Eye of the Storm

Disclaimer: Don't own Supernatural in any way. I do own Haley Winchester and Laura Whitman.

Author's Note: This chapter and the next chapter happen at approximately the same time.

Review Answers:

EmSyd – Glad you think so. Here's more. Do you now? Lol, well, no more in this story.

Spuffyshipper – Thank you, and yeah, I agree. If this doesn't do it, lol, I have future plans that will, hehe.

The Kiss of Death – Yeah, she was. Here's more. Yay, thanks.

The Great and Powerful Oz – Yeah, I knew that if anything was going to give it away, it'd be that line. And still I left it in there. Don't know why, lol. Good, so long as that's all ya do, lol.

Ghostwriter – Thank you, glad you liked it.

Chapter 8: Liberation

"This is where you 'sensed' Sam?" John asked, looking out the window of his truck at the place Haley had directed them to.

"A little less sarcasm and scepticism would be appreciated." Haley said irritably. She, too, was looking out her window. "Yes, this is the place he was at when I felt him."

"Haley, it's the middle of nowhere." John stated. And it truly nearly was. Aside from the long stretch of road, there didn't appear to be anything besides that flat tyre a few meters back from where they'd stopped. Haley sighed, opened the door of the truck, and dropped down to the road, landing safely on her feet.

"I realize that," she said. "But this is definitely the place. Missouri?" She looked up as Missouri also climbed down from the truck (perhaps not the ideal vehicle for the two rather short women). The old psychic frowned, holding out her hands and closing her eyes. Haley bit her lip, staring longingly at the long stretch of road.

I wish I could do that, she thought. Then she remembered something. Maybe I can. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she reached outwards, trying to do what she'd done when she'd met the Heart of Gold spirit. She took in another deep breath, trying to strip away the outer layers of what she saw and felt.

She opened her eyes – and saw the road, Missouri, and now John, exactly as they had been when she'd closed her eyes. "Damn." She muttered.

"Okay, he was here," Missouri suddenly said, standing not far back from the tyre that had been dumped. Haley looked over, and saw Missouri's hands hovering over the tyre for a minute. "I can feel… power." She said. "And fear… lots of fear… and…" She frowned, moving past the tyre, her hands coming up as if she was pushing aside a curtain. She turned back to Haley. "You." She stated.

"Me?" Haley asked. Missouri nodded, turning her back to John and Haley once more.

"Your presence. It's vague, almost unrecognisable, and incredibly weak, but it's there." She frowned again, biting her lip, before turning back around. "I don't think it was just your doing that allowed you to sense Sam across such a distance." Haley raised an eyebrow, and Missouri continued. "I think Sam may have had a hand in it to. I think, somehow, he may have reached out to you." She sighed. "That poor boy. He was absolutely terrified." She said, shaking her head. Haley nodded. It had definitely been no picnic, waking up in such a small, closed in space like that. Judging from the tyre, she was guessing it must've been the trunk of a car. Unfortunately, all she could do right now was hope it was a large car.

"Okay, we'll head back to Missouri's house," John said. "I'll call Bobby and Caleb; they're bound to be finished their jobs by now. With any luck, Dean won't be far off. Once he gets back, we can figure out what to do about finding Sam."

"What about Jim and Elkins?" Haley asked. "And Laura, what do you think happened to her when they got Sam?" John frowned, and Haley felt something akin to guilt before John managed to smother it like he did every other emotions he felt. She narrowed her eyes. "What aren't you telling me?" She asked, her hand on her hips. John glanced at Missouri, but she sighed and gave a nod. John turned back to Haley.

"Pastor Jim is dead, and so is Daniel Elkins." John said. "Missouri… felt it."

"She felt it?" Haley asked, turning a surprised look in Missouri's direction. That seemed a little… big, even for Missouri.

"It is," Missouri said, and Haley could have hit herself for actually thinking that. But at least Missouri seemed to agree. "I was as surprised by it as you are." She frowned. "I… I think that maybe the Demon had something to do with it. I think it might've wanted us to know it's killed them."

"And what about Laura?" Haley asked.

"Well… we have no idea where Laura is or even if she's still alive." John said. "We don't even know if she was with Sam when he was taken." Haley narrowed her eyes at John further, trying to feel if he was hiding anything else. If he was, he was keeping it hidden a lot better then the last one. "Come on, we should probably head back." He said. After a minute, Haley nodded, turning and walking back to the truck.

"A little help please." She called when she got there, remembering how high it was, and how short and, as much as she hated to admit it, incapable she was at this point in time.

