What if we got a peak into Brady's mind?
"Wake up," Brady heard. He felt like he had been asleep for years. He couldn't see anything. He tried to open his eyes. He realized that they were open, but he also realized that he was not in charge of his body. He hadn't been for a very long time.
SSS
"You sure I can't talk you into coming home with me, Sam?" Brady asked before he left for Thanksgiving. This was their second year in college and he had invited Sam for every holiday, but he had always refused.
"No. I feel weird at other people's houses at holidays. I don't know how to act. I'm going to use the time to get ahead in my classes."
Brady rolled his eyes. "You're already ahead in all your classes."
"I have to be. I'm here on a full scholarship. I don't keep my grades all the way up and I'm out."
Brady knew that he was the only one Sam had told about being on full scholarship. It was so hard to fit in around here if you weren't from money.
"Alright. See you when I get back," Brady said.
He had gone home and spent a couple of days with his family before he was attacked by all this black smoke that smelled like sulphur. He hadn't been in control of his body since.
The demon had spoken to him inside his head. "Let's get high."
"No, leave me alone," Brady had said.
"I can't. I need you."
"Why me?" Brady asked.
"Because you're Sam Winchester's best friend. I'm going to use you to manipulate the rest of his life."
SSS
When they had gotten back to college, the demon had Brady's body totally addicted to drugs. The demon himself was immune to the addiction, but he needed to have the body have the right symptoms.
Two weeks after he had gotten back to school, he was flunking out.
"Brady, what's going on?" Sam had asked him.
"Help me!" Brady screamed out. He was beginning to hate Sam. This was all because of him. He knew that.
"He can't," the demon told him. Aloud, he said to Sam, "I'm dropping out of school."
"Why. You have such a bright future as a doctor," Sam said.
"How can I help other people when I can't even help myself?"
Over the next few weeks, the demon allowed Sam to see Brady buying drugs, getting high. Then, finally, he let Sam get to him. Let Sam bring him back on the right path. It was all too pathetic.
SSS
"What are you doing?" Brady asked the demon. He couldn't really see that he was doing anything. Ever since he had stopped being on drugs, he had gone back to acting like Brady. It didn't make any sense.
"I wanted Sam to feel responsible for me. Sam has a deep sense of responsibility. He'll never let me go as a friend now."
SSS
The beginning of their junior year, the demon approached Jessica. She was premed, like Brady and they had had classes together before the demon had taken over.
"Hi, Jessica," the demon said.
"Hey, Brady." Jessica was a little leery of Brady. She had liked him at first, but then she had heard about the drugs and all his problems. But, she realized, he had sobered up. She didn't know what went on his life. She shouldn't judge him.
"I was just wondering if you want to go out with me some time?"
NO! Brady screamed inside his head. He liked Jessica. She was sweet. He had always wanted to ask her out himself, but had been too shy. She was way out of his league.
"Um," Jessica said, not sure how to respond.
"How about you get a group of your friends, I get a group of my friends and we meet somewhere?" Brady amended.
"That sounds OK," Jessica said. "How many friends?"
"3."
"Friday night?"
"Sounds good," the demon agreed, while Brady railed against his mind. He didn't know what the demon was up to, but he had a feeling it was no good.
SSS
Brady had watched as the demon pushed Sam and Jessica together that Friday night. Within two months they both acted like they were made for each other.
SSS
Brady knocked on Sam and Jessica's door. Jessica answered.
"Brady, it's been a while." They had graduated a few months ago. Sam had been waitlisted and had started in the spring semester, so was now in his last semester. If he got that full ride to Stanford Law, he would be taking next semester off and starting next fall.
"Where's Sam?" the demon asked, knowing full well he was off with his brother. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for.
"He's off for the weekend with his family," Jessica said.
"I smell you've been baking cookies," the demon said.
"Yeah, come on in," Jessica smiled as she opened the door wider.
"Jessica, you're so beautiful," the demon said as he came in and reached out and caressed his cheek.
"What are you doing?" Jessica asked as she stepped away from him.
The demon shut the door. "Just a little fun before I kill you."
"What?" Jessica asked, looking around frantically.
"Don't worry. You can't get away." The demon pushed her into the bedroom. He then thrust her against the wall.
"Why are you doing this? We're friends. You're Sam's friend."
The demon sneered at her. He caused her to slide up the wall. "Stop it!" Brady screamed inside his head over and over. He couldn't believe this was happening. It had been horrible not being in charge of his body the last couple of years, but at least nothing bad had happened. This demon hadn't killed anybody. Not until now anyway. The demon slit Jessica's stomach. She tried to cry out, but nothing happened.
"Sam will be home soon. When the moment's right, you'll burst into flames. Enjoy your last few moments of life."
"Don't hurt her," Brady begged.
"Yes, I forgot about you. I don't need you anymore. Go to sleep."
That was the last thing Brady remembered, until now.
SSS
"Why are you waking me up?" Brady asked. "How long has it been?"
"Four years. I'm going to let you take control now."
"What?" Brady asked. He found that he could turn his head left and right. That was about it. He was tied up. There was something over his head. And he was in extreme pain.
He felt the bag being taken off of his head.
"Sam?" he asked. Everything was all Sam's fault. He didn't know how or why, but he knew that it was.
"So Sophomore year, huh?" Sam asked.
Brady was confused. Sam was obviously picking up from an earlier conversation. But, he knew well enough what happened Sophomore year.
"Yeah, Sam, sophomore year. I went home for Thanksgiving and one day all this black smoke and sulphur smell came along and took over me. I had to watch as Jessica, the girl I liked, was pushed towards you."
"What are you trying to pull?" Sam demanded.
"Nothing. The demon doesn't want to talk to you. He told me I was in charge."
Sam knew that was possible. He remembered that demon inside the nurse. The one he drank. He shook his head. He couldn't think about that now.
"I'm sorry, Brady."
"You should be. This was all about you. The demon wanted you with Jessica. He killed her. I have no idea why, but he did. He threw her against the wall. He slit her stomach. He said he was going to burn her alive, but thank God, I didn't have to watch that."
"I always knew Jessica died because of me, but she was pushed towards me to be killed?" Sam asked. That was too much to bear. He tried to picture her face, but as time went by, it became harder and harder. Every single picture that he had had of her had burned in the fire.
"Yes, Jessica is dead because of you. I lost control of my life because of you. Who else is dead because of you, Sam?"
"Lots of people," Sam said softly. He walked out of the room. He knew there was nothing he could do for Brady. He was dead. The only thing keeping him alive was the demon inside him. And they had to get Brady's spirit out of his body so that the demon could tell them where to find Pestilence. He knew how to do that, too. He also knew it was painful. He had to stab Brady with a knife made of consecrated iron, then twist it around 7 times. That would free the human spirit from the body and leave the demon.
He got the knife, ignoring Dean's yells to let him out of the bathroom, where he had locked him in. He had to do this himself. After getting the knife, he went back in.
"I'm sorry, Brady."
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
"I'm going to release your spirit."
"You mean you're going to kill me."
Sam shook his head. "You're already dead. But you're spirit is stuck in your body because the demon is keeping you alive."
He thrust the knife into Brady's stomach and turned his head as he saw his friend's look of pain. He had been his best friend. The demon was right about that, and he hated doing this to him, but he had no choice. With every twist, Brady screamed. With the seventh twist, it stopped. The demon was sneering at him.
"You're not getting out of it that easy," Sam said and left the room. Dean was right. They needed him. He couldn't let it get personal.
The End
