Chapter 9: Cutting the Crazy

Kevin was bent over a bowl full of all kinds of mystical crap, mediating with his eyes closed. "She's not far."

I leaned over the kitchen table towards him. "How far is 'not far?'"

"Kaaaaaate! Please!" I kept my eyes focused on the blood-covered bones and witchiness in the bowl.

Kevin opened his eyes. "Two mile radius."

I took a step back and ignored the dying Dean to my right. "She's less than two miles from here? You got a direction?"

Kevin rubbed his forehead with the heel of his palm. "I can try to narrow it down."

"KATE!" A hand gripped my arm, shoving me. I looked up in surprise, and Dean's ghostly face was in front of me. "Why couldn't you save us?"

I turned away, trying to calm my racing heart. The hallucinations could touch me now. Awesome.

Kevin was focused and chanting. I tried to concentrate on him.

"She's north of here," Kevin announced a few moments later. He looked up at me, blood dripping from his nose.

A gave a nod, turning to the north end of the house—the front yard led right into the woods that I knew she would be in. Sam and Dean were right on her ass, and she probably knew it.

My arm was suddenly stinging. With a jerk, I pulled my arm out in front of me. Four long scratches raked down my arm. What the hell?

"KATE! Listen to me!" Sam's haggard and decaying face was in front of me, angrily pleading.

"Your hallucinations are escalating," Kevin said from behind me. I whipped around to see his slightly sympathetic look. "They can affect you physically now. You've got less than an hour to go."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "No; I've still got four hours."

His look was condescending. "I don't know who gave you that estimate, but the hallucinations can only affect you physically if you're on your final hour."

Oh, I wanted to kill this son of a bitch. "You—" A shove from my back had be stumbling into the table.

"Kate! Why do you never listen to us?" Sam shouted behind me.

"God, you've always been so incompetent," Dean hissed, pushing his way into my vision from the right. "I'm glad you weren't in the woods with us when we died; it was nice to have one fucking hour without your annoying ass."

"Not real, not real, not real," I chanted and kept my eyes to the ground. Sam and Dean were not dead. They couldn't be. But I couldn't just let them try to find this witch on their own. They still thought that I had my four hours left; what if they came back after this hour was up?

I looked up to Kevin. "If my brothers come back, tell them I'm hunting down the bitch."

He glared at me. "Oh, yeah. I'm sure they're going to want to listen to me when you're out dead in the woods. I'm a dead man walking when it comes to those two lunatics!"

"KATE!"

I shook my head. "Look, they come in here, you tell them that this was not a funkytown situation, alright? Tell them about our deal. They'll believe you if you tell 'em that."

Kevin cursed and looked heavenwards. Whatever. Least of my problems at this point, honestly. I checked that my gun was still fully loaded with witch-killing bullets. I went into the living room, grabbed the iron crowbar, and then walked back to Kevin. He looked at me questioningly.

"Sorry, but I'm not a trusty-feely kind of girl." I slammed the crowbar across his temple; he slumped, unconscious, to the kitchen tile.

I headed out into the woods to gank a witch.

"Fitting, isn't it?" Sam said gloatingly. "We die out in these godforsaken woods, trying to clean up your stupid mess again. And now you're going to die out here, doing nothing to help the situation. God, this is so typical."

The movement of that massive, black dog caught my eye. The dog slinked back into the deep woods. Great. The only thing that had been missing from my night was a giant-ass dog to forebode my impending chew toy status.

"You're so pathetic sometimes, you know that?" Dean ranted from my right. "You couldn't interview one old woman on your own without getting us all killed."

I looked around the woods, trying to figure out where Hazel would be lurking.

"I can't ever leave you alone!" Dean shouted, shoving my shoulder harshly. I did my best to ignore him. "I have to be the parent all the goddamn time! Well, guess what, Katie? You're twenty-four years old! It's time you took care of yourself for one damn time in your life!"

I think Hazel would have been watching the house somehow. That left the options of height—maybe up in the trees?—or proximity. I'd try proximity first.

"Do you even know how many times I've resented your existence?" Sam demanded in front of me. I noticed he no longer looked ghoulish; he looked like my healthy big brother. I walked around him, but he grabbed my arm, bruising it. I stood stoically. "Dad always made me look after you. And Dean's right—I'm sick of it! What the hell have you ever contributed to our family?"