-;-

"I'm just saying, I think it's strange that neither of them are answering their cells." Missouri said as they got up to the front door of her house.

"Chances are they were following some demons and couldn't afford to answer," John said. "They're both very capable hunters."

"So was Daniel Elkins, look what happened to him." Missouri said. She reached out to unlock the door, but her hand froze just as she was about to put the key in the lock.

"What?" Haley asked. "What is it?" Without saying anything, Missouri, dropped the keys back into her pocket, reached down, and turned the doorknob, pushing the door open.

"Someone's already here." She said. At that moment, Haley gasped, doubling over as all the air was forced from her lungs. Without hesitation, John and Missouri both entered the house, leaving Haley on the front porch. She glared at their backs.

"Yeah, that's right, no one worry about the pregnant woman." She said. "I've just had the wind knocked out of me, I'll be fine." She took a step back and leaned against the porch railing, taking deep breaths.

Nothing seemed out of place in the waiting room, though the door leading into the main part of the house was closed. John reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun when he saw the doorknob start to move.

"No, wait," Missouri said, putting a hand on John's arm as the door swung open – and Dean stepped through, gun raised. He saw John and Missouri, and then Haley over their shoulders, and relaxed, lowering the gun, giving a small sigh of relief before flashing his father a proud smile.

"You're just in time, Dad," He said. John raised an eyebrow, and for a fleeting moment thought perhaps his son had been possessed. Missouri slapped his arm.

"Don't think crazy," She snapped, turning back to Dean. "What are we just in time for, Dean?" She asked. Dean's smile seemed to get a little less warm, and he stepped aside, giving them a view of the living room. The curtains were closed, letting no light (or the sight of nosey neighbours).

"We were just about to interrogate Meg." He said. Missouri and John both saw her, crouched down on the ground, eyes blazing, her arms wrapped around her stomach. That explained why Haley had suddenly become winded for no apparent reason. But it didn't explain…

"How?" John asked. If she had fallen fro ma seven story building and then just gotten up and walked away, how the hell had Dean managed to knock the wind out of her. Dean seemed to have been anticipating the question, and pointed towards the ceiling above Meg. John and Missouri both looked up, and saw one of the protective circles Bobby was so fond of mentioning, drawn onto it.

"That had better not be permanent." Missouri said, walking passed Dean into the kitchen. Well, it wasn't like he'd actually be expecting congratulations from her. He turned hopefully towards his father.

"Are Bobby and Caleb here?" Was all John asked. Dean's eyebrow twitched, and he bit his lip. After a minute, he nodded.

"They're… they're in the kitchen looking for salt." He said, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. John either didn't notice what he couldn't hide, or didn't care. He simply nodded, and walked passed Dean as well. "I guess I'll go help Haley." He said, heading out onto the front porch.

Haley looked up as Dean stepped out of the house, and was hit by several different (and very confusing) emotions at once. Disgust, shame, anger, resentment, disappointment… she almost felt like she'd been winded again as they all assaulted her at once. With a little effort, she pushed it all back, giving Dean a small, reassuring smile, and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I think you did well." She said. Dean gave her a small half smile. Not much, but the appreciation she felt spoke volumes. It was clear he was disappointed his father hadn't even commented on what he'd done. Not that he'd helped just to get his father's attention; it just would've been nice to get a little acknowledgment. "Come on," Haley said, breaking into his thoughts. "We have a demon to interrogate. And I, for one, have a few bones to pick with Meg regarding my husband."

-;-

Once more, the remaining group of hunters split up. John, Missouri and Caleb all left in John's truck. Where they were going, or what they were doing, none of them cared to explain. So that left Dean, Haley and Bobby to deal with Meg. While Haley and Bobby finished salting the doors and windows (mostly windows; who'd have thought one house could have so many?) Dean set to work on restraining Meg while she was still recovering from having all her power neutralized by the circle, instead of just the meta-physical ones like at Pastor Jim's church.

She smiled tauntingly at Dean as he sat down on the couch after finishing tying her to the chair he'd dragged out of the kitchen. "You know, if you wanted to tie me up, all you had to do was ask." She said. Dean's face was a mask of indifference. He just watched her, waiting for Haley and Bobby to return.

"Okay, all windows on this side of the house have been salted." Bobby said as he entered the room.

"As have all the windows on the other side." Haley said as she came in from the other side, taking a seat beside Dean, who nodded, getting to his feet and walking over to Meg. She continued to smile at him, like she didn't have a care in the world.

"Where's my brother, Meg?" He asked, working to keep his voice calm. Meg shrugged, continuing to smile. Dean gave her a smile of his own, one without a hint of warmth in it, and then backhanded her across the face. She let out a yelp of pain, but when she turned her head to stare at him, she was still smiling.

