It was late at night when Sam and Dean Winchester pulled up to a small restaurant to grab food.
"Hey, don't forget the extra onions this time, huh?" Dean handed Sam a wad of cash.
"Dude, I'm the one who's gonna have to ride in the car with your extra onions."
Dean smiled innocently at him.
Sam hopped out of the car, and before he closed the door, Dean said, "Hey, see if they got any pie."
Sam scowled.
"Bring me some pie!" Dean called. Once Sam was gone, he turned up the music to ear-bleeding levels.
"...on a distant highway, yeah! I've got to keep on chasing a dream, I've got to be on my way. Wish-"
Suddenly the radio sputtered and turned to static, the lights flashing on and off. Dean frowned. He reached over and tapped the dial, but it continued to flicker. He fiddled with the stations, but each one was still static.
He glanced back up at the cafe to find it empty.
Instantly, he was out of the car and rushing to the door. It swung open with a pleasant jingling noise, and the music inside continued to play, but everyone was dead. Blood pooled around slumped over corpses, dripping onto the tiles.
"Sam?" Dean called. He cocked his gun. Turning the corner, he found the waiters lying in their own blood, throats slit. He pushed open the back door and found no one, not even a stray smoker. "Sam?" Letting the door swing closed, his fingers came away coated in yellow powder. "Sulfur," he whispered. Running back through the front door, he shouted, "Sam! Sammy!" He was steadily growing more panicked by the second. "Sam! SAM!"
Sam Winchester woke with a gasp. He quickly sat up, taking in his surroundings.
He was sitting on a wooden platform, the remains of a porch. It was muddy, like it had rained recently, and slightly foggy. Old buildings lined an empty road. He scrambled to his feet. He fumbled in his pockets for his phone, which alerted him to the absence of service. Nearby stood a huge watermill that creaked with every rotation. It seemed like he was in a ghost town.
He wandered up to a house and stood beneath the awning, peeking into the windows, but he saw nothing. He jiggled the door handle, but it was locked. A loud creaking noise nearby made him pause. He grabbed a damp piece of wood and jumped around the corner, expecting a monster or something, but instead, a scrawny man in two hoodies flinched violently and cowered before him.
"Andy?"
Andy lowered his arms. "Sam? What are you doing here?"
"I don't know."
"What am I doing here?" Andy looked on the verge of a breakdown.
"I don't know," Sam repeated. "Just-"
"Where are we?" Andy asked.
"Andy, look, calm down," Sam said, tossing away the wood in an attempt to look less threatening.
"I can't calm down," Andy gasped. "I just woke up in freaking frontier land!"
"What's the last thing you remember?"
Andy exhaled deeply. "It was weird. All of a sudden, there was this really intense smell, like a…"
"Like sulfur?"
"How did you know that?"
Sam paused. "Dean."
"Your brother, is he- is he here?"
"I don't know where he is," Sam admitted. "I don't know if he's-"
A shrill scream in the distance drew their attention. A door rattled violently.
"Hello?" Sam called, as they approached the shaking door.
"No! Help me!"
"Okay, okay, I'm here," Sam said, knocking a few times on the wood. "We're gonna get you out, alright? Just hold on a second." The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He picked up a heavy rock nearby and broke the lock. "Alright, one second." He removed the lock fully, and the door swung open to reveal…
"Ava?"
"Oh my god!" she exclaimed. "Sam!" She collapsed into his arms with a sob.
"So, I guess you guys know each other," Andy said awkwardly.
"Yeah," Sam said.
"How did you- I mean, how did-"
"Ava, have you been here this whole time?" Sam questioned.
"What whole time?" Ava looked genuinely bewildered. " I just woke up in there like a half an hour ago."
"Well you've been gone for five months," Sam said. "My brother and I have been looking for you everywhere."
A disbelieving smile crossed her face. "That's impossible, cause I saw you two days ago."
"You didn't, I'm sorry."
"But that makes no sense. It's… not…" She sucked in a breath. "Oh my god! My fiance, Brady. If I've been missing for that long, he must be freaking out!"
"Well…" Sam started hesitantly.
Ava covered her mouth with her hand, and looked about to cry again when she caught sight of Andy and blanched.
"Hey." Andy gave a little wave. "Andy. Also freaking out."
"Okay," Ava muttered, turning back to Sam. "What's happening?"
"Well, I, uh- I don't really know yet, but I know one thing. I know what the three of us have in common."
