Author's Note: Hi everyone! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
"Oh my God," Amber breathed as she her eyes met the spirit. "Is she . . . Ah mean, is that a ghost?" The spirit remained rooted in her place, ectoplasm dripping to the floor as her coal black eyes glared at Amber. For some reason—one that Dean couldn't fathom—the spirit made no move towards them, almost as if she was planning her next move.
"Sam." Dean hissed.
"On it," Sam replied, not needing any more information. He and Dean had always been able to read each other well enough that words were often not required to understand what the other was saying. Dean's tone clearly indicated that Sam needed to get Amber out of here before the spirit decided to attack. "Amber, I need to you to calmly walk over to me, okay? Can you do that?"
"Yeah." The waitress answered, shaking slightly. The spirit of the young woman didn't move and simply regarded the trio. It was clear that she was planning something and Dean had to be careful. If he ticked this spirit off, it would be the end of him and Sam.
"Good," Sam praised as Amber slowly made her way over to the youngest Winchester. "Everything is going to be okay, I promise." If the situation hadn't been so grave, Dean might've smirked. Sam had always been better at being the people person. His puppy dog eyes couldn't be resisted by anyone—Dean included. While Dean went for the more physical aspects of the job, Sam had always been able to connect more emotionally. He was the one who would comfort victims and make sure they were okay.
"Sam," Amber whimpered and Dean could hear the sobs building up in her voice. "Ah don't wanna die."
"No one is dying today," Dean informed her, his eyes never leaving the spirit. "Sam, go." Dean pulled out the pistol he always kept handy. It wouldn't stop the spirit, but it would buy him some time—time they desperately needed to figure out how to vanquish this spirit.
"Dean—" Sam protested, but the eldest Winchester waved off his concerns.
"Give me some credit, Sammy," Dean said with a smirk. "I can handle this for a bit. Get her out of here."
"I will be right back." Sam promised as he and Amber quickly moved to the exit of the restaurant.
"So," Dean began almost conversationally. "Wanna dance?" He pointed the revolver at her and sadness entered her dark eyes. It caught him off-guard, as he had never seen a spirit act like this. Usually, they couldn't wait to kill anyone that dared to interfere with them.
Help me.
Her voice surrounded him and echoed off the walls before she vanished, leaving Dean to wonder what the hell had just happened.
"Just stay here, okay?" Sam told her, a soft smile on his lips. "Dean and I will be right back."
"Okay." Amber replied with a sob. Sam nodded and then quickly ventured back into the dinner. Once she was sure that he was gone, she grinned widely and wiped away her fake tears. That had to have been one of her best performances! She really had both Sam and Dean fooled and now all she had to do was order the spirit to kill Sam and then she would be out of her debt to Gordon.
"Kill Sam Winchester." Amber ordered to the wind as she clutched the little charm that had allowed her to summon the spirit of a Jane Herman—a woman who had found out her husband had cheated on her and then killed him before going on a rampage and killing other cheating husbands. She eventually ended up being killed herself, but her spirit had lingered on, waiting for someone to summon her.
Someone like Amber.
It had been easy to get the right ingredients for the summoning spell and once the spirit had seen Charlie cheating on his wife with the waitress in the kitchen, it had been easy to get her riled enough that Dean would make the decision to try and figure out how to stop her. Add a few tears, play the damsel in distress card, and pretty soon she had the Winchesters in the palm of her hand.
It had all been so easy!
Amber grinned as she sat on the curb of the street and waited for the blood bath to begin.
"Dean?"
"Still here," Dean called back as Sam stepped back into the restaurant. "Amber alright?"
"Shaken, but safe," Sam replied and he handed his brother a few cartons of salt. The two quickly poured a protective circle around themselves to buy themselves some time until they could figure out what to do. They had no research and no means of figuring out how to stop this spirit. "Got a plan?"
"Nope," Dean answered breezily. "She hasn't seemed to keen on killing me though. She asked me to help her."
"Help her?" Sam echoed, confusing lacing her tone.
"Yeah," Dean said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not sure how to do that."
"Maybe—" A sudden sharp gust of wind blew the salt circle open and immediately Dean was tossed against the wall. Cursing, he looked up to see the spirit charging towards Sam.
"Sam, drop!" Immediately, Sam flung himself on the ground as Dean fired a bullet at the ghost. She flickered out of existence, which gave Dean enough time to rush to his brother's side. "You okay?"
"Fine," Sam answered. "Thought you said she wanted help?"
"Changed her mind?" Dean ventured, though he found the spirit's change in demeanor weird. It was like she had done a complete 180—had gone from wanting to be stopped to I-will-kill-you-both-if-it's-the-last-thing-I-do. What had caused the change though?
Help me!
Her voice was a screech and Dean instinctively knew that something was wrong here. This spirit didn't want to kill them and it seemed like she was being forced to move. She wore a painful expression on her face—almost as if she was fighting against some unknown force. Her eyes locked onto Sam and determination filled her expression and Dean felt his heart fall.
She was after Sam.
Almost as if she knew he was onto to her, she waved her hand and flung Dean out of one of the glass windows of the restaurant. Dean felt the glass bite into his skin and cursed as his body connected harshly with the ground. Forcing himself back to his feet, he was a bit disoriented and his vision blurred. Concussion, he deduced.
