April 22nd, 2010 - Ely, Nevada
Amy followed Sam and Dean into a hospital. Over the past few days, a lot of people in the town had gotten sick at once, leading them to believe that the horseman Pestilence was there.
Dean led them to the front desk. "CDC," he said, flashing his fake badge. "Here to look into the recent sickness going on around here."
A doctor standing nearby turned around. "I can help you." She picked a box of masks up from the counter. "Just need to ask you to put one of these on."
The hunters pulled a mask each out of the box and put them on. Once they were ready, the doctor led them down the hallway.
"Check it out," Dean joked, pointing to his mask, "I look like the king of pop."
Sam let out a sigh and Amy rolled her eyes.
Dean chuckled. "Too soon?"
"Too soon."
"Definitely," Amy added.
The doctor stopped walking and turned around. "Don't get me wrong," she told them, "I'm glad the CDC is here, but what we really need is a vaccine."
Dean nodded towards the patients. "You got that right."
"Well, tell me, have you noticed anything unusual about the strain?" Sam asked. "Any signs of behavioral change, like aggression, maybe?"
"Excuse me?" the doctor asked.
"Have the flu victims shown any signs of, uh, homicidal tendencies?" Dean elaborated.
The doctor chuckled. "Uh...symptomatically speaking, we're looking at a relatively mild case of swine flu here," she said. "Probably add up to a miserable week off of work, and that's about it."
"That's it?" Amy asked.
"Nothing unusual?" Dean asked.
"Hmm." The doctor continued as another doctor handed her a clipboard with a file on it. "Day and a half ago, we didn't have a single case. Now we're looking at over seventy." She wrote something down on the file. "The infectious equivalent of a briefcase bomb. So, yeah, I might call that a little unusual."
"Day and a half?" Sam asked quietly.
"That's the same time those statues started crying," Dean said.
Sam nodded. "Yep."
Amy nodded in agreement.
The doctor handed the clipboard back to her coworker. "I'm sorry. What was that?" she asked the hunters.
"What was what?" Dean asked.
"I didn't hear anything," Amy added.
"Did you just say a bunch of statues started crying?"
"What?" Sam laughed. "Why, no. No. W-who would -"
Amy started laughing as well. "Statues don't cry."
"Yeah, who would say that, huh?" Dean asked. "Crazy people."
"Exactly."
"Yeah, which we are not," Dean added.
"No."
The doctor stared at them for a moment. "Just...get us some vaccine."
Both doctors walked away and Dean breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was close," Dean whispered.
"You mean by not talking about crying statues in front of people who can hear us?" Amy asked.
Sam and Dean exchanged a glance.
"Uh, yeah," Sam said. "Exactly."
"Alright, let's get out of here." Dean led them out of the hospital.
They got back in the Impala and sped away. Sam pulled out his phone and dialed Bobby's number, putting the call on speaker.
"Yeah?" Bobby greeted.
"Hey, Bobby," Sam said, "uh, so, we just got done at the hospital here."
"Let me guess," Bobby grunted, "another steamin'-hot pile of swine flu."
Dean nodded. "Yep."
"But if Pestilence was here," Amy added, "he was long gone."
"He touched down here," Sam said, "I'm sure of it."
"But why is he dealing them soft serve like swine flu when he's got the croatoan virus up his sleeve?" Dean asked. "I-I-I don't get it."
"Doesn't matter what the sick son of a bitch is doing," Bobby said. "What matters is this is the fourth town he's hit, that we know of, and we're still eating his dust. Did you get anything? We got even a snowball at probable next target?"
Sam shook his head. "Uh, no pattern we can see."
Bobby sighed. "Okay. Hold on." There was a long pause as the sound of squeaking wheels could be heard over the speaker. "Well, far as I can tell, he's still heading east," Bobby finally said, "so...head east, I guess."
"East?" the hunters asked in unison.
"Bobby, we're in West Nevada," Dean said. "East is practically all there is."
"Yeah, well, you better get to drivin'." There was a click on the line as Bobby hung up.
"Say...I've got an idea."
Amy jumped and let out a small scream as Crowley appeared right next to her.
Dean slammed on the brakes and the tires screeched as the Impala swerved. The moment the car was stopped, Sam spun around with Ruby's knife in hand and jammed it in Crowley's direction.
The demon disappeared at the last moment, and Sam ended up stabbing the backseat instead.
"Did you get him?" Dean asked.
"He's gone," Sam grunted.
