When night has become the day
They're sending you far away
So, so far away
When everything starts to fade
You don't have to be afraid
No, you don't have to be afraidTake my hand and reload
This is free love
That's what we are made of
Yes we are-are-are
Reload
This is real love
That's what we are made of
Yes we are
DEVIL'S TRAP
We'd driven through the night, it was now early morning, the sun just starting to peek over the horizon. The glorious pinks and oranges that melted across the sky were lost on us, we had only one thing on our mind, and it was anything but beautiful. Dean hadn't paused the whole way, just putting more black-top behind us as we sped toward our destination. He looked tired, emotionally worn out from the night's events.
We were sitting in Bobby's living room, or what passed for it anyway. Bobby wasn't much of a housekeeper – the room was littered with books stacked on every conceivable surface, and when there wasn't room for that, they were just stacked in piles next to chairs. Papers were stuck to every wall, just like John had done in the motel, like we did: it was cluttered, busy, untidy – and it was the most comfortable I'd felt in a long time. Sam looked just as comfortable as me, perched on a chair at one of the cluttered desks, reading a large book.
Bobby picked up two round silver flasks engraved with crosses and handed one to Dean.
"Here you go," he said with a nod. Given the mess of the house, Bobby was actually quite a neat person. His beard and moustache were neatly trimmed, his clothes clean and untorn. He preferred to stick to comfortable jeans, a cotton long-sleeved t-shirt, with a plaid flannelette shirt over the top, finished off with a baseball cap. Today he had a second vest on for warmth, that was the odd thing out, it was stained from grease, obviously Bobby had been out working on one of his cars in it.
"What is this – holy water?" Dean asked, holding the flask up.
"That one is." Bobby answered before holding up his own flask. "This is whiskey." He took a swig of the whiskey before handing it to Dean who also took a drink.
"Bobby, thanks." Dean said with a nod. "Thanks for everything. To tell you the truth, I wasn't even sure we should come."
"Nonsense, your Daddy needs help." Bobby said, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Well, yeah, but last time we saw you, you did kind of threaten to blast him full of buckshot." I said from my chair where I was nursing a long overdue coffee.
"Cocked the shotgun and everything," Dean said raising his eyebrow at Bobby.
Bobby chuckled. "Yeah well, what can I say? John just has that effect on people," he answered, shaking his head.
Dean was quiet, thinking. "Yeah, I guess he does," he agreed.
"None of that matters now. All that matters is that you get him back." Bobby said looking at us, and we nodded.
Sam spoke from his spot in the room, sounding a little in awe. "Bobby, this book... I've never seen anything like it."
Bobby moved over to the desk Sam was at and sat on the corner of the desk. "Key of Solomon? It's the read deal, all right." Bobby said, looking over the book.
"And these, uh, these protective circles. They really work?" Dean and I came over to take a look.
"Hell, yeah." Bobby said looking over at me as I peered over Sam's shoulder. "You get a demon in – they're trapped. Powerless. It's like a Satanic roach motel." Sam chuckled. Dean frowned at the picture in the book that Sam was looking at.
"I've seen that before." Dean said, pointing at the symbol, he looked up at me and I looked down – I recognised it too.
"Well you should have, that's what trapped that demon bitch when she was in Beth, giving you time to save her." Bobby nodded and I felt a little sick to my stomach. I remembered what that was like, pacing the boundaries of the circle, trapped like an animal.
"Really?" Sam asked, looking up. He had been so young, he didn't really see all of that and John had cleaned it up before we'd left. I nodded in response to Sam.
"This book was your Daddy's," Bobby said to me. "He was the expert when it came to demons."
I swallowed and blinked back a tear. "Lot of good it did him..." I said quietly, they all looked at me concerned, but no one said anything. I sighed. "I hope it can help, I've already lost one father, I don't want to lose another," I bit my lip as I said that, it was sitting very close to home just how dangerous a situation we were in right now.
"Well, I'll tell you. This is some serious crap you kids stepped in." Bobby said, looking at Dean.
"Oh yeah? How's that?" Sam asked, looking up.
"Normal year, I hear of, say, three demonic possessions. Maybe four, tops." He explained and I nodded, John had said the same thing to me in the past, which is why a lot of my father's work hadn't been something we'd prioritised knowing about.
"Yeah?" Dean asked.
"This year I hear of twenty-seven so far. You get what I'm saying? More and more demons are walking among us – a lot more." Bobby said pointedly. I shuddered, my hand dropping absently to my amulet which was now a permanent fixture of my rosary.
"Do you know why?" I asked.
"No, but I know it's something big. The storm's coming, and you kids, your Daddy – you are smack in the middle of it." He'd just summed it up perfectly. Right now we might be in the calm of the storm, but it was all going to go right down the drain soon enough, all we could hope for was to get ahead of the wave and ride it out.
The guard dog outside started barking, and Bobby frowned, "Rumsfeld," he muttered to more to himself than anyone else, and going to look out the window.
As Bobby reached the window the dog stopped barking and began to whine.
"What is it?" Bobby said to himself. I followed and looked out the window with him, the chain which had previously been tethered to the dog was now hanging broken, and the dog was nowhere in sight.
I felt a lurch in my gut, and a dizzying wave hit me. I grabbed his arm, looking into his eyes with alarm. "Demon!"
The door was suddenly kicked open. It was Meg. The blonde came sauntering into the house looking comfortable and confident. Dean had stepped a little closer to me, slipping the flask of holy water out of his pocket as he moved.
"No more crap, ok?" Meg asked with a smile, cocking her head at us.
