When the Cradle Falls
Chapter Forty-Five: Lamb to Slaughter
Olivia had managed to pull Alice halfway through the living room, towards the stairs. The brunette woman had become stubborn suddenly and yanked her arm out of her cousin's grasp. Her daughter was coming. Her son was gone.
In the commotion of both Olivia and Bobby patronizingly trying to coax her upstairs, there was a smattering of sounds that were winding amongst each other-she wasn't actually making out what was happening or being said.
Not until she heard her name.
Eyes widening, Alice dropped her arms, which were trying to ward off her uncle and cousin.
The door was flung open, Dean Winchester standing there, wearing his classic leather jacket and faded jeans. There was a duffle bag around his feet, and he was frozen, much like she was.
Alice felt a painful throbbing in her chest when Cara stepped from behind her father. The girl looked forlorn and tired. She wore a baseball cap, creating a shadow over her face. Other than that, Cara wore ripped jeans, dirty sneakers, a plain t-shirt, and a flannel tied around her waist.
In that moment, Alice paused.
Cara looked like a mini-me of Dean.
Upon that realization, Alice didn't know how to feel about that.
"Mom?"
It had been a long time since someone had called her that. It was strangely reassuring, considering all the circumstances.
Alice took an unconscious lurch forward. It was jarring enough that Dean had an arm around Cara, pulled her to him. Both Bobby and Olivia tensed, watching the situation with apprehension. Especially Olivia. She didn't know when it was appropriate for her to step in.
Dean turned to look at the older man. "Bobby?" Sure he was asking a question, but he was demanding an explanation.
"She was in the hospital. I couldn't leave her there."
Dean scoffed at the weak explanation. "What? You made him come bail you out?" He turned his malice towards Alice. The iciness he slung at her was unfounded-she had never been the receiver of this tone before. He didn't even seem to care that Bobby had been the one to shoot her. He didn't even seem relieved to see she was alive.
"That's not what happened," Alice responded quietly. She averted her gaze to the dark wood planks.
"Is this why you've been holed up in your house?" Dean demanded, turning his attention back to Bobby.
"Look, boy, you were with your brother and the kids. And you were the one that wanted to know if I got any information about her."
"Yeah, information, not blowing off Sam and Noah to keep her company!"
"Dean-" Olivia piped up for the first time.
Dean turned to the bimbo bottle blonde. He had never met her, but he was familiar with her brother and sister's work. "Olivia? Right? What the hell are you doing here?" Dean turned to Bobby. "You know what this chick here has done?"
"Now wait a minute, boy! You watch how you talk to me in my house. You understand?" Bobby barked, fed up with Dean's never-ending prodding and poking of accusations. "You shut the hell up and let me say my piece before you make yourself look like a damn fool. I don't wanna hear another word for you until I'm done. So either you nod your head if you understand. If you don't, get the hell out and I'll find your brother and son on my own."
The silence in the house was so deadly, they could've heard a ghost pass through the walls-not that any supernatural creature could step claw, foot, or spirit onto the Singer property to begin with.
"You understand?" Bobby asked.
Clenching his jaw tightly, Dean swallowed a self-righteous response and gave a sharp nod.
"Great. Let's all take a seat."
Dean opened his mouth to argue.
Turning, Bobby gave him a dangerous look. "If you think I don't have Sam and Noah's best interests at heart, you don't need to tell me. Just get out if you don't think I do."
Again, Dean closed his mouth and crossed his arms.
Moving back into the living room, Bobby took a place behind his desk. Alice sat on the edge of the couch closest to Bobby, Olivia sitting comfortingly beside her, occasionally sending withering glances to Dean.
Unsure and frightened, Cara dragged two kitchen chairs across the floor for herself and Dean.
"Thanks, Care," Dean said softly as he sat. Realizing he had violated Bobby's rule, he was pleased to see the old man didn't seem to count this utterance.
Bobby slammed the Latin Bible closed. He dropped it to the floor beside the desk. Olivia winced at the sound and sight of the sacred book hitting the floor.
"So here's the situation, Dean. And don't worry. I'll keep it short. I know how hard it is for you to keep your trap shut. After our...situation...I went to the closest hospital a few days later. I pretended to be an FBI agent looking for two missing children, asking to talk to their mother."
Bobby paused and turned to Alice. He had really wished he had asked her for permission to share this before, and really wished they didn't have as large of an audience as they did. Seeming to understand what Bobby was communicating, Alice nodded slowly. She chewed on the fingernails of one hand, while Olivia tightly grabbed the other.
"You sure, Alice?" Bobby asked. "You want Cara here for the rest of this?"
Dean sat a little straighter at the mention of their daughter. So did Cara, ready to argue that she should be there.
The woman looked at the thumb she was currently chewing on. "It's not the worst thing she's ever heard or seen. I'm sure it won't be the last." As irritated as Dean was, Alice's tone of resignation caused his heart to plummet-such a stark contrast from before. She had always done her damndest to hide the kids from how ugly the world could be. At her allowance, Dean bit his thumb, anxiously.
Cara was surprised. She had expected herself to be thrown out of the conversation. And wasn't this her dream? To be included with the adults? But suddenly, she didn't really want to be there as much as before.
Bobby then turned to Dean. "Do you have a preference?"
"Can I talk?"
"Yes, smart ass." This time, Bobby almost sounded affectionate.
Dean wanted to keep Cara as far away from everything as possible, but also didn't want her to leave his side-even to go upstairs. That was a terrible realization he'd had to deal with. His kids were literally only safe when they were right by his side. Before, he thought if he stayed far away, then they would be safe, but realized that was a false truth. After that, he thought if Alice could protect them, they would be safe. But the possibility that she would be the one to turn on them was completely unseen reality.
"She stays," Dean decided. Noah was already gone-hopefully with Sam-and Cara was the only one he could currently protect.
"Right. So I'll continue. This story may be hard to hear for everyone.
"Anyways. I went to the hospital, and this doctor tells me Alice is in the psychiatric ward. She had been aggressive towards hospital staff and herself."
Now it was early in Bobby's recount, but Cara already found herself wanting to throw up.
In his own mind, Dean thought he had reached his limit. But now? He was reeling into unknown territory.
"So I finagled her way out of there and brought her here."
"That's why you weren't there," Dean realized, ignoring Bobby's gag order.
So long as Dean wasn't outright rude, it seemed like the older man was okay with Dean speaking. "Right. I couldn't leave you there, Alice."
Alice perked when she realized Bobby was addressing her. "Thank you."
There was a beat of silence. Dean coughed loudly.
"What?" Bobby asked.
"What is she doing here?" Dean asked, chucking his chin towards Olivia.
"I called her. I didn't want to leave Alice alone and Olivia was willing to come. I was coming to help you, Dean-you idjit. I was more than halfway to the Roadhouse when you called about the fire. Wanted to get back here before you did. You know, hash this out."
Dean pondered this for a moment. He had tried his best not to address Alice-even though he already had-but he didn't really have a choice now.
"Why? Taking the kids. Shooting me and Sam. The Amber Alert, Al? What the hell was going through your mind?" He tried to sound as gentle as possible, but couldn't imagine it seemed quite as soft as he intended.
Alice looked close to tears. "I don't know what's going on with me." She hunched forward and shoved her face into her knees.
Alarmed at the sight of her mother, Cara jumped up from her chair. And before anyone could grab for her, Cara was wrapping her arms around Alice. "Mom. You know, we weren't right. Neither of us were right in our heads at the time. I was somewhere else and you weren't you. That wasn't you and that wasn't me. We can be different next time."
"Cara…" Alice weeped, arms half wrapped around her daughter. She wanted to embrace Cara in fierce hug but could only see flashes of the terrible things he had done to them.
