Chapter Four: Call of the Dead
"Nothing's more hateful than failing to protect the ones you love."
Hailey didn't turn around as she ran towards her brothers. She knew that whatever was about to happen required all of her focus. It was a quiet walk through the streets on the way to William Jasper's farm. It was clear that whatever had happened to Carthage wasn't good. They hadn't seen nary a person since arriving at the town, and Hailey kept seeing more and more reapers. They were just standing around, waiting for something. Goosebumps shot down Hailey's neck as she continued to follow after her brother's. Somehow it felt like they were walking into a trap. Where had Meg gone? Had they really blown up all the hellhounds? She just hoped that Marley and Alex's sacrifice had not been in vain.
It was hard to believe that she had just been reunited with her brother's, that she had lost her old body, lost Abby and Lucy while gaining their powers. It was too much to comprehend. The phrase out of the frying pan came to mind. Shaking off the growing feeling of paranoia she suddenly stumbled to a stop. It was clear that they had found the former battleground for the Battle of Carthage. Dozens upon dozens of people were standing there, seemingly frozen in place as they stared at something in the distance. Immediately all the Winchesters ducked down, scouting the area for visible threats. No one person had made a move; there was no growling from hellhounds. Despite the quiet it just made Hailey even more wary.
"Guess he know what happened to some of the townspeople," Dean whispered.
"Last words?" Sam said.
The three exchanged looks before they all shook their heads.
"I'm good," Dean stated.
"Yeah, me too," Sam and Hailey replied.
"Then here goes nothing," Dean shrugged.
With one last look forwards one another they started a slow, quiet decent through the farm. Lucifer was distracted, filling a hole with dirt. His distraction enabled them to get closer. Hailey ducked behind a townsperson standing near the devil, while Dean crept closer.
"Hey!" Sam called, standing a fair distance away from both his siblings.
Lucifer turned dropping the shovel with a grin.
"You wanted to see me?" Sam asked, cocking the shotgun in Lucifer's direction.
"Oh, Sam, you don't need that gun here," Lucifer shook his head. "You know I'd never hurt you. Not really."
Whatever vessel was containing Lucifer looked reading to burst. The skin was patchy and gray looking. It looked like the body was dying, it wasn't something Hailey nor her brothers had ever seen before.
"Yeah?" Dean sneered. "Well, I'd hurt you."
Lucifer whirled around at the new voice but his reaction time was too late. Dean had already had the gun up and pointing at Lucifer. As their eyes locked, Dean pulled the trigger, shooting the devil in the middle of the forehead.
"So suck it," Dean growled.
Lucifer fell to the ground and the Winchester's exchanged startled glances. That had almost been too easy. None of the townspeople had moved, yet Lucifer lay seemingly dead at Dean's feet. Suddenly, Lucifer inhaled with a gasp, shifting to a sitting position. Groaning in pain, the devil rose to his feet. "Where'd you get that?"
Before Dean could answer or react, Lucifer lunged punching Dean so hard he flew back into a tree, crashing against it then crumbling to the ground. Hailey reacted quickly emerging out of her hiding spot to light the ground around the Devil on fire.
"Hailey Winchester," Lucifer smiled. "I heard you died."
"Rumors that have been greatly exaggerated," Hailey retorted. "You know how demon's love their gossip."
"No matter," Lucifer shrugged. "The Trinity prophecy has come and gone. Your life is meaningless."
With a flick of his wrist, Lucifer both doused the flames and sent Hailey flying towards the same tree that had rendered Dean unconscious. Just like that the Devil and his destined vessel were alone to talk.
"Don't feel too bad, Sam," Lucifer stated. "There's only five things in all of creation that gun can't kill. I just happen to be one of them. Now, if you'll just give me a minute, I'm almost done."
With the Winchester's ace in the hole seemingly useless, Lucifer turned his back on Sam. Once again Lucifer began to shovel dirt back into the hole. Sam rushed over to check on both his siblings, finding their pulses were strong. Lucifer turned on his heel, leaning against the shovel to regard Sam.
"I don't suppose you'd just say yes here and now?" Lucifer asked. "End this whole tiresome discussion. That's just crazy, right?"
"It's never going to happen!" Sam vowed.
