[Note: Supernatural is not real which is a good think b/c Sam marrying Ruby would be kind of freaky (Jared and Genevieve tied the not).]
-----Chapter 11----
"So you pissed Death off," Dean said. "But he'll leave the town if you stay alive till morning."
"Um…I don't know that he was pissed. He seemed creepily amused by the whole thing," Astrid said. "That entire conversation was whole buckets of crazy." Her expression spoke volumes about how weirded out by the whole thing she had been. "He kept calling me poppet," Astrid said softly to herself. The only person who would know the significance of that word was Ella, and she wasn't going to say anything. Ella put a comforting hand on her friend's uninjured arm.
"I think you are whole buckets of crazy, girl," Bobby said. "You told Death he sucked at his job and that he was fond of his own voice. I don't know whether to laugh or lock you up somewhere."
"I vote laugh," Astrid said with a tired crooked grin. "But to be honest I don't trust Death. He's off his bloody rocker, but he never answered my question about the reapers and zombies. He might actually leave, but I don't think the zombies will go away."
Sam nodded, "I was thinking the same thing. Bobby, this ritual, will it just protect this building from reapers, these people, or will it reach farther?"
"Good question. From what I read in the book you brought back from the house, this particular ritual was used to temporarily prevent reapers from taking certain lives. Ancient Egyptians used it before they went into to battle to ensure that their warriors would fight long after they had been fatally wounded. They aren't zombies, because they haven't actually died."
"This sounds like what happened in Greybull, Wyoming except there are no demons," Dean said.
"What happened in Wyoming?" Ella asked.
"Demons kidnapped the town's reapers in order to break one of the seals on Lucifer. Everyone who was supposed to die stayed alive. When we stopped the demons, everybody died like they were suppose to," Sam explained, an expression of sadness crossing his face. Ella's empathy allowed her to catch the emotions of the three men- a deep sense of loss, failure, regret and a hint of anger from Dean.
Astrid scooted her chair closer to Ella's and laid her head on her shoulder the last couple days taking their toll on her. "Sucks. Guess there are really only two constants in life- Death and Taxes. OooooOOO! There should be a Horseman of Taxes, because that would be really freaky. He'd be like the IRS' BFF. Beware, for I will come and get your back taxes. Muhaha!" Everyone gave Astrid a funny look.
"Ignore her. She gets really loopy when she's exhausted." Ella said. Astrid didn't have the energy to contradict her. "So what we are saying is that if we do this ritual anybody who is supposed to die will stay alive for an unspecified amount of time and then poof die when the ritual wears off. Am I getting all this straight?"
"Yes." Bobby said.
Sheriff Mills looked at everyone. "Do we have any other options?"
"Cas can stay here, but we still don't know why the reapers are avoiding him and there are ways to force him to leave. We've got to figure out how to get rid of all the zombies. The dead should stay dead," Dean said a slightly haunted expression in his eyes. Ella felt a whole flood of emotions from him as he said that. She was getting all kinds of odd emotions from the men in the room. She was forced to focus hard to keep all those emotions out of her.
"So this ritual is the best bet we have to keep everyone safe until we figure out how to deal with the Horseman of Death and the zombies?" the sheriff asked. She watched as the hunters nodded their heads. "Then I don't see what we're waiting for."
Astrid was dozing on Ella's shoulder but she muttered softly, "What we need is a reaper on our side? One who would do their job instead playing bitch to the Horseman."
"Trid…don't make me find a cuss jar," Ella said.
Astrid lifted her head. "You just want my money."
"Tessa," Sam and Dean said at the same time.
"Tessa?" came from a variety of directions.
"She was the reaper who came to Wyoming determined to get the town on track, but she wasn't interested in having a part in the demon-angel showdown," Sam said.
"Cas, could you find Tessa?"
"Yes, I could find the reaper," the angel said. "However, I can not force her to cooperate."
"So do the ritual. Cas finds Tessa. She reaps the zombies. The day is saved," Bobby said. "That still leaves Death."
"We'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it."
-
The brothers and Bobby performed the ritual. They lit some candles and chanted some words.
"So is that it?" Astrid said when they were finished. "I still feel like crap."
"You could use a shower," Dean said.
"Does that line work for you?" Astrid said as she gave him an ugly look.
"I am a real charmer," Dean said. His cocky grin on his face.
"God, give me strength," Astrid muttered as she glared at him.
"I will go and find the reaper," Castiel said as he was about to leave.
"WAIT!" Astrid said as she had this overwhelming feeling that she had a message to give the reaper. "Tell Tessa that sometimes we have to make miracles."
Castiel nodded and vanished. Dean gave Astrid a funny look. "Tessa told me once that there was no such thing as miracles."
"Miracles don't have to be flashes of lightening and rolls of thunder. Sometimes they are just those odd moments that we call coincidences. Like me stopping right by that building you were in. Or stumbling on that pick-up truck. Or driving across the country just to show up here when all this happens. Miracles are being in the right place at the right time."
Everyone had joined them by the time she finished. "You think being here is a miracle with zombies running around and getting a broken arm?" Sam asked.
"She would of come even if she had known that there would be zombies and Death and broken bones," Ella said. "That's just who she is."
"You make the girl sound like a saint," Bobby said.
"Nope, not a saint just a sinner saved by grace," Astrid said. "A very, very tired sinner."
Sheriff Mills said, "Well, since we are done with the ritual I'll tell everyone else they can come back in here." She moved towards the back of the building.
Bobby said, "You all get some rest. I'll wake you up if anything happens."
Astrid said, "Sleep!", stood on her feet a little wobbly, and leaned down to give Bobby a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You are my favorite person." She let him go with a smile. Astrid weaved drunkenly a minute as she straightened.
"No love for me?" Dean asked.
"I don't kiss ass," Astrid said and stuck out her tongue.
Sam laughed.
As the two bantered, Bobby rubbed his head self-consciously. Ella smiled at him as his emotions trickled over her and said softly, "She has that effect on people. Be careful or she will adopt you." With that Ella wrapped her arm around her friend and lead her into the small office where she found some blankets and convinced her to crash on the floor.
[A/N: The search for Tessa in the next chapter.]
