Chapter Text
XXXXXX
They’d been on the road all day. Dean had only allowed them pit stops for fuel, snacks, and bathroom breaks. He'd been in a rush to get back to Bobby’s since waking up from his experience with the djinn.
Sam had barely convinced him to stay the night at the motel after they had dropped the girl off at the hospital. Dean kept insisting that he was fine, but Sam noticed how shaken he remained after his wish.
When they passed a sign advertising the Sunnyside Cafe in five miles Sam tried again, ”Dean, I’m starving. Can we please stop for dinner?”
“Dude, we’ve only got a few more hours,” Dean groaned, “Once we’re at Bobby’s you can eat as much as you’d like.”
“Are you missing Buffy so badly that we seriously can’t stop to get some actual food?” Sam questioned, with an annoyed whine. “We’ve been gone for two weeks. She’s not going to care that we stopped for a quick bite to eat.”
Dean rolled his eyes and submitted with a grumpy, “Fine.”
Sam smiled in victory, but his enjoyment was short-lived when he noticed the worried crease to his brother's brow. That was when Sam realized why Dean had been in such a hurry; in Dean’s wish they never became hunters, which meant Dean never met Buffy. How could he be such an ass? Sam knew better than anyone that the loss of Buffy was one of Dean’s worst nightmares. Sam was now curious if that was exactly what the djinn did. It granted you your most desired wish, but also your most horrific nightmare. Evil things did tend to enjoy the pain of their victims. Sam shook his head, there’d be time later to research that, he needed to focus on his brother.
“Dean…I didn’t think…You and Buffy–” he stammered apologetically.
Dean cut him off, “It’s fine, Sam.”
Sam was not going to be so easily deterred. Since their father’s death he’d too often allowed Dean to avoid talking about his feelings. Initially, Sam had been reluctant to push. Their father had died and Dean had almost joined him. Then after Dean had recovered they were faced with caring for Buffy who had been in a coma for weeks. After Buffy had woken up, they’d gone back to their routine, but Sam had noticed how Dean clung to Buffy; he'd been concerned, but figured it was a temporary coping mechanism. When Deacon had called about the job at the Green River County Detention Center. Sam had been sure that Dean was going to turn it down because Buffy couldn’t be part of the plan, but to his surprise Dean agreed to the job and they’d left Buffy at Bobby’s.
Dean watched as Sam’s face furrowed in deep thought and he knew that look. Sam was gathering his words to reel him into a deep emotional talk. Dean didn’t want to talk, he wanted to drive. The faster he got them to Bobby’s the sooner he could wrap Buffy in his arms.
As Sam moved to speak Dean interrupted him, “You’re right, I probably should get food now,” a bawdy grin came across his face, “my dining plans at Bobby’s don’t include dinner,” he winked.
Sam rolled his eyes as they turned into the drive for the cafe. He knew his brother was avoiding the discussion, but he was somewhat reassured by the return of his brother’s crass humor.
When Dean stopped, he turned to Sam offering him a twenty dollar bill, flicking it back towards himself as Sam reached for it. In return Sam shot him an annoyed look.
“Hey, don't forget the extra onions this time,” Dean demanded.
“Dude,” Sam complained, “I'm the one who's gonna have to ride in the car with your extra onions.”
Dean simply smirked as Sam snatched the money from his fingers.
“Buffy’s not going to like that you ordered those extra onions either,” Sam pointed out as he got out of the car.
“Hey!” Dean called out as Sam turned to close the door.
Sam turned back, hopeful that Dean had indeed changed his mind about the extra onions, but his hopes were quickly dashed as Dean continued, “See if they've got any pie.”
Sam glared at him and slammed the door shut.
“Bring me some pie!” Dean shouted from inside the Impala, before he said to himself “I love me some pie.”
As Sam walked into the cafe, Dean noticed “Long Time” was playing on the radio. He turned it up as he watched Sam order. When Dean started to sing along, the song became marred with static. Dean glanced at his radio and the lights flickered in and out. He tapped it a couple times, but when it completely cut out he began looking around. Nothing. Something felt off so he looked around again. Nothing.
Dean returned his gaze to the cafe. He planned to signal for Sam– concern hit him like a tidal wave. Sam was gone. In fact, everyone who’d been in the cafe was gone. It now appeared empty.
Dean rushed from the car toward the diner. He pulled open the cafe door and quickly stepped in, but his search was halted when he saw a male diner slouched down in the booth just in front of him. His head rested on the table in a pool of his own blood.
Dean drew his gun and called out for his brother. He was met only with the sounds of the sad country song playing on the radio. He began walking through the cafe, pausing briefly to further investigate the dead diner. His throat had been sliced open, but there were no obvious clues about what exactly had done the slicing.
Dean glanced around before he continued through the cafe towards the backdoor. As he came to the end of the counter he found the waitress and the cook on the floor, dead, their throats cut open.
“Sam?” Dean called as he opened the backdoor. His eyes combed the darkness, but there was no sign of his brother. Fear gripped his chest, as he started to let the backdoor swing shut, his fingers grazed the window of the door. That’s when he felt it– sulfur.
Demons. Dean realized he’d seen a similar scene before: five months ago when Sam insisted they check-up on that girl… Ava! Dean remembered. She’d been having visions like Sam and then suddenly she’d disappeared without much of a trace. Her fiancé’s dead body had been on the bed with his throat slashed and traces of sulfur had been on the window. With purposeful strides he made it back through the cafe taking only a few steps. As he exited he called out for Sam several more times.
He walked back toward the Impala as he continued to call out for his brother, his volume and panic both increasing, but there was no sign of Sam anywhere.
“SAM!” He bellowed in one last desperate attempt, but again was met with no response.
