A/N: Thanks as always to LovingJackson and Deb. This fic wouldn't be anywhere near as good without you guys.
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Elise was pretty damn sure she was cursed. In some past life, she had royally pissed someone off. It was the only explanation she had for why things kept working out like this….for why every time something good was happening, something bad had to follow it. The morning had started so perfectly. Waking up beside Sam had been one of the nicest things Elise could recall feeling in a long time. Feeling so safe, secure and warm….a feeling that hadn't gone away as they shared coffee on the hood of the Impala afterwards. A feeling that had actually intensified as Sam had been teaching Elise to shoot. His arms around hers, body pressed against her. All but dwarfing her with his tall, athletic figure.
Elise had felt as thought nothing in the world could touch her…..and that was precisely when everything went to shit.
Now she was sitting on the ground, feeling the damp grass soaking into her jeans while Sam was curled up on her lap, shuddering, his lips drawn back and revealing his teeth. His eyes were squeezed shut, a gasp of pain slipping from him. Elise didn't know what to do for him, how to make the pain stop, if it was safe to move him….how she would move him? It's not like Sam was going to be easy to lift in this state. Impossible was actually the word that came to mind.
So Elise did all she could do in the circumstances. She stroked his hair and spoke to him gently, trying to assure him that she was there for him. All the while, the panic was building inside her.
Time. Time was a major issue now. Jo was watching Sam and Elise from the shadows at the back of the motel. The single row of rooms provided a satisfactory safe haven and had allowed Jo to observe the pair for the last few minutes while Sam showed Elise how to shoot. It was such a cute little scene, that Jo felt like she wanted to scratch her eyes out. Just how stupid was that girl, trusting Sam like that? The guy was a killer, he was evil…
Even if Gordon hadn't shown Jo signs of the evil Sam had become. Even if Jo hadn't been on hand herself to hear the demon Gordon had captured and tortured, spill about all the evil plans that were supposed to involve Sam….she would have known that Sam was bad news. Oh sure, the possession story had been plausible at first….until Gordon had shown up a few weeks later and opened Jo's eyes to the truth.
Jo would never forget that night in the bar, how he had so easily taken her down…would have killed her too if Dean hadn't stepped in. Now Dean was corrupted too. The boys had sided with their father and Jo was sure John had been rotten to the core for years. Why else would he have gotten her father killed? The Legendary John Winchester had walked away, but her Daddy had died.
No…Jo knew the truth. John Winchester had been corrupted years before and now he had taken his boys down with him.
Well it ended now.
Gordon had what he wanted…he had Dean, the bitch and that kid. Jo didn't know if he was anything to do with Dean. She wasn't about to discount the kid as his….Dean sure liked to get around with everyone but her. Great, now she was sounding like some stupid, petulant child. Jo rolled her eyes and took one last look at her watch, before looking to see if they were still alone.
Her luck seemed to be holding so far. Precious time had been lost helping Gordon take Dean and the others from the diner. But Jo wasn't stupid. For her plan to work, she needed to get to Sam before John got back and there was no saying where he had gone.
Jo almost snorted in amusement. Gordon was going be majorly pissed with her. She was supposed to bring Sam to him so they could find out what the real deal was…save the freaking world and all that. Jo didn't care for any of that. She had one thing in mind. Cold, hard revenge. Dean was already taken care of and Jo would deal with John when the time was right….but Sam? Oh, Sam was personal. She wanted to make him hurt for all the pain he'd caused, both physically and emotionally. Making her feel helpless, taunting her about her father….oh, yeah, she wanted Sam to suffer. But not at Gordon's hands. At her own.
Jo also knew that losing both his boys was the one way to tear the heart out of John Winchester…if he even had one anymore. Or had ever had one at all. Jo could recall how nice he had seemed when she was a little girl. Her mom had liked John, her Dad had shared a bottle with the man on many an occasion after a hunt. John had always spoken of his boys. They were the center of his universe, just as Jo's Dad had been to her.
And then John had taken her father on one more hunt and Jo's Universe had died…..
Slipping her hand carefully into her jacket pocket, Jo found the syringe she needed. It was some herbal concoction that Gordon had paid some crazy woman in southern Louisiana for. It was supposed to sedate Sam, make him a little delirious and more susceptible to telling them what Gordon wanted to know.
But Jo had done her homework. A good portion of the stuff was made from pure Datura plant….and too much of that would prove fatal…but not before a lot of pain was suffered.
Jo could see that Sam was starting to come out of the vision…or whatever it was he was having. She hoped it was as painful as it looked, but if she was going to make her move….the time was now.
"Sam?" That's it…just a little hesitation in the voice. "Sam!" Jo rushed forward, playing the concerned act for all it was worth. She'd watched enough hunters over the years to pick up on acting tips. Dropping to her knees, Jo placed a hand on his arm. "Sam, what happened? Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Elise instinctively drew Sam a little closer, locking her arms around him. "Oi, who the hell you? Sam, do you know this girl?"
