NIGHTMARE PART 5

Once Alice closed the bedroom door behind her, she heard a heavy clattering sound coming from downstairs, followed by Sam's muffled voice, indistinctive and distressed. Her icy blue eyes slowly narrowed to slivers, keeping a firm hand on the doorknob.

"The hell was that?" Dean rose slowly at Ms. Miller's side, staring at Alice, who remained frozen and as cold as a glacier. Her body looked tense, wound tight, and ready to pounce.

"I have an idea..." Alice answers through her teeth, drawing a breath through gritted teeth. She released the knob and took a step back beside Dean, waiting for the inevitable that she could hear slumping up the stairs.


Sam banged his fists against the closet door, shouting until his voice cracked. He tried to push against it, but the bookshelf in front remained where it was—trapping him inside.

"Max!"

His vision began to cloud as the colors and scenes before him melted away. A vision momentarily snatched up his mind, and he saw the future.

He saw Max walk into the upstairs bedroom where Alice, Dean, and Ms. Miller were, holding a gun. Dean looked ready to move in front of all them, while Alice stayed steadfast and firm-footed. She didn't move or even flinch despite staring down the barrel of Sam's own gun.

"Why are you still doing this, Max?" Alice asked him and tried to walk towards him. She only made it a step when Max released the gun, letting it float in the air, still aimed with the purpose of using it.

"Stay back. This is not about you," Max begged through grounded teeth.

"Will it even make you feel better? Will you feel free? Like you been released?" She challenged, taking another step towards Max, so close now that the barrel was flushed against her forehead. So close that she could see the trigger twitch, like it was a fraction of a second away from being pulled.

"No!" Sam shouted, blind panic making him seize up. His voice was raw with terror, and through the hazy remains of the vision, he heard the bookshelf outside the door slide away. Sam froze where he was, unsure of himself. He pushed gently against the door, and it swung open with ease.

He was free.


Alice could feel Dean's tight grip on the back of her jacket, ready to pull her back at any moment, but she acted like no one else was in the room. She stared down at Max with an intense expression.

"Why are you still doing this, Max," Alice asked him and tried to walk towards him. She only made it a step when Max released the gun, letting it float in the air, still aimed with the purpose of using it.

"Stay back. This is not about you," Max begged through grounded teeth.

"Will it even make you feel better? Will you feel free? Like you been released?" She carried on, taking another step towards Max, so close now that the barrel was flushed against her close that she could see the trigger twitch, like it was a fraction away from being pulled.

She could even see the tears in his red-rimmed eyes. See the shaking in his whole body. The exhaustion that was bordering on delirium.

Faster than Max would react, She grabbed the barrel of the gun, holding it down firmly so the slide wouldn't cock back. She wrenched the gun out of the air, and with nimble fingers and skill, she slid the magazine out and emptied the bullets onto the floor.

"For Christ's sake, Max. It's over." She tossed the unloaded gun on the floor, watching Max flinch with every heavy thud. He was so much like a wounded animal that it squeezed her heart. "It's over."

Quick, wheezing breaths escaped Max's lips as he curled into himself. Sobs wrenched from his body, tortured and exhausted that came from years of abuse. He leaned forward, and Alice wrapped her arms around him, hugging him so tight, trying to convey without words that it was finally over. That she wouldn't allow him to be the final victim.

As Max cried, so the cycle of abuse ended.

Sam finally burst through the door a second later, gun in hand and looking wild. But as panicked as he looked, he quickly sagged with relief. He looked ready to pass out, his heart racing like a train that pained his chest. His gun lowered, and he leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath and reel in his frantic heart.


Max was slumped in the back of the police cruiser, the sirens and brights light blinding and nauseating. Sam, Dean, and Alice were still inside the house while Ms. Miller sat on the couch, being interviewed by the cops.

"Max attacked me. He threatened me with a gun." She told the officer.

The cop gestured to the three of them. "And these three?"

"They're...family friends. I called them soon as Max arrived, I was scared. They tried to stop him and…got the gun away from him." Ms. Miller croaked, looking drained as she told a newer rendition of the story. It wasn't a total lie this time.

"Where did Max get the gun?"

Cracking under the day's events, Ms Miller finally broke down in tears. "I don't know. He showed up with it and..."

"It's all right Ms. Miller."

Alice crossed her arms over her chest and turned as another cop approached them. "Do you need us for anymore questioning?"

"No, but we'll call you if we do," he answered.

"And about Max? What's gonna happen to him?"

"He'll be heading to a juvenile correctional facility for now. They'll look into his mental status and go from there. But it's likely he'll go to a facility if he's found to be mentally unstable."

Alice nodded in response. "Alright. Thank you, officer," she said to the cop before turning and following Sam and Dean towards the door.

Once outside, she glanced over to Max sitting numbly in the back of the car, head down and silent. It took some effort to tear her eyes away from him. She had to tell herself he'd be fine where he was going. Or at least he will be in a better situation than the one he was trapped in his whole life.

"I feel like shit..." Alice grumbled, rolling her shoulders.

