Story Teaser
The city streets were enveloped in darkness. An eerie chill seemed to fill the air. Stillness. The sudden sound of running footsteps. Heavy breathing. Fear fills the air. A young woman in her early twenties with medium length dark hair and dark skin is fleeing down an alley way. The ground around her littered with boxes, crates, and trash. A few dumpsters and trash cans also line the walls. A small layer of snow no more then a dusting coats the landscape. She stumbles falling causing her hands to split open ripped by the pavement. Small pieces of glass and gravel embed themselves in her skin. Her jeans tear and blood from her knees stains them. Shadows jerk and move on the building walls. She scrambles to get up. Pushing herself to her feet, she limps as she begins to run again. A growling noise in the background begins to get closer and closer. The girl looks back frequently with fear in her eyes. As she is looking back she is grabbed and thrown by a dark shadowy figure from in front of her. She slams into a dumpster hitting her head on the unforgiving metal. Her head splits open and blood flows down her face. She turns to see her attacker through the blood covering her eyes and screams. Then a large splash of blood coats the wall of the building behind her.
Franklin, Texas
In a cheap seedy motel room, Sam Winchester suddenly sits up in bed. He is shaking a bit and soaked in sweat. A small amount of blood runs down his face from his nose. It has been months since he had a vision. He thought that all ended with the death of Yellow Eyes. He had even forgot how painful they can be. "Dean... Dean... Wake up!" A strong sense of urgency fills Sam's voice.
Dean groans, and rolls over glancing briefly at the clock beside the bed. The room was dark except for it's red glow. The clock read 2:07 am. He rolls back over covering his head with his blanket. "Dude it's too early. Wake me in like twelve hours."
Sam quickly got out of bed he turned on the light and Dean moaned a bit. As the lights come on it's apparent the room has not been remodeled since the early 80's. "Come on we have to go now!" he urged his brother. Sam was rushing getting dressed and grabbing their things. "Dean come on I think we may still have time if we leave now."
Dean reluctantly sat up. "What are you talking about?" he began to question his brother. "Go where and why?" he stared at Sam with confusion. "We just finished the job. Demon's dead. Remember the hell of a fight we just had. You know the whole reason why I'm so tired."
"I had a vision." Sam paused and looked at Dean. He saw the look of concern. They had both thought this was behind them. Now they knew it clearly wasn't. "I'll explain in the car. But we have to go now."
The two brother exit the cheap motel quickly headed for the Impala. They don't bother telling the night clerk that they are checking out early. "Which way?" Dean asks as he starts the car. Outside the motel the air is warm and humid, even slightly sticky. The landscape is desert and harsh. Lights from the small south Texas town give a glow to the early morning hours.
"North." Sam replies as they peal out of the parking lot and begin their journey.
They sit quiet for a while. Sam seems like he is trying to concentrate on what he saw in his vision. He scribbles some things on a piece of paper. Dean glances over he can see his brother is trying to remember details from the vision. He's trying to piece it together. Dean doesn't interrupt.
Sam finally looks up, and Dean asks, "So where to? Who are we saving?" Dean has a look of concern not just for whoever is in trouble but also for his brother.
"Lawrence." Sam replies shortly. He doesn't even look at Dean who now has an even more serious look of concern and confusion. The last time they had been to Lawrence had been because of Sammy's visions as well. It had led them to seeing their mom again. Images of that day flashed in both brothers heads.
After a few moments Sam spoke again. "There's a girl. She's in trouble. I think something is going to kill her." he paused. "I'm not even sure if it's something that has happened or is going to happen. I just hope we aren't too late. Whatever it was it's going to rip her apart and I don't think it's going to stop there." This was the second night that Sam had dreamed of the girl.
The night before he had seen her walking through a park. She was looking around and talking to people. He couldn't hear what she had been saying. She was holding a piece of paper and pointing to it as if asking for directions. On the paper had been written the address of their old home in Lawrence. The person she was talking to was pointing her in the direction she needed to go.
The dream hadn't been painful like the one tonight. It had felt more like old memories, so Sam had ignored it. After tonight there was no doubt. It was a vision. Fear mixed with guilt began to fill Sam's mind. He was worried they were too late. If he had just realized yesterday that it was a vision? Why hadn't he made the connection until now? A sense of dread, that the girl was already dead loomed in his mind.
Act One
Lawrence, Kansas
The mid-day sun was slowly starting to make its way into it's zenith. It was just after 10:30 am. as Sam and Dean Winchester drove the small town streets, the life that they could have had in this town a distant dream. Sam visually scoured the streets looking for a recognizable image from the vision he had the night before. They needed to find the alley he had seen, though he dreaded what they might find. Figuring they would find cops and a taped off crime scene, he had almost considered telling his brother to just check the hospital or morgue. His visions had never had the best track record. He didn't want to be too late. In the back of his mind he felt like there was a reason the girl was being attacked and that somehow it was connected to what had happened with the Devil's Gate. He had a strange sense that she was part of the bigger picture.
