NOPE, JUST A BITCH
"WHY ARE you even helping us?" Dean asks as they cruise down the backroads the next day. Thankfully, Kathleen was willing to give them the slip until they found Sam. It's later in the day, and the sun hangs low on the horizon -- just barely peeking through the rain clouds that have moved on.
"I, uh, I know what it feels like to be responsible for someone," Kathleen sighs and grips onto the steering wheel a bit harder. "I had a brother. A little brother -- and he went missing. He's been gone for years now. I just sympathize with you, that's all."
Campbell nods her head approvingly, she wants to ask a million more questions. Maybe there's a connection between his and Sam's cases, but she resists the urge. She doesn't want to poke her nose where it's not welcome.
"Hey, hey, hey pull over here," Campbell Grace lightly pats the back of Kathleen's driver seat and motions to the left side of the road. "This is the first clearing I've seen," she says as the officer slows the car to a stop.
The party of three steps out of the police vehicle and onto the wet grass. "You stay here, I'll check it out," Officer Kathleen says to the Winchesters.
"No we're good," Campbell hums and continues to walk. Kathleen grabs her arm.
"Hey. You're a civilian -- and a felon, I think," her voice falters on that last part, "I'm not taking either of you with me."
"You're not going without us," Dean insists.
Kathleen exhales sharply, "alright you promise you'll let me handle it?"
"Promise," the Winchesters chorus.
"Shake on it," Kathleen extends her hand towards Dean. Shake on it.
In one swift motion, the officer has cuffs around Dean's right wrist.
"Hey!" Campbell shouts -- but before she knows it, she too is cuffed to the side of the police cruiser. "Kathleen, I really think you're gonna need our help."
"I'll manage," the officer says over her shoulder, "thank you." Kathleen locks the car and retreats down the gravel road.
Dean struggles against the car for a moment, "I got to start carrying paper clips."
Campbell just groans. "Wait! Maybe-" she pats around her hair with her free hand, "- damn it. Nevermind, I'm not wearing any bobby pins today."
"Bobby whats?"
"Shut up." Campbell shivers a bit, "shoulda worn my big coat."
"Big coat?"
Campbell kicks the back of her brother's knee. Dean shoots her a bitch face. "Yes, my big coat. The insulated one. It's freezing and not to mention rainy."
Dean continues his deadpanned gaze before Campbell notices his glance shift to the top of the car. "Hey," he says, "you think you can reach that antenna?"
Campbell looks in the direction her brother is emphasizing. "Hang on," she stretches her torso to reach across the top of the car. Her tongue hangs out just a tad bit as she concentrates. The huntress jumps a bit as she hears an engine whine in the distance.
"Son of a bitch," Dean grunts, "you've got monkey arms like Sam why can't you get it?"
The whining grows closer, Campbell can hear the creek of the brakes. "Shit, shit, shit," she says.
"C'mon CG!" Dean whisper shouts.
"I'm trying, asshole!" Campbell throws her shoulder to get some momentum and cheers as she feels the antenna in her grasp. "Aha!"
"Hurry," Dean says as she pulls it off and towards their handcuffs. Within seconds - Campbell actually thinks she might've broken her previous record of 7 seconds - the cuffs are off of their hands. "Alright, go, go, go" the eldest Winchester ushers his sister towards the bushes to take cover.
He cups his hand over her mouth as they watch two men approach. Campbell could almost scream -- these motherfuckers are human? How the hell did they get the jump on Sam friggin' Winchester of all people? The two males chuckle to themselves before unlocking the police cruiser and driving off in it.
"C'mon," Campbell Grace tugs Dean's sleeve as she stands up. "Sam's definitely back there. They had her keys -- Kathleen's probably in trouble too."
The Winchesters take off down the dirt and gravel road towards the back of the property. Campbell curses to herself as she feels mud kick back up onto her jeans. Her heart beats wildly in her chest as she sees an old barn a couple of hundred yards to her left. She points and turns in that direction, Dean sprinting behind her.
The doors to the barn squeal as Dean rolls them open. Campbell draws her beretta from the back of her jeans and pulls the hammer. Her eldest brother gives her a perplexed look. "What? We don't know what we're walking into!" She exclaims in a hushed tone.
The two siblings slowly enter the barn. Campbell's eyes probably pop out of her head, there must be 20 cages in here. All big enough to fit a fully grown man.
They turn the corner slowly, Campbell in front with her pistol. Her eyes scan the cages before they fall on a familiar face. "Sammy!" She whispers.
