Hey y'all!
Sorry about the wait- I usually write chapters a little faster, but this one was difficult to write for some reason.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and don't be afraid to let me know what you think! :)
We thought that was the last we would ever see of Meg. After we took her out, we started working on new cases- a Tulpa in Texas, a Shtriga in Wisconsin, a den of vampires, and a painting haunted by a seriously pissed-off little girl. Everything was back to normal, but it didn't stay that way for long. I mean, come on- we're hunters. We don't exactly get vacation days. We had just saved a woman from the same fate as Mary Winchester and were trying to get ahold of John, who wasn't answering his phone.
"Come on, Dad- answer your phone, damn it!" Dean cursed as he paced around the Iowa motel we had crashed in. I was slumped against the headboard of one bed and frowning at the singed ends of my hair while Sam sat on the other bed, looking like he was about to punch something. I heard Dean hang up and toss his phone on the bed, and I looked up to see him shaking his head.
"Something's wrong," he muttered grimly, continuing to pace around the room. I nodded in agreement and looked over at Sam, expecting him to say something, but he was staring angrily at the wall.
"You hear me? Something's wrong!" Dean repeated, and Sam shook his head slowly.
"If you had just let me go in there, I coulda ended all this," he said quietly, and Dean started moving towards him.
"Sam, the only thing you would have ended was your life," he countered, but Sam just shook his head and continued staring at the wall.
"You don't know that."
"So what, you're just willing to sacrifice yourself? Is that it?" Dean barked, and I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, shooting Dean a warning glare.
"Yeah. You're damn right I am," Sam shot back at him, standing up. I looked over him in shock as I stood up as well and walked over to him.
"Sam, no-" I started, but Dean cut me off.
"Well, that's not going to happen- not as long as I'm around."
I could see Sam's eyes blazing with anger, and I stepped away in fear as he spoke in a rough, harsh tone.
"What the hell are you talking about, Dean? We've been searching for this demon our whole lives- it's the only thing we've ever cared about!"
Dean sighed and reached up to rub the back of his neck, and I looked down at the floor before responding.
"Sam, it's not worth dying over," I said softly, and he looked over at me in disbelief.
"What?"
"If hunting this demon means getting yourself killed, then I hope we never find the damn thing!" Dean growled, and Sam turned to him, his face hardening.
"That thing killed Jess. That thing killed Mom!" he retorted, and I stepped away from him again and moved closer to Dean, who was glaring back at Sam, his jaw set.
"You said yourself that no matter what we do, they're gone!" he snapped, and Sam grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him against the wall. I choked down a scream and darted away from them, standing so my back was against the corner of the room by the door.
"Don't you say that, not you!" Sam roared, and I winced, pressing my back farther into the corner. "Not after all this!"
"Sam, look…" Dean began in a quiet voice, and I saw Sam's face soften slightly. "The four of us… that's all we have- and it's all I have. Sometimes I feel like I'm barely holdin' it together, man. And without you, or Ella, or Dad…"
"Dad," Sam choked out, and he let go of Dean. He turned away and walked across the room, and I took a tiny step away from the corner. Dean took a deep, shaky breath and stepped away from the wall, moving towards me. He slowly reached his arm out to me and put his hand on my shoulder, and I looked up at him with tears in my eyes. He frowned slightly and pulled me into a tight hug, resting his chin on my head as I buried my face into his chest. He pulled away a second later and looked down at me, concern clouding his features, and I smiled weakly up at him.
"He should have called by now…" Sam said from across the room, and we both turned to look at him. His back was to us, but as he turned to face us, we could see him trying to hold back tears. "Try him again."
Dean nodded and reached for his phone, and I sat on the edge of the bed and rested my elbows on my knees, wiping my eyes. Dean dialed John's number and brought the phone up to his ear, and he was silent as he waited for someone to pick up. Then he straightened up, and I could see the corners of his mouth curling up into a snarl as his eyes narrowed.
"Where is he?"
I snapped my head up in shock and leapt to my feet as Dean looked over at Sam and I.
