This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think.
I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex and any other original characters) and I do not own any of the story lines.
Chapter 15: Faith
Dean brought the car to a stop outside an old, run-down house. The roof was caving in and the porch was full of rotted boards. Alex wrinkled her nose as she looked at the house. Sam and Dean were rummaging through the trunk as she waited for them. She heard the trunk slam closed and Dean and Sam stood on either side of her. Dean loaded his gun with shock bullets.
"What are these amped up to?" asked Sam.
"1,000 Volts," said Dean.
Alex whistled.
"Yeah. I want this raw-head extra freakin' crispy."
Dean handed Alex the other gun he was holding.
"Remember. You only get one shot with this thing, so make it count."
He walked forward, Sam and Alex following after him. They all walked into the house and down the basement steps slowly and quietly, their guns in front of them. Alex was behind her brothers as Sam and Dean walked down the steps side by side. All three of them stepped onto the floor and looked at a cabinet in the corner. There were noises coming from the cabinet as they slowly walked forward.
"On three," whispered Dean.
He counted down quietly and then threw open the door. A little boy and girl were huddled inside the cabinet together, their faces terrified.
"Is it still here?" whispered Sam.
The little boy nodded.
"Okay. Grab your sister's hand," said Alex.
The little boy did as he was told, grabbing his sister's hand tightly in his own little palm. Alex and Sam ushered the kids to the bottom of the stairs. Alex took the boy's hand in her right hand and the girl's in her left.
"Alright, go!" yelled Dean.
Alex walked up the stairs with Sam behind her when Sam's foot was suddenly grabbed by something from under the stairs.
"Sam!" yelled Alex as she turned to see him fall back down the steps.
Dean ran around the stairs and shot at the raw-head. He missed and the raw-head turned his attention onto Dean.
"Sam, Alex, get them out of here!"
Sam stood up quickly and tossed his and Alex's guns to Dean. He met Alex and the kids at the top of the stairs, picking up the little boy as Alex picked up the little girl. They all rushed out the door. Dean watched them leave and then he turned to look for the raw-head, who had disappeared among the chaos. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Dean was punched in the face by the monster. He fell into a large puddle of water and began to crawl for a gun. As he quickly grabbed a gun and shot the monster, Dean's body began convulsing as he was electrocuted along with the monster. He fell unconscious into the puddle of water. The monster fell in front of him, dead. Alex and Sam rushed back down the stairs only a few minutes later to see Dean lying unconscious in the puddle.
"Dean!" they yelled in unison.
They ran over to their brother.
Alex stood at the nurse's station in the hospital the very next morning. Sam was standing against the wall, his eyes red rimmed from crying. Alex wiped her own eyes as the nurse looked to her.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry to ask, but there doesn't seem to be any insurance on file."
Alex reached into her pocket and found the insurance card, handing it over to the nurse. The nurse smiled warmly and took the card.
"Thank you, Mrs. Berkovitz."
Alex smiled and walked over to Sam, who was still leaning against the wall. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as Sam was hunched over her. Silent sobs were coming from Sam, his shoulders heaving as Alex rubbed small circles on his back slowly.
"Shh, he'll be fine," said Alex, holding back her own sobs.
A nurse passed by them and looked at them sadly. Alex smiled as best she could at the nurse, continuing to rub Sam's back.
"Excuse me, Ma'am," said a voice from directly behind Alex.
Sam looked up behind Alex and saw two police officers standing behind her. Alex turned and smiled warmly at them.
"Maybe we can finish this later," said one officer, looking between Sam and Alex's grim faces.
"No, it's okay," said Sam.
Alex turned to him and Sam kissed the top of her head. He sat down in a chair a few feet away and looked at them. Alex turned to the officers.
"Um, we were taking a shortcut through the neighborhood. We had the windows rolled down when we heard screaming. We stopped in front of the house and ran in."
"You found the two children in the basement?" asked the police officer who wasn't taking notes.
Alex nodded, watching as his partner scribbled something down.
"Well, thank God you did."
Alex watched as Dean's doctor passed by her then.
"Excuse me," said Alex.
She walked away from the two police officers and then over to the doctor, Sam joining her.
"How is he?" asked Sam.
"He's resting," answered the doctor.
"And?"
The doctor sighed sadly.
"The electrocution triggered a heart attack, pretty massive. His heart is damaged."
Alex finally broke down into tremendous sobs, her knees giving out. She fell into Sam's chest and Sam stroked her hair gently.
"How damaged?" asked Sam.
"We've done all that we can. We can try and keep him comfortable, but I can only give him a couple of weeks."
Alex began sobbing even harder and the doctor looked down at her sadly.
