Phantom Traveler.

CHAPTER TEN , PHANTOM TRAVELER

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*Content warning*

Flashback

John and Dean went on a hunting trip. They went without Athena and Sam. The middle Winchester didn't mind staying behind, Especially without John around. For a minute, Sam was able to breathe. Before John and Dean left, their father saw Athena eating a sandwich.

"Are you seriously eating again?"

That was the first time Athena ate that day. The first time she's eaten in 3 days, actually. And John knew that. He just wanted to make her feel like shit. He always did. And Athena always listened to him. She always thought he was right.

Athena paces around the bathroom. She scratches at her wrist, quietly muttering to herself.

"It's not enough. Nothing is ever enough."

She looks down at her watch.

7:05 pm

Sam wasn't going to be home from the store for a few minutes. Athena had to do this quick.

Athena shifts her eyes to the toilet. She's done it before, she's down it hundreds of times. But it didn't work. Athena pinches the skin of her stomach, exhaling softly.

Athena looks at the bathroom counter, her eyes meeting the knife.

"Have to be perfect." She inhales a shaky breath.

'No, you don't—'

"YES I DO!"

7:25 pm

Sam walks into the room with bags of groceries. He knew Athena felt bad about food. In all honesty, there were times he did as well. He didn't know how to handle his way with food. They were on the road, so they ate fast food all the time. There was no way to avoid it.

Sam sets down the bags of board games. "Hey, Athy! I know dad was being an ass—per usual. So, I bought some games. I mean...you've never really played board games, so I didn't know what to get." He lets out a chuckle. His eyes meet the door and he walks over to it.

"Athena?"

Sam goes to knock on the door, but stops when he hears quiet cries. "Athy?" He knocks on the door.

A small clatter is heard and Sam's heart rate quickens. "Athena, can you open the door?" He grabs the doorknob and twists it.

Locked.

Sam's breathing gets caught in his throat and he suspects the worst.

"Athena, p-please..." he whispers out. "Athena!"

Sam continues to jiggle the doorknob. "I...I need you to open the door!" He quietly whimpers, his panic rising.

Tears burn in his eyes and he starts to cry. "Please, open the door! Athena!"

The door swings open and Sam's eyes widen.

"I'm sorry..."

Sam's eyes trail down to the cuts on her stomach, blood spilling on the ground. The tears in his eyes fall and Athena continues to sob. Her hands covering the cuts.

"I am so sorry." Athena whimpers.

"I just—"

Sam runs past her and grabs a towel. His eyes spot the bloody knife on the ground. It was the knife John gave to her. Sam's hands shake with rage, but he looks at the towel in his hand, and his anger immediately goes away.

Sam turns to Athena and sees her leaning against the wall, hyperventilating. His breathing hitches, "Athena, hey—"

"Don't tell dad." Athena whispers. "I just...I wanted be perfect."

Sam presses the towel against the side of her stomach, hoping the blood would go away.

"Athy, no one's perfect." Sam says. "No one."

"But, dad—"

"Dad is a drunken asshole." Sam's voice was filled with rage. "And he doesn't care about you."

Sam quietly slams his mouth shut, looking away from Athena's wound and he meets her red rimmed eyes.

"He...doesn't...?" Athena looks down at the ground. She inhales a soft breath and exhales a quick one.

"No, Athena, I didn't mean to—"

"You don't have to lie to me."

Sam slumps his shoulders as Athena looks away from him. He walks out of the bathroom and grabs the first aid kit. Sam looks down at the kit and he exhales a soft cry. He inhales a shaky breath and exhales through his nose. 'Keep it together'.

Sam walks back into the bathroom and sits in front of Athena.

"You're not gonna..." Athena trails off her question.

Sam scratches the side of his neck. "I'm not gonna tell anyone. I promise."

He opens the first aid kit and grabs the gauze. "You won't need stitches, but we're gonna have to keep up with cleaning it."

"I can do it." Athena says. "Don't worry."

Sam slightly shakes his head. Athena always was mature for her age, then there were moments you remember how impressionable she was. Just thinking about the fact that John tells Athena to eat less and she listens, makes Sam's blood boil.

"I'm gonna get you out of here."

Athena looks at her big brother, her eyes still teary. "What?"

"Me and you. We're gonna leave. I don't care how long it takes." Sam cleans Athena's wound. "Your gonna go to Elementary school, and learn about addition--"

"You already taught me that." Athena states.

Sam quietly chuckles, "You can learn about everything else and I--"

"You're gonna go to college."

A smile forms on Athena's face that makes Sam relax. "Yeah, Athy. And I'm gonna take care of you. I'm gonna take care of the both of us."

"Promise?"

