At The End of Everything 8/8
At The End of Everything
Rating: M
Warnings: Some swearing, some implied gore
Word Count: 2,436
Chapter #: 8/8
WIP or Complete: Complete!
Summary: It was one thing to pick up a stray. A whole other to end up at some camp with a guy saying he's from the past. Takes place in the future seen in 'The End'.
Previous Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven
Chapter 8: Chelsea and Rebecca
Notes: This is the final chapter of this story. I hope you all have enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it. Merry Christmas.
"What are you doing?" I turned quickly, grabbing my knife and pointing it at who was behind me.
"Woah!" Chuck leaned back, away from me. "It's just me!"
I put the knife back into the sheath and Mary's head popped out of the door.
"I got peaches, carrots and peas...sorry Prez."
"What? Wait, you had food?" Chuck looked at me accusingly.
I stared him down. "Yes, and?"
"It's just...we could have used that."
"We didn't know if we were staying. We needed to keep our own supplies."
"And now?" He crossed his arms. "Aren't you guys staying?"
I thought about how I could answer and the world went white.
My eyes snapped open as an alarm bleated a repetitious tone. All I saw was blue. It took me a few seconds to realise I was surrounded by sheets. I fought my way free and froze. I was in my room. The same room I had left in a mess as I ran for clothes before leaving it forever. I slammed my hand down on the alarm clock. This was wrong. I heard footsteps in the hallway and I looked quickly for any kind of weapon. My knife was gone and I couldn't see my bat or gun anywhere near. I grabbed a large text book on my desk and got ready to swing. The door opened and a head poked in and looked at me.
"Oh good, you're up." My dad looked concerned as I dropped the book in shock. "Chelsea? Honey? You okay?" He stepped into my room and I threw myself at him. I hugged him tightly."Chelsea?" He pulled me back and looked down at me. "You're crying. Are you sure you're okay?"
I didn't want to let him go, but I smiled. "Yeah, sorry. Bad dream."
He smiled at me and smoothed my hair down. "It's alright. I made pancakes. Come down for breakfast."
I nodded. "Sure, just...give me a minute." I waited until I could hear him walk down the stairs. I raced for the bathroom.
It wasn't me staring back in the mirror. Technically it was, but it was me five years younger. Before anything happened...when my hair was past my shoulders and not in the pixie cut I kept it at because it was easier to fight with. I wasn't as trimmed and toned and starved as I was twenty minutes ago talking to Chuck about food. My scars were gone. My reflection felt wrong. I hadn't been that girl in years.
"Chelsea!"
It felt weird being called by my actual name. Even more so since it was my father calling me and he had been dead.
"Coming!" I turned away from the mirror and headed downstairs. I needed to find Ace.
Ace could wait.
I had to be in heaven. The pancakes were the best thing I had eaten ever. Granted I had spent the last few years eating nothing but canned food and the rare fruit or vegetable, but nothing compared to this.
"Slow down kiddo, you'll make yourself sick."
I continued eating, savouring each bite. "Anything interesting? You know on the day of..."
"September 24th, 2009?" My dad finished and looked up from his paper. He smiled and shook his head when I shrugged at him. I was right. It wasn't possible but I was somehow five years in the past.
The doorbell rang. I looked up to see my father put down the paper. All I could think of was him dying by something behind the door. It was irrational and ridiculous, but I jumped up.
"I'll get it!" I hid the butter knife up my sleeve as I got up from the table and headed to the door. I dropped it to my hand when I opened the door. It was Ace.
We stood there staring at each other for a moment until I saw her gaze down at the knife. I tried to hide it but she smiled.
"So you're you?"
I watched her carefully. "What do you mean?"
She sighed. "The you who last night was at a camp five years in the future?"
I dropped the knife. "Oh thank god!" I hugged her tightly. "I have no idea what's going on."
"Aside from the fact we're in the past...me either." She smiled at me and took a deep breath, about to say something.
"Chelsea? Who is it?" My dad called from the kitchen. Ace froze and looked at the kitchen in shock before turning to me. I nodded.
"Want to come in for pancakes?"
"Fuck yes."
I stood over my sink, staring at my past self in the mirror while I cut my hair. I needed something that showed I was the me of the future...the hair was the easiest.
"I can't believe it's fucking 2009." Ace sat on the edge of the bathtub, looking over the newspaper my dad left.
