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Scarecrow, part 2, I guess.

Chapter name borrowed from Mellencamp. Wow, that's a first. ;)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE- RAIN ON THE SCARECROW

Dean pushed the frightened couple away from him. "Get back to your car!"

"Bu-" The man objected.

"Go!" Dean fired off a shot at the scarecrow.

It stumbled, but kept walking. "You too," Dean pointed with his gun.

"No. I'm staying."

I pulled out my own gun, and shot it, to prove my point.

Dean stared for a second, then grabbed me and ran.

The scarecrow followed.

~Supernatural~

"The scarecrow climbed off its cross?" Sam's voice was tinny and faint, but it was good to hear from him.

"Yeah, I'm tellin' ya. Burkitsville, Indiana. Fun Town."

"It didn't kill the couple, did it?"

"No."

"So something must be animating it. A spirit."

"S'more than that, according to Odette." Dean glanced at me.

"What makes her say that?"

"It's a god. Pagan god anyway. I mean, the annual cycle of its killings? Victims are always a man and a woman, like some sort of fertility rite? You shoulda seen the locals. Fattening them up like Christmas turkeys."

"The last meal. Given to sacrificial victims."

"Yeah, I'm thinking ritual sacrifice to appease the god. What's that?"

Dean looked at me again. "Yeah, yeah, she's fine. Took a shot at the thing. Not too bad.

I blushed.

I could hear Sam's startled laugh. " No, really? So, a god possesses the scarecrow…"

"And the scarecrow takes the sacrifice. For another year, the crops won't wilt and disease won't spread."

"Do you know which god you're dealing with?"

"No, not yet."

"Well, if you figure it what it is, you can figure out how to kill it."

"I know, I'm on my way to a local community college. Got an appointment with the professor there, since, you know, I don't have my trusty sidekick geek boy to do all the research for me."

My lips curved upward.

Sam chuckled. "If you're hinting you want my help, just ask."

His tone grew more serious. "Dean, I'm sorry about what I said."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too, Sam. You were right. You gotta do your own thing. You gotta live your own life."

I turned around to stare at Dean.

"Are you serious?" Sam was shocked.

"You've always known what you want." Dean's voice dropped all pretense of jocularity.

"And you go after it. You stand up to Dad. And you always have. Hell, I wish I- anyway….I admire that about you. I'm proud of you, Sammy."

Dean's voice was thick, and I ached for it. I ached for him and me both.

Me, because I'd lost that bond already, him, because he was on the verge of losing it.

"I don't even know what to say."

"Say you'll take care of yourself," Dean said firmly.

"I will."

"Call me when you find Dad."

Sam's voice was somehow smaller, now. Forlorn.

"OK. Bye, Dean."

Dean cut the line.

I looked at him sadly. I knew what this meant.

Goodbye.

~Supernatural~

"It's not everyday I get a research question on Pagan ideology," the professor said, staring at us curiously.

"Yeah, well, call it a hobby."

"But you said you were interested in local lore?"

"Mmhmm."

"I'm afraid Indiana isn't really known for its Pagan worship."

"Well, what if it was imported? You know, like the Pilgrims brought their religion over. Wasn't a lot of this area settled by immigrants?"

"Well, yeah." Was it my imagination, or did he look a bit shifty?

"Like that town near here," Dean continued. "Burkitsville. Where are their ancestors from?"

"Uh, northern Europe, I believe, Scandinavia."

"What could you tell me about those Pagan gods?"

"Well, there are hundreds of Norse gods and goddesses."

"I'm actually looking for one. Might live in an orchard."

The professor crossed the room and brought down a heavy, dusty book.

"Woods god, hm? Well, let's see," he leafed through the pages.

I caught hold of Dean's sleeve when I saw it.

He looked where I pointed.

"Wait, wait, wait. What's that one?"

"Oh, that's not a woods god, per se."

Dean read it out. "The V-Vanir?" The professor nodded.

"The Vanir were Norse gods of protection and prosperity, keeping the local settlements safe from harm. Some villages built effigies of the Vanir in their fields. Other villages practiced human sacrifice. One male, and one female." He pointed to the picture.

"Kind of looks like a scarecrow, huh?"

"I suppose."