Sam looked for any clues. Looking for familiar images. Walls, bricks, signs, street lamps, any thing. They turned another corner the street sign read "Maple St." Then suddenly, Sam turned to Dean, "Stop the car!" Sam had spotted the alley, and before Dean could react his brother had already unbuckled his seat belt and was halfway to opening his door.
Dean quickly pulled over. He had barely had time to put the car in park when Sam opened his door and rushed into the alley. Dean reached into the back of the car and grabbed his ivory handled colt .45, then followed suit right behind his brother.
The alley was quiet. It was empty except for the trash and litter that lined it's walls. Nothing seemed out of place. No sign of a struggle. No blood. Sam looked around. It was definitely the alley he had seen in his vision. He stopped and knelt down at the spot where he had seen the girl fall. There was no snow on the ground either, though bits of broken bottle were scattered across it.
He remembered the feeling he had in the vision, and could feel the glass pushing it's way into her palms. He could feel the fear she felt. It was so cold. The sound of the thing chasing her.
He shook his head, snapping himself back to the present, and out of the memory of the vision. Further down the alley he spotted the dumpster. He stood and approached it, slowly, stopping and running his hand along the cold surface of the corner where the woman's head made contact. This was the place, but, Sam realized, it hadn't happened yet.
"This is it Dean."
"Doesn't look like it. No signs of a struggle. Nothing here except some really ripe garbage." Dean stopped and looked around the darkened alley,then at the Impala. "You sure man?" he said, dragging his eyes away from the car to turn back to Sam.
"I'm sure." Sam paused, and looked back at his brother, "It hasn't happened yet. We have to find her." Sam turned away from his older brothers gaze, trying to shake the images that were swirling through his mind.
He felt the warm sticky fluid run down her face as if it were his own. Then saw the attacker. It was and thick like tar. Barely holding the shape of a man. It's movements fluid and quick. It's eyes, those bright red penetrating eyes. It felt like the stare burned through her. Then in one quick motion all was dark, quiet, still.
Sam looked at Dean with a type of seriousness that almost bordered on obsession.
"We will" Dean assured him. It was the first time in a long time that Dean had seen Sam so concerned, at least about someone other than him. Sammy seemed truly consumed by this girl. Dean had been worried the way Sam had been acting recently; so cold, distant, and removed. He had to help him find this girl and save her.
Act One – Scene 2
It was an hour or so later not too far from the alley, Sam and Dean sat in a small local diner. Dean was at the counter chatting up a waitress. She was tall and lean, his typical type, her delicate features obvious despite the unflattering uniform she wore. Her long chestnut hair swayed in time with her stride when she walked and she twirled it absentmindedly with her fingers as she spoke to him. Dean was clearly using his typical flirting tactics with the girl to get information about the case, or possibly just to get her number. He smiled at her, and she nodded. Then taking a pad of paper from her apron she jotted something down on it.
Sam sat at their table his laptop open in front of him. His dad's journal on laid open beside the computer. There were several sheets of paper laying on top, each scribbled with notes. A News paper, and near empty plates also littered the table. Sam watched his brother shamelessly flirting with the waitress. It wasn't even their waitress. Sam grabbed the last french fry from one of the plates and popped it into his mouth.
Sam sat there, shaking his head slightly; he wished Dean would take this job more seriously lately. Hell, he wished Dean would take anything more seriously. While Dean was holding up someone else's waitress, their waitress came over to the table to re-fill Sam's coffee. She obviously wasn't Dean's type, or he would have spent more time at their table. She was in her late twenties, Sam thought, maybe her early thirties, with her hair up in a rather messy looking pony tail, small strands of hair hanging loose from the rest. In her pocket he could see the corner of a small photograph; was probably her kids, he thought.
"Hey I was wondering, I'm trying to find someone, maybe you have seen her in here?" he paused, watching her with his deep brown, intent, eyes. She nodded implying that she would listen and try to help.
"She would be in her early twenties, maybe a bit younger, dark skin, medium length brown hair in braids. About 5'6" or 5'8". She would be wearing a dark blue winter coat, fleece, I think. Average build," He described. "Very attractive."
The waitress shook her head, piling up their emptied plates and balancing them with one hand. "Sorry, not sure. You got her name? I could ask some of the guys in the back if they know her."
"No," Sam replied, watching as the pair of white plates wavered precariously between balanced and unbalanced on the waitress' arm. "I just saw her the other day, and she dropped some money and I want to return it to her. Thought she might be a local."
One thing that he had learned from all his years of hunting, was how to think on his feet, and come up with a believable cover story under any circumstance.
She gave him an apologetic smile, "I'll ask around. But if she is, I haven't seen her. Sorry. It's really sweet that you are going to so much trouble to return it to her, though. Most people wouldn't. "
He smiled back at her as she steadied the plates on her arm, and turned to walk back towards the kitchen.
