February 14th - February 17th, 2010
We were sitting in our motel room when something on the news caught our attention.
"A couple in South Dakota has been found in a home earlier this evening. It appears that the two devoured each other. Officers on the scene believe that they did this to fulfill a gruesome suicide pact to be together for Valentine's Day," a news reporter said.
"Yes! And in lighter news!" the other reporter shouted. "With Valentine's Day only a few days away, why not take advantage of the amazing prices on bouquets at—"
With that, we immediately set off to South Dakota. When we got there, Sam went to speak to the girl's roommate, while Dean went to the coroner's office.
I had been struggling with myself since getting a text from Nate. I really wanted to text him for selfish reasons and also just to see how he was doing. On the other hand, he said he needed some more time, and I wanted to respect that. So, I just kept looking at the last text he sent me, but the longer I sat in the motel by myself, the harder I was struggling with not texting him. Until thankfully, Dean finally walked in. About twenty or so minutes after that, Sam walked in carrying bags of food.
"How'd it go?" Dean asked.
"Um..." Sam shook his head. "No EMF, no sulfur. Ghost possession and demonic possession are both probably out."
Dean nodded. "Hmm. That's where I was puttin' my money."
Sam shook his head. "Nope."
Dean rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Well, then what, then?" His eyes widened out of excitement. "Oh, dude! At the coroner's... you didn't see these bodies. I mean, these two started eating and— and they just... kept going. I mean, their stomachs were full. Like— Like... Thanksgiving-dinner full. Talk about co-dependent."
Sam shrugged. "Well... I mean, we got our feelers out. Not much more, we can do tonight." He sighed. "All right. I'm just gonna go through some files. You can go ahead and get going."
"Sorry?" Dean asked.
"Go ahead. Unleash the Kraken. See you tomorrow morning," Sam said.
"Where am I going?" Dean asked.
I furrowed my brow at him. "It's Valentine's." I shrugged. "I don't necessarily enjoy your use of it, but it's your favorite holiday."
Sam nodded. "Yeah, I mean, what do you always call it... uh, Unattached Drifter Christmas?"
"Oh, yeah." Dean shrugged. "Well... be that as it may... I don't know. Guess I'm not feeling it this year."
"So, you're not into bars full of lonely women?" Sam asked.
"Nah, I guess not." Dean took a sip of his beer and gave Sam a strange look. "What?"
"When a dog doesn't eat..." Sam nodded. "That's when you know something's really wrong."
"Remarkably patronizing concern duly noted. Nothing's wrong. We gonna work or what?" Dean asked.
Sam and I exchanged a look, and then I checked my phone one last time before digging into my food.
I waited in the Impala for Sam and Dean to return from the coroner's office. They had received a call about another couple committing suicide. This time, they shot each other in broad daylight at the man's office building. I looked at Nate's text a few more times and then finally texted him.
Me: Hey it's me. Rly wish u wld tlk 2 me.
I shut my phone and then immediately opened it to text him again.
Me: Sry. Tht sounded pushy. Just 4get it.
I shut my phone again and put my head back, and groaned. Then Sam and Dean walked out and joined me in the car, and Cass appeared next to me.
"You okay?" Dean asked.
I furrowed my brow. "What?" I shrugged. "Yeah, I'm fine. Did you find anything?"
"Well, Sam found Enochian scratched into the double suicides hearts," Dean said, "Cass thinks a cupid is behind it."
"Seriously?" I asked.
"Yes," Cass said, "It was a mark of union. That man and woman were intended to mate."
"So, a cupid?" I asked.
Cass nodded. "What human myth has mistaken for Cupid is actually a lower order of angel. Technically it's a cherub, third-class," he explained, "They're all over the world. There are dozens of them."
"So, now what?" I asked.
"A cupid has gone rogue, and we have to stop him... before he kills again," Cass said.
Sam nodded. "Naturally."
Dean sighed. "Of course, we do."
After they visited the coroner, we drove to a little diner to get some food. Cass said it was a perfect place to find the cupid. Our waitress walked up and set Sam and Dean's food down in front of them and then hesitated before putting my plate down.
I looked up at her, confused, and then realized where I was holding my phone to check it was completely in her way.
