**So part I of the finale is out! I really hope you guys like it! I worked hard. I'm hoping to get the second one out as soon as possible, but I'm not really sure when that will be! Anyway, please review or PM! I adore hearing from you all, and it's what keeps me writing! Thank you so much to everyone who reads!**
All Hell Breaks Loose Part I
Something bad is about to happen. I roughly shoved the thought away, trying to focus on the map in front of me. The bad feelings had graduated into thoughts now. Instead of getting a dark, foreboding twisting of my gut, I would suddenly, randomly get a flash of thought. Something really bad is about to happen. I glanced at Sam, who had his nose buried in the papers he'd been reading to find us a hunt. My hands ghosted over my neck where the engagement ring hung from a silver chain tucked under my shirt. We still hadn't told Sammy. It had only happened last night, and Dean and I had gone out aftwards on a date then got our own motel room. We'd agreed that it would be better to tell Sammy tonight once we'd reached a motel to stay at.
The car slowed, and I glanced up to see we were approaching a small cafe that seemed to be open. It wasn't until that moment that I realized how truly hungry I was. The three of us hadn't eaten since breakfast.
"Hey, don't forget the extra onions this time, huh?" Dean glanced back at Sammy while he handed him some money, naturally assuming he would go in to get the food.
"Dude, I'm the one who's gonna have to ride in the car with your extra onions," Sam commented scathingly, snatching the money from Dean's hand while I laughed. My eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, fixing on Sam's scowling face as he opened the door.
"I'll have a muffin if they have any," I ordered from where I was laying on Dean, my head resting on his shoulder while my feet were kicked up on the seat beside me. "And can you check if they have any pie," I called after him, laughing as Dean readily agreed while he placed a quick kiss my jawline. I heard Sam scoff and slam the door behind him before starting for the cafe.
"Bring us some pie!" Dean shouted after him, making me laugh. "He better bring us some pie," Dean murmured, pressing his lips to my neck briefly before raising the volume on the music and kissing my neck again, which caused a small groan of protest to escape my lips.
"You're making it so obvious," I murmured, turning my head to meet his lips with a soft kiss that he broke with a chuckle.
"He doesn't know," I rolled my eyes at Dean's cocky tone of voice. "Besides, I'm not allowed to kiss my fiancee?" A smile pulled at my lips at his last word. We were-
Something bad is about to happen. This time was different than the rest. The thought was loud and blaring, blotting out any other thought in my mind. Something really bad is about to happen. It was impossible to ignore, and I pulled away from Dean, suddenly very scared.
"Where are you going?" Dean questioned, reluctantly letting his arm fall from around my waist.
"To make sure Sam gets us some pie," I answered, pressing a kiss to his lips. When I pulled away, my heart tightened as a terrifying feeling shot through me. I felt like that would be our last kiss. Just to prove myself wrong, I pressed my lips to his again, trying to convey everything I felt in that one kiss. "I love you," I whispered, my voice wavering before I turned and headed out of the car, but Dean's hand in mine stopped me.
"I love you, too," He smiled broadly as he spoke the words, and I could hear the depth of his emotions in the word. I offered him a slightly strained smile before slamming the car door and walking into the cafe where Sam was just about to order.
"Hey," Sam sounded surprised to see me as I came to stand next to him in front of the waitress. "I thought you were waiting in the car with Dean," I opened my mouth to reply, but I never got the chance. The smell of sulfur hit me hard, and then… nothing.
The first thing I became aware of was a tired pounding behind my eyes and a low, pained moan, which I dimly realized was coming from my own lips. As my eyes fluttered open, the ache faded as the world grew brighter. I was looking up at the cloudy sky with a structure that looked like a barn to my right and some other old, run down building to my left.
The cafe. I jackknifed into sitting position, my breath coming faster as I remembered what had happened to me. Well, me and… Sam. Sam. Shit. Where was he? What had happened? The last thing I remembered was taking a breath to reply to Sam. There hadn't even been a flash of pain, just one minute I was there, then I smelled the sulfur, and the next I was waking up on the grassy ground, surrounded by old, decrepit buildings.
"Sam!" I yelled the name into the silence that surrounded me as I stood up, fear beginning to rise within me. What if my bad feeling had been about Sam? What if he was… No. No, no, no, no. I couldn't think like that. "Sam!" I shouted the word again, only to get no answer. I flipped open my cellphone to check for a signal, but it was dead. I mentally cursed myself for forgetting to charge it the previous night.
Dean. When Ava had been taken, her fiancee had been killed in their bed. What if Dean… What if… I felt my breathing come faster and faster as I spun around and around, searching desperately for anything even remotely familiar. With a massive effort, I forced myself to take a deep breath. Then another. I had to calm down if I wanted any prayer at getting out of here. I had to find Sam. Then, together, we would find a way to get back to Dean. Get out of this town.
"Don't move!" I whipped around, my eyes locking on the man, who was threateningly brandishing a piece of wood that looked like a chair or table leg. I took a step towards the dark skinned, tall man, but he raised the wood higher, the warning clear. "Don't," His black eyes were narrowed into suspicious slits as they trained on me.
"It's okay," I held up my hands to show I wasn't the enemy as I took in his camouflaged suit. He was in the army. "Do you know where we are?" I questioned, knowing it was the fastest way to get him to believe I was innocent.
"No," He answered, slowly lowering the piece of wood. "I was hoping you'd be able to tell me," I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders helplessly in response.
"I know about as much as you," Not entirely true but partly. "What's your name?" I asked as I lowered my arms and he tossed the chair leg aside.
"Jake," He replied, glancing around at the surrounding buildings. It looked like something out of an Clint Eastwood movie. There was even a building that had 'Saloon' painted on it with small, sliding doors at the entrance.
"I'm Mel," I told him earnestly, not tearing my eyes away from the town as I spoke to him. "Let me guess," This time I did turn to look at him. "You have some ability. Something that if you told people about, they'd think you were crazy," Jake's eyes were wide and wary at the same time.
"Yeah…" His eyebrows furrowed as he spoke the word hesitantly. "How did you know that? I've never told anyone,"
"Because I have one, too," This was it. Whatever the demon had in store for us, it was happening now. Right here. And we had front row seats.
"Hey!" The female voice called out before either of us could say another word. "Is anybody here?" She kept yelling, and Jake and I exchanged a glance as he picked his stick back up. I crept towards the wall of building to our right, peeking from behind it to see a young, blonde woman pulling her jacket tightly around her while yelling. "Anybody!"
"Hey!" I shouted back to her, stepping out from around the corner after having judged that she was no threat. She whipped around to face me, her dark, heavily lined eyes wide and scared.
"Who're you?" She stepped back as Jake came up beside me to study the small woman.
"My name's Mel. This is Jake," I introduced us to the woman, who narrowed her eyes but didn't move away again.
"I'm Lily," She answered cautiously, and I nodded before scanning our surroundings again. I closed my eyes briefly to let my hearing drift around the small, deserted town, searching for anyone else who might be speaking. I frowned as I heard a woman's soft, high pitched, distressed cry from our right.
