Scarecrow.

Athena was going to be sick.

The first thing Athena was greeted with was the door swinging open and Sam and Dean telling her that their father called.

He called them.

John didn't say anything about being in Kansas. Thankfully.

Athena could sense Sam's tense attitude in the car. He wanted to go find John, but Dean wanted to follow John's orders. And his orders were to solve another case.

Athena just wanted everything the way it has been for the past six months. But Athena never got what she wanted.

"All right..." Sam speaks, snapping Athena out of her thoughts.

"...so that names dad gave us—they're all couples?"

"Three different couples all went missing." Dean nods.

"And they're all from different towns, different states?" Sam inquires.

"That's right, Washington, New York, Colorado." Dean lists off. "Each couple took a road trip cross-country. None of them arrived at their destination. None of them were ever heard from again."

"Well, it's a big country, Dean. They could have disappears anywhere." Sam states.

"Yeah, they could have, but each one's route took them through the same part of Indiana...always on the second week of April, one year after another after another."

"Wow. Seems like you know your stuff already." Athena huffs. She grabs one of the folders and looks into it.

"If dad really wants us to do this, we gotta do it right." Dean says, his tone firm.

Athena scrunches her brows together, but she stays silent.

"This is the second week of April." Athena states.

"Yep."

"So, dad is sending us to Indiana to go hunting for something before another couple vanishes?" Sam questions.

"Sounds about right." Athena nods.

"Yahtzee." Dean points at Sam. "Can you imagine putting together a pattern like this?"

"The different obits dad had to go through—the man's a master."

A small scoffs leaves Athena's lips. "This is child's play." She closes the folder. "Besides, some of this research is stuff I already gave him."

"Jeez, continue to bash him why don't ya?" Dean huffs.

Suddenly the car starts to move to the side of the road. Athena and Dean take notice.

"What are you doing?" Dean asks.

Sam stops the car. "We're not going to Indiana?"

"We're not?" Athena raises her brows.

"No, we're going to California." Sam says. "Dad called from a pay phone. Sacramento area code."

"Sam..."

"Dean, if this demon killed mom and Jess and dad's closing in, we got to be there. We've got to help."

"Dad doesn't want our help." Dean says.

He never has.

"Well, I don't care." Sam says.

Athena looks at Sam with wide eyes. Her eyes weren't filled with shock, but they were filed with admiration. As much as she didn't want to see her father anytime soon, just knowing how bad Sam wanted to find him; made Athena want to help.

"He's given us an order."

"I. Don't. Care." Sam's tone was filled with more force.

"We don't always have to do what he says." Sam states.

Dean looks at the girl in the back seat and notices her look of admiration for her other brother. And he couldn't help but feel jealous. Athena has never looked up to Dean like that.

Dean looks back at his younger brother. "Sam, dad is asking us to work jobs, to save lives. It's important."

"All right, I understand. Believe me, I understand." Sam nods. "But I'm talking one week here, man, to get answers. To get revenge."

"All right, look, I know how you feel—"

"Do you?"

Athena pulls her brows together.

"How old we're you when mom died—4?" Sam inquires.

Athena shifts her gaze to Dean and notices his shaken expression.

"Jess died six months ago." Sam says. "How the hell would you know how I feel?"

"Sam..."

Sam shifts his frustrated gaze to Athena.

"You can't minimize someone else's pain." She plays with her charm bracelet.

Sam's eyes soften and he looks back at Dean, reading the hurt in his eyes.

"Dad said it wasn't safe for any of us." Dean continues. "He obviously knows something that we don't. So if he says to stay away, we stay away."

"I don't understand the blind faith you have in the man." Sam shakes his head in disbelief. "I mean, it's like you don't even question him."

"Hell—Athena even questions him."

"Well, it's called being a good kid!" Dean snaps.

Athena flinches, she pulls her knees toward her chest and closes her eyes. Sam opens the door to the driver seat and gets out of the car. Dean also gets out of the car.

Athena's breathing quickens. "No..." her throat tightens.

"You're a selfish bastard. You know that?" Dean growls. "You just do whatever you want. You don't care what anybody thinks."

"That's what you really think?" Sam asks.

"Yes, it is."

Athena gets out of the car and rounds the car. Her eyes shift to the bag over Sam's shoulder.

