Summary - What if Sam wasn't the only one who was around Dean the last three months before his deal was up? What if there was someone else? This story follows Sam, Dean, and Apple my original character as they try to get Dean out of his deal; though Apple doesn't exactly know about Dean's deal until it's almost too late. What happens if they can't save him? Is Dean really gone forever?
Author's Note - This follows the last six episodes of season three(minus Ghostfacers), I just added my own character into the mix and a few more things. I don't own any of the characters or the episodes, just Apple and the plot following the NRFTW. Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Review please. (:
Author's Note #2 – I didn't really want to split 'Time Is On My Side' into different chapters, I basically wanted to get it over with. The dialogue doesn't exactly match that of the episode, so it's kind of freehanded. Hope you enjoy it anyway.
I think we have an emergency
Chapter Fourteen
Two men walked out into the warm night, rackets and bags with changes of clothes, in their arms. They waved goodbye and separated. One of the men watched for a minute as his friend loaded his things in his trunk and got in his car. He waved one last time before he watched his friend leave.
The man sighed as he opened his trunk and threw his own things in. He looked around, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. He shrugged and looked back at his trunk. A sharp pain clouded his senses and his world went black.
- - - - -
He couldn't remember how he had gotten here. He only thought of how his body screamed with each step he took, and each breath he drew. He needed help. His coat was pulled around him as tight as he could manage, but even as he held the coat closed, it hurt. He wished the pain would stop. His feet wouldn't go any farther no matter how much he willed them to carry on. He stood near the nurses station and prayed the pain would go away. He could feel the blood as it stained his coat.
The nurse approached the man and asked him to let her take a look. "It's nothing I haven't seen before," she said gently as she finally reached the man. Carefully, she pried his hands from his coat and screamed at the sight before her.
- - - - -
"Just tell us who the demon is!" Sam said as he splashed more holy water on the demon.
Apple sat on the ground, she watched as the two brothers tried to torture the information out of the demon. Nothing they did to the man had made any difference; he hadn't given them anything. She looked at Dean and sensed just how pissed the demon had made him.
"I'd rather go to hell than rat on the demon that has your ticket." The demon hissed at Dean.
"Finish it Sammy."
Sam nodded as he watched Dean sit beside Apple. The pair looked on as Sam exercised the demon.
- - - - -
Apple and Dean walked into the motel room they shared with Sam. They laid the bag of donuts on the table and Apple handed Sam a cup of coffee. He smiled at her and took it, she handed Dean his, and then took a sip of her own.
"Who were you talking to Sam?" Apple asked. Things had gotten much better with the trio, though Apple's feelings for Dean were as complicated as ever. She enjoyed the private moments she shared with him, the stolen kisses here and there. She had no idea what any of it meant, but who was she to deny Dean anything? Well... that she could deny, and would continue to deny. Thank you very much, perverts.
"Remember that thing in the paper yesterday?" Sam asked.
"Stripper suffocates dude with thighs?" Apple hit Dean's shoulder at his comment while Sam just huffed.
"No, the other thing. About the gutted man at the hospital?" Sam reminded them. Apple nodded her head and looked at him to continue. "Apparently the man had his liver cut out. Not only that, but his body was covered in fingerprints that matched a man who died in 1981," he finished with a slight grin.
"Are you thinking it's a zombie?" Apple asked.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Why are you so interested in this, seeing as it's only three weeks until my deal is up? You two are usually more interested in saving me." Dean pointed out.
"Just figured. It's a zombie, man. How often do we get to hunt those?"
Dean shrugged. He wasn't sure he quite believed Sam's excuse. Sam was up to something, Dean was sure, he just didn't know what.
- - - - -
Apple adjusted the jacket around her as she waited for Sam and Dean to get back to the car. She turned the radio dial and smiled as Fall Out Boy sounded through the Impala's speakers. She knew Dean would kill her for playing 'that new age shit' in his 'baby', but Dean wasn't in the Impala, therefore the voice that continually told her 'no'; that sounded suspiciously like Dean, could shut the hell up.
