two stories today -- Kathleen Hudak and Joanna
Title: "if we had a fast car"
Series: 42 Days of Metallicar and the Women of Supernatural (#19)
219 words. PG
Notes/Disclaimers: Deputy Kathleen Hudak is from "The Benders" (1.15)
Thanks to alias_chick for hosting 42 Days of Metallicar.
Kathleen dreams about a young man revving the engine of a powerful black car. In her dream, he smiles a wide, know-it-all grin, twinkles his eyes at her. He winds the engine up as if to say, you gonna chase me?
Kathleen knows her sheriff's department car is in good condition, but this guy really loves his car, the engine is tuned to perfection. The black paint soaks in sunlight till its contours are limned, white hot.
Kathleen frowns. Dream logic, they are poised at a stoplight, revving, waiting. The traffic light swings for what seems like forever -- then, with a report like her service revolver, it flashes to green-- GO!
The black car peels out, and her ears are full of her brother's laughter, but she doesn't race him. She sees the Mustang dwindle in the distance, lost in glare at the horizon, and she awakens, throat sore and tight, her bedroom blurred by tears.
No comfort will really lodge itself in the hole in her heart -- not the bullet she fired, not the Mustang, restored. But sometimes she takes the curves a little too fast, lets herself feel the squeal of the tires, and tries to dwell on a rescue that didn't come too late, a pristine Impala, two laughing brothers, speeding away.
~*O*~
Title: "best big brother"
Series: 42 Days of Metallicar and the Women of Supernatural (#20)
1,237 words. PG
Notes/Disclaimers: I copied the way pandarus formats conversation because she is so cool.
When Joanna wants to know why Michael is so adamant to learn how to shoot, he tells her to
call Dean Winchester.
"Dean Winchester?"
"Yeah?"
"You might not remember me, but my name is Joanna Carroll. We met a couple of years ago, in Fitchburg, Wisconsin?"
"Oh, yeah. Yeah! How's Michael? and Asher?"
"That's kind of why I'm calling. Dean, I remember you being so kind when Asher was sick, going with me to the hospital and all. But Michael ... he kind of ... I don't know, fixated on you and your brother."
"uh... I'm sorry?"
"It all started with the car thing, right? With him always pointing out old Chevys, or Mustangs, or anything black? and checking out books on muscle cars from the library and memorizing all the model years?"
"Well, you have to admit, my car is a looker."
"Um, yeah, I guess... I was kind of out of it, with Asher being so sick, I didn't really notice."
"You didn't?? Aw, baby...."
".... um .... the thing is, it's gone beyond that now. Michael wants me to sign him up for a hunting course, and of course I'm against it, but he won't let it drop. We've been arguing and arguing about it, but since he turned twelve last fall it's been this obsession. He's almost thirteen now, and I'm thinking, maybe, about letting him do it, if it's so important to him -- but I just don't get it. And the thing is, he finally just turned to me, with this look in his eye, and said, call Dean Winchester, and ask him -- and why did he even have your phone number, Dean?"
"..."
"Dean? Why did my son have your phone number?"
"He copied it from the register?"
"No, because the number you gave on the register was fake. As was the name, apparently, Dean."
"..."
"Look, you were sweet to him -- I'm not trying to accuse you of anything -- a mom has a gut reaction, you known -- and he clearly thinks you're some kind of hero, but -- when we got back, the room where they sleep had been broken into, and there were bullet holes in the carpet, Dean -- and Michael clearly knew what had happened, but he won't say anything -- and now he wants to learn how to shoot, but he can't practice shooting without adult supervision, and I ... I looked up your name on the internet, Dean."
"uh... that's not good."
"No, it isn't. It really isn't, Dean."
"uh.... look, Joanna, what do you want me to say here? I never hurt Michael, okay? I wouldn't..."
"No, Dean, I'm really not... look, I can see it in his eyes, okay? Something happened, and it changed him, and it's not all bad. He was always good with Asher, but now it's like a mission. He, like, learns stuff, and then he teaches it to Asher. He goes with him places, he explains things to him. Ever since Ash was in the hospital that time -- when all those kids were sick -- it's like Michael became a super-brother. And it has something to do with you, and that break in, and the way those kids all got better, all of a sudden, the day you left town. I just, I want to know."
"..."
"Dean."
"Joanna. ... This is not something that goes over well on the phone. Or, ever. Um.
The reason those kids -- and Asher -- got sick, was, a monster came after them. And Michael? kind of helped us trap it and kill it."
"A monster."
"Yeah?"
"And Michael helped kill it."
"Yeah...."
"Well, that explains a lot, I guess. ... One of the bullets you missed in the carpet, I dug it out -- it was kind of enormous..."
"Yeah, there was a grudge thing going on..."
"it had some weird cloth embedded in the floor with it... horrible, old, cloth -- that stank. Really stank. Like ... death."
"I gotta say, you're taking this really well, Joanna."
"Well, monster books and ghost stories and myth books and folklore have been lying all over our apartment for the last three years, and Michael keeps a journal he thinks I don't know about, called, 'monsters and how to kill them.'"
"Oh, god, Joanna. I am so, so sorry."
