I grabbed Cass's hand and headed for the door. The day was still young and I was determined to get us started ASAP.
"Hey guys?" I called walking through the house.
"What?" there came the sound of them getting up off the couch and coming towards us, which was at the backdoor.
"Is all the stuff still in the back of the Impala?" I asked.
"Yeah," slowly Sam replied, "Why?"
"Because we ,and I mean all of us, need to teach Cassidy how to handle a gun and she needs to know how to react when it comes to a case." Bobby, Bentley , and Cas had now shown up and were listening in to the conversation. The guys all shared a glance with each other. I crossed my arms over my chest and shifted my weight to my left leg.
"Alright," said Dean, leading us out the backdoor to the front yard. He unlocked the trunk and took out his colt 1911 a1 .45 caliber semi-automatic, one of the rock salt guns (which was a double barrel shotgun), and a Winchester model 1897 pump shotgun (12 gauge with 6 rounds). Not to mention the asortment of other weapons we sometimes used on hunts. It good to know how to use most of these, even if you never have to.
Sam and I set up targets at different heights and angles for Cass to shoot at. I also had to practice because not hunting for a year and 4 months kinda makes you question your hunting ability, at least for me anyways.
"Okay Cass," I told her," Don't point the gun at anyone or thing you are not going to completey destroy, and don't point it at us or swing it around like a toy, ever." Cass nodded.
"Have you ever shot a gun before?" Sam inquired . Cass nodded her head.
"Yeah when I was like 7, before they locked me in the clinic." The bitterness of those words poisoned her expression, but was quickly replaced when she said, "But I remember loving it!"
So we began our training. Cassidy always came really close to the targets but barely missed. She scowled in frustration.
"I don't get it! I just can't seem to be able to focus on it! I can't see the thing I'm aiming for! I just see all the crap around it! This is pointless!" She ranted handing Sam the gun, who quickly set the safety.
"Cassidy? Try shutting one of your eyes. Maybe that will help you focus." Suggested Bentley
"But that isn't just that!" She exclaimed again agitation in her tone," It feels freaking weird to shoot with my right hand!!! Gaw!!! This is aggravating!!!" I put a hand on her shoulder.
"Cass," I said, "Take a breath and relax. This next time that you shoot use your left hand to pull the trigger and your right hand to steady it. Close whatever eye is causing you the most problems and then shoot." Cass took a few deep breathes and looked at me. "Are you better?" I asked. She nodded in response. "Good. Now lets try this again."
Sam handed Cass the pistol back and she removed the safety. She changed her hands and closed her eye, carefully aiming she hit the spray painted target with a bulls eye shot, then moved on to the others with out hesitation, each time hitting them either with a bulls eye or near it. The rest of us stood behind her, faces stuck with our jaws dropped. When she was out of rounds she turned back to us.
"Holy shit!" Bentely exclaimed, "That was awesome!"
"You're a natural shot!" I told her a huge smile on my face. Sam, Dean, and Bobby gave her a high five, showering her with praise. A smile covered her face and she glowed with pride.
"That was amazing!!" She said after setting down the gun. For the rest of the afternoon we were shooting and practicing. The guys refreshed my mind, and taught Cassidy hand-to-hand combat basics and showed her the different weapons and what they were used for. I knew it would be a while before Cass was 100% perfect with it all, but as of right now, Cassidy was doing fantastic and I couldn't be any more proud of her.
Later that night, we were all in the kitchen talking about what had happened since I was gone. The recap of their two months and what they did put a pin prick in my heart. They had hurt for a long time because of me. That wasn't fair of me to blame on myself but I couldn't help it. Then it came to their turn to ask the questions.
Cassidy and I looked at each other and we recapped, together, the events of the past year and four months. Time passes way differently in the other dimension.
"You were in a coma for a year after I sent you through?" Cas asked. I nodded my head.