Sam blinked owlishly for a moment, still disorientated by the blinding headache that had blossomed in his head and nauseated by the vision of Dean in so much pain. "Jo? What the hell? How'd you find us here?"
"Bobby told me you were headed this way. He's back in Nebraska with my Mom and Missouri. They're trying to track down how many hunters are left and regroup them. I figured I was more useful out here with you and Dean. Where is he?"
"Dean?" Sam asked, confusion filling his features. Had he really just had a vision? Was it a future vision? Or was Dean in trouble now? Sam struggled to sit up, a tight, pained groan slipping from him. "I'm…I'm not sure where Dean is, right now. We should…" Sam blinked again, wishing his mind wasn't still throbbing like a migraine was settling in behind his eyes. " Wait…You came here alone?"
"Sam, I'm not a kid. I thought I showed you and Dean that much when I helped you stop that serial killer….or did you forget all about Dean using me as bait and pissing off my mom?"
Sam quirked a tight smile at the memory of how hard that drive back had been with Ellen giving Dean the stony cold shoulder the whole way. He'd half expected his brother to die from frostbite after several hours of Ellen sharing the front seat with him while Sam had be relegated to the back with Jo. "I remember." His smile disappeared quickly. " I also remember the last time I saw you. I…I didn't get a chance to apologise for that."
Jo held up a hand to silence him. " Forget it. Dean already told me all about it. It's in the past…leave it there, okay? Now, you think you can stand? We should get you inside."
Elise was watching Jo like a hawk at first, wondering who the hell this girl was to be so familiar with Sam? It obviously wasn't a completely happy reunion. Elise could see that by the way Sam was a little nervous around Jo, as if he felt guilty. But about what? Was there bad blood here? Sam seemed nervous, but not overly worried about her. There was definitely more guilt in his eyes than anything else and that just opened up even more questions in Elise's mind.
But the foremost thing on Elise's mind, was getting Sam inside. He was still a little unsteady on his feet and Elise couldn't even begin to imagine what had actually happened before to make Sam collapse. "Easy, mate…one step at a time, that's it."
"I'm okay, really…" Sam assured Elise, finding it slightly embarrassing that he was being helped by two girls. Dean would have been lapping it up, but Sam just felt uncomfortable and stupid. A wave of nausea washed over him and for a moment, Sam felt dizzy, stumbling slightly.
It was all the chance Jo needed. She had the syringe in her hand, stabbing it into Sam's arm as he stumbled. She bumped against him, covering her deceitful move with a surprised, "Sorry!" As she pressed the plunger all the way in on the syringe. It contents fully injected, the syringe was pulled loose and dropped to the ground, barely a few seconds passing by through the whole act.
Sam didn't even register the sting in his arm as he fought to keep his balance with Jo and Elise's help. He paused, letting the girls support him until he felt a little more sure on his feet, the dizziness passing after a moment. "Whoa…sorry about that."
"The sooner we get you back to the room, the better." Elise said worriedly, holding onto Sam's arm and trying to gently lead him towards the motel. " Maybe you've pushed yourself too much, too soon. You don't want to reopen that wound, Sam."
"What? And lose out on you playing nurse again?" Sam joked lamely, trying to walk unaided now as they got closer to the motel. Lying on a bed with Elise keeping him company was a nice thought, but first he had to find Dean and Skye. He had to be sure they were okay. Should he tell Elise he'd had a vision? How would she take that on top of everything else that she had dealt with recently? Sam would be amazed if Elise didn't just bail on them. If anything, it was probably safer in the long run. Sam couldn't help but think about the deal Dean had made for Skye and it worried him that he was putting Elise in direct danger, just by having her near him.
His eyesight swam for a moment, Sam passing it off as merely another vision induced headache symptom. But then his balance went as well, Sam toppling heavily to the side in a sprawl of tangled limbs with Elise.
"Shit! What the bloody hell, Sam--….?" Elise exclaimed, trying to extract herself from beneath him. At first she felt a flash of mild annoyance. The fall had skinned her elbow and was going to leave Elise with a nasty bruise on her left cheek where Sam had collected her with a wrist as he fell. "Sam….Sam? Sam!" Elise managed to wriggle free as she realised he wasn't responding.
Jo was huddled over Sam, gently shaking his shoulder as he lay sprawled on the grass, his eyes glazed, pupils blown wide. "Sam? Sam, can you hear me? What's happened to him?"
"How the fuck should I know?" Elise snapped, panic filling her as she gently cupped her hands to either side. "Sam? Hey…hey, can you hear, mate? Jesus, don't do this to me, Sam. Answer me…"
"J…J…Jess?" Sam's eyes roamed lazily around, unfocussed as he looked at Elise, reaching up to put his hands over hers. "Don't…don't leave me."
"I won't." Elise assured him, ignoring the stab to the heart she felt at the mention of Jess's name. Whatever was wrong with Sam, it was seriously screwing with him. She grabbed his hands and held them tightly. "I'm right here, Sam. Just stay with me, okay?"
