Making my return to writing with a new fandom I have fallen into, and I don't plan on leaving it anytime soon. I am planning on getting back into my previous stories but I don't want to force anything as it tends to come out wrong sounding when I do. Well here is this story, hope you like it.
My life was a pretty boring one, college during the day then working a crappy job to pay the bills at night, rather average but I'm happy in it. Working at night meant I see my fair share of strange things, mostly drunks and a few wackos that mumble strange things and then the usual drunk or two. As strange as that all is, however, it could never prepare me for what happened that night, and how it would change my world forever.
"Seth, someone at register 1," my manager called to me, stopping me in the middle of my nightly duties. Walking to my register I found a woman tapping her fingernails on the counter, dressed rather nicely and seeming totally out of place for a small town like mine. She looked like she belonged in some cosmopolitan area where trending shops lined the streets rather than a Sears and a Taco Bell like my town.
"Can I help you," I asked in my best 'retail' voice, a fake smile on my face as I tried to come across as courteous.
"Yeah….hey you wouldn't happen to be Seth would you," she asked, an unsettling smile gracing her face? It was the tone of her voice that struck me the most, like someone trying to act like they were much nicer than they really were and you should trust them completely.
"That would be me," I answered with a chuckle, pretty sure I was going to have another strange story to add to my list by the time this transaction was done. I always got a little uncomfortable when a customer I didn't know called me by name, yes I was wearing a nametag but it still felt off for some reason.
"I'm Carol, we've been looking for you," she said as she leaned across the counter closer to me.
"We," I asked confused? I looked around the store a little, checking to see if maybe she had come in with other people, maybe someone I knew possibly.
"Yes we, for quite some time too," she smiled, cocking her head to the side.
"STEP AWAY FROM THE BOY," announced a gruff voice, cutting through the growing unease.
"Dean Winchester, as I live and breathe," Carol smiled sweetly, turning to face a pair of men by the door.
"Unfortunately," Dean answered as he drew closer.
"Seth you need to step away from her," the other man said, looking at me nervously.
"What's going on," I asked confused, but still following the advice of the man at the door.
"What do you have against me Sam, I've never done a thing to you," Carol cooed, her voice taking on a saccharine like quality.
"Or option number two, you people just hash out your problems on your own and I'll just be over there," I tried to joke, jumping back a good couple feet when Carol's face snapped towards me, her eyes now the color of tar. I would have run had my back not been against the literal wall at the moment, pressing myself back against it harder as if I thought I could just phase through it.
"Sorry, that's just not going to happen," she smirked, lunging across the counter at me. Not knowing what to do I hit the ground, a shot ringing out through the store as I heard Carol yell, hitting the ground and skidding a few feet away.
"What's going on out here," my manager yelled, sprinting towards the front.
"The problem is you were supposed to have him subdued by the time I got here," Carol snapped, glaring at my manager Kent as she got up, brushing off the front of her pant-suit. Logically I knew that there should have been some sort of wound but never having seen one I didn't know what to expect. I did, however, know enough to wonder why she was walking around fine when she should have been on the floor in pain at the least.
"I'm short staffed tonight, I had to have him on the floor," he tried to argue.
"Seriously, you needed him to work," she scoffed, all while this was going on Sam and Dean were taking advantage of the momentary diversion to help me across the counter and towards the front door.
"What was I going to do, call more suspicion to me by closing the store early," Kent snapped?
"Just shut up, get him now," she growled, turning to see us trying to slip out the door.
"SHIT," Sam, Dean, and I exclaimed as we turned and ran, sprinting out the door and across the parking lot. The two of them pushed me into the back of a dark car, speeding out of the parking lot in a fury of screeching tires and smoke.
"Do you have any family in the area," Sam asked from the front seat?
"No, I live on my own in town," I answered, thinking they were planning on dropping me off somewhere.
"Good, we need to get you gone and figure out why the wonder twins want you," Dean explained, pressing his foot down harder on the gas.
"WHOA, listen I'm thankful you two helped me and all but I don't know if I'm ready to become your groupie," I chuckled, Dean letting out a laugh of his own.
"Those two back at the store were demons, and for some reason they want you. If they want you that means they are going to do everything to get to you, meaning they are probably watching your house and other places you like to go," Sam tried to reason with me.
