Chapter 15

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"Thanks." Emma said as the waitress set down her breakfast in front of her.

She and Dean were on the road still. No Sam, still. Just the two of them. Dean was reading the paper, sipping his coffee. They hadn't spoken about what happened with Raphaël. A few words and nothing more had been said. There was nothing to be said, anyway. Raphaël had made it clear. She had turned her back on them and never looked back.

Emma had no intention to look back. She intended to look forward. She must stop her brothers. And the only way was to look forward and help the Winchesters. That was what she needed to do. What she must do.

"Got us a case." Dean announced putting the paper in front of her.

"Wife is being sued for sharing her husband's little secret?" Emma read out and then she looked up at him.

"Not that." Dean showed her the right article. "This."

So, she read the article. A seventeen-year-old boy was found dead in the boy's locker room. Those who had found the body had said the same thing, his body was broken, bruised and bloodied.

"Travis…" Emma breathed out. Shocked.

Travis Milligan was one of her students. He had been in her class since freshman. He had made the football team in his junior year and Emma had brought him cake. To celebrate with the class. Travis was a good kid, average student but still a good kid. That was worth more than bad grades.

"You're okay there, Red?" Dean asked her.

"I knew him."

There was a layer of dust on her furniture. The lamp had been knocked down, maybe from the time Alastair came to take her. Other than that, nothing had changed. Everything had remained the same. Dean cracked open a window and looked around him. With a look of appreciation.

"How come you still have this place?" He asked her looking at books on her shelves.

"I still pay the rent." She shrugged.

"You can afford that?"

"I have savings." Emma answered. "But I suppose I should let it go." She exhaled. "Come on, we need to go at the police station." Dean was taking out his suit. "Nah, we won't use that."

"Why not?" Dean looked up at her.

"Last I went there; I was a teacher not an FBI agent." Emma said. "Come on."

"Williams, it's been a long time." The Sheriff greeted her.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you missed seeing me around." Emma replied.

"Does that mean you got arrested a lot?" Dean glanced down at her.

"Oh, no, she was always well behaved." Callahan replied. "But her kids, on the other hand."

"Your kids?"

"My students. Troublesome for the most part." Emma replied. "I would come here to bail them out or sign some paperwork as their legal guardian."

"Which she isn't." Callahan reminded her. "But she was the only one who bothered to show up." Callahan let them into his office. "So, where have you been? You've disappeared without a word. We started to think that something bad had happened to you."

"Here and there." Emma exhaled. "Dealing with family mostly."

"Judging by your tone, didn't look like a happy reunion."

"Disastrous would be the correct word."

"So, what brings you and your friend to my precinct?" Callahan asked.

"Oh, yeah, right." Emma cleared her throat. "Dean Winchester meet J.T Callahan. Callahan meet Dean Winchester." She introduced the two men and then went straight down to business. "We're here for Travis Milligan."

"What do you wanna know?" Callahan asked her.

"I want to know what really happened." Emma answered.

He exhaled deeply. "I'd never seen anything like this." He pulled out a file out of one of the drawers. "I've seen people being beaten to death but never anything like that. Spleen was ruptured, multiple broken bones, his skull was crushed and brain matter was found on the ground. Adding to this there were multiple lacerations on his abdomen."

"They overdid it." Dean commented as he read the file. "Do you have any suspects?"

"Not yet." Callahan shook his head. "Although, it's most unlikely, the M.E suggest the kid fell off of three-four stories building."

"Do you think he was moved to the locker room?" Emma asked him.

"It doesn't seem like he was."

"Did anyone notice anything strange? Was he acting differently?" Dean asked him.

"According to the kids he was his usual self. Except maybe…"

"Except for what?" Emma asked him.

"Lately, he had been talking about Jeffries." Callahan told Emma. "I don't think, he meant anything but when I spoke to them, they all mentioned it."

"Who's Jeffries?"

"Dyson Jeffries, another one of my kids." Emma answered. "Committed suicide almost a year ago."

"Like I said, it probably doesn't mean anything. It's been a year since Jeffries died." Callahan said. "Maybe he was just feeling nostalgic."

"Yeah, that must be it." Emma nodded. She stood up. "I'm not gonna take any more of your time."

"Kid, don't turn this into vendetta." Callahan warned. "I won't be able to protect you."

"Thanks, but I don't need protection." Emma smiled at him. "And don't worry, I won't."

"Emma…" Callahan called her back. "Out of all of your kids, he was the best." Callahan said to Emma.

