Chapter 14: Determination

There was silence as Leah, Sam, and Dean stepped into the empty motel room. For once, there was room for all three of them. The only problem was that there were only two beds.

"I call the couch, Dean said resentfully, shutting the door behind him.

"No, I do," Leah replied, stepping over to the tiny couch on the other side of the wall. Dean started to protest.

"Don't baby me Dean," Leah said sharply, dropping her things onto the couch, "you boys are taking the beds. End of discussion." She nodded toward the other room.

"You sure you don't wanna share?" Dean said lightly, in a teasing manner, throwing on an almost-innocent grin. Leah narrowed her eyes and then pulled open her jacket. In her front pocket she revealed a knife.

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking up at him. Dean's grin faded and he stared at her a second. He mumbled something, turning away.

"C'mon you two," Sam said, rolling his eyes. He tugged on Dean toward the other room. Dean followed wordlessly. Leah quietly sat down on the couch, examining the peculiarly- decorated room. All motel rooms seemed to be decorated wildly. This one was all blue and green stars. Leah leaned back silently, uneasily. How she longed to be out, chasing demons, Zepheron in particular, or just killing something in general. Heck, right now she would not even mind the company of an angel. Her thoughts shifted to Castiel. It had only been the morning before that he visited Leah in her motel room. She had gone 36 hours without really reveling on the discussion they had— since Leah and Dean's argument, they had driven almost non-stop through Nebraska and a lot of Missouri. They did not even have a destination; they just kept driving. They were turning south now, just randomly driving through cities. Usually they would stop to find a job or something, but Dean seemed set on driving and only driving. It got quiet again, and Leah listened to the stillness. It was kind of weird, now thinking that it was not only demons and monsters that walked the earth. Yeah. She had been a believer in God for… well, ever since she was a child. When her parents taught Peter and her the ways of hunting, they included God, letting them know that it was not only evil in the world. So this set of beliefs kind of stuck with Leah. But for some reason knowing, now actually having physical proof, that evil did not just exist alone, and that there was a counterpart to it all, well it was slightly overwhelming. And peculiar. Leah sighed again. It was even comforting. Especially having an angel helping them. But the angel's were not all what Leah expected. Maybe she was expecting more… glory and loving kindness. But, if Castiel's the best that heaven's got, then it really was not all that bad.

Leah's thoughts where suddenly interrupted with Dean poking his head out from his and Sam's room not to far from the couch.

"G'night Leah," he said.

"Night Dean. Night Sam," Leah replied.

"Night Leah," Sam said back from inside the room. Leah quickly snapped off the motel room light, and then second following, Dean and Sam's light shut off as well. Leah sighed in the darkness, her eyes adjusting to the small amount of dim moonlight sifting in through the dark curtains. At last she laid he head down, peacefully closing her eyes to try and get some sleep.

Leah slowly opened her eyes. The moonlight reflected off every reflective surface, creating a dim glow throughout the room. Leah lifted her arm to glance at her watch. 3:17 a.m. Leah rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh. She sat up, stretching only slightly. As she stretched, she felt her phone in her pocket. And it vibrated. Frowning curiously, she pulled out her phone. She snorted quietly in a laugh— it w\said it was a text. It said "unknown number" as well, but Leah opened it anyway.

Knoxville, Missouri

Leah frowned. Quickly she replied back:

Excuse me?

She waited. Sure enough, they replied a few moments later.

You know who it is.

Leah suddenly went cold. She looked up, the transition from the light of the screen of her phone to the dimness of the room pained her eyes. She glanced toward Dean and Sam's room. She looked down when her phone buzzed again.

Abandoned apartment complex. You can't ignore, unless you don't care about what happens to Peter.

Leah sat there for a long time. If this really was Zepheron, should she really listen? Suddenly the thought of her dream recently filled her mind. What if he really had Peter? She snapped her phone shut, standing. Why not? She thought. Quietly Leah walked over to the other room. She cautiously poked her head inside the room. Dean and Sam were asleep silently in their beds. Leah walked back to the couch, picking up her bag. She glanced back at the room once more, and then very silently she opened the door to the motel.

Outside, Leah rushed through the parking lot. She found a good car, gently opened the driver's door, climbed in, and stealthily started the engine. In a flash, Leah was out of the parking lot, glancing back only a second at the motel she was leaving behind.

