If she was not watching the horror with her own eyes, she would never have believed that it was possible. Ellen felt nausea building and could hear her own loud pulse in her head as she saw the birds repeatedly swooping down, pecking and clawing at the stampeding crowd.
Some people had managed to find shelter under cars or huddled together inside covered store fronts, shielding each others faces from the birds. But others had tripped and fallen and lay curled up on the road or sidewalks, screaming in pain and terror as what seemed hundreds of huge black crows tore at their skin.
"Ellen!" Bobby scrambled back inside the truck and shoved a shotgun into her lap. Dropping a few cases of rounds onto the seat between them, he hastily loaded a few large pellets and peered out at the chaos before them. He had reverse-rammed the truck through the doors of a storage shed and now looked out through the shattered wood, his breathing fast and loud.
With trembling hands, Ellen began to drop the heavy rounds into the chamber and frowned as she then examined one of the cartridges. "Salt?"
"Best to be sure." Bobby nodded in reply.
Ellen looked back up through the remains of the doors and gasped in horror. "Bobby, what did you do?" She turned to see him frowning as he concentrated on preparing his shotgun.
Bobby was silent as he glanced at her, ensuring she was ready. Shotgun in one hand and poking the barrel through the open window beside him, he gripped the steering wheel and lurched the truck forward.
XXXXX
The force of the sharp blows was unbelievable. Dean's legs buckled beneath him as he struggled up the steps and waved his arms wildly, trying to fend off the birds. He grunted in pain as he was pecked and clawed at, some of the attacks finding their mark and tearing through his shirt.
Reaching the top of the steps, he shouted angrily and ran forward. The birds erupted into the sky away from the still form and he fell to his knees beside Leo. Seeing the trails of blood that lined the mans arms and torso, Dean groaned and carefully grabbed Leo's shoulder to roll him onto his back.
Leo gasped as he was moved and covered his face in fright. But the birds were gone.
Dean was suddenly aware of the silence and looked around them, frowning as he saw not even one of the birds that had just seconds ago seemed to fill the air. He then heard the wooden steps creaking behind him and turned quickly, his heart sinking as he saw him.
Sam ascended the stairs slowly, his face pale. He glanced behind him and saw the gang of birds that sat calmly watching him from the edge of the garage roof.
Unable to fathom just what the fuck?, Dean watched Sam continue his approach and his mouth was dry, his heart sinking.
"Is he okay?" Sam urged quietly.
Dean tore his gaze from his brother to check on Leo and sighed in relief as he saw the old guy looking up at him. Shocked and bleeding from a few nasty gashes, the man was otherwise unharmed and Dean helped him clamber to his feet.
"Trudy!" Leo urged shakily, seeing Dean nodding in immediate understanding.
"I'll get her." Dean offered.
"No!" Sam hurried up beside them and flicked a quick glance at the birds. "We all need to get inside." He ushered them both towards the house and they scrambled into the kitchen.
Dean pulled out a chair beside the kitchen table and helped Leo sink wearily down. He then saw Sam frantically searching in the cupboards and frowned down at the stunned old man slumped before him. "Please tell me you guys don't have a low-sodium diet."
Leo looked up at him in obvious confusion and then heard Sam's quick translation of his brother's remark. "Salt?" His frown grew, "Sure … there's some in the cupboard by the door." He pointed across the kitchen to redirect Sam.
"We kinda need a shit-load." Dean urged, not relishing the idea of running the feathered gauntlet to get their supply from the trunk of the Impala.
"I got a sack of gritting sand in the garage." Leo shrugged, "For winter."
Dean glanced at Sam and saw his shrug of it might work. He then watched his brother carefully lining the door and window sills with the small packet of cooking salt he had found.
"Trudy?" Leo reminded softly.
Sam gasped as he saw his brother make for the door into the hall and leapt after him. Shoving the bag of salt into Dean's hands and nodding in reassurance, he opened the door and hurried into the house.
His mind racing, Dean continued the salt lining where Sam had left off and tried not to think about why or how his brother was apparently immune to attack. Memories of his brother escaping the nightmarish effects of a demon-plague filled him with dread and he paused in the corner of the kitchen to lean against one of the cupboards and catch his breath.
Trudy was apparently more irate by having been dragged from her bed by a strange man than she was scared by his urgent insistence that she was in danger. And then she caught sight of her bloodied husband and flew across the kitchen with a cry of horror.
"What have you done to him?" Trudy demanded shakily, standing protectively in front of Leo and glaring in fury at the two strangers in her kitchen.
"Honey." Leo urged, taking her arm. "It's okay. These are the boys whose car I'm fixing."
"What?" Trudy's gray eyes sparked with fresh anger. "What? You thought you'd beat up and old man instead of paying?" She raised her fist and advanced on the nearer of the two. "You make me sick!"
"Gertrude!"
Trudy was startled by her husbands' shout but made no move to back down, standing ready to attack the man that was leaning against her cupboard in cautious uncertainty.
"It wasn't them!" Leo sighed, "They saved me!"
"Oh." Trudy slowly backed off, mortified. She offered a small shrug of apology and straightened her flannel nightgown.
"Jeez, woman …!" Leo laughed softly.
Trudy turned to her husband and her tight shoulders softened as she saw his bloodied, pale face. "Good god, babe … what happened?" She grabbed a towel from the railing nearby and moved to the sink to run it under cold water. Squeezing out the excess, she hurried back and pulled out a chair to perch opposite him.
