Chapter Eighteen
Sam didn't come back into the house that day. After an hour's impatient waiting, Lucifer went to find him, and as they didn't come back, Dean assumed they'd gone back to their motel together.
The next morning, Sam and Lucifer arrived, and Sam acted for all intents and purposes as if nothing had happened—as if he hadn't been tortured almost to death. As if the conversation between him and Dean had never happened. Dean didn't much like it, but he wasn't known for open, honest conversations, so he didn't force them on his brother.
Two days after their rescue and Raphael's destruction, Dean was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a mug of coffee, when Lucifer arrived. He sat down and placed his hands on the table.
Dean looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Where's Sam?"
"He is on his way here. I wanted to talk to you alone, so I told him I would meet him here."
Dean leaned back in his seat. "What do you want to talk about?" It occurred to him that it was rare for Lucifer to forgo time with Sam, so whatever he wanted to talk about had to be important.
"It has occurred to me that you may be..." Lucifer seemed to search for the right word, "concerned about your recent actions and the repercussions."
"You mean my one-way ticket to Hell?" Dean asked. "Yeah, the thought did occur to me."
Lucifer nodded. "I thought it might. I want to reassure you."
Dean raised a hand. "It's okay, Lucifer. I know where I'm headed, and I'm okay with it. It won't be anything worse than I've already suffered."
"That is where you are wrong," Lucifer said quietly.
Dean felt a heavy weight settle over him. Was Lucifer saying it was going to be worse than he thought? "I can handle it," he said stoically.
Lucifer smiled. "You misunderstand me. I mean that Hell is not your intended destination."
Dean raised his eyebrow. "You know that?"
Lucifer steepled his hands under his chin. "I am an archangel, Dean. I know many things, some of which you should know, others you should not. One thing you should know is that wherever you are bound after death, Heaven or Hell, I shall make sure you are not left there alone. I shall ensure that your heaven is with your brother."
"You can control that?"
Lucifer smiled. "Of course I can. Castiel plucked you out of Hell, didn't he. I am more than capable of doing the same."
Dean breathed a sigh of relief. It was a huge weight off for him to know he would not spend eternity in the pit. "Thanks, Lucifer. Seriously, thanks."
Lucifer smiled. "You are very welcome. Now, I believe Sam is on his way. I can hear the car. I will leave you to your breakfast, and I will see you again soon."
Lucifer stood and a question came to Dean. "Lucifer, have you told Sam any of this."
Lucifer shook his head. "I don't think the idea that you could not be bound for Heaven has occurred to Sam. I haven't told him as I don't want him to feel any more guilt for what has happened that he already does."
That said, Lucifer vanished. Dean settled back in his chair and tried to act natural as Sam swung open the door and stepped inside, smiling. "Hey."
Sam poured himself a mug of coffee and came to sit opposite Dean at the table. "Where's Bobby and Cas?"
"They're checking out a case in Oregon. Some ballerina twirled herself to death."
Sam looked puzzled. "How's that?"
Dean shrugged. "I don't know. Bobby only gave me the cliff-notes. I offered to go with, but he said he and Cas had it covered."
Dean frowned. Despite the fact it was his fault they had become so close in the first place, he felt a little excluded by Bobby and Castiel these days. They were their own unit, and they had their way of working together sorted. What with them off on their own and Sam and Lucifer the way they were, Dean felt a little left out alone.
"I'm sure they'll be okay," Sam said, misconstruing Dean's frown. "They'll call if they need us."
Dean nodded. "How about us? Got any cases worth looking into?"
Sam shook his head. "Not much. There are some demon signs in Idaho, but I can get Lucifer to look into them. He's got Crowley pretty much under control, so if they're wreaking havoc, it can be dealt with easily enough."
Dean sat back in his chair. "So what are we going to do with ourselves today? You up for poker or..." The phone rang at that moment and Sam stood to answer it. "Or you could answer that."
"Singer's Salvage," Sam said formally, and then his face broke into a smile. "Rufus, good to hear from you." He was silent for a moment and then he laughed. "Yeah, it's kind of a long story, but I'm back now. What have you got going on?"
