Chapter 8
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Life on the road was harder than Emma thought it would be. Especially, those nights where she was plagued with nightmares. Nightmares or memories. She didn't know anymore. Lucifer and Michael fighting each other, she getting in the middle and then…she woke up. She never knew what came next and she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Sam and Dean were noticing the lack of sleep, more and more but never commented on it. They knew something was bothering her.
"You're up. Good!" Emma clapped her hands once. "Let's go get breakfast cause I'm starving."
"You stuff your face a lot for a small girl." Dean commented.
"At least my stuffing isn't showing." Emma said tapping his stomach walking past him through the door.
Sam snorted as Dean complained. "I'm not fat!"
"Just soft around the edges." Emma teased him. She giggled when Dean started to mumble to himself while they walked up to the car.
She opened the door to the car when a phone rang. Dean slid into the driver's seat and reached over the glove compartment. He rummaged through it a few seconds looking for the ringing phone. Emma settled on the back seat as Sam sat into the passenger seat.
"Is that dad's phone?" He asked as Dean answered the phone. Before doing so, his brother nodded at him slightly, confirming that it was the phone of their late father.
"Hello." Dean said after picking up the phone. "He can come on the phone. Can I help you?" Emma and Sam exchanged a look. They could only hear one side of the conversation. But they were curious to know who would call John Winchester and why? "Well, sorry to be the one to break to this to you, pal but John died more than two years ago." Dean looked at them. "Who is this?" There was a beat before Dean continued. "Where can we meet you?" Emma saw Dean's expression closed up, he was tensed and the atmosphere shifted with him.
"Dean, what's wrong?" Sam asked him once he hung up.
"This was Adam Milligan." Dean replied. "He's claiming to be our father's son."
"What?" Sam exclaimed.
"Yeah." Dean nodded firmly before getting out of the car. Sam followed his example.
"I guess that means no Breakfast." Emma said to herself before following them.
They went to Windom, Minnesota. There they would meet Adam Milligan in a small dinner. To say that Dean was kind of furious was quite an understatement. He was practically fuming. He couldn't believe that whoever or whatever this Adam could be, could do something so low. Could try and tarnish John's memory.
"Dean, look best I could tell, Adam Milligan is real." Sam said as he followed Dean to the trunk of the car. "Born September, 29th 1990 to Kate Milligan. No father was on the birth certificate." Dean grabbed weapons, knife, guns while Sam continued. "He's an eagle scout, graduate from High School with honors. And currently goes to the university of Wisconsin. Biology major, pre-med."
"That's quite the resume." Emma chimed in. "Now, tell me, what the hell are you doing, Dean?"
"It's a trap." Dean retorted and walked off.
Emma and Sam glanced at each other before following him. A few customers were in, drinking coffee, eating eggs and bacon. Emma salivated at the smell of the eggs and coffee.
"Dean, I'm telling you. The kid checks out." Sam assured his brother. She sat across Sam at the small table by the window.
"Great, so, he's an actual person on planet Earth." Dean replied. "It sucks he's got a demon in him."
The waitress came and placed glasses of water in front of them. "Hi, welcome to Cousin Oliver's. Can I…?"
"We're actually waiting on somebody." Dean cut her off rudely. The waitress scoffed and threw the menu on the table.
"Hey! I wanted coffee and something to eat." Emma complained.
But Dean ignored her and grabbed his own glass of water and poured its content in the plant behind him. He grabbed his flask. "Holy water?" Sam looked at him incredulously.
"Yep, one sip of Jesus juice, this evil bitch is gonna be in a world of hurt." Dean retorted.
"This is ridiculous." Emma scoffed.
"And what if he's not possessed?" Sam asked him.
"Then he is a shapeshifter." Dean answered.
"Hence the silver." Dean replaced the cutlery with his own.
"Look, either way, this thing is gonna bleed. I mean, using dad as bait?" Dean continued. "That's that last mistake of its short, pitiful life." Emma exhaled deeply as Sam glanced at his brother. "What? What?"
"Dean, listen—there's an entry in dad's journal from January of 1990. Saying he's headed to Minnesota to check out a case." Sam started flipping through his dad's journal. "That's roughly, oh, nine months before the kid was born."
"Coincidence." Dean said back.
"Coincidence? Next two pages of his journal—torn out."
"You're not actually buying this, are you?" Dean frowned up at his brother.
"Look, man, I don't want to believe it either, I'm just saying it's possible." Sam argued. "I mean Dad would be gone weeks at a time. And he wasn't exactly a monk. I mean, a hunter rolls into town, uh, kills the monster, saves the girl…sometimes the girl's grateful."