"Meg," he mouthed, and I spun to look at Sam, who looked just as horrified as I did.
"I'm gonna kill that demonic fucktrumpet!" I yelled, and Dean choked down a laugh before snarling into the phone and hanging up.
"They've got Dad."
"What'd she say?" Sam sputtered, and Dean shot him a panicked look.
"I just told you, Sammy!"
Dean grabbed the Colt and tucked it into the back of his jeans and stood up, grabbing his duffle bag. I grabbed the knife I had tucked under my pillow and shoved it into my boot, gathering my singed hair into a ponytail before straightening up and turning to Sam. He just stood there looking at us strangely, and I rolled my eyes at him.
"We gotta go- you comin' or not?"
"What? Why?" he protested, snapping out of whatever trance he was in and shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Because the demon knows we're in Salvation, alright?" Dean piped up, throwing his jacket on. "It knows we've got the Colt. It's got Dad, and it's probably coming for us next."
"Good- we've still got three bullets left," Sam retorted, and extended his arms to the side slightly, his hands still in his pockets. "Let it come."
"Sam. we don't know how many demons are out there," I pointed out, and Dean nodded in agreement.
"We're not ready, okay? And we're no good to anybody dead. We're leaving now!" Dean demanded, grabbing his bag and jogging out to the car. I made sure I had everything before following him and sliding into the backseat, dropping my backpack on the floor. Sam got in the car a second later, still looking unhappy about the plan, and we tore out of the parking lot.
"I'm telling you, Dean- we could have taken him," Sam grumbled about 10 minutes into the drive. I groaned internally and stuck my head over the back of the seat between the two brothers, deliberately turning my head so that I was facing Dean and not Sam.
"What we need is a plan," Dean declared, ignoring Sam as he continued to talk. "Now, they're probably keeping Dad alive- we just gotta figure out where. They're gonna want to trade him for the gun."
I leaned back and rested my chin on the seat just in time to see Sam shake his head. Dean glanced over at him and rolled his eyes.
"What?"
Dean, if that were true, why didn't Meg mention a trade?" Sam replied, and his face fell. "Dad might be-"
"Don't!" Dean snapped, and stared straight ahead at the road, his jaw set.
"Look, I don't want to believe it any more than you," Sam started, and Dean tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "But if he is, all the more reason to kill the damn thing. We have the Colt- we can still finish the job."
"Screw the job, Sam!" Dean growled, and I shot him a glare.
"Dean, I'm just trying to do what he would want. He would want us to keep going," Sam retorted, and I turned my head to look at him.
"Sam, come on. For all we know, he's still alive and kicking- you talk about him like he's already dead," I chimed in, and I heard Dean grunt in agreement.
"Everything stops until we get him back, you understand me? Everything," he declared, and Sam nodded in agreement. Dean glanced at me through the rearview mirror, and I nodded as well before flopping back against the seat and pushing my bangs out of my face.
"So how do we find him?" I questioned, and Dean shrugged.
"Maybe we go to Lincoln- start at the warehouse where he was taken," Dean suggested, but I saw Sam frown.
"Come on, Dean- you really think these demons are going to leave a trail?"
Dean paused for a second before grinning at me in the mirror. I raised my eyebrows expectantly, waiting for his response.
"You're right- we need help."
He reached into his pocket and dug around for his phone before tossing it back to me. I caught it and shot him a confused look, and he smirked at me.
"Call Bobby."
About an hour into the drive, I curled up in the backseat and fell asleep. I woke up a while later to someone gently shaking my shoulder and saw that it was light outside. I slowly opened my eye and squinted up at Sam, who managed to smile down at me.
"We're about fifteen minutes out, El."
I groaned and sat up, rubbing my eyes and pushing my hair out of my face. I swore as I tried to wrangle it into a braid, frowning again at the singed ends. Once I managed to tame my hair, I sat back in my seat and rummaged around in my backpack for food. Finding nothing, I bent over to dig under the seat, emerging triumphantly with a half-eaten bag of sour gummy worms. Sam raised his eyebrows at me in the rearview mirror, and I shrugged and held them out to him. He shook his head, and I fake-pouted and offered the bag to Dean, who happily took some.