Dean rejoins his brother at the table, a grin still firmly on his face. "Any luck?" Sam questioned him trying not to notice his grin. Sam was fairly sure all Dean would have to show for his efforts would be the phone number or address of the waitress.
Dean held up a small sheet of paper between his fingers. He flipped it around with his finger tips. "I got a date with Crystal." He noticed the serious look on his brother's face and quickly added, "And she thinks she remembers a woman with the description you gave me in here the other day. Said she was waited on by Angel..." Dean smiled a bit devilishly, "Wonder what Angel is like. Might be able to get another date." Dean's mind wondered only for a moment before he quickly snapped back to reality. "Any way Angel is off today, but she works tomorrow. Crystal did say that the girl didn't seem local. She was asking about a family that used to live in town or something." He notes the slightly surprised look on his brother's face, "See I was working," he stated with an air of satisfaction, "So what you got?"
Sam grabs his notes, "Not much. I think it's going to happen soon though. And I can't shake this feeling that I know her. That we're connected some how." His brother slid into the booth's bench across from Sam.
Dean looked around the table. A look of confusion and some dismay crossed his face, "Hey where's the rest of my fries?" he looked to his brother who just shook his head, keeping his eyes down, as to not show the slight look of guilt for having eaten them, and motioned that they had been taken with the other plates.
"Man I wanted to finish those," Dean's voice mocking disappointment. He shrugged, and turned his attention back to his brother as he grabbed their father's journal, "So any thoughts on the thing doing the attacking from your vision?"
Sam looked up from his laptop at his brother. "Not yet. It's hard to say. It could have been a spirit. It seemed like a shadow. It was almost like it wasn't totally there."
"It's not one of those daeva things again is it? Cause those totally sucked." Dean flipped through the journal. He doubted he would find anything. To be honest he wasn't really looking. Just trying to look busy. Research was never Dean's thing. Give him a good .45, or sharp object and he was you man. Pull out the books, and he'd rather pull up some couch and take a nap.
"Not sure, didn't seem that way in the vision. But it could be. We'll just have to be ready for anything tonight." Sam stated.
"Wait... Tonight? But Crystal..."
"We have to stake out the alley Dean. It could be tonight the girl gets attacked."
"Man, but look at her." Dean grumbled as he gestured to Crystal taking orders at another table. "Fine," he submitted throwing his hands down in defeat. To be honest Dean had expected as much. And the date was for tomorrow any way. It was just fun to mess with Sammy. Being so serious all the time couldn't be good for the boy.
Act One – Scene 3
Later that day the guys are at a nearby motel. They were just getting up after catching a quick nap. The lack of real sleep having just coming off a hunt and then the trip to Lawrence was starting to catch up with them. They knew they needed to be at least a little rested when they staked out the alley.
Even knowing all of this when Dean had suggested the idea to Sammy he had protested. Saying he still had more research to do. He'd be fine. But Dean had insisted. In the end Sammy gave in, and they got the room.
Now the two of them moved about the room, quietly gathering gear and taking inventory in preparation for the night ahead of them.
Dean picked up two weapons from the arsenal that was spread out on his bed. He held his ivory handled pistol in one hand and a sawed-off shotgun in the other, "Ok so are we going in with pistols or shotguns?" he asked his brother. Since Sammy was the only one with half a clue as to what they were going up against.
"If it is a daeva I doubt either will be much help. We'll just have to get her out of there until we figure out who is controlling the thing." Sam continued to go through his notes that were spread out all over the bed he had taken as his. "I still don't think it is a daeva though. It felt like a spirit but not. It seemed like it was incorporeal but still able to affect things around it," Sammy continued. He shuffled through the mess on the bed. He added, "but it didn't feel like it was ever human or living. It felt evil. Not restless or pissed off but truly evil. It almost looked like... and I hate saying this," Sam looked Dean in the eyes, "a demon in it's true form."
"Rock salt and holy water it is then." Dean said with a slight smile. He put down the pistol and cocked the shotgun, then tossed his brother a flask of holy water. "Let's rock."
Act Two
The Streets of Lawrence
The street lights cast shadows on the ground and buildings lining the streets. It was now a little after 9 pm. The Winchester brothers sat in the old 1967 Impala. Dean had fallen asleep his head propped against the window. Sam had elected to take first watch so Dean could get a little more sleep. The couple of hours they had as a nap at the hotel had left them feeling almost more tired. And sitting here in the car with nothing to do but stare at an empty alley didn't help either. It had been around eight when Dean had fallen asleep.
Sam kept watch. His eyes checking the streets for any sign of the girl. It had just began to flurry. The small snow flakes falling gently to the pavement. Any normal person would have thought it was a beautiful sight; however as the snow fell and began to create a thin layer on the ground around the Impala Sam's heart and mind filled with dread.