"Well, now I'm thinking about dad sex. Stop talking." Dean countered.
"Maybe, he slipped past one goalie." Sam continued.
"Dude!" Dean exclaimed.
Sam smiled at his brother, proud of himself. The bell on top of the door chimed, Sam turned his attention towards the door. "Adam?" Sam called.
A young brunette man turned towards them. "Sam?" He asked as he walked up to their table.
"Yeah, uh, this is Dean. And Emma." Sam introduced Dean and Emma as Adam sat down.
"Hey." Emma smiled at him quickly.
"So, how did you know my dad?" Adam asked all of them.
"Uh, we worked together." Sam replied.
"How did he die?"
"On the job."
"He was a mechanic, right?" Adam frowned.
"A car fell on him." Dean chimed in.
"Hey, Adam." The same waitress from earlier came back. "How you're doing?"
"Oh, I'll take that." Dean said grabbing the glass of water she brought with her. "I'm very thirsty."
"The usual, Adam?" She asked turning away from Dean.
"Uh, yeah, thanks Denise." Adam replied.
"Denise, wait!" Emma called her back. "Denise, right?" The waitress nodded at her. "Can I have some bacon and eggs. And dark coffee, please?"
"Coming right away." Denise smiled politely and left while Dean looked at her pointedly. "What? I'm hungry."
Adam grabbed his glass of holy water and sipped it down. Dean and Sam watched him drink his glass, waiting for a reaction. Emma didn't bother, she knew as soon as he came in that he wasn't a demon. That doesn't mean that she trusted him. He might actually be baiting them.
"So, when's the last time you saw John?" Sam asked him.
"I don't even know. It's…a couple years." Adam replied.
"Why did you decide to call now?"
"I didn't know who else to call. He's the only family I got." Adam said. Sam and Emma exchanged a quick glance while Dean was holding his gun aimed at Adam under the table.
"How long has she been missing?" Emma asked him.
"It's tragic…really." Dean finally spoke. "But if you're John's kid, how come we never heard of you?"
"Cause John and me didn't really know each other." Adam exhaled. "Not until a few years ago, anyway."
"What do you mean?" Sam questioned him.
"My mom never talked about him. I knew some stuff."
"What kind of stuff?" Dean asked this time.
"My mom's a nurse, and dad came into the ER, pretty torn up, hunting accident or something. I knew his name—John Winchester." Adam explained. "That's about it. We're not exactly a nuclear family."
"Yeah, who is these days?" Sam retorted.
"So, when did you, uh, when did you finally meet him?" Dean asked.
"When I was twelve." Adam replied. "My mom had one of his numbers, and after I begged her—God, 24/7, she finally called him." Adam continued. "God, when John heard he had a son, he raced to town. I mean he dropped everything. He drove all night."
Emma winced. That must have stung to hear that, especially for Dean. The latter was so against the idea of his dad having another son. A brother, he never heard about. A stranger that had his father's blood running through his veins.
"There you go." The waitress came back with their orders and placed it in front of Adam and Emma.
"Thanks." Adam said while Emma smiled at the waitress.
"Well, that's heartwarming." Dean commented.
"You mind?" Adam asked Dean and Sam. Emma, on the other hand, was not that hungry anymore.
"No, please, dig in." Dean said assuredly.
"He would swing by, once a year or so." Adam took the silver cutlery but nothing happened. "You know, called when he could. But still…he taught me poker and pool and even bought me my first beer when I was fifteen. And, uh, he showed me how to drive. Dad—he had this beautiful '67 Impala."
"Oh, this is crap. You know what—you're lying." Dean exploded.
"No, I'm not."
"Yeah, you are."
"I'm sorry, but who the hell are you to call me a liar?" Adam asked him.
"We are John Winchester's sons. That's who. We are his sons."
"I've got brothers." Adam said shocked by this piece of information.
"No, you don't have brothers. Look, man, I don't know if you're a hunter. Or what kind of game you're playing here." Dean continued.
"I have never been hunting in my entire life." Adam retorted.
"Whatever. I'm outta here. Come on, Sam. Emma." Dean got up and Emma started to get up.
"I can prove it." Adam called back.
The four of them got in the Impala. Adam gave them the directions and Dean drove to Adam's house. Emma understood why Dean seemed so angry, why Dean was angry. She read the books, the ones Chuck wrote about them. She didn't doubt that John was a good father, she didn't doubt that he did the best he could but she knew how he hadn't answered Dean's call for help. Dean called him and John didn't show up. She knew what John had put them through or she read it. The hunting was more important than a game of pool, or poker or anything else. But what hurt Dean the most, it was to know that Adam was taught how to drive in the Impala.
