December 1st, 2019
Radcliffe Highway, Colorado

Jack felt the blood rushing to his ears and all he could hear was white noise. He thought for a second he'd dreamed the entire thing as he stared blankly at the seat in front of him. He didn't even notice Ash reaching around to give him a Charlie Horse until it was too late. "Ow! What the hell?" he hissed, rubbing at his thigh, while his older brother's hand snaked back to the steering wheel.

"I asked you the same question six times. You cool, Jacky?"

"Cool?" Jack sputtered indignantly. "How can I be cool, when you just told me someone's trying to kill you? Am I supposed to just shrug it off and be okay with this?" He tried as hard as he could to keep his voice down, but the volume steadily rose regardless.

Ash remained silent for a long time, gripping the steering wheel so hard, his knuckles had begun to turn white, and he concentrated too hard on the dark, winding road they were on. To an outsider, it was like one of those places they tried to depict in horror movies, a labyrinth of convoluted roads and confusing signs that made it hard to navigate. Getting lost and stranded had become an all too common occurrence. But locals, like the Slayer boys, could get lost a hundred times and always find their way back to Ashgrove. Native secrets.

"Look, I know it's not an ideal situation, but I... I didn't know what else to do. I mean, the last time I heard from Dad, he told me to lay low. That was six weeks ago." Ash trailed off, and Jack got the feeling his brother was saying more than he was supposed to. But it still wasn't enough.

"Dad?" he repeated, skeptically. "I thought Dad was in-"

"Italy. Yeah. He was. But, Jacky, we're tangled in some deep shit, kid." Ash sighed and scratched the back of his neck, something that sounded close to guilt, bleeding through his voice. "Dad's a pest exterminator, ya know. One of the best in the industry. And I've been helping him out for a while now. He had some guys after him a couple years back, competition, I guess – it's why he dumped his kid on Mom. And we thought we shook 'em. But... turns out they've been looking for me all this time."

"That's why you came back? 'Cause one of your scams went bad?" Jack accused bitterly when he put the pieces together. It didn't take him long. Ash was easier to figure out than anyone he'd ever met before. Or maybe it was just that they were closer than he was to Will or even Marley, despite the eight years between them. "You used Ashgrove to hide? Swell job you did. How is getting into fights and slinging dope staying under the radar?" he scoffed in utter disbelief. No wonder they'd found him.

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Swell?" he repeated cheekily.

"Shut up, idiot," Jack muttered briskly. "So, now what? Are Will and I targets too? How the hell are we supposed to help anyway? Do we look like murderer deflectors to you?" Keala barked when he finished speaking as if in agreement.

Ash opened his mouth, a quick response on the tip of his tongue, when a groan sounded from the passenger seat. "Why're ya'll yelling...?" Will mumbled sleepily. "Why're you in my...?" Jack gulped, watching from behind as Will lurched in his seat, triggering the snap of his seatbelt lock and knocking the wind out of himself. "Where are we?" he gasped, looking around the Blazer with wide eyes. When he spotted Jack they narrowed in an instant. "What's going on?" Suspicion laced his voice and he glared directly at Jack. They both were well aware of their oldest brother's tendency to lie.

"Um... Road trip?" He decided to take a page out of Ash's book. "Surprise road trip," he amended more confidently. "But don't worry, we grabbed all your school shit. 'Cause you can do it online, right?" With every word that escaped Jack's mouth, Will's face seemed to grow more and more furious.

"Take me home!" he demanded. "I have a test tomorrow you fucking morons! How could you do this? Do you ever think about anyone but yourselves? Goddammit, Ashton! Stop the fucking car!" He glared at them like a madman, squirming in his seat as his voice gradually grew louder and louder with every word.

Ash obediently pulled to a stop on the shoulder of the empty road, and the three brothers sat in near perfect silence for almost a full two minutes before anyone decided to speak up. "If you want to head back, we can," Ash started, and Jack stared holes through the back of his head. If the man was right about anything, it was that they probably needed Will more than him – for Ash to have an actual chance at living, anyway. "But not tonight. There's a motel a couple miles up the road. Let's rest there." He started the Blazer up again, pulling back onto the road, before anyone could say a word in response.