"No. There's got to be something that you can do, some kind of treatment," argued Sam, holding up his twin sister in his arms as he gently held her close.
"We can't work miracles. I truly am sorry."
The doctor patted Sam's shoulder comfortingly and walked away. Sam sat down in the chair he had sat in before, dragging Alex along with him. He pulled Alex onto his lap.
"Are you ready to see Dean?"
He pushed Alex's hair out of her face. Alex nodded and wiped away her remaining tears.
"Alright, let's go then."
Sam stood her up and put his arm around her shoulders, walking her down the hall to Dean's room.
Dean's television was on full volume when Alex and Sam entered Dean's hospital room. Dean was extremely pale and his eyes had dark, purple circles under them. He looked sickly. Sam and Alex stood at the foot of Dean's bed, Alex still being supported by Sam's arm around her shoulders.
"Have you ever actually watched daytime TV? It's terrible," said Dean, turning down his television as he scoffed at the ridiculous shows that were on.
Sam shook his head and Alex sniffled.
"We talked to your doctor," said Sam.
Dean ignored Sam and kept his eyes glued onto his TV.
"That little fabric softener teddy bear. I want to hunt that fucker down."
"Dean," said Alex.
"Well, I guess you'll be leavin' town without me."
Alex scoffed.
"We're not going to leave you here."
"You better take care of that car. I swear I'll haunt your asses."
"That's not funny," said Sam.
"Come on. It's a little funny."
Alex looked down at the tile floor, crying even more. Dean sighed and looked at Sam, who was looking out the window.
"Guys, it's a dangerous gig. I drew the short stick. End of story."
"Stop. We still have options," said Sam, his attention back on Dean's pale face.
"What options? Burial or cremation?"
Alex sobbed even harder and Sam glared at Dean as he pulled Alex into his chest.
"Let's face it. I'm going to die and you can't stop it."
"Watch me."
Dean turned back to watch TV as his siblings stared at him sadly.
Sam sat at the kitchen table in their motel room, his Blackberry practically glued to his ear. Books were spread out all over the table. Sam quickly glanced over at Alex, who was fast asleep. She was curled up on her bed, her head on the pillow that Dean had used the previous evening. She was wearing a pair of Dean's boxers and one of his shirts. Sam sighed as he got his father's voicemail again.
"Hey, Dad. It's Sam. Um, Dean's sick and the doctor says that there's nothin' they can do. Um, they don't know the things we know, right? So… don't worry. I'll do whatever it takes to get him better. Alright. Just wanted you to know."
Sam hung up and threw his phone onto the table. It landed in a book, making a loud noise as it landed. Alex awoke at this noise and Sam turned when he heard her rustling. She smiled weakly over at him, but her face furrowed when there was a knock on the door. Sam stood up and walked over to the door, opening it. Dean was standing outside, leaning against the door-frame. Sam stepped aside and let Dean into the motel room.
"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Alex, meeting Dean in the middle of the room and helping him sit down on one of the rather uncomfortable motel room beds.
"I checked myself out of the hospital."
"Are you crazy?" yelled Sam.
"I'm not going to die in a hospital where the nurses aren't even hot."
Sam chuckled, but his face turned serious when Alex glared over at him.
"You know, this whole laughing in the face of death thing is shit. I can see right through it," said Sam.
He crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Whatever, dude. Alex, has he even slept? He looks worse than me."
Alex shook her head.
"Nah. He's been on the Internet the last three days."
Dean nodded and leaned back, hitting the headboard. He used it for balance and Sam walked over and sat on the edge of the bed next to Alex.
"I went through Dad's contacts. Joshua called me back. He told me about a guy in Nebraska, a specialist," said Sam.
"You're not going to let me die in peace, are you?"
"Dean, we're not going to let you die, period," argued Alex.
"We're goin' to Nebraska."
Sam brought the Impala to a stop and quickly got out to help Dean. Dean shoved him away and Sam sighed. Alex rolled her eyes. Dean stood up and looked at all of the people entering the big, white tent.
"You two are liars. I thought that we were going to see a doctor," said Dean.
He slammed his car door shut and began to walk forward toward the tent, Alex and Sam flanking his sides.
"I believe that Sam said a specialist. Look, Dean, this guy's supposed to be the real deal," explained Alex.
"I can't believe that you brought me to a guy who heals people out of a tent!"
"Reverend LaGrange is a great man," said a woman who was walking directly beside them.
"Yeah, that's real nice," said Dean, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"How can you be a skeptic with what we see every day?" asked Sam.
"Exactly. We see them, we know they're real."
"But if you know evil's out there, how can you not see the good, too?" asked Alex.