She thought that what hurt Dean more than knowing that his dad dropped everything and drove all night to meet Adam. More than knowing that he has a brother that he didn't know about. Was to know that his father shared his Impala, his most prized belonging with a stranger. It was probably stupid or petty but she knew Dean couldn't help what he was feeling. She heard it in his voice, the disbelief, the hurt and maybe…maybe, she thought that he might feel betrayed.
John Winchester and Adam were wearing a wide smile at the baseball game. That's what the photograph was showing.
"He took you to a baseball game?" Dean asked, Sam looking at the photo next to him.
"Yeah, when I turned fourteen." Adam replied. Emmanuelle was inspecting the rest of the room but winced when she heard Adam's reply. "Dad was around for a few of my birthdays."
"September, 29th 2004," Sam read from the journal. "One word: Minnesota."
Emmanuelle briefly turned around and observed the three of them. She could see that Dean had a hard time accepting this. Accepting that his father seemed to have spent more quality times with his son. And yet, a complete stranger to Dean and Sam.
"He took you to a freaking baseball game?" Dean asked again, not believing still.
"Yeah." Adam answered. "Why? What Dad would do with you on your birthday?"
Dean did not answer, he just gave a tight smile. "You said your mom was missing?" Emma asked Adam.
"Yeah."
"How long has she been gone?" Sam asked him then.
"Three days."
"Who's the last person to see her?" Dean asked, though he didn't seem too happy about it.
"Mr. Abbinanti, our neighbor." Adam answered. "He saw her come home on Tuesday night but she never showed up to work on Wednesday."
"Did you call the police?" Sam asked him.
"Her supervisor at the hospital did. And then I drove down here as fast as I could." Adam explained tearfully. "I should have been here."
"What did the cop think about this?" Emma asked him.
"They searched the house, they didn't find anything." Adam replied. "She wouldn't leave without telling anybody." Adam paused. "It's like she just dropped off the face of the earth, you know?"
Nothing was said after that. Sam went to talk to the police while Dean and Emma remained behind with Adam. There was nothing more to be said. Dean, especially, was more affected by this situation than Sam. As for Adam, he just wanted to know his two brothers. Brothers, his father never mentioned to him. Emma felt like the third wheel in the room. Dean and Adam was talking and she remained quiet as a silent observer. What was there to say, after all? She didn't know John Winchester and she barely knows his sons.
And in spite of the memories that were resurfacing during her sleep, she didn't know or rather understand the bonds of family. She never had one. She's always been alone up until now. Travelling with Dean and Sam made her realize how alone and homeless she was. Just a wanderer. Sure, she was just friend with the two brothers but she felt less alone since she met them, since she met Bobby. But would she ever feel at home by their side? She hoped she would one day.
"So, you're a mechanic too?" Adam asked Emma.
She looked up at him, realizing just now that Dean was not in the room with them. "No. I'm a…high school teacher."
"Really?" Adam snorted.
"Yeah, really." Emma nodded smiling.
"Have you ever met my dad?" He asked her.
"Never met the guy and frankly, they barely speak about him." Emma shrugged.
"Hey, did your mom know Joe Barton?" Dean came back with a black and white photo in his hands. A medium size man with glasses and bald could be seen on it.
"I don't think so, why?" Adam replied to him.
"What did you find out?" Emma asked the two brothers but none of them answered.
Dean was staring at the floor. The floor under the bed, under Adam's feet were covered with scraping marks. As if someone has been dragged on the floor and they tried to hold on the floor for as long and as hard as they could. In spite of their best effort, the marks were the only thing left of them.
Adam rose from the bed as Dean crouched down to look under it. He got up again. "Gimme a hand with the mattress." He asked Adam. Together they moved the mattress. The nails marks on the hard floor led to a grid that hidden under the bed.
Sam and Dean played their little games of rock, paper, scissors and once again Dean lost. He went through the grid and they waited in the room. Dean went into the vents, not expecting to find what he found. A trail of blood, not droplets, more like a body has been dragged through the air ducts. A trail that led to a horrific vision of body tissue, ripped hair and blood. This was definitely no good news for Adam's mother.
Emmanuelle was standing in front of a glass window, the sunlight hitting her face. It was a welcomed warmth. She was wearing a long white dress; her hair was down on her shoulders. Her red hair was the only color that stick out in the room.
