So you guys, as usual, are THE BEST EVER! Especially for how patient you've all been, but don't worry! It will pay off! Okay, here's the next chapter (second in 24 hours!), so review your thoughts if yah got the time! 3
Chapter Thirty-Four:
"Where's Sam?" Dean demanded as a shaken Ellen drank a glass of water.
Shaking her head, she couldn't look at the eldest Winchester.
"They took him… didn't they?" the pregnant woman asked while she and Laura were going over the escape plan a bit more.
Laura, who had been avoiding Dean's earnest and apologetic stares, finally looked up and made brief eye contact with him. Looking away as if she were merely glancing at a passing stranger, she gazed at the guilty looking Ellen Harvelle.
"They got Jo too… one of 'ems in her…" the middle aged woman's voice trembled.
"Don't worry, Ellen. We'll get him back… and Jo…" she said with a comforting tone.
Ellen glanced at the brunette appreciatively, though the young woman's words didn't ease her thoughts very much.
"Could the demons come in here? Can they get us?" the pregnant woman asked with wide, panicked eyes.
"No," Dean said darkly, as the pit in his stomach grew even larger. What if Sam was dead? The last thing he let his brother think was that he hated him. Why was he so thick-headed?
Grabbing his things, Dean headed towards the door, intending to go out and solve the problem himself: "Okay, everybody sit tight… I gotta…"
"Sit down," Laura's harsh voice commanded dangerously.
Dean paused and turned back around. The brunette was now standing, arms propped up on the table, as her piercing blue-green eyes glared at him with a disapproving and loathing expression. Dean's every instinct told him to tell her to sit down and let him handle it, but then his gaze rested on the townspeople, nervously watching his every move closely. They were relying on him. He couldn't just walk away.
Sighing, the eldest Winchester retreated, finally listening the very angry voice of reason.
"You guys need to tell us everything," Laura spoke slowly. "We need a better plan."
Everyone nodded tentatively, for the citizens of the small war-torn Colorado town were not ready to fight this battle, but they knew that they really had no choice.
"How did this all start? What got that guy Rufus's attention?" the psychic asked, looking around at all of them.
"He said somethin' about the water… that's all I got," Ellen shook her head and rubbed her eyes.
"Padre… you know what she's talking about?" Dean asked, turning his full attention onto the pastor.
"The river ran polluted out of nowhere. No one had an explanation for it…"
"When?" the eldest Winchester asked, as a now somewhat disturbed Laura walked over to her own bag and began to search for something.
"Last Wednesday, and the next day is when people started getting possessed," the man of God responded, watching the brunette hurriedly rummage through her belongings.
"Anything else? Doesn't matter how far out it seems," Dean pressed the group.
This time Austin spoke: "There, ugh, there was a shooting star…"
Dean and Ellen glanced at one another as the man continued: "It was real big… happened on Wednesday night."
"That definitely counts," Laura called as she walked over with a musty book in her delicate hand.
"So you think this is some sort of alien thing then?" the pregnant woman asked, thoroughly confused.
"This ain't X-Files, lady," Dean retorted as Laura continued to flip through the pages.
After finding the right one, she plopped the book down in front of Dean and Ellen.
"And there fell a great star from Heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell upon the river, and the name of the star was Wormwood. And many men died," Laura recited without looking at the page.
"I knew that sounded familiar," Dean practically groaned as the seriousness of the situation escalated even more.
"What? What does that mean?" Austin asked, eyes darting around.
"It's Revelations 8.10," the Pastor breathed. "Are you saying this whole thing… this is part of the apocalypse?"
"Seems like it," Ellen muttered.
"The omens are specific," Dean said thoughtfully with furrowed eyebrows. "What are they preluding to?"
The pastor's fretful voice was barely audible when he first tried to respond, but once the eldest Winchester asked him to repeat himself, the man stuttered: "The coming of the Four Horsemen."
"And which one rides a red horse?" Dean asked, the wheels in his head clearly turning a mile a minute.
"War," Laura replied with raised eyebrows, as if this all was beginning to make sense.
Looking at Laura excitedly, Dean recalled: "That red Stang on Main Street…"
The brunette nodded her head in avid agreement.
"You think War is driving a sports car?" the pregnant woman asked in disbelief.
"If I were runnin' around in the 21st Century, that would be my ride," Dean pointed out. "I mean think about it, it all makes sense."
"But what about the demons?" the Pastor asked the question which was on everybody's mind.
"There are no demons," the brunette stated firmly, as everyone turned to look at her. "I told you there was something different about them… they had to use guns to attack me and Sam… since when do they do that? And I told you… they looked off," she explained mostly to the eldest Winchester.
As what the psychic had just said clicked in his head, Ellen spoke up in realization: "Jo did call me a black-eyed bitch…"
"So War's in town and he's messin' with our heads…" Dean mused out loud.
"So there's no demons at all? He's just making us think that?" Austin cried, suddenly realizing that his wife was killed for no reason.
