March 15th, 2010 - Blue Earth, Minnesota
A few weeks later, Amy found herself in Minnesota with Sam and Dean, looking into demonic omens that had appeared in a small town.
Dean was speeding down the dark road when he suddenly slowed down and pulled over.
Sam frowned at his brother. "What is it?"
"I saw something," Dean said, not taking his eyes off of a line of trees out Sam's window. He grabbed his gun and got out of the car.
Amy and Sam grabbed their guns as well and followed Dean. As soon as they were outside, a familiar, unwanted smell caught Amy's attention.
"Guys?" she called out. "You smell that?"
Sam sniffed the air. "Sulfur." His tone was bitter. He held his shotgun higher.
"Very good, Sammy," a voice teased.
The hunters quickly turned to see a man standing a few feet away, between a couple of trees. He blinked, and his eyes turned black.
Dean aimed his gun, and the demon clicked his tongue.
"Dean, Dean, Dean," the demon taunted, "you can't expect to stop all of us, can you?"
Amy heard a branch break and spun around to see even more demons stepping out of the shadows. She raised her gun, moving it back and forth from demon to demon, waiting to take a shot if she had to.
"There's too many of them!" Dean shouted. "Back to the car, go!"
Amy took a few shots at the demons before following Sam and Dean back to the Impala.
"Just run!" Dean repeated. "We can't hold them all off!"
Amy lowered her gun and broke out into a sprint towards the Impala. They finally reached it and climbed inside.
Dean started the engine and sped off, his foot pushing the gas pedal to the floor.
"Drive faster, Dean," Sam said frantically.
Amy looked through the back windshield to see that the demons were on their tail. "They're right behind us!"
"I know, I can't go any faster!" Dean snapped. He turned to Sam. "Are you okay?"
Sam groaned, holding his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm amazing."
Dean quickly glanced through the back window. "You ever seen that many?"
"No," Sam said. "No way, not in one place."
"What the hell?" Dean muttered.
Dean continued speeding down the road. He drifted around a corner and drove down another street, only to come to a screeching halt in front of something blocking the road.
"What the hell?" Amy asked, staring up at what blocked their path. It was what appeared to be a large semi-truck set on fire and pushed onto its side.
"Damn it!" Dean swore loudly. He spun the steering wheel and turned the Impala around.
The two front windows and one of the back windows were suddenly shattered. Demons reached inside the car and began dragging the hunters out. One of the demons had its arm around Amy's neck as it pulled her through the broken window.
Without warning, Amy heard the demon holding her screech and let go. She looked around to see the demons holding Sam and Dean release them as well.
Looking up, Amy saw that a large truck had arrived. It was spraying water on the demons and had a megaphone on the top.
A man stepped up to the megaphone and began speaking. The demons started screeching as black smoke flew out of the vessels, but Amy didn't recognize the language. It wasn't the Latin exorcism Sam, Dean, and she knew.
Finally, the last vessel fell to the ground, and the man stopped speaking. The hunters stayed in the Impala, still in shock from what had just happened.
Amy was the first to speak. "What...the hell just happened?"
"Well, that's something you don't see every day," Dean finally said.
Still in shock, the hunters got out of the Impala.
The man who had exorcised the demons approached. "You three alright?"
"Peachy," Dean said, breathlessly.
"Be careful. It's…dangerous around here." The man turned back around.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait." Dean hurried around the front of the car as the man walked back to the truck.
The man held up a hand but didn't turn back. "No need to thank us."
"No, hold up a sec!" Dean called out, jogging towards the man. "Who are you?"
The man finally turned back to the hunters. "We're the Sacrament Lutheran Militia."
"I'm sorry—the what?" Dean asked as Sam and Amy joined him.
"I hate to tell you this, but those were demons, and this is the Apocalypse," the man said. "So…buckle up."
The three hunters stood in silence for a moment before Amy finally spoke.
"Uh, yeah, about that," she began.
"We know all about the apocalypse," Dean added. "I'm Dean, this is my brother Sam, and that's Amy."
"Hey," Amy said, giving a small wave.
"Rob," the man introduced. "You three say you three know about the apocalypse."
"Yeah, well, we were kinda there when it started," Dean said.
Rob frowned. "What?"
"Nothing," Dean said quickly. He led Rob and the other men to the Impala's trunk and opened it before propping open the weapon's box.
"Looks like we're in the same line of business," Sam said.
"And among colleagues." Dean pointed to the shotgun Rob was holding. "That's a police-issued shotgun. That truck is, uh…inspired. Where'd you guys pick up all this crap?"
"You know you pick things up along the way," one of the young men with Rob said.
Rob and another man chuckled slightly.
"Guys, come on. This whole corner of the state is nuts with demon omens. We just want to help. That's all.
"We're on the same team here," Sam added. "Just talk to us."
Rob exchanged a look with his men. After a moment, he nodded. "Follow us." He got back into the truck and drove off.
Amy slid into the backseat of the Impala as Sam and Dean got into the front.
"Well, that was, uh...something," Amy spoke. "Also, is it just me, or did that exorcism sound different than the one we use?"
"No, you're right," Sam agreed. "That didn't sound like Latin at all. I'm pretty sure it was Enochian. What do you think, Dean?"
"I think we just got saved from demons by some fellow hunters," Dean said. "Let's just see what's up with these guys."
March 16th, 2010
The sun started to rise just before they got to town, reflecting off overcast clouds and heavy mist. They pulled up to a church and got out.
Sam and Dean had changed shirts before they arrived. As they got out, Sam tossed Dean his bloody shirt. Dean tossed the shirt into the trunk and grabbed his pistol. Amy already had hers as she waited for the Winchesters to get ready.