"So, this is where you're hiding?" Camael appeared behind her.
"If you found me that means I'm not hiding." She replied turning to face him.
"Not hiding, uh?" Camael scoffed walking towards the window and stopping next to her. "I found you and they will too." He continued without looking at her.
"I know." Emmanuelle answered. "That's why it has to be quick." She looked at him or rather at the side of his face. "You've saved me that day and hid me for as long as it was possible for you and I thank you." She started.
"You're my sister." Camael finally glanced down at her and didn't say anymore. As if this answer was explanation enough. And it was for Emmanuelle.
"I shouldn't be asking this but…" She paused and swallowed hard. "I still need your help."
Camael stared hard at her before retorting. "What is it?"
Emmanuelle abruptly turned her head to her right. "They're here. You must go. I'll reach out to you."
"What about you?" Camael asked.
"I'll be fine. Just go." She ordered him.
The door burst open and five men stepped in. They weren't humans, they were demons. "Your brother is summoning you, First One."
Emmanuelle drew out her sword. "My brother can screw himself."
The demons lunged at her and she remained still, waiting for them. The first demon that reached her died in an instant, as soon as her sword through his flesh. He was annihilated, dead. The second one that reached was smarter and avoided the blade, the third one kicked her in the stomach. She staggered back and the fourth one lunged at her with his own blade. She ducked and rammed her shoulder in his stomach. The demon staggered back. The second demon swung his fist at her, she dodged it, grabbed his arm, and swiftly she dived her sword in his flesh. Two demons down. The third demon pulled her backward by her hair and she had to abandon her sword. She grabbed the hand in her hair and kicked the fourth demon in the chest. She turned around while still holding the hand in her hair and punched him in his face. He released her hair and stumbled back. Only for the fourth demon to lunge at her from behind. His arms closed around her arms and waist. She stomped on his foot which caused to release his hold on her lightly. She elbowed his side, and he completely released her. She elbowed his chin and his neck last. She grabbed his arm, twisted it and pushed on his shoulder. She threw him on his little friend. She lunged at her sword that was still stuck in one of the demons' body.
Her sword was back where it belonged. In her hand. Four more demons stepped in the room. She looked at them and made her decision. She couldn't fight them, she couldn't be taken so she had to escape and she did. She ran to the window, threw her sword as hard as she could, the glass cracked on the impact. And with no hesitation she jumped through it…
Emma's eyes snapped open. Sam and Dean glanced at her as she breathed deeply. They exchanged a look before Sam asked her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah…yeah…I'm fine." She replied sitting up. "I'm fine."
"You're sure?" Dean said.
"Positive." She retorted getting up. "I'm gonna wash my face." She murmured before disappearing in the bathroom.
The fresh water was a welcomed feeling on her face. It helped clear her mind. It helped her waking a bit more. It helped her thinking. This was a new one. It was not about Michael or Lucifer. It was about this fight that she never gets to see how it ended. It was about her and Camael. It was about Demons hunting her. It was about her jumping through a window. It was new, crazy, frightening, impossible. And yet, deep down she knew it held some truth. It made her more confused. It made her asked more questions. But it brought no answers. She needed those more than anything, though. She doubted she would ever get them.
She walked out of the bathroom drying her face with a towel when she heard the knock on the door. Sam opened the door and Adam stepped in.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Hey! Take it easy." Sam retorted.
"No, don't tell me to take it easy, okay." Adam snapped back. "My house is a crime scene, my mom's probably dead. And you three. You told me to call the cops but you gotta bail before they show." Emma sighed. "So, who are you really?" Dean looked at Sam over his shoulder, Emma threw the towel on her shoulder, crossed her arms and leaned on the wall. "Cops, didn't know where to look for my mom, Dean, but you did. And I heard you talking earlier—Something about grave robberies." Adam glanced at the shot gun resting on the bed next to Dean. "You're not mechanics. I just want to know what's going on." They all remained silent. "Please." Adam added desperately.
"We're hunters." Sam finally told him.
"Sammy!" Dean said his name with a warning in his voice.
"He deserves to know, Dean." Sam retorted.
"What do you mean 'hunters'?" Adam asked him. Dean shook his head in disbelief.
"Okay, so, basically you're saying that every movie monster. Every nightmare that I've ever had—that's all real?"
"Godzilla's just a movie." Dean chimed in.
"We hunt them. So did Dad." Sam said.
"Okay." Adam simply said.
"Okay? That's it?" Dean replied.
"What am I supposed to say?" Adam asked him.
