A white light blinded Sam…

Sam's eyes popped open and he jumped up to his feet. Thrashing around wildly, heart pounding, he was prepared for any threat that came his way. But none did.

Which was lucky, because when Sam reached into his back pocket for his pistol it was gone.

It took him a moment, but Sam got his bearings and calmed himself down, realizing his life wasn't being immediately threatened. Brushing the dust off of his jeans, he gazed around this place, this old western-looking town that felt like it came right out of a cowboy movie. Surrounding him were old wooden buildings that looked like they had been abandoned years ago. There was no road, but a dirt path between the structures on either side of it.

It was silent in the ghost town as Sam followed the dirt road, his boots kicking up puffs of sand with each step. He entered a building a ways down the road, which had the word "SALOON" mounted atop it. The inn was empty. Grime covered the bar and chairs, which were sitting upside down on the tabletops. Sam could almost see the shadows of the old western folk that had last inhabited the place, with cowboy boots clicking on the floor and wide brimmed hats covering their eyes.

Sam crept behind the bar. An assortment of liquors stocked the shelves underneath the counter; some of them Sam had never ever heard of. Dean would kill for a shot of any one of these drinks.

Dean…Carmen…where were they? Did they follow him here to this deserted place? Sam's skin prickled with anticipation and fear. Where was his family? Sam had no idea how he got here or what had happened before he had awoken.

Leaving the bar, Sam searched the structure next door, but found nothing. He navigated the labyrinth of makeshift roads, trying to find a person or a way out. He knew he was traveling in one consistent direction, but he questioned himself when, after he'd been walking and exploring for over an hour, he passed a building with the word "SALOON" scrawled across the top that exactly resembled the one he had encountered earlier.

"Hello!" A muffled scream from behind him startled Sam. Someone was pounding on a door. "Hello! Is anyone out there? Help me!" Following the noise, Sam found (another) small wooden structure, but this one had a heavy lock on the door.

"Hello? It's okay, I'm going to get you out."

"Ah!" She yelped. "I didn't expect anyone to actually be out there." The woman sounded hysterical.

"Yeah, I'm here. Stand back, okay?" Sam found a giant log in the stack of lumber beside the outhouse and smashed the lock open. A tiny brunette woman tumbled out.

"Oh, my God, thank you! I've been stuck in there for I don't even know how long." Her voice shook with gratitude.

"How did you get here?"

"Um, I don't really..." She sniffed loudly. "One minute I'm sleeping next to my fiancé, and the next, I'm waking up in this," she wrinkled her nose, "bathroom. Is there anyone else here?"

Sam shook his head. "Not that I can tell." Sam was becoming more and more confused.

"Didn't think so. I've been screaming like a lunatic for hours. Which means it's about time to get the hell out of here! My fiancé is going to be so worried." The woman scrunched a hand in her hair.

"What's your name?"

"Ava."

"Ava? I'm Sam. Look, I don't know if we can get out of here," he said gently.

"Why not?"

"Whoever brought us here…they're not going to want us going anywhere."

Ava look stunned. "Why would someone bring us here? What would they want with us?"

"I don't…" Sam wracked his brain. There were a number of supernatural creatures that have would have the power to transport them or to make them hallucinate. But why? What was the motivation?

And then a vision of Yellow Eyes, inside Bobby's body, flashed through Sam's brain, and it dawned on him. This, whatever this was, is what Yellow Eyes had needed him for all along.

"Ava…this is going to sound crazy, but just go with it. Do you have anything special about you? Anything out of the ordinary?"

"What do you mean?" Ava asked, guarded.

"I mean anything that you can do that you can't explain? A gift or a…power." Sam hated calling it that. "An ability." He amended.

"How did you know that?"

"Because I have one, too. An ability. I can see things that haven't happened yet. But it's not on command or anything, it's just sort of, like…"

"Forced into your head? Yeah, I know how you feel. I saw my fiancé propose to me before it happened. Kind of spoiled the surprise, but at least I didn't pass out the second time." She chuckled nervously.

"I think that's why we're here."

A knock from one of the houses startled the pair. Sam pushed Ava behind the outhouse and grabbed a particularly heavy log. He followed the footsteps with his ears, and when the person was just on the other side of the outhouse…

"Whoa, whoa don't hurt me!" Sam pinned the small man to the door, raising his cudgel, ready to strike. The other man cringed, his slight frame unable to compare to Sam's enormous one. "I didn't do anything, don't…"

"Who are you?" Sam dropped the branch, but didn't let the man go.

"Andy…my name's Andy."

"How did you get here?"

"I don't know! I just woke up and…"

"What can you do?" Ava stepped up next to Sam, puffing her chest. Her squeaky voice and tearstained cheeks made it difficult for her to be as intimidating as she's probably hoped.