Then a faint male voice called, "Hello? Anybody there?"
"Maybe more than three," Sam said, starting in the direction of the voice, the other two tagging along.
"Hello?" Sam said. An African American man in an army uniform and a woman in a leather coat stepped around the corner. "Hey! You guys alright?"
"Think so," the man said.
"I'm Sam," Sam introduced.
"I'm Jake."
The girl behind him spoke up, "Lily."
"Are there any more of you?" Sam asked.
Jake shook his head. "No."
"How did we even get here?" Lily asked. "A minute ago, I was in San Diego."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Jake said, "I went to sleep last night in Afghanistan."
Ava raised an eyebrow.
"Let me take a wild guess. You two are both 23?" Sam inquired. "We all are, and we all have abilities."
"What?" Jake said.
"It started a little over a year ago? You find you can do things you didn't think were possible?" When no one spoke out, Sam continued, "I have visions. I see things before they happen."
Ava nodded. "Yeah, me too."
"And I can put thoughts into people's heads," Andy said. "Like, make them do stuff. Oh, but don't worry, I don't think it works on you guys. Oh, but get this, um, I've been practicing, training my brain, like meditation, right? So now, it's not just thoughts that I can beam out, but images, too. Like, anything I want. It's like bam! People, they see it. This one guy I know, total dick, I used it on him. Gay porn, all hours of the day. It's just like... You should've seen the look on his face." He chuckled, seemed to realize he had been rambling, and quickly closed his mouth.
"So you go 'Simon says give me your wallet', and they do?" Lily snapped. "You have visions? That's great. I'd kill for something like that."
"Lily, listen, it's okay," Sam said, always the mediator.
"No, it's not." She held up her hand. "I touch people? Their hearts stop. I can barely leave my house. My life's not exactly improved. So screw you. I just want to go home."
"And what, we don't?" Jake said.
"You know what, don't talk to me like-"
"Hey guys, come on," Sam interrupted. "Look, whether we like it or not, we're all here, and so we all have to deal with this."
Lily turned away.
"Who brought us here?" Andy asked.
"It's less of a 'who'. It's more of a 'what'."
"What does that mean?" Ava questioned.
Sam looked down. "It's, uh… It's a demon."
Lily scoffed.
"This is it. All demonic signs and omens over the past month." Bobby Singer pointed at the map, which was currently laid out on the hood of the Impala.
"Are you joking?" Dean asked. "There's nothing here."
"Exactly," Bobby said with a shrug.
"Come on, there's got to be something, I mean, what about the normal, low-level stuff? You know, exorcisms, that kind of thing?"
"That's what I'm tellin' ya," Bobby said. "There's nothing. It's completely quiet."
"How are we supposed to look for Sam? What, do we just close our eyes and point?" His cell phone rang, and he quickly answered it. "Ash, what do you got?"
"Okay, listen. It's a bit negatory on Sam."
"Come on man, you got to give us something! We're looking at a 3,000 mile haystack here."
"Listen, Dean," His voice dropped to a whisper. "I did find something."
"Well, what?"
"I can't talk over this line, Dean."
"Come on, I don't have time for this!"
"Make time, okay? Cause this-" Ash paused briefly, "-not only does this almost definitely help you find your brother, this is... It's huge. So get here now." And without further ado, he hung up.
"Guess we're going to the Roadhouse," Dean said. "Come on."
"So, we're soldiers in a demon war to bring on the Apocalypse?" Jake demanded.
"When you put it like that-"
"And we've been picked?"
"Yes."
"Why us?"
"I'm not sure, okay? But look, I just know-"
"Sam," Ava interrupted. "I'm sorry. Psychics and spoon-bending is one thing, but demons?"
"Look, I know it sounds crazy-" Sam tried, but everyone seemed intent on stopping his speech.
"It doesn't just sound it," Jake said.
"I don't really care what you think, okay?" Sam snapped. "If we're all gathered here together, then that means it's starting, and that we need-"
"The only thing I got to do is stay away from wackjobs, okay? I've heard enough. I'm better off on my own." Jake glanced around at the others. "FYI, so are you." And with that, he started to walk off.
"Jake, hold on," Sam said, but he was already gone. "Jake!" He let out a sigh.
Jake strode past the old houses, determined to get as far away from crazyville as he could, when he saw a little girl's face pressed up against a dirty window. He stopped and stared, but before he could do anything, she vanished, right before his eyes.