"I'm not. I'm not! Asher is alive, and if what you say is true, he and all those other kids owe you and your brother a huge debt of thanks that they'll never even know about."
"We don't do it for the thanks."
"Well -- thanks anyway, Dean."
"Uh... you're welcome."
"So.... what do you think I ought to do about the gun course?"
"Well, considering I was a crack shot by the time I was seven? I'm probably not the best person to ask."
"No, that's not right, Dean. You go up against ... things ... on a daily basis. All I'm asking is -- will a gun give him a false sense of confidence? Will it make him feel, I don't know, invulnerable, or something?"
"If I was you? I would do everything in my power to turn him away from ever becoming a Hunter. It's not a life that anyone would ever want for a kid."
"But your parents? Your mom and dad? They must've wanted it for you, or you wouldn't have started with guns so young."
"No, no. Not at all. My mom, she was raised as a Hunter -- and she tried her best to get out, but she couldn't. You never really can. Dad was military -- he was a Marine in Viet Nam, you know -- but he was thrown into Hunting when Mom was killed. It wasn't really a choice, for him -- he was terrified, and trying to protect us, and before he knew it, he was raising us as Hunters."
"God. I'm sorry, Dean. I didn't mean to drag you through this... you don't even know me."
"Well, I remember Michael. I'm glad he's doing such a good job with his little brother."
"He is, he really is. But about the guns..."
"Listen, Joanna. I really don't want to say this, but, once you get into Hunting, you can never really get out. You know about the stuff that most people think is just stories. You see something like the shtriga that came after Asher, and it changes you. Michael wanting to learn to shoot isn't gonna go away."
"Then... maybe... I ought to let him?"
"I tell you what... maybe you ought to go with him. Both of you learn. Then at least you can catch him up if you think he's getting cocky. And Joanna, you gotta keep him from going after stuff. Not anything! You never go in without backup. You tell him I said so."
"Uh, okay. I will, then. Thanks for being honest with me, Dean."
"You're welcome, I guess. It doesn't happen that often."
" ... Dean? All that stuff they think you did? It was all the monsters, right?"
"..."
"Dean?"
"Look, Joanna, you all stay safe. Some pretty bad stuff is happening right now. One thing is, protect yourselves from demons, okay? Salt, holy water, rosaries, Latin? Keep safe."
"Okay. Okay. Thanks, Dean. Look, if you or your brother are ever in Wisconsin, come around, okay? You've got a friend."
"... Thanks, Joanna. That means a lot to me."
"Okay, then, bye."
"Bye -- and a hug for Asher."
"Sure thing."
~*o*~
{find the sequel to this story here}
Series: 42 Days of Metallicar and the Women of Supernatural (#19)
219 words. PG
Notes/Disclaimers: Deputy Kathleen Hudak is from "The Benders" (1.15)
Thanks to alias_chick for hosting 42 Days of Metallicar.
Kathleen dreams about a young man revving the engine of a powerful black car. In her dream, he smiles a wide, know-it-all grin, twinkles his eyes at her. He winds the engine up as if to say, you gonna chase me?
Kathleen knows her sheriff's department car is in good condition, but this guy really loves his car, the engine is tuned to perfection. The black paint soaks in sunlight till its contours are limned, white hot.
Kathleen frowns. Dream logic, they are poised at a stoplight, revving, waiting. The traffic light swings for what seems like forever -- then, with a report like her service revolver, it flashes to green-- GO!
The black car peels out, and her ears are full of her brother's laughter, but she doesn't race him. She sees the Mustang dwindle in the distance, lost in glare at the horizon, and she awakens, throat sore and tight, her bedroom blurred by tears.
No comfort will really lodge itself in the hole in her heart -- not the bullet she fired, not the Mustang, restored. But sometimes she takes the curves a little too fast, lets herself feel the squeal of the tires, and tries to dwell on a rescue that didn't come too late, a pristine Impala, two laughing brothers, speeding away.
~*O*~
Title: "best big brother"
Series: 42 Days of Metallicar and the Women of Supernatural (#20)
1,237 words. PG
Notes/Disclaimers: I copied the way pandarus formats conversation because she is so cool.
When Joanna wants to know why Michael is so adamant to learn how to shoot, he tells her to
call Dean Winchester.
"Dean Winchester?"
"Yeah?"
"You might not remember me, but my name is Joanna Carroll. We met a couple of years ago, in Fitchburg, Wisconsin?"
"Oh, yeah. Yeah! How's Michael? and Asher?"
"That's kind of why I'm calling. Dean, I remember you being so kind when Asher was sick, going with me to the hospital and all. But Michael ... he kind of ... I don't know, fixated on you and your brother."
"uh... I'm sorry?"
"It all started with the car thing, right? With him always pointing out old Chevys, or Mustangs, or anything black? and checking out books on muscle cars from the library and memorizing all the model years?"
"Well, you have to admit, my car is a looker."
"Um, yeah, I guess... I was kind of out of it, with Asher being so sick, I didn't really notice."
"You didn't?? Aw, baby...."
