Ch 45
River ended up sharing the Vermonster with a group of Chinese tourists. The group of six friends had left their home in Lanzhou, China the week before. A dark sadness clung to them however, that even the sugary mountain of ice cream couldn't completely dispel. Several of the friends had received word from home that a virulent flu had sprung up in their city. Phone lines were down and family members weren't answering their requests for information. River checked her own phone for any information on the American news outlets and found only two small articles that promised to update as soon as their Asian correspondents reported. They parted ways after scraping the bottom of the huge bucket of ice cream clean.
River hot wired a car at a shopping center a few miles away from the ice cream factory and headed in no particular direction. Sighing she pulled out her phone and made a phone call. "Who is this? You're not supposed to have this number!" Rufus's gruff voice barked into the phone.
River smiled, "It's me you paranoid bastard."
"River? What the hell you want, girl?"
"I want a god damn job you cantankerous ass," she replied.
Rufus was silent for several breaths, "What kind of job?" He finally asked.
She shook her head and sighed, "The kind where I get to kill something. Preferably several somethings."
"I might have a thing or two for you."
"Great, splendiferous…Can I borrow a couple guns? All my shit is somewhere in Texas."
"Fine. I expect payment for my altruistic sharing of weapons."
"Black or Blue?" she asked indicating his preference for Johnny Walker whiskey.
Rufus laughed, "Blue and a bottle of Crown Royal XR."
"You price gouging son of a bitch," River grumbled. "I'll be there in a few hours." She arrived at Rufus' fortress with the required bottles of alcohol. Rufus in turn gave her a small duffle bag full of ammo, salt, holy water, handguns and a shotgun. As well as a list of potential cases. "Holy shit, Rufus. All of these?"
He nodded, "Looks like every evil son of a hellhound is on the prowl. Too many of them and not enough of us."
She decided to start down south, swing by Texas and pick up her belongings from Ed's house, the guns and other cache of weapons she could part with if needed. But her journals and the few lore books she carried with her were irreplaceable. She needed a few days maybe a few weeks to clear her head. Lucifer had stoked the fires of anxiety and self doubt and losing Gabriel was a band around her heart that wasn't going to loosen anytime soon. She had his feather tucked into her boot for safekeeping and it gave her a little comfort.
Weeks had a bad habit of slipping by when you spent most of your time driving between no name cities to kill some no name monster or ghost. Just a few days after their narrow escape from Lucifer the Winchesters found themselves voluntarily checked into a mental hospital. Dean had received a frantic phone call from one of their fathers old acquaintances, Martin a semi-retired hunter who now resided at Glennwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital, begging for help. Apparently some mystery monster was noshing on his fellow patients. The monster turned out to be a wraith. A wraith that fed on Sam's guilt about setting Lilith free and his fear of Lucifer. The wraith also got it's tendrils into Dean, feeding on his self loathing and anger. "You can't save everyone, Dean," the pretty auburn haired psychiatrist told him, "I mean you can't even save yourself. Do you really think you, Dean Winchester the high school drop out, the loser with $5 to his name can stop Lucifer? You couldn't save your own sons. You couldn't stop Sam from killing Lilith. You broke the first seal and started the Apocalypse. Lucifer is too strong and you will fail just like you always do." The psychiatrist of course turned out to be a hallucination induced by the Wraith. Her words stuck with him however, echoing in his head even after he killed the evil bitch that had been masquerading as one of the nurses. He wasn't giving up per se but he wasn't going to be overly surprised if the world ended because he was to weak to stop it.
"Ed just give me my shit," River demanded standing in the doorway of the Ghostfacers two room apartment above his parents garage.
"I just wanted to…to tell you I'm totally ok with being friend-zoned." He stammered. Harry stood behind him nodding earnestly. "Your videos are some of the highest rated on our website."
"Cheese and rice, you two," she crossed her arms tightly over her chest and let out a long breath. "You guys are pretty ok guys, ok? But I am not gonna go down that path with you Ed, ever. EVER. I was not in a very good place, I am still not in a very good place. Honestly, I haven't been in a good place in a couple of decades but thats besides the fucking point…" She said pushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Shit is going down right. Shit way, way above your pay grade and I'm not going to drag you down with me. So please just give me my stuff and stay safe." The Ghostfacers assented and returned her duffle bag solemnly. She turned towards the door and stopped, "Just to prove we're all cool with being friends; how about you guys come get a tattoo with me?" She was able to convince Ed and Harry into getting the anti-possession tattoo while she decided to get her nose pierced. The tiny sparkly white jewel in her nose made her happy, Gabriel would probably have hated it, she wasn't sure how Dean would like the new hole in her face. Feeling slightly better that Ed and Harry at least wouldn't be possessed by demons she left Texas.
