here it is, another update!! thank you all so, so much for the great reviews, they really make my day. there's only one more chapter left after this one. thank you all so much for sticking with the story. as always, let me know what you think. :)
NOT ALL AS IT SEEMS
Chapter 13
"Kerri? Kerri? Damn it." Dean cursed, slamming his phone closed.
"What? Where is she?"
"I have no idea. An abandoned motel from what it sounds." Dean rubbed a hand over his tired face, his mind processing Kerri's final words to him. The Korrigan was there, standing in front of the door like a sentinel, but why? Something major was going on here, something they'd missed, and Dean's heart was racing with the realization. They'd been played.
"Did she say anything else?"
"Only that the Korrigan's standing at the front door. The call cut out after that."
"Dean, what the hell's going on here?"
"I have no idea, Sammy." Dean spat, his voice softening a bit when he saw the look on his brother's face. "I'm sorry, Sam."
"It's fine, Dean. Did she say anything else before you lost her?"
"Jake's with her, she said he's alright."
"So, at least they're together."
"But why lock them up in a motel room, why keep them?"
"I don't know. I mean, in most Changeling lore, the thing always keeps the human children, maybe that's what it's doing."
"But why Kerri? I just feel like we're missing something here, Sam."
"I know. Did anything else sound off when you spoke to her?"
"More off then being kidnapped by a baby snatcher? No, Sam, nothing comes to mind."
"Dean, you gotta stay calm."
"I am calm."
"No, you're not. Alright, you said abandoned motel?"
"Yeah." Dean sighed, throwing himself down on one of the beds. They'd driven around the city at least a hundred times, passing by several abandoned buildings. But, for the life of him, Dean couldn't remember if there was a motel in the mix or not. His mind was too preoccupied with Kerri.
She sounded alright on the phone, terrified, but alright, yet it still did nothing to calm the hunter's fears. She'd vanished from right outside the motel, gone like a shadow into the night, and he couldn't stop thinking that he may never find her again. Everything about this hunt had the earmarks of something else, the undercurrent of something more sinister at work. And the fact that the Korrigan had chosen one of the special children was at the heart of it all.
"I think I might know where she is." Sam's voice broke Dean from his thoughts, his little brother scanning the computer as he spoke.
"Where?"
"I remember driving past an old place on the way in. It's out on the highway. Apparently, it was closed down ten years ago after a flood."
"Mold city." Dean breathed, already grabbing the weapons bag.
"What?"
"Kerri said she was in mold city."
"Well, a flood would do that." Sam added, closing the laptop and following his brother out the door.
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Fifteen minutes later the brothers pulled up a few blocks away from the old Lucky Stars motel. Kerri's description had been pretty right on, Dean thought, he and Sam scanning the building from the cover of the forest around it. The motel was far removed, all the other structures that had once surrounded it having been torn down after the floods. It was the perfect place for creatures of the night to hide, and one sweep of the building told him he was in the right spot. There, standing before a back room, scanning the forest, was a strangely beautiful woman.
"Bingo." Dean whispered, nudging Sam when he saw the Korrigan. The creature's silver eyes were visible in the pale moonlight, the being watching the trees, staring down each and ever shadow, waiting. "What do you think it's looking for?"
"Us." Sam whispered back, his eyes never leaving the door behind the Korrigan.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because, Dean, this has trap written all over it."
"Well, it's doing a pretty sucky job of trying to trick us."
"That's because it's not the one doing the tricking."
"What?"
"Something else's here, Dean. I can feel it."
"Let's deal with one problem at a time, alright."
"Yeah, sure."
"So, shoot it with silver?"
"Yup, same as any shape-shifter."
"That's easy enough. You think it will keep standing still for us?"
Sam just shot Dean a look before turning his eyes back to the motel. Dean knew it was wishful thinking, but hell, maybe their luck would finally change. Yeah right. He pulled out his .45, checking the clip before moving past Sam. The pair approached the creature from different angles, Dean coming in from the east, and Sam creeping up from the south east. The plan was for the Korrigan to go after Dean, leaving Sam with a clear shot.
The plan seemed like a easy one, hell, it was an easy one, which was why Dean was more than certain that it wouldn't work. If there was one thing he knew, it was that Winchester luck was pretty much nonexistent. He waited till he was about fifty yards from his brother before he started stomping through the underbrush, purposefully making as much noise as he could as he crept towards the motel. And, it seemed to be working.