"We should look for others," I decided, not wanting to open up about what I could do just yet. Thankfully, the other two both nodded and followed me as I began walking towards the sound.
"Why this way?" Jake questioned when we were halfway to where I'd heard the cry.
"Why not?" I shrugged as if there was no reason behind my decision.
"What was that thing you did? Where you closed your eyes?" His questions were coming out faster now. "And you," He rounded on Lily without breaking stride. "Do you have an ability, too?"
"How…how do you know that?" Her voice cracked as she spoke the words fearfully.
"We all have them," I answered her, glaring at Jake, who wasn't exactly easing her into the idea that we all had some sort of power. Jake shrugged unapologetically in response to my look. "How old are you?" I changed the subject with another question I needed answered, those seemed to be in full supply this year.
"Twenty-three," Lily answered just as Jake grabbed my arm and put his across Lily's chest, prohibiting her from going any further. "What is it?" Lily asked anxiously, and Jake responded with a finger to his lips.
"Hello?" He called out as we walked up the stairs and on the wood porch around the building. "Anybody there?"
"Hello?" An answering call made my heart squeeze. Sam. I pushed past Jake, ignoring his shout for me to wait. "Hey!" Sam rounded the corner and relief coursed through my veins. He was alright. He was unhurt. "Mel," He breathed out, practically jumping up the stairs while I flung myself at him, winding my arms around his neck tightly.
"Thank god you're okay," My whispered words were muffled by his shirt as I buried my face in his shoulder. Sam wrapped his arms around my waist tightly as we staggered for a moment. That's when I saw who was standing behind him. "Ava!" I exclaimed in surprise, releasing Sam to hug her instead, but something made me pull out of the hug. She felt… wrong. Something about her felt wrong. I shook off the feeling and embraced Andy as well. "How're you holding up?" I questioned, knowing the kid was probably freaking out.
"Still hoping this is just one hell of an acid trip," He responded meekly, making me laugh genuinely.
"This is Sam," I told Jake, who was regarding Sam with a look of distrust. "We can trust him,"
"Yeah? And how do I know I can trust you?" He had a point, but I shrugged dismissively.
"You don't. But I'd say your chances are better with us than on your own," I pointed out, and I could tell my argument struck home with him.
"I'm Jake," He introduced himself to Sammy before Lily did the same with a half raised hand.
"Are there any more of you?" Sam questioned, glancing at me, but I shook my head.
"How did we even get here. A minute ago, I was in San Diego," Lily spoke up timidly, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I went to sleep last night in Afghanistan," Jake told her, making my eyebrows raise incredulously before I turned to Sam.
"They're both twenty-three, and they're like us," I nodded back to Ava and Andy as I said 'us'. "I didn't ask, but I'm willing to bet the abilities started a little over a year ago," I turned back to Jake and Lily as I continued. "You began to realize you could do things that weren't supposed to be possible," They just stared at me in shock.
"I have visions. I see things before they happen," Sammy offered when they still said nothing.
"Yeah, me too," Ava agreed with Sam.
"And I can put thoughts into people's heads - like, make them do stuff," Andy grinned excitedly as he spoke. "Oh, but don't worry. I don't think it works on you guys," He began ascending the steps as he talked. "Oh, but get this - um, I've been practicing. Training my brain, like meditation, right? So now it's not just thoughts that I can beam out, but I'mages, too - like, anything I want. It's like bam! People, they see it," Sam and I exchanged an amused glance as Andy showed no signs of slowing down his ramble. "This one guy I know - total dick - I used it on him. Gay porn all hours of the day," I couldn't help but let out a small laugh as he giggled at his own joke. "It's just like… You should have seen the look on his face,"
"Andy," I cut in, and he looked around to see no one except me and Sam looked even remotely entertained. He muttered an apology before stepping down the stairs to join Ava at the bottom.
"So you go, 'simon says give me your wallet,' and they do?" Lily snapped, sounding offended and pissed at Andy's story. "You have visions?" She glanced at Sam and Ava. "That's great. I'd kill for something like that,"
"Lily, listen, it's okay," He began, only to be cut off by her furiously accusing voice.
"No, it's not. I touch people and their hearts stop. I can barely leave my house. My life's not exactly improved, so screw you. I just want to go home,"
"And what? We don't?" Jake was the only one to speak up after her rant. She whirled on him with rage, pointing a finger at him
"Hey!" I stepped in front of Jake before she could advance further. "Look we all want to go home, okay?" I swallowed hard as I thought of what that meant to me. "We just have to find a way out of here,"
"Who brought us here?" Andy asked a very good question. I met Sam's eyes and nodded for him to tell them everything we knew. They were involved as much as we were. They had a right to know.
"It's less of a 'who'. It's more of a 'what'," Sam began dejectedly.
"What does that mean?" Ava asked, her voice growing slightly panicked.
"It's, uh..." Sammy trailed off uncertainly.
"A demon," I folded my arms over my chest as I spoke the word unapologetically. "A demon is trying to wage a kind of war against humanity and he's using us to fight for him," I ignored Sam's incredulous look as I explained the situation as concisely as I could. We didn't have time to sit around for story time. We had to get out of here. We needed to find Dean and stop this demon. We were wasting time.
"So, we're soldiers in a demon war to bring on the apocalypse?" Jake reiterated, anger seeping into his voice.
"Well, when you put it like that-" Jake cut Sam off before he could finish his protest.
"And we've been picked?" Both Sam and I nodded in answer to Jake's question. "Why us?" Was his next one.
"We haven't figured that out yet," I admitted begrudgingly, glancing away from him. "Look, what we do know is-"
"Mel," I was cut off by Ava, and, when I turned back to look at her, I got that same funny feeling that she was somehow not the same woman we'd met earlier. "Psychics and spoon-bending is one thing, but demons?"
"I know it sounds crazy," Sam tried, only to be interrupted by Jake again.
"It doesn't just sound it," Jake snapped irately, causing Sam to whirl around to glare at him.
"I don't really care what you think, okay?" His voice rose as he grew more and more annoyed with the soldier.
"Hey!" I interrupted the impending fight by putting a hand on Sam's chest and forcing him to back up a step. "If we're all here, that means that whatever this demon has in store for us, it's starting,"
"She's right. We have to-" Sam was, again, cut off by Jake.
"The only thing I got to do is stay away from wackjobs, okay?" He descended a step before turning to face Sam and I again. "I've heard enough. I'm better off on my own. FYI - so are you," With that, he turned and began walking away from us.
"Jake, wait!" I called after him, knowing beyond a doubt that he wouldn't make it on his own. "Jake!" He ignored me and was soon out of sight. I let out a groan of exasperation before starting to follow him, but Sammy's hand on my arm stopped me.
