Journey to Bethlehem
Set mid season two
Chapter One
"Well, then, how about we head over to Seattle," said Dean. "There's gotta be something over there worth hunting."
"Are you, like, allergic to taking your time and relaxing?" said Sam. "I'm telling you, there's no hunts. I checked everywhere."
"Well, it's not like evil just takes a holiday," said Dean. "Something's gotta be killing someone somewhere."
Sam rolled his eyes and stared out the passenger window. He and Dean were driving through Missouri, headed for who knew where. It was the second week of December, and there were no hunts anywhere that they could find. It was seven o'clock on a Friday night, and the sun had just set an hour ago.
"Come on, Sam, a little input here," said Dean.
Sam shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know what to tell you, Dean. There's nothing. Can't we just take a break? I mean, you're the one who's been wanting to take some time off."
"Yeah, but now I'm itching for a hunt," said Dean. "There has to be one somewhere."
"Well, you think you can put your 'itch' on hold for a week, or maybe just this weekend?" asked Sam. "I'm tired."
"I don't know," said Dean. "I just need to be on the road, doing something."
"Well, we can be on the road," said Sam. "Just no hunts."
"I thought you were the one who wanted to hunt," said Dean. "You know, figure out everything with the Yellow-Eyed Demon."
"We're getting nowhere, Dean, and you know it," said Sam. "I think it's just time to take a step back and think for a while. Yellow-Eyes will still be there when we get back."
"Exactly," said Dean. "He'll still be here. We need to hunt that son of a bitch down and break his little—"
"Dean, look out!"
Dean slammed on the brakes, screeching to a stop on the small highway. Once the car stopped, Dean and Sam looked up to see a camel with a red cloth hung on its hump running its way across the highway. After they watched it go, they saw a Roman soldier—leather tunic, metal breastplate, metal hat with red tassel sticking up, and everything—on horseback giving chase from the same direction. The soldier took off after the camel, trying to catch it. They stared after the strange scene for a moment before looking at each other.
"You just saw a Roman chasing a camel, too, right?" Dean asked. Sam nodded, frowning. "Think we should go check it out?"
Sam frowned again. "Why?"
"You never know," said Dean. "Might have been set loose by an angry spirit. Maybe there's some sort of time portal thing going on. I mean, that guy looked like he was straight out of Bible times."
Sam shrugged. "Never hurts."
Dean turned the car down a road on their right, heading in the direction that the camel and horse came from. He came to a church—a large church—with a parking lot full of people. They parked and walked up to a building labeled: "Community Lobby." It seemed to be where the people were headed.
"Shalom!" said a woman dressed in a blue tunic, rope tied around her midsection like a belt, and a brown shawl wrapped around her head. "Welcome to Journey to Bethlehem!"
"Um, hi," said Sam politely.
"The line starts right over here, gentlemen," she said.
"Oh, we're, uh…" began Dean, searching for some story he could use.
The woman nodded her head. "Don't worry. Newcomers are welcome." She took Dean gently by the elbow, Sam in tow, and led him to the back of the line. "We are glad you decided to join us. We hope you enjoy your journey. And don't forget to stick around for free cookies and hot chocolate afterward."
Dean's eyes brightened at the mention of free food as the woman left. Sam and Dean looked around them as they stood at the back of the line.
"What is going on here?" asked Sam. "What is 'Journey to Bethlehem'?"
"No clue," said Dean. "Although I am tempted by the cookies and hot chocolate, we should get out of here."
"I thought you wanted to check out what was going on," said Sam.
"I did," said Dean. "But it looks like it's some sort of play. Not our department. Let's go."
Dean began to walk out of the line, but Sam grabbed him by the arm and forced him to stay put.
"Dean, we can't just skip out," said Sam.
"Why not?" Dean frowned.
"There are people behind us now," said Sam. "I mean, this looks like a thousand people, easy. We can't just sneak out; it'll look suspicious."
"Who cares?" said Dean. "We're never gonna see these people again."
"Dude, we have no hunts, nothing to do, and it's Christmas," said Sam. "Let's just go with it. You never know. We might enjoy…whatever this is."
"Aw, come on, Sam," said Dean.
"Dean, we don't really have a choice here," said Sam.
Dean rolled his eyes. "Fine. We'll stay. But if this turns out to be a chick-flick, romance play, I'm out of here."
"Fair enough," said Sam.
The line moved fairly quick enough, and people in similar costumes as the woman moved among the line. Some of them had animals and some just talked with the people. A teenage girl in a red tunic and purple headdress walked up to them.
"Shalom, brothers!" she said cheerfully. She looked up at them. "And very tall brothers! My name is Esther."
Dean was still staring in confusion at the girl, so Sam took over.
"I'm Sam. This is my brother Dean."
"Oh, you are brothers!" said Esther. "Well, my goodness, you must be traveling with more family!"
"No, just us," said Sam.
"Well, not to worry!" said Esther. "You will have a bigger family before the day is done! You boys be sure to enjoy your journey! Shalom!"
Sam and Dean watched her move further down the line to engage some other people.
"Wow," said Dean. "That is way too happy for me."
"I think this is some kind of Bible play," said Sam. "I mean, based on what they're wearing. It looks like Bible costumes."
"A Bible story?" said Dean. "Oh, come on."
"It must be the story of Jesus' birth," said Sam.
Dean frowned. "How do you know that?"
"Well, Bethlehem is where Jesus was born," said Sam. "So, they must be reenacting it somehow."
