I get adjusted to my new life. Sam and Dean keep me inside, which I suppose makes sense. Even if the demons who killed my parents are dead, there is still the high possibility that there are others out there. According to the two brothers, demons don't kill off such a giant bloodline just for kicks. There's always a reason, and there's never just two demons working on the case. Not for something this big.
So I spend a couple days wondering why demons would have a reason to kill every living relative I have. And why was my family last to go? That could have just been coincidence, or really luck. "You know, Dean, if my family wasn't the last to die, you would have sent me off to live with a relative and I would have died for sure," I muse when I'm eating lunch-which is chili.
Dean looks at me for a moment, as if he's analyzing exactly what I meant. "You're right. I suppose things worked out the way they did for a good reason," he says.
"Imagine-I would be dead right now if all of my relatives didn't die before my parents and brother," I say. It sounds terrible, but I'm so freaking relieved. But, if you think about it, it's not that bad. My entire extended family would have died anyway, regardless of when my immediate family went. There is no point in having someone who didn't die, die because of timing.
"Do you think that there's any reason why your family was the last?" Dean asks.
I think about it for a long time. Nothing comes to mind at first, but then I have a light bulb go on inside my head. "My parents were on a business trip in Japan until the day before they died," I realize. "They were gone since before the killings started."
"Thank god for that," Dean says.
"Is it terrible that I'm glad my entire extended family died before the demons got to my house?" I ask Dean. I know I said all that stuff above about how it wasn't, but that was me just trying to console myself after the thought crossed my mind. I needed someone else to confirm that I wasn't a monster for thinking the way I did.
Dean doesn't disappoint me. "Of course not. There's no point in having you die just because of timing. It's a good thing that things worked out the way that they did," he says. Of course, we're talking about the murder of the entire Russell bloodline. Still, what he says makes me feel much better.
"I see you got yourself into a little predicament, Squirrel," a british voice says from behind my back. I turn around to see what at first appears to be a normal man. But, as I look at him, I see a dark black cloud of smoke and blood behind his skin. Like, I don't mean it was behind his head. It was behind his actual face-like behind his skin. He would be somewhat attractive if it weren't for that. The black smoke makes him rather ugly, and not just because there's black smoke behind his face. It's evil, and I can sense that.
"What do you want, Crowley?" Dean asks, annoyed.
"Give me the girl, Dean. This little girl has caused quite a lot of trouble down in hell. I figured that, when she disappeared, she went with you two clowns. I was right, of course," the man says. He's rather short compared to the companions I've had for the past two weeks.
"Why do you want Skylar?" Dean asks, only a hint curiosity. He's just annoyed for the most part.
The man with the black smoke behind his face tells a rather sobering story. "The Russell family cheated a deal with one of my top salesmen. Your grandfather or something," the man says to me. I'm barely listening. The black smoke is the only thing really interesting me. "Made a deal with him, and killed the hellhounds that came after him. When he was close to death, he made a deal with an angel to make sure he went to heaven. Now my guys don't like being cheated, so he went and killed every last member of the Russell family for revenge. The last piece is little Skylar here," he explains.
"You aren't killing her," Dean says firmly.
"Why are you so ugly?" I ask Crowley, more concerned and curious than actually insulting.
Crowley gives me a look of utter annoyance. "Well aren't you a lovely little thing," he says with venom in his voice.
"I'm actually referring to the cloud of black smoke that seems to be inside you. It's really ugly," I say.
I don't know who's more shocked-Dean or Crowley. "You can see that?" they both ask me.
I shrug. "Why is that such a big deal?" I ask.
"You can see his true form. Now that is cool," Dean says. Crowley is just standing there, completely stunned. Sam comes in reading an old leather bound book. "Hey, Sammy, Skylar can see a demon's true form," Dean says, as if it's some huge deal. I'm still confused about why everyone's impressed.
"Since when could you do that?" Sam asks me.
"Since now, I guess," I say, shrugging. "Why is that such a big deal?" I repeat.
"Humans can't see the true form of a demon. Only angels and demons have that capability," Dean explains.
"So I'm an angel or a demon or something?" I ask, thinking that that's what they're implying. Being an angel sounds ridiculous, and I would probably kill myself if I was a demon.
"No, not at all. I just think that, after you saw your family die, you developed this gift," Sam says. I'm confused on how that happened, so I ask him for a little more information. "Sometimes after kids see something really traumatic, they develop some sort of psychic gift," he explains.
"But we've never heard of anyone developing the ability to see the true form of a demon. That's a first," Dean says.
"Hello, I have some unfinished business here. She can't continue living," Crowley says, waving his hand around like a pansy or something.
Dean and Sam both give him what I'd like to call the double bitch face. "You aren't taking her anywhere. She's staying here, and she's staying alive," Dean says.
"Listen, I made that deal with her grandpa or whatever. I need to make sure she dies, or I'll lose respect as the King of Hell," Crowley admits.
"How about we make a deal? Either she lives or you die. It's that simple," Dean says with a wide and completely fake grin on his face.
"You're all such bastards," Crowley murmurs and snaps his fingers. He's gone.
"So, you can see the true form of demons. That is so cool," Dean says.
"Yeah, that could be pretty useful," Sam says. Dean shoots Sam a venomous look. "What?" Sam asks.
"I know what you're thinking, and that's not happening," Dean says. Sam looks confused. "We aren't taking her on any cases with us just because she can spot a demon in a crowd," he says.
"Dean, it would save a lot of time," Sam says, trying to convince his brother. I don't know what to think. I mean, coming with them on a case sounds really fun, but at the same time, incredibly dangerous. But did the danger make it even more exciting? Possibly, yes.
"You really want to drag her out into a world of demons after demons are already after her? If Crowley's the one who ordered the killing of her entire family, demons are going to be looking out for her and they will stop at nothing to kill her," Dean says. Okay, officially freaked out right now. At this point, I'm really just trying to process everything. I just met the demon responsible for my family's death, and I really should be having a seizure or something right now. Also, apparently I can see the true form of a demon. I really should be having some sort of panic attack.
So that's what I did. "Skylar, are you okay?" Dean asks me. I don't respond. My mind is going through temporary insanity at the moment. "She's in shock," Dean says. Well, no duh. "What do I do for someone in shock?"
"Get her hot chocolate and a blanket, I don't know!" Sam says. Well, them panicking helped my case a whole lot. Thanks for that, guys.
Eventually, Dean decides that the best way to help me out is by talking to me. "Skylar, I know that this is a lot to take in. But you need to calm down. Look at me, Skylar. Nothing is going to happen to you. I swear on my life that nothing will happen to you. We will protect you. And I'm sorry about everything that's going on in your life. I know you didn't choose this, and I'm so sorry about everything that's happened," he says in a calming voice.
I take a few deep breaths. "I'm okay. I'm okay. Just… everything," I say, shaking my head.
"You're strong, kid. You'd make a good hunter," Dean says. Then he realizes what he's saying and adds quickly, "Not that I'm ever going to let that happen." I shrug, although I really want to see what being a hunter is like. From the limited knowledge that I have of it, I can tell that it's definitely exciting. Also, you save people. What's more rewarding than that? Knowing that you save people's lives? I can't see anything more appealing.