"Because I've seen what evil does to good people."
"Maybe God works in mysterious ways," said a very pretty blonde woman, who was walking just a step behind the three siblings.
Dean turned to her and smiled as he took her in.
"Maybe He does. I think He just turned me around on this subject."
Alex and Sam smirked knowingly and the woman laughed politely.
"Yes, I'm sure."
"I'm Dean. This is Sam and Alex."
Dean pointed to each of his siblings as he said their names and Sam and Alex waved slightly.
"Layla. So, if you're not a believer, then why are you here?"
"Well, my siblings here believe enough for me. They're twins, so it's always two against one," answered Dean.
Layla smiled at him as an older woman came and grabbed Layla's elbow gently.
"Layla, let's go."
The woman smiled at the Winchesters before leading Layla away into the tent. Dean watched them leave.
"I bet she can work in some mysterious ways," he remarked.
He walked forward into the tent then while Alex and Sam followed, chuckling at him. Sam led them up into the very front row of seats, Dean protesting the whole way. An older gentleman took his place on stage, his wife leading him to stand behind his podium. He was blind and wore sunglasses to hide it. He smiled, even though he couldn't see his audience.
"Every morning, my wife, Suzanne, reads me the news. Seems like there's always someone committing unspeakable acts. But I say to you, God is watching. It is the Lord who does the healin', friends. The Lord who guides me in choosin' who to heal by helping me see into people's hearts."
Dean leaned over to Alex.
"Yeah, or into their wallets," he whispered into her ear.
The room got quiet then and Dean looked up to see Mr. LaGrange looking in his direction.
"You think so, young man?"
"I'm sorry," said Dean begrudgingly, his eyes wide as the audience stared at him.
"No. Don't be. What's your name, son?"
"Dean."
"I want you to come up here with me," said Mr. LaGrange, smiling widely.
People began clapping.
"Thank the Lord!" yelled a believer in the back somewhere.
"No, I'm okay," said Dean, shaking his head.
Sam sighed and rested his left arm across Alex's seat. He leaned behind Alex's head to talk to Dean.
"What are you doing?"
"You've come here to be healed, haven't you?" asked LaGrange.
"Well, yeah," said Dean.
The audience continued clapping to encourage Dean.
"Get up there!" said Alex.
Dean looked over at her and Alex's eyes were full of unshed tears.
"Please. For me?" she whispered.
Dean sighed and stood up, the clapping getting louder as he climbed onto the stage.
"Pray with me, friends," said LaGrange.
The audience stuck their hands in the air towards Dean and bowed their heads. LaGrange put his hand on Dean's head while Alex and Sam both held their breath. Dean fell to the floor on his knees as the praying began and eventually found himself lying on the floor on his back as the praying continued. Alex and Sam jumped up from their seats and ran on stage as Dean fell. They knelt by his side and waited for him to open his eyes. Suddenly, Dean shot up and gasped for breath. He glanced behind LaGrange's shoulder and saw a dark figure behind him. He sat up to get a closer look, but the figure disappeared suddenly. Dean looked around, but he didn't see anything unusual.
Dean sat on the exam table at the doctor's office the very next day, Alex standing directly beside him.
"So, you really feel okay?" asked Alex.
She looked at Dean, who was watching Sam pace the floor.
"I feel fine."
Alex nodded and they watched Sam pace the room anxiously, his hands in his pockets. The door opened and all of their heads snapped up. The doctor entered, holding a clipboard and looking through the pages of test results on it. He sat on a chair by the counter and looked at the siblings.
"According to your test results, there's nothing wrong with your heart. It's very strange, but stuff can happen."
"What do you mean, strange?" asked Dean.
"Well, just yesterday, a guy your age died of a heart attack," said the doctor.
He closed Dean's chart and shrugged. He gave them all a warm smile.
"Thanks, Doc," said Sam, nodding towards the doctor as he opened the exam room door and then left the room, closing the door behind him.
"That's real weird," said Dean, looking at Alex and Sam.
"Maybe it's just a coincidence. People's hearts give out all the time," hypothesized Alex, biting her lip nervously.
"No, they don't."
"Look, Dean. Why can't we just be thankful that the guy saved your life and move on?" asked Sam.
"Cause I can't shake this feeling, that's why."
Dean stood up and turned away from them.
"What feeling?" asked Alex.
"When I was healed, I felt wrong. I felt cold, and for a second, I saw someone, this old man. I'm tellin' you, it was a spirit."
Dean grabbed his leather jacket from beside him on the exam table and put it on.
"But wouldn't we have seen it too? I mean, Sam's been seein' a lot of those lately," said Alex.
