Author's Note: Bonjour, kiddies. Here's the next update. One of the last for this story. The end is coming soon. So get ready and enjoy what's left of the ride. Thanks for the constant feedback as always. Now, lets get down to business. This is the first part of the big showdown. Hope it some of the stuff isn't too weird and whatnot but uh, tell me what you think. I'm still putting together this whole supernatural stuff.

Disclaimer: I'm afraid Kripke still hasn't sent me the papers that state that he's agreed to sign over Supernatural to me. Dang!

Crash Course

By: Babyhilts

Chapter 16:

The devil opened up his case and he said: "I'll start this show."
And fire flew from his fingertips as he resined up his bow.
And he pulled the bow across his strings and it made an evil hiss.
Then a band of demons joined in and it sounded something like this.
When the devil finished, Johnny said: "Well you're pretty good ol' son.
"But if you'll sit down in that chair, right there, and let me show you how its done."
Charlie Daniels--The Devil Went Down to Georgia

The moon finally crawled out from behind the wall of black cotton in the sky. Stars dangled above twisting trees. The wind kicked up a cloud of dust five feet from us. It danced hypnotically, going through each sandy pirouette with graceful ease.

Unconsciously the grip around my gun tightened. The handle slid against the base of my palm and I had to squeeze my fingers in order to keep it still. I didn't dare touch the trigger. The safety was off and that was all that I needed to reassure myself of any fears that wanted to creep in.

Dean led the way towards the remains of the church. We'd walked for less than a few minutes and although nothing had happened in that short expanse of time, the tension in Dean's shoulders had never left. The shotgun no longer remained tucked beneath his arm, but cut through the ebony like some metal appendage that he held with a fierce grip in his hand. He moved swiftly and silently through the dark blades of green. I did my best to mimic his movements. Every step he took, I followed with one similar to his. It was as though we were marching through knee deep snow and the only way from me to catch up was to hop from one imprint to the next.

The wind blew strong at our backs. Dean's movements slowed and then so did mine. There was a low growl. It echoed off the wall of trees that fenced in the cemetery. As the growl grew louder it turned into a screech and as the screech turned into a painful wail the bushes next to me rustled. Not lightly either. It was as though the shrub was tearing itself apart. I gasped, hands tightening on the gun and jumped back at the sight. Dean must have felt me shift away from him because a moment later he was pivoting on his left and bringing the shotgun around with his right. It happened so fast that I barely had enough time to duck as the barrel of the gun sliced through the air inches above my head.

The rustling stopped just as Dean began to catch his breath. Clouds of smoke filtered out from his mouth as he breathed heavily into the night air. The shotgun went slack in his arm. He used the other arm to cover the area above his heart. I watched him before cautiously standing to my rightful height. He turned to look at me.

Lowering his hand from his chest he said "It was just the wind."

"Yeah, I get that now."

"Come on, let's kill this thing and get out of here."

The gun in hand, he gave me the once over before turning to pick up where we'd left off. I followed behind Dean, silently scolding myself for letting my nerves get the best of me. I'd already proven to Dean that I was a liability to him and Sam. Twice as a matter of fact. I wouldn't allow my inexperience to put them in greater danger. I'd stay back, out of the fight unless called upon. I'd watch Dean's back; shoot a few rounds of silver into any shadows with glowing eyes. Bing, Bang, Boom. Wipe my hands clean and then we'd leave; simple as that.

"Leah, watch yourself."

I startled from my thoughts as Dean's arm shot out in front of me, blocking my path. I stumbled to a stop, falling forward into his arm before catching my balance again. He nodded his head to a heap of cement a few feet from us. I looked down and realized that we were standing right next to a chunk of rock wall that must have helped hold up the old church.

"Thanks" I mumbled, fingers wrapping nervously around my gun. I gave my leg a little shake to feel the sheathed knife in my boot. Dean gave me an odd look that I ignored. Instead I focused my attention on the pile of rubble and not on thinking of some cute quip. "So, what now?"

"I'm not sure." He paused and tucked the shotgun under his arm before running a callused hand across his face. The trained hunter surveyed the small area of headstones and trees, searching far across towards the way we'd come. "Damnit, where the hell is Sam?"

I sighed. Obviously Dean would be thinking about his little brother. I wanted to put a comforting hand on his shoulder but didn't bother. It would have been too awkward and I doubted that he'd want me comforting him at the moment.

"I'm sure he's fine Dean. He just had to check out that tree stump, remember? I mean, what's a stump gonna do, give him a splinter?"

Dean seemed to relax a little more. "You're right. He's fine. I just wish he'd finish up and get his ass over here and help me figure out what the hell were supposed to do."

"And what am I? Chopped onions?"

"It's chopped liver."

"Shut up and let me help" I growled and with a playful shove stepped past him and towards what was left of the church.

I could hear him following behind me, his steps more carefully placed than my own and it wasn't until I reached a far sized section of broken cement and rock that I realized why he was being so cautious. We were still on a hunt. Anything could happen and at any moment, just unexpectedly.