Dean threw himself into the Impala as he pulled out his cell phone. He placed it to his ear holding it with his shoulder as he quickly reversed the Impala out of its parked position.
“Yeah?” came Bobby’s voice through the phone.
“Bobby, grab Buffy and meet me,” Dean ordered urgently, as he pulled out of the cafe’s parking lot back onto the highway. “I’m on IA-9 about 4 hours away.”
“What’s happened?” Bobby questioned worriedly.
“Sam’s missing,” his tone became more fearful, “I think demons got him.”
As soon as Dean had ended his call with Bobby, he tried calling Sam. It went straight to voicemail.
“Dammit!” he shouted as he threw his phone onto the seat. He hadn’t had high hopes that Sam would answer, but the fact that it hadn’t even rang, worried him.
Dean continued down the highway passing the first several roadside motels, wanting to make sure he put a bit of distance between himself and the Sunnyside Cafe. Soon it would be crawling with cops and he couldn’t afford getting tangled up in an investigation as he’d, only a week ago, literally escaped from prison.
When he spotted the vacancy sign at The Lakeside Inn, he pulled into the nearly empty parking lot. He quickly went about reserving two rooms. He entered the room to the right after he had gathered his things and Sam’s backpack.
Dean sat on the edge of the first bed as he brought his cell phone to his ear.
The phone had barely rang once when Buffy’s voice came across the line, “Dean! We’re on our way.”
Buffy heard Dean’s heavy sigh. She could tell that he was holding back tears. She longed desperately to hold him in her arms. She was scared for Sam, but Dean needed her to be strong.
“We’re gonna find him, Dean,” she soothed, with a gentle, but firm determination.
She wished again that she could take him into her arms. She hated that he was facing this all alone. She pushed her thoughts of guilt for not being there away as she promised, “I’ll be there soon.”
“Tell Bobby,” Dean swallowed, as he fought back the fear that coursed through his body, “I reserved us two rooms at The Lakeside Inn on IA-9.”
“Is it actually lakeside?” Buffy asked, lightly.
When the sound of Dean’s mild amusement met her ear, she smiled in relief.
They remained silently on the line for several minutes before they disconnected their call with whispered goodbyes.
Dean pulled out Sam’s laptop. He chuckled as the background on the screen read, “Dean Get Off My Computer!” Dean pulled up the website for the cell phone Sam had been using. He knew it was unlikely, but as he pulled up the map on the website, he called Sam’s phone. Nothing. The phone again went straight to voicemail and the map showed no trace of Sam’s phone. Dean attempted this several more times while he waited, each time he felt the crushing weight of his fear increase.
A dozen or so attempts later Dean heard the tale-tell sounds of Bobby’s truck as it pulled into the motel parking lot. He placed Sam’s computer on the bed as he moved to open the door.
Dean watched as Buffy leapt from Bobby’s truck, having barely waited for it to come to a stop. She crossed the parking lot in an instant and buried herself into his arms. Her embrace was crushing, but he tightened his arms around her, pulling her even closer. He took in her smell and let it comfort him. They remained that way until Bobby approached them.
“If you two love birds are done,” Bobby feigned annoyance, “I’d like to go over what you know before we catch a few hours of sleep.”
Dean looked like he wanted to protest, but Bobby cut him off, “Not only do you look like you're about to keel over, but there is likely not much we’ll be able to do until morning.”
Dean relented with a knowing sigh. He shifted his and Buffy’s position to allow Bobby to walk through the door, but he kept her pressed tightly against his side. He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her waist as he followed Bobby into the room.
As Bobby sat at the small motel table, Dean sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Buffy into his lap. His hand that held her waist brushed just under the edge of her shirt. He needed to feel her bare skin as he started to recount the events of Sam’s disappearance. For the first time since Sam’s disappearance, he allowed himself to feel comforted in the way she felt under his touch and the way her fingertips played absently with the hair on the nape of his neck.
“Alright,” Bobby stood, “Tomorrow, I’ll hit the police station and see if I can dig anything up, while you and Buffy do a thorough search of the area surrounding the diner,” he placed his hand on the door handle before he glanced back at the couple.
“Get some rest you two,” Bobby ordered with a pointed look at Dean.
“Thanks, Bobby,” Dean replied as Bobby left the room.
When the door shut, Dean shifted so that Buffy rested on the bed beneath him. He hovered over her for just a minute, drinking her in. He leaned down and caught her lips in a heated kiss.
Buffy pulled back, reluctantly breaking the kiss. A look of concern filled her eyes, “Dean?” she questioned.
Dean met her eyes with his own and they were filled with desperate need. Dean rocked his hips against her, a soft moan escaped her swollen lips. As he dipped down to kiss her again, Buffy placed a halting hand to his chest.
“Dean–” Buffy tried again as her concern deepened, but Dean interrupted her.
“Babe, I want to feel something other than—” he pleaded, but unable to finish his own plea he continued, “I need you.”
Buffy understood. Dean needed a distraction and she could provide it. Buffy’s hand curled into his shirt and tugged him against her as she met his lips hungrily.
XXXXXX
Sam jerked awake. What the hell happened? He wondered as he came to. Confusion coursed through his body when he noticed not only was he outside, but it was no longer night. Where am I? He thought as he looked around. How the hell did I get here? He panicked as he stood. He took note of the old wooden buildings that surrounded him.
As he contemplated his surroundings he reached for his cell phone. No signal. He huffed in frustration before he shoved his phone back into his jean’s pocket.
Sam began to cautiously investigate what appeared to be the remains of an older frontier town. He slowly made his way from the street onto the connected porches of the buildings. He peered through the widows and tried several doors, but there were no clues to where he was and there was no sign of anyone else.
