Ch. 7 In My Time of Dying
Dean swallowed, barely awake. He turned to his side to see Sam unconscious, then saw Valerie in the backseat, bleeding really bad. "Valerie! Sam!" he tried to scream, though it came out more like a whisper. He heard something walking up to the car, and then the drivers' side door was pulled off its hinges. Dean saw a man possessed by a demon. He pointed the colt at him.
"Back! Or I'll kill you I swear to god."
"You won't. You're saving that bullet for someone else." The demon replied.
Dean cocked the gun. "You wanna bet?"
The demon smiled, then the black demon-ichor pours out of the man, and he collapses. Dean dropped his head back in relief. Then the man started to wake up. "Oh my god! Did I do this?" Dean started yelling for Valerie and Sam again. But no answer.
In the morning there was a rescue helicopter. All three of them were carried onto the stretchers. Dean was unconscious, but Sam and Valerie weren't.
"Significant passenger side intrusion. Unresponsive. BP is 180 over 60, heartrate 95, 95!"
"Tell me if they're okay!"
"You have to stay still, sir."
"Are they even alive?" Dean yelled.
***Hospital***
In the hospital room, they're were flowers and giant teddy bears all around. Valerie sat up, wearing a white hospital gown. She slowly sits up, and gets out of bed and walks into the hallway. "Sam? Dean? Anybody?"
She walks down the stairs, to the front entrance to the hospital, to find a nurse's station.
"Excuse me. Hi. I, uh, i think I was in a car accident, my brothers and I , I just need to find them." The nurse doesn't even acknowledge her. "Hello?" She started to snap her fingers, but still no response. She starts to panic and goes back upstairs. She walks into her room to see her body. Intubated and unconscious, that's when she really starts to panic.
Still in shock from seeing her own body, she turns to see Dean walk in. "Dean! You look good. Considering."
"Oh no." Dean said, as he looked at his sister lying there unconscious. "Oh, come on man, tell me you can hear me!" Valerie yelled, "How's Sam? Is he okay? Come on! Where's Sam when you need a psychic. Some ghost whispering or something!"
Then something no one expected…John Winchester walked through the door. Dean was shocked, so was Valerie, but of course no one could see or hear her expression. " Dad? What are you…where have you been?"
"Don't worry about that Dean. How is she?" John said as he walked closer to Valerie laying in the hospital bed.
"I don't know. They haven't said anything."
Then the doctor entered the room. "Your brothers' awake. You can go see him if you like."
"Thank god! But, doc, what about my sister?"
"Well, she sustained serious injury: blood loss, contusions to her liver and kidney. But it's the head trauma I'm worried about. There's early signs of cerebral edema."
"What can we do?" John asked.
"Well, we won't know her full condition until she wakes up. If she wakes up."
"If?" Dean was scared.
"I have to be honest-"
Valerie yelled to herself,"Oh, screw you doc, I'm waking up!"
"Most people with this degree of injury wouldn't have survived this long. She's fighting very hard. But you need to have realistic expectations."
"Come on, Dean. Go find some hoodoo priest to lay some mojo on me, like Sam when you were hurt."
John walked to Sam's hospital room. He was laying in the bed with his arm in a spring.
"Hey, Sam."
"Dad? What are you doing here? How are you here?"
"You and your brother are so alike." He chuckled.
"How are Dean and Val"? Dean walked in just a few scratches on his face.
"Not so good, Sammy."
"Well, if the doctors won't do anything, we'll just find some hoodoo priest to lay some mojo on her. Like last time."
"We'll look for someone, Sam."
John being quiet the whole time decided to butt in. "But, Sam, I don't know if were gonna find anyone."
"Why not? I found that faith healer before?"
"Right, but that was, that was one in a million."
"So what? Do we just sit here with our thumbs up our ass?"
"No. I said we'd look. I'll check under every stone," John looked over at Dean," where's the colt?"
Sam replied first. "Your daughter is dying, and your worried about the colt!"
"We're hunting this demon, and maybe it's hunting us too. That gun may be our only card."
Then Dean answered his dads' previous question. "It's in the trunk. They dragged the car off of I-83."
"All right. You gotta clean out that trunk before some junk man sees what's inside."
"I already called Bobby. He's like an hour out, he's gonna get the Impala and tow it back to his place."
"All right. You, you go meet up with Bobby. You get that Colt, and you bring it back to me. And you watch out for hospital security."