Two of her students had found death. Was it coincidental? Probably not. But it was two more people that she had failed, in this long life of hers. Dyson Jeffries, fifteen, Travis' best friend. Certainly not a coincidence. Dyson had always been a sweet boy. He had never been afraid of being who he really was. His suicide came as a surprise to Emma. She would have never believed that he would do this. There were no signs. He always seemed cheerful, and the kids' insults seemed to roll off of him. But she had underestimated the power of words. And how cruel kids could be.

"This is an easy case." Dean clapped his hands together.

"What do you mean?"

"You heard Callahan, the kid was talking a lot about that other kid, Jeffries. Easy, Jeffries haunted him and, in the end, killed him." Dean asked her as they walked through the empty hallway of the school.

"If it is in fact Dyson, it wouldn't make any sense. I mean Travis was Dyson's best friend." Emma replied.

"When they get stuck here for too long, they turn into vengeful spirits." Dean explained. "He might have turned against Travis."

"Maybe but I don't believe it." Emma shook her head.

Later that night, they went to the graveyard. It was a classic case of ghost haunting. Travis was obsessively talking about Dyson, his dead best friend. So, logically, he was the one who caused Travis' death. They did what they usually do when it came to ghost. They burned the remains of Dyson.

However, it was hard for Emma. He was one of her students. It was strange how easy it was when it came to unknown faces. You burned their remains and it was done. But she knew him. She had cared for him and now she was burning his remains; it felt disrespectful. And it would have felt more disrespectful if Dean had done it. She did it. She burned his remains.

It was over. It had been solved. No more ghost.

Or so they thought.

Another high schooler had found death. Suzanna Valdez was sixteen years old. Her mother had heard a loud thud when she entered her daughter's room, she found her girl lifeless on the ground. Suzanna's body sustained the same wounds as Travis. The exact same wound. This wasn't coincidental. This was impossible.

Mrs. Valdez opened her door, wearing dark clothes, with red rimmed eyes. People were sitting around, chattering among themselves, plates of food on their laps. Some high schoolers that Emma recognized were there too.

"Miss Williams." Mrs. Valdez smiled at the woman.

"Mrs. Valdez." Emma greeted with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I suppose there's no lack of food. But I thought it would be rude to come empty handed."

Mrs. Valdez took the large casserole from her. "Thank you." Mrs. Valdez replied. "Please come in." Dean and she stepped in. She briefly glanced at Dean and nodded quickly before following Mrs. Valdez in the kitchen. "How are you holding up?"

"As best as I can." Mrs. Valdez replied. "The youngest don't understand what happened. And her oldest brother…"

"He didn't come." Emma shook her head.

"Well, it's complicated. He's in jail." Mrs. Valdez replied, defeated.

"It's tough." Emma sighed.

"It is." Mrs. Valdez nodded. She turned to Emma. "She hated you so much in the beginning."

Emma scoffed. "I remember."

"You never gave up." Mrs. Valdez smiled. "Thank you for that."

"Mrs. Valdez, was Sookie acting strange lately?" Emma asked softly.

"Well, she and Travis had been really close this last year. Especially after losing Dyson." Mrs. Valdez explained. "And after Travis died, she locked herself up in her bedroom most of the time. She barely ate or spoke. And when she spoke it was only to talk about Travis and Dyson."

"Did she say anything in particular about them?" Emma asked her.

Mrs. Valdez frowned up. "Only…that it was her fault."

"That's all she said?" Dean asked as they ate.

"Her mother thinks that she might have felt guilty." Emma shrugged. "But I think there's more to it."

"Like what?" Dean asked her.

"I don't know." Emma shook her head. "But this doesn't make any freaking sense. They were all friends. Maybe not the best of friends but still. Travis, Dyson and Sookie were knit tight group. Why would anyone want to have revenge on their friends? I don't get it."

"Maybe, you didn't know them as well as you think." Dean retorted.

"Maybe." Emma sighed. "I never thought I'd come back for this."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, after this whole apocalypse thingy, I thought of the options I would have." Emma shrugged. "Whether I keep on hunting or just go back to teaching. Or maybe something completely different. What? You never thought about what you would do, if you could change life."

"Not really." Dean shook his head.

"Oh, come on! I'm sure you have." Emma nudged him with her foot. "What would you want to do if you could get out of hunting?"

"I'd rather not think about it." Dean shook his head.

"But you thought about it." Emma said. "The white picket fence, the apple pies on Sundays. You and Sam watching football games, hanging out and drinking beers. With wives and kids. You thought about it, didn't you?"

"It's just wishful thinking." Dean stood up to put away his plate. "This isn't in the cards for me. It's just…" He rubbed his face. "That job that we are doing, there's no happy ending to it. Once you're in it, you can't get out. And if you do…it means you're dead."

