Ch 11.
"I can't believe you told an angel to go fuck himself," Dean muttered, shaking his head at River.
Sam led the way down the narrow stairs back to the waiting car, "Seriously though, where did you learn Enochian?"
River shrugged, "I don't know, some free online course. I took conversational Mandarin also." They stopped in their tracks and stared at Dean's car, it usually shiny, impeccable paint was smeared with drying eggs.
"What….oh baby, what did that little shit do to you?" Dean ran up to his car, his mouth downturned in a pathetic grimace. "You!" Dean pointed at River across the hood of the car.
"What? I didn't do anything!" she said defensively.
"You mouthed off to that shithead and look what he did to my car!"
"I mouth off to a lot of people Dean, how am I supposed to know when one them is going to take it out on your car," she said climbing into the back of the Impala. Dean turned around frustrated, searching for some sign of the trick or treater.
Sam sat in the front seat, still holding the hex bag Castiel had found and sighed loudly. "What's wrong, Sam?" River asked from the backseat as Dean started the car.
"I don't know," he took a deep breath, "I just thought they'd be different."
"Who? The angels?" Dean asked swinging the Impala back onto the road.
"Yeah, just thought they'd be…I dunno righteous?"
River sat forward and took the hex bag from Sam, "They are. They are self-righteous winged dicks."
"Talking about wings, why didn't you tell me you could see them?" Dean asked glancing in the rearview mirror.
"Didn't seem important and I thought maybe you could and you didn't care. So why should I draw attention to it?" River answered.
"They are dicks, aren't they?" Sam said quietly, "I can't believe this is what I've been praying to. A God that would smite a whole town to kill one witch."
"We don't know Sam, for sure if any of this is really God's will," River said. Sam still held onto a charred piece of bone from the hex bag and examined it.
"We need to find this witch, you two are the brains of the operation. Figure something out," Dean said.
"You know how much heat it would take to burn a piece of bone like this, Dean?" Sam asked, "A lot. More than a basic kitchen fire or even a bon fire." Sam figured the kilns in Don's classroom would produce enough heat to char bone and since the hex bag only turned up in their room after they made their appearance at the school perhaps the teacher knew something. The broke into the classroom and found a locked drawer in Don's desk.
"Thats not suspicious," River said handing Sam a hammer to knock the lock off. He swung it once and the lock broke, inside the drawer was a collection of infant bones. "Well, shit. Look's like we gotta go kill Don," she said smiling. Sam quickly located Don's address and the hunters raced across town to his house.
Faint latin chanting and the sounds of muffled struggles echoed from behind the basement door. The hunters silently made their way through the dark basement to find Don chanting an incantation and holding a dagger to the chest of the young woman, Becka. She was tied up from the ceiling and struggling against the ropes that bound her. Dean fired a cluster of three quick shots into the mans chest and he collapsed on the floor. Sam and River freed Becka. "It's ok, you're ok," River told her.
"Ughh! Did you see him!," Becka yelled indignantly, "Sick son of a bitch!"
"It's alright, Dean got him," River said again trying to calm the young woman.
She stamped her feet angrily, "Did you hear him!" She stared down at the dead man, "How sloppy his incantation was? My brother always was a little dim." River took two quick steps back and the hunters trained their guns on the blonde witch. She raised her hand and muttered a few words, sending the hunters sprawling to the floor and twisting in pain. "See the spell's a two man job and now it's time for our master to return. My brother was going to make me the final sacrifice but now that honor goes to him." She walked to the body of her brother and collected some of his still warm blood into a silver chalice and walked back to the alter. Her chanting continued while the hunters were still unable to fight off her spell.
"She's gonna finish it," River muttered grasping at her abdomen. Sam rolled towards the dead man and wiped his hands in the puddle of blood on the floor. He smeared the blood on his face and turned towards his brother.
"What the hell are you doing?" Dean muttered through grit teeth.
"Just follow my lead," Sam said wiping blood on Dean's face, "River get some on your face."
"Gross," she said disgustedly wiping the warm sticky fluid on her face. The three hunters lay still on the floor, trying even to breathe silently as Becka completed the spell and the foundation of the house began to shake. The cement floor cracked and a great billowing collection of grey smoke thrust out of it. The smoke swirled lackadaisically around the basement before swarming into the mouth of the dead witch. The body twitched spasmodically then drew itself onto its feet. Don's once dark brown eyes were now an unnatural pale grey, his skin sallow and movements jerky. The demon walked unsteadily towards Becka who waited with arms open and an adoring smile lit up her face.
"My lord, my love," she cried happily, "You've returned to me." The demon, Samhain, took her face gently in his hands and they kissed passionately.
Samhain stared down at the young blonde woman, "You've aged." He said before grasping her head harshly and twisting her neck, the loud pop-pop-pop of bones echoed in the cold basement. The demon dropped her body into a heap and turned towards the hunters. He gazed down at them uncertainly for a moment before staggering out of the basement. River opened one eye and gazed quickly to Sam and Dean. They sat up and looked at each other.
"What the hell was that?" Dean whispered.
Sam shrugged his shoulders, "Halloween lore, people wore masks to hide from him. So…I gave it a shot."
"You gave it a shot. You fucking guessed?," River said wiping her face on her shirt, "Well thanks . Now what the fuck are we gonna do?"
"How are we gonna find this Mook?" Dean asked as they got back into the Impala.
"I dunno, if you were a newly risen demon and wanted to raise the dead where would you go?" River asked from the backseat.