She looked over at him.
"Sorry," she whispered, shrugging her shoulders.
Sam shrugged too and looked over at Dean.
"I've been huntin' long enough to trust a feeling like this," said Dean, facing his siblings.
"Alright. What do you want to do then?"
"You two go check out the heart attack guy. I'll talk to LaGrange."
Dean sat across from Reverend LaGrange at LaGrange's kitchen table about an hour after his hospital visit with his siblings. They each had a glass of sweet iced tea in front of them and Dean stared at his, watching the ice cubes float in his drink. Suzanne poured herself a glass of tea and sat down next to her husband at the table.
"I feel great. Just tryin' to make sense of what happened," said Dean.
"Well, a miracle happened. Miracles happen so often around Roy," said Suzanne.
She looked at her husband and smiled lovingly.
"When did the miracles start?" asked Dean, looking at Roy.
"Woke up one morning blind. Doctors figured out I had cancer, told me a month. So, we prayed for a miracle. I was weak, but told Suzanne to keep prayin'. I went into a coma and they told her I wouldn't wake up."
Roy grabbed his wife's hand then and continued his story.
"But I did and then the cancer was gone."
"And suddenly, you could heal people as well?"
"Yes. God's blessed me in so many ways."
"And this is just the beginning," added Suzanne.
"But why me?" asked Dean.
"Well, the Lord simply guides me," explained Roy, smiling.
At the morgue, the coroner looked at Sam and Alex.
"I'm tellin' you, he seemed healthy. Swam every day, didn't smoke. It's just bizarre."
"And you said that he was running? When he collapsed?" asked Sam.
"Yeah. They said something zapped him."
"What?"
"Thin air. It was nothing."
Alex smiled warmly at the man.
"Well, thank you for your time. We appreciate it."
She grabbed Sam's arm and they walked up the steps back to the ground floor. She looked up and noticed that the clock above the door wasn't moving.
"Hey, your clock's busted," said Alex, looking down at the man.
The man looked at the clock and jogged up the stairs to join them.
"Yeah. It just froze at 4:17 PM."
"Is that the same time Marshall died?" asked Sam curiously.
"Yeah. How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess," said Sam, simply shrugging.
Dean walked into the cold air outside. He began walking down Roy's front porch steps when he saw Layla walking up them. She smiled when she saw him.
"Dean. How are you feeling?"
"I feel good. Cured, I guess. What are you doin' here?"
Layla took a deep breath, smiling and shaking her head.
"You know my mom. She wanted to talk to the Reverend."
Dean nodded and Layla's mom joined them then. Dean smiled at her and she looked past him to the porch. Suzanne was standing on the front porch now.
"I'm sorry, but Roy's resting. He won't be seeing anyone now."
"Suzanne. Please," begged Layla's mom.
"Roy is aware of Layla's situation and will help when the Lord allows. Have faith, Mrs. Rourke."
She turned and walked back inside of her rather large house. Layla's mom looked over at Dean then, hatred in her eyes.
"What are you still here for?"
"Mom, stop," said Layla.
"No. This is too much. We've been to every service. If Roy would stop picking strangers over you…"
Mrs. Rourke let her sentence trail off.
"Layla, what's wrong?" asked Dean.
"She has an inoperable brain tumor."
Layla's mom glared at Dean.
"Why do you deserve to live more than my daughter?" yelled Mrs. Rourke.
Dean didn't answer her. She scoffed and grabbed Layla's arm, dragging her away from Dean to their parked car.
Sam sat at the table in the motel room, working on his laptop. Alex was lying on her bed, her feet in the air and crossed at the ankles. She looked up as Dean entered the room. He took off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack by the door. He stuck his car keys in his pocket.
"What'd you find out?" asked Dean.
"I'm sorry," said Alex, looking over at him sadly.
"About what?"
"Um, well, Marshall died at 4:17 PM exactly."
"The time that I was healed."
Sam nodded and Dean rubbed his face with his hands.
"We put together a list of people that were healed and crossed them with the local obituaries. Every time that someone was healed, someone died of the exact same symptoms that LaGrange was currently healing," said Sam.
He handed Dean the information he and Alex had found and Dean flipped through it.
"So, LaGrange is trading one life for another," explained Sam.
"Wait. Marshall Hall died to save me?"
Alex sighed and walked over to Dean then.
"Dean, he probably would've died anyway when someone else was healed," she argued, reasoning with her brother.
"You never should've brought me here," yelled Dean, throwing down the papers in his hands.
"We were trying to save your life!" yelled Alex.
"Well, now, some guy is dead because of me, Alex! How do you think that makes me feel, huh? It doesn't feel all that fuckin' great!"