"Come on, we have to get him inside." Jo grabbed one of Sam's arms and tried to pull him upright.
"Take it easy! You'll pull his arm out of it's bloody socket, you dickwank!" Elise snapped at Jo, tears brimming in her eyes but not falling.
"What the hell did you just call me?" Jo demanded, her hands clenching into fists by her side.
"You heard me. Now grow a fucking brain and wait for me to help you before you both end up hurt." Elise got herself behind Sam and dug her feet in, pushing him up as Jo gently pulled on his arms. It was one hell of a struggle, lifting what was essentially dead weight now. But the girls managed and with one arm each over their shoulders, they staggered towards the motel again.
"What room are you in?"
"Twenty seven…down the end." Elise informed Jo as they rounded the side of the motel rooms. It might as well have been the other side of town. Her back was straining, pain making her bite her lip and huff for air as they stumbled and almost lost their balance. Sam was barely able to lift his head from his chest, never mind aid them in walking.
"Forget the room…let's get him in here." Jo swung them towards the nearest motel room door, kicking it open and dragging Sam inside. "There's no way we'll make it to your room. Help me get him to the bed."
Elise felt weird about taking Sam into another room, but her back and legs were begging her to do it, to take the weight off them. Plus she was terrified and confused about what the hell had happened? Did this have anything to do with what happened to Sam outside? Was it a stroke? An aneurysm? No, wait…that would have killed him. So what the hell was wrong with Sam?
Elise and Jo managed to half walk, half drag Sam to one of the beds, dumping him as gently as they could. Elise sat down on the bed beside him, laying a hand on his arm, worried about how warm he was starting to feel. "Sam? Can you hear me?"
Sam's head slowly turned towards the sound of her voice. He felt so warm, why was it so warm all of a sudden? He was finding it hard to swallow, his mouth was so dry. He could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest. But as he looked at Elise, her face began to melt and drip away as if it was made of hot wax. Sam's eyes became the size of saucers and he tried to crawl backwards, away from her as a choked cry of shock escaped him. "Get…get away from me."
"Sam? Sam, it's me….it's Elise."
"Who are you?? Get….get away from me!" A psychic shockwave punched out of Sam blindly, knocking Elise back several feet and dumping her on the floor. A painting hanging on the wall behind her shattered, spraying glass before it fell to the floor.
"Sam!" Elise cried, stunned and downright scared of being hurt by him. She didn't know how to deal with this and one look at Jo told Elise that the girl was going to be no help either.
Jo pulled back the curtains on the small front window and peered out, flinching at the sound of the painting shattering behind her, but barely throwing Elise a glance. The syringe was doing it's job apparently, although the exact effects Sam was starting to experience were a complete mystery to Jo. Not that she cared what he went through as long as he died and she got to watch….
But first and foremost, she had to make sure that John wouldn't find them until it was too late. Once Sam was dead….then and only then, would Jo let him have his son back. She wanted to see the pain in his eyes, the crushing sense of loss…seeing Sam dead. Dean dead. His entire world gone. That was justice for her father. Gordon would be pissed with Sam's death but Jo was ready to take the heat for that. If anyone understood an eye for eye….it was Gordon Walker.
Sam was slumped on the bed, exhausted from the energy expended by the psychic blast. Nothing was making sense to him. He was so hot, his skin felt like it was burning, his mouth was a parched as a desert. Sam wasn't even sweating, despite how much he felt like he was burning up. Everything seemed to be swimming and shifting as he looked at it, as though the whole world was liquid.
Elise cautiously picked herself up from the floor and approached Sam, seeing him barely conscious, his skin flushed but not sweating. The moment she touched her hand to his forehead, she felt a surge of panic. " Oh my god, Sam, you're burning up!"
"Elise?" Sam's eyes were unfocussed and glazed as he rotated towards the sound of her voice, his hand sliding across the bed to find hers, latching on and squeezing. "Watch….watch out for the fire. It's so…so hot. Can't…can't breathe."
"Shhh…it's okay, Sam. It's okay. I'm going to get you some water. Just hang on." Elise got up from the bed, reluctantly releasing Sam's hand, but noting how hot and dry his skin had felt. What was going on? This wasn't a normal fever…it had hit too fast and Sam wasn't sweating at all.
"Jo?…Jo! We need to get Sam some help. We need to find Dean and John." Elise told her as she went to the bathroom, returning a moment later with a glass of water. Jo didn't move from the window or even acknowledge Elise and a uneasy feeling settled in Elise's stomach about what was happening here.
The sound of beating wings filled the air and Jo peered out through the curtain, careful not to reveal herself as she watched John landing out in the parking lot. It was an amazing sight, seeing him land so gently, a huge set of inky black wings glistening in the sun before they neatly folded away behind his back as John strode forward towards his motel room. Jo had heard about how he looked now, how his time in Hell had changed the man that had hunted with her father all those years ago, but to actually see it with her own eyes, brought it all home for her. Everything Gordon had said about him not being human anymore, about how he was a freak that couldn't be trusted.
