Demon's Trial
Chapter Five: The Sunrise Diner
Sequel to "What Makes a Killer" and part of the AU "Demon Blood" universe. You should read everything else first.
Ava reached Layafette in the early afternoon and decided to grab some food before finding this Scott kid. After all, she had until sundown before he died, right? She pulled up to a place called the Sunrise Diner and headed inside, accidentally tripping and bumping into a very tall man who was standing in the lobby.
"Oh, sorry!" Ava apologized at once as the man carefully grabbed her arms and helped her to steady herself.
"It's fine," the man said, and Ava finally raised her head to get a good look at him. He stood well over six feet tall and had longish, shaggy, dark brown hair that he pushed from his face to reveal hazel eyes.
It was the eyes that really drew her attention. She couldn't describe it, exactly, apart from the idea that this man, whoever he was, knew things, maybe even had answers to the questions in her mind. "I'm Ava," she said without thinking and stuck out a hand.
The man stared at her for a moment before smiling and revealing the most adorable dimples Ava had ever seen as he reached out to take her hand. "I'm Sam," he said. "Nice to meet you."
"Yeah," Ava said.
"Sammy, you comin' or what?" called another man as he exited the restroom, and Ava leaned around Sam to see that this man was a few inches shorter with close-cropped light brown hair and intense green eyes.
"Yeah, sorry," Sam said, releasing Ava's hand. "That's my brother, Dean," he said. "Anyway…"
"I should let you get goin' there," Ava said, feeling intensely embarrassed. "Sorry about that clumsy moment, Sam."
"It's fine, Ava," Sam said, "really." He turned to walk away, but not before Ava caught sight of his left arm. The sleeves of his plaid shirt had been rolled up to reveal a thick bandage on his forearm, and his hand was trembling slightly. Ava had never seen anything like it.
After a moment, Ava decided to forgo her nervousness and worry over how stalker-like she was about to seem, and seated herself near the two brothers. She couldn't figure out why she suddenly felt so drawn to Sam, but she somehow knew she needed to talk to him, get to know him. She ordered a coke from the waitress before mulling over how best to start some kind of conversation with them. As it turned out, however, that was completely unnecessary.
"So," Dean said, startling Sam, "you lived here long, Ava?"
Sam looked around and was surprised to see that the short brunette who had bumped into him just minutes earlier was seated at the table next to their booth. Dean had the glint in his eye that meant he was definitely interested in her and snorted softly. He could already tell that she was taken.
"I'm actually just visiting," Ava said, and Sam watched as she twisted her fingers together nervously. "You know, checking up on a friend, see how they're doing."
"Yeah?" Dean said, nodding. "That's cool."
"And you two?" asked Ava as the waitress returned with drinks.
"Visiting family," said Dean before taking a sip of his soda.
"Oh?" Ava said, turning to face Dean a little more. "Well, do you two know the layout of the place pretty well? Only it's my first time driving here and I'm not entirely sure how to find this address." She reached into her purse, pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to Sam, who happened to be closer. He took one look at it and felt the bottom of his stomach drop out.
It was Scott Carey's address.
"Scott Carey?" Sam said before he could stop himself. "You know him?"
Ava was startled. "I — uh, well… Yeah! Yeah," she repeated with a small laugh, "we were friends back i-in junior high before my family moved to Illinois."
Ava's emotions were all over the place, but nervousness, fear and suspicion were at the top of the list. Sam looked into Ava's blue eyes and realized he could see it. It wasn't as strong as it had been in any of the other psychics he had met, but she had it, too.
Dean was looking between the two of them blankly, but confusion was just rolling off him and Sam was starting to get a headache.
"I don't think you're telling the truth," Sam said slowly, and Ava looked very alarmed all of a sudden. "Are you —?" He broke off, unsure he should ask. What if she wasn't another psychic?
Dean, however, seemed to catch on and took the matter out of his hands. "Are you psychic?" he asked bluntly and Ava startled, almost knocking her drink over.
"What?" she said a little hysterically. "No! No, I'm not a mind reader."
"Okay," Dean said, "but maybe you can do something else, like sense emotions or move objects or visions or something."
The spike in Ava's emotions at the word "visions" pretty much answered the question for Sam. "You had a vision about Scott dying, didn't you?" he asked softly.
"Who… who are you two?" Ava finally asked.
"We're people who know things," said Dean, after exchanging a look with Sam, "strange things that seem impossible."
"We can help, Ava," said Sam, leaning forward slightly and catching Ava's eyes. "Just tell us what you saw and we can help to stop it."
Ava swallowed. "You gonna tell me how you guessed?" she asked, and Sam smiled.
"Yeah," he said, "but we gotta make sure Scott's okay, first, all right?"
After a very long moment, Ava nodded, snagged her drink and forced Sam to scoot over so she could join him and Dean at their booth.
"Okay," she said, "so Scott was getting groceries, and when he walked out of the store, there weren't any people outside, but then this guy comes out of nowhere and he's holding a gun to his head and asking —" She broke off and frowned. "Sam Winchester?" she asked, looking up at Sam.