"I think I've got it covered." Dean was about to leave the room when John added something else. "Hey. Here. I made a list of things I need, have Bobby pick them up for me."
Dean read it over out loud. "Acacia? Oil of Abramelin? What's this stuff for?"
"Protection." Dean left the room, leaving Sam and John alone. Valerie in the meantime had been leaning against the door. Then the doctor came in and told Sam he was free to leave. So him and John decided to go to Valerie's room.
Sam went to get coffee as John stay with Valerie. He just sat there looking at her. "Come on, Dad. You've gotta help me. I've gotta get better, I've gotta get back in there. I mean, you haven't called a soul for help. You haven't even tried. Aren't you going to do anything? Aren't you even going to say anything? You don't know the half of what I have been through. You gave me away. you were trying to protect me. And now you're just going to sit there and you're going to watch me die? I mean, what the hell kind of father are you? Everything you have done."
Then Valerie heard something in the hall. "What was that?" As she is walking to the hall a spirit flies past her. "I take it you didn't see that." She said to John.
Valerie stalked the spirit through the halls, following it into a room with a girl laying on the floor choking. "Help! Help!" she yelled. "Somebody! I need some help in here!" "I can't breathe." She was gasping for air, then it was quiet. Valerie just stood over her in shock.
Dean walked back to Valerie's room, from getting the Impala with Bobby. "Dean! Tell me you can friggin' hear me, there's something in the hospital. Now, you've got to bring me back and we've got to hunt this thing."
John noticed something was wrong. "Your quiet."
Dean was angry. He was fuming and he turned to face John and threw the coffee onto the floor. "Did you think I wouldn't find out?"
"What are you talking about?" Then Sam walked into the room with the coffee. In the meantime, Valerie watched the scene play out in front of her.
"That stuff from Bobby, you don't use it to ward off a demon, you use it to summon one. You're planning on bringing the demon here, aren't you? Having some stupid macho showdown?" Sam got angry after he heard what he walked in on. "WHAT!" he yelled.
"I have a plan, guys."
"That's exactly my point! Val is dying, and you have a plan! You know what, you care more about killing this demon than you do saving your own daughter!"
Valerie started getting scared. "NO, no, no, no guys! Please don't do this!"
"Don't tell me how I feel. I am doing this for Valerie, and you guys."
"You know, it's funny, I thought it was your obsession too! This demon killed your mother, killed your girlfriend, Sam. You begged me to be part of this hunt."
"How? How is revenge going to help her? You're not thinking about anybody but yourself, it's the same selfish obsession!"
"Come on you guys! Please don't do this!"
"I knew I shouldn't have come. I knew it was a mistake.."
"Shut up all of you!" Valerie yelled and knocked the coffee over. Dean, Sam, and John all stared at the spilled coffee confused. Valerie looked stunned, she had actually done that. All of a sudden, she felt sharp pain in her stomach, and she tumbled over. Then nurses start running in the hallway. "What is it?" she said. "Something's going on out there." Dean yelled and they all started running to the scene. When they get to the opening of the room, they see monitors beeping and a doctor and some nurses are surrounding around Valerie, trying to resuscitate her. "All clear." The doctor said. Dean had tears in his eyes, just like the other Winchesters, "No." he whispered. "Still no pulse." The nurse said. The doctor responded," okay, go again, 360." They keep trying to charge her. Dean and Sam are crying, while John is holding back his tears with a stern look. Then Valerie walks up behind them, and sees a ghostly figure over her body. "Get the hell away from me!" she yelled. She runs over to the bed, and faces the thing and yells. "I said get back!"
Sam blinks, he thought he heard something. Valerie grabs onto the spirit, and it hurls him back then soars out of the room. The monitors slow, quiet. "We have a pulse. Were back into sinus rhythm." Valerie runs into the hallway looking for the spirit. Dean sighs, watching from where he was standing. Then Valerie stands back in front of them.
" Don't worry, guys. I'm not going anywhere. I'm getting that thing before it gets me. It's some kind of spirit, but I could grab it. And if I can grab it, I can kill it." Sam looks over to where Valerie was, confused. But didn't say a word.
Valerie left the room, wandering the halls, when she heard a voice. " Can't you see me? Why won't you look at me?"
"Now what." Valerie said to herself.
"Somebody talk to me! Say something, please!"
"Can you see me?"
"Yeah."
"All right, just, uh, calm down. What's your name?"
"Tessa."
"Okay, good, Tessa I'm Valerie."