The Korrigan's gaze drifted over to Dean, her tall and slender body moving towards him, almost as though she was hovering on the wind. Dean had to admit that she was beautiful. Yes, it was beautiful in a super creepy way, but it was beauty none the less. His eyes locked on her's as she floated towards him, a soft voice echoing through the forest, resounding in his ears. He could feel the words wrapping around him, feel the Korrigan's warm breath against his skin, pulling him, inviting him.
The night was gone, drown out by the beauty before him, the woman's pale skin shining in the moonlight, lips soft and full as she smiled a sweet, sensual smile. He tried to raise his gun again, but his body failed him, his mind concentrating on nothing but the woman before him. He realized he wasn't breathing, realized the edges of his vision were going dark, but he didn't care about any of it. All he saw was the beauty before him, his every sense focused on her, needing her.
A sudden gunshot ripped through the night; the soft voice morphing into an ear shattering scream. Dean blinked several times, pulling in much needed air, his jeans dampened from the soft mud of the forest floor. When the hell had he fallen down? He let the cold night air fill his lungs, his heart beating painfully in his chest as he fought off a wave of dizziness. He felt like he'd just run a marathon.
"What part of 'like a siren' don't you get, Dean?"
"What?" Dean asked, trying to focus on a memory, but failing miserably. Yeah, Sam had been telling him all sorts of 'useful information' but Sam always did that.
"Korrigan's are like sirens. They lure men in, then kill them."
"And they steal babies? Why can't monsters stick to one specialty."
"That thing almost killed you and you're worried about its job description?"
"I'm just saying it would be nice to have a baddie that sticks to a routine."
"Whatever, Dean. You alright?" Sam asked, pulling Dean to his feet before he could refuse.
"Yes, Samantha, I'm fine. Did you get it?"
"Yeah."
Dean breathed a sigh of relief. This whole stupid hunt was over, finally, and he just wanted to sleep for a month. Well, he wanted to make sure Kerri was ok, then find some way to return Jake without getting arrested-- then he'd sleep for a month.
"Next time we find a Changeling, we're calling someone else."
"You're gonna outsource a hunt?"
"Damn straight." Dean smirked, making his way to the motel. He kept his guard up, though, his senses telling him that something was still off. After all, Kerri should have heard both the gunshot and the scream, and she wasn't the kind of person to sit back and wait to be rescued. So, the fact that she still hadn't showed worried Dean more than anything else.
The brothers made their way to the door, Sam taking point as Dean tried the knob. Much to his surprise, it was unlocked. He slid into the room, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. It looked like any normal motel room; small, barely furnished, and smelly. His eyes locked with Kerri's when he entered, his heart beating faster still when he saw her. She was pressed up against a far corner, her eyes wide, Jake held against her chest.
Dean remained silent, scanning the small space for whatever had scared his friend. He signaled Sam, the younger man moving towards the small bathroom.
"Clear." He said, emerging from the small room a moment later.
Dean lowered his gun a little, moving quickly to Kerri. But she didn't flinch, her eyes still locked on something he could not see. "Kerri? Ker?"
But still nothing. A sudden, slow clapping made the hairs on the back of Dean's neck stand on end. He turned as quickly as he could, but it was already too late. He felt the gun being ripped from his hand a second before he was thrown into the wall, an invisible force holding him there. He watched as Sam flew into the opposite wall, he too pinned against it.
"I have to say, right up till a few minutes ago, I was impressed." A man sneered as he walked in the door, Dean's mind going into over drive when he saw the eyes. It wasn't possible. The last time they'd seen the Demon, it had been possessing his father. There was no reason it should have been here, now, in the middle of another hunt. Unless--.
"You set this whole thing up." Dean breathed, his voice deathly calm. He wasn't about to let the thing intimidate him.
"Very good. Kerri told me you were smart, but I gotta say, Dean, I was skeptical."
"What do you want?"
"What makes you think I want anything."
"Oh come on, the dimwitted bad guys always want something."
Dean bit back a scream when his stomach exploded in pain, all the air rushing from his lungs with the force. He groaned, blinking away the darkness, the invisible force the only thing keeping him on his feet.
