A/N: This chapter is a bit intense in places. The section under "Last Night" particularly so, which includes suicide. You have been warned.
When the Cradle Falls
Chapter Seventeen: Baptism
Batavia, Illinois
6:17 AM
The sky was beginning to lighten in the direction Dean was driving. It was a sappy thing to think, but he felt like it was a sign of hope.
Batavia was a pretty nice town. It was upper middle class-a lot nicer than any of the places they ever worked cases. It had better upkeep than Broken Bow and wasn't as crowded as the Gold Coast.
It was a good place to raise kids.
The neighborhood was a brand new subdivision with decent-sized houses. Dean remembered how Alice had been talking about moving out for awhile and how she could hardly accept Jan buying her a house. Of course, Jan said she had been sitting on piles of money for decades that she was saving for a special reason. She just hadn't known what that reason was until Alice began looking for crappy apartments out in cities where the school districts were better. Jan's reasoning was if Alice wanted good schools in a good town, she needed a good place to live.
Neither Dean nor Alice had any idea where the older women had gotten so much money, but they weren't going to ask when she had bought a house for their children.
Pulling into the driveway of the gray brick, two story house, Dean parked the car and killed the engine. He stared at the white garage door for a moment, realizing this was only the third time he'd been here. He'd been to Jan's house more times than he'd been here.
But if ever were there a place for him to call home, this was it.
Alice had a second key made for Dean, which he used to quietly enter the house. He shut the door silently and made his ray down the hallway to the kitchen. The wood floor was covered in a soft gray rug that Alice had spent twenty minutes debating whether or not to buy it when he had gone furniture shopping with her.
The naturally lit kitchen had white cabinets, gray slate counter tops, and matching white furniture. It was a stark contrast to Jan's dark home.
Sitting at the kitchen counter, Alice's head was rested on the cool table top, her caramel hair fanning out, covering her face. A few pieces moved as she breathed deeply and evenly. An half empty mug filled with cold coffee sat near her hand, delicately curled against her cheek.
Dean's hand brushed her face when he moved her hair out of the way and leaned forward, kissing her on the cheek.
Stirring, Alice moaned softly, eyes fluttering open. She blinked several times as she focused on Dean's slowly sharpening figure. With a sudden sigh, she launched the top of her body forward, and wrapped her arms around Dean, while still sitting in the chair. "I'm sorry I fell asleep. I didn't know when you were gonna be here."
"Thank you," Dean muttered into her hair, wrapping his arms tightly around her. If he had to, he would physically grip her to make sure she didn't leave. But he didn't need to, because he knew she would always be by his side when he needed her.
"I called in work today," Alice said, drawing back from Dean. She leaned forward and sniffed the coffee. Nose wrinkling, she dumped it down the sink. "I think we need to have a family day. Just the four of us."
"I think you're right."
"Cara? Wake up!" The six year old flinched when something flicked her on the cheek. Turning over towards the wall, the little girl kicked at whatever was trying to wake her from her slumber.
"It's seven o' clock, Cara!" A four year old Noah continued to poke and prod at his older sister. He always hated it when she slept so late. He wasn't tired so he didn't understand why she still needed to sleep.
"I'm just trying to enjoy my summer," Cara groaned. There were only a few weeks until she had to go back to school. After successfully completing kindergarten, Cara wasn't particularly looking forward to first grade. She heard it was much harder than kindergarten.
"Why aren't you excited for school, Cara?" Noah asked.
"Kindergarten is rough," she said, feeling like she the weight of the world on her shoulders. Maybe she shouldn't tell Noah that, because he was always so excited for school. But she had to prepare him.
"It sounds fun!" Noah retorted.
"You don't even start for another year," Cara muttered to herself. She threw the covers off of her and swung her feet over the side of the bed.
"We have to go across the street before Mommy goes to work, Cara. You can't go over there in your pajamas," Noah informed his older sister.
She rolled her eyes. "I know." While Alice worked, the two went across the street to the Barnes' house. Noah loved it, but Cara absolutely hated it. Grayson and Mitchell Barnes were the reasons she hated it. One of them was a year older than her and the other one was a year younger than her and they were terrible. For the most part, Noah and the two boys ignored Cara, which she was perfectly fine with. Usually, the girl brought a book with her or talked to Mrs. Barnes when she wasn't talking on the phone with the other neighbors.
"Well, you should get ready."
"I will. After breakfast. Now get out of my room."
Dean and Alice were in the middle of an intense conversation when they heard a door slam and two pairs of feet tromp down the stairs.
"We can talk later," Alice assured, leaning forward and giving Dean a quick peck on the lips.
"Thanks, coffee breath," Dean teaased.
Smacking him in the chest, Alice laughed. "Like yours smells any better, mister."
"Oh yeah?" Playfully, Dean lunged forward and grabbed Alice around the waist. He pulled her to his chest and buried his face in her neck. She giggled.
"Ewwww!"
"Daddy!"
Dean and Alice quickly pulled away, seeing their two children standing in the entrance of the kitchen. As usual, Noah looked absolutely enthralled to see their father, while Cara looked disgusted from seeing her parents kissing.
Forgetting the events from the night before, Dean make a pretend growling sound and swooped down, grabbing a kid in each arm. He spun them around while they giggled. He kissed each of them on the cheek. "How are my two favorite kiddos?"
"I'm good, Daddy!" Noah responded cheerfully. The day just kept getting better and better.
"Pretty good," Cara responded, wrapping her arms around Dean's neck. "Hi Daddy."
"Hi princess. And hello to you too, little man," Dean said to Noah, tickling his son under the arm. Noah laughed and squirmed trying to tickle Dean back.
After setting them on the ground, Alice bent down and kissed the two of them good morning. "What do you two think of having a super fun day?" Alice asked, bending down towards their height.
"Fun?"
"Yeah. I mean...if you don't have plans or anything like that," Alice joked. "I'm not working today so it would be cool if you guys could join us."
"I could probably squeeze you in," Noah joked, imitating someone he saw on TV.
"How about you, Cara mia?"
"We're not going across the street today?"
Alice shook her head.
Cara grinned. "Okay!"
The family had gone out to breakfast, and now Alice and Dean were sitting on a bench at the park while Cara and Noah ran all over the playground. The park was located in the community center, a particularly forested area.
"You can't blame yourself for Sam leaving," Alice said. She gripped Dean's hand.
He shook his head. "I just feel like if-"
"Feel like what, Dean? You're not his father. You're his brother. And Sam's not a kid anymore. He made his choice. I don't think there's anything you could've done to change his mind. It sounded like he was planning this for a long time."
"There has to be something I could have done. I should have gone after him."
Alice felt a bit of anger for John Winchester. She had never met the man, but she could tell from subtle things Dean said that the man was manipulative, and maybe even a bit emotionally abusive. But of course, she never said this, because Dean basically worshipped his father. But as someone who had never really even had a real relationship with her father, Alice felt she could be a little more objective about the situation. "You said your Dad would've disowned you too. Look, maybe give Sam a bit of time to cool off and then reach out to him. Call him in a couple months. Your dad doesn't have to know."
