Wayward Sons Special #1

"Something Wicked This Way Comes Again"

Most people go their whole lives not knowing what's out there, hiding in the dark. They spend their whole lives never realizing that there are creatures out there that would like nothing more than to kill them, making them suffer horribly to their last agonizing breath.

But there are some people who do know what lurks in the shadows but not by choice. Some people are just thrust into that life. People like Michael Colby, who at the age of 12, had seen what true evil looks like when his little brother Asher had been the victim of a soul-sucking Shtriga, a ghoulish witch who feeds off the life essence of children. When it had come back for Michael, it fell into a trap set by Sam and Dean Winchester, who killed the creature before it could drain the boy's life force.

After the Shtriga had died, all the children affected by it, including Asher, had fully recovered like nothing had ever happened. The only child who had never fully recovered was Michael, and that was because he now knew there were things out there that wanted to kill him and his family. At the age of 12, Michael had lost his innocence and was never truly the same.


Not too long after that, Michael was walking home from school when he saw two kids harassing his brother. They were tossing Asher's backpack around before shoving the boy to the ground. Michael ran up and without hesitation sucker punched the first bully in the nose. When the other kid came at him, he punched him in the stomach and pulled his shirt over his head before pushing him into the other boy.

"You're dead!" the boy with the now bloody nose said.

"Mess with my kid brother again and I'll break more than your nose," Michael told them as they ran off. He helped his brother up off the ground. "You okay, Asher?"

"You never stood up like that for me before," Asher said.

"Well, maybe it's time that I started being a better big brother," Michael told him as he put an arm around his kid brother's shoulder as they walked home. "I need to start watching out for you more, kid."


There weren't very many books available on how to spot demons or other creatures of the night, and virtually every online article contradicted the other. There were only two sources of knowledge he could ultimately rely on: The Ghostfacers website and a series of books based on the adventures of Sam & Dean Winchester.

Micheal had saved his money to buy the first 22 books and was looking to buy more as soon as he got more money for them. Between the books and the website, he was learning everything he needed to in order to defend his family.


2008

"Michael, why is there salt on the window?" Michael's mother Joanna asked one night before bed.

"It...keeps the pests out," Michael said. "I read about it in a book."

In the two years since the young man had his encounter with the Shtriga, he'd started hitting the library and internet to find every scrap of information he could on the monsters that were out there, finding ways to keep the motel that his mother ran properly warded from anything that might try to get in to kill them, filling in the gaps that the Supernatural books and the Ghostfacers website hadn't informed him on. It had become an obsession with Michael, something he couldn't stop thinking about. He knew there were monsters out there, but he didn't realize just how close they truly were until it was almost too late.


The tall brunette woman walked into the motel office as Michael's mother was at the desk. Michael was in the back, fixing Asher his lunch, as usual. Michael instantly felt a chill but didn't know where it was coming from.

"One room," the woman said as she eyed the two boys sitting at the table in the back.

"How long will you be staying?" Joanna asked as she reached for a room key.

"Not long," the woman said. "Just long enough to complete some business in this town before I have to move on."

"Well, I hope you enjoy your stay," Joanna said as she read the check-in book where the woman had just signed. "Meg."

"Cute kids," Meg said with a smirk. "Reminds me of two guys I used to know. I just got off of a really long vacation. Maybe I should look them up after I'm finished here."

Michael just eyed the woman as she walked out of the office with her room key.

"Michael, the food's burning," Asher said as his big brother snapped out of it. He quickly ran to the stove to turn it off. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just... thinking about that assignment from school," Michael said.


Meg walked into her room, locking the door behind her as she got settled. She was making her way across the country with a new plan in the wake of her father's death. Dean Winchester wasn't long for this world; in a few weeks he was due to be dragged to Hell by Hellhounds thanks to a devil's deal to save his brother Sam's life.

But before that, Meg was going to make Dean's last few weeks on Earth miserable. She was going to kill anyone that Sam and Dean Winchester had ever saved, with this town being her first stop. The eight children who had been victims of the Shtriga would all be dead by the end of the week, then she would move on to the next town, and then the next, until every soul the Winchesters had ever saved had died a gruesome death. Then on the night that Dean as to be dragged to Hell, she would find him and tell him what she had done, and that in the end, his life had been meaningless because everyone he ever tried to save had died regardless.

A knock suddenly came at the door as Meg opened it and saw Asher standing there with towels in his hand.

"I'm supposed to bring these to you," Asher told her. He was ten years and doing what he could to help his mother keep her motel running smoothly.

"Well, aren't you a cute little thing?" Meg asked as she took the towels and handed him a tip. She could end his life right there, but this job had to be done carefully. There were eight people in this town that needed killing, maybe more if she could help it, but killing Asher right then and there would raise too much suspicion. The last thing she needed was the Winchesters getting wind of this and showing up before the party really began.

"Gee, thanks!" Asher said as he took his dollar tip and left. Meg just smiled and closed the door. Maybe she'd save the kid for last, bleeding him dry after hours of torture. The innocent ones were always the most fun to kill.


Michael was laying in his bed, reading the latest Supernatural book as Asher ran in. He was just finishing book #35 and about to start #36 "Born Under a Bad Sign".

"Look what that nice lady gave me!" Asher said, proudly displaying his dollar.

"Big deal, a dollar doesn't buy dick these days," Michael said, looking up from his book.

"You're just jealous because she said I was cute," Asher said as he sat down on the bed next to his brother. "Mom said you shouldn't be reading that stuff."

"You gonna tattle on me?" Michael asked.

"No, I just think it's creepy," Asher said.

"There's something not right about that woman," Michael told him. "Didn't you feel the room get colder when she walked in?"