Sam looks at Athena holding out her pinky finger.

He cracks a small smile and interlocks his pinky with hers.

"I promise."

☆

Athena Winchester was never a heavy sleeper. She could wake up to a pin drop. But when she was having a nightmare, that's when no one could wake her. Motel walls were thin so when she would scream, it would rip through the building, startling everyone. Dean wasn't shaken, by it--it was a normal thing for him. But Sam was terrified about it, he had forgotten how haunting Athena's screams were. She sounded like she was in pain and there was nothing they could do to help her.

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

Sam shrugs, "Yeah, I grabbed a couple hours."

"Liar..." Dean sits up with a groan.

Sam chuckles. Obviously, Athena's phrases have been rubbing off on him.

"...'cause I was up at 3 and you were watching a George Foreman infomercial."

"Hey, what can I say? It's riveting Tv."

"When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?" Dean asks.

"I don't know." Sam sighs. "A little while, I guess. It's not a big deal."

"Yeah, it is."

"Look, I appreciate your concern--"

"Oh, I'm not concerned about you." Dean quickly stops his brother.

Sam rolls his eyes.

"It's your job to keep my ass alive, so I need you sharp," Dean explains. "Also, Athena would be distracted from worrying about you."

Sam presses his lips together and nods. If Athena found out how many hours of sleep he was getting, she would be nonstop informing Sam about the side effects from lack of sleep.

Dean's eyes sadden, "Seriously, are you still having nightmares about Jess?"

Silence settles into the room. Sam walks over to his bed and sits across from his brother. "Yeah." he sighs. "But it's not just her--it's everything." he hands Dean a cup of coffee.

"I just forgot, you know? This job--man, it gets to you." Sam swallows.

Dean shrugs, "Well, you can't let it. You can't bring it home like that." he takes a sip of his coffee.

Sam pulls his brows together, "So, what? All this--it never keeps you up at night?"

Dean shakes his head, causing Sam to raise his brows in disbelief.

"Never? You're never afraid?"

"No, not really."

Sam quietly chuckles, he leans over and grabs the swiss army knife from underneath Dean's pillow. Dean slightly opens his mouth, he grabs the knife. "That's not fear. That is precaution."

Sam's smile saddens, "What about Athy?"

Dean stops drinking his coffee, he tucks the knife under his pillow once again. He knew that Sam was thinking about how Athena handles everything she sees.

"She's a kid who thinks no one cares about her," Dean admits, guilt evident in his voice. "I think that...she tries her best to keep everything bottled up, y'know?"

Sam inhales, "Well, we can't have that." he says. "One day she might explode and scream at you."

Dean slightly pulls his face back, "I'm sorry--why just me? What about you? Mister 'Pinky Promise'."

Sam stops and looks around, thinking for a second. He has a point.

"Besides, I doubt she wants to talk to us." Dean scoffs. "Especially after the last case, we weren't exactly...subtle with confronting her about her...issue."

"You mean eating disorder." Sam deadpans. "And besides, I told you not to talk about it in that moment and you didn't listen."

Dean deadpans, he holds out his hand. "Hi, I'm Dean Winchester, usually don't think before I talk."

Sam scoffs.

A scream erupts from the next room, causing both the brothers to jump onto their feet. They sprint out of the motel room, heading over to the girl's room.

Dean goes to grab the doorknob and open it.

Locked.

Sam's breathing hitches and he shakes his head. "No, no..." he takes a step back.

"Dean." Sam snaps.

Dean takes a step back and kicks the door in.

"Athy?!"

Sam sees Athena thrashing in her bed. He runs over to the girl. "Athena?!"

"LET ME GO!"

"What do we do?" Dean quickly approaches his brother.

"I don't..." Sam shakes his head, his brows pulled together.

"PLEASE STOP!"

"Night terrors."

Dean looks at Sam, with a deadpanned expression.

"It's daytime."

Sam rolls his eyes, "I don't then—sleep terrors, Dean!"

Suddenly Athena quickly sits up, screaming. Causing Sam and Dean to scream as well. Athena looks around, breathing frantically, gripping her blanket. Her breathing starts to fall silent and she pulls her brows together.

It was just a nightmare.

Her eyes meet her brothers standing there, grasping no each other's arms, like they just had a heart attack.

"Uh—what are you guys doing in here?" Athena tilts her head.

Sam and Dean let go of each other and calm down. "You were screaming so we came to rescue you."

Athena blinks, "Oh, well...thank you...?" She looks down at her hands. "I didn't mean to worry you guys."

Sam lets out a soft chuckle, "Athena, you're our little sister."

"We would be worried about you no matter what." Dean adds with a shrug.