"Demons, really, and that would make you two what…" I laughed, wondering just how "touched" these two were.
"You saw the whole bit with the eyes, you also saw that I shot one of them and nothing happened to her, explain that," Dean argued.
"I don't know, lighting, maybe you're a bad shot," I said, trying to come up with some sort of explanation that didn't have me starring in my own version of The Exorcist.
"Come on, it's staring you right in the face," Dean snapped.
"The easiest explanation is usually the right one, and sorry but the easiest explanation is NOT demons are trying to kidnap me. I say two gang members hopped up on PCP," I laughed, trying to use humor to reason my way out of this situation, because even if they were just people there is no way that I was on someone's list of people to kidnap. Sure, I tended to be a bit sarcastic at times but I don't think that was enough for me to end up on a demonic most wanted. I mean one of them was my boss, why in the hell would he want to kidnap me, because I didn't clock in on time?
"Fine, don't believe us but there are still people after you," Sam said, trying to play mediator.
"FINE, so where do you plan on taking me," I relented, leaning back against the seat with a huff.
"South Dakota, a friend of ours has a place where we can figure things out," Dean answered as we sped down the interstate into the cold dark night. I wasn't looking forward to a long drive, but as we sped out of town I figured between these crazies and the ones back in the store I would take my chances with these two, they seemed interested in my safety at least. It was the weekend so I didn't have anywhere to be, plus whenever we got where we were going maybe I could make a break for it and get back home.
"Dean we don't know why they are after him, it could be anything, " Sam sighed, snapping me out of my sleep. I lay as still as possible as I listened to the two men talking outside the car, thinking that the best idea right now would probably be trying to gather any sort of information I could about what THEY thought was going on.
"Maybe Bobby will know something, I don't know why they didn't just possess him," Dean answered, sounding rather thoughtful.
"How old do you think he is," Sam asked, sounding almost worried?
"I'm 23 thank you, and thanks for waking me" I complained sitting up, growing rather annoyed with the whole situation, and since it appeared to be part of the discussion where they were going to wonder about the poor victim in the backseat I might as well defend myself somewhat.
"Sorry about that, we're almost there princess," Dean chuckled sliding back into the car.
"Great, thanks for the info assface," I grumbled, Sam letting out a surprised laugh.
"Hey, we are saving your ass here." Dean came back, raising an eyebrow as he looked at me through the rear-view mirror.
"Awesome, and could you possibly be a little more condescending and prickish in the process," I fired back with an icy glare, only seeming to fuel his annoyance.
"Would you like us to turn around and let the pair chasing us have you," Dean asked exasperated?
"Thanks Dad, sounds great," I growled, then mentally smacked myself for how childish I sounded. Weighing my current situation of being far away from anywhere I could call familiar, running from people for a reason I didn't know, and not wanting to involve my family I decided a half-assed apology was in order.
"Sorry, I am just confused and annoyed," I sighed, letting my head fall back against the seat.
"We are just trying to help, really," Sam, ever the peace keeper it seems, interjected.
"I get that, I just wish I had a clue as to what is going on," I replied, the tension seeming to leave the car.
"You and us both," Dean added, looking back at me.
"There you are, naughty boys taking off like that," came Carol's voice from outside the car, our eyes shooting forward to the woman standing in front of the hood, blocking our path.
"DRIVE" I screamed, Dean starting the car and stomping on the gas, speeding out of the parking lot. I watched in amazement at we hit Carol head on, watching her body roll over the car like a ragdoll and hit the pavement behind us. Turning and peering out the back window I watched in shock as she popped back up and dusted herself off like a killer in a bad horror movie.
"What the fuck was that," I screamed shaking, looking at Dean and Sam for some sort of answer?
"Jesus, they are jonesing for you." Dean growled as we shot down the highway.
"How the hell did she get here so fast, what did she tail us," I asked, desperate for some answers, but it seemed coming up short. Folding my arms across my chest I slumped back against the seat, this wasn't adding up and I was beginning to get scared and annoyed. Looking up front I could feel myself growing annoyed by the worried glances that Sam was directing towards me, he might have meant well but I wasn't a fan of feeling this helpless and out of the loop.
