And I kept my word. Hopefully next chapter will be post tomorrow, but i'm getting there. =) Enjoy!
Tracy stood in the center of a dark basement, gagged and arms tied up to a beam. Muffling through the cloth that covered her mouth. While Don, spoke the incantations of an old piece of paper. Emphasizing every Latin word for the powerful spell to work. Once Don finished, he reached for the knife and held it over his head. Scream out the last of the spell into the air, ignoring Tracy's screams. Before he can deliver the final blow, he was shot three times in the back, by Dean Winchester. Don was dead, before he hit the ground.
When it was clear, Max ran passed Dean and over to Tracy. Pulling her knife out of its holder and sliced through the rope that bound Tracy. "Are you okay," Max asked as she pulled the gag off of Tracy's mouth.
Tracy clung to Max's shoulder and held her hand. "Oh my God, Thank you! That son of a Bitch was going to kill me! I mean did you see him? Did you hear him" Tracy looked down at Max and gave her a devilish smile. Max saw the evil on her face and immediately tried to pull her hand away but Tracy wasn't going to let go. "Did you hear how sloppy his incantation was?"
"Dad!" Max tried to pull away from Tracy again but she quickly wrapped her arm around Max's neck and tightened. She snatched Max's blade and held it to her neck, signaling Dean and Sam not to try anything, slowly lowering their guns.
"My brother was always a dim one." Tracy played with Max's hair and looked down at her dead brother. "He was going to make me the final sacrifice, his idea. Stop fighting, girl!"
Max ignored Tracy and used all her strength to move the blade from her neck. She finally moved it far enough to get some room to safely elbow Tracy in the side without the blade cutting her. Max got ahold of her knife again and attempted to kill Tracy. Before Max could get close, Tracy threw up her arm and spoke incantations, sending Max along with Dean and Sam flying backwards. Dean and Sam hit the ground before Max. When she landed, Max smacked her head on Dean's knee, knocking her out.
"Max," Dean shouted as he and Sam writhed in pain. Through his pain, Dean managed to grab Max's arm and pulled her towards him.
Tracy groaned, fixing her hair and clothes looking down towards the Winchesters. "Stupid girl. Where was I? Oh, the spell is a two man job, obviously. For six hundred years, I had to deal with that pompous son of a bitch. It was unbearable." Tracy grabbed a knife and chalice of the table behind her and walked over to Don's body. "The entire time, I wanted to rip off his face." She knelt down and stuck the blade into one of Don's bullet wounds, and let the blood flow into the chalice. While she did that, she looked over to Max and smiled. "That's a cute girl you got there. Hard to believe she's yours. You two really fucked up her childhood," Tracy said to Dean as he clung to his daughter.
Dean glared up at Tracy, silently swearing to skin Tracy alive and making her suffer for hurting Max. The two Winchester watched as Tracy went back to the table and started speaking the rest of the incantations. Sam, clutching to his stomach in pain, crawls to Don's body. With blood in his hands, he smeared some on Max's face. "What are you doing," Dean angrily whispered.
Sam smeared some blood on Dean's and his own face as well. "Just follow Max's lead." Dean didn't understand at first, but when he saw Sam play dead, he did the same. Ignoring the pain, and hoping that Max stayed unconscious long enough.
Tracy finished up the spell, the ground cracked opened and black smoke rose, entering Don's body. It was now overtaken by Samhain. His eyes opened, it was entirely white and the pupil stayed black. The Winchesters failed, the seal is broken and Samhain is now free. Sam and Dean were now free of Tracy's spell and they continued to play dead. Samhain walked over to Tracy, towards her smile and he kissed her.
"My love," Tracy whispered. Looking into his white eyes.
Samhain caressed her face, looking at her more closely. "You've aged."
Saddened, failed at hiding her age. The truth hurt. "This face…I can't fool you."
"You're beauty is beyond time," Samhain assured her. Tracy smiled as their heads rested on each other. At least, until Samhain snapped her neck and letting her fall to the ground, dead. The beautiful but creepy reunion was over. "Whore." Samhain moved away from Tracy's body and smelled the air. His eye's turned to the Winchesters, lying on the ground. Slowly making his way over to them, looking at them with blurred vision. Once he saw their eyes were closed, bloody smeared on their faces, he thought them dead. He continued walking, towards the door, leaving the house behind him. Samhain was finally free and ready to raise Hell.
