After leaving an intense poltergeist hunt in South Carolina, Sam and Dean stopped by an abandoned house in Cleveland, Tennessee on the way home to the bunker. Sam had seen several reports about someone, or something, killing teenagers that stopped by to vandalize it. It was a little below their usual pay grade, but there was no reason to drive past it and not do anything. It took the boys about an hour to completely dispose of the situation. A simple vengeful spirit that took the brothers no time to salt and burn the decaying bones of the once beautiful bride to be.
"That takes me back." Dean laughed as they finished up with the bones of the bride.
Sam looked to his brother questioningly. "What?"
"To how simple everything used to be. Salt and burns. When was the last time we did a salt and burn?"
Sam chuckled. "No clue, man. I'd prefer that over what we usually deal with any day."
"Me too, Sammy. Me too."
The boys were casually walking back to Baby, when suddenly out of no where they were both thrown back, landing painfully on their backs. Both boys grunted in pain and quickly got up to assess the situation at hand.
"What in the h-", Dean was stopped cold in his tracks at the sight of what had just thrown both grown men like a rag doll.
A young girl with dirty blonde hair was standing above them with black eyes, a devilish smile slowly spreading across her pretty face. The brothers spared one another a quick glance, as one lunged for the arsenal in the back of the Impala and the other for the demon child. They had only made it a few steps when again the young girl threw them back. This time she wasn't going to let them fall, instead simply holding them suspended in the air.
"You boys sure were hard to track down. Low profile and all." The girl laughed sarcastically, glancing over the the pile of burning bones. "You two should maybe work on that."
Sam looked at her and growled, "Who in the hell are you?"
The girl slyly smiled, tilting her head to the side, and asked Sam, "Do you want to know who I am? Or do you want to know who this lovely meat suit is?"
Before Sam could respond to the demon, she stated smugly, "I think you'll be much more interested in the name of this sweet little host of mine." She paused looking at the brothers grinning from ear to ear, then continued, "I was told by my... boss, to bring her to you. She's important- to you and more importantly, to us. So as much, and you honestly don't know how much, I would love to end your pathetic little lives, I have orders not to." The demon said with a grimace. She finished her spill with this, "So, without further ado I present to you, little orphan Annie."
And with that statement, both boys fell hard on the gravel road, while 'little orphan Annie' dropped on the ground convulsing. Both Winchesters watched as the dark black smoke bellowed out of the small little girl and off into the night, before they could even utter an exorcism. The young girl, still unconscious, looked seemingly peaceful considering all the things that had just transpired.
A few hours later saw Annie slowly coming out of her fog. She said quickly realized she was being stared down at by two large frightening looking men. She immediately started hyperventilating and screaming thinking she had been kidnapped, the memories of the days before not yet coming back to her mind.
Both men stood up to try to calm the distraught girl down. They both raised their hands innocently trying to show her that they meant no harm.
She wasn't buying it. Not for one second. She glanced around at her surroundings and realized she was in some shabby motel.
The young girl was quick to her feet, noticing the gun laying on the table. She quickly grabbed it and pointed it at the two men, hoping she could pull off the tough-girl facade. If she had been an experienced gun user, she would have realized how light this gun was, indicating that it wasn't loaded. However, that went unnoticed by Annie.
Dean and Sam both read her not-so-good poker face easily, realizing that she had never held a gun before in her entire life. Still, they kept up their hands, making sure not to put the girl farther over the edge.
"Who... Who are you? What do you want? And wh-what's going o-on?" The girl tried to force out harshly, but ended up fumbling over words and unfortunately seeming like the frightened girl she was.
Dean figured he needed to be the first one to break the ice. "My name is Dean. And this," he said pointing to the freakishly large guy beside him "is my younger brother Sam. And we also just want to know whats going on. Your turn." He said firmly yet gently nodding toward the girl.
She said nothing. She just blankly stared at them scared out of her mind.
Sam noticed the girls hesitation and offered her some words of encouragement. "Look we mean you no harm. We didn't kidnap you, we are just trying to figure out what happened just like you. But in order for us to help you, you have to answer our questions and in return we will answer your questions." Sam said calmly. "But for us to have a civil conversation, you've got to put that gun down."