Athena smiles softly, she then rolls her lips into her mouth to contain her smile. She slowly nods her head. "Okay." She wipes the tears from her eyes.

"We have breakfast in the next room if you want some. I bought you a tea."

Athena's smile breaks free, "Okay, I'll be right there!" She darts for the bathroom.

Sam and Dean look at each other. "So...do you think we were supposed to ask her about her nightmare?"

Sam sighs, "No, she'll talk to us when she's ready."

"Oh, okay, okay...so never?" Dean scoffs. "This is why I approach situations head on." He starts out of the Athena's Motel room with Sam beside him.

Sam scoffs, "You cannot approach problems head on!" He stands in front of his brother. "You can't even look Athena in the eye because of how guilty you feel—"

"Shut up." Dean snaps, now wanting the conversation to be over.

Sam lets out a breath, "Dean, come on, man." They go back to their Motel. "How long do you think we can even keep this a secret?"

Dean frowns, grabbing his coffee. "I dunno, probably another year."

"Dean!"

"What? I'm kidding...kinda—not really." He stops and looks down. "You let me go outside in my briefs!"

"Yeah, and I should've locked your ass out of the room."

Dean sucks in a dramatic breath, "Thats cold, Sammy."

Sam looks off to the side and Dean sighs. "We have a lot going on already, Sam." He says, going back to the conversation. "We haven't even talked to Athena about her eating disorder."

The sound of someone clearing their throat is heard from the door. Sam and Dean turn to Athena, who was rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Hi..." she awkwardly waves her hand.

"Hi..." Sam and Dean simultaneously say, waving their hands.

"I'm gonna get dressed." Dean says. "Don't eat without me!"

"You know I won't." Athena holds up her hands.

Sam and Dean both stop and look at the girl once again. Her face heats up, "Sorry, not a funny joke. I'm sorry." She walks over to Sam and grabs her tea.

Sam and Athena sit in silence.

"Do you have nightmares often?" Sam asks.

Athena raises her brows, "Oh...I mean. Probably almost every night. If I'm not awake."

Sam looks down at his coffee. "Why do you force yourself to go to sleep if you get nightmares?"

Athena bites the inside of her cheek and shrugs. "I always think of the possibility that one day I'll close my eyes and it'll be...quiet. Or—or..."

She stands up with her hand out, getting excited. Sam raises his brows.

"I have a dream that with it being super sunny and we're all at a beach!"

"A beach?"

Athena shrugs, "A kid can dream..." she flops back onto the bed and sighs. "All I'm saying is..." she sits back up, a smile on her face. "There's always hope for something better."

Sam smiles softly at Athena's hope. "You make a good point."

Athena shrugs a shoulder, "Well, a very good point—actually."

       ☆

Dean got a call from a man named Jerry Panowski. Someone John and Dean helped on a case awhile ago.

"Thanks for making the trip so quick. I ought to be doing you guys a favor, not the other way around."

The siblings continue through the factory behind Jerry. He looks at Sam, "Dean and your dad really helped me out."

"Yeah, he told me. It was a Poltergeist?"

"Poltergeist? I loved that movie." A person speaks.

"Hey, nobody's talking to you. Keep waking." Jerry orders.

Athena snorts softly.

"Damn right it was a Poltergeist—practically tore our house apart." Jerry explains. "Tell you something—if it wasn't for you and your dad, I probably wouldn't be alive."

"Yeah, but we wouldn't have been able to help if Athy wasn't behind the computer." Dean ruffles Athena's hair.

"Really?" Jerry looks at the girl, surprised that she was even here.

"No...they would've survived without me." Athena sputters.

Dean stops ruffling her hair. Athena starts to pay her hair down.

"And she's humble." Jerry chuckles.

"Yeah, that's out Athy." Sam now starts to ruffle Athena's hair and she groans.

Jerry looks at Sam, "Your dad said you were off at College. Is that right?"

Sam inhales, "Yeah, I was. I'm...taking some time off."

"Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell." Jerry says. "He talked about you all the time."

Athena raises her brows.

"He did?" Sam asks, also surprised.

"Yeah, you bet he did." Jerry says.

Athena looks at her shoes, judging by the fact Jerry barely noticed she was there before, she knew John didn't mention her. She had to admit, there was envy in her for Sam. John actually talked about Sam to other people.

Must be nice.

"Oh, hey, I tried to get ahold of him, but I couldn't." Jerry says. "How's he doing, anyway?"

The siblings exchange a quick look.

"He's, um, wrapped up in a job right now." Dean answers.

"Well, we're missing the old man. We get Sam and Athena." Jerry speaks. "Even trade, huh?"

"No, not by a long shot." Sam chuckles.

Athena frowns.

Speak for yourself.

