It was never meant to be this hard. Sam and Dean had gone through many schools and been the "new kids" too many times. But starting at a new school had never been this hard before and Dean thought he knew why. They had been to this school before so they weren't exactly new kids, they were simply "returning new kids" which seemed to be harder. The school was small but it got consistently good results from students and was considered to be one of the better schools in that state. The teachers worked hard and were nice enough and the students got along as well as could be expected. They were teenagers after all. On the whole the school itself wasn't a bad place but the reason it was so hard to return was that Sam and Dean had experienced one of the saddest goodbyes at this particular school when they had left.
Dean opened the door to the Principle's office and Sam walked in first. When the door closed the secretary glanced up at them. The shock on her face was evident but she quickly covered it by smiling warmly at the boys.
'Welcome back, boys. Take a seat.' Sam and Dean sat down in the plastic chairs that lined the room and remained still and silent until they were allowed into to see the Principal. The Principal, Mrs. Henderson, sat behind her desk signing some papers. She was a good-looking woman in her late forties with light blonde hair and dark brown eyes. John had been especially taken with her, as she seemed to understand his continuing pain at the loss of his wife even though it had occurred many years earlier.
'Welcome back, Dean, Sam. Please, sit down. How's your dad?'
'He's okay.' Dean said. He had liked the Principal as well, even though she was a figure of authority. Sam nodded without looking up at her. Dean rested a hand on Sam's shoulder. Henderson smiled slightly. All of the boy's teachers had remarked on the seemingly unbreakable bond between the brothers.
'Good. Alright, I'm assuming that you'll want to be in the same classes that you were in when you were last here, yes?' Both boys nodded. 'Not a problem. Normally I would ask to see your references but I already know them and so you may go. I'm glad to see you boys again I have to say. I hope you'll stay longer than two weeks this time.' The boy's stood up to leave. 'Dean, can I have a private word with you.' Dean nodded at Sam who went outside and sat back down on the plastic chairs. Dean sat back down at Henderson's desk.
'I just want to know why you boys are back here. I'm not saying we don't want you back but it is a little strange. When your father pulled you out last year he said that you wouldn't ever be coming back. And now you're back and you've re-enrolled here after such a heartfelt goodbye with your friends.' Dean was silent as she said all of this and he was wishing that she hadn't asked him. For some reason he had never liked lying to this woman who had been so kind to him and Sam.
'Don't know, Miss. Sam was pretty upset after Dad pulled us out and so was I. And as you know Dad's job takes us everywhere and this time it brought us back here for whatever reason. We are glad to be back but at the same time we don't want to be here. Especially after the goodbye we had last time.' Mrs. Henderson didn't know if she should believe him or not but decided not to question him.
'Okay. You can go. Welcome back.'
Dean and Sam went out of the office and walked through the familiar halls to their lockers. They had ended up with the same lockers as last time and Dean was surprised when he opened his and found a football sitting in there.
'I think the last dude that had this locker forgot something.' Sam had a look and smiled.
'Dean, you were the last dude to have that locker. You left that there on purpose. Said something about leaving the memories behind.'
'Oh yeah. Makes sense.'
'Sam!' A yell nearby caused both brothers to turn in search of the sound and quickly found it. A teenage boy was smiling and waving at Sam, whose face spilt into a huge grin.
'Hugo!' The two boys embraced in a very manly way and then stood back to look at each other properly.
'You got your braces off!'
'You got taller!' The boys laughed and Hugo turned to Dean. 'Hey Dean.'
'Hey Hugo.' The two shook hands.
'Dean?' This time it was Dean's turn to be reunited with an old friend.
'Jet!' The two boys embraced in a very manly way and then stood back to look at each other properly.
'You haven't changed a bit.'
'Same to you.' The boys laughed and Jet turned to Sam. 'Hey Sam.'
'Hey Jet.' The two shook hands and then they all went their separate ways.
*
Dean and Jet walked down the hall with many people yelling out to Dean, who casually waved back at most of them. A few were good enough to warrant a handshake and a pat on the back but not many.