Suddenly he heard a creaking from the alleyway in front of him. He searched rapidly for a weapon. He spotted a broken wooden post beside him. He lifted it into a batting position as he silently approached the alley, stopping at the corner. He readied himself for whatever might come around the corner. As he heard the sounds of footsteps growing closer he jumped out and prepared to swing, but he stopped as he recognized the cowering figure.
“Andy?” “Sam?” They questioned simultaneously.
“What are you doing here?...What am I doing here?!...Where are we?!” Andy asked Sam in rapid succession. The panic in Andy’s voice rose each time Sam replied, “I don’t know.”
“Andy, look, calm down,” Sam said as he tossed the post away in order to comfort his friend.
“I can't calm down!” Andy declared with a whine, “I just woke up in freaking Frontierland!”
Sam attempted to soothe Andy, but he had little success before he finally asked, “What's the last thing you remember?”
“Honestly?” Andy moaned as he put his hands on his face, “My fourth bong load.” An amused smirk crossed Sam’s face as Andy continued, “It was weird. All of a sudden, there was this really intense smell. Like, uh… “
“Like sulfur?” offered Sam as he realized that he had smelled sulfur in the cafe just before his own memory went blank.
“How did you know that?” Andy asked with deep confusion, but Sam didn’t hear Andy’s question as Sam tried to piece together his own last memory.
“Dean,” he voiced as he remembered leaving his brother in the car before going into the cafe to order their food.
“Your brother?” Andy was suddenly hopeful as he questioned, “Is he here?” Then despite his ever present fear his tone became more suggestive, “Better yet, what about Buffy?”
Sam ignored Andy’s lustful crack about Buffy as he focused his thoughts on Dean, “I– I don't know where he is. I don't know if he's…” Sam’s stammered reply was interrupted by the sounds of a woman screaming.
Sam and Andy both looked around, when the woman screamed again they moved toward the sound. As they hurried down the street, they continued to hear the woman’s screams and sounds of someone pounding against a wooden door. Sam noticed a locked shed just ahead.
Before he could point this out to Andy, the woman screamed again and the shed door shook. Sam ran forward, Andy following closely behind him.
“Hello?” Sam questioned as he stood outside the shed that had gone silent.
“Help me! Help me, please!” cried the woman desperately as she pounded on the door.
“Okay, I'm here,” Sam attempted to reassure her as he tested the lock. When the lock didn’t budge he looked around for something he could use to break it. “We're gonna get you out, all right?” he promised.
“Please!” begged the woman.
Sam grabbed a large stone from the ground outside the shed and began to smash it against the lock. After several hits, the lock gave way.
“All right, one second,” Sam reassured again, as he removed the lock from the door and pulled it open. As the woman rushed out, recognition flooded his brain.
“Ava?” Sam was shocked. He couldn’t believe she was alive, let alone here. When five months ago he had found her fiancé dead and her missing as a result of a demon attack he had worried that he would never see her again. He had recently convinced himself to stop looking for her because she had to be dead.
“Oh my God, Sam!” Ava cried as she flung herself at him, enveloping him in a tight hug.
“So, I guess you guys know each other,” Andy observed as Ava released Sam from her hold.
Sam confirmed with a nod. He continued to observe Ava curiously as she stammered through high pitched sobs, “How? How did—I mean, how did you—”
Sam interrupted as he asked with deep concern, “Ava, have you been here this whole time?”
Ava looked up at him, her face marred with confusion, “What whole time? I just woke up in there, like-like, half an hour ago,” she sputtered.
Sam frowned, something seemed off. “You've been gone for five months,” he explained, “Dean, Buffy and I looked for you, but there’s been no trace.”
Ava’s face morphed into one of disbelief, “Okay, that's impossible, because I saw you two days ago.”
“You didn't,” Sam corrected her, “I'm sorry.”
He didn’t understand. Something wasn’t right. He and Andy seemed to have disappeared around a similar time last night, but Ava had been gone for months and without memory.
“But…that makes no sense. That's not—,” Ava’s face transformed from disbelief into agony, “Oh my God! My fiancé, Brady! If I've been missing for that long, he must be freaking out!”
“Well…” Sam uttered, he wasn’t sure how best to break the news of Brady’s death. Luckily for him he didn’t have to because Ava’s attention drifted to Andy, as if truly noticing his presence for the first time.
“Hey,” Andy acknowledged her with an awkward wave, “Andy. Also freaking out.”
Ava dismissed Andy immediately and returned her attention to Sam, “What's happening?”
“I, uh, don't really know, yet.” he replied as he wasn’t sure exactly what was happening, but it was clear that they had all been brought here, by demons.
Sam wasn’t sure why demons would want to kidnap them and drop them off here, but he was beginning to suspect it had something to do with their abilities. When both Ava and Andy continued to look at him expectantly he continued, “I know one thing: I know what the three of us have in common.”
Before Sam could continue with his explanation he heard a man calling out. Sam turned at the sound, “Maybe more than three,” he observed as he moved toward the man’s voice, Ava and Andy following behind him.
They ran past several buildings until they caught sight of two additional figures coming around the corner of a porch attached to a white house.
“Hey, you guys all right?” Sam asked as he came to a stop on the street in front of them.
“I think so,” came the man’s hesitant reply. The tall black man wearing fatigues was followed by a small blonde woman.
Sam noticed that the man attempted to mask his confusion and fear, while the woman who stood slightly behind the man looked terrified. Sam attempted to ease their discomfort by introducing himself.
After their quick exchange of names, Sam asked, “Are there any more of you?”
“No–” Jake informed, but was interrupted by Lily.
