Chapter 3:

It was always routine to go to church and pray whenever the morning services were held. The routine wasn't to wash away his sins but to pray for those suffering in the world. Hearing stories of miracles gave him faith and strengthened his prayers. However, today, it was not routine that called him to the morning service. It was the lives of Jeffrey Dale's family.

Feeling their eyes on his back, Jeffrey looked at his family, who sat inside a parked car outside the church. His eyes ran over his children's faces before locking sight with his wife. A heartbeat passed between them before he finally looked at the man in the driver's seat. The man gave him a curt nod, and Jeffrey turned away. "Father, forgive me," and he walked inside.

An explosion rocked the church. Then, the car with Dale's family and the strange man ignited. Fire and smoke filled the sky along with screams and cries. There was nothing left, nothing but horror and tragedy.

"They blew up a church!"

"I know, Dean," Onyx said.

"It couldn't be the demons. They can't step onto holy ground."

"They found a way, Sam." Onyx turned the television set off.

"All those people," John muttered.

"Phase One complete."

"Phase One? What the hell is Phase One, Onyx?"

"The declaration of war, John."

"On us."

"No, Dean." Onyx looked at everyone. "On all of us."

"Will the others fight now?"

"I don't know, John. Maybe, some will."

"Maybe that's what they want," Kyle finally said. "Maybe, they want to take out as many of the angels as they can as well as us, leaving them the last ones standing." She sat Indian-style on her bed and then began to whisper something, something inaudible.

"What is she doing?"

"It's called a Silent Prayer, Dean." Onyx walked over to her. "She's praying for those that died today." He laid a hand on her shoulder, and Kyle looked at him. "I taught it to her."

"Your hand is cold." Onyx moved away from her. "Your hand has never been cold."

"How much time do you have left," John asked Onyx.

"A few days." Onyx ignored the pained look on Kyle's face. "I still have to locate Helena. Once I can find her, I or Dan will take you to her."

"Onyx!" Dan exploded into the room. "Onyx, did you see the news?"

"We saw it." Dan looked at Dean.

"Yes, we saw it. The demons took out a church and a car full of people." Dan wildly shook his head from side to side. "What do you mean no?"

"The war has started." Dan struggled to catch his breath. "But not just with the church and that family. It's everywhere, Onyx. Everywhere!"

"Dan, what happened?"

"They tried to stop me, Onyx. When they saw me in town, they tried to stop me."

A small knife protruded out of Dan's back. Onyx reached for it, but Dan grabbed him by the wrist. He slowly shook his head. "I had to tell you. I had to." He fell to the ground. "The town's school is on fire. Children are trapped. They're going to die. You… You need to help them. All of you. You need to," and he collapsed into Onyx's embrace.

"He's gone," Onyx sadly said.

"It's a trap, Onyx," John said. "You know that it's a trap."

"I know." Onyx closed Dan's eyes. "But the children will die. Can you live with that?" He looked at everyone in the motel room. "Can you?"

"No," Dean and Sam said in unison.

"Kyle?"

"We have to do something, Onyx."

"Then, go. I will take care of Dan's body, and then meet you there."

"Onyx…"

"Go with them, Kyle. We'll talk later, but you have to go now." He watched everyone leave. "I hope that I will see you again." He looked down at his hands and then over at the body of his friend. "Good luck," he whispered.

What was once a quiet town was now sheer pandemonium. Cars were smashed into each other, flipped over, or simply abandoned. Storefronts were broken into as alarms rang out throughout the town. People peered out of their windows before quickly closing the blinds. Cops and fire fighters wrestled with looters.

"This is chaos," Dean said.

"This is what the demons wanted," Sam replied.

"There's the school," Kyle said.

"Almost there," John said.

"You think this is a trap?"

"Yes, Dean. We're dealing with demons." John parked the car. "Sam, you're with me. Kyle and Dean, you two go up, and we'll go down. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Dean and Sam said in unison again.

On the lower level, John and Sam cautiously walked through the school. They looked into the classrooms but didn't see anyone. Checking open lockers, they continued down the hallway.

A police officer appeared behind them with his gun trained on John. Blood dripped down his shoulder, but his hand remained steady on the gun. He moved closer when the Winchesters turned to look at him.

"Show me your eyes!"