The ride to the motel was silent and tense between the brothers. Any thoughts of sleep were long gone from Jack's mind as it was overrun with worry for Ash instead, among other things. Even though he should have left them both out in the first place, they couldn't abandon him. They were blood. They had to stick together. That's what family did.

"What's going on, guys? Really?" Will finally asked when they stepped through the door of their grungy motel room. There were two beds and a tattered couch, an ancient nightstand, and a TV that looked to be about forty-years-old.

Jack dropped his bags on the couch, knowing they'd make him use it no matter what, and said over his shoulder, "Ash is being stalked."

Will scowled, and Jack could tell his mind was running through all the games and jokes the other two had ever played on him – more than once he'd been fake-kidnapped. "Really, guys?" he snapped. "I'm actually going to college and trying to get my life together and you two are running around playing Cops and Robbers again? Real mature."

Jack fought back a surly response. "I'm serious," he settled on retorting.

"Right. Just like you were serious that time you said Dad was sick and needed us, just to get me to go with you to some stupid concert."

Jack opened his mouth to argue with his older brother, but before he could, Ash hissed, "Jacky, let me talk to you outside a minute." Grabbing his arm, the man dragged him out into the cold winter night.

"Ow! What the hell is with you manhandling me all the damn time?" He ripped his arm out of Ash's grip and rubbed at the fresh bruises.

"Let him think it's a joke." Ash ignored Jack's outburst like he was nothing more than a child throwing a fit over something pointless.

"What?"

"You heard me. Let him think whatever he wants. I'll take him home and it'll be like it never happened." There was an intense look in his dark eyes that Jack wasn't sure he'd ever seen before.

"So you're just gonna drop us off and then what? Am I supposed to just forget that people are trying to kill you?" he demanded, his voice cracking as tears momentarily blurred his vision. He fought them back though, not about to cry in front of anyone, even if they were blood.

Ash sighed, shaking his long dark brown hair out of his face, and shoving his hands into the pockets of the leather coat he'd worn for as long as Jack could remember. "Will was right. You were right. You're my brothers, I should protect you from this shit, not drag you into it."

A steely look crossed Jack's features. "I'm not just going to go back home and act like nothing's happening. I'm going with you."

Ash crossed his arms and shot his brother a dull look. "Oh, now you want to," he mocked. But there was something that mirrored a twinkle of pride glittering in his dark eyes.

Jack scowled. "I have your back," he muttered, the steel remaining in his voice. Ash wasn't about to start treating him like a kid right then, not after corrupting his childhood the way he already had. "I'm not going anywhere."

"It's going to be dangerous," Ash warned. "Now's the time to back out."

But Jack shook his head indignantly. "Too late. Keala and I weren't doing anything anyway. Except digging graves. And I fucking hate digging graves."

"Me too," Ash agreed. "But it's a hell of a lot better than embalming." Both brothers shuddered.

Jack moved from one foot to the other as the cold began to seep into his bones and he felt his fingers and nose starting to go numb. "So what's the plan-"

The shrill sound of Ash's cell phone pierced the air, cutting off the youngest Slayer brother. "Hello?" Ash mumbled, not bothering to look at the screen before he answered.

"Is Marley with you?" Jack heard his mother's shrill, frantic, voice whistling through the phone.

"Why? Mom, what's wrong?" Ash's voice was calm, but he couldn't hide the concern that marred his features.

"Somebody broke in. They... they killed two of the security guards," their mother sobbed. Fear burned its way through Jack's skin and he shuffled closer to his brother, even though he could hear almost every word she spoke. "I can't find Marley anywhere!"

"Who was it? Did you see them?" Ash demanded starkly. He'd gone from being Jack's mischievous big brother to a hardened businessman in virtually seconds. It was jarring.

"They wore masks. Just please, check your car, make sure she isn't hiding," Marcia Pleasant begged through her tears.