“How did we even get here?” She looked around confused, “A minute ago, I was in San Diego.”
Jake looked back at Lily and lightly informed her, “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I went to sleep last night in Afghanistan.”
There it was again, everyone but Ava had only recently disappeared. Something wasn’t adding up. Sam knew that in order to piece this all together he needed to confirm that Jake and Lily had abilities and fit the profile of the special children.
Sam bluntly tried to confirm the information he needed, “Let me take a wild guess: you two are both twenty-three?” When they nodded with confusion, Sam continued, “We all are. And we all have abilities.”
“What?” Jake interrupted.
Sam was undeterred, “It started a little over a year ago? You found you could do things? Things you didn't think were possible?” Again they both nodded reluctantly.
Sam smiled, the puzzle was coming together. “I have visions. I see things before they happen,” he explained.
“Yeah. Me, too,” Ava shared.
Andy suddenly seemed snapped from his daze as he shared, “Yeah, and I can put thoughts into people's heads. Like, make them do stuff,” when Lily and Jake looked at him with wide eyes he quickly moved to reassure them, “But don't worry, I don't think it works on you guys.” Suddenly, he became excited as he continued to share spastically, “Oh, but get this –- I've been practicing. Training my brain, like meditation. So now, it's not just thoughts I can beam out, but images, too. Like, anything I want. Bam! People see it,” he chuckled to himself seemingly unaware of the skeptical looks from the others, “This one guy I know –- total dick, right? I used it on him: gay porn. All hours of the day.” He glances at everyone in the group expecting to see laughter, but instead they looked disgusted, “It was just like…you should have seen the look…on his face,” he trailed off.
Lily grew angry quickly as she addressed Andy, “So, you go, ‘Simon says give me your wallet’, and they do?” She turns her furious focus back on Sam, “You have visions? That's great! I'd kill for something like that.”
“Lily, listen,” Sam tries to comfort her, “it's okay.”
She scoffs at him, “No. It's not,” She looks seriously at the group, “I touch people: their hearts stop,” her tone lost its bite as she admitted, “I can barely leave my house. So my life's not exactly improved.” Lily threw her hands in the air as she turned to walk away, once again angry, “So, screw you. I just wanna go home.”
“And what, we don't?” Jake asked in gruff disbelief as he stopped her.
She turned back swiftly, ready to get in Jake’s face, “You know what, don't talk to me like that—”
“Hey, guys, please,” Sam attempted to draw their focus back to the mission at hand, “Look, whether we like it or not, we're all here, and so we all have to deal with this.”
“Who brought us here?” Andy asked.
Sam looked at the group, with a sigh, “It's less of a ‘who’,” he paused before continuing ominously, “It's more of a ‘what’.”
Ava shared a confused look with the rest of the group before she asked, “What does that even mean, Sam?”
Sam met each of their eyes, “It's uh…It’s a demon,” he revealed.
XXXXXX
They had found no trace of Sam. Dean and Buffy had spent several hours scouring the area around the cafe. There was nothing out of place. If Dean hadn’t seen the grisly scene inside first hand, he would have never suspected anything was out of place. Bobby had found that the police were barely competent, which was good for their own investigation, but didn’t exactly give them anything to lead them to Sam.
Dean and Bobby were now hunched over the hood of the Impala, on the side of the highway, as they checked over a map. Buffy paced a few feet away on the phone with Willow.
“Okay, thanks Will,” Buffy snapped her phone shut. There was still no trace of Sam. Willow had tried several different locator spells, but she couldn’t pinpoint him anywhere, but she had been able to confirm that he was alive and that his essence was still in this plane of existence.
As Buffy walked toward Bobby and Dean she heard Dean grumble, “Are you joking? There's nothing here.”
Bobby huffed, “Exactly, no demonic omens point to something big brewing. It’s never this quiet.”
Buffy pressed herself into Dean’s side as she wrapped her arm around his waist. He looked down at her hopefully as he draped his arm over her.
“Sorry, Dean,” Buffy said remorsefully, she had wanted to have better news, “Willow can’t locate him, but was able to confirm that he is alive and is still in this dimension.”
Dean’s dejected look turned into one of frustration, “Well, how are we supposed to look for Sam? What, do we just close our eyes and point?”
“Dean, whatever this is, it’s gonna tip its hand,” Bobby continued, “Sam’s out there and we’re gonna find him, but I think we need–” Dean’s cell phone rang, cutting off Bobby.
Dean quickly retrieved the phone from his pocket and flicked it open after briefly glancing at the caller ID, “Ash, what do you got?”
“Okay, listen, it's a big negatory on Sam, bu–”
“Oh, come on, man!” Dean interrupted, “You've gotta give us something. We're looking at a three thousand-mile haystack here.”
“Listen!” Ash’s annoyed voice became a whisper, “Dean, I did find something.”
“Well, what?” Dean prompted, his frustration clear.
“I can't talk over this line, Dean.” Ash whispered, concerned.
Dean’s patience was wearing thin. His only possible lead was being dangled in front of him, “Come on,” Dean shouted, “I don't have time for this!”
“Make time,” Ash insisted harshly, “Okay? Because this–” Ash stopped talking to Dean, his voice became muffled as he talked to someone at the bar.
Dean rolled his eyes, but Ash returned to the phone quickly, “Not only does this almost definitely help you find your brother, this is…it's huge,” he insisted again, “So get here. Now.”
Dean removed the phone from his ear. He gave it an annoyed look as he confirmed Ash had indeed hung up on him.
“I guess, we’re going to the Roadhouse,” Dean informed looking at Bobby, “Come on.”
Bobby slid into the passenger seat of the Impala as Buffy took a seat in the back. They left Bobby’s truck on the side of the highway and sped away.