"No," Asher said. "Maybe you're getting sick."

"Or maybe I need to find out who she really is," Michael told him.

"By the way, Mom wants you to run the front counter while she goes to the bank," Asher told him.

Michael just groaned as he got off the bed and headed down to the office, not even bothering to put on his sneakers as he went.


The body of the police officer lay against the wall of the warehouse with his throat slit as Meg stirred her finger around the chalice of blood to make a call.

"Where are you?" Meg asked as she waited for an answer. "Good, then we're ahead of schedule, just stick to our plan. I don't want to be in this mud ball town any longer than I have to. And I thought Hell was tacky. I'll be in contact."

Meg put the chalice down and looked at the dead officer, whose eyes were wide open. "What are you looking at?"


Michael was working the front counter, reading a book on vampire lore when the door opened and a boy his age walked in, while his mother was getting the luggage from the car.

"I need a room for me and my mom," Evan said as he saw the book Michael was reading. "You're into learning about vampires?"

"Did you know that crosses and holy water don't do dick against them?" Michael asked.

"Did you know that salt and wrought iron can fend off demons?" Evan asked in return. It was at that moment that the two young men knew they'd found a friend for life.


While Evan's mother had stepped out to get some groceries, Michael was helping Even put the things away in his room.

"So you and your mom never stay in the same place for too long?" Michael asked.

"My dad has people everywhere," Evan told him. "So we always have to skip town justas we're getting settled. In a few weeks we'll probably be on our way out of town again to find a new place. The last time he caught up to us..." Evan lifted the back of his shirt and showed him the bruises that were just now starting to fade.

"What about the cops?" Michael asked as he put Evan's books on the dresser. He had a lot of stuff on monsters as well, some of which Michael was interested in reading.

"He is a cop," Evan told him. "He's got friends everywhere."

"How'd you get into learning about monster lore?" Michael asked, figuring Evan wanted to change the subject.

"One night I saw a guy get snatched in the parking lot from my window," Evan told him. "The guys who investigated the disappearance made it seem like there was more to it than just a random kidnapping, so I started looking online and... I found some really messed up stuff. The deeper I looked-"

"The more you realized there really was evil stuff out there," Michael said as he put a hand on Evan's shoulder. "I know there's evil stuff out there, too."


The next day at school, Asher was in the cafeteria getting his lunch, looking over at the table where his best friend Ricky was sitting. They had formed a bond while both in the hospital as victims of the Shtriga. They had gotten close to the six other children who had become sick as well, even though one of them was home schooled, and the rest were either in higher or lower grades. Only Asher and Ricky were in the same grade together.

As Asher slid his tray along, hoping to get a slice of pizza before they ran out, he looked up and saw the usual lunch lady wasn't there. He liked Doris, she usually gave him an extra helping of macaroni.

"Where's Doris?" Asher asked the man who looked uncomfortable wearing the hairnet.

"She came down with a terrible virus this morning," the man said as he gave a disturbingly creepy smile. "You must be Asher. She said to give you an extra special slice of pizza."

The man slapped down an extra gooey slice of pizza that looked to have extra cheese on it.

"Uh... thanks," Asher said as he looked at the pizza. It looked kind of gross, but he was really hungry. Michael had woken up late and both had missed breakfast. As he took his lunch to the table, the man just smiled as he fiddled with the ring on his finger, just itching to use it, but knowing that he couldn't do it just yet.

Pestilence would have his turn, and this town would be the first to try out his horrible new epidemic.


Evan McKay Sr. was sitting at a cafe, a few towns over from where his estranged wife and son were when his cell phone rang. He'd been waiting for this phone call ever since his wife had disappeared again, taking their teenage son with her. The next time Evan got his family back, he'd make sure they never left again.

"McKay," the man said.

"I found them," the person on the other end said. "They're in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. They're staying at a crap motel on Elm Street."

"I'll be there in a few hours," Evan said as he took down the address. His wife and son were coming home to him, and this time, they would never leave again. He'd personally see to that.


"Hey, check this out," Evan said as he sat on the floor next to Michael's bed. He handed his friend an occult book as Micheal lay on his back with his head hanging over the side of the bed. "It's a devil's trap, it's supposed to keep demons contained, kind of like salt, but more sturdy."

"I know all about devil's traps, but my mom threw a fit when I tried to paint one in the office," Michael told him. "And she'd have my ass if I tore up the carpeting in any of the rooms for one."

"You think this woman staying here is a demon?" Evan asked.

"I don't know, but something definitely doesn't feel right about her," Michael told him.

"You could always test her," Even suggested.

"How? By spraying her with holy water?" Michael asked jokingly. Evan just stared at him.

"There's a church about a block away from here, right?"


"Do you mind?" Meg asked, having just watched Pestilence sneeze into his own hands, without even using a handkerchief. "That's disgusting."

"Afraid you'll catch something?" Pestilence asked with a devilish smirk as he wiped his hands on his pants.

"Just tell me that you got the job done," Meg said as they stood in the warehouse.

"Oh, it's done, my dear," Pestilence told her. "Right now my new virus is working its way through all eight of the children, ready to kill them as soon as I set it off."

"Good," Meg told him. "But I don't want them dead, at least not yet. I just want them to suffer for the moment. I only want them dead as soon as Sam and Dean Winchester set foot in this town. I want them dead before they can even reach the hospital to investigate. I want them to know that every last person they've ever saved is going to die painfully, by which time I'll already have hit another two or three towns."

"Oh, trust me, my dear, the children are going to suffer," Pestilence told her.

"So, what exactly did you give the little brats?" Meg asked.