"This is stupid…" Leah mumbled, turning north toward Knoxville.

Dean slowly opened his eyes. The motel was still dark. He sighed with frustration at the fact that he was awake. Reaching over to the bed stand, he grabbed his cell phone, flipping it open. 3:35 a.m. Dean closed his eyes. Why the heck was he awake at 3:30 in the morning? Thinking about Leah suddenly, he slid out of the bed, placing his phone in his pocket. Quietly, he slipped out of the room, careful not to make any noise that would wake his brother. When he walked into the other room, it was even darker. But in the dimness, he could see the fait outline of the couch against the wall. He stood there quietly a moment, waiting for his eyes to adjust. When he noticed a dark shape on the couch, he at last smiled with satisfaction. Then he crossed over to the window silently and carefully. After glancing at his precious Impala, he stopped. There was a car missing in the parking lot. Could the owner have left? Yeah. But the likelihood of them leaving in the middle of the night, seemingly undetected? Dean turned back to the darkened room behind him. Something was wrong. As he listened intently, he realized that he could not hear another person breathing when he should have. Suddenly, almost panicked, he dashed over to the couch, and reached out. And he grabbed an empty blanket. Dean cursed loudly. Swiftly he flipped on the light, and headed for the bedroom.

"Sammy get up— Leah's gone," Dean growled.

"W-what…?" Sam mumbled sleepily.

"Leah's gone!" Dean repeated fiercely. Sam's eyes widened.

"What?!" he gasped, jumping up.

"She's not here," Dean said, looking around. Sam looked around.

"Where would she go?" he asked in general, mainly to himself. Dean pulled out his phone again. He scrolled through the list of names in his contact list until Leah's name came up. He pushed call and put the phone to his ear. Sam watched him quietly, trying not to seem panicked. Dean waited as the phone rang continuously.

Back in the stolen car, Leah flinched as she felt her phone buzz suddenly in her pocket. She pulled it out. A fresh wave of guilt overtook her as Dean's name came up, but before Leah could push the talk button, she forced herself to put the phone away.

"She's not answering," Dean said angrily, pulling the phone away from his ear.

"What'd we do?" Sam asked.

"I don't know…" Dean mumbled, "We don't even know where she is, let alone where she's going."

"Where is Leah?" a voice suddenly spoke out of the air. Dean and Sam swiveled on the spot. Castiel stared at them expectantly.

"We don't know," Dean said, "she just took off." Castiel frowned.

"Foolish," he muttered. Dean gave him a questioning look.

"Zepheron is in the area," Castiel added quietly.

"You think she's gone after him?" Sam asked.

"It is possible."

"Well then find her!" Dean cried in frustration. Castiel looked at him.

"It is difficult to find a human in the vicinity of a very dangerous demon," he said firmly, "but I will try."

"Good— so snap to it—" Dean started, but suddenly Castiel was gone.

Leah pulled up to the empty apartment complex stealthily. Knoxville was a tine town, not to far from where Leah, Dean, and Sam here staying. Leah tried to suppress her anxiety— and fear. She needed to know if Zepheron had Peter. But if he did… how could she face him? And the thought of facing an extremely powerful demon— one of whom an angel would not dare face alone— was extraordinarily unnerving. But Leah climbed out of the car, gripping her gun tightly. It seemed like she face something like this all the time. Well, not exactly an evil, life-threatening, apart-of-the-Apocalypse demon anyway. Just the standing-in-front-of-an-abandoned-building-clutching-your-gun-tightly kind of stuff. Leah laughed lightly at herself. Humor seemed to be the best remedy at times like this. Rolling her shoulders around and shivering against the cold, Leah confidently stepped up to the building.