He walked up to the door and carefully opened it. It was empty, save for a blackboard on one wall. "Hello?" he called. "It's alright. Don't be scared. Are you lost?" The door swung shut behind him. "Hello?"
Off to the side, there came a faint squeaking sound, like chalk. He whipped around to see the words I WILL NOT KILL written from the top to the bottom of the blackboard in two columns.
At the sound of giggling, Jake turned around again, only to see a blonde girl wearing a faded nightgown staring at him. Her fingers were poised, like claws, and then they were claws, lengthening and sharpening into points.
"Get back!" he warned, but she was already lunging forward, with intent to kill, her face warped into an ugly snarl.
Before she could dig those claws into Jake's face, Sam grabbed an iron poker and slashed it through her. She turned into black smoke, spinning outside and forcing the other three to duck.
"Just so you know," Sam said, panting, "That was a demon." He turned on his heel, dropped the poker, and stepped outside. "And that thing? I'm not sure, but I think it was an achiri; a demon that disguises itself as a little girl. Still doesn't tell us where we are." Looking up, he asked, "Andy, you with me or what?"
Andy raised one finger. "Give me a minute. Still working through 'demons are real'."
Jake now stood off to the side, studying an old brass bell.
"I've seen that bell before," Sam said. "I think I know where we are now; Cold Oak, South Dakota. The town's so haunted every single resident fled."
"Swell," Ava said sarcastically. "Good to know we're somewhere so historical."
"Why in the world would that demon or whatever put us here?" Lily asked.
"I'm wondering the same thing," Sam admitted.
Lily fiddled with a chain around her neck for a few seconds before shaking her head. "You know what? It doesn't matter. Clearly the only sane thing to do here is get the hell out of dodge."
"Wait, hold on," Sam said. "Lily, the only way out is through miles of woods."
"Beats hanging out with demons," Lily refuted, swiveling as if to walk away.
"Lily, we don't know what's going on yet. I mean, we don't even know how many of them are out there right now."
"Yeah, he's right," Jake agreed. "We should-"
"Don't say 'we'!" Lily spat. "I'm not part of 'we'. I have nothing in common with any of you."
"Okay, look, I know-"
"You don't know anything!" Lily said harshly. "I to-" She inhaled sharply. "I accidentally touched my girlfriend."
"I'm sorry," Sam said, after a beat of silence filled with sympathetic looks cast her way.
"Whatever. I feel like I'm in a nightmare, and it just keeps getting worse and worse."
"I've lost people too." Sam swallowed. "I have a brother out there right now. He could be dead, for all I know. We're all in bad shape, but I'm telling you, the best way out of this is to stick together."
"Fine," Lily muttered.
"We're looking for iron, silver, salt; any kind of weapon," Sam listed to Jake.
"Salt is a weapon?"
"It's a brave, new world."
"Hopefully there's food in your world-" Andy grumbled, "-cause I'm freaking starving."
As soon as everyone had entered the house, Lily lingered by the door. Finally, making a split-second decision, she started a brisk walk down the road. She glanced back momentarily, feeling guilty for leaving, but at the same time, she needed to get out. The forest welcomed her with open arms.
When Dean and Bobby pulled up to the Roadhouse, all they found was the smoldering building frame. Smoke was still drifting up from the rubble.
"What the hell?" Dean whispered.
The place had been completely burned to the ground. Charred pieces of wood decorated the grass, and blackened skeletons lay among the ashes. Scorched hats and boots scattered the area. It was utterly demolished. Whoever had been inside was most certainly dead.
"My god," Bobby murmured as they picked their way through the ruins.
"You see Ellen?" Dean asked tentatively, not sure if he really wanted to hear the answer.
"No," said Bobby. "No Ash, either."
Dean crouched down and inspected a crispy arm poking through some wood planks. A black watch circled the wrist. "Oh Ash, damn it!"
Lily picked her way through the woods, stumbling over logs and shoving tree limbs away from her face. Her long coat wasn't helping, snagging on every bush and rock and being an utter nuisance. She considered discarding it, but it was chilly, so she kept it tightly tucked around herself.
She stopped abruptly as the air was filled with warbling sounds, like distorted laughter. All around her, tree branches rustled and fell down of their own accord.
Shivering, she ran from the clearing as fast as she could.
Twirling the poker, Sam knelt down and opened an old chest. It was filled with cloth and pottery, but he did find a rusty knife. He closed the chest and turned to see Ava rubbing her temples and grimacing.