Dean nodded, trying to convince himself she was right. But a couple months sounded like a long way's away.
"You're not Atlas, Dean."
"Huh?"
"You don't have to hold up the entire world, you know," Alice clarified.
"I'm not I'm just-" Dean suddenly stopped.
"What?" Alice asked.
"Where did Cara and Noah go?" Dean asked, surveying the silent, empty park.
Frowning, Alice went to point at nothing, but then faltered, letting her hand fall back to her side. "They were just here. Weren't they?"
The parents stood and slowly began to circle the park, calling for the two, and trying to hear anything.
"How could both of them just be gone?" Alice demanded, beginning to panic.
But Dean knew how both of them could be gone so suddenly. His heart gripped with fear when he thought of the possibility of something supernatural taking his children. It was the absolute worst scenario because he was always afraid that someday it would happen.
"Dean where are they?" Alice screeched when they couldn't find a trace of either Cara or Noah.
"We'll find them. Nothing's going to happen to them."
"Excuse me?"
Alice and Dean both spun around to a woman. She was probably in her early forties, wearing a striped blouse with khaki pants.
"Yes?" Dean asked, trying to stay calm.
"Have you seen two boys? I can't seem to find my nephews. They're ten and eleven and they were wearing-"
"How can four kids suddenly just vanish?" Alice demanded.
"Four?" The woman asked.
"My kids-our kids are gone. They're only four and six and they're named Cara and Noah. Have you seen them? Cara has brown hair and brown eyes and she was wearing a green dress. Noah has black hair and blue eyes and he was wearing-"
"Have you seen my nephews? Tyler or Jason? They're both blonde wearing jean shorts and-"
"I haven't seen your kids!" Alice shouted, losing her temper.
"They're my nephews!" The woman shot back. "I haven't seen yours either!"
"Okay! Everyone just calm down for a minute!" Dean suggested.
Both women turned their glares to him. He swallowed, realizing he shouldn't have done that.
"This is ridiculous. I'm calling the police," the other woman announced.
"Wait! You don't need to call the police," Dean insisted. Cops were just going to get in his way and slow him down. If some monster took his children, he wasn't going to let law enforcement screw things up.
Alice gaped at him. "Are you crazy?! You don't want to call the police when-"
There was no way he could play that off. "Look, you two call the cops, I'm going to look in the forest. Okay? Allie, I'll find them. You think I would let something to happen to them."
Alice knew he wouldn't. She nodded tearfully.
Dean turned to the woman. "I'll look for your nephews. Okay?"
The woman nodded. "Thank you."
Once he was out of site, Dean quickly picked up on a disturbed trail in the forest. He could make out the lightest indents of footprints. The footprints were all small in size and there were several pairs.
Trying to regulate his breathing and remain calm, Dean felt for his gun at the small of his back, but didn't take it out. Not yet.
Following the trail, Dean began to hear the sound of Cara and Noah's voices. They sounded like they were in distress, which caused Dean to break into a sprint. The monster that decided to take Dean Winchester's children was going to die a slow and painful death.
Dean's heart caught when he burst through a low hanging set of branches, revealing a clearing.
There was a murky pond in the middle of a clearing and there were four children near the water's edge. Two of them were Cara and Noah.
The other two were blonde boys wearing jean shorts.
Each of the blonde boys had a grip on Cara and Noah.
"No, I don't want to!" Noah yelled, trying to escape from the grip of the boy who was more than twice his age. The blonde was dragging Noah towards the water.
"He can't swim!" Cara yelled, trying to reach for her brother, but instead, being yanked back by the other boy.
"It's not even that deep!" The boy holding Noah insisted, as he was about to shove Noah into the water.
"I can't swim!" Noah tried to repeat, but his plea was cut off short when the boy holding Noah forcefully dunked the four year old's head underwater.
"Shut up!" The boy holding Cara shouted. He started to drag her towards the water as well. "Can you swim?" The question was asked with a certain sick pleasure that no kid should know.
"No! Stop! Help!" Cara yelled.
Noah's head was up long enough for him to see his sister being dragged where he was. "Leave my sister alone!" He tried to lunge for the body holding Cara but was shoved back under the water.
Barreling forward, all Dean saw was red. He grabbed Cara's arm in one hand and the back of Noah's shirt in the other and flung the two of them back with such force, that the blonde boys tumbled to the ground. Cara and Noah rolled across the ground, several feet behind Dean.
Gripping the boys by the arm, Dean muttered christo under his breath, which had no effect. Neither did the silver ring he wore when he grabbed their arms. It was hard to be discreet with holy water, but that had no effect on the boys either.
They were just kids.
"What the hell do you two think you're doing?!" Dean demanded. He had them by the collars of their shirts as he shook them. They weren't monsters. They were just kids.
Just damn kids.
Still, to Dean, they were monsters. They were going to hurt Cara and Noah. His only instinct, only thought was to grab his gun at the small of his back and blow a hole through each of their skulls.
"We were just playing a game!" One of the boys wailed.
"You think almost drowning my kids is a goddamn game?" Dean felt himself shaking them, envisioning their underdeveloped brains rattling around in their heads.
The boy, Tyler, suddenly dropped the mask of fear. "It would've been a really fun game," he sneered darkly, with a creepy smile.
Letting go of the two, Dean backed away from the two little sociopaths.
Just as he was turning to Cara and Noah, a horde of people burst through the same branches Dean had a few minutes earlier.
There were four cops, along with Alice and the aunt of Jason and Tyler.
It was chaos as Cara and Noah started screaming at the officers when two of them went to ask Tyler and Jason if they were okay.
"They were gonna hurt us!" Cara cried. Her green dress was ripped and her face was red from screaming for help. Noah was also a wreck, but couldn't seem to verbalize the words. All he could do was tearfully nod along.
"It's true," Dean told one of the cops. She turned to Dean and asked him what he had seen.
He told the officer. Listening to that, Alice's grip on her children tightened as gently rocked the two of them. Flashes of being a seventeen year old standing in the middle of a frozen river bombarded her. And the fact Cara and Noah had almost been in the same situation snapped her heart in two. Alice had almost ended her own life-and Cara's growing one-and now, some sick force had come around to get back at Alice for the unforgivable sin she almost made.
"It's okay babies," Alice whispered when the cops tried to question the two. Cara managed to choke her way through the words.
"We were playing and they came up to us asking if we wanted to see a whole pack of deer. They said they were in the woods. It sounded cool so we followed them. Then we came to the pond and that was when we realized there were no deer." Cara sniffled. "They tricked us."
"They were gonna hurt us," Noah echoed, a layer of his innocence burning away.
The cop squatted down in front of the two. "You two did really good. You're very brave."