"I don't know about that, Sam," Lucifer corrected, going back to filling the hole. "I think it will. And it'll happen soon. Within the next six months…in Detroit."
Sam shook with barely suppressed rage. "You listen to me, you son of a bitch. I'm gonna kill you myself, you understand me? I'm going to rip your heart out!"
"That's good, Sam," Lucifer grinned. "You keep fanning that fire in your belly. I'm gonna need all that rage."
With a visible exhale; Sam worked at unclenching his fists as he looked around the people assembled, who still weren't doing anything. They hadn't reacted to one thing that had happened in the field since the Winchesters arrived.
"What did you do?" Sam demanded. "What did you do to this town?"
"Oh, I was very generous with this town," Lucifer replied. "One demon for every able-bodied man."
"And the rest?"
"In there," Lucifer shrugged, gesturing towards the whole. "It's awful, I know. These horsemen are so demanding. So, it was women and children first. I know what you must think of me, Sam. But, I have to do this. I have to. You of all people should understand."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam snapped, visibly recoiling.
Sam knew that he wasn't normal. The boy with demon blood, as Castiel had said when they first met. He always felt like a black cloud was following him. To hear that he might have anything in common with Lucifer was almost too much to bear.
"I was a son," Lucifer explained. "A brother, like you, a younger brother, and I had an older brother who I loved. Idolized even. Then one day I went to him and begged him to stand with me. And Michael turned on me, called me a freak, a monster. He beat me down. All because I was different. Because I had a mind of my own. Tell me something, does any of that sound familiar?"
It did sound familiar. Sam knew that he was the one who really truly ever contested the way his family lived. He wanted normalcy but that wasn't what he got. And, there would always be a little part of Sam that resented that fact. He understood why his father had done the things he had when Sam and his siblings were younger. But, that was still a lot of rage to get through.
Lucifer also knew that his story had landed on Sam. That maybe the two truly weren't that different. "If you'll excuse me, Sam. Midnight is calling and I have a ritual to finish."
Lucifer walked towards the hole and started to chant. He then turned to the assembled demons and called, "Now repeat after me. We offer up our lives, blood, and souls to complete this tribute."
Dean and Hailey stirred, crawling as far away from Lucifer as they could. Sam stood in front of his siblings, in an attempt to shield them as they got their wits back. Once they rose to their feet, they watched horrified as one by one demons flashed gold and then crumbled to the ground, lifeless. As if feeling the extra attention, Lucifer glanced back at them.
"What?" Lucifer scoffed. "They're just demons."
When the last demon fell the ground shook. Hailey flinched when Castiel suddenly appeared in front of the trio. He held a finger to his lips before reaching out to grab hold of them. One minute whatever Lucifer had raised was about to walk the Earth, the next they were at the Roadhouse, safe and relatively sound.
"I think we have a problem," Dean said.
"You would be right about that, Dean," Natasha agreed. "The last horseman walks the earth. The apocalypse has truly begun."
Natasha's declaration did not go over well. Castiel had vanished to make sure that Ellen, Jo, and Darren got back safety. It didn't take long for them to come back. Soon the Roadhouse was buzzing with activity. There was a level of unease in the bar area. The hunters assembled didn't know what was going to happen. All they knew was all the horsemen walked the earth along with the devil himself. So far it felt like they were losing this war in a major way.
When Darren emerged from one of the backrooms with a duffel bag, slung over his shoulder. Hailey stepped to meet him.
"I have to go," Darren whispered. "I have to tell my parents…"
"I'll go with you," Hailey stated.
"Hails," Darren started.
"That's not a trip you want to make by yourself, Dare," Hailey responded. "You don't have to."
Darren sighed, his shoulders slumping forward. It looked like the weight of the world was on the young man's shoulders. Hailey was at a loss she had experienced death of friends and family countless times over, but frequency never dulls the keen sting of loss. Especially losing not one, but two siblings in a day. That was something that Hailey had never seen before.
She also knew that she owed Alex and Marley her life. Had it not been for their noble sacrifice, the entire group probably would've died last night. It may have been the only choice Marley and Alex felt they had; it still felt senseless. How did they not prepare for that? Why couldn't Castiel had been there to heal them? Why was it always on the Winchester's friends to take the short end of the stick?
