Sorry, short chapter. And, unfortunately, not the last. (Sigh). Oh well, hope this ain't too bad.

Also, this story is definitely season three. What year was season three from, anyway? Hopefully sometime after Iron Man was filmed, or else Sam and Dean's aliases in this story make no sense :P


Sam reloaded the shotgun, dread making the weapon heavy in his hands. If this didn't work, Dean would be killed trying to get to Logan, and they would all die right here in this basement, buried under tons of debris.

No pressure.

Sam spared a moment they probably didn't have to steel himself, then, taking a deep breath, he faced the twins. He held the shotgun ready but didn't aim.

"Logan!" He called.

The boy didn't respond. Sam could feel Dean's eyes on him as he raised his voice, shouted, "Logan! I know you can hear me! I need you to listen."

He thought he saw the boy's face twitch and took that as a sign he was listening, if only slightly.

"I know why you're doing this," Sam said. "I know you're mad about what happened to your brother, and you want to help him get revenge. But it's not going to change anything. Even if you bring this whole house down, he'll still be gone, and he's not going to come back."

Logan's eyes snapped open. The trembling house quieted slightly, the waves of energy that had been blasting from the twins weakening as Logan turned his gaze on the younger Winchester.

"He doesn't have to come back," Logan said, his voice strangely empty. He pointed at the crumbling ceiling. "I'm going to him. We can be together on the other side."

Sam shouted desperately, "Look at what you're doing! This house is coming down. We're all going to die. Aiden wouldn't want you to kill yourself for him!"

Logan's brow furrowed, and the look of confusion copied itself on Aiden's face as the ghost listened to the conversation. The spirits surrounding them began to quiver angrily.

"But Aiden told me this is how we could be together," Logan said with a tinge of uncertainty.

"Logan, you're about to kill yourself," Sam said. "Aiden's your brother. He'd never tell you to do something like this. It's those spirits, the shadows-they're the ones that wanted this, and they've been using both of you to get it. Don't listen to them, Logan. Don't give them what they want."

The spirits practically buzzed with anger, and Sam felt a wave of heat surge across the room as the shadows directed every bit of their malice towards him. The salt line was the only thing holding it back, but Sam could sense the dark energy straining against it. Terrifying as it was, the plan was working. He now had the spirits' full attention. He glanced at Dean. Get ready.

"They deserve this!" Logan shouted suddenly, jabbing a finger at the children. The spirits had doubled their efforts to control the boy and the doubt that moments ago had managed to leak through was gone. Both Aiden and Logan now wore masks of fury, and the house shook more violently than ever as their voices joined into one and they yelled, "They have to pay for what they did! They all have to die!"

That was when Dean leapt over the salt line and tore across the room. Sam's heart shot into his throat, but with the spirits' focus divided three ways into controlling the twins, demolishing the house, and still trying to microwave Sam, by the time they reacted Dean had already snatched up Logan and was booking it back to the safety of the salt circle. The shadows swarmed forward, but Sam held them back with several blasts from the shotgun, and then Dean was hurtling back into the circle.

As soon as Logan was over the salt line, the basement went dark. The heat pressing at Sam vanished, and the tide of energy rocking the house abated. The children screamed, then everything was quiet.

"Dean!" Sam said.

A flashlight clicked on, and his brother's face appeared before him. Dean looked mildly amazed. A hesitant grin played on his lips. "Did that actually just work?" he asked.

Sam released a breath and a short, shaky laugh of relief. "Yeah," he said, heart still pounding. "I think it actually did."

Dean roved the flashlight beam around the basement. He searched every inch and corner, but the room was empty. The spirits were gone. "Great," Dean said. "Now tell me what the hxll just happened."

The hunters froze as something shifted in the house above them, followed by several snaps and an ominous groan. Sam and Dean looked at each other, all trace of lightheartedness vanishing. The spirits were no longer destroying the house, but they'd pushed it to the brink, and now it looked like the house was going to tear itself down.

"What say we figure that out after we get out of here?" Sam suggested, ducking instinctively at another round of splintering cracks.