By the time we arrived at Bobby's house, I had finished off the gummy worms and was currently amusing myself by trying to give a grumbling Sam a new hairstyle. I had finally managed to make his hair stand up straight from his head when we pulled up to the front door and he shook his head like a wet dog, returning his hair to its normal state. I laughed and hopped out of the car just as Dean reached the door and started to knock. Sam and I had just reached the doorstep when Bobby opened the door, looking at us in surprise as Dean spoke up.
"Hey, Bobby. John's in trouble, and we need some help."
Bobby's face fell, but he ushered us into the house and shut the door behind him. Then he turned to us and grinned, reaching out to clap Dean on the shoulder.
"It's been too long, Dean," he said, and turned to Sam with a puzzled look on his face.
"Thought you were at college."
I saw Sam wince, and Dean shot Bobby a look. He nodded in understanding before he looked over at me and pulled me into a hug.
"You got tall, kid!" he said in surprise, and I laughed and hugged him back. He pulled away from me and patted my shoulder before motioning for us to follow him into his "office".
There were books piled everywhere, and various papers were haphazardly hung on every wall. Sam sat down at a large desk by the bookcases and looked around, grabbing a book bigger than his head and settling back into the chair. Dean stood by a large stack of books with his hands in his pockets, and as soon as I saw the large Rottweiler through the window, I turned to Bobby and gave him my best puppy-dog eyes. He laughed and went to go get the dog, reappearing a moment later with two flasks in his hands and the dog trailing behind him. I happily plopped myself down on the floor and extended a hand to the dog, and it sniffed my fingers before deciding I wasn't a threat and allowing me to pet it.
"Well, it's good to see that some things never change," Bobby chuckled, and handed one of the flasks to Dean. "Here you go."
"What is this- holy water?" Dean asked, and Bobby nodded.
"That one is- this is whiskey," Bobby replied as he took a swig from the flask before handing it to Dean, who gladly drank some.
"Bobby, thanks- thanks for everything," Dean said, and he shook his head. "To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure we should come."
"Nonsense- your daddy needs help," Bobby retorted, and I smirked as I remembered the last time we had seen him.
"Well, last time we saw you, you kinda threatened to blast him full of buckshot- cocked the shotgun and everything," I pointed out, and Bobby gave me a sheepish grin.
"Yeah, well, what can I say? John just has that effect on people."
"Yeah, I guess he does," Dean said quietly, shaking his head slightly. I looked back down at the dog, who had now rested his head on my leg and fallen asleep, and reached out to stroke its head as Dean smiled down at me.
"Bobby, this book…" Sam piped up from the desk, and Bobby turned to look at him. "I've never seen anything like it."
"Key of Solomon?" Bobby questioned as he walked over to Sam and sat on the edge of the desk, craning his neck to see the cover of the book. "It's the real deal, alright."
"And these, uh… these protective circles- they really work?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows at Bobby, who nodded at him.
"Hell, yeah. You get a demon in, they're trapped. Powerless. It's like a Satanic roach motel." Sam chuckled at this, and Dean walked over to check out the book.
"Man knows his stuff," he commented, and Bobby shook his head.
"I'll tell you something else, too- this is some serious crap y'all stepped in," he said unhappily, and I saw Sam look up at him in surprise.
"Yeah? How's that?"
"Normal year, I hear of, say… three demonic possessions. Maybe four, tops," Bobby began, shaking his head.
"And this year?" I asked, tearing my eyes away from the now snoring dog.
"This year, I've heard of 27 so far," he replied, and I swore under my breath as he continued. "You get what I'm saying? More and more demons are walking among us- a lot more."
"Do you know why?" Sam questioned, but Bobby shook his head.
"No, but I know it's something big. The storm's coming, and you boys, Ella, and your daddy- you are smack in the middle of it."