"What's happening to me? Am I – am I dead?"
"That sort of depends."
Valerie and Tessa walk to Tessa's hospital room, watching what is apparently Tessa's body hooked up to tubes and machines. A woman was sitting by her side, holding her hand. " I don't understand, I just came in for an appendectomy."
"Well, I hate to bear bad news, but I'm guessing there were some complications."
"It's just a dream, that's all. It's just a very weird, unbelievably vivid dream."
"Tessa. It's not a dream."
"Then what else could it be?"
"You ever heard of an out of body experience?"
"What are you, some new agey girl?"
"You see me messing with crystals or listening to Yanni? It's actually a very old idea. Got a lot of different names: Bilocation, crisis apparition, fetches... I think it's happening to us. And if it is, it means that we're spirits of people close to death. At least that's what my brothers taught me."
"So we're going to die?"
"No. Not if we hold on. Our bodies can get better, we can snap right back in there and wake up."
****Back in Valerie's room****
"What do you mean you felt something?" John asked.
"I mean it felt like, like Val. Like, she was there, just out of eyeshot or something. I don't know if it's my psychic thing or what, it... But do you think it's even possible? I mean, do you think her spirit could be around?"
"Anything's possible."
"Well, there's one way to find out."
"Where are you going?"
"I gotta pick something up, I'll be back."
"Wait, Sam. I promise I won't hunt this demon. Not until we know Val's okay. Sam nodded and left. Dean and John just stood there, confused.
Valerie and Tessa are back walking down the hallway. " I gotta say, I'm impressed."
"With what?"
"With you. Most people in your spot would be jello right now, but uh, you're taking this pretty well. Maybe a little better than me."
"Don't get me wrong. I was pretty freaked at first. But now, I don't know. Maybe I'm dealing."
"So you're okay with dying?"
"No, of course not. I just think, whatever's gonna happen's gonna happen. It's out of my control, it's fate."
"Huh. Well, that's crap. My brother, Dean taught me, you always have a choice. You can either roll over and die or you can keep fighting, no matter what —"
Over the PA, they made an announcement. "Room 237, code blue. Dr. Kripke to room 237, code blue."
"Where are you going?"
"Just wait here." Valerie started running down the hallway to another room in crisis. The spirit is hovering over a little girl, who is being resuscitated. It reached a hand into her face. "Get away from her!" She lunged at the spirit, and all of a sudden it vanished. The nurses stopped resuscitation.
The doctor spoke, "All right, let's call it."
"Time of death, five eleven p.m."
"At least she's not suffering anymore." Valerie was stunned.
Valerie walked back to her room, where John was sleeping on the chair and Dean was sitting by her side holding her hand. Sam walked in. He looked over at Dean, and then faced Valerie. "Hey. I think maybe you're around. And if you are, don't make fun of me for this, but um, well, there's one way we can talk." Then he pulled out a box labeled "Mystical Talking Board". Valerie is standing behind him, her arms folded across her chest. "Oh you gotta be kidding me." Dean said. Sam looked at him, " You got a better idea?" They both circled around the bed and sat cross legged on the floor. He open the box and pulled out the board. "Oh god, Sammy." Valerie said.
"Val? Valerie are you here?"
"God, I feel like I'm at a slumber party." Dean sat across from them. "All right, Sam. This isn't going to work."
Sam has his hands poised on the pointer. Valerie places her fingers on it and slowly, concentrating slides it to "YES" on the board. Dean gasps and looks at Sam.
"I'll be damned." Dean said in shock.
Sam laughed in relief. "It's good to hear from you, Val. It hasn't been the same without you."
"Damn straight." Dean added.
She placed her fingers on the pointer again and started to slide.
"Val, what? H? U? Hunt? Hunting? What, are you hunting?" The pointer slides back to "YES"
"It's in the hospital, what you're hunting? Do, do you know what it is?"
"One question at a time, Sammy."
"What is it?" The pointer started to slide again to spell out R-E-A-P
"I don't think it's killing people. I think it's taking them. You know, when their time's just up."
"A reaper. Valerie. Is it after you?" The pointer slides to "YES" "If it's here naturally, there's no way to stop it."
"Yeah, you can't kill death."
"Man, you're, um,"
"I'm screwed, Sam."