She called Bobby on her way to a salt and burn in West Virginia. "Hey Papa Bear." She felt a deep burn of guilt for not seeing the man that had become her surrogate father. She had called him once or twice in the passing months to check in, promising she would be come see him but she never showed. Seeing Bobby Singer broken and in a wheelchair was more than she could handle right now.
"Hey girl, what are you up to?" Bobby was home, in his study having just hung up with Dean. He had sent the brothers to check out a strange case in Illinois, a 25 year old man had died of old age.
"Got a list of shit Rufus gave me to check out," She answered. "Gonna go burn some bitch that killed a couple husbands and is now pushing old people down stairs. Her manor got turned into a ritzy retirement villa after her death and she's not very happy about it."
"How about you swing by here instead? I can make some phone calls take that case of your hands….The boys are at a case in Illinois I could do with the company." His freehand pushed one of the wheels on his prison back and forth agitatedly.
River cleared her throat, shifting her cellphone on her shoulder. "Yeah…maybe. In a couple of days. I should finish this case I'm already almost there. I should probably hang up before I get pulled over. Talk to you soon Papa Bear." She hung up before Bobby could respond.
"Balls," he muttered to his empty house. It turned out to be fortuitous that River didn't come to Sioux Falls after all. A few hours after the first phone call confirming that the case was definitely worth investigating Dean called back requesting Bobby to bone up on some magical research. It appeared they may be dealing with a witch that using some sort of spell to take the years people had left to live or perhaps return them effectively giving them a new lease on life. The older hunter made a rash decision, grabbed some supplies and decided to head to Illinois. He'd spent close to five months stuck in that damned chair and it was five months too damn long.
Two nights after her phone call to Bobby, River found herself sitting in a 24 hour diner frequented by truck drivers and weary travelers. She'd just finished the salt and burn but not before the old bitch had killed again. Her cup of black coffee sat cooling in front of her and she picked at grave dirt stuck under her fingernails while she waited for her food. "I heard this place has great pancakes." A well dressed man in his late 30s to early 40s slid into the seat next to her.
"Fuck off, pal," she retorted glancing up at him. Noting his short ash blonde hair, flecked with gray. His eyes were a soft, mellow green with fine laugh lines at the corners.
He let out a husky laugh, "Well aren't you a barrel of fun." The waitress bustled over and quickly poured him a cup of coffee before retreating to the kitchen. "I've been looking all over for you, River McGregor. You've been a real bitch to track down…." His hand struck out and ensnared her thin wrist, she gasped in pain as her skin scalded at his touch. "If you go for that gun on your hip or that knife in your boot, every single person in this restaurant will die." His eyes turned to obsidian and he smiled maliciously. The din of forks and knives scraping on plates suddenly stopped as did the cook behind the high counter and the waitress balancing a tray full of heavy plates. River spared a glance around and noticed the dozen or so patrons in the restaurant completely immobile. "Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. The hard way being you sit here and we watch as these people suffocate to death, it's a very nasty way to die. The easy way being you leave peacefully with me."
River swallowed thickly, "Who are you?"
"My name is Harab, you can call me Harry if that makes you feel better." The Demon said smiling broadly. With his free hand he took a long drink of his hot coffee and smacked his lips appreciatively. "You have no idea who I am, do you?"
"Nope. Don't care either. If you're gonna kill me just kill me."
Harab slammed his coffee cup down, "What use would you be to me dead? You took something from me, something precious."
River looked worriedly at the men and women around her, several had begun to turn ugly shades of maroon. "I've killed a lot of bad things. Maybe you could be a tad more specific?"
"Louisiana. A coven of witches and a powerful weapon. Ring any bells?"
"Shit," River thought quickly to herself. Remembering the swamp witches that had kidnapped Sam and Dean and the gauntlet she had taken to Levi to destroy.
"Ah there it is. Recollection," He yanked her towards him, "You killed my wives. You stole from me. Now, easy way or hard way? Times a ticking."
River nodded her head and slid off the stool. "Let them go." The Demon blinked, letting his pale green eyes show. The men and women took a deep breath as one, coughing and spluttering as their lungs started working again. 'Harry' marched River out of the diner in front of him. "Where are you taking me?"
"No, dear it's where you're taking me," He steered her towards her car. "The Pow-Wow magician that destroyed my gauntlet? He's joining the party as well. You drive, I'll talk. We'll get to know each other."
"No. Fuck you, you black eyed son of a bitch," she hissed. She pulled out the glass bottle of holy water she had tucked in her jacket pocket and smashed it on the Demons face. He screamed in rage as his flesh bubbled. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te... cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque æternæ perditionìs venenum propinare... " She rattled off the exorcism causing the injured demon to thrash and bellow. He opened his mouth and black smoke flew out, knocking her off her feet. The smoke disappeared into the night sky as River jumped in her car. She peeled out of the parking lot, gravel and dirt flying behind her. Her phone trembled in her sweaty palm as she punched in Levi's number.
