Chapter 22
When Jessie woke up, it was nearly dawn. The first thing she did was get dressed and walk to the coffee shop down the street and grab a coffee as well as a blueberry muffin.
Once she was back in her room, she unlocked the safe, retrieving her laptop and flash drive from within it. Sitting down at the table, she began to go through the files and camera footage she'd taken from the shelter.
She got up and turned the TV on to the local news when she realized what time it was. She figured it was around the time for the morning news. She'd only had the TV on for a few minutes when a story about the massacre that had happened at the shelter came on.
She listened with interest as the interviewer spoke to the wife of the vet who'd been found killed, apparently by a dog attack. Jessie felt a pang of guilt for not arriving soon enough to save him, but she knew it wasn't her fault. She'd done what she could.
The rest of the story was about the five 'murdered' men and the 'murdered' woman who ran the shelter, and the mysterious missing camera footage. The police announced that they thought they'd be able to get the footage back, but Jessie knew she was much better than anyone the police would have to help them. The footage was gone forever and so were the files she'd removed. The only thing that could have erased those files more completely then what she had done was a giant magnet.
She was watching through the footage from the night before, when her phone began to ring. It was Bobby.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Jess."
"Let me guess, you were wondering if I'm okay?"
"Actually no," he replied. "I just saw the news. I was calling to congratulate you on a job well done."
"Why thank you, Bobby," she replied with slight sarcasm.
"Aren't you worried that the cops will manage to find the footage that's missing?"
"Are you kidding, Bobby?" she replied with a laugh. "I am that good."
He snorted. "And full of yourself."
She laughed. "Remind me to tell you the story about the time I hacked into the university's computers on a dare from my teacher, while he was trying to keep me out. It didn't end well for him."
There was silence on the other line, which made her laugh.
"I'm just glad you're okay," he said.
The way he ended his sentence, it seemed like he wanted to say more to her.
"And you want to know what I'm up to next, right?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know yet. I'll call you and let you know, Bobby. Talk to ya soon."
"Take care of yourself, kid."
She sighed as she ended the call. She knew there was more to his call than he'd let on, but she didn't want to dwell on it. She was busy.
She was still busy on her laptop when Sam called her on Skype shortly after her phone call with Bobby. She wasn't really in the mood to talk, but she figured she could keep working while she talked, so she accepted his call.
"Hey, Jessie," he said awkwardly. "You look good."
"You mean I don't look like I just took on a crapload of skinwalkers?" she asked sarcastically.
His eyes shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, I guess that's what I meant."
She had to admire his honesty.
"I told you I can take care of myself, Sam. But, I'll tell you what—" She paused for a moment to watch his reaction. In an instant she knew she'd piqued his interest. "I'm gonna send you the security footage and then you can tell me if you think I can handle myself or not."
"That's not necessary," he replied awkwardly.
"I'm gonna send it anyways," she replied admantly. "I just have to bounce it off a few hundred proxies first."
He shook his head in understanding. "So, what are you up to next?"
"I don't know, why? Do you have leads on another case?"
"No. I was just curious."
"Sam. It's barely been a week since we've seen each other. Don't tell me you miss me already?" she teased.
He looked incredibly uncomfortable. "I guess you could say that."
She thought he looked kind of adorable as he tried to be honest without seeming too eager. But as much as she wanted to be with him too, she also wanted to keep her distance. The constant conflicting feelings were becoming tiresome for her.
"I miss you, too, Sam," she replied, quickly adding, "and Dean," so she didn't sound too eager.
The smile that had begun to grow on his face quickly faded as she mentioned his brother's name.
"Did you get that file yet?" she asked.
"Downloading as we speak."
"So what have you been hunting?"
"Ghosts mainly," he replied. "We had to clear an entire building of spirits. Some idiot built it on top of an old family cemetery."
"That's classy," she replied sarcastically.
"Tell me about it."
There were a few moments of awkward silence, before Dean popped his head over Sam's shoulder and waved.
"Hey, Jessie," he greeted with a smile.
"Hey, Dean," she replied while waving back.
"So this is Skype, huh?" he asked.
Sam and Jessie began to laugh, remembering the comment he had made about Skype when he didn't know what it was.
A moment later, she thought she heard a familiar sound on the other end, as Sam began to click with his mouse.
"Has it finished downloading?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"Well...you watch it while I grab myself a drink," she replied, quickly standing up and crossing the room, not giving him a chance to respond.