Dean moved to a cop that was away from the group. "What's gonna happen to those kids?"
The cop let out a deep sigh. "We'll take them to the station and try and get it contact with their parents. An investigation will take place and we'll see if there's trouble at home, if that parents are suitable caretakers. If not, then hopefully rehabilitation and lots and lots of therapy for those kids. They're still young."
Dean choked back an angry flash, remembering the dead look that was in those boy's eyes.. "When I saw them and what they were gonna do to my kids, I wanted to…" He trailed off, remembering he was talking to a cop.
The cop gave a small smirk back. "You're a parent. I have a newborn and one about your kids' ages at home. I get it."
"How could a kid even do that?" Dean wanted to know. But he knew how. When he was those boys' age, he was already an expert at using a shotgun. He killed his first monster when he was only eleven. He knew. It made him all the more sick that he knew nothing was likely to help those boys. They needed to be locked up. He knew what remorselessness looked like.
"There are a lot of screwed up people in this world. They've gotta start somewhere, I guess."
"And her?" Dean chucked his chin towards the aunt.
The cop looked back at the older woman. She was leaning back against a tree. Arms were wrapped around her form, she appeared incredibly fragile, like she was an icicle that would snap in half or melt. Two cops stood on either side of her, questioning her. It was obvious she felt intimidated and trapped.
"She said they were staying with her while the parents were out of town. It doesn't look like she had any idea. We'll question her, but I doubt there's anything she could tell us."
"I wouldn't want those kids in my house knowing what they did."
The two turned their attention to the woman. "I don't think that will be an issue." The officers questioning her had stepped away and she marched over to the boys, who were being told to stand next to a police officer.
"What is wrong with you two?! Huh? I was worried about you two, thinking you were kidnapped. And here I find out what you were gonna do to those two poor kids over there! I'm absolutely disgusted in you two!"
Spinning away from her nephews, the woman cautiously approached Dean. Alice glanced up from where she sat on the ground, still gripping her children tightly.
The woman brushed some hair out of her face. "I just wanted to apologize. I had no idea my neph-those boys are capable of something like that. Are they okay?" She asked, referring to Cara and Noah.
"No. But they will be," Alice said, wishing the woman would just go away. By her standing there apologizing, that made Alice realize how serious the situation truly was.
"You're not-you're not gonna press charges are you?"
"And if I did?" Alice snapped. However, she quickly composed herself and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. No. I don't need a reminder of this. And they're just kids."
The woman nodded. Neither Dean or Alice could read her reaction to that. "Once again, I'm terribly sorry." Turning away, she walked back over the the police officers standing around Tyler and Jason.
"Auntie Becca, when are we gonna go home?"
Refusing to look at them, Becca turned her attention to the police. "I don't want to sleep knowing these two are just down the hallway from me."
"M'am, what would you like us to do?"
"Arrest them. Or at least take them to the station. Get in touch with my sister and try and figure out what the hell is going on with her kids. But I don't want them in my house."
The boys were escorted out of the clearing by two of the cops. The aunt followed a few paces behind.
The two remaining officers migrated over to the family. "We have an ambulance back by the park, if you think they need to be checked out."
"Yes, I'd prefer that, thank you," Alice said, still staring at the top of Cara and Noah's heads.
"Yes m'am."
"Is there anything else you need officers?"
The two shook their heads. "We got your statements. That should be all for now. Here's my card, in case we need to get in contact with you. After they get checked out, they should be good to go." Dean took the card from the female officer who he had talked to. The card indicated her name was Officer Adriana Gomez.
Dean nodded to Officer Gomez, deciding she and the others weren't too bad for cops.
"Well if that's all, we can back if you'd like," Officer Gomez suggested.
"Come on babies," Alice encouraged. She stood up and helped the two stand. She collected Noah in her arms and Dean was about to do the same for Cara when the little girl suddenly turned on her heel and ran back towards the pond.
"CARA!" Alice screamed after her daughter, as the girl jumped from the ledge and disappeared below the dark water. The algae covered surface rippled in uneven patterns.
Without thinking, Dean dove into the water after Cara. By the time he reached the surface, Cara was only a couple feet away, treading water and coughing extra liquid from her lungs.
Quickly grabbing her, Dean began to swim for the shore. "What the hell were you thinking?" Dean demanded as Cara wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I wasn't gonna let them make me be scared," Cara responded matter of factly.
That stunned Dean. He checked to make sure he was actually talking to a six year old. He was.
"Cara why would you do that!" Alice screamed, once Dean and Cara made it back to shore. Alice gripped Cara, getting soaked.
"Sorry Mommy. I had to do it."
"The ambulance has some blankets and towels," Officer Gomez offered to Dean, not quite sure what to make of the soaking wet girl.
"Should I jump in too?" Noah asked his older sister.
"No, I did it for the both of us," Cara said as Alice bent down to pick her up. Dean did the same with Noah and they followed the remaining two police officers out of the clearing. The parents shared a meaningful look over the heads of their children.
Gripping their children tight, the parents quickly fled from the dark body of water. It was so dark there wasn't visibility a foot below the surface. Someone could so easily disappear below the surface and never be seen again, if no one was looking for them.
When Cara disappeared below the water, Alice believed some transference had occurred. She originally believed she was being punished for even attempting to drown herself, but then wondered that because she hadn't succeeded, her daughter would have to carry the burden of the uncompleted task.
Dean stared at the top of his son's dark head. The ends of his hair were curling as they dried. Noah had his head rested against the crook of Dean's arms. It was crazy to think this was the age Dean had been when he carried Sammy out of their burning home. Dean couldn't believe he had been the size of the boy in his arm's when had he done that. Noah was basically just a baby. But at the same time, Noah had tried to save his sister even after he had been held underwater.
Once they reached the park, each child was given an industrial sized towel and Noah was the first to insist he wanted to walk. Cara quickly copied her brother, wishing she had asked to walk first, since she was older. But she made sure she was the first to climb up onto the back of the ambulance. Noah was quick to follow. After that, the paramedics began to check the children over for injuries.
Cara focused on a rip at the edge of her dress while one of the paramedics checked her wrist where the boy had grabbed it. She remembered all the times Mommy had said to watch out for strangers. But strangers were adults. She didn't think kids could be strangers. She knew there were bad people in the world-her mother had told her that many times-but how could someone who was her age be bad? Not the kind of bad like talking in class when you shouldn't be, but like the kind of bad where you wanted to hurt someone. Her mind whirred as she realized maybe anyone could be bad, not just grownups. She didn't want to be scared, but she was. She was hoping jumping in the water would somehow make everything okay.
Feeling his wet hair, Noah thought about how he couldn't swim-he told them that-so why would those boys try to throw him in the water? Mommy always said to never go near open water without her. He had always followed that rule. Why didn't those boys listen to him? He said he couldn't swim but they didn't care. Noah didn't think they were going near water. He thought they were going to see deer. But Noah wasn't sure why those boys lied. They were bullies, but to Noah, there was something more sinister about them he couldn't describe. He had never seen someone want to hurt him like that. He didn't think it was possible for people like that to exist.
