A thumping on the door brought Dean from his oblivion. He looked up from his newspaper briefly, and John on the other side of the room did the same. Since their big fight, no one had really said anything. They had just waited for Sam to come home.
"Let me in, dammit!" A voice way to high-pitched to belong to Sam emitted from the other side of the door.
Ruby.
Dean hurried to the door, throwing it open without a care of who heard him. "Now what the hell do you want? I'm not in the mood for a rematch Ruby."
"We have to get out of here." Ruby was breathing heavily, as if she had just ran a mile. "Sam" –
"What happened to Sam?" John stood quickly, joining Dean at the door.
"There's a demon in town." Ruby looked upwards, as if the sky was an obvious clue. "One of Lilith's. I can feel it. We need to find Sam before he does."
Dean and John's eyes met for a fraction of a second, before they grabbed their guns and set off.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx
Thud! The sound of a door either being kicked down or thrown open hit Sam's ears. The demon's head turned to the noise, and Sam kicked upward, catching the demon in the ribs and sending him to the floor long enough for Sam to pull himself to his feet and grab the knife from the floor.
"Sam!" Dean's voice called out, but Sam didn't look away from the demon, holding the knife in front of him.
"In here!" He shouted in the direction of Dean and John's voices, glaring at the demon. "Don't try anything…"He lowered his voice so only it could hear. " I'm stronger than you. I can do this."
"In front of Dean?" The demon's voice was taunting. "Tisk, tisk. What ever became of innocent little Sammy?"
"He died along with everyone I ever loved." Sam tightened the grip on the knife, and took a step towards the demon.
"But Dean's not the only one who came to watch the show."
"Sam!" John ran in the room, followed by Dean, and the paused when the saw the demon, assessing the situation.
The demon looked to Sam, sneering. "I think I've proved my point."
"Smirk all you want," Dean walked forwards, John on his tail. "It will do you good in hell."
"Oh really? Is that how you two survived it?" The demon's smile widened, and both men glared back angrily.
"I don't know," Dean shook his head angrily. "You can tell me when you get there."
"And how will I be getting there?" The demon turned his head to Sam, raising an eyebrow in false pretense.
Sam adjusted the knife in his hand so the demon could see it. "Try me."
"The old fashioned way then?" The demon laughed. "A conformist, are we?"
"I guess so." Sam took a couple steps towards the demon, and John did the same, Dean swerving around to go on Sam's other side. The wall behind the demon closed in the circle. "It runs in the family."
"Which family?" The demon smiled, looking Sam right in the eye. He flinched, but not out of fear of the demon. "Theirs' or mine?"
"Shut your mouth!" Dean, sensing Sam's hesitancy, moved closer. In his hand was a flask of holy water.
"Going to send me home?" The demon looked to Dean, then to John. "I mean, don't you miss the place?" He looked to Sam next. "You're going to love it Sam. The flames soar nice and high for people like us."
Sam flinched again, before putting on a mask of false comfort. "Well then, I'm sorry I have to reject that invitation. But you're going downstairs alone."
"Really?" The demon raised his head a bit, his eyes turning black. With a flash, he lowered his head, and both John and Dean flew backwards, hitting the walls on either side of Sam.
Sam through John and Dean brief concerned looks before turning back to the demon, who didn't seem surprised that Sam had not hit the wall as well.
"A duel only works with two cowboys," The demon's eyes were still black as he glared at Sam. "And there's isn't room for the both of us in this church, comrade."
Sam noticed that the demon was slowly inching back towards the door. He seemed to know Sam's plan, and wanted to make a break for it before Sam exorcised him. Wondering why the demon did not just abandon the priest's body, Sam jumped at him, but was not fast enough to catch the demon before he made it out the door. The demon raced up a winding stairway, which Sam assumed lead upstairs to the balcony and bell tower. When he got upstairs, he hesitated when he saw that the demon was gone, but then felt the bone-jarring impact as it came out of nowhere and sent him flying to the floor.
The demon punched Sam in the face, and he grabbed the demon's forearm as it swung again, throwing it to the floor beside him as he got to a stand.
"Why wont you just do it?" The demon hissed, it's eyes black again. "Are you that weak? Are you just afraid of what will happen if daddy finds out? Or Dean's little band of angels?"
Sam pulled out the knife, and dove at the demon, but it jumped again, taking him down by the knees.
Sam swung, struggling to gain control of the fight, but the demon kept him pined down. He held out the knife, ready to stab the thing in the gut, but it grabbed his hands, trying to turn the knife the other way. The demon laughed.
Sam bit his lip, hesitating. He knew he couldn't win a feat of strength against a demon for long. He had to exorcise it. Sam gathered his strength, and tried to focus his mind on getting he demon out without using his hand as a projector of the force as he usually did. The demon's laugh turned to a cough for a second, but made him stop with a sharp hit to the gut that felt like a hot poker had been laid across his skin. Sam tried to ignore it, closing his eyes and focusing on the demon's presence itself. He started again, and after a few seconds, he felt the smoke of the demon go past him, and he opened his eyes when it fell limp against him. Sam pushed the body off of him, and got to his knees, feeling the man's neck for a pulse. The priest was alive, luckily.
Sam got to his feet slowly, but felt himself swaying as dizziness clouded his head. He had never exorcised a demon like that before, and never while fighting either. Staggering on his feet like a drunk, Sam leaned against the wall behind him to steady himself and catch his breath. After a few minutes, Sam's breath caught in his throat when he began to feel the hot liquid running down his side. He looked down, trying unsuccessfully to blink away the mental fog. Before the throbbing in Sam's head overcame him and he passed out, he managed to get a glimpse of his side. The demon hadn't punched him, it had stabbed him.