It was like swimming in syrup. Not that he ever had. But he was sure the heavy weight on his limbs and the effort it took to simply raise one arm to his pounding head was what it must be like.

Slowly his senses began to come into focus and he groaned as the pain in his head worsened. Listening to the gentle hum of an extractor fan and the rumble of traffic somewhere beyond the building behind him, Sam could then smell a strange pungent odor and his dry mouth tasted of -

"No!" Sam croaked, coughing hoarsely. Sitting quickly upright from his slumped position on the ground, he regretted the motion and groaned as he clutched at his head.

"I'm sorry." Came a gentle whisper beside him.

Sam opened his eyes and darkness greeted him. Gasping in fright, he then felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head towards whoever it was that he could sense was sitting close by. Vague memories then began to surface and Sam held his breath as he let them take shape. Questions. Panic. Water. Bobby.

"No!" Recoiling backwards and shrugging free of the hand that gently supported him, Sam shuffled a hasty retreat across the cold floor.

"I had no choice, Sam!"

Meeting hard brick with a grunt of surprise, Sam huddled against the wall and shook his head in disbelief as the sensation of being filled with darkness surfaced and his stomach heaved.

"You tried to save me. And … this was the only way."

His breath coming in quick frightened pants, Sam peered into the darkness and his eyes began to adjust to what little light surrounded him. Gradually the familiar form crouched a few feet away became easier to see and he swallowed back the bile in his throat.

"I'm sorry."

Confused by the nothing that sat in his mind between reaching out towards the torrent of water and now waking up in god-knows-where, Sam choked on a sob and closed his eyes again. Cool tears met his flushed face and he drew in a shaky breath.

"Seven minutes." Malphas offered carefully.

Sam blinked his eyes open once more and could see the shadowy form edging closer.

"Just long enough to get out of sight."

Clearing his throat and sitting a little more upright, Sam shook his head slowly. "And I'm supposed to believe that."

"Yes." Malphas paused next too Sam's huddled legs and sighed loudly. "I really am sorry."

His weary body trembling and his still-throbbing head filled with painful memories of the last time he had woken with the same foggy, confused feeling that something was so very wrong, Sam rested back against the wall and a sob caught in his throat. But that had been so much worse. Suddenly facing his bleeding, battered brother watching him in fear had been the stuff of nightmares -- and had played back in perfect technicolor agony during many a restless sleep since. Taking a deep breath, Sam tried to take comfort in the fact that, for the moment, it seemed it was just him and Malphas. No disfigured bodies or broken pieces of people he might have hurt.

"I had to make Bobby think he had succeeded."

Sam turned to look at Malphas and frowned in confusion.

"There was no real danger with his crude invention." Malphas continued to explain quietly, "Well, it stung like a mother but - "

"You're too powerful." Sam breathed, fascination lacing the horror in his voice as he had a sudden recollection of sensing the demon within him and knowing that it was something far older and wiser than the immature, anger-driven child that had possessed him before.

"Are you alright?"

Laughing in disbelief, Sam then saw the sorrow in Malphas' pale face and intrigue made his heart skip a few beats. He nodded and took the hand he was offered, groaning with effort as Malphas helped him to his feet.

"Come on. You need to get out of here."

Stumbling after Malphas, Sam stepped through the open door of what he now realized was a storage shed and saw that they were in the centre of the town. Seeing the familiar large blue doors of the garage at the far end of the main street, Sam was about to break into a run when he heard a grunt of pain behind him.

Malphas was doubled over and clutching his chest, his face contorted in lines of agony.

Stepping back towards him, Sam frowned in concern and reached out timidly towards Malphas' slowly fading image.

"No!" Malphas choked, standing briefly to spin back in the direction of the motel. "No! You can't - !"

And he was gone.

Staring at the empty space where even the trademark black cloud did not appear, Sam's frown deepened. He then heard the high-pitched wail of a familiar bird and flicked his head up to see a whole flock of the black crows descending towards the town and screaming wildly.

His heart thudding in his ears and the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end, Sam felt icy dread wash through him and groaned in dismay. "Oh no … Bobby … what have you done?"

Wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, Leo stepped back from the repositioned Impala and smiled in amusement. "She might be pretty, but she could do with losing a few pounds."

Dean gasped in mock offense and patted the roof of the car that now sat parked across the front of the garage forecourt close to the gas pumps. It had been an almost impossible task for the two of them to push the heavy black monster into place and he was exhausted. Still, there was no need for Leo to make derogatory comments about his girl. He clicked his tongue and shook his head, conveying as much to the old guy.

"You know." Leo grabbed one of the fuel hoses and crouched down at the rear fender. "You really should let the sealant dry. 24 hours at least."

Dean wiped his hands on his jeans and smiled as he wandered round to stand beside Leo. "Yeah … right."

Leo sighed and slid the barrel of the hose into the all but empty Impala. "Can't guarantee that she'll keep her pressure. You might not get far."

Dean considered this for a second and dragged his hands through his hair. "So long as we get clear of our last reported position, we'll be fine."