"Great plan," Dean agreed. He pointed the flashlight at Logan. "One problem."

The boy was huddled on the floor, eyes half-lidded and dazed, blood trickling from his nose. The other kids edged away from him warily.

Dean said, "We take him out of the circle, those spirits are gonna be all over him again."

Sam cursed. Dean was right. If they tried to get Logan out of here, the spirits would take control again and kill them all. They were almost right back where they'd started. Only difference: the house wasn't coming down quite so fast.

"Look Sam, maybe…" Dean hesitated, but rushed on as the house continued to fall apart above them. "Maybe you should take the other kids, get them out of here. I'll stay with Logan. You come back once they're safe and we can figure a way out of this."

Sam glared at him. "I'm not leaving you here, Dean."

"It might be the only chance we have of anyone getting out of here alive," Dean snapped. The ceiling boards cracked, jagged edges of wood stabbing downward. "Just get out while there's still-"

"I'm not leaving you here!" Sam shouted. Before Dean could protest, Sam knelt down in front of Logan. There was another way out of this. He just had to find it.

"Logan. Hey, Logan." He patted the boy's cheek, trying to rouse him. Logan blinked drowsily, almost like he was waking up. Whatever thrall the spirits had had over him had apparently broken the instant Logan entered the protection of the salt circle, but he still seemed a bit out of it. Slowly, his eyes focused on Sam. Logan stared blankly for a moment, then a look of pure terror flooded his expression and he began to flail wildly.

"No!" Logan screamed, eyes squeezed shut. "No! Keep them away, don't let them get me! No!"

Sam grabbed his arms and held him down. "Logan, calm down. We're not gonna hurt you."

"No!" Logan gasped. "The shadows, they're everywhere, they're gonna get me!"

Sam glanced around automatically, then realized that even though the room was empty to him, to the psychic it must still be filled with angry spirits. "They can't get you, Logan," Sam said, trying to keep his voice calm despite the ceiling buckling over their heads. "You're safe here."

Logan slowly stopped struggling and cautiously opened his eyes. Apparently realizing he was in no immediate danger from the spirits, he settled down a bit. He looked at Sam, fear and confusion written all over his features. "What happened?" he asked shakily. "Where's Aiden?"

"He's fine," Sam instantly reassured him, wondering where the ghost boy was if Logan couldn't see him.

"But the spirits, they might hurt him," Logan protested. "They were using us, they were making us do things, and-"

"We know, Logan," Sam cut him off. "But there's no time for that right now. The house is going to collapse, and we need a way out of here."

As if to emphasize what he'd said, a sound like the walls upstairs starting to cave in shuddered through the dark basement. Whatever miracle was holding the house upright wasn't going to last much longer.

"Sam…" Dean said, a warning in his voice.

Sam ignored him, keeping his gaze on the boy before him. Fear and exhaustion weighed heavily in Logan's eyes, but it was still the most grounded Sam had seen him. How long had those spirits been messing with the kid's mind? Sam shook the question away—he could worry about that later. At the moment, Logan was free. That was what mattered now. That, and not dying.

He put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "We can't get you past the spirits, Logan," he said, "but if we don't move soon, none of us are going to make it. Is there any way-"

Sam broke off as Logan's eyes widened. "Aiden!" the boy said, staring over Sam's shoulder.

Sam turned, and Dean raised the flashlight to reveal Aiden standing just on the other side of the salt line, looking down at his twin with a lost expression. Logan tried to scramble up, but Sam held him back, unsure of the ghost's intentions.

"It's okay, he can help us!" Logan said. His eyes were pleading, and after a heartbeat, Sam released him. The boy rushed to his brother but stopped before crossing the line of salt.

Sam stood and watched as the twins talked to each other, whatever they were saying lost in the noise of the crumbling house.

Dean was throwing mistrustful glances at them in between making sure the other kids were up and ready to move. "So now Aiden's gonna help us?" he muttered dubiously. "A minute ago, he was trying to kill us."

"A minute ago, they were both trying to kill us," Sam pointed out. "Progress, Dean."