"That we're liars. That we're crazy." Dean answered. "Nobody just says 'okay'."
"He's got a point." Emma agreed with Dean.
"You're my brothers." Adam said and Emma looked up as his words echoed Camael's words. "You're telling me the truth, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then I believe you." Adam declared and Dean rolled his eyes. "Now, what took my mom?"
"We're not sure." Sam replied. "Something's in town stealing bodies—Living and dead—but we don't know what."
"There's a long list of freaks that fit the bill." Dean told him.
"You think maybe she might still be alive?" Adam asked him.
There was no answer. It was obvious to the trio that there was no chance for Adam's mother to have survived this. And it understood only by looking at them and by listening at their loud silence.
"Oh." Adam breathed out. "How can I help?"
"You can't." Dean answered.
"This thing killed my mom. If you're hunting it, I want in." Adam insisted.
"No."
"Dean, look, maybe…" Sam started.
"Maybe, what?" Dean cut him off.
"He lost his mother maybe we can understand how that feels like." Sam said.
"The kid is barely 19 years old. You're not seriously thinking about taking him on this hunt?" Emma asked Sam.
"Why not?" Sam shrugged.
"For the same reasons, Dad never told us about this kid, Sam. Why is that, uh? Why do you think Dad ripped out the pages?" Dean continued.
"Because…"
"Because, he was protecting him."
"Dad's dead, Dean."
"It doesn't matter. He didn't want Adam to have our lives, okay? And we're gonna respect his wishes."
"Do I get a say in this?" Adam chimed in.
"No!" Both brothers snapped at him.
"Babysit the kid." Dean ordered Sam.
"Where you're going?" Sam asked his brother.
"I'm going out." Dean yelled at him.
"I better go with him." Emma said quickly as she followed Dean through the door. She trotted to the car and got in just as Dean started the car.
"When you said 'I'm going out,' I assumed you meant hot chicks and drinks." Emma told Dean as they followed the cemetery director to the crypt where most of the caskets have been raided by the thing. Whatever that thing was.
"So, you followed me to babysit me?" Dean asked back.
"No, I actually wanted to drink my ass off." Emma replied sincerely. She thought that once she was intoxicated with the alcohol, she would be too drunk to dream.
"Drinking doesn't help you forget." Dean said and Emma looked up at him.
She knew what he was referring to. Alastair, the torture session. She understood what he was talking about. He, on the other hand, didn't understand. She didn't want to drink because she wanted to forget. No, it was because she didn't want to remember.
"This room has been built in 1926." The director started as they stepped in the crypt. "Four generations of the Millsap family were interred here."
"They don't build 'em like this anymore." Dean sighed.
"Tell me, agents Nugent, agent Hicks, have you thought about Where you might like to spend eternity?" He handed them a card.
"All the damn time." Dean said as Emma politely accepted the card. "So, three bodies went missing. Any idea who did it?"
"Hooligans—sick, deranged hooligans."
"This isn't blood. What is this?" Dean asked as he examined the thick liquid on the ground.
"No, it's embalming fluid." The director replied. "Whoever committed this crime didn't just take the corpses. They opened them up."
"This just reached a whole other level of nope." Emma commented.
After they left the cemetery they both went to a local bar. Both impersonating federal agents, Dean and Emma were granted a free drink from the barmaid.
"First beer on the house for cops. Feds too." She said while filling up two large glasses.
"Are we that obvious?" Dean asked her.
"I know all the local badges." She replied. "And you've got that…'Law and Order' vibe." Emma snorted. "So, what's the FBI doing in Windom?"
"Well, we're investigating the disappearance of Joe Barton." Emma replied and thanking her for the beer.
The bartender let out a deep breath, upset, disturbed upon seeing the black and white picture that Dean put in front of her. "I assume you knew him." He said.
"A little." She confirmed. "I'm his wife. Lisa."
"Well, Lisa, what can you tell us about his disappearance?" Dean asked her.
"Same thing I told the Sheriff." Lisa retorted. "He stayed late Friday before last to do inventory—Never came home."
"And the police?"
"Nothing." Lisa put down the glass she was drying. "Truth is, I was scared they stopped looking. But now you're here."
"He was a deputy?" Emma asked seeing Joe Barton on one of the pictures on the wall wearing a uniform.
"For a little while." His wife confirmed. "That was a long time ago."
"He didn't happen to work the—the grave robbery case, back in the '90s?"
"He did. Yeah." Lisa answered Dean. "Joe was the one who found the bodies. He got an award for that."
"That was an interesting case." Dean commented.