Dean advanced on Meg, unscrewing the cap on the flask as he moved, but she was quicker, hitting him and sending him flying across the room into a stack of books. I gasped as he hit, and he slumped there, not moving.
Sam stepped in front of me, arm protectively holding my shirt as he pushed me behind him, retreating further into the room. Bobby followed us, and the three of us backed away from Meg, slowly.
"I want the Colt, Sam – the real Colt – right now." Meg demanded.
"We don't have it on us. We buried it." Sam said with a smirk.
"Didn't I say 'no more crap'? I swear – after everything I heard about you Winchesters, I got to tell you, I'm a little underwhelmed. First Johnny tried to pawn off a fake gun, and then he leaves the real gun with you lot of chuckleheads." We kept moving backwards, fast running out of space to move.
Meg continued her tirade. "Lackluster. I mean, did you really think I wouldn't find you?" She asked, cocky.
Dean had risen while she talked and was now standing behind her.
"Actually..." I said with a smile.
"...we were counting on it." Dean finished for me, a fury in his eyes as he stared at her. Meg spun to look at Dean, and if looks could kill, she would surely be dead. Dean turned his eyes upwards to the ceiling drawing Meg's attention there, and the reality of her situation came crashing down. She'd just walked into the same trap my Dad had set for another demon years ago, she was caught, and fast running out of options.
"Gotcha!" Dean smirked.
An hour later we had Meg tied to a chair, the three of us were standing looking at her and Sam was fuming that she looked so comfortable and sure of herself.
"She's not..." I said with a raised eyebrow. My stomach was doing somersaults in her presence, but I was able to manage it, to think. I could almost feel her emotions, if she had any, if I concentrated enough.
Bobby entered the room with a large canister of salt.
"I salted the doors and windows. If there are any demons out there – they ain't getting in." Bobby informed us and Dean nodded at him, standing up from his perch on the desk, moving to stand in front of Meg.
"Where's our father, Meg?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"You didn't ask very nice." Meg purred at him with a smile.
"Where's our father, bitch?" Dean asked again with a slight twitch of his mouth.
"Geez! You kiss your mother with that mouth?" Meg asked, feigning shock. "Oh wait, I forgot, you don't." She smirked.
Dean lunged at her, putting his hands on the chair arms and leaning in to her, the rage that had been simmering there for the last twelve hours was coming to the surface.
"You think this is a frigging game?" He yelled in her face. "Where is he?! What did you do to him?"
Meg didn't even flinch. "He died screaming. I killed him myself."
Dean looked at her as if assessing what she had said, his eyes were filled with hate. Then without warning he backhanded her across the face, hard, causing her to cry out. I flinched just a little, but I didn't move to stop him.
Meg looked back at him, her breathing coming a little harder now as she fought back the pain. A scream sounded in my head and I winced, Sam glanced at me worried.
"That's kind of a turn on – you hitting a girl. Does she like it like that?" She said, nodding at me with a raised eyebrow.
Dean's eyes narrowed. "You're no girl," he said stonily. I stared at her, swallowing, I wasn't so sure about that.
"Dean," I said, standing up and moving into the other room. Dean looked at me and followed, Bobby and Sam joining us.
"You ok?" Sam asked Dean as he moved out of the room.
"She's lying. He's not dead." Dean said, his eyes flashing.
I looked at Bobby, then moved to rest my hand on Dean's arm.
"Dean, you have to be careful with her. Don't hurt her." I said.
Dean gaped at me, fighting off his emotions. "Why?"
"Because she really is a girl, that's why." Bobby said, saying it for me.
"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, frowning. Dean was staring at me, the horror of our situation starting to dawn on him.
"She's possessed. That's a human possessed by a demon. Can't you tell?" I asked, looking first at Sam and then Dean.
"Are you trying to say there's an innocent girl trapped somewhere in there?" Sam asked, looking uncertain.
"Yeah." Dean said, eyes never leaving mine. He licked his lips. "Yeah, that's exactly what they're saying." His eyes softened as he looked at me, remembering that day when he'd found me in the exact same situation.
Dean looked back at Meg, she was staring at all of us, fuming.
"That's actually good news." Dean said suddenly, turning to me. "You have Dad's journal?" I nodded. "Get it." I knew what he was thinking, but I wasn't sure this was such a good idea.
I had the journal open to the exorcism page, Dean gave me a look of concern. "You ready?" I nodded.
We moved over to Meg and she looked at us curious.
"Are you gonna read me a story?" She asked with a smile.
"Something like that." Dean said, nodding. "Beth..."
"Regna terrae, cantate deo, psallite domino..." I continued reading the Latin as Meg turned to look at me. I felt sick to my stomach, like I could feel the hook that was grabbing at the demon with the litany I was speaking. I fought it back, and concentrated on the words before me.
"An exorcism?" Meg said to Dean with a raised eyebrow. "Are you serious?"
"Oh we're going for it baby – head spinning, projectile vomiting, the whole nine yards." Dean said, his face deathly serious.
"...tribuite vitutem deo." I finished the first psalm. Meg flinched in pain, looking over her shoulder at me.
"I'm going to kill you." She said, breathing heavily. She looked back at Dean. "I'm going to rip the bones from your body."
"No, you're gonna burn in Hell. Unless you tell us where our Dad is." Dean's eyes were frighteningly dark, he was so full of anger. Meg smiled at him as a response, she wasn't talking.
Dean looked up at me, nodding. "Well, at least you'll get a nice tan," he with a twitch of his mouth.
I continued reading. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incuriso infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, onmis congregatio et secta diabolica..."