Another sigh and Leo focused on his task, frowning in obvious concern.

"Thanks, though."

Glancing up at Dean, Leo gave a small smile and got to his feet. "Dunno 'bout you but I'm ravenous!" He announced with somewhat forced merriment and pointed towards the garage - or perhaps the house beyond. "Back in a sec."

As Leo disappeared into the garage, Dean turned to the fuel pump and watched the counter spinning as the gasoline was pumped into the tank. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out his wallet and peered at the notes inside. And then a loud screeching tore through the still night air and stung his ears.

Hunching instinctively down beside the car, Dean was then aware of the lights inside the garage flickering slightly. Hissing in dread, he grabbed the hose and stopped the gas flow before recapping the fuel tank and scrambling into the garage.

Quickly stepping over the salt line, Dean peered out into the night sky and could hear the loud flapping growing closer. Automatically grabbing for the .45 nestled in the waist of his jeans, he sheltered behind the open door and waited.

The immense flock of crows descended through the town, spiraling and screeching. Dean watched in horror as the large birds swooped down and dived at the shops and houses lining the main street. They smashed through the glass windows as though they were nothing more than rice paper and Dean's stomach turned as he heard the terrified screams of the people within.

And the main bulk of the flock continued, racing through the air towards the garage. His breath coming in quick, expectant gasps Dean aimed his gun before him with one hand and watched the birds approaching at speed. Grabbing the handle of the large garage door, he grunted as he heaved against it and felt it begin to slide.

The two lead birds at the head of the group shrieked angrily as they flew across the garage forecourt and over the Impala. The door almost closed, Dean looked up in time to see the bright fiery eyes of the birds barely inches from his head. He shrank back from the narrow opening and fired, groaning in dismay as the bullet passed straight through one of the birds without even distracting the creature.

And then the two birds slammed into an invisible barrier that crossed the entrance. Dean jumped back slightly as more birds followed after, thudding against the wall that could not be seen. He glanced down at the salt and grinned in delight. Relaxing his stance, he watched the birds gather, flapping wildly at the half open door and tumbling through the air.

"Dean!"

The shout startled him and instinct took over. Dean spun and fired. He then gasped in horror and dropped his gun to the floor. "Sammy?"

Closing the heavy, tattered book Bobby sighed wearily and hung his head. Lifting the worn old manuscript from the desk, he turned and gave Ellen a thin smile of reassurance.

"What was that?" Ellen asked quietly, her pale face lined with worry and evidence of her recent tears.

"A protection chant." Bobby shrugged. "Just in case."

Ellen hardly dared ask but curiosity got the better of her. She stood from the bed and followed Bobby from the motel room. "In case of what?"

Bobby closed the door after them and headed along the corridor. "The water should have done it's job but …" He glanced behind and saw her following closely, "But this demon is able to alter perception and take on many forms at once."

"The birds?"

Bobby nodded, "And …" He shuddered slightly as they descended the stairs to the ground floor. "I think the 'human' form was … well … I think it's fooled Sam somehow …"

Ellen gasped and hurried after Bobby into the car park. They strode quickly towards Bobby's truck and she clambered up into the cab beside him. "He seemed to know him."

Firing up the truck, Bobby nodded slowly. "It's a devious bastard, this one."

"Shit!"

Bobby gunned the truck away from the motel and back towards the town. He turned the corner onto the main junction at the head of the town and slammed on the brakes.

Ellen stared out through the windshield in horror and watched the birds swopping down on the crowds that fled along the main street. She gasped as she turned to the people nearest them and watched them clutching at their bleeding faces, desperately trying to defend against the repeated attacks from the flock of crows.

"Oh good god …" Bobby whispered.

Dean leapt forward across the garage and grabbed Sam's shoulders. He stared in horror at the blood that trickled down Sam's neck and then looked past his brother to the gouged out hole in the plaster on the back wall of the garage.

"Shit!" Sam breathed, smiling nervously.

"Thank fuck for your cat-like reflexes!" Dean offered carefully, shrugging an apology.

Sam laughed and nodded in agreement, touching his fingers to the small gash on the outside of his ear and wincing slightly. Aware of Dean's fists tightening their grip on his jacket and sinking into the flesh of his arms, his smile faded slightly. "I'm sorry, man. I know better than to sneak up on you."

Dean managed a smile and stepped back, clenching his hands tightly at his sides. As if then suddenly remembering the birds, he span and saw that they had gone from the open door.

"What the hell is going on?" Dean demanded, peering warily out into the town and seeing the people that ran from their houses and were instantly attacked by the crows. "Shit! Who pulled a Hitchcock on the town, Sammy?"

"Erm …" Sam dragged a hand through his hair and frowned as he tried to think of how best to try and explain. His opportunity was then torn from him by terrified screaming somewhere behind the garage and he gasped as Dean yelled in anger and hurried past him.

"Leo!" Dean reached the back door to the garage and looked up to see the swarm of black feathers surrounding the huddled form on the steps in front of the house. "NOOO!"