Concrete barriers line with barbed wire lined the streets and the path to the church doors. Two armed men stood at the end of the sidewalk, on either side of a large red devil's trap. There was no way around the trap, which meant the only way to the church was by going through it.
Amy followed Sam and Dean into the church. Many people were sitting on the pews, and a smaller group stood near the front. She scanned the rows to see that everyone on the ends of the pews was holding a shotgun in hand.
A man in a tan jacket was standing facing the crowd. He had a book open in his hands as he addressed a couple directly in front of him. "Who would have thought the Apocalypse could be so romantic? Marriage, family—it's a blessing, especially in times like this. So hold on to that."
Amy couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was someone getting married? During the apocalypse?
Sam scoffed next to her. "Wedding? Seriously?"
"Yeah," a young man confirmed. "We've had eight so far this week."
"Who the hell gets caught in the middle of the apocalypse and thinks it would be a good time to get married?" Amy said quietly, so only Sam and Dean heard.
"Probably desperate or something," Dean muttered back.
The wedding finished, and the new husband and wife walked back down the aisle together. They walked out the church doors as a small group of people threw rose petals over them and cheered.
Amy stood next to Sam and Dean as they watched the scene in mild disbelief.
The pastor that performed the wedding approached them. "So Rob tells me you guys hunt demons."
"Uh…" Sam cleared his throat, "yes, sir."
Amy nodded in agreement. Glancing down, she noticed a gun strapped to the back of the pastor's leg.
"You missed a few."
"Yeah." Sam chuckled. "Tell us about it. Any idea why they're here?"
The pastor shook his head. "They sure seem to like us, though. Follow me." He turned back to the church, gesturing for the hunters to follow him.
"I'm sorry," Sam spoke, "but uh, what was your name?"
"David Gideon," the pastor replied. He led the hunters down a flight of stairs towards the basement.
"So you're a preacher?" Dean asked as they headed down.
"Not what you expected, huh?" David asked.
Amy shook her head. "Honestly, based on the stuff that's I've seen, this doesn't surprise me all that much."
"Yeah, dude, you're packing," Dean added.
David shrugged. "Strange times." He opened a pair of double doors to reveal a large room with several tables.
Amy looked around as they walked between a row of tables. A few people were sitting at each one, packing what appeared to be salt rounds.
"Is that a twelve-year-old packing salt rounds?" Dean asked, voicing Amy's thoughts.
"Everybody pitches in," David said. He led them further into the room.
"So, the whole church?" Sam asked.
"The whole town," David corrected.
"A whole town full of hunters." Dean laughed in amusement. "I don't know whether to run screaming or buy a condo."
David shrugged. "Well, the demons were killing us. We had to do something."
"So why not call the National Guard?" Sam asked.
"We were told not to."
"By who?"
David didn't answer. He looked back at Sam and Amy noticed he looked a little nervous.
"Come on, Padre," Dean said. "You're as locked and loaded as we've ever seen. And that exorcism was Enochian. Someone's telling you something."
"Look, I'm sorry, I, uh, I can't discuss it."
"Dad, it's okay."
Amy turned to see a teenage girl with long, wavy hair turn from one of the tables. She was wearing a grey sweater and a blue blouse with white polka dots on it.
"Leah—" David began to protest.
"It's Sam and Dean Winchester," Leah said, "and Amelia Jones. They're safe. I know all about them."
Amy frowned. "You do?"
Leah nodded. "Sure. From the angels."
"The angels," Dean muttered bitterly. "Awesome."
"Don't worry," Leah assured him. "They can't see you here. The…marks on your ribs, right?" She touched her lower ribs in emphasis.
Sam looked at the girl in confusion. "So you know all about us because angels told you?"
"Yes. Among other things."
"Like the snappy little exorcism spell," Dean said.
Leah nodded. "And they show me where the demons are going to be before it happens. How to fight back."
David put a hand on Leah's shoulder. "Never been wrong. Not once. She's very special."
Leah blushed. "Dad…"
"And let me guess," Dean added. "Before you see something, you get a really bad migraine, you see flashing lights?"
Leah paused. "How'd you know?" she asked slowly.
"'Cause, you're not the first prophet we've met. But you are the cutest."
Leah blushed as Dean grinned at her.
"I mean that with total respect, of course," Dean added as David shot him a look.
"We should, uh, probably go find a motel to check into," Amy spoke. "It looks like we're gonna be sticking around for a while."
Dean took his gaze off of Leah and turned to David. "Uh, right, yeah, we should probably get going."
David nodded. "There's a motel down the street you guys can stay in."
"Thank you," Amy said.
"Thanks," Sam spoke at the same time.
They checked into the Green Valley motel a few blocks from the church and then headed back towards the church, stopping at Paul's Tavern to get a drink.
Sam stepped away from the table to call Cas and update him on the situation.
After a few minutes, Sam hung up the phone. He turned to a man clearing tables and began talking to him.
"Hey Ames, can I ask you something real quick?" Dean asked.
Amy nodded. "Yeah, what's up?"
"Have you told Sam what you told me yet?" Dean asked. At Amy's confused look, he added. "You know, when we were in heaven?"
Amy suddenly understood what Dean meant. "No, I haven't really had the time to, yet. I might tell him later tonight though."
Dean nodded in understanding. He looked up, past Amy's shoulder as Sam approached the table. "So, did you get a hold of Cas?"
Sam sat at the table and handed Dean a beer. "Yeah, I left him a message." He frowned. "I think. So uh, what's your theory? Why all of the demon hits?"
Dean took a sip of his beer. "I don't know. Gank the girl? The prophet, maybe?"
"Why though?" Amy asked. "She's just a girl. We don't even know if she's a prophet."
