CHAPTER THREE
It was pouring down rain on a Tuesday, 12 days after they lost Dean, that they finally heard something concrete.
It had been 12 days of rumors, assumptions, and murmurs. Church killings were being reported all over the news that they were sure were Michael but had nothing to prove it. The body count had risen to 83, and that was just who they knew about.
The police didn't know what they were dealing with. They decided to nickname the killer the Servant Slayer.
Sam, Cas, and Jack knew better than the police. They knew it wasn't just some random psycho with an agenda and they all assumed the killings were because of Michael.
But, everyone knows what happens when you assume things, and with this much blood flowing, they didn't want to even consider the possibility that it could be because of Dean's hands.
It was maddening for all three of them not to know anything for sure. Dean could be dead, his body just a free vessel for Michael. They just didn't know. Mary and Bobby tried their best to help. They sent out teams to try and track movements, had them go check out crime scenes, and set up a base here in the bunker. But, nothing helped. They had nothing to show for all their hard work. They had no proof and were all running on fumes.
That is, until today, when there was a survivor of one of the attacks. Just the fact that there was a survivor was weird enough since after almost two weeks, there hadn't been a single one.
"Now, Ms. McHugh, can you tell me exactly what you saw?"
The twenty-four-year-old girl sat at her kitchen island, wringing her hands together as she stared at the granite countertop.
Sam leaned forward and placed a comforting hand on her arm. "Take your time, Taylor." He made sure to keep his tone calm and at ease, doing his damnedest to hide his impatience.
Taylor tucked a strand of shoulder-length, straight brown hair behind her ear. Sam cringed by the way her hand shook. Michael did this, he thought angrily, taking in the girl's injuries. After two days in the hospital, the girl still looked pretty rough. Her left leg was in a cast from above the knee all the way down to encase her ankle. The jacket and 9 Inch Nails t-shirt she was wearing covered the multiple bruises and bandages from her two broken ribs that Sam had read in the report that the lead detective had given him. Her right eye was still swollen, her nose was broken, and she had stiches above her eyebrow from a pretty nasty cut.
"It was just a book club." She whispered, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry?"
Taylor took a deep breath. "I don't even go to that church, I'm not even religious, I was just there that night for a damn book club." She said bitterly, meeting Sam's questioning gaze. "We were in the middle of discussing the ending when this- this guy just walks in and starts spouting a bunch of crap about needing to save us. None of us knew what he was talking about." She took a deep breath, her voice shaking, as she wiped a stray tear that stubbornly fell. "He talked about needing to cleanse this Earth like he did his and then-" She paused.
"Taylor?" Sam began, moving slowly to sit on a bar stool opposite her. "It's okay. You can tell me."
"He killed Karen, the woman who runs-" Another pause. "ran the book club and then he just kept… going." Her eyes glazed over, his mind clearly somewhere else. "His hands they- they somehow burned Greg and Zach's eyes out. What can do that?"
Sam was taken aback by the question. Not so much that she asked it, but that she specifically said 'what' instead of 'who'. "We aren't sure who he is-"
"You can't tell me that- that thing was human." She insisted, scrutinizing him.
"Why did he keep you alive?" Sam asked, brows scrunching as he quickly changed the subject. This girl already had a huge trauma, no need to add on 'this was an archangel possessing my brother and oh yeah there's angels and demons and vampires and every other nightmare you can think of roaming the earth.'
Taylor scoffed. "He wasn't going to. He all of a sudden stopped when there was just me and this guy Kevin left, stared at us and then he charged at me. He was in the middle of doing this," she gestured to her injuries, swallowing, "when he just stopped. He got this self-satisfied smirk on his face, killed Kevin, and then left."
"That's it?" Sam asked, not entirely believing her. "He didn't say anything else to you? What did he look like?"
"I think I heard him mutter something under his breath." She offered, shrugging. "I'm not entirely sure I heard it right though."
Sam leaned forward eagerly. "Taylor, please. Anything can help us catch this guy."
Taylor nodded. "He said- it doesn't even make any sense but I'm pretty sure he said, "I'm glad you finally decided to play, Dean." There was no one else around though."
The color drained from Sam's face, a look of dread on his features before he forced a smile. "Thank you, really, you've been a big help. Just, one last thing." He quickly pulled out his cell phone before tapping it a few times and turning it towards the girl. "Was this him?" He asked begrudgingly, not really wanting to hear the answer he had already known for the past 12 days.