He looked so fearsome, downright intimidating with those huge wings. They weren't anything like what Jo would have imagined. Not the soft and white kind you saw in paintings and on crappy, sentimental cards. No, these wings were sharp and dark, almost sucking the light into them. They were the wings of a monster, not at angel.
"Here, Sam…small sips." Elise sat down on the bed and gently eased Sam's head into her lap, frightened by the heat radiating off him. It was almost as though she expected him to spontaneously combust at any minute and tears filled her eyes as she saw how weak Sam was. He could barely lift his head to swallow any water at all, his eyes mere slits, but the pupils still blown wide underneath.
" SAM? ELISE?… DEAN??…SKYE?" John's voice carried through the air, even though it was at a distance.
"Bout bloody time, John…" Elise sighed in relief, carefully freeing herself from Sam and heading for the door. " I'll be right back, Jo, look after Sa--…." The sentence was cut short as something hard shattered over the back of Elise's head. She crumpled to the floor, stunned and everything fading to black. Jo's voice was the last thing she heard.
"Hey, nothing personal…but I can't have you spoiling things for me." Jo dropped the remains of the bedside lamp to the floor. Barely a second later, Jo found herself sailing backwards across the room. She hit the far wall, colliding with the TV, knocking it off its stand. The screen shattered with an audible pop as Jo slid down the wall, cursing under her breath. Lifting her shirt, Jo could see broken skin where she'd scraped against the TV stand before she hit the wall. Debris was digging into her ass and legs as she tried to get up, hissing sharply in pain as her injuries made themselves known. "Down but not out, huh, Sam?"
Sam had dragged himself off the bed towards Elise, on his hands and knees beside her, his chest heaving from the exertion, his eyes dark as they glared a warning to Jo. "Don't…don't you…fucking…tou--…" His hands slipped from under him as Sam buckled to the ground, his energy spent as he fell into unconsciousness.
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"Sam? Elise? Anyone here?" John called again as he walked out of the motel room, finding the room the way he had left it before he went to the cemetery. He could have sworn there was a muffled thump before…some distance away, but John hadn't been able to pick up the exact direction.
He stood out in the parking lot, feeling like cats were climbing up his spine about the whereabouts of his family. The Impala was still sitting in the car park like a loyal steed, awaiting Dean's return. John knew they had gone for breakfast…maybe he should have a look in town? They were probably still there.
The coffee cups were still sitting in front of the Impala….but apart from that, there were no other signs of Sam and Elise. Where would they have gone? Sam would have heard John calling for him if they were still at the motel. Maybe they'd gone to breakfast with Dean and Skye?
An uneasy feeling was settling into John's gut about this situation, but he tried to push it aside. There was nothing to indicate that anything was wrong and the last thing he needed was to get all worked up over a potential threat, when everyone was safe. John knew he boys could handle themselves.
He just didn't know where they were.
" John!" Bobby was leaning out the car window as it roared into the parking lot and pulled up beside John. " We just drove through town and there's no sign of life. You sure that's where they were headed?"
" The Impala's here, Bobby. You really think Dean's going to walk to the next town?"
" Alright, point taken." Bobby conceded with a shrug. " What about Sam? You seen him yet?"
"No. I'm not even sure where he might have gone with Elise." John ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident on his face. " Missouri, can you get a reading off something, maybe?"
"A reading? What? You think I'm some sort of bloodhound now? You let me smell a shirt and I'll lead you right to them?" Missouri demanded snippily from the other side of Bobby.
John shrugged, his wings emphasizing the move as he gave the psychic a wry grin. "Something like that…" He was met with a stony look instead and let the smile drop. "Fine, do another sweep of the town, maybe you missed them? I'll have a look around the motel then meet up with you."
"We'll meet up in fifteen minutes, John. Watch yourself. Gordon isn't screwing around with this." Bobby still had a pounding headache and knew that he had gotten off lightly. The bastard could have split his head clean open if he had wanted to. He'd left Bobby chained up, had shot Phill in cold blood and had convinced Jo to turn on the Winchesters. No sir, if there was one thing for sure that Bobby knew about Gordon Walker. It was that the man was playing for keeps this time and if they weren't careful, things could get very bloody.
John gave the car a gentle tap on the roof as Bobby drove off, before he headed back to the motel, trying to think of where Sam and Elise would have gotten to? There was no reason for them to have gone to another room….save the obvious one of wanting privacy, but Sam would have shown his face by now, even if that was the case. He would have heard his father calling him. It was beginning to make more sense that Sam would have gone into town with Elise, maybe to meet up with Dean.
After the harsh, angry words that had been exchanged between his sons, John hoped that was the case. He knew that Dean would be distracted for now with Skye, but sooner, rather than later, they would have to talk about the deal Dean had made and what they were going to do about it. John wasn't willing to even contemplate his son going to Hell.