"Hey!" Sam's face immediately lights up. "How did you-"
"Are you hurt?" She and Dean rush over and begin to fiddle with the lock system.
"No," Sam chuckles in disbelief.
"Damn, it's good to see you," Dean smiles.
"How did you get out of the cuffs?" Campbell turns her head at the sound of Kathleen's voice.
"I know a thing or two," she grins.
"Oh, these locks look like they're gonna be a bitch," Dean mutters as he fidgets with the iron bars on Sam's cage.
"There's some kind of automatic control right there," Sam points to other side of the barn.
"Yeah, huh," Campbell tuts, "have you seen 'em? Whoever took you?"
"Yeah, they're human," Sam grunts.
"And they jumped you? Must be getting little rusty there, kiddo," Dean jests.
Campbell shuffles over to the control panel, "what do they want?"
"I don't know," Sam says, "but they let Jenkins go, I think it was some sort of trap. It doesn't make any sense to me."
"Well, that's the point. You know, with our usual playmates," her eyes glance over to Kathleen who sits dumbfounded in her own cage, "there's rules, there's patterns. But with people... they're just crazy." She slams the cable box shut after flipping a few buttons and walks back over to Dean.
"See anything else out there?" Sam asks.
"Uh, he has about a dozen junked cars hidden out back," Dean says. "The plates are from all over. I'm thinking when they take someone, they take their car."
"Did you see a black mustang out there," Kathleen's weak voice asks. "About 10 years old?"
"Uh, yeah, actually," Campbell stutters, "we did." The officer's face drains of color and she shifts her eyes to the ground. "Your brother's?" Campbell whispers.
Kathleen nods.
"I'm sorry," Dean says. "Let's just get you outta here. Then we can take care of those bastards."
"This thing takes a key, Sammy, you seen one?" Campbell nods back towards the cable box.
"Key?"
"Yes, a key, I'm sure you know what that is."
"I-I don't know. I haven't seen one."
"Alright, we better go find it," Campbell pats Dean on the shoulder and turns to walk out of the barn.
"Hey," Sam calls after his siblings, "be careful."
Campbell shoots him a smile, "always."
☾
By now, the sun has sunken and the moon remains high in the sky. Dean mutters to himself as he whacks his flashlight. The bulb is almost dead, but for now, it'll do.
He and Campbell maneuver throughout the dark basement. It's cluttered, shelves filled with various items cover the walls. Campbell lets out a tiny yelp as she trips over a box. "I'm good," she whispers.
Dean just rolls his eyes.
The youngest hunter shines her flashlight over towards one of the walls and begins to approach the shelves that are lined with jars. As she gets closer, her stomach flips upside down. "Are those..." She gulps leans in closer to take a better look.
There are only two other places she's seen eyeballs in a jar like this -- her human biology class in high school and one of the bio labs at USC. "Oh," she wrinkles her face, "that is so gross!"
"CG," Dean calls for her on the other side of the room, "come check this out."
She slowly approaches her brother, still in shock at her own discovery. Little does she know that what Dean has found is much worse. "Is that- are those-"
"Dead bodies? Hunting trophies?" Dean tries to finish her sentence "Yeah." Disgust heavily influences his tone.
"Shit."
"Well, I'll say it again," Dean mutters, "demons, I get... People are crazy."
"C'mon," Campbell nods her head towards the staircase over in the corner. The two siblings slowly ascend the stairs up into what looks like the main level of the house. This place is an absolute wreck.
Old music floats through the house from somewhere in another room. The two Winchesters take shaky steps as they enter what looks like the living room. There are food wrappers everywhere, papers are strewn about the unvacuumed carpet, and muddy footprints lead towards other rooms.
Dean curses as he bumps into a windchime. "What?" he asks as he sees Campbell's eyes go wide.
"Those- those are wings of iliums..." she stutters.
"They're what now?"
"Hip bones," Campbell gulps.
"Oh for Christ's sake," Dean mutters and scurries away from the bones that hang in the air. Campbell doesn't even laugh, she just stands in shock. These people are sick.
A sawing noise from another room catches their attention, and Campbell nods for Dean to take the lead. "Hey wait," Campbell whispers. Dean watches as she grabs a wooden pole that's leaned against the door frame. "I don't wanna fire off my gun, that might draw too much attention," she says.
"You-you're a- forget it, just-" Dean grunts and shakes his head. "Split up, you take the front and I'll take the back."
Campbell slowly inches towards the door opening but she stops abruptly. Her eyes dart towards the glimmer of silver on the table. A tiny tin box sits atop a side table, and luckily enough, it's filled with several keys.
