A.N AUTHOR NAME : Just a heads up to let you know I'm going to revert back to just "Chick Feed" as my author name. Chick xx
Chap. 10
-oOo-

Bobby knew all too well the potential impact that a new dose of self blame and self induced guilt could have on the elder Winchester when added on to the heavy burden he already carried inside wherever he went. Right now, Bobby couldn't afford to risk Dean withdrawing into himself. He decided to forego the sympathy.

"You might be right, you know? It's possible that if you'd responded different, maybe you could'a saved him. What is it you think you should'a done?"

Dean huffed.

"Well, for starters, I should've never let that door be closed on him."

"Oh, I see! Well, in that case, I'm sorry lad. Here I've been left thinkin' that's exactly what went down, as soon as somethin' seemed off. Way Sam told it, he had me believin' you had stopped the cop from closin' the door. But you're sayin' that's not what happened then? You never managed to stop Jodie's man from shuttin' the door closed? That right?."

Dean opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again, giving Bobby a hard frown before trying again to answer.

"Um, no...I mean, yeah? I did stop the officer, at first, but then this Kishanta thing yanked it shut...Um..."

Bobby looked suitably enlightened.

"Riiiight, my mistake again! But I geddit now. I get why you say it's your screw up, an' now when I think about it, you're probably right! Sounds to me like you didn't read that other sign. If you had, you would'a saved him lad."

Dean's brows scrunched even closer together as confusion and annoyance set in.

"Bobby, your mouth's openin', there's words, but I haven't got a clue what you're talkin 'bout. What other freakin' sign?!"

"There's no point gettin' your panties in a knot! It's simple, if you'd read it you would'a known Barry was still playin' host to the Kishanta, an' what was goin' to happen next. Then you would'a saved him."

Dean was becoming exasperated.

"For crapssake man! What sign did I miss?"

Bobby's eyes widened innocently.

"That big flashin' neon one vics always have floatin' above 'em o'course. I'm sure Barry's will've been flish-flashin' somethin' like; I'm still possessed. you're gonna get locked out, monster's gonna kill me" at you."

-o-

His mouth held in a thin line, Dean glared heated blades at his second father.

"Somethin' wrong with just sayin' No way you could've known Dean, not your fault?"

Bobby gazed sadly at Dean.

"Yeah, there is...You wouldn't have listened...You didn't let young Barry down son. You recognised somethin' was off. You tried to get in there an' save him. Now if you wanna overlook those two simple facts? Go ahead. Then you're welcome to wallow, just let me know if that's your plan then Sam an' me'll get on with stoppin' these killin's."

-o-

Bobby was held back from instinctively going after Dean, when the younger man walked quietly out of the house, by the sound of his phone. Following the ring-tone to track his phone down, Jodie's name flashed up. Bobby answered her call while stood at his kitchen sink, looking out of the window to where he could Dean standing with his back to the house.

"'Lo Jodie. Everythin' workin' out over there?"

The silent pause before Sheriff Mills spoke forewarned of yet more bad news.

"Sure...Just not well. There's a woman being brought in, might be another one of these possession type cases. Difference is, the victim survived...Thought you'd wanna know."

Bobby eagerly pressed the phone closer to his ear.

"Go on, I'm listenin'. What makes you think this might be one of ours?"

"It's a parent, the mother. I'm told it looked like she was tryin' to kill her own little boy outside the school gates while she was surrounded by other parents an' some of their little kids. The boy survived 'cos she was taken down by four of the other parents. Until she gets here, that's pretty much all I got. Kids been taken to the hospital, I've got people with him...Child Welfare's there as well, but we're not talking bad parent here Bobby. Far as I know, the woman idolises the boy...Well? You think it could be another one?"

"I guess it's possible. Is Sam with you yet?"

"Signin' in at the front desk as we speak, he knows about this new incident, wants to have a chat with the mother, if she'll agree to see him."

"Persuade her if you can Jodie. It'd be a big help."

Jodie nodded her head.

"I'll do my best...Oh, Sam's just walked into my office, you wanna talk to him?"

"Nah, I've gotta go deal with the other one, he's sulkin' outside. Do me a favour? Tell Sam it's the Kishanta, an' to keep on his toes, it might still be inside like it was with Barry, ok? Ask him to ring me once he's seen her."

"Kishanta. Might still be inside, gross! Ok, will do."

