Chapter Ten

Alec/Max fans are really not going to like the end of this chapter. Sorry, but I had to stay true to the show. I would really love to see Max and Alec together, too. Too bad.

"You really think it's the Grim Reaper?" asked Sam. "Like, angel of death, collect your soul, the whole deal?"

"No, no, no," said Dean. "Not the Reaper, a reaper. There's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on Earth. Go by a hundred different names. It's possible that there's more than one of them."

"But I saw a dude in a suit," said Max.

"Well, what, do you think he should've been working the whole black robe thing?" asked Dean. He looked at Sam. "You said it yourself that the clock stopped, right?" He held up a piece of paper with a reaper on it. "Reapers stop time. And you can only see them when they're coming at you, which is why Max could see it and we couldn't."

"Maybe," said Sam.

"There's nothing else it could be, Sam," said Dean. "The question is how's Roy controlling the damn thing?"

"That cross," said Sam.

"What?" asked Dean.

"There was this cross," said Sam. "I noticed it in the church tent. I knew I had seen it before." He shuffled through a stack of tarot cards and picked one. It depicted a skeleton with a crown on its head. The cross was in the corner of the picture. He showed it to Dean. "Here."

"A tarot?" asked Dean.

"It makes sense," said Sam. "I mean, tarot dates back to the early Christian era, right? When some priests were still using magic? And a few of them veered into the dark stuff. Necromancy, and how to push death away, how to cause it."

"So, Roy is using black magic to bind the reaper?" asked Dean.

"Oh, great, more cult crap," muttered Max.

"If he is, he's riding the whirlwind," said Sam. "It's like putting a dog leash on a Great White."

Dean stopped to think. "Okay, then we stop Roy."

"How?" asked Sam.

"You know how," said Dean.

"Wait, what the hell are you talking about, Dean?" said Sam. "We can't kill Roy."

"Sam, the guy's playing God, he's deciding who lives and who dies, that's a monster in my book," said Dean.

"No, we're not gonna kill a human being, Alec," said Max. Dean gave her a look. "I mean, Dean. We do that, we're no better than he is."

"Okay, so we can't kill Roy, we can't kill death," said Dean. "Any bright ideas, college boy?"

"Okay, uh, if Roy is using some kind of black spell on the reaper, we've gotta figure out what it is," said Sam. "And how to break it."

******************SN*********************

The Impala pulled up outside the white tent, and the three of them climbed out.

"If Roy is using a spell, there might be a spell book," said Sam.

"See if you two can find it," said Dean. He checked his watch. "Hurry up, too, the service starts in fifteen minutes. I'll try to stall Roy."

"Alright," said Sam. They walked by the man who was protesting. He was handing out flyers.

"Roy LeGrange is a fraud," said the man. "He's no healer."

"Amen, brother," said Dean.

"You keep up the good word," said Sam.

"Thank you," said the man.

Sam and Max snuck around to the front of the house and climbed in through a window.

"Okay, what exactly are we looking for?" asked Max.

"Not sure," said Sam. "We'll just have to see."

They went into Roy's library. Sam began looking through the books on the shelves. He noticed that all the untouched books had a layer of dust on the shelf. He came across a book that was not coated with dust. It was the Encyclopedia of Christian History. Sam pulled it out and flipped through it.

"There's something there," said Max, pointing to the bookshelf.

Sam looked at the shelf and noticed a smaller book behind the space where the encyclopedia was. "Good eye."

Sam flipped through the smaller book and saw a picture of a reaper on one page. He flipped back one page and saw a picture of the cross from the church. Sam found a few newspaper clippings between the pages of the small book. The first was a headline about an openly gay teacher sending a strong message to the nation's schools.

"That's Megan Hall," said Max.

The next headline read "Local Abortion Rights Advocate Calls For End To Violence Against Women."

"And that's the woman that died yesterday," said Sam. He found a third newspaper clipping, which was about the parking lot protestor, David Wright, calling Roy's church a cult. "This is not good."

"What is it?" asked Max.

"Come on," said Sam. They ran out to the parking lot as Sam pulled out his cell phone.

"What do you got?" asked Dean on the other line.

"Roy's choosing victims he sees as immoral," said Sam. "And I think I know who's next on his list. Remember that protestor?"

"The guy in the parking lot?" asked Dean.

"Yeah," said Sam. "Yeah, I'll find him. But you can't let Roy heal anyone, alright?" He hung up, and the two of them began looking for David.

"Help!" a man called in the distance. Sam looked over at Max for direction.

"Over there," said Max, pointing to their left. They rushed toward the sound, finding David cowering against a car.

"Help!" yelled David. "Help me, please!" Sam and Max looked around for some sign of the reaper, Max taking a fighting stance in front of David.