"What can I…?"

"Yeah, we know you have an ability. What is it?" She brought herself up to her full height. Sam let go of Andy, convinced he wasn't a threat.

Ava cringed back.

"I, uh…mind control. Is that why you guys brought me here?"

"We didn't bring you." Sam explained. "A demon did."

"Demon?" Ava squeaked, spluttering.

"Yeah, a demon." Sam felt suddenly drained. He didn't feel like explaining all this right now.

"Wait." Andy chirped. "Does this demon look like a dude? Just with like, these," Andy waggled his eyebrows and fingers in unison. "These eyes?"

"Yellow eyes," Ava confirmed. "Yeah, I've seen him, too. What does he want with us?"

"We're special," a booming voice answered Ava's question from across the street. A strong-looking military man dressed in camouflage strutted out towards them, followed closely by a shifty-eyed woman. "I'm Jake, this is Lily." Everyone in the group looked to be in their twenties, probably all twenty-three, Sam guessed, just like him.

"He wants us to do some task, something only we can accomplish." Jake announced.

"Thaaaaat's right!" Sam jumped as a voice that all of them could hear but none of them could trace echoed through the ghost town. Ava looked around wildly, and the military man took a guarded stance.

Sam recognized the voice as Yellow Eyes.

"I have a very important task for all of you to complete. There is a door in the center of this town. You have to find it and open it. All of you are very special, for a very specific reason, and can access that door when I cannot."

"Yeah? And why the hell should we listen to you?" Jake bellowed.

"I wouldn't ask that…" Sam muttered.

"Glad you asked." The voice overhead rang. "Only one of you can open the door. The person who accomplishes this task will never have to worry about money or freedom for themselves or their families when I reign."

"Reign?" Lily sneered. She was ignored.

"I know some of you won't be enticed by this offer. Maybe my next offer will be more effective in persuading you. The only person to open the door will be the only person to leave this town alive. And, as an added bonus, I will kill one person per hour until there is only one of you left to open the door, so get to it."

And then the voice was gone. For a moment, they all just stared at one another.

"We can't trust him." Sam raised both hands immediately in a gesture that was both peaceful and pleading. "He's trying to pit us against each other, but we can't succumb to that!"

"He's not trying to pit us against each other, he's succeeding in dong it." Jake argued. "He's going to kill us if we don't play his little game… I survived two tours, I'm not dying in this ghost town."

"You think he's really going to kill us?" Ava squeaked. Sam decidedly ignored her.

"Why do we have to play his game? He's not here. How do we know he can even get to us?" Lily spoke up. "What's to stop us from just leaving?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea…" Andy said, his eyes looking to the rest of the group for support.

"It's not an empty threat." Sam agreed.

Lily sneered. "I'm not waiting around here to die. You all can play your little hunger games, I'm getting the hell out of here." Lily turned her back on the group and started down the street, her black combat boots disappearing in the cloud of dust at her feet.

"Lily!" Sam called after her. She ignored him.

"Let her go. You're not going to stop her," Jake said.

"So, um, what do we do now?" Ava said in a shaky voice.

"Work together," Sam answered. "We find this door that Yellow Eyes is talking about, and we figure out how to open it."

"Then what?" Andy asked.

Sam stayed silent. He didn't know what else. But he certainly wasn't going to kill these innocent people.

"We gotta move." Jake said. He turned in the opposite direction as Lily. Somehow, Sam knew that was the right way, a way deeper into the town. "That windmill," Jake said. "You think that seems about the center?"

The question was directed at Sam. Jake was the type to get straight down to business, no nonsense. He sensed that Sam would be the same way.

Sam nodded. "Seems about right."

Jake started toward it. The rest followed.

And they walked.

Eventually, Sam's long strides brought him ahead of the others. Jake fell into stride next to him.

"So, this demon," Jake lowered his voice so Ava and Andy behind them couldn't hear. "You seem to know a lot about it."

"I've had some prior experience."

"What can you tell me about it? Where did it come from? Why does it want us here?"

"It's not kidding when it says it will kill us. I've seen it kill before. It's ruthless. It knows things about us, things that we may not even know about ourselves." Sam shook his head. "But it also lies. Demons lie."

"So this thing isn't the only one out there?"

"Not by a long shot. In fact…I think that's why we're all here. Demons come from hell. I'm not sure how or why, but that's where they spring from. I have a feeling this demon is planning to spring more. Maybe even all of them. He said before he was going to reign…To reign, you need an army."

"So why can't he spring them himself?"

"There are ways to keep demons out. I'm guessing whoever closed the door to hell wanted to make sure it could never be opened again."