"I'm not sure." Leo answered quietly, wincing as she cleaned the cuts on his face.
"Did you call Henry?" Trudy inquired distractedly, examining the gashes on his cheeks.
"No." Leo glanced at Dean and shrugged slightly.
Dean took a deep breath and stepped closer to them.
"Why not?" Trudy demanded, spinning at Dean.
Sam saw the way his brother instantly backed off from the five-foot-nothing white haired woman and suddenly wanted to laugh. He would have, too, if he had not been so weighed down with that evening's confusing blend of dread, fear and horrible understanding.
"They were just kids," Leo offered after a moment, watching Dean out of the corner of his eye. "I guess they wanted cash. I'm not usually open this late - "
"And this is exactly why!" Trudy sighed, tucking her bobbed hair behind her ear and her frown deepening.
"I think I know who they are." Leo continued quickly, "I'll call Henry first thing."
"Hmph! Just tell me their names." Trudy mumbled in annoyance, "I'll have a word with them."
Dean laughed softly and stayed well back in his safe spot back in the corner of the kitchen. He saw Trudy turn to him and raised his hands in a quick apology.
Trudy smiled warmly and sat back against her chair. Satisfied that her husband was in no danger of bleeding to death, she tossed the towel across to the sink and grinned as it landed perfectly on target. "Well … I guess I ought to thank you two boys …"
Dean watched her warily as she stood and turned to face him.
"Coffee? Slice of pie?"
Suddenly remembering how hungry he was, Dean could not contain the grin that filled his face. He nodded quietly and then turned to Sam. His heart sank as he saw his brother peering out into the night and Sam's worry-filled face brought Dean swiftly back from relaxed to once again tense and so very scared.
Sam seemed to realize he was being watched and stood up straight, painting a smile on his lips as he turned back into the room. "Sounds good. Thanks." He replied to Trudy and gave his brother a small nod.
Dean sat down at the small kitchen table and watched his brother in concern as Sam headed over to join them. A thousand questions rushed around in a mad panic within Dean and answers too scary to contemplate chased after them.
Trudy placed a steaming mug of coffee before him and he welcomed the distraction, savoring the aroma gratefully. He then saw the large home-made pie she pulled down from within the fridge and placed between them on the table.
"Blueberries okay?" Trudy asked and saw him nodding eagerly.
Dean felt the gentle pat of one of her small hands on his back and smiled to himself as he recalled the mad ball of fury she had embodied just moments before. Wondering if his grandparents might have been like her, he felt a pang of grief and shoved the notion from his thoughts.
Watching Trudy give Sam an equally warm smile and a gentle squeeze of his shoulder, Dean saw a similar wistful gaze wash over his brother's otherwise unreadable expression. And suddenly he was back by the lake a few weeks back, begging his brother to give him some time to think and almost breaking down with the weight of it all. Once again he could feel the pressure of too many worries and he found himself yearning for a life so very different to their own.
And then came a sudden recollection of seeing the photograph, driving up to the house and seeing her answer the door. It was only yesterday when he had been caught up in the illusion of a wish he had not recognized in himself until he was holding his mother.
The old couple were tired and still shaken, Leo perhaps more than the surprisingly tough Trudy. Sam chewed quietly on the sweet, perfectly baked pie and could read his brother's thoughts as easily as if Dean was talking to him. The notion made him almost physically shudder and he thought back to Malphas' words.
More to prevent offending Trudy than to satisfy any hunger, Sam devoured his pie eagerly and gulped down his coffee. Catching Dean's eye and seeing him also finish his food quickly, if a little more hungrily, Sam took a deep breath and thanked their hosts.
"You boys had best be going." Leo agreed quietly, not making any attempt to hide his obvious fear that their presence was endangering him and his wife.
Trudy was oblivious to the menace lurking outside and began to offer the boys a room for the night. She was startled by her husband's protest but seemed satisfied with their gracious decline.
"Thank you for the pie." Dean stood slowly, patting his stomach in emphasis. He turned to Leo and his smile faltered. Reaching into his pocket, he took out his wallet and collected a handful of notes. "I think this should cover things."
Sam saw the look the two men exchanged and understood the fear that lay behind Leo's eyes and the sorrow in his brother's; there were some things that all the money in the world could not make right.
XXXXX
It was like something straight out of one of the arcade games Jo once used to endlessly hustle naive new patrons into losing. Ellen had hardly taken a breath along the entire length of the main street, her focus entirely on aiming and firing.
The salt worked. And that in itself was terrifying. But there was something equally satisfying about blasting the evil black crows out of the night sky and watching them explode in a burst of ash and smoke.
Cracks lined the front windshield and blood smeared across the outside where several repeated attempts by the birds to smash their way in had fallen foul of Bobby's toughened glass. She glanced sideways and saw Bobby splitting his attention between guiding the truck along the street and firing at the birds. He had to swerve to avoid ramming some of the fleeing townspeople and his face was tight with concentration.
And suddenly they arrived at the garage. Bobby swung the truck up onto the forecourt and, still shooting, they hurried inside. He saw the salt in the threshold of the large doors and sighed in relief. Chancing taking a moment to pause and catch his breath, he looked around at the empty garage and his heart slammed into his chest.
"Where are they?" Ellen demanded breathlessly.
Bobby groaned and closed his eyes.
Ellen's shoulders fell and she edged closer to Bobby, wearily dropping the shotgun at her side. "Oh no …"