Jerking back, Alice suddenly retracted as Bobby was up, gently curling Cara into him. He saw how Dean was about a second away from snatching Cara from her mother. That wouldn't have helped anyone.
Everyone was breathing heavily. Alice collapsed into Olivia, sobs pelting from her gut. Bobby was half in his seat, Cara in his arms, who in turn had wrapped herself around him. Dean had both palms against the desk, watching everyone else.
It seemed like a while passed while Cara watched her mother sobbing to loudly. It wasn't something she had ever seen. As her brain tried to process that, some grips clenched around her shoulders and gently pulled her out of the room.
The girl felt herself spinning until she was sitting on the stairs of Bobby's house. Cara was eye level with her father.
She frowned, no thought formulating in her mind.
"You okay?"
"Yeah?" The question was more why he was asking this now. She didn't know the last time she had felt okay, and she had adapted to the new norm. So why now was he asking her this?
"You're fine?"
"Should I be fine?" Cara asked dully, and slightly sarcastically.
"I was wondering if you were okay."
"I...don't know." She was at a loss for words. Nodding carefully, Dean could still hear Alice's sobs. It was a sound that was gut-wrenching. It kept him glued in place, and at the same time, wanting to run in there and save her.
"I know. I know. It's a lot to process."
"Sam and Noah."
"We'll get them back."
"Well standing here feeling sorry for ourselves isn't going to find them," Cara snapped back.
"Cara-"
Already turning towards the front door, Cara was reaching into the duffle bag, digging for a map. "We need to find them."
Dean was recognizing this was Cara's response to the overwhelming situation. She was shutting down, becoming to-the-point and on edge. Dean realized that in that sense, both Cara and Alice would retreat inside themselves when the world around them got too chaotic.
"We will."
"Okay. I'm gonna start looking. I'll be downstairs."
Dean called once after his daughter, her soft footsteps descending the wooden steps leading to the basement. He huffed. He knew that situation with Alice was another burden they didn't need. It didn't help that Cara tried to hug her mother, and Alice had responded by turning away and crying. With that reality holding, it was still aligned with the fact-that once Noah was back-the four of them were going to have to sit down and have a frank conversation about things.
It was really crazy to Dean, that a year ago he was totally against telling Cara and Noah about monsters. And now, here he was, wanting to sit them down and explain what was going on. In the past, he had thought ignorance would keep them safe. But it had taken a painful, arduous year to make him realize there was no way they could live without knowing the truth.
Fuck.
Returning to the living room, Dean saw Alice had quiet and was sniffling into her sleeve. Olivia was petting her hair like Alice was some kind of lapdog. Bobby was leaning against his desk, arms crossed, staring at the floor, pensively.
"What's our move?" Dean asked, commanding the attention of the three other adults.
Alice's lip trembled, ready to burst into tears again. Quickly, Olivia tucked her chin into Alice's ear, whispering something.
After a few moments of murmured back and forth between the two women, Alice wiped at her nose and sat up straight. Her eyes were bloodshot, skin red, hair great.
Finally-once the sleepover girl talk was done-Alice turned to Dean. She was more composed than before. That wasn't to say she still didn't look unwell. But she did not look like a healthy person. Dean couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something amiss.
The duo of women stood. Olivia muttered something else to Alice before she sent a look to Bobby and stepped out of the room. A few moments later, Dean could hear a heavier set of footsteps down the hallway.
That left only Dean and Alice.
That had always been a dangerous conversation.
"We need to find Noah," Dean said, plainly.
Alice demonstrated no signs of disagreement.
"I can't be here."
"What did you say?"
"I can't be here when you do. All I do is get in the way. That's all I've ever done."
Dean reached a hand out to Alice. It was such an automatic reflex, like holding your breath underwater or closing your eyes against a bright light. "Al…"
Reacting like she was about to be set on fire, Alice darted backwards, knocking into a coffee table in front of the couch. "Don't," she said softly.
"Allie."
Alice tightly squeezed her eyes shut, like she was in pain. "Don't call me that."
"Why not?"
"Because you should be mad at me for what I did. You shouldn't be trying to comfort me."
"I can't do both?"
Shaking her head, Alice turned around and approached Bobby's desk. She ran her hands over the stacks of books and landed on the Latin Bible her cousin had been reading. Judging by the place in the book and the strange arrangement of the words, Alice guessed Olivia had been reading Psalms. Growing frustrated at the sight of familiar letters arranged in nonsensical ways, Alice slammed the book shut. "What I did is unforgivable."
"Well all do unforgivable things."
Alice couldn't believe that Dean was really trying to justify what she had done. "You certainly changed your tune real quick. Five minutes ago you were pissed to find out I was here! What if you hadn't found me and the kids when you did? What if I had done something to hurt them even worse?" Alice paused and watched Dean try to flounder for an answer. "See? That proves my point. That's why I can't be here. I don't trust myself around them anymore, and neither should you. That's why I need to go."
"Where are you gonna go?"
"I don't know. Somewhere with Olivia."
That's it? She was really just gonna leave? Dean couldn't believe what he was hearing. There was no way that Alice would willingly choose to be away from her kids-as they had previously seen.
"You're really gonna choose her over your son?"
"I'm not choosing her over my son, Dean! I'm choosing to keep him safe."
"You think he's safe where he is now?"
Frustrated tears came back to Alice's eyes. She was mad that he wasn't listening to anything she was saying, and now she was pissed with herself. She wished she could just stop crying and stop feeling so shitty. Why couldn't life or God or whoever just cut her some slack for once? She wanted her son back, and she wanted to stop feeling like she was drowning in her own mind. "Of course I don't. It breaks my heart to think our little boy is somewhere we can't reach. But I can't think about how he might be hurt or afraid or…" Alice trailed off, turning green in color. "That's why you need to forget about me and go find him."
Dean continued to walk towards her. There were tears that were glittering her cheeks. The world around them became smaller, as it did when it was just the two of them. Finally stepping into her bubble, Dean cupped the side of her face, wiping away her tough with a flick of his thumb.
Responding to the touch, Alice looked up at him, brown eyes swimming, lips parted.
Leaning down, Dean brought his face close to her own. Wordlessly, Alice followed his lead, meeting his lips with her own.
The familiar, comforting warmth spread over both of them, and for a moment, Alice was once again just a teenager, where her biggest concern in the world was the biology test she had next hour or what lie she was going to tell her mother when instead of tutoring, she would actually be with the new bad boy on the far side of town.
Dean's hand brushed over her stitches from where she had been shot.
Jolting, Alice realized that she was in fact not a teenager anymore. She halted the kiss by quickly pushing Dean away from her. There was reason why she hadn't wanted him anywhere near her. "We can't."
Dean came out of his own haze. "It's alright."
Alice was shaking her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "This is also why I need to leave. We can't be around each other. We don't think when we are. I don't know what you do to me but..." Alice gulped, a bit embarrassed at how emotional she sounded. "There is something broken in me and that isn't something that can be bandaged over with a kiss. So I'm sorry. I have to go."
It was only when he heard the front door slam that Dean was able to process the kiss.
It was also when he realized she had gone.
"You hear me, boy? Pull your head out of your ass!" Bobby was suddenly in the room with him. "She left."
As Dean was about to respond, a splitting pain cracked right down the center of his skull. Grunting in pain, Dean fell to the ground, clutching at his head. A hazy image of a cracked bell dashed across his vision.
"What was that?" Bobby asked, pulling Dean up.
"I don't know. A headache?" Dean looked around the room, trying to confirm that Alice was truly and actually gone.
"You get headaches like that a lot?"
"No. It's probably the stress," Dean said half listening to the man. "But you know…I could've sworn I saw something."
Bobby straightened in surprise. "What do you mean? Like a vision? Like what Sam gets?"
"What? No!" Dean said, immediately denying it. That was the last thing he needed right now.