She drummed her fingers on the front seat of the Impala as she waited for her boys. The image of Sam and Dean in suits as they posed as cops never left her mind, it continued to replay in her head. She could never get used to that.
Finally, Apple changed the radio station and sat back against the backseat. She laughed to herself as Metallica flooded the car. Dean would never even know of the abomination that had defiled his baby's speakers.
"So what'd the coroner say?" She asked as the boys slid into the car.
"The liver wasn't ripped out. She said it had been surgically removed. The new evidence punches a hole in the whole zombie theory. Unless the walking dead have some new skills." Sam explained as he buckled his seatbelt.
Dean started the car and laughed. "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Zombie."
"Nice." Apple said quietly. "What else?"
"It might be some kind of organ thief. We should look for survivors."
- - - - -
Apple and Sam stood in a room at a local hospital, the two of them had once again posed as cops. They looked down at a man who had been attacked and had had one of his kidneys removed.
"I don't really wanna talk about it," the man informed the 'officers' as he looked away from them. He sighed as he finally convinced himself to just tell them what had happened and get it over with; he had a feeling they wouldn't leave him alone till he did. "I was jumped from behind... and then I found myself strapped to a table."
"What happened next?" Apple asked gently.
"I blacked out. Then I woke up screaming in a motel... with one less kidney."
- - - - -
Apple watched Dean from the corner of her eye, he was such a pig. They way he ate his burger almost made her never want to eat meat... again. He took another bite of his burger before he put it on a napkin and took a drink of his soda. He grinned at Apple as she watched him. She could only smile at him weakly.
"I have an idea." Sam said suddenly as he looked up from his laptop. "The victims were sewn up with silk which used to be used in the early nineteenth century by doctors. The problem was it caused infections, so the doctors back then used maggots to get rid of them. Apparently the man whose liver was removed had his body cavity filled with maggots."
"Okay, dude. Eating. Not the best time to be talking about that kind of stuff." Dean grumbled before he went back to his burger.
"Right." Apple muttered as she watched him continue to eat, despite the words he had said. Nothing seemed to deter the man's appetite. "Because that gross bit of information phased you so much."
Dean only took a big bite of his burger and grinned... again. "You know, that sounds familiar though. Like, the story."
"Yeah." Sam muttered before he went back to his laptop. He paused a moment before he pulled out their dad's journal. "How could I have forgotten? It sounds familiar because we've heard it before, Dean."
Apple quirked an eyebrow as she looked from Sam to Dean. Dean nodded for Sam to continue.
"It's a story about Doc Benton from New Hampshire. He was a doctor obsessed with alchemy and immortality. He found the secret to living forever, but it came with a price. As his organs and body parts wore out, he had to replace them. He had to kill people in order to do that though."
"I thought dad killed him." Dean said. He finished off his burger and wiped his hands clean on his jeans.
"He did. He caught Benton and removed his heart, but somehow the doc must have gotten a new heart and started all over again. He likes to hold up in forests with access to a river or stream where he dumps the bile, and intestines, etc."
"Gross." Apple felt throughly nauseated. She closed her eyes and waited for the nausea to pass.
"You alright Apple-pie?" Dean asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"Just feeling a little sick is all. How can a guy do that? I mean, why would he want to live forever but kill people in the process?"
The boys shrugged their shoulders. "So you think this is what's going on?" Dean asked Sam.
"Yeah, it seems to be the best fit."
- - - - -
The man breathed deeply as he paused from his jog. His lungs burned as he took in more air. He lifted his arms above his head and attempted to stretch and get more oxygen. He studied his heart monitor for a second, everything seemed to be alright there.
He looked back out into the night and sighed. Just as he was about to pick up his jog, a strange smell filled his nostrils and everything went black.
He woke up in pain. He didn't know what was going on, but he could still hear his heart monitor. He wanted to scream as a man appeared before him, his face was stitched up in different areas, he was the most grotesque thing the man had ever seen. He didn't know what was going on, but to say he was afraid couldn't describe it. He was terrified. A sharp pain erupted in his side and he looked down to the see the sutured man cut deeply near his ribs.