Amy had pinned herself against the door as Sam had stabbed the seat. Right now, she was just glad she hadn't been sitting in that spot when the demon had arrived.
There was a knock on Dean's window as Crowley appeared outside.
"Fancy a fag and a chat?" Crowley asked.
Sam, Dean, and Amy opened their doors and stepped out, glaring at the demon.
"You're upset," Crowley noticed. "We should discuss it. Not here, but-"
Sam stalked after Crowley. "You want to talk?" he asked angrily. "After what you did to us?"
"After what I -what I did to you?" Crowley repeated in disbelief. "I gave you the Colt!"
"Yeah, and you knew it wouldn't work against the devil!" Sam shouted.
Crowley looked taken aback. "I never!"
"You set us up," Sam continued. "We almost lost people on that suicide run." He raised his voice again. "Good people!"
"Who you take on the ride is your own business!" Crowley snapped. "Look, everything is still the same. W-we're all still in this together."
"Sure we are." Sam lunged forward, swinging the demon knife through the air towards Crowley again.
Crowley teleported behind Sam. "Call your dog off, please," he asked Dean.
Dean grabbed one of Sam's arms while Amy grabbed the other.
"Give me one good reason," Dean said.
"I can give you Pestilence."
"Pestilence?" Amy asked, her tone indicating she didn't believe the demon.
"What do you know about Pestilence?" Dean asked.
"I know how to get him." Crowley smirked. "That's got your interest, doesn't it?"
"How?" Amy asked.
"Are you actually listening to this?" Sam argued.
Dean held up a hand. "Sam-"
Sam ignored his brother. "Are you two friggin' nuts?"
"Shut up for a second, Sam!" Dean snapped.
"I kinda wanna hear this," Amy added.
"Shut up, the bloody lot of you!" Crowley yelled back. "Look...I swear... I thought the Colt would work," he defended. "It's an honest mistake. It's all part of the learning process. But nothing's changed. I still want the devil dead. Well...one thing's changed. Now the devil knows that I want him dead. Which, by the way, makes me the most buggered son in all of creation."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Holy crap. We don't care."
"They burnt down my house!" Crowley exclaimed. "They ate my tailor!"
"Oh, boo hoo," Amy fake whined.
"Two months under a rock, like a bloody salamander!" Crowley continued. "Every demon on hell and earth's got his eyes out for me! And yet, here I am, last place I should be. In the road, talking to Sam and Dean Winchester, and Amelia Jones, under a friggin' spotlight!" Crowley pointed up at a street light and it exploded. He took a deep breath. "So come with me. Please. Do you want the horsemen rings or not?"
Dean gave Crowley a questioning look.
"Yes, I know all about that," Crowley said. "Shall we?"
There was a long pause before anyone spoke.
Amy turned to Dean. "Are we gonna do this?"
Dean looked at her, but didn't say anything. He turned back to Crowley. "Where are we going?"
"I'm glad you asked." Crowley teleported away and a second later, there was a knock from the backseat window.
Dean opened the back door. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Showing you where my place is," Crowley said, as if it was obvious. "Get in."
The hunters exchanged a glance and Dean slammed the door closed. Sam and Dean got into the front and Amy climbed into the other side of the back.
Dean started the engine. "Alright, where to?"
"It's just a few miles off the interstate." Crowley pointed out the windshield. "That way."
"Yeah, alright," Dean muttered. He pulled off the side of the road and began driving.
About ten minutes later, they pulled up to a dark, abandoned house. Crowley teleported out of the car and led the hunters inside.
The demon sighed as he stepped into the house. The inside was dark and cold. Cobwebs sat in each corner and a layer of dust sat on each surface. Dean rubbed his finger across a table, wiping some of the dust off.
"Here we are. My life on the lam. How the mighty have fallen," Crowley said dramatically. "Single-pane glass, used contraception in the fireplace." He waved a hand and a fire lit up in the fireplace. "The water damage alone-"
Dean cut Crowley off. "My heart's bleeding for you. Now, how do you know about the rings?"
"Well, now-" Crowley smirked "-I've been keeping a close eye on you lot."
"We got hex bags," Sam said. "We're hidden from demons."
"All but one," Crowley corrected. He pointed to himself. "That night you broke into my house, our first date, my valet hid a tracking device in your car. A magical coin that easily trumps your little bag o' bones."
'Seriously?' Amy thought. She rolled her eyes.