"Can we please get back in the car?" Athena asks. "We can talk about this on the way to Indiana."

"No."

Athena looks at Sam.

"I'm going to California." Sam starts to walk away.

"Sam—"

"Come on, you're not serious!" Dean calls out.

"I am serious!"

"It's the middle of the night." Dean says. "Hey, I'm taking off. I will leave your ass."

"No!" Tears sting in Athena's eyes.

Sam turns on his heel and looks back at Dean. "That's what I want you to do."

Sam looks at Athena, noticing her panic slowly rise with every second. He inhales a breath, "Look, I'm leaving, okay? It's up to you guys if you want to come with me."

Athena looks at Dean. He lets out a scoff and looks at the girl. "I'm not gonna stop you, Athy. It's your choice, all right?"

Dean looks at his brother, "Goodbye, Sam." He slams the trunk shut and gets back into the car.

Athena continues to look at Sam tears running down her face. She wanted to help Sam find Mary and Jess' killer. But before Vengeance, Athena wanted to save people.

And Athena wanted to help save the upcoming couple that would disappear in Indiana. So, she wipes her tears before getting back in the car.

☆

The rest of the car ride was silent. Dean was too angry with Sam to even talk about anything and Athena was too guilt-ridden. She couldn't help but feel bad about leaving Sam behind. But they each made their own choices, and now they're gonna have to live with them.

The Impala comes to a stop and Athena focuses back on, noticing they were in a town. She looks at Dean, seeing him on his phone.

"Are you gonna call him?"

Dean looks at his sister and notices the hopeful look in her eyes. "No." He closes the phone. "Sam made his choice."

Dean opens the glove compartment and grabs the tissues. He holds the tissues out towards her. "You still have tears."

Athena raises her brows. She grabs the tissue. "Oh, thanks..." the girl wipes her eyes.

Dean gives her a small comforting smile before getting out of the car. Athena follows.

They walk towards a man sitting in front of a building. "Let me guess—Scotty." Dean points at the man.

"Yep."

"Hi, my name is John Bonham." Dean motions his head towards the girl. "And this is Sophie Hatter."

Athena smiles widely.

The man pulls his brows together. "Isn't John Bonham the drummer for Led Zeppelin?"

Athena raises her brows and she looks at Dean, who chuckles nervously.

"Wow...good. Classic-Rock fan."

"What can I do for you, John and Sophie?" Scott asks.

Dean digs in his pocket and unfolds the paper. "I was wondering if you've seen these people, by chance." He holds the missing persons paper out towards the man.

Scotty grabs the pictures and examines them. "Nope. Who are they?"

"Friends of ours." Athena answers. "They went missing about a year ago."

"They passed through somewhere around here." Dean adds. "I've already asked around Scottsburg and Salem—"

"Sorry." Scotty hands the papers back to Dean.

Athena arches a brow.

"We don't get many strangers around here." Scott states.

"Well, that's weird." Athena chuckles softly. "Because they definitely passed through here."

Dean gently nudges the girl and she grunts softly. She quickly plasters a smile on her face. "Mister Scott, you have a smile that lights up a room."

The man stays silent and just continues to stare at the two.

Dean clears his throat, "We're gonna go. Thank you for your time."

Athena waves, "See you around."

The two siblings walk away. "Why'd you say that to him?" Dean whispers.

"What? He was lying—he is a liar." Athena whispers back.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to make it obvious, that we didn't trust him." Dean states.

Athena slightly opens her mouth and nods. "Oh...yeah—sorry about that."

☆

"It's Warbling..."

"I still find that name weird." Dean says, pulling off to the side. He stops the car and Athena waves the glowing EMF around.

"Something's out here." Dean says, getting out of the car.

Athena looks around the abandoned road and gulps. "I'm getting bad vibes..."

"Then we're going the right way!" Dean cheers.

Athena follows Dean into the woods. "So...are you ever gonna call Sam or are you two just gonna leave things bad—"

"Athy..."

"What? I just don't think you should leave things the way you left them!" Athena holds her arms out and bunches her shoulders.

"Why do you keep referring to me? Like I'm the bad guy?" Dean stuffs his hands into his jacket pockets.