"Did he happen to tell you how he cracked the case?" Emma questioned her.
"Most of the time, he said good, solid police work." His wife explained. "But after a few beers, he'd admit he had a little help."
"From who?" Dean asked.
"A 'specialist'—that's all he said."
"Cops ever find the guy that stole the bodies?"
"No. But when I asked Joe about it, he'd say not to worry—that 'we took care of what done it.'"
"So, let me summarize this. Your Dad tipped off Joe Barton on the grave robberies case and he disappeared a few days ago. Then, the woman with who he has a child, disappeared too." Dean looked up at Emma. "Is it me or is someone coming after every person that was involved in the case or with your Dad?"
They both left the bar and drove back to the motel. As they arrived, they witnessed something they weren't expecting. Adam called for help as Sam was being dragged under Adam's truck. Dean and Emma jumped out of the car. Dean helped Adam pulled Sam out from under the truck. Emma grabbed the shot gun that was on the ground, aimed it at whatever was under the truck and shot at it.
A few minutes later, Adam moved his truck, so they could investigate the man hole that was under. Dean took the shot gun from Emma and got closer to the sewer hole. He crouched down and touched the blood that was on the ground.
"You winged it." Dean told Emma as he and Adam walked back to Sam and Emma. "Did you see anything?" He asked Sam.
"I didn't get a good look." Sam answered.
"What the hell is this thing?"
"Why—who—Should we go after it?" Adam asked Sam and Dean.
"No, no. In that maze, that thing is long gone." Dean retorted.
"Okay, so we don't know what it is but we do know what it's going after." Sam pointed out. "Joe Barton, Adam's mom."
"And Adam." Dean added. "It was under his truck, just waiting for him."
"It set a trap and I walked right into it." Sam shook his head.
"It's not important. That thing has a pattern." Emma retorted. "Joe Barton was the Sheriff deputy. It helped your Dad on the grave robberies back in the 90's."
"So, we've got him, Dad's girl… and his son." Dean continued.
"All the people, Dad knew in town."
"At least we know why it's back."
"It wants revenge." Adam said.
Dean's first thought was to get Adam out of town. Put him to safety, away from whatever was trying to get to him. Emma's first thought was that Adam was not the only Winchester in town. There were three of them and whatever was out there for revenge, might be after all of them. She just didn't know what it was or what it looked like.
"Grab your stuff. We'll hit the road." Dean ordered Adam. The latter went upstairs to pack his bag.
"We shouldn't leave." Sam said.
"Yeah, let's stay here, where the kid's mom got ganked." Dean countered. "Good one."
"I'm serious."
"No, Sam, we're gonna take the kid, we're gonna drop him off at Bobby's, and then you and me are gonna come back here and finish what dad started." Dean explained to Sam.
"How?" Sam asked. "We got no leads, no witnesses. We do have what this thing wants."
Emma frowned up. "Hold on a minute. You want to use Adam as bait?" Then she turned to Dean. "And just the two of you got to get back?" Dean just shrugged.
"Maybe this thing will come back. We could train Adam—Get him ready." Sam answered.
"He could die, Sam." Dean told him.
"We could all die, Dean." Sam retorted. "Even if we do kill this thing, there are tons of other freaks that want revenge—on Dad, on us. What if they find the kid instead and he's not ready?"
"I'll do it." Adam said from the doorway. "Whatever it takes, I'll do it. I want to do it."
So, Sam took Adam into training. Yes, Sam and only Sam. Dean and Emma weren't really on board with this situation. To both of them, Adam was still a kid. A kid who still had a chance to get away from this life. But Sam seemed dead on dragging him into this. All in the name of revenge.
There was something else there. Emma knew it. Sam was different, something changed in him. A change that was caused by the demon's blood. She was sure of it. Sam didn't want Dean to know but he deserved to know what his brother was doing. But how was she going to tell him that.
She apologized to Dean about keeping Sam's powers a secret. She tried to explain but there was really no explanation. She didn't say anything to Dean because…just because. Again, how do you tell to somebody that his brother has powers that he shouldn't have. Dean is worried enough about Sam's crusade against Lilith. He's worried enough about protecting his brother against demons and against himself, there was no need to add more to his pile of worries. Maybe that's why she didn't say anything to Dean.
Or maybe, she was focused on her own issues. Her lost memories, her being the first one, her coming to grasp with who she really is, who she really was. And on top of that cake there were her dreams, nightmares or souvenirs surfacing every single night. Every time she closed her eyes.
Is she going to tell Dean about the bloodsucking? Probably. When? No idea. Let's just hope it won't be too late.