"Hey, you alright?" he asked concernedly.
"Yeah," Ava replied, but her voice was strained. "I'm just… I don't know, a little dizzy."
"A-Are you sure it's not some kind-"
"What, some kind of freaky vision thing?" she lowered her hands. "No, more like I'd just kill for a sandwich. I haven't eaten since… Well, who knows?" At Sam's small nod, she shook her head. "No, its, don't worry, I'm fine. Except for every single thing that's happening."
Sam chuckled.
"You guys! I found something!" Andy called from upstairs.
They headed up to find Andy holding two large bags and grinning. "Salt!"
"That's great, Andy," Sam said, "Now we all can s-"
Thump.
Sam frowned. "Where's Lily?"
Thump.
Ava looked back. "Lily?"
"Lily!" Sam shouted.
Outside, high-pitched laughter and the sounds of wood snapping had them running out the door.
Up on the windmill, Lily hung by her neck from a rope, motionless. Andy stopped short.
"Oh my god," Ava gasped. She covered her mouth with her hands. "Okay, that- that's officially just-" She whirled around and grabbed Sam's sleeve. "Sam, she's dead! She's dead! You said we were chosen for a reason! That is not chosen! That's killed!" She shook her head rapidly. "Okay. You know, we have to get out of here." She started to walk past Sam, but he stopped her with a firm arm.
"I second that emotion," Andy piped up.
"Not sure that's an option," Jake said quietly.
"What?" Ava asked.
"Lily was trying to leave," Sam explained. "The Demon's not gonna let us get away that easy. We gotta gear up for the next attack."
"Oh, gear up?" Ava looked on the verge of tears. "Okay, well, I'm not a soldier. I can't do that!"
"Look, if you want to stay alive, you're gonna have to," Sam said sternly, like he was speaking to a young child. He looked back up at Lily's body. "Let's go."
Ava was the first to rush off, with Andy close behind. Jake sighed.
"I'll get her down," he promised.
As they walked beneath the awning, Sam said to Andy, "You know, I was just thinking about how much Dean would help right now. I'd give my arm for a working phone.
"You know, you may not need one," Andy said. "I, uh, I mean, I've never tried it long-distance before. Do you- do you have anything of Dean's on you, like something he touched?"
"Uh…" Sam rifled through his pockets and produced a scrap if paper. "I got a receipt, will that work?"
Andy took it from him. "Yeah." He squinted at the signature. "D. Hasselhoff?"
"Yeah, that's Dean's signature," Sam said, chuckling. "It… It's hard to explain."
Andy raised an eyebrow. "Alright."
Bobby stepped over chunks of singed wood, shaking his head in disbelief. "This is…" He was unable to finish his sentence.
"What the hell did Ash know?" Dean wondered aloud. "We got no way of knowing where Ellen is, or if she's even alive. We got no clue what Ash was gonna tell us. Now how the hell are we gonna find Sam?"
"We'll find him," Bobby said.
Suddenly, Dean grimaced and pressed the heel of his palm to his forehead.
"Dean?"
"Ah!" Dean's face screwed up in pain as he doubled over, clutching his head. His vision flashed to white as he was overwhelmed with the feeling of pressure squeezing his skull. Then it was like he was watching a glitchy movie, a scene flickering before him. He briefly saw an old bell before he was staring at Bobby again, who looked confused and suspicious.
"What was that?" Bobby asked.
Dean shuddered and braced himself against the Impala. "I don't know. Headache?"
"You get headaches like that a lot?"
"No." Dean swallowed hard. "No. It must be the stress." After a pause, he muttered, "I could've sworn I saw something."
Bobby stared at him. "What do you mean? Like- Like a vision? Like what Sam gets?"
Dean looked almost scandalized. "What? No."
"Just saying."
"Come on, I'm not some psychic," Dean said quickly. He rubbed his temples.
Groaning, his legs gave out and he collapsed as the pain returned full force. He saw the bell again, but this time, it was closer, and he also saw Sam standing beside it.
Bobby gripped his shoulder. "Dean, you with me?"
"Yeah," Dean grunted. "I think so. I saw Sam. I saw him, Bobby." He pressed his forehead against the hood to steady himself.
"It was a vision," said Bobby.
"Yeah. I don't know how, but yeah." Dean tried for a small smile. "That was about as fun as getting kicked in the jewels."
"What else did you see?" Bobby questioned.
"Uh, there was a bell."