Sam shook his head. "Just these angels are sending these people to do their dirty work."
"Yeah." Dean shrugged. "And?"
"And they could get ripped to shreds," Sam added.
"We're all gonna die, Sam," Dean said. "In like a month—maybe two. I mean it. This is the end of the world, but these people aren't freaking out. In fact, they're running to the exit in an orderly fashion. I don't know that that's such a bad thing."
Sam nodded slowly as Dean took another sip of his beer. "Who says they're all gonna die? What ever happened to us saving them?"
Before Dean could answer, the church bells began tolling. The hunters watched as everyone in the tavern began to exit.
"What the hell?" Amy muttered.
"Something I said?" Dean joked.
Sam stopped the man he had been talking to earlier. "Paul. What's going on?"
"Leah's had another vision," Paul explained.
Sam turned to Dean. "Wanna go to church?"
Dean smirked. "You know me—downright pious." He finished off his beer and stood up, following the crowd back outside.
They got back into the Impala and drove back to the church. When they arrived, the hunters followed the crowd inside and stood towards the back.
Leah and David stood in at the front of the church. She whispered something in her father's ear and he turned to address everyone.
"Three miles off Talmadge Road," David announced to everyone.
Leah whispered something else.
"Five miles," David continued. "There are demons gathered. I…don't know how many, but a lot. Thank you, Leah. So, who's going to join me?"
"Wouldn't miss it," Rob declared.
Paul raised a hand. "Someone's got to cover Rob's ass."
Dean held a hand up as well. "We're in, Padre."
Amy nodded in agreement.
"Thank you." David nodded. "I'd like to offer a prayer." He closed his eyes. "Our Father in Heaven-"
"Yeah, not so much," Dean muttered.
Amy let out a light scoff. She had never been religious growing up but even now when she knew God himself and even had the guy's phone number, the idea of praying just felt weird to her.
"Help us to fight in your name," David continued. "We ask that you protect us from all servants of evil. Guide our hands in defeating them, and deliver us home, safely. Thank you, Amen."
A short while later, Amy found herself creeping through the woods with a small group. Rob led Dean, Sam, Amy, a teenage boy Dylan, and his wife Jane through the trees. Further to the side were two more hunters that Amy didn't know the names of yet.
They crouched down, out of sight as an old house came into view. Rob quietly gestured for them to approach the house and they hurried over, keeping low to stay out of sight.
Amy followed Dean and Dylan towards a nearby shed as Sam went with Rob and Jane to the front of the house. They approached an open door and Dean quickly looked inside, pointing his shotgun into the dark, before turning away. It was empty.
They quietly went back to the house, keeping an eye out for any demons who might give away their position.
Finally rejoining the others on the front porch, Dean approached a dirty window on one side. He nodded towards the window on the other side of the porch and Amy went over to it, passing Sam as he worked on picking the lock.
As Amy approached the window, she heard a surprised yell and spun around to see Dean being pinned to the wall by a man. She grabbed her shotgun and started to run over, but Dylan was faster.
Dylan fired his shotgun into the demon, and it dropped onto the porch. He yelled out the Enochian exorcism and black smoke flew out of the man's mouth.
Another demon pulled Rob through another window and Amy quickly ran inside the house with Sam.
Inside, the demon that had grabbed Rob had him hoisted up by his shirt collar. Sam quickly stabbed the demon with Ruby's knife in the back and it dropped dead on the ground, releasing Rob.
The hunters moved through the house, shooting, stabbing, and exorcising every demon they came across. Finally, the last demon dropped dead.
"Is that all of them?" Amy asked as she checked her ammo.
"I think so," Rob said. "Do a quick sweep, make sure we didn't miss any of them," he ordered.
Amy went upstairs with Sam and Dean while the others checked the first floor. They went through every room, checking every place a demon might be hiding, but didn't find anything.
Sam led them back downstairs. "All clear," he told Rob.
Rob nodded. "Let's get back to town, then." He opened the front door and led everyone outside.
"I guess that's what it's like, huh?" Sam asked quietly as they walked behind everyone.
"What?" Dean asked.
"Having backup."
Amy smiled slightly. "I'll admit, it was actually kinda nice having all that backup. Especially with that many demons."
"Yeah." Dean smiled as well. They stopped by the Impala and threw their weapons into the trunk.
"Dean," Amy heard Dylan call out. "Sam, Amy."
Dean turned his attention behind Amy and nodded. "Yo."
Amy turned as Dylan stopped next to her.
"Hey. So, um, is—is that—is that cool that I get a ride back with you guys?" Dylan asked, slightly out of breath.
Dean chuckled. He waved to the firetruck and it drove off. "Hey, you've saved my ass twice already. One more time, you can drive."
Sam walked over to the cooler and pulled out a beer, handing it to Dean.
Dean walked over and pulled out another beer. He waited until the fire truck was out of sight, before tossing it over the Impala to Dylan. "Hey, you earned it. Don't tell your mom."
Dylan chuckled. "Oh, believe me—I will not." He cracked open the beer and took a sip.
Amy shook her head in amusement and turned away, only to quickly turn back around when she heard a loud scream.
"Dylan!"
Amy watched in horror as the teen was pulled underneath the car. She ran over, dropping down to grab the teen's hands and pull him out.
On the other side of the car, Sam pulled a demon out from under and stabbed it with the knife. Dean helped Amy pull Dylan out, but it was too late. The teen's throat had been slit. He was dead.
"No," Amy whispered. Her shoulders dropped as Dean held Dylan's body in his arms.
They quietly picked Dylan's body up and put it into the backseat before getting in and driving back to the church.
