Chapter Six: Ghost Town ((Shiny Toy Guns))

Sam confirmed Dean's theory that the demons around the town were nocturnal. The younger Winchester had been traveling only in the day, making sure he'd found someplace to hide out in the hours before dusk. Even still, he'd gotten caught the previous night when a group of them had found his hiding spot in a small alleyway shed. Apparently they hadn't taken kindly to someone using their shed to sleep in. Luckily for Sam, there had only been three of them, and they weren't too terribly powerful. Hunters didn't deal much with demons, but they knew how to get rid of one, on the occasion that one was found. And after what had happened with their mother, demons were something the Winchesters knew a little more about than most hunters their age.

Sam knew the spell by heart, which was a very good thing. Dean knew a little more than half, but Latin was tricky and he hadn't had much practice with it. Still, after chanting the exorcism spell, the demons had been driven out of the humans they were possessing. And after that, the humans had disappeared. That usually didn't happen, and it confused Sam. It confused Dean as well, when he told him about it.

They would think about that later. The light was beginning to fade into that limbo between sunset and dusk, and they needed to find somewhere to hide for the night. Just because there were more of them now didn't mean they felt like getting into unnecessary fights before they could reach the city. None of the places they'd come across looked particularly inviting, not that any of them were expecting it at this point.

Just as they were about to give up and find an alley somewhere to take their chances with, Dean spotted another bar. It was much smaller than Balthazar's club, and Dean hoped that meant it was an actual bar this time. He figured they could go in and see what they could find, and if nothing else, they could go back to their previous idea. He didn't exactly want to spend the night hiding out behind a dumpster in an alley, so he was kind of grasping at any available option at this point. The others agreed.

The place wasn't very remarkable, like it was made to be inconspicuous. There wasn't even a sign to tell them what the place was called, unless you counted the little plastic tag on the door that read 'The Roadhouse'. Dean tried the door, finding it unlocked. Quietly, he poked his head inside to look around.

It was empty. There were a few tables scattered around, but the bar took up most of the room, all polished wood and thick supporting pillars. Behind the bar was everything in your typical bar, coolers and taps, sinks and empty glasses and a computer screen register.

But no people. It was suspicious. Demons weren't the trusting type. They wouldn't leave a bar unlocked at closing time. But it was too well- kept to be abandoned. Still, it looked safe for now, so Dean stepped inside, moving so Sam and Castiel could join him.

Dean looked around. The bar looked completely different from the night club, for which he was grateful. This was more his type of place. Small, quiet and low- key. Old movie posters hung from the walls, mostly old Westerns and action movies. A few framed photos joined them, some autographed by people who'd come by the bar. For something probably run by demons, it was pretty comfortable.

Sam seemed to share Dean's earlier suspicions as he sat down at the bar, twisting on the stool. "Where is everyone?"

"Too early, I guess? It's not really dark yet."

"Should we hide out then? Find a room or whatever where they won't look for the night?"

Castiel studied the dining area, eyes looking up to scan even the ceilings. As if the architecture impressed him more than anything else. And Dean supposed that could be the case. He didn't know how angels thought.

"I guess that'd be the best plan. A smaller place like this one probably has less people around in a night than other places. We'd be better off here, less chance of getting found."

Sam nodded, and Dean got up from his seat, leaving his brother and the angel in the main room. There was a swinging door that led to the kitchen, and he made a note of that. They still had to eat at some point. Across that door, in a square- shaped hall, was normal door, labeled 'Employees Only'. He figured it was as good a place to start as any, and turned the knob.

The door opened and Dean's eyes widened as he was greeted by a shotgun barrel to his face. He froze.

"Have trouble reading?"

His hands went up immediately in a gesture of surrender. "Whoa, sorry. Not here for any trouble, I was just wondering why the place was empty."

"We're not open yet, obviously."

"Right…"

He took his eyes off the gun, glancing at the person holding it. A woman stared back at him, face set in a no- bullshit line. Her grip on the gun didn't falter. She looked older than Dean by at least ten years, probably more. Her blonde hair was cut at average length, brushing at her shoulders. She was dressed casually, a lot like Sam and Dean, a t- shirt under a blue over shirt and jeans.

"Any reason you're still here, then?" she spoke up again after a moment, a slight Southern drawl to the tone.

"Um…"

"Dean?"

His eyes widened again. Shit, Castiel. "It's fine, Cas, just—"

A dark- haired head popped into the hall before he could finish telling the other to stay back. "What's going on?"

Dean sighed. The woman cast a glance at Castiel, but kept the gun trained on Dean.

"Any more of you out there?"

"Just one," Castiel replied. He looked at Dean. "Are you alright?"

Dean frowned. "Cas, remind me to teach you how to react in dangerous situations, okay?"

He seemed confused, but nodded. Dean rolled his eyes. The woman shifted her shotgun, motioning toward the bar. "Out, both of you. Tell whoever else is in there not to try anything."

"We're not here to try anything; we were just trying to find somewhere to stay tonight."