"Mommy?" Noah asked.
"Yes baby?" She asked, she placed a hand on his cheek. She felt like she had to keep physical contact with both of them at all times, or else they would disappear again.
"Can I take swim lessons?"
Alice blanched. "Why do you want to take swim lessons?"
"So the next time someone tries to do that to me, I'll be able to swim."
She frowned in incredulity. "But no one is ever going to do that again."
"Oh," he said. She watched him try to understand how she knew that.
That broke her heart.
But how did she explain to a six and four year old that things like that didn't happen to everyone when it happened to them?
"I won't let it happen again."
"But you already let it happen," Noah responded. He didn't say it to wound her or to sound cynical-he was only four- but merely as an observation, but he didn't know the sharp barb that pierced through Alice's thorax.
"Yeah." Alice dropped her hand from Noah's face and quickly scuttled away. She found herself pressed against a tree facing away from the ambulance. Covering her mouth, she tried to hold back a sob that escaped from her chest.
Dean was suddenly there in her vision, enveloping her in a hug.
"You should go back to the kids. I don't want them to be alone right now."
"Allie, they're surrounded by cops and paramedics. They'll be fine for a few minutes."
"Just 'a few minutes' of me not watching them was enough. How could we let this happen? They were right in front of us and then they were just gone."
If Allie felt bad, then Dean-who had been trained to observe minute details and pay attention to things other people wouldn't think of-was absolutely destroying himself. He could hear a creaky stair step from two floors above but couldn't notice his two kids go missing before his eyes? That's why he thought it was something supernatural, not humans. Especially not some Children of the Corn psychopaths.
"Shit happens, Allie." Dean had seen all kinds.
"Not to my kids. Nothing bad was supposed to happen to us." Alice had a glazed over look in her eyes. "All they know is that I wasn't there to protect them. They know they can't rely on me." She felt herself being pulled back into the funk of her postpartum depression. It was something she hadn't dealt with in years, but the feeling hit her like a freight train.
Dean shook her slightly. "No. All they know is that some stupid kids tried to hurt them. How could you even believe they blame you?"
"Cause I blame me," Alice whispered, softer than a ghost.
"Of course you do. I do too. We're parents. It's natural for us to blame ourselves for every little thing that goes wrong in our kids lives."
Alice flicked her eyes to him. "You think them almost drowning is a little thing?"
Dean shook his head not even bothering to answer. She knew what he meant.
"We can only do better next time." It was amazing Dean could spew such comforting words to Alice when all he could do to himself was constantly flagellate how he couldn't protect his own kids. Why would Alice think anything was wrong with not watching her kids for a few moments?
She had grown up in a small town. She had lived in Chicago, but the nice part. And now she lived in an upper middle class town that was literally the perfect place to raise a family. How could she in a million years think that any of her mantras of stranger danger to Cara and Noah would even be a possibility? She was right. Things like that didn't happen to normal families.
But she had no idea they weren't normal. Dean knew even an average person could be a monster underneath the surface. He'd seen monsters in all shapes and sizes, from demons possessing teenagers to frail old women that could hardly walk. He knew to be skeptical of everyone, suspect everyone.
And he hadn't done that.
"If we realized just a few minutes later…"
Dean shook the image out of his head. "Well, we didn't. We found them. They're safe."
She nodded. "You're right. They're safe." She wiped her eyes. "And the last thing they need is to see me like this." She took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's go get our babies."
"But why did you go with them? I've told you countless times not to go with strangers," Alice demanded. She was kneeling on the floor in front of the couch where Cara and Noah sat, pleading at them to comprehend the situation with the lens of an adult, of a parent. But she knew they couldn't do that; that was supposed to be her job.
"You said strangers were grownups," Noah said.
Alice wrung her hands together in frustration. Her anxiety of her children almost drowning was now taking the form of grilling them on why they went with them. Her intention wasn't to make them so scared that they never wanted to leave her side, but there was obviously something flawed in the way she taught them. "You know better. And Cara, why didn't you look out for Noah? I've told you countless times to watch out for Noah."
Dean, who was sitting on the coffee table, suddenly sprung up. "No. Nope. Alice, kitchen please?"
Looking at him as if he had grown two heads, Alice grudgingly followed him into the next room. "What?" she signaled.
Dean motioned towards the other room. "Don't tell Cara to watch out for Noah."
Alice squinted her eyes. "What? Why not?"
Dean sputtered. "Because…"
The mother crossed her arms. "She's his older sister. Of course she should look out for him."
Reaching forward, he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Look, as an older sibling who was told to watch out for his younger sibling his entire life, please don't tell Cara that."
Still skeptical, Alice stepped back. "You don't think Cara should have to watch out for Noah? I tell Noah the same thing, you know."
"It's great that they look out for each other, but be careful. Because if you keep telling Cara that, she'll base her entire worth off how well Noah turns out, how well she looked after him. She's only a kid, Al. She doesn't need that kind of pressure on her. But if you put that kind of pressure on her, it's something that will become ingrained in her that she won't be able to escape." There was nothing wrong with looking out for family, but it only took Dean a second for him to see himself in his daughter that he knew there was something seriously wrong with that.
Stunned, Alice gaped at him. "Why do I have a feeling you're not talking about Cara?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Quickly clamming up, Dean walked out of the room back into the living, leaving Alice standing there to try and make sense of what just happened.
"Dean."
"I'm not talking about that, Alice."
"We should-"
"Talk about what?" Cara asked.
Moving to sit on the couch, Dean put Noah on his lap and looped an arm around Cara. "Nothing, sweetheart."
Cara gave him the side eye but let the issue drop.
"Daddy, do you know how to swim?" Noah asked. Glad the boy couldn't see his face, a look of anguish scratched itself into his features. Dean wished Noah would stop talking about water and swimming. He knew he and Alice didn't need any reminders.
"Yeah, I can."
"And Cara can swim. I guess Mommy and I are the only ones that can't."
Dean's eyes swung to Alice. "You can't swim?" He didn't know why that struck him as odd.
She shrugged nervously. "Never had a reason to learn. Swimming lessons wasn't really at the top of my parent's to-do list."
"You know, you never talk about Grandma and Grandpa," Cara noted, looking at her mother.
"I told you. They live far away and I haven't talked to them in a long time," Alice said, believing that was an effective end to the conversation. It usually worked.
"Aunt Janny said your parents don't like us."
"What?" Feeling her blood boiling, Alice couldn't believe Jan would tell Cara that. Why would she think that was an okay thing to tell a six year old? That the entire reason Alice couldn't live with her parents or even talk to them were sitting on the couch in front of her? "When did she tell you that?"
Cara shrugged. "I was listening to her conversation on the phone once. That was all I heard before Aunt Janny found me and yelled at me for listening when I shouldn't have been."