As the pair spoke, the windmill tower became increasingly closer, and still turned in the breeze in eerie circles. "They didn't do a very good job." Jake offered.

As Sam and Jake fell silent, they could hear Ava and Andy speaking behind them, but eventually their chatter died down as well. They traveled in silence for a while, getting closer and closer to the center.

Sam glanced back at the lagging pair. Andy had his very old silver cell phone open and was holding it above his head.

"You won't get a signal. Not here." Sam said.

"Worth a try. My brother's probably pissed, I was supposed to be at work an hour ago…"

"You work for your brother?" Ava piqued.

"Not for him. We own a bar together."

"You own a bar?" Jake asked skeptically, eyeing Andy like he could snap him in half in a second.

"Yes! I do the scheduling and all the financial stuff, and my brother works the front of the house."

Jake smirked. "Oh. Yeah, that makes sense."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Andy scowled.

The other three chuckled. Andy grumbled. "The schedule was supposed to be posted this morning, Weber already wants to kill me for slacking."

"Older brother?" Sam asked. Andy nodded. "I work with my older brother, too. They can be real dicks sometimes."

"Tell me about it." Andy wrinkled his nose. "Weber thinks he can control my life. He thinks because he's older and he took over the family business first, that he gets to make all the decisions. Even though, most of the time, all his decisions are wrong."

Sam chuckled. "Yeah, they should really leave all the decision making to the younger brothers."

Andy smiled, nodding.

"Um, guys?" Ava piped. "It's been fifty five minutes…"

Sam's skin flared. Had it been almost an hour already? His eyes darted around him. They were almost at the windmill, but even once they got there, they wouldn't be safe.

"Stay close," Jake ordered. Ava and Andy caught up to him and Sam. They quickened their pace, feeling in some way that arriving at the windmill would give them hope, would show The Demon that they were taking his task seriously, that they were following his orders, that none of them needed to die.

Finally, they turned a corner and the windmill was erect right in front of them.

It was supposed to be a relief getting there. It was supposed to give them hope.

It didn't.

Taking in the sight of the tower, Ava screamed in horror. Lily hung from a rung with a noose around her neck. Her eyes bulged, and her feet were flailing desperately while her fingers clawed at the rope constricting her throat.

Sam rushed toward the tower, climbing it as fast as he could, but before he reached her, she went limp. Jake followed him, and together they untied her.

As they brought her down, Ava covered her mouth and ran away to vomit behind a tree.

"Is she…?" Andy's eyes were fearful. No one answered.

"We should bury her." Jake announced. "It's what we used to do, if we couldn't send them home."

"What about the time? In another hour-"

"It won't take long," Sam muttered. He ran into the nearest building and emerged with four glass cups. They were the best he could find. The four of them dug a shallow grave in silence. When Sam glanced over at Ava, she had fresh tears on her cheeks. Andy put a hand on her shoulder.

"That should be deep enough." Jake said after a while. He lifted Lily's body, and the other three helped him lower her into the ground.

"We have to get this door open," Andy declared, after they left Lily's grave.

"That's only going to help one of us." Jake countered.

"Maybe not," Sam mumbled dejectedly. They already had to bury someone. He couldn't do this three more times as the hours passed.

"Hey!" Ava exclaimed. "Look, guys, look."

Sam came to stand next to Ava, and followed her gaze. For as far as Sam could see there spanned a graveyard; headstone after mossy headstone stood in neat rows like soldiers in front of him.

"Something tells me the door is going to be in there," Ava breathed.

Sam started forward.

"Hold on." Jake grabbed Sam's shoulder and whipped him around. "What the hell are we going to do once we find this place? A freakin' graveyard, man? Are we really doing this shit?"

"We don't have another choice." Sam growled. "He's going to kill us!"

"And how do we know you're not planning to kill us?"

"Because I'm not. Trust me, this is the best plan we've got to beat this thing."

Sam wrenched his arm from Jake's grip. He passed Ava and Andy, ignoring the stunned looks on their faces, and weaved his way through the headstones.

After a beat, Sam heard the crunch of leaves behind him. When he glanced over his shoulder, Ava was navigating her way around the grave markers, carefully avoiding the actual graves. She looked up and offered him a small smile. He really couldn't help the surge of affection he felt for her in her show of solidarity.

Pausing in the labyrinth, he waited for Ava to catch up with him. He didn't look back again, but eventually he heard small footsteps, then heavier ones stomping on the leaves behind them.

Sam could see why Jake was targeted. He was strong. Intimidating. Unafraid. Ava and Andy were strong, too, even if they didn't know it. Ava was a brave woman. Being brave isn't about never being afraid. It's about conquering what you fear. Ava may have been scared, but she wasn't debilitated by her fear. Andy was strong in his mind. Maybe that's why his ability translated to mind control. They were all fighters, but they were fighting a different war then Sam, Dean and Carmen were.