Bobby shrugged. "I'm just saying, crazier things have happened."
"Come on, I'm not som psychic!" And as if the universe was trying to prove him wrong, Dean was hit by another blinding headache. He fell back against the desks, this time Bobby grabbing him before he had the chance to hit the ground. The bell came back into view, undulating like he was seeing it underwater. This time Dean could see a shape etched onto it, cut through by a large fissure. Then the vision flashed like changing channels on a TV, and suddenly Dean was staring at his brother.
And suddenly Dean was pulled out of it. "Dean? Dean! Are you with me?"
Breathing heavily, Dean grabbed the shoulder of Bobby's jacket for support. "Yeah I think so. I saw Sam. I saw him, Bobby."
"So it was a vision?" Bobby asked, no time gloat that he had been right.
"Yeah. I don't know how, but yeah. Well that was about as fun as being kicked in the jewels."
"What else did you see?"
Dean wracked his brain. "Uh...there was this bell."
The older man straightened. "A bell? What kind of bell?"
Dean waved his hands, wondering why Bobby was suddenly so interested in a bell. "Like a big bell with some kind of engraving on it, I don't know. It had a big crack down the middle."
"Engraving?"
"Yeah, Bobby," Dean responded in exasperation.
"Was it a tree? Like an oak tree?"
"I guess it could've been? There was a crack right through it so I was hard to tell."
Moving like a tornado, Bobby paused only for a moment to say, "I know where Sam is."
The ragtag team-brought together by Yellow Eyes-was not doing well.
Lily had wandered off by herself, her body to be found by Bryce the next morning, who had taken a liking to the blonde woman. Upon finding her strung up like a scarecrow, Bryce had been inconsolable, a radius of a few yards shaking around him. There were attempts made to calm him down, but the only thing any of them could do was move back, brace themselves, and wait for the fit to subside.
It had taken several hours, but he was curled up against a tree, sleeping deeply.
Currently, Sam and Jake were breaking off pieces of iron from an old, decrepit machine. After what had happened with Lily, Sam had decided it was best if everyone had a weapon. He was just grateful Noah had been resourceful enough to find one early on.
Working on the piece he had been pulling at for several minutes, Jake noticed Sam struggling and ripped it the spike off with ease.
Sam stared in shock.
"I'm not Superman or anything. It's no big deal," Jake said, tossing the iron spike down.
"You were in Afghanistan when this started?"
Jake nodded. "Yeah. Started getting headaches. And then there was this accident. This guy got his vehicle flipped on a bad road. He got pinned underneath and I lifted it off of him like it was nothing. Everybody thought it was a fluke adrenaline thing."
"But then you did it again, right?"
Jake nodded. "Bench pressed eight hundred pounds without breaking a sweat. I never told anyone about it though. It's just too crazy."
Sam shrugged. "Well, crazy's relative."
Jake scoffed. "I'm starting to get that. By the way, I appreciate what you're doing here."
Sam frowned. Jake certainly wasn't talking about them taking apart the machine. "What am I doing?"
"Keeping calm. Keeping them calm. Especially considering how freaked to hell you really are. I've been in some deep crap before myself. And I know the look, trust me."
There was silence while Sam looked back the the group, who were out of earshot. Bryce was still passed out, tucked against the trunk of a tree. Ava was sitting near Bryce, glancing around. Andy had was nervously pacing, muttering to himself. Silvia and Noah were the furthest away-Sam still making sure he could see them. Noah was gesturing and pointing around them, as if explaining something to Silvia.
Sam felt a tightness in his chest. He was so proud at how Noah was handling the situation. His nephew had been a comforting voice when everyone else started freaking out. Noah had tried to calm Bryce down, even at the risk of being hurt.
"You wanna know the truth?" Sam turned back to Jake. "I got this brother-Noah's dad, right? And he's always telling me how he's gonna watch out for me and the kids and how everything's gonna be okay. You know, kind of how I've been telling them."
Jake nodded.
"And this time? I don't know if I believe it. I mean the size of what's coming. It's bigger than anyone has ever seen. It's gonna get bad. And I don't know if-"
"If we're gonna make it? It doesn't matter if we believe it. Only matters that they do." Jake chucked his head towards the rest of the group.
Sam found himself looking at Noah again. "I'm terrified of what's coming. But I'm even more terrified about what Yellow Eyes wants with those kids. I can't stop it. But I have to keep Noah safe."
Jake nodded. "It's family. I get it."
"That kid's already seen way more than any kid has. Has been through way more than most adults."
The other man turned and looked at Noah and Silvia. The pair reminded Jake of his young twin cousins, Bria and Keenan. They were a few years younger than the ones that were here. "I can't even imagine."
"Look man," Sam began. "My job is to keep everyone else here alive and safe. But my main priority is Noah and those two other kids."
"Everyone's getting out of here alive. No one else is gonna die here today," Jake said. Turning back, he ripped another iron from it's place.
Sam's gaze still lingered on Noah. He had managed-at least hoped he had-to send a message to Dean, as best as he could. He didn't know what he was hoping for. Well actually he did. He wanted his big brother there. He wanted his big brother to make sure everything was alright.
Heart tearing apart at remembering what Noah had been through, Sam's mind went through the worst scenario.
He couldn't let anything happen to Noah.
He wouldn't be able to look Dean in the eye and explain that something had happened.
Sam was going to make damn sure nothing was going to happen to Noah.
"So yeah the best way to gank a ghost is straight through the center." Noah took the iron stake and jammed it steadily, at a slightly upward angle. He held the pose for a second.
Turning, he offered the stake to Silvia. "You try."
Silvia was hesitant when Noah held it out to her. She seemed to almost want to take it, but stopped at the last second. "I shouldn't."
Noah lowered the weapon. "You should try."
She shook her head and sat back down on the ground. "I think that's enough for now. You forget I didn't know any of this was real until today?"
Realizing his gaffe, Noah sat down, dropping the stake beside himself, away from Silvia. "It's hard to remember what that was like."
"What?" Noah asked, when he saw Silvia giving him a weird look out of the corner of his eye.
"It's just...I never thought I would meet someone like me. Let alone more than one."
That caused Noah to stop for a minute. He knew Uncle Sam had felt like a freak-but then he had found others like him.
And it was the same. Noah had thought he was the only one.
He tried to imagine everything before all the demons and monsters, living like he did.
"And you're not crazy?" Noah blurted. Actually hearing those words out loud, Noah opened his mouth to rephrase it. "I just mean my entire life has been full of-"
"Maybe I am crazy. Never told anyone. Guess I just thought other people could do that."
Silvia waved her hand. "You saying that is not the worst thing that has happened to me today. It's okay."
Noah nodded. "Sometimes I just forget what it was like, you know? I mean I do remember but-"
A screechy metallic sound overtook all sights, senses, and especially sounds.
Feeling ill, Noah reeled forward from sitting to his knees. His hands were grasped around the dirt. The sound began to increase in pitch and just as Noah thought he was about to pass about, the sound retreated upwards, towards the sky.
Vision following the metallic ping, Noah's vision stopped halfway to the sky.
The array of buildings was sliced in half by a man. Just a man. He didn't have much hair. He wore jeans, a red t-shirt, and a faded denim undershirt. In ways, he resembled a Winchester.
However, there was one thing that set him apart.
His eyes.
They were yellow.
"Hi Noah. I think it's time you and I finally met."
Earlier
The basement had enough supplies for Cara to do what she needed to do.
"Stop crying," she muttered to herself, having to wipe away tears every few seconds. "You don't get to." Continuing through the grief, sadness, loss, confusion, and a whole bunch of other crappy emotions, Cara flipped between several pages, trying to decipher what they were saying.
It was a mix of a bunch of things but they seemed to add up to something that might help Noah and Uncle Sam.