He glared over at her and Alex's face fell. Her eyes turned watery and Dean sighed as she looked down at her bare feet.
"I'm sorry. I just wanted you to be okay. But if you want to die, go right ahead. Don't worry about how I feel or about how Sam feels."
She walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Sam and Dean heard the lock click and Dean ran a hand through his short hair.
"Fuck."
Sam nodded.
"Yeah, that was real great. You better fix that."
Sam pointed over towards the locked bathroom door.
"I will, I will."
"Good. Now, what I don't get is how Roy's doing it."
"Oh, it's not him. Somethin' else is doin' it for him. The old man I saw on stage. I knew it, but I didn't want to believe it," said Dean.
"Knew what? Dean, what are you saying?"
Dean grabbed the side of the table.
"We're dealing with a fucking reaper."
Sam's eyes widened.
"Well, that's just really fucking awesome," said Sam, his tone very sarcastic.
Dean nodded solemnly.
"Right. Well, I'm going to go and grab some food. Talk to Alex and fix this," said Sam.
He walked out the motel room door and Dean sighed. He walked over, knocking gently on the bathroom door.
"Alex? Will you please talk to me?"
There was no response from Alex.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. I just… hate that someone died because of me."
His fist and forehead were resting on the door as he spoke. He still got no response, so he slid down the door and sat against it. His back was to the door now and his knees were against his chest as he sighed sadly.
"Alex, please? I need to talk to you."
Suddenly, the door was opened and Dean fell flat onto his back. He looked up and saw Alex standing over him. She was smiling and she grabbed his hand, helping him up.
"Sorry. I didn't realize that you were leaning against the door."
"It's okay. Alex, look. I'm sorry. I just don't like that someone died so that I could live."
"I know. It's just… I couldn't stand it if you died. It would kill me," said Alex.
She looked at Dean, her eyes full of tears.
"Come here."
Dean pulled her into his chest and put his hand on her back comfortingly.
"I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
Alex nodded against his chest.
"I'm holding you to that."
Dean laughed and Alex smiled.
"Okay."
Dean let her go and held her at arm's length. He kissed her forehead, closing his eyes as he did so.
"I love you, little sister."
"I love you, big brother."
They looked over to the door as Sam entered, sipping a large soda and holding a bag from Burger King.
"Is everything all good?" he asked.
"Yep. Now, where's my bag of fries?" asked Alex.
Sam nodded to the bag and set it on the table. He threw his jacket on one of the beds and sat down at the kitchen table. Alex and Dean sat with him.
"Do you really think we're dealin' with the grim reaper?" asked Sam.
Alex coughed as she heard Sam's remark.
"A reaper? Are you kidding?"
Sam and Dean shook their heads sadly.
"Wow."
"And I think it's a reaper, not the reaper," said Dean.
"But you said you saw a dude in a suit," said Sam.
"What, you think he had on a black robe?" teased Alex.
Sam gave her the middle finger and Alex stuck out her tongue.
"Anyway, reapers stop time. And you only see it when it's comin' at you," said Dean.
"Okay. The question now is how is Roy controlling the fuckin' thing?" asked Alex, leaning over and dipping her fries in Sam's ketchup.
Sam snapped his fingers and looked at his siblings as a thought came over him.
"That cross. I saw it in the church tent and knew I'd seen it before," said Sam.
He grabbed a book form beside him and quickly flipped through it. He showed Dean and Alex the picture of the cross he was talking about.
"So, Roy's using black magic?" asked Dean.
"Then we stop Roy," said Alex.
"How?" asked Sam.
Alex raised her eyebrows.
"Guys, we can't kill Roy," said Sam.
"Sam, he's deciding who lives and who dies. That's a monster in my book," said Dean.
"We are not killing a human being."
"Alright, fine. We can't kill Roy and we can't kill death. Any ideas?" asked Alex.
"We have to break the spell Roy's using on the reaper."
Dean parked his car in the parking lot in front of the large, white tent. He, Sam, and Alex quickly climbed out.
"Sam, find that damn spell book. Alex and I will try to distract Roy."
Alex looked up as a man approached them.
"Can we help you?" she asked.
"Roy LaGrange is a fraud," said the man.
Dean slapped the man on the back.
"Amen, brother."
"Keep up the good work," said Sam, nodding towards the man.
Alex winked at the man as she followed Dean into the tent.