"Where is it?" asked Sam.

David pointed at a spot in front of them between two cars. "It's right there!"

"Alright, come on!" said Sam. The three of them started running away. Sam's cell phone rang, and he answered it. The three of them stopped. David looked much calmer.

"I did it," said Dean. "I stopped Roy."

"David, I think it's okay," said Sam. David nodded at Sam. When he turned back around, his eyes widened.

"No!" David said. He began collapsing to his knees.

"Dean, it didn't work!" said Sam, at a loss as to what to do. "The reaper's still coming!" David fell to the ground, his face losing its color quickly. "I'm telling you! I'm telling you, it must not have worked. Roy must not be controlling this thing!"

"Well, then who the hell is?" asked Dean. Max and Sam watched as David fell to his back. "Sue Ann." Sam hung up the phone, watching for something to happen.

David's face colored, and he began breathing calmer. Sam helped David up.

"I got ya," said Sam.

"Thank God," David gasped.

*******************SN********************

"So Roy really believes?" asked Max. They were in the motel room again.

"I don't think he has any idea what his wife's doing," said Dean.

"Well, I found this hidden in their library," said Sam. He showed Dean the small book he found.

"Excuse me, who found it?" said Max.

Sam cleared his throat. "We found it. It's ancient. Written by a priest who went dark side. There's a binding spell in here for trapping a reaper."

Dean looked through the book. "Must be a hell of a spell."

"Yeah," said Sam. "You've got to build a black altar, with seriously dark stuff. Bones, human blood. To cross the line like that, that preacher's wife. Black magic, murder. Evil."

"Desperate," said Dean. "Her husband was dying, she'd have done anything to save him. She was using the binding spell to keep the reaper away from Roy."

"Cheating death," said Max. "Literally."

"Yeah, but Roy's alive, so why's she still using the spell?" asked Dean.

"Right," said Sam. "To force the reaper to kill people she thinks are immoral."

"May God save us from half the people who think they're doing God's work," said Dean.

"We've gotta break that binding spell, Dean," said Sam.

Dean noticed the picture of the cross in the tent. "You know, Sue Ann had a Coptic cross like this. And when she dropped it, the reaper backed off."

"So, you think we've gotta find the cross or destroy the altar?" asked Sam.

"Maybe both?" said Dean. "Whatever we do, we better do it soon. Roy's healing Layla tonight."

******************SN**********************

The Impala pulled up to the tent, and they sat in the car, looking at the parking lot.

"That's Layla's car," said Sam. "She's already here."

"Yeah," said Max half-heartedly.

"Max," said Sam.

"You know, if Roy would have picked Layla instead of me, she'd be healed right now," said Max.

"Max, don't," said Sam.

"And if she's not healed tonight, she's gonna die in a couple months," said Dean.

"What's happening to her is horrible," said Sam. "But, what are you gonna do? Let somebody else die to save her? You said it yourself, Dean. You can't play God." Dean and Max were silent.

They got out and walked over to the tent, watching the people assemble.

"Where's Sue Ann?" asked Dean.

"House," said Sam. They walked over to the house.

"Go find Sue Ann," said Dean. "I'll catch up."

"What are you—" began Sam. Dean went around to the front of the house and saw the two sheriffs from the service. Sam hid beside the house while Max went to back Dean up.

"Hey," said Dean. "You gonna put that fear of God in me?"

The two of them ran away, and the sheriffs started chasing them. When they were gone, Sam went onto the porch and looked around the outside of the house. He found a cellar and walked down into it. He found Sue Ann's black altar. It was covered with crosses, blood, bones and candles. In the middle of the altar was a picture of Max, taken from the church's security camera. There was an X across her face, written in blood.

"I gave your friend life, and I can take it away," said Sue Ann, standing behind Sam.

Sam turned around and saw her. He overturned the altar, and Sue Ann went outside and locked the cellar door with a metal bar. She talked to him from outside while he tried to open the door.

"Sam, can't you see?" said Sue Ann. "The Lord chose me to reward the just and punish the wicked. And your friend is wicked. And she deserves to die just as Layla deserves to live. It's God's will." Sam tried to open a small window in the cellar. "Goodbye, Sam." Sue Ann left. Sam used a bar to open the window.

***********************SN*************************

Dean and Max were walking through the parking lot, having ditched the cops, when the lights all went out. Max turned and saw the reaper standing a few feet away.

"Oh, crap," said Max.

"What?" asked Dean.

"It's the reaper," said Max, pointing over where she could see him.

"Son of a bitch," said Dean.

The reaper put his hand on the side of Max's face, and she groaned in pain. She fell to her knees, and the color began to drain from her face as she gasped for breath. Dean tried to take swings at the air in front of Max, but nothing happened.