I squatted down next to the rubble, reaching recklessly for a fist sized piece of the church when the wind decided to turn from bad to worse. The trees overhead shook, raining leaves and branches down upon us. It was then that things turned to shit. I'd just grabbed the piece of rock and was bringing it towards my face when I heard a thump behind me and found myself watching Dean get blown backwards. He was tossed a few feet, nothing too bad and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw him start to sit back up.

"Leah!"

The wind howled, cutting off anything else the eldest Winchester might want to call out. I turned back to the church remains in time to catch a rather large piece of cement coming my way. A cry escaped my lips as I hit the grass, the cement missing my head but taking a chunk of my right shoulder just the same. A pain erupted beneath my chest moments after it hit the cemetery floor. Dean was shouting my name but I didn't know where he was. There was a fire burning in my shoulder and it was winding its way down into my fingertips. The air felt as if it had been sucked dry from my lungs but I knew I was still breathing because I could make out the sounds of my struggled pants.

"Leah, are you alright? Leah!"

The shuffling of grass forced me to roll onto my back. I opened my eyes wider and found Dean looking down at me. I caught his outstretched hand with my left and used what was left of my strength to get back on my feet. He didn't look any worse for wear but the tear in my t-shirt and skin told me I was now damaged goods.

"You okay?"

"What the hell was that?" I cried, bringing a shaky hand to my shoulder where I could prod it and baby it until the pain died down.

"I'm guessing it's what we came here for."

"Hmph, stupid supernatural bitch" I cursed, ignoring the look I got from Dean. "Jeez, where's my gun?"

I moved forward, cautiously stepping around the rubble in search of my gun.

"It must have gotten knocked out of my hand when the cement hit me."

"Leah, it's right here."

Sure enough there it was, safely in the palm of Dean's left hand. I smiled and jogged over to him, taking my weapon into my hands and checking to make sure it was still fine.

"Your shoulder looks pretty bad" he stated.

"Yeah, well, you can pimp me all up with some bandages and rubbing alcohol later. Let's just finish this thing first."

Of course things couldn't be that simple. The moment the words left my mouth a shrill cry rang out through the cemetery. The thing that made my stomach churn was the fact that this time it wasn't the wind. This was human. Dean's eyes widened and he raised the gun hurriedly into the air.

"Sam?" he whispered in a voice I'd never heard on anyone. It was a mix of disbelief and something that didn't sound good on Dean; fear.

Once more the noise bounced off the wall of trees, knocking me back in surprise and sending Dean forward, sprinting through the grass and leaping over headstones like Donovan Bailey. He was already clear out of sight when I started to come back down.

Nervously I took in my surroundings, shaking off the cold sweat that had left a dewy layer across my face. I immediately noticed Dean's absence and started to panic. The handgun found its way in front of my chest, aimed protectively towards anything that dared take me on. However, the silver barrel tremble dangerously and not in the intimidating way I wanted it to. Actually, it wasn't the gun that was unstable, but my entire body. My hands couldn't stay still and my knees were beginning to feel weak.

"Damn it, Dean."

I did a three sixty, staring down the trees and headstones in fear that they may come alive. The shadows were tiptoeing on the cemetery carpet but I couldn't find who they belonged to. There weren't any sounds. No howling wind, no rustling in the bushes. Even the faraway cry that had sent Dean off into the night no longer drifted across the chilled air. I could hear my heart beating though. Strong and fast, trying to free itself from my chest and I was barely keeping it down.

There was a light breeze that stirred up the hairs on the back of my neck. I squeezed the handle of my gun. Suddenly that feeling of being watched crept into my stomach. Apprehension burned my throat because I so desperately wanted to scream in spite of it all and yet the fear made me mute. The sound of stones banging lightly off one another followed all this. I could hear the rocks shuffling in the grass and it had only been a few minutes ago when a cement block had targeted me on its own accord.

Hesitant at first, I finally allowed myself to glance over my shoulder. The gun nearly fell to the ground as the hold I had on it slipped at the sight. My eyes knew what they were seeing but the reasonable part of me kept shouting that this wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening. It was happening.

Piece by piece, cement block by cement block, the church was slowly rebuilding itself. They say Rome wasn't built in a day but hell; this church was being built in seconds. A quarter of the stone building was already up and it was continuing to grow. Each remaining piece picked itself off the ground, floating through the air and setting itself in its rightful spot. There were gaps here and there where pieces no longer existed but it was damn near a whole church coming together before my very eyes.

"This isn't supernatural" I muttered, stepping away from the church. "This is fu…"

"Now, now Leah, can we not keep this PG?"

The grip returned on my gun in response to the voice. Moving to face him, my finger instinctively coiled around the trigger. He was covered by the elongated shadow of a nearby tree but I knew that voice. That voice would be the death of me.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Awe, don't be mad. To be honest I expected a nicer greeting than that from you. Even an apology."