"What kind of bell?"
"Um… Like a big- a big bell with some kind of engraving on it. I don't know."
Bobby frowned. "Engraving?"
"Yeah."
"Was it a tree?" Bobby asked. "Like an oak tree?"
"Yeah, exactly."
Bobby slowly nodded. "I know where Sam is."
Clang.
Sam hit the iron spokes as hard as he could, but didn't make any progress on breaking it. Jake, on the other hand, easily snapped the rusted metal with one arm. Sam raised an eyebrow at the impressive feat.
Jake looked away. "I-I'm not Superman or anything. It's no big deal."
"You were in Afghanistan when this started?"
"I started getting headaches," Jake said, rubbing a thumb against the spoke. "Then, uh, there was this accident. This guy flipped his vehicle on a bad road, got pinned underneath. I lifted it off him like it was nothing. E-Everyone said it was a fluke adrenaline thing."
"But then you did it again," Sam guessed.
Jake nodded. "Bench pressed 800 pounds, stone-cold calm."
Sam chuckled disbelievingly.
"I never told anybody, of course. It's just too crazy."
"Yeah, well, crazy's relative," Sam said.
"I'm starting to get that." Jake paused, then said, "By the way, I, uh, appreciate what you're doing."
"What am I doing?" Sam asked.
"Keeping calm, keeping them calm," Jake answered. "Especially considering how freaked to hell you really are." He gave a wry smile at Sam's confused look. "I've been in some deep crap before myself. I know the look."
Sam hesitated. "Wanna know the truth? I got this brother, right? And he's always telling me how he's gonna watch out for me, how everything's gonna be okay, you know? Kind of like I've been telling them."
"Yeah?"
"I don't know if I believe it this time. I mean, the size of what's coming- It's bigger than anyone's ever seen." Sam tried to rein in his worries and failed. "I mean, it's gonna get bad, and I-I don't know if-"
"If we're gonna make it," Jake finished. He shook his head. "It doesn't matter if we believe it. Only matters that they do."
Sam resumed banging on the metal spokes, feeling lighter than before.
Sam carefully emptied the bag of salt, forming a thick line in front of the door. Across the room, Ava did the same to the windows.
"My horoscope said I shouldn't have gotten out of bed." She set down the bag.
Sam sighed.
She looked over at him. "How you doing? Holding up?"
He nodded. "I'm okay. What about you?"
"Not so okay," Ava admitted. "Why us, Sam? What did we do to deserve this?"
"Just lucky, I guess."
"If it wasn't for bad luck, wouldn't have no luck at all," she said sagely. "Just can't wait for this all to be over so I can just pretend it never happened. Just want to curl up with Brady and watch bad TV."
Sam looked down at the ground apologetically.
"What is it?" Ava asked. He shook his head. "Sam, do you know something I don't?"
He exhaled. "Look, Ava. I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to tell you this."
"Tell me what?"
"When the Demon broke into your house to take you... Your fiance didn't make it. I'm sorry."
"No, it's…" Ava choked out a sob and collapsed into Sam's arms, tears slipping down her face. Sam held her steady, feeling like he wanted to cry himself and release the heavy pressure of guilt in his chest.
Jake stood guard by the door, fiddling with the iron wheel spoke in his hand. Sam sat in the corner in a chair, Andy was slumped over, asleep, and Ava sat at the head of the table, staring blankly at the wood. Her eyes were red.
Sam found himself struggling to stay awake. The fire crackled, warmth washing over him. He blinked and looked up to see the Yellow-Eyed Demon smirking at him from the shadows.
"Jake! Behind you!" Sam cried, but Jake didn't move.
"Howdy, Sam," The Demon greeted, now leaning in the doorway.
"I'm dreaming," Sam realized.
Somehow, the shadows casted perfectly so that the only light accented his swirling yellow eyes. "What do you say you and I take a little walk?"
He escorted Sam outside, who stayed a few feet behind him at all times. "You're awfully quiet, Sam," The Demon said. "You're not mad at me, are you?"
"I'm gonna tear you to shreds, I swear," Sam vowed darkly.
The Demon chuckled, like Sam had told a funny joke. "When you wake up, tiger, you give it your best shot."
"Where's my brother?" Sam demanded.
"Quit worrying about Dean. I'd worry more about yourself."
"What, you're gonna kill me?" Sam held out his arms.
