Chapter 1: "The curious case of Derek Taylor"

I knew my house was dangerous, I just knew it. Looking up at my mother, she just confirmed it by looking at the house. The once giant, big house, in Iowa

Falls. I looked up to the house again, knowing that we now wouldn't have any places to crash anymore. I sighed and turned to my younger brother, whom seemed to look rather enjoying at the house-fire. I looked over to our mother again, who fell to her knees. I tried to grab her, but my younger brother came before me and got a hold of her. I sighed and looked long at him, with all my suspicion at him – he looked far too happy for this to be an accident. Had he really gone so far, to setting our house to fire? To, what, get even at me being able to get the girls in my class, and that he didn't? God damn, I was in University, for Christ's sake! Couldn't he just leave it alone, just once? Our father was in there, he hadn't been able to get out… the roof had fallen over him, right before my eyes. I couldn't do a thing… I couldn't save him. And our older brother... what would've he have said? I wouldn't tell about my suspicions, of course, to help my brother… I didn't want him to get his future destroyed, no matter if he had killed our father or a stranger, or if he had put our house on fire or not. It wasn't up to me to decide.

The fire died along with the water pouring at it. When the fire was gone, after a couple of hours, they went into the remaining house and found the body of my father – I couldn't watch, my mother was screaming in agony, she cursed like I never had heard her curse before. I could understand… my brother started screaming too, and I felt the tears running down my nose. And still… I couldn't look at the burned body they carried outside. Why did it have to happen… why did things happen to our family? To us? To me? Nothing seemed like real… it seemed like… what, a nightmare? That in any second now, I would just… wake up, and it all would be over. I would glare up in my ceiling, the boring, greenish ceiling in the second floor. My mother fell over, and fainted as we could smell the burned flesh. I didn't want to look… but I had to confirm it. Had to see if it really was real. I could see the black hand, the burned and crushed hand, hanging from the trolley that the ambulance was using to get him into the ambulance. I could see a finger was missing… and a bone in the hand was sticking out. I felt the vomit getting up in my throat; I looked away as soon as I could… I didn't want to see any more.

Later on the day, or evening, my mother came out of the police office – she had to give a statement, in fact, we all had to give a statement. We left the police office together, and went to the first motel we found. We had no other places to crash – we had no money, really, but the police office had given us 500 bucks, so we could stay at a motel until we got new bank cards. A couple of days later, we got a letter and new bank cards. When the letter came, it was from the police department, and they had searched the remaining's of the house – they had found out what the cause of the fire was.

"They're calling it a gas leak? Seriously? We had those pipes checked the same day, for Christ's sake!" I yelled and threw the letter away from myself. My mother hugged me, and looked me in the eyes. I could see she tried to stay strong, for us, the children. But I wasn't a child… she should've been more protective over my little brother, Martin.
"Mom… do you know where Martin went now? Is he at the arcade?" she nodded and smiled a bit. She hadn't said a word since the fire, but that didn't mean I wouldn't try to figure out what really had happened. As I was a student in the University of Iowa, studying Arts, I had nothing at all to go on. But some place I had to start.

The next I found myself in doing, was heading to the library, for some reason. I wasn't really sure what to look for – any explanation why a wire, that had been checked for safety earlier that day. Something had to be up with it. I just… couldn't put my finger to it. When I felt the smell of my dad's flesh, I remembered I had felt that smell earlier on the day… but why? Like burned flesh? Or sulfur, perhaps? I wasn't really sure… after I had spent some time in there, trying to find anything, I gave up and went to a diner. I had to be mental, trying to figure out anything at all. I had no idea where to look. Or what to look for. As I sat down, the waitress came along, introduced herself at Naomi something-something. I ordered a burger, a glass of water and a beer. She came back after a few seconds with the beer and water, and said the burger would take some time. I didn't blink, and tried to focus on what was before me. I could notice two guy's, probably in their mid-twenties. One, with long, brown hair, neat clothing and a giant back. The other, short brown hair and a bit more untidy clothing, and a bit smaller than the other one. I could hear what they were talking about… a burned house… a case…
"…it is a case, I know it! Something had to be happening in that house. Nothing like that just… happens. I found one of the kids living in the house at the arcade – he didn't seem to know anything, but they are staying at a motel…" the largest of them, looking quite as a moose, said and started dragging out some papers.

"Actually, they are staying at the same motel as we are, actually." He added, and the other guy nodded, with his mouth full of food, he answered.
"Good, we'll go there after we've eaten. God… I'm starving…" he took another giant bite of the burger he was holding, and as I focused back at my table, I thought it – no, I knew, there was something more to the fire than what appeared to the eye. I got my burger and laughed, as I knew it was the same burger that the other guy had ordered. I could see it on the bread. The rough bread. I smiled and took a bite.

