The Preacher
I feel I should point out that this story was completely written before the fabulous Dark Side Of The Moon aired on tv so any similarities are entirely coincidental.
Disclaimer: Don't own them, more's the pity.
Once again I would like to thank sjd for lending me her ears when I needed to have a rant and for looking over this for me.
Chapter Seven
Bobby and Kelvin reached their destination just as afternoon faded into dusk, the trees casting long shadows across the short distance the two men had to cover before they finally stepped into the woods and amongst the dense trees where the fading natural light was even further diminished.
The two men trekked forwards; neither wanting to stop and set up camp until they came across some sign that they were heading in the right direction. That clue came just twenty minutes later when Bobby spotted the signs of a recently abandoned campsite.
"Kel, over there." Bobby pointed.
The two hunters carefully examined the area and the ground immediately surrounding it until both were sure they knew the direction the boys had taken and flashlights lighting their way they continued the search, Bobby not wanting to stop for the night, the sixth sense he had where the Winchesters were concerned telling him they didn't have time to spare.
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The two words the prosecution spoke next brought Dean out of his stupor and had him raising his head, his eyes searching and his mind suddenly springing back into hunter mode.
"Samuel Winchester. I wish to call upon the accused very own brother, Mr Samuel Winchester." The prosecution triumphantly announced.
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"Please Sam, please don't go, you cannot save your brother if you walk out of here and into the court, I beg of you, take heed of my warning."
"I have to go Miriam, it's the only way I have of getting my brother back" Sam hid his surprise at seeing the return of the tragic young girl's spirit.
"You don't know what will happen if you willingly enter the court."
"What does that mean? What will happen? Sam questioned.
"You will become one of them, you will believe what they are saying about him, you will not try to save him; you will condemn him. Ple…" Miriam's words were cut off as she faded from view as the sound of someone approaching echoed around the small space.
Sam watched as a guard entered the room and signalled that he follow.
Pushing Miriam's words to the back of his mind Sam did as requested, confident that the spirits fears would be unfounded and that he could save his brother, that the two of them would walk out of the woods in one piece, that was Sam's first priority, getting rid of the preacher once and for all could wait until Dean was safe and then Sam vowed that he would return and finish the evil bastard once and for all.
A loud voice booming his name greeted Sam as he neared the entrance to the court. The butterflies in his stomach were replaced by a deep rooted hatred and thirst for revenge as he passed through the final opening and stepped out into the wide open space.
"Samuel Winchester, please take the stand."
"Certainly." Sam turned and half bowed in front of the preacher before striding toward the raised platform and taking his place.
"Mr Winchester" the prosecution began "before we go any further can you confirm your association with the accused.
Dean had never been so relieved to see anyone as he was to see his brother, to know that Sam was okay lifted a huge weight from his shoulders and had him believing that all was not lost, that they would both find a way out, that they would find a way to rid the woods of the preacher and his followers and then Sam spoke, his words bringing Dean's world crashing around his ears.
"It is with regret that I have to inform you good people that the accused is in fact my brother." Sam's voice was filled with disdain.
"Mr Winchester, would you please tell the court why you feel as you do about your own brother."
Hardly able to believe his ears Dean fixed his gaze onto the ramrod straight figure of Sam standing a short distance away and shivered involuntarily at the cold hatred reflected in the normally warm, emotion filled eyes of his brother.
"Certainly" Sam began "My bro…, the accused has always been a domineering character, has always wanted things his way and woe betide anyone or anything that gets in his way. From as far back as I can remember he would always keep me in his sights, at first, when I was little more than a baby I thought it was because he was looking out for me, keeping me safe and I idolised him for it, but as I got older I realised it was because he wanted to control me, run my life, choose my friends, choose the path I would take. Whenever I made a friend, it didn't matter who it was or how old I was Dean would pull me away and would tell our father, our mother had passed when I was six months old, that I was getting involved with the 'wrong' type of people, whatever that means.
I put up with his overpowering behaviour for as long as I could until at last I was able to gain a scholarship to Stanford University. Dean went crazy when he found out and if it wasn't for our dad I don't think I would have lived long enough to even make the first day but dad helped me, he sent Dean on an errand on the day I was due to leave so that we could have some time to ourselves before he drove me to the bus station where I said my farewells to him and began the journey which would open up a whole new chapter for me. However, before I boarded the bus I gave my father a diary I'd been keeping for a few years which listed the terrible things Dean had done, the people he'd killed, people who had begged him to help them, I'd also noted all the times he'd broken into places, gambled, started fights and picked up poor unsuspecting, innocent girls so that he could have his way with them before discarding them as though they were nothing more than trash." Sam slowly shook his head, eyes downcast "It sickens me to think that I was unable to stop him."
