Wanted Dead or Alive | 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑

4 - VERTIGO

SEASON 1, EPISODE 18

Mara could feel fear coursing through her body like drops of fresh rainwater trickling down her spine.

It was a curious thing to think about, how she'd never been frightened even when faced with hell itself and yet, as she stood exposed in front of a few paltry human beings, she couldn't seem to remember a time where she'd been lost in such an overwhelming state of trepidation as the one she was currently in.

It was the look on each of the Winchesters' faces that frightened her the most. Katarina - the delicate-looking girl who, Mara knew, was quite the opposite - appeared as if she wanted to scream at Mara until her tongue fell off. Sam Winchester seemed more startled than furious, and Dean's features were twisted into a heart-wrenching contortion of anger and vexation.

Having noticed Dean's emerald eyes drift to the leather journal she held in her hands, it came as no surprise to Mara when he thrust a knife into her torso. As soon as the blade was buried in her side, successfully tearing a hole in her flowy dress, he leaped back as if afraid Mara was going to offer a strike of her own in return. Instead, Mara simply stared at the imprudent man, saying, "Did you really think that would work?"

Dean's eyes remained focused and unimpressed, an answer to Mara's question in itself. A temporal knife would not work on a reaper. Of course, she doubted Dean even knew what she was, but he knew of the Winchester luck. Even a fool would be able to realize that the luck of the Winchesters was a cruel and devious snake, allowing its victims to believe everything was alright until the moment it struck. When fate played its hand so skillfully against you in such a way as that, you learned to expect the worst.

Dean shrugged and cocked his head to one side. "It was worth a shot."

Mara wasted no time in using her free hand to pull the knife from beneath her flesh. A sharp bolt of pain immediately shot up her chest, coaxing a yelp of agony to escape her lips. Dean's knife, glinting and dripping with blood as she let it fall to the floor next to her, could still harm her even if it couldn't bring her life to an end.

"Who are you?" Kat snapped, pulling a revolver out from under her leather jacket. She pointed the barrel at Mara. "I saw you. At a gas station a few months back, and again when you stole our dad's journal. Are you following us?"

Mara gave no answer to the girl's morose questioning, opting instead to hold the journal out in front of her. She reached forward and snatched it out of Mara's pale grip, the look in her eyes losing some of its defiance.

"I'm sorry for the anguish I've caused you," Mara began. Her voice was mellow and gentle, and she hoped her words would be enough to soften the Winchesters' hearts against her and her wrongdoing. "I wish I hadn't stolen John Winchester's journal, but it was necessary."

Dean whipped out a gun that was similar in appearance to Kat's, and as he eyed the journal in the petite girl's hands, Mara noticed that Sam was the only Winchester who'd yet to brandish a weapon. While his siblings were behaving in a rash and confrontational manner, he simply watched, almost as if he was giving Mara an opportunity to explain her motives. Mara figured he must not obey his heart as closely as Dean and Kat did. Or, if he did, his heart told him much different things than their's seemed obliged to.