When I got home to the motel, it was before the other guy's came to it. I had seen them coming to the motel, after me, but they still hadn't coming, knocking on the door. After a moment or two, it just did. I rose and opened the door, and the two guy's from the diner stood there, now in suits. They showed me a badge from the Fed's. I smiled a bit, kind of because I had understood that they weren't fed's, and because I had been right.
"Hi, my name is Ben Laurent, this is my partner, Robert Paulus. We're with the FBI, wondering if we could ask a few questions about the house fire?" the smallest of them asked. I showed them in, and as we entered the living room, they looked a bit around in the motel-room, out of curiosity. We sat down around a table, and my mom looked at the two men, in shock.
"I just wondered… it was a gas leak, wasn't it?" I asked, and the men nodded.
"We just got to consider every possibility. First, did you or your mother, feel anything weird on that day, like you were high?" if I answered yes to this, I knew it would be as if it really was a gas leak. I wanted the truth to come forth – not the stupid excuse that it was a gas leak.
"No, I didn't at least. Don't know about my mom, or my little brother, though." I answered as truthfully as I could.
"But there was something… I couldn't get rid of the smell… of like… rotten eggs, or burnt flesh…" the two men looked at each other, then back at me. The smallest started smiling a bit, as if this answer humored him.
"Did you see something out of line?" he asked. I rose to my feet, and looked long at him – did I see something out of line? Yes! I saw my frigging home, burning to the ground! I sighed and sat down again.
"No… nothing. No sight of anything. Until… the fire burst out of nowhere. From the ceiling. From the walls. It just… came out of nowhere." The two men now looked shocked – the largest man slurped his lips together in a tight line, and looked over to our mother. As I thought about it, I could be in the same age as him.
"Could we talk to your mom for a second?" she looked shocked and went out of the room. I sighed and shocked my head.
"She hasn't said a single thing since that day. Not since she left the police department." I said, as the two looked down to the ground.
"By the way, I heard about your loss. We're sorry. But we got to dash, can we come back later, by any chance, see if your brother remembers anything?" I nodded, and they rose.
"What's your name, by the way?" the largest, named Robert Paulus, asked me.
"Oh, it's Derek Taylor." I answered and the man nodded and went out of the room. They had seemed to enjoy my answers, but they didn't ask much about anything else than those two questions. Why those? Were they planning on asking anything more, but had to go as they said? I was unsure.

I went to the closest computer when they had left, and searched the internet for what I had just told them – and what they had asked me. I tried for example, "smelling sulfur in my home" and stuff like that, but I didn't get any real results. Until I searched "sulfur and sighting in home" – and I came into and occult website. I laughed a bit, and then I started reading what was there – seeing a demon, smelling a demon and such. I opened my mouth, and saw they could do impossible things. I turned my head over to my mom, who now had come back to the room. I minimized the window, and turned around to her. She didn't smile, and I could see her tears. She lay down on the couch, and turned on the TV, started to watch a soap-opera. I sighed a bit, and turned to the computer again. A laptop I had bought after the fire. I turned the screen so that my mom wouldn't see the site I was at that moment. I couldn't risk that she thought I might've gone mad – even though, I was pretty sure she had. The silence, I kept reading on the webpage, while I heard sort of sobs coming from my mom. She was still pretty shaken up… losing the love of your life that way… I couldn't imagine.