"Sorry," I said and quickly pulled my hands back for her to set the plate down.
She rolled her eyes. "It's fine." She gave me a fake smile and then set my plate down before quickly walking away.
"So, what, you just happen to know he likes the cosmos at this place?" Dean asked Cass.
"This place is a nexus of human reproduction. It's exactly the kind of—" Cass stared at Dean's burger as he put ketchup on it. "Of garden, the cupid will come to— to pollinate."
Dean picked up his burger, sighed, and then set it back down on his plate.
"Wait a minute. You're not hungry?" Sam asked.
Dean shrugged. "No."
We all gave him a strange look.
Dean furrowed his brow. "What? I'm not hungry."
"Then you're not gonna finish that?" Cass picked up Dean's burger, and then something caught his eyes. "He's here."
I looked where Cass was staring, but the only thing I could see was a couple sitting on the same side of the booth.
"Where?" Sam asked. "I don't see anything."
Cass pointed to the couple. "There."
"You mean the same-side-of-the-booth couple over there?" Dean asked.
Cass nodded. "Meet me in the back." Then he vanished.
The three of us got up and walked toward the bathrooms but took a right into a storage room, where Cass was standing alone.
"Cass, where is he?" Sam asked.
"I have him tethered." Cass walked further into the room. "Zoda kama mahrana. Manifest yourself."
Nothing happened for a few seconds.
"So, where is he?" Dean asked and then was bear-hugged from behind by a large, completely naked man.
"Here I am!" the man shouted and lifted Dean into the air.
"Help!" Dean yelled.
"Oh, help is on the way. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Hello, you!" The cupid dropped Dean. Then he walked up to Cass and picked him up off of the ground too.
"This is Cupid?" Dean asked.
Cass rolled his eyes. "Yes."
The cupid put Cass down and turned to me with a huge smile.
I waved awkwardly. "Hi."
"Hello, hello, hello." He ran up to me and picked me up into an extremely tight hug as well, and swung me around in a circle. "You're so little! It's adorable!"
"All right, take it easy," Dean warned.
The cupid put me down and looked at Sam. "And look at you, huh?"
"No." Sam turned away, but the cupid appeared in front of him and hugged him too.
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" the cupid shouted.
"Is this a fight? Are we in a fight?" Dean asked.
"This is..." Cass sighed in annoyance. "Their handshake."
Dean shook his head. "I don't like it."
"No one likes it," Cass said.
The cupid released Sam and turned to the group with a smile. "What can I do for you?"
"Why are you doing this?" Cass asked.
The cupid furrowed his brow. "Doing what?"
"Your targets... the ones you've marked... they're slaughtering each other," Cass said.
The cupid looked horrified. "What? They are?"
"Listen, birthday suit, we know, okay? We know you been flittin' around, popping people with your poison arrow, making them murder each other!" Dean shouted.
"What we don't know is why," Cass said.
"You think that I— Well, uh... I don't know what to say." The cupid started to cry uncontrollably.
"Should— Should somebody maybe... go talk to him?" Sam asked.
Dean nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Give 'em hell, Cass."
Cass groaned and looked over at the cupid with a cringe.
I rolled my eyes. "I'll do it." I walked up to him and put my hand on his back. "Hey... they didn't mean to hurt your feelings. We just want to know why these people are killing each other. Do you think you can help us?"
The cupid looked up at me sheepishly and pulled me into another hug. I moved my bottom half away from him so that his junk wouldn't touch me.
"Love is more than a word to me, ya know. I love love. I love it! And if that's wrong, I don't want to be right!" the cupid shouted in my ear.
I patted his back. "That's— That's, uh, beautiful."
"So, are you!" The cupid hugged me tighter and then finally let me go. "I was just on my appointed rounds. Whatever my targets do after that— that's nothing to do with me. I— I was following my orders." He turned to Cass. "Please, brother. Read my mind. Read my mind, you'll see."
Cass stepped forward and placed two fingers on the cupid's forehead, and took a deep breath. "He's telling the truth."
"Jiminy Christmas." The cupid smiled happily. "Thank you."
"Wait, wait, you said— you said you were just following orders?" Dean asked.
