Chapter 4
A Banquet Only For The Best
Play: "Renegade" By: Styx
Harper stood up and began to grab her stuff.
"Harper, where are you doing?" Dean asked, standing up after her. Sam came out of the bathroom and saw Harper packing up her things.
"Harper, what's going on?" Sam asked.
"The demon, it's going after Molly, Susan's kid." Harper answered hurriedly. Sam was still drying his hair when his jaw dropped.
"Where are we going?" Dean asked, grabbing his own stuff.
"The corner of NW 7th and Douglas." Harper replied, stepping out of the room. Sam quickly combed his hair back with his fingers, grabbed his own belongings and followed Harper out the door. Dean followed with a grin on his face, enjoying Harper's sense of adventure.
"Dean, throw me the keys!" Harper yelled as she threw her backpack into the trunk. Dean was hesitant but pulled his keys out of his pocket. "Dean, now!" Harper screamed. Her voice scared Dean a little so he threw the keys to her. She caught them, hopped into the car and started it. "Hurry up!" She yelled to Sam and Dean. Dean got into shotgun and Sam hopped into the back seat. Harper punched on the gas and sped to Susan's residence. Dean held onto the door and feared for his life as they raced down a busy street.
Turning a corner rather quick, Dean yelped, "Harper, take it easy!"
"No!" Harper yelled back. "For all we know she could be dead!" Everyone was silent as Harper sped to Susan's house. Pulling into the driveway, Harper literally jumped out of the car.
"Harper, calm down!" Dean yelled as he leaped into the driver's seat to stop the car. Harper ran to the trunk and Dean threw her the keys. Harper hurriedly opened the trunk and the false bottom as Sam got out of the car. Harper grabbed Dean's pistol and threw it to him. While he was cocking it and making sure it was loaded, Harper grabbed Sam's pistol and one of her own. The two made sure they were loaded, cocked them and rushed up to the front door. Harper was about to ring the doorbell when there was a scream heard from the inside.
"Molly!" Harper yelled. "Back up!" She screamed. Sam and Dean backed up and Harper kicked the door down. The door swung open and the three stepped inside, their guns at the ready. Harper led Sam and Dean to the living room where furniture was tipped over and broken glass was spread across the floor. In the middle of the room, Molly was standing amidst three dead bodies. Black smoke was flowing forcefully into her mouth and her head was cocked back. "Dammit!" Harper yelled and she started the exorcism. In eight seconds flat the demon had been expelled from Molly's body and sent back to hell. Harper, Sam and Dean took a deep breath before Molly began to fall to the floor. Harper rushed over and caught her before she hit the ground. Molly had passed out when the demon left her body and she was beginning to wake up in Harper's arms. Sam rushed over to where Harper was kneeling with Molly's head laid across her knees and Dean dragged the bodies out into the hallway. Molly's eyes fluttered open and she looked around, confused.
"What happened?" she asked. Harper smiled weakly.
"Hey Molly, you fell and hit your head. You just slipped." Harper lied. Molly nodded and tried to stand up. She put a hand up to her head and up to her head.
"Why don't you sit down?" Sam asked, pulling a chair from the dining room table and pushing it in Harper's direction. Harper stopped it and Molly sat down. Dean walked back into the living room.
"Can someone please explain to me what happened? Where's my mommy?" Molly asked. Harper began to tear up.
"I-I don't know where your mommy is." She croaked.
"Can you help me find her?" Molly asked. Harper, Sam and Dean nodded.
"Of course, sweetie." Dean said sweetly, kneeling down next to Harper and rubbing her back. Sam sat down cross-legged next to Dean and Harper and faced Molly.
"Who are you?" Molly asked.
"My name is Harper, these are my friends Sam and Dean." Harper explained.
"Wait… you're Agent Morgan." Molly said, pointing to Harper.
"Yeah," Harper said weakly. "That's me."
"Okay." Molly said sadly. Harper nodded and began to stand up. She walked into the kitchen and away from Sam and Dean. Dean stood up after her.