He poked his brother in the ribs. "Dean wake up," he urged a little. "It's snowing." He could feel the impending events about to unfold and he wanted them to be ready.
Dean jerked awake rather abruptly. "Wha..." he was still waking up, "I'm a wake." He started to look around trying to get his eyes and body to adjust to being awake, "Where is she?" His hand instantly went for the shotgun laying beside him on the seat.
"Not here yet. It's soon I think, it's snowing." He repeated not sure if his brother had heard him. He knew it could be disorientating waking up, especially if you are on edge waiting for a hunt.
Dean looked around, he scanned and surveyed the area. No one was on the street, it was quiet. The diner down the street looked like they were closing. Which made Dean wish he had woke up a few minutes earlier, he was feeling a little hungry again. He looked down at the half eaten sandwich laying beside him on the seat. It lay there cold and barely wrapped beside it their shot guns sat ready. He was hungry but wasn't sure he was that hungry. He hadn't liked the first half of it when they got it on the way to the stake out. He grimaced and picked up the sandwich. 'Oh well, food is food,' he thought.
They sat there a few minutes more before Dean decided to turn on the radio, they had found a decent classic rock station the last time they were he, so he scanned the radio until he found it again. A station commercial was just ending.
"Kansas City's Classic Rock Station, 101.1 KCFX the Fox, and now back to the hits, coming up Lynyrd Skynyrd, Thin Lizzy and AC/DC" the voice announced. Sam tried to ignore the radio. He had never cared much for Dean's taste in music, or as Sam saw it lack there of. He was about to protest, when the song started. It was softer than most of the songs Dean listened to. He decided to just let it be.
It's been so long since I've been gone / Another day might be too long for me / Traveling around I've had my fill / Of broken dreams and dirty deals
The lyrics seemed fitting to the boys who sat there in the old Impala. Sam even caught himself listening. The lyrics hitting home. They were in the town where they had been born, they should have felt like they were home, yet there was no comfort to be found. It actually felt more alien then being on the road, being in crappy motels, and cheesy diners. Those places felt more like home sadly.
A concrete jungle surrounding me / Many nights I've slept out in the streets / I paid my dues and I changed my style / Seen hard times, all over now
Dean wished that the lyrics were true that the hard times were over but he knew they weren't. There were so many things he wanted to say to Sam. To tell him, but he couldn't find the words. He didn't want his brother to have to carry the burden he had carried for so long, but now he wondered if he hadn't failed him.
I want to come home, it's been so long since I've been away / And please, don't blame me 'cause I've tried / I'll be coming home soon to your love to stay
What was home any way. They had never really had a home. They both felt it. Wished things had been different. Wished that they had a real childhood instead of hiding from monsters, social workers and bouncing around from town to town. Most of the time never know where their dad was or if he was coming back. Being pawned off on dad's friends when it was a big hunt. Knowing the only reason they were there was that John thought he might not come back.
I miss old friends that I once had / Times ain't changed and I'll be glad when I go home / I don't know why they thought came to me / But why I'm here I really can't see and now
And now their dad was gone. Dean still remembered watching him flicker away before his eyes. It wasn't just their dad that they had lost in this god forsaken war. Their friends, the road house. Even before that Meg had hunted down half of dad's contacts, good hunters, good allies, good friends, good men and women, and soon even Dean would be a causality. He choked back the emotion. It was his job to be strong. It was his job to sacrifice for this family. He wouldn't let Sammy down.
I want to come home, it's been so long since I've been away / And please, don't blame me 'cause I've tried / I'll be coming home soon to your love to stay / Coming home to you love, mama / I've seen better days
With the final lyrics it was all Sam could do not to let a tear roll down his cheek. The thought of their mother, of their father. Of all he was being forced to lose. Of the stupid deal Dean made. God why did he have to make that deal. Sam hated it. He hated being responsible for his brother's death.
As the song ended a new one began the notes almost mingling as to merge the stop and start. The song was more up beat Sam turned his head to wipe the tear from the corner of his eye, and regain his composure and serious stare.
Dean knew the next song too. And wondered if the radio station knew they were there listening and taunting them.
Guess who just got back today? / Them wild eyed boys that had been away / Haven't changed, haven't much to say / But man, I still think them cats are crazy
They were asking if you were around? / How you was, where you could be found? / Told them you were living downtown / Driving all the old men crazy
The boys are back in town (The boys are back in town) /I said the boys are back in town (The boys are back in town)
Dean had to admit it was a fitting song considering and it was a good one. Out of the corner of his eye he caught the look on that Sam now had on his face, Sam face was serious and determined. The radio was a distraction. They needed to be focused. Dean switched off the radio.
Act Two – Scene 2
It was over an hour later, still no sign of the girl. It had stopped snowing and the boys sat in the car. Dean was starting to get bored and thought about turning the radio on again.