"Let me just grab my things?" Hailey said, pausing in her movements to give her boyfriend a hug.
It was obvious that Darren needed that hug, however minor the comfort was. The man was barely holding it together. Right now he had a mission to go back to his parents. It would keep the emotional wounds at bay. But it wouldn't hold for long.
A few minutes later, the youngest Winchester had gathered her meager belongings, and after informing Dean where she was off to followed Darren to his car. It was a quiet drive the Whitman farmhouse. But, it wasn't the tense kind of quiet. It would've been nice, serene even, in other circumstances. Now, however, the loss of Alex and Marley hung heavy in the air.
Telling Meredith and Charles Whitman that their oldest children were dead, was easily one of the most difficult things that Hailey Winchester had ever had to do. It was something that Hailey and Darren had to do alone. The Whitman's Nebraska farmhouse had not changed in years. It was kept up and protected with every sigil one could imagine. However there were some things that sigils couldn't protect you from. Meredith was smart as a whip, already waiting outside as Darren's mustang drove up the dirt road.
"What is it?" Meredith demanded.
Darren and Hailey had barely gotten out of the car. Hailey crossed over to the driver's side door, taking Darren's hand as the duo approached the Whitman matriarch.
"Mom," Darren began. Only to stop as his voice broke. With a deep breath he started again. "Mare and Alex…They…they didn't make it."
"What are you talking about, boy?" Meredith growled. Her voice cold with fury.
Darren flinched only to look his mother dead in the eye. He stared her down waiting for what he said to sink it. He watched, heartbroken as his words finally landed. Meredith stumbled back as if she had been slapped. If it had not been for Charles coming up behind her and steadying his wife, she would've been on the floor.
It was something that scared both Darren and Hailey. They had seen Meredith in all situations and she had never lost her composure, never broke, never faltered. When Darren had been in the hospital, near death himself she had her game face on the entire time. To see her falter, it made breaking the news ten thousand times worse.
Darren took a deep breath as Hailey grabbed his hand. Taking one more moment to compose himself he began, "There were hellhounds. There were more than we thought and then…then one got Alex. There was nothing we could do. Then Marley was attacked, I got her out of harms way but it wasn't fast enough. It was Marley's idea to build a bomb. Blow the hellhounds to kingdom come. They sacrificed themselves for us. For me. To get a shot at Lucifer."
"Then what happened, son?" Charles asked.
"We couldn't complete the mission," Darren confessed, tears welled and spilled over ashen cheeks. "The last horseman is rose."
"Oh, Darren," Meredith breathed.
Hailey took a step back as mother and father embraced their surviving son. She moved away to give the family their privacy. Hailey felt her phone begin to ring. She walked further away in order to answer the phone without interrupting the grieving family. She pulled it out glancing at the display.
"Hi, Dean," Hailey whispered.
"Hey sweetheart," Dean replied. "How's it going?"
"I've had better days," Hailey confessed.
One eye was trained on her surroundings; the other was focused directly on a grieving family. How often had she seen that same scene? When Dean had died. When Sam had died. When their father had died. She assumed it was the same for her own death. It wasn't fair. The Winchester's seemed to have an immunity on death, yet their allies weren't so lucky. What was it about Hailey's family that was so special?
"We're on our way out," Dean said. "Aiden's upright, walking stronger. Ellen's gathered everyone she could. Everyone should be there to pay respects."
"I'm not sure respect is what they want, Dean," Hailey sighed looking at the broken family in front of her. Nothing was going to stem that bleeding.
Hailey stayed back, not wanting to intrude on the family. After a while the Whitman's moved inside, while Hailey stayed outside. The last time she had been a visitor at the farmhouse they were mourning two other hunters. It was like a never-ending funeral procession.
She didn't know how much time had passed before the front door opened again. Meredith Whitman was a strong woman, had been since Hailey knew her. As Meredith closed the distance between them, it was clear to see that the older woman had been crying but her eyes were full of rage, not grief.
"Is that really you?" Meredith asked. "Hailey?"
"It is," Hailey replied. "The Angels had me in hiding until Beelzebub was dead."
"Makes sense," Meredith nodded.
"I'm so sorry for your loss," Hailey whispered.
