𝟎𝟓𝟖
Red Sky at Morning.
chapter fifty-eight , Red Sky at Morning
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Athena had been assigned to stay in the car and continue to find any information on the case while Sam and Dean went to interview the victim's mother.
So, you could see it was to their surprise when the brothers saw Athena was sitting on the curb with Gil in her lap and her eyes glued to the ground In front of her. She was going to have to explain how she let this happen.
Sam and Dean slow their walking.
"Uh..."
"Where's my car?"
Athena slightly opens her mouth and lets out a small breath. "Well, it's...complicated."
"What's complicated?" Dean snaps his eyes over to Athena, his breathing quickening. "Athena, did someone steal my car?"
"I-I don't really know—"
"Oh, my god..." Dean turns away from Athena and begins to pace. "Someone—someone stole my car!"
"Dean, calm down." Sam turns to Athena.
"I am calm! Somebody stole my..." Dean feels his breath leave his lungs. He presses his hands in his knees and begins to catch his breath.
"Athena, what happened?" Sam asks.
"Well—"
Athena was cut off by the heavy yet quick breathing happening behind Sam. The middle Winchester turns to see Dean struggling to breathe. "Whoa, Dean, hey, hey, hey." He pats Dean on the back.
"No one stole your car, all right!" Athena blurts out. "She just...asked me if I could let her have it."
Sam and Dean freeze and turn to her. "Who's she?"
Athena softly giggles thinking about the woman.
"'67 Impala? Was that yours?"
Athena's heart jumps. The boys look at the woman, "Bela."
"I'm sorry. I had that car towed."
"You what?!" Dean seethes. He then looks at Athena. "You let her tow my car?"
"And she was a sweetheart about it." Bela adds.
Athena throws her hands up. "Before I could register what happened—it happened!" She then stops. "Wait, you think I'm a sweetheart?"
"What the hell are you even doing here?" Dean growls, looking back at Bela.
Bela shrugs, "A little yachting."
Sam slightly opens his mouth. "You're Alex. You're working with that old lady."
"Gert's a dead old friend."
Dean scoffs, "Yeah, right. What's your angle?"
"There's no angle." Bela sighs. "There's a lot of old women like Gert up and down the eastern seaboard. I sell them charms. Perform Sean es so they can commune with their dead cats."
Athena puts a hand over Gil's good ear.
"And let me guess, it's all a con. None of it's real."
Bela smirks, "The comfort I provide them is very real."
Bela starts to walk away.
"How do you sleep at night?"
"On silk sheets, rolling naked in money."
Athena's eyes widen. "This is a very confusing conversation..." she softly speaks to herself.
"Really, Sam, I'd expect the attitude from him. But you?" Bela raises her brows.
Sam deadpans, "You shot me."
"I barely grazed you." Bela corrects. "Cute, but a bit of a drama queen, yeah?"
"At least, I still have Athena on my side." Bela looks at the girl. Athena looks at Bela and a giddy smile forms on her lips. "Always."
Dean rolls his eyes, "You do know what's going on. This ghost ship thing. It is real."
"I'm aware." Bela nods. "Thanks for telling Gert the case wasn't solved, by the way."
"It isn't."
"She didn't know that." Bela says. "Now, the old bag's stopped payment and she's demanding some real answers." She lets out a breath. "Look, just stay out of my way before you cause anymore trouble."
"And I'd get to that car if I were you. Before they find the arsenal in the trunk."
Dean looks at Athena and she raises her hands.
"Sorry."
"Ciao."
Bela walks away and Athena softly exhales.
"Can I shoot her?" Dean voices.
"No." Athena seethes.
"Not in public."
"Are we not gonna talk about the fact that you just gave her my car?" Dean turns to her.
Athena slightly opens her mouth. "I think she has some kind of hex over me—it's insane."
☆
"You really wanna be here when I've got a loaded gun in my hands?"
Athena lets out a bashful laugh, she awkwardly leans against the car with her arms folded. "H-He's kidding—he kids a lot like that."
Bela quirks a brow, "Well, he should mind his blood pressure."
"He really should." Athena nods.
"Dude, seriously?" Dean looks to his little sister.
Athena mouths the words, "I'm sorry".
"Why are you even still here?" Bela inquires. "You have enough to ID the boat?"