"Why did you eavesdrop?"
Cara shrugged.
"Cara Clementine. You brought it up."
Looking out from beneath her eyelashes, Cara shrugged. "I just wanted to meet my Grandma and Grandpa. Everyone else at school has some."
Alice paused.
Noah turned looked at Cara. "People don't think we have a Daddy."
Cara gasped for a minute. "Who told you that?"
"At pre-school. They don't believe me."
"Me either," Cara said. "No one's ever seen Daddy so they don't think we have one."
Dean very quickly had to slide Noah off his lap and stand up. A child's honesty and transparency was usually a refreshing burst of innocence, but now it just caused an ache in their parents' chests.
"Why do you listen to them? You know you have a dad," Alice insisted. But how could she convince two school aged children to ignore their peers?
"But everyone says so," Noah argued.
"That doesn't make it true," Alice responded. Suddenly tired, she motioned for them to leave the room. "Why don't you guys go watch TV for awhile?"
Thrilled by the prospect, the kids scurried out of the room, leaving their parents to pick up the confusion and hurt they left behind.
"You know they don't mean it," Alice said, coming behind Dean and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Sounds like something I said to you earlier."
Alice smirked, pressing her face into his shoulder blade. She wound her arms around him. "I guess I give good advice."
"Do you think I'm a terrible father?"
"No. I don't."
Dean spun around and separated himself from Alice. "Why not? By every definition I'm a crappy father. I don't pay child support. I'm not involved in their lives. I stop by every few months like that's okay-"
"I don't want your money, Dean. Your kids don't want your money. And you know if Jan didn't help me out, they wouldn't be able to live like this. And as for stopping by every few months, we've talked about this: you do what you can, you come when you can. Dean, I've never thought anything less of you for that. Neither have your children."
Maybe you should.
"I just wish I could do more," he admitted. God, for the past twenty four hours he'd been feeling like such a wuss. Everything felt incredibly fragile right now. And so much had happened that he hadn't had much time to process it all. But it seemed like now, the weight of everything was beginning to crush him.
"You're a good father, Dean. You're a good man. I mean, you found me, Dean." Alice was referring to him tracking her down in Chicago.
"Yeah, well you were too good to let go."
"You were too," Alice admitted quietly.
The two stared at each other for a moment, feeling a strong magnetic pull that made their feet move, without permission from the mind, until their bodies smacked into one another.
"They're just in the other room," Alice whispered, as Dean leaned in towards her neck.
He ignored her.
She gently pushed him back. "Not right now. When they go to sleep," Alice assured.
Feeling the pent up stress that he hadn't been able to release, Dean slowly drew back and nodded slowly. He removed his hands from Alice and looked out the window. The sun was finally starting to set and the rays were cutting straight into the room. And Dean realized then he hadn't slept in over twenty four hours.
"I think I need to sleep," he admitted suddenly.
She blinked, not expecting him to comment that. "When was the last time you slept? I know it's been a stressful couple days for you…"
Dean shrugged. "Since before Sam left."
Her eyebrows shot up. "You haven't slept in over a day?"
"I drove all night to get here."
She made a tsk-sound and motioned towards the stairs. "Well, go to bed. You need sleep."
Dean flirted with the idea but decided he should be there for his kids. Although they seem to have bounced back from the earlier trauma, he wanted to make sure they would be okay. However, he had forgotten how resilient kids could be. But, after the comment made from his kids that most people didn't think they had a father, he felt as though he needed to prove to all those people that Cara and Noah did have a father.
But was he a father?
He had walked out the door while Cara and Noah begged for him to stay a little longer.
Why was that any different that John walking out on Dean?
It was different because Dean was an adult and didn't need his father to hold his hand-at least he tried to convince himself of that. And he didn't want Cara and Noah to end up like him. That was one of the worst things he could imagine for his kids. As much as he enjoyed hunting, it was something that absolutely had to be kept separate from Alice and their kids.
"They'll be here in the morning, Dean," Alice assured, contracting the hysteria she was in earlier, following the traumatic event at the park. The entire family has a whole had gone through phases where one or two were manic and the others were the calm anchors.
Now it was Dean's turn to be manic.
"I can't sleep, though."
Alice frowned. "Why not? You just said you needed to."
Dean sighed into her hand placed on the side of his face. "I keep thinking about Sammy."
"That's understandable."
"I mean...there's a part of me that's mad at him for leaving, but there's another part that understands why he did it. I basically live two lives, so I have no right to judge him." He looked up at her. "And I regret not going after him. I almost did. So now Sammy thinks I chose him over my father. And the whole thing is just a mess. I don't know what to do.
"He's just a kid, Al," Dean whispered brokenly.
Alice held back a sniffle. "Maybe he's a kid. But Dean, you remember how fast we went from kids to adults? We adapted. He's smart. And if he's anything like his big brother, he'll be fine."
Alice hadn't seen Sammy since he was in middle school, and Dean grimaced at what was supposed to be a compliment. Sammy would be fine due to every way he was different from Dean.
"Do you ever regret it?" Dean suddenly asked.
"Regret what?"
"What we were? Isn't there a part of you that wishes you'd graduated from high school and went to some fancy brick ivy league?" Dean realized Sammy was living the life Alice was supposed to live. He wondered if she realized that too.
She shrugged. "Honestly, part of me didn't even want to go to college. Yeah, it meant I would be able to get away from my parents, but not going meant I would spite them. I guess getting pregnant was the best way to do that." Trying to tune back her frustration, Alice refocused on the question. "No. I don't regret it now." She had for awhile. "You shouldn't, either."
"I'm trying."
Alice leaned forward and gently kissed Dean. "Go to bed. I mean it. I'll be up there as soon as I can."
Before retiring to Alice's room, Dean kissed Cara and Noah on the heads and hugged them tightly, saying he would see them in the morning, assuring he would be there.
Once in Alice's room, Dean shut the door behind him and sat down on the bed, his heavy boots still on his feet, leather jacket on as well. Clasped in his hands was his cell phone. He hardly ever hesitated, ever thought twice about making a call. But now, he sat here with his thumb up his ass like he was waiting for a sign from God.
Dialing the familiar number, Dean held the phone to his ear. He took a few deep breaths.
It rang a few times.
"I'm sorry, the number you dialed has been disconnected."
He figured Sammy would've ditched his old phone, a symbolic way he was cutting himself off from his old life. But there was a hopeful part of Dean that Sammy wouldn't think it was worth the effort, as there would be no one who would bother to call him, or at least wouldn't have ditched it so soon.
The automated voice finished speaking and the monotonous, frustrating sound of the dial tone started to repeat itself in Dean's ear.
Still, he didn't hang up the phone.
"You'll never get this message, but I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I get it, Sammy, I do. This isn't the life you saw for yourself. Maybe I could've changed your mind, maybe not. Guess it doesn't really matter at this point. You're probably not even at Stanford yet and...I just want you to know I'm proud of you."