Laura, though she felt horrible for the guilt-ridden townspeople, simply felt extreme anger bubble up inside of her: "The bastard's tricked you guys into wasting one another."
"Oh my God!" the Pastor exclaimed in despair.
"This has nothin' to do with God," the brunette said darkly.
Everyone simply stood there in silence for a minute or two, letting the fact that the apocalypse was indeed upon them sink in. Then, there was a loud banging on the bunker's door.
"Hey, guys! Let me in! Let me in!" called a frenzied male voice as he pounded on the door. "It's Roger, let me inside!"
As Austin checked the peephole, the three hunters exchanged suspicious glances. Why had he left the bunker? And where did he go?
Before they could voice their fears, however, a panting and seemingly terrified Roger entered the room.
"I saw them… and ran here as fast as I could…" the man in the business suit gasped for air: "They know we're trying to leave… they're gonna pick us off one by one."
"Hold on, I thought you said there were no demons," Austin immediately turned to the three hunters.
"There aren't," Laura stated firmly, knowing exactly who Roger really was. "Where were you?"
"I thought someone should go out there and see what's going on!" Roger exclaimed defensively.
"We can't just sit here… they're coming and they're gonna kill us!" the pregnant woman whimpered.
"They're not comin'!" Dean argued back angrily.
"We need to go after them… get them before they get us!" Roger spoke charismatically, and Laura could have sworn she saw a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
The now fully incited and frantic crowd of townspeople agreed vehemently: "He's right!" the Pastor said.
"Hold on!" Dean tried to calm the craziness, but Austin spoke over him.
"No, man. We got people to protect!" the man began to hand the guns out. "Every able-bodied person needs to go out and hunt down the demons."
"Whoa… this isn't a demon thing," the eldest Winchester continued to try to quell the mob-like mentality growing amongst the people of River Pass.
As Roger twisted his ring, he pointed at Dean, Ellen, and Laura, crying out: "Look! Look at their eyes! They've been demons all along!"
"Wait…" Ellen said slowly, as the citizens gasped in horror.
Austin and the pastor raised their guns, fully prepared to shoot to kill, as Dean muttered to both of his companions: "Go! Go!"
As they bolted towards the door, a loud shotgun blast nearly missed the brunette's head as they yanked the bunker door open.
"Move it!" Dean yelled as they sprinted away as fast as they could.
And with the mob-like crowd too preoccupied with their newest 'threat', no one from the town of River Pass noticed the wide, triumphant smile on Roger's smug face.
"You sure this is the place?" Dean asked, as he, Laura, and Ellen crouched behind some bushes.
Gazing at the house with a dark, determined expression, Mrs. Harvelle nodded her head: "That's where they took Sam."
"Okay, so what's the plan? We can't exactly go barging in there without weapons," Laura pointed out.
"And if I know Rufus, he's got that whole place wired to blow us to bits if we try the wrong door," Ellen stated a bit hopelessly.
"So we check for the trip wires," the eldest Winchester responded, as if it was the easiest task in the world to accomplish.
"Fine. Care to go first?" Laura asked with false pleasantness behind her voice.
"I was kinda hopin' you would," he shot back with just as much of an attitude.
"Will you two quit it?" Ellen scolded them both in exasperation. "We're runnin' out of time."
"Okay, okay… but even if we do get in there in one piece, we still have the whole town gunning for us," Laura stated.
"Our only chance is if we get Jo, Rufus, and Sam back," the eldest Winchester spoke honestly.
"So we'll split up," the brunette peered at every window of the house intently, hoping to see any signs of movement.
Dean wearily looked at her in protest: "What?"
"Look, we don't have many options here. Ellen, you convince Jo we're not demons… Dean you take of Rufus while I get Sam," the psychic gave him a stern look.
The eldest Winchester knew she was right, though he didn't like the idea very much.
"Fine," he nodded in agreement as Ellen Harvelle did the same. Now turning to examine the house, Dean pointed towards the back door: "He definitely rigged that one… it's the only door without windows to keep watch from."
"So we'll use the side door," Ellen started to make a move for what she thought would be the safest entrance into the home.
"Wait," he grabbed her arm with a small, wicked smirk: "I got a better idea."
The second she heard the explosion go off, Laura kicked in the window closest to the staircase. Waiting a moment or two, she peeked inside and did not see anyone. Inhaling deeply, the brunette stepped through, avoiding the shattered glass, and jumped down at the foot of the stairs. Silently waiting, she listened to Ellen struggling with someone, presumably her daughter.
"Joanna Beth Harvelle, you listen to me!" the psychic heard the hunter's forceful voice reverberate throughout the quaint home.
Looking around one more time, Laura then made her journey up the stairs as silently as possible. Once she had arrived at the landing, she heard the floorboards creak in the room just ahead. Stopping dead in her tracks, the brunette was afraid to even breathe. After a moment or two of waiting with her hunting knife drawn, Laura then tentatively inched her way towards the doorframe of the room.