Sam watched Roy and Suzanne walk down their front porch steps and walk the few blocks to the service. He watched them walk away before sliding open a window and climbing inside their house. He shut the window behind him and walked through the house, entering an office. He walked over to the bookcase and began looking through the titles. He pulled one out and flipped through the pages. He found nothing useful. As he went to put the spell book back, he noticed a much smaller book. He grabbed it and opened it to the page that was book-marked, revealing a picture of a reaper. He flipped to another book-marked page and unfolded the newspaper clipping that was used as the bookmark. He skimmed the article and found that it was about a gay teacher at the local high school. He saw another newspaper clipping sticking out of the back of the book and he opened it, seeing that it was about an abortion clinic. The last article in the book was about the man in the parking lot who had been calling LaGrange a fraud. Sam sighed and pulled out his phone, calling Alex.
Alex's phone rang as she and Dean searched for a seat in the large, white tent.
"What'd you get?" she answered, already knowing it was Sam on the other end of the call.
"Roy's choosing victims he sees as immoral. Know who's next?"
Alex ran a hand through her long, dirty blonde locks.
"The guy from the parking lot?"
"Yep. I'll find him. You can't let Roy heal anyone, alright?"
"Right."
Alex hung up her phone and stuck it in her back pocket.
"Sam says Roy can't heal anyone. He's going after the parking lot dude today. Sam's on that though. We have to stop the healing," said Alex.
Dean nodded and stood off to the side, watching multiple people enter the tent and sit down.
"Layla Rourke, come up here," said Roy after a few more minutes.
The audience clapped enthusiastically and Layla and her mother stood up, hugging each other as they cried happily.
"Fuck," whispered Alex, running a hand through her long blonde hair.
Layla began walking toward the stage and she passed right by Alex and Dean. Dean gently grabbed her arm. Layla looked at his hand on her arm and then up to his face.
"Layla, you can't go up there."
Layla scoffed.
"Why not? I've wanted this for so long."
"You can't let Roy heal you," whispered Alex.
Layla looked over at her.
"I don't understand. Roy healed your brother, didn't he?"
"If he heals you, somethin' bad will happen. I can't explain it, I just need you to believe me. Please," begged Dean.
Layla glanced over at him and then over to Alex.
"I'm sorry."
She shook her arm out of Dean's grasp and continued onward towards to the stage.
"Shit," muttered Dean, his eyebrows raised and his eyes wide.
Sam looked around the parking lot for the man who was being targeted next by Roy LaGrange.
"Help me!" called out a panicked voice.
Sam ran quickly towards the voice and found the man leaning against a red pickup truck, his eyes wide with absolute fear.
"Where is it?" asked Sam, looking around for the reaper.
"It's right there!"
The man pointed directly in front of him, but Sam saw nothing. He quickly reached down towards the man.
"Alright, come on."
Sam grabbed the man's arm, helping him stand up straight, and they began running across the parking lot.
As Roy's hand got closer to Layla's head, Alex sighed sadly. She then cupped her hands around her mouth.
"Fire! Everybody get out of here!"
The audience began to panic and they all stood up, running for the exits while yelling profusely.
"No! Please!" cried Mrs. Rourke, running towards the stage.
Alex looked over at Dean and patted his arm reassuringly. Dean took out his cell phone and called Sam.
"We did it. We stopped Roy."
"Okay. You should be alright," relayed Sam to the protester, his phone still up to his ear as he looked around the parking lot. The man looked at Sam, his face shining with relief. Suddenly, he fell to his knees, gasping for breathe as Sam panicked, his eyes widening.
"Dean, it didn't work!" yelled Sam into his cell phone.
Sam watched the man writhe around on the ground, choking. His eyes began to roll back into his head.
"Roy must not be controlling the thing!"
The man continued to gasp for breath on the asphalt.
"Who the hell is then?" asked Dean, still on the phone with Sam.
He and Alex looked around the tent quickly, their heads swiveling every which way until they saw Suzanne in the corner, her eyes closed and her lips moving rapidly as she prayed.
"Suzanne," answered Dean.
He hung up then and followed Alex over to Suzanne. Alex grabbed her shoulder roughly and saw that Suzanne was holding a cross necklace in her hands. Suzanne tucked the necklace back into her blouse when she saw Alex looking down at it.
"Help!" she cried and two police officers suddenly appeared beside Suzanne.
They each grabbed a Winchester sibling and escorted them out of the large tent.
Sam watched as the man's face returned to its normal color. His breathing was regular once more and Sam helped him stand back up on his own two feet.
"What happened?" asked the man.
"I have no clue," said Sam, shaking his head.
The police officers shoved Alex and Dean roughly out of the tent and into the parking lot. Alex glared at them as Suzanne stepped outside. She stood directly in front of Dean and Alex.
"I don't understand. Roy healed you, Dean. And Alex. You care so much about your brother and now, look at you. We're very disappointed in both of you."