"Just an early version of the Croatoan virus," Pestilence said. "Nasty little thing. It doesn't have the wonderful side effect of turning people into blood thirsty monsters, but it's still a very horrible and painful thing to have. Even if these kids lived, they'll be feeling the side effects for years to come. Would you like a demonstration?"


"I think I might have freaked out the priest," Evan said as he returned to the hotel with Micheal. "It's probably a good thing me and mom won't be in town long."

"Well, the distraction worked, I got the holy water," Michael told him as he held up the flask. "You play the role of demon-possessed kid pretty well."

"Well, I've seen the Exorcist about 167 times," Evan said as they walked through the door. "So, how do we test this dame?"

"We'll sneak into her room and fill up her bathroom sink, plugging it up," Michael said. "Then I'll pour the holy water in. When she reaches in to unplug it, and we hear her screaming, we'll know what we're dealing with."

"Michael, where have you been?" Asher asked as he saw them coming into the room. He was sitting at the front desk, barely able to hold his head up. He had bags under his eyes and looked really pale. "Mom had to go out and you're supposed to be watching the office."

"Relax, I'm back now," Michael told him. "You're big enough to start watching the office, right?"

"I'm 10," Asher said.

"So? I've been doing my share of the work around here since I was 8," Michael said. "Man up, little brother, it's time to start pitching in."

"Are you okay?" Evan asked as he looked at Asher. "You look kind of flushed."

Michael noticed it and ran over, putting a hand on his forehead. "He's burning up. We should call a doctor before-"

Asher immediately vomited up an extreme amount of blood all over his brother before passing out.

"ASHER!"


The ambulance took the boy away to the hospital as Michael sat in the chair, still drenched in his brother's blood. He had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders as Evan sat next to him.

"He's still alive, that's a good sign," Evan said as Michael remained silent. "Are you sure you don't want to go with your mom to be with him?"

Michael just continued to remain silent as he sat there, unmoving.


"You weren't kidding," Meg said as she watched the ambulance drive off. "That was pretty fun."

"The fun is just about ready to start," Pestilence told her as he held up his ring finger. "Are you ready for the real show to begin?"

"Soon, I just need to call in a few more friends just to make sure that if and when the Winchesters arrive, they'll be far too late to do anything," Meg said. "Within the next 12 hours, there's going to be over two dozen demon possessed people waiting for Sam and Dean to keep them at bay while the children die slowly."


Evan took the initiative and snuck into Meg's room, pouring the holy water into the sink as he returned to Michael's room, where his friend was laying on the bed in his pajamas, where Evan had left him after having helped him clean himself up.

"I should have watched over him more," Michael whispered. "This is my fault."

"This is not your fault, he just... caught something bad," Evan assured him as he sat in the chair next to the bed. "He's going to be okay."

"He threw up two pints of blood," Michael said as he stared at the ceiling. "That's not the sign of someone who's going to get better."

"I planted the holy water," Evan told him. "If you want to, we can still paint a devil's trap or two. We can use glow in the dark paint, and cover another one up with a rug so your mom won't see it."

"Meg," Michael realized as he sat up. "What if this was her that caused this? What if she's the reason he got sick again?"

"We don't have any proof, yet," Evan told him. "Let's just wait until we see if the holy water has any effect on her. Just relax, Michael. Let's just... watch some t.v. until you feel better."

Evan turned on the television, where the news report of eight children, all falling ill at the same time and suffering the same effects as Asher, was airing. As the reporter listed off the names, Michael turned to Evan.

"All eight of those kids, they were the same victims of that demon bitch who sucked my brother's life force out the last time," Michael said as he stood up. "This isn't a coincidence. That creepy lady shows up, then a day later, all these kids get sick again? Where's my cell phone?"

"Down in the office, I saw you put it down after you had me call 911," Evan said as Michael ran to the door without even putting on his sneakers. Evan just followed him down, seeing his friend rush to the desk, frantically picking up his cell phone. What are you doing?"

"I'm calling someone who knows how to deal with this sort of thing," Michael told him.

"This is Dean Winchester. If this is an emergency, leave a message."

"Dean, this is Michael Colby, about two years ago, you and your brother saved me and my brother from a Shtriga, but now all the same kids are getting violently ill again. Asher's in trouble, and he could be dying," Michael said, his voice cracking as his eyes welled up with tears. "Please, help us."

Evan rushed over and grabbed him before he could fall to the floor in agony. "You don't know where these guys are at, they could be all the way across the country. We need to deal with this ourselves until they show up. Let's paint a devil's trap for that bitch."


Evan Sr. had arrived in town, and had everything in his trunk, from chloroform to duct tape to sturdy rope to make sure his wayward wife and son cooperated. As he closed the trunk, he looked across the street at the motel, ready to make his move. But just as he prepared to cross the street, a thick cloud of black smoke started filtering in through his mouth, choking the man as he fell to his knees. Moments after the smoke had fully entered him, his eyes flashed a dark black as he smiled.


A short while later, a shrill scream was heard from Meg's room as the boys were just finishing up the devil's trap.

"Hurry up," Michael said as Evan helped him roll a carpet over it, leaving just a tiny piece of it uncovered.

"What do we do if the trap doesn't work?" Evan asked.

"Well, we could-" Michael started to say as the glass in the windows and front door shattered at once, sending shards flying as the two boys ducked behind the counter. Meg stormed in , her right arm red with blisters.

"I don't know how you figured it out, but it's the last thing you two brats are ever going to do," Meg said as she saw them. "You think your baby brother's got it bad? That's nothing compared to what I'm going to do to the two of you."

"You really are a demon," Michael said as Meg walked in, stepping on the carpet.