"Thank you, baby," Meredith sighed. "Feels like it never ends, right?"
"I was thinking that," Hailey confessed.
"You rally around family," Meredith said. "Never forget why we're doing this. I raised my babies right."
"Yes, you did," Hailey agreed. "They were strong to the very last second. We tried to talk them out of it but they made up their mind."
"I know," Meredith frowned.
"Everyone should be on their way up here," Hailey announced. "We don't want to leave you alone."
"Oh, baby," Meredith replied. She laid her hand on Hailey's cheek. "We're never alone."
Hailey moved out of the older woman's grasp, only to move into a hug. Meredith returned the embrace pulling the youngest Winchester into a tight embrace.
"I'm so happy you're back," Meredith confessed. "Darren wasn't handling your passing well."
"I'm not sure he'll be able to handle this well, either," Hailey frowned.
"You may be right about that, Hails," Meredith nodded.
The tense moment was broken up with the familiar growl of the impala's engine, quickly followed by other cars.
"Ah," Meredith smiled. "I see the cavalry has arrived."
The women moved apart to watch car after car come on to the lot. The impala was leading the charge, which was no surprise to Hailey. Both Darren and Charles came out of the house to greet their guests. Despite the somber situation it seemed that spirits were relatively high.
It was the way that most hunters tried to mourn. Celebrate the lives of those who passed on. Honor their sacrifice and keep moving forward. That would come later. Now, was a time to remember Alex and Marley, what they had selflessly given.
"Welcome!" Charles called.
Greetings echoed in kind as people stopped their cars and got out. Huge dishes of food and coolers appeared and suddenly people were in a flurry of movement to bring food into the farmhouse as people paused in their movements to give their regards to Darren, Charles, and Meredith.
Hailey moved over to her brothers grimacing as Dean ruffled her hair. She shoved him away from her only to get picked up by Sam. After a quick hug, she was set back on her feet.
"Hay," Aiden greeted. "Good to see you."
"You've seen me loads of times, Ads," Hailey laughed, excepting his hug regardless.
It was clear that Aiden was healing quickly. The bruises littered all over his skin were starting to heal and it went a long way to settling her nerves. As people wandered into the farmhouse, things quickly settled to a dull roar. Every so often you heard crying. But there was also laughter as people tried to remember more of the good times than the bad. There were easily thirty people in the farmhouse, but the sprawling property made things comfortable for everyone. It was easy to host hunters, as long as there was a flat surface people could sleep and as the sun dipped below the horizon it was clear that after an emotionally exhausting day, people were starting to fall asleep.
Hailey followed after Darren, knowing that the latter knew he was being followed. He opened the door and held it open for his girlfriend. Hailey shut the door behind her.
"I love you so much," Darren whispered, pulling her into a desperate hug.
"I love you too," Hailey replied. "I'm here, Dare, I'm not going anywhere."
Hailey held Darren tightly as he crumbled before her. She felt tears on the side of her neck as Darren began to sob.
"I know," Hailey whispered. "I know."
Hailey led him over towards the bed, pushing him into a sitting position. She helped get his sneakers and his sweatshirt off. Darren stood up a moment to take off his jeans, leaving him in just a T-shirt and boxers. Hailey made herself at home, taking off her bra, and jeans. She grabbed a different T-shirt pulling it over her head.
Once both were somewhat settled they both climbed in bed. Darren laid his head on Hailey's chest as his arms locked tightly around her. Hailey brushed her fingers through his short hair, humming softly. Both were crying, taking comfort in one another's presence.
Hailey wasn't sure when exactly she fell asleep. It was only when she startled awake very early the next morning that she realized what had happened. She glanced over and saw that it was only five thirty in the morning. With a groan, she rolled over content to try and go back to sleep. Only a startled scream quickly axed that plan before she could even settle
Darren jumped awake a half second after Hailey had sprung out of bed. She grabbed a gun from where her jeans laid puddled on the floor. When Darren was similarly armed they opened the door and ran down the stairs. Whatever Hailey had expected to find, she could never have imagined this. Standing in the foyer of the farmhouse was Marley and Alex Whitman. As if that wasn't bizarre enough they weren't alone. Standing just behind the siblings was someone that Hailey had never thought she'd see again.
"Dad?" Hailey gasped.