"Progress my foot," Dean said. "How do we know the spirits aren't using Aiden right now, huh? He lures Logan out, they'll finish the job…"

A beam split right above Dean and Sam pushed him down just in time. Doubled over, Dean stared up at the jagged chunk of lumber now protruding from the ceiling right where his head had just been.

"Okay," Dean gulped. "Never mind. I'll take my chances with Casper."

"Good call," Sam said, clapping his brother on the back and shifting his gaze to the twins. "Logan? How we doing on that escape plan?"

Dust showered down as Logan turned back to the group. "We can go now," he said, eyes bright in the flashlight beam. "Aiden's gonna hold back the shadows. He won't let them get me. But he says we have to hurry."

0000000000000

"Well we weren't planning to take the scenic route," Dean quipped as he quickly rounded up the kids. The noise overhead was now continuous, the house making every possible creak, groan, and snap before the final crash.

Dean shoved the flashlight at Sam. "Take this, you're leading. Everybody, follow Sam. Logan, you're with me." Dean could tell Sam wasn't happy about that arrangement, but Dean and Logan going last made the most sense—if the spirits managed to take control of Logan again, then the others had a better chance of escaping by being in front of the group.

There was a brief moment of shifting inside the circle as everyone positioned themselves—the kids crowding around Sam while Logan and Dean moved to the back—and then Dean was shouting at them to move as chunks of the ceiling started raining down. The whole group made it to the stairs without being psychically thrown against a wall, and even though Aiden was no longer visible he must have been doing his job because Logan didn't so much as flinch when he left the protection of the salt circle. Dean snagged the duffle bag on the way out—two shotguns were enough supplies to lose for one hunt.

The ground floor was almost unrecognizable: debris was everywhere, the walls and ceiling caving, everything cracking and shifting dangerously under the weight of gravity. The kids stumbled over warped floorboards, and Sam and Dean hurried to pull them to their feet and keep everybody moving.

Then Sam was flinging open the front door and the kids were streaming out. Dean's eyes were locked on the daylight—so close, almost there—when Aiden's voice yelled from behind, "Look out!" and Logan faltered in front of him and fell to his knees. Dean almost tripped over him but reeled back as a horde of shadows materialized around Logan, their hands clutching at Logan's back. A sudden shock wave radiated out, shaking the floor and bringing down a section of the ceiling right in front of them, barring the way to the door.

Dean could hear Sam shouting for him but was too preoccupied dodging a piece of falling debris to respond, and then his only thought was getting Logan the hxll out of there. The boy was doubled over, frantically shaking his head as though that would somehow get the spirits off of him. Dean tried to reach for him and a falling hunk of lumber nearly took his hand off, smashing straight through to the basement.

"Aiden!" Dean yelled desperately as the floorboards tilted under his feet. Where the hxll was he, he was supposed to be keeping these things back!

Aiden appeared as though Dean's call had summoned him. He was pale and flickering weakly, expression jumping frighteningly from scared to hateful as he seemed to struggle internally even as his brother struggled to shake off the spirits. Then Aiden's face hardened to steely determination and he reached down and took Logan's hand.

The spirits vanished immediately, and Dean was able to leap over the hole in the floor without anything being psychically dropped on his head. He crouched beside Logan and the ghost; the living twin's nose was bleeding freely now, but otherwise he seemed okay. He responded quickly when Dean started pushing him toward a hole in the wall of debris blocking the way to the door, and Aiden helping to guide him along.

Once they were through Dean shoved the duffle bag in and crawled after it. Sam's hand appeared to pull him through and help him to his feet on the other side. They ran together, the house falling down around them as they burst through the front door.


Next chapter will most definitely be the last, so stay tuned! Coming soon: Sam and Dean burning down a house and a nice bit of resolution to finally wrap this story up. If you're considering leaving a review, please please please please do, I'd love to hear from you. If you have already reviewed, thanks a bazillion! That goes for the peoples that are following too, and the person who favorited, and you know what, all you great people who gave this story the time of day :)