Chapter 4:

A cold wind blew through a chamber lit only by a single candle. The flame danced back and forth, denying the darkness entrance. Black ink dripped onto parchment as a priest wrote a record of the events that had passed. A shadow fell over his desk, making him pause. He knew the stranger well.

"What changed your mind?" The priest stared up into those white eyes. "You said no before, and you meant it. So, what changed?"

"They blew up a church." The priest looked away. "The war has begun."

"I thought you didn't care."

"I do!"

"Then, why did you say no before?"

"Because if I do this, then I die. I have a role to play in this war, and I cannot ignore that."

"No. You can't."

"If I must die for us to win, then so be it."

"I wish that there were more like you. Some still doubt his existence and fear the outcome of this dark chapter playing out before them."

"There are those that believe."

"But will they fight?"

"Will you!"

The priest laid down his pen. "You know that we can't."

"Right. The rules." The white eyes blinked. "I forgot. This is our war not yours."

"It is our war."

"Then, fight!" The priest jumped to his feet and clenched his hands. "Fight with us!"

"Some still fear going against his rules. Our fate will be uncertain."

"And you call me selfish."

"The decision has not come to pass as of yet. We are still time away from it."

"Then, what shall we do until that time comes?"

"We prepare. The lives that are willing to be sacrificed might just save this world."

A cold wind blasted through the chamber. Its cold hand stole across the flame, throwing it into darkness. Sounds of chaos from the outside world were heard outside. Only the white eyes remained.

"The next move is ours, father."

Driving toward the address that Onyx had given them, the Winchesters, Ryan, Kyle and the little girl rode on in silence. The girl growled at Sam as he held her against him with her hands tied behind her back. Dean glanced at Kyle, but she would not look at him. John Winchester continued to drive, but his edge, the tension was felt. They were all on edge.

"It's another empty town that we're passing through."

"Yeah, Sam. Where did everyone go," Dean asked more to himself.

"People are running. They're afraid of what's happening, so they're going somewhere safe." John continued to drive.

"Nowhere is safe," Kyle said.

"Until we do something about it," Ryan responded, but she refused to look at him.

"We have to find Helena," Dean said. "That's what Onyx wanted." Now, Kyle looked at him. "We'll find her."

"That we will, but we need gas first." John noticed the tank was near empty. "Here we go." He saw a gas station up ahead.

"Is it even safe to go there?"

"We don't have a choice, Ryan" John looked at him through the rearview mirror. "We need to find Helena and her group."

"What's the point? She may not even be able to help us." Kyle glared at Ryan in response.

"We shall see," and John pulled into the gas station.

A man wearing a dirty baseball cap and denim overalls wandered over to the car. His eyes scanned over everyone inside before settling on John, who sat behind the wheel. His grin was unpleasant as he chewed a piece of tobacco. "Fill er up?"

"Yes," John responded, and the man walked away. "Don't say a word." He now glared at the child demon. "You might be in a little girl, but I'll still kill you."

"I have to go the bathroom," Kyle said and looked at Dean and Ryan. "Which one of you is going to move?"

Dean started to open his door, but Ryan beat him to it. He got out and stretched his legs as Kyle moved past him. He looked after her as she walked toward the rest room nearby.

"Pleasant, isn't she?"

"Cut her some slack, Ryan. She just lost a very close friend."

"Plus that face-off with her brother, Ronan," Sam said as he now stood next to Dean.

"She just needs to cool down," John replied as he stayed behind the wheel.

Minutes later, the car was back on the road. The gas station slowly faded away. The man wearing the dirty baseball cap and denim overalls grinned as his eyes turned black.

"You're so stupid. I should kill you where you stand," the shadow growled. "You're lucky that I don't."

"You still need me, Scar," Ronan replied.

"I told you not to call me by my name."

"Sorry, master."

"And yes, I do need you. For now until the final phase."

"Any problems down there?"

"No. He wants to see how this war pans out before he does anything."

"He expects us to fail."

"That he does, Ronan, but we won't. And when we win, this world is ours not his."

"And he will keep his word on that?"

"His word is nothing, and I have set a few things in motion in case of anything. Now, what to do about your sister, Kyle?"