Meg's body started to shake, she was clearly in pain, but she refused to budge. I kept reading, walking around to stand next to Dean – I wanted to see her face. The Latin flowing easily from my lips, this language was not new to me. Meg gasped from the pain and I stopped, my concentration broken.
"He begged for his life with tears in his eyes. He begged to see his sons and precious daughter one last time. That's when I slit his throat." She said through clenched teeth, staring at us with defiant eyes.
I exchanged glances with Dean, and then started reading again. Dean leaned in to her, his face just inches from hers.
"For your sake, I hope you're lying. Because if it's true, I swear to God, I will march into Hell myself and I will slaughter each and every one of you evil sons of bitches, so help me God!" He said to her with venom dripping off every word.
"Perditionis venenum propinare. Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciae." I continued to read. A wind had started to pick up around the room, the pages of books flipping open on the desk, the exorcism was picking up momentum.
"Hostis humanae salutis. Humiliare sub potenti manu dei. Contremisce et effuge. Invocato a nobis sancto et terribile nomine. Quem inferi tremunt..." I continued, trying to ignore the obvious pain that the girl was now in.
"Where is he?" Dean asked again.
"You just won't take 'dead' for an answer, will you?" She asked, gasping from the pain.
"Where is he?!" Sam yelled at her, joining us at the edge of the devil's trap.
"Dead!" Meg yelled back at him, glaring.
"No, he's not! He's not dead! He can't be!" Dean yelled, angry and starting to lose control. Sam and I glanced at him worriedly.
"What are you looking at?" Dean asked Sam, and his brother looked taken aback. Dean turned his eyes to me, they were so dark, I'd never seen him like this. "Keep reading," he instructed me. I took a breath and looked down, too scared to argue.
"Ab insidis diaboli, libera nos, domine. Ut ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias, libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos." The chair started to slide around the circle and Meg cried out. I was wide-eyed, never having seen an exorcism this close, I didn't really remember my own that well. "Ut inimicos sanctae ecclesiae humiliare digneris, to rogamus audi..."
"He will be!" Meg cried out to Dean, who held his hand up to me.
"Wait!" He said. I paused, looking up. "What?!" Dean asked, looking at her.
"He's not dead." Meg said, gasping for breath. "But he will be after what we do to him."
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Sam asked, pacing around the edge of the circle.
"You don't," she whispered.
"Beth!" Dean yelled at me.
"A building!" Meg cried out, looking at me with anger. "Ok? A building in Jefferson City."
"Missouri?" Dean asked. "Where, where? An address!"
"I don't know," she said, her voiced breaking.
"And the demon – the one we're looking for – where is it?" Sam asked, looking down at her.
"I don't know! I swear! That's everything. That's all I know." She said, starting to shake.
"Finish it." Dean muttered, his face cold.
"What?!" Meg cried. "I told you the truth!" She said panicked.
Sam threw Dean a surprised look, she'd told us what we wanted to know.
"You son of a bitch, you promised." Meg muttered at Dean.
"I lied!" Dean yelled at her. "Beth?"
I hesitated, just for a moment, and Dean looked at me darkly. "Beth! Read." He said, I swallowed and looked down at the page, my mind spinning.
"Maybe we can still use her. Find out where the demon is," Sam said to Dean, who was shaking his head.
"She doesn't know." Dean said angrily.
"She lied." Sam said.
"Sam, there's an innocent girl trapped somewhere in there. We've got to help her." Dean said, looking over at me, I detected a slight glimmer of the Dean I knew starting to return to the surface.
"It'll kill her," I whispered, looking at the girl before me.
"What?" Dean asked, frowning.
Bobby stepped over from the window he'd been standing at, he'd been quiet this whole time. "You said she fell from a building. That girl's body is broken. The only thing keeping her alive is that demon inside," he told the boys, confirming my suspicions. "You exorcise it – that girl is going to die."
Dean looked between Bobby and me, stubbornly refusing to budge. "Listen to me, both of you, we are not gonna leave her like that."
"She is a human being." Bobby said gently.
"And we're gonna put her out of her misery." Dean said finitely, looking at me.
"Beth, finish it."
I swallowed, looking at Bobby and then at Sam, finally Dean. My hand wavered, I wasn't sure, I didn't know what to do. I stared at Meg, who was glaring daggers at me.
Dean walked over to me, putting his hands on my shoulders, seeking out my eyes. I looked into them, trying to find some glimmer of Dean, my Dean, inside of them. I let all the fear and uncertainty show in my eyes and he looked at me. Slowly, the darkness receded as he stared at me.
"Beth, listen, I know you're not sure. I don't want to do this any more than you. But, you told me what it was like to have one of those things inside of you, the darkness, the fear." I nodded, tears in my eyes. "Beth we can't leave her like that." He swallowed. "I wouldn't leave you like that," he said, a vulnerability flashed into his eyes when he said that. I closed my eyes and nodded, he was right.
Taking a deep breath, I looked down at the journal, finding my place.
"Dominicos sanctae ecclesiae, terogamus audi nos, terribilis deus do sanctuario suo deus israhel. Ipse tribuite virtutem et fortitudinem plebi suae, benedictus deus, gloria patri..." It was done.
Meg threw her head back and screamed, for the first time I saw it from the other side, the black cloud leaving through her mouth. It spread throughout the protective circle, and then it disappeared.
The girl slumped forward in the seat, blood was dripping from her mouth. We stared, unsure what to do next. Slowly, agonisingly, Meg lifted her head to look at us.
"God, she's still alive..." I whispered. Dean moved immediately to her side.