Flipping the phone shut, Dean clenched his jaw and held it to his forehead. He contemplated calling his father, but Dean didn't know what he would say. He didn't have the kind of energy needed to talk to John Winchester right now.
Kicking off his shoes and jacket, Dean laid on top of the covers, sure to leave the other side of the bed open for Alice. He placed his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling until it hurt.
Slipping into a black nightgown, Alice slowly climbed into her side of the bed. She didn't pull back the covers for fear Dean would wake up.
Once her head hit the pillow, she let out a deep sigh. Cara and Noah were finally asleep, but all she could see was a teenage version of herself standing in an icy river while she watched her kids as the ages they were tumbling after her into the river.
The parallels were too close for Alice's comfort.
Trying to comfort herself, Alice drifted off into an exhausted, but fitful sleep.
While she dreamed of water, Dean dreamed of fire.
The door creaked open as the black shadow lengthened across the room, towards the edge of the bed. The figure slowly crept forward until it stood right in front of the supine form.
There was a gasp as the figure in the bed opened their eyes and noticed something blocking the nightlight in the corner of the room.
Cara shot up, nearly screaming, before realizing the dark figure was Noah.
"Noah you scared me!" Cara whispered angrily.
"Did I wake you up?" He asked.
She shook her head. "No. I wasn't sleeping."
"Why not?"
Cara shrugged.
"Did you have a bad dream?"
She slowly nodded.
"Me too. I couldn't go back to sleep."
"Why didn't you go to Mommy and Daddy's room then?" The older sister asked. She rubbed her eyes as Noah's form started to brighten as her eyes adjusted to the dark.
He shrugged.
Cara studied her brother and sighed before scooting over. "Okay." She pulled the covers back as he climbed into bed beside her.
"Did you dream about the water?" Cara asked softly.
"Yeah."
"I see their faces when I close my eyes," she whispered. Even when she stared at the ceiling in the dark, she could still see them.
"I don't want to see that," Noah said.
"I don't either."
"I see the water. It was green and dirty. Not blue like water's supposed to be," Noah shared.
"Water's not blue; it's clear."
"Huh?" Noah turned his head towards Cara's.
"I said water's clear. It's not blue."
"Oh. But it looks blue."
"The sky makes it look blue."
"Why?"
Cara shrugged. "Cause the sky reflects on the water."
"Oh okay. But why is the sky blue?"
"Cause the sun makes it blue."
"But the sun's yellow."
"I don't know," Cara said.
"Why not?"
"Cause I don't."
"Oh."
They laid in silence for a few moments, breathing softly.
"Are you okay?" Noah asked.
"I don't know," Cara responded. "Are you?"
"Dunno."
They were silent again.
"What were they gonna do to us?" Noah usually asked a lot of questions, and normally, it bothered Cara, but right now, it didn't.
"They were gonna hurt us," Cara said. She herself didn't completely understand it either.
"Why? We didn't do anything to them."
"They were bad people, I guess."
"I feel bad for them."
"Why?"
Noah didn't respond. He didn't really know why he felt bad for them. He just knew he did. And maybe he shouldn't because they weren't nice and they hurt him. But he did anyways.
"I'm not gonna feel bad for them," Cara said. "I don't wanna be afraid of them. That's why I jumped in the water. Cause they didn't hurt me more than I hurt myself."
"Is swimming scary?"
"It was when I was learning. It's not scary anymore. I feel like I'm flying when I'm floating."
"I wanna fly."
"Maybe Daddy can teach you."
"Why doesn't Mommy know how to swim?"
"I don't know."
"What if someone tried to hurt her with water too?"
Cara scoffed at that. "No. No one hurt Mommy. She just doesn't like water."
"But why not? Doesn't she wanna fly too?"
"I don't know, Noah. Okay?"
"I'm gonna ask her."
Before he could move out of the bed, Cara grabbed his wrist. "They're sleeping."
"Me and you weren't sleeping," he reasoned.
"So? They're tired. Let them sleep."
"But I wanna know why," Noah pouted.
"Ask her in the morning."
"What if I don't remember in the morning?"
"I'll remind you."
"Thanks."
Cara was finally starting to doze off when Noah said her name.
"What?"
"Is kindergarten scary?"
"No."
"Why don't you like it?"
"Cause."
"Cara?"
"What Noah?" she muttered into the pillow.
"I'm scared for kindergarten."
"Why? I thought you were excited."
"Cause you don't like it. What if I don't like it?"
"Just cause I don't like it doesn't mean you won't. And cause you have fun at preschool so you'll have fun at kindergarten. You don't even go for another year. Why are you even worrying about it?"
"I don't know."
"We don't know a lot of things," Cara said. She thought about how they just responded 'I don't know' to one another when they didn't know the answer to a question the other had. There seemed to be a lot of questions she couldn't answer, same with Noah.
"I know stuff," Noah rebutted, slightly offended. "I'm not stupid."
"I didn't say you were stupid."
"Well you're stupid."
"I didn't say you were stupid!" Cara repeated, aggravated. She wanted to shove Noah out of her bed. "Why don't you go sleep in your own bed if you think I'm stupid?"
"Fine! Maybe I will!" Noah wriggled out of Cara's bed and marched towards the door.
"Don't slam my door!"
"Don't tell me what to do!" He didn't slam her door. He left it wide open, which he knew would irritate Cara even more than if he slammed it.
Annoyed, Cara shut her eyes and tried to ignore the open door. She heard a creak in the hallway and her eyes flew open, staring into the black hallway.
"Stupid," she muttered, while she quickly climbed out of bed and ran towards the door to close it. Just as she was about to, she looked back in her empty room and ran out of it, down the hallway to another door.
Stepping into the new room, Cara walked quickly towards the bed and climbed into it, disturbing it's occupant.
"Ow! Cara!"
She didn't respond as she burrowed herself under the blue blankets on Noah's bet. Huffing, Noah tried to scoot away from Cara, tugging on the blanket's she'd wrapped herself in. "Gimme my blankets back!"
"Why don't you share?" She rebuffed.
"Why don't you go sleep in your own bed?"
"Why didn't you do that in the first place?"
Noah crossed his arms. "What do you want?" He demanded, still angry at his sister. He pulled the blankets completely off her and grabbed the pillow when she went to lay her head on it.
"You're not stupid," Cara finally relented.
"Say you're sorry."
"Fine. I'm sorry."
"You don't sound sorry. Say it again."
"How about I hit you instead?" Cara held up her palm.
Noah flinched a bit. "I'll tell."
"I'll tell them you called me stupid ," Cara retorted.
"You called me stupid!"
"I did not, Noah!"
"Did too!"
"I'm not playing this game!"
"Why don't you just leave me alone then," Noah muttered. He wrapped all his blankets around himself and turned around, back facing Cara.
She sighed. "Noah."
He didn't respond.