"It is no fault of yours that you were unable to reign in your brother. I and every one of the decent, honest, law abiding, folk who are assembled here today can see just by looking at you and the way you conduct yourself that you are in no way to blame, your horror at your brother's actions is proof enough that you are a good, god fearing young man and I make the request that you do not continue to harbour any ill feeling toward your good self for the crimes that have been committed through no fault of your own." The preacher nodded his approval at the words spoken by the prosecution and even ventured a smile when from the crowd a shout of "May God Bless You" rang out, quickly followed by rapturous applause.
"I had been at Stanford for less than a week when Dean phoned me for the first time" Sam continued "He said he was on his way to fetch me; that i was to return home with him as that is where I belonged. I told him that I was not going anywhere, I wanted to stay where I was, that dad had given his blessing and he was to leave me alone, if he continued to pester me I would call the police and have him arrested."
"That must have been a very difficult time for you." The prosecution cut in.
"It was sir, it was very difficult, after all Dean was my brother and I guess I felt a responsibility to him but I was determined to stand my ground and managed to convince him that I was happy where I was and would be staying whether he liked it or not." Sam drew in a deep breath before continuing.
"It was two years later before I heard from Dean again, or should I say before I saw him again. I was asleep in the apartment I shared with my girlfriend Jessica.
Jessica and I had been together for eighteen months and were planning to marry; we were looking forward to a life together and had planned our future. We were both going to finish school and then I was going to practice law while Jessica stayed home to look after the children we hoped to be blessed with but all that changed on this particular night.
I was awoken by the sound of someone moving around and climbed out of bed to investigate when I was attacked and knocked to the floor by someone. I managed to get the better of the attacker and then discovered it was Dean. He fed me some story about our father going missing and being in grave danger and begged me to help find him which of course I agreed to. My father had been good to me, he was a good man and I wanted to help him if I could so I left with Dean. We travelled the country over the next two days before I told him I had to return to Stanford as I had an interview which would secure my future if I was successful and as I was pretty confident that would be the case I wouldn't relent when he tried to stall me, did everything in his power to keep me from returning to what I now thought of as home, he even managed to get himself arrested on some minor charge and when that didn't work he pretended the car had broken down but what he didn't know was that in my spare time I had taken a short course on basic mechanics so was able to spot immediately that he had disconnected the plugs and points in the engine. Finally admitting defeat Dean drove me back to Stanford where I left him with the promise that I would keep in touch once I had completed the semester.
I entered the apartment and called out for Jess but there was no reply so I just figured she'd popped out and decided to take a nap whilst I waited for her but the next thing I knew I was looking up at the ceiling and there was the girl I loved, the woman I was going to marry pinned to the ceiling and screaming in agony as she was engulfed in flames.
I tried everything to reach her but was unable to. It was then that Dean appeared and dragged me out of the now raging inferno. My Jess was dead, gone forever.
I kind of lost my mind for a while after that, so lost in my grief was I that it wasn't until a month or so later that I realised that it was Dean, my own brother who had murdered my fiancé in the most terrible way imaginable and vowed that I would see him pay for what he had done to my sweet, innocent, lovely Jess.
The next months, or years I guess are kind of blurry, I remember Dean dragging me from city to city, I remember him doing terrible things, I remember him killing time and time again but I didn't have the ability to stop him, I didn't even seem to have the ability to think straight anymore and then Dean was involved in an accident, it was pretty bad, he was hospitalized and actually died for a couple of minutes but that accident saved me." Sam paused and raised hate filled eyes to look at his brother.
"How did the accident save you Sam?" The prosecution urged.
"Dean was in the hospital for a month or so, so I was left alone for long periods of time. During this time I found my way back to studying and to my surprise found that as the days passed I was able to concentrate more and more for longer periods of time which made me wonder why all of a sudden my mind had become clear once again, it was almost like when I was in school so, thinking I may have been suffering from some kind of longstanding virus I took myself a clinic and requested a blood test. Once the results came through they showed that I had traces of tranquilisers in my bloodstream and then it all made sense, the confusion, the inability to think straight; Dean had been drugging me.
I was, as you can imagine furious, I wanted to just pack up and leave and phoned Bobby, Bobby's a friend of the family and has been for as far back as I remember, and explained everything to him, he was as devastated as I was at what Dean had been doing but after speaking with him at length we decided that we would try to save Dean, we would work together to help him see the error of his ways and hopefully atone for his sins and that is why I stayed with him, but as you can all see, I was, I'm sorry, so sorry to say, I was unsuccessful." Sam lowered tearful eyes as he finished speaking.