She walked outside her room, stolling over to the pop machine. After dropping several coins into the machine, she pushed a button for her choice of pop and it rolled to the bottom of the machine with a loud thump. She reached through the little door, pulling out the can, then opened it quickly and took a long drink.
She proceeded to slowly stroll back into her room and over to the table where her laptop was still sitting.
"Did you finish watching it?" she asked Sam nonchalantly, as she sat down in front of the screen.
He gazed at her through the screen unmoving, his expression stoic.
"Yeah."
"So?"
He looked like he was searching for something to say, but didn't know what, when Dean poked his head over his shoulder again.
"Jessie, you're awesome."
She smiled, slightly embarrassed.
"I didn't survive this long without being able to take care of myself."
A knowing look passed over Sam's face, before looking guilty. "I never said you couldn't take care of yourself."
"I know, Sam," she replied. "But you don't need to worry so much about me."
He looked stoic for a moment, then smiled. "No promises."
She rolled her eyes playfully. "Sure."
They had a few quietly awkward moments, before they both said goodbye to each other and she signed out of Skype.
Shortly after the conversation, Jessie decided it was time for her to leave the motel–and town–before she had the chance to run into anyone she'd met at the shelter. She did some quick research and found a story that seemed promising a few hours away. So she packed up as quickly as she could, and headed there.
The town Jessie arrived in wasn't very large, so her options for motels were very limited. She drove by a few, deciding on the cleanest looking one. She wasn't in any particular hurry, since she wasn't even too sure about the story she'd found—she'd wanted to get out of the last town quickly enough it didn't matter—so she took her time settling into the motel room, before pulling out her laptop to begin researching a little more in depth, which she spent several hours doing.
When she'd had enough of researching, she called Bobby quickly to let him know where she was before she went out to the nearest place to have something to eat. Her only choices were a diner, or a fast food restaurant, since they were the only places open this late. Although she was already sick of eating at restaurants, she didn't have the luxury of having a kitchen to cook for herself so she had to make do.
When she arrived back at the motel, she was standing in front of her room trying to grab the key from her pocket, when all of the lights around outside began to blink simultaneously. She stopped what she was doing, frozen for a moment, before she realized what could be causing that to happen. She fumbled in her other pocket for her car keys, which she'd only thrown in there moments before, then ran back to her car heading for the trunk. She managed to get the keys into the lock and open the trunk—before everything went black.
Jessie's eyes were open and her body was moving, but none of it was under her control.
Everything she could see seemed very hazy, and her brain felt like it was shrouded in a heavy fog that weighed down on her every thought so heavily, it was nearly impossible to think. Her brain seemed to be crying out for sleep, for unconciousness, but there was a part of it that couldn't allow that, it couldn't lose it's grip no matter what.
Suddenly, she could hear something, very faintly at first, but the harder she tried to listen, the louder it became, until it was almost clear as a bell. It was a voice. A voice of an evil and tortured soul. The voice of a demon. And it was in her mind and her body.
"You're strong, but I'm stronger," the voice taunted. "You can fight me all you want, but you'll never win."
"That's where you're wrong. I'm not gonna let you stay in my head or body, you evil bitch!"
She could hear the demon laughing in amusement.
"My boss has plans for you, so I'm not going anywhere right now."
She wanted to ask more questions, but it had suddenly become much more difficult to keep her self-awareness. She needed all the strength she could muster to be able to keep it that way. She decided she could try and figure out what the demon was up to later. For the moment, she needed to keep aware of what her own body was doing. She needed to wait for the perfect moment to fight back.
Sam was busily packing his dufflebag when his phone began to ring. He dropped the bag and the clothes he had in his other hand, took the phone out of his pocket and looked at the display. He was surprised that it read; Jessie.
"Hello?"
"Sam," she said. "Are you busy right now?"
"Just packing. Why?"
"I, uh, think I'm in way over my head here. I was hoping you and Dean could come, help me."
"Uh, yeah," he replied in confusion. "You okay?"
"I'm fine, Sam."
"Where are you?"
"I'll text you the address."
"Sure. I'll see you soon."
"Bye, Sam."
"Bye, Jessie."
Sam pocketed his phone, then hurriedly finished his packing. He had intended on waiting for Dean to come back so he could pack his own belongings, but he felt that Jessie was in trouble and needed them right away, so he packed his brother's belongings as well, then waited impatiently outside for him to return.