Loud cracks filled the room as the hideous man cracked his ribs. He thought he heard someone scream, had that been him? Had he really screamed like that? Before he could understand what had happened to him, the man let out another scream and everything faded away. The heart monitor had stopped beating and the world was completely silent.
- - - - -
Apple looked over Sam's shoulder at a map. They believed they had finally found Benton's lair when Dean's phone ran. He slid the phone open and said 'hello'.
"I think I finally found out where Bela is," Bobby told Dean. "She's been visiting a fellow hunter named Rufus Turner, she's been trying to buy some things."
"She's being sloppy." Apple and Sam heard Dean say in reply.
"Take a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue with you if you're going to visit Rufus." With that, Bobby hung up. Dean gathered his jacket and car keys and turned to look at Sam.
"It's pointless going after Bela, she probably sold the Colt months ago." Sam said as he watched his brother .
"Then I'll kill her. Win/win."
"Dean, you should just stay on the Benton case. If we can found out how he became immortal, maybe we can use it to save you. If you can't die, you can't go to hell."
"No, Sam. Our best shot is to just shoot the demon who holds my contract and my slate is wiped clean. Come on, you and Apple come with me to find Bella."
"No, Dean." Sam said. He looked over Apple who looked torn between the two brothers. She didn't know what to do. "I'm sticking around to find Benton," he finished with a firm nod.
"Apple?" Dean asked. Apple had thought his green eyes pleaded with her, but the look was gone before she could be sure.
"Dean, I told you I was going to do everything I could to save you. I'm staying with Sam."
Dean nodded his head and told them both to be careful. He looked at Sam for a moment, and Sam nodded his head. Apple wanted to scratch her head, what was that about?
"Dean?" Apple said before he walked out of the door. "Take care of yourself," she said quietly and then he was gone.
- - - - -
Dean walked up the porch and rang the bell. He looked around for a minute, he wanted to get a feel for the area around him. Nothing seemed weird about it, but he supposed appearances could be deceiving, better safe than sorry.
"Who is it?" A voice asked over an intercom. To Dean, the man seemed kind of grumpy, who had Bobby sent him to?
"Dean. I'm looking for Bela Talbot." He informed the man. The man didn't want to hear it, he refused to tell him anything, or even let him in. Finally, with a small grin, Dean offered up the bottle of whiskey. The man finally opened the door and let him in.
"Bela wanted to buy some things off of me." Rufus told Dean as they drank the whiskey Dean had provided. "Why are you after Bela when you only have a few weeks to live? There are no happy endings for hunters like us."
- - - - -
Sam and Apple had finally decided which wooded area to check out. Sam stopped the car and put it in park. "You think this is right?" He asked Apple.
"I honestly don't know Sam. But from the information you gave me, it looks like it'll be our best bet." Apple checked the map once more before she folded it up and put it in the glove compartment of the rental Jeep.
"Ready?"
"Yeah." Apple and Sam stepped out of the car and began to walk down the trail. She had a bad feeling about this.
- - - - -
"Bela's staying at the Hotel Canaan. Room thirty-nine. You better watch your back." Rufus said to Dean as he poured them another glass of whiskey.
"I can handle her."
"Don't be so sure, there are things you don't know about Bela."
"I think you've checked out Bela's fingerprints for info."
Rufus nodded his head. "Yeah, I have. But it didn't work. Had to do her ear."
Dean couldn't help but grin after the words had left Rufus' mouth. "I'll try anything once, but I don't know. That sounds uncomfortable."
"I had to use pictures and match them to her ears. Ears are just as traceable as fingerprints." He tossed Dean a folder with Bela's information in it.
Dean caught the folder and frowned as he reviewed what was inside.
- - - - -
Apple was uncomfortable with just how dark it was inside the cabin. She shined her flashlight around the room and followed its path. Sam picked up an old looking journal and put it into his bag. He nodded for Apple to walk on.
They found their way to the basement, it was even darker down there and Apple felt a shiver run up her spine. She definitely did not like the vibes the place had put off. She nearly screamed as she stumbled into the body of a man. Apple pulled herself together and studied him. His heart had been removed, and his ribs cracked. She wondered if Benton had used anything to numb the pain the man must have felt. Probably not.