'Why'd you guys come back to this place?' Jet asked suddenly. Dean dropped his hand and smiled.
'Dad.'
'Say no more.' Jet waved his hand. 'Anyway, the team can't wait to see you again. C'mon.'
*
Sam and Hugo walked down the hall with many people yelling out to Sam, who casually waved back at most of them. A few were good enough to warrant a handshake and a pat on the back but not many.
'Why'd you guys come back to this place?' Hugo asked suddenly. Sam dropped his hand and smiled.
'Dad.'
'Say no more.' Hugo waved his hand. 'Anyway, the team can't wait to see you again. C'mon.'
*
Several blocks away John was getting groceries and was surprised that he could remember his way around the place even though they had only stayed there a few weeks. He threw some cereal into the trolley and kept going. He hadn't really wanted to drag his boy's back to the town because he knew how much their departure last time had hurt them. And he didn't want to hurt his sons. But there was a job in this town and John had no choice. Babies were being killed and John hated it when a child died. Especially young children.
John paid for the groceries and headed back to the motel to begin sifting through research. The main question he faced: what kind of creature killed babies?
*
As many students know the first day back at school after a holiday is always annoying and yet so much fun that the just gone holidays are forgotten. That is what it was like for Sam and Dean back at the school they had left twelve months earlier. Those months seemed like nothing more than an extended holiday as Dean rejoined the football team and Sam rejoined the Chess team. They got reacquainted with friends that they'd missed and people who they had barely spoken to the first time round. They re-met teachers who they had both liked and disliked. Dean went back to a janitor's cupboard with the same girl he had last been in there with. And got another detention for it. Sam handed in a test that he had been told wasn't necessary for him to do. And got an A on it.
In all the brothers picked up where they had left off and no one asked what they had been doing for the last year. Everyone remembered that the Winchester boys didn't generally talk about themselves or each other. They kept quite and somehow that was just fine with everyone.
*
John wasn't having as good a time as his boys were. He was having some problems trying to work out what kind of creature would kill babies. He very quickly decided to take a page out Sam's book and took a walk to clear his head. John walked along the familiar streets and smiled at a few people he recognized from their last stay there. Their last departure hadn't been easy for him either and he was dreading having to leave again. He knew that his boys felt the same way even if they wouldn't say it in so many words. John slipped into a diner and ordered some lunch. He sat staring out the window and his thoughts turned to Mary. John wondered if she was disappointed in him for the way that he was raising their sons. He was well aware that Mary had been a hunter and that she hadn't wanted to raise Dean and Sam in the same way that she had been raised. But she wasn't there to decide so it was left up to him. He had done everything to the best of his ability but he knew it wasn't good enough. Sam and Dean needed a mother figure but John couldn't provide one for them and he wasn't sure he wanted to.
*
Dean couldn't remember a time when he had ever been so happy. He was in a school, yes, but he happened to like this school. He had friends who were his own age and they didn't ask too many questions, unlike many adults. He was popular with and females and enjoyed their company immensely. Quite simply in this school Dean felt like a normal teenager. Dean had always wanted to find a place that he felt normal and somehow this school had given him that. He didn't know what to make of it. It wasn't that he enjoyed school. It was more that he enjoyed the people in the school. Dean knew that they would have to leave again as soon as John had finished the job bit he ignored that. Dean couldn't think about that. Everything was right in the world. At least for now.
*
Sam was happy and he was having fun. He had liked the school when they had first enrolled and he liked it even better the second time around. He had friends his own age and they were cool, if only in Sam's eyes. He was popular enough and he enjoyed much of the attention he got. Quite simply in this school Sam felt like a normal teenager. Sam had always longed to be in a place where he felt like a normal kid and he had somehow found it in the school. Although Sam liked the school, he liked the people better. Sam knew that they would have to leave again as soon as John had finished the job bit he ignored that. Sam couldn't think about that. Everything was right in the world. At least for now.
*
When John got back to the motel room he called Bobby for some advice.
