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CHAPTER THIRTEEN- VIRUSES ARE COMIN' TO TOWN
I tried not to scream as the vision flashed through my head.
Dean steps into the room, gun in hand.
A young blond boy writhes in a chair.
He begins to babble.
"No, no, no, you're not gonna…. no, I swear! It's not in me!"
Dean advances, cocking the gun.
"I got no choice."
He fires.
I gasped, jerking against the cold hotel floor.
The door opened and Dean entered, chewing on jerky and carrying a six-pack of beer.
I sat up, panting.
"Odette?"
~Supernatural~
Dean drove down the blacktop, and Sam navigated with his GPS device.
"Continue on O-R two-two-four west."
"There are only two towns in the U.S named Rivergrove," I said quietly.
"How come you're so sure it's the one in Oregon, Bambi?"
My eyes unfocused as I flashed back to the vision.
"There was a picture," I answered Dean. "Crater Lake."
"Okay, what else?" Sam glanced at me worriedly.
"I saw a dark room, some people, this guy tied to a chair."
I found myself wishing Castiel were here.
He had an uncanny way of calming me down.
"And I ventilated him?" Dean raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," I nodded shakily. "You thought there was something inside him."
"What, a demon?" Dean slowed the car. "Was he possessed?"
"I don't know." I massaged my head.
"Was there any black smoke? Did we try to exorcise it?"
"No." I sighed. "You just killed him, that's it."
Dean huffed.
"I'm sure I had a good reason."
"I sure hope so," I whispered.
"What does that mean?" Dean snapped.
"I wouldn't kill an innocent man!"
"I never said you would, Dean," I muttered.
"Okay, enough," Sam looked between us.
"Look, we don't know what it is, but whatever it is, that guy in the chair's part of it. So let's find him, and see what's what."
…
We pulled into town past a large billboard advertising Crater Lake.
We stopped in front of a wooden shop.
The man from my vision was cleaning a rifle, dressed in a short-sleeved blue shirt and a brown vest.
"Morning," Dean said politely.
"Good morning. Can I help you?"
"Yeah," Dean pulled out a badge.
"Uh, Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard. U.S Marshals."
He narrowed his eyes.
"What's this about?
"We're looking for someone."
"A young man," Sam said. "Early twenties."
"He'd have a thin scar right below his hairline," I added.
"What'd he do?"
"Well, nothing," Sam shifted slightly.
"We're actually looking for someone else, but we think he could help."
"Yeah," Dean coughed. "He's not in any kind of trouble, not yet, anyway."
He glanced down at the tattoo on the man's arm.
"I think maybe you know who he is, Master Sergeant."
Dean smiled.
"My dad was in the corps, he was a Corporal."
"What company?"
"Echo-2-1."
"So can you help us?" Sam asked impatiently.
He hesitated.
"Dwayne Tanner's got a scar like that. But I know him. Good kid, keeps his nose clean."
"Oh, I'm sure he does." Dean rocked back on his heels.
"You know where he lives?"
"With his family, up Aspen Way."
"Thank you."
We left, and the man frowned after us.
Across the street, Sam bumped into a telephone wire and stopped to stare at it.
Gouged into it was a single word.
'CROATOAN.'
~Supernatural~
"I want you to stay here, okay?" Sam squeezed my shoulder for emphasis.
"There could be some sort of demonic virus, and we don't know what we're dealing with, so stay."
I attempted a smile.
"Sure, Sam."
Dean dragged Sam out the door to find Dwayne, giving me a last warning glance.
I sighed, huddling onto the bed.
I distinctly heard something rustle behind me.
"Hi, Castiel."
He surveyed me intently.
"You are troubled."
Some of the worry coiled in my stomach eased slightly.
"I don't know what's happening anymore, Castiel."
I buried my head in my hands.
"These visions, they scare me. It's like I'm in a nightmare, and I know I'm never going to wake up. I can't deal."
He sat next to me.
"You're going to have to, Odette. Have faith."
"Faith?"
I let out a half-laugh, half-sob.
"I've lost everything, Castiel. How do you expect me to have faith?"