XXXXXX
The group continued to stare silently at Sam, as he explained what he believed to be the demon’s plan of ending the world with an army of special children. The group’s faces were a mix of shock, anger, and disbelief. Each member of the group attempted to speak, but it was Jake who broke the stunned silence.
“So, we're soldiers in a demon war to bring on the Apocalypse?” He asked angrily as he paced.
“When you put it like that—” Sam had doubted they would take the news well, but he frustration began to grow as Jake interrupted him.
“And we've been picked?” Jake's tone became more doubtful.
“Yes,” Sam confirmed.
“Why us?” Jake pressed with angry disbelief.
“I'm not sure, okay?” Sam’s frustration boiled over. He took a breath before he tried to bring the group back, “But look, I just know—”
“Sam,” Ava interrupted, her tone slightly mocking ”I'm sorry. Psychics and spoon-bending are one thing, but demons?”
Under normal circumstances Sam would have understood their reluctance. It was a fact that Dean, Buffy, and he often relied on people's unwillingness to believe in the supernatural. He tried again, “Look, I know it sounds crazy, but—”
“It doesn't just sound it,” Jake interrupted again with a heated glare.
Sam’s anger flared. They had all appeared in this town together, with no clue as to how. But still they denied the truth vehemently and Sam knew they didn’t have time to waste. He needed them to accept the facts and get on board, “I don't really care what you think, but if we're all been gathered here, then that means it's starting and that we've gotta—”
Jake stopped Sam, “The only thing I've gotta do is stay away from wackjobs. I've heard enough,” he huffed, as he started to walk away, “I'm better off on my own.” He paused his exit to look pointedly at the other members of the group, “FYI, so are you.”
Jake walked away despite Sam’s protests and calls for him to return. The rest of the group stood there silently staring at Sam.
Sam sighed as he turned away from Jake’s retreating figure to meet the eyes of the remaining people, “I get you don’t want to believe me, but our best chance out of this is sticking together,” he said firmly.
When the others nodded, albeit somewhat reluctantly Sam motioned for them to follow him as he chased after Jake.
As Sam moved down the street, he heard Jake cry out, “Get back!”
Sam rushed toward the noise and found Jake backed against the wall of an old one room schoolhouse. He was trapped by a demon girl with sharp claws preparing to attack. Sam charged into the building as he looked for a weapon. He spotted the fire poker next to the old wood stove. He swung hard, surprising the demon who turned into black smoke as the poker sliced through her.
Sam looked at Jake before glancing at the other three behind him, “Just so you know? That was a demon.”
Sam walked out of the old schoolhouse, the others including Jake followed. “Now, that thing…I'm not sure, but I think it was an Acheri,” he informed them as he came to a stop in the street so they could talk, “It’s a demon that disguises itself as a little girl.”
Sam didn’t like that a fairly rare demon had attacked and that the type of demon gave him no clue in figuring out where exactly they were. He looked around again, there was nothing. But his eyes landed on Andy who was pale and shaking slightly.
“Andy, are you with me or what?” Sam asked with forced concern.
“Give me a minute,” Andy stated, “I'm still working through, ‘Demons are real’.”
Sam resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He knew he wasn’t being exactly fair. This was all new to them, but he didn’t have time for them to fall apart because without Dean and Buffy he needed their help. They needed to figure out where they were, what the yellow-eyed-demon wanted with them, and a way to escape if they had any chance of making it out of this with their lives.
“We’re going to be okay,” Sam soothed, as he took a deep breath and pushed away his true frustration and fear to keep his tone calm, but firm as he declared, “But we have to keep sticking together.”
The group nodded in agreement as their faces all held various degrees of fear.
“Okay then, let’s figure out exactly where we are,” Sam said as he led them down the street.
Sam spotted the large, dark, metal bell that hung in the center of the town square. He approached it with a critical look. As he got closer to the bell he noticed the embossed tree on the front of the bell. Realization struck Sam. He knew where they were.
He turned to the group, “I think I know where we are,” they looked at him hopefully as he continued, “I’ve seen this bell before. I am pretty sure we are in Cold Oak, South Dakota,” he informed them before he cautioned, “A town so haunted that every single resident fled.”
“Swell,” Ava cheered with sarcastic joy, “Good to know we're somewhere so historical.”
Lily turned a curious gaze on Sam, “Why in the world would that demon or whatever put us here?”
“I'm wondering the same thing,” Sam answered honestly.
Lily’s panic took over and she seethed, “You know what? It doesn't matter. Clearly, the only sane thing to do here is get the hell out of dodge,” she turned to walk away.
“Wait, hold on,” Sam reasoned, “Lily, the only way out is through miles of woods.”
Lily stopped, but she refused to turn back to look at Sam as she argued, “Beats hanging out with demons.”
“Lily, look, we don't know what's going on yet,” Sam tried again. He understood her urge to flee, hell if he and Dean had landed here together, they would have wasted no time in getting the hell out of dodge, but it just wasn’t safe for them to make a move without more information. “It’s not safe, we don't even know how many of them are out there right now,” he pleaded.
Jake glanced at Sam, before he spoke up in agreement, “Yeah, he's right. We should—”
Lily turned back and interrupted with a shout, “Don't say ‘we’! I'm not part of ‘we’!” Lily charged at the group accusingly, “I have nothing in common with any of you.”
“Okay, look, I know—” Sam tried to empathize, but Lily’s rage flared.
“You don't know anything!” Her anger melted into a look of loss, “I accidentally touched my girlfriend!”
“I'm sorry,” Sam offered genuinely as the rest of the group looked at Lily with poorly disguised shock.
