Wow. Thanx for the hits reviews. You're all very kind. Sorry for the delay with this next chapter. J.
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As his consciousness slowly resurfaced, Dean lay and wondered what it was that had woken him. Somewhere in the background he could hear a dog barking. He heard a car moving past on the road outside. He opened his eyes and looked toward the window. There was a stiff breeze pushing branches about in a tree, and in that tree a bird was singing at the top of its lungs. The bird, he decided, had woken him. It took him a further long moment to place both the tree and the room in which he was lying. The big oak tree in Missouri Mosely's garden, and the room was her guestroom. The guestroom right opposite the one his brother was in."Shit! Sam!"
Dean clambered off the bed; almost tripping over a blanket in his haste to get out of the room. Hurrying across the landing and barging into the room, Dean found Sam as he had left him. Sound asleep. Part of him wanted to wake his brother; to ask if he was okay, but the part of his brain that hung onto rational prevented him from doing so. Instead he studied Sam. He was sleeping seemingly peacefully; the bruises on his face were all but gone. Dean pulled back the sheet, observing the bruising to Sam's chest was also fading quickly. Pulling a hand through his tousled hair, Dean reflected on the previous days events. He wanted to know; how was Sam being physically hurt? Why would these separate entities want to hurt him? What was the connection between a girl being murdered in Cass County and a man being killed in a car in Kiowa County?
The he remembered why he had brought Sam home to Lawrence. Missouri. Maybe Missouri would have the answers?
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"Easy! Take it easy." Missouri said, slapping Dean's back.
Coughing up omelette, Dean shot the woman an incredulous look before picking up a glass of water and taking a drink. Setting the fork down as he regained control of his oesophagus, he leaned back in his chair.
"Take it easy?" he squeaked. "You tell me my brother is possessed then tell me to take it easy?"
"There was never going to be an easy way to tell you, honey, but maybe waiting until you were eating was a mistake. I'm sorry."
Dean waved off her apology. "Why the hell didn't you come to wake me?"
"Because you needed to sleep." Missouri stated calmly, countering Dean's frustration. "When you got here last night, you were in no fit state to pick a fight with a bucketful of bubbles, let alone a demon. When I realised what the problem was, I knew I was going to need your help. Half asleep and stressed to the hilt, you'd have been no good to anyone last night. So I gave Sam something to keep him under, and I let you sleep."
Dean made no move to reply; he just scrubbed his tired face and sighed. Picking up on his thoughts, Missouri reached out and gently stroked his hair.
"You have nothing to feel guilty for, Dean. What happened yesterday is not your fault; there was nothing you could have done to stop this thing getting into Sam. Neither should you feel guilty for allowing yourself to rest for a few hours. We all have our breaking points."
"What is it and why are we waiting to get it out?"
Missouri took a book from the counter top and placed in front of Dean, pointing at a drawing.
"It's called a Soul Catcher. It's more of a parasite than a demon. It feeds from its hosts fear and anxieties. In most cases, the host doesn't have enough emotional hang ups for it to allow it to feed for long, so it draws on the souls of restless spirits. Spirits who have died in such violent or vicious manner, that they either don't know they have passed over, or are stuck in this realm and don't know how move on into the next. The host is then privy to pain and fear the poor wretches feel and the demon continues feeding."
"Why Sam and not me?"
"Sam's gift. It will have read your brother like a book and will have known his mind is open to spirits. They would have been drawn to him like a magnet."
"What happens to the host? What will happen to Sam if we can't get it out?" A sudden look of panic crossed Dean's face. "We CAN get it out, can't we?"
"The host's body eventually weakens and they die, but that's NOT going to happen." She said, looking at Dean sternly. "There is an incantation that will draw the demon out, but it can't be sent back to hell. If it is, it will be back quicker than a snake. No. This thing has to be kept in a special container. It's a box made of black onyx, inlaid with mother of pearl, and edged with silver."
"Where will we get a box like that?" Dean asked.
Missouri reached into a drawer and brought out cardboard box. She took off the lid and withdrew a wad of bubble wrap. She then carefully unfolded the plastic to reveal a beautiful black box and pushed it across the table toward Dean.
"My mother gave it to me when I was 14 years old. She told me to take very good care of it because some day I would need it. I think today is that day."
Sorry this is ridiculously short. At the moment other commitments disallows me time to move this story on as I'd like. I WILL finish it, and I will finish it soon. Promise. Thanx for your patience.
Jackie