"Yeah," Sam said slowly. "That's my name."
Ava nodded slightly, still staring at him. "The man wanted to know if you'd been in contact with Scott," she finally continued. "Scott said he had, and the man backed away, but he still had the gun pointed right at him. Then he asked what he could do, said he'd put the gun down if Scott told him, and he told him, and he — the man put the gun down, but then he had a knife and he —" She broke off again with a choked sob and raised one hand to her mouth. "He killed him!" she whispered.
"Ava," said Dean firmly, "can you remember anything about the man with the gun? What he looked like?"
"Uh, well, he was black," Ava said after a moment, "and he was tall, but I dunno…" She sighed and took a sip of her drink. "There was something about his eyes," she said softly. "It's that look you see in racists and homophobes, y'know? That… that sheer hatred of anything different from you."
"Shit," Dean said after a long moment, meeting Sam's eyes. "It's Gordon."
"Wet dreams?" Gerald asked. "Are you sure?"
Edna Monroe nodded tearfully. "Every night for a week," she said, her voice choked up with sobs. "He was looking more and more tired with every day that passed, and he said he was sleeping, but the sounds he made…" A sob finally broke free and Edna buried her face in her handkerchief.
"It's all right, Mrs. Monroe," Gerald said as gently as he could manage. "Take your time, there's no rush…"
Edna nodded tearfully and wiped at her face before continuing. "His appetite increased during the last few days," she said, voice shaking. "It was like he was expounding too much energy and needed a way to recharge himself."
Gerald nodded. "The police report says the night he passed, he was screaming in…" He paused to consult the notes he'd brought with him, "in 'painful ecstasy'."
"Yes," Edna choked out. "I'd never heard anything like it, and when we got down there and saw all that blood…" Sobs burst free once more. "My baby boy," she cried softly. "I still can't believe he's gone…"
Gerald felt bad for Edna. To lose your only child had to be a hard thing to go through. Still, he was feeling pretty confident about what had killed Cory Monroe and the others.
A succubus. Nasty, kinky little bitches from Hell.
After leaving the Monroe's, Gerald decided a call to his nephew was in order. Lorraine said he got off work around four o'clock, and sure enough, Thomas answered on the second ring.
"Hey, Uncle," he said, sounding happy. "How's the job goin'?"
"Figured out what's doin' it," Gerald answered. "It's a damn succubus."
Thomas inhaled a sharp breath over the line. "That's not good," he said. "I think I already found its next victim, though."
"Really?" Gerald hadn't expected that.
"One of the guys I work with," Thomas answered, "eighteen years old, name's Ryan Fulmer. He looked perfectly healthy two days ago, but ever since yesterday, he's looked really tired like he's right in the throes of a bad cold, really distracted and stuff."
"Sounds like he's the right kid," Gerald said. "Good call on catching him so quick, Tom. Wanna meet up for some food? I never had lunch and I'm not really in the mood to go another round of awkward conversations with your mother."
"Sure," Thomas said. "How about that diner you always took me to as a kid?"
"The Sunrise Diner? Sounds good to me."
"Great, I'll see you there in a bit." Gerald flipped his cell phone shut and started the engine of his red '66 Pontiac GTO.
When he arrived, Thomas was already waiting for him. "Hey, Gerry," he said, and they hugged briefly. "How you been?"
"The same as always," Gerald answered, smiling. "It's good to see you, son."
Thomas nodded and they headed inside.
"So, how do you kill a succubus?" he asked as they headed toward the back of the diner for their usual table.
"Honestly, you don't," Gerald sighed. "They're a type of demonic presence, so the best you can do is perform an exorcism of sorts. The trick is you have to do it without telling the victim you're going to do it, or the damn bitch'll figure it out and try to kill everyone in the vicinity —"
"Sam?" Thomas suddenly said, stopping short. "Dean?" Gerald looked around his nephew to see two men and one woman sitting in a booth together. Both men appeared startled by Thomas' appearance.
"Thomas?" the one with the shorter hair said, sounding surprised.
"Yeah," Thomas said. "You found Sam, I just — wow." He shook his head. "I didn't think you and Sam were here, but here you are."
"Wait," said the man who had already spoken, "you live here?"
"Yeah," Thomas answered.
"You said got jumped down in Texas," the man pointed out.
Thomas nodded. "I was on a trip to visit a friend," he explained. "How are you two doing, anyway? I uh…" He glanced at Gerald. "I heard about your dad."
Both men looked away. "I'm sorry," Thomas offered quietly, "he was a good man."
"He was," said one, running a hair through his messy locks.
"Is this the uncle you were telling me about?" the other asked, leaning forward and catching Gerald's eye.
"Oh, yeah, this is my uncle Gerald," Thomas said quickly. "He's doin' a job here in town. Gerry, Sam and Dean Winchester."
"Hey," Dean said. "What're you looking at?"