"I know." I said as I focused on cutting my hair and not myself. I was almost done. "I want to know how."
"Maybe it was Dean?"
I looked away from the mirror and Ace shrugged.
"He's the time traveller." She had a point.
I ran a hand through my now short hair. It didn't really have much of a style, but it was short. I liked that. "So what do we do?" I put down the scissors and started to clean the hair from the sink.
"I don't know." She looked tired and it was strange to see it on a younger Ace. It didn't suit the old her. "We need to figure out what's going on. We know the virus has something to do with Croatoan..."
"And it's demonic." I interrupted her. She gave me a confused look. "Future Dean told me after the holy water thing...remember?"
"Yeah. If we research it...maybe we can stop it. Least, before it gets too out of hand."
"And everyone dies." I smiled at her and we sat in silence for a moment. "We'll need to train. My body...it's...it doesn't move the way I know it should. It's like..." I tried to think of a way to explain it.
"You want to go left but your body goes right. Your mind has the knowledge, but what use is it if you can't use it."
"Right." I looked back in the mirror briefly. I still looked too young, but the hair made me feel better and more like myself.
"Chelsea!" My dad yelled from downstairs.
I opened the bathroom door. "What?"
"Is Rebecca staying for lunch?"
We spent the first two months researching and training.
"Chelsea? Honey?"
I looked up from the rep of push-ups I was doing. "Yeah?"
"Are you..." He paused. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, why?"
"It's just..." He looked like he wasn't sure what he wanted to say. I hadn't seen this confusion in my father in ages. It was almost endearing. "You've thrown yourself into these workouts and while I'm all for being healthy, it's kind of sudden. You've been out of school for a few months now...shouldn't you look for a job?"
I stopped the push ups and sat up to face him. "I have been." I lied. "Why do you think I'm constantly going out with Ace-Becca. It's just...no one's called me back." I shrugged and smiled at him. The time I spent with Ace was research.
"If you want, I can try..."
"No!" I stopped him before he continued. "It's just...it's something I want to do on my own."
He stared at me for a minute.
"What?"
"It's nothing...it's just...you seem different." That was the understatement of the century.
I forced a smile. "Well gee dad, it's called growing up."
"Don't I know it," he muttered as he got up. I started a rep of crunches as I watched him walk away. I forced the thoughts that came from his comment out of my mind and focused on tomorrow. Ace and I were going shopping. I couldn't wait for my dad's reaction to what I came home with.
I ducked and the blow grazed my cheek. I threw a punch only to have Ace grab it and throw my arm out of the way. She retaliated with a blow to the stomach. I forced myself not to keel over and instead went for an uppercut. She moved to the right to avoid it and I tackled her. She moved her knees to try and throw me off, but I twisted and moved quickly to try and pin her. She grabbed the back of my legs and pulled them out from under me. I shoved my hand and stopped just before I hit her throat as she moved to pin me. I moved one of my legs up and under her to make it easier to throw her off. I grabbed the knife by my leg and held it to her throat in the same instant she had a knife to mine.
I grinned. "Looks like we're still even."
"Looks like." She got up off of me and we both started checking for bruises and any accidental cuts. Once we didn't find any, we stretched.
"We still on for tomorrow?" I asked as I pulled my arms back.
"Yeah. We'll meet for two. I have a driving lesson in the morning." She sighed at the thought of it.
"Alright." I moved to stretch out my calves. "How goes the research?"
She frowned for a moment. "Dean Winchester and his brother are apparently dead. Blown up in a police station a year ago."
I stopped what I was doing. "That doesn't make any sense. When we saw him at the camp, past Dean that is, he said he was from 2009."
"I know."
"Huh." I went back to stretching. "Maybe it wasn't them?"
"I don't know." She paused for a moment. "There's been a large amount of tornados throughout Missouri." She finished stretching and stood up to face me. "The weather is starting to go crazy. You know what that means."
"Yeah..." It meant we needed to start planning our leaving. The weather going insane predated the virus. Things were starting to happen and history was repeating. We were pretty sure, aside from Dean; we were the only ones who knew what was going on. "So, what do you want to do?"
"Start planning."
"Are you sure about this?"
I stopped packing the car and nodded to Ace before facing my dad. He looked concerned. "Yeah," I smiled. "It'll be awesome."
