Haunted {Dean Winchester 1}

Chapter 21

Bugs

Dean laughed as we walk out of the bar and toward the car where Sam sat atop the hood. Dean held up the stack of cash he just made.

Sam tore his eyes from the newspaper. "You know, we could get day jobs every once in a while."

"Hunting's our day job." Dean stated, counting the money in his hand. "And the pay is crap." 

I laughed, leaning against Dean's shoulder. "I'm gonna go get another drink."

I turn around only to be spun back toward Dean, his hand on my arm. "I don't think so. You made me promise not to let you get drunk."

"Buzzkill." I muttered. 

"But hustling pool? Credit card scams? It's not the most honest thing is the world, Dean." Sam continued. 

"Well, let's see, honest," Dean held up one hand, palm facing upward, "Fun and easy," he held up the other, which outweighed honest. "It's no contest. Besides, we're good at it. It's what we're raised to do." 

"How we were raised was jacked." Sam stated.

"Speak for yourself." I scoffed. 

"Says you." Dean muttered. "We got a new gig or what?" He then held out some money to me. "Your cut for being a lovely distraction." 

I took the money, not failing to notice how tight Dean's jaw got at that, how he seemed almost, what, angry about it.

"Thank you." I say, shoving the money in my pocket. 

"Maybe." Sam stood up. "Oasis Plains, Oklahoma. Not far from here. Gas company employee. Dustin Burwash. Supposedly died from Creutzfeldt Jakob."

"Huh?" Dean asked, looking at Sam confused.

"Human mad cow disease." I stated. "Right?"

"You are right." Sam nodded. 

"Great. I'm stuck with a smart little hitchhiker." Dean smiled at me. "Mad cow? Wasn't that on Oprah?"

"I don't know. I don't watch Oprah." I say. 

"You watch Oprah?" Sam asked Dean. 

Dean didn't reply for a few seconds. "So this guy eats a bad burger, why's that our problem?" 

"Mad cow disease causes massive brain degeneration. It takes months, even years for the damage to appear. But this guy Dustin, sounds like his brain denigrated in about an hour." Sam explained. "Maybe less."

"Okay, that's weird." Dean nodded. 

"Yeah. Now it could be a disease, or it could be something much nastier." Sam shrugged. 

"And it's our job to find out." I smiled. "Let's hit the road." 

"Man, work, work, work." Dean says. "No time to spend my money." 

___

I felt Dean's hand on my waist as we walked across the parking lot of the Oklahoma Gas company.

"Travis Weaver?" Sam asked, grabbing the man's attention. 

"Yeah, that's right." He nodded. 

"Are you the Travis that worked with Uncle Dusty?" Dean asked. 

"Dustin never mentioned nephews and a niece." 

"Oh, no, well, she's not a niece. She's...." Dean looked down at me, then back at Travis. "She's my...girlfriend."

I am?