The Demon turned around, looking exasperated. "I'm trying to help you. That's why we're talking. You're the one I'm rooting for."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Welcome to the Miss America Pageant," The Demon drawled. "Why do you think you're here? This is a competition. Only one of you crazy kids is gonna make it out of here alive."
"I thought we were supposed to be-"
"Soldiers, in a coming war?" The Demon finished, smirking. "That's true. You are. But here's the thing. I don't need soldiers." He pushed past Sam, circling him like a hungry predator. "I need soldier. I just need the one."
"Why?"
"Now, I couldn't just come out and say that, could I, Sam? I had to let everyone think they had a fighting chance. But what I need… is a leader."
"To lead who?"
"Oh, I've already got my army." The Demon looked incredibly smug. "Or I will soon, anyway."
"You son of a b*tch."
"Honestly, I'm surprised you hadn't guessed. I mean, why do you think so many children flamed out already?" He drew out each 's' longer than necessary, like a snake. "Max Miller and Andy's brother- What's his name? They weren't strong enough. I'm looking for the best and brightest of your generation."
"My generation?"
"Well, there's other generations, but let's just worry about yours. That's why I'm here, Sam." The Demon paced back and forth around Sam, like a hawk circling his prey. "I want to give you the inside track. You're tough, you're smart, you're well trained. Thanks to your Daddy. Sam." He raised an eyebrow expectantly. "Sammy. You're my favorite."
"You ruined my life," Sam spat. "You killed everyone I love."
"The cost of doing business, I'm afraid." The Demon's ugly goldenrod eyes roamed his face. "I mean, sweet little Jessica… She just had to die. You were all set to marry that little blonde thing, become a tax lawyer with two kids, a beer gut and a little McMansion in the suburbs. I needed you sharp, on the road, honing your skills- Your gifts."
"What about my mom?"
"That was bad luck," The Demon explained.
"Bad luck?"
"She walked in on us. Wrong place, wrong time."
"What does that mean?" Sam asked, just the tiniest bit curious.
"It wasn't about her. It was about you. It's always been about you."
"What?"
The Demon tilted his head back in consideration, sliding a tongue over his teeth. "Well… Okay. You caught me in a charitable mood. I'll show you." He snapped his fingers.
Suddenly they were standing in a bedroom. A child's bedroom, it looked like. A baby was asleep in the cradle, and a figure cloaked in shadows loomed over it.
"Look familiar? It should."
Baby Sam let out a little cry from where he lay.
Sam started to move forward, but The Demon stopped him with one arm. "Relax, Sam. This is just a high-def instant replay. Enjoy the show."
Mary Winchester walked into the room, eyes squinted and hair tangled. She leaned on the doorframe. "John? Is he hungry?"
Past Demon leaning over the crib only whispered, "Shh."
"Okay." Mary turned and stepped back out, rubbing her eyes.
"Mom!" Sam tried, but it was futile.
"What did I just tell you, Sam? She can't hear you. This isn't real."
Focusing back on the scene, Sam watched as The Demon carefully made a slit on his wrist. Thick, dark blood dripped from the wound and into baby Sam's mouth.
"What the hell are you doing to me?" Sam demanded.
"Better than mother's milk" was The Demon's only response.
"Does this mean I have… demon blood, in me?" Sam asked, horrified.
The Demon chuckled.
"Answer me!"
Just then, Mary rushed back into the room, looking panicked. She caught sight of Past Demon's yellow eyes, and understanding flooded her expression. "It's you."
"She knew you," Sam realized.
Mary moved forward, but Past Demon jerked his head, and she slammed into the wall with a grunt. She glared at Past Demon, but her concern was only for her child, who was beginning to cry in his crib. Her feet left the floor as she slid up the wall, pinned by the Past Demon.
Sam gazed up at her in anguish.
"I don't think you want to see the rest of this," The Demon muttered, and snapped his fingers just as Mary had begun to scream.
"Sam, wake up."
Sam sucked in a breath and looked up to see Jake standing over him.
"Ava's missing."
The pair of them ran down the steps and onto the deserted road, Sam clutching the poker and Jake needing nothing but his hands. They paused in the center.
"I'll take the barn and the hotel," Jake volunteered. "You take the houses."
"Alright. Meet back here in 10 minutes, okay?"
Sam took off to search the nearest house.
Andy poked his head out into the hallway cautiously. Sam and Jake were gone to look for Ava, and he was alone in the dark house. Very carefully, he stepped back over the line of salt as to not disturb it. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet.