Was that what was waiting for her? Death. Probably. No happy ending. She didn't remember her past lives. But she knew enough to know she had lived a long life. If she didn't get a happy ending out of this, she was alright with it. Was it fair to Sam and Dean? Was it fair that they won't get to live a happy life ever? Why did it have to be them? Why her brothers had to choose them? It wasn't fair. None of it was.

The day after, Emma was back in her classroom. Her pupils were in their seats. Staring at her. Usually, she would have already written the date of the day in French, the objective of the class. But the chalkboard remained empty. There were no lessons to give. She just wanted to talk to them about their friends. The ones that had just lost their lives.

"You've abandoned us." One of the students stated.

"I left. Yes." Emma nodded. "Abandoned you? I didn't."

"You were gone." That same student said. A girl whose name was Milagro Sanchez but everyone called her Carlito.

"And you all managed to stay out of trouble while I was gone." Emma replied. "And from what I've heard, some of you are doing great in school." She swept her eyes over the room. "I was gone and you did great. You don't need me."

"It's not the same without you." Carlito said.

Emma smiled softly. "Anyway, I'm here today because I want to talk about Travis and Sookie."

"What about them?" A boy asked. "They're dead. What else do you need to know?"

"But don't you think it's weird the way they died?" Another boy asked.

"They only got what they deserved." A young girl said this time. She was sitting by Milagro.

"What do you mean, Linda?" Emma asked her frowning.

"Those two, Miss Willie, weren't as perfect as you think they were." Linda continued. Carlito looked at her friend nervously. "You taught us to take care of each other, to look after each other. And we had." Everybody looked at her now. There was so much hate in her voice, so much spite. "But Travis and Sookie, you know what they did for Dyson? Nothing. Neither did we. We all knew how he felt and we let him die. We pushed him to the edge."

"What?" Emma looked at all of her former pupils. They diverted their eyes. Looking at their feet. "What did you do?"

The bell rang and yet, no one dared to move. They remained seated, avoiding her eyes, except for Linda. Linda never looked away. In fact, she was now crying.

"It's all our fault." Linda said. "It's our fault that they died."

Melissa Stanton, their new French teacher, came in on that. She looked between Emma and Linda. And the classroom that was still full with the pupils. "I'm sorry. Do you need more time with them?"

Linda picked up her bag and fled the class. Emma and Milagro followed her. Linda rushed out of the school. Milagro called her but Linda ignored her. As Linda exited the building, she bumped into Dean. When they reached the door, Linda was already gone.

"What did she mean by that?" Emma asked Carlito.

"I…I don't know." Carlito stammered.

"You all knew. Just tell me the truth."

"I'm sorry." And Carlito left.

"What the hell was that?" Dean asked her.

"I 'm not sure." Emma shook her head "Tell me you found something."

"I got the autopsy report for Dyson, same wounds as the other two. From the broken bones down to the lacerations to the abdomen." Dean told her.

"Dyson had jumped off of a building. But Travis and Sookie did not." Emma reminded.

"Dyson came back and took revenge on them." Dean continued.

"Something tells me he's not done yet."

"What do you mean?"

"The girl that bumped into you." Dean nodded. "That was Linda. She said something about Dyson. She said it was their fault that he killed himself. All of them."

This couldn't be. She trusted them, had believed in them. She refused to believe that they all had a hand in Dyson's suicide. She couldn't have failed that too.

"Something's holding him back." Emma said.

"You knew the kid." Dean retorted. "Any idea what might keep him here?"

"Not really." She shrugged. "But it got to be something that both Travis and Sookie had with them when they died."

The photos of the crime scenes were spread in front of Dean. He looked at the picture of the victims. Frowning. "Son of the bitch."

"What?" Emma looked up at him.

"Check this out." Dean shoved the photos under her nose. He pointed at their wrists. "They're wearing the same bracelet."

"It can't be." Emma shook her head.

"It makes perfect sense. Dyson were wearing it when he died, Travis kept it and Sookie got it from Travis." Dean continued. "We find the bracelet, burn it and everything is solved."

"Not that simple." Emma replied. "The bracelet that Travis and Sookie are wearing, are they own. Dyson was buried with his." Emma explained. "But you're right, it does make perfect sense."

"You just said…"

"They got it from Dyson." Emma cut him off. "He made them and gave one to everybody in the class."

"You're kidding."

She pulled down her sleeve and there on her wrist was the same bracelet that Travis, Sookie and Dyson wore when they died.

"I wish I was."

"Great."

"So, what's the plan exactly?" Emma asked Dean as they walked to the car. "I mean we can't just round up all the kids, take their bracelets and burn them, can we?"

"Got a better idea?" Dean asked back.

She sighed. "How are we going to do this, then?"

"You're the teacher, you'll come up with something." Dean smirked.

"I hate you, right now." Emma glared at him.