They're just out of reach, and if she were to take another step out it would leave her exposed. So Campbell Grace creeps forward just a bit to check if the coast is clear, but as soon as she catches a glimpse of a man sawing off someone's leg she retreats. Her heart feels like it might pound out of her chest.
The blonde takes a deep breath then darts out from her position against the wall and guns it for the tin key box. She's distracted though, by another jar. She picks it up and begins to inspect the insides. This one is filled with teeth -- human teeth. Nope, nope, nope. She pockets the key and turns back to find Dean, although she comes face to face with a young girl.
She can't be older than 13, maybe 12. Her hair is tangled all to hell, and her nightgown could definitely use some patchwork. The girl raises an eyebrow at Campbell. "Shhh," the youngest Winchester takes a step towards her, "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."
"I know," the girl gives Campbell a wicked grin before brandishing her shank. She takes a swing at Campbell's legs causing the huntress to yelp. The shank plunges into Campbell's right thigh.
"Oh, you lil shit!" she grunts.
"Daddy!" The girl begins to shriek. "Daddy!"
"You shut your mouth you mother fu-" Campbell almost manages to finish her sentence before a man is darting out of a doorway a few feet behind her. He throws his hands under her armpits and begins to tug her backward just as another man appears in front of her. The second man lunges for her, but Campbell leans back into the older one's grasps and lifts her legs. She kicks the second man hard and sends him flying backward before she jabs the man behind her with her elbow.
"Dean!" Campbell screams for her brother. The huntress plants her feet as she sees the younger male rush her. She grunts as his fist collides with her left cheek, sending her flying back into the wall behind her. Campbell scrambles to her feet and throws her own swing, clocking him on his temple.
He falters for a bit before letting out a roar and charging her once more. This time he manages to knock her clean off her feet. "Damnit," she coughs, "DEAN!"
Campbell's cornered now. The older man approaches from the left, while the younger one stalks her on her right. All she can think to do is throw the chair right in front of her at the oldest one.
Dean comes bolting into the room and tackles the younger one. "Took you long enough!" Campbell hollers right before the older man knocks her out cold.
"I'm gonna kick your ass first," Dean says to the elderly man as he backs himself up towards the doorway, "and then yours."
What Dean doesn't know is that there's another man behind him. He lifts his frying pan into the air and swings, knocking Dean out with a huge 'THUD.'
☾
Campbell lets out a low groan of pain as she finally comes to. "Holy," she mumbles as her eyes rake over her surroundings. Each limb is tied to a bedpost, and her skin crawls at the thought of the last time the sheets look like they were washed.
"Dean!" She begins to scream for her brother. "De! Help!"
The door bursts open quickly, "Pa doesn't like screamers." Campbell's stomach flips as she takes in her attackers. They must be brothers from the looks of it. Their faces are covered in dirt, beards hang low, and untrimmed.
"She's a loud one, Lee, ain't she," the older one cooes. Campbell feels her body shudder. "You know... Pa said we had to wait for him. But I just don't think I can," he smiles wickedly as his hands move towards Campbell's jeans.
Oh, FUCK no.
Campbell begins to thrash within her confines, trying to get away from her captors. "You're a piece of shit you know that?" She spits. "I'm gonna kick your ass. Both of you! Better yet, my big brother is gonna come in here and put a cap in both of your skulls. You worthless piece of tra-" Campbell's rampage is cut off my a piece of cloth being stuffed into her mouth.
"That oughta do it, shouldn't it Jared?" The younger one laughs. "Now we can really have our way with ya, bitch." Once again, Campbell can feel them pull at her pants. Tears burn as they roll down her cheeks. She tries her best to cross her legs, to kick her feet, anything to get away from the absolute horror that she knows is coming.
They have them halfway down when 'Pa' hollers up the stairs for them. "Jared! Lee!" he yells, "bring the bitch down here." Campbell lets out a shuddered breath of relief.
They don't even bother to pull her pants back up before practically slinging her down the stairs. Dean's eyes immediately widen at the sight of his baby sister. Campbell's face is red with tears, blood drips down her cheek from a wound on her forehead. Her jeans are around her knees, and her ponytail is now lopsided. The eldest can feel his anger rise from the pit of his stomach all the way to his face until he's shaking with rage.
Campbell's face burns with humiliation as she's plopped down in a chair next to her brother -- her underwear fully exposed.
"What did you do to her?" He barks.
"Nothing," Jared scoffs, "... yet."
Dean lunges but his restraints keep him in place. "I'll kill you!" He seethes.
The two brothers just laugh and carry on at Dean's reaction.