"It's not that I don't have faith in you but Rebecca just got her license a month ago and you don't know where you're going." He had his arms crossed and he kept looking over my shoulder at Rebecca as she packed the car. Thankfully, we had stored the weapons earlier. I doubt he'd let us leave with shotguns, knives and a bat in the back. Well, maybe a bat. One never knew with my dad.
"That's the point of adventure!" He didn't look amused but I smiled and hugged him. "We have cell phones and maps."
"Do you have enough money? Do you need a credit card, for emergencies?"
I smiled. "Yes, we both have enough in our savings and we both got credit cards just in case."
Ace came over when she was done throwing everything in the back. "Don't worry, I'll take care of her." Ace forced a grin and hugged him. "It was good to see you." She smiled again and turned to look at me. I recognized that look. I nodded and she went to the truck.
"Call me when you make your first stop." My dad looked at me carefully. "I want to hear from you every day, got it?"
"Yes dad." I smiled and suddenly felt my throat close up. No matter what we told him, Ace and I weren't sure if we'd make it back. We were out to save the world...we just couldn't tell him that. I didn't know if I'd ever see him again. I hugged him tightly.
"Hey...you alright?" He asked as he hugged me back, smoothing out my hair.
I nodded against his chest and breathed him in. His smell just screamed 'dad' to me. There was a time I thought I'd never smell that again. This was a second chance; we just had to make sure the world stayed safe. So that he stayed safe. I missed him already.
"You know, you don't have to leave now. It's January. January's a strange month to go road tripping."
I choked out a laugh. "I know. But we gotta go now." I smiled at him. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too. Now go."
I nodded, headed to the truck and got in. It still had the new car smell. I rolled down the windows, started the engine and backed up.
"Love you!" He called out to me. "Stay safe! And drive carefully!"
"We will! Love you too dad!"
I watched him in the rear view mirror as we drove off until he was out of sight. I wiped at the tears on my face. Ace turned to me.
"He'll be okay."
"I know," I smiled. "It's just..." I didn't continue the thought. "Well," I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Which way?"
"North." She pulled out the map and opened it up. I could see our destinations highlighted.
"Do you think we'll find him?" I asked as I turned a corner.
"Fuck, I hope so."
Review?
Rating: M
Warnings: Some swearing, some implied gore
Word Count: 2,436
Chapter #: 8/8
WIP or Complete: Complete!
Summary: It was one thing to pick up a stray. A whole other to end up at some camp with a guy saying he's from the past. Takes place in the future seen in 'The End'.
Previous Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven
Chapter 8: Chelsea and Rebecca
Notes: This is the final chapter of this story. I hope you all have enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it. Merry Christmas.
"What are you doing?" I turned quickly, grabbing my knife and pointing it at who was behind me.
"Woah!" Chuck leaned back, away from me. "It's just me!"
I put the knife back into the sheath and Mary's head popped out of the door.
"I got peaches, carrots and peas...sorry Prez."
"What? Wait, you had food?" Chuck looked at me accusingly.
I stared him down. "Yes, and?"
"It's just...we could have used that."
"We didn't know if we were staying. We needed to keep our own supplies."
"And now?" He crossed his arms. "Aren't you guys staying?"
I thought about how I could answer and the world went white.
My eyes snapped open as an alarm bleated a repetitious tone. All I saw was blue. It took me a few seconds to realise I was surrounded by sheets. I fought my way free and froze. I was in my room. The same room I had left in a mess as I ran for clothes before leaving it forever. I slammed my hand down on the alarm clock. This was wrong. I heard footsteps in the hallway and I looked quickly for any kind of weapon. My knife was gone and I couldn't see my bat or gun anywhere near. I grabbed a large text book on my desk and got ready to swing. The door opened and a head poked in and looked at me.
"Oh good, you're up." My dad looked concerned as I dropped the book in shock. "Chelsea? Honey? You okay?" He stepped into my room and I threw myself at him. I hugged him tightly."Chelsea?" He pulled me back and looked down at me. "You're crying. Are you sure you're okay?"
I didn't want to let him go, but I smiled. "Yeah, sorry. Bad dream."
He smiled at me and smoothed my hair down. "It's alright. I made pancakes. Come down for breakfast."
I nodded. "Sure, just...give me a minute." I waited until I could hear him walk down the stairs. I raced for the bathroom.