He answered on the second ring, "River have you any idea what time it is?"
"Levi! Somethings coming for you! Demon named Harab he smoked out before I could exorcise him," River yelled into the phone punching down on the gas pedal causing the stolen Toyota to shake and rattle.
"Harab? God be with me," Levi prayed. A great crash echoed in Levi's home as his front door was kicked in. He dropped the phone a second later and River's heart froze as the sounds of a struggle and Levi's loud chanting echoed over the phone.
"Levi!…. Levi!" she screamed. A gurgled yell was the last thing she heard before the line went dead. She reached Levi's house after dawn. Moses, Levi's faithful horse, was standing in his stall on the side of the house and neighed in greeting at River as she climbed the steps that led to Levi's front door. The front door swung loosely in the doorjamb, the side of the door splintered where the lock had been kicked in. She readjusted her grip on her shotgun, closed her eyes and took a deep breath steeling herself against whatever horrible thing she was about to walk into. She toed the door slowly open and stepped into Levi's home.
The salt line Levi kept along the floor in front of the door was a charred black mess as was the ornate hand carved wooden Celtic cross hanging above the door. Obvious signs of a struggle marred the living room, the coffee table was over turned, books open and ripped. Glass jars of dried flowers and herbs smashed. A thick puddle of congealing blood was on the floor between the kitchen and dining room. Levi's cracked phone lay in the middle of the dark red, sticky mess. River heard a low pitched whine come from the direction of Levi's bedroom. She trekked slowly down the dark hallway, checking the bathroom and coat closet as she went. She reached the half open door to Levi's room and took another deep breath. She'd never stepped foot in Levi's bedroom, leaving the man to his privacy whenever she'd spent the night on the couch. A four-poster King sized bed took up most of the room. The headboard another of Levi's woodworking masterpieces; a hand carved vision of the Biblical story of the Lamb and the Lion along with hundreds of hand carved flowers and doves. A bookcase and wooden trunk sat in one corner of the room next to a hand made rocking chair. Levi's wide brimmed straw hat sat hung on a rack near the door. She heard another whine followed by a dull thump… River slowly knelt and peaked under the bed. Two wide, frightened amber eyes shone in the darkness under Levi's bed. She let out a long breath, "Absalom! Come 'ere boy. Come here…" Absalom, Levi's scaredy cat Springer Spaniel lay shaking and huddled in the shadows. Thump…thump….thump, his tail banged off the polished wood floor. "Come on boy. It's ok," she cooed at the frightened animal. He scooted forward on his haunches and finally crawled out from under the bed. The dog gave her a timid lick on her cheek as River buried her face in his chocolate brown fur sobbing.
She spent the next hour cleaning the blood and debris in Levi's living room. She'd just finished sweeping up the last bit of glass when her phone vibrated in her pocket. Chuck had sent her a text message, the first and only one he had sent her since they had exchanged numbers months prior: "Had Vision. Sam and Dean in big trouble! Demons! Need help! Come ASAP Pineview Hotel" a second text popped up with an address. A cold stone of anxiety and dread sunk in Rivers stomach at the thought of Harob (just call him "Harry") and what he might have to do with this frantic message from Chuck Shurely, Prophet of the Lord. Her fingers shook so bad she dropped the phone the first time she tried to call Chuck. Absalom sitting at her heels and whining while she cursed in increasing frequency and volume when Chuck didn't answer. River tried three of the Dean's numbers next and both of Sam's. Neither brother answered. "God Damn it!" she screamed causing Absalom to tear back down the hallway and return to his hiding spot under Levi's bed. "Fuck, fuck, Bobby fucking answer!" The older hunter did not answer either. She paced back and forth in Levi's small kitchen, running her hands through her wavy hair. She punched through the contact list on her phone, double checking she'd tried everyones number. Skipping Rufus since the cranky bastard had informed her he was going on a vacation to Cabo and not to bother him for at least the next five weeks. "Cas!" She tried Castiel's number and was informed by the robotic voice that the number was temporally disconnected as there were no more minutes available on the call plan. She was too afraid to try and pray to him, worried some unwelcome feathered dick like Zachariah would intercept it. "Fuck!" she yelled again in the empty kitchen.
