Reigning Terror
It was a cold September night in St. Paul, Minnesota. Temperatures dropped to twenty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. Eighteen-year-old Jake Summers stood in his room upstairs on the second floor, staring at the collection of boxes in front of him filled with his belongings, and sighed in content. He had just been accepted into college and was finally going to move into his new dorm room to experience life outside of his family. Little did he know that his seemingly perfect night would soon become a nightmare.
As he grabbed a copy of Dan Brown's Angels & Demons off his bookshelf, he heard his mother call his name. Two seconds later, she called again, announcing dinner. Suddenly, he felt a cold chill. Puzzled, he looked around and saw that the window was open. He walked towards the window to close it, and headed out the door when it opened again. As he turned around, a thick, black, hazy and lengthy substance was hurled into his mouth. Before he knew it, he was possessed by a demon; his eyes turned black. He blinked again and his eyes went back to normal. He grabbed a sharp scissor from a drawer and headed out the door, yelling "I'm coming!"
He approached the dinner table, his mother scolding him for being late. His father calmed her down, and though still unhappy, she proceeded to say Grace with the family. However, shockingly, Jake repeatedly said the words "God sucks and so does humanity." Outraged, his mother chastised him again, this time accusing him of being an abomination to the family. Filled with anger now, he slowly revealed the scissor. He approached her mother as she cried out to stop. His hand, armed with the scissor, rose as he prepared to stab her—not once, not twice, not three times, but ten. He then proceeded to slash his father's throat, but before he could get to his brother, he suddenly dropped unconsciously to the hardwood floor. His young brother panted in fear, having just witnessed the horror in front of him.
The next morning, Sam and Dean arrived at the crime scene in Dean's black 1967 Chevy Impala, originally their father's car. Approaching the yellow crime scene tape, they routinely flashed their fake FBI badges to on-scene Detective Morrison; Dean being Agent Jones and Sam Agent Johnson. As they surveyed the crime scene, Morrison explained to the Winchesters what the cops knew so far. Dry blood splatter from the father appeared on a nearby wall. The mother's body, now in a body bag, still lay in front of the dining table; the father's body just inches away from the mother.
The two brothers then climbed up the stairs and reached the top when Sam immediately picked up on the strong smell of sulfur.
"Hey bro, you smell that?" he asked Dean, approaching the source.
Dean acknowledged the smell, and it wasn't long before they located the sulfur trail to an open window.
"Son of a bitch", swore Dean as he rubbed the sulfur on his fingers. "Demons."
"No, just one demon," Sam countered, sighing.
"So, what's the deal? What the hell would a demon be doing here in Minnesota?" asked Dean quizzically as they walked back to the Impala.
"Don't know."
"Alright, then let's ask the kid."
Jake Summers sat in the interrogation room dressed in an orange jump suit, waiting patiently. From the moment he regained consciousness following the brutal murders, he insisted he didn't do it. Suddenly, the door opened. Sam and Dean, still dressed as FBI in suits and ties, entered the room. Great… two more cops, he thought to himself. I can still tell the same story and claim I'm innocent. But what would it matter?
The door closed shut, and the brothers introduced themselves.
"First off, what is your name?" asked Sam, making eye contact with the teen from across the table.
"Jake Summers," He replied, clearly unhappy.
"Alright, Jake-"
"Look, I didn't do anything, alright?" he interrupted before Sam could continue. "I swear. I've told the cops that. I've told my young brother that. No one will listen!"
"Alright, kid. Calm down", Dean interjected. "Just tell us what happened?"
"Yeah, like you're going to believe me." Summers scoffed.
"Try us", Sam challenged.
Jake sighed, then proceeded to tell the brothers what he felt he'd processed in his mind.
"So, wait, you think a demon possessed you?" asked Sam.
"Something did. I don't know."
"Is there someone we can warn about this?" Dean asked.