"Ask her some questions, I'm going to see what's wrong." He whispered to his brother. Sam nodded and smiled at Molly. Dean walked into the kitchen to see Harper standing, leaning with one shoulder on the wall, drinking straight from a bottle of Irish Whiskey. Dean sighed. "What happened?" Dean asked. Harper took another sip and put the bottle on the counter. She walked a couple of steps towards Dean and embraced him with such a force that Dean almost fell to the ground. Harper began to cry quietly into Dean's shoulder.
"I don't usually deal with little kids." She whimpered. Dean held Harper as tight as he could, as if it was the last time. "It just… it hit me hard, how innocent someone can be." Dean nodded and planted a kiss on Harper's shoulder which made her break away from Dean.
"Yeah, it's heartbreaking." Dean replied. Harper hugged Dean again and he kissed her softly on the top of her head. Sam walked into the room as Harper and Dean broke away. End Song If Not Yet Finished
Play: "Peace Of Mind" By: Boston
"She doesn't remember anything after yesterday." Sam said. Harper wiped furiously at her face.
"Okay, I'll stay here with her, you guys need your suits for tonight." Harper said, pushing Sam and Dean out of the kitchen. They kept objecting on their way out of the door but Harper insisted that she could stay with Molly. When Sam and Dean were finally out of the house, Harper returned to Molly and explained the situation.
"Hey, so my friends just left, there not going to come back for a little while but I'm going to stay here with you." Harper explained. "We still don't know where your mom is, but we'll find her." Molly nodded.
"What are we going to do now?" She asked. Harper smiled.
"Whatever you want." Harper replied. Molly and Harper played with Molly's toys and waited for Sam and Dean. When they came back, it was 5:30. Harper jumped up and answered the door. Sam and Dean walked through the door with their suits and Harper hugged them both.
"Woah, what's with all of the excitement?" Dean asked, hugging Harper back with his free hand.
"Sorry, I've just been really bored. All Molly wants to do is play with her toys and she makes me play with her." Harper explained. Lowering her voice to a whisper, Harper muttered, "Save me." Sam and Dean chuckled and hung their suits on the back of a chair.
"So what are we supposed to do with her?" Sam asked. Harper shrugged her shoulders.
"Should we call a babysitter?" Dean suggested.
"We might not be back, and this girl has already lost her father, she might have just lost her mother too. We need to find her as soon as possible. She should probably stay with a relative for the time being." Harper said sadly. Sam and Dean nodded and walked into the living room where Molly was playing with toy dolls.
"Hey, Molly." Sam said quietly with a smile. He knelt down next to the pink dollhouse and Molly turned to him. "Do you have any aunts or uncles that could watch over you?"
"Well, there's Uncle Greg, he and Aunt Lisa live in Ohio." Molly replied, putting her toys down.
"Is there anyone in the state that can watch you?" Sam asked sweetly. Molly nodded.
"Aunt Margaret and Uncle Bonny." She relied.
"Do you know where they live?" Dean asked. Molly shook her head.
"But their address in on the fridge." Molly recalled, standing up and leading Sam, Dean and Harper into the kitchen. She plucked a small note card from a purple magnet off of the fridge and handed it to Dean. An address was scribbled in black ink in large letters on the front side and Dean smiled, tucking it into his jacket pocket.
"Molly, why don't you pack some clothes for a couple of days in a bag? We're going to take a trip to Uncle Bonny's house." Harper explained. Molly nodded and rushed upstairs into her bedroom. Harper turned to Sam and Dean and took a deep breath. She folded her arms and laid her head gently on Sam's chest, facing Dean. "How are we going to explain to her what we're doing?" Harper asked. Sam rubbed Harper's arm.
"I have no idea." He replied. Dean stuck his hands in his jeans front pockets and walked out of the kitchen, his head hanging. Harper stood up and faced Sam.
"We can tell her that her mom just had to leave for a little while. We'll find Susan, bring her back and everything will be back to the way it was, okay?" Sam assured. Harper nodded and walked out of the kitchen after Dean. The three walked into the foyer and turned to face each other.
"We're going to have to head back to the hotel. Everything I need is back there." Harper said as Molly came barreling down the stairs with a pink bag.
"I'm ready." She said with a smile.
"Okay, let's hit the road." Dean replied, opening the front door and stepping out.
"Wait, your suits." Harper reminded him.