The girl, for some reason beyond her, trusted the overgrown, not-so-scary-anymore man. She did as she was told and lowered the gun back to the coffee table, but not out of her reach.
"Do you not remember being possessed by a demon?" Asked Dean curiously wondering why the girl thought she had been kidnapped by them.
Annie was definitely sure these guys were full of it. Demon possession? Seriously? Did they think she was a dumb child? And that this story was going to trick her? No. No way.
"Remember being possessed by a demon?" Annie asked incredulously. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"
The brothers exchanged another glance. "What was the last thing you remember before waking up a few minutes ago?" Sam started, hoping this different approach would be better.
Annie tried to think back but was having a hard time remembering anything that had happened the past few days.
"Um.. I... well what day is it?" she asked, praying this would give her some more insight.
"It's Tuesday. September 3rd." Dean said gruffly.
September 3rd? No way. She made a note to know what day it was every morning, and the last time she looked, it was definitely August 28th.
Sam realizing the girl was trying hard to think back and was struggling, showed her the front screen of his smart phone, which for sure said "Tuesday, September 3rd".
"You.. You guys drugged me! What do you want from me? I don't have any money I swear. And.. And.. no one will be looking for me and they can't... I can't offer you anything. I'm worthless I swear! Please let me go and I promise I won't.. like call the cops or anything!" The girl was almost in tears at this point.
"Kid. Kid! Look at me. Listen. We don't want money. We don't want to hurt you. I swear. We have no clue what's going on. Just try to think back to the last day you remember and work backwards." Sam attempted to calm her down.
"Don't you think that if we were going to hurt you we would have done it by now?" Dean added. "Also we probably wouldn't have told you our names." He muttered.
True, she thought. Annie tensed up and started for the gun again. But she met Sam's gaze and stopped. There was something about his eyes. They were the same eyes she saw when she looked in the mirror, and that unsettled and comforted her at the same time.
"Just think."
She stopped reaching for the gun and took a deep breath and tried to think as hard as she could back to August 28th.
I woke up. I pick pocketed a few people. I got breakfast. Coffee and eggs. I left the diner. Went to the alley to see if there was anything good that was being thrown out. Talked to that weird woman... and then nothing? Then I had a weird... was it a dream? But it felt real in a way. It was so weird. I could make people do things. Everyone was giving me weird looks like they were afraid of me. And I made that guy drive me... and then... I killed him? Did I actually kill him? No. Not possible. That was a dream. But then these men were in my dream... Is this a dream? Unless it's all real. But how would that even be possible? What did that guy say? Demons?
Annie sat back on the couch and had a very distant look on her face as she was trying to process all this information. It just doesn't make sense.
"Are you remembering something?" The larger of the two men, gently asked.
"I..I don't know. Yes. But it was just a dream. And this is probably a dream. And.. and I'm going to wake up at any moment and none of this will be real. Because... Because demons don't exist!"
"Forget the demon for now." Dean said calmly. "Just tell us who you are."
"Forget the demon for now?" Annie asked, with as much attitude she could force out.
Sam and Dean just stared back at the girl in front of them, both waiting on her to finally tell them her name.
Annie looked at both men again hesitantly, but with an encouraging nod from the brother called Sam she finally gave in.
"My name is Julianna W. But since I was an orphan, I was so conveniently called 'Annie' by all the kids at the group home." She said in a tone of resignation. If she was going to get killed, they might as well know who they're killing.
"W?" Dean asked curiously.
The girl very used to this question, rolled her eyes and told the story of how she was dropped off at a fire station as a baby with only a note that stated: 'Julianna W.' "Take care of my baby girl." Signed with a 'J.W.'. And this was all she had of any indication of who she was and of her past.
J.W... J.W... Dean was repeating in his head. No. NO. Dean thought not wanting to continue on with this conversation because he had a queasy feeling of where this was going. The demon had said she was "important". Please not again, he thought, grimacing at the unwelcome thoughts coming to his mind, the puzzle pieces falling into place.
"Uh, Sammy, can I.. um talk to you over here, please?" Dean said as he made his way to the motel bathroom, grabbing the gun off the coffee table on the way.
