A/N: We are going to find out more about John and who he goes to for help. Thank you for all the followings, favors and reviews. Your thoughts and suggestions are always appreciated. Please review. NC

Chapter 11

The truck pulled to a stop in front of the house that he vaguely remembered from so long ago. John sat in the vehicle trying to bring back an image of who lived there and wondered if they still did. He could almost picture someone just on the outskirts of his memory but couldn't pull it out into the open. He closed his eyes and worked at calming his fractured mind. He was startled when a tapping drug him out of his trance. He looked out his side window and saw a petite, dark skin, middle aged woman gazing intently at him.

"Well are ya gonna sit there all day or come inside?" she asked in a soft lyrical voice.

John slowly got out of his truck and stood before her looking down at her kind and wise face not sure what to say to her. From her expression, he was sure she knew him.

"My goodness, it's been years." she said laying a hand on his arm. She paused for a moment sensing his confusing, loss, and suffering. "Oh John, I'm so sorry for what you've had to endured. I know you feel lost, but if you will let me I think I can help." she told him softly, gently rubbing his arm. It hurt her to see how much he had lost and how much he was hurting.

"So you do know me...And about my past?"

"Yes I do. I'm Missouri, you came to me after your wife's death." she said looping her arm through his and guiding him toward her home. "Why don't ya come on in and have some of my special tea? I might even be able to find a piece of streusel to go alone with it."

John didn't protest as he walked with her toward her quaint house feeling she was a friend and might open some doors for him. She might have leads to where his sons were and he hoped she would jog his memory and help him gain back what was taken from him. He stepped into a neat foyer and allowed this stranger to lead him deeper into the house to a small, quaint kitchen. He took a seat at the table and watched as she busied herself making tea and cutting streusel to place on two plates. She sat out napkins and silverware before placing the plates down, one in front of John and one at an empty chair. She took the kettle and poured the hot water over the tea leaves to steep for a few minutes before filling two cups with the hot liquid. She settled one in front of John and the other by her plate. John watched her as she cut a small bite of the pastry chewing slowly.

"Well don't just sit there, eat," she insisted when he hadn't made a move to eat. "We don't waste food around here. Wouldn't hurt you to put on a few pounds now would it? You've not been taking care of yourself have ya?"

"Yes ma'am." he said picking up his fork to cut his pastry. "Guess I haven't done too good of a job."

They sat in silence eating their streusel and sipping their tea. John drained the last of his tea and sat back rubbing his eyes as a headache began behind them. He reached into his pocket for the bottle of pills wanting to take something before it got too bad.

"They don't work do they?" Missouri asked when she saw what he was doing.

"Not all the time, but if I don't take them the headaches are a lot worse." he said shaking three pills into his hand.

"When did they start?"

"After I escaped from..." he started grunting as the pain lanced through his head causing him to double over.

"John are you ok?" she asked getting up to stand by his side. "Can you make it to the bedroom and lie down?"

"I'll try." he said getting up and allowing her to help him to her spare bedroom. He leaned against her as he stumbled unsteadily into the room and to the bed, sitting carefully down on the side of it so not to jar his body.

"Lie down and rest John, once you've got some strength back I'll try to help you." she said pulling the curtains to block out the light. "It may not be easy. I'll do what I can but you have to trust me and do what I tell you."

"Thank you." he whispered as he eased his body back onto the bed and tried to relax the tension in his body. His muscles tightened in his neck and he used a hand to massage the back of his neck trying to coax some of the stiffness out. As the pain meds started kicking in; he let his mind slip into darkness and let sleep overtake him. He hoped the nightmares would abate and he would be able to rest without waking up with a scream on his lips and cold sweat dripping down his body.

spn

John jerked in his sleep. He had been asleep for about an hour when the torture started. The place was dark, cold and damp and he could feel it creeping deep into his bones. He could sense it here with him as he tried to move quietly through the darkness. There had to be a way out of this place if only he could find it. Something brushed by him but he couldn't see what it was; he only felt the chill that ran down his back making him shiver. He paused for a moment trying to get his bearings when suddenly he was thrown to the ground as a being loomed over him. It pressed down on him, its fetid, wet breath freezing a cold spot on his cheek. John tried to push himself away from the being but found he couldn't move. He couldn't make out the being, only that it was blacker than the blackness surrounding him. His eyes seemed to take on an evil, menacing appearance as he began to dig into his mind, ripping and tearing bits and pieces of it out. John screamed in agony trying to force it away from him and trying to hold on to what it was trying to take away.

