Chapter 15

Alex had finished showering and was pulling his backpack out of the locker he was using when he felt the place go unusually quiet. It was strange because there were still some people showering but a strange sensation crept up his spine and it told him that he should get out of there. He was quick to obey that instinct and hurried on out. He was greeted by Kelly and Mason. Mason was saying, "Man that guardian of yours is awesome."

Kelly was the one to sense that something wasn't right. She asked, "Something wrong?"

Alex glanced back at the lockers and at that moment, Tercelli and his gang came out. They were looking at them with a look that Alex didn't like. He really didn't want to get in the middle of a fight with Kelly and Mason around. He said, "You could say that. I think we should head to the car."

At that moment Tercelli said, "Where do you think you're going midget? Practice isn't over." He was giving a mean little smile and his friends were laughing. "You know we have a game tonight and it's tradition that the new guy gets an extra practice in."

Alex knew that wasn't true. He replied, "Really? Then that would be stupid since there is a game tonight." He started backing up, hoping that Kelly and Mason would take the hint and go with him. He felt them move as he moved back.

Tercelli kept advancing. He had a specific job to do. He replied, "It's tradition midget. You do want to be on this football team don't you?" He motioned for his friends to start spreading out. They had to surround the midget if they were going to have a chance at grabbing him.

Alex noted the movement and if they didn't run now, they would be caught. He gave a slight smile and said, "Now I do want to play but I think what you have in mind I would rather take a rain check on." He then turned to run and pushed Kelly and Mason into action.

Kelly had been watching Tercelli as they advanced. She knew they meant trouble and judging by the look on Mason's face, he knew it too. So they were quick to follow Alex's lead as he pushed them to start running. Mason led the way down the halls of the school. He had the idea that if they could get near the main office, they could at least have a chance of getting some form of help from a teacher or maybe the principal.

They ran down the halls but it seemed as if Tercelli had rallied the whole team to get them. It seemed that around every corner, one of Tercelli's friends popped out. Kelly had been scared before but this was way different. She was trying hard not to scream but she couldn't help it when one of Tercelli's guys popped out from around the lockers in the auto shop and grabbed her. She struggled and said, "Let me go."

Alex heard Kelly and whirled around and grabbed Tercelli's friend. He applied pressure and got the guy to release Kelly. He pulled her away and gave a kick to distract the guy. "Go Kel!"

They got out of the auto shop and ran towards the administration building. Alex risked a look back and saw Tercelli and his goons still after them. Looking forward, the building was in sight. Mason barged through the doors and headed down the hall. They skidded around the corner and came across a scene they didn't expect.

Angela took the knee to her ribs and it hurt bloody hell but she took it in a stride and countered with a block from an incoming punch and struck with a fist. The guy who had thrown her deserved every hit she gave. She was used to uneven odds and this was cakewalk.

Taylor sat up rubbing his sore shoulder where he had hit the cabinet in the hall. He knew that the woman was capable of killing since she had killed one of his guys before but that didn't mean that he had to go easy on her. He got up and stood ready to go at her again.

His chance came when she was shoved into the wall. He came at her with a fist which she caught in one hand and used his momentum against her as she side stepped out of the way and let him crash into the wall. He felt a sharp pain in his fist and wondered if he had broken his hand striking the wall.

Angela managed to catch a breather when she heard her name called. She looked and saw Alex, Kelly and Mason running towards her and they were being chased by a bunch of kids from the football team. She shouted, "Get to the car!" She fished her keys out and tossed it towards them.

It was Kelly who caught them as they ran past. She was shocked that Coach Taylor was attacking Angela and wondered why. She couldn't think long for Alex was pushing her to keep running along with Mason. She was sure that Alex had seen and was probably just as shocked as she was. She was almost free when she was tripped by something grabbing her leg. She hit the ground hard but she didn't let go of the keys.

As it turned out, Bob managed to trip the running girl in order to slow them down. It worked for the brat was helping her along with their friend and they were nearly swarmed by Tercelli and his friends. The victory was short lived however when Tercelli and his gang went flying and sliding along the floor to the far end where they came in. Bob looked up and saw the bitch he had been fighting and her eyes exhibiting a strange glow. He watched as she shouted at the kids to run before turning her attention on them.

Angela saw one of the goon grab Kelly to make her trip. She managed to give a one-two punch to Taylor and then with extreme care she used her telekinetic powers to send Tercelli and his boys flying. It would hurt but not do any serious damage to them and she did have standards when it came to adolescents, even ones that were big enough to try and take her down. She turned to shout for Alex and his friends to run when something hit her on the back of her head and hard. She also felt a powerful sting before she saw the floor come to her face in a rush and she blacked out.