"Here, take this." Ash shoved his phone into Jack's hands and stomped toward his prized truck.

"Mom?" Jack asked, attempting to mimic his older brother's calm demeanor. "Are you okay?"

"Jack? Oh. Yeah, Juliet and I are fine. A few cuts and bruises," she murmured distractedly. "Where did Ash go?"

"To check the truck," he responded, hearing Keala whining from the other side of the door. As quietly as he could, he opened it and the dog dashed out into the wintery night, disappearing behind the building.

"Go with him," his mother demanded, but she needn't have said a word, he was already way ahead of her.

"Goddammit, Marley!" He heard Ash's furious voice from across the parking lot, and winced at the sound.

"Pretty sure we found her." As Jack spoke his mother sighed audibly.

"When I get my hands on that kid I'm going to wring her scrawny little neck," she growled, but her voice was laden with relief.

"What did they want?" Jack slowed his pace almost to a stop when he heard Ash start lecturing their kid sister.

"Who?"

"The guys who broke in, Mom. What did they want?" he insisted. His mom had a way of evading uncomfortable conversations that made him want to punch something.

"It's nothing, Jack. Let me talk to your brother," she insisted warily.

"Just tell me. I can handle it."

His mother sighed, and Jack pictured her running her hand through her messy dark brown hair. "They were looking for Ash and your father. That's why-" She choked on her words, but he got the point loud and clear. She'd thought they'd taken Marley. "Where are you?"

"Some dinky motel off the highway." His answer was vague as he took in their desolate surroundings. There was something in his mother's voice that sounded off, instinct told him to give away nothing about their real location.

"Good. Keep going. Tomorrow, when the sun comes up, get back on the road and get as far away as you can," she urged adamantly. "Jack, those men are murderers. And they know where we live."

"But Marley and Will have school and-"

"It's not safe," his mother hissed. "Let me talk to your brother."

Jack wanted to protest further, but at precisely that moment, Ash stomped passed and grabbed the device from his hand. "Mom?" He paused for a moment, listening to his mother's instructions, and Jack watched with a twinge of concern as all the blood drained from his face and his posture stiffened considerably. "Yes, ma'am," he answered almost robotically. "Don't worry, I'll keep them safe. Yeah, you too." He shoved his phone back into his pocket and silently pushed against the howling winds back to the motel room without another word.

"Why does he hate me so damn much?" Marley asked with a scowl as she came to stand beside Jack, so close he could feel her shivering. Shrugging off his coat, he wrapped it around his little sister's shoulders and nudged her in the direction Ash had gone.

"It's not you he hates," he responded, whistling loudly for his dog. "It's your mom."

Marley rolled her dark brown eyes and snorted unattractively. "Right," she muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "A person I've never even met. I was raised by the same woman he was. I just don't get it."

"Give it a rest," Jack warned, stopping just outside their motel room. Marley shot him a bitter glare through her mess of tangled black curls. "We've got bigger fish to fry."

"Oh, yeah. I heard," she scoffed. "The big dumb idiot pissed someone off. Is anyone really that surprised?"

"Shut up, kid," he responded, but there was a hint of amusement in his voice and he saw the satisfaction clearly in her expressive eyes.

The siblings ducked into the dark room with Keala hot on their heels, stumbling to the dingy couch and settling in for a long sleepless night. Jack rarely ever slept in the motels Ash dragged him into. When he was younger, he'd say it was because he didn't trust the ghosts, and those days – while it was still true – he never said a word about it at all. Spending his entire life with a cemetery as his backyard had a way of screwing with his brain (at least, that's what Ash told him), because he swore up and down that he could feel them when they were around, and they had a way of invading his nightmares.

"You just gonna sit there and keep watch all night?" Marley whispered, her voice thick with sleep as she attempted to keep her eyes open, no longer shivering anymore.

"Go to sleep, Mars," he whispered soothingly, avoiding the question. It was exactly what he planned on doing, and with Keala at his feet they were fairly well protected, for the time being.

