CONTROL

CHAPTER FIVE: MISERABLE ROADS

SAM stared across the table at Elana, why was she even awake?

"I'm not a liability." he spoke watching as she turned to the next page of her book, she let a sigh fall from her lips before once again setting the book down.

"Sam," she began, "word travels fast, from hunter to hunter, and there are quite a few stories out there about you and your brother."

She paused for a moment as if weighing her words, "stories I know are true."

He shook his head from his seat as he leaned back, "you don't know shit."

Elana feigned fake surprise, "wow, big words for a little boy."

Sam was glaring at this point, and it was directed at her, she couldn't help but offer him a small, fake upturn of her lips, "you gonna cry Samuel? Go on, cry."

"You're an ass, you know that?"

Elana smiled at the remark, "I do know that, but thank you for reminding me." and with that, she picked up her book and continued to read. Sam, however, got up from his seat with an exaggerated huff leaving his lips before he climbed back into bed and drew the covers tight over him.

When he woke the next morning, he found that Elana had found her way back to her bed and the covers were halfway drawn over her, he frowned as he sat up in bed.

Glancing to the empty spot beside him in the bed, he quickly realized Dean was in the bathroom. He rubbed his eyes for a moment before he pushed his legs out from under the covers and let them hover over the edge of the bed. He wanted to go back to bed, so badly, but he knew that they had to get going soon and that Dean would go as far as dumping ice water on him to wake him up, just for his own amusement.

He looked over to where Elana laid once more and found his expression softening for a few seconds, she looked so peaceful, so harmless when she slept, but he knew what she was like awake, Dean did too. And from what Avanna had told him, there were times when she was worse.

Frowning, he turned away and stood up- quickly adjusting his shorts- before he moved to grab his laptop from the bag at the footboard of the bed, it wasn't there.

Glancing around him, he was unable to locate it, which was odd, seeing as he remembered bringing it into the motel room.

Then a grimace passed his lips and he made his way over to the bathroom door. He knocked three times, softly enough that he wouldn't wake the girls, but loud enough that Dean would hear him, "dude, do you have my laptop?"

He heard a scoff from the other side of the bathroom door and furrowed his brows, "no... I don't."

Sam sighed, "Dean you're a horrible liar, give me back my laptop."

He stood outside of the bathroom for a few moments before the door popped open and Dean stepped out, which left Sam to retrieve the laptop from inside the small room. And when he did grab it- his eyes lingering on the screen to read its contents- he slammed it shut with a groan, "DEAN!" he yelled the sound of his brothers chuckling coming from the main room.

Busty Asian Beauties.

Gross.

He was just asking to fill Sam's computer with viruses.

"What?" Dean questioned from his seat at the small table, he was trying his best to hide his smile, even going as far as to drink water from a cup to mask it as his brother approached.

"Stop using my computer to watch porn... it's gross."

Dean forced his lips into a frown, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Shaking his head, Sam gave up on the argument and plopped down on his side of the bed without looking at his brother again.

They stayed like that for at least another hour before Avanna woke up, and within five mnutes Elana was up and making her way out to her car barefoot.

When she returned, the others took notice of the bottle of liquor in one of her hands and the bottle of pain medicine in the other. Sam watched as Avanna turned away from her sister and began to stare down at the floor, he felt bad for her, having to watch her sister ruin herself ever so slowly until one day she just dropped. Out of the hunt forever.

Elana eyed Sam as she popped two pills into her mouth and took a long sip from the bottle, he stared back at her for a moment before returning his gaze to his laptop, and from just over the edge of it, he could see Dean glaring at him.

He knew exactly why he was, but he didn't care, because nothing was happening, and therefore, Dean had no valid reason to be mad at him.

They spent the next hour finishing up their research and packing their cars up with their belongings before they made way for a small diner in town and hit the road, instead of just getting orange juice, this time Elana made the effort to order eggs and a few pancakes for the road.

It made Avanna feel the tiniest bit better about her sister. At least she was eating now, eating more than a fry or two at meals and having a drink.

As they drove, Avanna found herself looking through a newspaper she had picked up from the last town, there wasn't much about it that was interesting. A baby had been delivered a few days before, and there was a small portion of the newspaper that welcomed the new addition to the town, she couldn't help but smile.

She wondered what it was like to live somewhere like that, somewhere where you knew everyone and there was no reason to not like each other. She and her sister hadn't been granted that luxury as children, most people scurried away from them or just gave them dirty looks, which was something they'd become accustomed to, it wasn't till they were on their own that they got a break from it.

