c a r r y on my w a y w a r d son

[{ squishy }]

The past twenty years had been incredibly difficult for both me and my little brother, Sam. We had lost our mother in a suspicious house fire, and my father had placed Sammy in my arms, telling me to run outside and to not come back in. As I did so, I knew he had rushed into my brother's nursery, trying to get our mother to safety. That's when the house exploded. I watched in horror as a fireball rolled out of the nursery windows, my voice screaming for my father. He rushed out the front door, running straight for the two of his sons, eyes filled with worry and tears. It was then that I knew my mother didn't survive. As the two of us grew up, our father took us on the road, never staying more than a few weeks in any location as he hunted whatever it was that was in the town. Most of the time, it was angry spirits, and we were always able to whisk them away to wherever it was that they went to after they were dealt with. We never were able to make friends, and while that didn't bother Sam, it really messed with my head. I liked people, especially girls, but always moving and having to keep to myself so I wouldn't make friends got old real quick. So, when Sam got the chance to go to Stanford on a full ride, he jumped at the opportunity, and I haven't seen him in nearly two years now.

In those long two years, Dad and I were still on the trail to find whatever had killed my mother. We still didn't know what it was. Not even the other hunters that Dad knew and had met on our travels were able to help. We were still on step one, clueless as how to proceed. Unfortunately for me, Dad departed on a hunting trip, and I hadn't seen him in a few days. We usually stayed in contact with each other, but texts and calls went unread and unanswered. I was clueless as how to proceed now. I paced back and forth in the hotel room, my hands running through my short, spiky brown hair. My jade green eyes zipped around the room, trying to find something that could aide in my finding him. I couldn't find anything, and I grunted in frustration as I flopped onto my bed, staring at the ceiling.

That is... Until I got an idea. What if I drove to Stanford from Texas? Grabbing my bag and my jacket, I whisked my keys into my hand and slammed the hotel room behind me, never to return. I opened the door to my black 1967 Chevy Impala, the door creaking lightly at the hinges as it opened wide, the slamming noise echoing around me. I started the car up and I roared out of the parking lot, my tires squealing on the wet pavement.

It was going to be a long drive. I knew that before I even hit the open road. But, with how fast I drove... It wouldn't take as long as I thought it would take. I already knew driving from Texas to California took around a day and a half to get there... But, with the speed that the Impala possessed, I was there in just a day.

It was night when I arrived, parking my car a block away as I snuck up the fire escape outside of Sammy's apartment. I didn't know how much his life had changed since we last saw each other, but that didn't matter much to me anymore. I just wanted Sam back in my life. Wiggling open a window, I snuck into the apartment, my right leg catching on something and making it fall to the floor, a crash echoing. I cursed softly, knowing I'd woken my brother up, and whatever female shared his bed - if one did so. I snuck into the shadows, hearing Sam's quiet footsteps on his stairs. Ah, Sammy. 2 years and you haven't changed a bit. Then again, he probably wasn't training anymore. Either that, or he didn't remember how to be silent from all of our years of training. Maybe both.

I watched him from the shadows as he passed me by. Grinning silently, I tackled him from behind, our grunts and punches seemed extremely loud in the silent apartment. Finally, I got Sammy pinned beneath me, and I smirked down at him, chuckling. "Whoa, easy, tiger." He groaned at me, and pushed me off, jumping up at the sound of a woman walking down the stairs cautiously. I looked over her body and arched my brows over at Sam, as he walked over next to her. Either she was his girlfriend, or a one-night stand. But... If she was the latter, shouldn't she already be gone? Whatever I was thinking vanished as Sam began speaking to me again, our previous exchanges forgotten. "No, whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of her." My face fell and everything turned serious, the shadows coating my back in darkness. "Dad hasn't been home for a few days." Sam shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head. "So he's working overtime on a Miller Time shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later."

I ducked my head and looked back up. "Dad's on a hunting trip. And he hasn't been home in a few days." Sam didn't even look at Jess, but she looked at him. While he spoke, he stared at me. "Jess, excuse us. We have to go outside."