The cupid nodded. "Mm-hmm."
"Whose orders?" Dean asked.
"Whose?" The cupid laughed. "Heaven, silly. Heaven."
"Why does Heaven care if Harry meets Sally?" Dean asked.
The cupid shrugged. "Oh, mostly, they don't. You know, certain bloodlines, certain destinies. Oh, like yours."
"What?" Dean asked.
The cupid nodded. "Yeah, the union of John and Mary Winchester... top priority arrangement." He pointed to me. "In fact, having John Winchester meet any of his mates that resulted in children was a very big deal upstairs." He smiled happily. "Mm-hmm."
It felt weird to be told that Heaven intended for me to be born because that was something I never expected. Honestly, I always thought I was just an accident.
"Are you saying that you fixed-up our parents?" Dean asked.
"Well, not me, but... yeah." The cupid nodded. "Well, it wasn't easy, either. Oh, John and Mary couldn't stand each other at first. But when we were done with them... perfect couple."
"Perfect?" Dean asked.
The cupid nodded. "Yeah."
"They're dead!" Dean yelled.
"I'm sorry, but... the orders were very clear. You and Sam needed to be born. Your parents were just, uh... meant to be. A match made in Heaven... Heaven!" the cupid sang.
Dean punched the cupid in the face. "Son of a bitch!"
The cupid disappeared, and Dean looked around.
"Where is he? Where'd he go?!" Dean shouted.
"I believe you upset him," Cass said.
"Upset him?!" Dean yelled.
"Dean. Enough!" Sam yelled.
"What?" Dean asked.
"You just punched a cupid!" Sam shouted.
Dean rolled his eyes. "I punched a dick!"
Sam shook his head. "Um... are we gonna talk about what's been up with you lately or not?"
"Or not." Dean scoffed.
Sam went back to the coroner's office to ask about another body. Apparently, another vic had lost a bunch of weight after he had a gastric bypass a couple years back, but he ended up eating so much food that he blew out the band around his stomach and filled it 'til he burst.
Dean and I were waiting at the motel for Sam to get back. While we waited, I periodically checked my phone tosee if Nate had left me any messages. I was seriously tempted to text him and just tell him that he didn't need any more time and that it had been months. How could he still be so upset that he couldn't bring himself to speak to me? The more I thought about it, the more I became obsessed with the idea, so I picked up my phone and started typing.
"Hey!" Dean shouted.
I jumped and looked up at him. "Huh? What?"
Dean raised an eyebrow. "I've been talking to you."
My eyes widened. "You have? I'm— I'm sorry. I didn't even realize."
"You don't say..." Dean said sarcastically. "What's going on anyway? You've been glued to that thing since we got here. Has Nate come around yet?"
I shoved my phone away from me. "Oh, no. I guess I'm just... hopeful."
Dean nodded doubtfully. "Mm-hmm."
Ring! Ring! Ring!
I quickly grabbed my phone, thinking it was mine.
Dean gave me a strange look and then answered his phone, "Yeah." (...) "Well, I just went through the police blotter and counting him, that's eight suicides since Wednesday and nineteen ODs... that's way out of the seasonal batting average." (...) "Yeah, all right. I'll see you in ten." (...) Then he hung up and looked at me. "What's going on?"
I shrugged. "What do you mean?"
"It's not like you to constantly be on your phone," Dean said.
I shrugged and shook my head. "What does it matter?"
Dean raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh, you got an attitude now too?"
"What are you talking about?" I snapped, "It's not even that big of a deal."
"Really?" He held his hand out. "Then give me your phone."
"What?" I glared at him. "Why would I do that?"
Dean shrugged. "If it's not that big of a deal, then handing it over shouldn't be a problem."
I stood up and snatched my phone off of the table. "Get off my back," I said.
Then I shoulder checked him before walking into the bathroom and slamming the door behind me.
"We aren't done with this conversation!" Dean yelled.
"I am!" I shouted back.
A moment later, the front door opened, and I heard Dean's voice, "I'm glad your back. We've got a mouthy teenager on our hands. Maybe you can talk to her."
"Yeah, I'm thinking that's not our biggest problem right now," Sam said.