"Thank you Samuel" the prosecution paced as he spoke "first and foremost I would like to reiterate that you are in no way responsible for your brother's actions, in fact, as we have just heard you are every bit as much a victim as the poor souls who were not fortunate enough to survive their encounter with the accused.
Now, before I ask you to stand down whilst a suitable punishment is decided upon I would like you to read the words written here."
Sam was handed an oblong shaped, smooth piece of wood.
"Would you kindly read the words in front of you Samuel?"
"Yes sir." Sam nodded his agreement before lowering his eyes and speaking in a clear voice he read "The single living sibling of the accused shall be given the honour of deciding which of the sentences presented after a short deliberation period the accused shall face."
A burst of applause accompanied by loud cheers broke out amongst the crowd as Sam finished speaking.
"We will now retire to review all that we have heard during this highly disturbing trial and will return shortly to allow Samuel the honour of choosing how his brother shall pay for his many crimes." The preacher rose as he spoke.
"Sammy, what the hell are you doin, get away from them, they'll kill you, please Sammy, don't listen to them just get the hell away." Dean shouted.
The effect his voice had on Sam was one Dean would never have imagined. He stood transfixed, his muscles flexing as his brother slowly and assuredly stepped down from the witness platform and made his way toward him. Sure that Sam was putting into action an escape plan Dean was totally unprepared for the vicious blow which snapped his head first to the left and then to the right as his brother's clenched fist smashed into each side of his face in rapid succession, the crack of bone clearly audible as the skin split and blood flowed from the two new open wounds.
"Do not speak to me; the very sound of your voice infects my ears with the evil that is you." Sam spat before turning and following the preacher from the court.
'No, this is not happening, what have they done to him, Sammy, oh god Sammy.' Dean silently cried as his heart thudded and his knees buckled with the knowledge that he had no idea how he was going to get his brother out of here and to safety.
"Don't go with him Sammy." Dean tried one last time, the only reward he received was a further blow to the back of his head and his brother's smirk as he followed the preacher and disappeared from view.
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"D'yer hear that?" Bobby stopped and placed a restraining hand on Kelvin's chest to stop the man moving forward.
Kelvin instantly stilled and strained his ears for any sounds that were inconsistent with those you would normally hear when in deep, dark woods such as these, his ears immediately picking up on the distant sound Bobby had obviously heard. "What the hell is that?" He turned to Bobby.
"Sounds almost like cheering, but that's crazy, these woods are deserted." Bobby turned questioning eyes on his hunting companion.
"Maybe it's coming from outside." Kelvin offered.
"Nah, it's comin from in here alright, I mean, I don't hear any traffic or anything else associated with city life, d'you?"
Kelvin nodded, "Okay, so you thinkin this is gonna be where we'll find the boys?"
Bobby looked into the hunter's eyes, his voice steady and certain "I'd be willin ter bet everythin I got that them boys're somehow somethin ter do with whatever that is and I'd also lay odds on that it ain't gonna be anythin good so I say we stop standin here yackin and get a move on cause them boys need help, I can feel it in my bones." Bobby marched forward as he ended with Kelvin following close behind.
"We sure we got everything we're gonna need to do this Bobby?" Kelvin questioned.
"We got everythin, don't you worry bout that. Just remember everythin we planned, as long as we stick to it one hundred percent then we aint gonna have a problem, we'll get them boys back and put an end to the damn preacher once and fer all."
"Bobby just stop a minute will ya." Kelvin ran around in front of Bobby, leaving the older man no choice but to come to a standstill.
"What! We aint got time fer this Kel." Bobby made to move past but Kelvin once again blocked his way. "Kelvin, we have to keep movin."
"I know Bobby and we will, I just need to know something first, if this thing's as dangerous as you say then I have to be ready."
Heaving in an impatient breath Bobby nodded for the other man to continue.
"Why haven't Sam and Dean done what we're about to go in there and do, I mean, from the stories I've heard they're more'n capable of taking this thing out." Kelvin asked.
"Them boys are two of the best damn hunters I've ever come across and believe me I've come across a lot, they are two of the most decent, honest hard working kids you'll ever meet but even they have their limits." Bobby began, lowering his eyes before continuing "When they left me to come here they didn't have the one sure fire thing that'd end this once and for all, they didn't have the ritual I only found just before you arrived and they didn't have this." Bobby reached in to his duffle and pulled out five flasks in rapid succession.
"What is it?"