"Succubus," Gerald answered shortly. "What are you two doin' here? There's nothing else goin' on around here that calls for more'n a Hunter or two."
"Oh, well…" Dean trailed off and looked over at Sam, and Gerald could see a silent conversation taking place as the two stared at each other. He dimly noticed the woman looked very uncomfortable and horribly confused, but she was keeping silent, so she probably wasn't a Hunter at all. Oh, well.
"We're tracking another Hunter," Sam said abruptly, meeting Gerald's eyes. "He's gone crazy, going around and killing kids he claims are gonna be soldiers in an upcoming war, but on the side of demons."
"Seriously?" Thomas said, and Sam nodded and raised his left arm.
"He thought I was one," he said, pulling off the bandage and gesturing to the line of stitches on his arm.
"So," Gerald said after a moment, "what's your plan to stop him?"
Sam smiled. "I'm playing bait," he said with a shrug. "We're gonna get the cops to arrest him and put him away."
"What?" the girl finally said. "Sam, you never said —"
"I said we're gonna help the next kid the guy's targeting," Sam cut in. "I'm grateful for your information, Ava, really, but you have no training to handle any of this."
"But —"
"I agree," Dean cut her off. "I'm sorry you had to witness him killing another, but we're glad you were able to get in contact with us. All the same, this ain't your battle, you belong back home in — where'd you say you were from again?"
"Peoria," Ava said softly.
"Wow, I didn't realize you'd driven that far," Dean said, looking genuinely surprised. "You have a life, Ava, and I swear you'll be able to live it. We'll save Scott and stop this monster, I promise you that."
"Anyway," Thomas said, "I think we'll take our leave, you've obviously got your own thing to do."
"Yeah," Dean said, but Sam nudged Ava out of his way.
"Actually, can I ask you something, Thomas?" he asked, eyes flickering between Thomas and Gerald. "Won't be more than a minute, I swear."
Thomas nodded and stepped away with Sam. Gerald watched them go before sighing and turning back to Dean. "Human soldiers fighting with demons," he said. "This Hunter seriously believes that?"
Dean nodded. "He tried to take out my little brother just because he was possessed by the yellow-eyed demon our dad spent years tryin' to find and kill," he said, and Gerald winced.
"Ouch, definite psycho," he said, and then Thomas and Sam returned, they said their good-byes to each other, and Thomas followed Gerald back to their normal table. "So, what was Sam asking you?"
"Oh, nothing, really," Thomas answered after a brief pause. "He said he remembered seeing me when he was possessed, wanted to make sure I was doin' all right, you know?"
Gerald nodded. "Seems like a good kid," he said.
"Yeah," Thomas said, "he does."
"What'd you do?" Dean asked the moment Sam sat down again.
"Told him never to tell," Sam said shortly. "I figured it was important enough, you know?"
Dean thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah."
"So, what are you two going to do?" asked Ava. "You can't be serious about being bait, Sam —"
"I hope it won't come to that," Sam said. "It's more important to keep him from killing Scott, but I was serious about you goin' back home."
"But I wanna help," Ava said seriously.
"You have none of the training that we do," Dean said firmly. "We've spent our whole lives chasing demons and other things that go 'bump' in the night. One human Hunter isn't going to be that big a deal."
"But you said he's a psycho!" Ava pointed out. "Psycho's are unpredictable, all the movies say so!"
Sam chuckled. "We've tangled with him before," he said. "Trust me, we can handle him."
"You mean your arm?" Ava asked.
"Oh, no, that was someone else," Sam said dismissively, "it just seemed like a good thing to tell Gerald and Thomas."
"Wait," Ava said, "you lied to them?"
"Yeah," Sam said, "but since I can control minds, they believed me."
Ava's eyes widened. "You control minds?"
"Yeah, he does," said Dean, "and it's very useful when dealing with everyone that ain't psychic like you two."
"It doesn't work on me?" Ava asked, and Sam nodded. "Oh, well, I guess that's good, then."
"Look, Ava," Dean said, "you've got your own life back in Peoria. There's no reason for you to be a part of any of this."
"But I'm not totally certain it is Scott this guy's going after," Ava pointed out. "That's why I came out here, to see if it is him and to warn him."
Sam and Dean looked at each other. Dean didn't like this at all, but Ava was the only one who could say for certain that it was indeed Gordon Walker going after Scott Carey.
"I don't like this," he told Ava, "so here's how it's gonna work. You stay long enough to confirm faces, and then you're outta here, you understand me?"
Ava nodded at once as their waitress walked up with their food. It bothered Dean how this average, American girl was so eager to jump right into all the action when it was more than clear she'd never even seen a gun in real life. In fact, the way they suddenly seemed to be attracting psychic kids was a definite issue to him. None of this seemed quite right.
They ate their food in relative silence, and then Ava was settled in the Impala's back seat as they went back to Scott Carey's house, hopefully to save him from a man they'd never wanted to see again.
"Wait a minute," Ava suddenly said, "demons are real?"
Dean couldn't help it. He started to laugh.
TBC...