With that, the Rottweiler shot up from my lap and out the door, barking his head off.
"Rumsfeld!" Bobby yelled, and went over to the window. Just as he reached it and looked out to the yard, Rumsfeld abruptly stopped barking and yelped before going silent.
"Something's wrong…" Bobby muttered, and was about to head towards the door when it was kicked wide open, and Meg sauntered in.
"You again? God, you're worse than a disease!" I snapped, and I saw Dean slip the holy water flask out of his pocket.
"No more crap, okay?" Meg announced, but Dean didn't agree. He came at her, unscrewing the flask, but was promptly thrown into a stack of books when Meg hit him. He fell to the floor and seemed to be knocked out, and I turned to glare at Meg before stepping in front of where he laid on the floor.
"You know, I liked you better when I thought you were dead," I quipped, and Meg looked like she wanted to throw me into something.
"Who let the bitch off her leash?" she snarled at me, and turned her attention back to Sam, who had stepped in front of Bobby.
"I want the Colt, Sam- the real Colt. Right now," she demanded, following Sam and Bobby as they slowly moved across the room.
"We don't have it on us. We buried it," Sam lied, but Meg just glared at him. I heard Dean get up quietly behind me, and he slowly moved around the edge of the room.
"Didn't I say no more crap?" She hissed, and shook her head in frustration. "I swear, after everything I heard about you Winchesters, I got to tell you- I'm a little underwhelmed. First Johnny tries to pawn off a fake gun, and then he leaves the real gun with you two chuckleheads and her. Lackluster, guys. I mean, did you really think I wouldn't find you?"
"Actually, we were counting on it," Dean piped up from behind her, and he smirked at her as she spun to face him. Then he looked up at the ceiling, and Meg did the same, seeing the large protection symbol Bobby had etched into the ceiling at some point.
"Gotcha."
We tied Meg to a chair in the middle of the floor, and Sam and Dean kept watch while Bobby and I salted the doors and windows. As I came back into the room, I heard Meg speak up.
"You know, if you wanted to tie me up, all you had to do was ask," she purred seductively, and I laughed as I walked up to her.
"Sorry, Meg- you're not really my type. I don't do the whole demonic psychopath thing," I drawled, and she drew her lips up in a snarl. Bobby walked in with a canister of salt bigger than his head and put it down on a table in the corner before turning back to us and nodding. Dean stood up and walked around Bobby and Sam to stand in front of Meg while I leaned against the wall to her left.
"Where's our father, Meg?" Dean demanded, but she just grinned coyly at him.
"You didn't ask very nice."
"Where's our father, bitch?" Dean retorted, smirking at her, and she gasped dramatically and smirked right back at him.
"Jeez- you kiss your mother with that mouth? Oh wait, I forgot… you don't."
Dean lunged at her and slammed his hands onto the chair arms, giving her the sharpest glare I had ever seen.
"You think this is a frigging game?" He roared, and I resisted the urge to punch Meg in the face. "Where is he?! What did you do to him?"
"He died screaming- I killed him myself!" she snapped, and I called her some very colorful names before Dean backhanded her across the face and I tried my hardest not to cheer. She snapped her head back up and grinned coyly up at him, ignoring the anger blazing in his eyes.
"That's kind of a turn-on, you hitting a girl."
"You're no girl," Dean growled, and I saw Bobby stand up and move into the next room.
"Dean," he called out, and Dean walked over to him while I gave Meg one last glare before walking away.
"You okay?" Sam asked carefully as he moved over to Dean, who shot him a look.
"She's lying- he's not dead!" He fumed, and Bobby looked over at him with worry written all over his face.
"Dean, you got to be careful with her- don't hurt her," he said gently, and Dean looked at him in shock.
"Why?"
"Because she really is a girl, that's why," Bobby replied, and I looked over at him in confusion before I realized what he was talking about.
"She's possessed, isn't she?" I questioned, and he nodded sadly at me.
"You're trying to tell me there's an innocent girl trapped in there somewhere?" Dean asked urgently, and I looked over at Meg in horror as Dean continued talking. "That's actually good news."