"Now, now, Dean, you wouldn't want to force Kerri to watch someone else she loves die. Would you?" The Demon tilted his head at the question, the same way a child would after asking a question. But the twisted smile that graced the Demon's face was anything but childish.
Dean's heart began to race when he felt his feet leave the ground, his back scrapping against the peeling wallpaper and cracking plaster as he slide slowly up the wall. He tried to breath through the pain and the fear, but his lungs were unable to work properly beneath the Demon's force.
"Dean!" Sam yelled, trying to pull himself from the wall. "No! Stop!"
Dean closed his eyes, unable to look at his brother's face, unable to see the loss and fear that was reflected in his eyes. He heard Kerri groan beside him, her voice muffled and unintelligible. And Dean suddenly understood why she hadn't yet spoke-- she couldn't. Dean fought through the pain all around him, still refusing to let the bastard win, even as he felt himself sliding up the wall, facing the inevitable. But, a moment later, he stopped.
"Well now." The Demon began, Dean still fighting for breath as the weight continued to press down upon him, almost as though it was trying to crush him against the wall. "That was an ice breaker."
"Leave him alone." Sam shouted, his voice so much like John's that, for a second, Dean thought his father was back.
"Or what, Sammy, you'll think me to death?"
"You bastard."
"Oh, oh, careful now." The Demon smiled, Dean sliding up a bit more at Sam's outburst. "Wouldn't want to force me to do something stupid, would you."
"This isn't about Dean. Let him go."
"And Kerri?"
Kerri began to gasp after the Demon spoke, her grip on Jake loosening as she fought to breath.
"Stop!" Dean bit back against the pain in his chest, fighting the force that held him to the wall as Kerri continued to gasp. A second later, the Demon smiled again, Kerri beginning to cough as she finally pulled in a breath.
"You're just too easy, Dean."
"If you want to kill me, go ahead." Dean challenged, his voice quiet but still venomous.
"Dean, no!" Sam yelled, fighting against the invisible bonds with renewed strength.
"If I wanted you dead right now you'd be rotting on the floor already."
"Then what?"
"I'm crushed." The Demon stepped back, mocking indignation. "I'm not allowed to give an evil monologue with no purpose behind it? Well, I guess you do know me better then that. I do consider myself like family, you know. I mean, I watched little Sammy and Ev grow up, learn to ride bikes, fall in love. It really was quite touching.
"But, you see, now they're all grown up. Well, Sam is, Ev flamed out."
Dean heard Kerri grunt beside him, her eyes murderous, body shaking as she seethed with anger. She was very protective of Evelyn, always had been, and it was obvious from the words being spoken that the Demon knew that. He was playing with them all, but the question was, why?
"I had plans for her." The Demon spoke almost longly of Evelyn, his eyes drifting to Sam as he continued. "She was one of the better ones, like you, Sammy. She was destined for greatness until Kerri stepped in the way.
"You're father, hell, he would have been better off scratching his ass then searching for me. Man didn't have a clue. But then, Kerri went and blabbed, got her sister and daddy killed, and clued johnny into the world around him. She's the one that made him leave." The Demon spat, his eyes sliding from Sam to Dean. "She's the one that made your father abandon you, all because she couldn't face her own mistake.
"And it wasn't the first one either, was it, Kerri?"
Dean's eyes locked on Kerri's, tears streaming down her face as the Demon taunted her. It knew something, of that Dean was certain, but what he couldn't figure out. He'd known Kerri since they were children, had grown up with her, shared secrets with her, learned to live again with her. But now Dean was beginning to wonder just how much he really knew about his long time friend.
"So why set up this hunt, why go through all the trouble?" Sam asked, breaking Kerri free of the Demon's glare, though Dean continued to study her, as if seeing her for the first time.
"Honestly, I wanted to see your skills, Sammy. And Jake's as well. And I have to say, I'm impressed. You're what I want, Sam. You're what I need."
"I'm not like you. I'm not like the rest of them. I'm not--."
"Not what, a killer. Time changes the best of us. Besides, Sammy, this is only the beginning." With a wave of his hand, all three slammed into the walls with surprising force, each one falling into darkness, the Demon's yellow eyes vanishing as unconsciousness took the hunters.