"Ava, where'd you go?" he asked, seeing her standing near the window. "Didn't you hear us yelling?"
Ava's back was still to him, but when she turned around, she looked calm and collected. Almost too calm. "Yeah, I heard you." At the steely expression on her face, Andy took a step back. Slowly, she reached up and pressed her fingers into her temples and closed her eyes.
Andy's eyes latched onto the distinct break in the salt line on the window, just as a black cloud funneled through and pooled into the room.
"What are you doing?"
Ava lowered her hands. The smoke materialized into the shape of a little girl, who lunged at Andy and knocked him onto his back. Her fingers sharpened into claws, and an invisible force ripped him apart from the inside out.
Andy groaned, coughing up blood.
Ava smiled, then schooled her face into one of shock and terror, and opened her mouth to let out a piercing scream.
From outside, Sam heard the shrieks, and quickly bolted back into the house. He found Andy's bloodied corpse, the crimson liquid soaking his shirt, and Ava standing before him, looking utterly terrified.
"Sam, I just found him like this!" Ava sobbed.
"What happened?" Sam asked numbly. He liked Andy, and hadn't expected him to be the next to die.
Ava shook her head through her tears. "I don't know."
"How did that thing get in?" Sam questioned, checking the salt lines on the windows and doors. He turned back to stare at Ava. "Where were you?"
"I just went to get some water from the well," she tried to explain. "I was only gone, maybe, like, two minutes."
"You shouldn't gone outside," Sam admonished gently. "Ava, we have to stay in here." His eyes drifted over and focused on the broken salt line. He pointed. "Who did that?"
Ava followed his finger to the line. "I don't know. Maybe Andy-"
"Andy wouldn't do that," Sam said harshly. "Ava, that line wasn't broken when I left." He stared hard at her, fury welling up in his chest at the thought her being the cause of Andy's death. "Ava."
"What? You don't think that I-"
"I'll tell you what I think. Five months. You're the only one with all that time you can't account for." He took a step towards her. "And that headache you got… right when the demon got Lily."
"What are you trying to say?" Ava said, her voice breaking.
"What happened to you?"
"Nothing!" she exclaimed. She kept up the innocent act for a few more seconds before her forehead smoothed out and she let out a sigh. She chuckled. "Had you going, though, didn't I?" A stray tear slipped down, and she wiped it away calmly. "Yeah. I've been here a long time, and not alone either. People just keep showing up. Children, like us. Batches of three or four at a time."
"You killed them?" Sam asked, aghast. "All of them?"
"I'm the undefeated heavyweight champ," she gloated with a smile.
"Oh my god," Sam whispered in disbelief.
"I don't think God has much to do with this, Sam."
"How could you?"
"I had no choice. It's me or them." Ava seemed incredibly aloof about the fact that she had been murdering people for months. "After a while, it was easy. It was even kind of fun. I just stopped fighting it."
"Fighting what?"
"Who we are, Sam." She gazed at him with disdain and a hint of hopefulness. "If you'd just quit your hand-wringing and open yourself up, you have no idea what you can do. The learning curve is so fast-" she snapped her fingers, "-it's crazy, the switches that just flip in your brain." She laughed. "I can't believe I started out just having dreams. Do you know what I can do now?"
"Control demons," Sam guessed.
"Ah. You are quick on the draw." And with that, Ava pressed her fingers to her temples and concentrated. Another smoky black mass slipped through the break in the salt. "Yeah, I'm sorry, Sam. But… It's over."
And before she could do any more damage, Jake grabbed her from behind and snapped her neck in one swift movement. The demon escaped back through the place it came. Jake dropped her body, where it landed on the floor with a thud.
Dean pulled the Impala to the side of the road and hopped out, Bobby close behind.
"It looks like the rest of the way's on foot," Bobby remarked, gazing out at the dense foliage.
They dug through the trunk and armed themselves with shotguns and other stuff they might've needed, like extra ammo and salt. Dean cocked his weapon.
"Let's go."
Stepping outside, Sam said, "I think we can make it out of here now."
"But the achiri demon," Jake said.
"No, no, no, Ava was summoning it, controlling it. It shouldn't come back now that she's dead. We got to go."
Jake slowly shook his head. "No. Not 'we', Sam." He stopped walking, forcing Sam to do the same. "Only one of us is getting out of here. I'm sorry." He looked legitimately apologetic, like he really didn't want to kill Sam.
"What?"
