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───── THEN ─────
The sounds of cocky laughter haunted Dean's ears.
He hated this.
Every loathing second he spent dwelling with these men tore him limb to limb. They were weak, a waste of oxygen to humanity itself. Feeding off others' agony fed them with pride—with the dangerous intention of power.
In this world, the living and power mix like fire and gasoline.
Their words singed the strings of Dean's cold heart, "Don't look at me like that, Dee. You should've seen it—somethingwe've all wanted to do." Joe's grin was so tight; it must have hurt. He propped a cigarette between his lips before chuckling lowly, "Can't blame a man for acting on those thoughts."
Dean's ears ached, sending an intense pain down his spine while the men erupted into a loud fit of evil laughter. He felt sick.
Something we all wanted to do.
All he wanted was to put a bullet right through Joe's thick skull.
At this moment, Dean knew that no matter what happened next, they must die.
It didn't matter if they were together or picked off one by one—they must die for what they've done to Vienna—for everything they've done.
Instead of lashing out and putting shells of silver through the cowardly man's brain, Dean stepped back, staggering over his own two feet. He needed to get away from them. So, he turned and faced the trees, ignoring Joe's taunting voice and the men's mocking calls.
He needed to find Vienna.
When he found her, she was deep in the woods.
Her sobs shook the vast trees. Mother nature could hear her cries. The girl rested her slim back against the wooden bark of a willow tree. Tears stained her cheeks like blood. She felt disgusting, used—hollow. She might've started to scream if she hadn't heard the crunch of Dean's boots against fallen leaves.
The noise brought her back to reality: she was still living, unfortunately.
For a moment, it felt like she was gone.
When the sound ceased, Vienna looked down, avoiding eye contact with Dean. Now, any man who put her in possible danger terrified her. He was the last thing she wanted to see.
Mainly because he wasn't there to save her from Joe, the one time Dean should've been by her side—he wasn't. But a part of her needed to see him. There was a feeling of comfort that Dean's hard stare gave her, but when reluctantly she met his eyes, they were soft.
