Chapter 7
I gave them some time to discuss what I had told them. I needed to step away from them as well. I understood that this was an incredible burden that landed on the shoulders of John Winchester. It was one thing to think of having to kill another person. John would have done his fair share in the Marines, however things were different when it came to contemplating having to kill his own son.
John stood and walked across to the room to where I was. He gripped my shoulders and brought his nose close to mine.
"I will kill this son of bitch and save my son," John repeated his vow from earlier.
"And if you can't John?" I pressed him. "If you can't stop Sam from succumbing to evil, do you have the strength to kill him?"
John stepped away from me. "I can't be expected to kill my own son."
"No one is asking you to do that John," I assured him.
Missouri found her voice, "Kelsey, if what you're saying is true. And that boy has to be killed if we can't save him. Just who is going to do that?"
John
refused to look at me.
"I will," I told them.
John shook his head. "Kelsey, you can't kill Sam anymore than I can."
"Why do you say that?" I challenged.
"Because that boy is as close to your heart as if you gave birth to him," John leveled me with his gaze.
I stared at John for a moment. "John," I said quietly, "I am not human."
"I don't care," John shook his head. "You couldn't kill him."
"John," my voice was barely a whisper. "I have wiped out entire cities. I have killed every living thing in them."
John's expression reflected the horror he felt.
"I have done things which you will never know," I smiled wanly. "I obey. That's what I do."
"I will save my son," John clenched his fists.
"If you can't?" I asked him.
His face hardened. "I can't kill my own child. I'll give up my life and my soul first," he swore.
Missouri stood, "John, it would be best to leave that to her. She's not going to give up on Sam without a fight."
"I know that Missouri. But she's not going to have to have to do that," John ground out. He walked in the direction of the door.
"John?" Missouri called. "Where are you going?"
"I haven't got time to waste Missouri. I've got to save my family. I won't let my child die," John said as he walked through the door and slammed it shut.
"Kelsey!" Missouri pleaded.
"There's nothing to be done Missouri. John wanted the truth and I told him," I sat on the window ledge.
"You didn't tell him everything," Missouri said.
"John Winchester has enough on his plate," I stared through the window.
"That demon killed Jessica, why?" Missouri demanded.
"She got in the way," I answered.
"I don't understand," Missouri's confusion echoed in her voice.
"Jessica made Sam happy. In order for the influence to work, then he has to be vulnerable," I explained.
"So," Missouri said. "A happy Sam would mean that he would be immune?"
"No," I shook my head. "But Sam surrounded by love and family would fight the influence and win."
"Family's
not that strong," Missouri observed.
I smiled at her, "Oh I
don't know about that. There was a serious miscalculation with
Sam."
"What do you mean?" Missouri returned to her chair.
I remained silent. She thought for a few minutes.
"John raised them the same way," Missouri whispered. "Sam actually loves his father and brother."
"It's much deeper than that," I knelt next to her.
"You did something," Missouri stared at me as her eyes widened in astonishment. "You did something to Sam when he was a baby. Something that gave him a fighting chance."
I nodded in agreement. "Yes, Missouri, I did something."
"Well John has to know," Missouri's face became elated.
"No," I shook my head. I placed my hand on her face. "I'm so sorry that I have to do this Missouri."
"No," Missouri shook her head. "You can't."
"John needed to know. But that knowledge is not yours to keep," I smiled at her.
"I'll remember it," she vowed.
"No," I told her. "You won't."
I gripped the sides of her head and became light. I enveloped her in my essence and purged her memory completely. She lost consciousness and I created an amended conversation among us. I had to protect her. It was bad enough that the others would now go after John, but he was looking for the demon anyway, so there was no harm in him having the knowledge.
I gathered her in my arms and put her to bed. She would wake in the morning and only recall what I wanted her to recall. I left the house and walked away from Lawrence. I thought of the different occasions when I felt that I should have done the same with the Winchesters. However, it was perhaps fortunate that I had not. Since I was aware of the plan and the fact that the others were closer than ever to completion I needed to get John focused on the task at hand. I needed to know definitively if Daniel Elkins had the gun Samuel Colt made. I needed to destroy that weapon once and for all.
I made my way slowly across the State when I heard John's voice. I looked around but he wasn't there. I frowned and followed where he was. I came to an empty warehouse and wondered what John was doing there when I smelled sulfur. I rolled my eyes, they were moving faster than I had anticipated. John was fending off a group of possessed. I had to intervene. I didn't need anyone killing him at this juncture. I sensed the bullet before it came through the air. I ensured that I was not in its path. The others scattered as they realized that their hosts were not going to be appropriate shields.
John spun around, as he attempted to see who saved him.
"Hello!" John called.
"Hello," a young man came out of the shadows. He grinned at John for a moment.
"I'm sorry do I know you?" John asked.
"It's just awesome to be in the same place as John Winchester," the young man returned.
John frowned for a moment, "Well it seems you have me at a distinct disadvantage son."
"I'm Gordon Walker," he told John.
"Well, Gordon. I thank you for what you did," John nodded.
"That took stones," Gordon continued. "Taking on those possessed like that."
John chuckled uncomfortably, "I wish I could take credit. But they jumped me."
"Why?" Gordon asked.
John's
shoulders went rigid. "It's a personal fight."
"I can
understand that," Gordon nodded. "You probably don't want help.
But we could have a drink."
"Perhaps
some other time Gordon," John patted him on the shoulder. "I need
to get going."
"Well," Gordon observed. "If you weren't
close to getting rid of their asses they wouldn't be trying to take
you out."
John looked at him carefully. "You have a good point there, son."
"It's always good to stand in the presence of a legend sir," Gordon said.
"I
don't know about that," John shook his head.
"Are you
kidding me?" Gordon exclaimed. "They say that your sons Sam and
Dean are pretty good too."
"Sam and Dean?" John's eyebrow perked up.
"Well,"
Gordon shrugged. "You trained them well."
"Thank you,"
John smiled at him. "We'll have that drink should we meet again."
"No problem sir," Gordon grinned.
John straightened his stance and walked away from Gordon Walker. I stayed behind and studied him for a moment. He was handsome as humans go but there was something that he had in him that I had only previously sensed in much older hunters. There was a darkness that was kept under control by his sense of purpose. This Gordon Walker was a skilled hunter and he was so narrow in his thinking that he would be perfect if it were ever revealed the truth of the children like Sam. I stopped in my thoughts. No one would tell them, but then I knew that the Spawn only needed one child to complete his purpose. The fact that he had cast such a wide net meant that he was testing to see who was the strongest.
For it was only the strongest who would be able to cross the threshold. Especially since once the chosen had surrendered to the evil, it would require strength to bypass all the measures. I shook my head. It was my brilliant plan and my brilliance was certainly leading to a great deal of trouble.
I waited until Gordon left to examine the scene. It had been a very clever ambush. John Winchester would put a considerable hurdle in the path of the Spawn. I then began to fear for Dean. Dean's devotion to his brother was intense. Dean was willing to do anything and everything for Sam. I always knew this in spite of the arguments that would occur between them as siblings. It was the nature of children to argue with the ones they love the most.
If Jessica was killed to keep Sam on the path to the Spawn's purpose, then what danger lay ahead for Dean? I sat on the ground and contemplated all these things and again wondered if it was simply not easier to… I stopped my thoughts. I was not going to complete that thought. Those thoughts wouldn't solve the problem. The Spawn would simply start over. The baby I purged was evidence of that.
I stood and surveyed the warehouse for the last time. I had to move quickly and work on locating Daniel Elkins. He was the key or very likely he knew where the gun was. I clasped my hands and moved silently from the building.