"Call 911." Dean said to Bobby. "Get some water and blankets," he instructed Sam.
Bobby and Sam rushed off. Dean was untying one of her wrists and I dropped the journal on the table nearby to help with the other.
"Thank you." Meg whispered, looking me in the eye.
"Shh, shh. Just take it easy ok. You're gonna be ok." I said.
"Come on, let's get her down." Dean said and together we lifted her from the chair. There was the shattering sound of bones crunching as we lowered her to the ground and Meg groaned in pain.
"Sorry.. sorry." I said, "It's ok, it'll be ok." Looking at her with a grimace.
Meg strained to speak, words forced from her mouth. "A year..." she said.
"What?" Dean asked.
"It's been a year," she repeated.
"Shh, just take it easy." I said, holding her hand.
She looked up at us. "I've been awake, for some of it. I couldn't move my own body. The things I did – it's a nightmare."
Tears welled in my eyes and I nodded. "I know, I know." I said, softly brushing the hair out of her eyes.
"Was it telling us the truth about our Dad?" Dean asked.
"Dean..." I cautioned, but she turned to answer him.
"Yes. But it wants... you to know... that... they want you to come for him," she gasped.
"If Dad's still alive, none of that matters," Dean said resolutely.
Bobby and Sam came back into the room carrying a blanket and a glass of water. They covered her with the blanket, Dean gently lifted Meg's head up so she could have a drink of water.
"Where is the demon we're looking for?" Sam asked her.
"Not there. Other ones. Awful ones," she spluttered.
"Where are they keeping our Dad?" I asked her.
"By the rrr-river..." she forced out. "Sunrise."
"Sunrise? What does that mean?" Dean asked, but the light was fading from her eyes, I could see it, she was dying. "What does that mean?" Dean asked again, but she was gone, the same way my father had gone, with a final breath and the light fading from her eyes for good.
Bobby ushered us through the kitchen to the front door.
"You better hurry up and beat it. Before the paramedics get here," he said to us.
"What are you gonna tell them?" Dean asked, looking concerned.
"You think you guys invented lyin' to the cops? I'll figure something out." Bobby said. He turned and handed the Key of Solomon book to Sam. "Here, take this. You might need it."
"Thanks," Sam said with a smile.
"Thanks... for everything Bobby. Be careful all right?" I said, stepping in to give him a hug. He squeezed me quickly before stepping back.
"You just go find your Dad. And when you do, you bring him around, would you? I won't even try to shoot him this time," his eyes had a sparkle to them at the little joke. I smiled, it was good to have a light hearted moment.
Jefferson City, Missouri
We'd made the drive in just over six hours, shaving almost an hour and a half off what it should have been, Dean was frighteningly silent and broke almost every speed limit getting there. While I was pleased for the speed, I was also worried for him, he was unreachable.
We were parked by train tracks just outside of town now. Sam was reading the Key of Solomon while Dean stood at the trunk of the car, loading up guns and putting them in a bag. I exchanged a worried look with Sam, and walked around to join him.
"You've been quiet," I said, watching his hands as he worked.
"Just getting ready." Dean replied, not looking at me.
"He's going to be fine Dean." I said, laying a hand on his shoulder.
Dean didn't answer, just leaned on the back of the trunk, head down as he took a few deep breaths.
"Dean please, talk to me," I asked, trying to get him to look at me.
Sam interrupted us, pushing in behind me. He rubbed the dirt off the top of the trunk and started to draw on the finish with a white marker.
"Dude!" Dean said, frowning. "What are you drawing on my car?" He pulled away from me and went to look at what Sam had drawn.
"It's called a Devil's trap. Demons can't get through it or inside it." Sam explained.
"So?" Dean asked, looking at him. Sam moved to the other side of the trunk to draw the symbol again.
"It basically turns the trunk into a lock-box." Sam said.
"So?" Dean asked again, not comprehending.
"So, we have a place to hide the Colt while we go get Dad." Sam said, looking at Dean.
"What are you talking about? We're bringing the colt with us." Dean said, angry.
"We can't Dean. We've only got three bullets left. We can't just use them on any demon, we've got to use them on the demon." Sam said, suddenly the voice of reason, I started to wonder if this was opposites day.
"No, we have to save Dad, Sam, ok? We're gonna need all the help we can get." Dean said, shaking his head.
"Dean, you know how pissed Dad would be if we used all the bullets? Dean, he wouldn't want us to bring the gun." Sam said, closing the book and looking at his brother.
"I don't care, Sam. I don't care what Dad wants, ok?" Dean said loudly, getting argumentative. "And since when do you care what Dad wants?"
"We want to kill this demon. You used to want that too. Hell, I mean, you're the one who came and got me at school!" Sam tossed back at him. Dean scoffed.
"You're the one who dragged me back into this Dean. I'm just trying to finish it." Sam finished, looking from me to Dean. I sighed, and moved around between them both, I didn't know what to say, they both had good points.
"Wow, you and Dad are a lot more alike than I thought, you know that?" Dean said, his voice quietening. "You both can't wait to sacrifice yourself for this thing. But you know what? We're gonna be the ones to bury you... me and Beth! And I'm not putting her through that." He looked at me, a piece of the old Dean bleeding through, I smiled at that glimpse, feeling a little better for seeing it.
Dean turned back to Sam who was standing there speechless. "You're selfish, you know that? You don't care about anything but revenge," he said more quietly.
Sam blinked and shook his head. "That's not true, Dean." Dean scoffed at him again, as if to say Sam was lying. "I want Dad back." Sam said. "But they are expecting us to bring this gun. If they get the gun, they will kill us all. That colt is our only leverage and you know it, Dean. We can not bring that gun. We can't."