“Whatever. I feel like I'm in a nightmare, and it just keeps getting worse and worse,” Lily admitted as she owned up to her fear.
“I've lost people, too. I have a brother out there right now that could be dead, for all I know,” He said, trying to connect with her, “We're all in bad shape. But I'm telling you, the safest and best way out of this is to stick together.”
“Fine,” Lily relented with a huff.
Sam gave her a kind smile before he turned back to the group and began to lay out a plan, “We need to start by searching the town. We're looking for iron, silver, salt –- any kind of weapon.”
Jake snickered, “Salt is a weapon?”
“It’s a brave new world,” Sam fired back.
Andy chimed in, “Well, hopefully there's food in your world, because I'm freaking' starving.”
Sam noticed that everyone in the group seemed to be agreeing with Andy’s need for food. He was definitely hungry too, but he knew food couldn’t be a priority, “Listen, I get it,” he sighed, “We’re hungry and tired, but first we need to search the town. Weapons are the main focus as is finding a safe place to hold tight, while we figure out what is going on.”
The group looked disappointed, but Sam could tell they understood. “Let’s start there,” Sam pointed to the old farm house at the end of the street.
The group had split up as they entered the building. Sam and Ava stayed downstairs, while Jake and Andy went upstairs. Both groups had assumed Lily was with the other and no one noticed as she slipped away.
Sam entered what used to be a bedroom. As he glanced around the room he spotted a trunk. Immediately he moved to search it. Sam shifted things around in the trunk, it appeared to be mostly junk, but as he removed a blanket from the trunk he noticed an old hunting knife. Finally, Sam thought as he stood. He stowed the knife in his waistband as he turned to survey the rest of the room.
His eyes landed on Ava, she stood in the middle of the room with her hands on her head and was wincing in pain.
“Hey, you all right?” Sam asked gently.
“Yeah, I'm just…I don't know, a little dizzy,” Ava answered quietly.
Sam began to suggest, “Are you sure it's not some kind of—”
But Ava snapped back at him, “What? Some kind of freaky vision thing?” Her tone shifted from anger to sarcasm, “No, more like I'd kill for a sandwich. I haven't eaten since…well, who knows? No, don't worry. I'm fine,” she insisted as her tone shifted again, this time joking, “Except for every single thing that's happening.”
Sam laughed despite his concern. He couldn’t quite place it, but something was off with Ava. He’d only known her about 12 hours before she went missing, but she didn’t seem like herself. She’d been neurotic, in a bright and bubbly sort of way. She had initially reminded him of Dawn, but now…
Ava shrank under Sam’s curious gaze, “What?” she questioned as her eyes flashed anger before they darted away.
Before Sam could answer Andy was running down the stairs, “You guys! I found something!”
Ava fled through the door quickly, avoiding Sam’s gaze as she left him behind. Sam furrowed his brow. Something was definitely up.
Sam joined the group in what had been the main living area of the old house as Andy cheered, “Salt!” as he held the two large bags in the air, shaking them for emphasis.
“That's great, Andy,” Sam praised. “Now, we all can–” Sam stopped himself as he noticed Lily was nowhere in sight, “Where's Lily?”
“We thought she was with you,” Jake answered.
“Lily?!” Ava and Sam call out together.
Sam began to move for the door to search outside when he heard the same little girl’s giggle that he’d heard when the Acheri demon that had attacked Jake. Sam burst through the door, the others behind him. He stepped out onto the porch, his eyes searched the street for signs of Lily or the demon, nothing.
Ava cried out, “Oh, my God!”
His attention was drawn to the windmill where she was pointing and Lily’s dead body hung by a noose around her neck. He and the rest of the group walked toward the end of the porch, their pace slowing in shock. Sam felt deflated, he’d failed to protect her.
“Okay, that's officially—Sam, she's dead! She's dead!” Ava screamed as she faced Sam, “You said we were chosen for a reason. That is not chosen! That's killed!” Ava shifted her focus to the others, “Okay, we have to get out of here.”
“Stop,” Sam urged.
Andy looked cautiously at Sam, “I second that emotion,” gesturing in agreement at Ava.
Sam knew he needed to keep the group together and he should reassure them, but as he stared at Lily’s body, he couldn’t find the words.
“Not sure that's an option,” Jake offered as he surveyed the group.
“What? Why not?” Ava exclaimed.
Sam shook his head, clearing away the remaining cobwebs of defeat to address the group, “Lily was trying to leave, that is when it attacked Jake too,” Sam explained, “The demon is not gonna let us get away that easily. We've gotta gear up for the next attack,” he informed, a plan beginning to form in his head.
“Oh, gear up?” Ava mocked.
Sam was taken aback by her attitude. He flashed back to five months ago when despite his and Buffy’s insistence she go home and stay safe, she’d been prepared to help take on Gordon to save Dean.
“I'm not a soldier,” Ava continued, “I can't do that!”
“Well, if you wanna stay alive, you're gonna have to,” Sam snapped. He took a breath and gave one last look at Lily’s body before he ordered, “Let's go.”
Ava pushed past the others and ran back into the house. Sam sighed watching after her. Something was definitely strange. If it had truly been only a few days for Ava, why was she acting so differently?
“I'll get Lily down,” Jake said, clapping Sam on the back as he walked away.
Sam nodded with a look of appreciation for Jake’s help. Sam began to move toward the house to talk with Ava, but he was stopped by Andy.
“You okay?” Andy asked.
“You know, I was just thinking about how much Dean would help right now,” Sam professed, “I'd give my arm for a working phone.”
“Well, I’d give my arm to see Buffy again,” Andy jested with a wink.
Sam rolled his eyes, “Buffy wasn’t with us when I disappeared.”