With a powerful beating of his wings, John took to the sky again, hovering above the motel and looking around to see if maybe Sam and Elise had gone for a walk? The glint of something metallic reflecting, caught John in the eye and he swooped down behind the motel, striding towards the object. His heart sank as John saw that it was a gun. Sam's gun to be precise.
He'd taught his sons well over the years about gun care and to find the weapon lying abandoned on the grass, immediately told John that something had happened to Sam. He bent over and retrieved the weapon, tucking it into the waistband of his jeans before he looked around for any signs of a struggle. Blood…scuff marks…anything.
About ten feet from where he was standing, John spied something else lying in the grass and found a syringe lying there. Being careful not to catch himself with the tip, John tried to ascertain what had been contained in it. His bad feeling had now become a full blown wave of fear.
John hesitated briefly, trying to think of where Sam would have been taken, if that was what had happened? It was the unknown elements of whatever had happened here, that had John close to panic. What if Gordon had Sam? He was still recovering from the night before and that meant Sam had been a soft target for the hunter. There was no time to waste. John launched into the air again, keeping low this time, aiming for speed to get him to Missouri and Bobby. He prayed they'd found Dean and Skye by now, safe and unharmed…..otherwise Gordon Walker was in for a world of pain.
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As her sense of awareness slowly returned, Elise found herself engulfed in pain. It felt like the back of her head had been caved in, her hair was sticky with blood. But that was stupid…if her skull had been caved in, she'd be dead and lying face down on the smelly, grimy carpet of a cheap motel didn't exactly scream to Elise of the afterlife she'd been told about in church.
Of course, the church could have gotten it wrong…or maybe she was in Hell and the devil had a wicked sense of humour?
There was a warm body beside her. Really warm. Panic flashed through Elise as she realised it was Sam lying there, unconscious and growing warmer by the minute. Now everything was falling into place. Elise was absolutely certain now that Jo had done something to Sam, was hurting him somehow. The sticky, bleeding goose egg on the back of her head spoke volumes as to how much trouble Elise was in. She remained still, letting her hearing try and pinpoint where Jo was in the room, before Elise risked cracking an eye open a fraction.
Jo was still standing near the window, her back to Elise. If ever there was a chance for Elise to do something? It was now. But what the hell was she supposed to do? Jo was obviously going to have more experience in fighting than Elise. The best Elise had managed was some schoolyard fights when her brother was being bullied. She was confident of holding her own in a normal street fight…but this wasn't some stupid brawl…this was a fight for her and Sam's life.
Her vision was still a little blurry, like someone was messing around with the soft focus at times. That sure wasn't going to make it easy…but Elise had no choice. Taking a moment to try and clear her head, Elise looked around, spying the end of a folding pocket knife in Sam's back pocket. Moving ever so slowly so as not to attract Jo's attention, she pulled the knife out and quietly opened it. The blade made a tiny little "snick" noise as it fully opened, Elise stilling instantly and waiting to see if that had caught Jo's attention.
The girl remained at the window, peering out. Elise knew she was out of time. Jo wouldn't have her back turned forever. The bed lay between Elise and Jo. Keeping low at first, Elise climbed over Sam, silently apologising to him in her mind and flinching at the heat she could feel radiating off him. She was no nurse, but Elise knew that sort of heat would lead to seizures soon unless she was able to get him cooled down. God, what if she couldn't cool him down in time? Why wasn't he sweating? What the fuck had that bitch done to him? Anger boiled up inside of Elise. Her hand tightened around the knife as she got to the bed and slowly began to crawl up on to it. She was half on the bed, when Jo realised something was happening and began to turn.
With almost a snarl, Elise launched herself towards Jo, tackling the girl around the midriff. They slammed to the floor, taking out a small bedside table with them, a broken leg from it piercing into Jo's side, just below her ribs and eliciting a scream of pain from her. Reacting on sheer hunter's instinct and a deep seated urge for self preservation, Jo struck out with a open palm smash, catching Elise under the jaw hard enough to drive her head back, her teeth catching her lip in the process, blood spilling down Elise's chin.
Falling back, Elise could see nothing but stars for a moment, shaking her head and feeling ill at the sensation of blood flying from her chin.
"I should've hit you harder." Jo ground out, somewhere between a growl and a gasp as she pulled the piece of wood from her side and threw it to the ground. Throwing herself at Elise, Jo found herself suddenly sailing over the top of the girl as Elise put her feet in Jo's stomach and flipped her over her head.
Jo landed hard, the wind knocked from her lungs with an "ooooff". Searing pain in her scalp, had Jo reaching up to try and unlock Elise's hands from her hair as she was dragged backwards, feeling clumps tearing loose as she cried out, trying to dig her nails into Elise's wrists and force her to let go.