Dean looked down, thinking about this. I put a hand on his shoulder.
"He's right Dean," I said softly.
Dean frowned, looking down. "Fine."
"I'm serious, Dean," Sam said.
"I said fine Sam!" Dean snapped, looking unhappy.
Dean took the colt out of his jacket pocket and held it up for us to see before putting it in the trunk and slamming it closed.
We were walking along the river, trying to find the place Meg had mentioned. Dean was carrying the bag of weapons, silent and deep in thought. Sam looked around anxiously, as if expecting to be jumped at any point. I trudged along feeling sick to my stomach.
Sick to my stomach.
I stopped, tuning in. The boys hesitated when I stopped, pausing to look back at me.
"Beth?" Dean asked, stepping back toward me.
I looked away, and focused on the sick feeling in my stomach, the dizziness in my mind. It pulled on me, as if the needle in a compass. I looked toward a clump of trees nearby and started walking quickly to them, Sam and Dean following close behind.
"Look." I said, pointing toward an apartment building.
"Hey, look at that," Dean said. "Think I know what Meg meant by sunrise." Dean said, nodding at me. The sign on the apartments read Sunrise Apartments.
"Son of a bitch," Dean said. "That's pretty smart. I mean, if these demons can possess people they can possess almost anybody inside."
"Yeah, and make anybody attack us," Sam agreed, nodding. We watched, there was a group of mothers on the front steps to the building chatting together while their kids played. They were innocents, and they were in the middle of war zone and didn't even know it.
"And so we can't kill them – a building full of human shields," Dean summed it up for us, it was a nightmare.
"They probably know exactly what we look like too." I said, "and they could like like anybody."
"Yeah, this sucks out loud," Dean said, frustrated.
"Tell me about it." Sam said, nodding. "All right, so, how the hell are we going to get in?"
Dean was looking at the building, deep in thought, planning. Suddenly he nodded.
"Pull the fire alarm, get out all the civilians," he said, looking at us.
"OK, but then the city responds in what, seven minutes?" I asked.
"Seven minutes exactly," Dean confirmed with a nod.
We prepared to make our move, but I suddenly felt too sick, the litany wasn't helping and I felt like I might faint the closer I got to the building. I grabbed Dean's arm and he turned to me with a frown.
"I can't go in there." I whispered.
"What?" He asked, turning to face me, taking my cheeks in his hands.
"I can't Dean, there's too many... I feel like I'm going to faint." I said mournfully, and he pulled me into a tight hug. "I'll only hold you back, I can't help you like this."
"It's ok." He said, pulling back. Sam was looking at me, worried. Dean's eyes showed a little bit of relief. He hadn't voiced it because he knew I'd argue, but he didn't want me anywhere near that building.
"Wait here for us, we'll probably need back-up anyway." He nodded and I smiled, glad to have the old Dean just a little bit back.
"Come with me," he said, walking me away from Sam over to a group of trees. He paused, looking at me, concerned.
I smiled, reaching up a hand to his cheek. "Welcome back." I said, and he looked at me confused.
"You've been a little dark this last day." I said quietly, letting him see how much I was worried.
He sighed, nodding. "I know, I know... I'm sorry. I'm still me Beth, I swear." I nodded, he leaned in to kiss me on the forehead. "I'm going to end this Beth, one way or another."
I pulled back and blinked. "Don't get yourself killed Dean," I said to him. "I mean it!"
He chuckled and nodded.
"Here," he said, taking my hand. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the colt, placing it in my hand. I gaped, not believing what he'd just done.
"You promised to leave that behind!" I said sternly with a frown.
"Yeah well, I didn't. Now I'm leaving it with you." Dean said, looking at me. "You don't hesitate to use it if you have to." I nodded, wide-eyed.
"You stay safe," he said to me after a long moment.
"You too." I said, barely trusting my voice to speak. He nodded, leaning in to kiss me for a couple of heartbeats, taking my breath away. Then he was gone, turning to rejoin Sam as they walked to toward the apartment building with not even a glance back.
I crouched in the trees and watched as Sam slipped inside, Dean waiting outside for him. The city responded quickly to the alarm, and people poured out the doors to safety. Dean engaged one of the fire crew, distracting him while Sam picked the lock of the fire engine storage bays. Next thing they were dressed as firemen and heading indoors.
I waited, clutching the colt in my hand as they disappeared. I was alone now, and that sinking feeling of when Dean had disappeared in Burkittsville returned to me. I kept vigil for the boys, and saw a man from the crowd start toward the apartment building. He was intercepted by a fireman, who just as quickly turned and walked inside with him, I knew they were demons. I started to fidget, we were running out of time.
I wandered down the path a little to get a better look at the building, there was a small alley down the side, and suddenly John and Dean were on the fire escape above it, working their way down, followed closely by Sam.
They hit the pavement below, Sam moving ahead of the others coming in my direction. Out of nowhere a man came and attacked Sam, pinning him to the pavement and beating him so hard his head was ricocheting off the side-walk. I started to run. Dean put John down on the pavement, and I realised just how weak he must be as I ran toward them.
"Sam!" Dean yelled, running over and kicking the man in the face, it did nothing. Instead I watched as Dean was thrown into a parked car, the windshield shattering from the impact. The man went back to beating Sam who was lying limply on the ground, taking blow after blow.