He heard the Impala coming down the road, before he could even see it. He was holding a dufflebag over each arm and his laptop bag was slung over his shoulder. He looked at Dean with impatience as he pulled into the parking lot.
"What's going on?" Dean asked, as Sam opened the car door.
He threw the dufflebags and his laptop into the back seat, then sat down in the car, slamming the door.
"Jessie called," he began to explain, "She needs us."
"Needs us, or you?" Dean teased.
He glanced at his brother with narrowed eyes. He didn't find it very amusing.
"If she asked for our help, it must be pretty bad, Dean. Especially after what she did to prove she could look after herself."
He sighed, rolling his eyes, even though his brother couldn't see them while he was driving.
"While normally I might suggest you get that stick out of your ass," he said as he turned to glance quickly at him, before turning his attention back to the road. "I'm inclined to agree with you—this one time."
"I just wish she'd said more on the phone."
"You're worried about her, aren't you?"
"It's more than that, Dean. Something in her voice—I just can't put my finger on it."
He reached over and patted his brother supportively on the shoulder. "We'll be there in a couple hours, Sammy."
"Yeah," he replied, turning his head to look out the side window.
He couldn't put a finger on it, but Sam became more and more suspicious about the call the longer he thought about it. He knew his brother wouldn't understand, he wasn't as intuitive. He figured Dean was only humoring him about the whole situation.
The drive to the motel Jessie was staying at seemed unusually long to Sam. He knew it was because he was concerned about Jessie, making time seem like it was passing much slower than it was, but that didn't make it any more bearable to him. Even as Dean pulled the Impala into the motel parking lot right beside her Caprice, he felt like he was going to jump out of his skin.
As Sam flung the car door open–before it had even been put in park–Dean yelled his name, stopping him suddenly.
"What is it, Dean?" he asked anxiously, leaning into the car.
"Where the hell is your head, Sam?" he asked harshly. "We don't know what's going on. Since when do we walk blindly into a situation?"
He stared at his brother unblinking for a moment, then shook his head. "You're right. I don't know what I was thinking."
"I know what you were thinking," he replied sarcastically. "You weren't."
He gave his brother a tiresome look, then reached for his gun and checked to make sure it was loaded, before closing the car door, waiting impatiently.
Once Dean had checked his gun and placed it in the back of his jeans, the two of them approached the door cautiously. A knowing look passed between them as Sam knocked on the motel room door.
It seemed like minutes, or even hours to Sam, but it was only seconds before Jessie opened the door, glancing at the brothers with worry.
Another look passed between them as they walked into the room, this time one of concern. They walked into the middle of the room, then turned to wait for her to close the door.
When she finally closed the door, she turned around looking completely stoic. If Sam hadn't known better, he'd have thought she was heartless, cold and unfeeling.
"I'm glad you came so quickly."
"Why couldn't you tell us what was happening on the phone?" Sam asked.
"Because this couldn't be done over the phone," she replied evenly.
She began to grin mirthlessly, causing the brothers to reach for their weapons defensively. But with a sudden flick of her hand, Sam and Dean each flew against the wall, before they even had a chance.
They were struggling against a force that had them pinned against the wall, but they were no match for the demon's powers. They could only glare at the body of the woman who was now only a vessel for a demon.
"Awww, if it isn't the Winchester brothers in the flesh, come to rescue this poor, pathetically broken woman," the demon began to taunt.
"Shut your mouth, demon bitch!" Dean yelled.
"Why would I want to do that, Dean?" it asked with an evil grin. "Then you can't listen to all the things I have to tell you."
"You have nothing to say that we want to hear!" Sam yelled, struggling against the invisible force.
It smiled malevolently, making the face of Jessie look twisted and ugly. "Oh, you'll want to hear this, Sam. You'll both want to hear this."
It walked closer to them, stopping only a few feet away, still grinning. "She's got secrets she doesn't want anyone to know about. Secrets she'd rather die than reveal." Its smile became larger. "It's really a shame I can't make that wish come true."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked.
It turned to glance at Sam, grinning wildly. "I'm not allowed to kill her, which is such a shame. But orders are orders."
"Who's orders?" Dean asked.
"I know you're not that bright, Dean, but, come on. You must have some idea."
"Crowley?"
"Oooh, aren't we a smart boy?" it mocked.
"What does Crowley want with Jessie?" Sam asked with worry.