"Other than getting us in trouble with Dad?" Dean asked with raised eyebrows, also looking like his normal self. "Or getting us into high water time and time again? Or, hey, how about the time that you let a witch murder us?"

Sam scoffed and looked me over with disproving eyes. "How the hell are you a Winchester?" He shoved my aching arm away.

I bit the inside of my lip and marched away. The dead Winchester brothers flanked me again within seconds, spouting new threats, blame, and insults.

A flash of movement was illuminated by the moon a few feet ahead. I chased after it, quickly and silently.

"Kate! God, what is it going to take to make you listen?!"

I rounded around the trees and was rewarded with the best sight I'd had in days: Hazel's quivering, ratty, grey hair as she scanned the area in front of us.

Silently, I approached her and then sprang. I shoved the iron crowbar against her throat. "Good to meet you, Hazel!"

Her eyes frantically looked around and her long, bony fingers clawed at my hands. I tightened the bar, not letting her make a sound.

"You're going to call off your hound, Hazel," I said through gritted teeth. "Reverse your goddamn curse."

Her tongue flicked out from her teeth, and she fought against the bar.

"Oh, give it up, Katie!" Dean said, waving a hand at us. "She's never gonna help you!"

Sam shrugged, his arms crossed across his chest. "Dean's got a point. You're dead already. Might as well accept it at this point."

Growling erupted behind me. I spun around, keeping Hazel choking in front of me. The beast of a dog was snarling, creeping closer towards me.

"Call it off, Hazel," I demanded. "CALL OFF YOUR DOG!"

I let the crowbar off Hazel's throat enough for her to choke out, "Grune, nien!" The dog eyed me dangerously before slinking back into the darkness of the woods.

"Oh, just let her go, Kate!" Sam demanded in annoyance. He marched over and started trying to pry my hands from the crowbar at Hazel's neck. "She can't help you!"

"No!" I screamed, fighting against my imaginary brother's hold. "Hazel, reverse this damn curse!" As I was being fought off of Hazel, Hazel dropped to the ground and began cackling.

"No!" I shouted, fighting Sam's arms wrapped around me.

Dean walked up, looking at me in disgust. "Why do you always have to be so damn stubborn? You're such a disappointment. Thank God Dad can't see you now."

"Dean—!" I pleaded.

Dean's anger overtook him, and he slammed his fist down onto my face. My eye and cheek flared with red-hot pain.

"Kate!" Sam and Dean burst into the scene, their eyes on me then on Hazel then back on me.

"We would never save you," the imaginary Dean said to my right. "You're not worth the energy." The imaginary Sam threw me to the ground.

"Kate!" Sam hurried over to help me. Dean headed for the witch.

Hazel began chanting, causing an explosion of pain to overtake the three of us.

An image of Dean stood over me as I clutched my head in agony. "See? You do kill us. You caused all of this. Honestly, murdering you would be merciful." He delivered a kick to my side, and rolled to shield my head and abdomen from him.

As I rolled over, I met Sam and Dean's dead bodies, staring blankly up at the trees. Hazel stood over us triumphantly.

"Not real!" I forced back my tears and focused on the pain in my head and the small belief that I was still hallucinating.

"Kate!" Sam grabbed onto my arm, and I flinched away. I made my eyes focus on his writhing, suddenly alive form. He looked at me with worried eyes.

"We were wrong! I have like thirty minutes left to live, Sammy!" I rushed to explain. "The hallucinations are real to me now."

His eyes lit with renewed panic, and he comforted me with a squeeze to my arm. His squeeze, however, lingered and grew in strength. He was hurting me, bruising my already bruised arm, and his eyes reflected fury.

"No, please!" I begged, trying to roll away from him. The tears were coming down my cheeks.

I heard a fight break out, and the pulsating pain in my head disappeared. I was able to wrench my arm away from Sam's grip.

"Such a coward," he said, standing over me. He kicked me in the side, and I whimpered.

"Reverse it!" I heard Dean's voice shouting in the distance.

"Kate?" Sam's worried voice came from somewhere far away.

"Why won't you just die?!" Sam demanded, his voice right in my ear. "You think you have something worth living for? You parents are dead! Your brothers are dying because of you! No one can love you anymore! Just give in already!"