"I got you some food." Sam said, handing a bag back to me.
"Mmm, jerky and water, just like Mom used to make," I chuckled, pulling the snacks out of the bag.
"Gotta make do with what you have," Dean shrugged.
"I'll be fine, so what made you two get involved in all this," I asked before biting into an especially chewy piece of jerky.
"Family business," Dean replied, in a way that made it seem like no further info was going to be provided.
"Gotcha, well thanks for helping I guess," I said leaning forward, resting my head on the seat.
"So what's your story," Dean asked?
"Not much of a story really, college, work part time at a convenience store, live in a small apartment," I replied with a shrug.
"What about your family," Sam asked.
"We aren't that close really, I was looking forward to getting out on my own so that's what I did. We get together on the holidays and send the obligatory birthday cards, rather boring really," I replied. My family and I tended to be very different, they were happy living in a small town and I wanted to see more and try different things.
"Something isn't adding up, what is so important about you," Dean asked, eyeing me skeptically.
"If I wasn't thinking the same I might take offense to that, hopefully your friend has some insight," I chuckled leaning back against the seat.
"Bobby will know something, or point us in the right direction I'm sure," Sam said, my guess was in an attempt to calm my nerves. The rest of the car ride was pretty much in silence, well not silence so much as not being able to talk over the constant stream of classic rock that was pouring from the car's speakers. As I watched the world pass by outside the window I began to wonder who Carol was, and how she had gotten Kent in on all this. The only way it made sense was if I believed what Sam and Dean said, demons and possession but I wasn't ready to jump into that bag of crazy just yet, it was either that or Kent had finally snapped and joined a cult that needed me as some sort of gay boy sacrifice. I had studied demons and other things paranormal for a while when I was younger when I first started to get into Paganism, I read about spirits and angels, all about the things in the world that were forgotten or ignored. The slim possibility that it was all real wasn't something that I was ready or willing to accept at this point.
"So if these are demons does that mean we need some sage and sweet grass," I asked with a chuckle, Dean looking at Sam with a raised eyebrow.
"Sage and sweet grass," Dean asked confused?
"Yeah, you burn sage and sweet grass in a home to banish spirits and demons," I explained, feeling like an idiot.
"How do you know how to banish spirits," Sam asked, turning around in his seat to face me.
"I'm pagan with an interest in the paranormal, it might all be crap but its interesting crap," I shrugged.
"You're a witch," Dean sighed incredulously?
"Whoa, not a witch, pagan," I chuckled.
"What's the difference," Sam asked confused?
"I don't know, just how I classify myself. I don't cast spells, I don't observe the Sabbaths, so I just don't think of myself as a witch," I shrugged.
"Did you sell your soul for power," Dean asked, totally confusing me.
"Yeah, and a lifetime supply of turtle wax! No, I don't really buy that whole pact with the devil thing," I shrugged, silence filling the car as the two in the front seemed to become nervous.
"What, I mean come on, demons AND witches," I chuckled, expecting them to join in on the funny.
"Yeah, people who have sold their souls to work magic," Dean replied gruffly.
"Like kissing the devil's ass and everything," I asked confused, sitting up.
"WHOA, I don't know about kissing any demon's ass," Dean chuckled.
"That is what the lore says, that a witch seals their pact with the devil by kissing the devil's….um, ass," Sam smirked, chuckling a little.
"The lore also says that they have a third nipple to feed their familiar," I chuckled, laughing harder when Dean looked over at me with wide eyes.
"Three breasts, like full on Total Recall chick," he asked with a grin?
"No, just like a special nipple," I laughed, Sam laughing along with me as he shook his head. Looking ahead I saw a junk yard in the distance, looking pretty stereotypical with heaps of metal and cars strewn around the grounds. Parking in fronting of a rather worn looking house we got out, I noted that we were pretty isolated and that I should probably wait if I was still thinking about making a break for it as my wilderness skills left a lot to be wanted.
"What are you two doing here," asked a gruff looking man, strolling out the front door.
"We need help on a job," Dean replied, walking up the porch. The two greet with a hug before Sam walked into the house, the older man motioning for Sam and I to follow. The inside wasn't what I was expecting, books were everywhere along with a lot of occult symbols and books.