"This is the missing ingredient that even I didn't know existed until I spoke to Joshua, he told me what I'd need to make this up, apparently he found it in his daddy's journal." The contents of one of the flasks slurped as Bobby shook it "We pour this around the entire area and anythin that's not human or possessed or livin is bound to the confines of it's lines, then we salt and burn as usual but we add this, just a tiny sprinklin is enough to wipe out anythin that needs wipin out in this entire woods, it won't hurt us or the boys or anyone else who happens to be around cuz we're unpossessed, livin, breathin human beings it will also leave the wildlife unaffected, in short, if it's anythin other than a natural danger then it's gonna be annihilated."
Kelvin suddenly knew why all the stories he'd heard about Bobby Singer painted the man as some kind of genius "How'dyou get all this stuff together so quickly, I mean you only had a couple hours?"
"It's just herbs mostly but what you have to remember, it's not what's in it its how you put it together. Now, if you're satisfied that I know what I'm doin can we get on with this." Bobby levelled a gaze on the awe struck hunter.
"Yeah, sorry. Just one more thing." Kelvin ventured.
"What!" Bobby barked, his patience wearing thin but secretly pleased that the man wanted to be as prepared as he could be.
"What do we do if one of the boys is possessed or something."
"Kel, we hope to hell that ain't happened."
The two men walked on in silence, each lost in their own thoughts as to how this thing would play out once they reached their destination, neither one knowing where that destination was but assured that once they reached it there'd be no mistaking it.
"Kel" Bobby's voice was little more than a hushed whisper as he called to the hunter.
"What, what is it, d'you see something?"
"Kel, turn out your flashlight."
But Bobby's warning came too late, before either hunter could prepare themselves they were confronted by an enormous shape blocking their way, the deep shadows as it moved warning them that it had long, sharp talons, the rustling sound told both hunters that this was the creature Bobby and John Winchester had faced all those years ago, or one identical to it.
The creature seemed to dance around them, playing with them, blocking their path as they tried to sidestep it.
"Kelvin, we have to trap it." Bobby whispered.
"How the hell do we do that?"
"One of us needs to cause a diversion whilst the other uses some of this stuff" Bobby tapped his duffle "to trap it."
"Okay, so how do we do that?"
Knowing it wasn't fair to let Kel act as a diversion Bobby decided to put himself in the line of fire whilst silently praying that Kel was as good as Joshua had said he was.
"Okay Kel, I'm gonna stick it with my knife" Bobby began "whilst I'm doin that I want you to be ready to pour this stuff, just remember, you only need to use a little, a five drops at the most and it'll join up to form a circle, once the circle's complete I can simply step out, you got it."
"I got it." Kel nodded.
"Here goes" Bobby lunged forward, knife in hand and buried the blade to the hilt into the fleshy leg of the creature who issued a loud, ear shattering screech as its blood began to flow. Turning glowing amber eyes on its attacker the creature turned and readied itself for the killer blow, its feathers standing on end as it raised a fur encircled paw.
Kelvin moved quickly to remove one of the flasks from the duffle and after quickly pulling the cap off he ran around, making sure to keep out of the line of vision of the creature for as long as possible, dropping globs of the thick, gooey substance onto the ground, the smell causing bile to rise as his stomach churned. He watched in amazement as the globs stretched into a thick line until finally an unbroken circle surrounded him, Bobby and the creature. "It's done Bobby, let's get the hell outta here." He shouted.
Hearing Kelvin's call Bobby dodged the paw heading directly towards him and rolled across the ground but wasn't quick enough to escape completely, the creature's paw catching his arm, slashing through clothing and dragging down the skin underneath, he could feel the damp warmth of his blood spreading along his arm but he managed to get to his feet and jump over the line leaving the creature frantically running from side to side in an effort to escape its prison but finding no way out.
"Now what?" A breathless Kelvin asked.
"Now we get movin." Bobby replied.
"What about that?" Kelvin nodded toward the still pacing creature.
"We leave it there until we've got the boys and then we use the stuff to get rid of it and everythin else that shouldn't be here. It ain't goin nowhere, trust me." Bobby finished.
"Let me see your arm?" Kelvin grabbed a hold of Bobby's still heavily bleeding arm.
"We don't have the time, we gotta go."
"We aint gonna be no use to them boys if one of us is weak from blood loss Bobby, now let me see your arm."
Bobby raised his eyebrows at the no nonsense tone Kelvin used but let the hunter tend his wound just the same.
The two men moved onward a short time later, a soft glowing light in the distance telling them they were nearing the place they would find the Winchesters, each lost in their own thoughts as to what condition they would find them in.
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T.B.C.
Thanks for reading.