Author's Note: This is my first attempt at fanfiction, so go easy on me. I didn't have anyone to beta it for me, so all mistakes are my own. I should have the next few chapters up in a day or two. All reviews and constructive criticism are welcome!
The prelude is set in season one while the rest of the story is set somewhere in the middle of season 3, so spoilers up to that point.
Prelude
"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus…" Sam read carefully from the book in his hands, ignoring the gasps and curses of the demons tied to the chairs in front of him.
The two female meatsuits the demons possessed struggled furiously against their bonds, rocking back and forth in the chairs. Sam wasn't worried, however. Between the demon trap they were sitting in and the knots Dean had tied, they weren't going anywhere.
Sam continued the exorcism, still ignoring the pained screams and insults the demons threw at him.
"Let me go, you bastard!" One of the demons, Ryan, screeched at him.
"There's no way in hell that's going to happen," Dean yelled back, tossing some holy water on her. She screamed as the water burned her flesh. "This is the least you deserve."
Sam was not surprised at Dean's sudden cruelty. The two demons in front of them, Ryan and her sister Rachel, if demons could have sisters, had tortured and killed 32 people before Sam and Dean had picked up the case. 2 of the victims were hunters. Although the cases varied slightly, all the victims had a few tell-tale injuries in common: a stab in the side, slashed chest, whipped back, and a punctured hand. The demons had managed to kill 4 more people before the brothers finally tracked them down, the last one dying as Sam and Dean crashed through the door.
But that wasn't what had made Dean so angry. It was the fact that Rachel and Ryan hadn't killed those people for a ritual or because they were ordered to or for some other twisted purpose. No, they had brutally tortured and murdered 36 people because it was fun. It made Dean sick.
"You'll pay for this!" Rachel yelled angrily at the brothers as Sam finished the exorcism. Two plumes of black smoke erupted from the mouths of the two girls, and Sam quickly recited the verses required to finish the job and send the ejected demons to hell. Sam sighed and shut the book with a loud thunk as the last of the smoke disappeared.
"Come on," Dean muttered, turning away. "Let's get out of here."
"Hang on a second," Sam stopped Dean with a hand on his arm. He moved over to the corpse of the girl on the right and started to untie her.
"Come on, man, they've been dead for weeks. There's nothing we can do for them. Let's blow this joint."
"They were people, Dean. The least we can do is pay them a little respect," Sam replied as he continued working on the knot. Damn, Dean can tie a knot.
With a sigh, Dean walked over to the other corpse and began working on those knots. When all the knots were undone, they lowered the mutilated corpses to the ground, laying their hands peacefully on their chests and closing their eyes.
"All right, let's go."
The brothers walked back out to the Impala without a word. They knew this hunt, with its high number of gruesome deaths that they failed to prevent, was going to haunt them for a long time.