"You never hit me that hard when we were screwing each other." She said. Dean stiffened. Behind him, he heard Haley standing up.

"What?" She demanded.

"Oh, Dean didn't tell you?" Meg asked cheerily.

"Shut up." Dean warned.

"Deanie-boy's been banging the enemy." Meg continued.

"Since when?" Haley turned to Dean.

"Oh, only once." Meg said, acting completely innocent, like they were discussing dinner. "Last night, when I tried to kill him in ole' Jimmy's church." Unable to control himself any longer, Dean hit her a second time, even harder then the first.

"Dean." Bobby said warningly. Dean glanced over his shoulder, and Bobby nodded towards the kitchen. Dean glanced back at Meg.

"Don't go anywhere." He said, like she wasn't tied to a chair and stuck in a 'demonic roach motel' as Bobby had called it earlier. He followed said demon hunter out of the room, feeling Meg's eyes following him all the way out of the room. He closed the door behind him.

"Listen, Bobby, I really don't need a lecture right now, I've got to find out where-"

"We can discuss your poor choice in women later." Bobby said. "I just thought I should remind you to be a little more careful with her."

"What?" Dean asked, confused.

"That's a girl you're hitting." Dean didn't look any less confused. "That's a human possessed by a demon, can't you tell?" Bobby asked. Dean bit his lip; no, he couldn't tell. He looked over his shoulder, almost as if he could see Meg through the walls. He turned back to Bobby.

"You trying to tell me there's an innocent girl trapped somewhere in there?" He asked. Bobby nodded, and Dean frowned, turning back to the door. "That's actually good news." He said, walking back into the living room. Haley was standing a meter or so away from Meg, and the two women seemed locked in a staring contest. Or more, a glaring contest. If looks could kill, both Meg and Haley would be dying slow, painful deaths right now.

"Haley, where's the journal?" Dean asked. Haley glanced over at Dean, before leaving the room to get the journal. She was clearly not happy about learning that her brother-in-law was having sex with a demon. Well, Dean probably wouldn't be either, if he was in her shoes. Hell, he was still disgusted and furious with himself for letting it happen, even though he still wasn't sure exactly how it had happened.

Haley returned a moment later, journal in hand. Meg smiled calmly. "Are you going to read me a story?" She asked.

"No." Dean said. He nodded at Haley, who already seemed to know what he wanted. He leaned forward so his face was inches from Meg's face. "We're going to send you to hell." He said. She raised an eyebrow. "Unless you tell me where Sam is." She smiled smugly at him, but didn't say anything. Dean shrugged. "Suit yourself." He said, and turned to Haley, who seemed a little too happy about what she was about to do.

"EGO expulsum vos, turpis unus…" She began. Meg turned a disbelieving look in Haley's direction.

"An exorcism?" She asked, turning back to Dean. "Are you serious?"

"Fairly." Dean said with a nod.

"… per preces superum ut ingredior is terra quod repo subter supter is." Haley finished the first verse, and both she and Dean noticed the discomfort Meg was starting to feel, which was a sure sign that the first part of the exorcism had succeeded.

"Where's Sam?" Dean asked. Meg smiled coldly at him. Dean felt his resolve to be a little more gentle begin to crack. "Where is he? Where'd you take him?" Okay, shatter; so Meg did not exactly bring out the best in him, she probably had that effect on all the men she screwed, figuratively and literally. And if just that wasn't enough to drive him over the edge, that smug smile she kept giving him certainly was.

"Haley." He said, trying to sound calm, not taking his eyes off Meg. Haley turned her attention back to the journal.

"Permissum incendia damnatio vindicatum vos." Haley said. Meg was struggling to stay calm; her skin was turning sickly pale, and sweat had started to bead down her face. "Permissum turpis creatura-" Meg let out a gasp as a spasm of pain shot through her body, and Haley stopped, giving her the chance to say something.

"He's dead." She said, turning a cruel smile on Dean. "Even as we speak, my Master's drinking from him; draining him of his blood." Haley looked just about ready to hit Meg herself. But one look at Dean told her it would be a better idea to continue the exorcism.

"Permissum turpis creatura persolvo pro vitium insquequo orbis terrarum effrego." She seemed to be pulled further into a trance with each word that left her lips. Around them glass started to crack and shatter; lights flickered; books began opening, flicking through the pages at rapid speeds, seemingly on their own. And with each word, Meg's physical condition seemed to deteriorate. She was now sweating profusely; her eyes were bloodshot, her face was almost ashen white, and each breath seemed to be a struggle to take in.