"I'll get them." Sam said, heading back into the living room. Molly walked out of the house and Harper followed, taking her bag, opening the trunk and gently placing her bag as far back as she could. Harper and Molly got in the back seat while Sam hopped in shotgun and Dean drove. Dean started the car and pulled out of the driveway. End Song If Not Yet Finished
Play: "Eye Of The Tiger" By: Survivor
After about 45 minutes of driving, Dean pulled into 6392 Weatherview Drive's driveway and stopped the car. Harper opened the door and her and Molly stepped out.
"I'll walk her up to the front door. I'll think of something to say." Harper said before she shut the door and walked up the perfect front steps of Uncle Bonny's house. She rang the doorbell and the door was soon opened by a squat man, almost identical to Susan. He smiled upon seeing his niece, but that smile soon faded when he saw Harper.
"What are you doing with Molly?" He asked.
"Hi, my name is Harper Morgan, I was babysitting Molly and her mother didn't come home last night. She told me that if anything went wrong to come to your house." Harper lied. The man stood there, watching her through suspicious eyes.
"Okay… so now I have to watch out for the kid?" The man asked. Molly smiled at her uncle and walked past him, inside the house.
"Sir, I have to get back to school, if I miss one more class I'll be suspended." Harper explained. Bonny shook his head in disbelief.
"Fine, I'll take the kid. I assume that I have to pay you?"
"Nope, I didn't do this for the money." Harper said. "Thank you for understanding." Harper turned and walked away, leaving Molly with her uncle. She walked back to the Impala and sat in the back seat silently.
"Something wrong?" Sam asked, turning around in his seat to face Harper. She shook her head and cleared her throat.
"We should be heading back, what time does the banquet start?" Harper asked.
"8:00." Sam answered.
"Okay, so we have an hour and fifteen minutes to get ready. We should hurry." She explained. Dean nodded and started the car. Pulling out, he smiled, not for any particular reason. Just thinking about Harper made the butterflies that rested eternally in his stomach flutter around. He drove back to the hotel and all three got out quickly, running a bit later than expected. Harper seized the bathroom and changed quickly. Sam and Dean changed in the middle of the room and they were ready. Harper brushed and styled her hair, put her makeup on, brushed her teeth, remembered to put foundation over her tattoo and walked out of the bathroom. Hearing the door open, Sam and Dean turned to face her. End Song If Not Yet Finished
Play: "Can't Help Falling In Love" By: Elvis Presley
Dean's jaw dropped. Standing in front of him was a gorgeous woman wearing a short black dress with a sweetheart neckline and a low back. The skirt puffed out around Harper's legs like a giant black tu-tu. Her black high-heeled shoes made her a few inches taller than she really was. Even though she was rushing, her makeup and hair were flawless. The blue eyeshadow and cat eye eyeliner, the dark purple lipstick and her cute little freckles that showed through her foundation all made her look like a princess. Her emerald-green eyes were looking at the ground and her manicured nails brushed a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Her hair was pulled up into some sort of bun with loose strands framing her face. The light reflected off of the angel-wing design on her lower back and Harper smiled. Sam was grinning from ear to ear, unable to say anything. Harper smiled at the two boys who were standing in front of her, speechless. "Hi…"
"Hi…" Dean replied.
"Wow, Harper you look…" Sam began.
"Stunning." Dean finished.
"Even more stunning than stunning." Sam added. Harper giggled shyly.
"Thank you." Dean couldn't stop staring. Sam cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Right, we should go." He said, opening the door and stepping out. Harper smiled and followed him. Dean followed Harper and locked the door behind him.
They arrived at the Fumc Banquet Hall in fifteen minutes flat and raced in, hoping they weren't late. Dean threw the doors open and was relieved when hundreds of people were in the building, dancing, conversing and eating. They paid no attention to the boys as they walked in but when Harper walked through the doors, all conversations came to a halt, people stopped mid-chew and dancers turned to look. Harper blushed a mad shade of red and smiled at the ground. One man came over quickly and put his hand on her back. Sam and Dean turned to face him and glared.
"Hello my lady, how are you on this lovely evening?" The man asked. Harper looked straight ahead.