"That guy back there saw the ship." Sam answers. He finishes loading his gun, puts it back in the trunk, and shuts it.
"Yeah? And?"
"And he's going to die." Sam says. "So, we have to save him."
A cunning smirk forms in her lips. "How sweet." She teases.
"You think this is funny?" Dean snaps.
"He's cannon fodder." Bela states. "He can't be saved in time, and you know it."
Athena pulls her brows together, "Well, we have to try." She then shrugs. "It's kind of our thing."
"Yeah." Dean adds. "Unlike you. We have souls."
"His words, not mine." Athena holds her hands up. She makes her way to the car door and opens it.
"Well, I'm actually gonna find the ship and put an end to this." Bela voices. "But you have fun."
Sam and Dean stop before getting into the car. Athena notices Dean's body tense and she sighs. "Oh, boy..."
"Hey, Bela, how'd you get like this?" Dean walks back over to her. "What, daddy not give you enough hugs or something?"
Bela's smug smirk drops. "I don't know. Your daddy give you enough?"
Athena makes an 'O'with her mouth.
"Don't you dare look down your nose at me." Bela speaks lowly. "You're not better than I am."
"We help people."
Bela scoffs, "Come on. You do this out of vengeance and obsession. And Athena does it because she was born into it."
"Don't bring my sister into your shitty example, all right?" Dean snaps.
"You're a stone's throw from being a serial killer." Bela replies with ease. "I, on the other hand, get paid to do a job and I do it."
"So, you tell me, which is healthier?" Bela questions.
"Bela, why don't you just leave? We've got work to do." Sam speaks, exhausted by the woman.
Bela raises her brows, "Yeah, you're 0 for 2. Bang up job so far." She walks away from the Winchesters.
The siblings stand there in silence, thinking about the words Bela said.
Athena then frowns and she shrugs a shoulder. "It would be...nice to get paid."
...
The Winchesters were unable to save the man from the ghost ship.
And the car ride back to the motel was extremely quiet.
"Either of you wanna say it or should I?"
Sam and Athena look at Dean. Athena pressed her lips together, "Bela was right...?—"
"You guys can't save everyone."
Athena nods her head, "Right, right. That's what I was gonna...say..." she looks to the side.
Sam just blinks, "Yeah, right. So, what? You feel better now or what?"
"No, not really." Dean sighs.
"Me neither."
"You gotta understand—"
"Lately I feel like I can't anybody."
Athena frowns, "That's...sad." She sinks deeper into her seat and sighs. Gilbert rubs his head against her arm and she scratches behind his ear.
☆
As soon as Athena saw the Porsche in the parking lot of the motel her heart jumped.
Athena had spent 10 minutes fixing her hair and her makeup before running out of her room and knocking on her brother's door. Dean pulls the door open and is greeted with Athena breathing heavily. She sucks in a breath and exhales a sharp one. "Hi, you guys wanna hang?"
Dean blinks, "You want...to hang out with me?"
Athena shrugs, "Yeah, of course—we're siblings and you're dying." Her eyes trail behind her brother. "And I know I don't say it a lot, but I love you Dean."
Dean raises his brows and he could've sworn tears were going to form in her eyes. "Athena—"
"Oh, Bela!" Athena sputters. She brushes past Dean and enters the room. "I didn't know you were here, what's up?"
Dean's mouth drops to the floor. He closes the door and turns to his sister, who was staring up at Bela. The brunette softly chuckles, "I just thought we could have a heart-to-heart."
"That's assuming you have a heart." Dean quips.
Bela sighs softly, "Dean, please."
Dean sits back at the table with Sam. Athena sits at the table, her starry gaze trained on Bela.
"I'm sorry about what I said before, okay?" Bela exhales. "I come bearing gifts."
Athena's back straightens. "L-Like what?"
"I've ID'ed the ship."
Her shoulders sag, "Oh."
She figured it was a letter or perfume. Athena then pulls her brows together. Maybe she was being a little weird.
Bela opens her file and hands the photos out to the siblings. Athena looks at the picture and tilts her head.
"It's the Espirito Santo, a merchant sailing vessel. Quite a colorful history." Bela says. "In 1859, a sailor was accused of treason. He was tried aboard ship in a kangaroo court and hanged. He was 37."