Elise gritted her teeth against the pain, feeling nails puncturing the skin on her arms but refusing to let go. Knotting up as much of Jo's long blonde hair in her hands as she could, Elise slammed her head against the floor twice, before Jo was able to lash out with a wild strike and catch Elise above the left eye. The pain shocked Elise into letting go and in the back of her mind, she realised she'd lost the knife when she tackled Jo.
Jo rolled away from Elise, feeling blood running down the side of her head. She wavered as she got to her knees, finding her vision blurry around the edges. Elise had torn hair loose and Jo wasn't entirely sure she trusted her balance at the moment. Reaching into her boot, Jo drew out her father's blade, holding it easily in one hand as she readied herself for Elise.
Elise, meanwhile, had clambered back to the remains of the bedside table and retrieved Sam's knife, feeling a sense of relief wash over her now that she wasn't unarmed. Approaching carefully, her steps a little wobbly thanks to the damn goose egg Jo had given her, Elise could see that Jo was armed too now. Shit, that wasn't exactly what she had hoped for, because Jo probably knew more about using a knife than she did.
"Do I even get to know why?" Elise asked as she took other step, then stopped. There was no way she was going to walk right into Jo's reach.
"What? You're expecting some big confession? This isn't some stupid Bond movie, you know…" Jo sneered, rolling her knife in her hand as she got to her feet, her body tensing up to attack.
"No kidding, mate…Bond movies have standards. They wouldn't look twice at you." Elise smirked, flinching at the way it pulled on her bleeding bottom lip.
Jo pointed towards Sam's still form with her blade. "You don't know what he's capable of, what sort of a monster he can be."
Elise held her ground, bristling at the words Jo used. "Oh I know, mate. I've seen first hand what Sam can do…and the only monster in this room is you. He trusted you. What have you done to him?"
"It doesn't matter…he's gonna be dead soon." Jo shrugged casually, before she lunged forward with a speed that surprised Elise. The knife in Jo's hand flashed forward, Elise barely drawing back in time as it tore a line across her shirt and left a shallow, thin cut across her stomach that took a moment to bleed. Elise hissed in shock and pain, stumbling back, clutching at the wound and seeing blood covering her fingers.
Looking up, Elise saw a moment too late, that she had let her guard slip. Jo was rushing towards her, knife raised. Forgetting her own knife, Elise threw up her hands and caught Jo by the wrist. The momentum of Jo's attack pushed them both backwards, Elise losing her balance before the pair toppled to the floor. A struggle began between them, Jo having the advantage of being able to put all her body weight behind the knife while Elise fought to keep the blade away from her.
The knife was being driven lower and lower, towards Elise. At the last moment, she twisted her body away from the blade and it plunged into her shoulder, instead of her chest. A shriek of utter agony filled the air from Elise as Jo gave the blade a twist, then pulled it back out, rearing back to stab Elise with it again.
Elise couldn't move, the sheer shock of so much pain making it hard to think, to even draw another breath after her scream. Part of her knew she had to move, had to get out of the way, get out from beneath Jo, but she couldn't move fast enough, couldn't get her body to obey…and in that instant, all Elise could hope, was that it was quick.
Jo had a wicked, triumphant gleam to her eyes as she began to bring the blade back down. Now she understood why Gordon liked to hunt, like to get in there and get his hands dirty. There was a sense of satisfaction that came from taking down your enemy in hand to hand combat. In a moment, Elise would be dead and Jo could slip away, leaving Sam to die, knowing that John would never find him in time.
Elise locked eyes with Jo, reaching up to try and block the blade, her left arm all but numb from the stab wound in her shoulder.
Sam loomed up behind Jo, seeming gigantic, almost angel-like, as he reached around and took hold of Jo's wrists, halting the knife's descent.
Elise fumbled around on the floor beside her, desperate to find Sam's knife and finally brushing it with the tip of her right hand. Sam and Jo were still struggling and as Elise got a proper grip on the knife and pulled it towards her, she saw Jo throw her head back, smashing Sam in the jaw.
His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell backwards, stunned and exhausted from the effort of fighting Jo, the fever raging though him draining Sam of his strength.
But his diversion had given Elise all the time she needed. Without hesitation, she drove Sam's knife home in Jo's chest, thrusting it up, in through the ribs and into her heart.
Jo gave a tiny, strangled sort of a gasp, blood rolling up her throat and spilling over her lips before she fell forward, pinning Elise to the floor. The knife was driven in even deeper and Elise gave a squeak of horror as she wriggled out from underneath her, covered in blood. Jo's knife was lying on the floor beside them and Elise snatched it up, holding it in front of her with shaking hands as she butt-wriggled her way backwards from the sight of Jo's body lying there, her eyes still open but sightless now.
Sam was lying on the floor, his lip split open, his nose bleeding from the head butt he had received from Jo. The moment Elise was completely sure that Jo was dead…..and the growing pool of blood was a damn good indicator of that, she rushed to Sam's side. "Hey…hey, you with me, hero?" Elise placed her hand against Sam's cheek, tears welling up as she felt how hot he was still. It was like touching the Human Torch.
