leant against the cool Impala, her hot skin biting in conflict against the cold metal and relieving her for a moment.

"What the hell did Ash know? We've got no way of knowing where Ellen or Jo are, or if they're even alive. We've got no clue what Ash was gonna tell us. Now, how the hell are we gonna find Sam?" Dean joined Jayde, his hands tensed against the car's hood as his tone grew more aggravated with every syllable. His eyes drifted everywhere, only settling on Jayde's hand when he felt it on his arm.

"We'll find him. We can't give up, not just yet."

She said this but was now enveloped in thought, trying to think of anything that might help them in the search for Sam or Yellow-Eyes. There was really no point in hiding the fact she was discouraged, but not wanting to make Dean feel worse she focused on finding solutions. What could they do now though? Perhaps summoning another demon and torturing the information out? Sure, it was brutal but after all, they were just demons... Maybe they could continue trying to follow up on the other psychics Dean mentioned, see if they had any news on anything...

All these circling thoughts were interrupted however when a sudden searing pain erupted into Jayde's skull, a pain so bad she winced and gripped the sides of her head. A flash of an image burned itself against her eyes for a split-second, something that looked like an old bell in a frontier land-like place. Dean's hand appeared at her shoulder as the image disappeared, his grip tight but comforting and secure.