I shook my head, forcing back the tears that overwhelmed my eyes. I kept my eyes on the forest floor.

"We're going to leave you here for Grute to eat," Dean said, kicking me over to my side. I looked up to see him stand over me. "You're nothing to us anymore, kid. If we just leave you behind, maybe we can get out of this. If not, well," he shrugged, "at least we didn't have to die around you."

"How does it feel?" Sam's snarling voice was in my ear. "To know that you're the one that killed your whole family? Does it make you feel good to have those murders under your skin? Do you enjoy the fact that nobody else on this planet cares about you anymore?"

"You might as well die at this point," Dean suggested, nodding towards the gun I had stashed at the back of my jeans. "There's nothing left in this world to live for."

Sam sighed. "If you don't do it, we're going to have to."

Dean shook his head in disappointment. "You've done too much damage for one lifetime. Either you go out yourself, or we'll force you out."

I raised my chin and formed false bravado. "You can't kill me; you're not real."

Dean offered me an amused smirk, stepping slowly towards me. He knelt right down beside me, and then grabbed my arm and snapped it in half in one swift movement. My scream of agony didn't even phase him. "You were saying?"

Some part of me felt my body being gathered into comforting, protective arms, but I was too far gone at this point.

Dean shook his head in disgust. "We're going to have to put you down."

Sam gave a snort. "Fitting for this bitch." He grinned at Dean.

The edge of Dean's mouth went up as he stalked towards me. His eyes were menacing and full of hate.

"No, Dean, please," I begged, tears filling my vision.

He didn't listen. My eldest brother grabbed me by the neck of my t-shirt and brought his fist down on my face. Pain erupted throughout my skin, but he brought his fist right back to where he hit before. I tried to push him away, but it was like he just went right through my hands. His fist came down again, and again, and again.

"DEAN!" Sam's urgent voice was hazy and distant, but it sounded like my worried, loving brother.

"Sammy," I gasped, a small smile coming to my bloody lips.

"Shut up, bitch," Sam snarled, delivering another kick to my side. I jerked in pain, and then Dean's fist came down again.

"You're better off dead!" Dean said through gritted teeth, punctuating his sentences with punches. "We won't have to pay for you or see you or think about you ever again!"

"Dean," I sobbed, blood bubbling down my lips. My tears swam down my bloodied, swelling skin.

He suddenly shoved me away, pointing a gun at me in the next moment. His eyes were dark. "Any final speeches, Katie?"

I leaned backwards and tried to control my cries. The gun was cocked.

"Kate!"

I looked up to see Sam holding me down. "No!" I gasped, flopping out of his hold and onto the dirt. On my unbroken arm, I tried crawling away.

"Kate, Kate!" Dean was right behind me, dragging me to my feet.

"No!" I screamed, thrashing away from him.

Dean gripped me tight and turned me in his arms. His eyes searched my face desperately. "Kate, it's OK! You're OK! It's over!"

Through swollen, tear-filled eyes, I looked up into the loving, anxious eyes of my oldest brother. "D-dean?"

His eyes closed in relief, and he pulled me close to him, his hand enveloping the back of my head. Sobs of relief that wracked through me.

After a few moments, I heard Sam say, "We gotta burn these witches before they wake up." I looked up to see his tall frame glaring at the unconscious forms of Hazel and Estelle. I didn't miss the obvious signs of torture on Estelle; it was kind of hard to miss the bleeding, gaping cuts.

"Sam!" I let go of Dean to rush towards my lumbering brother. I gripped him tight and fought the sobs that wanted to start anew.

"Hey," he breathed, holding me close. His chin rested on the top of my head as he held me.

"Thank you," I whispered. I pulled back a bit so I could look at both of my brothers. "Thank you both."

Dean scoffed, wiping his bloody hunter's knife on his jeans and sticking it into his jeans. "You think we're gonna let anything get our little sister?" He walked closer and laid his arm over my shoulder; Sam kept his around my middle. "Never gonna happen, Katie." He kissed the top of my head.

I closed my eyes and let myself believe that this was real. Honestly, this could be a pain-filled Heaven, and I would probably still take it; my brothers were here. However, my adrenaline had worn off, and I was exhausted. I took a step forward, and my leg faltered.

"Woah, easy," Dean cautioned as Sam held me up. "Sammy, take her to the car. I'll take care of this."