Ending the call, Jodie stood and moved around to the front of her desk to greet Sam.

"Hey there Handsome. Did you catch that?"

"Hi Jodie. Yup, think so. It's a Kishanta that's at work, it might not have left the host yet, so I've got to be careful.. That about right?"

"Pretty much covers it. Oh, an' your brother's sulkin' apparently...What's a Kishanta?"

-o-

Bobby glanced out of the window again, seeing no sign of Dean. He sighed, feeling irritated he was tempted to leave Dean alone. They really didn't have time for any amateur dramatics. To Bobby's eternal embarrassment, he couldn't stop himself from jumping when Dean's polite cough from behind startled him.

"Jeeze lad. You shouldn't go around creepin' up on your elders an' betters like that!"

Dean smiled.

"I suppose you also insist anythin' you're huntin' remembers to stomp loudly if it's plannin' on comin' up behind you?"

"I'm gonna treat that comment with haughty distain...Jodie called. There might've been another incident, this time though, nobody died thankfully. A mom was stopped when she tried stranglin' her own her kid when she was collectin' the little lad from school. Lad's at the hospital, mum's been arrested. Sam's over with Jodie an' he's gonna try talkin' to the woman. We should know for sure if it's another one of ours when he rings later...How're you feelin'?"

"Like I've had a kick up the backside from somebody who cares? I get it, an' you're right Bobby. Barry died, even though I did try to stop it. It's not on me...That ok for you?"

"Depends. Do you believe it?"

"Yes."

"Then it'll do. Now, let's get on an' figure out how we kill this bitch!"

-o-

Jodie popped a square of chocolate into her mouth and passed the bar over to Sam.

"Why's this thing so jealous of people who love somebody then? I assume there is a reason?"

Sam broke off a piece of the chocolate and handed the remaining bar back to Jodie.

"Depends what you read, but the most repeating theme is that the original Kishanta was a human female who went on to commit suicide by drowning herself. The article I read described her as having a very sheltered upbringing, to the point of abusive. She wasn't allowed out and had no contact with any other adults or children. She was home tutored, which came down to learning to read the Bible. Her parent's never took her anywhere outside the family home, not even when she was ill. Apparently they never said her name or spoke about her to anyone; most locals didn't even know there was a kid. They were both ashamed of her and what they believed she represented. Her existence was proof that, like Adam and Eve, her parents had given in and, on one occasion, repeated the first sin, given into temptation and had intercourse. Nine months later, when her father witnessed her mother undergo the pain of giving birth to the girl at the family home, they decided that the child was their punishment from God for having made love, and she was kept hidden from the world until both parents died in an RTA. From there, legend has it that after never seeing any man or woman other than her parents, she fell hopelessly in love with the very first guy she saw. She became obsessed, following him everywhere, generally being creepy and stalkerish. Unfortunately, the object of her affections was already very happily married, and he rejected her outright. Not long after, she was seen walking into the lake near her home. Her body was never recovered."

"Wow! Unlucky! No wonder she's got a rep. for being the insanely jealous type; emphasis on insane! So, what? Her bones hang around in the lake until one day poof, she turns into this Kishanta thingy, 'an she's back?"

"I think there's more to it than poof. My theory is that a Kishanta is either a particular type of vengeful spirit, or a specific daemon variant. That's something we still need to test, then we'll have a better shot at tracing what these things are vulnerable to."

Jodie suddenly sat bolt upright in her chair.

"Whoa! Hold on there cowboy! These? She's not the only one?"

"If I'm right and it's a type or a variant? There'll be others. Whether we're actually dealing with the first one, the Alpha? I can't say."

A brief knock and Jodie's office door opened just enough to let Jack poke his head through.

-o-

"Sheriff? Ms Larken's here, um...She's keen to speak with you?"

"Thanks Jack. Give me ten minutes, huh?"

Jodie waited for the door to close again before speaking.

"Ok. This exorcism you wanna try? That's to test your theory?"

"Partly, or if I'm really lucky? It might even get rid of the thing altogether."

"What's the risks?"

"None, either to the meat suit she's ridin, you, me or your team, hopefully. That's if she'll agree to me seeing her alone and giving it a shot."

Jodie nodded her understanding, and reluctantly dragged herself up from her chair.

"Fine, let's go then. Is there anythin' you need for this...Process?"

"Nah. I've got it covered thanks."

-oOo-
Chick xxx