She found her way to Sam who looked over the body of a woman about their age. He moved the light up her arm and Apple had to look away. Maggots crawled along the woman's arm where the skin had been removed. Sam reached over and grabbed a towel, he carefully wrapped it around the raw limb and was about to help the girl up when he noticed Apple had shook her head 'no', and pointed up toward the ceiling.
They listened as Benton moved around upstairs. Apple shuddered at the thought of actually being face to face with the man. She put a hand over the woman's mouth as she attempted to stifle her scream.
Sam and Apple scrambled to get out of the basement. He managed to crawl out of the basement window first. He held his hand out for Apple to help the woman out. Sam pulled the woman up and out of the window , then held out a hand for Apple.
As they ran through the woods, Sam held tightly to the girl. Apple managed to run ahead and unlock the doors to the Jeep. She opened the back door and slid into the driver's seat. She watched as Sam put the girl in the backseat, and threw himself into the passenger's seat.
Apple had just thrown the car into reverse when the glass shattered from her window and she let out a small yelp. Her head connected with the steering wheel and she pressed as hard as she could on the gas, her head throbbed in the process. "Shit!" She shouted as she and Sam turned to look at Benton through the window. He was laid out flat from the hit he had received.
"Apple? You okay?"
"Oh yeah. Fantastic." Apple held her head with one hand. God it hurt, it felt like a migraine more than anything. She knew she would have a bruise or two to remember the hideous doctor by.
- - - - -
"Where's the Colt?" Dean asked as he stared Bela down. "Don't move." He said as he started to search the room. He caught a movement in his peripheral vision, and shot a hole in the door near Bela's head.
He kicked the dresser in Bela's room as he realized the Colt was gone. He pointed his gun at her. "I'm going to kill you," he said, his green eyes bored into her own. He was pissed. "I can't imagine killing my parents like you did. You were what? Fourteen when they had a car accident – the police suspected a slashed break line but could never prove it. Little Bela, I mean Abby, inherited millions."
Bela just stared at Dean. Her eyes focused on him, but her mind was millions of miles away. She remembered she had been fourteen, and scared as her dad entered her room. She hated her father, and the things he did. She pulled herself out of her memory and into the present.
"I killed them." Bela said simply. She wouldn't say more than that, she'd never say more than that.
Dean knew there was more to the story. There had to be, and as much as he wanted to kill her, he didn't have the heart; and he wouldn't live the rest of his days with that guilt. He looked around the room and noticed a root placed above her motel door. "You know what? You aren't worth it," he said before he turned and left the room.
- - - - -
Bela sat down as she unfolded the piece of paper she'd taken from Dean's pocket. She dialed a number on her phone. "It worked, he found me. No, Sam wasn't with him, but I know where they are..."
- - - - -
Sam dabbed at the cut on Apple's forehead. She hissed as the alcohol invaded the wound. "There. Finished." Sam said as he tossed the cotton ball into the trash.
Apple drew her knees up to her chest as she flipped through the book Sam had stolen from Benton's cabin. She raised an eyebrow as Sam's phone went off. He mouthed the word 'Dean' to her before he answered the call. He put the phone on speaker and placed it next to them.
"I didn't get the Colt, and I didn't kill Bela. I'm really screwed now." Dean said.
Apple shook her head. "Maybe not."
"We got Benton's lab book and it looks like his formula might work. There's no magic involved – it's pure science."
Before either Sam or Apple could say more, they were grabbed from behind and all Dean could hear was silence from their end.
"Sammy. Apple," he tried, but there was no answer from their end.
- - - - -
Apple's head hurt, again. She was so sick of her head being in some form of pain. She tried to blink her eyes but realized she couldn't. Her eyes roamed around and spotted Sam not far from her, tied to a chair. She tired to call out to him but found that she couldn't do that either, the bastard doctor had gagged her mouth.
Her eyes pleaded with Sam to help her but he couldn't move anymore than she could. They were so screwed this time. So screwed.