"I got something I want you guys to hear." Jerry guides them to his office. He stops at the door.

"Are you two sure you want her to listen?" Jerry motions his head to the young girl.

Athena's frown deepens.

"I can handle it."

Jerry looks at Sam and Dean, Athena pulls her brows together.

"She can handle it." The brothers chorus.

Jerry shrugs and opens the door for them. Athena holds her hands up and turns to her brothers, "Thats what I just said—I just said that."

"It sounds better coming from an adult." Dean turns Athena back around and she walks into the office.

They all sit in the office chairs while Jerry plays the audio. "I listened to this. Well, it sounded like it was up your alley." Jerry states. "Normally I wouldn't have access to this. It's the cockpit voice recorder for United Britannia Flight 2485. It was one of ours."

The audio starts to play and Athena twirls a strand of her hair while listening intently. At the end of the message the sound of the Pilots cut off and there's a sound of low hissing.

A crease forms between Athena's brows when the audio ends.

"Took off from here, crashed about 200 miles South." Jerry states. "Now, they're saying mechanical failure. The cabin depressurization somehow nobody knows why. Over 100 people on board. Only seven got out alive."

"The Pilot was one. His name is Chuck Lambert. He's a good friend of mine. Chuck is, uh...well, he's pretty broken up about it, like it was his fault."

"You don't think it was?" Sam inquires.

"No, I don't."

Athena releases the strand of her hair. "Mr. Panowski, can we please have Passenger Manifests and a list of survivors?"

Jerry raises his brows, "O-Of course."

Athena presses her lips into a smile.

"And any way we can take a look at the wreckage?" Dean asks.

Jerry inhales, "The other stuff is no problem, but the wreckage—the NTSB has it locked down in an evidence warehouse. No way I've got that kind of clearance."

Dean nods his head, "No problem."

Athena was peaking her head out of the Impala, Sam was leaning against the the car, waiting for Dean to finish his task in the department store.

"I spy with my little eye something...auburn."

Sam chuckles softly, "Your hair."

Athena's mouth hangs open, "Oh My Gosh! How did you know?" Sarcasm encasing her voice.

Sam laughs quietly and nods his head. "All right, all right. I Spy..." the door to the store opens, revealing Dean.

"A douchebag."

Athena laughs, "Thats not funny."

"Mmm it's a little funny." Sam tilts his head side to side.

"You were in there for like a gazillion years!" Athena exclaims.

"You can't rush perfection, Chucky." He nudges her face back into the car. Athena groans, rubbing her face and Dean snickers.

"Homeland Security?" Sam examines the badges.

"You guys are taking this illegal thing to a whoooole nother level." Athena sighs, peaking her head back out the window.

"It's something new." Dean shrugs. "People haven't seen it a thousand times." He rounds the car and gets into the driver seat. Sam gets into the passenger seat.

"All right, what do you got, Athy?"

Athena dramatically clears her throat. Dean rolls his eyes and Sam chuckles.

"Well, there's definitely E.V.P. on the cockpit voice recorder." She hands them the laptop.

"Yeah?"

Sam grabs the laptop and plays the message.

Dean raises his brows, listening to the whole message. "No survivors? What's that supposed to mean? There were seven survivors."

Athena shrugs, "Maybe it missed a few?"

Dean looks at the youngest Winchester. "So, what are you thinking? A haunted flight?"

Athena scratches the side of her wrist. "There's a long history of spirits and death omens on planes and ships, like Phantom Travelers."

"Remember Flight 401?" Sam questions.

"Right—the one that crashed, the airline salvaged its parts put it in other planes , then the spirit of the pilot and Co-Pilot haunted those flights." Dean explains.

"We all knew. You didn't have to explain it." Athena voices.

"I know but I sounded super smart saying it." Dean sends Athena a cheeky smile, she rolls her eyes.

"Maybe we got a similar deal." Sam voices, back on track.

"All right, so survivors—which one do you want to talk to first?" Dean inquires.

"Third on the list—Max Jaffey." Athena states.

"Why him?"

"Well, for one, he's from around here. And two, if anyone saw anything weird, he did." Athena explains.

"What makes you say that?" Dean questions.

Athena points a finger at him, "Lets go find out."

"Cue exit music!"

Sam and Dean look at the girl and she blinks. The girl bunches her shoulders.

"I'm waiting."

Dean looks at Sam and he shrugs, "What are you waiting for?"

The eldest Winchester chuckles, he starts the car, and turns the volume of the radio up, before driving down the street.

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Author's Note:

Here's a website if you ever want to contact someone about self harm. Text HOME to 741741 to reach a volunteer Crisis Counselor. <3

https://www.crisistextline.org/help-for-self-harm/