"This look like a hotel to you, son?"

She marched them both out to the main room, where Sam was still sitting on the bar stool. He had his arms raised up though, so he'd obviously heard the woman's warning. She shifted the gun again, motioning them to sit. Dean complied, pulling Castiel down onto the stool beside him.

"Okay, I know this looks really bad," Sam started placatingly. Dean was almost relieved. If anyone could get this woman to hear them out, it was his brother. "We were just trying to get out of the street before it got dark. I got into a fight with some demons yesterday and didn't wanna be around them again tonight."

She looked them over, judging the sincerity of his statement. "That's assuming you're not demons yourselves."

Castiel frowned, insulted. "I'm an angel."

This made her laugh. "That's a new one."

Dean sighed. "Look, we're not demons. Aren't they like, nocturnal around here anyway?"

"Usually. Not to say they can't get up early if they want."

"You keep saying 'they'. You're not one, are you?" Sam looked her over.

"Well aren't you a smart one?" she grinned humorlessly, although the gun didn't move.

Dean ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit. They were getting nowhere fast. "Okay look. We'll just get out of your hair and go back to our original idea of camping out behind a dumpster or whatever."

He waited for her to agree, but when he looked at her, she was staring at his arm. He arched a brow, following her gaze. She was looking at the necklace Jo had taken from Lucifer and wrapped around his wrist.

"Where'd you get that?" she asked finally.

Sam and Castiel looked as well, curious to see what it was. Dean quickly pulled his arm behind his back. Jo had told him not to let anyone see it if he could help it.

"A friend of mine gave it to me."

"You friends with the Devil then?"

"What? No!" He stared at her in surprise. Beside him, Sam frowned. "Although I apparently I killed him."

She arched a brow. "I had heard something about that."

The other two just stared. She lowered her gun, stepping closer to Dean. He let her. She studied him intently. After a few more tense moments, she sighed.

"Should've known."

Dean was confused. Sam and Castiel were beyond confused. The woman set the gun on the bar, leaning against it easily.

"She's got a protection spell on you. I would've noticed it sooner, but I was too busy wondering how you'd gotten through the spells on the bar."

Dean frowned. It was starting to click into place. "Jo?"

She nodded. "My daughter. I'm Ellen."

"Oh." Well that was unexpected. "I'm Dean. That's my brother, Sam, and Castiel."

Just like that, the air around them relaxed. "Alright boys, welcome to the Roadhouse. What'll you have?"

Dean laughed. The woman who'd spent the past ten minutes debating whether or not to shoot them was offering them drinks like nothing had happened. He wasn't going to complain. "Two beers and a Pepsi."

Beside him, Castiel brightened. He didn't care much for the alcohol he'd had at Balthazar's club, but he had liked the soda Dean shared with him at the bus station. Ellen nodded, grabbing two bottles out of the nearest cooler and filling up a glass from the bar.

"So this place is protected by magic too?" Sam asked, taking the bottle from her gratefully.

She nodded. "Jo's doing. Keeps most of the demons out. The worst ones, at least. Everyone else, I don't mind, so long as they don't make trouble." She looked at the three of them. "You guys want something to eat?"

By the time the sun finished setting and the bar opened for the night, the boys were comfortable and fed for the night. Ellen offered to let them stay the night in the guest room she had upstairs. There was no pull- out bed, but there was a pretty good couch, she assured them, and plenty of extra blankets and pillows.

They stayed at the bar for now, not quite ready to sleep. All the spells Jo had put in place, both on the bar and with the Winchesters, kept the bar's patrons from finding out exactly what they were. So they were mostly ignored for the night, only Ellen coming by every so often to chat and refill their drinks. She was friendly, when she wasn't pointing a gun at them. She had a sort of motherly quality about her, taking care of them. Their drinks and food had been on the house, she assured them, mostly because she felt bad for almost shooting them.

It was getting late, and after a few more drinks— double the amount of Pepsi in Castiel's case. Dean made a note to watch out for him becoming overly caffeinated in the future— they got up to head to the guest room. Ellen waved them off with a smile.

Before they could make it, however, the front door slammed open. Everyone in the bar stopped what they were doing, staring at whoever was making the scene. Not that there were many patrons in the bar that night. Mostly weak supernatural creatures, a few lesser demons. But it was still far quieter than it should have been in a bar mid- night, as two women slid into the bar. They looked around, eyes flitting to inky black as they scanned the bar's occupants. Demons.

Most of the customers went back to their drinking and conversation. A few even tossed their money on the tables and started sneaking toward the exit. The women sauntered over to Ellen at the bar. Dean watched them carefully. Beside him, Sam was doing the same.

The first one, a small blonde with hair cut short and a playful grin, asked Ellen something the brothers couldn't hear over the din of the bar. She shook her head. The second frowned, obviously the more serious of the pair, with auburn hair curling loosely to the middle of her back. She snapped something, her mood soured by whatever Ellen had answered with.

Then she turned to the three of them and smirked.