I shook my head and pulled away. "I'm fine." I took a couple of steps to the right, and Dean caught me before I could fall.

He scoffed. "Yeah, this is fine?"

Sam started walking towards the witches. "You're better at stitches, anyways. You take care of her, and I'll take care… of this." He waved his gun over the witches' bodies.

I took a couple of steps more, and my knees gave out entirely. I was so tired.

"I gotcha, kid," Dean said, scooping me up into his arms. He was careful to avoid my unnaturally bent arm, letting it dangle down in front of us as we walked.

"Dean," I sighed, letting my eyes stay closed.

"Hmm?"

"How do I know this is real?"

He was silent as he continued to stride out of the woods. "Well, reality's a bitch, right? And your face and arm hurt, right? So, there ya go."

I thought about it, but all I felt was numb. "'t doesn't hurt anymore..."

His grip tightened. "You're going into shock."

"Mmm…"

"Well, it's going to hurt like a bitch when I reset your arm," he vowed.

I frowned. "Can't we do it in the morning?"

I heard a car door open, and Dean started lowering me onto the backseat.

"Not when it's swelling like this," he said, gently taking my arm.

I opened my eyes, and for a moment, I panicked; Dean was hovering over me in the dark, his hands on my injured arm. I gasped and yanked my arm back, hurting myself more in the process. I whimpered.

"Hey, whoa, easy," Dean soothed, running his hand through my hair like he did when I was little. "I'll make it quick, I promise. I'll even give you some of the good meds if you're good." I could see his smirk, even in the dark.

I tentatively tried to return the grin as I let Dean take my arm again. "What about ice cream?"

"Oh, buttloads of ice cream are heading your way," he vowed, gently probing the misaligned bones. I bit my teeth to prevent my crying out. "Shit. The bones are overlapping."

He fished a red handkerchief out of his pocket and put it in front of my mouth. "Bite down."

Dread filled me, and I obeyed.

"On three," he said, lightly gripping each section of my forearm. I tried not to tense. "One… Two…" He snapped the bones back into place, never making it to three. My scream of agony was instantaneous.

Dean pulled the material from my bloody mouth, soothing me the best he could. "Sorry, Katie. I'm sorry." He hurried out of the backseat and fished around in the trunk before coming back. He wrapped an ace bandage around the swelling, pulsating arm as tight as he could without cutting off the circulation.

Just as he was ripping off the bandage, two shots came from the woods. Dean paused, listening. A furious snarl tore through air—definitely not our brother's doing.

"Sam," Dean and I gasped together. Dean tucked my legs onto the seat before slamming the door shut.

"Don't move," he said, using his stern, parental pointing finger. He ran off into the woods, after our brother.

I laid on the seat, trying to ignore the nauseating images I had seen of my brothers tonight. I tried to think of my brothers now, how they loved me and they loved each other, and how they were out there fighting… fighting…

"Grune," I gasped, realizing the beast had probably attacked when Sam shot its masters.

I struggled to sit up. My head was swimming around in my head, and the constant pain in my face and sides and arm amplified when I moved. With pained groans, I shuffled to the end of the seat and pushed open the door.

Just as I was mustering up the energy and will to push myself out the door, my brothers appeared in the rearview mirror, running towards the Impala.

"I thought I said no moving!" Dean accused, running past me and slamming my door closed. He skidded into the driver's seat just as Sammy fell into the passenger's side.

I relaxed as best I could against the seat as Dean started the engine. "What happened?"

"That beast sprang at me when I killed the witches," Sam said, examined a few cuts on his forearm. "We killed it, and left the bodies to burn by the house." He put down his arm and turned to look at me with the Big Ol' Worried Eyes. "How're you holdin' up?"

I closed my eyes. "I've been better, but I'll live."

"If you don't have internal damage," Sam said and turned to our driver. "Dean, I think we should take her the hospital so they can check her out."

I peeked open an eye to see Dean examining me worriedly through the rearview mirror. "No," I said. "No hospitals. 'M fine."

Dean sighed. "Kate, your—"

"I'm fine," I repeated, letting my eyes fall closed again. "Besides, I believe my dear, old brother promised me the good meds."

Sam shuffled around in the glove compartment; I smirked to the sound of the pill bottle rattling.

One more chapter after this! (It'll be a real long one.)

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