"Dean," Campbell's voice is barely a whisper, "I'm okay."
"No- Campbell. I'll- I'll kill all of you!"
Jared leans down towards his father who is sat in a chair across from the Winchesters, "c'mon Pa, let us hunt him."
"Yeah, this one's a fighter, sure would be fun to hunt," Lee agrees.
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Dean groans, "that's what this is about -- you yahoos hunt people?"
"You ever killed before," Pa asks the Winchesters.
Campbell sniffles a bit. "Yes," she snarls. The two brothers look between themselves and then down towards their father.
"I've hunted all my life. Just like my father, his before him. I've hunted deer and bear. I ever got a cougar once. Huh, boys?" Pa turns to his sons behind him. "But the best hunt..." He focuses on Dean, "is human. Oh, there's nothing like it. Holding their life in your hands. Seeing the fear in their eyes just before they go dark. Makes you feel powerful alive."
"You're a sick puppy," Dean bites.
"We give 'em a fighting chance. It's kind of like... our tradition, passed down father to son." Missy enters the room and stands between her brothers as Pa continues to ramble. "Of course, only one or two a year. Never enough to bring the law down, we're not that sloppy."
"Yeah, well," Dean scoffs, "don't sell yourself short. You're plenty sloppy."
Pa gets up out of his chair and leans down in front of Campbell -- his nose inches from hers. "So are you with that pretty cop?" he asks, and Campbell recoils at the smell of his breath. "You a cop?"
"If I tell you, will you promise not to make me into an ashtray?" She spits. Pa gives Jared a nod as he steps forward to give Campbell an uppercut.
"Hey!" Dean barks.
"Only reason I don't let my boys take you right here and now is that there's something I need to know."
Campbell moves her jaw around as her tears continue to stream down her face. "Yeah, how about it's not nice to marry your sister?"
"Tell me," Campbell and Dean both hear Pa fidgeting with something metal behind them, "any of the cops gonna come looking for you?"
"Oh, Eat me," Dean grunts, "no, no, no, wait. You actually might."
Pa circles in front of the Winchesters with a hot poker, "you think this is funny?" He asks as Lee grabs Dean's face and holds it in place. "You brought this down on my family. Well, you wanna play games? We'll play some games." Pa steps away from Dean and the Winchesters let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. "Looks like we're gonna have a hunt tonight, after all, boys! And you get to pick the animal." He looks to Dean. "The boy or the cop."
"Okay, wait, wait, wait. Look nobody's coming for me, alright? It's just us," Dean grunts and tries to flinch away from Jared's grasp.
"If you don't choose I will," Pa leans down and sticks the hot poker into Dean's shoulder.
The eldest Winchester cries out in pain, "Oh! Oh, you son of a bitch!" Pa pulls the poker away and moves it towards Dean's eyeball.
"The boy!" Campbell finds her voice, "take the boy."
"Lee," Pa turns back towards his youngest son, "you do it." He lifts a key from around his neck and hands it towards the boy, "don't let him out though. Shoot him in the cage."
"What?" Dean asks breathlessly, "I thought you said you were gonna hunt him. You were gonna give him a chance!"
"Lee!" Pa calls for his son as he's about to exit through the front door, "when you're done with the boy, shoot the bitch too." Campbell grunts and pulls on her ropes. "We gotta clean this mess up before any more cops come running out here," Pa mumbles.
A gunshot is heard in the distance a few moments later. "If you hurt my brother I swear I'll kill you." Campbell seethes, "I'll kill you ALL!"
Pa gets out of his chair, ignoring Campbell's screams, and moves towards the front of the room. "Lee!" He calls for his son.
No response.
"Lee!" Pa shouts once again. No response. "Jared," he turns back towards the room, "you come with me. Missy, you watch 'em, now." The two men take off.
"I'm beat you to a pulp," Campbell sneers as Missy circles the Winchesters.
"Campbell she's like eleven," Dean grunts.
"I don't care! I'm gonna roundhouse your ass! You hear me you lil shit?!"
"Campbell Grace!"
"Dean!" The youngest Winchester is fuming by now. Dean can practically see the steam billowing from her ears. That type of anger -- it just builds and builds, until finally something in Campbell's mind pops like an elastic band. Like the ropes around Campbell's body.
They snap and fall to the floor as she screams in rage. Missy's jaw drops along with Dean's. "You're a witch!" the little girl screams.
Campbell grunts as she gets to her feet and hoists her jeans up. Missy holds her shank out in front of her, challenging the youngest hunter. "Nope, just a bitch," Campbell snarls before she clocks Missy on her right cheek, effectively knocking her out.