They arrived at the church a short while later. They got out of the car and Sam got Dylan's body out of the backseat. He turned around just as Jane and Rob stepped outside to see their son dead in Sam's arms.
Amy hung her head as Jane began to sob. David came outside with Leah, and soon, a small group had formed outside. A few members went to get a casket as Jane began to sob harder, eventually dropping to the ground as Rob comforted her.
The funeral was set up rather quickly. Dylan was placed inside the casket and walked down the aisle by four people.
Sam, Dean, and Amy stood at the doorway, watching the casket get placed down. They turned as Rob and Jane approached the entrance, still crying over the death of their son.
"Ma'am, we're just, um, very sorry," Dean said quietly.
Jane glared at Dean. "You know…this is your fault."
Rob put his arm around his wife. "Jane. Come on."
Once everyone was inside, David turned to address the crowd.
"wish I knew what to say," the pastor began. "But I don't." He turned to Jane and Rob. "I'm so sorry, Jane, Rob. There are no words. Dylan… I don't know why this happened. I don't know why any of this is happening. I got no easy answers. But what I do know is—"
David suddenly stopped talking as Leah passed out and fell to the ground. "Leah, honey?"
The crowd stood up as Leah began to have a seizure on the ground.
David quickly hurried over to his daughter. "Leah, honey? Honey? It's okay sweetie. It's okay."
Leah suddenly gasped and sat up as her dad held her hand. "Dad, it's Dylan," she said through gasps.
David nodded. "Just rest a minute, huh?"
Leah shook her head. "No, listen. Dylan's coming back."
"Jeez," Amy heard Rob say.
David helped his daughter up, and she stood at the front, addressing the couple sitting at the front.
"Jane, Rob… It's going to be okay," Leah began. "You'll see Dylan again. When the final day comes, Judgement Day, he'll be resurrected and you'll be together again."
Leah smiled as she turned to the others. "We'll all be together. With all our loved ones. We've been chosen. The angels have chosen us. And we will be given paradise on earth. All we have to do is follow the angels' commandments."
"What do we have to do?" a man asked.
"All bars are to be closed," Leah explained. "We aren't allowed to gamble anymore, and no premarital sex either. We will also need to implement a curfew of eight and reduce all contact with the outside world. That includes cell phones, internet, and television." She smiled. "If we do all of that, starting now, we will have paradise."
The crowd began to argue loudly in a mix of agreement and disagreement.
Amy scoffed. "Well I shouldn't have too much of a problem with that third one," she joked.
"Please!" Leah shouted over the crowd. "I know this is a lot, but it will all be worth it in the end."
Sam led them out of the church. "No drinking, no gambling, no premarital sex," he listed off. "Dean, they basically just outlawed ninety percent of your personality."
Dean sighed. "Yeah, well, whatever. When in Rome."
"I was expecting a bigger reaction from you about that," Amy said.
"So, uh…you're cool with it?" Sam asked.
Dean shrugged. "I'm not cool. I'm not, not cool. I'm just, look man, I'm not a prophet. We're not locals. It's not my call." He paused for a moment before clicking his tongue. "I'll catch up with you."
Sam and Amy watched as Dean walked away.
"Here," Sam said. He pulled out the keys to the motel and handed them to Amy. "I'm heading to the Tavern. Meet you back at the motel in a bit."
Amy nodded and took the keys. She headed off in the opposite direction from Sam, toward the motel.
Green Valley Motel
Amy unlocked the door to their motel room and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. She grabbed the TV remote, hoping to get at least one episode of a show in before services were cut.
Settling on the first show she and across, though she didn't know what the show was, Amy tossed the remote aside and lay down on the bed.
Pretty soon, the TV screen became filled with static and wavy lines. It reminded Amy of the old TV at the orphanage. She sighed and grabbed the remote again, turning the TV back off.
Sam and Dean still weren't back. Amy pulled out her phone to call them, only to be greeted with text at the top of her screen that said "no signal." They were officially cut off from the outside world.
Deciding to take a shower before Sam and Dean got back, Amy grabbed her duffel bag and headed into the bathroom. She took a quick, hot shower and got out before drying off and putting on a pair of sweatpants and loose t-shirt.
After pulling her hair into a braid, she grabbed her bag and headed back out where Dean was waiting.
"Hey," Amy said as she dropped her bag on the bed. "Where'd you go?"
"Went to talk to Leah," Dean explained as he sat down at the table. "Asked her to tell me what the angels were telling her."
Amy sat on the bed. "Did she?"
Dean nodded. "Yeah, she said that the uh, the angels said there'd be a war that we'd win." He cleared his throat before continuing. "But after that, paradise or whatever."
Amy scoffed. "You don't actually believe that do you?"
Dean leaned forward in his chair. "I don't know. I mean, if Leah is a prophet-"
Amy cut the hunter off. "That's just it, we don't know if she is a prophet or not."
Dean frowned. "She acts pretty much the same way Chuck does."
"Exactly." Amy stood up. "But, if I'm remembering this correctly, in a later season of the show, it's revealed that there can only be one prophet at a time. So, unless Chuck is dead…"
"Then Leah might be lying about this whole thing," Dean realized.
"Again, I don't know for sure," Amy repeated. "I might be remembering this all wrong."
"But it's something to go off of."
"That's what I was thinking."
There was a bit of silence before Dean spoke again. "Hey, Ames, can I ask you something?"
"What's up, Dean-o?"
"About what you told me when we were in heaven-"
"I still haven't gotten around to telling Sam, if that's what you were gonna ask," Amy interrupted.
Dean shook his head. "No, no, that's not it. It's just we had a lot going on up there and I never got a chance to tell you that I don't actually know what… what was it again? Aro-"
"Aromantic and asexual," Amy said. "And, it's okay. Not a lot of people know what they are anyway. I didn't even first hear those terms until a couple months before you guys."