"Yeah, for a while their I actually feared that all of this," I motioned around me," had been in my head. It actually really scared me, but I knew that it was real, deep down inside. Its actually what kept me sane through that whole period of time after I woke up."
"So what exactly got you locked up in a psych clinic?" Bentley inquired, his arms folded over his chest.
"My stupid goody two shoes Canadian foster parents found my sketch diary and read it. I had recorded all of the exorcisms and types of traps in it so that I wouldn't forget them. Not to mention a few other things...they had a total come apart and thought I was a demon worshiping psychopath. They asked me why I had those things wrote down and I told them the truth. Isn't it funny that they will think your insane just because you are honest?"
We talked for a good couple of hours. They all enjoyed the stories of our more comedic adventures in the ward. Cassidy told the stories with such enthusiasm, half of the time it took forever to get through the beginning of the story because she or both of us couldn't stop laughing to tell what happened. God she was going to be the death of me! It was a good night. By the time I went to bed my sides were aching from laughing so hard.
----------------------------------------------
The next morning when I came up stairs, the smell of coffee was strong but no one was in the kitchen. Though the want for coffee was strong I wanted to know where the guys were at. Actually, I needed to know where they were at. Since I had been back, I felt very insecure about where they were. That is all thanks to the lovely kidnapping of Evangeline.
To my relief I found them in the den looking at reports and discussing newspaper clippings.
"Whatcha doin' guys?" I asked coming into the room, curiosity taking over my senses.
"We have a possible case out in Alabama. Hayleyville, to be exact. 4 local teenagers have gone missing in the area over the past week. They found the first body yesterday on the shore of the city's lake. It looked drained of all fluids with its wrists tied together." Sam explained
"So what do you think we're looking at?" I questioned.
"We're thinking a Djinn. It feeds on human blood and causes hallucinations with its poison by touching you. We have dealt with them a few times in the past. They are a pain in the ass to kill." said Dean.
"How do you kill it?" came Cassidy's voice behind me. We all looked at her as she came into the room. It was 5:30 in the morning, no of us would have guess that she would be up.
"A silver knife dipped in lamb's blood." Bobby said after a minute. Cass nodded in understanding.
"Where were the teenagers last seen?" asked Castiel.
"A carnival. That just so happened to come into town a week before the first vic disappeared." said Sam.
"So, are we going to take the case?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest. The guys looked at me.
"Are you sure that you can handle a case? You just got back." said Dean
"The sooner I get back out there," I stated, "The quicker I get my game back up." I looked over at Cassidy. "Do you want to come?" She looked at me surprised.
"Really?" She asked shocked.
I nodded, "Of course. You may as well learn how to put those skills of yours to work. Plus another tech head on the team is always a plus." I looked over at the guys. "What do you guys think?" Dean shrugged but Sam and Castiel looked a bit weary.
"Well if she learns now," said Cas, "There is less chance of her dying in the future because she didn't know what to do." Everyone nodded, including Cassidy.
"Alrighty then," I said with a small smile. "When do we leave?"
"We want to head out in about two hours." Perfect, it was just enough time to get all my stuff put together and help Cassidy pack her things.
Together we headed off to my room.
"So should I pack a lot of things?" Cassidy asked as we went down the stairs. I opened the heavy iron door and replied,
"Just use the backpack and put what you have in it. You don't have a lot right now so you don't have to worry." I grabbed my duffel bag from the closet. It was just how I left it. I grabbed another pair of my boots and stuffed them inside.
"Really? thats it?" said Cass surprised, "I figured that I'd need a whole bunch of crap!" I laughed slightly, shaking my head.
"Nope. You pack what you need. No more no less." She looked at me with a tilt of her head, "Its easier to travel when your bag is light." Cassidy shrugged in response.
"Whatever you say!" She turned on her heel and headed up stairs to get ready to leave.
