When Death Calls Ch. 3
Disclaimer: Kripke and the CW own the Winchesters. I am just playing with them and will return them later. I also have no claim on the famed Winchester House located in San Jose, California.
This one is for you Ali, hope your daughter is feeling much better.
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Previously: "You need to stay at Stanford and work on your studies instead of jumping back into the hunting life kid" Joshua informed Sammy.
"S'not gonna happen Josh. I'm already on my way to San Jose and I'm almost there. I'll meet you at the mansion" Sam said as he hung up the phone so Joshua couldn't talk him out of helping out on the hunt.
"Damn it Sammy" Joshua muttered after Sam cut the call on him. "I'm just trying to protect you kid" he said to himself as he shook his head in frustration. He would never admit it to John or Dean, but he was glad when Sam took off for Stanford. It tore him to pieces every time that Sammy had gotten hurt on a hunt. A little piece of his heart was shattered every time he got a call from Jim or Bobby and they mentioned that Sam had been injured.
Joshua remembered the last time he had seen the kid when Sammy was about ten years old. He and John had gotten into a huge fight over Sammy participating in a hunt. They were going after an Abiku demon and Joshua wanted to leave Sammy with Jim but John had refused and the kid had ended up in getting seriously hurt because of it.
"John, don't you think it would be best if we left Sammy with Jim for this hunt. This demon preys on children and lures them away to eat them. I really think we should leave Sammy behind."
"Sam will be fine Josh. Dean and I will be watching out for him. He knows better than to go off by himself since he found out a couple of years ago about the things out there that could hurt him. Besides, Jim's place is a five hour drive from here. We would be wasting precious time away from the hunt" John had replied.
"Damn it John, it wouldn't be wasting time if it keeps the little tiger from getting hurt or worse. Hell, I'll take him to Jim's myself if you'll let me and then meet up with you and Dean later."
"I said no Josh. Whether he likes it or not, Sammy has been thrust into this life and the sooner he learns to hunt these creatures, the better off he'll be."
"He's still just a kid John. You need to let him keep what little innocence he still has. That kid is still able to see the good in things. Don't strip that away from him before you absolutely have to"
"For the last time Josh, Sammy is going. He's my kid and I'll decide what is best for him, not you." John had said to effectively end the conversation.
Joshua couldn't remember ever having been so pissed in his life as he had been at that moment. He had been tempted to just let John hunt the demon himself after that but then changed his mind hoping that with him along, Sammy would have more protection. As it turned out, Sammy had been hurt anyway.
They had been caught by surprise when a second Abiku demon had shown up and both of the older hunters were telekinetically tossed through the air. John had collided with a tree while Joshua had landed harshly on the ground, his ribs impacting a large stone.
Joshua had heard the audible snap of at least two ribs breaking and it stole his breath away. He felt pain shoot up his right side as he rolled himself onto his back. He was trying to sit up when he heard Dean holler his brother's name.
"Sammmmmyyyyy" Joshua heard Dean holler in a panic laden voice. He struggled to pull himself together knowing that the boys needed help. He looked over to see John Winchester struggling to stand as blood poured down the side of his face after having connected with a tree.
"Let go of my brother bitch" Joshua had heard Dean scream as the demon pounced on Sammy. Before Dean had gotten a shot off though, Sammy screamed out in pain as the demon bit into his side and started chewing on his skin. Dean was unable to shoot the demon fearing that he would hit his brother because of the way the demon held him close. Dean launched himself at the demon and beat on it with his fists as it refused to relinquish its hold on Sammy.
Joshua became fully alert as he heard Sammy screaming out in pain. He steadied himself after pushing up to his knees and fired some consecrated iron rounds into the creature's leg forcing it to turn in his direction to protect itself. As it reared up in anger away from Sammy, Joshua fired two consecrated iron rounds into its heart effectively killing it.
After the attack, Sammy had slipped into a state of shock from the horrible wound to his side and the blood loss that accompanied it. By the time they had gotten Sammy to the hospital, the kid was unconscious and barely breathing.