"What?" Dean asked, "Whoa, what happened to you?"
"A demon," Sam said.
I opened the bathroom door and peered out to see Sam looking slightly disheveled and holding a briefcase. Then I stepped fully out and plopped down on the couch. When I looked up at Sam, I realized, not only did he look like hell from getting in a fight, he was also pale and had dark circles around his eyes, like he was getting sick or something.
"What the hell does a demon got to do with this?" Dean asked.
"Believe me, I got no idea," Sam said, and then held up the briefcase. "Got this off of him, though."
"You okay?" Dean asked.
Sam nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be all right."
Dean pointed to the briefcase. "Let's crack her open. What's the worst that could happen, right?"
Sam walked over and set the briefcase down on the coffee table and then popped it open. A bright light burst from it and then disappeared.
"What the hell was that?" Dean asked.
"It's a human soul," Cass said, appearing out of nowhere next to us, holding a burger and a fast-food bag. "It's starting to make sense." He took a massive bite out of his burger.
"Now, what about that makes sense?" Sam asked.
"And when did you start eating?" Dean asked.
Cass nodded. "Exactly. My hunger... it's a clue, actually."
"For what?" Dean, Sam, and I asked in unison.
"This town is not suffering from some love-gone-wrong effect. It's suffering from hunger. Starvation, to be exact... specifically... Famine," Cass explained.
"Famine?" Sam asked.
"Like the horseman?" I asked.
Cass nodded as he ate his burger.
"Great." Dean scoffed. "Th— Th— That's friggin' great."
"I thought famine meant starvation, like as in, ya know, food," Sam said.
Cass nodded. "Yes. Absolutely. But not just food. I mean, everyone seems to be starving for something... sex, attention, drugs, love..."
"Well, that explains the puppy-lovers that cupid shot up," Dean said.
Cass nodded. "Right. The cherub made them crave love, and then Famine came and made them rabid for it."
"Okay, but what about you? I mean, since when do angels secretly hunger for White Castle?" Dean asked.
Cass shook his head. "It's my vessel... Jimmy. His, uh, appetite for red meat has been touched by Famine's effect."
"So, Famine just rolls into town, and everybody goes crazy?" Dean asked.
"'And then will come Famine riding on a black steed. He will ride into the land of plenty...'" Cass recited, "'And great will be the Horseman's hunger, for he is hunger. His hunger will seep out and poison the air.' Famine is hungry. He must devour the souls of his victims."
"So, that's what was in the briefcase... the twinkie dude's soul?" Dean asked.
Cass nodded. "Lucifer has sent his demons to care for Famine, to feed him, make certain he'll be ready."
"Ready?" I asked.
Cass nodded. "To March across the land."
Sam took a deep breath and walked over to the sink, splashing water on his face.
"Famine?" Dean asked.
Cass pulled another burger out of his bag and took a bite out of it. "Yes."
"So, what, this whole town is just gonna eat, drink, and screw itself to death?" Sam asked.
"We should stop it," Cass said.
"Oh, we should just sit around and hope it blows over?" I asked sarcastically.
Cass shook his head. "No, of course not."
"How should we stop this?" Dean asked.
"How did you stop the last horseman you met?" Cass asked, with another mouthful of burger.
"War got his mojo from his ring. And after we cut it off, he just tucked tail and ran. And everybody that was affected, it was like they woke up out of a dream. You think Famine's got a class ring, too?" Dean asked.
Cass nodded. "I know he does."
"Well, okay. Let's track him down and get to chopping," Dean said.
"Yeah." Cass dug through his now empty bag and frowned sadly.
Sam walked off into the bathroom.
"What are you, the Hamburglar?" Dean asked.
Cass shrugged. "I've developed a taste for ground beef."
"Well, have you even tried to stop it?" Dean asked.
"I'm an angel. I can stop anytime I want," Cass said.
Dean rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Sam, let's roll."
"Dean..." Sam said, walking out of the bathroom, looking awful. "I, um— I can't— I can't go."
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.
"I think it got to me, Dean," Sam said out of breath. "I think I'm hungry for it..."
"Hungry for what?" Dean asked.
"You know," Sam said.