"You son of a bitch!" she muttered tucking her phone in her back pocket. River walked into Levi's sitting room lined with bookcases full of scrolls, grimoires and spell ingredients that hadn't been damaged when Harob attacked. It took her several minutes to find the spell she needed. "Should'a done this to begin with dumb ass," she muttered angrily to herself as she finished grinding the putrid herbs and combining them in a small silk satchel. She tied the demon hex bag to her belt loop furious at herself for not considering some douchebag demon would eventually want to fuck with her. After learning of Lilith's death she had considered the Angels as her biggest threat and with Gabriel gone there was little she could do besides try to avoid them. She then gathered the weapons she had stashed all over Levi's house, having told Levi where each and every one was and knowing he would refuse to ever use them. She dumped them into her duffle bag and shoved everything into the front seat of her car. Moses nickered at her again then gave an annoyed snort nudging his deep tawny nose at the empty feed bag. "Alright, I'm comin' big guy." After feeding and watering the horse she gathered Absalom and walked him to Levi's closest neighbor. Doing what Levi did (being a Pow-Wow healer and fighter against all things evil among other things) he had instructed River if anything ever did happen to him that Jack Henderson, the man down the road, would take care of Absalom and Moses for him. Giving Jack a generic "Levi had to leave town suddenly" excuse she left the shell shocked canine in his stead and returned to her car.
She sped away from her missing friends house and headed to the Pineview Hotel. River tried Dean's phone number one last time, a combination of fear and anger setting her nerves endings off. The setting sun, usually her favorite time of day, was mocking her. It would take her all night to reach the address Chuck had sent her. "It's me again. If you get this message and your ok please call me ASAP, if not I'm coming in guns blazing," she took a deep breath before adding, "I'm so fucking sorry about this mess. I just want to come home."
Unbeknownst to her, Dean and Bobby were in a literal race against time. The 25 year old man that had died of old age had died because he lost a magical poker game against a 700 year old Witch. Bobby had foolishly played against the same Witch, betting close to 30 years of his life hoping that if he won he would be able to walk again. Well, he didn't win. Dean in his usual head strong, cocky fashion had sat at the poker table as well. He raised the stakes to four decades, not thinking of the ramifications for himself if he lost, focusing solely on Bobby. Dean lost as well and was now an angina riddled old fart that got winded walking up a couple flights of stairs. So it was up to Sam, the weakest poker player of the group. Even River had beat him at a couple hands when Dean was trying to teach her how to play. Time was slipping away from his brother and his surrogate father.
River reached the Pineview Hotel early the next morning. Slamming her car into the parking spot on the other side of Dean's shiny black Impala. Her fingers twitched with anxiety and caffeine, the floorboard of her car littered with at least four empty cans of energy drinks. "If I live through this I'm gonna die of a fucking heart attack," she thought wryly. Not sure if the pounding in her chest was a panic attack or another side of affect of the caffeine. She slung her weapon loaded duffle bag over her back, cradled her shotgun in one arm triple checking it was loaded with salt rounds. Then patted her pockets to make sure she had more rounds and holy water with in reach. Her fingers touched the hex bag on her hip. Lastly she piled her hair high up on her head in a quick top knot so that the long strands wouldn't fall in her face if she had to run. She ran one hand lovingly along Baby's trunk, noting that Dean had apparently picked up some new license plates and headed for the Hotels main entrance. A high pitched scream echoed out of the half open doors and River charged the rest of the way up the stairs.
"All right you black eyed assbags! Where the fuck are they!" she bellowed sliding into the front lobby. A dozen or so flannel and denim clad bewlidered individuals turned to face her. A minuscule waif of a young woman was jumping up and down excitedly pointing at a huge handprinted banner: "Supernatural SuperFan Convention".
"That looks awesome!" she screamed again, "Oh my god! You came!" The tiny blonde woman ran up to River who stiffened and pointed her sawed off at her.
"You just stop right there—What the everliving fuck! Where the fuck are Sam and Dean!" River yelled.
A few flannel clad individuals raised their hands and chuckled, "We're right here!" River's blue eyes quickly jumped between the woman in front of her to the lobby which was packed with tables and stalls covered in various kinds of merchandise (Impala coffee mugs, "Dean Girl"/ "Sam Girl" and "Mother of future badasses" t-shirts, along with stacks and stacks of novels). "Who the fuck are you! What the fuck is this!" she yelled pointing her shot gun at the tables.
"I'm Becky! Me and the boys go way back! I sent you the invite, obviously!" she smiled, her eyes wide and bright. "This is the first ever Supernatural-con!"
River slowly lowered her shotgun, "The invite!? Are you shitting me?"
A short, round woman with a horrible stick on beard and trucker hat ambled up to River and clapped her on the shoulder, "Damn girl! You went all out! You're definitely gonna give the other Rivers a run for their money!" She laughed pointing at a group of Ginger haired women convened in a corner staring daggers at her.
"Where are Sam and Dean?" River repeated quietly, closing her eyes, taking a deep breath and trying not to become a mass murderer.
"Well….I'm hoping they show up also. But I haven't heard from them yet," Becky answered.
"Where is Chuck?" River asked.
"He's in the bar." River nodded and brushed past the smaller woman. "River, wait a sec!" Becky ran back up to her, "You need to check your weapons at the front door, they'll have to attach a little tag so we all know they aren't real." River chuckled. "And I highly recommend you book a room because we are filling up fast!"