Silence in the Forest

Chapter 1

Dean - 28; Sam - 24; Casey - 19;

Casey Winchester prided herself on being tough as nails. She could say with certainty that almost nothing scared her. And with a job like hers, it had to be that way. It would be mighty hard for a hunter to do their job if they were terrified of every monstrous thing that entered their path.

There were, however, a few select things that made her mildly uncomfortable. Snakes, for instance. She never did like those. And bats. But if there was one thing Casey could truly say she was scared of, it was being yelled at.

It was an old, deep-rooted, and frankly embarrassing fear. She had grown up in an abusive household, always being carted off to abusive foster home after abusive foster home before ultimately landing back in the original craphole. She had been trained from the get-go that if somebody yelled at her, they were going to hit her, or worse. Casey had been put through the wringer, and no amount of love or reassurance that it would never happen again would ever convince her that she was completely in the clear. Because of this, she had a very hard time trusting people, men in particular.

If there was anybody she could without a doubt trust, it was her brothers. Sam had never raised his voice at her and promised he never would. And Casey believed him. Dean yelled on occasion, but almost never at her. She could count the number of times he had yelled at her on one hand. She knew above all that they would never, ever hurt her.

There were other people she trusted as well. Bobby, for instance. Underneath his gruff exterior, he had a heart of gold, especially when it came to her. Castiel was nice as well, but she still didn't really know what to think of him. Ever since Dean and Sam had explained her situation to him, he'd almost been walking on eggshells around her. One of these days she'd have to sit him down and explain things properly.

Today, Casey and her brothers were meeting a fellow hunter with a son about her age. She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. Meeting new people was never fun, especially for her. Cas was sitting in the back seat with her while the two boys sat up front.

"You have no reason to be afraid," Cas said suddenly.

Casey turned to look at him. "Were you reading my thoughts again?"

Cas shrugged. "You seemed distressed. I merely wished to know what was upsetting you."

Casey shook her head. "I'm not afraid, necessarily. I just get nervous when I meet new people, especially when the new people are men."

Cas nodded. "Because of what happened to you in the past."

Casey nodded as well. "Yes."

"Do you trust me, Casey?" he asked unexpectedly.

Casey blinked. "I suppose so. I've never really thought about it, but... yeah, I trust you."

Cas, seemingly satisfied with her answer, turned to face the front again.

Less than an hour later, the Impala pulled up to a small brick dwelling in almost the middle of nowhere.

"Here we are!" Dean announced from the front seat. "Told you I remembered where it was."

Sam rolled his eyes. "None of us doubted you for a second," he replied sarcastically.

Casey slid out of the back seat and took in the scenery. They were in a wide, expansive forest with trees surrounding them on every side. It would be very easy to get lost in a place like this. She'd have to be careful.

Dean went up to the small house and knocked on the door. A man, about Bobby's age, answered it with a smile.

"Sam! Dean! Good to see you boys!" he said, putting an arm around the pair.