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We had managed to grab our dad's notebook, filled with all of his secrets and information jotted down in it. Glancing over at my brother as I drove, I frowned lightly, staring back at the road. "So, what's it say?" Sam shook his head, frowning in the fading sunlight. "Just the coordinates. Though, looking at the newspaper, it's not the first time this has happened." I nodded lightly, pressing my foot on the accelerator. We sped toward Jericho, California, but I frowned in the fading light, spotting a young girl striding down the side of the road. I didn't even take a glance at Sam as I slammed on the brakes, the wheels screeching on the pavement. I came to a stop behind her on the side of the road, and I got out of the Impala, striding toward her slowly. "Hey! What are you doing out here? There's nothing for miles. Have you walked this entire way?" He was usually just the type to use women and lose them, but this one... Something struck at his heartstrings.

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faster. faster dammit. i ran through the corn field with my hair whipping behind me. i ran like the devil was chasing me, and he very well may have been. i was on a mission, an undercover mission on some drug cartel that was big. it stretched across the entire united states. i was trained, the best that they had. nothing, and i mean nothing, could have prepared me for what i truly was facing, though. it didn't matter that i had been raised from just a young lass to be the best agent out there. it didn't matter because the criteria they taught us didn't cover how to deal with demons.

my mind still fought with me about even entertaining the fact that what i saw was a demon. oh yeah, you just imagined seeing the head ring leader's head fling back, and a big streak of black raise out of his mouth and into the sky. you also imagined being found even after all the training you had, and you hadn't nearly been devoured whole by the things sharp teeth. as if to remind me that i had indeed almost become demon food, pain tore through my side, and throbbed through my body. i bit back a cry, and continued to run with only the dull thudding of my boots against the wet soil.

it might have been hours. or just mere minutes. no matter how long it was, i finally broke out of the corn field, and onto the pavement of a road. i contemplated staying where some one could see me, or braving the endless rows of corn, and wild life. i withdrew my hand from my side, and saw blood that coated my fingers, and palm in a thick layer. it made me sick. i pressed my hand against my side once more, and slowly began to move down the highway. i didn't know how long it had been, but i felt as if i was about to pass out. that is, until high beams shone on me, and illuminated me in the night. i don't know why i did it, but i screamed.

i lifted my hand to shield my eyes from the glare of the impala, and saw a some what regular joe approaching me. i took a step back, and groaned as pain raced through my body. they didn't look like they were demons. then again, neither had the guys i was investigating. the hand that i had lifted up into the light was coated in blood, and gleaming with the crimson liquid. he asked if i had walked all this way. "no... i ran..." i replied, my knees buckling beneath me before discarding me altogether from too much blood lost. i crumbled to the ground like a sack of potatoes, and caught myself with my hands. the world was spinning, and i closed my eyes tightly to try and get a hold of myself.

[{ squishy }]

The girl screamed at the arrival of my Impala on the scene, and I frowned as I got out of the car, slamming the car door behind me. I signaled to Sam to stay put, but I wasn't shocked when he got out of the car anyway. I walked slowly toward the girl, my hands outstretched toward her, letting her know I was of no threat to her. She said she ran, and I frowned again, looking around at the surroundings. There... There wasn't anything out here but an old, abandoned and dilapidated farmhouse several miles up the road. That's where our case was taking us. Well, it wasn't taking us there now. "You ran?" I didn't see the hand that was covered in blood. Rather, I was too focused on the side that was spurting blood out. I looked back at Sam and jerked toward the car, telling him silently to get the first aid kit from the backseat. Turning around, she collapsed to the ground, and I jerked forward, picking her up off the ground and cradling her in my arms, walking hurriedly to the Impala.