"Seth this is Bobby, if anyone is going to be able to help us its him," Sam explained introducing me.
"Nice to meet you, though I have to admit this place looks like demon central with all these books and sigils," I smiled looking around in awe. This place looked like a someone shook equal parts goth and rock-a-billy on a house, not my style exactly but it was nice if you asked me.
"We caught some demons about to grab the kid, not exactly sure why he's a target but they want him bad enough to track us to a gas station a couple miles back," Dean explained.
"How did you know what the symbols were," Bobby asked, giving me curious stare.
"When I was younger I got into the paranormal, studied demonology and so on," I shrugged, though inside I was fighting the urge to start spinning around with glee and grabbing the books around me. I have always had a special appreciation for books, and being surrounded by all these was like heaven to me.
"He's also a 'pagan'," Dean smirked doing little air quotes, earning a glare from me.
"Interesting, what were the warnings around the town," Bobby asked?
"Storms, fires, and some flies," Sam explained.
"Flies or locusts," Bobby shot back, walking over to his desk to start thumbing through books.
"Definitely flies, like a larger amount than usual," Sam elaborated, confusing me but that was nothing new at the moment.
"Someone care to fill me in why the mention of flies triggered your spidey sense," I asked Bobby, growing frustrated as he ignored me, furiously reading.
"Bobby," Dean asked, shaking the man from his thoughts.
"Sorry, it just stirred something up. Not sure what it means yet but I think it may be something big," he explained.
"Care to be any more vague? Listen, I realize that you are all part of the super-secret demon club and have your special decoder rings and everything, but would you care to explain to me what the hell is going on," I practically yelled, all of this beginning to be too much for me.
"I think you may be a vessel," Bobby said looking up, Sam and Dean growing quiet…which boded well for me I thought.
"Great, now what the hell does that mean," I asked exasperated?
"Angels…" Dean started before I cut him off.
"Riiight, cause if there are demons there are angels….do go on," I sighed, slumping into a near by chair.
"Angels like to come to earth to fight demons, the only way they can move around down here is to inhabit a human vessel," Sam finished for him.
"So angelic possession, ok so an angel wants to possess me, then why all the demons," I asked, thinking that I was now waist deep in crazy.
"Well sometimes demons catch on and try to use a vessel against the angels, have an upper hand," Dean answered, coming over to sit near me.
"Great well everyone can rest easy cause I'm not going to let some angel play puppet-master, end of story," I chuckled, beginning to get annoyed.
"The problem is your angel is of the fallen variety," Bobby explained nervously.
"Like Lucifer," Dean asked confused. Bobby's silence didn't ease my nerves, I watched as he looked back and forth between the guys.
"Okay, listen this is great and all but I have had enough. Demons aren't real, there aren't angels waiting to wear my skin, and I sure as hell am done playing Patty Hearst so if you guys would kindly excuse me that's my cue to leave." I snapped, standing up and walking to the door. Today it seemed, was not my day, throwing open the door to find Carol patiently waiting for me, a snide smirk painted onto her face.
"Hey there pumpkin," she said in that sweet voice, punching me hard in the jaw, sending me flying backwards a good couple feet to land on my ass.
"Grab her," Bobby yelled, reaching into his desk for a gun.
"Tsk tsk, so impolite," Carol smirked, and with a wave of her hand sent Bobby flying backwards into the wall.
"What the hell are you," I asked before scrabbling to my feet to try to get away, making it to the front of Bobby's desk while Dean and Sam lunged for her. She grabbed Sam by the throat, backhanding Dean and sending him to the floor, I watched as her grip tightened around his throat, her eyes turning black as she stared deep into his eyes.
"I can't kill you, plans for you and all, but you will definitely be feeling this tomorrow," she smirked, pulling back to punch.
"Hey, bitch, back off," I yelled, having found an iron fire poker, swinging it into her face. She let out a loud "oof" as she fell back, out cold on the floor.
"Jesus, thanks," Sam laughed, rubbing his throat.
"So, demons huh," I asked, the poker still gripped in my hands as I stared down at Carol.
"Yep, demons," Dean groaned, getting up from the floor.