Suzanne turned to the two police officers then.
"You can let them go. The Lord will deal with them as He sees fit."
She returned back into the tent and the officers looked over at Alex and Dean.
"If we see you two around here again, we'll put the fear of God in you. Understand?"
Alex smiled warmly.
"Yes, sir. Fear of God," said Dean, nodding curtly.
He smiled as well and he took Alex's elbow, dragging her away from the police officers.
"I hate cops," said Alex.
Dean nodded and then they both looked around for Sam. Alex nudged him and Dean turned to see Layla fast approaching.
"Layla," said Alex as she stepped in front of the two siblings.
"Why did you do that? It could've been my only chance!"
"He's not a healer!" yelled Alex.
"He healed your brother."
"I know that it doesn't seem fair. But Roy is not the answer. I'm sorry," said Dean.
"Goodbye, Dean."
Layla turned on her heel angrily and walked away from the two of them.
Dean paced the motel room floor as Alex and Sam sat on a single bed.
"So, Roy really believes?" asked Sam.
Dean stopped pacing and looked out the large window in their room.
"I don't think that Roy has any idea what his wife is doing," said Dean.
"Well, I found this in their home office."
Sam held up the small book that he had found.
"It's ancient."
Dean walked over and sat down on the bed directly next to Alex. She put her feet in his lap and he grabbed them, rubbing them gently.
"It was written by a priest who went dark side. There's a binding spell in here for trapping a grim reaper."
Sam handed the book to Alex, who looked at the marked page.
"Must be one hell of a spell," said Alex, grimacing as she glanced at the old spell-book.
"Yeah. You need a black altar with some seriously dark shit. Bones, human blood."
Sam shook his head, trying to clear it of the disturbing images.
"To cross a line like that, a preacher's wife. Black magic, murder."
"Evil," finished Dean.
"Desperate. Her husband was dying. She was using the binding spell to keep the grim reaper away from her husband," said Alex.
"But Roy's alive. Why is she still using the spell?" asked Dean.
"To kill people that she believes are immoral. We have to break that spell," said Sam.
Alex looked down at the ancient, dark magic book that she still held in her hands and pointed down to the cross.
"Suzanne had a cross like that. When she dropped it, the reaper backed off."
"I guess that we have to destroy both the altar and the cross," said Sam.
"We better do it fast. Roy's healing Layla tonight," said Dean.
He let go of Alex's feet then and got up from the bed, grabbing his jacket from the other bed and shrugging it on as he walked out the door, his siblings following after him.
Dean pulled up in front of the tent a little while later.
"That's Layla's car. She's already here," said Sam, nodding towards the only other car in the dark parking lot.
"Yeah," said Dean, nodding curtly.
Alex looked at him, hearing the regret in his voice.
"Dean."
"You know, if Roy had picked Layla instead of me, she'd be healed right now."
"Dean, stop," warned Sam.
"And if she doesn't get healed tonight, she's going to die in a few months."
Alex leaned over the center console in the Impala.
"What's happening to her is horrible. But what are you going to do? Let someone else die to save her? You said it yourself, you can't play God."
Dean looked over at Alex for a few minutes. He sighed sadly and then he got out of the car. Sam and Alex did the same and they all walked over to the tent's entrance. Roy was on stage with only a few people around him, Suzanne not being one of them.
"Where's Suzanne?" whispered Dean.
Sam looked around the side of the tent and saw that Roy and Suzanne's house had lights on, indicating that someone was home.
"Their house."
They all walked over to the house. On the way there, Alex saw the two police officers from earlier and pointed them out to Dean.
"Sam, go find Suzanne. We'll catch up," said Dean.
Sam nodded and continued toward the house while Alex and Dean turned to the police officers.
"Hey. You going to put that fear of God in us?"
The police officers ran toward them as Dean and Alex began running around the parking lot.
Sam stopped right at the cellar doors on the side of the house. Light was seeping through the tiny crack in between the doors and Sam opened them slowly, climbing inside.
Dean grabbed Alex's hand in his own and they ran to hide behind a rather large RV. The police officers were directly on the other side of it and Dean and Alex slowly walked around it. Suddenly, a dog appeared at the RV window and saw them, barking profusely. The officers began moving to the side of the RV where Dean and Alex were currently hiding. Alex quickly climbed up a ladder to the top of the RV and Dean followed her. Dean and Alex watched from the RV's roof as the officers walked away to another car after only a few minutes, having just missed catching them.