"Sam, we gotta get her to the hospital. The case can wait." My brother had nothing to say. Of course he couldn't say anything. I was told to look out for him, to protect him as best I could. Placing the girl in the backseat, I closed the door and got into the driver's seat, buckling in and starting the car. I turned off the side of the road, going in the opposite direction of the farmhouse, back toward the hospital that we had passed just a half hour before. I ground my teeth, knowing she may not survive for the drive there. Pressing my foot on the accelerator, I sped past everything that was starting to show up - corn fields, farms, homes... The girl was more important than an angry spirit.

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i really couldn't focus on anything that they were saying. i hardly realized that he had picked me up from the ground, and had laid me down in the back seat. i kept pressure on the wound, and groaned in pain. normally, i wouldn't have allowed any of this to happen. actually, i was putting these men in danger. that wasn't what i was supposed to be doing, but dammit, i couldn't move. i would have been dead by morning. my teeth grit against each other until their creaked out loud. i wasn't in enough pain to not overhear the fact that they planned on taking me to the hospital. "no! no hospitals! i blurted out, and flailed out a hand in protest that may or may not have smeared blood all over one of their sleeves. i didn't know. i didn't really care at this moment.

"hospitals will put out a missing persons report to the police to see if some one is missing a battered woman, and i can't be found." that was some what the truth. i couldn't compromise my cover, and if they broadcasted my location out country wide i would surely be found by the demons. the thought cause me to shiver noticeably. off topic, i spoke again. "is it me, or is it getting cold in here? i guess adrenaline kicked again, and i was able to sit up, and lean over the center console, prompting another gush of blood to ooze from my wounds. i put a hand on the driver's cheek - that was covered in blood, remember? - and turned his head from the road to look him in the eyes. i giggled - i blame hysteria, honest - and said "you have the prettiest eyes..." i leaned forward, and kissed him right on the mouth, and holding the kiss for a few moments before giggling again, and falling back onto the back seat.

[{ squishy }]

Sam looked over his shoulder at the girl as she blurted out no hospitals. He looked over at me, and I shrugged, watching as her hand flailed out and hit Sam in the sleeve, leaving a streak of blood going down his arm. I growled softly, pressing down hard on the accelerator, urging the Impala to go faster, to screech into the hospital parking lot. It seemed like we weren't ever going to get the hospital, everything was going in slow motion now. All I wanted to do was to get her to the hospital, get her stitched up, and get the case we were trusted with over. Whether that meant taking the female with us, well... if that helped us get the case over faster, then so be it. "Miss, we need to take you to the hospital. You're bleeding really bad, and there's a possibility the bullet nicked important organs." Sam looked over at me in shock, and I shrugged, as I had no idea where it came from. I blame the boring shows I had embedded into my mind when I had nothing to do but wait for Dad to come back to where I was staying. Of course, that had never happened, so TV shows it was. Better than getting in trouble.

"Miss, they won't put out a missing person's report. Not if I say you're with me." I wasn't exactly a fan of that option, but it was the only one I could seem to come up with. Sam looked back at me from the road, and his jaw dropped open, his eyes looking back at the girl in our backseat, his eyebrows shooting up as she spoke. "I think it might be you. It's the blood loss. We really need to get you sewed up." I nodded at Sam's words, silently agreeing with my brother. We may not see eye to eye on most things, but this was something we definitely agreed on. I looked in the rearview mirror and frowned when I saw her sit up, blood spurting all over my backseat and the floorboard. Sam grimaced noticeably, knowing I liked keeping the car clean. I felt her blood-soaked hand on my cheek, and I frowned again, my head turning to look at the girl. I didn't even know her and... Oh, hello! Her lips enveloped my own, and I had to refrain myself from deepening the kiss, my hands gripping the steering wheel as Sam cleared his throat in annoyance. As she released my lips, I turned my head to the road again, jerking the car out of the way of a pick-up truck just in time, throwing Sam into the passenger side door.