"Last chance." Dean said as Haley finished the second verse. Meg glared at him, and for a minute, she looked like she was going to give in. Then she spat in his face. Out of pure reflex, Dean threw his fist forward, connecting with Meg's chin. Her head snapped back and she cried out in pain.

When she lowered her head back down, there was a snarl on her lips. "I'm gonna kill you. Both of you." She added, turning to look at Haley for a second before turning back to Dean. "I'm gonna serve your hearts to my master on plates made from your own bones." She growled.

"Haley!" Dean said, a little angrier then he had meant to. Haley didn't seem to notice. She wasn't even looking at the journal now.

"Audite mihi iam, everto." She chanted fluently, like it was the language she'd grown up using. "EGO to order vos, licentia is vas." Meg cried out as pain shot through her body and her chair began to move rapidly across the floor, coming to the edge of the protective circle and seeming to bounce away from it like it had come up against an invisible wall. "Solvo is ex vestri indignus habitum."

"No!" Meg cried. Haley blinked, and the trance lifted. Meg slouched in her chair, her breaths fast and shallow. "He's not dead… not yet." She whispered, her whole body shaking. Dean stared at her, waiting for her to continue and trying hard not to notice how Meg's bleach-blond was standing on end.

"Where is he?" Dean demanded.

"I don't know." She answered.

"Haley-!"

"The cemetery." She gasped. "There's a crypt… made of black stone…" She took in a deep, shaky breath, which ended in a sob. "The casket at the back… it has a false-floor… it'll lead to a passage…" She looked up at Dean. "That's the last place I saw him before I came here for you." She said. Dean narrowed his eyes.

"That's all I know, I swear." She stared up at him pleadingly. Slowly, he nodded, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finish it." Dean ordered Haley.

"What?" Meg gasped, looking back at him, terror in her eyes. "I told you the truth."

"I don't care!" Dean stated coldly, so much so he even scared Bobby. He turned to Haley. "Finish it!" He repeated. Haley nodded, looking back down at the journal.

"You'll kill her." Bobby said. Haley's gaze snapped over to where he stood. Dean was a lot slower, turning around to face him.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You said she fell from a building," Bobby said, glancing over at Meg. He turned back to Dean. "That girl's body is broken. The only thing keeping her alive is that demon inside." He stated. "You exorcize it, the girl is gonna die-"

"So, what, I'm supposed to just let that thing stay inside of her?" Dean asked.

"She is a human being."

"So we'll put her out of her misery." Dean said, his stare so hard that Bobby backed down, turning away from him. Dean turned back to Haley. "Do it." He said. Slowly, reluctantly, she nodded, turning back down to read the words from the journal.

"Audite mihi iam, everto." She said. Meg cried out in pain, and the chair started to move again. "EGO to order vos, licentia is vas." The chair landed right in the centre of the circle. Meg's head snapped down to her chest, and then back up again, her eyes now a dark, charcoal-black.

"It doesn't matter." She growled as Haley continued to chant. Her face seemed to stretch, change, becoming less human. Her whole body was shaking from head to toe with the effort of staying in control. "There's more like me. Hundreds more. They will hunt you down like the vermin you are. My death will not go unavenged." Dean stared coldly right into her black, soulless eyes.

"Then I'll see you in hell." He said, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Audite mihi iam, everto." Haley continued. "EGO to order vos, licentia is vas, solvo is ex vestri indignus habitum. Operor is iam."

A single second passed where the two of them just stared at each other, where everything else seemed to fade away. In that time, Dean saw the demon that controlled Meg; the creature he had slept with, in its native form. A dark, soulless beast that seemed to look right into his soul, where it would spend the rest of his life tormenting him for what he'd done.

"Operor is iam!"

And then the second passed, and Meg's head snapped back, a black shroud rushing out of her mouth. It lasted for almost ten seconds, and Meg was screaming the entire time as the demon was almost literally ripped from her body. And when it ended, she slumped forward, the effects of her injuries hitting her hard and fast.

"Meg?" Dean whispered.

-;-

A/N: And that is it for another chapter, ladies and gentlemen. I actually wrote most of this chapter (from about where Haley and Bobby came back into the room after salting all the windows) ages ago, near the beginning of Eye of the Storm. I realize it went a lot like the exorcism on the show, but that was because I liked it. The exorcism itself is mine though, written from scratch and then translated to Latin using an online translator. Review and let me know what you think. And let me know if you think Meg should live or die? I've already made the decision, but I want to know what you guys think should happen.