Alex looked to see if they had been followed when he heard Kelly give a shriek and a grunt from Mason as if her were knocked down. He turned to find Nebi there and he said, "Nebi, you're here? You've got to hurry. Angie might be in trouble…" Alex broke off at the strange look that Nebi was giving him. "Nebi?"

"This is for your own good young master." Nebi then grabbed Alex in a vicegrip on his upper arm.

Alex reacted with a fist coming down on Nebi's wrist but he knew that wouldn't work on the stoic warrior. He said, "Nebi, let me go!"

Nebi started moving when he felt a kick behind his knee and a bag being flung at him. He turned to see the other two pounding on him. It was like being bothered by a nasty fly and he batted them away, sending them to the ground. He didn't count on the sudden pounding of a fist from Alex though. He looked to see the boy continuing to pound his fist on his wrist while trying to kick.

Alex was more determined than ever to get away once Nebi shoved his friends aside. He had the sense to realize that they would not be able to take him down and help. He said, "Kel, just go. Get the guns!"

Kelly was a bit confused but she got Alex's hint and pulled on Mason to follow. She hated leaving Alex behind but if someone didn't tell the Winchesters or Alex's parents, then who would. She was spurred further into action when Tercelli and his boys came out and headed towards them. She said, "Come on Mas!"

They raced into the parking lot and Mason asked, "You got the leys?"

Kelly held them up and the most ridiculous thing came to mind. She didn't know how to drive… well she only had a learner's permit. She said, "Mason I only have a learner's permit!"

"Same here. Just get in a drive," Mason replied as he got in the car.

Kelly got in and adjusted the seat for her height. Tercelli and his guys came bursting out of the building and she managed to get the key into the ignition and turn it on. As soon as the car was in drive, she lurched forward and prayed that they would find the Winchesters in one piece.

Dean felt like he was in heaven as he took a bite of the huge piece of red meat with cheese on it. It was a huge bite and his cheeks were bulging as he stared at the computer screen looking for comparisons to the image on the scrap of cloth he found. After he found it, he looked at it and found a tiny symbol and drew it out for reference. He glanced over at Sam who was going through Angela's book with an intense look of concentration. "Find anything?"

Sam heard his brother but chose to ignore the attempts at speech with a mouth full of food. He was interested in the book's section on the Freemasons and was surprised at the connection between several other groups; groups that had long been considered in conspiracy theories. Some things he still thought were a bit over the top but considering what he had seen after traveling with Angela, he was willing to give some benefit of the doubt.

"Sammy, find anything?"

Sam knew that Dean would keep pestering him if he didn't respond. So he flipped the pages to the section that he found regarding the oaths of the various degrees of the Masons. He looked up to find his brother chomping away at his cheeseburger. He stared up expectantly at his brother.

Dean was becoming thoroughly annoyed by the lack of his brother's response. He said, "Sam, I've been slaving away at finding any reference to this piece of cloth I found and you've been sitting there reading a damn book. Have you found anything?"

Sam knew he was annoying Dean by being nonresponsive and yet he couldn't help it. He replied, "I'm sorry I was distracted by the half masticated cow rolling around the inside of your mouth. Seriously Dean, can you try to not eat and talk at the same time?" Sam wasn't expecting an answer and didn't wait for one either. He picked up the book and said, "Apparently our third victim is connected to this Freemason thing."

Dean glared at his brother even though he wasn't sure Sam had insulted his food or his table manners. Still he managed to focus that Sam drew the connection. He replied, "Okay so was it in response to one of those oaths that Angie recited?"

"Yeah, actually," Sam replied as he held up the book for Dean to read. "It comes from the oath that candidates for Master Masons make. It's actually the consequences of spilling trade secrets of the third degree." Something then occurred to Sam and he added, "Dean I think each of the victims come from one of the three degrees of masonry. Maybe there are more who don't agree with whatever the head or the…" Sam rifled through the pages to find the right term, "… the Worshipful Master have set forth."

"So it is more or less Michael Corleone with these guys," Dean replied. "My kind of case." The sarcasm was practically dripping out of his mouth and it didn't help that Sam had agitated him by ignoring him.

Sam gave a slight shrug and replied, "Maybe but I've been reading more on this Order of Melchizedek and from what Angela mentioned about that Apkallu, there might be some supernatural thing involved."