Using the shiny blade as a mirror, she peered inside and spotted a teenage boy, probably around 18 or so, holding a hunting rifle. He must not have heard the commotion downstairs, for he was busy posing in the mirror with his weapon.
"I said put your hands up," he said aggressively into the mirror, and after a long, serious pause, he smiled to himself in amusement. "I look pretty boss…"
Laura shook her head with a small smirk, and once the boy turned back to his post at the window, she scurried past the door undetected. Hearing the guy's whistling behind her, Laura then checked the next room: empty.
After she checked the third empty room, the whistling had stopped, causing the brunette to pause. Then, she spotted him. Tied up to a chair, Laura made out the image of Samuel Winchester through the slightly opened door across the hall. Checking behind her, she tip-toed across the wooden floors and quickly ducked inside the room.
She must have startled the youngest Winchester, for he jumped at the psychic's sudden appearance.
"Laura!" he whispered, as she closed over the door quietly.
Turning back around, she rushed over and began to cut his bonds: "Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?"
"Not much… but Laura… it's not demons! It's Roger… he's…" he said with a rushed voice as his arms were now free.
"He's War. Yeah, we know," she moved down to his ankles. "What we can't figure out his how he's doing it…"
"His ring," Sam answered as the loud bangs of gunshots rang out. Glancing at Sam, Laura cut the last rope loose, freeing the young hunter completely.
As he went to get up, his eyes widened at something or someone behind her, and in a swift motion, he pulled her down with him as he yelled: "Down!"
Just before they crashed down hard onto the ground, a gun was fired directly at them. Looking up, they saw the teenage boy with black eyes, getting ready to fire on them again.
"Wait! Wait! We aren't demons!" Sam shouted, as he put his hands up.
"You expect me to believe that?" the 18 year old with dark red hair raised his weapon.
"Sammy!" Dean's shouts distracted the young man long enough for Sam to knock him down and get the gun out of his hands.
"Sam!" Dean appeared as his brother continued to struggle with the young man.
Yanking the kid off of his little brother, Dean punched him square in the face, knocking him out. Shaking his now aching hand a bit, he helped Sam up and brushed him off.
"You okay?" the eldest Winchester asked gruffly, though it was clear he was indeed, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam caught his breath as more gunshots echoed just outside the house.
"Look this reunion's fun an all, but we gotta get out of here," Laura stated frantically, after looking outside the window.
The Winchesters nodded in agreement as Sam picked up the kid's gun and all three of them rushed out of the room.
As Sam and Dean started to make their way towards the staircase, Laura stopped them: "No, wait. This way!" she hissed, nodding over to the bathroom.
Prying the window open, Dean ushered Laura outside, let Sam go before him, and then made his way down the drainage pipe himself. Hopping off, they each pressed their bodies against the house as more gunshots went off.
Shaking her head, Laura looked back at the boys: "They're not gonna stop unless we find Roger and get that ring."
"Stop firing!" Rufus's shouts could be heard.
Eyes darting around, Sam spotted an opening in the side fence. Nodding at it, they all ran for it unnoticed.
"So he gets his powers from that ring?" Dean asked for clarification as they made their way down the desolate street.
"Seems like it," Sam responded, but soon Laura shushed at them to stop.
Ducking behind a blood-stained mini-van, they spotted Roger walking towards his car like he didn't have a single care in the world.
War was whistling and felt around his pockets for his car keys. Hearing more gunshots go off, he paused and smiled to himself, as if those horrible sounds were music to his ears. Finally finding his keys, he then sighed merrily, and reached for the door, only to have his arm twisted by Dean Winchester.
Laughing smugly, War eyed Sam as he held Ruby's knife: "Sweet knife, but c'mon… you can't kill War, kiddos."
"Who said anything about killing you," Laura spoke menacingly as Dean slammed Roger's hand onto the hood of his mustang.
War's eyes then widened in fear as Sam slashed the razor sharp blade across all four of his fingers, severing them completely and causing the ring to fall to the ground. And then, the moment the silver piece of jewelry clattered onto the pavement, War and his mustang were gone.
Everyone looked around with somewhat bewildered expressions, but the moment that War was gone, the gunshots ceased.
"I guess it's over?" Dean asked, as Sam bent down and picked up the ring.
"I guess so…" he examined it quickly, and then tossed it over to his older brother.
"One down… only three more to go…" Dean tried to sound optimistic, but his lighthearted demeanor faded once he saw Laura walking away from them.
"Whoa, where are you going?" Sam asked, calling after her.
The brunette turned around with a grave expression on her face: "Like I told your brother… I only stuck around to help save what's left of this town. We did the job, and now I'm gonna hit the road."
"But why? Come back to Bobby's with us," the youngest Winchester looked confused, glancing back at Dean, who now appeared extremely guilt-ridden.
Laura merely glared at Sam's big brother with an expression of thorough disgust. "Take care, Sam," she turned her gaze onto the youngest Winchester with a stiff expression.
And with that, the brunette turned on her heel and emotionlessly walked off down the debris-ridden street without a second look behind her.