"Baby, I'm the greatest demon you'll ever know," Meg smiled. "Of course, I'm the last demon you'll ever know. I think I'll start by-" as Meg stepped forward, she found she was trapped. She stared down at the carpet and started laughing. "Good thinking, boys. A devil's trap? You're smarter than I realized."

"You did this to my little brother," Michael said angrily. "I'm going to kill you."

"Your little brother's suffering has just begun, I promise you that," Meg said. "Now, let me out of this trap and maybe, just maybe, I'll let you live with a few broken bones."

"Go to Hell," Michael told her.

"Been there, sweetie, I own a timeshare with Judy Garland," Meg said.

"How do we kill her?" Michael asked.

"Exorcism," Evan said. "I have a print out with the incantation on it. I looked it up while you were in the shower."

"Well, go get it!" Michael told him as Evan ran out the back.

"You can't keep me trapped forever," Meg told him. "And when I get out, your little brother will die screaming while I make you watch."

"You're never going to get the chance," Michael said as he stood up.

"You think if you kill me that your little brother will be saved?" Meg laughed harshly. "Did you really think I was here alone?"


Pestilence had gone undercover at the children's ward in the hospital, where all eight of the children were being monitored. He looked in on Asher's room, where his mother was crying by the boy's bedside, holding his hand in hers.

"Come back to me, baby, please," Joanna pleaded.

Pestilence just smirked as he continued on, fiddling with his ring finger. He was just itching to pull the trigger and fully unleash the virus upon the children. Right now they'd just had a taste of his virus. Soon they were really going to experience the full effects.


Evan was glad his mother was out looking for work this late in the afternoon, as he would have no idea on how to explain this to her. He grabbed the printout from his laptop and headed out the door, running into a man and nearly knocking himself over.

"I'm sorry, mister, I'm just in a bit of a rush," Evan said as he looked up at the man, nearly wetting himself.

"Hello, son," Evan's father smiled with his dark black eyes. "Long time, no see."


The walls of the office started shaking as Meg started laughing.

"Last chance, kid," Meg told him. "Let me out, and you may get to live."

"Not until you fix my brother!" Michael shouted.

"Wrong choice, brat," Meg said as the rest of the windows shattered as a cloud of black smoke started filtering through, headed toward Michael. "Welcome to the club, Mikey, we're going to have a hell of a time with you!"


All over town, random people were being possessed by demons. The town's population wasn't very big, only a few hundred people, but by 9 p.m. a good third of the town had been possessed, largely due to the demon Meg calling in every favor she could.

This was the first stop on Meg's tour of killing everyone that Sam and Dean Winchester had ever saved, and she was going to start off with a bang. There were 8 children in the town who been survivors of a Shtriga, a soul-sucking demon. The Winchesters had killed the monster and saved the children before moving on, and now Meg was going to fix that.

With the help of the Horseman Pestilence, Meg had infected the children with a prototype version of the Croatoan virus, and now the children were edging closer to death, with the only thing keeping them from the full effects of the virus being Pestilence himself.

By the end of the night, most of the town would be possessed, ready to keep the Winchesters at bay if they showed up. And currently the only ones who had any idea of what was really going on were two teenage boys, who were finding out just how much trouble they were in.


In the motel office, the demon possessed body of Meg laughed as the cloud of black smoke headed toward Michael, intending to possess him. The office walls shook as sparks started flying out of the lights above, lighting the carpet on fire. But as the black smoke started forcing its way into the boy's mouth, he started coughing and hacking the smoke back up.

"What? That's impossible!" Meg shouted as the black smoke filtered back out of the office to find a body it could possess.

"I've got my tricks too, you demon bitch," Michael said in a raspy voice as he lifted up his shirt to reveal an anti-possession sigil on his upper chest. "Just... don't tell my mom I got this."

Evan Sr. dragged his son into the office by the hair and flung him across the room, knocking him over the desk as the fire started to quickly spread. Michael went to help his friend as Evan Sr. pulled out a knife and started scratching at the devil's trap where Meg was trapped. Meg smirked as she calmly stepped out of it.

"Mmm. you chose well," Meg smiled at Evan Sr.'s muscular body. "Let's skin these brats, I haven't done anything really fun since I got here."

Meg looked toward the desk, where Michael and Evan had vanished, having escaped through the back door. The fire was starting to really get out of control as Meg looked at Evan Sr.

"I know where they're headed," Meg told him. "If we hurry, we can a surprise waiting for them when they arrive."


"You going to be okay?" Michael asked he helped Evan walk. He was limping since he'd been injured after having been tossed across the room.

"I hurt my leg," Evan said. The two boys looked back at the motel, where the fire was quickly spreading. He saw Michael's eyes tearing up. "I'm sorry."

"My little brother, my home, she's taking it all," Michael said, his voice cracking. "We have to stop her."

"How?" Evan asked. "We have nothing to fight back with. And now she's starting to have other people possessed. We're outnumbered."

"Outnumbered, but not outsmarted," Michael said. "You have the exorcism print-out?"

"In my pocket," Evan said as he noticed people slowly gathering around them. "Oh damn."

"They've all been possessed," Michael said as Evan saw his own mother among the possessed. "We need to go, now!"

"I can't run!" Evan shouted. "Just leave me! I have to try to get through to her!"

"She's possessed, Evan, the only way to help her is to get away," Michael looked around found an empty shopping cart. Moments later, Michael was pushing it as fast as he could to outrun the possessed people giving chase.


The old rusted out car pulled into the small town, stopping right in the middle of the street as the driver noticed the rising smoke not too far away. The driver of the car stepped out, seeing the people staring at him as he walked away from the car while holding a baseball bat.