"It allows me to hear things, too," Crowley added, "and, my, the things I've heard." He chuckled. "So you want to cram the devil back in the box? Cunning scheme. I want in."
"You said you could get us pestilence," Dean said.
"Well, now," Crowley said slowly, "I don't know where Pestilence is...per se. But I do know the demon who does. He's what you might call the horsemen's stable boy. He handles their itineraries, their personal needs. He's who you want, believe me. He'll tell us where Sneezy's at."
"Well, how do we get him to spill?" Dean asked. "Rip out his toenails?"
Crowley clicked his tongue. "No. Nuts at his pay grade don't crack. We bring him here, then I sell him."
Amy frowned.
"Sell him?" Sam asked for her.
"Please. I've sold sin to saints for centuries. Think I can't close one little demon?"
"All right, so where's this demon of yours?"
"Pharmaceutical," Crowley said, "just outside of town."
"And you're sure he'll be there?" Amy asked.
"Oh, absolutely."
Dean nodded. "Alright, let's get going then."
"Just need to grab something first." Crowley teleported away.
"We should pack a bag," Dean said. He tossed Amy the keys. "Go grab my duffle from the trunk, would you?"
Amy caught the keys. "Yeah, sure." She ran out to the car and popped open the trunk.
She opened up her bag first, grabbing her pistol, just in case, slipping it into her jacket pocket. As she went to close the bag, something caught her eye. She picked it up to see that it was a blank DVD case with a note attached to it that read "watch this when you're alone."
Amy frowned to herself. She didn't recognize the handwriting. She also didn't have time to watch whatever was on the DVD at the moment. Putting the case back in her bag, she grabbed Dean's duffle and closed the trunk back up.
When she got back inside, Sam and Dean were waiting in one of the bedrooms.
"There you are," Dean said. "What took you so long?"
"Sorry." Amy set the bag on the bed. "I was grabbing something from my bag while I was out there."
"Hmm." Dean unzipped his bag and dumped the weapons out. "Alright, let's gear up."
Amy picked a handgun up from the bed and checked the ammo. It was running low, so she grabbed some more rounds and loaded them in.
Sam started flicking the blade of a pocket knife in and out. "Why are we even listening to him, Dean? This is totally insane."
Dean checked the ammo in another handgun. "I don't disagree."
Crowley entered the room from behind Sam and clapped his hands together. "One big happy family, are we, then? Fantastic."
Dean rolled his eyes. "You ready to go?" he asked the demon.
"Yes. Yes. I am." Crowley pointed at Sam as he turned to leave the room. "Sam, keep the home fires burning."
That last remark made the hunters pause and look at Crowley, confused.
"What are you talking about?" Dean asked.
"Sam's not coming."
Sam turned around. "And why the hell not?" he asked angrily.
Crowley walked towards Sam. "Because I don't like you...I don't trust you...and-" he stopped, pretending to think for a moment, "-oh, yes. You keep trying to kill me."
"There's no damn way. This isn't gonna happen!" Sam yelled.
"I'm not asking you, am I? 'Cause you're not invited. I'm asking you." Crowley pointed at Dean. "And you." He pointed at Amy with his other hand. "What's it gonna be?"
The hunters exchanged a quiet look. Sam smirked and turned back to Crowley.
Crowley scoffed. "Enjoy your last few sunsets." He turned to walk away.
Amy could see Dean hesitate for a moment, before speaking.
"Wait," Dean said quickly. "I'll go."
"Yeah, me too," Amy added.
At Sam's look, Dean asked, "What can I say? I believe the guy."
"I'm not sure if I do," Amy added. "But I'm not letting Dean go alone with Crowley."
"Excellent," Crowley spoke, "shall we be off then?"
Dean zipped up the duffle and picked it up. "Yeah, let's go."
Amy, Dean, and Crowley walked out to the car. Dean made Crowley sit in the front, so he could keep an eye on him, which left the backseat for Amy, as usual.
Dean tossed his bag into the back with Amy and started the engine. As they drove off, Amy saw Sam watching them leave from the doorway.
Crowley directed Dean to the Niveus Pharmaceutical building. Dean parked the Impala across the street and Amy handed him a pair of binoculars, pulling a pair out for herself as well.
Amy put her binoculars to her eyes. She could see people walking around inside the building, but couldn't tell if they were demons or not.
"Demons?" Dean asked, voicing Amy's confusion out loud.
"Nah. Human shields. The demons are up top." Crowley nodded towards the top of the building. "Twelfth floor."