Once they heard the door close, Sam and Dean opened there eyes, making sure that it was clear. But they weren't taking the chance, they were still going to whisper.
"What the hell was that," Dean gestured to his face. He sat up and pulled Max into his lap. He used his flannel to wipe the blood off of Max's face first.
Sam sat up and started doing the same to his own face. "Halloween lore. People used to wear masked to hide from him. So, I gave it a shot."
Dean stopped and looked up at Sam in disbelief. "You gave it a shot?" Sam nodded with confidence. "What if it didn't work?"
Sam shrugged, "I honestly…don't know."
"Jesus Christ," Dean sighed. "Max. Max, wake up. Max," he said quietly, gently shaking Max's body. Her eyes fluttered a bit, slowly waking up. She moved her eyes all over the room before resting on Dean's bloody face. She began to panic. "Hey, hey. It's not mine. It's dead man's blood," Dean explained to her. He saw that she was confused. "We'll explain in the car."
"My head hurts," Max said quietly. Slowly getting up with the help of her father. Suddenly she was lifted up and placed on Sam's back. She wrapped her arms around his neck while Sam held her, making her feel like a little girl again. "I'm not a kid anymore," Max protested.
"Well it's faster and we need to get moving. Samhain is free," Dean said, opening the door for Sam and Max to go first.
Max was quiet until they reached the car. Sam carefully knelt down and waited for her to get off his back and into the car. Reminding him what they used to do until she was almost eleven years old. When they were trying to get somewhere as quickly as they could, Max would be getting a piggy back ride from her dad or her uncle. It was mainly Sam who was doing it, because he was taller and stronger when it came to climbing. He didn't mind though. Max stopped doing that when she thought she was too old for that. She started to run faster than them and climbing was no challenge. Dean just never let her try on her own, he was too worried Max would lose her grip and fall.
Dean started the car and they were off, looking for Samhain. Dean wiped the blood off his face as they drove, constantly looking back at Max. Making sure she was alright, he was always asking if she was. All he got was a nod yes, and not a straight answer. "What's wrong," he finally asked.
Max let a tear fall from her eyes, quickly wiping it away. "Dad, did we fail?"
Did we fail? He knew Max hated failure. The very word scared her. She always wanted to prove her best to everyone. And when she would fail and she knew it, it always broke her. "Yeah," Dean answered her. Max looked out the window again and watched as they drove passed the trick or treating kid. "So, where the hell are we gonna find this mook," Dean asked Sam.
"Where would you go to raise other dark forces of the night," Sam asked.
"The cemetery," answered the father and daughter. Sam smiled that their synchronized answer.
The town only had one cemetery, and they knew where that was. Dean drove on as Max got her weapons bag ready, guns loaded and blade ready to go. Every now and then she would stop and rub the back of her head, where she hit Dean's knee. Max asked why her head hurt, and the two explained what had happen. When told about Sam's "hunch", Max threw one of her markers at Sam's head and gave him a look of disbelief. "Really, Sammy? What if it didn't work? What then?"
"That's what I asked!" Dean said, proud that he wasn't the only one angry about Sam's "hunch." They pulled up to the cemetery and started to get ready for the battle.
Sam loaded his gun. Thinking over what could work to take down Samhain, until an idea popped into his head. "So, this demon's pretty powerful," he said casually.
"Yeah," Dean loaded his shot gun and Max pack made sure her bag was ready.
"It might take more than the usual weapons to bring him down." Sam looked towards his brother and his niece. They both got the same idea and began to protest.
"Sam, no, you're not using your psychic whatever is it," Dean declared.
"Why?"
Max reached over the seat and grabbed Ruby's blade from Dean and held it out to Sam. "Don't even think about it, Sammy. Ruby's blade is good enough."
"The angels said so for one," Dean listed off. Sam started to protest, but Dean cut him off. "And you said it yourself, it's like playing with fire."
"Please, Sammy? You promised you wouldn't use them again," He looked over to his niece holding the blade out to him, hopeful that he would take it. Sam looked at the two. He wanted to say more, but it was two against one. He would lose, instead he took the knife and said nothing.