"I know who you both are." She heard a voice say. She groaned as she met Doc Benton's gaze. "I don't do things I don't have to. But now, I need new eyes." He looked over at Sam. "I know it was your father who cut out my heart. I realize I could take your eyes instead, but why do that when taking them from your little friend would hurt you so much more?"
He lowered his instrument to Apple's blue eyes, they watered as she waited for the pain. Instead of pain, a loud noise invaded Apple's ears and she realized the sound was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. Gunshots. Dean stood before the doctor, gun aimed at his chest, but the doctor simply tossed Dean across the room. He was amused by the brother's choice in hurting him, seeing a it hadn't affected him at all.
Dean quickly stood up and threw himself at Benton, he plunged a knife into Benton's chest. Again, Benton was amused. A stunned look crossed the doctor's face as he realized the knife had been dipped in chloroform. Though the doctor was immortal, he was still susceptible to it.
Apple struggled against the bonds that held her as her blue eyes looked at it Dean. He walked to her and carefully removed the tape from her eyelids. Apple tried to bite back a whimper as he did so, it had hurt so bad. He lifted her head and untied the gag from around her head. He undid the buckles that restrained her and she sat up with a groan. Her whole body ached as she moved. "Thanks," she whispered.
He walked to Sam next and untied him from the chair. He walked toward Benton and kicked him in the ribs, for good measure. He hoisted the sutured man up off the floor and locked him to one of his own lab tables. They looked at each other as they waited for the man to wake up.
- - - - -
"If you free me, I'll give you the secret to an immortal life." Benton said as he looked at the trio.
Apple could see a small glimpse of hope in Sam's eyes, this could be Dean's way out. She let herself be pulled into a small huddle as Sam tried to convince Dean to take the offer.
"What Benton has isn't what I call living. No way am I considering it. I'd rather go to hell than be a monster like him."
- - - - -
Sam sighed softly as trio threw dirt back into the grave they had dug into the earth. Dean had turned down Benton's offer and wouldn't allow Sam or Apple to argue with him about his decision. They had locked Benton into a meat freezer and buried the man alive.
That might have been the only way to save Dean, and he had just thrown it away. Sam knew Apple respected Dean's decision, and they both knew Dean would never do something he didn't want to. Damn him for being so stubborn and moral.
- - - - -
Bela had driven all night just to get to the damn motel the boys and that girl were holed up in. It looked like crap to her. She parked her car and walked briskly to the room she knew they were in.
She busted the door open and immediately emptied her gun into the figures sound asleep in the beds. Bela walked slowly to the beds, she couldn't believe she had finally killed the Winchesters and Delaney. She pulled the sheets back and realized what she had shot weren't people, but blow up dolls.
Her phone ran and she instantly picked it up, she sighed as she listened to the voice.
"I felt your hand in my pocket when you swiped the motel receipt." Bela immediately tried to explain but Dean wasn't going to hear it. "I saw the herb, Devil's Shoestring in your motel, over the door. It can only be used to ward off Hellhounds."
Bela's mind pulled out of the present and to a memory of her as she sat on a swing, years ago. Another girl sat beside her, her eyes turned red as she offered Bela what she wanted. She informed her it wouldn't cost her anything for ten whole years.
"Did you steal the Colt to swap to save yourself?" Dean asked.
Bela nodded, even though she knew Dean couldn't see. "I did, but it didn't work. The demon who holds my contract insisted I kill Sam and Apple, too." She begged Dean for help, she wasn't ready to die, not yet.
"It's too late. If you'd asked for help before, we could have used the Colt to save you and me."
"I know about your deal – the same demon that holds my contract, in fact, she holds all contracts. Her name is Lillith."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Maybe you can kill the bitch."
"I'll see you in hell." Dean said before he hung up his phone.
Bela looked at the clock near the bed she had seated herself on, it had just turned midnight. She shivered at the sound of Hellhounds in the distance. She knew there was no way out of this. It was over, finished. She moved to the window, silent tears forced their way out of her eyes and rolled slowly down her cheeks. Dean was right, there was nothing she could do but wait. And that was just what she had intended to do.
(chapter title: emergency - paramore)