"I had a vision," he explained. "That Yellow-Eyed Demon, or whatever it was, he talked to me. He told me how it was."
"No, Jake, listen. You can't listen to him-" Sam started to argue.
"Sam, he's not letting us go," Jake said. "Only one. Now, we don't play along, he'll kill us both. Now, I-I like you, man. I do, but do the math here. What good's it do for both of to die? Now, I can get out of here, I get close to The Demon, I can kill the bastard."
"Come with me," Sam pleaded. "We can kill him together."
"How do I know you won't turn on me?" Jake asked, although it was sort of hypocritical, as he was literally turning on Sam at that very moment.
"I won't," Sam replied desperately. He had seen a potential ally in Jake, and maybe even a friend, but now that option seemed to be flying out the window.
"I don't know that."
"Okay, look," Sam said, raising his hands placatingly. He carefully reached down and pulled the rusted knife from his waistline and set it on the ground. Jake watched the movement cautiously. "Just come with me, Jake. Don't do this. Don't play into what it wants."
Jake slowly put the spoke on the ground beside the knife.
Sam nodded, relief flooding him, and murmured, "Okay."
And that was when Jake punched him so hard in the face that he went flying back several feet and broke the fence, hitting the ground with a grunt of pain. Stunned, he was unable to muster the strength to sit up, while Jake advanced on him, snapping whatever was left of the fence to clear his path.
Sam stared up at him pleadingly, but Jake mercilessly kicked him with supernatural strength, over and over again, until Sam managed to shove him backwards while he scrambled to his feet. Jake whipped around, holding a chunk of wood, and drove it into Sam's shoulder. Fiery pain lit up his arm as he heard several bones cracking. He stumbled away, clutching his shoulder, but Jake punched him in the side and sent him to the ground again.
His shoulder burning, Sam managed to dodge another punch that broke clear through the wood, and took the opportunity to knee Jake in the chest, several times, until Jake pulled his hand free and Sam kicked him so forcefully he landed on his back in the mud.
Before Jake could get back up and retaliate, Sam picked up the metal spoke and smacked him across the face with it, knocking him out cold. Gazing down at Jake's prone form, hot fury rushed over him, and Sam raised the spoke with the intent to jam it into his skull, but he stopped.
He couldn't do what The Demon wanted him to do. He had to be better than that.
So he tossed the spoke away, his arm still tucked against his chest.
"Sam!"
Sam wheeled around to see Dean and Bobby jogging towards him in the distance. They each carried flashlights and a shotgun in each hand.
Dean smiled. "Sam!" The tension noticeably drained from his shoulders.
"Dean," Sam called, happy that his brother had finally found him. Now they could go home and pretend this whole fiasco never happened.
Suddenly Dean's face morphed into one of terror. "Sam, look out!"
Behind him, Jake drove the rusty knife into Sam's back, twisted it, then yanked it out and took off in the opposite direction.
"NO!" Dean shouted, his brisk walk turning into a full on sprint as he rushed to catch his brother.
Sam fell to his knees, a low moan escaping him as his head tilted towards the sky. Before he could fall, Dean skidded to a stop and dropped down and grabbed his shirt to hold him upright.
"No, Sam," he whispered, even as Sam slumped against him, his arms limp at his sides. "Whoa, whoa. Sam. Sam! Hey!"
Bobby chased after Jake, but he was not longer in his prime and Jake was much faster than him.
"Hey, come here," Dean murmured, holding Sam close. "Let me look at you." His fingers found the knife wound and came away bloody. He quickly held Sam up before him. "Hey, look at me. It's not even that bad. It's not even that bad, alright? Sammy?"
Sam's head lolled on his shoulders, his eyes glazing over. Blood dripped from his lips.
"Sam!" Dean said sharply, shaking him. "Hey, listen to me. We're gonna patch you up, okay? You'll be good as new. Huh?"
Sam couldn't find the strength to keep his head up.
"I'm gonna take of you, I'm gonna take care of you," Dean promised. "I got you. That's my job, right?" He cradled Sam's face with trembling hands. "Watch out for my pain-in-the-ass little brother. Sam? Sam."
Sam's eyes fluttered shut.
"Sam? Sammy!" Dean's lower lip quivered. "No. No no no no no. Oh, god." He wrapped both arms around Sam's body, propping his head up on his shoulder because Sam couldn't do it himself. "Oh, god." His voice fractured and broke. Tears welled up in his eyes. "SAM!"