This chapter is dedicated to my little sister, who is being an ass about reading this story. Seriously! I asked if she wanted to read it and she said she would, and then stopped at chapter 5 cuz it was too long. Anyway, blame her for this chapter. I needed to vent some frustration. I suppose I should warn everyone, there is a character death in this chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter Nine
The spell Melody had used to find Sam Winchester's soul had narrowed the location to a two mile radius within an abandoned industrial section of Joplin, Missouri. After the witch hunter had recovered from using her magic, she joined Dean and Ian to formulate a plan. Ian had ignored the others' protests about joining the rescue. He silenced them by pointing out they would need the extra man power, and Sam was his friend too. So, armed with a plan, the group was ready to hit the road. Dean was pleased the other two agreed to ride in the Impala. It had been too long since he had driven his baby, and she had as much right to join Sam's rescue as any of them.
The drive to Joplin didn't take them long at all with Dean at the wheel. He cut the three hour trip in half, as well as Mel and Ian's life spans. If he hadn't been so distracted with thoughts of getting his baby brother back, he would have laughed at them. His passengers kept their mouths shut because they knew they would do the same if their sibling was in danger.
Dean's determined thoughts brought back memories of when she had convinced her uncle to go find Ian when he had been captured by the jinn. Even before she had met him, she had decided the he was her little brother. Something had called her to find him, and neither heaven nor hell was going to stop her from saving him and giving him a family. The locked gates surrounding the warehouses came into view. With a final thought of taking a vacation with adopted brother, Mel brought her attention to the task at hand.
XOXOXOXOX
Sam was still tied to the wooden chair in the middle of a building with leaky pipes. He really hated the sound of water dripping slowly onto concrete. Every part of his body hurt, itched from healing wounds, or was numb from being in the chair for so long. He was unsure of how much time had passed, since the hood over his head blocked out the light, but he thought it might have been days. Exhaustion plagued him, as he struggled to fight sleep. The slightest sound caused him to jump in anticipation for an attack, though none came. Sam's nerves were fried. He hadn't heard or seen the demon since he first woke and now he wondered if he had simply been forgotten in some random location.
Just as he was hoping Dean would come find him, echoes of footsteps bounced off the walls. "It seems those friends of yours are very clever." It was the demon. "I haven't even placed all my breadcrumbs, but they've already figured out where you are. Too bad they're just walking into their death." The demon's rich, throaty laugh echoed throughout the building, sending shivers down Sam's spine. "Don't worry, my dear," he said yanking off the hood. "You can watch, and then you can join them after my subjects are done playing with you." Sam leaned away from the demon as he glared at him with as much hate as he could muster. "That's a good look," the demon said in a husky voice as he grabbed Sam's chin. "Let's see how long you can keep it before you simply wish you were dead."
He left without putting the hood back on. Now Sam finally had a chance to see his surroundings. It looked like it could have been a large office from the papers that were piled in the corners and the broken desk and dented filing cabinets. The windows had years of caked on grime, blocking most of the light from outside. The dripping water must have been somewhere else since there were no leaks in the ceiling that Sam could see.
He hoped that Dean would be able to find him. There was no doubt more than one building around, so it was really hit or miss when checking through the buildings. Sam suddenly felt like an idiot. Dean would most likely have Mel with him. Hoping they were close enough, Sam began to mentally scream for his psychic friend. It didn't take long before he heard gunshots and shouting. Relief and hope bloomed in his chest at the thought of his rescue.
XOXOXOXOX
Dean had barely pulled his car through the gates when he heard Mel's sharp intake of breath. "I know where he is," she whispered. Quickly, she gave Dean directions to the building his brother was being kept in. Dean smirked when he noticed that Mel was somehow muffling the growling engine of the Impala. It wouldn't do any good to announce their presence to the demons. They left the car (Mel muffling the all noises the classic car made) after arming themselves. Mel and Ian had agreed to follow Dean's lead during the attack. He had more experience dealing with hordes of demons.
Almost as soon as they entered the warehouse they were attacked. The demons seemed surprised by the third person in their party, as well as the bullets that were killing them. Dean and Ian had fanned out to cover distance in the large rooms, while Mel held back slightly to take care of any sneak attacks. They were able to keep the demons at bay with their guns for the most part, but the closer they got to Sam, the more of them there were.
By the time they reached the second floor, the small group was forced to break their rough formation, and simply defend themselves. Mel fought against the demons easily, being able to read their thoughts, so she kept an eye out for her brother. She knew he wasn't use to hunting and that he was slowly becoming overwhelmed. He would start to make mistakes in his adrenaline fueled state, and she wanted to make sure they all made it out of here alive.