Sam just sat there, his eyes fixed on the surroundings. He hadn't stopped scanning and looking for the girl. Not once. Even when Dean had tried to start a conversation Sam had just sat there not really paying attention to his brother. His only thoughts, all of his focus on being ready. On saving the girl.
Dean leaned his head against the window, and looked at the radio then at Sam. He was just starting to reach for the nob when they heard the sound of tires skidding off the road, followed by the clang of metal on metal as a car swerved off the road across the street and into a light pole. The light flickered from the pole a second then went out. The door jerked open, and a young woman rushed out. She began running in the direction of the alley. It was the girl from his vision. She kept looking over her shoulders. The boys saw nothing behind her.
Sam and Dean grabbed their shot guns, flung open their doors, and raced from the Impala.
They entered the alley trailing behind the frightened woman. She looked over her shoulder and now there were two guys chasing her with shotguns. Her fear tripled. She tired to run faster, only causing her to slip on the fresh snow. She landed on the ground with a thud. Her hands slicing open, the skin of her knees being pealed away. She could feel bits of glass cutting into her skin.
Before she had a chance to get up the guys were there behind her. One of them grabbed her under the arm and hoisted her to her feet. The other was looking around franticly. There was a deep growling noise in the background. "We're here to help," the one holding her up stated. His brown eyes filled with concern and compassion. It might have put her to rest if it weren't for the shotguns and what ever it was that had attacked her in her car.
Sam and Dean looked around, and at each other. The thing definitely sounded pissed. They stood their ground, waiting for it to show itself.
Sam thought he saw a shadow move out of the corner of his eye, "Over there." he pointed down the alley.
Dean looked over and nothing then thought he caught a glimpse of something in the other direction, "No down there." he said.
"Over there." the woman shrieked.
"No there," Sammy insisted.
"What the hell are there more then one of them?" Dean yelled trying to figure out where the attack would come from.
"We gotta get her out of here Dean." Sammy called back.
"Right. Get to the car," he ordered, and the trio began to run back toward the Impala the boys constantly darting their eyes to be ready.
"Shit," Dean yelled as he skidded to a stop just short of the alley's entrance, grabbing the girl and Sammy, pulling them to a stop as well.
Before them it was like the shadow just came up from the ground. Dark, opaque, and shapeless. It began to congeal into a humanoid form. It looked like fresh tar in consistency. Then it's eyes started to take shape. They were bright and blood red. It felt like starring into a fire.
The trio were filled with a sense of unmistakable dread. It wasn't like the Winchester's to hesitate to be so freaked out by something, but they paused a moment the feeling too hard to fight away.
A second later Dean lifted his shotgun and blasted the thing. The rock salt mad contact like it were hitting thick mud. There was a squishing sound when it hit. The thing didn't seem fazed. It started to Lunge at Sammy and the girl.
Sammy quickly moved her behind him and fired at the thing. It staggered a bit, before taking a swipe at him. It's hands had formed, and it had long claw like fingers. The creature connected and Sam could feel his flesh rip across his chest.
Dean fired off the second round then slammed the thing in what appeared to be it's head with the handle of the shotgun. The creature staggered a bit more. "Get her to the car go Sammy." Dean yelled as he slammed the thing again this time shoving the handle of the shotgun into it's gut. "Go!"
Sam and the girl ran down the alley and to the waiting Impala the doors still open. She scrambled and got in. Sam got behind the wheel and started the car. Dean was going to kill him for this. He rammed the gear into drive and headed straight for the alley, Dean, and the creature. He honked the horn. Dean turned in time to see the on coming car and dove out of the way into the open sidewalk. Sam hit the thing hard, and it tummbled over the car.
The driver side door flung open, "Get in!" Sam yelled as Dean scrambled to his feet and ran to the door. Sam slid over just as Dean jumped into the drivers seat. He gunned the car into reverse and backed over the creature. He spun out on to the road, almost loosing control on the thin layer of wet snow. Then put the car back into drive before speeding off.
As they drove Sam kept looking back. "Is it back there?" Dean questioned nervously, glancing back over his shoulder briefly then turning his gaze back to the road.
"I don't think so," Sam kept searching behind the car with his eyes, feverishly looking around. "I think we lost it."
"What the hell was that thing Sammy?" Dean questioned looking back and forth from his brother to the road.
"I don't know. Not a spirit or a daeva that's for sure." Sam replied.
"Ya think?" Dean's tone sarcastic and piercing. He didn't mean for it to sound like he was mad at Sam, but well they clearly had no idea what the hell they were up against here. He looked over at his brother and noticed the blood on his shirt. "Shit Sammy, you bleeding a lot."
Sam hadn't even noticed how bad the wound was. He had been too worried about saving the girl and getting Dean in the car. He looked down at his chest. His shirt was slashed open and blood seeped through the fabric. He suddenly felt nauseous and a little dizzy. Dean reached over and tried to hold Sam's shirt over the wound trying to help stop the bleeding.