Dean heard Sam curse beside him. The brunette nudged her friend with an elbow, and she turned to them as well, a bright smile lighting up her face.

"Hey Sam! We've been looking for you!"

Sam tensed.

Ellen cleared her throat. "I don't want any trouble in here. If you're here to start some, you'd best just leave now."

"No trouble at all," the brunette chuckled, crossing her arms. "Just here to see a friend."

Dean looked from them to his brother, confusion evident. Sam bit his lip. "Meg and Ruby. They're the ones that caught me the other night. I thought I'd gotten rid of them though."

"Dude, you got your ass handed to you by some chicks?"

"Shut up, Dean." Sam shook his head, taking an instinctive step back as the two advanced.

More patrons were starting to leave, obviously sensing trouble. Dean took a step forward, keeping Castiel and his brother a bit behind him. The blonde continued to smile at them, stepping closer.

"Aww, look Ruby, he picked up some friends."

Ruby looked them over. "Another human too. And something else."

Narrowing his eyes, Dean pushed Castiel farther back, out of her vision. The last thing these demons needed to know was about the angel they were carting around. "What the hell do you want with Sam?"

Meg laughed. She was close now; she could reach out and tap him on the shoulder if she wanted. "Our boss wants to see him. So we've been trying to take him there. He hasn't been very cooperative."

Sam snorted. "No shit."

She turned to him, shaking her head in mock- admonishment. "Sam, c'mon… we're only trying to do our job here."

"It's not very pleasant when we come back without doing our job," Ruby added.

At the bar, Ellen cleared her throat. "I told you, if you're here to make trouble—"

Ruby flicked out a hand in her direction. Immediately she went flying back, hitting the back of the counter. This broke the tense moment. Sam shot past Dean, slamming into Ruby and sending both of them to the ground. Dean reached out, grabbing Meg by the shoulder before she could turn to help the other woman.

"Cas, go help Ellen!" he snapped, and the angel nodded, hurrying to the bar with trench coat tails flying behind him.

The rest of the bar's customers booked it, leaving them alone. Ruby slammed a knee into Sam's side, knocking the breath from him. Dean twisted Meg's arm behind her back sharply, only to reel back as she rocked her head back, hitting him in the chin. Castiel ducked behind the bar, helping Ellen sit up from where she'd landed. She was a bit disoriented, but she wasn't hurt.

Ruby quickly switched their positions, knocking Sam back into the wood floor hard enough to make him see stars for a moment. Meg ducked the punch Dean aimed for her, sweeping a leg out to knock his legs out from under him. He fell back just in time to dodge, but she was ready, pressing a palm to his chest that sent a wave of demon power through him, sending him through the air as it had Ellen.

Dean hit the wall opposite them, crashing into a table. It broke down the middle under his weight. He grimaced and moved to get up, but found himself unable to, held down by an invisible force. Meg took her time moving closer, her arm still outstretched, keeping him still. Across the room, Ruby held Sam down, a hand tight around his neck, squeezing air slowly from him as he struggled against it.

"Now," Meg chirped, "As much fun as this was, we've still got a job to do. And that's—"

She stopped, flinging her other hand out in time to catch Castiel, who'd ducked behind the bar to tackle her. She knocked him against the wall beside Dean, holding them both there with her power. "Nice try."

"Leave them alone!" Castiel growled, squirming against the hold more than Dean could hope to. Must be an angel resistance. His blue eyes narrowed in fury, but without his Grace, he couldn't break free.

Instead, Meg made a loose fist with the hand holding Dean in place. Immediately, he felt like his insides were being crushed, forcing a pained yell from his throat. Castiel fought harder, shouting at her to stop.

She did, and Dean gasped in a breath.

"As I was saying before I was interrupted, we're supposed to take Sam back. Our orders don't say anything about the rest of you, which means we can pretty much do whatever the hell we want with you."

Behind them, Sam choked out something before Ruby tightened her grip. "So here's the deal, Sam. Come with us, and we let your friends keep breathing."

"Sam, don't!" Dean hissed.

His brother nodded, and Ruby eased back, letting him take in a gasp of air.

"Fine," he said, coughing again as he struggled to right his breathing. "Just leave them alone."

Ruby patted his cheek. "Thatta boy."

Dean fought against the hold once again, but Meg kept them both in place. Sam shot him an apologetic glance.

Before anything else could happen, there was a surprised yelp, and Ruby's weight was suddenly off him. Confused, he looked up in time to see her fly across the floor, landing on her stomach.

Meg seemed shocked by this as well. "What the hell?"

Sam was on his feet in an instant. The front door was knocked right from its hinges by a kick. Everyone turned to look at it, and Meg went flying back as well. Both Dean and Castiel slid down the wall, and the hunter would have fallen forward if not for Castiel moving to hold him up.

The bar was silent. Then there was a snap of fingers. Meg and Ruby disappeared abruptly. The remaining occupants of the bar looked around in shock, before a figure stepped into the open doorway.

"Boy, you guys throw a mean party."

Castiel gaped, staring at the grinning man.

"Gabriel!"