Sam crept into the basement's cellar and saw an altar in the middle of the room. He walked closer and saw bones and blood, all in bowls on the altar. He also saw a picture of Alex with a large, red 'X' marked straight through her face. He picked up the picture and turned around suddenly, feeling someone's presence behind him. Suzanne was now standing there.
"Sam, I thought that Dean was the problem, but I was mistaken. Alex is the troublemaker and I can take her life away."
Sam, angry and seeing red, quickly grabbed one end of the altar and knocked it over completely, spilling everything on the floor while Suzanne calmly climbed up the stairs of the cellar. After completely demolishing the altar, he then ran to the top of the stairs as Suzanne shut them. He began shoving against them, but Suzanne had already locked them.
"Don't you see, Sam? God gave me the ability to reward the good and punish the wicked. Your sister is wicked and deserves to die so that Layla can live. Goodbye, Sam."
Sam heard Suzanne walk away and he began looking around the cellar for another way out. He saw a small window across the room, so he ran towards it busted the small glass window with his elbow, glass falling everywhere around him on the floor.
Alex felt a chill in the air as she and Dean were walking through the parking lot. She pulled on Dean's hand to stop him and he looked at her. Suddenly, the streetlamp closest to the two of them flickered and burnt out. Alex looked at Dean, panic written all over her pretty face.
"Alex, what's wrong?"
Alex looked over Dean's shoulder and saw the grim reaper reaching for her. She screamed and fell to the ground, gasping for breath as the reaper touched her head. Dean knelt beside her and put her head in his lap.
"Fuck, fuck," he muttered as her eyes rolled back into her head and she began gasping for breath, her eyes rolling back into her head.
Sam climbed out of the small window with a lot of effort and he ran across the front lawn to reach Suzanne. He quickly grabbed the cross necklace from her hands and threw it down onto the ground, watching as blood spilled from the cross, seeping across the asphalt. Suzanne glared at Sam. Suddenly, she fell to her knees on the asphalt. She began to convulse and gasp for breath. Sam watched as she fell to the ground, dead, after only a few more minutes. Her mouth was open and blood trickled out of it onto the ground. He sighed and walked over to the Impala, watching Dean walk over to him with Alex cradled in his arms.
"Is she okay?" asked Sam, alarm coloring his tone.
"Sammy, I'm fine. Dean just wouldn't let me walk."
Sam chuckled, shaking his head as Dean finally set Alex down onto the asphalt parking lot. They all climbed into their car and drove away from the gruesome crime scene.
Alex and Sam were packing up their clothes the next morning as Dean sat on his bed, staring off into nothing. Sam suddenly stopped packing and looked over at Dean.
"What's wrong?"
Dean shook his head sadly.
"Nothin'."
Sam looked over at Alex, who sighed. She threw the shirt that she had been holding into her bag and walked over to Dean. She took the gun that he had been cleaning earlier out of his hands and sat down directly onto his lap. Her butt was on his right knee and her feet were dangling off of his left knee.
"What's wrong?"
Dean looked up into her face.
"We did the right thing here, didn't we?"
"Of course we did," said Sam, sitting down next to Dean then.
Alex's feet hovered over Sam's lap.
"Doesn't feel like it," said Dean.
Dean looked down at the floor and Alex looked over at Sam.
"Layla," she mouthed silently as Sam nodded, winking over at her.
Alex smiled over towards Sam and then she kissed Dean's cheek and slid off of his lap. Suddenly, there was a knock on the motel room's door and Alex walked over to open it. Layla stood in the doorway.
"Hey, Layla. Come on in."
Alex held the door wide open as Layla walked inside. She walked over to Dean, who was now standing up to greet her.
"Layla. How'd you know we were here?" he asked.
"Sam called," said Layla, smiling over at Sam.
"Said that you wanted to say goodbye," she finished, smiling warmly over at Dean once more.
Alex smiled and hi-fived Sam.
"Dean, we're going to go and grab some sodas. Come on, Sam."
Alex grabbed Sam's arm and dragged him out of the room. The door shut behind the twins and then Layla looked over at Dean.
"So, where are you going?" asked Layla.
"Don't know yet. Our work kind of takes us all over."
"You know, I went back to see Roy."
"What happened?"
Layla sat down on the bed next to Dean.
"Nothing. He put his hands on my forehead and nothing happened."
"I'm so sorry, Layla."
Layla smiled and faced him.
"Suzanne is dead, you know. Stroke."
"Yeah, I heard. Roy's a good man. He doesn't deserve what's happened."
"Yeah. Well, I have to go. Goodbye, Dean."
Layla patted the top of his hand comfortingly and stood up, walking over to the motel room door. She looked over at him and smiled one last time before opening the door and walking out. Dean sighed sadly, running a hand over his scruffy face.