"We have to get some where safe." Dean stated as he looked around the nearly deserted streets.
"Missouri's" Sam said, trying to help hold the shirt and apply pressure to his wound. There was no way of telling just how bad it really was until they got somewhere and could take a look and patch him up. Missouri was the only person they really knew in Lawrence who could possibly help them.
The frightened young woman sat beside Sam watching him bleed, scared, and in shock she sat there franticly looking from the boys to the streets surrounding the Impala and back to the interior of the car. She felt like just opening the door beside her and fleeing the moving car She didn't know who in the hell these guys were but they had just saved her life. She would save the questions until she knew she was safe. If that were even possible to feel now.
Act Two – Scene 3
The Impala roared into the drive way in front of the home of Missouri Mosley. Before the boys and their charge could exit the car the front door opened and Missouri stepped into view "Well hurry up, you boys sure took long enough," she quipped as she came to help them inside.
Missouri went to the young woman, "It's ok Amber. They're here to help you." she said as she took the woman's hand to comfort her. "Trust us. It'll be ok." Missouri began leading the confused, terrified woman inside.
Dean grabbed his younger brother who was barely holding himself up. Sam still holding his chest. Unsure if the bleeding had even begun to stop yet. Sam took his brothers help. He leaned on him as the group hurried into the house.
Once they were inside and the door shut the young woman began franticly questioning everyone, "Who the hell are you people? What was that thing? How do you know my name?" The shock had worn off and now she was just wanting answers.
"Clam down, honey. It's ok. That thing that was after you was something you'd rather not know about. These boys are going to help you. This is Sam and Dean Winchester, you've been looking for them." Missouri began explaining before the boys could react. She didn't want them bumbling this up. "My name is Missouri, and I think you and these boys have a lot to talk about. Like why you traveled half way across the country to find them. And others like them."
Sam and Dean listened, what was Missouri talking about? This girl was looking for them. Dean held his brother up.
"What are you just standing there looking all stupid, go fix your brother up." Missouri ordered Dean. "Get!" As they walked on into the kitchen she added "And don't you get blood all over the place. You better clean up after yourself Dean Winchester. Don't you make me slap you."
Dean was about to grumble "And don't sass me boy." she added.
How the hell did she always do that Dean wondered. It was really freaking annoying. The older Winchester lead his brother into the kitchen, on the table a first aid kit sat open. He shook his head. 'that's just freaky,' he thought.
A little later Dean and Sam came out of the kitchen Sam holding his tattered shirt in one hand. Th bandages over most of his chest were wrapped around his right shoulder and under his other arm. He was still tender but it hadn't been as bad as the blood had let on. They had suffered worse wounds. Luckily they had been able to stop the bleeding and get him patched up quickly.
As they walked into the living room Missouri motioned to a shirt that lay across the chair nearest the door. It was flannel and worn. "Put a shirt on boy. What are you thinking, you're company in my house." She shook her head and gave him a disapproving look. "Almost as bad as your brother," she added as she shot Dean a look.
He was sitting down on the sofa near the girl and just about to put his feet up. He saw the look and quickly put his feet back on the floor. "Sorry, almost forgot," he said wishing she wouldn't look at him that way. It made him feel like he was five again and had done something to make John mad. His mind flashed for a second to John yelling at him and telling him he had to be more responsible.
"You're father was right." Missouri commented.
"You would freakin' stop doing that. You really creep me out." Dean reacted quickly and uncomfortable.
"Would some please explain what is going on?" the girl almost screamed her frustration at the situation taking over.
"Why don't we start with who you are, and why you were looking for us. Then maybe why something would want you dead." Dean turned his attention to the girl. He was being rather harsh, but then they didn't have time to play it all cuddly right now.
"Dean! Behave yourself." Missouri demanded as she glared at the boy. Then turned her attention to the girl, "Honey if they are going to help you you need to tell your story." Her voice was soothing. "It's ok."
The girl begins, "My name is Amber Talley, I've been investigating the disappearance of my brother Jake this past May."
Sam and Dean look at each other, realizing why there was a connection. Her brother was Jake, the psychic that had killed Sam. The reason Dean had made the deal. And the man Sam had murdered.
Act Three
Inside Missouri's Home
"It started when the army called back in May. They said my brother had gone missing in the night. Everyone in his tent killed. They did an investigation, if you call it that. It was only a week later when they said that, it must have been Jake that killed those men. And that he went AWOL afterwards. That's not Jake. He's a solider sure, but not a murderer." Amber was sitting there explaining what had happened.
With her last statement about Jake not being a murder, it was all Dean could do not to set her straight. He had watched him stab Sam in the back. Then been there when Jake nearly had Ellen blow her own brains out. He wonder how well Amber really knew her brother.
"I starting think it must be a cover up. You know you hear about them all the time. The government doing experiments and stuff. Like area-51 and men in black you know." She looked at the others.