"Isn't it, 'show me your hands'?" The police officer stared at John.

"Show me your eyes!"

"My eyes aren't black," the police officer replied as he stared at John and Sam. "Are yours?"

"No." John held his hands up, and Sam followed suit. "We are not demons."

"Demons? Who's talking about demons? Some freaking kid stabbed me with a pair of scissors." The officer lowered his gun. "What the hell was she?"

"A demon," Sam replied and then glanced at his father. He lowered his hands, and so did John. "The kid was a demon."

"Demons," the officer muttered.

"Anyone else here in this school?"

"No. We got most of everyone out."

"We?"

"My partner and I." He looked at Sam. "Then, I heard a little girl crying for help and came back for her, but she stabbed me here in the shoulder. After she stabbed me, she ran off." He looked at the Winchesters. "I'm Officer Ryan Mitchell. You are what? Demon killers?"

"Yeah, we are. I'm John Winchester, and this is my son, Sam."

The school began to shake. Something snapped above them. Everyone looked up just as the ceiling was about to crash down on them.

"Look out!" Ryan pushed John out of the way.

The ceiling nearly slammed down upon Ryan and John. It crashed onto the floor behind them. Ryan and John looked at the debris and then at each other.

"We need to get out of here. Now!"

"Not without my other son and Kyle."

"Come on!" Sam helped John to his feet. "We need to find them. This is a trap."

On the upper level, Dean and Kyle cautiously walked through the hallway. They checked the classrooms and open lockers. They were about to move on when Dean stopped walking.

"Did you hear that," Dean asked.

"Hear what?"

"Listen."

A little girl ran out of a classroom and down the hallway. She turned to look back at them with blue eyes. Then, she ran into another classroom.

"Hey! Little girl!" Dean ran after her.

Kyle started to run after him. She stopped when she saw a shadow on the wall. She backed up toward an open classroom when someone suddenly grabbed her from behind.

"Kyle?" Dean looked over his shoulder but didn't see her.

The floor underneath him shook. He heard something snapping nearby. To his horror, the floor a few feet in front of him fell down to the lower level.

"Help me." Dean looked to his left to see an open classroom. "Someone help me."

"Hello?" Dean walked into the classroom. "Little girl? It's okay. I won't hurt you."

Walking toward the teacher's desk, Dean saw a little girl with brown curls and blue eyes cowering near it. He smiled as she looked at him. He came closer as the girl returned his smile while holding a pair of bloody scissors behind her back.

"Dean!"

The girl lunged at Dean with her scissors held up high. She was about to stab him when he grabbed her. She pushed him to the ground as her eyes turned black. She wrestled with Dean, determined to plunge the scissors deep into his chest.

"Dean!"

"Get her off me, Sam!" He could feel the tip of the scissors biting into his skin.

Sam punched the girl in the face. As she goes limp, he ripped the scissors out of her hands. He looked at them as Dean picked the girl up into his arms.

"We need to find Kyle," Dean said.

Dragged into a classroom away from where Dean and Sam were, Kyle struggled against the iron grip that she was held in. A hand covered her mouth, so she couldn't scream. Her feet dragged across the floor. Her attacker spun her around. It was Ronan.

"Hey, little sis. I'm sorry, but I didn't want us to be disturbed." He lowered his hand from her mouth. "I'm free. I no longer have a demon in me. It went into that little girl."

"Why should I believe you, Ronan?"

"Because it's the truth. If I was lying, I would have snapped your neck." Kyle flinched. "It's me, Kyle! It's Ronan!"

"I don't believe you."

"They're going to kill me, Kyle. They're going to kill you unless…"

"Unless?"

"Unless you kill the Winchesters."

"You nearly killed me, Ronan. Remember?"

"I stopped." He stepped closer to her. "If you do this, they won't hurt us. They'll let us go, and we can wait out the war. Once it blows over, we can start over again."

"Don't you get it? If the demons win this war, this world will become hell on earth. What life could we possibly have in a world like that?"

"So, that's it? You're going to side with the Winchesters, who barely know you when I'm your brother! I thought you loved me!"

"Don't you dare play that card with me. Don't you dare!"

"Then, kill them!"

"No!"

Ronan hit Kyle across the face, knocking her onto the floor. "I tried to be nice. I really did." His eyes turned black. "You're as stubborn as your brother, but, at least, I can get rid of one of you." He picked her up by her arms. "You should have said yes, Kyle."