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when he mentioned how i was bleeding bad, and that a bullet may have nicked something important i sobered up from my blood loss stupor for a few moments. i could remember seeing nothing at all, but feeling the teeth of something rip into my side, and tear it to shreds. it was only by a miracle that i slipped from it's grasp. i shook my head in defiance. "it wasn't a bullet. it was...hah, this is going to sound crazy, maybe it's the blood loss altering my memory, but it was a demon. definitely a demon that tried to kill me." in my altered mind set, i didn't really think about how crazy i must sound right now. i had to sound crazy, didn't I?

the man in the passenger seat spoke, saying that he believed the chilliness to be from my blood loss. i frowned, and looked down at my blood soaked clothes. hm. maybe they were right.

when my lips had touched his i really had an urge to crawl into his lap, and do things with him. but, the sensible part of my brain told me that he was driving, and really needed to see where he was going if we were going to survive. so when i pulled away, and flopped back into the car seat there was a pair of head lights shining into the windshield. i looked up, and realized that we were on a head on collusion for them. the driver turned the wheel suddenly, and the impala responded very well. it screeched out of the path, and threw both sam, and my self against our respective doors. i grunted, the collusion not helping the wound in my side at all. i could feel my eyelids getting light right about now.

[{ squishy }]

I glanced over at Sammy when she said it wasn't a bullet, but rather, a demon. My hands tightened on the wheel and my foot hit the brake. I pulled the car over to the side of the road again, the engine purring as evidence it was still turned over. I turned on the bench seat, looking at the girl all sprawled out on my backseat. I grimaced lightly at the sight of the blood covering everything, but I quickly set my face to somber, knowing that what she said was true. Some demons took a bite out of someone rather than possessing them. We still hadn't been able to figure out why they did it, but my guess was that they were too lazy to possess someone, so they just decided to take a bit of them instead, marking them for later. "Okay, miss. You can have it your way. I'll stitch you up. The only problem is... We don't have any anesthetic. You're going to feel every stitch and tug and pull. But I need you to bite down on this the entire time." I reached into my duffel bag and withdrew a pristine looking white cloth. You can say a lot of things about me, but I knew how to do laundry.

I opened the driver's door and left the car running, knowing that the sound of her purring would drown out the girl's screams. Sam got out with me, like he always does, his long hair blowing in the slight breeze. I pulled open the passenger side back door and I carefully extracted the girl from where she'd been laying. I gently placed her upon the ground, on the side that wasn't bleeding. I wanted to limit the risk of infection.

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suddenly, the car came to a stop, and I looked about myself in confusion. What were we doing? The driver of the car turned to talk to me, and called me miss again. "My name is Naomi." I informed him, and then fell silent yo listen to his plan. He was going to do it here. I nodded. I was trained for this kind of thing. The pain i could handle. Demons? Nope.

He exited the car, and helped me get out. He laid me down on my side, and i placed the white cloth in between my jaws so that i could muffle what ever sound i decided to make. When the needle began to push into my skin i bit down on the cloth as white flashed across my vision thanks to the blinding amount of pain. I made a muffled gasp for a moment, but kept it to a minimal.

[{ squishy }]

I looked over the back of the seat at Naomi and blushed lightly as she said her name, and I nodded, an apologetic look on my face. "I apologize." Sam looked at me, and I shrugged, opening my door, listening to the hinges creak and groan again. I walked around to the other side of the car, looking at Sam as he rummaged through the trunk, getting a shotgun loaded with rock salt, and a can of table salt. I nodded silently, watching as he poured salt around the entire car, making a larger border around where I'd be stitching up Naomi.

As I got her out of the car, I grabbed the first aid kit and a pack of sutures from the duffle bag, ripping open the package with my teeth. I opened the first aid kit and tied the sutures to the needle. I ground my teeth, feeling bad for the girl pinned beneath my body and Sam's, blood spurting from her side as I put pressure on her and as the needle pierced through her skin. "Easy, easy. It'll be over soon." I finished the sutures as quickly as I could, and after disinfecting the area, I placed a large cotton pad over the wound, tape keeping it on her skin. "It's done... It's done."