"She's mine. That's our agreement."

"Then, why did you not throw her out the window?"

"To make her see what I can do to her brother. If she were to remove me from him, he would die hopefully in her arms."

"I would rather her dead now than torture her before."

"She's no threat to us."

"Onyx was protecting her for a reason, and that reason is still unknown to us. It bothers me. Greatly."

"She is no threat to us!"

"Now, who is speaking? The Demon, or Ronan?"

"The real Ronan's been silent for a long time now."

"Has he? You're the only one who is having problems with the soul in that body. Maybe, I should kill you. I don't need any problems."

"Listen, Scar, you know what I can do, and this soul, Ronan is no match for me. When the time comes, I will kill Kyle."

"You better, or I'll make you feel agony like you've never felt before." The shadow fell quiet for a long moment. "They've been spotted. Gas station."

"Good," Ronan said. "Maybe now, we'll find out where Helena has been hiding." An evil smile stretched across his face. "Good thing we have a mole."

Parked off the side of the road, Sam carried the little girl into the woods. Dean and John followed him. Kyle and Ryan slowly fell behind them as they carried a bag of food and supplies.

"This will do." John looked around them. "We make camp here." His attention turned toward the little girl. "And we take care of business."

"Do you think it matters, if you save this girl?" The little girl's eyes turned black. "You're all dead anyway. We know where you are."

"Start chanting, Sam," John said.

"We will kill you." She looked at Kyle now. "We will make sure that you stay dead this time." She laughed. "It's a shame that Onyx won't know that he failed."

"Shut up!" Kyle moved toward her, but Dean stopped her. "Just shut up," Kyle snapped at her.

"Finish the chant, Sam," Dean said, and a moment later, the little girl screamed, spewing out a dark black funnel cloud from her mouth.

Kyle walked away from camp. She sat on the ground and brushed a strand of brown hair out of her face. She looked up at the starry sky. "When I was younger, I would lay out on my parents' patio and just stare up at the stars."

"When things were normal?" Ryan sat beside her.

"Yeah, when my brother wasn't possessed by a demon and my life consisted of working in retail and nothing else. My life was so boring back then, and I miss it."

"I know what you mean." He looked at Kyle. "I was trained to go after the bad guys not demons. I didn't believe in demons or God up to now." He looked away. "I just wanted my life to have purpose."

"How do you think this will end?"

"I'm afraid to find out." Ryan saw Dean walk toward them.

"The little girl normal again?"

"Yeah, Ryan. Let's head back toward camp."

Later that night, Kyle sat up from the ground, drenched in sweat. If she had screamed, they would have awoken. Luckily, they didn't, and she slowly crawled to her feet, trying to shake off her latest nightmare. She glanced around, noticing that everyone was still asleep, and she slowly moved away from camp.

"Where are you going?" She froze, recognizing John's voice. "Had another nightmare?" He approached her.

"Yeah. I just need to take a walk."

"So, let's walk." He followed her away from camp. "Is it the same nightmare every night," he asked a few minutes later.

"Most nights." Kyle stopped walking and looked at him. "What did you and Onyx talk about?"

"What do you mean?"

"You two spoke for a long time back at the haven. What did you talk about? Was it about me?"

"What makes you think that?"

"I just want to know."

"We should head back to camp now. We need to get back on the road soon and out of town."

"What did you two talk about?"

"Look, Kyle, he knew he was dying. He knew that he wasn't going to be around for much longer. He wanted me in charge, and I am. We're a group now, and we are going to do what he wanted and find Helena."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Fine," and she walked away from him.

"And Kyle?" She looked at him. "You need to let that night go. These nightmares are hurting you, and we need you." He gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Let it go."

"I can't. I can't until I have my brother back." She walked away from him.

A single candle lit up a bedroom. A small teddy bear was poised on the edge of a bed. Pictures of family cluttered the small tables on each side of the bed. A breeze blew through the room, but the flame refused to die.

Sounds of weeping were heard as a woman entered the room. She walked toward a picture of siblings and picked it up. Tears fell onto the glass as she sat on the bed. She ran a finger over the faces of Ronan and Kyle. A haunting smile touched her face as her eyes continued to hold the faces of her children.