Amy lowered her binoculars. "So we gotta find a way through all those people?"
"We'll have to find a way in through the back," Dean said.
"You Winchesters make everything so complicated." With that, Crowley teleported out of the car.
"Ah, crap," Dean muttered
Amy sighed. "Not again."
Something in the building caught Dean's eye and he quickly put his binoculars back up. Amy did the same to see Crowley standing behind a security guard.
The demon waved at them, before slitting the guards throat, killing him.
"Are you kidding me?" Amy asked, lowering her binoculars once more.
Dean swung open his door. "Crap! Crap!"
Dean started running for the building and Amy quickly followed. He knocked on the door, opening it when Crowley yelled from inside that it was unlocked.
Once they were inside, Amy could see several dead bodies around the floor. All of them with their throats slit.
"Oh, what the hell?" Amy asked, looking around at all the corpses.
Crowley was standing next to the security guard he had just killed, cleaning the knife with a handkerchief. "What?" he asked at Dean's look.
"You killed them?" Dean asked.
Crowley put his knife in his pocket and walked over to Dean, stepping over a body. "We're on a tight schedule. Come on." He grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him towards the elevators.
Dean allowed himself to be pulled along by the demon as he looked back at the bodies.
Noticing this, Crowley asked. "Now you're squeamish? Please."
Crowley led Amy and Dean to the elevator and the two hunters stepped inside. Crowley pushed the button for the top floor and stepped out.
"Go get 'em, tigers," Crowley said as the metal doors began to close.
"Wh-" Dean put his hand out, stopping the door, "-you're not coming?"
"Oh, no. It's not safe up there. There's demons."
Dean nodded. "Yeah, I get that."
"So you're just sending us up there alone?" Amy asked.
"Look, just do what I told you, a-and try to be convincing," Crowley suggested. "It'll work like a charm. Trust me." He pushed Dean into the elevator and the doors closed.
"Can you believe that guy?" Amy asked as the elevator started to whir.
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Dean pulled out the demon knife. "Hey, are you alright, by the way?"
Amy frowned. "Yeah, why?"
"I don't know. You just seem a little out of it recently."
Amy folded her arms. "Yeah, well, you know. My best friend just died, recently, so there's that."
Dean opened his mouth to say something else, but the elevator dinged, indicating they were on the twelfth floor. "Come on," he said.
Amy followed Dean out of the elevator. The floor was empty, except for one demon standing in front of a closed door. They snuck up from behind, and Dean stabbed it with the knife.
The body thudded against the door and a moment later, the door swung open, revealing a large room with a desk on the other side.
Sitting at the desk was a man in a business suit with combed, dark hair.
"Dean Winchester," the demon greeted. "What, no appointment?"
Dean stepped over the body and led Amy inside. "Kind of an eleventh-hour thing, you know?"
"Well, then, you're just on time." The door closed behind Dean and Amy. "Have a seat." The demon waved a hand and the two leather chairs in front of the desk turned around. "How's your brother?"
Dean and Amy silently sat down in the chairs. On the desk was a nameplate that read "Brady."
Brady looked up at them, turning his attention to Amy. "I don't believe I know who you are just yet."
Amy looked over at Dean, silently asking him what to do. Dean nodded and Amy turned back to the demon. "Amy," she finally said.
"Amy." Brady leaned back. "Wouldn't happen to be Jones, now would it?"
"Uh, yeah, actually," Amy said.
"I thought so." Brady smiled. "I've heard of your parents and the -" his eyes turned black "-tragic incident."
"Does every demon know my parents?" Amy asked. This hadn't been the first time a demon had recognized her last name.
Brady's eyes returned to normal. "Oh, yes," he said, "but that's not why you're here." The demon clapped his hands together. "Well, down to business, then. What can I do for you, two?"
"Actually, it's about what we can do for you," Dean corrected.
"Really?"
"Me, Sam, and Amy here dropped two of your jockeys. I think you know that."
Brady nodded. "Yes. I got the memo."
"Well, we kept their, uh, secret power rings."
Brady nodded again. "Mm."
Dean continued. "Which is why we're here. We heard some folks saying that you wanted them back and you were willing to pay."
"Hmm." Brady leaned back in his chair. "Where are they?"
"Not here," Dean replied. "But you want them, you'll come with me. Nice and civil. We'll get out of your little batcave here, and we'll discuss a transaction." He smiled confidently.
Brady shrugged slightly. "Who says I want them?"