It laughed coldly. "That I don't know. But even if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't tell you." It stopped, glancing at Dean. "She's completely in love with your brother. Were you aware of that, Dean?"
He glanced at his brother, who looked slightly uncomfortable, then back at the demon.
"Yeah, so?"
"You mean you're not afraid of losing him to this tramp, Dean?"
"Don't call her a tramp!" Sam yelled, then moaned in agony as the demon caused him pain.
"It's true though, Sam," it said with a smile. "Dean's afraid of losing you to her. He even told her." It watched with pleasure as Sam glanced at his brother with shock and dismay. "Too bad she doesn't know exactly how you feel about her, huh, Dean? You think she's damaged goods."
"Shut up, bitch!"
"Well she knows now," the demon said, laughing in pleasure. "She's awake in here with me."
"I don't feel that way about her anymore," Dean replied with guilt.
It grinned maliciously. "No, of course you don't. In fact, you didn't think that way about her the night you slept with her, now did you?"
"Shut up!"
"No, Dean, I don't think so. In fact, I'm gonna do you a favor." It closed its eyes, then opened them slowly, grinning maliciously again. "Now she remembers the whole night."
"You evil bitch!" Dean screamed.
It looked towards Sam, whose face seemed twisted in agony. Then suddenly, its arms went to its head, its eyes closed and it seemed to be shaking, but it only last a few moments, before it opened its eyes again, grinning mischieviously.
"She definitely didn't like that," it said quietly.
"She's stronger than you think she is," Sam said with pride.
"Not as strong as she thinks though," it replied. "She's got a lot of skeletons in her closet. You see, that's why it's so easy to get her to back down. All I have to do is threaten to reveal her secret, the one she was fighting with Bobby about only a week ago." It gazed at Dean, grinning. "I guess I should just get this over with."
"Get what over with?" Dean asked.
"Kill you, Dean," it replied. "I would have done it already, but I like to play with my victims first."
"What about, Sam?"
"No, I'm not gonna kill your brother," it replied with a smirk. "Crowley has plans for him as well." It shrugged mockingly. "Sorry. Dean. You're the odd man out."
Sam glanced at the demon with surprise, then turned to his brother looking frightened.
Dean glared at the demon bravely. "Go ahead then. Kill me."
Sam screamed, "No!"
The demon picked a sharp knife up from the table that was nearby, testing its sharpness against the thumb of its vessel, drawing a slight amount of blood, smiling in pleasure as the crimson fluid burst from the skin.
"I wonder if this will still be her favorite knife after I kill you with it, Dean," it said with a grin that only lasted an instant, before it doubled over, screaming in pain.
The force that was holding the brothers against the wall, began to waver as the demon continued to howl in pain. They were trying desperately to break free of it, when it seemed to gain control over Jessie's body once again.
"I tried to play nice with this bitch, but she refuses to cooperate. So...since I can't kill her, I'm gonna do one better."
The demon was angry, holding onto the knife tightly. She glared at the brothers, wild eyed and insane. "You think Jessie is this big hero or something. Just like you boys, right?" it taunted. "But she's not a hero. She's just a scared, lonely little girl who's crying out for redemption. Everything she touches she ruins." The demon laughed, but it came out of Jessie's mouth as if it was being strangled. "She killed her boyfriend, then covered up his death. Made it look like a car accident."
Dean and Sam looked at each other in shock, then turned back to the demon as it began to screech loudly, flailing around in pain.
The demon continued to scream, then let out a strangled cry of pain as the opposite hand that was holding the knife, wrapped around the blade, squeezing so tightly it cut the skin of her hand.
Suddenly, the force holding the brothers let go, dropping them to the ground unceremoniously.
Dean yelled his brother's name, then without hesitation, reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulled out a flask of holy water, took the top off and began splashing it at the demon, who howled loudly in pain as each splash of holy water touched the body it was inhabiting.
Sam had waited a moment, until the demon was sufficiently in pain, then began to chant an exorcism in latin.
"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus. Omnis Satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversii. Omnis congregatio et secta diabolica, ergo, draco maledicte ecclesiam tuam. Secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos."
It was only moments before it looked skyward, and black smoke came billowing from Jessie's mouth, then her body fell heavily to the ground with a thud.
A/N: Well, wasn't that full of surprises? What do you think is going to happen now that they all know Jessie's deep dark secret? And what do you think Crowley could possibly want with her?
Thanks for reading!