It wasn't me staring back in the mirror. Technically it was, but it was me five years younger. Before anything happened...when my hair was past my shoulders and not in the pixie cut I kept it at because it was easier to fight with. I wasn't as trimmed and toned and starved as I was twenty minutes ago talking to Chuck about food. My scars were gone. My reflection felt wrong. I hadn't been that girl in years.
"Chelsea!"
It felt weird being called by my actual name. Even more so since it was my father calling me and he had been dead.
"Coming!" I turned away from the mirror and headed downstairs. I needed to find Ace.
Ace could wait.
I had to be in heaven. The pancakes were the best thing I had eaten ever. Granted I had spent the last few years eating nothing but canned food and the rare fruit or vegetable, but nothing compared to this.
"Slow down kiddo, you'll make yourself sick."
I continued eating, savouring each bite. "Anything interesting? You know on the day of..."
"September 24th, 2009?" My dad finished and looked up from his paper. He smiled and shook his head when I shrugged at him. I was right. It wasn't possible but I was somehow five years in the past.
The doorbell rang. I looked up to see my father put down the paper. All I could think of was him dying by something behind the door. It was irrational and ridiculous, but I jumped up.
"I'll get it!" I hid the butter knife up my sleeve as I got up from the table and headed to the door. I dropped it to my hand when I opened the door. It was Ace.
We stood there staring at each other for a moment until I saw her gaze down at the knife. I tried to hide it but she smiled.
"So you're you?"
I watched her carefully. "What do you mean?"
She sighed. "The you who last night was at a camp five years in the future?"
I dropped the knife. "Oh thank god!" I hugged her tightly. "I have no idea what's going on."
"Aside from the fact we're in the past...me either." She smiled at me and took a deep breath, about to say something.
"Chelsea? Who is it?" My dad called from the kitchen. Ace froze and looked at the kitchen in shock before turning to me. I nodded.
"Want to come in for pancakes?"
"Fuck yes."
I stood over my sink, staring at my past self in the mirror while I cut my hair. I needed something that showed I was the me of the future...the hair was the easiest.
"I can't believe it's fucking 2009." Ace sat on the edge of the bathtub, looking over the newspaper my dad left.
"I know." I said as I focused on cutting my hair and not myself. I was almost done. "I want to know how."
"Maybe it was Dean?"
I looked away from the mirror and Ace shrugged.
"He's the time traveller." She had a point.
I ran a hand through my now short hair. It didn't really have much of a style, but it was short. I liked that. "So what do we do?" I put down the scissors and started to clean the hair from the sink.
"I don't know." She looked tired and it was strange to see it on a younger Ace. It didn't suit the old her. "We need to figure out what's going on. We know the virus has something to do with Croatoan..."
"And it's demonic." I interrupted her. She gave me a confused look. "Future Dean told me after the holy water thing...remember?"
"Yeah. If we research it...maybe we can stop it. Least, before it gets too out of hand."
"And everyone dies." I smiled at her and we sat in silence for a moment. "We'll need to train. My body...it's...it doesn't move the way I know it should. It's like..." I tried to think of a way to explain it.
"You want to go left but your body goes right. Your mind has the knowledge, but what use is it if you can't use it."
"Right." I looked back in the mirror briefly. I still looked too young, but the hair made me feel better and more like myself.
"Chelsea!" My dad yelled from downstairs.
I opened the bathroom door. "What?"
"Is Rebecca staying for lunch?"
We spent the first two months researching and training.
"Chelsea? Honey?"
I looked up from the rep of push-ups I was doing. "Yeah?"
"Are you..." He paused. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, why?"
"It's just..." He looked like he wasn't sure what he wanted to say. I hadn't seen this confusion in my father in ages. It was almost endearing. "You've thrown yourself into these workouts and while I'm all for being healthy, it's kind of sudden. You've been out of school for a few months now...shouldn't you look for a job?"
I stopped the push ups and sat up to face him. "I have been." I lied. "Why do you think I'm constantly going out with Ace-Becca. It's just...no one's called me back." I shrugged and smiled at him. The time I spent with Ace was research.
"If you want, I can try..."
"No!" I stopped him before he continued. "It's just...it's something I want to do on my own."
He stared at me for a minute.
"What?"
"It's nothing...it's just...you seem different." That was the understatement of the century.
I forced a smile. "Well gee dad, it's called growing up."
