The Littlest Winchester

Chapter 8

Sam was sitting on the hood, I was in the front seat, wrapped in a blanket, I'm supposed to be asleep but it's too loud. Then I saw Dean come out of the bar, I got out and walked to Sam, holding my arms out. Sam helped me up and I laid on his stomach.
Sam said" You know, we could get day jobs once in a while."
Dean said" Hunting's our day job, and the pay is crap."
" Yeah, but hustling pool, credit card scams? It's not the most honest thing in the world, Dean."
" Well, let's see, honest... fun and easy. It's no contest. Besides, we're good at it. It's what we were raised to do."
" How we were raised was jacked."
" Yeah, says you. We got a new gig or what?"
" Maybe." He held me while getting up and walking to Dean with the Newspaper," Oasis Plains, Oklahoma. Not far from here. Gas company employee. Dustin Burwash supposedly died from creutzfeldt-Jakob." Huh?
" Huh?"
" Human Mad Cow disease."
" Mad Cow? Wasn't that on Oprah?"
" You watch Oprah?" Yeah, he does.
" So this guy eats a bad burger. Why is it our kind of thing?"
" 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 disintegrated in about an hour, maybe less."
" Okay, that's weird."
" Yeah. Now, it could be a disease, or it could be something much nastier."
" Alright, Oklahoma. Man, work, work, work. No time to spend my money." Sam put me into the backseat then got in, I sat up and played with my teddy.

We were driving to the company the man worked at, I yawned then wrapped myself in my blanket and closed my eyes, falling asleep.
I was woken up by Dean shaking my shoulders, gently, whispering" Wake up, baby girl." I pushed his hands away," You're acting like me, stop it, it's weird. Wake up, kiddo." I opened my eyes and giggled," I knew that would get you up." He lifted me into his arms, I laid my head on his shoulder as we walked across the street and to where the man died.
Dean said" What do you think?"
Sam said" I don't know, but if that guy Travis was right, it happened pretty damn fast." Dean put me down then we went under the yellow tape,
" So what, some sort of creature chewed on his brain?"
" No, there'd be an entry wound. Sounds like this thing worked from the inside."
" Huh. It looks like there's only room for one. You want to flip a coin?"
" Dean, we have no idea what's down there."
" Alright, I'll go if you're scared. Scared?"
" Flip the damn coin." Dean got rope then came back, he grabbed the coin from his pocket.
" Call it in the air. Chicken." Dean flipped it but Sam caught it,
" I'm going."
" I said I'd go."
" I'm going."
" Alright."
" Don't drop me."
I said" Is this safe?"
" With Dean at the other end of the rope, not exactly."
" De, don't drop Sam."
Dean said" I won't, I won't. Go back to the car, Haz, we'll be back in a few." I ran across the street and got back into the car, waiting for my brothers.

We were driving, Dean said" So, you found some beetles in a hole in the ground. That's shocking, Sam."
Sam said" There were no tunnels, no tracks, no evidence of any other kind of creature down there. You know, some beetles do eat meat. Now, it's usually dead meat, but..."
" How many did you find down there?"
" 10."
" It would take a whole lot more than that to eat out somebody's brain."
" Well, maybe there were more."
" I don't know. It sounds like a stretch to me."
" We need more information on the area, the neighborhood, whether something like this has ever happened before. What?"
" I know a good place to start. I'm kinda hungry for a little barbecue, how about you?" Sam looked at him weird," What, we can't talk to the locals?"
" And the free food's got nothing to do with it?"
" Of course not. I'm a professional."
" Right."
I said" A p-profeseral what?" Sam chuckled," What?"
" Pro-fession-al."
" Whatever." He chuckled and ruffled my hair,
Dean said" Back me up, Hazel, I'm professional."
" When?" Dean reached back and tickled me, I squeaked and moved away from his hand.
We got out and started walking to the door, Dean said" Growing up in a place like this would freak me out."
Sam said" Why?"
" The manicured lawns, the 'How was your day, Honey?' I'd blow my brains out."
" There's nothing wrong with normal."
" I'd take our family over normal any day." Sam lifted me into his arms, I laid my head on his shoulder, starting to get sleepy again.