Some might consider her selfish and self-centered. And maybe she is but tell me. If you had buried memories of the past and they were resurfacing out of nowhere, will you be able to focus on anything else other than trying to understand why or what do they mean? Will you?
"Being a hunter isn't a job, Adam." Sam said to Adam. "It's life."
"Seriously?" Emma mouthed to Dean.
"You're pre-med. You got a girlfriend? Friends?" Adam nodded. "Not anymore. You don't. If you're really gonna do this…you can't have those kind of connections, ever. They're weaknesses. You'll just put those people, get them killed. That's the price we pay. You cut them out and you don't look back. There's only one thing you can count on. Family."
Emma couldn't help but feel hurt at his words. Sure, she wasn't family but he could count on her. Why did he doubt it? "Sam? Can I talk to you?" Dean asked and both brothers left the room. Adam and Emma found themselves in each other's company again.
"You must have been hunting with them for a long time."
"What?"
"For them to call you family, I mean."
"I just met them. I'm not family." Emma replied. "I'm just tagging along."
"Oh."
"Yeah." Emma scoffed. "Oh, indeed." Emma sighed. "Look, you're still young and you can have a future still. You don't have to do this or live this life. It's not too late."
"You think it's too late for them?" Adam asked her.
"Only if they want it to be." Emma retorted. Dean walked through the kitchen towards the door. "Hey, where you're going?"
"Looking for that thing." Dean answered shortly.
Emma turned around to look at Sam and exhaled deeply.
The three of them proceeded to secure the house. Blocking all the grids that gave access to the air duct. Putting salts on every window and in front of every door. Only one access was left open and that was the one in Adam's mother's bedroom. And that was the intention. It was a trap for grave robbers. If they wanted to get in the house, it would have to go…
"…through here." Sam said. At this moment, a door downstairs creaked open.
"You were saying?" Adam retorted to Sam.
"All closed off, uh? What about locking the freaking door?" Emma hissed as a woman started calling for Adam downstairs.
"Mom?" Adam started to call back. "Mom?"
"No." Sam took off after him followed by Emma.
They stormed down the stairs. "Adam, wait!" She heard Sam yelled at his brother. She pulled out her gun once she arrived down the stairs. And aimed it at the woman that was in Adam's arms. Standing at Sam's side who also has his shotgun aimed at the woman, she recognized Adam's mother. It looked like his mother, wore nurse's scrubs. She looked like she's been through a rough time. But could she be trusted?
"Adam, step away from her." Sam ordered the young Winchester.
"Sam, what the hell?" Adam exclaimed.
"She's not your mother." Sam warned him.
"Adam, who the…? What is going on?" His "mother" asked.
"Get away from him." Sam ordered Adam's "mother."
"What is going on?" She asked again.
"It's really her." Adam argued.
"We don't know that, Adam." Emma reasoned with him. "That thing, whatever it is, killed Joe Barton, and judging by the amount of blood in the vent, your mother's dead too." Sam pulled Adam to him and the latter ripped Sam's weapon out of his hands. "Adam, no."
"Shoot it." Sam ordered the young man.
"Adam. He's crazy. Honey, it's me." His "mother" panted.
"Adam! Look that's not your mother." Sam told him. While Emma was now aiming at Adam.
"Adam, give this back to Sam." She threatened him.
"Emma, no!" Sam put his hand on Emma's gun. "Adam, it's not your mother."
"Baby, please."
"Shoot it! It's not human." Sam urged him.
Adam suddenly smiled and winked at his mother. "I know." Adam knocked Sam out and aimed the shotgun at him while Emma raised her gun at him. "Drop your gun or he's dead." Emma glanced down at Sam and slowly lower down her gun.
The fake Kate Milligan slowly walked up to her and swung her arm at the First One.
They tied Emma to chair while Sam was tied down to the table. "We were only going to kill your friends but I guess we'll have to kill you too." Adam said to Emma. "I actually liked you."
"It wasn't mutual." Emma smirked. The scratches on her face clashed with the whiteness of her skin.
Adam smirked at her words and started to run a silver knife up and down her left forearm. Emma looked at him with hatred in her eyes. "What are you?" Emma asked him.
Adam stopped and looked up at her. "You really don't know, do you?"
Emma was about to retort but Sam woke up. He groaned as he struggled against the ropes that were holding him down. He stopped when he realized that he was useless and turned to Emma instead. "You're okay?" She only nodded yes to him as Adam walked around the table.