Taylor looked at the picture of Dean before her mouth fell open, forcing her eyes away. "Yes. That's him. I'm positive. Who is he?"
Sam stood, grabbing his wallet from his suit jacket and pulling out a card. "Call me if you see him again or if you need anything else." He insisted before leaving the card on the counter and bolting out the front door.
….
"Dammit." Castiel growled, tapping the 'end call' button on his cell phone much harder than necessary.
Jack looked over, his head tilting slightly. "What's wrong?"
"That was Sam." He began, standing up from the motel bed and walking over to their duffel bags. "He just spoke with the survivor. She confirmed it was Michael."
Jack's brows drew together in concentration. "So, we know Dean's alive. That's good, right?"
Cas couldn't help the exasperated sigh that escaped his lips. "Michael could've easily killed Dean but kept the vessel. This only confirms that Michael is doing the same thing to our Earth that he did to his."
Jack cast his eyes down, ashamed at his own ignorance before he stood from the table where he had been reading Dean's hunting journal. He had wanted to learn as much about the supernatural as possible. When he asked Dean for a book to read to learn all he could about monsters, he had handed him his very own journal. Don't lose it, he had warned, but Jack could remember the smile on his face. "What do we do now?"
Castiel zipped up their duffels before handing one to Jack to carry, who quickly shoved the journal inside. "Sam is two minutes away. Once he gets here, we're going to try to follow Michael."
"Did Sam figure out a pattern? How are we going to know where he'll show up next?" Jack asked, heading out the door after Castiel to wait outside.
Cas shook his head. "Not exactly, he might've found a tracking spell."
"That's great!" Jack said enthusiastically, earning a less than optimistic look from Cas.
Just then, the familiar roar of the Impala came within hearing distance.
…..
"Dean, you better hurry and pick one. I'm growing tired of this one-sided game."
Michael wasn't surprised by the stony silence that followed. For the past twelve days, every time Michael offered Dean a choice on who to save, he'd say both.
And every time, Michael would kill both of them.
But this time, this time, Dean did say something. Of course, it was after he already started beating on the woman that Dean finally gave his answer, fast and regretful.
"The girl, the girl save the girl."
Michael smirked, clearly proud of himself as he let the young woman fall harshly to the ground before turning around and shoving his hand through the guys chest.
Shaking his hand free of blood as the girl screamed in horror behind him, Michael spoke. "I'm glad you finally decided to play, Dean." He slowly meandered out of the church's basement before snapping his fingers, already in a different town, in a motel room to gather himself.
Defeated quiet followed before he finally spoke. "My brother will find us and when he does-"
"I'll kill him just like I've killed all those other people." Michael interrupted, able to feel the scowl behind Dean's next words.
"And when he does," He repeated more insistently, spitting every word. "He'll roast your head on a pike. I promise you that."
The archangel tried to ignore the shiver that ran down his spine at the coldness behind Dean Winchester's threat.
"We'll see about that."
…
"You should feel honored that I derailed my road trip to help you lot."
Sam smirked almost fondly at Rowena's fake annoyance. He knew as soon as he told her that she was not as okay with Dean being possessed as her act portrayed. "Did you find a spell?"
Rowena huffed before pulling out a piece of parchment paper, worn and discolored with age, and setting it on the table between them. Sam picked it up eagerly, his eyes scanning over the text. He had only ever seen this type of script once before when Bart had given them half that spell to track Jack.
Rowena promptly plucked it from his hands, holding it close to her out of his reach. "Do you have my end of the bargain?" Sam swallowed before his eyes darted back and forth between the spell and Rowena, calculating.
"I'll put you down before you can even think twice about it." She warned, one brow rising, daring Sam to try something.
"Rowena, can't you ever just do us a favor, no strings attached?" He asked. It'll be worth it, it's the only way to help Dean, he thought although he knew, Dean would be pissed when he found out what he promised.
"I may be turnin' over a new leaf, but I'm still a business woman." She reminded, her lips curling at the edges into a smirk. "Come on, Samuel. I'll be good, witches honor."
Sam sighed as he reached down to pick his bag off the floor.
Rowena watched with childish glee as Sam set the Black Grimoire down on the table.
…..
TBC
Thanks for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing! Let me know what you thought of Sam's choice and about how Dean's situation is developing. I enjoy reading your thoughts and, believe it or not, it makes me sit down and write. I hope every one had a great Fourth of July that celebrates it!
