Alpha and Omega

Annaleise Marie

Chapter Four: Mormons and Mice

AN: Thanks so much to everyone who read this story and added it to their favorites and alerts! And so much thanks to endversecas and Lupinista for reviewing. It's so heartening to a writer who's new to a fandom, such as myself.

Note: There was originally an error in this chapter, residue from the original version, which was changed, and a character omitted. Thus the re-upload.

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"But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place." – Luke 21:36

X

Dean felt like he hadn't slept in weeks. Of course, that was pretty close to the truth. They had tracked down nearly everyone on their list, a task not helped by the fact that most of them were hunters and constantly on the move. At one point, in Louisiana, they had caught wind that Rufus was in New Mexico, only to find out halfway there that he had finished his job and was on the move to take care of a shapeshifter in North Carolina.

And for all of that, not one of the people on Dean's list so far had possessed a righteous soul. They had left their friends, their brothers in arms, gasping in pain for nothing.

Not to mention that hearing that you aren't righteous when freaking John and Dean Winchester were didn't exactly seem to put people in a good mood.

So here he was, a month later, with only two names left on his list. They were the two he thought most likely, other than Bobby, but God help him, he didn't have the heart to drag them into this.

So before he climbed into the Impala, he folded the list back up and shoved it into his pocket. He looked at Sam, hoping that he would have an alternative destination in mind. "Where to, Sammy?"

His brother unfolded a newspaper. "Salt Lake City. Five people have died recently—get this, their flesh was carved off."

"So, what, a ghoul?"

Sam shrugged. "Maybe. I've found a connection between the victims, though. All of them were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Dean stared at him blankly and he sighed. "Mormons, Dean."

"What, like Sister Wives?"

From the backseat, Cas scoffed.

"Well, no members of the LDS Church practice polygamy anymore, but yeah." Sam stared out at the road as they merged onto the highway. "Why would ghouls specifically target Mormons, though?"

"Multiple wives and no alcohol?" Dean took his eyes off the road and grinned at the younger hunter. "If it was me, I'd've asked them to."

X

Dean yawned widely. Sam had been trying for a solid hour to question Olivia Markham, the widow of Caleb Markham, the most recent victim, but the woman was completely inconsolable.

"He was just…such a g-good m-man!" Her face was buried in her hands, her shoulders heaving with sobs.. "Why would anyone d-do this to him? He h-had so m-much more he was m-meant to do!"

"I'm sure he did, ma'am." Sam was pulling out the big sympathetic eyes. "I know this must be hard for you."

"You don't understand! He was one of the Righteous Ones!" Olivia was speaking quickly now, her eyes desperate. "A hundred righteous men will stand at Armageddon, and Caleb was one!"

"Wait," Dean said, suddenly wide awake despite the fact that his sleeping situation hadn't improved since they had reached Salt Lake City a week ago. "Back up. Your husband thought he was one of a hundred righteous men that would stand at Armageddon?"

"It was his patriarchal blessing. It was made sure, along with the other four murdered men."

Dean's brow wrinkled in confusion but Sam leaned over, explaining in a hushed voice. "When a Mormon boy reaches a certain age, they receive a message or calling from God. When it's made sure it's like, officially recorded and typed up and all that."

Dean narrowed his eyes. "How do you know all of this?"

Sam paused and cleared his throat. "Jess had an uncle..." He turned his attention back to Olivia.

"And Ava told me that she could see their righteous souls, so we should continue to hold strong in our faith that his blessing would come to pass." She continued on as though there had been no pause.

"This Ava…she claims she can see righteous souls?"

"Yes!" She looked at the hunters, her eyes wide. "She showed up about a month ago, and she verified that all of the men were truly righteous. Someone killed them because of this, but the police won't believe me!" Her face fell. "And you probably think I'm crazy, too."

"Oh, not for this." Dean smiled.

Sam glared at him, but when he spoke he was addressing Olivia. "Where can we find Ava?"

"She's at the LDS Conference Center. It's the one hundred eighty-fourth annual general conference this weekend. But you probably won't even be able to get inside. Tickets are sold out."

"All due respect, ma'am, this is what we do." Dean jerked his head towards the door and the hunters left.

X

The Conference Center was a complete zoo. People were lined up out the doors of the impressive building.