"A few more demons than I'd hoped for," the man smirked. "Alright, you demonic bastards, who wants a piece!"

The first person ran towards the new player as he swung his bat, which had ancient markings on it. As it struck the demon possessed man, black smoke instantly flew out of him, while the possessed man fell to the ground. He had a few cracked ribs, but the demon was now gone from his body.

"Who's next?" the man asked.


Pestilence was watching the clock, waiting for midnight to come. At midnight, he was going to be allowed to turn up the heat and make things much worse for the children who were ill. They would have plenty of life left in them, but with each turn of his ring, the children would continue to get worse. He'd already turned his ring once to activate the virus. One more turn would make the children sicker; a third turn would push them right to the edge ofdeath; and a fourth turn would kill them completely. And it all begins at the stroke of midnight.


Downstairs, Michael and Evan had evaded the mob and snuck into the hospital after making a few quick stops for emergency supplies. They both had backpacks filled with crosses, holy water, salt, and a few other odds and ends.

"What are we doing here?" Evan asked. "I thought we were going with the plan to take down Meg?"

"We are, but first we have to warn my mom," Michael told him. "We have to tell her what's going on."

"What about my mom?" Evan asked as Michael patted his shoulder.

"We'll save her, I promise," Michael told him. "She's still alive, and we'll get that thing out of her. But for right now, we need help, and my mom's the only one who can do it."


The two snuck upstairs where Michael's mother was sitting by Asher's bedside, gently stroking his hand.

"Mom," Michael whispered. "I need to talk to you."

"Michael, you should be at home," Joanna said as she hugged him as Evan stood outside the door, keeping watch. "Why are you so dirty? And why are you in your pajamas?"

"Demons, mom," Michael said as he started crying while he held onto her. "They burned down the motel, and they possessed Evan's parents. They made Asher sick, mom. All of this is happening because of Meg, and we need to stop her before it's too late."

"Oh, my poor baby," Joanna said as she rubbed his back. "You have been so stressed out over all this, haven't you?"

"It's all true, I swear," Michael told her. "And if we don't stop her, the whole town's going to die. Please, you have to believe me."

"Oh, I believe you," Joanna said as her eyes flashed black. "And mommy's going to take care of everything."

Her grip on Michael tightened as she put her hand around his neck and started squeezing. Michael started to struggle to breathe as Evan shot a stream of holy water from a squirt gun right into her face. Joanna screamed in pain as she dropped Michael.

"They're everywhere!" Evan shouted as he helped Michael up. "We have to go!"

"No, I can't leave her alone with Asher!" Michael shouted as tried to pull away from Evan.

"I don't think they want him to die just yet, it's like they're waiting for something," Evan said. "Come on, we have to go before more come!"

The two boys stood up and ran right into Pestilence.

"Going somewhere, gentlemen? You shouldn't leave before your appointment," the Horseman said as he started laughing.


A short while later, Evan woke up, strapped to an upright table as a blurred vision of Pestilence came into focus.

"Oh, good, you're awake, it's always so much more fun that way," Pestilence told him as he scraped two operating knives together. "You know, it's so rare that I get to play with a healthy young specimen. I usually just deal with the sick and elderly, and the occasional corpse, but you're giving me that rare opportunity to see what makes someone as healthy as you tick. That'll really help my research. Just think... whatever your name is... you'll go down in history as the boy who helped me create all sorts of new and nasty infections."

"Just kill me," Evan pleaded.

"Kill you?" Pestilence laughed. "If I kill you...," the Horseman said as he stopped laughing and got a serious look on his fact."You can't suffer."


Michael woke up, his head pounding as he realized he was laying naked on a table, with several straps holding him down as Meg stood over him, tossing the remnants of his pajama top into a trash can.

"Why are you doing this?" Michael asked as he struggled.

"Because some friends of yours pissed me off," Meg said as she ran a hand over the sigil on his chest. He'd gotten the tattoo several months ago after reading about it in the Supernatural novels. He was friends with the guy who ran the tattoo parlor, which was how he managed to get it without his mother knowing. "How do you know so much about demons?"

"How do you know so much about hair dye? That can't be your natural color," Micheal said as Meg pulled out a knife and cut him along his arm. Michael winced in pain as he tried to hold it in.

"You and your little friend are more trouble than you're worth," Meg said. "I only came here to kill eight kids, but I can extend that by a few hundred more people."

"You're trying to get to Sam and Dean," Michael suddenly realized.

"Finally, the last horse crosses the finish line," Meg laughed. "I didn't care about you or your pathetic family. I just wanted to make Dean Winchester suffer. Actually, I want to make two people suffer, now. You see, that little stunt with the holy water wasn't very nice."

"What are you going to do, kill me?" Michael asked as his mother came into the room. "You're going to have my mom kill me, aren't you? I don't care what you do to me, just let her go."

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you," Meg said as he ran her finger along the edge of the blade. "I'm going to kill her."

Meg rammed the knife into Joanna's stomach, digging it deep into her as Joanna just laughed while coughing up blood.

"No!" Michael screamed as the demon inside of Joanna laughed at the pain while Meg cut deeper, causing blood and organs to start pouring out. "Stop!"

"You heard him," the possessed Joanna said. "He said stop. You know, I really liked this body. I mean, I actually could on living in here forever, maybe even let your mother come out to play once in a while. She could be eternal as long I'm in this body."

"Oh, would you like that, Mikey?" Meg asked as she pulled the blade out and licked the bloody knife. "Having your precious mother live as long as a demon keeps her alive?"

"Please, don't kill her," Michael pleaded as his voice was breaking from the pain. The tears were falling down his face as he pleaded.