He picked up a pad of paper and began jotting down notes. "Rhode Island... Okay... And how many have there been? Right. We'll get to it. You take care out there, Rufus." He set the phone down and looked at Dean. "We've got a case."
Dean brightened at the news. He was in the mood to take out some fugly. "What is it?"
"A bunch of women have disappeared in Bristol, Rhode Island. Rufus is bogged down with a vamp nest in Florida and he can't get to it. I said we'd... What's wrong, Dean?"
Dean had paled at the mention of the place. Bristol was where he'd encountered the Arachne . It was the place he'd killed all the men that had been infected. It wasn't a place he wanted to return to in a hurry.
"What is it?" Sam asked.
Dean scrubbed a hand over his face. "I've been there before, Sam. Rhode Island is one of the places I went when you were gone. That was the Arachne hunt."
Sam sunk down onto a chair. "The men you killed."
"They were all infected," Dean said defensively.
Sam held his hands up. "I know. I'm not judging."
"What's happening now?"
"Women have gone missing, all in that one town. Look, Dean, you don't have to do this. I can call Lucifer and we can take care of it."
Dean was sorely tempted to let Sam and Lucifer go and deal with whatever was taking the women, but the whole thing smacked of unfinished business, his unfinished business. He must have missed something the last time he was there. That or he hadn't taken care of the problem the first time.
"I'll do it," he said slowly.
"You don't have to."
"No, I really do. This feels like my fault. I have to go back."
"Can you go back?" Sam asked.
Dean's irritation surged. "I'm not a coward, Sam!"
"I know that. What I meant was can you go back without being lynched by the locals? You were there before and you took out those men. Will people recognize you?"
Dean considered. He had met with a fair few people in the town when he worked the case, and even more worrying was Brenna, Roy's wife. She not only knew Dean, but she knew the truth about him—that he was a hunter. He wanted to go anyway though. He had to face the place again, and take care of whatever was causing the disappearances, or he would never be able to forgive himself.
"I have to go."
He saw the acceptance in Sam's eyes and was unsurprised when he nodded and go to his feet again. "I should call Lucifer."
"Can we drive? Bristol is pretty spread out, and we'll need the car to get around." It was more than that though. Dean was willing to face the place again, but he was in no rush. The drive would give him a chance to come to terms with it all.
"Sure we can. I'll just let Lucifer know where we're going to be, and then we can head out."
They came into town around dusk, and Dean directed Sam to the abandoned cabin he had used as a base before. They could have checked into a motel, the town had plenty as it was a tourist trap, but Dean didn't want to risk bumping into someone he'd met last time he was in town.
Sam dropped Dean off at the cabin and then went in search of food for them both. While he was gone, Dean did his best to make the cabin a little more hospitable for them both.
When Sam got back, laden with food, Dean was propping up the decrepit table for them to eat at. Sam dropped the food down and pulled up a chair.
"So, I know you don't really want to talk about this, but I need to know what happened last time you were here."
"You already know," Dean said testily. "There was an Arachne targeting men in town and I killed it followed by them."
"Where was it?" Sam asked. "And how did you kill it?"
"It had holed up at an old boathouse on the outskirts of town. It was trapping the men there. It can make these crazy strong webs. I thought I'd killed it last time; I took the bitch's head off, but maybe they need something special. "
Sam shook his head. "No, decapitation usually works. There's a chance it wasn't alone, I guess, though Arachne are usually solitary creatures." He clapped his hands together. "Okay. We need to check out the boathouse. If it's an Arachne again, it's probably using the same place. Any idea why it would be targeting women this time?"
Dean shrugged. "Variety of diet maybe. I don't know. All I know is that the bitch should be dead."
Sam pulled his meal out of the sack and began to fork up the salad, flicking through his father's journal as he ate. Dean knew Sam already knew everything in it and more, as Lucifer had been teaching him, but he accepted Sam was giving him some space to think and he was grateful for it. He unwrapped his burger and ate, his mind mulling over the last time he was here and what would happen this time.
Dean didn't sleep well that night. His mind presented him with images of Roy's face just before he had died. He tossed and turned and tried in vain to redirect his thoughts to anything other than the executions he had performed.
He was up well before Sam, but he didn't dare risk going into town to get some breakfast for them. Instead, he sat at the table and flipped through his father's journal.
