Skies on Fire-Chapter 1
A/N: This is my first fan fic, so please be kind. Reviews are welcome.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Winchester boys or any of the other characters that are from the show. I do own Jamie and Michelle, as well as the other characters that are not from the show. The title is a song by AC/DC. The lullaby that Michelle sings is by Eugene Fields.
Richmond, Va
December 20, 1982
Vince Manette sat at the bar, guzzling down his third beer. All around him the restaurant was decorated for Christmas, as were the houses outside that glowed with the excitement of the upcoming holidays. It made him want to puke.
He had expected to be rejoicing tonight, but not because of Christmas. Vince was twenty nine with an MBA. He had worked for the same investment company since the week he finished graduate school. Not long after he reached the position of a junior executive. Today he was expecting to be promoted to the senior level until he was pulled into the boss's office and told it had been given to somebody else. It had been given to some young punk who had only been with the company for two years!
Where had he gone wrong? He went to college just as his parents and guidance counselor suggested. Then he went to grad school on a full ride. Now he was stuck right were he did not want to be. Oh yeah, many people thought it was great that he achieved the position of junior exec so soon, but that was not what he wanted.
" Tough day?" he heard a seductive voice ask.
He looked up and saw a strikingly beautiful woman standing there. Her hair was as black as her cocktail dress.
' Maybe my day is about to get better,' he thought.
The woman took a seat next to him. She asked the bartender for a beer and then once again smiled at Vince.
" So what's the problem?" she asked sympathetically.
" Turned down for a promotion," Vince replied although that was fast becoming the farthest thing from his mind.
" Oh that really sucks," she said, her red mouth turning into a pout.
" Yeah," he muttered.
" I know something that could make it better," the woman replied in a sing song voice.
" And what might that be?" Vince asked with a grin.
" I'll be wanting something."
" Oh really?"
" I'll be calling on you in ten years."
" Excuse me?" Vince asked, confused.
" Yes, in ten years. As long as nobody interrupts then everybody will be fine."
Vince smiled, thinking that this had to be some kind of game.
" Okay it sounds good to me," he played along.
The woman smiled as if she had won the the lottery.
" Good. There's one more thing that we have to do to seal the deal."
Before Vince could respond the woman grabbed him roughly and planted a kiss on his lips. He pulled back, shuddering. Something felt terribly wrong with all this.
' I must be the most screwed up person on the planet. One of the most beautiful women that I have ever seen kisses me and I feel like I've been cursed.'
The woman turned and walked out the door. For one moment she glanced back at Vince. He wondered if he was more drunk than he thought, or if the lights were messed up. For just a moment it seemed as if her blue eyes had turned yellow.
The next day Vince was called into the boss's office. The young man who had beat him out of a promotion had died in a car accident the night before. The promotion was now Vince's.
...
December 20, 1992
Michelle rocked Jamie as the chubby baby finished her bottle, determined to finish despite the fact that sleep was taking over. The little brown eyes which mirrored her mother's were beginning to close.
In a soft voice, Michelle sang a lullaby:
"Wynken, Blynken and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe...
Sailed on on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew."
Finally the child finished , dozing off to sleep. Michelle laid her in the crib, tucking a pink blanket around her. She kissed her daughter's head, which was only covered by a small patch of red hair.
" Happy six month birthday little one," she whispered.
Turning on the baby monitor as well as the small kitten night light, Michelle headed downstairs for a cup of coffee. She was tired, but company was on the way for the holidays, and they would be arriving any minute.
Michelle had been born and raised in Lawrence, Kansas. Growing up, her best friend had been Mary Campbell. After graduation Michelle had came to Virginia to attend college. About a year later, she received word from Mary that her parents had been killed in an accident and that she had married John Winchester.
Once she had finished college, Michelle had stayed in Virginia and worked as a journalist. She kept in touch with Mary, and as her job enabled her to travel, she was able to visit John and Mary often. Eventually though, she had gone into freelancing and was lucky to see them even once a year.