"That explains the 37-year cycle." Athena quirks a brow.
"You're such a sharp tack." Bela praises.
Athena's face gets hot. "Oh, uh, thank you." She softly giggles.
"There's a photo of him somewhere." Bela roots through the photos and hands another to Dean.
Dean looks at the picture, "Isn't that the customer we saw last night?" He shows the photo to his siblings.
"You saw him?"
"Yeah, that's him." Sam nods.
"Except he was missing a hand." Athena adds.
"His right hand."
The siblings look at the woman.
"How'd you know?" Sam asks.
"The sailor's body was cremated after cutting his hand. They made a hand of glory."
"A hand of glory?" Dean smirks. "I think I got one at the end of my Thai massage last week."
Dean laughs and looks at each person, waiting for a laugh.
None of them did.
"Dean, the right hand of hanged man is an occult object." Sam adds. "It's very powerful."
"So they say." Athena eerily speaks, her fingers wiggling.
"And officially counts as remains."
"But still none of this explains why the ghost is choosing these victims." Sam sighs.
"I'll tell you why. Who cares?"
Athena shifts her gaze back to the woman.
"Find the hand, burn it, and stop the bloody thing."
"No offense when I ask this. Because I think you're..." Athena fidgets with her fingers. "Great!"
Bela smiles.
"But why are you telling us all this?"
Bela's grateful smile changes into a cocky smirk. "Because I know exactly where the hand is."
"Where?"
"At the Sea Pines Museum."
Athena's eyes light up.
"It's a macabre bit of maritime history. But I need help."
"What kind of help?" Sam squints his eyes.
"Heist help?" Athena's voice was shaking with excitement.
Bela looks at Athena and raises her brows. "You're my favorite."
Athena looks at Sam and Dean, a big smile on her lips. "We're doing a heist!"
...
"What do you mean, I'm not going?!"
Dean fixes his bow tie. Athena's anger rises, "You look stupid, by the way."
"Yeah? Well, Bella says otherwise."
Athena squints her eyes, "What?"
Dean chuckles, "Look, we'll be back in a couple of hours."
Athena growls, she seems something out of the corner of her eye. She turns and her jaw clenches when Bela walks back into the room, her eyes on her watch. "Ready to go?"
"Seems like you two are..." Athena sits in the chair and folds her arms. "Have fun." Her eyes widen and she points at the two. "Not too much fun."
Bela smirks, "Your brother wishes."
A stifled laugh comes from Athena. She then looks at her shoes. Dean waves a hand at Athena and she rolls her eyes. Dean's smile lessens and his chest tightens. He walks out of the building and closes the door behind him and Bela. The brunette lets out a small breath. "She really doesn't seem to like you." Bela says.
Dean was practically drowning in pain. "Shut up." He walks away from her.
Bela smirks and follows after Dean.
☆
"You're not gonna kill her."
Dean slowly nods his head. "You know? Your right. I'm not gonna kill her." He turns to his siblings. "I think slow torture's the way to go."
"Dean, look, you got to relax."
"Relax?! Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'll relax." Dean lets out a bitter chuckle. "I can't believe she got another one over on us."
"You."
Athena raises her brows and turns to Sam with a smile. "Oh, shit!" She laughs.
"What?" Dean looks at Sam.
"Sam said, that she got one over on you not him." Athena repeats. "Sounds like he meant it too."
"Well, thank you, you two. It's very helpful." Dean's sarcasm was heavy.
A rapid knock is heard at the door. "Hello could you open up?!"
Athena pulls her brows together. "Wait, so, Bela stole the hand from you and then she comes back?" She then shakes her head. "That doesn't sound very...theif-y."
Sam and Dean stalk over to the door. Dean pulls it open. Athena pokes her head between Sam and Dean. "Hey, Bela." She waves.
Bela exhales, "Hi."
"Just let me explain." Bela says.
"No—"
"Come on in!" Athena pushes Sam and Dean aside. Bela enters the room and sits at the table. Sam and Dean look at Athena. She shrugs, "What? Doesn't hurt to listen."
"I sold it."
Athena presses her lips together. "Well, shit."
"I had a buy lined up as soon as I knew it existed." Bela confesses.