"Right, the whole God thing," Dean replied suddenly not as interested. "Anyway that emblem I found on that scrap of cloth is another one of those strange ones. It's not Masonic but the cloth is. It is for one of those ritual aprons that Masons wear. Probably from one of the guys that dumped the crispy critter in that parking lot."

"Could be," Sam allowed. He skimmed through the book again, scanning the entries and went back to where his finger was holding the place about the House of Gold and how gold is consumed in its purest form. Most of it seemed like a bunch of hogwash as Bobby might put it but the cross referencing between the other known groups in existence today, to Sam it seemed like there was some sort of connection and maybe one that involved things like God. "Oh by the way, that pin you found was a Mason pin. The compass gave it away."

"Well thank you Captain Obvious," Dean replied as he finished his burger and threw the wrapper in the bin. "What time is it Sammy?"

Sam looked at his watch. At that moment he felt something prickle at the back of his mind. It was annoying like he forgot something and he rubbed the back of his head. He then said, "School's out. You want to go check it out?" The prickle was annoying him again and he rubbed the back of his head.

Dean had been watching Sam rubbing his head like he was getting a headache… maybe a vision. "Sam? You okay?"

Sam frowned as he kept rubbing his head. "I don't know. It's like I'm forgetting something but…" He rubbed his head a final time and it faded but it was still there. Maybe if he ignored it, it would go away. "I don't know. Maybe it's nothing. So are we going?"

Dean looked at Sam with concern. With the vision thing and all the psychics they encountered, anything involving Sam's head was not something to take lightly. He checked his pocket for the keys and picked up his cell phone. Looking at Sam he said, "Let me call Angie first. You sure you're okay?"

Sam ignored the feeling and looked up at his brother. "I'm fine Dean. Just a little prickle… nothing serious."

Dean kept an eye on his brother while he listened to the phone ring. He was hoping that Angela wasn't ignoring him on purpose but his gut was telling him that something wasn't right. Unfortunately he was semi ignoring it since his attention was focused on Sam who was actually still reading that damned book while occasionally running a hand through his locks.

It's Angela. Leave a message.

"Angie, pick up your phone why don't you? Call me back." Dean flipped his phone shut. Looking over at Sam, he decided there wasn't too much to worry about since he seemed to have gotten over whatever it was. He spoke up, "She's not answering."

"Then let's check out the school. It could be nothing," Sam replied. He wasn't quite sure since that feeling at the back of his mind was still there. It was annoying for sure and nothing like the dreams he had been having. He didn't tell Dean since that would have started the whole list of questions that Dean had reserved regarding visions and dreams and the like, some of them being outright demanding. Angela on the other hand seemed to know when he had been bothered and she never said anything. No questions but she always had something handy to help. In some ways it was a relief that she wasn't so bossy like Dean but she did have her moments.

Dean said nothing else thinking that if Sam wanted to talk about it, he would on his own time either to him or Angela. In some ways it hurt that Sam would go to Angela but then again there were some things that Dean discussed with Angela that he never told Sam. In fact he told her what John had told him about what he might have to do to Sam and her reaction was something else. She literally exploded and cursed at the very idea that a father would ask that. Thing was, ever since he started this case, he had been thinking about this new partnership with Angela. It was different having to worry about another person besides Sam. He also couldn't shake the feeling that she was keeping things from both him and Sam that she knew concerned them both.

Focusing on his intentions, Dean opened the door to find two kids jumping out of Angela's rental and running over towards them. "What the…?"

Sam looked over his brother's shoulder and saw the two kids. "Hey aren't those the two friends of that kid Alex?"

"Yeah. Why are they here and in Angie's car?"

Kelly was terrified as she drove through the streets of town trying to remember the name of the motel that Angela said she had been staying at with her friends. She had never driven without a licensed driver before and she was afraid of doing something like crashing. She gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles grew white as she zipped around corners.

Mason tried not to give too many pointers to Kelly knowing that it would make her even more nervous. Still he had a death grip on the door handle more out of comfort that he had some measure of control while Kelly was driving. However when she made a turn that nearly had him flung against the door, he said, "Ease up Kel. We want to get there in one piece."

Kelly was still running on the adrenaline that she had acquired after being chased by Tercelli and then getting grabbed by the leg. What really startled her was that Nebi was there and was acting like Tercelli and his gang. It was too confusing. However she did listen to Mason long enough to ease up on the gas and slow down the car even though they needed to find the Winchesters and fast.