He kept watch over me for the next few hours.
"I don't, Odette. But I hope, just the same."
~Supernatural~
I ran into the clinic, I'd come as soon as Sam had called me.
Dean nodded at me as I skidded in.
I glanced at the woman on the stool briefly.
"I don't know why," She seemed close to sobbing.
"One minute they were my husband and son, and the next, they had the devil in them."
"We gotta talk," Dean pulled us out into the hallway.
"Those guys were whacked out of their gourds."
"What do you think?" Sam paced back and forth. "Multiple demons, mass possession?"
"If it is a possession, there could be more." Dean was frustrated.
"I mean, God knows how many, it could be like a friggin' Shriner convention."
"Great."
"Of course, that's one way to wipe out a town, you take it from the inside."
"I don't know, man," Sam seemed uneasy. "We didn't see any of the demon smoke with Tanner, or any of the other usual signs."
"Well, whatever," Dean shrugged.
"Something turned him into a monster. And you know if you woulda taken out the other one there'd be one less to worry about."
"I'm sorry, all right?" Sam tugged a hand through his hair.
"I hesitated, Dean, it was a kid!"
"No," Dean set his jaw.
"It was an 'it'. Not the best time for a bleeding heart, Sam."
Dr. Lee stalked out of the lab, heels clicking loudly on the floor.
"How's the patient?"
"Terrible!" Dr. Lee glared at us. "What the hell happened out there?"
"We don't know."
"Yeah?" She scowled. "Well, you just killed my next door neighbor."
Dean rubbed his head.
"We had no choice."
"Maybe so, but we need the county sheriff. I need the coroner…"
"Phones are down," Sam informed her.
"I know, I tried. Tell me you have a police radio in the car?"
"Yeah we do, but it's busted out like everything else."
"How far is it to the next town?" Dean asked sharply.
"It's about forty miles down to Sidewinder."
"All right, I'm gonna go down there, see if I can find some help."
He clapped Sam on the shoulder.
"My partner'll stick around, keep you guys safe."
"Safe from what?" Dr. Lee demanded.
"We'll get back to you on that."
~Supernatural~
I leaned against the counter with Sam, staring at the body of what used to be Mr. Tanner.
"Huh."
"What?" Sam turned to Dr. Lee.
"His lymphocyte percentage is pretty high. His body was fighting off a viral infection."
"Really?" Sam looked up. "What kind of virus?"
She shrugged.
"Can't say for sure."
"Do you think an infection could have made him act like that?"
"None that I've heard of," She bit her lip.
"I mean, some can cause dementia, but not that kind of violence. And besides, I've never heard of one that did this to the blood."
"Did what?" Sam crossed his arms.
"There's this….. weird residue. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was sulfur."
…
Sam stared fixedly at Beverly, still huddled on the stool in the lab.
"I don't understand," Her voice trembled.
"Are you saying my husband and Jake had a disease?"
"That's what we're trying to find out," Dr. Lee said soothingly.
"Now, during the attack, do you remember….. did you have any direct contact with their blood?"
"Oh my God," Beverly was horrified. "You don't think I've got this virus, do you?"
"Beverly, I don't know what to think," Dr. Lee sighed. "But with your permission, we'll take a blood sample."
She nodded, laying her hand gently on the doctor's.
Suddenly, she grabbed her wrist, lashing out with her other hand.
Sam moved towards her, and she sent him careening into the cabinet.
Beverly picked up a scalpel, and Sam knocked her out with a fire extinguisher.
…
I followed Pam out into the hallway.
I couldn't stand to hear Dean and Sam's murmuring anymore.
Truthfully, Dean had terrified me when he'd shot Beverly Tanner in the heart.
I understood it was necessary, but the look on Dean's face was so foreign, so remote, so not Dean, that it scared me.
"How are you holding up, Pam?"
"Good. It'll all be over soon."
I did not see her lock the door.
"I've been waiting to get you alone anyway."
"What-"
She pushed me down to the floor, cutting my palm with a scalpel.
I knew what was coming now.
She slit her arm.
Pam's blood mixed with mine.