When Sam woke, he went out to get them breakfast, and while they ate, he shared his plans for the day. He wanted to see the files on the missing women, so he was going to suit up and go by the police station.
Dean waited impatiently at the cabin while Sam went out, feeling less than useless. He thought about going by the boathouse alone but Sam had taken the Impala and he would have been too vulnerable to meeting people on foot.
As the car rumbled up the drive to the cabin, Dean got to his feet and opened the door. Sam climbed out of the car and pulled out a box from the passenger side.
"I got it all," he said. "Five women have been taken so far, and all their details are in here."
Dean nodded and then paused as he heard another car's approach. Sam turned back and cursed as the light blue sedan pulled to a halt behind the Impala.
"Can I help you?" Sam asked politely as a woman climbed out of the car.
The woman marched past Sam, disregarding him completely, and approached Dean. Her hand shot out and she slapped him across the cheek. "Where's Roy?" she demanded, gripping the collar of his shirt. "What did you do to him?"
Dean felt sick. It was Brenna, Roy's wife. "I'm sorry," he said. "Really."
"I don't want your apologies. I want to know where he is!"
Sam stepped forward and untangled her hands from Dean's shirt. "What's going on?"
"I'll tell you what's going on," Brenna spat. "I've rumbled you and your game."
Sam looked at Dean and there was an unspoken demand for information in his eyes.
"This is Brenna," Dean said. "Roy Dobb's wife. Roy was one of the victims last time."
"Victim?" Brenna said with a tinge of hysteria in her tone. "Is that what you call him? It's a good word, I guess. He was a victim, your victim." She turned to Sam. "I knew it. I knew when you came into the office that you weren't a real cop, with your cheap suit and rock star name. And I knew I had to follow you, but I never imagined you would be in league with him." She sneered at Dean. "What are you even doing here?"
"I came back because it wasn't over," Dean said. "I thought it was, but I was wrong."
"What about Roy?" she asked. "What did you do to him?"
Dean knew he had to tread a fine line. He couldn't tell her the truth, she already knew too much, but he had to give her some closure."
"Roy was a hero," he said softly.
She clapped a hand to her mouth. "He's..." She cleared her throat. "He is dead then. I knew, I knew when he didn't come back that he had to have died, but I didn't want to believe. What happened?"
"You remember what I told you about what I was hunting?" Dean said. Sam's eyes widened as he processed the fact that Dean had told someone the secret Brenna needed him more.
"The spider thing," Brenna said.
"Yeah. It got Roy. I tried to save him, but I was too late." It wasn't exactly a lie, he had tried to save him and it had been too late, the venom was already working through Roy when he got there.
Brenna's eyes swam with tears. "I didn't want to believe..." She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Dean, crying into his shoulder. He felt like a world class jerk as his arms wound around her shoulders and he patted her back. Here he was, comforting the widow whose husband he had killed. Sam locked eyes with him over her back, and he knew Sam was thinking the exact same thing.
After Brenna left, Sam and Dean went to the boathouse, and they saw that it was a gutted shell of what it had been. They stepped inside the ruins, keeping their guns trained on the floor, ready for action.
"There's no one here," Sam said.
Dean nodded. "No one at all. Not even the bodies."
"Well, we couldn't leave them around for the civilians to find," a dry voice said.
They spun on their heels to face the newcomers. There were two men standing in the doorway, the guns on their hips and the machetes in their hands making it clear they were hunters. They looked familiar, and Dean struggled to put a name to the faces.
"Walt? Roy?" Sam said. "What are you doing here."
As soon as Sam said the names, Dean's mind caught up. These were two of the many hunters they had met back at the Roadhouse before the place had been burned to the ground. It had been years since they'd seen each other, and it didn't look like absence had accrued any affection for Sam and Dean from the others.
"We're here cleaning up your brother's mess again," Walt said, stepping into the room. "Like we didn't have enough to be doing already."
"This has nothing to do with Dean," Sam lied.
Roy shook his head and tutted. "Now, Sam, you really should lie to old friends. It's not polite. We know exactly whose fault it is, since this isn't the first time we had to clear up after him. While you were holed up with the Devil, we were out fixing the messes your brother left behind."