"Well, since you said 'please'," Meg said as she looked at Joanna, who opened her mouth as black smoke flew out, disappearing into an air vent. As the last of the smoke removed itself, Joanna fell to the ground, instantly dead as Michael cried.

"That's only the beginning," Meg told him. "You still have a little brother who gets to die horribly. And you are going to have a front row seat for that event. Then, and only then, will you die slowly and painfully. Welcome to Hell, Mikey."

"I'm going to kill you myself," Michael said through gritted teeth as the tears fell down his face.

"Promises, promises," Meg smirked as she turned toward the door, only to have the butt of a rifle hit her in the face. She fell back as a blast of rock salt from the rifle hit her in the shoulder. She screamed in pain as the rifle cocked again, ready for another blast. The lights started to flicker, darkening the room. When the lights came back on, Meg had disappeared.

"You okay, kid?" the man asked as he went to unstrap Michael.

"My mom, she's dead," Michael said.

"I'm sorry, kid, I had an army of demons to fight through to find this place," the man told him as he helped Michael up off the table. "Get your clothes on, we need to get out of here."

"Who are you?" Michael asked as he wiped away the tears while he grabbed some hospital bottoms to put on.

"The name's Christian," the man told him as he tossed Michael a shirt and some shoes. "Christian Campbell. I'm a Hunter," Christian took Michael by the shoulders and slapped him as hard as he could when he noticed the boy was still crying. "Stay with me, kid! We're just about the only two people left in this town who aren't possessed."

"My friend, Evan, he's somewhere in this hospital," Michael said as he tried to stp stop sobbing. "And my little brother, he's sick, I have to save him!"

"Kid, wait!" Christian shouted as Michael ran out of the room. "Dammit."


"I have had ENOUGH OF THIS!" Meg shouted as she stood on the roof of a car not too far away. "That little brat somehow brought a Hunter here, and if one could sneak in, there might be more coming! So no more games! I want that kid brought to me, and I want everyone who's helping him skinned alive! Forget those eight brats I came here to kill, by dawn, I want this entire town burned to the ground!"


Evan was laying strapped to a table, with the Horseman Pestilence about to perform surgery on him. The man scraped two sharp knives together as he gave a devilish smirk to the young man on the table.

"Oh, the horrors you are about to endure, all in the name of disease," Pestilence said. "From now until you die, every second will be unending torment as you help me come up with such horrible plagues and sickness. Prepare for the trip of a lifetime, Evan."

"Sorry, have to cancel that field trip," Christian Campbell said as he stood at the doorway and aimed his gun at the Horseman. Pestilence just smirked as he turned his ring. Almost immediately the Hunter started coughing up blood as he fell to his knees.

"You're now just one level of stomach cancer away from throwing up some very vital organs," Pestilence said as he stood over Christian. "Two more turns of my ring, however, will do far worse to you. Oh, I'm just itching to see what three turns will do."

"NO!" Michael shouted as he stabbed a knife through the Horseman's hand, pinning it to a table. He pulled the ring off as Pestilence struggled, holding it in his hand.

"You little worm, give that back!" Pestilence said as Christian started recovering. Michael looked over at the door where his brother Asher was sitting in a wheelchair. He was slowly starting to move his head as Michael started to smile a little.

"It's the ring," Michael said. "If you don't have the ring, you can't make people sick."

"You little bastard!" Pestilence shouted as he pulled the knife out of his hand. Michael looked around tossed the ring down a sink, washing it down the drain with the water faucet.

"Go fetch, bitch!" Michael said as Pestilence grabbed him around the neck, lifting the young man off the ground.

"I don't need a ring to kill you!" the Horseman shouted as he started choking Michael.

"No, but I'm willing to wager it's the only thing keeping me from blowing your head off," Christian said as he cocked his gun. "Put the boy down!"

Pestilence tossed Michael at Christian, knocking them both to the ground before jumping out the window, escaping into the night. Christian helped the boy up as they went to untie Evan.

"Where the hell did you go?" Christian asked.

"To get Asher, I'm not leaving this place without him," Michael said. "He's all I have left now, and we're taking him with us."

Evan sat up, looking at the man. "How do you know he's not possessed?"

"Because he unloaded a bunch of rock salt into Meg just as she was about to kill me," Michael told him. "We can trust him."

"Over half the town must be possessed by now," Christian told them. "When I got the call, I just expected a few demons, not anything on this level."

"How did you even know?" Evan asked.

"My group of Hunters got word of demonic activity in this town, I was sent to check it out and report back," Christian said. "I saw you two running from that horde of possessed people and followed you here. I'm sorry about your mom, kid, I wish I'd have gotten here sooner. But this town's too far gone, I have to get the three of you out of here, then my group can figure out what to do about this town."

"No! My mom's still alive, I have to help her!" Evan shouted. "We can't leave without her!"

"Kid, there are at least a hundred possessed people out there, maybe more how the hell do you expect to beat them all?" Christian asked as Evan reached into his pocket, pulling out the exorcism print-out.


Christian held Asher in his arms as the group snuck through the town. They'd stopped off for some weapons along the way. Christian had grabbed a few more guns; Michael had Christian's baseball bat; and Evan had a fire ax. Plus they still had the backpack full of supplies the boys had packed earlier.

"There's an emergency station in the middle of town," Michael told them. "It's got a PA system loud enough for the whole town to hear, for weather emergencies and stuff. If we can get to it-"

"Mass exorcism," Christian said. "Great thinking, kid. Problem is getting there and actually pulling it off without getting caught."

"Well, that's kind of the bad part about this plan," Michael told him. "Someone's going to have to keep that demon army at bay while someone uses the PA to read the exorcism over the speaker system."