"You think we can save her?" I asked quietly, and Dean looked over at me and nodded. Sam thought for a second before walking back into the other room and grabbing John's journal, leafing through it. He stopped at a page and motioned to us to come look, and Dean and I walked over to him. I quickly read the page and nodded up at Sam, and we both turned to look at Dean. He nodded as well, and we walked over to Meg, who looked up at us and smirked.
"Are you gonna read me a story?" she asked sarcastically, and Dean laughed quietly.
"Something like that. Hit it, Sam."
Sam began to read from the page, and Meg turned to Dean and I with a smug smile on her face.
"An exorcism? Are you serious?" She laughed, and Dean grinned at her.
"Oh, we're going for it, baby- head spinning, projectile vomiting… the whole nine yards."
Sam said a few more words, and Meg flinched in pain. Sam stopped and looked over at Dean, and Meg turned to late at Sam over her shoulder.
"I'm gonna kill you," she hissed, before turning back to Dean. "I'm gonna rip the bones from your body, and then I'll break all of your precious Ella's bones one by one!"
"No, you're gonna burn in hell," Dean said smugly, and stepped closer to her. "Unless you tell us where our Dad is." She just smiled at him, and Dean shook his head at her. "Well, at least you'll get a nice tan."
"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incuriso infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, onmis congregatio et secta diabolica…" At this point, Meg gasped in pain and Sam stopped, looking up at her.
"He begged for his life with tears in his eyes, and begged to see his children one last time… That's when I slit his throat!" She snarled, and Sam continued to read the exorcism.
"For your sake, I hope you're lying," Dean growled as he leaned down to look her in the eyes. "Cause if it's true, I swear to God- I will march into hell myself and I will slaughter each and every one of you sons of bitches!"
A wind started to blow through the room as Sam continued to read from the journal, and Meg started shaking violently.
"Where is he?" Dean asked in a low voice, and Meg turned to glare at him.
"You just won't take dead for an answer, will you?"
"Where is he?!" Dean repeated, his voice getting louder and harsher.
"Dead!" Meg barked, and Dean shook his head emphatically.
"No he's not!" He roared, and I stepped closer to Sam, who looked over at me in concern as Dean continued to yell.
"He's not dead- he can't be!" At this, Dean noticed the concerned look Sam was giving him and looked over at him, his face twisted in anger.
"What are you looking at? Keep reading!"
Sam continued the exorcism, and the wind grew strong enough to slide the chair around the circle as Meg continued to shake and groan. Finally, she looked up, gritting her teeth.
"He will be!" she yelled, and Dean froze.
"Wait, what?!" He barked, and Meg looked over at him with pure hatred in her eyes.
"He's not dead. But he will be after what we do to him."
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Dean demanded, but amen just shook her head.
"You don't."
"Sam!" Dean yelled, and Meg gasped in pain before speaking up again.
"A building! Okay? A building in Jefferson City."
"Missouri?" Dean asked, and she managed to nod. "Where, where? An address!"
"I don't know," she managed to say, and Sam looked up at her.
"And the demon we're looking for- where is it?" heasked, and she shook her head desperately.
"I don't know, I swear!" She pleaded, looking over at me and Sam. "That's everything- that's all I know."
"Finish it," Dean spat, and Meg looked at him in shock.
"What? I told you the truth!"
"I don't care," he growled, and glared at her.
"You son of a bitch, you promised!" Meg yelled, and Dean smiled smugly at her.
"I lied. Sam?"
Sam didn't say anything, and Dean turned to us in frustration.
"Sam! Read!" He commanded, and walked over to us.
"Dean, maybe we can still use her- find out where the demon is," Sam pointed out quietly, but Dean just shook his head.
"She doesn't know."
"She lied," Sam said in exasperation, and I looked up at him and frowned.
"Sam, there's a girl trapped in there- we have to help her," I said urgently as Bobby came up to us, shaking his head.
"You're gonna kill her."
"What?" Dean asked, and I stepped back in horror.