Alex's reference to the Winchesters wasn't exactly original but it got the point across. Thinking about Alex and Nebi grabbing him, Kelly couldn't take it anymore and she brought the car to a screeching halt making Mason's head bob forward. She put the car in park and turned off the engine. She looked at Mason and asked, "What are we even doing? We should be going to the police."

Mason put his glasses back on after wiping them off. After being thrown unexpectedly thrown forward, his glasses slid off and he caught them in his bare hands, smudging the glass. Once he was finished, he looked at Kelly and saw that she was visibly shaking. He said, "Kel, do you honestly think that the cops will be able to do anything after what we've seen so far?"

"Then at least let us go to Alex's parents."

Mason forced his voice into a steady calm that he knew would relax Kelly enough for her to stop shaking and for her to reason on her own. "Kel, there is a reason why Alex asked us to find the two guys that travel with Angela. I don't know exactly myself but he trusts them. You trust Alex right?"

Kelly knew that what they were doing was what they needed to do but the doubts and other ideas were screaming at her in her mind. She just needed time to sort them out. It was why she stopped and asked Mason her questions. Mason had always been the one to make her think about what she just said and then she had been able to focus on what was right and wrong and stupid. When Mason asked her if she trusted Alex, she looked at him as if that were a trick question. She replied, "Mas that's a stupid question. Of course I trust Alex. He may be the new kid in school but there's something about him that you can't help but believe that whatever he says will work out."

"That's my girl," Mason replied with a gentle slap on her shoulder. He gave a grin which hid his relief that Kelly was calm enough to drive without going kamikaze or like a crazy person. "Now Alex said we have to get the guns so we just have to find them and tell them what happened. Then we can tell Alex's parents. They seem to know the situation well."

Kelly nodded as she turned to look out the windshield. She took a deep breath and turned on the engine. It roared to life with that sissy sound the newer models seemed to make. She said, "Mas I don't understand all of what's going on but I do know that Alex is in trouble and we need to help him out."

"Right on Kel," Mason replied as he checked his seatbelt. "You know, I haven't seen this much excitement since Karen Gossard had her skirt blown up Marilyn Monroe style at that one dance."

Kelly gave a slight chuckle as she looked around before putting the car into gear. "I remember that." She looked to make sure the traffic was clear before pulling out. "Now where is that motel?"

"I think it was that rundown motel near the outskirts on the eastern side," Mason frowned as he thought. Angela had given them instructions should anything happen. They were to head to her motel and find the Winchesters. She mentioned the name but at the time he was looking out the window at something. He heard it but now he was trying to remember.

Kelly tapped on the steering wheel as she came to the red light. She said, "Near the outskirts of town? There are at least three on the eastern side of town." The light turned green and she turned right to head east. "I guess we could just look for their car."

Mason gave a slight grin to indicate his apologies for not listening to what Angela had told them. He said, "Sorry Kel and I know Alex is counting on us."

Kelly was paying attention to the road while trying to think. She then said, "I think I know where." She turned again to get to the right street. She put her foot on the gas and gained speed. She would toe the line with speeding since this was an emergency. "It's the La Rosa Negra."

"What?"

"La Rosa Negra. I remember Angela saying something about a black rose and I remembered there was one motel by that name. Because it was in Spanish, it didn't occur to me until now." Kelly kept her eyes on the road while she was talking. "I think Angela didn't get specific just in case something happened to either of us."

"Another reason why she is so awesome," Mason replied. He kept an eye out the windows looking around as the neighborhoods got a little grungier. He commented, "Sure seems weird why they would pick one of the grungiest motels in town."

Kelly took a moment to glance around. She thought it weird too but maybe there was a reason for it. She replied, "Well it is the cheapest part of town. Maybe it has to do with what they do on the road. I know they haven't exactly mentioned what they do but…" She shrugged her shoulders as she rounded the corner.

There was no sight more welcome than the black Impala sitting in the parking spot closest to the far exit. Kelly turned into the parking lot and parked rather crazily in one of the spots. She and Mason tumbled out and started running towards the car just as the door of one of the rooms opened revealing Dean Winchester. Kelly sprinted and came to a full stop in front panting.

Mason followed Kelly's lead and nearly bumped into her. He was trying to catch his breath so Kelly spoke up, "They… they have them." She looked up to see both brothers looking at them and wondering why they were there. She said again much clearly and strongly, "They have your friend and Alex."

A/N: Well now there was a twist that occurred. Nebi really is a douche and a traitor too! Now that Kelly and Mason found the Winchesters, what will happen next? Will Dean decide to rip Nebi's head off? What's up with Sam? Find out next time on the The Order of Melchizedek...