Time ticked by slowly, but it couldn't have been more than a few minutes before he heard, "Stowaway's right. You need to sleep too, Jack." Squinting in the dark, he could just barely make out the look of quiet concern on Will's face. "We have to get up early."

"That's okay," Jack responded, pulling his knees to his chest. "You sleep. I'm not tired."

"If this is about-"

"It's not. Goodnight, Will," he whispered, wondering why his older brother couldn't just turn over and fall asleep like Ash and Marley had.

But Will was never one for giving up. "They're just nightmares, Jack. They're not even real. It's just because you're in a new place." His attempt at reassurance was overshadowed by the underlying judgement in his voice. Jack wasn't sure he'd ever understand the horrors he saw in his dreams.

"Okay. Thanks," he muttered blandly, looking away from his brother.

"I mean it," Will prompted, "they aren't healthy."

"Okay."

"Jack," Will hissed. "Be serious."

"Okay."

Will groaned. "Fine. I'm going to bed." He rolled over in his sheets and Jack smirked triumphantly.

The next morning Jack had already showered and sat diligently looking through maps that he'd found in one of the desk drawers, by the time Ash and Will finally woke up. When he glanced over and saw them rising, he grinned at his brothers and clapped his hands together, startling Keala.

"Good! You're awake. I found a few places it would be fun to go to. What'd you think? We could check out the Stax Museum and maybe some of those old cave dwellings in the Southwest. Oooh, and Los Alamos, that creepy science town-"

"Have you been up all night?" Ash groaned, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, while Will followed his lead, his gaze zeroing in on the old TV in the corner. It was on but all that was playing was white noise, which always happened whenever Jack slept anywhere with a television in the room.

"No," Jack denied instantly. "I just got up a little while ago."

"How much coffee did you drink?" Will mumbled, stretching.

Jack grinned. "Four cups."

"You're gonna have to shit somethin' fierce in a couple hours," Ash warned on his way into the bathroom that was just as outdated and dingy as the rest of the room.

When Ash disappeared through the flimsy door, Will scowled at his little brother. "You were supposed to go to sleep."

"I did," Jack responded in a whisper, and there was a startling lack of emotion in his voice. "A lady drowned in the bathtub."

Will rolled his eyes, throwing on a t-shirt and glancing over at Marley, who was still passed out on the couch. "You're not as funny as you think you are," he told him, gathering all his stuff together and shutting off the TV.

"Not trying to be," Jack responded, circling destinations on the map, waiting for Ash to get out, so they could wake Marley up and leave.

"Do you ever get sick of acting like an eight-year-old?"

Jack smirked. "Sometimes."

Will went to say something, but Marley groaning, "I'm up, I'm up, quit arguing like old women," interrupted him as she rolled off the couch and hit the floor with a loud THUD.

"Oh, what a graceful awakening, your majesty," Will mumbled sarcastically, and Marley grinned. "How'd you find the stowaway anyway?" He turned to Jack and jabbed a thumb in their younger sister's direction.

"They didn't tell you?" Marley feigned ignorance as she ignored Jack's subtle finger-across-the-throat gesture.

"Tell me what?" Will asked skeptically, accusing eyes darting to Jack while Ash conveniently hid out in the bathroom.

"Somebody wants Ash-"

"Who wants breakfast?" the man himself sang, bursting through the door with the fakest smile on his face that Jack had ever seen. He coughed into his hand to keep from laughing. It wasn't the time or the place.

"What was she about to say, Ash?" Will's face was set like stone as he stared rigidly between them. When he glared like that, he looked almost identical to their dad and it made Jack's spine tingle in the worst way possible.

"We'll talk about it in the car. Time to go," Ash responded evasively. He quickly dug through his duffel and threw on a clean t-shirt before grabbing the rest of his stuff. "Come on." His authoritative tone didn't allow for any form of argument.

"Aye, aye, Cap," Jack replied a little too loudly, shrugging on his layers and shouldering his duffel. He was the first one out, besides Keala. As much as he despised the motel rooms, Keala disliked them even more – she was always just as antsy and anxious to leave as he was.