"Dammit!" Dean yelled. "Let her go!"

The reaper suddenly took his hand off of Max's face. Max gasped for breath as the color returned to her face. She watched the reaper disappear.

"You okay?" asked Dean, kneeling in front of her.

"Yeah," said Max. "I'm fine." Dean helped Max back to the Impala, where Sam walked up to them.

"You okay?" Sam asked Max.

"A little bit weak," said Max.

"Yeah," said Sam. "Alright, come on, we should get going." The three of them got into the car, heading back to Terminal City.

*************************SN********************************

Dean, Sam and Max walked into the command center of Terminal City. Max had a huge smile on her face as she walked up the platform to Logan.

Logan turned and saw her walking towards him. "What are you so happy about?"

Max kept walking towards him, and his eyes widened as he saw that she was going to touch him. Max threw her arms around him, hugging him close. Her face was right next to his, touching skin to skin.

"What are you doing?" Logan exclaimed as he gently shoved Max away from him, taking his hands away with wide eyes. He touched his face, expecting to feel the boils breaking out. He frowned. "Nothing's happening." Max's smile widened. "I don't feel feverish or light-headed. What's going on?"

Max couldn't look more happy if she'd just won the lottery and transgenics were deemed human in society's eyes. "That's why I was away for a few days. I'm cured!"

Logan's eyes widened. "Cured?"

"Yeah," said Max. "Sam and Dean found a faith healer, and he cured me of the virus. I'm cured!"

Logan smiled widely. "Really?"

"Yeah," said Max. She threw herself into Logan's arms and planted a passionate kiss on Logan's lips.

"Okay," said Dean. "I'm getting a little grossed out. We'll be going now."

Max broke away from Logan. "Thank you so much, Dean."

Dean looked back at her. "You didn't call me Alec."

"Well, when you do something that nice for someone, they tend to do you favors," said Max.

Logan walked over to Dean, about to grab his hand. Dean moved away from him, lifting his hands. Logan seemed to realize what he'd almost done and settled for a grateful smile at Dean. "Thank you, Dean. This is amazing. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, man," said Dean. "Good luck, you two."

As Dean and Sam left the command center, they could hear Max and Logan's laughter.

"And that's an image I could've lived without," said Dean. Sam laughed as they headed back to the Impala.

****************************SN*********************************

Dean and Sam pulled up to the motel John had been staying at, parking the Impala. There was a sound of a crack, and Dean spun around, lifting his hand to catch a baseball that had been heading for his head.

A little boy ran over. "Whoa, nice catch!"

"Thanks, man," said Dean, handing over the baseball. The boy ran back to the game across the street.

Sam smiled. "Nice." They headed into the motel.

John looked up from the table. "Hey, everything go okay?"

"Yep," said Dean. "Reaper's toast."

"Well, not literally," said Sam. "But we did get the binding spell reversed."

"Good," said John. "I got another hunt in Arizona. We leave tomorrow morning. Get some sleep."

*****************************SN************************

The motel manager quietly unlocked the motel door, sneaking into the room. He approached the short-haired man asleep in one of the beds. He lay on his back, eyes closed.

Oh, man, the manager thought. How am I supposed to tell now?

The young man shifted in his sleep, rolling onto his side away from the manager. The manager peered closely at the man's neck: a barcode.

I knew it!

The manager stared hatefully at the transgenic scum.

How dare he come here and steal my business away from me.

Something had to be done.

*************************SN**************************

Sam opened his eyes, sitting up in bed. He looked over at Dean's bed, not surprised to find it empty. The bathroom door was open and empty.

He must've made a run for coffee and breakfast.

Sam climbed out of bed, grabbing his soap and shampoo. He passed the front window, heading for the bathroom. The view out the window seems unremarkable, but something appeared irksome. Not being able to point it out, Sam continued on his way. He was halfway through his shower when that irksome detail hit Sam: the Impala was parked in front of the room.

Sam jumped out of the shower, not bothering to turn off the water, and quickly wrapped a towel around his waist. He darted out of the bathroom and to the window. True enough, the Impala sat in front of the building. The nearest store was a good fifteen minutes from the motel. Sure, Dean could run fast, but he was making a food run. He would need the Impala…which obviously was not with its owner.

Sam shot over to the bedside table, picking up his phone. He dialed Dean's cell, hoping he was out maybe just for a morning run while John and Sam slept. The voice that met Sam's ear chilled him to the bone.

"The number you are trying to reach is no longer in service."

Sam dropped the phone and rushed to John, shaking him.

"What is it?" asked John, frowning at Sam's fresh-out-of-the-shower appearance.

"Dean's missing," Sam told him.