"Demon blood?" Dean asked.
Sam looked down, ashamed.
"You got to be kidding me." Dean turned to Cass. "You got to get him out of here. You got to beam him to, like, Montana. Anywhere but here."
Cass shook his head. "It won't work. He's already infected. The hunger is just gonna travel with him."
"Well, then, what do we do?" Dean asked.
"You go cut that bastard's finger off," Sam said.
We all stood there, staring at Sam with worry.
Dean shook his head and snapped himself out of it. "You heard him."
"But Dean..." Sam said, breathing heavily. "Before you go, you better— you better lock me down... but good."
Dean sighed and walked over to his duffel and grabbed handcuffs. Sam sat down next to the bathroom sink, and Dean cuffed him to the sink pipe.
"All right, well, just hang in there. We'll be back as soon as we can. Maddi will stay here and keep watch." Dean looked at me, and I nodded.
Sam shook his head. "No. Take her with you. If this gets worse and I get out... I don't want to hurt her."
"Sam..." Dean sighed.
Sam shook his head. "I'm serious, go. Be careful. And... hurry."
We left the bathroom and closed the door behind us. Cass easily shoved a dresser in front of the bathroom door, and then we walked to the front door together.
I rechecked my phone, reading over the text I was about to hit send on.
Me: Nate, its srsly been months. Get over it and just tlk 2 me already.
I furrowed my brow in disbelief at myself for even thinking that was okay and then realized why I had been obsessing over this so much.
"Hey, Dean?" I asked.
He turned around.
I handed him my phone. "I'm sorry."
Dean took the phone and then realized. "You too?"
Dean thought our best lead was to go back to the coroner's office to see if the demon collecting the souls was there. When he came back out, he wasn't happy. Apparently, the coroner had been an alcoholic but was dry for twenty years until last night, when he went home and drank himself to death. So, we waited outside for the demon to come along and collect his soul so we could follow him to Famine.
While we were waiting for the demon to show up, Cass disappeared and reappeared multiple times with more burgers. Honestly, though, I couldn't blame him. It was taking everything in me to not jump into the front seat and rip my phone out of Dean's jacket, just to text Nate. This made me feel extraordinarily stupid, but it was like a terrible, almost painful itch I couldn't scratch. It was starting to drive me insane.
"Are you serious?" Dean snapped after Cass reappeared with more burgers for the tenth time.
"These make me... very happy," Cass said.
"How many is that?" Dean asked.
Cass shrugged, and he took a huge bite of burger. "I lost count. It's in the low hundreds. What I don't understand is... where is your hunger, Dean?"
"Huh?" Dean asked.
"That's true. You haven't been affected by any of this," I chimed in.
Cass nodded. "Slowly, but surely, everyone in this town is falling prey to Famine, but so far, you seem unaffected."
Dean shrugged. "Hey, when I want to drink, I drink. When I want sex, I go get it. Same goes for a sandwich or a fight."
"So... you're saying you're just well-adjusted?" Cass asked.
"God, no." Dean chuckled. "I'm just well-fed."
"Look there." Cass pointed.
A man in a black suit walked out of the hospital, carrying a briefcase. He got into a car and drove off, and we followed after him.
We followed the demon all the way to a Biggerson's and waited outside for him to walk in.
"You want to go over the plan again?" Dean asked Cass, who was completely ignoring him. "Hey, happy meal. The plan?"
Cass rolled his eyes. "I take the knife, I go in, I cut off the ring hand of Famine, and I meet you back here in the parking lot."
Dean nodded. "Well, that sounds foolproof."
Cass disappeared for about two minutes, and Dean started tapping his foot impatiently.
"This is taking too long," Dean said and got out of the car.
I followed after him and kept my eye on his pocket, waiting for the right time to make my move.
Then we walked into the back of the restaurant.
"Dean?" I whispered, "Can I please see my phone?"
"You can't be serious," Dean whispered, irritation embedded in his voice.
"I'm very serious," I said and pulled out my knife.
I didn't care anymore, all I could think about was talking to Nate and making sure he knew I was thinking about him, but Dean was getting in my way.
Dean furrowed his brow and grabbed my wrist to stop me from making a move. "You need to get yourself together. I need your help."