"Noah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."
He shifted slightly but didn't say anything.
"You're not stupid. I was just scared."
"Thought you weren't scared," Noah mumbled grumpily.
"I don't wanna be. But I am." Cara pushed her hair behind her ears.
"I'm sorry you're scared."
"Me too."
Noah slowly unwound himself from the puff of blankets and pillows. He handed Cara a pillow and gave her half the covers "Here."
"Thanks," she said.
Noah yawned. "I'm tired."
"Me too." Cara snuggled deeper under the covers. "Goodnight, Noah."
"Night, Cara."
With their backs pressed against each other, the siblings both fell asleep quickly and easily. They had no dreams after that, sleeping peacefully and soundly.
Groggily blinking, Dean took a minute to orient himself. He was in a bed that was far more comfortable than any motel room, and was staring up at a wall that wasn't covered in peeling wallpaper.
Remembering the slew of events that had happened in the last few days, Dean became aware of Alice pressed up against him as she slept.
Turning his head towards the clock, Dean saw it was just after six in the morning.
Carefully climbing out of bed, he made sure not to disturb the weight distribution. Alice curled into a ball when Dean left, but didn't react other than that.
Tiptoeing down the dark hallway, Dean quietly crept to Cara's room. It was typical of a little girl. The walls were pink and white bows were stenciled onto the walls. Her bedspread had cherries on it and there was a fuzzy white rug on the ground. Dean thought it was the most adorable thing he'd ever seen.
However, when Dean's vision swept over the cherry patterned bedspread, he noted how the bed was empty, the blanket scrunched up at the foot of the bead.
Mind spinning, Dean stumbled backwards out of the room and ran towards the door further down the hall.
Edging the door open into the blue room, Dean's racing heart slowed when he saw two heads sticking out from underneath the navy blue comforter.
Walking over to the bed, Dean smiled at how Cara and Noah slept. Noah's face was scrunched up against the wall and Cara was hugging a pillow to her chest. Their hair was messy, splayed across their faces, and he could hear the quiet sounds of their breathing.
They looked peaceful.
Dean thought back to when they were little babies. He didn't think he would ever see the day when they would be walking and talking, but now, here they were. They were four and six, growing so fast. Something terrible had happened to them, but they were resilient, partially because they were children, but Dean thought it mostly had to do with the fact they were Mercers and Winchesters. Those kids had some tough blood in them.
He lost track of how long he was watching them for, but was jarred out of his reverie by Alice entering the room.
She looked much better than yesterday. She was calmer. She also looked sexy as hell. The black lacy nightgown she wore caused Dean to lose his breath for a minute. Her bedhead was about the hottest thing he had ever seen.
"God I wish I could wake up to you everyday," he whispered, having to brace himself against a dark mahogany dresser resting against the wall.
She smiled and wrapped her arms around him. He placed a kiss on the top of her head.
"Aren't they the cutest things ever?" Alice asked softly head turned, smiling at Cara and Noah, who were still deeply sleeping.
"Yeah, they are." Dean grabbed Alice's hand, turning his attention back to her. "I need you to come with me right now," he whispered urgently in her head.
She frowned. "Why? What's wrong?"
He tugged her out of the room and closed Noah's door shut. He didn't respond until they were in her room, with the door closed as well.
Dean pressed her up against the door and slid one of the straps off her shoulder. "What's wrong is you in this nightgown is driving me crazy."
Alice's eyelids grew heavy with lust. "Really? How crazy?"
"Like I can't think straight when I'm around you. It makes me want to to all sorts of things to you." He ran a hand through her hair, messing it up even more than it already was.
"What sorts of things?" Alice asked seductively. She gave him a playful push and nudged him back until he fell onto the bed. She crawled on top of him.
She gasped when Dean grabbed her suddenly and rolled her over, so he was leaning over her. "All sorts of things," he whispered into her ear.
"Maybe you should show me," she teased with a giggle.
"Don't tempt me, Mercer."
"Bring it, Winchester."
The two fell into a field of fire and ice.
Everyone woke up around noon that day. Since Alice had called off, she was picking up a shift for someone that covered for her yesterday morning. So at three o'clock, she grudgingly went off to work and left Dean alone with Cara and Noah.
At the mother's request and his own peace of mind, Dean kept the kids close by. The two were busy playing on the swing set in the backyard. Even though there was a six and a half foot tall fence around the perimeter of the yard, Dean still found himself sitting on a wicker lawn chair, watching over them.
Occasionally one of them would yell over "Daddy, Daddy, watch me!" and Dean would nod and wave, telling them they did a good job. Little did they know most of his attention was focused on his surroundings. This neighborhood was quiet, not a place anyone would expect anything bad to happen. However, like this town, bad things could happen. Those boys that almost drowned his kids no doubt came from a neighborhood similar to this one.
And while Dean wasn't expecting anything supernatural to occur, he was still on edge. They weren't expecting any visitors, so when someone began banging on the gate in the side of the fence, Dean jumped up and ran towards it.
Both Cara and Noah froze. Cara stood on top of the play set, about to go down the slide while Noah was hanging upside down from the monkey bars.
"Stay there!" Dean yelled back when Cara slid down the slide and Noah jumped off the monkey bars. They stopped at once and tried to get a good look at who was knocking on the gate.
Dean unlatched the gate and revealed a disturbing collection of people. There were two police officers, including Officer Gomez, as well as a blonde woman who Dean realized was Paula Barnes, the neighbor from across the street.
Paula frowned and peered into the backyard. "Is Alice here?"
"She's at work," Dean supplied.
The blonde woman sized him up. "Right. And you are…"
"I'm Dean Winchester. Cara and Noah's father."
Paula's eyes lit up. "Ah right! I've heard of you, never actually met you until now. Anyways, I saw these police officers banging on your front door. They said you weren't answering the phone. I'm Paula Barnes, from across the street, by the way."
Dean shook the woman's hand, taking an immediate dislike to her. "Officers," he said, removing his attention from the blonde woman.
"Sir, do you mind if we talk for a moment," Officer Gomez asked.
He nodded. "Sure." Quickly turning, he allowed the two officers into the backyard. Paula followed behind them. Dean wasn't exactly sure why she was still there.
"Cara, Noah, go inside," Dean said. He walked towards the two and began to usher them inside.
"Why are the police here?" Cara asked.
"Don't worry about it," Dean assured. Once the two were inside, he held the sliding glass door open enough so they could hear him. "I better not catch you two trying to listen to what we're talking about." He slammed the door shut and returned to the officers, who were waiting calmly. On the other hand, Paula was busy, nosily inspecting the rows of hydrangeas Alice had planted around the perimeter of the yard.
"Penelope, thanks so much for letting me know the police were here. I can take it from here."
She smiled sharply. "It's Paula. And I'll stay if you don't mind. Someone needs to be here to tell Alice what happened."