Dean's smile fell. "What?"
"Who...says...I want them?" Brady repeated slowly.
Dean and Amy exchanged a look.
"Uh, well, someone did," Amy said.
"See…" Brady cleared his throat "...War and famine, even if I could cram the rings back on their bony fingers, I doubt it would do much good."
The demon stood up and walked around his desk, sitting on the corner in front of Dean. "They're withered husks right now," he continued. "Fetal position on the floor. All thanks to you. So I don't want the rings. What I want is retribution. And I'm gonna rip it right out of your ass!"
Dean smiled nervously.
"Uh," Amy said nervously, "I think it might be time for us to go."
Brady smiled at them in a way that made Amy feel uncomfortable. "Oh, but you've only just got here."
The demon stood up and began fixing the cuffs on his sleeves. Dean and Amy slowly started standing up, hoping to get out unnoticed, but it didn't work.
Brady snapped his head towards Dean, his eyes pitch black. He threw the hunter across the room, straight out of the office, and walked after him.
Amy quickly got up and ran after them, but as soon as she left the office, Brady held up a hand. She flew across the room and got pinned to the wall. It felt like she was being choked, but there was nothing around her neck. She clawed at her neck, trying to pull the invisible hand away.
Brady turned back to Dean and chuckled. "This…is so good."
Amy struggled against the invisible hand around her neck as Brady kicked Dean hard in the stomach.
The demon chuckled again. "Therapeutic, for sure. You know, Dean, I really owe you one, buddy, 'cause I feel-" he kicked Dean again, "-so…"
And again... "much…"
And again... "better!"
Brady stopped kicking Dean and cracked his neck. In the few moments he had free, Dean scrambled to his feet and ran down the hallway.
Amy was still being pinned to the wall by Brady. The demon turned to her as Dean ran off, and smiled evilly. "I'll deal with you later."
Before she could react, Amy felt herself get thrown across the room, landing with a thud against the wall. She slid to the floor, finally able to catch her breath.
"Dean!" Brady called out, walking down the hallway Dean had run down. "Where are you going? We're just getting started."
Amy sat on the floor for a few moments as her breathing slowly returned to normal. After a few moments, she stood back up and headed back down the hall. She got inside the elevator and pushed the button for the lobby floor, hoping Brady wouldn't show up.
The elevator finally stopped and the doors opened up to reveal Dean and Crowley standing on the ground floor.
"Perfect?" Dean was asking. "He didn't want the rings. He wanted me."
Amy looked down to see Brady unconscious on the ground with a bag over his head. A devil's trap was on the bad, preventing the demon from getting out.
Crowley waved a crowbar towards Dean. "Imagine the surprise on your face."
Dean straightened up. "What?"
Amy stepped out of the elevator and walked over to Dean. His face was bloody from large cuts on his forehead and bottom lip.
"Your ignorance and misinformation," Crowley continued. "I mean, completely authentic. You can't fake that." At Dean's look, he asked. "What? I-it went like clockwork."
"Are you kidding?" Amy asked. "We could have died up there."
Crowley smirked. "That's what you get, working with a demon." He picked Brady up, throwing him over his shoulder. "Shall we, then?"
Dean watched Crowley walk towards the door. He glared at the demon before walking out as well, Amy close behind.
"You alright?" Dean asked Amy as they left the building.
Amy nodded. Her throat still felt a little tight, but not as much as it had upstairs. "Yeah, I'm okay."
"Good."
Crowley put Brady into the backseat and slammed the door closed. After that, he turned to Dean and Amy as they approached and pulled his knife back out.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean said quickly, running up to the demon. "The hell are you doing?"
"Little redecorating," Crowley explained. He teleported into the backseat with Brady.
"Damn it," Dean hissed. He hurried around the front of the car and got into the driver's seat.
Amy quickly got into the passenger seat and Dean drove off. Crowley had Brady's shirt unbuttoned in the backseat and was carving a sigil into his torso.
"Hey, hot stuff, watch the upholstery!" Dean snapped.
"Up yours, mate." Crowley finished carving the sigil. "This bit of carving will tie our friend here down," he explained. "No zapping off, no smoking out. Locked in the meat suit. An important piece of our bargaining strategy."
Crowley pointed at the road ahead. "Now, up here, we don't want I-50. Take 93 north."
"What are you talking about?" Dean asked.
"That's not the way to the house," Amy added.
Crowley sighed. "Look, we can't take this guy back to your brother."