"So what do they mean?"
"Aromantic basically means that person has little or no desire for a romantic relationship," Amy explained. "And asexual is kind of the same thing, except it means that person has little or no desire for a sexual relationship. Not all aromantic people are asexual and not all asexual people are aromantic, but there are some people who are both."
"So, you just, don't want to date anyone?" Dean asked.
"Well, I don't," Amy said. "I've never been in a relationship, never had a crush on anyone, and that doesn't really bother me. I'm honestly fine staying single my entire life." She shrugged. "But aromantics do date, and even get married sometimes. I had a friend whose dad came out as aromantic to his wife, which was actually how I first learned about the term. Until then, I thought there was something wrong with me."
Dean stood up and walked over to the cooler, pulling out a beer. He leaned against the counter and opened the can. "Huh." He took a sip of the beer. "Thanks."
"For what?"
"Explaining that all to me," Dean clarified.
"No problem."
About five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Amy hurried over and opened it up to reveal Sam, who stumbled inside.
"Where you been?" Dean asked his brother. He had moved over to the bed and was now lying on it with his eyes closed.
Sam let out a small laugh. "Drinkin'."
Dean smirked. "You rebel."
Sam chuckled. "I'd have had more, um, but it was curfew."
"TV got shut off while you guys were gone," Amy said. "Phones did too, and I'm guessing the internet as well, but I wasn't online when we lost everything else."
Sam nodded. "Yeah. No cable, internet. Total cut off from the 'corruption of the outside world'," he said scathingly, adding air quotes.
"Awesome," Amy muttered.
Dean nodded. "Huh."
Amy frowned at Dean's reaction. He was either taking this better than she thought, or he just didn't care.
"Don't you get it?" Sam asked. "They're turning this place into some kind of fundamentalist compound."
"No, I get it."
"And all you've got's a "hmm?" Sam asked. "What's wrong with you?"
"I get it. I just don't care."
"What?" Sam asked.
"Don't care?" Amy added.
Dean sat up on the edge of the bed. "What difference does it make?"
"It makes a hell of a—" Sam cut himself off. "At what point does this become too far for you?" he snapped. "Stoning? Poisoned Kool-Aid? The angels are toying with these people!"
Dean sighed. "Angel world, angel rules, man."
Sam sat down on the other bed, across from Dean. "And since when is that okay with you?"
"Since the angels' got the only lifeboats on the Titanic," Dean said. He stood up and walked over to the coffee pot to pour himself a cup. "I mean, who exactly is supposed to come along and save these people? It was supposed to be us, but we can't do it."
"So what?" Sam asked. "You wanna, you wanna just want to stop fighting, roll over?"
"Dean, it's like I said earlier," Amy spoke from the table she was sitting at. "We don't even know if Leah really is a prophet."
Dean shrugged. "I don't know, maybe she is, maybe she isn't." He took a sip of his coffee.
Sam scoffed. "Don't say that."
"Why not?"
"Cause you can't do this," Sam said, not even looking at his brother.
"Actually, I can," Dean insisted.
Sam stood up, turning towards his brother. "No you can't. You can't do this to me."
There was a pause before Sam continued. "I got one thing, one thing, keeping me going," he continued quietly. "You think you're the only one white-knuckling it here, Dean? I can't count on anyone else. I can't do this alone."
Dean didn't say anything. He turned and put his coffee mug on the table behind him before walking towards the door.
"Dean," Sam tried to stop him from walking out.
"I got to clear my head," Dean said. He grabbed his jacket and walked out the door.
"It's past curfew," Sam said as Dean stepped through the open door. The door closed behind Dean and Sam turned away. "It's past curfew," he repeated quietly.
"Don't worry, Sam," Amy reassured him. "We'll find a way to save these people. I'm sure of it."
Sam nodded. "I hope you're right." He sat down on the bed.
Amy let out a heavy sigh and leaned forward, her face in her hands.
"I got your message."
Amy looked up to see Castiel leaning on the room divider. He looked unstable, as if he had been hurt.
"It was long, your message," the angel continued. As he spoke, Amy noticed that he was slurring his words. "And I find the sound of your voice grating."
"What's wrong with you?" Sam asked. "Are you…drunk?"
"No!" Cas snapped. He straightened up, swaying slightly. "Yes," he finally admitted.
"I didn't even know angels could get drunk," Amy mused.
"What the hell happened to you?" Sam asked.
Cas leaned his head on the iron divider. "I found a liquor store," he said quietly.
Sam raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"And I drank it." Cas stepped forward unsteadily. "Why'd you call me?"
"Whoa." Sam reached out, catching Cas to steady him. "There you go. Easy. Are you okay?"
Cas leaned forward until his mouth was right next to Sam's ear. "Don't ask stupid questions," he slurred. He leaned against the bed "Tell me what you need."
Amy was trying to hold back laughter at Castiel's drunk antics. Sam shot her a look and she snickered slightly before calming down.
Sam turned to Cas. "T-there have been these—these demon attacks," he explained. "Massive, right on the edge of town. And we can't figure out why they're—"
"Any sign of angels?" Cas interrupted.
"We haven't seen any," Amy said.
"But they've been speaking to this prophet," Sam added.
"Who?"
"This girl, Leah Gideon."
"She's not a prophet."
"I'm pretty sure she is," Sam insisted. "Visions, headaches—the whole package."
Cas leaned back, looking up towards the ceiling. "The names of all the prophets, they're seared into my brain." He turned to Sam. "Leah Gideon is not one of them."
"So I was right?" Amy asked. "Leah's faking this whole thing?"
