Chapter Twenty-One
As they walked back to the car, Sam asked "When did the gas company man die?"
"Uh, let's see. We got here Tuesday so Friday the 20th," Dean replied.
"March 20th? That's the spring equinox," Sally said.
"The night the sun and the moon share the sky as equals," Gillian said.
"So every year around this time, anyone in Oasis Plains is in danger," Sam stated.
"Larry built his neighbourhood on cursed land," Sally added.
"And on the 6th night, that's tonight," Dean exclaimed.
"If we don't do something, Larry's family will be dead by sunrise," Gillian said.
"So how do we break a curse?" Sam asked.
"You don't break a curse. You get out of it's way. We gotta get those people out now," Dean said as he sat into the car.
xxxxxx
"Yes, Mr. Pike, there's a mainline gas leak in your neighbourhood," Dean said into the phone. They were on their way back, Dean driving as fast as he could.
"God, really, and how big?" Larry asked.
"Well, it's fairly extensive, I don't want to alarm you but we need you're family out of the vicinity for at least 12 hours or so, just to be safe," Dean replied.
"And who is this again?" Larry asked.
"Travis Weaver, I work for Oklahoma Gas and Power," Dean answered.
"Well, the problem is, I know Travis, he's worked with us for years, so who is this?" Larry said angrily.
"Uh," Dean stalled before giving up and slamming the phone shut.
Sam sighed, grabbing it out of Dean's hand. "Give me the phone," he muttered. Flipping it up, he dialled Matt's number.
"Hello," Matt answered.
"Matt? It's Sam," Sam said.
"Sam, my backyard is crawling with cockroaches," he said frantically into the phone.
"Matt, listen, you have to get your family out of that house right now, okay?" Sam said urgently.
"What? Why?" he asked confusedly.
"Because something's coming," Sam said in reply.
"More bugs?" Matt asked.
"Yeah a lot more," Sam said.
"My dad doesn't listen in the best of circumstances. What am I supposed to tell him?" Matt asked.
"You got to make him listen, okay?" Sam said.
Gillian reached up and grabbed the phone from Sam.
"Give me the phone," she said. "Matt, under no circumstances are you to tell the truth. They'll just think you're nuts," she ordered into the phone.
"But, he's my dad," Matt began before Gillian cut him off.
"Tell him that you have a sharp pain in your right side and you have to go to the hospital, okay?" she told him.
"Yeah, yeah okay," Matt agreed, before hanging up.
Sally turned to Gillian. "We have to do something," she whispered quietly so that Sam and Dean wouldn't hear.
"What can we do?" Gillian asked, frowning slightly. "We can't let them see," she exclaimed in a low voice nodding her head towards Sam and Dean.
"I know, there might be another way," Sally told her. "It won't stop the curse from happening but it will keep us safe from it," she explained.
"Okay, then let's do it," Gillian said, nodding eagerly.
"Yeah, but I'll need to get to the trunk to get some herbs," Sally told her. Gillian nodded.
"Hey, can we stop by my car? I need to get some stuff out of it," Gillian asked Dean.
"We don't have time for that. Can't it wait?" Dean replied, impatiently.
"No, it can't, Dean. This is important," Gillian retorted, frowning at him.
"Hey guys, now is not a good time to fight," Sam said.
"Look, it'll just take a second, please," Sally pleaded.
"Fine," Dean nodded. Gillian sat back, a triumphant look on her face.
xxxxxx
20 minutes later, they pulled up beside the car. Sally hopped out closely followed by Gillian.
"What do you need?" she asked as she opened the trunk. Sally immediately began rooting around through the small jars of herbs that filled the trunk.
"Ginseng to rid the curse, sage and balm of gilead for protection," she muttered almost to herself as she poured little bits of each herb from the small glass bottles.
She tossed them all into a small round bowl and began to grind them all together. Looking around, she noticed Dean coming towards them. "Go distract him. I'll take care of this," Sally ordered.
Gillian obeyed and hurried over to Dean, stopping him from seeing what Sally was doing. "Is this going to take much longer? What are you doing?" Dean asked, trying to see around Gillian. Sally began to mutter an incantation under her breath.
"Yeah, she's nearly done," Gillian replied, glancing over her shoulder at Sally.