"I didn't mean to." Athena grips the straps of her bag. "Sorry."

Dean lets out a quiet sigh, "Nah—No, I'm just...feeling guilty is all."

Athena pulls her brows together, but she waits for Dean to continue.

"I shouldn't have left him, right?" Dean questions, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean...I was just running on anger and now he's out there—alone and..." he sighs. "...why is he able to stand up to and I'm not?"

Athena's eyes soften, "Dean—" the girl's eyes widen and she screams. "JEEPERS CREEPERS!!!"

Athena turns on her heel and sprints away from the scarecrow. Dean quickly grabs Athena's bag, stopping her in her tracks. "It's just a scarecrow—"

"You don't know that!" Athena whispers harshly. "I saw this before, the Creeper was pretending to be a scarecrow and he killed that old woman and ate her cats!"

"It was just a movie." Dean looks at his little sister.

Athena's eyes blow wide and she cranes her neck forward. "Have you forgotten what we do? Each case we have done could be made into a movie!"

Dean frowns and nods his head. "Point taken." He looks at the scarecrow. His nose wrinkles, "Dude, you fugly."

"What is a fugly?" Athena asks. "And why are you comparing the Creeper to it?"

"Fugly means fucking—I mean 'effing—"

"Nope too late—jar."

Dean slumps his shoulders and quietly whines. He rummages through his pockets and hands her the $20 bill.

Athena stuffs the money into her pocket and turns to the scarecrow. She swallows and her eyes travel across. Athena's eyes stop on the Scarecrow's arm and she tilts her head to the side.

"There's something there." She lightly tugs on Dean's sleeve and points at the Scarecrow's arm.

Dean looks at her, "Okay, and what am I supposed to do about that?"

"Go up there and check it out." Athena motions her head forward.

Dean cranes his neck forward, "Uh—go up there. Okay, lemme fly right up there, Athy."

Athena's mouth hangs open. Dean shakes his head. "I was being sarcastic, Athy. I cannot fly."

Athena purses her lips. "Are you sure? I mean...Sam has premonitions you could be like a flyer."

"And what about you?" Dean asks, he walks over to the ladder on the ground and picks it up.

"What do you mean?" Athena cocks her head to the side.

"I mean...what would your superpowers be?" Dean asks.

"A sidekick doesn't have powers." Athena shrugs, a smile pressed into her lips.

Dean pulls his brows together and looks at his little sister. Her face was unbothered, like she had no problem being referred to as a sidekick.

"You're not a sidekick, Athy." Dean chuckles softly. "You never were."

Athena looks at the ground.

"You know that, right?" Dean asks.

Athena looks at Dean and manages a smile, "Yeah, of course."

Dean's eyes soften.

"Are you gonna go talk to it or...?"

Dean looks at the scarecrow and shudders. "All right, wish me luck."

"Luck!"

Dean chuckles, he props the ladder up and climbs toward the scarecrow. His eyes land on the arm and he pulls the scarecrow's arm sleeve up, revealing the tattoo.

"Hey, can I see the missing papers again?"

Athena stuffs her hands into her pockets and pulls the papers out. She sticks her tongue out of the corner of her mouth. She slightly jumps up, high enough for Dean to get ahold of the papers.

He unfolds the pictures and examines the tattoo on the man's arm. His eyes shift back to the same tattoo as the scarecrow.

"Nice tat."

☆

"Hiya, Scotty!" Dean holds up a hand.

Athena looks at Dean and slightly opens her mouth. She turns to the man from earlier and holds up a hand, like her brother.

"Howdy!"

Scotty looks at the two siblings and his smile drops.

"Can I get a coffee—black?" Dean asks.

"And can I have a tea—green?" Athena tilts her head to the side.

Athena and Dean take a seat next to the couple. "Oh, and some of that pie, too, while you're at it." Dean snaps his fingers.

"Oh!—can't forget the pie." Athena holds a hand up.

"I know that's right." Dean high fives Athena.

The eldest Winchester looks at the couple next to them. "How you doing? Just passing through?"

"Road trip." The lady answers.

Dean nods, "Yeah, us, too."

Athena smiles softly. "Getting snow globes from every state!"

"Really? And which ones do you have already?"

