Before: Instead of plunging the blade into his heart, Jo settled for ramming the hilt of the knife into the side of his head, knocking him unconscious. Knowing she couldn't leave him here to come after her as soon as he gained consciousness, she quickly cut his shirt off him, using the strips to tie him securely to the cot. She stuffed her broken button-down into his mouth as a gag.
Jo sat up and winced at the sudden pain in her shoulder when she moved her arm. Not seeing anything else to use as a brace or a sling, she tucked her wrist under the strap of her sports bra in an attempt to keep her arm somewhat more stationary. With a final, disgusted look at the unconscious man, Jo picked up the knife and moved quietly towards the door and the rest of the house.
Chapter Twelve
Jo moved quietly down the stairs of the house after checking the rest of the rooms on the second floor. No one else was there. The rest of the floor was as sparsely decorated as the room she had woken up in. Jo absently wondered where the owners of the house were.
Jo paused on the stairs and listened for any sounds of activity on the ground floor. She knew she had at least one other grunt and a demon to deal with, and she didn't want to be caught unaware.
Hearing nothing, she cautiously walked down the hall, holding the small pocket knife in front of her. She repeated the same process that she had upstairs, checking all the rooms. The downstairs was just as empty as the upstairs had been. The only sign that anyone had been here recently was a case of beer in the fridge. Jo paused long enough in the kitchen to lap some water from the faucet, then continued on her search.
Convinced that there was no one in the house, Jo went outside and looked around. There was no sign that anyone else was here. There wasn't even a car in the snow-covered driveway. An old, decrepit road led from the house into the forest, but it didn't seem like the house was near any other form of civilization.
Slowly, she crept around the side of the house. As she moved to the back, she noticed an old barn a few hundred feet off to the side. Jo looked around quickly, checking to make sure there was no one around, then quickly ran across the open space to the barn, her breathe misting in front of her.
She leaned up against the side of the barn, again listening for any sounds. The barn was silent, so Jo carefully eased the door open. The hinges creaked loudly, and Jo held her breath, waiting to see if the sound had alerted anyone. When she was sure that the noise had gone unnoticed, Jo opened the door the rest of the way and slipped inside.
The barn was large and empty of anything except dust and a few barrels in the corner. The only other doors were on the opposite wall. It looked more like a storage barn than anything else; no loft or stalls existed for anyone to hide in.
Jo warily walked through the barn. She was about halfway through when something to the side caught her eye. To the right lay a steel hatch in the ground. Slowly approaching it, she could hear a female voice coming through it. She couldn't make out what was being said, but she recognized the voice as the demon's. Jo blood ran cold as another sound joined it. An anguished scream. Dean's scream.
She had to fight to keep herself from wrenching the hatch open and running in to help him right then and there. That wouldn't do either of them any good. With only a small knife for a weapon and an injured shoulder, Jo didn't stand much chance against the demon. She had to plan, had to do this carefully.
Hating herself, she walked a little away from the door. Taking the small knife, she meticulously started carving a demon's trap into the wood of the barn floor, trying to ignore the moans and screams of pain she could hear through the hatch door. She carved the trap a little away from the hatch to ensure that she would have enough room to climb through the door without being heckled by anyone standing in the trap.
Jo jumped when the hatch door suddenly swung open with a loud bang. Instincts kicking in, Jo dove behind the dusty barrels in the corner and lay still, hoping that whoever this was wouldn't notice the half-finished trap in the ground.
Jo watched from the cover of the barrels as the other grunt climbed out, closely followed by another man she didn't recognize. They left the barn without hesitation. Luckily, they didn't notice the extra decorations Jo had added to the floor.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Jo hurried over to complete the trap. The pocket knife was not very large or sharp, making carving difficult. After several tense minutes, she finally finished.
She backed up a few steps to get a better look at it, making sure it was correct. The last thing she needed was for the demon come out and the trap to malfunction. Suddenly, she felt herself bump into something. She let out a gasp of horror as she accidently knocked one of the barrels over. It hit the ground with a resounding thud. Jo froze, cursing her clumsiness and dreading the consequences.
She was not expecting to hear Dean's cries of pain increase tenfold. Tears started to swell in her eyes at the sound, a sound she couldn't help but think her folly had helped cause. She started to run towards the screams to help the injured hunter, safety be damned, when the hatch suddenly swung open again and the demon climbed out.
The demon stared at the hunter for a moment, blinking in surprise. Then her face broke into a grin and she called down into the still-open hatch. "Guess what, sweetie? Your sweetheart's here to join the party!"
The demon started sauntering towards Jo, apparently unconcerned with the pocket-knife in her hand.
Never taking her eyes off her approaching enemy, Jo slowly started circling around until the demon trap lay between them, praying the demon wouldn't look down and notice the carvings on the floor.
"What have you done to Dean?" Jo asked, hoping to keep the demon's focus on her and not on where she was moving.
"Oh, you'll see soon enough, sweetheart. In fact, all you need to do is come with me and you can see him again." The grin on the demon's face and the fake kindness in her voice was sickening.
"No, thanks, I think we would have more fun if Dean joined us up here. More spacious." Jo answered, slowly moving away from the woman, drawing her closer to the trap.
"You know, you're right, it is more spacious up here. We would be more comfortable."
Jo stopped for a moment in surprise. Was she really going to let Dean go? Her hope was immediately dashed with the demon's next words.
"But, you see, I don't think he's really in a good enough condition to join us up here. Are you sweetie?" She yelled the last words over her shoulder at the hatch from which Dean's moans could be heard.
She paused for a moment, listening, before continuing. "Sweetie, I asked you a question. Do you feel ok enough to join us up here?" Dean didn't answer.
The demon turned her attention back to Jo. "I've tried to teach him some manners, tried to teach him to answer ladies' questions, but he just doesn't learn," she said with an obviously fake sigh. "I'll just have to teach him again." She pulled a small remote out of her pocket and pushed a button.
Immediately, the moans coming from Dean turned into screams. Whatever that button did, it was causing him a lot of pain.
Jo's heartbeat quickened as she listened to him. She needed to get to him, to help him. But first she had to deal with the demon.
Jo quickened her backward march, drawing the demon closer and closer to the trap. So close….
"Where's Martin? He was supposed to take care of you." Just a few more feet…
"Oh, he tried, but I didn't much care for his…ministrations. So I took care of him." Almost…there!
"I hope you didn't hurt him, because I…"the demon froze as she stepped to the far side of the trap and hit an invisible wall. She glanced down at the engravings holding her captive, then looked back at the hunter, her face twisted in anger.
"How dare you!" All the sweetness was gone from her voice, replaced by pure rage. "Release me, you bitch, or I'll-"
Jo didn't pay attention to the rest of the demon's angry rant. As soon as she saw the trap worked, she ran to the hatch, desperate to get to Dean. She quickly slipped down the ladder, ignoring the demon's words that were coming through the still-open hatch. Jo turned and froze when she laid eyes on the mangled figure hanging in the center of the room.