"Something bad's going to happen, Sam. I can feel it," I was stunned to see the hesitation and reluctance in Sam's gaze as I met his eyes with my own. "I'm not going to stand by and let another person get hurt. I won't," I stated with an air of finality in my voice before I tore my arm from Sam's grip and jogged in the direction Jake had gone. I let my hearing stretch until I finally focused on labored breathing and the sound of something being written in chalk. I followed the noise to an abandoned building, grabbing an iron bar that was conveniently leaning against the wall outside of the door. When I opened the door, I saw a small, childlike figure with hooked claws for fingers and a terrified Jake backing up near the far wall. Without any hesitation, I swung the iron, causing the spirit to dissipate into black smoke and fly through the door, causing Sammy and the other psychics to rush to avoid it.
"FYI," I spoke with an edge in my voice to a still petrified Jake. "That was a demon," I walked outside, leaving Jake no choice but to follow me.
"And that thing. I'm not sure, but I think it was an achiri - a demon that disguises itself as a little girl," Sam informed him while I nodded, handing him the iron rod and picking up another for myself. There was a pile of them by the fireplace in the room the demon had been in.
"You okay?" I nudged Andy gently to get his attention, for he had been adamantly looking at the ground with no sign of comprehension.
"Give me a minute," He held up a hand to show he was okay. "I'm still working through 'demons are real'," I gave a soft, strained laugh at his words, trying to make the kids feel at least a little bit better.
"Hey, look at that," My eyes rose at Sammy's words, and I followed his finger to the brass bell that was hanging over a well. I frowned, not understanding, but I followed him anyway as he walked towards it. "We've seen this bell before," Oh. Comprehension dawned on me, causing my eyes to widen at the realization. "I think I know where we are now. Cold Oak, South Dakota,"
"The town was said to be so haunted that every resident fled from it," I added helpfully, running my fingers over the markings on the bell. Sam and I had debated working this as a job a few months back, but we'd decided against it because no one was getting hurt.
"Swell. Good to know we're somewhere so historical," Ava chimed in sarcastically.
"Why in the world would that demon or whatever but us here?" Lily was much more serious than Ava appeared to be.
"I'm wondering the same thing," Sam assured her, but she didn't look comforted at all.
"You know what? It doesn't matter," My eyes snapped to her as she began shaking her head and turning around. "Clearly, the only sane thing to do here is get the hell out of dodge,"
"Wait, Lily!" I called after her, and, unlike Jake, she actually stopped to listen to what I had to say. "The only way out of here is through miles and miles of woods,"
"Beats hanging out with demons," She retorted, and I couldn't argue with her logic.
"Lily, we don't know what's going on yet. We don't even know ho w many of them are out there," Sam pointed out logically, attempting to reason with her.
"Yeah, they're right, we need-" Jake began, coming to our aid.
"Don't say 'we'," Lily snapped, whirling on us with a finger pointed at Jake accusingly while her other hand was wrapped tightly around her necklace. "I'm not part of 'we'. I have nothing in common with any of you,"
"Look, I understand-" I started, but she didn't let me get any further.
"You don't know anything!" She snapped at me as I came closer to her. "I to-" Her voice cracked before she could finish her sentence, and her eyes began watering. "I accidentally touched my girlfriend," I took a small steep back, my mind reeling at the news, and I found I could no longer meet her eyes. My biggest fear was hurting Dean. Hurting the one person I loved most in the world. That had happened to her. I couldn't even imagine what she was going through. She'd been right. I didn't understand. I couldn't.
"I'm sorry," Sam's tone changed to a soft pity.
"Whatever," The word was barely a whisper. "I feel like I'm in a nightmare, and it just keeps getting worse and worse," That I could relate to.
"I've lost people too," Sam admitted softly, giving Lily his puppy dog stare that Dean and I always used to joke about. "I've got a brother out there, right now. He could be dead for all I know," Sam's words made my blood run cold. He wasn't dead. He couldn't be dead. "We're all in bad shape, but I'm telling you, the best way out of this is to stick together,"
"Fine," I pulled the jacket around me tightly as she finally accepted that we were right.
"Okay," I spoke the word brusquely as I began walking through the village with the other psychics following. "We have to gather as much as we can to fight the demons, or, at least, keep them at bay. Iron, salt, silver - any weapon, really,"
"Salt is a weapon?" Jake's disbelieving tone brought a wry smile to my lips.
"It's a brave, new world," Sam replied, making let out a slightly forced laugh.
"Hopefully, there's food in your world cause I'm freaking starving," Andy commented, and my stomach let out a soft growl of agreement. When we got inside the building, we split up to search for anything of use. I took the kitchen area, rummaging through the cabinets of old, long forgotten food to find something edible or sharp.
Something bad is about to happen. I frowned as the thought jammed itself into my head again. It was almost as if someone was talking to me inside my own head. I hadn't thought about the weird messages I'd been having. I just assumed that this was the bad thing. This was what my abilities had been warning me about. The demon had kidnapped - Something really bad is about to happen - Sam and I.
"Hey," I jumped, spinning around to face the man that had spoke the word softly. Andy jerked back away from me in surprise, and I realized that I was brandishing a rusty knife in my hand. I quickly straightened from the squat I had been in and set the knife down on the wooden table.
"Sorry, I'm just a little on edge," I apologized with a sigh, running a hand through my hair. "Just having a rough day, you know?" I made a half-hearted attempt at a joke.
"It's cool," Andy shrugged, giving me a lopsided grin. "I mean, I just found out demons are real. I'm pretty sure we're all having a rough day," I forced a laugh, wishing it was real as I leaned on the counter. "I-I'm sure he's fine," My eyebrows rose as my gaze fixed on Andy again.
"Who?" I asked, even though I was ninety percent sure I knew who he was talking about.
"Dean," He answered, and I was momentarily surprised that he still remembered our names. "Y-you two were together, right?"
"Yeah, we are still," I answered, taking a deep breath and trying to ignore Andy's horrible attempt at small talk. "And I hope he is," I replied to Andy's statement of Dean being okay. "I really hope so,"
"Hey, check it out," Andy lifted two miniature burlap sacks before turning his head and yelling, "Guys, I found something!" It wasn't until I read the label on the sacks that I understood his excitement.
"Salt," I muttered with a grin as the others gathered around us.
"That's great, Andy. Now we all can s-" Sam started, but I interrupted him, suddenly realizing we were one short.
"Where's Lily?" No sooner had I spoke the question than I heard a dull, distorted thump from outside.
"Lily?" Ava's timid voice called softly.
"Lily!" Sam boomed, but there was no response. I pushed past both of them as the creaking and breaking of wood reached my ears. I reacted completely on instinct as I bolted out of the house and turned right to see the windmill. Only it wasn't just a windmill anymore. There was a body hanging from it.
"No," I whispered, taking a step back as I saw the clearly dead Lily strung up by her neck.
"Oh, my god!" Ava cried, covering her mouth with her hand in shock and fear. "Okay, that - that's officially just… Sam, she's dead! She's dead! You said we were chosen for a reason. That is not chosen. That's… killed," She spoke in a quick string of words before whirling around to face Sam. "Okay, you know, we have to get out of here,"
"I second that emotion," Andy agreed with her.
"Not sure that's an option," Jake spoke wisely as he stared up at the lifeless body of Lily.
"What?" Ava demanded incredulously.