".... um .... the thing is, it's gone beyond that now. Michael wants me to sign him up for a hunting course, and of course I'm against it, but he won't let it drop. We've been arguing and arguing about it, but since he turned twelve last fall it's been this obsession. He's almost thirteen now, and I'm thinking, maybe, about letting him do it, if it's so important to him -- but I just don't get it. And the thing is, he finally just turned to me, with this look in his eye, and said, call Dean Winchester, and ask him -- and why did he even have your phone number, Dean?"
"..."
"Dean? Why did my son have your phone number?"
"He copied it from the register?"
"No, because the number you gave on the register was fake. As was the name, apparently, Dean."
"..."
"Look, you were sweet to him -- I'm not trying to accuse you of anything -- a mom has a gut reaction, you known -- and he clearly thinks you're some kind of hero, but -- when we got back, the room where they sleep had been broken into, and there were bullet holes in the carpet, Dean -- and Michael clearly knew what had happened, but he won't say anything -- and now he wants to learn how to shoot, but he can't practice shooting without adult supervision, and I ... I looked up your name on the internet, Dean."
"uh... that's not good."
"No, it isn't. It really isn't, Dean."
"uh.... look, Joanna, what do you want me to say here? I never hurt Michael, okay? I wouldn't..."
"No, Dean, I'm really not... look, I can see it in his eyes, okay? Something happened, and it changed him, and it's not all bad. He was always good with Asher, but now it's like a mission. He, like, learns stuff, and then he teaches it to Asher. He goes with him places, he explains things to him. Ever since Ash was in the hospital that time -- when all those kids were sick -- it's like Michael became a super-brother. And it has something to do with you, and that break in, and the way those kids all got better, all of a sudden, the day you left town. I just, I want to know."
"..."
"Dean."
"Joanna. ... This is not something that goes over well on the phone. Or, ever. Um.
The reason those kids -- and Asher -- got sick, was, a monster came after them. And Michael? kind of helped us trap it and kill it."
"A monster."
"Yeah?"
"And Michael helped kill it."
"Yeah...."
"Well, that explains a lot, I guess. ... One of the bullets you missed in the carpet, I dug it out -- it was kind of enormous..."
"Yeah, there was a grudge thing going on..."
"it had some weird cloth embedded in the floor with it... horrible, old, cloth -- that stank. Really stank. Like ... death."
"I gotta say, you're taking this really well, Joanna."
"Well, monster books and ghost stories and myth books and folklore have been lying all over our apartment for the last three years, and Michael keeps a journal he thinks I don't know about, called, 'monsters and how to kill them.'"
"Oh, god, Joanna. I am so, so sorry."
"I'm not. I'm not! Asher is alive, and if what you say is true, he and all those other kids owe you and your brother a huge debt of thanks that they'll never even know about."
"We don't do it for the thanks."
"Well -- thanks anyway, Dean."
"Uh... you're welcome."
"So.... what do you think I ought to do about the gun course?"
"Well, considering I was a crack shot by the time I was seven? I'm probably not the best person to ask."
"No, that's not right, Dean. You go up against ... things ... on a daily basis. All I'm asking is -- will a gun give him a false sense of confidence? Will it make him feel, I don't know, invulnerable, or something?"
"If I was you? I would do everything in my power to turn him away from ever becoming a Hunter. It's not a life that anyone would ever want for a kid."
"But your parents? Your mom and dad? They must've wanted it for you, or you wouldn't have started with guns so young."
"No, no. Not at all. My mom, she was raised as a Hunter -- and she tried her best to get out, but she couldn't. You never really can. Dad was military -- he was a Marine in Viet Nam, you know -- but he was thrown into Hunting when Mom was killed. It wasn't really a choice, for him -- he was terrified, and trying to protect us, and before he knew it, he was raising us as Hunters."
"God. I'm sorry, Dean. I didn't mean to drag you through this... you don't even know me."
"Well, I remember Michael. I'm glad he's doing such a good job with his little brother."
"He is, he really is. But about the guns..."
"Listen, Joanna. I really don't want to say this, but, once you get into Hunting, you can never really get out. You know about the stuff that most people think is just stories. You see something like the shtriga that came after Asher, and it changes you. Michael wanting to learn to shoot isn't gonna go away."
"Then... maybe... I ought to let him?"
"I tell you what... maybe you ought to go with him. Both of you learn. Then at least you can catch him up if you think he's getting cocky. And Joanna, you gotta keep him from going after stuff. Not anything! You never go in without backup. You tell him I said so."
"Uh, okay. I will, then. Thanks for being honest with me, Dean."
"You're welcome, I guess. It doesn't happen that often."
" ... Dean? All that stuff they think you did? It was all the monsters, right?"
"..."
"Dean?"
"Look, Joanna, you all stay safe. Some pretty bad stuff is happening right now. One thing is, protect yourselves from demons, okay? Salt, holy water, rosaries, Latin? Keep safe."
"Okay. Okay. Thanks, Dean. Look, if you or your brother are ever in Wisconsin, come around, okay? You've got a friend."
"... Thanks, Joanna. That means a lot to me."
"Okay, then, bye."
"Bye -- and a hug for Asher."
"Sure thing."
~*o*~
{find the sequel to this story here}