Dean stood up. "No. No, no, no, um, there's gotta be a way." He started to pace."There's gotta be a way. Dad'll know what to do." Then he walked over to his dad, who was surprisingly still sleeping. "Dad." He whispered. Then John woke up. "What is it, Dean?" "It's Val. We got in contact with her," Dean hesitated, "A Reaper is after her." John stood up so fast almost knocking Dean over, and walked out the door with his duffel bag of stuff that Dean brought back from Bobby, and left.
John walks to the last floor. He pushes the door open and enters, carrying the duffel bag. He walks through a dark and dripping hallway to a clear space, places the bag down. He pulls out a box of white chalk and starts drawing a large symbol on the floor.
Back in Valerie's room, Sam and Dean see that John left his journal on the table. "Maybe there's something in here." Sam said. They flip through the journal, looking back and forth at Valerie's body. Valerie comes up to stand behind him. "Thanks for not giving up on my, guys." Sam turns to a page that says "Reapers" Valerie leans over and reads, and then her eyes go wide. "That bitch." Valerie leaves the room, stalking down the hallway until she sees Tessa sitting on an bed in an empty room. Wearing a different outfit than before, "Hi Valerie."
"You know, you read the most interesting things. For example, did you know that reapers can alter human perception? I sure didn't. Basically they can make themselves appear however they want."
"I was wondering when you would figure it out."
"I should have known. That whole "accepting fate" rap of yours is far too laid back for a girl about to die. But the mother, and the body. I'm still trying to figure that one out."
"It's my sandbox. I can make you see whatever I want. This is the only way I could get you to talk to me."
"Okay, well, were talking. What the hell do you want to talk about?"
"How death is nothing to fear. It's your time to go Val. And your living on borrowed time already."
John finished the chalk symbol, placed several candles and a black bowl around it. He started incanting in Latin. He slid a knife across his palm, drawing blood and dripping it into the bowl. The sand in the bowl flares and goes out. He stands up looking around. Then a hand grabs his shoulder. "What the hell are you doing down her, buddy?"
"I can explain."
"Yeah? You're going to explain to security. Come on. Follow me."
John pulled out the colt and cocked it. "How stupid do you think I am?" The guys' eyes started glowing red. "Do you really want an honest answer?" Two possessed men in lab coats walked in and stood behind him. "You conjuring me, John. I'm surprised. I took you for lot of things. But suicidaly reckless wasn't one of them."
"I could always shoot you." John said.
"You could always miss." The demon said. "And you've only got one try, dontcha? Did you really think you could trap me?"
"Oh, I don't want to trap you." John lowered the gun. "I wanna make a deal."
The demon looked intrigued.
Dean is standing by Valerie, hands in his pockets. "Val, are you here?" he looked around."I couldn't find anything in the book. I don't know how to help you. But I'll keep trying, all right? As long as you keep fighting. I mean, come on you can't, you can't leave me here. Not again." He paused. "Valerie, you've got to hold on. You can't go, baby, not now. We were just starting to be a family again. Can you hear me?"
Valerie is staring out the window. " Look I'm sure you've heard this before…but, you've gotta make an exception. You gotta cut me a break."
"Stage three: Bargaining."
"I'm serious. My family's in danger. They need me."
"The fights over."
"No, it isn't."
"It is for you. The battle does go on without you. It's an honorable death."
"There's no such thing as an honorable death. My corpse is going to rot in the ground and my family is going to die! No. I'm not going with you, I don't care what you do."
"Well, like Dean said. There's always a choice. I can't make you come with me. But you're not getting back in your body. And that's just facts. So yes, you can stay. You'll stay here for years. Disembodied, scared, and over the decades it'll probably drive you mad. Maybe you'll even get violent."
"What are you saying?"
"Valerie. How do you think angry spirits are born? They can't let go. And they can't move on. And you're about to become one. The same thing you hunt."
The Demon, John, and the two minions are still in a circle around the summoning symbol.
"It's very unseemly, making deals with devils. How do I know this isn't just another trick?"
"It's no trick. I will give you the Colt and the bullet, but you've got to help Valerie. You've got to bring her back."
"Why, John, you're a sentimentalist. If only your kids knew how much their daddy loved them."
"It's a good trade. You care a hell of a lot more about this gun than you do Valerie.
"Don't be so sure. She is of great use to us. But still, you're right, she isn't much of a threat. And neither are your sons." JOHN lowered his head, and raised his eyes. "You know the truth, right? About Sammy? About Valerie? And the other children?"
"Yeah. I've known for a while."
"But they don't, do they? You've been playing dumb."