"Why the hell not?" Dean demanded. Crowley didn't answer. "Crowley!"
"They got history, all right?" Crowley finally said.
Dean slammed on the breaks and Amy felt herself jerk forward as the Impala came to a screeching halt.
Dean turned to Crowley. "You want to go anywhere, you start talking. What history?"
Crowley sighed. "Seems your brother and our demon pal here were buddy buddy back in the day."
"What the hell does that mean?" Amy asked.
"Well, from what I gather," Crowley continued. "A friend of Sam's got possessed back in school, and none of you found out."
Dean and Amy exchanged a glance. "Are you sure?" Dean asked Crowley.
"Positive," Crowley said. "Our demon pal here has been keeping tabs on Sam for some time now."
"Son of a-" Dean sped off, towards the abandoned house.
When they reached the abandoned house, Dean parked the Impala and stared up at the front door.
"This is a bad idea," Crowley said, "bringing him to your brother."
"Do me a favor and shut up," Dean snapped.
Crowley didn't shut up. "As soon as your brother sees who we've got here, he will kill him."
"I didn't ask for your opinion, Crowley," Dean snapped a bit louder. He opened his door and stepped out.
Amy got out of the car as Dean opened the trunk. "I hope this works."
"Yeah, me too." Dean dragged Brady out of the car and towards the house with Amy following behind.
When they got inside, Crowley was already waiting for them. A single chair sat in the middle of the room, just outside a Devil's trap.
"Oh, so, now you're on board with this?" Dean asked.
"No," Crowley said, "but I know there's no talking you Winchester's out of anything once you've got your mind set to it."
"Damn," Amy said, impressed. "The guy's met us once and he's already figured that out. I think that's a new record."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Grab the rope from my bag, would you?" he asked Amy.
The girl nodded and knelt down to open Dean's duffle. She pulled out a long, thick rope and handed it up to the other hunter.
"I'll go and fetch Sam." Crowley teleported out of the room.
Dean put the still unconscious Brady into the chair and began tying the rope around him. He finished tying the demon up, just as Sam walked into the room.
"Sam," Dean greeted.
"What's going on, Dean?" Sam turned to Amy. "Amy?"
"We need you to stay on mission, okay?" Dean asked. "Focused."
"Especially after you see who we've got here," Amy added.
"I don't understand," Sam said. "What's all this about?"
Dean continued. "We're doing this 'cause we trust you."
"Trust me to what?"
Brady stirred in the chair. "Sam?" He cleared his throat. "Sam, is that you?"
Sam looked at the hooded demon in shock, recognizing the voice. Dean removed the hood.
"Brady?" Sam asked in shock.
The demon chuckled. "Brady hasn't been Brady in years," he teased. "Not since, oh..middle of our sophomore year."
Sam glared. "What?"
"That's right." Brady grinned. "You had a devil on your shoulder even back then. All right, now, let it all sink in."
Sam's face turned red with anger. "You son of a bitch. You son of a bitch!" he yelled. "You introduced me to Jess!" He began to approach Brady, but Dean held him back.
"Ding, ding! I think he's got it!"
Dean began pushing Sam further back and Amy hurried over to help.
"Damn it, Sam!" Dean groaned.
"I'm gonna kill you!" Sam shouted at the demon.
Dean and Amy pushed Sam out of the room as Brady laughed.
"Hey!" Dean gave Sam a final shove into the next room. "That's enough!"
Amy stood to the side, letting the brothers argue.
"Get out of my way!" Sam demanded.
"No," Dean said.
"Get out of my way, Dean," Sam repeated.
"There is only one way to win, and it ain't by killing that thing in there," Dean said calmly.
Crowley appeared behind Sam and walked around him. "Well...sounds like you got him nice and fluffed," he told Dean. "Thanks so much." He walked out of the room.
"Listen to me," Dean told Sam. "We need Pestilence to get at the devil, and we need Brady to get to Pestilence."
"Why?" Sam demanded. "Because Crowley said so? Because we trust him now? Like I trusted Ruby? Or like I trusted Brady back at school?"
"No!" Dean snapped. "I don't know, alright?"
"Then what is it, Dean?"
"I don't know who to trust right now, alright?" Dean threw his hands up. "But we're running out of options and this-" he pointed to the next room, "-this is our best lead so far!"
Sam glared at his brother. "Amy?" he asked, not taking his eyes off Dean. "You got anything to add?"