"Yes, you were…" Castiel paused for a moment as he swayed on the spot a bit. Steadying himself, he continued, "right."
"Well, if Leah's not a prophet, then what is she?" Sam asked.
"I uh, I can't remember," Cas admitted.
"You can't remember?" Sam asked.
"Yes, I uh, can't seem to remember much right now."
"I think that's the alcohol talking," Amy told Sam. "We might have better luck when he's sober again."
Sam sighted. "Yeah, you might be right."
Amy glanced at the clock. It was just after ten. "Should we go out and look for Dean?" she asked. "I'm getting kinda worried."
"He should be back by now," Sam agreed. He stood up and grabbed his jacket. "Come on."
"Cas, you wanna come?" Amy turned to the angel, only to find him lying on the bed with his eyes closed. "Never mind." She grabbed her jacket as well and turned to Sam.
"Ready?"
Amy nodded. "Let's go." She grabbed the room key and headed outside with Sam.
Sam and Amy searched for Dean for a few hours, but eventually had to give up and call it a night when it got too late. They headed back to the motel room and let themselves in to find Cas still asleep on the bed.
"Damn, he's really out," Amy said quietly.
Sam shut the door behind him. "Yeah." He chuckled slightly. "I'm not surprised, though, given how drunk he was."
Amy chuckled as well. "He must have had a lot to drink if it was enough to get him that drunk." She took off her jacket and threw it over the back of a chair. "I think I'm gonna call it a night. It's getting late."
Sam nodded. "I'll stay up," he offered, "in case Dean comes back."
Amy stretched her arms. "Sounds good." She climbed into the empty bed. "Night, Sam."
"Night, Ames."
March 17th, 2010 - Green Valley Motel
Amy was woken up the next morning as Dean opened the door, finally returning from wherever he had been.
"Dean?" she muttered sleepily as she sat up.
"We went out looking for-" Sam stopped himself as he noticed something. "You alright?"
Amy quickly got to her feet. Dean's hands were covered in blood.
"Yeah. It's—it's not my blood." Dean looked down. "Paul's dead."
"What?!" Sam asked in shock.
"Oh my god," Amy whispered.
"Jane shot him," Dean continued loudly.
"It's starting." Cas said from the couch.
"What's starting?" Dean looked over at the angel, noticing him for the first time. "Where the hell have you been?"
"On a bender," Cas muttered sarcastically.
Dean looked surprised. He looked over at Sam. "Did he—did you say 'on a bender'?"
"Yeah." Sam scoffed. "He's still pretty smashed."
Cas held up a hand. "It is not of import," he said gruffly. "We need to talk about what's happening here."
"Well I'm all ears." Dean walked over to sink to wash the blood off his hands.
"Well, for starters," Sam began as he sat on the couch next to Cas, "Leah is not a real prophet."
"Yeah, turns out I was right." Amy chuckled slightly.
Dean turned off the faucet and shook the water off his hands. He turned back to Sam, frowning. LWell, what is she, exactly?"
"The whore," Cas said bluntly.
Dean looked down at the angel. "Wow. Cas, tell us what you really think."
"She rises when Lucifer walks the earth," Cas continued. He pointed to a page of the book he had been reading. "And she shall come, bearing false prophecy," he read aloud.
Cas pointed to a medieval picture of a woman riding a dragon that had seven heads. "This creature has the power to take a human's form, read minds. Book of Revelation calls her 'the Whore of Babylon'."
Deansat down on the vacant chair next to the table, drying his hands with a towel. "Well, that's catchy," he finally said.
"The real Leah was probably killed months ago," Sam said.
"What about the demons attacking the town?" Dean asked.
"They're under her control."
Dean frowned. "And the Enochian exorcism?"
"Fake. It actually means, 'you, um, breed with the mouth of a goat'." Cas smiled as he waited for a reaction.
Amy exchanged a glance with Sam and Dean, then turned back to Cas and shrugged.
"It's funnier in Enochian," Cas explained.
"So the demons smoking out—that's just a con?" Dean asked. "Why? What's the endgame?"
Cas shrugged. "What you just saw," he said. "Innocent blood spilled in God's name."
"You heard all that heaven talk," Sam said. "She manipulates people."
"To slaughter and kill and sing preppy little hymns." Dean stood back up, tossing the towel into the sink. "Awesome."
"Her goal is to condemn as many souls to hell as possible," Cas continued. "And it's…just beginning. She's well on her way to dragging this whole town into the pit."
"And I'm guessing she won't stop with just this town," Amy added. "She'll keep moving."
"Alright." Dean nodded. "So, then, how do we go Pimp of Babylon all over this bitch?"
Instead of answering, Cas vanished, leaving the hunters alone in the room once more.
Amy threw her hands up in defeat. "Great," she muttered. "Who knows where he's gone off to."
By that afternoon, there was still no sign of Castiel. Sam, Dean, and Amy hung around the motel for the day.
While they were waiting, Amy told Sam what she had told Dean in heaven. She hadn't thought it was a big deal, him being in on what Dean knew, but figured it would just be better to tell him. After a bit of explaining, Sam told her he was okay with that, and he was glad she had told him.
A couple hours later, Cas reappeared and set a wooden stake on the table in front of them. "The whore can be killed with that," he explained. "It's a stake made from a cypress tree in Babylon."
Dean picked up the stake to examine it. "Great. Let's ventilate her."
"It's not that easy," Cas admitted. He walked over to the sink to get a glass of water.
"'Course not," Dean muttered.
"How come?" Amy asked.
"The whore can only be killed by a true Servant of Heaven," Cas said.
"Servant, like…" Dean trailed off.