"Mikey?" Asher said weakly as Christian held onto him. Without Pestilence's influence, the sickness was starting to fade from him, as well as the other children.

"It's alright, buddy, I'm right here," Michael told him as he patted his brother's shoulder. "You're going to feel a lot better real soon, now that Pestilence doesn't have his ring anymore."

"There it is," Evan said as he saw the emergency station.

"Here, take him inside," Christian said as he handed Asher to Michael. "We'll distract that army. You get in there, and you start reading, and you don't stop until I come in to get you, got it?"

"Got it," Michael said as he looked at Evan. "Good luck, buddy."

"You, too," Evan said as they shook hands. "See you after this nightmare ends."

Christian and Evan stepped out into the open as the demon possessed townspeople saw them, having been warned about the two boys who had humiliated Pestilence at the hospital.

"Try not to kill them," Evan said as he saw his parents in the crowd. "Please."

"Not making that promise, kid," Christian said as he hit someone in the face with the butt of his shotgun. Evan did the same to another person with the butt of the fire ax, while Michael carried his brother into the station and up the stairs, where he found the PA system. Michael locked the door and sat Asher down in a chair, kissing his forehead.

"Just stay here, little brother," Michael whispered, running his hand through his brother's hair. "It's all going to be alright very soon."


Outside, Christian and Evan were trying to fight the townspeople without killing them, but they were vastly outnumbered. While Christian had taken to firing rock salt pellets at people to slow them down, Evan found himself face to face with his father.

"Put the ax down, son," Evan Sr. said. "Are you really willing to kill your own father?"

"All you've ever done is beat me," Evan told him with tears in his eyes.

"Oh, I can see into his mind, he's done FAR worse than that," Evan Sr. laughed. "Some fathers don't hug their kids enough. Looks like this one hugged his kid a little too much. The things he did to you. Even I'm not that evil."

"Shut up!" Evan shouted while crying.

"Tell me, do you still wet yourself late at night when you hear the door opening?" Evan Sr. asked as he got closer. "Or maybe there's a part of you that liked being Daddy's special little man. Why don't you put down that ax and I'll let your real father loose to have some... quality time."

Evan was taking deep breaths, barely able to hold in his anger as the fire ax went through his father's neck, chopping his head clean off. Evan fell to his knees, sobbing.

"Get up, kid, this isn't the time!" Christian shouted as he went to ram the butt of his gun into another person, but instead it had been caught in Meg's hands. She yanked the gun out of Christian's hands and shoved him to the ground.

"Oh, I think it's the perfect time," Meg told him as she broke the gun over her knee. "I see two of you here, but where's the other brat?"

The feedback of the PA was heard as Michael's voice echoed through it, being broadcast all over the town.

"Regna terrae, cantata Deo, psallite Cernunnos, Regna terrae, cantata Dea psallite Aradia. caeli Deus, Deus terrae,"

"No!" Meg shouted as she ran toward the station and kicked the door in.

"Humiliter majestati gloriae tuae supplicamus Ut ab omni infernalium spirituum potestate, Laqueo, and deceptione nequitia,"

"Come on, kid!" Christian shouted as he pulled Evan up by the arm, but found they were blocked by the demons, who were coming closer to them.

"Omnis fallaciae, libera nos, dominates. Exorcizamus you omnis immundus spiritus Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio, Infernalis adversarii,"

The demons started holding their ears in pain as they fell to the ground, trying not to hear the exorcism chant, while Christian and Evan ran past them.

"Come on, we have to help him!" Christian shouted as they headed into the station.


"Omnis legio, Omnis and congregatio secta diabolica. Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, dominates,"

"You think an exorcism can get rid of me?" Meg asked. "I locked myself into this body, you little bastard! Chant all you want, you're not getting rid of me!" Meg shouted as she headed to the control room. She kicked the door open and saw Michael at the PA.

"Ut coven tuam secura tibi libertate servire facias, Te rogamus, audi nos! Ut inimicos sanctae circulae humiliare digneris," Michael said, before being cut off by Meg grabbing him by the neck and lifting him up.

"Now, you die!" Meg shouted as she threw him down the stairs. Michal landed at the bottom of the staircase and tried to get up, but Meg kicked him in the stomach. "Try to finish your chant now!"

"Te rogamus, audi nos! Terribilis Deus Sanctuario suo, Cernunnos ipse truderit virtutem plebi Suae, Aradia ipse fortitudinem plebi Suae. Benedictus Deus, Gloria Patri, Benedictus Dea, Matri gloria!" Asher read in a hoarse voice over the PA as loud as he could. Black smoke started pouring out of every possessed person in town, leaving their victims unconscious on the ground.

"I'm going to skin both of you alive!" Meg shouted as he grabbed Michael by the neck and started squeezing.

"Skin this, you demon bitch!" Evan shouted as he hit her with a balloon filled with holy water. Meg screamed in pain as she stumbled around.

"Finish her!" Christian shouted as Meg screamed at him before jumping through the window. Before Christian could fire off a shot at her, Meg disappeared into the night. Evan ran over to Michael, who was struggling to catch his breath.

"I think it's over," Evan said as he hugged his friend.

"No, it's not," Michael told him, his voice raspy from the choking he'd gotten from Meg. "Not as long as she's out there."

Evan and Christian helped Michael walk upstairs, where Asher was sitting at the PA controls, smiling weakly. "Did I do good?"

"You did great," Michael said as he hugged his little brother tightly.


"This isn't over," Meg said angrily after having gotten out-of-town. "I'll kill those little freaks. This isn't over!"