Sam shook his head and rolled his eyes a bit. It was like Ronald all over again. Great foot work, no clue what she was really up against. "Government cover up?" he looked skeptical.
Amber ignored him and continued, "Any way I started to do research. Looking for other missing persons cases where someone went missing and everyone around them died," she paused a moment. "Then I noticed another connection. All of them were the same age as my brother. And a lot of them had parents that died the same way Jake's dad did."
"What do you mean the way Jake's dad did?" Sam questioned, he had a feeling he wasn't going to like the answer.
"It was before I was even born. There was a house fire. He died. Jake was only six months old. Later my mom met my dad, I was born, he took off and it was just me, mom & Jake," Amber explained.
The brothers stared at each other in slight disbelief. Letting it all sink in.
"Any way I found other names that hadn't come up on my missing person's search. I headed out to try to, I don't know... help them. Warn them. Figure out what really happened to Jake. The rest were missing too. Everyone one of them. They had just vanished no one was around when it happened. Sam Winchester was the last name on my list."
"So you came here." Dean asked fairly sure he knew this girl did her homework. She had figured out something that most hunters hadn't even seen the connection for. He had to admit he was more then a little impressed.
"I couldn't find a current address or anything. The news paper said this is where you lived when your mom died. I got here and everyone in town that remembered your dad said you and your family disappeared not long after the fire. I figured this is where it started." Amber finished her story and looked at the brothers and Missouri.
"Wait I have one thing that is bugging me, we did a search of everyone who had nursery fires." Dean interjected as the Amber finished. "How come we didn't find Jake then, like we did Andy & Max?"
"No Dean," Sam interjected, "We did a search of mother's dying in nursery fires. It was his dad." He shook his head and turned away a bit. "Shit Dean. We never thought to check if anyone matched with a dad or someone else in the family being the one in the fire. Damn it we should have broadened the search." Sam was pissed they hadn't thought of it. They were supposed to be hunters. They were supposed to be smarter then this. Sammy ran his hand through his hair frustrated with the entire situation.
"Sam we didn't know. How could we?"
The memory of what the demon told him. That mom came in at the wrong time, the way she recognized him. Could this be connected to what Ruby told him about all his mom's friends ending up dead.
"We should have. If we had we could have found him before..." Sam trailed off. How was he going to tell her. How could he tell her, her brother was dead, and he was responsible.
"Before what?" Amber looked back and forth between the boys. She could tell they were keeping something from her. It was like they were having a silent conversation.
Sam's eyes welled up, he was about to explain, "He..."
"He's dead." Dean interrupted, "He, Sam and the others you found out were missing were being manipulated by a Demon." Dean explained rather quickly, not really giving her much of a chance to deal with it."
"Wait... Dead! How... No maybe he's ok. I mean your brother is fine. How do you know mine is dead. This is crazy. I mean demons. No Jake is alive. He has to be," she was freaking out.
"He's... he's dead." Sam started, "I was there." Sam turned away not able to look at her. The memory of that night so strong in his mind.
He hadn't felt anything when he killed Jake. At least anything he would admit to. He remembered shooting him in the back four times. The way Jake lay there on the ground looking up at him, fear in his eyes. How he pleaded for his life. Sam had just kept shooting, two more times. Until he was sure that Jake was dead. Then he had shot once more. He remembered every single time he pulled the trigger.
Missouri could sense Sam's emotions, even the ones he was trying so hard to conceal and push out of his mind. "Come on hon, you look like you need some rest." Missouri said standing over Amber. She stretched out a hand and helped the girl up, "Let's get you upstairs, let the boys do their work." She nodded at Amber and she nodded back. Missouri showed her up stairs.
Up stairs in the bed room Amber was crying and shaking her head. "He's really dead?"
"I'm so sorry." Missouri held the crying girl.
"Can I be alone?" Amber asked, stepped back from Missouri and went to the bed to sit down. Tears streamed down her face.
"I'll go get you some tea and let you rest a bit." Missouri said softly, a look of concern on her face. This poor girl was hurting so badly. Missouri was getting so many feelings from the boys and from her. It was almost too much to handle. She had to grab the door frame a moment as she left the room.
Act Three – Scene 2
The brothers stayed behind in the living room. Sam was looking out the window he shook his head a bit. The weight of his actions starting to hit him. He had to block it out. He had to be strong. He didn't have the luxury to feel the guilt, he reminded himself.
"Sammy?" Dean begun. "It's not your fault. You didn't have a choice." Dean sounded like he was not just trying to convince Sam, but himself as well. The truth was Dean had seen his brother and it was the first time he had ever been afraid of him.
"You don't get it Dean..." Sam trailed off. "We don't have time for this. We have to figure out what we're up against. How to stop it." Sam still refused to look at Dean.
"Yeah ok. We'll check the journal, call Bobby." Dean tried to come up with a plan. He was more concerned with Sam right now. They couldn't fight this thing if he was distracted.