"Let her go." Dean appeared behind him.

"Do you mind? This is between siblings." He looked over his shoulder at Dean.

"He said to let her go." Sam entered the room.

"Really?" He noticed the little girl in Sam's arms. "What are you going to do? Throw her at me?"

"If you don't let her go, I'll shoot you." Ryan walked into the room with his gun trained on Ronan. John Winchester stood next to him.

"What do you know, sis? You never could find a man until I became a demon. Now, look at all of these white knights defending you." He spun Kyle around, so her back was against him. "I bet they can't save you, though. Nobody can."

"Let her go." Dean's eyes fixed on Ronan. "Now!"

"You want to see something heart-wrenching, little sis?" Kyle looked at her brother, who moved her toward the window. "Then, watch this!" Hurling Kyle to the floor, Ronan jumped out the window and toward the ground.

Dean raced to Kyle's side as John, Sam and Ryan ran toward the window. Dean helped Kyle stand up as John, Sam and Ryan looked back at them. Then, they all looked out the window.

"I can't believe he just stood up and ran off like that," Ryan said.

"Let's get out of here before the whole school comes crashing down on us," John replied.

"You okay, Kyle?"

"Yeah, Dean. I'm great." She walked past him and out of the classroom.

"Great." He followed her out of the room.

As they all walked outside the school, not a sound was heard. Not a soul was seen. Flames licked the top of the school building, but no fire fighters were seen anywhere. The sheer pandemonium was gone along with everyone else.

"Where did everyone go," Ryan asked.

"Did Onyx mention Phase Two?"

"No, Sam, but I bet she knows." John looked at the girl still in Sam's arms. "We better get back to the motel."

"We should have killed them," a demon said as he watched the small group walk away from the school.

"All in good time," the shadow replied.

"We had them."

"We still have them, but let's make them suffer for a little while longer."

"And Helena's group?"

"I believe they will lead us to her, and then we will take them all out," the shadow said. "In the meantime, proceed with Phase Two."

As the car drew closer to the motel, fire was seen raging through it. Onyx was nowhere in sight. The car stopped abruptly, and everyone hurried out toward the motel.

"Onyx!" Kyle looked around. "Onyx!"

"Who is Onyx?" Kyle ignored Ryan as she looked around.

"Onyx, please be here. Please."

"Kyle?"

Onyx appeared behind her. His eyes were grey, and his face was pale. He crumbled to the ground as Kyle ran to his side. Shocked by how cold his body was, Kyle wrapped her arms around him.

"Onyx," she cried.

"I couldn't stop them," Onyx said. He looked at Ryan and then at the Winchesters. "I was able to get an address of Helena's last location." He placed a crumbled piece of paper in Kyle's hands. "You should leave now."

"Not without you." Kyle stared at him. "Not without you."

"Kyle…" Onyx looked at John.

John leaned down and pulled Kyle away from Onyx. Looking at Dean, he moved her toward him. Then, he looked back at Onyx.

"No! No!" Dean held Kyle as she started to cry. "You can't die!" Ryan looked at her and then at Onyx. "No!"

"There are others now. There are others." Onyx started to fade. "They will look for you but not just yet. It's not time yet." A white glow formed around him. "Find Helena. Find those with her. Then, we can end this war." He disappeared in a white flash.

"Onyx!" Dean continued to hold Kyle as she cried.

"I'm sorry, Kyle," Dean said as he watched his father take the crumbled note from her hand.

"Let's go." John walked back toward the car. "Come on!"

"Come on, Kyle." Dean led her to the car. "We have to go."

The car pulled away from the blazing motel. Nobody said a word as they watched the building burn. Silent tears raced down Kyle's face as everyone looked at her and then at the empty road ahead.

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned."

A priest knelt before an altar in his church as chaos was heard from the outside. His eyes closed as his hands pressed together. A gold cross flashed against his black shirt and white collar.

"I should have not been selfish, and I beg you for forgiveness." He looked up at the cross. "Let me make things right. Let me do what you asked." He stood up from the floor. "What remains of faith will not disappear in this dark hour of ours. We will fight. We will prevail." He turned to look at another priest and then at the people huddled inside his church. "The next move is ours."