About to retort angrily, one of the cops grabbed Paula by the shoulder. "M'am, this is none of your business. Go home." He shouldered her out of the backyard and slammed the gates shut.
Once Dean was alone with the two cops, he couldn't help but feel anxious. John had always taught him law enforcement did nothing but get in the way and make their job harder. But these cops weren't so bad. They hadn't arrested him or suspected anything or got in his way, because to them, he was just a civilian. Nothing more. Maybe things were better when they didn't get in each other's way.
"You may know Jason and Tyler Hanratty were in police custody last night as we tried to get ahold of their parents."
Dean nodded. "Yeah?"
Officer Gomez shifted. "The boys were dead this morning when we found them. They hung themselves."
"With what?"
"Their shoelaces." Even the officer seemed disturbed. "They were small enough that it would've worked-but that's not all."
"What?"
"The bodies are gone. We can't find them."
"How, exactly, do you lose two bodies of boys that killed themselves under your nose?"
Officer Gomez looked ashamed, but responded like she was talking to a reporter. "The Batavia Police Department has no comment. It's an unfortunate situation for all involved." The response sounded incredibly rehearsed.
Dean sighed. "I get that's what you're supposed to say, but off the record?"
Officer Gomez opened her mouth but was cut off by the other cop. "That's all we're at liberty to say. We wanted to inform your family before you heard it in the news."
"Wait. What kind of picture are they going to paint of these kids?" Dean asked, as the cops were about to excuse themselves from the backyard.
"I guess it depends on who is interviewed and what angles the newspapers decide to report from. However, we are required to release the information to the public. Since the boys were underage, the incident wouldn't have released their names. But, now that they're dead and their bodies are missing, we can release the names. The information will be objective, only the facts.
"Sir, we will do everything we can to protect you and your family's identity, but some reporters still may find out who you are and what happened. Like any town, people do gossip."
"We suggest saying you have no comment on the issue," Officer Gomez added.
"Yeah. Sure. But you'll keep us updated if you find the bodies?"
"Yes sir. I hope you have a nice day."
Once the cops left, Dean's mind began to whir. Maybe those boys were psychopaths and maybe that had killed themselves. That was one thing.
But the bodies going missing?
That was Dean's department.
Last Night
There was a crater in the earth, like a comet had struck there. But instead of coming from the sky, the crater came from below. Something had torn away layers of rock and dirt and left a smoking gash in the grass.
The smoke didn't move according the wind or air. It moved with a purpose. It had a nucleus that could orchestrate intentional actions.
Slithering across the grass like a snake, the smoke stealthily moved towards the thin ankles of a gangly dog walker. The walker was a woman, probably in her mid thirties with wiry, frazzled blonde hair.
Just as the smoke was about to sneak up behind the woman, it paused, suspended as a column in air, the nucleus ultimately deciding against the woman.
That wasn't any fun.
Feeling the instinctive call to a nearby location, the smoke let itself be carried by the wind until it seeped through the window of a squat, cement building.
Once in the building, the smoke wafted over some industrial carpeting, around some cheaply made desks, behind a locked metal door, past some metal bars, into a jail cell.
The occupants of the jail cell were surprising. They were two blonde little boys with sweet sleeping faces, curled up onto the uncomfortable cots, thin blankets covering their shivering bodies.
However, the closer the smoke got, the more deceiving their appearances became. In both boys, there was a cold remorselessness. Their souls were black as the smoke.
It was quite a rare discovery.
But nevertheless, a very exciting one.
The smoke slipped into the darker soul, as the younger, more innocent looking boy inhaled deeply.
Blinking awake, Tyler Hanratty sat up in a jail cell. He threw the blanket off of himself and moved to the sink that in the corner of the space.
Looking into the mirror, Tyler slowly leaned forward, bringing his face closer to the reflection. He blinked once and his eyes became black.
"Can't keep a bitch down," the demon inside Tyler said to itself. "Sonja's back."
Sonja, now riding Tyler's skin, glanced around the jail cell, suddenly knowing everything about Tyler. He liked to torture animals, and then dissect their bodies. He was a bed wetter. A little darker than his brother, this little tyke had all the benchmarks of a serial murderer. Those boys were only a few short days in Hell away from becoming demons themselves.
Sonja shuffled through Tyler's most recent memories. The one that seemed most important was at the side of a pond where Tyler and his brother, Jason, tried to drown some kids. She liked this new vessel. He sure knew how to have fun.
In the memory, Sonja listened as a black haired little boy screamed for the girl, a girl named Cara.
Cara?
Sonja frowned.
Confirming the demon's suspicions, the memory played and a familiar looking face was grabbing Tyler and Jason by the front's of their shirt.
"Well, I'm be damned," Sonja muttered delightfully, when she realized the face in the memory was none other than Dean Winchester. Someone was looking out for Sonja.
"Look how grown up you are," Sonja sang. "And look at you Cara, not a baby anymore. And there's Alice," she narrated as the memory continued as the mother appeared.
Smirking as the memory went on, Sonja suddenly frowned when she realized something.
Just like Cara, the black haired boy was being embraced by both Dean and Alice, like he was their child.
And he was.
Noah, was his name.
"When the hell did that happen?"
Sonja's own memory was conjured up from a long time ago, and she recalled being tied up in a dingy garage, while an older woman recited the Latin words that were seared onto her twisted soul.
"Janet Sutton. Of course," Sonja remarked. The woman had hidden the fact Alice was pregnant. Noah's age seemed to line up with how much time had passed.
"Lying bitch. You'll pay twice fold. But first-"
Sonja went and sat down on the bed. She started to unlace the shoes that were on the ground beside the bed. She wanted to do these boys a favor and send them downstairs a little early. They would thrive down there.
"Let's string 'em up."
Sonja threw the unlaced shoe at the sleeping boy.
"What are you trying to do, huh?" Jason growled, jolted awake. He paused when he saw who he thought was his brother tying his shoe lace strings together. "Tyler, what are you doing?"
"I don't wanna spend the rest of my life in a jail cell," Sonja responded, playing the part.
"We're not gonna spend the rest of our lives in a jail cell," Jason said.
Sonja scoffed. "Really? You think after what we were gonna do to those two they'd let us out?"
Jason looked unsure. "What are you gonna do?"
Sonja stood up on the cot and looped the shoelaces over the cage that was around the light.
"Oh," Jason realized. "But I don't wanna die."
"Do it, Jason."
"Fine," he muttered, after hardly any convincing.
That'll be a good body for Nero, Sonja thought as Jason followed the similar movements his brother had made.
Once the boys were in position, with the makeshift nooses around their necks, they nodded to each other from their respective cots.
This'll be fun.
In tandem, the two stepped off the beds.
I know the chapter was pretty dark, but I felt the last section especially deserved a little head's up.
To recap, we finally get to see Cara and Noah a little more grown up, although the family can't seem to catch a break, especially Dean.
In other news, Sonja's back, and pissed.
Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed. Please review!