"Lily tried to leave and look what happened to her," I explained, gesturing to the body. "It's no accident the demons strung her up in the center there. It's a warning,"
"We got to gear up for the next attack," Sam added, nodding in agreement with my logic.
"Oh, gear up?" Ava repeated sarcastically.
"Yeah," Sam spoke softly as we exchanged worried looks.
"Okay, well, I'm not a soldier. I can't do that!" Ava protested, and I finally had had enough. She'd been acting weak and different since the moment I'd gotten there. Something was wrong.
"Look, if you want to keep living, you have to," I told her abruptly and apathetically. "We should start preparing," Ava pushed past the rest of us to hurry back into the house.
"I'll get her down," Jake told us, jerking his chin to the dead woman.
"You know, I was just thinking about how much Dean would help right now," Sam confessed, causing me to stiffen.
"I know what you mean," I forced down the worry and put on a strained smile. "We need a phone,"
"You know you may not need one," Sam and I both turned to Andy as he spoke up. "I, uh, I mean, I've never tried it long-distance before. Do you have anything of Dean's on you. Like something he touched? Something personal?" Sam checked his pockets for something, but he came up empty.
"I have something," The words came out quiet and subdued. I didn't meet Sam's eyes as I took the necklace from around my neck, placing the ring in Andy's hand. "Will it work?" I asked impatiently when both boys remained silent.
"Y-yeah, it'll work," Andy answered, getting over his initial surprise. "And congratulations," He held up the ring, and I smiled slightly, trying to ignore how I could feel Sam's eyes boring holes in the side of my head. Andy put a hand to his head, squeezing his eyes shut, and let out a low moan of pain that made me stiffen. A moment later, he opened his eyes, his skin paler and his eyes looking more tired than they had been.
"I tried my best. He's definitely alive," Relief coursed through my veins as Andy turned to me with an uneasy smile, handing the ring and chain back to me before leaving Sam and I alone.
"When?" Sam asked, causing me to straighten and meet his gaze unflinchingly.
"Last night. Or, well, I guess two nights ago now," I remembered how we'd been abducted from the cafe last night.
"When were you planning on telling me?" Sam sounded angry, but it was a tired anger that made me feel worse about the whole situation than if he'd been yelling.
"I don't know. We were thinking when we got to a motel we'd tell you, but… you know," We never did get to the motel that night.
"Well, congratulations. I'm happy for you," Sam's voice sounded stiff and forced, but I offered him a smile anyway.
"Doesn't matter now, I guess," I opened my fist to look down on the beautiful ring resting in my palm.
"Don't say that," Sam muttered, shaking his head. "We're going to get out of here, okay? Then you and Dean can be happy," I would've believed his words if not for the small tightening of his jaw as he spoke them.
"Yeah," I agreed, struggling to smile and look reassured. "What will you do? When this is all over?" I asked, suddenly realizing that I hadn't asked him that question in a long time. He shrugged noncommittally as we began walking towards the house again to look for weapons.
"Maybe I'll stick with hunting," He shoved his hands in his pockets, and my eyebrows rose in surprise. "It's what I know. Besides, I don't think that Stanford will take me back now,"
"Sam, Dean and I-" I began but broke off when I caught sight of his sad expression before he turned away from me to hide it. He already knew. He already knew we were leaving the life. "You should go back to college, even if it's not Stanford,"
"Yeah," But the word sounded faint and distant. "Maybe," I sighed, turning away from Sam as my mind drifted to memories of simpler times.
"When does your shift end, sweetheart," I turned my back to the bar, so that Dean wouldn't be able to see my exaggerated eye roll. He'd been flirting with the bartender for the past twenty minutes, and I was sick of it. He'd convinced me to come, so that we could celebrate a hunt well done. It was so typical of him to try to pick up a chick.
"Listen, Dean, I'm going to head back," I told him, reaching for my purse, but he grabbed my wrist to keep me from leaving.
"You're going already?" He whined, and I realized he may have had slightly more to drink than I'd had.
"Yeah, I'm taking the Impala. You have to take a cab," I informed him; there was no way I was letting him drive back to the motel in the state he was in.
"No, I want to drive my car. You take a cab," I rolled my eyes again but smiled slightly. It was cute that he thought he still had the keys to the Impala. I'd taken them off of him during his sixth shot of what was called a lemon drop.
"Dean, you're plastered," I tried to argue, but he just shook his head. "Look, I'm driving the Impala back, are you coming or not?" I gave him no other option, and he sighed heavily like a child.
"Fine. I'm coming, mom," He emphasized the word sarcastically, making me give him a withering look. I was honestly surprised he had decided to come instead of stay here with the bartender that he seemed to like so much. "I just need to go to the bathroom," He stumbled towards the bathroom as I leaned on the bar again, not bothering to sit back down.
"Is he your boyfriend?" I glanced back to see the bartender was staring after Dean. I glanced skyward, briefly wondering why this always had to happen to me.
"No, a friend," I responded, knowing exactly where this was going. She either wanted his number or wanted to know if he was single. Or both.
"Are you sure?" That question was a bit surprising, but I took it in stride, nodding my answer while taking a pretzel from the small bowl on the counter and popping it into my mouth. "I think he wants to be," I choked on the pretzel, nearly coughing it back up.
"What?" I managed, turning my body fully to face the woman who was wiping down the counter.
"He's been checking you out all night," I frowned at her. What night had she been living?
"What are you talking about? He's been flirting with you the entire time," I pointed out, not understanding why in the world she would think that.
"He only started flirting with me after he got drunk. Besides, he glared at any guy who even came close to talking to you," The woman shrugged as if she didn't care if I believed her.
"Hey, baby," I turned to see a burly, obviously drunk man sitting next to me, who interrupted any reply I was going to give the bartender.
"Hey," I answered, returning to my position with my back to the counter and trying to make it as obvious as possible that I didn't want to talk to him.
"You got a place?" He insisted on talking to me, making me glare at him.
"No," I replied evenly, looking away again.
"That's okay. I got a truck," This time I turned to face him in disgust.
"I am not interested," I spoke in a clear, distinct voice, but that didn't stop the man from grabbing my waist.
"Aw, come on, baby. Don't be like-" He began in a thick voice before I was ripped away from him violently.
"Said she wasn't interested," Dean's tense form stood in front of me as he glared daggers at the man in the seat. The man held up his hands and staggered off, clearly not wanting a fight. Dean turned back to me with a proud, arrogant grin lighting up his face. "Saved you," I couldn't help but laugh at the boyish excitement on his face as he stumbled over his own feet.
"Let's go, superman," His grin widened at the sarcastic nickname, and he threw an arm over my shoulder while we walked out of the bar, making me smile.
-3rd Person-
Sam worked on unscrewing the iron pipe from the contraption in front of him while Jake worked opposite him. It was lucky that Jake had found a sort of scrap metal shed at the far end of the town. Sam glanced up as he heard metal screaming in protest, and his eyebrows rose as Jake ripped off a metal stick like the iron was paper.
"I-I'm not superman or anything," Jake began protesting in response to Sam's impressed glance. "It's no big deal,"
"You were in Afghanistan when this started?" Sam decided to make conversation. If they were all stuck here together, they may as well get to know each other.