"John! John! Wake up." a far away voice called to him as he fought what was holding him down.

He could hear what he thought was a prayer being said by a soft, gentle voice and tried to concentrate on that voice letting it draw him back. John came awake with a start and looked up into the concerned face of Missouri. He was tangled in a blanket and panting hard as the dream slid back into the darkness once again. He pulled and pushed at the blanket finally getting his arms and body free so he could sit up.

"Bad dream?" she asked him softly seeing the tortured, hooded look in his eyes.

"You could say that." he mumbled clutching his pounding head.

"Why don't you lie back down and put this under your pillow." she told him holding out her hand.

John looked at what she offered and took the smooth green stone from her hand. He turned it over in his hand and looked at it wondering what it was suppose to do. It felt warm to the touch and was concave with darker swirls in the middle. It wasn't much bigger than a golf ball, but flatter.

"It'll keep the bad dreams away." she told him taking the stone and slipping it under his pillow before pressing him back down on the bed. "You're in no shape to be moving around, try to rest now."

"Alright." he said closing his eyes trying to get the room to stop spinning. His stomach churned as he took slow, deep breaths willing himself not to get sick. The quietness around him seemed to lull him into a dreamless slumber as he let himself go and slept dreamless for the first time in a very long time. He had been drugged heavily when he was locked away in a mental institution but it wasn't the sleep that allowed his body the much needed rest it needed. The drugs only made broken memories worse and made him more confused.

spn

Missouri listened for any sounds from the spare room as she stood in the hall for a few minutes to be sure John was going to stay down. She opened the door to her meditation room and stepped in leaving the door cracked so she could hear better. She went to her cabinet and unlocked the double doors revealing an altar. She lit several purple candles before removing glass bottles from the shelves and shaking small amounts of their contents into the brass bowl in the middle of the altar. Missouri took a thin wooden stick and stirred the contents before adding holy oil. She began to chant a protection spell as she dropped a lit match into the bowl letting it flare up for a moment before dying down and releasing a blue-grey cloud of smoke that began to spread throughout the room and on into the other rooms in the house building a barrier around the house to protect it from any evil that might try to invade. Missouri was going to have her work cut out for her if she was going to help John fight and overcome his demons. She wasn't going to let him near his boys in his present condition. She began to meditate, calling upon those that were her guardians and her ancestors and Hoodoo princesses of the past for their help.

"I call upon the powers of my ancestors

Grant me the knowledge and courage

To protect the one in my care.

Allow me show him the way

To what he seeks

To be whole

To heal.

Amen"

The evil she sensed around John was one that she had never felt before and this scared her. Her powers were strong but she wanted insurance in case she needed extra strength. Missouri stayed in her meditation room for over an hour communing with the spirits and enforcing her powers. With a final offering, she blew out the candles and cleaned the brass bowl before closing the doors and locking them. She brushed her hands off and headed for the kitchen to start some stew for their dinner. From the looks of John, it didn't look like he had been eating very well lately and she knew he was going to need to build his strength if he was going to fight through this and win. Once she got the stew on simmering, she was going to contact the elders for advice on the being with no name and how to deal with it. There were some tomes she needed to read to see if there was any information in them too. Missouri knew her work was cut out for her but she was always up for a challenge. Those two boys deserved to have their father back and she was going to try and make that happen. She was not sure how they would feel learning their father was alive, but something was telling her that they needed to be together. John had an important part to play but she wasn't sure exactly what that was yet. There were things even she couldn't see and could only go with what she did know.

spn

Missouri went out her back door to the small building beside her house. She opened the door and went in flipping a light switch by the door. Herbs were hung on clothes lines around the room to dry and more was lying on her workbench waiting to be ground up and stored for use when needed. Missouri prepared most of the ingredients she used in her spells, except for the hard to find ones that she had to buy from her contacts in Louisiana. She began to look through the row of bottles on the shelves being sure she had plenty of the herbs needed for her spells. Once she had done that, she began to mix together a blend of tea that would help her help John. It would calm him and his mind and allow him to be open to her. Missouri hummed softly to herself as she mixed the herbs and placing them in a glass jar. Once she done, she turned and busied herself with checking on her food supplies and making a list of things needed so she could go to the store to stock up. Missouri wanted to be prepared for a couple of weeks at least, but she knew this was probably going to take longer if John was going to survive the trials ahead of him.