"Yes, it is," a voice said as Meg turned around, seeing a little girl in a red dress standing in the doorway.

"Who are you?" Meg asked.

"My name is Lilith," the little girl told her. "And you work for me now."

"I am not taking orders from-" Meg said as Lilith held out her hand and started choking her from across the room.

"My orders come from a... higher power, in a sense," Lilith told her. "And that higher power- and I use that term very loosely- has bigger fish to fry. You're going to help us, and if you're a good little demon, maybe he'll let you come back and have some playtime with those brats. In the meantime, the boss has bigger plans for the both of us."


As dawn came, the people started waking up, thinking that what had happened the night before was just a bad dream. The other seven sick children in the hospital were recovering quickly, and in a few days would be able to return home, and within a few weeks things would start to return to normal in the town, except for the motel that had been burned down, the owner of the motel who had been found stabbed to death at the hospital, and the police officer who had been found beheaded by the emergency station. Michael and Asher would soon be discovered to be missing in all the chaos, but by then they'd be far away from the town.

"Hey, where's Michael and his brother?" Christian asked as he looked around.

"They took off a while ago," Evan told him, while his mother had been questioned about what happened the night before. "Meg is still out there. She's going to go after him and his brother, he knows that everyone's in danger by staying here."

"Smart kid, I just wish he would have let me take him to people who can keep him safe," Christian said. "Hopefully he stays out of trouble. So, what are you and your mother going to do now?"

"We don't have to run anymore," Evan told him. "She said we can stay here, settle down. Maybe I talk her into rebuilding the motel."

"What about your dad, you kind of-"

"Things got crazy last night, they're just chalking it up to whatever was affecting the people," Evan told him. Later that day, Evan would hole himself up in a new motel room and cry for days on end over what he'd done. "You leaving?"

"Have to report back to my group," Christian said as he handed Evan his number. "Keep in contact, kid. You ever need help, you call me. You pass that on to that other kid if he ever comes back. You two would make great Hunters when you get older. Think about it."


"Michael, where are we going?" Asher asked as the two brothers were walking out of the town. Michael had the baseball bat he'd taken from Christian strapped to his back as they headed off to find a new home.

"I don't know," Michael told him. "Someplace where that demon won't find us. Someplace where if she ever shows her face again, we'll be ready to kill her for what she did to mom."

Asher started sniffling as Michael put an arm around his shoulder. "I miss her."

"So do I," Michael said. "But we still have each other, and I promise you, that I will never, ever, let anyone hurt you. You're my kid brother, and I will always have your back."

As the two walked along the deserted highway, Michael took one last look back at the town they would never return to. He returned to his brother's side as they headed off to find a new home. Their adventures over the next few years would take them to many places, teach them the true meaning of family, and reveal many horrors of the world that they'd never be able to forget. But that's another story altogether.


8 Years Later

The young couple had been stranded on the country back road for the last 45 minutes, as the boyfriend was trying desperately to get the car going again. The sun was setting and the couple still had a full day of traveling to get where they were going, having decided the old country road that no one ever went down was their best shortcut.

"Kodi, we're going to miss my sister's wedding!" the young woman said as she stood outside of the car.

"Relax, Candace, we'll have plenty of other chances to see her get married," Kodi laughed as she just gave him a dead stare. He ducked back under the hood to try again, as a truck pulled up close to the car and three men jumped out.

"Car trouble?" the biggest of the men said.

"Yeah, I just don't know what's wrong," Kodi said as two of the men approached. "Think you can get us on the road again?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about the car," the man said as he bared his vampire fangs. The other man grabbed Candace as the first two men held Kodi down. Candace started screaming as the vampire holding her got closer to her neck. Just as he was about to sink his fangs into her, a sharp blade sent his head flying, with the vampire's body collapsing to the ground.

The other two men looked up at him. "Who the hell are you?"

"AAA, assholes," 22-year-old Michael smirked. The vampires charged at him, just as his cell phone started ringing. Swinging the machete in one hand, Michael answered the phone with the other. "Hello?"

"Hey, bro," 18-year-old Asher said as he was setting up his dorm room at Stanford. "Just calling to let you know that I made it here safe. Did I call at a bad time?"

"No, it's cool, just doing some cleaning," Micheal said as he swung the machete, taking off the top half of the second vamp's head. "I wish I could have taken you there myself. I wanted to see my baby brother on his first week of college."

"I know, but you're busy with your job, especially now that you've got the Roadhouse up and running," Asher said as his boyfriend Mason walked into the room, carrying a large box, including the ball bat. They quickly kissed each other as the muscular young man passed by. "Besides, I have Mason here with me, remember?"

"Tell him I said hi," Michael told him as the other vamp rammed him into the car. Michael uppercut him with the machete, cutting his head vertically as the vampire fell back onto the ground. "And tell him to keep my kid brother safe until I can get out there to visit. Just because you have a boyfriend doesn't mean you don't need your older brother to save your bacon once in a while."

"Relax, we're both Hunters, and we both have a small arsenal in case something comes up," Asher told him. "So, will you be coming out here soon?"

"Count on it, kid," Michael smiled. "Look, I gotta go. You stay safe, and I'll call you tomorrow morning. Love you, Asher," Michael hung up and looked at the young couple. "I was just kidding. I'm not really AAA. But I do have a Roadhouse about a mile up the road where you two can call the real deal and crash until they show up. You'll be safe there."

A vampire lunged from the trees behind Michael. Without even turning around, he pulled out his machete and cut the vampire's head off before it reached him, splattering blood on the young couple.

"We also serve a great strawberry pie. You, uh, got a little something right there," Micheal said to the blood stained couple, motioning to their faces.

THE END... FOR NOW