Joshua remembered walking into Sammy's room in the PICU later that evening and seeing him hooked up to all kinds of machines. It broke his heart to see Sammy lying there unconscious in the bed with that oxygen mask over his face helping him to breathe. Sammy had spent eight days in the hospital recovering from the bite and the infection from it that had nearly killed him.
The day that Sammy was released. Joshua finally lit into John about putting the hunt before his boys. He accused him of caring more about the hunt than he did his own kids. He and John had gotten into such a bad fight that they actually started throwing punches at each other. Before all was said and done, John had told him to get the hell out and that he was no longer welcomed in his house. He remembered seeing the devastated look in Sammy's eyes when he had told him he had to leave making it one of the worst days of his life.
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Joshua pulled up to the famed Winchester house approximately an hour later to find the place deserted or so he thought.. The daily tours through the house had ended at three o'clock leaving him plenty of time to locate and dispel the spirit before it could hurt anyone else.
As he approached the mansion, Joshua saw a well built tall young man with long wavy, brown hair approaching him from the side of the house with a smile on his face and his hand held out in greeting. As soon as he looked into the eyes of the man, Joshua instantly knew who it was. Those eyes could only belong to one Sammy Winchester.
"Damn tiger, you sure did grow up to be tall seeing as how you were always small for your age when you were little" Joshua stated as he took Sammy's outstretched hand and pulled him into a bear hug. "It's so good to see you kid."
Sam returned the hug as a huge smile lit his face. "It's good to see you too Josh, it's been too long.
"Yeah it has kiddo. When your daddy told me I was no longer welcome, what tore my heart out the most was knowing that it would be a long time before I ever saw you or Dean again. I mean I kept up with how you boys were doing through Jim and Bobby, but it wasn't the same as being able to see you with my own two eyes. You've grown up into a fine young man Sammy.
"It's Sam now, I left Sammy behind a long time ago" Sam stated wistfully as he missed hearing Dean call him by that moniker.
"Okay, but I'm still going to call you tiger" Joshua said as he clasped Sam on the shoulder. "Whether you like it or not, you're always going to be that sweet little boy to me."
Sam rolled his eyes in exasperation at still being viewed as a little boy when he stood six foot four. "So tell me Josh, what have you learned about this hunt."
"Well kiddo, seems like there have been some unusual deaths here lately as workers have been working on restoring sections of the house to its former glory. One worker was killed when his nail gun accidentally went off and shot him straight through the heart. Another worker was killed when a hammer fell from above, hitting him on the head and splitting it wide open. Rumor has it that the house is haunted by the spirits of people killed long ago by the Winchester repeating rifles."
Joshua then went on to say, "I'm sure you've heard the story behind the house and how the widow of William Winchester had the house built for herself and the spirits of the people killed by Winchester rifles after her husband and daughter died under mysterious circumstances. As you probably know, Sarah Winchester was convinced by a medium to keep the house under constant construction or she would die. That's why the mansion is so huge."
"Yeah, I know the story" Sam informed Joshua as they walked up onto the porch leading to the massive redwood doors. "My girlfriend Jessica tried to convince me to take a tour of the place not too long after we first met. She was intrigued by the fact that my last name was Winchester and that I could possibly be a long lost relation of Sarah Winchester."
"Now wouldn't that be something" Joshua said as he thought about all the run down houses and motels that John and the boys had stayed in over the years.
"Yeah, especially considering some of the places we lived in through the years" Sammy said putting voice to Joshua's thoughts. "We sure could have used some of that massive fortune growing up."
As they reached the doors, Sam took out his lock picking set and had the doors opened in under two minutes after informing Joshua that he had already dismantled the alarm system while he was waiting on him.
Joshua pushed the doors open and both his and Sam's mouths opened in astonishment at the architectural marvel and the opulence of the place that was adorned with Tiffany chandeliers and gold trim.
"Damn" Joshua said as he saw just how enormous the mansion was inside. "We're going to have a hell of a time finding the spirit that is haunting this place and disposing of it."
TBC