"Oh my God…" I gasped, and reached out to grasp Sam's arm.
"What?" Dean asked again, and Bobby frowned at him.
"You said that she fell from a building. That girl's body is broken- the only thing keeping her alive is that demon inside. You exorcise it, that girl is going to die."
"Listen to me, all of you- we are not going to leave her like that!" Dean insisted, but Bobby shook his head.
"She is a human being!"
"And we're gonna put her out of her misery," Dean said decisively, and turned to look at me and Sam. "Finish it."
Sam looked between his brother and Bobby before looking down at me, his face troubled. I nodded up at him tearfully before burying my face into his shoulder, and he continued the exorcism.
Suddenly denle, Meg threw back her head and screamed, a cloud of black smoke streaming from her mouth. The cloud spread out in the Circle carved into the ceiling before disappearing as Meg fell forward, blood dripping from her mouth.
I started to rush over to her, but Bobby grabbed my arm and held me back.
"Ella, we don't know if it's really over."
After a moment, Meg lifted her head, and I broke free of Bobby's grasp and ran to her.
"She's still alive…" I gasped, and heard Dean swear behind me.
"Call 911- get some water and some blankets," Dean said to Bobby, and he ran out of the room. Sam and Dean untied Meg while I pulled off the shirt I was wearing over my tank top and wiped the blood from her mouth.
"Thank you," she whispered, and I smiled weakly at her.
"Take it easy, okay?" I said softly, and Dean nodded at me before turning to Sam.
"Come on, let's get her down."
They lifted her from the chair, and we could hear her bones crunch as we lowered her to the floor. She screamed in pain, and I winced and moved so she could rest her head on my lap.
"It's okay, we got you. It's okay," I said soothingly, and Meg looked up at me and gasped for air.
"A year," she choked out, and I wiped more blood from her mouth so she could breathe more easily.
"What?" Sam asked quietly, and she swallowed painfully.
"It's been a year."
"Shhh… just take it easy, okay?" I said gently, but she shook her head weakly.
"I've been awake for some of it… I couldn't move my own body. The things I did… it's a nightmare."
"Was it telling us the truth about our dad?" Dean asked, and I shot him a death glare. He looked over at me and smiled apologetically.
"We need to know."
"Yes," Meg gasped, trying to continue. "But it wants… you to know… that… they want you to come for him."
"If Dad's alive, none of that matters," Dean responded, and Bobby finally came back with a blanket and a glass of water. He and Sam covered her with the blanket while I held her head up so Dean could help her drink. Sam furrowed his brows and was about to say something when I shot him a glare, and Meg looked up at me urgently.
"They're keeping him… by the river. Sunrise," she managed to say, struggling for air.
"It's okay, Meg. Thank you," I said gently, and reached out to stroke her hair. She smiled gratefully up at me, and I sang to her softly for a few minutes, hoping to give her a little comfort, until her eyes glazed over and she was still.
Tears started falling from my eyes, and I leaned over and rested my forehead against hers. I had seen death so many times, but this girl… she didn't deserve it. She spent the last year of her life trapped in a body that she couldn't control, and she died without ever having the chance to get her life back. I sat there until I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up to see Bobby smiling sadly at me.
"You guys better hurry up before the paramedics get here," he said gently, and I nodded weakly. Dean reached out to help me up and pulled me to my feet before looking back to Bobby.
"What are you gonna tell them?"
"You think you guys invented lying to the cops?" Bobby scoffed, and I managed a small smile as he continued. "I'll figure something out. Here, take this." He handed the Key of Solomon book to Sam, who took it gratefully and thanked him.
"Thank you for everything, Bobby. Be safe, okay?" I said quietly, and he reached out to hug me.
"You just go find your Dad. And when you do, bring him around, would you? I won't even try to shoot him this time," he chuckled as he pulled away from me, and I smiled at him as Dean slung his arm around my shoulder and steered me towards the car. I waved as we drove away, and watched Bobby and his house get smaller and smaller as we sped down the road.