Sally quickly tipped the contents of the bowl into a small satchel and straightened up. She stuffed it into her pocket and slammed the hood down as she came around the car.
"Come on, let's go," she said as she hurried by and sat into the car. Dean stared at Gillian suspiciously as she brushed past him but he followed her to the Impala.
xxxxxx
Pulling up outside the Pike house, they could see the lights still burning inside. "Dammit, they're still here. Come on," Dean muttered as he turned off the engine and opened the door. As they headed towards the door, it opened and Larry came out, closely followed by Matt.
"Get off my property before I call the cops," he shouted at them.
"Mr. Pike, listen," Sally said.
"Dad, they're just trying to help," Matt told his father.
"Get in the house," he shouted at his son. Matt turned to them.
"Sorry, I told him the truth," Matt apologised.
"We had a plan, Matt. What happened to the plan?" Gillian asked him.
"Look, it's 12 a.m. They are coming any minute now. You need to get your family and go before it's too late," Sam said, urgently.
"Oh, yeah, you mean before the biblical swarm," Larry replied sarcastically.
"Larry, what do you think really happened to that realtor, huh? And the gas company guy? You don't think something weird is going on around here?" Dean asked him.
Larry shook his head. "Look, I don't know who you are but you're crazy. You come near my boy or my family again, we're going to have a problem," Larry warned them.
"Yeah, well, I hate to be a downer, but we got a problem right now," Gillian said, frowning at him.
"Dad, they're right. We're in danger," Matt told him.
"MATT, GET INSIDE NOW," Larry shouted at his son.
"NO," Matt shouted back. "Why won't you listen to me?" he asked him.
"Because this is crazy, it doesn't make any sense," Larry said.
"Look, this land is cursed. People have died here. Now are you really going to take that risk with your family?" Sam questioned him.
"Wait," Dean said, holding up his hand. They all listened. A loud buzzing noise was getting closer and closer.
"Do you hear it?" Dean asked Larry. He looked up, listening.
"What the hell?" he muttered. Suddenly, the insect lamp hanging on the porch began to crackle as insects began to hit off of it.
Staring at it in horror, Dean said "Okay, Larry, it's time to go. Where's your wife?" Larry turned to run up the porch steps but stopped at the sound of Matt's voice.
"Guys!" he exclaimed, staring over the treetops. They all looked in horror at the huge swarm of bees heading towards them.
"Oh my God," Larry said.
"We'll never make it," Gillian said.
"Everybody in the house," Dean ordered running up the porch steps.
Slamming the door shut, Sally turned to Larry. "Is there anyone else in the neighbourhood?" she asked him. He shook his head in reply.
"No, it's just us," he told her.
"Honey, what's happening?" Joanie asked, coming into the hall. "What's that noise?" she said, looking around.
"Call 911," Larry told her. She continued standing, listening to the sound.
"JOANIE?" he shouted. She snapped out of it and turned around grabbing the phone.
"I need towels," Dean said to Larry.
"Eh, the closet," he replied, directing them towards it.
Sam ran to Matt. "Hey, we gotta lock this place up. Doors, windows, fireplaces, everything okay?" he told him as they both hurried up the stairs.
"Phones are dead!" Joanie exclaimed, picking up the receiver.
"They must have chewed through the phone lines," Gillian explained. She watched as Dean placed the towels along the edges of the door. Suddenly the lights went out.
"And the power lines," Dean added as he looked up.
Sally looked around and pulled the small satchel out of her pocket. Pinching some of the dust, she threw it on Joanie.
"Hey, what are you doing?" she cried.
"This will protect you," Sally explained. She turned and did the same thing to Larry.
"Maybe my cell," Larry said, grabbing his phone. He shook his head in frustration. "No signal," he said.
"You won't get one. They're blanketing the house," Dean explained, nodding at the windows.
Hundreds of insects were landing on the windows. Sally winced slightly at the sight. Dean turned to her.
"What is that?" he said, nodding at the satchel in her hand. Looking down, she picked some up and threw it at Dean.
"We'll explain later," Gillian said, as Sally sprinkled some on her.
Sally did the same to Matt and Sam who came back down the stairs. Sam looked at her in confusion.
"Later," she said, before emptying the last of the satchels contents onto her palm. Looking down at it, she sprinkled some on herself, before throwing the rest into the air.