Chapter 9

Meetings

Dean opened his eyes as if just waking from a long nap. He went to stretch, but realized he couldn't. Rope bound his wrists behind his back and around a metal support beam. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to loosen the knots. He looked to his left and saw Sam beginning to stir. He was tied up as Dean was. To his right he saw Johnny, already awake and staring furiously into the darkness ahead. He was bound with metal chains. Dean followed Johnny's gaze and absorbed the scene.

The beautiful maid that had poisoned them all back at the motel now stood before them, dressed in a sleek black dress to show off her curves. A large snake wrapped itself around her limbs as if she was a tree, but the reptile didn't faze her. At her side were three men of equally iniquitous dispositions. One was young, possibly early twenties, with a punk style in frayed denim. He twiddled a knife in his hand like a gymnast's baton. Another man was at the opposite end of the age spectrum where he could've been mistaken for being a corpse with his sunken, bonelike features and grey skin. His hair was mangy and greasy, and hung off his scalp like his tattered clothes did his body; almost ready to fall off. The last man was middle aged, but youthful, and had a classy look about him, dressed in an all-white business suit. His platinum blond hair was spiked up with gel, hiding two carefully concealed silver horns. He wore sunglasses to hide his eyes, making his face bare a marble expression to match his stone cold stance. The four lounged about a display of wooden crates, revealing the location to be some sort of warehouse, while the dim light above them created a mystery beyond the little circle they all resided in.

From out of the enigmatic darkness emerged a robust man, almost Herculean in build, with ponytailed black hair and clothing to match, and an evil grin so filled with pleasure it could make the Devil himself fear for his life.

"Evening, boys. Glad to finally see you again after all these years," the man said in a hoarse voice.

None of them said a word. Johnny continued to eye the man with a vengeful stare; occasionally shaking his head in attempt to calm himself while the rest of him emanated thick smoke.

The man laughed. "Okay, Johnny, I know the drill. I know we don't have long before the Rider takes over, so I'll be brief. I just wanted to have a pleasant little chat before things get… well… not too pleasant."

"And you call this pleasant?" Dean snapped, tugging at the ropes that bound him.

"Well you're hunters. You shoot first, ask questions later. I wanted to try and reverse that, if at all possible." The man walked around the room with casual ease to his steps and a charming smile as he spoke. "I thought we could reminisce about old times. You know. Like when you sent me to Hell," he said, directing the last line to Dean. "Or like when you killed all my friends," he said to Johnny.

Then he walked over to Sam. "And you. I don't believe we've met, but I hear you're quite the little psychic. The name is Malphas, if you haven't already caught on."

Sam didn't respond, but glared at him with watchful eyes.

Malphas smirked in delight. Then, suddenly, he stepped back from the tied up guests with a look of bewilderment. "Oh, forgive me. What kind of host am I? Here I am babbling on about how we all know each other when here you are not having been introduced to my new friends. Please, allow me."

He grazed a hand across the shoulder of the black widow that had poisoned them. "I believe you have already met Lilith." She gave them each a sultry glance, and then shot one to Malphas, who put his arm around her waist in return.

He then gestured to the men around her. "The feisty young fellow with the knife is Shezma." After being named, the punk kid winked and smirked as he caressed the blade in a threatening manner.

"The madman in the corner would be my pal Murmur." The skeleton man didn't make any motion to acknowledge his mention. He perhaps looked sicklier in the time they had been talking. Flies had also begun to circle around him.

Malphas abandoned Lilith's side and strolled over to the man in white. He placed a sturdy hand on his shoulder. "And this is my right hand man Osiris." The man in white remained emotionless and statuesque.

Malphas strode toward his guests. He clapped his hands together to finalize his speech. "So, now that we've all been introduced and we're all caught up to speed on why we're here I suppose it's time to look to the future."

Dean looked over to Sam and saw that he had a pocketknife in his hand and had begun sawing at the rope. He quickly turned back to Malphas. "There isn't going to be a future for you, 'cause we're sending you back to Hell," Dean threatened.

Malphas laughed. "Is that so? Well I suppose if I were in your shoes I'd think the same. I mean you did it once before. Why would you think you couldn't do it again? And of course there is the fact that you have the Ghost Rider on your side, so you must be feeling incredibly powerful right now."

Johnny's shakes became more violent and the chains began to glow with heat.

"So then is there a reason you're not begging for mercy or running for your life?" Dean continued.

"You're outnumbered, kid. You don't have a shot in Hell."