In my panic the nausea and dizziness seemed to retreat and I spoke the litany out loud racing into range, holding the colt with both hands as I sighted. I took extra care to be spot on, and then I pulled the trigger. The bullet flew through the air and hit the man between the eyes, a perfect shot. He fell off Sam, dead.
I put the colt in the back of my waistband, and ran to help Sam up. Dean was picking himself off the broken car, moving to get John.
"Sam! Sam come on, come on." I said pulling him to his feet. He leaned heavily on me, pausing to look at the man dead on the ground.
Dean was moving toward us with John leaning on one of his shoulders. "Come on. We got to get out of here." We hurried toward the Impala, no one followed us.
Cabin, Somewhere remote in the woods
I watched Sam pour the salt along the window sill, grimacing at the mess that was his face, he was bruised, bloody and swollen, and I was worried.
Dean came into the room and we both looked at him. "How is he?" I asked.
"He just needed a little rest, that's all. How are you?" He asked, turning to Sam.
"I'll survive," Sam said with a grimace. "You don't think we were followed here, do you?"
I shook my head. "I don't think so. I mean, we couldn't have found a more out-of-the-way place to hole up." He considered this and smiled.
"Hey... Beth, you know you um... you saved my life back there." Sam said, looking at me.
"So, I guess you're glad I gave her the gun, huh?" Dean quipped with a smile.
"Man, I'm trying to say thank you here," Sam laughed and I joined him, nodding.
"You're welcome little brother." I said with a smile, I walked away a little, the smile falling from my face. Dean noticed my change of attitude.
"Beth, what is it?" He asked and I looked over at him.
"You know that guy I shot? There was a person in there." I said quietly.
"You didn't have a choice Beth." Dean said to me, Sam nodded.
"Yeah, I know, that's not what bothers me." I said, frowning.
"Then what does?" Dean asked, coming over to me and resting his hand on my lower back.
"Killing that guy." I said, looking from Dean to Sam. "I didn't hesitate, I didn't even flinch. I didn't even think about it. For you guys, or Dad, the things I'm willing to do or kill, it's just... it scares me." I whispered the last part and Dean slipped his arm around my shoulder, silently holding me.
John stepped into the room, looking at me. "It shouldn't. You did good." I smiled at him, he looked beat up and sore, but he was alive, and he was standing in front of me, that was good enough for me.
"You're not mad?" Dean asked him.
"For what?" John asked, looking confused.
"Using a bullet." I said, looking at him, stiffening in Dean's arms. The mere thought of it made me sick.
"Mad? I'm proud of you. You and Dean. You know, Sam and I, we can get pretty obsessed. But you two, you watch out for this family. You always have." He smiled at me, and I fought off the nausea, wanting to believe him.
"Thanks." Dean said for us both, I leaned in to him.
Suddenly my legs started to give way and the lights flickered. Dean caught me in his arms, holding me steady while John and Sam went to the window and looked out.
"It found us. It's here." John said and I felt my heart jump.
"The demon?" Sam said, his breathing quickening. Dean leaned me against the table and stood up, the nausea seemed to intensify when he moved away from me.
"Sam, lines of salt in front of every window, every door." John said.
"I already did it." Sam said, frowning.
"Well, check it, ok?" John asked, looking at him.
"OK." Sam shrugged, going into the other room.
"Dean, you got the gun?" John asked.
"Yeah," Dean said, nodding.
"Give it to me." John ordered, holding out his hand. I started to feel the darkness surround me and it was like it was already on top of us.
Dean took the colt out of his jeans, looking at it in his hand. "Dad, Sam tried to shoot the demon in Salvation. It disappeared."
"This is me. I won't miss. Now, the gun, hurry!" He said urgently, still holding out his hand to Dean.
A pulling sensation tugged at me. "Dean!" I gasped, and Dean turned back to me, his hand on my shoulder to steady me.
"Son please." John said, still sounding urgent. "Give me the gun, what are you doing Dean?"
"Dean... he'd be furious." I said simply, looking in his eyes.
"What?" John asked, frowning at me. Dean nodded, he saw it too, we'd been around him too long, we knew him too well, we were his kids and he was hardest on us above all others.
"That she wasted a bullet." Dean said, looking up. "He wouldn't be proud of us, he'd tear us a new one." Dean turned and pointed the gun, cocking it.
"You're not our Dad." Dean said, staring him in the eye.
"Dean, it's me." John said calmly to him, but we knew now it wasn't. That nausea, it hadn't been the events of the day, he'd been here all along, I'd felt him all along, I just hadn't seen it.
"I know my Dad better than anyone. And you ain't him." Dean said. I stood up, forcing the darkness in my mind back, forcing my head clear.
"What the hell's gotten into you?" John asked.
"I could ask you the same thing. Stay back!" Dean said.
Sam came back into the room and looked shocked to see Dean pointing the gun at John.
"Dean, what the hell's going on?" Sam asked, looking between us all.
"Your brother's lost his mind." John said, looking at him.
"He's not Dad." I said.
"What?" Sam asked, clearly confused.
"I think he's possessed. I think he's been possessed since we rescued him." I said, my voice starting to panic.
"Don't listen to them Sammy." John said, looking at Sam.
"Beth how do you know?" Sam asked.
"I can feel it. I can feel it inside of him!" I said, looking frantically at Sam. Dean was fighting back tears.
"He's... he's different." Dean muttered.
"You know, we don't have time for this. Sam, you wanna kill this demon, you've gotta trust me."
Sam looked between Dean and I then back to John. Dean glanced at Sam but said nothing.
"Sam?" John asked questioningly.
Sam struggled, the uncertainty in his eyes, and then he made a decision.
"No. No." He said, moving over to Dean and I, turning to look at John.