When Mary was killed, Michelle suspected there was more to what happened than what John told her. Truthfully, even though she and Mary had always been close, Michelle always felt that there were things her best friend kept from her.
John took a job that required him to travel often. When he was near to where she was, Michelle would take care of his sons. However, it had been about four years since she had seen any of them. This year she she had finally convinced John to bring the boys and come spend Christmas with her and Vince. They would all get to meet Vince and the baby for the first time.
Michelle was stretched out on her bed watching TV when the phone rang. It was John.
" Hey Michelle. I'm calling you from a pay phone at a gas station. We got stuck in traffic, but it should only take us about an hour to get to your place. I'll call when we get close."
" No problem John. Vince is working late, but Jamie and I will be here."
Michelle decided to take a nap. Surely the phone would wake her when John called. It didn't take her long to doze off.
She was sound asleep when an hour later when the wind began to blow and the lights began to flicker.
...
Michelle awoke suddenly. Perhaps Jamie had been crying. She listened for a moment and then froze. She couldn't hear the baby, but she heard something else. There was deep breathing over the monitor, and it wasn't the sweet gentle breathing that she was used to from her daughter. She jumped up, ready to run down the hall. Then she stopped, laughing at herself. Of course, Vince must be home. Deciding, she would go say " hello" she started to walk out of the room. It was then that she noticed the street lights blinking and glanced out the window.
Her blood ran cold.
The spot where Vince always parked his car was empty. That was not him in the room. This time she didn't stop as she raced to the nursery. As she entered the room, she saw the figure clad in black standing over the crib.
" Get away from my baby!" she screamed racing towards the figure.
She gasped in horror as he or rather it turned to face her. The face itself was that of a human man, but the eyes were a demonic yellow. As it raised its hand Michelle felt herself being thrown against the wall. Then it was as if she were pinned there.
" I told him nobody must interfere," the thing hissed. " This child is mine! All of them are mine!"
Then very slowly it raised Michelle to the top of the ceiling...
...
Vince pulled into the driveway. The late night meeting he had attended had been cut short and he was just as glad. Being a senior executive was was more demanding then he had ever imagined. Not that he regretted it. It was always what he had wanted. Despite the tragedy that had occurred to allow him to get the position, he was proud of it. After all it had been nothing more than a tragic coincidence. After the scene in the bar, he had been really rattled by the news the next day. But then he told himself that it was nothing more than that. The woman in the bar didn't even know his name, or the the name of his company. So how could it have been otherwise? Still, he never quite forgot the incident.
Pulling out his keys, he unlocked the front door. The porch light was flickering, as had the street lights on his way home. He wondered if somebody had hit a pole.
When he entered the house, he could hear the baby crying. Vince sighed. No matter how hard he tried could not get used to the whole idea of fatherhood. When he and Michelle married two years earlier, the discussion of children had never come up, yet when Michelle discovered that she was pregnant, she had glowed like it was something they had always planned. Vince had wondered about her having a baby at thirty eight.
" Isn't it supposed to be dangerous having a baby at your age?" he asked her once.
" God, no Vince. Lots of woman are having them in their late forties now. My doctor thinks it's safe."
Vince thought once the baby was born he would feel different. Yet, as beautiful as Jamie was, he just couldn't seem to feel the closeness that Michelle did. Also, he began to feel a sense of resentment. Ever since the baby was born Michelle spent all her time with her. He knew it was childish to feel jealous over a baby, but he couldn't help it. Vince had talked to other fathers and most of them assured him that if would pass. Yet, for Vince it never did. He wanted it back to just when it was him and Michelle, for he did love her. His days of being a wild boy who spent his days in bars chasing woman were long gone. He couldn't stand the thought of losing her, but lately he felt like he was.
He headed upstairs to the nursery where he was sure Michelle was, but then he got there the baby was alone in her crib. Michelle was a light sleeper and always woke to Jamie crying.
Ignoring the baby, who wails were getting louder, he was about to leave the room, when he felt something wet dripping on his hand. Very slowly he looked up at the ceiling. Then he opened his mouth and screamed.