"Campbell wha- she's just a kid!" Dean cries.
"And she's just unconscious," his sister grunts as she stuffs Missy's body into a closet and pulls her chair in front of it. Campbell then moves to untie her brother.
"How did you..."
"I don't know," she grumbles, "the same thing happened at the Millers' house. When Sam and I were trapped. I don't know how, but we'll figure it out after we find Sam."
"I don't think you'll have to look much further," the middle child's voice sounds from the other side of the room.
"Sam!" Dean gets to his feet and crashes into his brother with a hug. Campbell somehow finds herself in the middle of their bone-crushing embrace.
☾
Just as the Winchesters emerge from the house, Kathleen comes out from the over by the barn. "Where's the girl?" The officer asks.
"Locked in the closet," Campbell mumbles. "What about the dad?"
Kathleen hesitates for a moment, "shot -- trying to escape."
Everyone slowly nods their heads.
Campbell looks from brother to brother before starting to walk down the gravel road. The boys trudge after her. "Baby's at the police station," Dean tells Sam. Kathleen's radio chatter hums in the background.
"So," the officer takes a step forward causing the Winchesters to stop in their tracks, "the FBI and the state police are gonna be here within the hour. They're gonna wanna talk to you." Campbell sighs. "I suggest that you're both long gone by then," Kathleen finishes.
Campbell eyes Sam for a moment before turning back to Kathleen. "Thanks," she says with a small smile.
"Look, I know it's kind of a stretch but we're in the middle of nowhere - do you think we could catch a ride?" Dean asks.
"Start walking," Kathleen shakes her head, "duck if you see a squad car."
Sam and Campbell chuckle lowly. "Sounds good enough to me," Sam says.
"Kathleen," Campbell pauses as her brothers begin to walk off, "I'm sorry about your brother."
"Thank you," the officer smiles sadly, "it was really hard not knowing what happened to him. I thought it would be easier once I knew the truth. But... it isn't really."
Campbell sighs, "he'd be proud of you, y'know."
"Anyways, you should go," Kathleen dodges Campbell's comment and motions for her to catch up with her brothers.
The youngest Winchester runs to catch up with her older brothers. "Don't ever do that again," Dean grunts as they trudge through the mud.
"Do what?" Sam asks.
"Go missing like that again."
"You were worried about me," Sam laughs.
"All I'm saying is you vanish like that again, and I'm not gonna look for you," Dean grunts.
"Don't worry Sammy, I'll look for ya," Campbell smiles as she works her way in between her brothers.
☾
"Hey, you okay kiddo?" Dean asks later that night once they're all showered off and in bed. Well - Sam's on the couch with a blanket - but Dean and Campbell are in the two queen beds.
"What?" She whispers from the other side of the room and turns to look at Dean.
"I just..." Dean sighs before swinging his legs out of bed and walking over towards his sister's. Sam watches the whole interaction with curious eyes. Campbell throws back her sheets and lets Dean scoot in next to her. He throws a protective arm behind her shoulders and lets her scoot in close to his side.
"I wasn't there to protect you," Dean whispers after a few moments.
"Dean- I'm fine," Campbell weakly insists.
"No, Campbell Grace, they- they had your pants down-" Dean's voice chokes a bit, "They were gonna-"
"What?" Sam's off the couch within a second and sits down at the foot of Campbell's bed.
"They, they um," Campbell's eyes begin to wet with tears, "they were gonna-"
"I would never let someone do that to you," Dean whispers, "never... Neither would Sam."
Sam's eyes go wide at the thought of his little sister being taken advantage of. His blood boils, and Campbell can see the gears turning in his head. She leans forward and takes his hand in hers. "I know..." she says as a tear slips down her cheek. "They- they didn't do anything, Sammy. I'm okay. I'm here now, with you two. I'm okay." Campbell isn't sure if that last bit was to reassure her brothers or herself.
"I love you, Ellie," Sam says softly.
"I know," she smiles, "and I love y'all."
Dean squeezes her into his side a bit tighter. "You're gonna crush me," she squeaks as her face squishes into his ribcage.
"I know," he chuckles.
"Alright well then you asked for it," Campbell sits up a bit and wrestles out of Dean's grasp. "C'mon," she says as she wipes away her tears and motions for her brothers to come closer, "group hug. Coooome on. Group hug time."
The boys groan and whine.
"Nope, c' mere you big idiots." They eventually give in to their baby sister's wishes and embrace each other. "I love you guys," she whispers after a few moments.
"We love you too, CG."