Dean continued reading. "This particular Vanir's energy sprung from a sacred tree?"

"Well, Pagans believed all sorts of things were infused with magic." The professor's tone was guarded.

"So what would happen if the sacred tree was torched? You think it'd kill the god?"

The man laughed. "Son, these are just legends we're discussing."

"Oh, of course," Dean shook the professor's hand. "Yeah, you're right. Listen, thank you very much."

"Glad I could help," he watched us leave with hooded eyes.

As we opened the door, we came face-to-face with the sheriff who'd driven us out of town, gun cocked.

Everything went black.

~Supernatural~

I awoke to my head pounding, stuffed inside a cellar unceremoniously in the dark.

Dean was awake, beside me.

"Kid, you up?"

"Yeah." I tried not to let my voice quaver.

"Listen, we're gonna get out of this, all right? We find the tree, we can kill the scarecrow."

I nodded. My voice was too weak to be heard, anyway.

The cellar door opened with a bang.

The four elders we'd seen earlier stood outside the doorway.

"It's time."

~Supernatural~

"I hope your apple pie is freakin' worth it!" Dean snarled, struggling against his bonds.

I winced as Harley tightened the rope around my wrist.

"Try and understand. The good of the many outweighs the good of the one."

I glanced at Dean desperately, as they went away.

"So, what's the plan?"

"I'm workin' on it."

~Supernatural~

"You don't have a plan, do you?" I was frantic.

"I'm workin' on it! Can you see?"

"What?"

"Is he moving yet?"

"I can't see!" A shadow flitted near the trees.

"Something's coming," I whispered, as my pulse raced.

Dean wriggled against the tree, trying to untie himself.

It stepped out from behind the tree.

"Sam?" We said in unison, amazed.

Dean's face stretched into a grin. "Oh! Oh, I take everything back I said. I'm so happy to see you. Come on."

Sam began untying us both.

"How'd you get here?" I asked him.

He looked away shiftily. "I, uh—I stole a car."

I blinked at him, scandalized.

Dean laughed proudly. "Ha! That's my boy! And keep an eye on that scarecrow. He could come alive any minute."

"What scarecrow?"

Dean got up at once.

The cross was empty.

~Supernatural~

We ran through the orchard, and I impatiently whipped my hair out of my eyes.

"Alright, now, this sacred tree you're talking about-"

"It's the source of its power," Dean finished quickly.

"So let's find it and burn it," Sam urged.

"Nah, in the morning. Let's just shag ass before Leather Face catches up."

The three of us reached a clearing.

The elders were waiting for us.

We tried to find a way out, but every place was blocked.

"Please. Let us go." I pressed my lips together so they would not tremble.

Sam gently kept a hand on my shoulder, and Dean shuffled in front of me.

"It'll be over quickly, I promise," Harley looked pityingly at me.

"Please."

"You have to let him take you. You have to-"

Harley stopped with a gurgle; the scarecrow's sickle protruding from his stomach.

I hid my face in Sam's chest as Emily's aunt and uncle were dragged away.

~Supernatural~

"You burned the tree." I could sense him behind me.

"Hey, Castiel. Yes, I did."

I turned to face him.

"Why do you help us?" I asked him.

"I am ordered to help you."

He disappeared as Sam and Dean approached.

"So, can I drop you off somewhere?" Dean stared at Sam, waiting.

"No, I think you're stuck with me," Sam said casually.

I smiled, happy for their sake.

"What made you change your mind?" Dean arched an eyebrow.

"I didn't." Sam returned. "I still wanna find Dad. And you're still a pain in the ass." Dean nodded, and I suppressed my chuckle.

"But Jess and Mom- they're both gone. Dad is God knows where. You and me. We're all that's left. So, if we're gonna see this through, we're gonna do it together."

The familiar throb in my chest pulsated, aching waves of loss over me.

This used to be what I had. What I lost.

Dean paused. "Hold me, Sam. That was beautiful." He put his hand on Sam's shoulder, and he hit it away at once.

They laughed together, and I smiled through the film of tears that had covered my eyes.

If I couldn't have my family, at least someone could.

There was hope, somewhere.

Just not for me.

I turned away from Dean and Sam as a single tear rolled down my cheek.