Andy smirked as he tried to lighten the mood, “So you’re saying I have a chance?”
Sam shot Andy a disapproving look before he cracked a smile, “Dude, you’re lucky that Dean didn’t murder you, the last time you went for Buffy.”
Andy shivered as he remembered the look of pure wrath that he’d seen on Dean’s face when he’d caught up with him after stealing his car. What had been worse however, was when he’d used his abilities to cozy up to Buffy. He’d never experienced pain like Dean Winchester’s punch and frankly, he never wanted to again.
Andy was hit with a sudden realization, “You know, you might not need a phone,” when Sam looked at him in confusion Andy continued, “I've never tried it long-distance before, but do you have anything of Dean's on you? Like, something he touched?”
Sam searched his pockets all he felt were receipts, “Uh…I've got a receipt. Would that work?”
“Yeah, Andy answered as he examined the receipt, “D. Hasselhoff?” he questioned with a chuckle.
“Yeah, that's Dean's signature,” Andy’s amused look caused Sam to sift uncomfortably, “It's hard to explain.”
“All right, let’s give this a shot,” Andy closed his eyes and focused on Dean’s energy. He hoped that like Sam, Dean would recognize the bell. So he pictured a flash from his own memory, Sam in front of the bell.
XXXXXX
Dean turned the Impala into the drive that led to the Roadhouse. Instead of seeing the occasionally bustling joint, their eyes all locked on the burnt out shell that used to be the bar.
“What the hell?” Dean muttered as he pulled to a stop.
“What could have happened?” Buffy asked her voice barely above a whisper.
She was not really surprised when neither Dean or Bobby answered her question. They all looked at one another in shock. Their stunned silence continued as they prepared themselves to get out of the Impala and investigate the scene.
With a loud sigh, Bobby was the first to open his door and step out of the vehicle. Wordlessly, Dean and Buffy followed Bobby as they left the car and approached the sizzling remains of the Roadhouse.
“Oh God!” Buffy cried out when she was met with the gruesome sight of the charred bodies that were buried under collapsed pieces of the building.
Dean turned back and pulled her into his chest, shielding her eyes from seeing anymore. He looked at Bobby. Bobby’s hand was covering his mouth as he continued to survey the area.
“You see Ellen?” Dean asked, as he stroked Buffy’s hair.
“No. No, Ash, either,” Bobby confirmed, hopefully as he continued his inspection of the charred remains in front of him.
Dean continued to survey the scene as he held onto Buffy. A glint of silver caught his eye. His stomach sank, please no, he thought. He pulled away from Buffy, confirming with a look that she’d be okay. He stepped forward and bent down, “It’s Ash,” he called out as he touched the watch he'd recognized. “Dammit,” he muttered as he noted the completely charred remains that wore it.
Dean glanced around one last time before he stood and made his way back to Buffy. He wrapped his arm around her and led her out of the burnt remains of the Roadhouse and back toward the Impala so they could wait for Bobby to finish his inspection.
He leaned her against the driver’s side door. He grazed the side of her face with his fingertips stopping at her chin, which he lifted slightly in order to meet her eyes. For all the horrific things Buffy had witnessed and experienced, she’d never become battle hardened to the loss of human life. Her eyes were filled with heavy tears.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Dean whispered as he pulled her back against his chest in a tight embrace. He placed a kiss on the top of her head. Dean felt his own grief begin to weigh on him and he held Buffy tighter. Ash had become more than just a helpful contact, he’d become a friend. Ellen was practically family and they had no clue if she’d even made it out alive.
Bobby approached the couple, “This is…” he couldn’t find the words.
Dean replaced his grief with anger, “What the hell did Ash know?” he shook his head, “We've got no way of knowing where Ellen is. Or if she's even alive.” Dean pulled away from Buffy as he paced, “We've got no clue what Ash was gonna tell us. Now, how the hell are we gonna find Sam?” he bellowed as he slammed his hands against the Impala.
“We’ll find him, Dean,” Buffy stepped toward him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
Dean grimaced in pain, bringing his hands to his head, as an image flashed through his brain. His brain felt like someone was sticking it through with hot needles as he winced again.
“Dean?!” Buffy and Bobby questioned simultaneously. They shared a look of concern as pain flashed across Dean’s face again.
Buffy rubbed Dean’s back gently as Bobby asked, “What was that?”
“I don’t know,” Dean answered, “A headache?”
“You get headaches like that a lot?” Bobby asked with suspicious concern.
“No,” Dean joked, “Must be the stress.” Buffy’s look of deep concern caused a slight twinge of guilt, “I’m fine, but I could of swore I saw something.”
“Like a vision? Like what Sam gets?” Bobby prodded.
“What, no!” Dean denied, “I’m no psychic!”
“Dean, maybe–” Buffy stopped when Dean cried out in pain again.
He started to collapse, but she shifted herself under his arm to support his weight. She held him tightly around the waist as he continued to writhe in pain.
Bobby ran around the car as he called, “Dean, Dean, are you with me?”
Dean took a breath and shook his head, “Yeah, yeah, I think so.”
“What was that, Dean?” Buffy demanded softly.
“I don’t know, but that was about as fun as getting kicked in jewels,” Dean groaned as he lifted himself away from Buffy’s support and tried to shake away the remaining pain in his head. When he focused his attention back onto Buffy and Bobby, he noticed their concerned, but determined looks.
“I saw Sam,” Dean admitted.
“It was a vision,” Bobby confirmed as Buffy asked,
“What else did you see?”
“It was just a flash,” Dean explained, unsure of what he had seen, “It was just Sam and he was standing in front of some old bell.”
Dean felt Buffy’s hand slip into his own, “I’m okay,” he insisted.