Dean cocked a brow and draped an arm over her tense shoulders. "Why? It ended better than I expected."

"No, I…kinda get it," Sam said, sharing Alice's heaviness. "Seeing how he looked at me…I know we did all we could, but…"

"Still feels like shit," Alice finished.

Sam nodded in agreement. "Yeah..."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Come on man, you risked your life. I mean yeah, maybe if we had gotten there 20 years earlier."

They moved to either side of the Impala while Alice went to her bike.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing. We're lucky we had Dad," Sam admitted, much to Dean's shock.

"Well, I never thought I'd hear you say that." Dean looked pleased.

"Well, it could've gone a whole other way after Mom. I little more tequila and a little less demon hunting, and we wouldahad Max's childhood. All things considered, we turned out ok. Thanks to him."

Dean nodded, signaling for Alice to get ready. "All things considered."

As Alice slipped her helmet on, a thought crossed her mind—something she and John Winchester might have in common. She liked hunting. She liked having something that took up her entire time. It centered her. Hunting may have been an obsession for John, but it grounded him and kept him focused and ready.

That was something she could get behind on.


Sam felt like he was on edge, procrastinating while packing his clothes. He watched Dean and Alice walk In and out of the motel room, throwing their things into the back of the Impala. He was nervous to speak up. He knew Alice was open-minded about most things, but he was mainly worried about Dean's reaction.

"Guys, I've been thinking," Sam began, finally gathering the courage.

"Well, that's never a good thing," Dean shrugged off.

"I'm serious. I been thinking, this demon, whatever it is. Why would it kill Mom, and Jessica, and Max's mother, you know? What does it want?"

"I have no idea."

Alice perked up, as expected she would. Immediately taking him seriously, which he was thankful for. "Why? Got a theory?"

"I don't know," Sam admitted. "But…you think it was after us? After Max and me?"

Alice cocked a brow, taking a silent moment to roll the theory around in her head. She grabbed a seat from the desk and sat down. "Elaborate."

"I mean, either telekinesis or premonitions, we both had abilities, you know? Maybe he was, he was after us for some reason."

Dean scoffed at the notion, pulling up a chair and sitting beside Alice. "Sam. If it had wanted you, it would've just taken you. Ok?"

Alice frowned, but not at what Dean said. She could see his point and agree with it. "I see your point, but Sam may be on to something." She hunched over and balanced her chin on the tips of her fingers. "There is a pattern and way too many coincidences."

"Thank you," Sam sighed with relief, feeling his shoulders sag.

"You can't be serious. It's about that damn thing that did this to our family. The thing that we're gonna find, the thing that we're gonna kill. And that's all." Dean argued. He turned his head to the side and tried to ignore the dirty look Alice was giving him.

Sam shifted awkwardly, hesitating with his following words. "Actually, there's uh ... there's something else too."

"Something else?" Alice cocked a curious brow.

"When Max left me in that closet, with that big cabinet against the door...I moved it."

"Huh. You got a little more upper body strength than I gave you credit for." Dean chuckled, obviously not gettting the point.

"No man, I moved it. Like, Max."

Alice immediately stands up from her chair, as what Sam said settled in for Dean. "Oh," was all he said.

Looking around the room, Dean reached over and held up a spoon to Sam. "Bend this."

"Dean." Alice gave an exasperating sigh and took the spoon away.

"I can't just turn it on and off, Dean," Sam frowned.

"Well how'd you do it?"

"I don't know, I can't control it. I just...I saw Alice facing down the gun, and it just came out of me, like, like a punch. You know, like...a freak adrenaline thing."

"You sure it wasn't adrenaline?" Alice asked, wrinkles appearing between her brows. "You panicked, so…" she drew her words to a stop when she saw the worry on Sam's face. "Something else is worrying you," she realized.

Sam bit the inside of his cheek. "What is…what if I turn out like Max or something?"

"Nope. No way. You know why?" Dean shook his head, not even entertaining the thought.

"No. Why?"

"Cause you got one advantage Max didn't have."

"Dad? Because Dad's not here, Dean."

"No. Us." Dean grinned broadly. "As long as we're around, nothing bad is gonna happen to you."

Sam couldn't help the smile that was sliding to his lips. He lowered his head and felt Alice nudge his arm, seeing her smirking at him from the corner of his eyes..

"That's your sign to stop worrying, ok?" she said, shoving on Sam's back. "We're not gonna let anything bad happen to you. Now, hurry up and packed your bags."

"Yeah...yeah..." Sam drew in an exasperated sigh but didn't hide his smile, which made his heart feel lighter.

Alice smiled back at him before reaching down and picking up another bag. She headed outside, and the moment she was by the Impala, her smile dropped.

"'Turn out like Max...'" she repeated with a scowl, feeling a protective flare flush through her body. "Over my dead body." She tossed the bag into the trunk and slammed the lid shut.


AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I want to say a quick thank you to a friend of mine, Savethemadscientist, who went out of their way to check in on me to make sure I was alright. That little nugget of kindness motivated me to hurry up and finish this chapter! Much love!