"Not you, Amy, or me," Cas finished Dean's thought. "Sam, of course, is an abomination. We'll have to find someone else." He leaned against the counter to drink his water.
"What about the pastor?" Sam asked. "I mean, that's about as close to a servant of heaven you can get, I think."
Cas nodded. "How do you propose we get him here?"
Amy shrugged. "Tell him the truth?"
When Sam and Dean shot her a look, Amy added, "I don't mean about monsters. Just, about you being an angel. It's what the whole town's been focused on this past couple weeks, so it shouldn't be too hard to convince him."
"Yeah," Sam agreed. "It's worth a shot, anyway."
Cas nodded then, without a word, vanished once again.
Amy sighed. "Let's hope he finds Pastor Gideon quickly."
They didn't have to wait long before a flutter of wings announced Castiel's presence in the room again. Amy turned to see him standing with David Gideon at his side.
David looked around, eyes wide. "What the hell was that?"
"Yeah, he wasn't lying about the angel thing." Dean gestured to a vacant chair. "Have a seat, Padre. We got to have a chat."
David sat down. "What's going on?"
"Well, for starters," Dean began, "I hate to break it to you but the Leah out there is not your daughter."
David let out a shaky breath. "What?"
"It's a creature called the whore of Babylon," Amy continued. "Have you heard of it?"
David nodded slowly. "I've read about it a lot this past few weeks."
"Listen, Padre," Dean continued. "The demons are playing you. That exorcism is fake. They're all being controlled by Leah. I mean, come on, you saw what Jane did. She's dragging this entire town to hell."
"So what does this have to do with me?"
"Only a true Servant of Heaven can kill this thing," Amy explained. "And I hate to tell you this, but that person is you."
David looked down at the wooden stake and shook his head. "No." He cleared his throat. "She's my daughter."
"I'm sorry, but she's not," Dean said apologetically. "She's the thing that killed your daughter."
"That's impossible."
"But it's true," Sam said quietly. "And deep down, you know it. Look, we get it—it's too much. But if you don't do this, she's going to kill a lot of people. And damn the rest to hell."
"It's just…" David stopped as Dean held out the stake to him. "Why does it have to be me?" he finished.
"You're a Servant of Heaven," Cas explained. He was leaning back on the room divider behind the Pastor.
"And you're an angel," David snapped back.
"Poor example of one," Cas countered.
David turned back to the three hunters. He let out a shaky breath before reluctantly nodding. "Okay," he whispered. "I-I'll do it."
Dean held out the stake again and Pastor Gideon took it, not taking his eyes off the ground.
"Do you know where Leah is right now?" Amy asked.
"She usually hangs out in my office," David said.
Dean nodded. "Then that's our best option right now." He grabbed the keys to the Impala. " Cas come with me real quick. I got something for you." With that, he left.
Cas began to walk out of the room behind Dean. Amy couldn't help but notice that he was walking extremely slowly while holding his head. She hurried over and helped steady him while they walked outside together.
As soon as they were outside, the angel sat down on the bench. He put his head in his hands and let out an occasional pained groan.
"Cas?" Amy asked, concern in her voice. She sat on the bench, next to him. "You okay, man?"
Cas shook his head. "My head feels like it's on fire."
Dean closed the trunk and walked back over to them. He tossed Cas a pill bottle. "Heads up."
Cas caught the bottle and studied it. Amy noticed it was a bottle of Advil.
"How many should I take?" Cas asked.
"You?" Dean leaned against the Impala. "You should probably just down the whole bottle."
Cas studied the bottle a bit longer. "Thanks," he finally said.
Amy rubbed the angel's back.
"Don't mention it," Dean said. "Yeah, I've been there. I'm a big expert on deadbeat dads so…" he trailed off. "Yeah, I get it. I know how you feel."
There was a long pause as Cas stared off in the distance. "How do you manage it?" he finally asked.
"On a good day, you get to kill a whore," Dean said half jokingly.
Amy smirked slightly. Leave it to Dean to make a joke out of the situation. She stood up from the bench. "Don't worry, Cas. You'll get through this," she promised. She turned to Dean. "Want me to go get Sam and Gideon?"
Dean nodded. "Yeah, we should probably get going."
Amy nodded back, then headed inside the room. "Hey," she said to the two people sitting inside. "Dean says it's time to go."
Sam and David stood up. "Alright." Sam handed Gideon the stake. "Let's go."
David took the stake with a shaky hand. He gave Sam a tiny, visibly shaky, smile. "Okay."
They headed out to the Impala. Amy sat in the backseat, next to David, as Dean drove them to the church.
When they arrived at the church, David led them inside. The pews were empty, leading Amy to believe everyone was in the basement.
David led them into his office, which Amy found to be empty as well.
"And you're sure she'll come here?" Dean asked.
David nodded. "She always does."
"We should hide," Sam said.
Everyone crouched down, behind chairs, as they waited for Leah to walk in.
They didn't have to wait very long, it turned out. Within five minutes, Leah stepped into the office. She walked up to the mirror and Amy saw her face twist and morph into something inhuman, before returning to normal.
Leah closed the mirror to find Castiel standing directly behind it. She let out a gasp as the angel grabbed her arms, pinning them behind her back.
David jumped out, stake raised high as Castiel spun Leah around. He hesitated slightly as he looked at his fake daughter's face.
"Daddy! Don't hurt me!" Leah pleaded.
"Gideon, now!" Sam shouted.
Leah quickly turned her head towards Cas. "Pizen noco iad."
Castiel groaned in pain as Leah placed a spell on him. As he did, he released Leah's arms and she held up her hands, using telekinesis to push everyone away.
Amy hit the wall across the room and slid to the floor. As everyone got up, Leah took the opportunity to run out of the room.