She used a piece of chalk to create a certain shape around the floor. It wasn't the first time she had seen it. She had seen it a lot-in person, but mostly in books.
"Just stop," Cara muttered to herself, sniffling the entire time. Yeah, her life had been a disaster since...she had no frame of reference. The only thing that mattered was that she was back to herself and needed to help somehow.
Standing tall, Cara stared at the rudimentary chalk drawing. Swallowing loudly, she looked down at the handwritten paper and began to recite it. The dictation was poor and just bad. Knowing that, Cara pressed forward.
After speaking over a bowl of items she had found, Cara took a deep breath and made a small slice on the palm of her hand with a nearby knife. Breathing heavily, she squeezed her hand so a few droplets plunked into the bowl.
Wiping her hand with a nearby rag, Cara stood still for a moment. She knew this wasn't a good idea and for a moment thought she wasn't actually going to go through with it.
Instead, she pushed aside any doubt.
"Veni foras," Cara muttered.
Very gradually, a column of smoke began to build, starting at the base of the chalk drawing, rising up to about five or six feet. The column then began to distort and change, moving into the shape of a person.
And then even slower, the smoke fell into the ground, dissipating into the drawing.
There was complete silence in the basement. Cara was transfixed by the figure that had appeared before her.
Standing in the circle, was a boy, maybe a year or two older than Cara. He had alabaster skin and dark brown hair in perfect curls. His dark eyes were almost violet in color. He could've been some Grecian sculpture.
"Close your mouth Cara, you look like a fish."
Teeth clicking together, Cara still was silent, staring at the boy in front of her.
"Cat got your tongue?" The boy offered.
Finding some footing, Cara finally was able to make her jaw move the way she wanted it to. "For a poet, I thought you'd have something a little more original than a few cliches."
The boy smiled. "There's that smarmy sarcasm I missed."
"You didn't miss me."
The boy took a step. Cara tensed. He scanned her from top to bottom. "Sure...you're not the most...ideal host. But we had something together."
A shiver went up Cara's spine. "We didn't, Phenex."
"What? You never think about me?"
"I thought you were a girl." Cara said, deflecting the question. The demon still had a significant hold on her, and Cara hated that.
"I am. But living as a teenage boy on an Azerbaijani countryside has been divine."
Cara's stomach roiled. She shouldn't have done this. She really shouldn't have.
"It looks like you have something you want to ask me?" Phenex asked, taking a closer step to the edge. The voice of that boy was smooth and soft.
She remembered this well. The feeling of being possessed wasn't fun. But on top of that, Phenex was a bit childish, yes, but most importantly, a poet. His voice was like a snake charmer that would ensnare you.
Shaking her head, Cara hoped she had cleared her mind. "You know Azazel."
Phenex nodded. "You know I do."
"Yeah." She didn't want to remember being possessed.
Why was she doing this? It was so stupid.
Phenex stepped to the edge of the drawing and looked down at it. "I don't know how long this'll hold for."
Immediately looking down, Cara was aware of her crappy drawing. It had never been a strength of hers.
"Azazel," Cara said. "What does he want?"
"He wants us free."
"That's bullshit. What does Azazel want with Noah and Uncle Sam?"
"Oh he has dreams. Really magnificent ones."
"What are they?"
Phenex pushed one shoe forwards, examining the part of his foot.
Staring down at how close Phenex was getting to the chalk edge, Cara spoke. "Where is Noah? That's my one request."
The boy in the middle threw his head back and laughed.
"What?"
Phenex pulled up the sleeves he wore and. "Where is Noah?
The boy shrugged. "Not here."
Cara dropped the bowl onto the table. "You can't deny me my one request. You can answer my one question. Please."
That was something about the demon Cara had learned after that fact of being possessed. she learned that if serenaded, Phenex would return the melody, even more sweetly. Translated to standard English, if you scratched Phenex's back, he would scratch yours.
"Someone's been doing some reading." The cherubic boy frowned at Cara. "You really want to waste your one request on a question?"
Cara nodded. "Please?"
Phenex stared at Cara. "Everything in the world you could have me do and you want to waste it on a bit of information?"
"Yes! Why are you stalling?" What was Phenex playing at?
"If I answer your question, you'll owe me a favor. Anything I want. Maybe I'll ask you for something tomorrow, maybe on your deathbed, or maybe never. You're indebted to me until I cash out."
"I know that!" Cara yelled, half listening to what the demon was saying.
"I see where that leaves us then," Phenex murmured in a cadence that sounded like a sad lullaby.
"Tell me."
"First."
"What?" Cara demanded.
"We have to bind the favor."
"Find. 'I bind the favor,'" Cara repeated.
Phenex's disposition to Cara grew even more pitying. "We don't use words for that. We do use our lips, but in a different way."
Cara paled a bit. "Like binded with a...kiss?" The last word was barely a whisper.
Phenex nodded.
Cara took a minute step back. She had never kissed anyone. Sure there were boys she had liked and maybe even a few that had liked her back. But a kiss? She was only in sixth grade.
And knowing her first kiss would be with a demon?
"Can't-can't we do a handshake, pinky swear or something?"
Wistfully, Phenex gave a dramatic turn, looking away from Cara. "I knew you were too childish for this."
Getting exactly the rise out of Cara that Phenex knew, the girl turned from white to red. "You think I'm the childish one? You should see what the Internet has to say about you on your Wikipedia page!"
"I have my own Wikipedia page?" Phenex asked, pretending to be flattered.
"I'll do it. Just shut up."
Phenex moved to the edge of the chalk-drawing trap. His worn shoes were millimeters away from the closest border, waiting.
Breathing shallowly, Cara took small steps until she was only a few inches away from Phenex. If she were to look straight ahead, she stared at the olive tunic, sinewy, lean muscles somewhat evident under the shirt. Averting her eyes upwards, Cara then was captivated by the boy's face. He was angelic. His eyes were a much more complex color than Cara thought. They were blue swirled with black. A dark ringlet fell onto his forehead.
While lost in those thoughts, Cara must have stepped over into the trap. Suddenly, soft lips were pressed to her own.
Just as Cara felt her body heating up, the sensation was gone, replaced by cold and dark.
Opening her eyes, Cara looked around. She was in Bobby's basement. Alone It was dim, like the lights had been turned off. Looking down at the trap, she saw part of it had been erased, breaking the hold it had on Phenex.
Cold Oak, South Dakota.
"Noah's in Cold Oak, South Dakota," Cara whispered to herself.
A moment later, someone was thundering down the stairs, Bobby stopped, near a bottom step, breathless. "Girl, let's go. We know where they are."
"You do?" Had Phenex somehow sent the message to all of them? "How?"
"I'll explain later. Grab your stuff and let's go." In a hurry, he was back up the stairs, not even bothering to notice the fresh drawing on the floor.
Confused, Cara looked around one more time. There was no sign that anyone else had ever been there.
The only proof was the fading feeling on her lips.
Stiffening, Noah took a step back from Yellow Eyes. He looked around them. They were in the town, but everyone else was gone. It was just him and the demon.
"This isn't real."
"It's as real as anything else that's happened to you today."
Noah took several steps back, hands blindly fumbling behind him for something to use to defend himself.
Smirking, Yellow Eyes just shook his head. "Don't know what you're planning on finding, but I know every trick in the book, kiddo. So I wouldn't waste your energy. You'll need it for later."
Noah's skin crawled as the demon said that. He had encountered plenty of demons in the past-been possessed-but there was something different about Azazel. He was old. Even older than any others they had encountered. The way this demon held himself...carefree, but Noah knew to be afraid of him. He didn't need to be taught that. The demon had taken his grandfather, and nearly killed their entire family.
"Why us?"
"Who now?" Azazel asked. He sat back on a rickety wooden chair and propped a leg up onto a nearby side table.