I had a friend up at the university, who had heard about the house-fire. I entered my e-mail, and opened a mail from her. She said she had tried calling me, worried sick about wheather or not I was alive after the fire. I rplied I had lost my phone it the fire, but was unharmed. I told her about the things I was trying to figure out. As I sent it, I heard it knocking on the door. I minimized the website and opened the door. The two guy's from earlier looked at me, smiling reassuring. It didn't feel reassuring that the Fed's came back so soon. Hadn't my answers earlier satisfied them?
"We got to talk to your mother." Mr. Laurent demanded. I shocked my head, and closed the door behind me as I exited the room.
"My mother is in shock. She won't talk. To anyone. You think that a demand from fake Fed's will change that?" Laurent looked over to Paulus, and started to laugh.
"Fake Fed's? You want to talk to our superior?" I laughed and shocked my head.
"I don't want to talk to some creepy old dude hanging around his scrap-yard, drinking as hell and lying good on the phone." I said, not knowing where it came from.
"If you're Fed's, bring me in." I smiled and they shocked their heads. Then they took off their tights, and looked shocked on me.
"How did you know of Bobby?" Laurent asked. I raised a brow, and looked at them both.
"Who's Bobby?" I asked and they sighed in relief.
"I am Dean Winchester, and this…"
"I'm Sam, nice meeting you." I sighed and turned around to look at my door. So the Fed's weren't really Fed's as I had thought – could I be smarter than I thought?
"What attacked us, home?" I asked, still my gaze was fixed on the wall. They didn't seem to answer.
"I know about Demon's and those things, okay?" Sam pressed his brows together, and looked worried over at Dean, who laughed a bit in amusement, and pointed first at Sam, then at me. Then he got serious.
"Derek, is it okay I call you Derek? Look, we're not sure. But most likely? An Demon." Dean answered. I looked down at my feet now. How come I just… knew?
"But no matter what kind of Demon it was… it seems like it's gone." I turned to them, with fright in my eyes, and the burning feeling in my stomach. Just as when the fire had started…
"I need a coke… follow me outside?" I asked, and they nodded as we walked out.
"Can I help… out in any way?" Dean shocked his head as I paid the vending machine. His mouth was a firm line, and he closed his eyes for a minute.
"You can help with one thing…" he mumbled. I tried to listen closer to what he said, and a little smirk gathered around his mouth.
"Stay safe." The brothers was about to walk away, when they both turned around. I too, turned to the motel, looked at it – it was a very strong scent that came to my nose.
"Sulfur?" Sam looked over at his brother, and he nodded. My eyes opened even more, and was about to run in to grab my little brother who walked inside – and as he had closed the door, I felt a shockwave, which made me fly backwards, from the motel. I heard an loud ringing in my ears, and I pressed my hands to my ears, trying to make it stop. Then I saw the motel – it was practically everywhere. I shouted, and got dragged up. I started to walk towards the motel, but I was being held back – a hand had grabbed me, and without question, the arm dragged me away. After a few feet, the person who grabbed me turned me around and looked me into the eyes – I could see Dean's green eyes, as I noticed he was yelling at me.
"Dammit, boy, snap out of it!" I shocked my head, and he sighed in relief.
"Good. Now, we got to get out of here, it will be weird if the police found you at two scenes with fire, we got to go, now!" I shocked my head and turned to the motel.
"My family is in there!"
"Nothing you can to for them, this thing, it is aiming your family, you are not safe!"
"Like I care!" I said and got loose from his grab. I started walking, then running, and when I finally reached the motel again, I looked at it with great eyes. My mouth, almost fell to the ground, and my stomach… did a twist. A twist that hurt. It ached. I started going into the burning building, but Dean held me back. He laid his phone back in his pocket, and looked at me.
"We got to go. Sam and I, are going to find you again. I promise." He said. I nodded weakly and fell to my knees. How would my family have survived the explosion? I could still hear the ringing. I looked down at my arm, and to my surprise, I was bleeding. I shocked it away, and after a few seconds more the police, the firemen and three or four ambulances came. They drove me to the hospital after asking me bunch of things, and they sewed my arm. I was obviously lucky I hadn't broken the damn thing, but that was me, wasn't it? Just plain… lucky.

As I was leaving the hospital, the two brothers smiled and shook my hand. I looked confused at them, then I remembered them. They had also driven the ambulance I was in… how could they do all these things in so little time?
"There our cousin is! How are you, I saw the explosion on the Telly and saw you'd been driven here. Or, at least I hoped it was you…" Dean started. A security guard looked at us in disbelief, but I acknowledged it. So, we were going to pretend to be cousins… worked for me.
"Yeah… guy's can I crash at your place? Seeing my home is burned and everything…" I mumbled. The boys looked at each other, then they said yes. I smiled and we walked out to the car. Sam and Dean sat both in front of it – I sat in the backseat. They drove to a new motel, and checked us in. When we entered our room, I sat down, not wanting to talk, sleep or eat. I wanted to listen to music. My CD-collection was gone to hell, my new computer was gone to hell… my ID had gone to hell. I had nothing.
"Are you… are you okay?" Sam asked, looking at me. I looked up at him, and nodded.
"Yeah, just… Just fine." I was able to say. The two brothers looked at each other, then at me again. They were silent for a moment, and then they sat down on each of their bed ends.
"We will take care of you. We will help you." Dean said, and Sam continued.
"And I will train you to be able to defend yourself against Demons. " as he said, he looked around at the windows, walked to his duffel bag and took out salt.
"Rule number one while staying with us – remember to always salt the door and windows. Spirits can't cross it." Dean had gotten red paint, and started painting on the floor. He leaved a carpet over it, and rose up and looked at my shocked face.
"What?" he asked and walked away from where he had painted and sat on his bed again. We had a big room with three single beds. Two beds were in the same room, while one bed had a room of its own. The case was not closed… this case, with this demon, had only begun.
"I'm going to kill this Demon." I said out, perhaps a bit more harsh than what I meant. But they understood.
"You can join the case." Sam smiled and dragged his hair from his face. I looked hesitated on him. I didn't know a thing about anything. Why would he want me on it? I didn't ask the question, of course.
"It is getting late. I'm going out." Dean said and left the motel room – I could see the stars in his eyes as he did. I looked curiously over at Sam, who just shocked his head.
"I think I might be a bit of an sex-addict." He admitted and sighted a bit before he looked at me.
"That, under the carpet, is a Devil's Trap. Oh, it traps Demons. They can't move in them." Sam said and rose.
"I'll leave you to it. I got… to do… something." He said and left the room he too. What…?

I'm not staying true to where things are happening in the timeline of Supernatural.
It is very new to me, at all, to write at this site, so if I do anything wrong, please do let me know.
Derek Taylor is my own character.