"Okay, the next general session starts at two o'clock. That would probably be the best time to try to spot this Ava chick." Sam was scrolling through the Conference website on his phone.

Dean scoffed. "Armed with only a general description. Short, pretty, brown hair and eyes. Piece of cake."

Sam continued, ignoring him. "But it's a service, so even if we find her, we won't be able to even try to question her until after it's over." He hit the home button and slid the phone into his pocket. "So, how are we getting in? Federal government can't interfere in religious practice unless something illegal is going on, and you can bet they're going to demand a warrant."

"Don't worry about it." Dean checked his watch as the line began to move. "Look at that. Perfect timing."

When they finally reached the doors, Dean reached into his suit pocket and pulled out two tickets, shaking his head subtly at Sam when he opened his mouth to ask about them.

As they stepped into the main conference room, a voice burst out behind them. "Where'd the tickets go? They were right here a second ago!"

Dean winked at Sam, who glared back.

"You just stole from a member of a church at their own conference."

"Hey, I'm currently serving a higher power."

X

Dean kept nodding off during the service, and each time that he did Sam would nudge him hard. Finally, he decided to try to strike up a conversation to keep him awake.

He leaned closer to Sam. "I bet that Sister Wives guy curses God nightly."

A nerve in Sam's jaw twitched. "Would you stop it? That's so rude, Dean." He shook his head. "For the record, Mormons who practiced polygamy when it was still church-sanctioned considered their wives and children a great blessing and privilege."

"Better him than me, is all I'm saying."

"Dean."

"I know, I know. Don't get your panties in a bunch, Samantha."

"No, Dean." Sam was staring determinedly ahead. "We're being watched." He could feel it, as though the eyes boring into the back of their heads were a physical force pushing at them.

"What?" Dean looked around and Sam nudged him to act natural.

After a few more minutes Sam let his eyes wander, glancing around, unable to find the source of the feeling without turning around. It continued until the end of the service.

When everyone stood up to leave, Sam turned under the pretense of taking his suit jacket off the back of his chair and quickly scanned the crowd. His eyes locked with a pair of golden brown ones.

"Dean." Sam was gripping his brother's arm hard, not wanting to believe what he was seeing. The sight of the petite brunette made his blood run cold. "Ava. They were talking about Ava Wilson."

"Ava Wilson? But you—"

"Killed her." Sam swallowed hard. "Yeah."

Ava's eyes met Sam's a moment longer before the moving crowd swallowed her up, her lips curving into a smile that might have been more of a sneer.

X

They had left the conference center to process this new information and regroup, meeting up again with Cas and the twins at their motel for the night.

"Okay, so Ava's alive again. Doesn't mean it's a bad thing. I was brought back, you were brought back. Multiple times, actually. Hell, half this planet's probably half-zombie and just doesn't remember." Dean picked up his cheeseburger and took a large bite.

"You think maybe she's here to help?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "Cause it's either that or she's working against us. This can't be coincidence."

"If she were trying to help, I doubt that she would have allowed the righteous men to be killed," Cas said. "She is probably up to something. The righteous souls do not count if they are no longer on Earth."

"Do you think it's true that she can see righteous souls?" Sam asked.

Cas cocked his head to the side, thinking. "It is possible. You said she was one of the Chosen Children. She may have further developed her powers."

"Whatever." Dean stood up and crossed to one of the beds. "Tomorrow we'll go find her and figure it out what's up one way or the other."

Without further discussion he flopped down onto the bed and was asleep in under a minute. Sam took in his untouched carryout box of pie and sighed, figuring there was no waking the hunter.

X

Less than two hours later, Cas was shaking Dean awake.

"Wha—" Dean rolled over, squinting at the angel. "Dammit, Cas, leave me alone. I need to sleep. Tired hunter equals dead hunter."

"She is coming."

"What?"

There was a flash of light and Dean blinked, staring at the spot where Cas had been. He looked around to find that the twins were gone as well. He managed to reach under his pillow and wrap his hand around the gun that was hidden there before the door was forced inward. Dean felt his body lift off of the mattress and then the next second he was hurled against the far wall, pinned there by a heavy, invisible force. A moment later, Sam landed beside him, the back of his head hitting the wall hard, sending up bright spots in his vision.

"Hello boys."

Sam blinked hard to clear his vision and saw, silhouetted in the doorway by the streetlight outside, Ava Wilson.