The three got out of the Impala and entered the cemetery. Sam lead the way, Max was behind him and Dean was behind her. Max had her sawed off gun loaded and ready to shot at whatever dead thing moved. The sawed off was made by Dean and given to Max for her twelfth birthday. Her first gun that was forever hers.
"Max," Dean whispered up to her. Max turned around and started walking backwards carefully, scoping out the back of them. "Are you gonna be alright for this?"
"You said it yourself yesterday. You needed me for this. I'm not backing down just because I hit my head," Max answered confidently. Making her father proud of her answered, Max turned back around and faced the front again.
"That's my girl."
They continued cutting through the cemetery until the heard screaming a little away to the left of them. The three ran towards the screaming. Max went ahead of them and beat them to the mausoleum, where there were trapped teenagers. Dean and Sam made it to her and saw the walls shaking around, and zombies broke through.
"You two help them," Sam commanded as he ran ahead.
"Sammy, don't go alone," Max shouted, she wanted to run towards him but he shouted back to her. Dean and Max watched Sam get further away from them for a second before they turned their attention to the teens. "Get back," Max shouted as Dean aimed for the lock on the cage.
Once it was open, Max and Dean told commanded them to get out of there and to get as far away as they can. Max was the first to shoot a zombie down. She reloaded her gun, and watched more zombies crawl from their crypt. She and Dean got ready and aimed at the zombies.
"Bring it on, Stinky," Dean said as he went in first. Max followed after, firing her gun over and over again until she was out. The same with Dean.
They watched after each other, bantering as they fought, like the old days. In a way, it made them fight better. Like how families work better when they do a certain thing, that's what helped them. Once they were out of ammo, they fought with their blades and iron rods. Slicing through zombie flesh, Max swearing to never like Halloween again, Dean laughing at her fake promise. Yup, one happy father and daughter. Until Dean was slammed to a wall by a ghost. Max ran over with her iron rod, swinging at the ghost.
"You almost hit me!" Dean shouted while he stood back up.
"A thank you would be awesome! I did just save your ass again!" Max shouted as she swung at a different ghost that appeared behind her.
Dean reached over to his bag and pulled out a light and gas canister. "Get out of here!"
"Why?"
"Because I'm going to torch the place," Dean said. Max ran over to him, grabbing his bag and her before running out of the mausoleum.
Dean splashed gas all over the walls and in the crypts. Once he thought that was enough, he back out of the slaughter house and threw his entire box of matches onto the gas. Max stood back and watched the place catch fire. Dean went up to her and grabbed his back. He had a few extra rounds left and he split them between him and Max.
"Ready?" Dean asked. Max nodded up to him and they both ran in the same direction Sam did. Pointing their guns in every room they passed. Max stayed at the same speed as Dean, never going ahead of him like she always does.
They ran until they reached the very end of the hall. Making it just in time to see Sam use his psychic powers to take down Samhain. It was the first time in while they saw Sam use his powers. Not since their big fight. Max and Dean watched as Sam exorcised the demon, sending him back to Hell. They could tell he was exhausted, nearly falling to the ground when he finished.
Max starred at her uncle, remember when he swore he wouldn't use his powers again. He swore he would stop for her. That promise was now broken. "Sammy," Max said quietly. But Sam heard her and he turned around. He caught Max's and Dean's gaze, and he couldn't look at them straight in the eyes. He couldn't look at their sad faces, especially his niece's. He broke the promise he made for her.
It was a quiet drive back to the hotel, the brothers didn't speak to each other, and Max was asleep in the back. It was a long day for the three, they stopped Hell from rising. Killed a witch and a very powerful demon. Just an average job taken to the extreme. Dean carried Max to his bed, lying her down gently. Slowly taking off her shoes and pulling a blanket over her. Max was in a deep sleep. Nothing was going to wake her up, unless it was the sun shining directly in her face. Dean laid on the couch that was Max's bed. Sleep didn't come easy for him or Sam that night.
When Dean awoke, Max was already packed and gone. Sam had just woke up himself and wondered where his niece has gone as well. Dean found a note on the table under his keys, saying she went to the park that was just down the road. He started to pack as well. Sam went and took a quick shower. When he finished up, Dean was gone as well, not saying a word. Leaving him on his own.