"Well, my brother, Morgan… he's too traumatized to talk right now thanks to what happened, but you can talk to my girlfriend."
Dean took out his cell phone and took note of her address as Jake told him.
"Alright, that's all we need know. Thanks." Dean said.
As the brothers got up to leave the room, Sam looked back at the former college student to catch him blink, then show black eyes. Jake blinked again, and Sam, knowingly seeing evidence validating the boy's claim, left the room.
"So, the kid's got a religious family. That still doesn't tell us squat about why a demon would be possessing him", Dean said, confused.
Not knowing either, Sam suggested maybe Crowley, the King of Hell, was in town, that maybe there was another demon tablet and he's using Jake to get to it.
Dean scoffed.
"Of course, Crowley would do anything to get his hands on a demon tablet." He said.
"Alright, well we got to warn everyone he's close to, the ones remaining that is."
Kate Hendersen, Jake's girlfriend, lived a mile away from him. The Winchesters sat with her in a large living room of the single-story house, questioning her about her boyfriend.
"How long have you been with him?" Dean asked.
"Five years. We met freshman year, dated for a few months, then got together."
"Have you noticed anything unusual about him?" He further questioned.
"No, not that I know of. He's usually been that sweet, loving guy. He's really nice." She said, smiling, softly laughing.
"How about lately?" asked Sam this time.
Kate paused, hesitantly. Immediately, the brothers noticed her facial expression change.
"What? What is it?"
"Something strange happened two nights before the murders happened." Kate said, still confused about the incident.
"It was, like… this meteor rock… or something… that fell through the roof. We were having a party that day." She continued. "As soon as he picked it up to check out, he completely ignored us and headed up to his room. I don't know why. Could that be a part of it?"
Sam and Dean looked at each other, and thanked Kate for her time.
"Oh, and by the way…" Dean said as they headed towards the entrance. "If you see anything else weird, you let us know, alright?"
"Okay, will do."
He warned her to be cautious with handling the situation, and that was the end of that.
As they drove back to the police station, Castiel suddenly appeared sitting in the backseat. As always, Dean – startled by Cas' Houdini act – swerved side to side as a result of being scared half to death.
"Damn it, Cas! What'd I tell you about showing up like that?!" yelled Dean.
"I'm sorry," said Cas, apologetically. "However, there is something I need to warn you two about."
"What's that?" Sam asked.
"I heard you two were working on a case together on a boy named Jake Summers," he said.
"Yeah, what about it?" asked Dean.
"The so-called meteor rock Kate told you about… it's another demon tablet."
Although Dean shouldn't have been shocked, his expression certainly showed it.
"Of course, as you may already know by now, Crowley's already got his hands… inside of him."
Confused, Dean asked what Castiel meant with his phrasing. Sam quickly reminded him the demon possessing Jake.
"Oh, okay. So, what? The demon-"
Before Dean could say any further, Castiel revealed that the demon is Crowley himself.
"Wait, what?!"
Before Cas could reiterate himself, the trio found the police station completely decimated.
"Aw, crap…" Dean frustratingly exclaimed.
They surveyed what was left of the building and found numerous bodies of law enforcement officials.
As Sam headed towards the jail cells, he noticed one that was open. Presuming it was Jake's doing, he called to the attention of Dean and Cas.
"No." Cas said, worried.
He sighed.
"Jake must be heading towards his brother now. This is Crowley's doing. He still has unfinished business."
Immediately, Dean started to devise a plan.
"Sam and I will go to his house and try to warn his brother. Cas, you head to Kate's house in case he heads there. Let's go."
"Wait, Dean", said Sam. "I'll go to Kate's house. You and Cas go check on his brother."
"Sam, I'm not leaving you alone", insisted Dean as usual.
"I can handle myself."
The trio hesitantly paused for a few seconds before Castiel broke the silence, pointing out that the situation was dire and time was limited.