John looked at us, he looked so … betrayed.
"Fine. You're all so sure, go ahead. Kill me." He said, daring Dean. He looked down, as if waiting for Dean to pull the trigger.
Dean hesitated, unable to comply, tears in his eyes. I couldn't breathe, it was all happening too fast.
"I thought so." John said, and when he looked up at us, his eyes were bright yellow.
We were suddenly propelled against the walls, hitting with a sickening thud. I felt pain travel up my spine as I hit and groaned. Sam was right next to me, we were pinned against one wall, Dean on another. He was looking at me panicked, we couldn't move.
John moved to pick up the gun which Dean had dropped when he was flung across the room.
"What a pain in the ass this thing's been." The demon said to us.
"It's you, isn't it? We've been looking for you for a long time." Sam muttered at him, the demon stared at him through John's face, yellow eyes gleaming.
"Well, you found me." He said with a smile.
"But the holy water?" Sam questioned.
"You think something like that works on something like me?" He asked, smirking. Sam tried to free himself from the wall, but failed.
John turned to look at me, those yellow eyes swirling. "Didn't count on you though, you nearly messed it all up." he said, walking nearer to me. "Fascinating. A real find, you're rare you know?" He said to me.
"What are you talking about?" I asked through gritted teeth.
"Heh. Well that is curious." The demon said, not answering my question. Dean looked at me, confused and I swallowed, suddenly very scared.
"I'm gonna kill you!" Sam growled at him, and the demon turned back to him.
"Oh, that'd be a neat trick. In fact..." He put the gun on the table next to him. "...here. Make the gun float to you there, psychic boy."
Sam looked at the gun, straining, but nothing happened.
"Well, this is fun." He said, walking over to the window next to Dean. "I could've killed you a hundred times today, but this... this is worth the wait." He said with a happy sigh.
Dean struggled, but was just as pinned to the wall as we were. The demon looked over at him and I felt my heart stop.
"Your Dad – he's in here with me." The demon said. "Trapped inside his own meat suit. He says 'hi', by the way. He's gonna tear you apart. He's gonna taste the iron in your blood." I felt the tears welling in my eyes, and I blinked them back.
"Let him go, or I swear to God..." Dean muttered at him, angry.
"What? What are you and God gonna do?" The demon asked, laughing. "You see, as far as I'm concerned, this is justice." He walked over to me and looked back at Dean. "You know that little exorcism of yours? That was my daughter."
Dean frowned. "Who, Meg?"
"The one in the alley?" The demon asked, looking at me. "That was my boy. You understand."
"You've got to be kidding me." Dean muttered, rolling his eyes.
"What? You're the only one that can have a family? You destroyed my children. How would you feel if I killed your family?" He paused to smile at Dean.
"Oh that's right. I forgot. I did." He grinned. "Still, two wrongs don't make a right."
"You son of a bitch." Dean cursed at him.
"I wanna know why. Why'd you do it?" Sam asked from beside me, glaring at the demon, who turned to look at him.
"You mean why did I kill Mommy and pretty, little Jess?" He asked.
"Yeah." Sam said, groaning.
The demon turned back to Dean, a smile on his face. "You know, I never told you this, but Sam was going to ask her to marry him." He turned to face Sam. "Been shopping for rings and everything."
He paused and looked at Sam. "You want to know why? Because they got in the way."
"In the way of what?" Sam asked, angry.
"My plans for you, Sammy. You...and all the children like you." He said.
"Listen, you mind just getting this over with, huh?" Dean asked, rolling his eyes. "Cause I really can't stand the monologuing."
The demon walked over to Dean, getting in his face. "Funny, but that's all part of your M.O. Isn't it? Masks all that nasty pain, masks the truth."
"Oh yeah? What's that?" Dean asked.
"You know, you fight and you fight for this family, for your girl, but the truth is... they don't need you. Not like you need them. Sam – he's clearly John's favourite, although, it could be a close second with the girl... he always wanted a daughter, and he's different with her, isn't he? But you and Sam, even when they fight, it's more concern than he's ever shown you."
Dean stared defiantly at him. "I bet you're real proud of your kids, too, huh? Oh wait, I forgot. I wasted 'em!" He looked smug, but I knew it was an act.
Dean smiled at him, and there was a staring match for a moment. Then the demon stepped back, head down. I felt a darkness rise in the room, strong, powerful and I gasped as it brushed at me.
When the demon looked back up Dean suddenly yelled in pain.
"Dean!" I yelled out, struggling against the force pinning us to the wall. "No!" Dean was starting to bleed from his chest, the bright red liquid running down his shirt. I screamed and Sam struggled harder to get free.
"Dad! Dad, don't you let it kill me!" Dean shouted at his father, looking into the demon's eyes.
The demon just smiled, wearing John's body, and Dean started to yell in pain again, more blood pouring from his chest.
"Dean! No!" Sam yelled, fighting hard. I couldn't breathe, there was blood running out of Dean's mouth, god knows what that thing had done to him. He was going to die, and we were going to be forced to watch. Tears streamed down my face and I sagged against the wall, we were all going to die, and Dean was going to go first. It wasn't supposed to be like this.
"Dad, please!" I called out to John. Dean passed out. "Dean!"
John suddenly whispered. "Stop..." Sam and I slid to the floor, released from the power that had been holding us. "Stop it." John said, stepping back.
Sam dived for the table and grabbed the colt, swinging it around to face John, whose momentary control had granted us a reprieve.
"You kill me, you kill Daddy." The yellow-eyed demon said to Sam.