Walt nodded. "Yeah, Dean, and what a mess it was. We roll into town, ready to take care of the Arachne , and what do we find? A house full of bodies all dead of a head shot. How were we supposed to explain that to the cops? No, we had a mess on our hands."
"What did you do?" Dean asked.
"We cleared up after you," Roy said. "Burned down the house with them inside."
Dean nodded. "I guess I owe you some thanks then."
"That's the least of what you owe us," Walt said angrily.
Dean frowned. "What else do you want?"
"How's about an explanation for what you and your brother did? See, hunters talk. Tim and Reggie filled us in on it all, the apocalypse, demon blood, the lot. We were pleased when we heard you took a trip downstairs, Sam, as it saved us the job of coming after you. Then, as if all that wasn't bad enough, we get news from Ellen that you're back and you brought your boyfriend, too."
Dean inwardly cursed Ellen. Why did she feel the need to spread the story of Sam and Lucifer throughout the hunting world? As if they didn't have enough people after them already with the leviathan situation.
"There is no explanation for what I did," Sam said. "None that you want to hear anyway. And you're right, I took a trip downstairs with Lucifer, and we're back.. Now, I know what you'd really like to do now is pull that gun from your pocket and blow me away, but you can't. You know why? Because my lover is Lucifer, the Devil. You think you've got problems now, wait till you have him on your ass."
Roy stepped forward, his hand dropped to his gun.
Sam raised his arms, presenting himself as an open target. "Go ahead, kill me. But when I come back, and I will, I'll be pissed."
Walt tugged on Roy's sleeve. "C'mon, Roy, let's leave these two devil lovers to sort out their own mess. We've got bigger problems."
Sam laughed as they backed out of the door. "You're damn right you do."
Dean and Sam stood at the door and watched them scramble into their car and drive away.
"Think they'll be back?" Sam asked.
Dean laughed. "Not a chance since you threatened to sic your boyfriend on them. I think you've got them running scared."
Sam smiled. "Good. Let's hope they get caught by a hungry leviathan."
Dean frowned. "That doesn't sound like you. Is there something you're not telling me?"
Sam was silent for a long moment and then he shook his head. "Nothing important. Not anymore anyway."
Dean wasn't entirely satisfied with Sam's answer, but at that moment, his phone rang. He didn't recognize the number, so his voice was cautious as he answered. "Hello?"
"Dean, it's Brenna. Can you come by the house? I need to talk to you." There was something in her tone that played on Dean's instincts.
"I'll be right there," he said. He hung up the phone and turned to Sam. "That was Brenna. She wants me to go by."
"What is it?" Sam asked.
"She's in trouble, I could tell."
Sam pulled out the clip of his gun, checked it and then snapped it back in. "Let's go."
When they got to Brenna's the house was in darkness but there was a light on in the shed. Sam and Dean exchanged a glance and then stepped around the side of the house to the shed. Before they reached it, the door swung open and Brenna stood on the threshold. She had been crying and she looked at Dean as he stepped under the porch light.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"What you did to Roy..." she said tearfully. "Is it true?"
Dean swallowed thickly. He didn't know what to say to her. At that moment, Roy stepped out of the shadows and slammed Sam into the wall. He fell to the floor, unconscious. Dean knelt beside him, but Roy yanked him away and pushed him against the wall with a hand at his throat.
"Answer the question, Dean."
Dean felt himself being slammed into the wall and dark spots danced in front of his eyes. Roy sneered at him again and struck out, sending Dean into darkness.
Dean's eyes opened to a dimly lit room he guessed was the shed. He was bound tight to the wall by the webs. As he blinked and looked around, Roy's face came into view. He was horribly changed from the last time Dean had saw him. His mottled face was laced with black veins and his eyes were milky looking. There was a neat hole on his forehead where Dean's bullet had penetrated.
"You got to admit I look good, Dean," he said. "Well, except for your little souvenir. He pointed to the bullet wound on his forehead.
Dean couldn't believe what was happening. Roy was dead, he'd killed him with his own gun, but here he was, looking down at Dean with loathing in his eyes.
He looked sideways and saw Sam bound to the opposite wall. He was awake now and looking at Dean. Brenna was cowering against the opposite wall, her hands covering her face.