Annie eyed the action nervously, but at this point was all resigned to her fate so she didn't dwell on it too much.
Dean conveyed his thoughts to his disbelieving brother on what he thought this was all about and why Annie had been brought to them.
Annie still sitting on the couch, watched as the two brothers argued over, what she assumed, was her.
"Uh, hello," she said. Neither brother seemed to hear her or nor did they turn around. "HELLO!" she said a little louder than she meant to.
Both boys spun around and looked over at the agitated and slightly embarrassed girl. "Sorry for interrupting your little meeting, but I am standing right here ya' know? You could do the polite thing and go ahead and murder me." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Sam and Dean glanced at each other and walked back over to the couch to start interrogating the young teen.
"What year were you born?" questioned Sam.
Annie was surprised at the sudden question, so she answered immediately, "Nineteen ninety nine."
"Do you possibly know of any family members you have left?" asked Dean
"You think I would have been an orphan this long if I did?" Annie scoffed.
"Are you living with anyone right now?" Sam asked.
"Me, myself, and I."
Question after question, the girl barely had any time to process each question before another one was asked. This layered on top of her confusion on why she was even being questioned about her life, started to irritate her.
"Do you remember last night?" Asked Dean
"No. I already told you that."
Sam asked again, "How old are you?"
"Thirteen!"
"Are you sure that J.W. is your parent?" Dean growled
"I have no clue who J.W. is" She answered honestly, with a hint of desperation in her voice.
"Where are you from originally?" Sam interrogated.
"All over Wisconsin."
"Did you summon a demon, and accidentally get possessed?" Dean pushed.
"No! Stop!" The red faced frustrated teen yelled loudly.
This sudden outburst caught the two Winchesters completely off guard.
"Why should I tell the of you two anything?" Annie yelled angrily. "What even are you to me? I'm not even sure I'm sold on this whole demon shit! And why do you want to know about my life?"
Annie not giving them time to respond stated "I'm not telling you two anything else. I'm done talking. Let me go or kill me. I don't care at this point." She seethed as her hazel eyes hardened.
Stubborn and had a very short temper. Maybe she is a Winchester after all, Sam mused.
Dean was tired of playing games and not being one to pussyfoot around a situation, he wanted to get answers and get them now. He decided he was going to give everything to the girl straightforward and not consult his more rational younger brother, knowing that Sammy would try to stop him so they can think things through some more.
Dean looked at Annie, took a deep breath, and just let it all out. "Look kid, like I said earlier, if we were gonna hurt you, we would have already done it. And we aren't "letting you go" until I get the answers I want. Me and my brother here are just trying to help you and us figure out what in the hell is going on. We don't want to be in this situation any more than you do. I know that the thought of demons and possessions is a lot to take in. So, let's just work together and figure all this shit out?" He said gruffly.
"Okay?" Dean asked impatiently.
Sam looked at his brother in disbelief as he saw parts of John Winchester seep through his brother's stature and tone of voice. It amused and scared him a little bit.
Annie was taken back by being scolded by a man she didn't even know. She didn't know what to say or feel. But she couldn't help but see the truth in that they probably would have hurt her already if that was their plan. And then there was her weird dream to take into account.
She nodded a quick yes, but said nothing more.
"This is going to be hard but I just need you to hear me out and listen." Dean said not as harshly as a second ago.
"Me and my brother's last name is Winchester. It starts with a W." Dean started, making sure the young girl understood. "Our fathers name is John Winchester... 'J.W.' You were brought here to us for a reason and we think it's because you're uh... well, you're... our sister?" Dean said hesitantly.
Annie, for the first time in her life, was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to think, much less what to say.
She had been waiting for this to happen all her life. Well not necessarily in this way, or in this situation. But nonetheless this was what she had been waiting for. But this... this was crazy. Insane. Annie started to feel light headed and nauseous. This was all to much to fast. Demons? Possessions? Brothers? And she still wasn't 100% sure that this wasn't some crazy dream or hallucination.. or maybe this was a mental breakdown.
Her thoughts started to send her into a panic and she was finding it hard to breathe. All the noises of the room started to sound muffled. Her vision was blurry. Her chest was hurting. She was having a panic attack in a room with two strange men.
This was one messed up dream.