"Silver." Sam started as he looked at Kate. "No wonder none of the tests worked. You're not shapeshifters…you're ghouls."
"Ghouls?" Emma frowned up as she was trying to loosen up her bindings.
"I find that term racist." Kate informed Sam and Emma. Then she proceeded to sniff Sam and bit his earlobe as if she was getting ready to eat a very good meal at a restaurant. "Fresh meat. So much better that what we're used to."
"I should have known. It was the fresh kills that threw me." Sam continued.
"What do you mean 'fresh kills?'" Emma asked Sam. She already knew the answer to that. The grave robberies, the bodies disappearing, being cut open. She had a strong suspicion of what the ghouls had done to those bodies. But she wanted to be sure or maybe she was trying to get more times.
"Ghouls don't actually go after the living. They're just filthy scavengers, feeding off the dead taking the form of the last corpse they choked down." Sam explained to her while looking at Kate.
"And their thoughts. And their memories." Fake Adam finished for Sam. "Like Adam, for instance."
"Yeah, well, we are what we eat." Kate shrugged.
"Monsters." Sam said and yelled after Adam sliced his forearm open.
"Sam!" Emma exclaimed.
"You use that word a lot, Sam." Adam replied as Kate tasted his blood. "I don't think you know what it means."
"His blood. It tastes different." Kate remarked but Adam didn't react to it. He just kept going.
"Our father was a monster? Why? Because of what he ate? He never hurt anyone, Sam." He paused. "Living, anyway."
"No. He was no monster. But the thing that killed him was." Kate took over. "A monster named John Winchester." The ropes around Emma's wrists were tight and the more she was trying to loosen them up, the deeper they were cutting through her wrists. "Thanks to your daddy, my brother and I grew up on our own. At least we had each other."
"Like you and your brother. Inseparable."
"Actually, it was very hard to get you on your own." Kate scrunched up her nose.
"Like you said, the only thing you can count on is family." Adam continued.
"And for twenty years, we lived like rats."
"Graveyard after graveyard, all that stinking flesh."
"And we thought, 'hey, why not move to fresher games?'"
"And we knew just where to start." Adam finished. "Revenge is never over, is it Sam?"
"First, it was John's cop friend, and then his slut and then his son."
"Then I called John, but son of the bitch was already dead."
"So, I guess you and Dean will have to do instead."
"Dean, won't interrupt this, this time." Adam said lowly. "We're gonna feed on you nice and slow. Then it'll be Emma's turn. Like we did with Adam."
"Oh, by the way. He really was your brother." Kate said to Sam. "You should know that."
"He was still alive when we took our first bites."
"And he was a screamer." They were now both taunting him.
Sam screamed when they both cut both his arms open. "You're both dead. You hear me." Emma shouted at them.
"Cute." Kate scoffed.
"Sam, the more you struggle, the faster you're gonna bleed out." Adam warned him. "So, you might as well lie back and relax."
"Hey." Emma turned to see Dean holding a shotgun at Adam just before he fired.
"Dean, they're ghouls." Sam warned his brother. And Dean aimed at Kate's head and blew her head off.
"Which means headshot." Adam grabbed Dean his shoulders and pushed him through the door between the kitchen and what appears to be the living room.
Dean and Adam started to fight but Emma focused on keep trying to get out of her bindings but it was to no use but she kept on trying. Because Sam was losing blood fast and Dean was fighting a ghoul. Dean finally got the upper hand and proceeded to severe the head of Adam ghoul.
"Dean!" Sam and Emma called him once he was done with Adam.
Dean went to Sam immediately and Emma didn't mind. The bleeding had to be stopped. So, she waited patiently for Dean to take care of Sam. There was no immediate threat around the corner.
"Thank you." Sam thanked his brother.
"That's what family's for, right?" Dean replied and she felt a pang of hurt at his words. Because it was true Sam and Dean are family to each other just as much as those two ghouls were family to each other. Emma realized that in this room, she was the only one who didn't have any family. The only one who wouldn't be missed if she died. "Keep pressure on that." Dean said before coming to Emma's rescue. "You're okay?"
"Yeah. I am." Emma nodded quickly.
Emma remained in the car while Sam and Dean were giving Adam a hunter's burial. When all this started, she didn't feel like she was invading into something personal. But now, after everything that happened, everything that have been said she felt that she has no legitimacy to witness or to take part into their conversation or this burial. She felt like she was invading.
I am so sorry for the very late update, I just didn't feel like writing for a long time just like I didn't feel like viding or reading. But lately my creativity has been bothering me so I'm back at it. I hope you'll like it.