"I am just fine. Could you please remove your hand that is slowly making its way from my bare back to my butt?" Harper replied rather loudly. The man was shocked and his hand immediately flew off of her back as his face burned. He walked away hastily and didn't turn back. Sam and Dean walked up to Harper and smiled.
"I guess you really do have a way with words." Dean remarked. Harper giggled.
"I'll leave you to it. I have to actually hunt now." Sam said, backing away from Harper and Dean. Harper scoffed.
"All work and no play. I'd hate to have a life like that. I always tell him that he needs to have more fun but he insists on getting the job done." Harper explained.
"I tell him that too." Dean said. He met Harper's eyes and smiled awkwardly. After a few seconds, Harper rolled her eyes.
"Are you going to ask me to dance or not?" Dean's gaze shot to the ground.
"Uhh… I-I umm…" Harper rolled her eyes again and grabbed Dean's hand, dragging him out onto the dancefloor. As soon as they got there, a slow dance song began to play. End Song If Not Yet Finished
Play: "Lights" By: Journey
Harper smiled and placed her left hand on Dean's shoulder, then took his left hand with her right. Dean put his left hand on Harper's waist and they began to dance, swaying to the slow beat of the song, getting closer to one another by the second. "You're good at this." Dean remarked. Harper smiled.
"Bobby and I had our moments." Harper replied. Dean's eyes widened. Harper laughed. "He taught me how to dance when I was younger, I guess I never really forgot." Harper explained. Dean relaxed and smiled, listening to the song. Sam on the other hand was talking to people, trying to get as much information as he possibly could. He found Carol's husband and walked over to him.
"Oh, well hello there. Glad you came." He said. Sam nodded.
"Now, I really need information on this case, would you mind giving some to me?" Sam asked.
"Well, we should probably be on a first name basis, I'm Bill." The man said, holding out his hand to shake it.
"Sam." Sam replied, shaking Bill's hand. "Now, about your wife-"
"Oh, please. I don't need the pity. She got what she deserved." Sam was taken aback.
"What?"
"I knew all about her little affair with Arnold, it was even in the papers." Bill explained. Sam sighed but listened. "I didn't do anything because I knew karma would come and bite her in the ass." Sam folded his arms.
"But what if the karma didn't come? Would you have done something then?" Sam asked. Bill was silent. Finally, he looked up at Sam.
"Do you have a wife?" Bill asked.
"No sir." Sam replied.
"How about a girlfriend? You got yourself a girlfriend?" Bill asked. Sam cleared his throat.
"She passed." He said quietly.
"Now, if you found out that she was having an affair with another man, would you break up with her?" Bill asked.
"I don't know, sir." Sam replied, willing himself not to cry.
"Well, Carol was a good person, but after what she did… it's be wrong to say that she didn't deserve it." Bill said solemnly. Sam nodded and uncrossed his arms.
"I have just one more question, did you happen to see or smell anything in your house? Something unusual?" Bill thought for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah, smelled like… I want to say rotten eggs, for a couple of hours before Carol died." Sam nodded with a straight face.
"Thank you for your time." Sam walked back towards Harper and Dean. Seeing the huge grin across Harper's face and a look in Dean's eye that he'd never seen before, Sam decided not to bother them. He smiled and went to find a seat, maybe at the cash bar or at a table. Making up his mind, he decided to get a drink and then find a seat at a table. Another slow dance song began to play as Sam ordered a beer from the nice bartender lady. If Song Finishes, Play: "Fool For You Anyway" By: Foreigner He sat down at an empty table and opened the bottle when a young lady sat down next to him.
"Hi…" Sam said awkwardly. He looked up at the girl and restrained himself from gasping. She was beautiful, she had bright green eyes, just as bright as Harper's, long, curly, dirty blonde hair and a nice smile. She was wearing a long, sleek black dress.
"Hi," she said back. After Sam didn't reply, she followed up with, "Sorry, my friends dared me to come over here. I'm Lily." she said, sticking out her hand. Sam shook it with a smile.
"Sam." He replied. Lily smiled, her eyes crinkling.
"So what brings you here? You don't seem like the banquet type," Lily asked, "I for one think you look like… well, a police officer, maybe an actor." Sam laughed at the irony of the situation.