There was no response, other than Sam turning his head into her touch, his eyes briefly sliding open before they slipped shut again. Elise had to cool him down. She looked up to the bathroom, not fifteen feet from her. It might as well have been five hundred, but Elise had to move him, had to get Sam into a cold shower until help arrived. John, Dean and Skye had to be back soon…. Elise just needed to hold on until then.
"Come on, Sam….help me out here." Elise was exhausted, her head throbbing, her body trembling with shock and blood loss, her left arm all but useless at the moment. But sheer determination was pushing her now. She hadn't just killed someone, only to lose Sam. Grabbing hold off his shirt, she dug her heels in and tried to drag him to the bathroom with her one good arm. Sam slid barely an inch before Elise lost her balance and fell on her ass again, a sob escaping her lips.
How the hell was she going to do this? What was she even doing here? Why had she allowed herself to get involved in all this? Logic dictated that Elise should just cut out and run, just get the hell out of here and try and find some way home. Steal a fucking boat, whatever it took. Just get back to her family and her life that didn't involve demons and killing girls not much younger than herself.
Looking over at Jo's body again, Elise felt her stomach roll. She staggered to her feet and made for the front door of the motel room, barely getting it open and making it out to the parking lot, before she fell to her hands and knees, emptying her stomach violently. With nothing more than a cup of coffee in her stomach, it wasn't long before Elise was reduced to dry heaving. Wiping a shaky hand across her mouth, she fell back onto her butt and stayed there, pulling her knees up to her chest, trembling as she waited, praying that someone would find her soon.
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"Bobby? Tell me you've found them?" John demanded loudly as he walked out of yet another store in the town. He'd been searching for the past twenty minutes with Bobby and Missouri. Store after store, even the bar in town had been searched.
Nothing. No sign of Dean, Skye or Connor.
Panic was now well and truly settling into John's gut, his wings sitting high on his back, ready to take him into the air in a second if he needed to. Where the hell were his sons? Where were the girls? It was becoming more and more apparent that Gordon had gotten his hands on John's family. But one hunter couldn't have taken down that many people….there were too many damn questions running through his mind and no answers.
Bobby appeared on the street again from a small café. "John! John, over here." He waved him over, knowing that John wasn't going to like what he had to show him inside.
John pushed past Bobby and looked around the café, hoping to see Dean and Skye, hoping to hear Connor's little voice as he got inside, even though in his heart, he knew he wouldn't. The place was empty, a table lying on it's side; milk, broken glass and coffee spilt across the floor.
John crouched down and gently traced the tip of his index finger through the milk, then touched it to his tongue. He detected the trace of a some sort of drug instantly and his anger flared within him. Someone had dared touch his family. John could still catch the faint baby scent of Connor from the high chair, fuelling his rage and making his fists shake as he clenched them.
His rage wasn't hot, wasn't boiling. Oh no, this was ice cold. This was pure and cold and calculating. John was going to find Gordon and make him pay. Not just kill him, but make the bastard regret he had ever looked at John's family. Too many had died, too many had been lost over the years and John was done burying people he loved.
Getting to his feet again, John stormed towards the doorway of the café. Bobby and Missouri backed off as he exited the building, sharing an anxious look as they saw the storm raging within the half man, half demon before them.
"John…." Bobby stepped forward, gently grabbing his friend's arm. John turned on him with such venom in his eyes, they were almost black. Bobby instantly let go and stepped back, reaching for the flask of holy water in his vest pocket by instinct. There was very little of the hunter he knew, in the creature before him. Yet still, deep within, Bobby could see the same determination and fierce, unshakeable love that he had always known from John towards his family. "John, talk to me. Where's your head right now?"
"Don't get in my way, Bobby. I'm going to find them. I'm going to bring them home." John's voice was deep and angry, a tremble underlying the words. "He's got my son, maybe both of them…he's got Connor, the girls. I'm not going to let anything happen to them, Bobby. I can't."
Bobby nodded, understanding completely. "What do need from me and Missouri?"
"I nee you back at the motel, in case I'm wrong about Sam and Elise….in case someone shows up. Can you do that for me?"
"Sure we can, hun, you just watch your back, you hear me? Those boys don't need to be losing you again." Missouri piped up, her eyes full of concern. She'd known John for so long, that he was family to her. He'd been such a different man that came to her doorstep all those years ago with two small boys in tow and so many questions, Missouri had gotten a migraine. "You go bring your family home."
John gave the pair a curt nod, before he took several steps and launched into the air. He was up above the town in seconds, beginning to circle out towards the surrounding houses. Gordon couldn't have gotten far.
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Elise was still sat in the parking lot, her knees drawn up to her chest, shivering despite how warm the day was. A small voice in her head was trying to tell her that she needed to get inside, get back to Sam. That she needed to do something about her shoulder and the cut to her stomach. But the last place Elise wanted to be, was in the room with Jo's body.