"Dammit." He growled. He didn't need this right now, not when Sam was up against a spirit that seemed hell-bent on ending him. Dean summoned his strength and forced himself to move to the front door. Yanking on it, he was angry when it didn't budge. Hearing a gunshot inside, Dean decided that he didn't have the luxury of time right now and quickly climbed back through the broken window.
Help me!
She held Sam's neck in a death grip. Sam struggled weakly, but he was running out of air and Dean could tell from the color his skin was turning that they didn't have much time. Picking up the gun, which Sam must have discarded, he fired one shot at her. She vanished and Sam slumped to the ground, sucking in as much oxygen as he could.
"D'n." Sam wheezed as Dean knelt down to give him a cursory once-over.
"Don't talk," Dean ordered. "Just breathe." Sam nodded his head and Dean quickly stood up and glanced around for the spirit.
"You want help?" Dean shouted. "Then, stop trying to hurt us! We can help you if you just calm down—" She flickered into existence directly in front of him and Dean almost jumped in surprise.
Stop me, please.
A metal object fell to the floor and Dean recognized the insignia carved on it—a summoner's seal. Someone had summoned this spirit and forcing her to go after Sam? As much as he wanted details, Dean knew that he didn't have much time. Grabbing the seal, he rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a blowtorch that had been left on the counter. Salting the charm first, he quickly burned it.
Thank you.
Her voice was nothing more than a whisper, but she sounded so happy and relieved that Dean couldn't help but nod his head in acknowledgement. Returning back to his baby brother, he grinned when he saw that Sam appeared to be much better. His breathing had evened out and his color was back.
"She's gone?" Sam questioned and Dean nodded as he helped haul Sam to his feet.
"Someone summoned her."
"What?"
"And," Dean hesitated a bit before deciding that he needed to tell Sam the rest. The last time he had hid a secret for Sam's own protection, Sam had run away and almost ended up being killed by Gordon. That wasn't something Dean was keen on repeating anytime soon. "I think whoever summoned her wanted to kill you."
Silence.
"What?"
"She went straight for you, Sammy," Dean explained as Sam tried to process what was being said. "She wasn't interested in me, just you."
"That doesn't mean anything." Sam protested weakly, but Dean could see the wheels turning in Sam's brain as his brother came to terms on what was being said. Grimacing, Sam turned towards the door.
"Sam—" Dean called, but it was too late.
Sam had already walked out the door.
"Sam!" Amber exclaimed as she ran over to him. "You're alive!"
"How are you?" Sam questioned, trying not to let Dean's latest discovery faze him.
"Ah'm fine," She assured him. "A little shaken, but ah'll live. Did you get rid of the ghost?"
"Yeah," Sam replied. "She's gone."
"That's good." Amber remarked as Dean walked out from the dinner. The two brothers shared a look that spoke volumes before Sam finally nodded his head and headed over to where the Impala was parked.
"Set the whole place on fire," Dean instructed. "I messed with some of the wires so when the Fire Marshall inspects it, it will look like a problem with the electrical system." Amber nodded her head and Dean began to walk away.
"Wait!" She shouted. "Are you two leaving?" Dean nodded his head and Amber smiled bitter sweetly.
"Thank you for saving my life," She told him sincerely. "And I hope I see you around." Dean shot her a small smile.
"Yeah," He told her. "See you."
With that, he got into the Impala and took off to the motel room.
They were leaving this town tonight.
To say Amber was pissed was an understatement.
She was beyond furious that her perfect, flawless plan had been ruined. Sam had gotten away with barely a scratch! She couldn't allow this demon to leave town—who knew when she would have another chance to get him? She had to come up with a better plan and soon. Watching the flames consume the dinner, she wondered what she was going to do.
She had to kill Sam Winchester tonight.
The question was how to do it?
Pulling out her cellphone, she punched her speed dial and waited for the familiar voice on the other end of the line.
"Hi, it's Amber," She said perkily. "Listen, I need some advice on how to kill this one demon . . ."
"No." Sam protested.
"Sam, we're leaving tonight." Dean growled as Sam pulled out another glass shard from his big brother's arm.
"Not with your concussion we're not," Sam retorted as he got another shard out. "You want us to die in a car wreck? Unless you want me to drive—"
"Hell no!" Dean exclaimed. "The last time you rode my baby, you almost crashed into a tree."
"Dude, I was bleeding out!"
"I know! The stains took forever to come out!" Sam sighed and then pulled out the last shard.
"There. All done."
"Good." Dean moved his arm experimentally and then cursed as pain coursed through his system.
"See?" Sam pointed out. "You couldn't drive with that arm."
"Sam—"
"No, Dean," Sam snapped, his eyes deadly serious. "We're staying the night, okay? No one is after us and we both could use the rest."
"But the summoner—" Dean argued and Sam waved his concern off.
"Dean, please," Sam pleaded, his puppy dog eyes meeting his gaze. "Please, just one night."
"Dammit, Sam," Dean cursed because he had never been able to resist those stupid eyes. "One night. That's it." Sam grinned and Dean felt a bit relieved himself. He was pretty tired and his head was pounding pretty badly. A night resting would do them some good.
Besides what could go wrong in one night?
Dean relaxed into the bed and let his worries leave him.
Author's Note: Oh, Dean, if only you knew . . . So, anyone want to take a guess as to what Amber's plan is? Please review!