"There's nothing in the journal I've been through it remember," Sam snapped.
"Ok clam down." Dean said as he looked at his brother. Sam wouldn't even look at him. There was something Sam wasn't telling him. "We'll call Bobby."
"Then what Dean. We save her. Just so she can live with the fact that her brother is dead. So she can find out I killed him." Sam leaned against the window frame. "That I murdered him."
"He killed you Sam. He Murdered you. He would have killed Ellen. You did what you had to."
Sam could tell Dean was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince Sam, maybe even more. "Dean he begged for his life and I kept shooting..." he paused not sure how to even tell his brother what was going on in his head, "and I shot him any way."
"Sam..."
Sam cut him off, "I enjoyed it Dean."
From the top of the stairs Amber over heard the boys talking. Fear spread across her face. She fled back down the upstairs hall.
"You don't get it some part of me liked it." Sam was crying a little now. The guilt finally catching up with him. He had to shut it out. He had to be strong.
Dean stood there speechless. A long moment passed where neither brother was able to talk, able to look at one another. Dean had even turned away looking at the wall as if it held the secret as to how to deal with this.
Missouri came into the room in a rush, "Amber is gone," she stated. "I almost didn't notice it. Your aura's were just so overwhelming. She's afraid and running. She's in danger."
Act Three – Scene 3
The brother burst out of the front door carrying shotguns running to try to catch the frightened girl. They could see her about 100 yards away running down the street, she was running up to doors and beating on them. They quickly hid the sawed-offs in their jackets a bit still ready in case of an attack.
As she ran across the street from one house heading to another the brothers saw it; the inky black mass come up from the ground behind her. "Amber..." Sam yelled "No..."
It was too late. The girl turned to look back in time to see her attacker. She screamed as it's talon like hands slashed across her chest. Four claw marks deeply penetrating her flesh. She stumbled back as she fell to the ground. Gasping for breath. Dean and Sam fired their shot guns at the creature. It growled and looked at them. They were running up to it. It dissolved back from the ground it had came.
The brother reached the injured girl, she lay on the ground trying to crawl away from them. She was coughing and gasping for breath. "Get away from me..." she begged.
"Amber..." Sam tried to lean down to help her.
"Don't touch me... It's your fault." she coughed, a bit of blood coming up. The blood coming from her chest mixing with the wet snow on the pavement. "You're a murderer..." she said as she failed to hold her body up with her arms. Slipping and landing on the pavement. She tried to push herself up. She was more afraid of Sam then of the thing that had hurt her. "Help..." She tried to call out. She slipped again. "Help me..." She fell again to the ground. Then didn't move.
Lights were coming on from the houses near by, the gun shots and screaming was causing people to come to investigate. Dean stood over his brother, "Sammy we have to go." he looked around pulling his brother up, "Now Sammy!" Dean urged, as he pulled his brother away.
Sammy looked down at his hands as Dean pulled him down the street back toward Missouri's and the Impala. Amber's blood coated them.
Credits
Authors Notes:
This is the first story in a series of stories about Supernatural that I will be writing. I will also be incorporating the current episodes into the plot (At least as long as I am able). The next story is already underway and you will get to see how Sam & Dean deal with the failure to save Amber, as well as more about what killed her. It will take place after 'Malleus Maleficarum'.
Special Thanks:
Special thanks to all the people out there reading the story. Fans of the show are the reason I write. I want to share my vision of the show, and if it weren't for everyone reading the story I wouldn't have a reason to write it. Thanks for the reviews. Keep them coming and I promise to keep more stories coming. Also special thanks to everyone who helped me, either by beta reading it, letting me use them as a sounding board to work out my plot issues, helping me think of things I forgot. Fixing errors in the story. Pointing me in the right direction for information when I was stuck. Helping me with research. Or just reading the advance copy and telling me what they think. I couldn't have finished the story if it were for these people: My hubby SuperNova, from Katie & SupernaturalGirl , and from Anduian Blackþ. You guys helped me so much. Your suggestions, comments and help was very appreciated.
Other Credits & Thanks:
Thanks to Eric Kripke for creating the show and being such an inspiration. Thanks to Jensen, Jared, & the rest of the cast and crew for making one of the best shows on TV. The Previously on Supernatural is thanks to . Thanks to Map Quest for the time it takes to get from Franklin to Lawrence. Thanks to the Weapons Locker for the information about Dean's gun. Thanks to Amazon where I downloaded a few episodes to help me double check some facts. And also thanks to Yahoo Music where I found the lyrics for the songs used in the episode. They were Coming Home by Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Boys are Back in town by Thin Lizzy.
Other Notes:
The radio station is an actual radio station in Kansas City and you can even listen to it online. I spent a lot of time doing little research for the story. Checking out a lot of Supernatural sites for info, and searching for information on the occult. No to mention looking up directions, stations, lyrics and such to add the extra detail to the story. I hope you all enjoyed it.