'Bobby? It's John.'
'John. What trouble are you in now?' Came the reply from the seasoned hunter. Despite himself John smiled.
'No trouble, Bobby. Just calling to let you know I'm looking into that case you gave me. The dead babies turning up all over the place?'
'Ah, yeah, I remember. So, can't work it out?'
'Nope. Any ideas?'
'Yeah, let your boys help.' Bobby hung up his end and John stared at the phone, silently mouthing what Bobby had said. He didn't want to involve his boys in this but they were smart and he could do with some fresh eyes.
*
That afternoon Sam stood leaning against the Impala waiting for Dean to turn up. It had been like this the last time as well. Sam didn't mind. He wasn't really on his own. Other students walked past. Some didn't pay him any attention but then a lot of kids smiled or waved a yelled out to him. After a few minutes Hugo appeared next to him and they started going over the homework they had been assigned by several teachers. All of who had told Sam he didn't have to do it even though they all remembered that Sam Winchester always did his homework unlike Dean Winchester.
' Hey, Sam!' Sam looked up and saw Jet striding over to them.
'Hey, Jet.'
'Dean told me to tell you that he won't be too much longer. We got caught up with Coach on the field.'
'That's okay. Thanks, Jet.'
'Sure thing, Sammy.' Jet turned and left and Hugo smiled.
'See you later, Sammy!' Hugo laughed and ran off before Sam could say anything.
A few other football players waved at Sam. Because he was Dean's brother no one on the football picked on him for being a nerd and because of that Hugo was left alone by most of them as well. Even after Sam and Dean had left the football team had left Hugo alone. It was a testament to the staying power of friendship.
'Sorry I'm late, Sammy. Coach was grilling me for mucking around. Stupid dude should know better.'
'That's all right. Jet told me.' Dean nodded and they got into the Impala.
*
When they got back to the motel Dean pulled into a space and they went into their room to find John sitting at the table waiting for them. He motions at the two spare chairs and, after dropping their bags, the boys sit down.
'How was it?'
'Fine.' Dean and Sam replied automatically and at the same time. John merely smiled and nodded, knowing better.
'I want you boys to have a look at this for me and tell me what you think.' John slid over a manila folder and the brothers went through it together. John noticed that both of them winced slightly when they read how the babies died. 'I know it's gruesome but that's job,' he said quietly. He didn't mean it in a nasty way and Sam and Dean knew that.
'Do you know what it is yet?' Dean asked, still looking at a crime scene photo of the most recent dead baby that had been found without its eyes and heart.
'Not yet. Which is why I'm asking my boys to have a look. If I knew I wouldn't have showed this to you.' Sam and Dean finished going through the folder and sat back, thinking. Sam was first to speak.
'Demon,' Sam had said it so simply that he startled his father and brother. Sam looked at both of them and sighed. Sometimes they could be really thick. 'In the police report it made a reference to some powder on the ground. Orange looking powder. It also said that the powder had disappeared and that there was a strange smell in the air. Therefore, demon.'
John and Dean were silent. They were staring at Sam who simply opened the police report and pushed it over to his father. John read through it and then sighed.
'Well, would you look at that.' Dean read through it and slapped Sam on the back.
'Well done, Sammy.'
'Its Sam, Dean. Not Sammy.'
'Whatever.' John called Bobby to let him know but not before telling the boys to do their homework.
*
Jet sat at home flicking through the channels. There was nothing on. His parents wouldn't back till later and his sister was out with some friends. Jet decided to go for a walk, something he didn't do very often, and grabbed his jacket.
Walking along the streets Jet found himself enjoying the sunshine. It was beautiful day and he realised that he would've been a fool if he had missed the day because of television. Jet turned down an alley that wasn't really an ally because so many people walked through it to get through to the other street and then across the road to the mall. That day no one was walking through the alley but whenever someone walked past they looked down the alley. Jet walked through feeling comfortable. No one had ever been attacked in the alley. Just the Jet sees something. Something that will haunt his dreams for weeks. It's a leg sticking out from the other side of the dumpster. Jet walked forward and fell away from the sight.
