TWENTYFIVE
The whole walk back from the cave Jack had felt nauseous and empty. Gordon had warned him on the way up what they were going to find, but it hadn't diminished the shock of actually seeing it. All that blood and no body in sight. He couldn't help but be a little angry with Tristan for being such a stupid ass and getting himself killed. When they arrived back at the cabin Jack almost felt like passing it by and getting out of these god forsaken woods once and for all. Another friend, hopelessly lost to them, was waiting inside and it was just too damn depressing. He figured it might be nice to head back to the beaches of Cali and take a little vacation, maybe for good.
"Jack," Gordon said as they neared the cabin. "Are you doing okay?" It was the first words they had spoken since the hike to the cave that morning.
Jack just shrugged, what did it matter? He was caught in this nightmare no matter how bad he was feeling.
Gordon shrugged as well and turned to go inside. Jack followed and almost stumbled into him when he stopped in his tracks. There was a line of salt at the door.
"We didn't salt the doorway did we?" Gordon asked but when he was met with a careless stare from Jack he shrugged and carefully stepped over the grainy line. The atmosphere he crossed into was drastically different from the one they had left this morning. It gave him the feeling that he had been gone a lot longer than a couple of hours.
Their arrival was digested by three pairs of anxious, curious eyes. The hunters that had been left behind, weak or unconscious, were now sitting around the table encircled with numerous open books. Sam was leaning over Dean's chair pouring over the same text as his brother. Jack and Gordon's arrival had halted their intense studying. And the scene at the table had more than surprised them in turn. Gordon could actually hear Jack's breath hitch in his throat.
"Uh, hey guys," was all Gordon could manage to articulate through his shock.
Jack, on the other hand, recovered quickly from the initial shock as relief and happiness swam through him. Despite the presence of almost strangers, he stumbled into the cabin and practically fell on top of Darrin with a clumsy hug.
Somehow Darrin's face managed to look confused, embarrassed, and elated all at once.
Jack finally broke the embrace so he could scrutinize his friend's condition. "How are you feeling? Nauseous, weak, in pain? Do you need anything? Are you thirsty or hungry?"
Darrin looked to Gordon to confirm that this anxious, jittery fellow was really the calculating and composed Jack that he was use to.
Gordon shrugged, slightly bemused by the situation. "Jack, he looks fine, why don't you give the boy a little space."
Darrin nodded to confirm Gordon's speculation. "I'm fine, really, no worries."
Jack reluctantly stood up, eyeing Darrin with uncertainty. "So… you guys have been reading to pass the time?"
"Not exactly," Darrin said and slid an open book across the table so Jack and Gordon could look at the picture of Camazotz.
"Who the hell is that?" Gordon said as he stepped closer to examine the page.
"Well, in a nutshell," Dean started nonchalantly, "he's basically just a Mayan demon guarding one of the gates to hell." Only Sam was able to tell that Dean's tone was saturated with sarcasm.
"Oh is that all," Gordon said unsure of how else to respond to Sam's brother. He picked up the book and read it for himself.
"Basically we're fucked," Darrin said, putting it all rather bluntly.
"Basically," Dean agreed.
Gordon handed the book back to Sam after reading it, looking slightly dubious. "So how come we haven't see the bastard yet?"
"Several reason," Sam said, trying to catch Jack and Gordon up. "Firstly, we figure he's not too keen on the light of day being a bat out of hell and all, so he's staying deep in the cave. Secondly, he has all these bat cronies to do his bidding, like bring him food… oh speaking of, he eats flesh, all kinds." Jack shuddered at the mention of this particularly grisly detail. Sam cast him a concerned glance before continuing. Thirdly, he is the guard to this particular gate and it would be negligent to leave it unattended, hence the cronies in the first place."
"Okay…" Sounded reasonable. "But why here? Why now?"
"That is going to require more research, most likely at a local level."
"So, some of us head back into town, some of us take care of the demon," Gordon suggested.
"No," Jack said, finally snapping back into the conversation. "Some of us still need to be resting." He looked hard at Darrin, but only chanced a fleeting glance at Dean. "And the rest of us shouldn't be barging in or something we know nothing about."
"Jack, for christs sake, it's just a demon." At this Jack's eyebrows raised incredulously. It looked like Gordon was very familiar with the response. "Okay, so that's a little heavier than usual, but there's still rules and methods to go by. Trap it, exorcise it, done."
"Well, if it's all so easy, let's get on with it." He crossed his arms, challenging Gordon to march out the door that instant and deal with the business in a fast, neat, and tidy manner.
Sam was beginning to feel like he was in the middle again. At least when there was just the two of them there were only two opinions to deal with. "We've lost the light for today, anyway," Sam interrupted hoping to diffuse things a bit.
"Sam's right, we'll head out first thing tomorrow," Gordon stated. There was a stubborn finality in his declaration and nobody bothered to argue it. "In the meantime I'm heating up some beans."
Sam felt Dean groan silently beside him. If a simple burger was all he needed to get his strength back Sam would have travelled miles to find one. Unfortunately, all Dean needed was time. So, as much as Sam wanted to have his brother on this hunt, covering his ass, there was no way he was letting him come along. And leaving him behind willingly was bound to be a challenge in itself.