"An apology for what?"

"Oh, well you left me last time in that very dark room, without so much as a goodbye."

I raised the gun and pointed it warningly in his direction. "Yeah, well that's what happens when you try to kill people. Their manners just up and disappear."

He stepped forward, out from the shadow and into the pale moonlight. It was the wicked grin that I noticed first, followed by the scruffy unshaven face and short dark hair. He was just a man. Dressed casually in a pair of dark jeans and a black pea coat, the man appeared to be nearing his late forties.

"What the hell are you?"

He made a move to come closer. I remembered the pain I'd felt earlier that day, when Missouri brought me back from that nightmare. The fire, the melting of my flesh and pants as they became one. I shot off a round into the ground, inches from his foot. Dirt and grass exploded outwards and rained down upon his shoes.

"You've got nerve girl."

"Screw you and don't move or I'll bust another cap you sick son of a bitch."

"Well, there goes the PG rating."

"This whole charade turned into R when you decided to crash my Jetta. Now what the hell are you?"

The confident smile faltered a moment. He turned to look off into the distance but I couldn't see anything. When he faced me once more the whites of his eyes were a solid red and then just as quickly, it was gone.

"I take it from your silence that you're impressed."

The impulse to hightail it out of the cemetery was so strong as he stood there, waiting for my reaction. I tried to overcompensate for the sheer terror I was feeling and let out a snort. "Yeah, right."

A dull laugh floated across the air. "You know, I do find your shaky confidence very much amusing."

"Well, I'm glad I could be good for something. And all this time I thought you only hung around for my looks. So, you gonna tell me what you are or are we going to have to play twenty one questions first?"

"Amusing," the smile disappeared "but it grows tiresome very fast."

With a gesture of his hand I was suddenly airborne. Tossed some twenty feet from the red eyed man, I hit the ground hard, the pain in my shoulder sending ripples of agony throughout my body. I let out a small moan and struggled to turn on my side. I'd managed to keep the gun in my hand during my brief flight, but I didn't think I had the strength in my right arm to lift it, let alone shoot it. Quickly I dropped it into my left hand and aimed it back towards where the man had been but as I did I soon realized he was no longer there.

"Oh, this is just freakin' peachy."

I forced myself to my knees. The sound of approaching footsteps from off to the right reached my ears. I raised the gun and pointed it into the darkness.

"I can't believe you just left her."

"I can't believe you managed to trip over the stump you were looking for, cry like a girl and then cry once more when you rolled down the hill. Damn it, I thought you were getting killed or something."

"Or something."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, let's just find…Leah?"

Peering out over the barrel of the handgun, I was finally able to make out the lanky form of Sam Winchester. The young hunter never looked as good as he did in that moment and then Dean suddenly appeared beside him and everything just got better. I watched them, dragging their feet at a snails pace. I struggled to my full height and met them halfway, gasping and out of breath by the time I stumbled forward into Dean's chest.

"Chicks are always falling for me" he quipped, cocky grin following close behind.

I didn't even bother to acknowledge it this time. Looking from one to the other, I glance hurriedly over my shoulder and then towards the cemetery gates, thinking we had to hurry before that thing came back.

"We have to get out of here. Sam," I grabbed a fistful of shirt and pulled him closer, knowing he would be the most reasonable one to talk to. "We have to leave. Things are what we thought they were. He had red eyes. I mean that's not normal right? Demons have black or sometimes yellow, but not red…"

"Shh, Leah, what are you talking about. Slow it down to people talk okay?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Don't shush me Sam Winchester. This thing that's here, he's not a demon. He had red eyes, now you tell me what the hell has red eyes?"

"What hell? Sam!"

Neither of us had noticed Dean's sudden disappearance from our discussion. When he called out both of us turned and saw what he was now gawking at and what I already knew. There before us, looming overhead ominously in the glow of the midnight sun was the church, rebuilt and standing tall and indestructible.

"There wasn't a church when I left" Dean stated. I turned to him scoffed.

"Thanks Dean, I was beginning to think I just missed it the first time we came in."

Together we shifted our attention on Sam who remained quiet, standing to our left, staring wide eyed at the church.

"Sam?" Dean called.

I reached out a tentative hand and took Sam's into mine, forcing him to look at me and break away from the shock that seemed to be setting in. He flashed me a thankful smile before it faded away once again into a frown.

"Sam, do you know what the guy is?"

Sam nodded. "He's a devil."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not THE devil but A devil?"

"Dean, I think this is going to be a little trickier than we thought."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means an exorcism for a demon probably won't do it."

"Awe crap."

Author's Note: Sorry, to leave it there. I'm surprised I had time to write this much but I've got chores left and some tests to study for before the Oscars tonight. Wahoo! So, hope you enjoyed it and much more action in the next chappie. I wanted to fit it all in here but didn't have time. Hope you liked and please leave a nice little comment on your way out. Love ya guys!