Lightening snaked through the sky as thunder rumbled in the distance. Moon and stars were hidden behind immense clouds, resulting in a South Dakota night blacker than pitch. Rain fell in torrents, flooding the gutters and lining the driveway with crater-sized puddles.
Within the house, the lights flickered once, twice, and then went out completely, casting the house in darkness save for the firelight dancing over the Key of Solomon painted on the ceiling. Whether the cause of the power outage was the storm or the demon trapped at the center of the room was inconsequential.
Snarls and obscenities, originating from beneath the devil's trap, echoed off the walls and competed with the roar of the storm raging outside. Rough hemp raised angry red welts where the rope bit into the wrists and denim-clad legs of the demon-possessed man while he shouted at the dark and seemingly empty room.
"Come out, come out wherever you are!" he mocked, stretching his lips into a wicked sneer. "If you want a piece of me, you're not gonna get it while hiding in the shadows like a coward!"
Making a show of pulling at his bindings, he smirked and continued, "I'd come to you, but you seem to be into that S and M kinky crap. Just promise you'll still respect me in the morning."
"You've got a smart mouth for a demon about to be shagging ass back to hell."
The rumble of a low, deadly voice had the demon's head shooting up and focusing on the shadows where the sound had emanated.
A tall shadow separated itself from the darkened corner of the room.
The scathing retort died on the lips of the demon and he ceased his struggles as the lean man stepped into the wavering light cast by the fire.
Deftly covering his hesitation, the demon replied with a forced grin, "Ahhh. Should've known. You Winchester boys always were into bondage."
Seeing the hunter's jaw tighten, the demon continued with a sly smile, "But it seems we're one Winchester short. Tell me, Sammy, where is that big brother of yours?"
However, the demon's mocking tone soon turned into screams of anguish as holy water was thrown in his face.
The hunter leaned down until he was on eye level with the ensnared demon squirming in pain and pulling at his bindings.
Teeth bared, the hunter growled, "It's Sam."
Breath hitching as smoke rose from his damp skin, the demon only glared in response.
Both hunter and hunted stared at each other for the span of several heartbeats as rain mercilessly pummeled the roof and thunder vibrated the windows.
"Okay, Princess. How's about we make a deal? I'll call you Sam if you let me out of this trap."
"You want to make a deal? Okay, how about this one," with lightening speed, Sam had the demon's head pulled back by the hair and a knife held to his lips, "I'll cut out your tongue, then I won't have to worry about your smart mouth at all."
The demon gulped as the razor-sharp tip of the knife pricked his lower lip.
"Aeh liked dah virst deal 'etter," he slurred against the knife point.
Sam released the demon, sending him slamming forward as the chair settled back onto all four legs.
"Touchy, aren't we?" The demon grunted. "Easy, Sammy, you wouldn't want to damage this fine packaging." The demon grinned again and a tiny drop of blood oozed from his lip where the knife had pierced the skin.
"That's it. You wanna play, you demonic son of a bitch?"
The demon watched, wide-eyed, as Sam thrust the blade of the knife into the wood floor at his feet then pulled a gun from the back of his waistband. Venom dripping from his voice, the hunter held the end of the long barrel to the demon's forehead, "Fine. Let's play."
"You wouldn't." Doubt crept into the demon's voice, undermining his confident words as he fought to not recoil from the cold metal of the Colt pressed between his eyebrows.
"Oh I wouldn't? Huh," Sam raised his eyebrows and the light from the fire glinted off his cold eyes as he cocked the gun, "You sure about that?"
"Sam." The gruff voice had both hunter and demon turning their heated gazes on the doorway.
"I need to talk to you for a minute." the voice continued, vibrating with tension and strain.
"Kinda busy right now," Sam replied coolly as he turned his attention back to the demon glaring at the hunters.
"Sam. It wasn't a request."
Hearing the underlying threat in the rigid command, Sam's eyes narrowed and remained locked on the depthless black of the demon's. A muscle in his jaw twitched as he pushed back from the demon and after securing the Colt, shoved it into the back of his waistband. Eyes still on the demon, the shaggy-haired hunter reached down and pulled the knife from the floor, sheathing it at his ankle. As he turned toward the doorway, the demon chuckled.
"Geeze, Sammy. Never thought you would need a leash. Although with that hair, you do kinda look like a dog. A sad little kicked puppy, lashing out at anyone who comes near. It'd be heartbreaking if it wasn't so pathetic."
If the other hunter hadn't had such quick reflexes, Sam would have ripped the demon to shreds with his bare hands. He had turned on his heel and was already halfway back to the laughing demon when two strong arms came around his waist and tugged.
"Damn it, Sam! He's just wheedling you! Now stop fighting me and get your ass in the kitchen! Now!"
Sam did as the voice commanded and stopped struggling to free himself from the grip of the elder hunter. Nostrils flaring, he shot a heated glare at the demon in the center of the room. Straightening, he tugged his shirt back into place and stalked into the kitchen without a backward glance.
Sam paced the room like a caged animal.
"Damn it, Sam. You're gonna get yourself killed if you keep lettin' demons rile you up like that! What the hell were you thinking, anyway? That's a man out there, Sam," he gestured to the other room, "Yeah he's possessed by a demon, but you can't just go killing humans!"
Sam stopped pacing, mid-stride, and turned to face the man staring at him as if he'd just grown another head.
"What was I thinking? I was thinking that this is a friggin war and that there're gonna be casualties."
The hunter's eyes widened. "Casualties? Sammy, what the hell's gotten into you?"
The air left the hunter's lungs in a whoosh as he found himself pinned to the wall by Sam's sinewy forearms.
"Dean..." Taking an unsteady breath, Sam continued, "Dean… was the only one who got to call me Sammy." Releasing the hunter, Sam stepped back and plunged his hands into his hair. Taking a deep breath as his nostrils flared and his jaw trembled, he turned away from the bewildered hunter still leaning against the wall. "Sorry, Bobby. I'll take care of the demon." After a few steps, and without breaking stride on his way back to the demon, he added, "Without killing the man."
Bobby shook his head sadly. "That boy's gonna snap…" And I can't watch him go over the edge when he's so set to self-destruct, he added under his breath.
With another sad shake of his head, the elder hunter patted his pockets in search of the keys to his truck. After finding them and pulling on a heavy jacket, Bobby Singer left the only person still alive that mattered to him inside his house with a demon as he walked out into the storm, closing the door behind him.