He pulled my phone out, and I felt myself light up with excitement.
"You want this?" he asked.
He tossed it into a fryer next to us, and I tried to dive for it before it dropped in. He grabbed me and held me firm from behind.
"Look around you, Maddison. Do you want to end up like them?" He gestured to the rest of the room.
Then it was like a veil lifted from my eyes, and I saw dead bodies all over the kitchen in front of me. Some of them had burnt hands and faces from trying to eat fried food straight out of the fryers. Most of them had their stomachs so full of food that they had popped, and barely eaten food was just pouring out of them. Then I just felt pissed that I let this douchebag get to me so bad that I was willing to kill my brother over a friggin' phone.
"I'm good," I said, taking a deep breath and collecting myself.
"I don't think so," a man said behind us.
Then he and another demon grabbed Dean and me and manhandled us into the next room.
We saw Cass kneeling on the floor, stuffing his mouth with raw ground beef.
"Cass! Cass!" Dean shouted, but he didn't even react.
Then the demons continued walking us up the restaurant's center to a decrepit old man in a wheelchair.
"The other Winchesters," the old man, who I could only assume was Famine, said.
Dean nodded to Cass. "What did you do to him?"
"You sicced your dog on me. I just threw him a steak." Famine smiled with nasty teeth.
"So, this is your big trick? Huh? Making people cuckoo for cocoa puffs?" Dean asked.
"Doesn't take much... hardly a push." Famine smiled. "Oh, America... all-you-can-eat, all the time. Consume, consume. A swarm of locusts in stretch pants. And yet, you're all still starving because hunger doesn't just come from the body. It also comes from the soul."
"It's funny, it doesn't seem to be coming from mine," Dean said.
Famine nodded. "Yes. I noticed that. Have you wondered why that is? How you could even walk in my presence?"
"Well, I like to think it's because of my strength of character," Dean said sarcastically.
"I disagree." Famine rolled closer to Dean and touched his chest. "Yes. I see. That's one deep, dark nothing you got there, Dean. Can't fill it, can you? Not with food or drink. Not even with sex."
Dean shook his head. "Oh, you're so full of crap."
"Oh, you can smirk and joke and lie to your brother and sister, lie to yourself, but not to me!" Famine shouted. "I can see inside you, Dean. I can see how broken you are, how defeated. You can't win, and you know it. But you just keep fighting. Just... keep going through the motions. You're not hungry, Dean, because inside, you're already... dead."
"Let them go!" Sam shouted from behind us, and then he stepped forward with a bloodstained face.
"Sam..." Famine smiled as if he was pleased.
"Sammy, no!" Dean shouted as two more demons moved to attack Sam.
"Stop!" Famine shouted. "No one lays a finger on this sweet little boy. Sam, I see you got the snack I sent you."
Sam furrowed his brow. "You sent?"
"Don't worry. You're not like everyone else. You'll never die from drinking too much. You're the exception that proves the rule. Just the way... Satan wanted you to be. So..." Famine lifted his hands and gestured to the two demons guarding him. "Cut their throats. Have at them!"
"Sammy, no!" Dean shouted.
"Please, be my guest," Famine said.
Sam lifted his hand, closed his eyes, and pulled all five demons in the room from their hosts at once. "No."
"Well... fine. If you don't want them... then I'll have them." Famine waved his hands, and all of the demon smoke flooded into his mouth.
Sam stepped forward and extended his hand toward Famine.
"I'm a horseman, Sam. Your power doesn't work on me." Famine laughed.
Sam nodded. "You're right. But it will work on them."
He raised his hand and used his power to rip all of the souls from Famine's body, causing Sam's nose to bleed. Famine screamed as the soul's burst from his body, and then finally, he slumped.
We brought Sam back to Bobby's panic room to cleanse him of the demon blood again.
"Let me out of here, please! Help!" Sam shouted.
"That's not him in there. Not really," Cass said.
Dean nodded. "I know."
"Dean, Sam just has to get it out of his system," Cass said, "Then he'll be—"
Dean shook his head. "Listen, I just, uh— I just need to get some air," he said and then walked out of the basement.