"I started getting headaches, then, uh, there was this accident. This guy flipped his vehicle on a bad road, got pinned underneath. I lifted it off him like it was nothing. E-everybody said it was a fluke adrenaline thing,"
"But then you did it again, right?" Sam guessed, and Jake gave a small smile.
"Bench-press eight hundred pounds, stone-cold calm," Sam just gave a small chuckle. Him and Mel had really gotten the bad end of this whole 'psychic' thing. "I never told anybody, of course. It's just too crazy,"
"Yeah, well, crazy's relative," Sam informed him, letting out another small chuckle.
"I'm starting to get that," Jake bent down to study the old mechanism some more as he continued. "You and your girl, you see a lot of this?"
"Mel's, uh, Mel's not my girl," He corrected, causing Jake to glance up at him, straightening again.
"Oh, sorry, I just assumed…" Sam shook his head and shrugged.
"My brother," He explained continuing his work with the pipe. "They're dat-" He began to say dating but broke off abruptly, correcting himself. "They're engaged,"
"Oh," Jake narrowed his eyes at Sammy but decided not to press the matter. Realizing it probably seemed strange to Jake, who knew nothing of what they did or how close they were, Sam elaborated.
"We grew up together. My brother and Mel are the only family I have," That seemed to alleviate Jake's suspicions slightly, but he still studied Sam.
"Well,I, uh, appreciate what you two are doing here," His answer surprised Sam, who stopped working.
"What are we doing?" He questioned, raising his eyebrows curiously.
"Keeping calm, keeping them calm, especially considering how freaked to hell you both really are," Sam managed an uneasy smile, unnerved at how well Jake had read the situation. "I've been in some deep crap before myself. I know the look,"
"Want to know the truth?" Sam asked earnestly, and Jake remained silent, waiting for him to go on. "That brother I told you about, and he's always telling me how he's gonna watch out for me, how everything's gonna be okay, like I've been telling them,"
"Yeah?" Jake prompted as Sam glanced back at the house portion of the building where he knew Mel was working on calming down the two innocent ones in the company.
"I don't know if I believe it this time," He confessed openly. "I mean, the size of what's coming - it's bigger than anyone's ever seen. I mean, it's gonna get bad, and I-I don't know if-"
"If we're gonna make it," Jake finished for him, having had those thoughts himself more often than he could count. "It doesn't matter if we believe it. Only matters that they do," They lapsed into silence, and Sam felt his mind drifting backwards in time.
Sammy Winchester knew that Dean and Mel had been acting weird lately. That didn't mean that he knew why, but he was determined to find out. It had been a sort of fun side project to keep him entertained for the past couple of weeks. Dean and Mel had begun staying out late at night. They would always come up with a good enough excuse for him, but he could tell they were lying. He had gotten good at telling when they weren't being truthful.
"Hey," Sam glanced up from his book to see Mel had stood up from the bed she'd been lying on. "How're you liking it?" She gestured to his own book.
"It's good. I like it," He replied truthfully. She had always had the best taste in books, and he usually read anything she recommended to him.
"Told you," She grinned at him, tossing her own book down on the table before grabbing a water bottle from the fridge. "I read that when I was twelve, too. Loved it," She drank from the bottle for a moment before setting it down on the counter. "Who's your favorite," She jumped up to sit on the counter next to the bottle.
"Ponyboy," He answered without hesitation.
"Not surprised," Mel replied with a laugh. "He reminds me of you, you know,"
"I also like Dally," Sam confessed to her, ignoring her surprised look. "He reminds me a little of Dean," Mel's eyebrows rose in genuine shock before the lowered into a thoughtful expression.
"That would make me Ch-" She broke off suddenly with a small smile tugging at her lips.
"What?" Sam's curiosity had been piqued, but Mel shook her head, not giving anything away.
"Nevermind," Before he could question her further Dean walked through the door, putting the bag of groceries down on the counter next to Mel before pulling off it with a wide grin. That was the other suspicious thing Sam had noticed; Dean and Mel were happier.
"I'm going to get some protein bars from the vending machine," Dean announced, turning to Mel. "You coming," She nodded with a grin she tried to hide before following him to the door while Sam narrowed his eyes at them.
"But you just got food," Sam pointed to the bag of food on the counter.
"They didn't have bars, though," Dean told him while Sam frowned. Before he could argue again, him and Mel were out the door. Sammy waited a minute before he opened the door and made his way down the hall toward the vending machine. He peaked around the corner to see Mel and Dean standing in front of it, and he crept up behind a trash can so he could hear them better.
"I think he's starting to figure it out," Mel was saying, with her arms crossed over her chest. "You aren't exactly being secretive about this,"
"Relax. He doesn't know anything, quit worrying," Was Dean's cocky response that made Sam smirk. "Unless you want to just go back…" Mel rolled her eyes at him, laughing lightly as she stopped him from leaving by grabbing a fistful of his jacket.
"Shut up," She muttered, but the playful smile that pulled at her lips told both Dean and Sam that she didn't mean the words. He turned towards, cupping her face in his hands while grinning widely as he leaned down to press his lips to hers. A loud thud caused them to jump apart. Both their eyes met Sam's stunned face, and he glanced down to see his book lying by his feet. Slowly, he looked back up to meet his brother's eyes.
"Dad's gonna kill you,"
-1st Person-
"This is a hell of an engagement party, huh?" I glanced up as Andy spoke with a small smile on his face, pouring the salt on the windowsills of the room while I lined the doorways.
"Yeah," I laughed lightly, trying desperately to keep in good spirits. Dean was alive. We would make it out of here. We had to. "I can only imagine my bachelorette party," Andy gave a high pitched laugh that sounded more like a whine. "Hey, you know everything's going to be fine. We're all getting out of here," I promised him, but he just shook his head.
"How do you know?" He asked a good question, and I took a moment to come up with an answer.
"I've dealt with this kind of thing before," I began only to be cut off by his humorless laugh.
"Really? You've been trapped in a demonic frontierland before?" I gave a small laugh at his sarcastic words, which made his eyes fix on me.
"Actually, yeah," I recalled one of my least favorite hunts. The one that had ended with everyone gone… including me. The night I'd left Dean and Sam. "We just have to stick together and watch each other's backs," Andy just gripped the edges of his jacket and nodded unconvincingly. "How is your friend, by the way?"
"Tracy," He replied, his expression lifted slightly. "She's better. I explained everything to her. She's not scared anymore,"
"Are you two…?" I finished my question with a hand gesture.
"Not yet, but I was thinking of asking her out again. Before… well, you know… this happened," I couldn't help a smile from tugging at the corners of my lips.
"Well, you'll just have to survive this then," I told him, trying to keep my voice optimistic.
"So, now what?" Andy questioned as he finished lining the last window with salt.
