Wayward Sons Special #1
"Something Wicked This Way Comes Again"
Most people go their whole lives not knowing what's out there, hiding in the dark. They spend their whole lives never realizing that there are creatures out there that would like nothing more than to kill them, making them suffer horribly to their last agonizing breath.
But there are some people who do know what lurks in the shadows, but not by choice. Some people are just thrust into that life. People like Michael Colby, who at the age of 12, had seen what true evil looks like when his little brother Asher had been the victim of a soul sucking Shtriga, a ghoulish witch who feeds off the life essence of children. When it had come back for Michael, it fell into a trap set by Sam and Dean Winchester, who killed the creature before it could drain the boy's life force.
After the Shtriga had died, all the children affected by it, including Asher, had fully recovered like nothing had ever happened. The only child who had never fully recovered was Michael, and that was because he now knew there were things out there that wanted to kill him and his family. At the age of 12, Michael had lost his innocence and was never truly the same.
Not too long after that, Michael was walking home from school when he saw two kids harassing his brother. They were tossing Asher's backpack around before shoving the boy to the ground. Michael ran up and without hesitation sucker punched the first bully in the nose. When the other kid came at him, he punched him in the stomach and pulled his shirt over his head before pushing him into the other boy.
"You're dead!" the boy with the now bloody nose said.
"Mess with my kid brother again and I'll break more than your nose," Michael told them as they ran off. He helped his brother up off the ground. "You okay, Asher?"
"You never stood up like that for me before," Asher said.
"Well, maybe it's time that I started being a better big brother," Michael told him as he put an arm around his kid brother's shoulder as they walked home. "I need to start watching out for you more, kid."
There weren't very many books available on how to spot demons or other creatures of the night, and virtually every online article contradicted the other. There were only two sources of knowledge he could ultimately rely on: The Ghostfacers website and a series of books based on the adventures of Sam & Dean Winchester.
Micheal had saved his money to buy the first 22 books, and was looking to buy more as soon as he got more money for them. Between the books and the website, he was learning everything he needed to in order to defend his family.
2008
"Michael, why is there salt on the window?" Michael's mother Joanna asked one night before bed.
"It...keeps the pests out," Michael said. "I read about it in a book."
In the two years since the young man had his encounter with the Shtriga, he'd started hitting the library and internet to find every scrap of information he could on the monsters that were out there, finding ways to keep the motel that his mother ran properly warded from anything that might try to get in to kill them, filling in the gaps that the Supernatural books and the Ghostfacers website hadn't informed him on. It had become an obsession with Michael, something he couldn't stop thinking about. He knew there were monsters out there, but he didn't realize just how close they truly were until it was almost too late.
The tall brunette woman walked into the motel office as Michael's mother was at the desk. Michael was in the back, fixing Asher his lunch, as usual. Michael instantly felt a chill, but didn't know where it was coming from.
"One room," the woman said as she eyed the two boys sitting at the table in the back.
"How long will you be staying?" Joanna asked as she reached for a room key.
"Not long," the woman said. "Just long enough to complete some business in this town before I have to move on."
"Well, I hope you enjoy your stay," Joanna said as she read the check-in book where the woman had just signed. "Meg."
"Cute kids," Meg said with a smirk. "Reminds me of two guys I used to know. I just got off of a really long vacation. Maybe I should look them up after I'm finished here."
Michael just eyed the woman as she walked out of the office with her room key.
"Michael, the food's burning," Asher said as his big brother snapped out of it. He quickly ran to the stove to turn it off. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm just... thinking about that assignment from school," Michael said.
Meg walked into her room, locking the door behind her as she got settled. She was making her way across the country with a new plan in the wake of her father's death. Dean Winchester wasn't long for this world; in a few weeks he was due to be dragged to Hell by Hellhounds thanks to a devil's deal to save his brother Sam's life.
But before that, Meg was going to make Dean's last few weeks on Earth miserable. She was going to kill anyone that Sam and Dean Winchester had ever saved, with this town being her first stop. The eight children who had been victims of the Shtriga would all be dead by the end of the week, then she would move on to the next town, and then the next, until every soul the Winchesters had ever saved had died a gruesome death. Then on the night that Dean as to be dragged to Hell, she would find him and tell him what she had done, and that in the end, his life had been meaningless because everyone he ever tried to save had died regardless.
A knock suddenly came at the door as Meg opened it and saw Asher standing there with towels in his hand.
"I'm supposed to bring these to you," Asher told her. He was ten years and doing what he could to help his mother keep her motel running smoothly.
