"More tea, sugar?" the Mrs Ripley asks sweetly, poised with the steaming teapot in her grasp. Sam and Dean politely refuse, still holding their full cups. The woman disguises her disappointment as she places the teapot back on the teak table. "So what else is it you want to ask me?"
"We were wondering what it was that your daughter studied during her time at Montana University." Sam inquires.
"Ah, yes. Melanie was a star student." she beams. "She studied American Literature for the first year, but then she switched. She wasn't enjoying the course, you see. The professor was a bit of a bore. And, well, Melanie was all about excitement. From what I've heard from her friends, she had quite an active social life."
"And what course did she switch to?" Dean says, quickly returning to the subject.
"Astronomy, of course." Mrs Ripley smiles. "She shows an interest in the stars from a young age: she wanted to be an astronaut, you know!"
"I see..." Sam coughs.
"Melanie was so enthusiastic; she would go stargazing at the observatory on Blue Mountain every Friday night, nine o'clock on the dot."
"Blue Mountain, you say?" Dean interjects.
"Yes." she nods sombrely. "The mountain is quite close by...but I would always worry about her. Maybe I was right to worry..." She gazes into the stream of steam that rises from the teapot. "But of course, you should already know all this...you knew Melanie yourself after all."
"Er, yes, of course." Sam nods in agreement. "We were high school buddies."
Sam and Dean make a swift escape Mrs Ripley's house before she can offer them another cup of tea. Walking down the street side by side in the light of setting sun, they discuss their findings.
"So now we know that both Josh and Melanie were students at the University, and both have a connection to the Blue Mountain trail." Dean summarises. "And, of course, both were ripped to shreds..."
"So you finally agree that there's a case here?"
"Maybe." Dean shrugs casually. "But I still say we pay Mr Porter one last visit before bedtime."
The birds sing their final song before retreating to the warmth of their nests. Amongst the noise of the endless twittering and hooting, Alex paces about in his plaid shirt and jeans, turning the pages of the book in his hand. There are various diagrams of constellations and fantastical creatures. The text itself tells of fairies that gather under the Corona Borealis on the winter solstice, and where time itself slows down when the Horologii appears beside a full moon. But only one particular paragraph has been circled in red pen: in between meteor showers of December which radiate from Serpens, they say the devil himself will appear to those who perform a specific summoning ritual.
Alex closes the book and checks his watch. 18:30: soon, twilight would settle over the mountain, and the forest would finally be at peace. He drops to his knees and digs his fingers into the rocky earth, in preparation for the ritual. By the time the daylight fades, the hole has been dug. Alex snatches a tin box from his bag, containing his photograph, a handful of graveyard soil, and a piece of yarrow, and drops it into the hole. He rises to his feet, kicks some dirt over the hole, and waits for the first star to appear in the sky.
"Waiting for someone?" a voice calls through the trees.
Alex turns slowly on the spot to see a tall blonde-haired man, cleanly shaven, wearing dark sunglasses, an orange Hawaiian shirt and a tan to match.
"Are you Satan?" Alex asks bluntly.
"I'm afraid not." the man says, regretfully. "Lucifer cannot be with us at the moment, so I'm standing in for a little while."
"So who are you?"
"I have lots of names. In business, my name is Cor Serpentis. But you can call me Cory." the demon smiles charmingly. "So I hear your name is Alex: Josh won't stop screaming for you down in Hell."
Alex flinches at the mention of his dead partner. "I'm here to bring him back."
"Oh really?" Cory chuckles. "Well that's funny. That's exactly what he said when he came here this time last year."
"Can you do it?" Alex cuts in.
"It depends..." Cory says thoughtfully. "I can't just have the two of you lovebirds bouncing back and forth between Hell and Earth. What will you give me in return?"
"My soul?" Alex offers.
"That's too easy." the demon says, shaking his head. "Although there is something else I want..."
"What?" Alex snarls.
"Your body." Cory answers. "Not in a sexual way though. I've been dragging this meatsuit around the Bahamas for a year now, and I'm bored of it. I need a new look."
"Are you serious?" Alex replies, horrified.
"Yeah, why not? You're a little on the pale side, but you're a good-looking guy." the demon licks his lips ravenously. "So how about it? Your soul spends eternity in Hell while your body walks the Earth forever. Oh, and as a bonus, I'll bring your man back from the dead."
"So I never get to see him again?"
"Not consciously, no..." Cory responds. "But I'm giving you a good deal here: this way, the Hell-hounds won't tear you up like they did with Josh. You'll stay looking young and fresh eternally, at no extra cost!"
"Fine, whatever." Alex sighs, exhaustively.
"Well first, you have to seal the deal." he adds with enthusiasm. "This is the best part..."
"Alex, don't do it!"
Alex and Cory spin round to see Sam and Dean pounding through the trees towards them, wielding pistols and panting for breath.
"What the hell?" Alex frowns.
"Oh ignore them, baby." Cory sneers, and removes his shades, revealing his demonic misty-white eyes. "I'll keep them from getting in our way."
The demon raises his hand and releases a ball of flame, which flies through the air towards the two brothers. They duck into the undergrowth as the fireball strikes a nearby tree, transforming it into a tower of flame. Dean jumps up and shoots. The bullet sails towards the demon, but stops in mid-air, falling pathetically to the ground.
"Nice try, asshole." Cory yells.
"Dean, what do we do?" Sam hisses as they crouch helplessly in the bushes.
"We need to get Alex the hell outta there." Dean mutters.
Sam pops his head out of the shrubbery and calls out to him directly. "Alex! Walk away! It's not worth it!"
"Screw this." Dean retorts, and launches into the open space. The demon raises its hand and sends a powerful shockwave through the air; strong enough to knock Dean straight off his feet.
Sam watches in awe as his brother soars through the air and land on his back, his fall slightly softened by the shrubbery. Alex stands frozen on the spot, his skin pale in the moonlight, torn between life and death.