"Five to three? Please. I've beaten worse odds before."

"Oh, not just in physical numbers. Skills too. I chose my team wisely this time. I made the mistake before of thinking just pure numbers could do the trick. But you helped me see that I needed more than that. So now I'm back, and I'm stronger than ever. And the four you see behind me… they've been out of Hell a lot longer than I. They know how to play the game. And they're not that anxious to go back either."

Sam stood up and shrugged off the rope, then slid the pocketknife to Dean. "Johnny, now!"

Johnny burst out of his chains, now in full Rider form. "Time to go ba-ack," he taunted in a sing-song manner. He picked up the chain and cracked it like a whip, igniting it with flames.

Sam jumped out to the side and found a few barrels of gasoline he had been eying earlier. He took one and dumped it near the crates the demons were sitting on.

Dean shook off the now severed ropes and lunged at Malphas with his knife. Malphas blocked the blow and punched Dean in the stomach, sending him flying back into the darkness and crashing into a stack of crates.

Johnny whipped the flaming rope of chains toward the gasoline spill to ignite it. Before it landed, a well manicured hand grabbed the chains and picked it up. Lilith held the chains, withstanding the heat of the flames. She gave the Rider a triumphant smile and tugged on the chains. The flames diminished and green, smoky venom trailed its way up the metal line from her hand to the Rider's. He dropped it immediately as if it had scalded him. He gave out an angry roar and walked toward her. He raised a fiery skeleton hand, but Lilith, clearly prepared for the attack, spun around him and grabbed his skull from behind with both hands. Her green venom took place of his Hell fire. The Rider shrieked in agony and fell to his knees.

Sam knocked over another barrel of gas. He began toward the last barrel when Osiris appeared behind him and smashed Sam's head into the barrel with a single motion. Sam crumpled to the floor, but remained conscious. He tried to bring himself to his feet, but Osiris helped him up first, hauling him up by his jacket collar. Sam drowsily stared up at Osiris' statuesque face, awaiting the next hit.

Just then, a great force plunged Osiris to the floor, knocking Sam back into the barrel that he clung to for support. Dean stood above Osiris and shook out his right hand to loosen it up. He turned to his brother and said, "You okay, Sammy?"

Sam weakly nodded and Dean helped him up. Sam pushed over the last barrel of gasoline as Dean spotted a door in the distance. They started toward it with haste.

The Rider, still under the toxic spell of Lilith's poisonous fingertips looked toward the gas spill. He extended a boney hand toward it. Lilith saw this and put more force into her hold. The Rider wailed once more and reached further. The venom began to spread through his body, and slowly crawled down his arms, threatening to overtake the last bit of fire in his fingers.

His reach extended further and further as the venom spread further and further, until…

The Rider released a scream in anger; his rage now fueling his fire, giving him the strength he needed to overcome the venom momentarily to press his hand into the liquid and ignite the gasoline.

Sam and Dean reached the road as the warehouse exploded. They ducked and shielded themselves from the flying debris. As the smoke began to clear, they looked back into the destruction, their eyes searching wildly for any sign of Johnny.

In the heart of the wreckage was a flame in the shape of a man. The Rider strode up the grassy hill to the roadside where the Winchesters stood. Though his clothing was badly tattered, not a mark remained of the explosion or Lilith's venom. His fire blazed on, healthy as ever. He put two boney fingers to his teeth and whistled. From down the barren highway a flaming motorcycle sped toward them, stopping just before the Rider's feet. He gestured to Sam and Dean to get onto the bike.

Dean shook his head and laughed, "As cool as that looks, there is no way I'm getting on that."

The Rider sighed and walked off toward a car now approaching them. The car came to a halt and the driver rushed out toward Sam and Dean, looking between them and the wreckage. "Hey, are you guys alright- Holy shit!" The driver saw the Rider and fell backward to the gravel in fear.

The Rider pointed to the car and looked at Dean. "Better?"

Dean shrugged. "I guess." Sam and Dean got into the car, stepping over its previous owner who was immobile with fright.

The Rider straddled the bike and turned back to the Winchesters. "Follow me," he hissed.

As they rode off down the highway, the man they had left stranded slowly rose to his feet. He dusted off his pants and reached into his pocket for his cell phone. A pair of strong hands behind him gripped his head and snapped his neck. The man fell limply to the ground.

Malphas picked up the phone and passed it to Osiris at his side, the others all standing around him. Together they watched as the two vehicles disappeared into the horizon.