"Can you bring Valerie back? Yes or no?"
"No. But I know someone who can. It's not a problem."
"Good. Before I give you the gun, I'm going to want to make sure that she's okay. With my own eyes."
"Oh, John, I'm offended. Don't you trust me? John shook his head slowly. "Fine."
"So we have a deal?"
"No, John, not yet. You still need to sweeten the pot."
"With what?"
"There's something else I want, as much as that gun. Maybe more."
Valerie is sitting on the bed, Tessa behind her. She strokes her hair gently."It's time to put the pain behind you."
"And go where?"
"Sorry. I can't give away the big punchline. Moment of truth. No changing your mind later. So what's it going to be?" As she turns to look at her, the lights start flickering, a familiar buzzing starts."What are you doing that for?"
"I'm not doing it." Thye both turn to a vent in the floor and see black demon ichor pour out of it.
"What the hell?"
"You can't do this! Get away!" Tessa screamed.
"What's happening?" Tessa screams as the demon flows into her mouth. She turns, eyes glowing yellow. "Today's your lucky day, kid." The demon places a hand on Valerie's forehead and she convulses.
Dean is sitting on Valerie's bed and Sam on the chair. Then Valerie gasps, waking suddenly and choking on the tube in her throat. "Valerie?" Dean said. Sam ran into the hallway, "Help! I need help!"
"I can't explain it. The edema's vanished. The internal contusions are healed. Your vitals are good. You have some kind of angel watching over you."
"Thanks, doc." The doctor left the room and Valerie turns to Sam. "So you said a Reaper was after me?"
"Yeah."
"How'd I ditch it?"
"You got me. Val, you really don't remember anything?"
"No. Except this pit in my stomach. Sam, something's wrong." There was a knock on the door and John was hovering in the hallway.
"How you feeling, sweetie?"
"Fine, I guess. I'm alive."
"That's what matters."
Sam got angry. "Where were you last night?"
"I had some things to take care of."
"Well, that's specific."
"Come on, Sam." Dean said.
Sam ignored Dean. "Did you go after the demon?"
"No."
"You know, why don't I believe you right now?"
" Can we not fight? You know, half the time we're fighting, I don't know what we're fighting about. We're just butting heads. Sammy, I, I've made some mistakes. But I've always done the best I could. I just don't want to fight anymore, okay?"
"Dad, are you all right?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm just a little tired. Hey, son, would you, uh, would you mind getting me a cup of caffeine?"
"Yeah. Yeah, sure."
"Val, wanna go with?" John asked. "Yeah, okay." Dean helped her out of the bed and Sam took over as they left the room. John looks over at Dean, frowning.
"What is it?"
"You know, when you were a kid, I'd come home from a hunt, and after what I'd seen, I'd be, I'd be wrecked. And you, you'd come up to me and you, you'd put your hand on my shoulder and you'd look me in the eye and you'd... You'd say "It's okay, Dad" he paused. "Dean, I'm sorry."
"What?"
"You shouldn't have had to say that to me, I should have been saying that to you. You know, I put, I put too much on your shoulders, I made you grow up too fast. You took care of Sammy, you took care of me. You did that, and you didn't complain, not once. I just want you to know that I am so proud of you."
"This really you talking?"
"Yeah. Yeah, it's really me."
"Why are you saying this stuff?"
John walked closer to Dean, and put his hand on his shoulder. I want you to watch out for Sammy and Valerie. Okay?
"Yeah, dad, you know I will. You're scaring me."
"Don't be scared, Dean." John leaned over and whispered into Dean's ear. Dean pulled back in shock, processing what he just heard. John left the room, as Dean stares after him.
John walked into another empty room and places the colt on a small bed table.
"Okay." He said.
Sam and Valerie are walking back to the room carrying cups of looks into a room and sees John on the floor. "Dad?" They both dropped the cups, and run to John's side, kneeling over him and screaming for help.
Once again, a crowd of doctors and nurses attempt resuscitation, this time on John. Dean, Sam and Valerie hover in the doorway, and a nurse tries to push them out.
"No, no, no, it's our dad. It's our dad!" Dean yelled. "Come on." He whispered."Okay, stop compressions." The doctor yelled.
"Come on, come on." Valerie cried.
"Still no pulse."
"Okay, that's it everybody. I'll call it. Time of death: 10:41 am."
Okay guys so tell me what you think! This was A very long chapter to right! Notice I kept A LOT of dialogue Review please!