Dean…Carmen…

He hoped they were okay.

"Sam," Jake said, jogging to catch up to him. He forced himself between Ava and Sam, causing Ava to fall into step behind them instead of at Sam's side. Sam didn't slow his pace. "Look, I'm sorry." Probably not, but Sam didn't interrupt. "But for real, what are we doing here, man? Say we find this door, say we play this guys game." He lowered his voice to the whisper of comrades. "What are we going to do, kill these innocent people? Kill each other? Nah, man, I can't do that. I won't let this guy manipulate me like that."

"We're not going to let it manipulate us," Sam said, his jaw locked. "This thing has manipulated me for way too long. It's taken too much away from me, threated too many people that I love. It's not going to win this time."

Determined, Sam pushed forward. He could see a break in the headstones up ahead.

"There."

Sam ran towards the clearing, and he could hear the rest of them following in his wake. When he came to the gap, he encountered what appeared like a cellar door. It was covered in all sorts of symbols. Most of them were demon traps, but some of them Sam had never seen before. Someone worked very hard at keeping this door closed and untouchable to any demon, and Sam was going to be the one to undo it…but he didn't have a choice.

Without warning, dark clouds overtook the clear blue sky. Ava's head snapped up, but dropped back down immediately as sheets of rain poured down from above. Within seconds, Sam's hair and shoulders were saturated. It soaked all of them in a matter of minutes. Sam's t-shirt stuck to his back and he shivered. Bright streaks of lighting illuminated the clouds, casting momentary shadows across the graveyard.

"Where did this come from?" Ava shrilled over the rain. She turned to each of the men with pleading eyes. Her hair dripped and stuck to her temple.

"It's a protection." Jake bellowed. "Has to be."

"We have to open this door!" Sam hollered over the elements. "If we don't do it now, this is only going to get worse!"

Ava trudged over to Sam, slipping in the dirt that suddenly congealed to mud. Sam grabbed her hand and pulled her up. Andy followed her footsteps.

"Put your hands on the handle! We have to do this together! It has to be exact."

Sam, Ava, and Andy had their hands on the handle, and Jake looked at them apprehensively. For a split second, Sam's heart jumped at the thought of Jake betraying them.

But his fear was in vain. Jake stood next to him and put his hand on the handle with the rest of them.

This is it, Sam thought. For a moment they all stood together, catching each others' eyes, breathing together. Rain tracks snaked down their faces. Ava had tears mingled with the rain on her cheeks and Andy's whole body was trembling. But it was when Sam saw Jake set his jaw that he also set his resolve.

"On three!" Sam bellowed. "One!" His heart pounded against his ribs. "Two!" He made eye contact with Ava, Andy, and finally, Jake. He hoped this worked.

"Three!" They pulled with all their might on the heavy metal door. Even with the four of them, including Jake's strength, they struggled to open it. It creaked open, and a stream of angry red light escaped from the crack.

But before they could open the door any wider, a bolt of lighting crashed down on the door. The four of them were thrown back in different directions by the force of the strike. Sam was momentarily blinded and deafened. He screamed in agony, but he couldn't even hear his own voice. An unbearable pain struck his arms, and when he tried to clutch them, he realized his hand, his actual hand, was gone. It had been blown off when the lightning hit. Blood spurted from his wrist, and an awful wringing persisted in his ear. He fell back flat on the ground, close to passing out, and his eyes moved unwillingly around him. To his left he saw Ava kneeling on the ground, clutching her burnt face. It was half melted off the bone. Andy lay to his right, completely unmoving. Jake had been the only one who was able to hold on through the blast, and he stood now atop the hatch. He locked eyes with Sam, and then yanked the door open. Red light was unleashed and seemed to bathe everything in the graveyard in blood. Sam closed his eyes away, but the red light persisted, seeping under his eyelids.

And then the red light turned white. Sam tried to open his eyes, but they were heavy, too heavy. All of a sudden, he was being dragged. Slowly at first, and then faster and faster until he thought he would be sick. It felt like he was being sucked through space at warped speed by a giant vacuum.

And then he came to an abrupt stop. Everything stopped. Sound stopped. The world stopped. His lungs and heart and mind stopped. Everything was quiet. Everything was peaceful. The world was silent, like it was when the flurries of snow fall from the sky on a winter's night. He no longer felt the unbearable pain that he had a moment ago. He must be dead.

But he couldn't be. He heard himself breathing.

Finally, he was able to open his eyes. He was never happier to see Carmen's face swimming in his vision.