A hunt! A real hunt! Yes! I finally was back in the game! Back in the ward I nearly went insane, which truly is ironic, from not hunting. This was also the first time I had ever hunted a djinn case. Bobby had made me read up on them and other Middle Eastern and Asian monsters back in November. They sounded horrible! But then again, truly what is horrible in a hunter's perspective? I was excited but weary of the case we were going to start. Teens always seem to be the victims. It's probably because we are all stupid and get our selves into shit that we can't undo.
The guys were waiting in the hallway by the front door. Cassidy was just coming down the stairs when I got to them.
"Ready to go?" Sam asked when Cassidy reached us. We both nodded in response. Bentely opened the door for us. I gave Bobby a tight hug.
"You had stay out of trouble kid. I don't ever want to do that again." He told me quietly, in the hug.
"I'll try Bobby. I promise." He let me go and gave Cassidy a similar hug. I'm pretty sure he told her to keep me out of trouble because she smiled and nodded with a small laugh. Dean and Sam were waiting on the porch, Bentley holding the door open for us. As the three of us came out of the house Bentley putting an arm around my neck letting the door close. He pulled me into a hug.
"Now damnit Rachel. You had better come back this time. Cause I swear to God I will hunt you down and beat your ass if you don't. Hear me?" I couldn't help but laugh a little bit. I knew that he was serious and that he meant every word ,but it was Bentley and I couldn't help it.
"I promise. I really will come back this time." He ruffled my hair and let me go. He turned to Cassidy.
"Alright Cass. I don't know you very well but you got that dumbass back here so don't let her do any of that crap again, okay?"
"I will keep her out of trouble." She said with a grin at me. I rolled my eyes with a smile. Bentley gave Cassidy a hug and the two of us followed Sam and Dean down the stairs of Bobby's house. I opened the door of the Impala and breathed in the familiar scent of the car. God, how I had missed this car! I waved to Bobby and Bentley before climbing into the car. I, of course, sat on the drivers side and stretched out diagonally. Simply put, it was my favorite spot. Leaving Cassidy to sit behind Sam on the passenger side.
Dean fired up the Impala and I only listened to the sweet sound of it's engine. I looked out the back window as we pulled out of the yard. I could see the guys still standing on the old wooden steps. Bentley had his arms crossed over his chest. I figured he didn't like the idea of me going off on some dangerous case after just getting back here. I'm pretty sure none of the guys did, to be honest. What could I say? Bentley was protective of me like Dean was of Sam, like I was beginning to be of Cass, like an older sibling should be. Not to mention he was my best friends.
But hey, this was the life we all lived and we all know that each day could be our last. Which actually concerned me for Cassidy safety. I know this will be fantastic for her but it doesn't mean that I don't want her to be safe. I owe her at the very least that. I would do whatever it took to keep this kid out of danger and safe, yet here I was taking her on a Djinn case. Hmm...maybe this isn't such a good idea, I though to myself. To late to turn back now though, right?
I felt something push my right shoulder and looked over to see Cass looking at me funny.
"Hello? Earth to Rachel! Where is you go? Totally zoned out there," she said sitting back into her seat. I laughed a little bit.
"Sorry. A lot on the mind currently." she shrugged it off.
"So...what exactly do you do on a road trip?" she asked. I know I shouldn't be shocked by a question like this from her, but still! I sighed with a small smile.
"You're killin' me Smalls!" I said dramatically. Gaining me another curious look from Cassidy. "Really Cass? You have never seen "The Sandlot"? Its is a classic!" She, of course, shook her head. I sighed again. I had a lot of work to do with this kid. Just at that moment "Back in Black" by AC/DC came on the radio. Dean reached over and turned it up with a smiling glance back at us.
"You do this Cass," I said with a smile and the guys and I belted out the lyrics and air instruments of the song, head banging the entire time. It didn't take long for Cassidy to get it down. All you could see in the back seat was the whipping of hair back and forth. It felt fantastic to be back on the road again.