"Now we wait," I responded, walking through the doorway towards the room where the other three psychics were gathered. "You should get some sleep," Something bad is about to happen. The thought tore through my mind with such force that pain erupted in my temples. I hissed in pain, my hands going to my head. I felt hands on shoulders as the pain ebbed slightly, and I managed to open my eyes to look into Sam's concerned gaze. "I'm f-" Something really bad is about to happen. The second thought hit me with even more power, and I felt my knees begin to give out. The pain dwindled, and then, finally sputtered out, allowing me to open my eyes cautiously. Sam had either carried me or pulled me onto the bench in the corner of the room, which is where I was sitting with him next to me, looking extremely worried.
"What was that?" Jake demanded, his eyes flicking back and forth between Sammy and me. "You still get headaches?"
"Sometimes," I opened up. "They stopped for awhile when I was twenty-three and twenty-four, but they started again two years ago," Jake's eyebrows rose at the news.
"How old are you?" I suddenly realized that Jake had probably assumed I was twenty-three just like the rest of them.
"Twenty-eight," I informed the company, knowing that it was only Jake who hadn't known I was older. "But I began developing the abilities when I was twenty-two," I added, resting my head against the wood beside me as silence enveloped the group.
"Melody," My eyes shot open as I heard a different voice speak. When I whipped my head around, I saw a short man standing behind Andy, leaning on the wall.
"Andy!" I cried, leaping up from my seat, but Andy didn't move or seem to hear me.
"Good to see you again, too," The yellow-eyed demon responded casually, sarcasm dripping from every word.
"I'm in a dream," I pinched myself hard on the arm in an attempt to wake myself, but that only caused the demon to chuckle evilly.
"That only works in the movies, sweetheart," I glowered at the demonic bastard. "Come on," I didn't see any other option but to follow the demon out the door of the small house.
"Why are you doing this? What're we here for?" I fired the questions at him eagerly, needing to get all the information I could before I woke up. "Where's Dean?"
"Quit worrying about that guy. You can do so much better. Meg told you what's going to happen to him," I clenched my teeth together in fury but continued to walk after the demon.
"He is not going to die," I practically growled the words at him in anger. "I swear to god, when I wake up, I'll kill you myself," The demon laughed outright.
"I look forward to the attempt," He responded cheerfully, only serving to anger me further.
"If you harm Dean or Sam-" I began, my voice lowering threateningly.
"Why do you think you're here?" He interrupted me, making me stop short in confusion. "Sam - see, Sam is no killer. There are only two reasons that he would kill someone. To save Dean. Or to save you," My eyebrows furrowed, his response not making anything clearer. "You are the one that's supposed to live. Dean, however, Dean was supposed to die, but then you went into that cafe…" He sighed as if he were speaking about some tragic event that occurred. "You saved his life," Now he sounded annoyed, but I still didn't understand what he was getting at.
"Sam isn't going to become a killer. Neither am I," I answered with such determination that I surprised even myself.
"You were my first. My prize," The demon stopped walking and turned to face me, his bright yellow eyes fixing on me with an animalistic look. "And you turned out better than I could've imagined. Did you ever wonder why the headaches started again? It was because the others were activated. They began developing their powers while you began expanding yours. You have to stop fighting it. It's going to happen. And once you let it in…" He spread his arms wide in both directions, fingers splayed. "You have no idea how powerful you'll become. Those headaches - they're pushing you to let it in, and they'll only get worse until you do. You have to embrace your destiny,"
"And what is my destiny?" I stepped back from him, afraid of the answer he'd give me.
"You're the one that's supposed to live," I swallowed hard, opening my mouth to ask what that means, but he beat me to it. "You're going to be the queen,"
"Queen of what?" The words were whispered softly even though I'd meant them to come out strong.
"Queen of the demons," His eyes glinted with a mad excitement as I took another step backward, shaking my head vigorously. "You'll rule them. Fight with them. And Sammy, if he wins this-" He gestured back to the building where Sammy was. "-will rule beside you,"
"What are you talking about?" I snapped at him, my anger drowning the fear that had begun to grow within me. "Sam would never-"
"Sammy would do anything for you. That was the plan all along. I didn't think you'd be able to hold out this long. The headaches, the nightmares. They're getting worse, waiting for you to give in. I'd thought you would have given in by now, then Sammy would have followed. Imagine it, you two, ruling side by side as the demons take over…"
"That is never going to happen," I snapped at him.
"You don't think it's going to happen. Being in love is a powerful thing, Mels. It can make men do things they never thought they would," He sermonized to me, only serving to feed my mounting horror.
"But I fell in love with the wrong Winchester," I realized, my eyes widening as the demon scowled darkly at me.
"That was an… unforeseen setback, but no matter. Dean will be gone soon enough," He waved a dismissive hand, regaining his composure. "As for Sam, well,…" His lips twisted into a cruel smile. "That boy is already so in love with you that he barely knows what is right anymore,"
"You're wrong," I shook my head, setting my jaw. "You're wrong. Sam-"
"You know I'm not wrong. Open your eyes, Melody. You never wondered why he gets so irritated when you kiss Dean? Why he is angry when Dean says 'I love you'? Why he wasn't happy when you told him you got engaged? I think you've suspected for awhile now. You just didn't want it to be true,"
"You're lying," I whispered, desperately wishing I believed my own words, but something inside of me told me he was right. Something told me he wasn't lying. It was just a feeling. Then again, my feelings were always right.
"Well, I guess you'll find out," He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
"Mel, Sam, wake up!" I jerked awake at the same time Sam did and blinked groggily up at Jake, who was standing with a worried look on his face. "Ava's missing," I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring my exhaustion, and I brusquely strode outside, trying to keep my mind off the dream I'd had.
"Jake, you take the barn and hotel," I ordered him without waiting. "Sam take the houses. I've got the restaurants and shops," I got nods from both men. "Meet right here in ten minutes, got it?" The strode off in different directions, leaving me to enter each shop, searching for Ava, a bad feeling clawing at my stomach.
Holy- The terrified word drifted to me as I was walking into the gun shop, and my head snapped up to focus on the house we'd been staying in. I was already sprinting towards the building when a horrified scream pierced the air. I ran into the room, my eyes instantly focusing on the bloody figure lying on the ground in front of the terrified woman. Andy.
"No, no, no, no," I dropped to my knees beside him, my hands hovering over his body as I tried to find the source of the bleeding with my eyes. His sternum was covered with scratches and claw marks, and tears stung my eyes as his body shuddered and he let out one last breath of air. "Andy?" The man made no move to answer me, but, instead his glassy eyes just stared sightlessly at me. "Andy!" I shook his shoulders but still got no response, so I sat back on my heels, pressing the back of my wrist to my mouth to stifle small sob that wanted to come out.
"Sam, I just found him like this!" Ava's voice cut through my grief, and my eyes snapped to her accusingly. It was her fault. I wasn't sure how I knew, but I did.
"What happened?" Sam was saying as he went to the window while I focused on a crowbar leaning against the wall. "How'd that thing get in? Where were you?"
"I just went to get some water from the well," I stepped over Andy, remaining low to the ground, and I grabbed the crowbar firmly in my hands. "I was only gone, maybe, like, two minutes,"
"You shouldn't have gone outside," Sam caught my eyes, and I shook my head, my expression steely. That's when my gaze latched on the trail that had been drawn through the salt line. "Who did that?" Sam had also seen the damning evidence. She'd killed him. Ava had killed Andy.