"So, the whole reason for going to the charity was..."
"I needed a cover. You were convenient."
Athena pouts her lower lip.
"Look, you sold it to a buyer. Just go buy it back." Sam says.
Bela softly huffs, "It's halfway across the ocean. I can't get it back in time."
"In time for what?" Dean asks.
Bela doesn't say anything, she looks at the table; unable to speak. Athena tilts her head.
"What's going on with you, Bela? You look like you've seen a ghost." Sam says.
Athena slightly opens her mouth when Bela swallows.
"You saw the ship."
The three adults look at her. Athena slightly nods her head, "Didn't you?"
Dean softly chuckles, "Wow, you know, I...I knew you were an immoral, thieving, con-artist bitch but just when I thought my opinion couldn't get any lower..."
"What are you talking about?" Bela asks.
"We figured out the spirit's motive." Sam holds photo out to Bela. "This is the captain of our ship. The one who hung our ghost boy."
"So?"
"They were brothers." Athena adds.
Bela looks at the girl.
"Very Cain and Abel." Sam states.
"The spirit, he's going after a specific target." Athena explains. "People who've spilled their own family's blood."
With each example Athena explains, Bela's eyelids grow heavier and the color from her face slips away.
"Oh, my God..." Bela whispers.
Dean leans closer to Bela in an intimidating manner. "So, who was it, Bela? Who'd you kill?"
Athena bites the inside of her cheek.
"Was it daddy?"
"Dean, stop." Athena's tone was firm.
"Your little sis, maybe?"
"It's none of your business." Bela's voice was quiet.
"No. Right." Dean clicks his tongue. "Well, have a nice life, you know, whatever's left of it."
Dean grabs his jacket, "Sam, Athena, let's go."
Athena pulls her brows together. "What?"
"You can't just leave me here." Bela stands up from the table.
"Watch us."
"Please." Bela begs. "I need your help."
"Our help?" Dean scoffs. "How could a couple of serial killers who keep their sister against their will possibly help you?"
Bela moves her head side to side. "Okay, that was a bit harsh, I admit it. But it doesn't warrant a death sentence."
"That's not why you're gonna die." Sam softly speaks.
Bela looks at him.
"What'd you do, Bela?"
Bela swallows the lump in her throat and Athena watches as Bela relives the moment. And Athena could tell it was a gut-wrenching one.
"You wouldn't understand." Bela says. "No one did."
Bela scoffs, "Nevermind. I'll just do what I've always done. I'll deal with it myself." She walks towards the door.
"You do realize you sold the only thing that could save your life." Dean says.
Bela turns back to him, "I'm aware."
Athena's chest tightens as Bela walks out of the house. She looks back at her brothers. "You guys can't seriously be letting her go."
"There's nothing we can do for her." Dean shrugs and turns away from his siblings.
Athena snaps her eyes over to Sam. "Sam."
Sam slightly opens his mouth and looks back at Dean. "Athena, I'm sorry."
Athena opens her mouth to ask again, but the sound of a car revving is heard. She walks over to the door and sees the Porsche gone. Athena lets out a breath, she wasn't even desperate to ask for their help anymore. She was just pissed.
"You can't just...pick and choose who lives and who dies—that's not our job!" Athena turns back to them. "We help people! That's the job!"
Sam and Dean look at each other and Athena slightly opens her mouth. "Oh, okay. I get it..." she nods her head. "So, Dean since you're dying, you just don't care about helping people anymore!"
"And Sam, your head is so deep in "trying to save Dean" shit that you don't care either!" Athena's voice begins to shake. "I get that I've been a brat and an asshole lately, but I still want to help people. I want to be a hunter." She walks over to the couch and grabs her bag.
"Oh, god..."
"Athena, what are you doing?" Sam asks.
"I'm going to help Bela." Athena throws her bag onto her shoulders. "I can do this without you two."
"And if you guys start picking and choosing the people you're saving, then..." Athena sucks in a breath. "I don't even want to hunt with you guys anymore."
"Athena, she killed—"
"She said we didn't know the whole story." Athena snaps. "Why are you making this so difficult?"
"You can't leave." Dean says.
Athena squints her eyes, "Watch me." She turns on her heel and with Gil behind her, she walks towards the door.