"Uh, California, Kansas, Indiana, Arkansas, Texas, Alabama, Nevada, Washington, Missouri, North Dakota—"

"I'm sure these people want to eat in peace."

Athena slightly jumps from the sudden man. "Jeez, you sure do know how to sneak up on people, don't ya, Scotty?" She snorts softly.

"You would've heard me coming if you weren't talking—"

"Relax, Scotty." Dean sits up, his voice was stern. "Just a little friendly conversation."

Athena cracks a smile, noticing Dean was being protective over her. Her eyes shift to Scotty, "I don't want to be confrontational or anything, but that coffee and tea...please."

"And thank you." Dean adds, a cheeky grin on his face.

Scotty exhales a sharp breath through his nose and walks away.

"So, what brings you to town?" Dean asks the couple.

"We just stopped for gas, and the guy at the gas station saved our lives." The woman answers.

"Is that right?" Dean raises his brows.

"I am fully intrigued with this story." Athena leans forward, sarcasm in her voice.

Dean nudges her and she groans.

"I-I mean...please continue..." Athena smiles warmly.

"Yeah, one of our brake lines was leaking." The man states. "We had no idea. He's fixing it for us."

Athena raises her brows and nods her head.

"Nice people."

The couple goes back to eating.

"So, how long until you're up and running?" Dean inquires.

"Sundown." The man answers.

"Huh..." Athena frowns. "I'm not car geek, but that seems like a while to fix a brake line."

Dean nods his head. "I mean...I know a thing or two about cars. I could probably have you up and running in about an hour and wouldn't charge you anything."

"They don't know us." Athena seethes through her teeth.

"I have to agree with your daughter here...we'd rather have a mechanic do it." The lady says.

"Oh, she's not my daughter." Dean says. "Do I look that old?"

"We're siblings." Athena raises her hands. "You do not want to meet our father."

Athena looks around, "Man...where is my tea?"

"Athy, focus."

Athena blinks, "Right—sorry." She tunes back into the conversation.

"You know, it's just that these roads, they're not real safe at night." Dean states.

Athena raises her brows, "Stop talking..." she whispers.

"I'm sorry?" The woman inquires.

"I know it sounds strange." Dean says, waving off Athena. The girl presses her lips together, she looks at the couple and gives them a sheepish smile.

"But, uh, you might be in danger." Dean warns.

"Oh, Fiddlesticks..." Athena covers her face with her hands.

The man sets his utensils down. "We're trying to eat. Okay?"

"And you call me clueless." Athena rolls her eyes. "I am so sorry about him. My other brother. He could give you his puppy-dog look, and you'd just buy right into it."

"But he's not here." Dean says, his voice filled with frustration.

"Thanks for coming, Sheriff."

Athena's ears perk. Her eyes shift to the officer walking in and she squints her eyes. "Shoot! The pigs!" She looks at Dean. "I'll distract them but you gotta make a break for it, okay?"

Dean raises his brows, "Uh—what are you talking about?"

"I can stop my heartbeat but only for 60 seconds." Athena inhales.

Dean's eyes widen, "Athy—No. whatever you're gonna do, just don't do it."

"Oh, come on—I saw it on YouTube before!" Athena's eyes light up. "It could work—"

"Can I have a word with the two of you, please?" The officer asks.

Simultaneously, the siblings look at the officer.

"Come on. I'm having a bad day already." Dean sighs.

"It would be better if you actually called Sam—"

"I'm not calling him."

"Listen you two, you don't want to make your day worse." The Sheriff threatens.

Athena arches a brow. "That I'm 10." She cranes her neck forward. "Why are you threatening a 10-year-old.

"Oh, that's simple, Athy." Dean looks at the cop with squinted eyes. "He just has nothing better to do with his life."

The cop lets out a sigh and places his hands onto his belt and he lightly taps his gun.

Athena and Dean look at each other with the same expression. 'You've got to be kidding me' was written over their faces.

The siblings stand up, and walk out of the diner with the Sheriff. "I'll lead you two out of the town and you two, stay out."

"Of course...officer." Athena rolls her eyes.

Athena and Dean get back into the Impala. The girl sighs, "I hate cops."

"Yeah, so do I..."

Author's Note:

40,000 READS?!?! I LOVE YOU GUYS SM