"I don't know. Maybe Andy-" That infuriated me more than anything.
"Andy would not have done that," I snapped at her, raising myself to my full height. "That line wasn't broken when we left here. Where were you for the past five months?"
"You don't think-" She began, tears falling down her face.
"Where were you?" I snapped at her, done with her bullshit tears facade.
"And that headache you got. Right when the demon got Lily," Sam remembered suddenly, his eyes turning on Ava with a new, accusing look to them.
"What are you-" She started, backing up.
"What happened in those five months?" My voice was steel as I advanced on her with the crowbar grasped in my hand.
"Nothing!" She cried, but Sam and I just narrowed our eyes at her, not saying anything. Her facade finally broke, and she let out a humorless laugh. "Had you going, though, didn't I? Yeah," She wiped the tears away pitilessly. "I've been here a long time, and not along, either. People just keep showing up - children, like us. Batches of three or four at a time,"
"And you killed them all," I finished for her, no doubt left in my mind that this wasn't the Ava we'd met in Lafayette, Indiana.
"I'm the undefeated heavyweight champ," She declared with a proud smile on her face.
"Oh, my god," Sam muttered in horror, shaking his head.
"I don't think God has much to do with this, Sam," Ava informed him while I glowered at her. I'd promised Andy I'd get him out of this safely. I'd promised him. And she killed him. "I had no choice. It's me or them. After a while, it was easy. It was even kind of fun. I just stopped fighting it,"
"Fighting what?" He questioned cautiously.
"Who we are. If you both would just quit your hand-wringing and open yourself up, you have no idea what you can do. The learning curve is so fast. It's crazy, the switches that just flip in your brain," She let out another hideous laugh. "I can't believe I started out just having dreams. Do you know what I can do now?"
"Control demons," Sam answered her.
"Ah. You are quick on the draw," She mused, her fingers going to her temple against as black smoke began seeping through the window. I pushed Sam behind me, brandishing the crowbar. "Yeah, I'm sorry, guys, but, it's over," I turned to face the oncoming demon when, suddenly, the noise of bones cracking filled the air. I whipped around to see Jake was standing behind Ava with one hand on her twisted neck and the other gripping her chin. The demon disappeared back through the window as Jake laid Ava unceremoniously on the floor at his feet. My gaze dropped to Andy's lifeless body, and I felt my breathing grow unsteady.
"Come on," I turned at Sam's whisper but moved away from him as he tried to touch me, the demon's words coming back to me. Was it true? Was Sam in love with me? I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. Now wasn't the best time to be-Something bad is about to happen. The thought blared in my head like an alarm bell, and I leaned on the table for support as I groaned, clutching my forehead in pain. Something really bad is about to happen. The ache ebbed after the second shriek in my mind, and I straightened again. "You okay?" Sam asked, concerned for me, but I shrugged him off, nodding as I followed him out of the room.
"We should be able to leave now," I reasoned, ignoring the questions that ran across my mind. Didn't the 'something bad' already happen? How the hell could this get worse?
"But the Acheri demon," Jake began protesting.
"No, no, no, Ava was summoning it, controlling it. It shouldn't come back now that she's dead," He explained to Jake, who had just shown up towards the end of her speech. "We got to go,"
"No. Not 'we', Sam," Sam and I both turned to face Jake in confusion as he spoke softly but with an air of finality. "Only one of us and Mel are getting out of here. I'm sorry,"
"What are you talking about?" But I knew what he was talking about. The dream I'd had of yellow eyes. What he'd said to me… I knew exactly what he was talking about.
"I had a vision. That yellow-eyed demon or whatever it was, he talked to me. He told me how it was," I swallowed hard as Sam began denying.
"No Jake, listen. You can't listen to him," Jake cut him off before he could get any further.
"Sam, he's not letting us go. Only one of us and her," He jerked his chin at me as he spoke, causing the pit of fear to grow deeper in my stomach. "Now, we don't play along. He'll kill us both. Now, I-I like you, man. I like you both, but do the math, here. What good's it do for both of us to die? Now, I can get out of here with Mel, we get close to the demon, we can kill the bastard. I'll protect her for you, I promise,"
"Just come with us, okay? We can kill him together. The three of us," I tried to reason with him, but I could see he was already beyond logic. The demon had gotten into his head.
"How do I know you two won't turn on me?" His eyes were flicking between Sam and me quickly.
"We won't," Sam promised him.
"I don't know that," He shook his head, and it was clear he had already made up his mind.
"Okay, look," Sam moved his jacket slightly to reveal the knife jutting out from his waistband. He pulled it out by the edge and placed it on the ground, motioning for me to do the same with the crowbar, which I did. "Just come with us, Jake,"
"Three of us have a better chance than two. This is what yellow-eyes wants. Don't give it what it wants," Slowly, Jake set down his own weapon beside the knife and crowbar, and I felt myself relax. It was over. Then Jake's fist connected with Sam's jaw, sending him flying backwards into a wooden fence. "Sam!" I yelled his name in shock and fear before whipping back to face Jake, betrayal written in my eyes.
"I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to," Jake told me in a completely reasonable tone of voice before stalking after Sam. I snatched up the crowbar before sprinting after him.
"Jake, don't do this," I begged him, coming to stand between the fallen Sam and him. "There's a better option, okay? We can just leave,"
"Get out of the way," Jake annunciated every word clearly. I just shook my head sadly at him, straightening to my full height even though it was still a great deal shorter than his.
"Sorry, can't do that," With that, I kneed him in the groin, ducking his halfhearted swing and slammed the crowbar into the back of his calf, causing him to drop to his knees. Jake grasped my leg tightly, yanking it out from under me with a force that hurled me to the ground with a thud a couple meters away. Sam jumped to his feet as Jake staggered to his. Jake punched Sam in the shoulder so hard that I could hear the bones breaking. I pushed myself roughly to my feet as I watched Jake punch Sam again, sending him to the floor with a groan of pain.
Jake reared back for another punch, but I yanked Sam towards me and out of the way just in time; Jake's fist went through the wood of the fence. Sam kicked the man's gut, causing him to fall to the dirt before he pulled himself up using the wood behind him. I slammed my foot into his chest with every ounce of force I could muster, and he flew through it to land on the ground, unmoving. Sam snatched the crowbar from my hand, stalking over to the wounded, beaten soldier lying in the dirt. As Jake got up, Sam slammed the crowbar under his chin, sending him back into the dirt, all the while holding his wounded arm close to his body.
My eyes widened as I watched Sam stand over Jake with a dark, terrifyingly furious look on his face. In the distance thunder rumbled forebodingly. The dark sky seemed to grow darker while Sam raised the crowbar above his head, ready to deliver the final blow.
"Sam, don't!" I was surprised at myself, but I couldn't just do nothing while Sam became a murderer. Sam turned his dark eyes on me incredulously.