"Well, that's just great," said Dean, moving to exit the line.
Sam stopped him again. "Dean, just stay."
Dean grumbled, but humored his brother and stayed. Within twenty minutes, they were now inside the lobby. A table stood by the doors, more people in costumes standing in front of it with stacks of small papers.
"Shalom!" greeted a man, holding out a paper to Sam. Sam accepted the paper, and the man handed Dean one also. "Welcome to Nazareth! Is your entire group present?"
"Yeah, it's just us," said Sam.
"Well, welcome to your journey!" said the man. "Enjoy!"
Sam and Dean followed the line through the lobby and up a small set of stairs. As they waited, Sam and Dean looked at their papers, which had names on them.
Dean smiled, holding his up. "Dude, check it out. It says my name is Samuel." He laughed. "What'd you get?"
Sam looked down at his and frowned, stuffing it into his pocket. "Nothing."
"Come on, man, what's it say?" asked Dean.
"I told you, nothing," said Sam, trying to push it into his pocket.
"Come on," said Dean, snatching at the paper and pulling it away from Sam.
"Dude!" hissed Sam, making a grab for it, but missing.
Dean looked down at the paper and stared. "Rebecca?" He looked up at Sam, smiling. "Rebecca?"
"Shut up," muttered Sam.
"I always knew you were a girl, you dork," laughed Dean.
"It must've gotten mixed up in the male stack," muttered Sam, snatching the paper back and crumbling it up to throw it in a trash can.
"And that would only happen to you," laughed Dean, pocketing his paper.
A woman in a costume caught Sam and Dean's attention, pulling them into a group of about twenty people.
"Here is your family that you will be traveling with," said the woman. "Be sure to stick together and go through those doors."
Their group headed through the doors that led back outside and to a building marked: "Worship Center." A man in a costume stood at the open door.
"Shalom," said the man with a smile. "Welcome. Head straight through this hallway."
Dean and Sam followed their group through the hallway, turning right and heading into the auditorium. They were all led to a section of chairs that were grouped to one side of the room. These groups of chairs were placed scattered throughout the auditorium. They took a seat and looked up at the stage. It was currently dark, and the screens on either side of the stage lit up with an image of a man. A label appeared on the bottom of the screen: Brian Jobe, Senior Minister.
"Hello, friends," said Brian, with a southern accent. "Welcome to Harvester Christian Church. We are delighted you could join us on this night, and we welcome you to Journey to Bethlehem. In a minute, you will pass through these doors and begin your journey. You should know that the seven hundred volunteers have spent weeks memorizing their lines, preparing the sets, baking the 38,000 cookies, and preparing the trail for your journey here tonight. We want to make this as pleasant and enjoyable as we can so you can experience the true miracle of Christmas. Well, hope to see you out there. Enjoy your journey!"
The screen switched to a series of clips of little children reading a story:
"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.
"So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'
"Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.'
"When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.'
"So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger."
The screen darkened, and a spotlight landed on a man standing in front of the stage. He spoke into a microphone attached to his shirt.
"Aw, such a wonderful story, is it not?" said the man. "You know, Christmas is my favorite time of year. I don't know if it's the trees or the lights or the holiday spirit. Or maybe it's the movies. 'It's a Wonderful Life,' 'Elf.' The best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear."
"Oh, kill me now," Dean muttered, sinking down further in his chair and resigning himself to a boring night.
"Or maybe 'The Christmas Story,'" continued the man. "Ralphie, you'll shoot your eye out! Maybe it's the Christmas commercials. I love it when I see my first Christmas commercial. There's a Folgers commercial that I just love. The man comes home to see his sister standing in front of the staircase. The sister says, 'Shh, everyone's asleep.' The man says, 'Well, I know just how to wake them up.' They go into the kitchen and make some coffee, and the smell wakes up the whole household. The parents come downstairs and see the siblings in the kitchen, and the mother says, 'Paul, you're home!'" He smiled. "Maybe it's stuff like that, that makes Christmas such a wonderful holiday. Well, here, let me show you what I mean."
The spotlight turned off, and the lights on the stage came on. A middle-aged couple was sitting on a couch next to a Christmas tree.
"I don't know, honey," said the woman. "They said they'd be here any minute."
"Well, I sure hope they get here," said the man. "I can't wait."
A doorbell sounded on the speakers, and the couple got up and headed for the curtain at the back of the stage. From behind the curtain came another couple with five kids. They all greeted each other, taking off their coats and gathering around the tree. Pretty soon, the doorbell rang again, and another family entered. The adults talked amongst themselves as the kids happily shook the presents, having fun.
A woman in a costume came over to their group and motioned for them to follow her. Sam and Dean followed the woman to the side of the auditorium as the scene continued to play on the stage.
"We're leaving now?" asked Dean. "I thought it was a play."
"Well, they keep saying journey," said Sam. "And that pastor mentioned trails. I think it's an outside play that we walk through."
"You mean, we gotta do all the work?" grumbled Dean.
Sam elbowed him. "Keep it down. This means a lot to some of these people."
"I know, but seriously?" asked Dean.
"Tell you what," said Sam. "You keep your mouth shut for the time being and you can complain all you want as soon as we get to the Impala. Deal?"
Dean rolled his eyes. "Deal." The group came to a stop at a set of doors leading outside. As the doors opened and they were ushered outside, Dean smiled as he looked at Sam. "I mean, it can't get any worse, right?"