Amy sighed. "Right now, I don't know who or what to believe. What I do know is that we do find Pestilence. I don't know if it's because of Brady or someone else, but I know we find him."
Sam glared into the next room. He started to walk towards it, but Dean held him back.
"Whoa, hey!" Dean said quickly. "I think you need to go cool off a bit."
"Dean-"
Dean pointed up the stairs. "Now, Sam," he said firmly.
Sam glared at his brother and turned to head up the stairs without a word.
Amy leaned back against the wall. "Fucking hell," she whispered.
"Do we really find Pestilence?" Dean asked.
Amy nodded. "Yeah. We do."
"Good." Dean grabbed his keys and opened the front door. "I need a beer. You want one?"
Amy shook her head. "I'm good."
Dean nodded in response and walked out of the house. He came back a moment later with a beer bottle in his hand. Sitting down in the arm chair, he cracked the drink open and took a sip.
A couple minutes later, Crowley walked back into the room.
"Well, how'd it go?" Dean asked. "He buy your girl scout cookies?"
"Not yet." Crowley looked around the room. "Where's your moose?"
"Upstairs," Amy said.
"He's cooling off," Dean added.
"All right, then. Get bent." Crowley started to turn away.
"You going somewhere?" Dean asked.
Crowley pointed into the room Brady was in. "Well, he won't budge, so now I go stick my neck out."
Dean leaned forward. "What are you gonna do?"
"Exactly the kind of desperate swashbuckle I've been trying to avoid. Now I go kick open a hive of demons." Crowley turned away, but turned back to say one last thing. "This whole bloody ring business better work." With that, he teleported from the house.
Amy sighed. "Alright, well, I'm gonna go…" she trailed off. "I don't actually know what I'm going to do. Walk around the house a bit until we figure something out?"
"Yeah, alright," Dean said. "Just be careful."
"Yes, dad," Amy mocked. She headed up the stairs.
Amy headed into one of the upstairs bedrooms. She wasn't looking for anything in particular, just exploring around a bit. A soft creak behind her caught her attention. She spun around just in time to get hit over the head with a blunt object.
The next second, everything went black.
Amy wasn't sure how long she was out. All she knew was that she found herself waking up with Sam and Dean over her.
"What happened?"
"Sam knocked you out," Dean told her.
"Dean-" Sam began to protest.
"He locked me in another room and knocked you out," Dean continued.
Amy sat up. "What?" she asked. "Why?"
"I was gonna kill Brady," Sam muttered.
"You were gonna what?" Amy asked loudly.
"I was gonna kill Brady, alright?" Sam repeated a lot louder. "But I didn't."
"Yeah, but you almost did," Dean said angrily.
"Wait, hold on." Amy rubbed the back of her pounding head. "Why did you just lock Dean in a room but knock me out?"
Sam turned his gaze to the ground. "Because I knew if I locked you in a room you'd just use your powers to get out."
Amy glared at Sam. "I hate you so much right now."
Sam sighed. "Yeah." He helped Amy to her feet.
"Brady's still alive though, right?" Amy asked.
"Yeah, don't worry," Sam assured her. "I didn't kill him."
"Good."
A far off howl could be heard in the distance. The hunters quickly turned to the window and looked outside.
"Oh god," Sam muttered.
"Please tell me that wasn't what I think it was," Amy said.
"Hellhound."
Amy let out a shaky breath. Her mind flashed back to the time she had almost been killed by a hellhound not too long ago. She still had the scar on her side from the incident.
"Come on," Dean ordered. He led Sam and Amy down the stairs, where Crowley and Brady were. "Why the hell is there a hellhound here, Crowley?"
Crowley groaned and pulled a coin from his pocket.
"What's that?" Sam asked.
"Remember I was telling you about my crafty little tracking device?" Crowley asked.
Sam nodded. "Yeah."
"Demons planted one on me."
"You gotta be kidding me," Amy muttered.
"You're saying a hellhound followed you here?" Sam asked angrily.
"Well, technically, he followed this," Crowley corrected.
"Get me out of here," Brady said quickly. "I'll tell you anything you want."
"Shut up," Sam snapped.
"Okay, well, then we should go," Dean said quickly.
"Sorry, guys. No one knows more about the hounds than I. You're long past the point of 'go'." Crowley tossed the coin towards Dean, who caught it, and teleported from the room.
"Damn it," Dean muttered.
"I told you!" Sam snapped.