Dean was fine without Mel covering his back. The ferocity in which he attacked the demons was frightening. He shot those he could without hesitation, and delivered powerful blows that would incapacitate a normal human with ease. Before long the room was clear of demons. The three hunters were all panting from the heavy fighting. They looked at each other, noting no one was seriously injured, before continuing.
There was a door at the end of a long corridor, and with a look from the psychic, Dean headed toward it quickly. He wanted to get Sam out of here so they could get him back into his own body. His eagerness to see his brother (even trapped in the body of a girl) once again was their downfall. He missed Mel's warning and the door opened before he could reach for it.
Standing in the doorway was a tall man in a tailored grey wool suit. He would have been stunningly handsome if it weren't for his pitch black eyes. He grabbed Dean by the throat and threw him into the room. With his demonic powers he pulled Melody and Ian in as well. Upon entering the spacious room the three of them were seized by demons who were possessing body builders. They held the humans easily despite their struggles. Dean had barely caught sight for Melody's reddish-gold hair, before he started thrashing against the demon holding him. He had hoped to get luck and managed a head butt the guy's face, but he towered over the hunter.
"Why don't you all just settle down," the leader said. The hunters' struggles ceased immediately. The demon held a large knife to the throat of the young woman in trapped in the chair. "You wouldn't want anything to happen to this lovely young thing, would you?" The knife nicked the soft skin of the girl's neck, causing an involuntary whimper. The man in the suit didn't miss the reflexive lurch from Ian. "Is she yours then young man?" he laughed. "It's too bad the two of you got mixed up with the Winchesters. Everything they hunt wants a piece of the Winchesters. They've made a lot of enemies."
"Shut up," Dean growled. "You got me and Sam, let the other two go."
"You are in no position to be giving me orders, Dean Winchester." He stepped away from Melody's body and over to Dean. "It would be so satisfying to kill you right now and your brother too, but I have been waiting a long time for this." He twirled the knife in front of Dean's face. "I think I'm going to draw this out."
Mel watched Sam look at her from her body with wide eyes. He was scared that this demon was going to kill them. She wished she could reassure him, but because their fates were twisted, Mel's ability to see in the future was clouded. All she could do was take these demons by surprise and hope she was fast enough.
Using Sam's immense strength combined with her psychic powers, Mel managed to throw the demon holding her over her shoulder. She fired of three quick shots, killing the body builder demons that were holding them, and managed to wound the cocky demon in the suit before he slammed them all into the wall behind them. All three hunters ended up seeing stars as their heads bounced off the sheetrock. The demon in the suit was talking as he walked over to where Sam struggled against his bonds in the chair.
The air seemed to stand still as the demon pulled Sam's head back by the hair. "Remember this Winchesters," the demon growled as he held his blade high in the air. "Her death is your fault."
He brought the blade down and the room filled with the desperate cries of the three men pinned to the wall. No one saw if the blade had pierced the girl's chest as a sudden flash of white light engulfed the room followed by a sonic blast the blew out all the windows in the building.
XOXOXOXO
The hunters who had previously been pinned were slumped against the wall, out cold. Slowly they began to stir. Dean and Ian were the first to wake. The looked at each other, then over to Sam's body, before drawing their eyes to where Mel's body was tied up. Their blood ran cold when they saw Sam slouched forward in the chair. Mel's long hair blocked their view, and the lights had all been blown out. All that was left of the demon was a charred skeleton in a burnt suit.
Dean and Ian slowly rose to their feet and staggered over to the girl in the chair. Neither made a move to touch her, fearing the worst. Finally Ian gently pushed his sister's shoulders to sit her back in the chair. Both men let out a strangled cry at what they saw. The knife was buried to the hilt in the body's chest and her head lolled lifelessly on her shoulders.
"No, no, no, no, no," Ian choked out. He shook the body in a vain attempt to rouse Sam.
"Sam," Dean held the face of the body his brother had been trapped in. "Sam, please," he begged.
"Dean," Sam's voice echoed in the empty room even though his words were barely above a whisper.
Dean and Ian turned their heads as Sam rose to his feet. Ian felt his world shatter when he saw none of the familiar body movements his sister had displayed while inside the man's body. His strangled sobs filled the room as he clutched the body of his sister. So lost in his sudden grief, he didn't notice when the brothers had cut the ropes binding Melody's body to the chair. All he knew was that he was holding his dead sister in his lap while crying into the crook of her neck.
Please leave a review, and don't hate me too much for killing Mel! Just remember that it's not over!