Max walked around the park, looking for a tree to sit under, or to sit in. She watched the little kids run around and play, not knowing what the Winchesters did the night before. Nor will they ever know. They saved the town form being blown up, just for one witch. When Max found the perfect one, she quickly made her way to it only to find Castiel waiting for her. She tried to ignore him and started to climb her tree.
"Hello, Maxine."
"Cas_"
"Sorry…Max," Castiel quickly corrected himself. He caught Max's glare and quickly looked away. "You still seem angry."
"I have the right to be. You were going to destroy this town and everyone in it," Max said, she made it to the lowest branch and sat on it. So she and Castiel could talk.
Castiel looked up and caught her gaze again. "We were never going to do that."
"Really? Then why did you say those were your orders then? And that it is Just? Dad was right, you angels are jerks."
"Our true orders were to follow your father's commands, and not to stop Samhain from rising. It was a test, to see how he would perform under battlefield conditions."
"But, we still failed," Max said quietly, looking down at the ground. Failed, Max's most hated word. It burned her tongue as it came out of her mouth.
"I don't know whether if you passed or failed. I don't know what is wrong and right anymore, I have my doubts, and in the coming month, your father is going to have more hard decisions to make."
"Like what?"
"In time." Max and Castiel looked up at the sound of the Impala rolling in, coming to a stop. Dean saw then, but didn't walk towards them. He sat down on a bench closest to the car, went into deep thought. "I should go speak with him."
Max watched Castiel walk away from the tree. But he didn't get far before Max stopped him. "Cas, I have a question," Max said quietly. She looked up from her dangling feet and into Castiel's eyes. He patiently waited for her question. "My mom. Is she in Heaven?" Max didn't know what to expect for an answer, but she was ready for the heartbreak if she wasn't.
Castiel stood in place, deciding whether or not to tell her the truth. He considered lying, but he knew Max would find out anyway. He knew she was a smart girl. "No. I'm sorry." He saw Max's eyes water up, she dropped her head and she fought back her tears. Max gave Castiel a nod and mouthed okay to him. He watched as Max climbed up higher, disappearing in the autumn leaves.
Max watched from her tree, watching Dean and Castiel talk for a few minutes before disappearing again. Her mother wasn't in Heaven, there was only one place she could have gone then. She wondered, if her road let to Hell as well. Max sat in her tree for a bit longer before climbing back down. Slowly making her way towards her father, stopping for the little kids who ran in her path. Smiling at how carefree they were. Like she used to be, before she met her father for the first time.
"I was wondering if I need to cut tree down to get you out," Dean said to her.
"And pay for a hundred dollar fine?"
"Nah, I would've left you up there, and watch you live like a monkey," Dean insulted.
Max gave him a sarcastic laugh. "Hilarious, you're funny."
"I try." Dean and Max sat quietly for a bit. Enjoying the morning autumn breeze and sun on their face. "Why are you here anyways?"
"You said you wanted to talk, and I promised that we would." Dean thought back to yesterday, slowly nodding. That was a signal for Max to speak. But she didn't know where to start.
"I got sick. Hospitalized for a couple days. From the stress, dehydration, and I basically had no will to live. For the first few weeks, I didn't eat much. Just water and granola bars were what I survived on when Sammy left me at your grave. After a couple days there, I hitchhiked to Bobby's. I made it, but on the way there, I ran into trouble. A demon showed up, trying to kill me. Saying horrible things about you and Sammy. How you hated me, and only made that deal to get away from me. I didn't believe him, but it made me feel worse. For a couple days, that's what I believed and it played over and over in my head. He left a hand print on my neck for a week. But, Bobby took care of me, helped me. But, I never fully recovered. And seeing you, after four hellish months for me, I hated you for a minute. Thinking it was all a joke, because no one escapes Hell. I can't imagine what you went through. But you don't remember so that's good, I guess."
Dean waited for more, but she said all that she needed too. He reached over and pulled his daughter closer to him, hugging Max for the longest time. "I didn't know it was that hard on you. A kid like you shouldn't go through that," Dean whispered, fighting back his tears.
"It's okay. I'm a Winchester, I'm strong, just like you, Sammy and Grandpa," Max cried quietly. Max is a Winchester, and she was proud of her name. And she is the daughter of the best hunter, and she would grow up to be the best as well. Saving people, hunting thing and of course, saving her father and uncle when they were in trouble. But, it's on to the next job and the next, until the road ends for Max Marilynn Winchester.