"Ava!" Sam's voice was hoarse, the pressure holding his body to the wall making it hard to draw a complete breath. "How are you—"

"Alive?" The brunette smiled and stepped further into the room. "Don't sound so shocked, Sammy boy. You just saw me earlier today, after all." She stopped a few feet from the hunters, her arms crossed over her chest. Her head tilted as she took in the sight of them. "I guess I can see how you'd be surprised, though. I mean, you did kill me. That was very rude, by the way." Her lips twisted into a mockery of a pout, her eyes glinting maliciously. "I gotta say, though, it's good to get out and stretch my limbs."

"I'll send you back to Hell, you bitch," Dean spat, his eyes narrowed.

"Oh, so close, Dean. But not quite. See, I've got a get out of jail free card." Ava smirked. "You got it, though. I've been down below for awhile. Yeah, I guess there's just something about killing a bunch of people in service to a demon that buys you a one-way ticket to the Pit. Some sort of implied deal, you could say." She smiled, her face almost sweet, but the manic gleam hadn't disappeared from her eyes. "Luckily, there's also something about being really good at your job down there that buys you a ticket straight back topside. If you can prove you're useful."

"Sweetheart, you are a special kind of crazy." Dean smiled wryly, feigning confidence. He had no idea how he was going to get them out of this one yet, but hey, fake it 'til you make it, right?

If his insult bothered Ava at all, she didn't show it. "I wouldn't expect you to understand, Deano. You were in the Pit what, forty years? I've been there for six hundred. And I've gotta tell you boys, it was really starting to cramp my style. There's no real challenge, you know, with the meathooks and the racks… I mean, sure they scream but…" Ava licked her lips and stepped closer to Sam. She reached up to run her fingers through his hair as he struggled to jerk away. "No. The real fun is up here, where all the little mice run."

"You've completely lost it," Sam gasped, still trying to jerk away from her hand.

"Now why would you say something so hurtful? It's only natural, isn't it Deano?" She dropped her hand and moved to the other brother, pressing the length of her body against his, her breath hot on his neck. "I mean, sure, it's hard to put them on the rack at first. The screams just tug at your poor little heart, don't they? But then after awhile you don't really feel that tug anymore. A little while longer, you begin to enjoy it." Her mouth was so close to Dean's neck now that he could feel the smooth skin of her lips moving against him when she poke, making his skin crawl. "Don't deny it, Dean baby. I was there, you know. I saw you. After awhile, it turns you on." She flicked her tongue out to drag across his skin.

"I swear to God I will kill you." Dean's voice was barely audible, and had he not been pinned down he would have been shaking with rage.

Ava stepped back, smirking. "Oh, I'm not worried, Deano, given how miserably you're failing to keep your last promise to God." She tutted disapprovingly. "Not one righteous soul. At this rate I'll have snapped them all up before you find the first."

"What do you want with righteous souls? They don't go to the Pit unless they've made a deal."

"It's not about where the souls go, just that they're not here." Ava shrugged. "My boss is very interested in making sure that they leave Earth. It would be really inconvenient, after all, if you managed to stave off Armageddon again."

Sam glared at her, distrusting. "Why are you telling us all of this?"

Dean chuckled. "They always have to give their big evil plan speech. Thanks for that, it just puts us a step ahead, you brimstone-sucking—" His head whipped to the side as the psychic telekinetically slapped him.

"Watch your mouth." Her eyes flicked from Dean back to Sam. "But since you asked…" She smirked, reveling in her moment of big reveal. "A race is no fun unless all of the little mice know that they're in it." She let that sink in. "That's right, don't think I'm not coming for Deano here. I don't plan to leave a single righteous soul on this planet. But my boss insisted that I let him enjoy the show a little longer. So run, little mice, and we'll see who wins the hundred soul prize."

With that, Ava was gone. Sam and Dean fell to the floor as her hold released, Sam taking in great gulps of air.

"Well, Sammy, I guess that solves that debate." Dean groaned as he struggled to stand up.

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AN: So much thanks to BookwormBaby25 for looking over this chapter and schooling me a bit on the workings of the LDS. I wanted to present this correctly so I really, really appreciate the help. :D

Also, I would like to assure people that Dean and I do not share the condescending opinions regarding the LDS. But you know, Dean's canonically sort of an asshole and I'm trying to stay true to character.