"Gideon!" Sam called. Amy quickly looked up to see David running after Leah with the stake in his hand. "Wait! No!l
The hunters quickly ran out of the room, leaving Cas groaning on the ground. They ran down to the basement after Gideon as fast as they could.
When they reached the basement, they found David on the ground, getting beaten up by the other town members. The stake was on the ground, just out of his reach.
Sam ran up and kicked one of the townspeople away. Another one stood up and punched him in the face, knocking him back.
Dean threw a punch at a third townsperson, knocking him into a glass table.
Amy ducked as a punch was thrown directly at her face. She dodged underneath a man's fist, ending up just behind him and catching him off guard. Holding out a hand, she used her own powers to push him away.
"Come on, come on!" Dean said quickly as he helped David to his feet.
Sam and Amy quickly ran over to the storage room, where the people Leah had deemed sinners were begging to be let out.
Sam tackled Rob, slamming him into the wall before he could light the kerosene. Rob dropped the lighter as Sam did, and Amy quickly picked it up and threw it across the room. Jane attacked Sam from behind, but he easily threw her off.
On the other side of the room, Leah used her powers to knock down Dean. She got on top of him and put her hands around her throat.
Amy noticed Dean reaching for the stake, but it was just out of his reach.
Leah laughed. "Please. Like you're a servant of Heaven."
Using her powers, Amy slid the stake closer to Dean, so he could grab it. He quickly looked over at her and she gave him a nod.
Dean grabbed the stake in his hand and punched Leah across the face. In the split second that she was looking away, Dean drove the stake into the whore of Babylon's chest.
"Don't be so sure, whore." Dean drove the stake further in. He pushed Leah off of him and she fell to the ground.
Leah's face began to twist and morph as her whole body shook. Dean drove the stake even further in and the entry wound began to smoke.
Next to her, Sam released Jane as they watched the scene unfold. The stake burst into flames before exploding, leaving a burning hole in its place. Leah's head slumped over, the life fading from her eyes.
"But…I don't understand," Jane said. Her voice was small and scared. "How are we supposed to get to paradise now?"
"I'm sorry," Dean told her. "Pretty sure you're headed in a different direction."
Amy heard David let out a groan. She looked over to see him attempting to stand up.
Hurrying over to the pastor with Sam, Amy helped the man up.
"Gotcha," Sam said as he steadied David on his feet. He had a bleeding cut on the side of his head from where one of the townspeople had punched him.
"Come on," Dean said quietly.
"Wait, where's Cas?" Amy asked.
Dean looked around, not seeing the angel anywhere. He turned to Amy. "Check the office."
Amy nodded. She ran out of the room and hurried back into Pastor Gideon's office. Cas was still lying on the floor, letting out an occasional groan of pain.
"Cas!" Amy hurried over to the angel, dropping to her knees next to him. She turned to the open door. "He's in here!"
Within a moment, Dean hurried into the room. "Cas!" He put one of the angel's arms over his shoulder.
Amy did the same with the other arm and the two of them helped Castiel get to his feet.
"I got him," Dean said as Cas leaned on him.
"You sure?" Amy asked.
Dean nodded. "Yeah, don't worry."
Amy followed Dean and Cas out of the office. They met back up with Sam and Gideon before heading back outside.
Sam and Dean helped Gideon and Cas walk up the stairs from the basement. Amy walked behind them in case something happened.
"Dean, how did you do that?" Sam finally asked.
"What?" Dean glanced back over his shoulder.
"Kill her."
"Long run of luck held out, I guess." Dean grunted as Cas staggered.
Sam helped Gideon straighten up as he stumbled a bit. "Last I checked, she could only be ganked by a servant of Heaven."
"Well, what do you want me to tell you?" Dean asked. "I saw a shot. I went for it."
"The important thing is that she's dead," Amy added.
They stopped at the Impala. Amy slid into the middle while Sam and Dean placed David and Cas in the seat on either side of her.
The Winchesters closed the car doors and Amy had to strain to hear what they were saying.
"Are you gonna do something stupid?" Sam asked.
"Like what?"
"Like Michael stupid," Sam snapped.
"Come on, Sam. Give me a break." Dean opened the driver's door and got in. After a moment, Sam got in after him and they drove off to the motel.
When they got to the motel, Sam and Dean helped David and Cas out once more. Amy took the keys from Sam and ran ahead of them to unlock the door and hold it open for them.
As soon as they were inside, Sam sat David down at the table and Dean lay Cas on the bed.
Amy grabbed the first-aid kit and handed it to Sam, who took out an ice pack and bandages. He gave David a bottle of Advil and the pastor tossed a couple into his mouth.
David took the ice pack and held it against his head as Sam wrapped his arm up.
Dean walked up to them. "How's the head?"
"I'm seeing double." David groaned. "But that may be the painkillers."
"You'll be okay," Dean assured the man.
"No."
There was a long moment of silence. Amy sat down on the edge of the bed and hung her head. It couldn't have been easy for David to learn that his daughter had been dead for weeks, and then watch something that looked like her be killed before his eyes.
Amy heard a small shuffle and looked up to see Dean heading towards the door.
"Where you going?" Sam asked.
Dean looked back at him. "I'm just gonna grab some clean bandages out of the trunk," he said. "Relax." With that, he walked out of the room.
Sam finished bandaging up David's arm. "There. How's that?"
The familiar rev of the Impala could be heard outside. Without wasting a second, Sam and Amy ran outside to see Dean speeding away in the Imala.
"Damn it!" Sam hissed. He ran after his brother with Amy close behind. "Dean! Dean!"
"Dean!" Amy shouted. She came to a stop next to Sam as they watched the Impala turn the corner and drive out of view.