"Nope, just here for my brother and his girlfriend." Sam replied. He pointed to where Harper and Dean were still dancing. He then turned back to Lily. "What about you? Why are you dressed to impress?"
"My dad… he throws these big parties for me… I keep telling him that I don't want them. He never listens." Lily replied.
"Ah, the richness strikes back. I love that book." Sam joked. Lily laughed, putting her hand up to her mouth and giggling. Sam smiled. Harper and Dean walked over to the bar to get some drinks while Sam and Lily conversed.
"Pre Law?" Lily asked. Sam nodded. "You definitely seem like a college guy." She remarked. Sam smiled.
"Yeah, but I never graduated, my brother, Dean, he came and grabbed me during my senior year." Sam explained.
"Grabbed you?" Lily repeated.
"We're kind of on a road trip." Sam replied. Lily's smile faded and her eyes widened.
"Oh…" She said, suddenly standing up. Sam stood up after her.
"Are… are you alright?" Sam asked. Lily nodded silently.
"Excuse me for a moment." She turned swiftly and left. Harper and Dean immediately walked over and sat down on either side of Sam.
"Well that was fast." Dean remarked, "Did you at least get her number?" Harper laughed.
"I'm sure she's just in the bathroom or something." Harper replied, backing Sam up.
"Yeah, but she seemed nervous when I mentioned taking a road trip." Sam explained.
"Do you think she's a hunter?" Dean asked.
"She didn't really seem the type. She was pretty... perky." Sam replied. Harper sighed.
"I'll go find out." She said, standing up. "Hopefully she's in the bathroom." Harper walked away towards the door while Dean ordered a drink from the bar. Harper found the bathroom and walked in. Lily was standing in front of the sink. Harper walked over and began to touch up her makeup next to her.
"Hi." Lily said with a smile as she touched up her own eyeliner.
"Hi." Harper replied. She glanced at Lily and saw a beautiful charm on a silver chain hanging from her neck. "I love your necklace."
"Oh," Lily fidgeted with the charm. "Thanks, my grandmother gave it to me."
"That's really kind of her, making sure you're protected and all." Harper mentioned. Lily's eyes widened.
"Yeah, I guess." She said nervously as she pulled out a tube of mascara from her purse.
"You know, I had one just like it." Harper explained, pulling out her powder and and applying it to her nose. "A demon actually knocked it off when he took me hostage." Lily gulped. Harper sighed and put her makeup back in her bag. "Dammit." She whispered. She began to leave when Lily stopped her.
"Wait!" Lily ran towards Harper and stopped in front of her. "Three years." she said.
"What about them?" Harper asked.
"I've been hunting for three years." Harper smiled.
"Perfect."
"What do you mean 'perfect'?" Lily asked, folding her arms across her chest.
"Sam… the guy you met earlier, he's my best friend. Dean, his brother is my…" Harper paused.
"I heard from Sam that you are in fact Dean's girlfriend." Lily finished. Harper smiled at the floor and shuffled her feet slightly.
"Anyway, we're on a hunt right now. We think it's the Androman demon." Harper explained. Lily frowned.
"Well I've been on this for weeks." Harper's eyes widened.
"You have?" Lily nodded.
"And it's not necessarily the Androman demon itself, rather a psycho working for it." Lily explained. "I've got basically everything covered except for where his secret base is."
"We could help you, give you some extra hands." Harper suggested. Lily raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, I usually work alone. I don't know how I would feel, working with other hunters." Lily squeaked.
"Can I tell you a secret?" Harper asked, looking around the bathroom and making sure no one else was in there with them. Lily nodded. Harper lowered her voice to a low whisper. "I usually hunt alone too." Lily smiled, then frowned.
"Then why are you hunting with Sam and Dean?" she asked.
"Well, that's a long story." Harper said.
"You can fill me in later, we need to hunt this guy." Lily said as she began to leave the bathroom.
"Wait a minute, you're actually going to hunt a person?" Harper asked.
"Well I'm not just going to let him keep killing people." Lily explained.
"We can't kill a person! That would be considered 'sinking down to his level'." Harper argued. Lily thought for a moment.
"Then what do we do with him?" She asked.
"Well, first we have to find him, then we'll interrogate him, ask him who he's working for, where his base is, yadda yadda. Then we'll probably turn him in." Harper explained.