And now, she felt as if the two brothers weren't judging them either, and that made her happier. They drove for a while, music blasting and an occasional conversation every now and then. Not enough to keep them entertained for a long time. But it didn't matter, because once dark hit and Avanna fell asleep Elana found she had no trouble removing the flask from her jacket pocket to take a sip.

She didn't think about a lot as she drove, just how annoyed Sam had been with her, she couldn't even be bothered to try and figure out why he was, just think over the event for a few moments before moving on to something else.

It wasn't until the Impala pulled off to the side of the road that Elana's brows furrowed and she pulled off behind them out of traffic.

When she slipped out of the drivers seat and leaned over the top of her door to see what was up, she was met with a glare from Dean and a somber look from Sam; which seemed normal, until she saw what Dean was holding.

He had a thickly bound journal of sorts, something she'd only seen once when she lived with her parents, it had been a record book of sorts, keeping track of every creature they'd come across, but she hadn't touched that book in so long.

Seeing the one in Dean's hands put her off a little and she watched as he raised it in the air with a frown, "I don't think we really know what we're up against here." he ran his other hand over the stubble on his jaw and let a sigh out. 

Elana frowned, what did he mean? Sam seemed sure enough about what they were going after, what the case involved, so why wasn't Dean?

"What do you mean?" she questioned, he shook his head, "I'm saying-"

"He's saying he doesn't want to take the job anymore." Sam interjected, the womans brows furrowed, "why not?" 

Dean looked down to where his feet were planted on the concrete, "because, I don't think we should be taking so many risks right now, you obviously wouldn't understand, but still." he paused and rested the hand holding the journal on the roof of the car, "we can't risk a possible accident, and right now, all of us are liabilities, to ourselves and each other." 

Elana shook her head, "where is this coming from? You were all ready and prepared to start on the case earlier, so what the hell changed?"

Deans' hands shook with anger, more so frustration, he was annoyed, and wanted to just stop everything, stop time, stop Sam, stop the girl that was practically glaring at him. Sam crossed his arms over his chest and cast a look from his brother to Elana, "tell her Dean." 

Elana's frown deepened, and she looked from one brother to the other, "tell me what?" she questioned, Dean shook his head his eyes still cast down at his feet, "if you don't tell her, I will." 

From where she stood, Elana could just barely see that Dean was indeed shaking, which was odd, considering that since she'd first met him, he'd been the more collected of the two brothers, emotionally at least. 

Dean brought his hand up to his face and roughly wiped away the tears that had begun to collect on his cheeks, "we're going up against Lilith here, and we're not expecting to walk out alive after this."

Elana's expression stiffened at the statement and she couldn't find it in herself to make a witty remark, but nothing else seemed like a good response.

She let her lips turn up into a small smile of sorts and shrugged her shoulders, "well, let's go drop by and say hi to her then, I'm sure she'd love to see us."

Sam shook his head and slowly climbed back into his seat, Dean on the other hand, stood just outside of his car for a few moments before wiping his face again and climbing into the car with the journal.

Elana watched as the back lights on his car lit up and he pulled back onto the road, after a few seconds she followed after him, she didn't drink from her flask again.

She just thought of what Dean had said.

They too had been chasing after Lilith, trying to keep her from breaking any more seals just as the boys had been. But now, the very real possibility that they could kill her and end it all, keep the end from starting, was all too good to give up. They could save the world, each other, Bobby.

They could prevent so much pain, and it was only at arms length, she was going to go into the line of fire with them, whether or not it got her killed, she didn't care, so long as Avanna was alright she was willing to give her life.

She cast her sleeping sister quick glances every now and again, taking in her expressions and the way she buried herself into the seat. If all went well, they would make it to their next case.

If.

She wondered if the case really was Lilith's doing, or if this was just one case that led up to Lilith, one that would only bring them closer to her.

She knew as well as the next that with Lilith dead their troubles would largely decrease, there would still be cases for them, but they wouldn't have to dodge around to chase her anymore.

Sam and Dean drove in silence, the younger of the two radiating anger, "you should've told her the real reason you didn't want the case."

Dean shook his head, "that was the reason."

Sam turned himself to face his brother, "no it wasn't." he paused and jabbed a finger in his brothers direction, "you didn't want the case because if Lilith is there she'll be ready to take you down to hell, and you don't want to lose anymore time."

CONTROL

CHAPTER FIVE: MISERABLE ROADS