"My family. Uncle Sam. Me. Why?"
Azazel pondered that, as if he was trying to provide Noah with a real answer. "I've liked your family. Always have. You've always been a bunch of fighters. And a fighter is just what I need."
Noah frowned. He didn't really consider himself a fighter. He could see Dad and Uncle Sam being called that, but not him. "Sounds like you've got the wrong guy, then," Noah replied.
"You're not getting off the hook that easily. You're young, so your self-perception isn't fully developed yet. That's okay. We've got time. I've seen what you become down the line. And trust me when I say, you are a warrior."
"You can see the future or something?"
"Or something."
"And what's waiting for me down the line?"
Yellow Eyes shrugged. "That's up to you."
Noah looked around where they were. They were in a one-room home that was decrepit and dirty. Chinaware was shattered all over the floor, there were rips in the furniture; wallpaper hung in ragged strips. "If it was up to me, I don't think I'd be here now or ever."
The demon cast his arms out, carefree. "Sometimes freewill isn't so free."
"So it's half will, then?" Noah responded automatically.
The demon let out a genuine laugh. "If anything. You're funny, kid; you're funny."
"I'm good with that being my only thing."
Sobering, the demon wiped his mouth with a dirty sleeve. "Tough luck, I guess. You know…"
"Know what?" Noah snapped, at the lingering question.
"I don't normally choose more than one, but I might make a consideration for your round."
"My round?"
"Round Two. Less contestants, but a harder field."
According to that, it was Noah, Silvia, and Bryce.
He didn't say anything.
"Not sure what you mean."
Again, the demon laughed like he was having a grand old time. "I wouldn't bother lying. I don't believe that and neither do you. We both know you're a crap liar."
Noah bristled at that. "You don't know what I am."
"I've had a hand in your life since you were a month old."
A gust of cold air made its way through the room.
"What?"
The demon rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Surely I didn't think I was going to have to explain to you, Noah. Sure, maybe Silvia and Bryan-"
"It's Bryce-"
"-but not you."
"What you did to Uncle Sam...you did it to me?"
Yellow Eyes nodded, slowly picking away at a loose piece of skin near his nail. His hands were rough and there was dirt caked around the nail beds. He wore work boots, faded denim, and a khaki work shirt. The man who was being possessed looked like he could've been a hunter. "Bingo."
"But my mom…?" Why hadn't she died in a fire?
Swinging his legs off the table, Yellow Eyes looked at the boy. "The first time-with your uncle and the others-was a...test run, we'll say. Your generation was working out the kinks. What I learned? Having all the mothers die on the six month in a fire was a little conspicuous. Also? The earlier I could get in there, the more influence I could have-the earlier things could begin. And I learned one month was the earliest any of my children would be viable."
Viable. Noah had definitely heard that word before. He scrunched his face up to remember what it meant. The first thing that came to mind were his parents arguing. "That's not a viable option," Mom had said. Noah didn't remember how Dad had responded.
Still, Noah didn't comprehend what exactly the demon meant. Giving an understanding nod to Noah-he was only a child for now-the demon filled in the blanks. "Any of the children I touched before one month didn't make it."
He had been on the right track, but hearing the words so explicitly laid out made him feel ill. He didn't want to know how many babies there had been before him. The demon had about thirteen years between Sam and Noah to fix any bumps in the road.
"Why do you even need more than one generation?" Noah postured.
"As times change, so do my needs."
Wanting to ask why, again, Noah stopped himself. There was no reasoning with an unreasonable, evil creature.
"I showed your Uncle Sammy. You wanna see the night I marked you?"
Noah balked. "No."
Some air escaped between the demon's teeth. "I'm about to lose my patience with you lying to me, boy. So I'll ask you again: do you want to see the night it happened?"
"I don't have a choice, do I?"
Proud, the demon nodded. "Glad to see you catching on. Do you know where you were when you were a month old?"
Noah shrugged. "Why would I?"
The demon shrugged. "I thought your parents would've given you a history lesson."
The boy held up his hands in aggravation, getting really irritated with the questions the demon already seemed to know the answer to. "Dude, I don't know-"
"Easy, easy." Yellow Eyes sent a pointed look to Noah.
Sensing the edge in his voice, Noah sank more into the wall, silent.
"When you were a month old, you were driving to South Dakota."
"I was?"
"Yeah-a day after your father met you for the first time. Look...I'll just show you the rest."
There was a flash and Noah found himself sitting in the passenger seat of the Impala. Gasping, he noticed the current Azazel sitting behind the driver side of the car, both hands rested on the steering wheel, like he was about to take it for a test drive. Through the windshield, Noah could see the backs of a man and a woman leaning close-by, just talking. Mom and Dad.
"Look back," the demon said, adjusting the rearview mirror.
Noah snapped his head around, away from his young parents. He couldn't see the occupants of the back, but he saw the umbrella-like tops that baby seats had. There were two of them.
It was him and Cara.
"Keep watching," Azazel commanded, returning Noah's gaze to the back of the car.
A few moments passed and a vague figure appeared in the space between the two carseats. It immediately made the present Noah's hair stand on the back of his neck.
The figure ran a nail over one wrist and then gently moved the wrist over on the rear-facing carseats.
Noah could figure out which one it was.
There were a few moments where the blood from the figure's wrist dipped into the one seat before the child in the other seat started wailing. Yanking the wrist back, the figure was gone in a matter of seconds.
In the passenger seat, Noah was able to snap around long enough to see his young parents leap into action at the sound of a crying child…
And suddenly, Noah and Yellow Eyes were back in the old, abandoned room.
Noah took several seconds to take some breaths.
"What did you do to me?"
"You've done well so far. Just use a little more of that brain power."
The figure in that back. "You were in the middle."
"I was," the demon said.
Noah furrowed his brow. "You had a cut on your hand. And you held it over...me?"
"Right."
"And you...what?"
Yellow Eyes gave a dirty, little smirk.
Horrified, Noah stumbled back into a doorknob, a small radiation of pain exerting through his lower back. "You didn't."
"I did."
"You bled into my mouth," Noah said, thinking he was vomiting, even though those were just words.
"Take the week off. You're already a mile ahead of anyone else."
"Wait!" Noah called.
"Hmm?" Yellow Eyes asked.
"Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"You showed me when you found me. Can you just show me the before that?"
Azazel pondered the question for several moments. He didn't really have anything to lose from showing an extra few seconds in the past. "Sure kid."
"I mean it."
"Enough about me. Come meet your son, Dean." Grabbing him by the hand, Alice led him through the front door into the house. As usual, it was dark but in a comforting sort of way. "He's up here." Dean followed Alice up the stairs to where the bedrooms are. They passed Jan's room, whose door was tightly shut, and then past Alice's room, then Cara's pink room, and lastly, they came to a room at the end of the hall.
Dean paused in the doorway. The walls were blue with clouds and sheep decorated them. A white crib sat in the middle of the room, a light blue blanket hung over the side. Jan sat in the matching rocking chair in the corner of the room, holding a bundle wrapped in white in her arms.
Seeing the two, Jan stood up carefully and gave Alice the bundle. When Jan passed Dean, she squeezed his shoulder. "Don't you worry about those demons anymore," she assured before leaving the room.
Dean had been so focused on getting here and seeing Alice and the babies that he had forgotten about the demons. That made him momentarily guilty that he didn't think of something that could be a threat to his family.
But right now, they didn't matter.
"Come sit." Alice nodded her head towards the rocker.
Dean did so and tensed in anticipation as Alice leaned forward and helped Dean take the bundle in his arms.
"This is your daddy, Noah," Alice crooned softly, running a hand along the baby's head.
As soon as the baby was nestled in his arms, Dean took one look at the tiny face and took a sharp breath.