Finally, Dean gave in, but not before warning Sam to be careful. Per the plan, Dean and Cas dropped him off to Kate's house before heading to Jake's. As Dean and Cas drove to the two-story house, they immediately noticed Jake, but a storm from behind them was also fast approaching.
"Oh, no," Cas said despairingly. "We need to get there as fast as we can. They're coming."
"Demons?"
"Crowley's men!" Cas shouted.
It was too late. The two black hazy funnels smashed through the windows of the Summers'. Dean quickly pulled his Impala onto the driveway and stepped out of the car, armed with Ruby's knife. Cas, in turn, stepped out of the car, armed with an Angel Blade. They chased Jake into the house, but before they could get to Morgan, Jake's little brother, they were immediately thrown into bookshelves by Jake, whom the King of Hell was possessing.
Helpless, the two could only watch as one of the demons appeared out of Jake's room with the demon tablet.
As Dean reached for Ruby's knife, Jake kicked it away.
"So, tell me, Dean. How does it feel to be helpless again?" he mocked.
Then Crowley flowed out of Jake's mouth, again retaining his original human form. Jake fell to the floor, and slowly realized what he was seeing.
"Wha… what is this? Where am I? Who are you?!" he asked, eventually shouting.
"Your worst nightmare, unless you team up with me", Crowley threatened.
"No… No! Kate! Where's Kate?" he cried as he ran towards the door, only to have Dean and Cas stop him.
"You're not touching him," Dean threatened, with Ruby's knife in hand.
"Oh, but we are," said Crowley.
The King of Hell snapped his fingers, and suddenly they were gone.
"Damn it!" Dean swore. "Now we got to drive all the way to Kate's."
"No, we don't," said Cas, as he put his hand on Dean's forehead and closed his eyes.
As Sam and Kate waited, Kate sat on a couch, still puzzled.
"So wait, you guys aren't FBI agents? You're hunters?" she asked.
"Yeah, we're hunters. We hunt monsters, ghosts, everything you can name," Sam replied.
Kate chuckled and shook her head, but before she could say anymore, she heard a voice right in front of them.
She turned and looked.
"Who are you? What are you- Sam?" she asked, panicking.
"No need to panic, darling" Crowley playfully said. "I only ask that you cooperate."
"Cooperate for what?" Sam retorted, butting in.
Crowley looked back at Jake.
"Jake!" Kate screamed.
"No worries, sweetheart. We've got him covered. We just wanted to say our goodbyes to you. That's all. Right, Jake?"
"Jake, Jake, baby, what's going on?" Kate asked as tears strolled down her face.
"It's hard to explain. I-", Jake said before getting cut off by Crowley.
"Crowley, hand over the demon tablet," demanded Castiel, speaking for the first time since they arrived.
"How about one simple answer, Cas?" chuckled Crowley. "No."
"Don't make me use my Angel Blade-"
"Oh, and use your angelic powers on me? Well, then… I see how it is," Crowley mocked as he revealed his Demon blade.
"No, we could kill innocent people, Crowley. Most of all, we could get Jake killed."
"Your idea, not mine", said Crowley, continuing to mock the Angel. "I knew you couldn't do it. Face it, Cas. You've got nothing left to fight for. Heaven's a mess, and you're stuck with these two boys. Pathetic. I truly wish this truly ended on a better note."
With a snap of his fingers, Crowley vanished, along with the two demons, Jake, and the Demon tablet.
A distraught Kate looked on, before hugging Sam, breaking down in tears.
An hour later after the incident, a calmer Kate bid farewell to the trio. The brothers told her to be careful and look out for herself, but at the same time, not to stress too much about it.
Dean sighed as they walked back towards the Impala, just a mile away at the Summers' home.
"Damn it," he swore under his breath.
"It's going to be okay, Dean," Cas assured him. "The war's far from over. We'll get him back."
"I sure hope so", replied Dean.
As Dean started up the engine, he blasted AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" before they drove off into the distance.