A young girl was lying there on the floor, having been dumped unceremoniously by some sicko. Jet recognised her as his cousin, Gracie. Ten year old Gracie. She was missing her eyes and there was a gaping hole in her chest and the noticeable absence of her once beating heart.
Jet called 9-1-1 and then he called Dean.
*
When his phone rang Dean thought it was nothing serious. When Jet whispered a strained hello Dean began to worry.
'Jet? What's up, dude?' There was silence and then…
'She's dead. Oh God, Dean, she's dead…' Dean's heart skipped a beat.
'Who, Jet? Who's dead?' Dean glanced at his father who quickly went over to the police scanner.
'Gracie, oh God, Gracie…'
'Gracie? Your cousin Gracie?'
'Yeah… Gracie? Gracie?' Dean listened to his friend and realised that Jet had probably just found his cousin's body and was freaking out.
'Dude, where are you?'
'In the alley that leads to the mall. I called the cops too.'
'I'll be there in a minute. Stay there, Jet, I'm coming.'
*
When Dean reached the alley it was a bona fide crime scene. Jet was sitting with some paramedics who were treating him for shock. Dean walked over and Jet jumped to his feet when he saw Dean and promptly collapsed into Dean's arms. Dean sat him back as the cops came over.
'Jet we need to ask you a few questions real quick. Is that okay?' Jet nodded. 'Tell us what happened.'
'I went for walk. I don't normally go for walks but I was… bored, I guess. I was walking past the alley and decided to go to the mall. I saw her leg first.' Jet bowed his head and started sobbing. Dean placed a hand on his back.
'Okay, Jet. Did you notice anything else?'
'No. Everything seemed fine.' Jet put his head in his hands and kept sobbing. Gracie's parents turned up at that moment and demanded to see their daughter. John managed to restrain them for the cops and took them aside to try and calm them down a bit. Jet's parents turned up next and Dean left his friend with them and joined John and Sam.
'What did Jet say?' Dean repeated what Jet had told the police. 'Hmm, her eyes and heart are missing. But it doesn't fit. She was ten not a baby.'
'Maybe the demon needs stronger eyes and hearts so its going for older kids?' Sam chipped in. John scowled.
'Probably but I really hope that's not the case. Otherwise this is just gonna get so much worse.'
*
All that night John sat at the small table pouring over everything he had on the case plus the unfortunate evidence from the case of Jet's cousin.
*
At school the next day Jet and his sister, Heather, were noticeably absent and the school held an assembly. Dean watched Sam sitting next to Hugo and sighed. What had started out as a great time had turned into a personal hunt. Jet was the best friend Dean had ever, and would ever have, besides Sam. Sitting in the hall with the rest of the football team, Dean made a silent promise to himself, Gracie, Jet, Sam and all the dead babies. I, Dean Winchester, promise that I will find and kill this thing
*
Sam sat in the hall, next to Hugo, listening to the teacher talk about what had happened to Gracie. Jet and Heather weren't there and Sam felt terrible. He couldn't believe that someone they knew had been personally affected by a hunt they were on. And it disgusted him that they had allowed this to happen. Sam could see Dean sitting with the football team and knew that Dean would try to find this thing on his own. And so Sam made a silent promise to himself, Gracie, Jet, Dean and all the dead babies. I, Sam Winchester, promise that I will help Dean and Dad find and kill this thing
*
In a remote farmhouse on the edges of the town a woman in a long black dress stood at an altar. Arranged on the altar were several hearts and pairs of eyes. To any normal person the sight would have been vomit inducing but to the woman the sight was a not yet completed feast. For this woman planned to eat all the eyes and hearts but she needed one more set. One person had to be caught and mutilated before she could feast properly. She needed a young boy. A young high school boy. She looked down at the picture of him she'd taken the day before at the girl's crime scene and smiled, running her blood covered fingers down the boys face leaving blood stains.