"I know," he said, and then he moved, firing the gun and shooting John in the leg. He fell to the floor, so did Dean. The nausea suddenly left me, and I was able to stumble over to him.
"Dean? Dean!" He looked at me weakly. "Oh god, you've lost a lot of blood." I was crying, tears streaming down my face as I assessed his injuries. I wasn't even sure I should move him.
"Where's Dad?" He asked softly, looking at me.
"He's right here. He's right here, Dean." Sam said, crouching next John.
"Check on him." Dean said, rolling on the floor in pain. Even when he was dying he was thinking of everyone else. I forced back a sob and slid my arm under his shoulders, helping him to sit up. Sam looked at John, who was lying motionless on the floor.
"Dad? Dad?" Sam asked, leaning over him.
John looked up suddenly, eyes panicked. "Sammy! It's still alive. It's inside me, I can feel it. You shoot me! You shoot me! You shoot me in the heart, son!" Sam stood up and aimed at John. "Do it now!" John ordered and I gaped.
"Sam, don't you do it. Don't you do it!" Dean said from beside me.
"You've gotta hurry! I can't hold onto it much longer!" John begged. "You shoot me, son! Shoot me!" I shook my head, this wasn't happening. "Son, I'm begging you! We can end this here and now! Sammy!"
"Sam, no." I whispered, but he heard me.
"You do this! Sammy! Sam..." The gun lowered, Sam was hesitating. John's head suddenly threw back and a black cloud rose from his mouth and disappeared into the floor. John looked up, his eyes flashing betrayal at Sam who was struggling still with what he'd just been asked to do.
We got them in the car, Sam was driving, John next to him, grimacing in pain. I was in the back with Dean lying across the seat, his head in my lap. I stroked his face as Sam floored it along the highway, he was covered in blood, and I watched him, my breathing unsteady, coming in short gasps as I fought off the rising panic threatening to set in.
"Look, just hold on, all right. The hospital's only ten minutes away." Sam said, glancing back at me. I nodded.
"I'm surprised at you Sammy. Why didn't you kill it? I thought we saw eye-to-eye on this? Killing this demon comes first – before me, before everything." I stifled a sob at that, I was so angry, and I'd stuffed it all down but it was starting to overspill now that I stood to lose the one thing that had been a constant in the last ten years of my life, and all over a twenty-year old vendetta.
Sam looked in the rear-view mirror at us, his eyes catching mine and he looked just as sorrowful as me.
"No sir. Not before everything," Sam said, finally understanding what his brother had meant earlier. "Look, we've still got the colt. We still have the one bullet left. We just have to start over, all right? I mean, we already found the demon..."
There was a sickening smash on the passenger side as something hit us, forcing the car off the road and crushing the side John was on. We were pushed for a good twenty years before coming to a halt. I'd hit my head, a smashing pain rang through me and I felt the warm trickle of blood running down the side of my face. I looked around me, we'd been hit by a truck, and there was a man getting out of the cabin, coming toward us.
Sam stirred and I leaned over Dean to reach him, shaking him. "Sam, Sam! Wake up!" He groaned and looked over at me, eyes wide.
The black eyes of the demon-possessed driver met ours as he used super-human strength to pry the driver's door off the hinges. I had a moment to panic, then Sam looked at him, and the light from the truck caused the colt to gleam.
"Back. Or I'll kill you, I swear to god." Sam said.
"You won't. You're saving that bullet for someone else," the demon said confidently.
Sam cocked the gun and pointed it. "You wanna bet?"
The demon smiled, and then suddenly the black smoke poured out of the man in front of us, who collapsed to the ground. Sam uncocked the gun and laid his head back in relief. I gulped and started testing my limbs, nothing felt broken, a miracle. I looked down, starting to panic, Dean wasn't moving in my lap, he lay half off the seat, propped at an odd angle.
"Dean?" I said, shaking him, his head lolled to the side.
"Dad?" Sam was moving too to check on John in the front seat.
"Oh my god!" The man said suddenly, coming to his senses. "Did I do this?"
"Dad!" Sam's voice carried across us as he tried to reach John who was unconscious in the front seat.
I frantically felt for a pulse at Dean's neck, my breathing coming short and ragged.
"Dean, Dean!"
The driver of the truck was on his phone calling 911, and I felt myself slipping, my head was ringing, the blood still running down my side. I had a moment to wonder how we were going to get out of this before the darkness claimed me, and I collapsed, falling on the seat next to Dean.
*** TO BE CONTINUED NEXT STORY ***
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Well here we are! Season 1, done and dusted. I hope you've enjoyed the finale for the story so far :D I'll be getting straight into Season 2 in the next few days, so don't panic! You might want to favourite me as a writer so that you get the update for the new story when it gets posted.
The song for this episode is 'Reload' by Sebastian Ingrosso ft. Tommy Trash
As always, if you have song suggestions for future episodes, or chapters I've missed, do share, I'm always looking for inspiration! I have a whole Dean & Beth playlist happening, it's getting there, colour me obsessed :D
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed or PM'ed me while I've been writing, your encouragement and enjoyment of the story goes a long way to keeping me motivated to continue with it! I am just happy that someone other than myself is loving the story as much as I am enjoying writing it :D
I will be doing a re-read/edit of the episodes in the near future for grammar, spelling, and formatting issues. If you see any glaring errors in the chapters, particularly as far as continuity goes, please let me know as I really want to get it all wrapped up soon, before I get too far into S2.
Welcome to all the new followers – I hope you're enjoying the story. Next update will be in a new story as we start Season 2, so hope to see you over there with a review! :D