"Cemetery," the brothers answered. The town was small and as such only had one cemetery, full of old family plots and mausoleums.
"So this demons pretty powerful," Sam said after a few minutes.
"Yeah, that's what the books said," River muttered.
"So, what Sammy," Dean said looking at his younger brother.
Sam shifted in his seat, "Might take more than the usual weapons…"
River glanced up and met Dean's green eyes in the rearview mirror, "No, Sammy, No way. I told you what Cas said. No more psychic crap. We have Ruby's knife it'll be enough."
"And if it's not, Dean? Then what? We let Samhain raise the dead, turn this town into Thriller?"
"Sam, please. Just listen to him," River said quietly sitting forward and putting a hand on his shoulder, "We can do this without your powers." Dean held the knife out to his brother and Sam took it. The arrived in the cemetery a few minutes later and quickly headed towards a huge stone mausoleum where techno music echoed and strobe lights could be seen. As the hunters got closer they heard panicked screaming. A group of teenagers were locked inside one of the burial chambers, some of the internment stones had been broken away and blood splatter covered the floors and walls.
"Please help us! Mr. Harding locked us in!" the terrified kids yelled at the hunters.
"Help them!" Sam yelled at Dean and River as he turned and ran down a dark tunnel in the catacomb.
"Stand back!" River yelled as she raised her gun and fired a round into the lock on the door. The lock shattered and the people inside pushed the doors open and ran for the stairs. Dean and River stepped inside the chamber and watched as the stone grave markers were pushed out and fell shattering to the floor. "What's your bet? Romero or Snyder zombies?" River yelled over the din. She and Dean stood shoulder to shoulder, silver daggers at the ready and waited for the dead to climb out of their tombs. Dean took the first man that staggered out to his feet, gabbing him by the lapels of his burial suit jacket and flinging him to floor, silver dagger piercing the zombies heart before he broke a sweat. River kicked the next staggering body in the knee causing it lose its balance and topple over, giving her a safe opening to shove her dagger into its chest. She glanced up in time to see a woman creep towards Dean, "Dean behind you!" Dean shot up and swung a dagger at the woman, she broke apart in a swirling cloud and materialized behind Dean.
"Spirit!", he yelled as the angry ghost swatted him into the wall. River dove for their open duffle bag and grabbed an iron wrench. She swung the wrench at the woman's spirit causing her to disappear for the moment.
"You ok?" River asked quickly, helping pull him to his feet.
He nodded, "We gotta find Sammy." They rushed down the dark hallway in the direction Sam had run; skidded around a corner and saw at the far end Sam standing in front of Samhain, his hand outstretched and a look of deep concentration on his face, the demon struggled against an invisible force trying move forward towards the hunter. The demons feet slipped on the tile floor and small puffs of black smoke escaped from the bullet holes in it's vessels body. Sam's eyes flicked away from the demon and for a second met his brothers, before turning back to the demon. Sam grunted in effort and balled his hand into a fist, the demon doubled over as its essence was expelled and sent back to hell.
The three hunters spoke little that night and barely slept, at the break of dawn River and Dean dressed and headed out for coffee while Sam stayed behind to pack their belongings. "I'm gonna wait out here," Dean told her as they got out of the car. Dean had parked in front of a playground and River nodded pointing towards the coffee shop across the street.
"You want a double mocha, caramel latte with soy, right? And a bran muffin." she asked smiling sarcastically. Dean flipped her off and sat on a park bench watching the kids on the playground. Castiel appeared a moment later on the bench next to him.
"If you came to give me the 'I told ya so' speech," Dean said looking at the angel, " I don't need it."
"I didn't come to judge you, Dean," the angel said in his gravely voice, "I came to explain…our orders."
"I've had about enough of your orders and demons and seals and all this bullshit," Dean told him.
Castiel paused, "Our orders were not to stop the summoning of Samhain, they were to do what ever you told us to do."
Dean leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and cocked his head at the angel, "Your orders were to follow my orders?"
"It was a test, to see how you would perform under battlefield conditions."
Dean scoffed, "It was a witch, not the Tet offensive." Castiel laughed quietly. "So did I failed your test?"
"I don't know, Dean."
"You know what? I don't care because even if you sent me back in time I wouldn't change my mind. Because I don't know what's gonna happen if these seals fall, I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow," Dean said, "But I do know that all this, these kids, the birds, the trees it's all here because we stayed, me, my brother, River, we stayed and fought."
Castiel smiled sadly, "Dean, I'm not like you think. I prayed that you would stay and save this town. These people, they're all my Father's creations. You're all amazing works of art and yet the seal fell and now all you are one step closer to Lucifer rising and Hell rising with him. And all of this will be destroyed." Dean looked across the street and saw River leave the coffee shop, balancing a cup holder with three huge cups of coffee and taking a bite of a muffin. A car honked at her when she tried to cross the street and she flipped it off with her free hand. "You of all people should know what that means…I'll tell you something, Dean, if you promise not to tell another soul." Dean nodded, watching as River walked closer. "I have questions, doubts about what is right and wrong. Questions about my superiors and their orders. But I have no doubt that in the coming months you will have more tests, more decisions to make and I don't envy you." Castiel smiled at River as she handed Dean his cup of coffee.
"Hey, I didn't ever really thank you for stopping Uriel from smiting me…so thanks. Have a muffin," River said, holding out a chocolate chip muffin.
"No, thank you River. We'll be in touch, Dean," with a flutter of wings Castiel disappeared.