The feeling he experienced was similar to when he held Cara for the first time. There was a swelling in his heart and an overwhelming sense of love and protection for this tiny baby. Only this time, the urge felt sharper than it had with Cara, because he had known about this tiny creature since before he was born. Dean had had months to start to gather the initial love for this child.
Dean couldn't get over how tiny Noah was. Dean thought Cara was tiny at seven months, but seeing Noah at only one month was earth shattering.
The most astounding thing Dean recognized after the shock of black hair was the intensity of Noah's stare. Dean had assumed Noah had been asleep because he had been so quiet, but the baby boy stared at Dean with bright eyes.
"His eyes are blue," Dean whispered.
Out of words, Noah ran both hands through his hair and turned away, so he wasn't facing the demon. He stared at the paisley wallpaper.
It was ugly.
It was peeling.
Good.
Noah tried to imagine himself in his navy blue room. He had school tomorrow. He didn't know what day it was but it was a weekday and he had school and he needed to be there because-
"We'll stop that right now."
Once again, Noah was a side quest in some stupid Old Western game.
"What?"
"Did you catch the end of our movie?"
"Mom and Dad came to get me?"
"Before that," the demon replied.
"What? You dropping blood?"
"After that."
"One of us crying?"
"Which one?"
Noah thought a moment. "Cara?"
"Exactly."
"Huh?"
"She stopped me from finishing what I needed to do. She got in my way."
Noah emphatically shook his head. "She had nothing to do with that. She was a baby. We both were."
Yellow Eyes shrugged. "Either I burn your mother or Cara interrupted me."
"You said our mothers didn't burn."
"Then be grateful your sister is such an annoyance."
"Don't hurt her-"
"She has nothing to do with this. She's not the one I want. I just wanted to show you how flexible I've become. I'll see you soon, Noah."
There was a poof, like someone blowing out a candle. And suddenly, Noah was in the same room. Only this time, everyone that had been with him before was there. They were all sleeping, pressed up awkwardly against walls. Scanning the room, breathing heavily, Noah's eyes fell on Jake.
"You good?" Jake asked.
Noah nodded. "Yeah. Bad dream."
Jake nodded, clutching the wooden weapon closer to himself. "Get some sleep, kid."
"Will do."
Noah's eyes were closed for a few moments. "Do you have any siblings?"
Silence.
"Yeah. Have three," Jake responded.
"Brothers? Sisters?"
"Two brothers. One sister."
"I have a sister. Older."
"All them older. I feel that pain."
Noah gave a half-hearted scoff. "Yeah. Older siblings, huh?"
It was dark when Bryce woke. He had felt anxiety the entire time he was in this place. This wasn't different from his life. He hated anything going wrong. But this time he woke up and it was different, because this time he needed to move. He was in some random building-but as a foster child, wasn't he always?
Feeling no attachment to this place, Bryce pushed the rickety door open and stepped into the center of the town. It was where he had created an earthquake. He hadn't meant to, but sometimes things like that just happened.
It was why he always moved...and why he had never been anywhere for more than seven months.
"He's too weird. I tried. I really did. I just..can't deal with him."
"I can't explain it...there's something wrong with him."
"That child is not of this earth."
Wiping at his nose, Bryce stopped at the edge of town and stared at the dense thicket of trees surrounding it. He knew he shouldn't go that way, but he really didn't care.
Engulfed in a bubble of self-loathing, the boy had made it further than anyone ever had.
Noticing a pillar of smoke near him, he stopped.
A pillar materialized into a girl with a bonnet.
"Can I stay here?" Bryce asked.
Shocked for a moment, the girl bobbed her head, before she engulfed him in a hug. "Stay forever."
Everyone woke up the next morning, rubbing their strained necks and stretching out their bodies that had been at slept through weird angles.
In the middle of a yawn, Noah, already very much awake, gauged the room. "Where's Bryce?"
The rest of the waking bodies straightened up and looked around the small room. Sam stood up. "Did anyone see him leave?"
There was a round of noncommittal shrugs. "So no one heard anything or saw anything strange last night," Sam repeated.
There was more silence.
Noah wanted to repeat his dream, but that's all it had been-a dream, a really really vivid dream.
Nothing more.
"We need to find him," Silvia suggested. It turned her stomach to do so, but she knew deep down that the longer he was out there, the worse it was going to get.
"I don't know about any of you, but I think it would be safer if we just stay in here. Yeah. Let's do that. Just stay in here. Shut the door." Andy was up on his feet. "Yeah. Shut the door. We need something to cover it with." Andy looked around the room. Moving towards a heavy dresser, he attempted to push it. It didn't budge. "Sam, Jake-one of you. Come help me move this. We need to put this in front of the door-"
"Andy. Andy!" Sam called, patience beginning to wear thin at the man's antics. "We can't stay here forever."
"Why not?" Andy challenged, struggling to move the dresser.
"You know we can't."
"Jake, come help me move this. Anyone has mind powers they wanna show off?" Andy continued to ignore Sam.
"Dude…" Sam stepped towards the man. "Dude!" Sam grabbed his arm.
"I can't do this anymore!" Andy yelled back, retracting his arm. "You all wanna go out and try to find Bryce? I'm sorry to be a dick, but we're gonna find him exactly like how we found Lily."
"Don't say that," Ava whispered from the corner.
"You know I'm right! That's how all of us are gonna end up."
"Alright look, you freaking out isn't helping anyone," Jake interjected, obviously starting to get irritated with the man as well. "Just because we're down a kid doesn't mean you get to start acting like one-and these two here are handling it better than you are."
Everyone took a step back at Jake's blunt speech. Andy pretended like he didn't hear, and sat down at the rickety kitchen table. "You guys can go look for him. I think I'll just stay here."
Sam glanced around at the group. "Noah, you're with me," he said automatically.
The young boy nodded and came to his uncle's side.
Silvia glanced over at Jake. "Guess that means I'm with you?"
"Guess so," Jake replied, trying to sound begrudging.
Ava nervously fiddled her thumbs and looked back at Andy. "I don't wanna leave him here alone…"
Gaze softening, Sam nodded. "Okay. That's okay. Just make sure to salt the door behind us. Keep an iron with you."
Ava nodded. "Sure Sam."
"Andy?" Sam asked.
"Hmm?"
"Stay safe. Alright?" Sam asked.
"I'll try my best," Andy replied into his hands. Ava moved beside him and rubbed his back comfortingly.
The rest of the group shut the door tightly.
Silvia and Jake stopped and stared back at Sam and Noah. They nodded and headed off in one direction.
"You doing okay?" Sam asked as the duo began to enter the woods.
"Don't know how I should be doing," Noah confessed.
Sam let some air escape through his nose. "You're doing great. You're holding it together...I know this can't be easy for you."
Noah shrugged. "It's just how it is. This is my life."
That phrase caused Sam to stop for a fraction of a second. It was something that resonated with him. When he was only a few years older than Noah, he remembered thinking the same thing. There was nothing that could phase him. Monsters and hunting were in his blood and that's just how it was.
And how it still just was.
"I'm sorry this is how it is." Definitely not the best thing to say, but it was the first thing that came to mind.
His nephew seemed unbothered. He had found a stick and was idly dragging it in the dirt as they walked. "That's the first I haven't heard 'it's gonna get better.' I don't think it is."
Sam didn't either. "Look, I'm not glad you're here, but I'm glad you're at least with me. Family is important. You know?"
There was at least something Noah could relate to. "Yeah. I do."
"And I know it's not good to make promises in situations like this, but I promise you're gonna get outta here."
"And you?"
"You think either of your parents would let you live if I got out and not you?" Sam joked.
"Probably not."
"There you go. Whatever it takes, Noah, you'll get out of here."