Dean hangs his head low and groans. "Shit, shit—wait."
Athena stops in her tracks. She turns back to her brothers with her brows raised.
"Yes...?"
"Let us get our things." Sam exhales.
Athena presses her lips together. "If that's what you guys want to do." She shrugs.
Sam and Dean walk away. As soon as they were out of the room, Athena lets out an exhausted breath. "Oh thank god." She looks at Gil. "I thought we were gonna have to do this by ourselves."
Athena would never admit this, but she enjoyed hunting with her brothers. She could do the job without them, but she didn't want to. Athena either hunts with her brothers or not.
☆
Sam and Athena had set up the ritual in the cemetery. Dean and Bela were standing off to the side.
"Do you really think this is gonna work?" Bela asks.
"Almost definitely not." Dean answers with ease. He didn't care if Bela died. But Athena cared, and he was going to stand by his sister no matter what.
No matter what.
Thunder begins to rumble and clouds begin to form over the moon, causing the entire sky to darken more than before. Heavy rain falls on the four. Athena lets out a heavy breath. "Helping people, helping people, helping people..." she softly repeats why standing out in the rain should be worth it.
"You guys, better start reading." Dean calls out.
Sam hands the journal out to the girl. Athena pulls her brows together. "What, you want me to read?"
"This is your rescue."
Athena raises her brows, "Okay. Cool." She grabs the journal and flips through it. The girl lands on the Latin words in front of her and she begins to read them out loud.
As Athena continues to chant the Latin words, the candles blow out which catches everybody's attention. The rain intensifies.
"Behind you!"
Dean turns around with his shotgun. The spirit throws him back. The spirit wraps a hand around Bela's throat. She suddenly begins to spit up water.
Sam touches Athena's arm, "Keep reading!" He runs over to Bela.
"Athena, read faster!" Dean shouts.
Athena gets to the last few verses. Once she's finished reading the words, the clouds disappears and so does the rain. Athena pulls her eyes off the words. She looks at the three adults that were on the ground. "Is she...?"
"She's okay!"
Athena lets out a small breath. The girl looks at the spirit. He turns around and sees his brother standing behind him. "You...hanged me."
"I'm sorry." His brothers speaks.
"Your own brother."
"I'm so sorry."
The spirit that was hung, tackles his brother's spirit; both of them quickly morphing into water.
...
"You three should learn to lock your doors."
Athena chuckles, "Believe me, I remind them all the time."
"Did you come to say goodbye or thank you?" Sam asks.
Bela hums, "I've come to settle affairs."
"Giving the spirit what he really wanted, his own brother. Very clever, Athena."
Athena shrugs, "That's me...clever." She bashfully laughs.
Bela hands each sibling a band of money. "It's $10,000 that should cover it."
The youngest Winchester laughs. "I could buy a new Walkman with this!"
Sam and Dean look at the woman.
"I don't like being in anyone's debt." Bela says.
"So, ponying up ten grand is easier for you than a simple "thank you"?" Dean deadpans.
Athena shrugs, "Works for me." She slips her money into her bag.
"You're so damaged." Dean bitterly states.
Bela smiles, "Takes one to know one."
Athena frowns, "Can we just all agree that we're a little damaged?" She chuckles. "No one here is special. E-except you, of course." She looks at Bela.
Bela smiles, "You gents should learn a thing or two from her." She gives Athena a playful wink before turning and walking back to the door. "Goodbye ladies and gents."
Bela leaves the house and Sam chuckles.
"She's got style. You got to give her that." Sam says.
"I suppose."
"You know, guys, we don't know where this money's been." Sam says.
Athena softly scoffs, "What? You're fine with letting a stunning woman die. But you're not okay with taking money that was given to us?"
Dean then takes the money Sam had in his hand and laughs. "And I know exactly where this money is going!"
Athena sighs, "Is it a place, I'll actually be able to walk into?"
"Definitely not." Dean says. "But we'll get a fancy motel room this time."
Athena thinks for a moment. "Room service?"
Dean holds his hands out, "Obviously."
Athena softly hums with a frown on her lips. "So, when are we leaving?"
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author's note.
I GOT A NEW IPAD AND THE EDITS I HAVE MADE ALREADY EHHHHHHHH—
words : 3896
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