"Okay, sounds like a plan." Lily replied. "Come on, we're wasting time in here."
"I agree, let's go find our guy." Lily and Harper made their way out of the bathroom and back to the table where Sam and Dean were politely waiting.
"Hi, sorry. I didn't mean to run away from you like that." Lily said to Sam. Sam smiled at the floor.
"No problem." Sam replied kindly. Dean raised his eyebrows at Harper as if asking her a question. Harper nodded and Dean understood.
"So…" Dean turned to Lily. "You're a hunter." Lily nodded and a strand of hair fell in front of her face. She smiled.
"Yeah, but I usually hunt alone, I'm not really used to working with others." Lily confessed. Harper smiled.
"Me too, don't worry." Dean's eyes widened.
"Wait, you worked alone?" Dean asked, getting angry. Harper could see the look in his eyes. It was similar to the one Marcus had and she took in a sharp breath, but when she looked closer, she realized it was a completely different look. Marcus' eyes were cold and full of hate, Dean's were filled with concern. Harper relaxed a bit. If Song Finishes, Play: "Faithfully" By: Journey
"Yeah… why? Does it bother you that I wasn't being babysitted by your baby brother the whole time?" Harper moked.
"Yeah, a little bit." Dean replied harshly. He took a step towards Harper and they started arguing like an old married couple.
"Why is this such a big deal to you?" Harper almost yelled.
"Because you were totally inexperienced! You could've gotten hurt!" Dean retaliated. Sam and Lily stepped back and watched the argument.
"You got any popcorn?" Lily asked. Sam shook his head and laughed. He smiled and looked up at Lily who was strangely focused on Harper and Dean. She didn't see the glimmer in Sam's eye as she smiled or the smile on Sam's face when her own eyes glowed from the entertainment.
"Can we please stop arguing about this?" Harper finally asked. Dean crossed his arms.
"Fine…" Harper and Dean turned to face Sam and Lily who were grinning and trying their best not to laugh. "What?" Dean asked. Lily stifled a giggle and looked past Harper and Dean to the back of the ballroom.
"That's him. That's the guy I've been tracking." Sam, Dean and Harper all turned to look at the man Lily was pointing to.
"Okay, here's the plan." Harper began. Everyone turned around into a huddle. Harper spoke in a low voice. "Lily and I will follow the guy and make sure he doesn't do or say anything sketchy. Sam, Dean, you two will get in your car and wait for him to exit the building which he will do once we chase him out. If and when he goes anywhere, you'll be able to get out of your car and follow him or, if he gets in a car, you'll be ready to follow him." Sam, Dean and Lily nodded. "Alright, Lily, follow me. Sam, Dean, to the Batmobile." Harper and Lily walked towards the bar while Sam and Dean exited the hall. Dean had a huge grin on his face. Sam's eyebrows raised.
"What's wrong with you?" He asked. Dean turned to face his little brother.
"I'm Batman." He said quietly. Sam rolled his eyes but he couldn't hold back the smile.
"Come on, we have to go." Sam and Dean walked out of the giant front doors, hopped into their car and waited.
"So…" Lily said quietly. "What now?" Harper turned to Lily and sighed.
"Now? Now we play the waiting game." Harper turned to the bartender and ordered two beers. She held one out for Lily to take.
"Oh, no thank you. I don't drink." Harper's eyes widened.
"You… you don't drink?" Harper chuckled. "You're a hunter, you have to drink! It's… it's regulations!"
"Not for me. Personally, I think drinking on the job is dangerous." Lily replied. Harper laughed and opened her own bottle.
"How do you get through research? Or the day in general?"
"Coffee." Lily replied bluntly.
"Coffee?" Harper rolled her eyes. "Dude, have a beer." Lily rolled her eyes and finally gave in. She took the beer from Harper and popped off the cap. She took a sip and Harper was relieved when she smiled.
"Not bad. Not bad at all." Lily remarked. Harper laughed and took a sip of her own beer. Lily took another sip and pointed across the hall. "He's on the move." Harper swallowed and they put their beers on the counter.