The longer and longer they were in the car, Cara started to wonder if she had dreamt the entire interaction with Phenex. There wasn't that buzzing in her lips anymore like before. So maybe the entire thing had been some elaborate coping strategy so she wouldn't think about the fact her mom was crazy and almost killed her, and that her brother and uncle had been kidnapped by a demon.
The Impala stopped and parked haphazardly at the border that had once been Cold Oak.
Cara stepped out of the car and slammed her door, seeing her father's face. "We don't have time for that. Noah is already out there. We don't matter to the demon."
"I swear Cara…"
"What? You'll send me with Mom?"
Dean clenched his jaw. "You stay by me. Within three feet. You understand?"
Cara nodded.
"I don't think you do. I should be able to reach out and you're there. You tell me every minute if you're behind me. Do you understand?"
"I understand," Cara replied.
"Grab the back of my shirt," Dean said.
"What?"
"Do it."
Cara glanced back at Bobby, who was behind her. He nodded.
"Okay?" Cara grabbed the back of her dad's plaid shirt, not realizing she was hanging on for dear life.
BREAK
There was no sign of Bryce.
It killed both Sam and Noah.
The demoralized duo headed back to the cabin. As they approached, there was screaming from inside.
Sam burst through the door. Andy was on the floor, throat slit. Ava stood over him, screaming, knife stabbed in her throat.
Before Sam could rush to her, she was on the ground, eyes wide open, dead, and blood gushing from a knife wound from her self-injury.
Noah wasn't a peripheral in this. He wasn't possessed. He had killed someone in theory, and killed a monster as himself. But seeing someone dying right in front of his eyes while he was standing idly by put a strange feeling in his stomach.
"Ava! Ava! Hey hey hey!" Sam dashed forward and managed to snag her right before she hit the floor. Blood was gushing from her mouth, and she was gurgling on it, obviously trying to say something as the blood rushed into her lungs.
"Ava. Ava. Stay with me. Stay with me…" Sam continued to repeat himself, moving closer and closer to the ground as she began to lose more blood.
The sounds. God the sounds she was making.
When Aunt Jan had died, she had told demons to fuck off as her last breath. The black dog he had killed went with a single howl.
But neither had carried on like this.
There was a burning in his throat that was a precursor to throwing up. Covering his mouth with a hand, Noah turned and ran through the door, not thinking about anything but keeping the bile in for as long as he could.
He made it a few steps out the door before he fell to his knees and upchucked whatever and whenever his last meal had been.
Sitting up with a gasp, Noah wiped his mouth and sat for a moment, breathing heavily. Trading the view of the dusty ground to the night sky, he forgot about his woes for a moment. The sky was so clear. There were so many stars.
The fresh air did a decent amount to clear his head.
And for a moment, he found a sliver of peace.
Jake and Silvia silently tromped their way back through the thick greenery. Jake had slowing his pace significantly, Silvia still trailing far behind.
"You okay?" Jake asked, over his shoulder.
"Si."
He accepted that. After all, he was an active soldier, and she was a child. The fact that she was even within hearing shot of him-and she wasn't complaining-was pretty amazing.
So, Jake stopped for a few moments and allowed her to catch up. When she saw him leaning against a tree, she halted for a moment, before continuing her approach.
"You good?"
Silvia nodded without saying anything.
Jake stared at her for several seconds. "You're not okay."
"No. I am," Silvia insisted, voice higher.
He almost wanted to laugh. She was clever, but she was still just a child. Beyond that, there was something different about her powers. Some of them worked on the others. "I know you know what I'm thinking."
"No es mi asunto."
"Sorry. I don't know any Espanol. I never took a foreign language. Go figure."
"It's none of my business," Silvia repeated, at a lower register, but quieter.
"You don't have anything to say? Not even a single comment?"
She shrugged. Sure, she had seen the demon. And she didn't want any part of it, no matter what it meant. "No."
Jake gave a small laugh. "You know what I have to do, though."
She nodded.
"And you don't have a problem with that? What about what you have to do?"
"I'll wait. See what happens."
"And you're not afraid of me?" Jake asked.
Silvia looked at him. He was tall and muscular and darker than her. Still, she could sense what he was thinking. "You won't hurt me."
"You realize you're an anomaly...right? I mean you're special-even among the rest of us. Your powers-some-work on the rest of us."
"I can hear what you feel. That's it. No more."
"You know what I need to do."
She nodded.
He nodded. His quarrel wasn't with her-she had her own. "So you have a choice. You can bail now, and go off on your own. Or you can come with me back to town and then split. I won't subject you to anything more." That was much more generous than he'd been with Afghani women and children.
Silvia looked up at the forest canopy. Lily and Bryce were gone. If she stayed alone here, she would end up just like them. "I'll wait until we get back to town. Do what you need to do."
Jake nodded. "We've done all we can here. Let's head back then. We've got work to do."
By the time Jake and Silvia had returned, Sam and Noah were sitting outside the abandoned building they had been squatting in. The door was tightly shut.
"What's going on?" Jake asked, carefully sweeping his gaze across the scene.
"Andy and Ava," Noah said.
"They're dead," Sam added. Standing heavily, he grabbed the iron stake nearby.
Tensing Jake stepped back, watching as Sam's hulking figure stretched to its full height. "What happened?" He knew what happened.
They hadn't been strong enough.
"A demon. I think," Sam said, turning to look at the closed door. Noah shifted slightly, still sitting on a brick wall that was built next to the building. Sam glanced back at his nephew, who had his arms wrapped around himself, and looked a lot smaller and younger than he had that entire time they had been there. "We need to get out of here," Sam decided, finally turning back to Jake and Silvia.
"There's no 'we', Sam. Only one of us is getting out here. I'm sorry."
"What?" Sam almost took a small step back. What the hell was he talking about?
Silvia shifted uncomfortably. She knew what was coming. Sam had been nothing but kind and calming to her. She didn't have any ties to Jake. Sam was the one that had saved her from the demon.
Still...she knew Jake's thoughts. And even with all her might, she wasn't going to be able to stop the inevitable.
"I had a vision. That Yellow-Eyed Demon or whatever it was, he talked to me. He told me how it was."
As Jake said that, Noah slowly rose from where he had been sitting. He grabbed his shorter iron stake, that was probably a poker for a fireplace at some point.
"No Jake, no. You can't listen to him," Sam pleaded, holding up both hands appeasingly.
Jake inwardly scoffed at Sam's attempt to be peaceful, all while clenching a weapon in one of his hands.
Shaking his head, Jake rebuffed Sam's pleas. "Sam, he's not letting us go. Only one. Now if we don't play along, he'll kill us both. Now, I like you man. I do. But do the math here. What good does it do for both of us to die? Now, I can get out of here. I can get these kids out of here and I can get close to the demon and kill the bastard."
Stiffening at the mention of the kids, Sam turned his attention to Silvia. "Come here," he commanded, holding out a hand. "Silvia."
Bashfully, she stared down at the ground. "She knows what needs to be done, Sam," Jake replied for her.
"They're just kids," Sam reiterated, making sure Noah was still behind him.
Almost disgusted, Jake gave a half smile. "You think I'd hurt Noah and Silvia? They have their own quarrel between them. My problem is not with them."
"Look, come with me. We can kill him together," Sam suggested, close to begging.
"How do I know you won't turn on me?"
"I won't," Sam swore. "I have too much to lose."
Jake glanced back at Noah, silent and holding his weapon steady. That kid was a fighter. As a matter of fact, both of these kiddos were.
That's why they were the last ones.
"Still, I don't know that."
"Okay, look." In a gesture of camaraderie, Sam dropped the iron stake and reached into his back pocket. Pulling out a silver knife, he threw it on the ground.
"Just come with me, Jake. Don't play into what that thing wants."