"Oh, well, good for you," Dean said mockingly. "Luckily, we have salt in the kitchen."
"I'll help you," Amy offered. She followed Dean out of the room.
Sam stayed behind. "I'll watch Brady."
Dean and Amy ran into the kitchen, quickly spotting the salt on the counter. Dean moved to grab the container just as the window next to the table shattered.
The two hunters quickly ducked out of the way of the glass. They stood up and ran into the next room, closing the door behind them.
Dean grabbed his shotgun from his bag and tossed another one to Amy. She caught it and the two of them quickly began firing salt rounds at the invisible hounds.
Amy fired salt round after salt round at the hellhounds as she and Dean backed towards the room where Sam and Brady were.
"Sammy!" Dean yelled.
The hellhound let out a yelp and stopped chasing them. Amy could still hear its snarls as it crept closer towards them.
"Salt?" Sam asked as Dean and Amy entered the room.
"Damn it, get me out of here!" Brady yelled frantically.
"Shut up!" all three hunters yelled.
"Great," Brady muttered. "Just great."
"Hey!"
Amy looked up to see Crowley standing in the next room. "Crowley?"
"You're back?" Dean asked.
"I'm invested. Currently." A loud bark could be heard next to Crowley. "Stay!"
"You can control them?" Dean asked.
"Not that one." Crowley pointed next to Dean. "I brought my own." He patted the air next to him. "Mine's bigger. Sic him, boy!"
The rug in front of Crowley ripped as his hellhound ran into the room. Dean and Amy quickly ran out of the way as blood splattered around the room and furniture got knocked over by the fighting hounds.
Dean quickly untied Brady and scrapped some of the paint from the devil's trap. "Go," he said quickly, "go go go."
The hunters and demons hurried out of the house as the hellhounds continued fighting. They ran to the Impala and got in.
"I'll wager a thousand my pup wins," Crowley said. He chuckled and got into the backseat, next to Brady and Amy.
Dean started the engine and sped them away from the house.
April 23rd, 2010
It was just after midnight when they stopped at a nearby alleyway.
"Alright, Brady," Dean said. He pulled out the demon knife. "We kept up our end of the bargain. Now it's time to hold up yours. Tell us where Pestilence is."
Brady held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright."
Crowley handed over a piece of paper and a pen.
Brady took both and wrote something down. He handed the note back to Crowley. "Yeah. I'm sure Pestilence will be there. Thanks."
Crowley unfolded the note and read it. He walked back over to the hunters.
"What do you think?" Dean asked.
"Is he telling the truth?" Amy added.
"It's good." Crowley handed the note to Dean and turned to Brady. "You got no reason to lie, have you? Like I said before, you're in my boat now."
"You've screwed me for eternity," Brady snapped.
"Nah. Won't last that long. Trust me." Crowley followed Dean and Amy back down the alley to Sam.
"Where are you going?" Brady called after them.
Crowley turned back. "I'm going to do you a favor." He turned to Sam. "I expect we'll be in touch."
Dean poured a salt line behind Sam. He let Crowley pass, before closing the line.
"What is this?" Brady asked.
"All those angels, all those demons, all those sons of bitches," Dean spoke. "They just don't get it, do they, Sammy?"
Sam shook his head. "No, they don't, Dean."
"Not at all," Amy agreed.
"You see, Brady," Dean continued, "we're the ones you should be afraid of."
Brady scoffed.
Sam took the demon knife from Dean and approached Brady.
"I bet this is a real moment for you, big boy," Brady taunted. "Gonna make you feel all better?"
"It's a start."
"Gonna make up for all the times that we yanked your chain." Brady began to back away. "Yellow eyes, Ruby, me? But it wasn't all our fault, was it? No, no, no, no. You're the one who trusted us. You're the one who let us into your life, let us whisper in your ear over and over and over again. Ever wonder why that is, Sammy? Ever wonder why we were so in your blind spot? Maybe it's because we got the same stuff in our veins and, deep down, you know you're just like us."
Brady lunged at Sam, who quickly spun the demon around and stabbed him in the back.
The demon let out a yell and turned back around, panting. "Maybe you hate us so much because you hate what you see every time you look in the mirror. You ever think of that?" He began to laugh. "Maybe the only difference between you and a demon...is your hell is right here."
Sam jammed the knife into Brady's stomach. The demon flickered, before collapsing, dead on the ground.
"Interesting theory," Sam muttered. He stood up and walked out of the alley, passing Dean and Amy without a word.