"Come on." Harper whispered. The girls walked swiftly and inconspicuously towards the door. They followed their suspect out into the hallway and around the corner. The man walked into the men's room and the door shut behind him before Harper and Lily could catch up. "Dammit." Harper said quietly. She put her ear up to the door and Lily followed suit. After a minute, Lily shook her head, telling Harper that she couldn't hear anything. Harper motioned for Lily to pull out her phone. Lily handed it to her silently. Harper opened the video app and pressed record. She stuck the phone under the door. A couple of seconds went by when the door opened. Thankfully, Harper and Lily were hiding behind the door. The man walked past them and went back into the ballroom. The girls let out the breath they were holding and Harper played the video.
"He's here, just as you suspected." A pause, "They both came." The man was silent on the recording. "Right away." Harper and Lily listened. "Yes, Maggie Paige and Ronald Rosen are both in the ballroom. I have located them and made a course of action." That's when the recording ended.
"Those are the victims… or, soon-to-be victims." Harper explained. "We have to stop that guy." Harper and Lily ran back to the ballroom and found the man talking to a woman with long, platinum blonde hair. The man placed a hand on her back and led her out of the ballroom. Harper texted Dean from Lily's phone.
"He's coming outside with a girl. Be on the lookout." Harper sent the text and she and Lily walked out after the man.
Dean's phone vibrated and he saw the text from an unknown number. He opened the text and read it outloud.
"'He's coming outside with a girl. Be on the lookout.' You think it's from Harper? Or that Lily girl?" Dean asked. Before Sam could answer, he pointed to a man walking out of the building with his hand on the back of a blonde girl.
"That has to be him." Sam said.
"Wait here, let's see if he gets in a car." Dean said. They watched and waited as the man directed the girl to a car, but he didn't get in. He seemed to lock the door and then he left. He began to walk back into the building. Dean quickly got out his phone and texted back: "He's coming back inside."
Harper received the text just as the front doors opened. She dragged Lily behind a wall and watched in silence and the man walked back into the ballroom.
"He might be going after the guy." Harper said. Lily nodded in agreement and took a deep breath.
"We should split up. One of us should stay here and watch the door and the other should go in and find the guy." Lily suggested.
"Good idea. You stay out here and keep Sam and Dean updated. I'll go in there and see if I can find him." Lily nodded and Harper walked away, taking short and nervous strides. She opened the doors and walked in.
The ballroom seemed bigger than before. Harper felt as if everything was going in slow motion. The music slowed and the people began to dance more gracefully. The light streaming from the huge windows somehow intensified and all eyes turned to Harper once again. The women smiled and the men looked her up and down. Harper tried not to make eye contact but the second she looked up from the floor, her eyes locked with the man she and Lily had been following. Crap. Harper thought as the man stopped what he was doing and walked towards her. When he was two feet in front of her, Harper smiled.
"And who might you be?" The man asked. Harper giggled nervously.
"My name is Penelope." Harper replied with a shy smile. The man took their hand and bent down to kiss it. Harper giggled again.
"Jack." The man replied. Now that Harper was close enough, she noticed his features were standing out on his face. His short, orange hair and a matching, spiked beard, icy gray eyes and a suspicious smile. Harper felt her face go red. "Would you care to dance?" Harper was frozen.
"I-" She stammered. "I can't. I'm sorry." Harper pulled away but Jack snatched her hand and spun her back. Harper's head rushed and she squinted her eyes, ready for the impact. But none came. She opened one eye cautiously and found Jack's.
"I'm not going to hurt you." He whispered into her ear. Harper raised her eyebrows and felt a hand on her bare back. "Come with me." Jack said. Harper turned and walked out of the ballroom with a sly smirk and and egar man at her heels. She walked past Lily who was waiting behind a pillar. She caught Harper's eye and pleaded silently. Harper winked and walked out of the front doors.
"Wait a minute." Sam said, turning in his seat. "Is that…" Dean found where he was looking. Jack was leading Harper out of the front doors and towards a white car. Dean saw Harper reach into the man's back pocket and fumble around for a moment before taking her hand back out and crossing her arms.
"Dammit." Dean began to get out of the car when Sam stopped him.