There was a vigil at the school that evening. She was hoping that all of her students would be there. It was a simple plan. She would ask them all their bracelets and with Dean, she would burn them. It was simple enough. Easy. And yet…

Nothing went as smoothly as she thought it would.

Candles were lit and set in front of two large pictures. Pictures of Travis and Suzanna. A shroud to them. To remember them. Emma and Dean walked in the crowd. Emma looking for one of her former students. Parents, high-schoolers, and people from the town had come that night. Small groups dispersed everywhere on the high school grounds, talking among themselves.

"You see the kids?" Dean asked her as they walked around.

"Not yet." Emma shook her head.

"Alright, let's split." Dean suggested.

Dean took left and Emma went right. Parents smiled at her as she walked past them. There were some high-schoolers but they weren't the ones she was looking for. And then she saw him. He was looking straight at her. Next to him stood Linda. She looked distraught, holding her stomach.

She should have called Dean before rushing after them. She didn't. She didn't hesitate in going after Linda. Going after Dyson. The hallways were dark and empty. It was eerie and somewhat scary.

There was a loud bang. A door slammed closed. The sound bouncing off of the walls. She walked towards the sound. Or where she thought it was coming from. She started calling Linda but no answer came.

"Miss Willie." Her head whipped around and she came face to face with Linda.

"Linda." The girl looked unscathed. The distraught look she had before, had disappeared. "Are you alright?"

"Don't you recognize me, Miss Willie." Linda tilted her head.

Emma frowned. "Dyson?"

A dark thick liquid ran down her nose. "Yes." Linda smiled viciously.

"Let her go." Emma asked him.

"And what? So, she gets to live a long happy life while I'm dead." Dyson said. "This isn't fair."

"That's why you killed Travis and Sookie because it isn't fair?"

"YES!" He shouted. "They got what they deserved. For what they have done to me."

"What did they do to you?"

"My only crime was to confess feeling that I had to my best friend. And what did he do?" Dyson said. "He made my life a living hell. They called me a freak, a monster, just because. All I wanted was for it to stop. So, I went to Travis. I wanted us to be friends again. I wanted him to forget everything I have said before." Tears ran down his face. "I wanted to explain that he wasn't the one I loved. That he was like my brother. But he refused to listen. He asked to never call him brother again. He'd rather be dead than have a brother like me. He asked me to leave but I didn't want to leave like that. I wasn't going to give up. He was my best friend. My only friend. I didn't want to lose him." He clenched his jaw and pulled out a knife. "So, he stabbed me repeatedly. My own best friend killed me." Emma's heart dropped in her stomach. "Sookie helped him covered everything up. All of your precious kids knew. And no one said anything. And you didn't stop it."

Before she could react, he stabbed her. The pain tore through her abdomen as he ripped the knife out. Emma fell onto the ground. She crawled away from Dyson/Linda. They pulled her to them. Emma cried as they straddled her and started hitting with the knife. Emma blocked the blow. They were pushing the knife down on her while Emma was trying to keep it away from her face. Linda/Dyson was pulled off of her. Slammed on the ground by Dean.

"Get her bracelet!" Emma shouted at Dean.

Dean pinned her arms to the ground, after disarming her. Emma got up with a groan and rushed as fast as she could to Dean. She ripped off her own bracelet. Dean was holding Linda/Dyson down still. Emma got Linda's bracelet.

"Red, hurry up!" Dean urged her.

Emma burned the two bracelets and a dark shadow came out of Linda. Going up in flames. It was finally over. Dyson was finally gone.

Emma had definitely left that life that same night. She left her keys behind and a note explaining that she no longer lived there. She and Dean were back on the road again. Driving away from that town. Dean stitched her up and the painkillers had dulled the fire in her guts.

Since Dyson had revealed the truth to her, she had felt numb. How did she not see the signs? How did she not know? How could she have let that happen? She had failed them. Failed her family. Failed Sam and Dean. Lately, her life had been a succession of failures. And it didn't seem like it was getting any better soon.

"You're doing okay, Red?" Dean asked her.

"Not really." Emma exhaled. "But I'll survive, I suppose."

"Hey, whatever happened with those kids, it's not on you." Dean said softly. "You did the best you could."

"Maybe." Emma replied. "But…I know so little about myself. All that I remember is blurry. Pieces that I need to put together. And most of the time, it doesn't even make sense." She glanced at him. "But this. The school, the kids, I knew. I was so sure about it. Only to find out that I knew nothing in the end."

"That's not true." Dean retorted. "I'll tell you what you know."

"And what is that?"

"We're gonna stop your brothers and put an end to this apocalypse." Dean said. "Whatever it takes."

Emma nodded. "Whatever it takes."