"This is the only way, Mel. He hurt you. He nearly killed me. He's not going to stop," He pointed out, and I remembered the demon's words to me. Sam would kill for me. Sam would become a killer for me.
"Don't do it. There's been enough killing. He's unconscious. He won't follow us," Finally, Sam nodded, tossing the crowbar aside.
"Sam! Mel!" The relief that that voice brought me brought a rush of emotion so thick that I felt tears sting my eyes. Dean. Dean was here. The rain began falling so softly that it could have been confused with a light mist. I walked next to Sam along the road as Dean and Bobby came into view up ahead. I could've cried with relief as I saw his face. All I wanted to do was curl up with Dean on the couch and watch one of the weird, obscure movies he loved so much.
"Mel! Sam!" He slowed as he saw us, and I gave him my best attempt at a smile, wanting to run to him but not having the energy. I just needed to feel his arms around me, protecting me.
"Dean," The best I could do was call out to him, but even to me my voice sounded exhausted.
"Look out!" Dean's expression turned horrified, and, suddenly a deep pit of fear and trepidation opened up inside of me. Something bad is about to happen. Adrenaline pumped through me, and I spun around to see Jake lunging towards Sam's back. Something really bad is about to happen.
"NO!" The scream seemed to tear its way out of my very soul as I slammed into Sam's side, sending him sprawling to the ground. A piercing, white hot pain shot through my chest, spreading like wildfire through my veins, but I couldn't scream. My legs turned to jell-o as the world grew hazy and dark. I wasn't aware of anything anymore. No pain. No anger. Just soft, inviting darkness.
-3rd Person-
"NO!" Jake's eyes landed on Dean's face as the man screamed. It only took the soldier a moment to realize what had happened. He yanked the knife out of the young woman's chest, leaving her to stagger, her face growing pale and her eyes unfocused. He fled. It was the only thing to do.
For a moment, Mel seemed to hang in the air, staying on her feet by some miracle. Then the moment ended, and she was dimly aware she was falling backwards. To her, the fall seemed to take an eternity. She never did feel the strong pair of arms catch her. She was already numb by then.
"No. Mel," Dean's voice was gruff and determined as he shook her. The only sign of life she gave was her shallow, choked breaths. He wasn't aware of anything anymore. Not Bobby racing after Jake. Not Sam slowly sitting up with a groan of pain. Not even his own voice. "Mel. Mel, hey. Hey," He shook her lightly as her eyes fluttered open, but they were unfocused and disoriented. "I'm here, okay? Everything's going to be fine," He slid his hand up to cup her face, but it froze when he touched a warm, sticky just below her collarbone. He slowly drew his hand away to see it was a dark red.
"No, no, no, hey, look at me," His hand went to the side of her face to force her to look at him, but her choked breaths grew more labored and her hazel eyes fluttered shut. "No, no. Stay awake. Hey, it's not even that bad. It's not even that bad, all right? Bobby's going to patch you up. You'll see. Everything's going to be fine," Mel let out one final breath before her chest stopped moving. "Mels?" He asked timidly, but she remained limp in his arms. "Mel!" He snapped the name, shaking her roughly. "Hey, listen to me, you're going to be fine. Just hold on. I got you. I'm gonna take care of you. Just like I promised, remember? We're going to be okay. Me, you, and Sammy, right?" He stroked her face as he spoke the words, an air of desperation entering his voice.
"Mel? Mel!" He shook his head, refusing to let the tears come. She was alive. She had to be alive. She wasn't dead. No, no, no, no, no. "We're going to get married, remember? Have kids. You want a dog," He fumbled for the ring around her neck, yanking it off the chain and pushing it onto her finger before pressing her palm against his lips. "Please… Mel, look at me," He mumbled against her skin.
Bobby Singer slowed his jog to a walk as he took in the sight before him. Sam was sitting on the ground, trembling like a leaf as he watched his brother cradle the young woman in his arms. Bobby swallowed hard, tears stinging his eyes as he forced himself to walk forward. Without warning, Sam sprung up, whirling towards the forest and making for it, his face twisted with a white hot fury. Bobby caught him, struggling with him for a moment before Sam gave in. Bobby managed to keep them both upright as Sammy lost it.
"Please, stay. Please, don't leave me. I can't do this without you. I can't. Please. I'll do anything," Dean was begging the lifeless body in his arms despairingly. "Mel-" His voice cracked, and he let out a rough sob. Bobby watched over Sammy's shoulder as Dean continued to beg Mel to stay with him, placing soft kisses on her bloody lips, as if his kisses could put the light back in her eyes. His sobs grew faster and more frequent until he could barely get anymore words in between them, so he simply gathered her in his arms and buried his face in her neck, pressing his lips against her cold skin. His body shook with sobs.
Ladysunshine6: I'm excited about Dean's proposal too! It was really cute to write! I'll try to get Part II of the season finale out for you as fast as I can.
anime0angel: I would love you to PM me with what you think about this chapter (I know it's kind of intense). I felt that it was time for Dean to propose to her since they'd been dating for so long, and, like you said, it was almost as if they were already married. I'm not going to comment on the pissed off Mel next season for obvious reasons. I'd love to know what you thought was going to happen, though (just like in Folsom Prison Blues). I loved hearing about your theories! I was playing with the idea that Mel was going to be the lawyer in that episode, but I figured that she just wouldn't have enough scenes were she was involved. Also, at this point, Hendrickson knows her face well, so it would've been hard for her to hide from him, like you said. Your second prediction, however hadn't really crossed my mind, although, you're right that it would've been cool if she'd convinced the lawyer to help. Again, though, it was an issue of having her involved with what was going on. She just wouldn't have enough scenes. I love how you thought Max was a canon character, and it's really flattering, so thank you. I'm honestly not sure how I'm going to weave in Max and Jo, but, rest assured, they will be making more appearances. I love how long your reviews are, so please don't stop, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
BurnedSpy: I'm sorry you didn't like Folsom Prison Blues, but I'm glad you liked the last chapter!
grapejuice101: I hope Sam's reaction lived up to your expectations. I'm trying to get the next one out faster. I managed to get this one out faster than the previous two, so that was good. I'm hoping to get back into my previous updating schedule of every weekend.
Guest: I'm happy you loved this chapter! I hope you love the season finale!
Lanariel Greenleaf: I really hope I can write up to your expectations, but I think you and the rest of the readers will like what I post (hopefully).
MsNico: What Is and What Should Never Be was one of my favorite episodes as well. Their little family was adorable to write, and I wanted to do something different from the episode where they just had Dean's girlfriend. They aren't married yet, but they are engaged. You'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Guest: I'm so happy you're excited about the engagement and that you loved the chapter. Dean and the kids was one of my favorite things to write since I started this story, so I'm glad it had such an impact.
sarahmichellegellarfan1: I hope you liked Sam's reaction in this chapter. I'm really hoping that you loved this chapter, but I'm a bit scared for the feedback I'll get from this if I'm being honest.
J. : I get that moving and school sucks, but thanks for reviewing even though your busy! For me, when a review complements my writing style it's one of the highest praises I can get, so thank you so much!