"She doesn't look scared like the other victim. Let's just wait and see." Dean took a deep breath and watched as Harper and Jack passed right in front of the Impala. Jack glanced into the Impala's windows and locked eyes with Dean. End Song If Not Yet Finished
Play: "LA Devotee" By: Panic! At The Disco
As if on cue, Jack ran in front of Harper and punched her in the nose. He took off in the other direction. Harper wiped her face and took off after him. A moment later, Lily came rushing out of the building in a full out sprint, chasing after Jack. Sam and Dean rushed out of their cars and ran with Lily. Harper was still bleeding from her nose and a small cut on her cheek but she started sprinting after Jack. The scenery was rushing past them as the Winchesters, Harper and Lily raced after the man with the icy gray eyes. Sam jumped over a fallen trash can, Harper spun around a lamppost, Lily reached for her knife which was hidden under her dress in a strap on her leg and Dean pulled out his pistol from his jacket pocket. Jack turned the corner sharply and the gang quickly followed.
"Everybody split up!" Harper yelled. "Sam and Dean, go around and cut him off, Lily and I will keep following him." Sam and Dean nodded and they ran past Lily and Harper in a full out sprint. They turned a corner and disappeared. Harper and Lily kept running, chasing after Jack and keeping him in sight. After four minutes of running, turning sharp corners and dodging obstacles, Sam and Dean cut Jack off. He stopped running and began to turn around when Harper and Lily stopped him.
"I suppose you're all hunters?" Jack asked, turning in circles and facing each person. Sam and Lily spread out to the sides to make sure Jack didn't run away. They formed a plus sign with him in the middle. They all began to close in on him and Harper could see the panic forming on his face. "Perfect." He mumbled. Lily smiled and in a split second, threw her knife at Jack's face.
"Lily, no!" Sam yelled. As is gravity had taken over it itself, the knife came clashing to the ground at Jack's feet. He smiled.
"I see we have a rookie hunter on our hands." He said as he stooped down and picked up the knife. He flipped it in his hands a few times before he threw it back at Lily.
"Lily, watch out!" Harper screamed. Everything went in slow motion after that. Harper sprinted in front of Lily who was just beginning to pay attention. Sam and Dean watched in horror and Harper dove in front of Lily, the knife lodging into her abdomen. Then, time sped up again. Sam and Dean rushed over, forgetting Jack who ran away. Harper fell on Lily, who had just realized what had happened. Sam slid next to Lily as she struggled under Harper. Dean ran next to Harper who was bleeding through her dress and onto the concrete.
"Harper?" Dean asked urgently. Harper began to sit up but cried out in pain.
"Holy sh-"
"Harper! Oh my God! Are you okay?" Lily asked as Harper layed down on the concrete next to her as opposed to on top of her. Sam helped Lily stand up then rushed to Harper's side. "Harper?"
"I'm…" Harper sat up on her elbows with a confused expression on her face. "I'm fine." Harper looked down at the knife in her side.
"Do you… do you feel any pain?" Sam asked.
"Well yeah, I've just been stabbed. I guess I'm just used to it." Harper replied. Sam, Dean and Lily were stunned.
"You're used to the feeling of being stabbed?" Lily asked in astonishment. Harper smiled weakly.
"I guess you could say I was Batman, but I think Dean stole that role for himself." Harper replied. She began to stand up.
"Woah, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Sam asked.
"I'm… I'm going back to the car." Harper said in between deep breaths and sharp pains.
"Harper, I know you think you're indestructible and all, but you've literally been stabbed. We need to get you to a hospital." Dean replied.
"No. I'm not going to some filthy hospital just to have a couple of people stitch me up for a couple hundred bucks when I could do it myself for free." Harper said, pushing Dean out of her path and taking a couple of steps forward. Soon, her hand bolted up to her side and she winced. Her steps began to be unequal and she closed her eyes, trying to act tough. Sam, Dean and Lily just watched her walk a couple of steps when Harper suddenly fell to the floor. She cried out in pain as the knife lodged further into her abdomen. Sam, Dean and Lily rushed to her sides and began to yell things at her, but Harper couldn't hear them over the white noise ringing in her ears and the blood pumping in her veins. Soon, her vision became blurry and Harper fell unconscious. Don't End The Song, Let It Finish And Feel The Rush