"Well, aren't you a cute little thing?" Meg asked as she took the towels and handed him a tip. She could end his life right there, but this job had to be done carefully. There were eight people in this town that needed killing, maybe more if she could help it, but killing Asher right then and there would raise too much suspicion. The last thing she needed was the Winchesters getting wind of this and showing up before the party really began.
"Gee, thanks!" Asher said as he took his dollar tip and left. Meg just smiled and closed the door. Maybe she'd save the kid for last, bleeding him dry after hours of torture. The innocent ones were always the most fun to kill.
Michael was laying in his bed, reading the latest Supernatural book as Asher ran in. He was just finishing book #35 and about to start #36 "Born Under a Bad Sign".
"Look what that nice lady gave me!" Asher said, proudly displaying his dollar.
"Big deal, a dollar doesn't buy dick these days," Michael said, looking up from his book.
"You're just jealous because she said I was cute," Asher said as he sat down on the bed next to his brother. "Mom said you shouldn't be reading that stuff."
"You gonna tattle on me?" Michael asked.
"No, I just think it's creepy," Asher said.
"There's something not right about that woman," Michael told him. "Didn't you feel the room get colder when she walked in?"
"No," Asher said. "Maybe you're getting sick."
"Or maybe I need to find out who she really is," Michael told him.
"By the way, Mom wants you to run the front counter while she goes to the bank," Asher told him.
Michael just groaned as he got off the bed and headed down to the office, not even bothering to put on his sneakers as he went.
The body of the police officer lay against the wall of the warehouse with his throat slit as Meg stirred her finger around the chalice of blood to make a call.
"Where are you?" Meg asked as she waited for an answer. "Good, then we're ahead of schedule, just stick to our plan. I don't want to be in this mud ball town any longer than I have to. And I thought Hell was tacky. I'll be in contact."
Meg put the chalice down and looked at the dead officer, whose eyes were wide open. "What are you looking at?"
Michael was working the front counter, reading a book on vampire lore when the door opened and a boy his age walked in, while his mother was getting the luggage from the car.
"I need a room for me and my mom," Evan said as he saw the book Michael was reading. "You're into learning about vampires?"
"Did you know that crosses and holy water don't do dick against them?" Michael asked.
"Did you know that salt and wrought iron can fend off demons?" Evan asked in return. It was at that moment that the two young men knew they'd found a friend for life.
While Evan's mother had stepped out to get some groceries, Michael was helping Even put the things away in his room.
"So you and your mom never stay in the same place for too long?" Michael asked.
"My dad has people everywhere," Evan told him. "So we always have to skip town justas we're getting settled. In a few weeks we'll probably be on our way out of town again to find a new place. The last time he caught up to us..." Evan lifted the back of his shirt and showed him the bruises that were just now starting to fade.
"What about the cops?" Michael asked as he put Evan's books on the dresser. He had a lot of stuff on monsters as well, some of which Michael was interested in reading.
"He is a cop," Evan told him. "He's got friends everywhere."
"How'd you get into learning about monster lore?" Michael asked, figuring Evan wanted to change the subject.
"One night I saw a guy get snatched in the parking lot from my window," Evan told him. "The guys who investigated the disappearance made it seem like there was more to it than just a random kidnapping, so I started looking online and... I found some really messed up stuff. The deeper I looked-"
"The more you realized there really was evil stuff out there," Michael said as he put a hand on Evan's shoulder. "I know there's evil stuff out there, too."
The next day at school, Asher was in the cafeteria getting his lunch, looking over at the table where his best friend Ricky was sitting. They had formed a bond while both in the hospital as victims of the Shtriga. They had gotten close to the six other children who had become sick as well, even though one of them was home schooled, and the rest were either in higher or lower grades. Only Asher and Ricky were in the same grade together.
As Asher slid his tray along, hoping to get a slice of pizza before they ran out, he looked up and saw the usual lunch lady wasn't there. He liked Doris, she usually gave him an extra helping of macaroni.
"Where's Doris?" Asher asked the man who looked uncomfortable wearing the hairnet.
"She came down with a terrible virus this morning," the man said as he gave a disturbingly creepy smile. "You must be Asher. She said to give you an extra special slice of pizza."
The man slopped down an extra goopy slice of pizza that looked to have extra cheese on it.
"Uh... thanks," Asher said as he looked at the pizza. It looked kind of gross, but he was really hungry. Michael had woken up late and both had missed breakfast. As he took his lunch to the table, the man just smiled as he fiddled with the ring on his finger, just itching to use it, but knowing that he couldn't do it just yet.
Pestilence would have his turn, and this town would be the first to try out his horrible new epidemic.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Next: What do Meg and Pestilence have planned for the children of Fitchburg? And can Michael and Evan save them before it's too late? Find out in #2, coming in July!