The very thought of it had her dry heaving again, those sightless, staring eyes haunting Elise every time she closed her eyes for even a moment.
A car pulled in behind her, the doors opening and the sound of footsteps crunching across the gravel towards her before Elise even tried to turn around. Was this someone working with Jo? Or was it someone else?
"Oh dear god, Bobby, help me get this girl inside." Missouri gasped as she saw the state of Elise. She crouched down just to the side of Elise and laid a hand on her. " Hun? Elise? Are you with me, girl?"
Elise looked up, confusion clouding her face for a moment until she saw who it was. Tears filled her eyes as she was gently helped to her feet by Bobby. She felt safe again, knew she was with people that would not only help her, but could help Sam.
"Come on, darlin', let's get you inside and have a look at you. What the hell happened?" Bobby asked gently as he tried to guide her back to the room. He was shocked when Elise balked at the idea, wrenching herself from his arms and almost collapsing again as she backed away from the room, shaking her head.
" No….no, I can't. I won't go back in there. I…. I just can't. Please…"
" Alright…alright, Elise. Just take it easy." Bobby held his hands out before him, as if he was talking to a spooked animal, his voice low and soft. He had no idea what the hell was going on, but the terrified look in Elise's eyes, had his heart racing. " Elise? Where's Sam?"
" In there…oh god, Sam…" It was as if Elise had just realised something horrible and she took a step towards the room, then froze again, her eyes widening. "Bobby, you have to help him. She…she did something to him. I think….I think he's dying." Her voice broke on the last word.
Bobby looked at Missouri, seeing the same fears he was feeling, reflected in her eyes. He could see the Impala was parked several doors down and realised that had to be the room Dean and John had been using. " Missouri, you take Elise back down to the other room, start getting her cleaned up. I'm going to get Sam."
" Come on, hun….Bobby'll take good care of Sam. You come with me."
Elise nodded softly, feeling detached from what was happening around her and just letting Missouri take her by the arm and lead her to the room.
Bobby wasn't prepared for the sight that met his eyes when he entered the motel room. Sam was lying on the floor and it didn't take a goddamn medical degree to see the boy wasn't just sick, but near dying. John had shown Bobby the syringe back in town. It had been empty, but there had been a trace of odour left in it that Bobby had recognised. He wasn't sure of all the ingredients, but the main one was known to him. He'd hoped that the syringe hadn't been used….but one look at the flushed, red skin on Sam told him all he needed to know. The boy was going to cook in his own skin if they didn't get him cooled down.
But more than that, the sight of Jo lying in a pool of blood, broke Bobby's heart. He had watched this girl grow up, had known her father….even if they hadn't always seen eye to eye thanks to Bill's cockiness. He'd been like an Uncle at one stage….and to see her lying there lifeless, damn well tore out his heart.
She should have never gotten involved with Gordon Walker. The man turned to shit, everything he touched. He cared for nothing but revenge….and now he had gotten this young girl killed.
"Fuck!" Bobby spun and punched the wall beside him. This was such a mess. Jo was dead, Sam was near dying himself and Elise was never going to be the same. He understood now why she had been so freaked to come back in here. The pieces were rapidly falling into place and Bobby let out a heavy sigh, knowing that when it was all said and done, he would have to take Jo back to her mother for burial.
It wasn't the outcome he had wanted for this. But it was the hand they'd been dealt and he would do what was necessary.
Right now, he needed to get Sam out of the room and into a cold bath. Normally, a person that had been messing around with Datura plant would need to be kept cool until they could be rushed to a hospital. Overdosing on the stuff was real easy and almost always fatal. There was no hospital option here, but then, Sam wasn't a normal case. The demonic blood in his veins would provide more of a shield….at least, Bobby hoped so. All they could do for Sam was to try and lower his temperature and keep him comfortable. The rest was up to him.
Bending over, Bobby tried not to look at Jo as he grabbed Sam by the shirt and dragged the boy up and pulled him over one shoulder. The kid weighed a damn ton and it was an effort for Bobby to carry the boy out of the room and down several doors. "Just hang in there, Sam. Don't you go breaking our hearts, now."
Bobby nudged open the motel room door, finding Missouri sat on one of the beds beside Elise. She was bathing the girl's wounds with a washcloth, a first aid kit sat on her lap, ready to use.
Without saying a word, Bobby marched straight to the bathroom and stooped over to lower Sam into the bathtub as gently as he could before he turned the cold water tap on fully. Sam jerked as the freezing water touched his burning skin, his feet started to drum out an awful beat as his body began to suffer a seizure. Bobby leaned into the shower, using his body weight to hold Sam down and stop the boy from thrashing about and hurting himself. The water was soaking him to the bone, but Bobby barely noticed, too busy talking to Sam in a low voice. " You're alright, son. You're going to be alright. Just stay with me. You hear? Listen to my voice and stay with me. I'm gonna get you through this."
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A/N #2: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll be updating again soon!