"Don't I know it," he muttered as he got up. I started a rep of crunches as I watched him walk away. I forced the thoughts that came from his comment out of my mind and focused on tomorrow. Ace and I were going shopping. I couldn't wait for my dad's reaction to what I came home with.
I ducked and the blow grazed my cheek. I threw a punch only to have Ace grab it and throw my arm out of the way. She retaliated with a blow to the stomach. I forced myself not to keel over and instead went for an uppercut. She moved to the right to avoid it and I tackled her. She moved her knees to try and throw me off, but I twisted and moved quickly to try and pin her. She grabbed the back of my legs and pulled them out from under me. I shoved my hand and stopped just before I hit her throat as she moved to pin me. I moved one of my legs up and under her to make it easier to throw her off. I grabbed the knife by my leg and held it to her throat in the same instant she had a knife to mine.
I grinned. "Looks like we're still even."
"Looks like." She got up off of me and we both started checking for bruises and any accidental cuts. Once we didn't find any, we stretched.
"We still on for tomorrow?" I asked as I pulled my arms back.
"Yeah. We'll meet for two. I have a driving lesson in the morning." She sighed at the thought of it.
"Alright." I moved to stretch out my calves. "How goes the research?"
She frowned for a moment. "Dean Winchester and his brother are apparently dead. Blown up in a police station a year ago."
I stopped what I was doing. "That doesn't make any sense. When we saw him at the camp, past Dean that is, he said he was from 2009."
"I know."
"Huh." I went back to stretching. "Maybe it wasn't them?"
"I don't know." She paused for a moment. "There's been a large amount of tornados throughout Missouri." She finished stretching and stood up to face me. "The weather is starting to go crazy. You know what that means."
"Yeah..." It meant we needed to start planning our leaving. The weather going insane predated the virus. Things were starting to happen and history was repeating. We were pretty sure, aside from Dean; we were the only ones who knew what was going on. "So, what do you want to do?"
"Start planning."
"Are you sure about this?"
I stopped packing the car and nodded to Ace before facing my dad. He looked concerned. "Yeah," I smiled. "It'll be awesome."
"It's not that I don't have faith in you but Rebecca just got her license a month ago and you don't know where you're going." He had his arms crossed and he kept looking over my shoulder at Rebecca as she packed the car. Thankfully, we had stored the weapons earlier. I doubt he'd let us leave with shotguns, knives and a bat in the back. Well, maybe a bat. One never knew with my dad.
"That's the point of adventure!" He didn't look amused but I smiled and hugged him. "We have cell phones and maps."
"Do you have enough money? Do you need a credit card, for emergencies?"
I smiled. "Yes, we both have enough in our savings and we both got credit cards just in case."
Ace came over when she was done throwing everything in the back. "Don't worry, I'll take care of her." Ace forced a grin and hugged him. "It was good to see you." She smiled again and turned to look at me. I recognized that look. I nodded and she went to the truck.
"Call me when you make your first stop." My dad looked at me carefully. "I want to hear from you every day, got it?"
"Yes dad." I smiled and suddenly felt my throat close up. No matter what we told him, Ace and I weren't sure if we'd make it back. We were out to save the world...we just couldn't tell him that. I didn't know if I'd ever see him again. I hugged him tightly.
"Hey...you alright?" He asked as he hugged me back, smoothing out my hair.
I nodded against his chest and breathed him in. His smell just screamed 'dad' to me. There was a time I thought I'd never smell that again. This was a second chance; we just had to make sure the world stayed safe. So that he stayed safe. I missed him already.
"You know, you don't have to leave now. It's January. January's a strange month to go road tripping."
I choked out a laugh. "I know. But we gotta go now." I smiled at him. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too. Now go."
I nodded, headed to the truck and got in. It still had the new car smell. I rolled down the windows, started the engine and backed up.
"Love you!" He called out to me. "Stay safe! And drive carefully!"
"We will! Love you too dad!"
I watched him in the rear view mirror as we drove off until he was out of sight. I wiped at the tears on my face. Ace turned to me.
"He'll be okay."
"I know," I smiled. "It's just..." I didn't continue the thought. "Well," I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Which way?"
"North." She pulled out the map and opened it up. I could see our destinations highlighted.
"Do you think we'll find him?" I asked as I turned a corner.
"Fuck, I hope so."
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