With clenched fists, Jake stared intently at Sam. He was the opponent, the enemy. That was what the demon had said.
Breathing heavily, Jake felt his nails begin to draw blood from how tightly he was clenching his fists. Looking around, he glanced over the his left, where Silvia was biting a nail nervously and staring at the dusty ground. Across from him was Sam, with wide, expectant eyes. Behind Sam was Noah. The boy still held his weapon, but it was lowered in a non-threatening stance.
"Okay," Jake agreed, dropping his defensive stance.
Relieved, Sam's entire body relaxed. "Okay. Good. We need to-"
Before the words could form in Sam's mouth, Jake's fist crashed into Sam's jaw, sending him flying in the air, over a fence, and into a nearby field.
"SAM!" Noah yelled, immediately reacting. Running towards Jake with his weapon, Jake easily grabbed it from the child, wrenching the stake from his grasp. Jake launched it, sending the thing sailing into oblivion.
While Noah was stunned, Jake gave him a gentle nudge, which skidded him a few yards back in the dust. He careened gently into a patch of grass, brain still scrambling, trying to process what was happening.
The world around Noah was spinning, trying to make sense physically and mentally of what happened. Groping beneath him, he felt blades of grass as he forced himself to sit up. As his vision and hearing settled, Silvia was in front of him, hands on his shoulders. "Estás bien?"
"Get off me," Noah snapped. Standing by himself, he shoved his way past her.
"Wait!" Silvia called.
"Why? Wait for you to get me too? You and him-you two are just peas in a pod."
"It's not like that!" Silvia implored.
"Really? Cause we're the only two left and it sounds like there's only one winner."
"Don't act like we had a choice in any of this!" Silvia fired back, black hair whipping as she retorted.
"I choose my family!" Noah shouted into her face, shoving her out of the way, watching as his uncle was just recovering and standing straight-turned away for some reason, as Jake was approaching with a plank of wood.
"SAM!" Noah called, cupping his hands around his mouth.
"What did I say?" Dean demanded, looking behind himself.
"Hold your shirt," Cara responded, in an insolent manner.
"Are you doing that?"
"Now I am."
"I swear I'll turn around."
"I know," Cara responded. Her mind has been plagued by visions of Phenex. Maybe not Phenex—but the boy they had possessed.
"We're getting close," Bobby informed, heading up their little search party. "Weapons up." Dean and Bobby both raised their shotguns, while Cara tightly gripped the handgun she was given in one hand.
It was crazy.
A year ago? She knew nothing of this world. And them bam she was possessed and her whole life changed to a strange tint.
And now? After her parents swearing up and down they would never be part of this life, here she was, holding a gun, and her brother...hopefully near.
"He's somewhere here," Dean replied, feeling it deep in his bones.
Sam struggled for breath for a few seconds. He was laid flat on his back, staring up at the starry, unpolluted sky. It was a rare sight.
That thought was fleeting, as he knew Jake had ensued war between the two of them.
Sitting up, Sam brought a hand to his head, checking for blood or bumps. There was a single bump, but no blood. Standing, he felt his other arm hanging at a strange angle. Definitely dislocated.
Huffing, Sam began to trek across the pasture he was in, clutching his arm. In the same moment, he remembered his nephew was still there. Stopping in his tracks, Sam was sure he heard someone yelling his name. In his main vision, maybe a dream, Dean and Bobby raced towards him, before there was a white-hot stab, like waking up from a dream. But instead of waking up from the dream, the white-hot spread throughout his entire body.
The strange trio of Bobby, Dean, and Cara approached the abandoned town.
"We-" Dean cut himself off. In his direct vision, was Sam, limping across a field. Increasing his pace, Dean's happiness soared, as he found his brother alive and safe-he was a one track mind for less than a minute.
"Dean!" Sam yelled.
"Sam!" Dean yelled back.
"Dean!" Sam yelled in relief.
And before Dean could utter a breath, a dark skinned man came from behind Sam and shoved a spiked pole into Sam's back.
Sam gave a painful inhale.
Dean was at his knees at an instant, supporting his dying brother.
"Sammy? Come on. Sam. Sam. Sammy. SAMMY!"
In a desperate attempt, Dean raged towards his brother.
Her hand was wound around the back of her father's shirt. As she said she would. Sure there was a second where she didn't hold it but, she was holding it tightly.
That was until the grip gave free.
At a loss, Cara watched as her father sprinted forward. A familiar voice was yelling. Mind seizing, her world became small, trying to remember why they were there in the first place. At this point, it was all conducive and she felt iciness and wanted to ignore it.
Scanning, trying to find what to do, Cara felt a fuzziness in her head.
She was alone at this point. Dad and Bobby were off saving Sam. Her entire head felt fuzzy and like TV static. Okay stop I'm fine. Her brain was encased in that fuzzy feeling. She felt pressure. That pressure and fuzzy was suddenly present in her core and the ends of her limbs.
Cara took a deep breath, and several, to try and expel the strange feeling she felt.
As Dad and Bobby were dealing with Sam, Cara found herself on a patch of grass. "Noah?" She recognized her brother, not feeling like herself at all.
"Cara?! Oh my God!" Noah reacted, elated to see someone he knew. He wrapped his arms around his sister and held her close, hoping they would be out of that hell by then.
"Noah." That was all she could say.
"Oh my God. You're here. And you're okay?"
Cara nodded at her brother, head bobbing up and down. She was breathing quickly and shallowly. "You?" The world barely escaped.
Noah looked back at Silvia. "We're okay."
"But you're alive?" Cara asked breathily.
Noah sobered and considered the answer. "Um yeah?"
Here she was. Finding her brother. But still on the edge of panic.
"Glad to hear that."
Noah wheezed as he stood.
Nearby, Noah took a breath, and Cara struggled to take one, watching as their father continued to yell his brother's name. Bobby had taken off after the man that had stabbed Sam.
With the two siblings anchored together, Noah held up Cara as he shuffled towards his father, who was clutching his brother to his chest. It wasn't lost on Noah, the duality of the two pairs of siblings hanging onto each other, the only other person that had been with them every step of the way, knowing what they went through better than anyone else on the planet.
"Sammy, Sammy, no no no," Dean demanded, sounding like a broken record. The hand that was supporting Sam's back was covered in blood
"Dad?" Dean heard from behind him.
Freezing, Dean immediately recognized the voice. It was one he hadn't heard in a few days.
Craning behind himself, Sam's limp body still in his arms, Dean looked over his shoulder. There was Noah. A bit dusty and covered in mud in certain places. He looked wholly unharmed and fairly alert, an arm wrapped around Cara.
In a quick, but reverent fashion, Dean removed his arms from Sam and gently laid him on the ground, following by spinning around, both arms wrapping around Noah, and Cara, who was currently part of the package deal.
"Noah. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm okay," Noah muttered in his dad's shoulder, gaze lingering on his uncle. Sam looked strangely pale. "Dad is he…?"
Both kids felt Dean tighten his grip around them and pivot so they weren't looking at Sam anymore. "Yeah. Yeah. He'll...he's gonna be okay. Just needs to rest," Dean assured, pulling back so he could get a better look at Noah. Of course it was a lie. Ever since Alice had taken the kids, his life had been a strange, alternate reality, like the things that were happening around him were just part of a bad trip. It wasn't actually Sam's pale body laying in a growing pool of blood. It was just a figment of his psyche.
Focusing on his children, Dean put all of his effort into just holding them, feeling like the world around him was falling apart, the ground swallowing itself up.
The only thing in that moment he could do was cling to his children as an angry bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, the heavens opening up with an outpouring of rain.
You may have noticed I already posted this chapter a few days ago, but I wanted to tweak it a little bit. But like I said before, I'm on quarantine, and have a lot of time on my hands, so hopefully I'll be updating more over these next few weeks.
I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!
V.