"You win," Dean said, straining against the web holding him in place. "I'm here. Let Brenna go. This has nothing to do with her."
Roy laughed. "You come back around, start hanging out with my wife, and you think this has nothing to do with her? But then you thought I was out of the way, right? I got to say, you get a hell of a lot wrong, Dean, like that thing you threw me to. You thought it was here to feed."
Dean knew if she wasn't there to feed, there was only one more thing she could have been there for. "She was here to breed."
"Yeah. That thing was playing the mating game, and I guess I fit her profile. Me and all those other poor bastards. She bit us to turn us into what she was."
Dean watched Sam out of his peripheral vision, and he saw that he was moving. At first he thought he was just struggling against his bindings, but then he saw the shard of glass on the floor. Dean knew he had to keep Roy from seeing what Sam was doing, so he fixed his eyes on him and listened as he continued his tale.
"By the time you pulled that trigger, I wasn't human. Not anymore. So bullets didn't hurt me much. Oh, and neither did fire. So after you left, well, we ran. Me — I hid for months, nearly starved. But you know what kept me going? Every night, I dreamed about ripping your throat out."
Dean licked his lips. "Where are they, Roy... the women?"
Roy smiled. "Scattered...In the wind. They're like me now. You killed one monster, you made so many more. Congratulations. The only question is, do I kill you... or turn you?"
Dean's mind was reeling. There were a dozen other Arachne in the country now, each looking for their own victims. It was a hell of a mess for them to clear up. And it was all his fault. He should have followed the hunt through. He hadn't even thought of what would come of the bodies after he left.
At that moment, Sam threw back his webbed coverings and launched himself at Roy. He caught him around the chest, but Roy was too strong. He threw Sam off and he fell onto the ground. Roy bent down and placed a hand at Sam's throat. Sam's legs scrabbled against the floor as he tried to get his feet under him to save him from suffocation.
"Sam!" Dean bellowed.
Roy threw held Sam against the wall, and Dean saw Sam's eyes starting to lose focus as the oxygen deprivation got to him.
"No! Roy, stop!" Brenna shouted.
Roy ignored her, and Sam's eyes started to slide closed. Brenna dropped to her knees beside Dean and hacked at the webs holding him in place. He threw back his restraints and picked up the machete from the floor where it had dropped. He pulled Roy's arm back, breaking his grip on Sam's neck, and Sam slid to the floor. Dean swung the machete through the air and into Roy's neck. His head flew through the air and landed on the floor with a meaty thud.
Brenna stared down at the remains of her husband and wept.
"Bobby, why did you bring the sword back?" Castiel asked curiously as they arrived in the yard of Bobby's house.
Bobby smiled. "What can I say? I'm a collector, and this is a fine piece of history. Besides, it's already killed two leviathans; it might be lucky.
Castiel nodded, inwardly marveling at the peculiarities of his friend. They strolled around the car towards the house. Castiel heard the rumble of a familiar engine and he smiled. "Dean and Sam are here."
Bobby nodded. "Let's see what trouble the boys have got into this time." They stopped and turned as the rumble of the Impala came closer.
Just then, a figure stepped around the corner of nearest stack of junkers. "Mr. Singer. Castiel. Apparently you two are competent enough to warrant annihilating. I'd take it as a compliment."
Despite the fact he kept his human face, there was no question that it was a leviathan. He had that hungry look in his eyes.
Bobby raised the sword and waited for the leviathan to step a little closer. Moving so fast it didn't seem possible, the leviathan grabbed Bobby and threw him into the nearest stack of junkers. The sword fell to the floor with a clang. Castiel watched his friend fly through the air and saw the blood drip from Bobby's forehead. He reached for the sword, but the leviathan was faster.
He grabbed Castiel around the throat and lifted him in to the air. "I've never tasted angel meat before, but I'm really looking forward to it."
Castiel struggled against the hand holding him, but it was no good. The leviathan pulled back a fist and plunged it into Castiel's stomach.
Castiel's eyes darkened and his last disconnected thought was that this was how it felt to die: pain, darkness, and a sense of failure.
So… Umm... Sorry?
Until next time…
Clowns or Midgets xxx