When inside, it totally reminder her of Fort Robinson— an abandoned hunter's shack. More satanic symbols covered the walls, though there was no ruined devil's trap on the ceiling. And there was an extremely strong smell of sulfur lingering in the musty air. Also, it seemed to be freezing. Which was strange, considering if Zepheron was really here, wouldn't it be burning up since fire seems to follow him around like a pack dog? Leah ignored this, and continued on, gripping her gun tighter than ever. After a few moments of waling around, her gun seemed to be getting heavier and heavier, and once she began calculating the actual need of the gun, it seemed pointless to have it. I mean really, Leah thought, what is a gungoing to do against a fricken demon?Suddenly Leah's thought were interrupted by a soft creaking sound— like someone stepping on the floor. Leah could feel her heart almost freezing. In a swift movement Leah turned toward the door where the noise came from. Suddenly it slammed shut loudly, and Leah gulped. Quietly, she edged toward the door. There was a part of her, way deep down, that wanted to leave. Drop the whole thing— Peter, Dean, Sam, Castiel. Leah felt a pang of something. Close to guilt, but more, when she though about him. If she ran off, either Castiel or Zepheron would fin Leah, no matter where she went. Though, she would pick an angel over a demon any day. Leah shook her head solemnly. She could not give up. Not now. Maybe… somehow, she could kill Zepheron now. How pleased the angels, how please Castiel would be, if Leah stopped a seal from being broken. All she had to do was kill a demon. A very powerful, very dangerous, demon. Leah gripped her gun, and then slowly backed away from the door. Suddenly there was a soft sigh from behind Leah.

"You actually came…" A voice said. A familiar voice. Leah swiveled on the spot. He eyes widening.

"Hello Leah; it's so nice to finally meet you."

Leah felt as though she was lowly suffocating. Her gun fell to the floor, and the cold darkness seeped into her bones. But not from the weather. It was from who stood there before her, smiling an unrecognizable smile. It was Peter. Except it wasn't Peter.

"You didpossess him…" Leah whispered. Zepheron looked down at his host's body.

"Yeah," he said casually, "good thing too. He was going to start rotting if I didn't." Leah felt as if she was stabbed with a frozen knife.

"He's really d-dead?" she stammered.

"Probably by now," Zepheron replied, "but if it makes you feel better, he was alive when I made him my meat sack." That did not comfort Leah.

"You m— Leah started, but Zepheron held up his hands in defense.

"Please; don't call me a monster. I got enough of that from your brother," he said. He flashed a quick grin at Leah.

"Now— why don't we finally discuss why we're here?" he said coolly.

"You have my brother," Leah said, "isn't that the thing I wanted?" Zepheron shrugged.

"That's one of the things," he said shortly. Leah frowned.

"There's nothing else I want," she said.

"Oh, but there is," Zepheron continued, "the truth is, what you really want, is what I really want." Leah felt sick suddenly. That did not seem right.

"You got the amulet don't you?" Zepheron questioned suddenly Leah slowly nodded. Zepheron held out her hand. Leah stared at it.

"Why do you want it?" she asked.

"I don't really— I need it though," Zepheron replied. Leah did not move.

"So why didn't you go get it?" she asked. Zepheron frowned.

"My God woman, you don't know?" he said, retracting his hand.

"Know what?" Leah asked, confused. Zepheron laughed— a deep menacing laugh. Nothing like Peter's.

"You've never been told," he said, grinning. Before Leah could ask again, he beckoned her.
"Let me show you," he said softly, alluringly. Leah did not move. Zepheron rolled his eyes, then snapped his fingers. Suddenly Leah was slung forward and before she knew it she was in front of Zepheron, the amulet now in her hand.

"I can't touch it," he said, "else it could kill me," he whispered. Leah started to format a plan, but suddenly Zepheron grabbed her hand. He took a deep breath, as is savoring the moment. Leah could have hurled.

"But with the proper atonement," Zepheron continued, and he pulled out a knife., "I can." In a swift movement, he brought the knife to her hand, slicing her palm. Leah let out a yelp as searing pain overtook her hand, and Zepheron gripped her tighter. When the blood made contact with the amulet, it began glowing red— burning in her sliced palm. Leah began to pull away because of the burning, but Zepheron reached up and pressed his palm against Leah's, pressing the burning amulet into her skin. She let out a cry as it branded her pal. At last Zepheron let go, pulling away. He gripped the amulet, looking at it.

"You are the one…" he whispered, "You have to be…"

"What?!" Leah gasped, gripping her hand tightly. Zepheron looked up at her, excitement in the big blue eyes of her brother.

"You're the one. I've known since the beginning," he said

"The one? For what?" Leah asked, backing away,. Zepheron sighed.

"You're going to help me—" he started, but his words were cut off.

"No," he said, his face growing fierce. Leah felt a hand grip her shoulder tightly. She turned, but before she could do anything, she felt a hand come up to her forehead, and suddenly there was a pulling sensation in the pit of her stomach and the abandoned apartment complex disappeared before her eyes.