Buffy looked like she wanted to argue, but she didn’t have time as Bobby questioned Dean, “This bell, was it big, with an oak tree?”
“Yeah?” Dean confirmed as he shot a curious look at Bobby.
Bobby smiled, “Then I know where Sam is, let's go.”
Dean moved to the driver's side, but Buffy stopped him, her eyes wide with concern, “Maybe you should let Bobby drive?”
“What? No. I’m fine,” he insisted with a determined look.
Buffy wanted to argue, but she didn’t want to waste time in getting to Sam and there was no way Dean was going to give in without a serious fight. She relented with a sigh. As she slid into the backseat she met his eyes in the rearview mirror, “You kill us in a car wreck because you lied to me and I’ll kill you.”
Dean laughed. Despite the remaining pain in his head he felt good. They were on their way to get his brother back. As he started to back the Impala away from what used to be the Roadhouse he asked, “Where are we headed?”
“Cold Oak, South Dakota,” Bobby answered.
XXXXXX
After Andy’s attempt at contacting Dean. Sam had gone back into the house, he wanted to talk with Ava, but instead he went back into the bedroom he had been searching and retrieved the old blanket he’d found in the trunk. He took it back outside so they could wrap up Lily’s body.
Once Sam and Jake had returned to the house, Sam went to work organizing the group to prepare for the demon’s next attack. Jake and Sam had agreed the house they were in seemed like the best strategic place for them to wait. Sam had set Ava and Andy to the task of finding items they would need as night approached. He also taught them about salt lines so they could begin to prepare the house while he and Jake went out to the barn to look for weapons.
They had come across some old iron machinery, when they had looked for a shovel to bury Lily with.
“This is perfect,” Sam stated as they approached the old tractor in the middle of the barn, “As long as we can get these bars pried off.”
Sam found a hammer and began attempting to break the metal bars at their welded seams. His strokes seemed to be doing very little. Then he heard the metal groan on Jake’s side. As Sam looked up the sound of snapping metal met his ears. Jake met his eyes and held up the metal bar he held in his hands.
“I'm not Superman or anything,” Jake laughed uncomfortably, “It's no big deal.”
“You were in Afghanistan when this started?” Sam asked with an understanding smile.
“Yeah, I started getting headaches. And then there was this accident. This guy flipped his vehicle on a bad road. He got pinned underneath. I lifted it off him like it was nothing. Everybody said it was a fluke adrenaline thing,” Jake shared.
“But then you did it again, right?” Sam surmised.
“Bench-pressed 800 pounds, stone-cold calm,” Jake stated with pride, before he turned more hesitant, “I never told anybody, of course. It was just too crazy.”
Sam smirked, “Yeah, well, crazy's relative.”
“I'm starting to get that,” Jake laughed.
“Ya know, I know someone else that is strong like you,” Sam smiled fondly, “In fact, if that message got through to Dean, you’ll get to meet her.”
Jake smiled kindly, “I appreciate what you're doing here,” he offered.
“What’s that?” Sam asked lightly.
“Keeping calm. Reassuring everyone despite how freaked to hell you really are,” when Sam looked surprised by his assessment, he continued, “I've been in some deep crap before myself. I know the look.”
Sam paused, he really was scared. He’d never had to lead a group of people into a fight, let alone one he wasn’t sure they could win. He thought about how many times Buffy had done just that. She had always been able to ease the fears of those around her before a big battle with her determined confidence. He realized that was the same confidence that Dean always had. Now he wondered if that was a facade. He wondered if deep down they’d always felt like he did now: unsure, scared, and alone.
“You wanna know the truth?” Sam asked suddenly. When Jake nodded he continued, “I've got this brother, right? And he's always telling me how he's gonna watch out for me, how everything's gonna be okay. You know, kind of like I've been telling them…” Sam trailed off, as he gathered his words.
“Yeah?,” Jake urged.
“I don't know if I believe it this time,” Sam admitted. “I mean, the size of what's coming… it's big and… I mean, it's gonna get bad. And I don't know if—”
“If we're gonna make it?” Jake finished for him. “It doesn't matter if we believe it. Only matters that they do,” Jake voiced with experience as he motioned toward the house.
“I'm starting to get that,” Sam acknowledged with a smile as he repeated Jake’s earlier words.
“Why don’t I finish up here,” Jake offered as he pried another iron bar loose, “While you go check on the others.”
“Yeah, that's a good idea,” Sam agreed as he moved toward the barn door. He paused, “I’ll see you inside, be careful.”
Sam walked into the house and noticed that Ava and Andy had split up. He could see Ava pouring salt in the living area and could hear Andy moving around upstairs. He decided to check on Ava first.
“How are things going?” Sam asked as he entered the room. He hoped that he could finally figure out exactly what was going on with Ava.
“My horoscope said I shouldn't have gotten out of bed,” Ava joked with a scoff before she met him with a caring look, “How are you doing? Holding up?”
“I'm okay,” Sam answered with a smile, “But seriously, what about you? You seem…” He drifted off, still not having the words to describe the difference he’d noticed in her.
“Not so okay,” Ava stated before she began a worried rant, “Why us, Sam? What did we do to deserve this?”
“Just lucky, I guess,” Sam stated, attempting to relieve some of her worry.
“If it wasn't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all,” she finished the joke. “I just can't wait for this all to be over so I can just pretend it never happened. I just wanna curl up with Brady and watch bad TV.”
Sam shifted uncomfortably at her words. He’d been about to tell her about Brady, when they had found Jake and Lily. Then as everything had happened, no time seemed like the right time. He’d started to hope that he wasn’t going to have to tell her about Brady’s death, until after all of this was over. But luck was never on his side.
“What is it?” Ava questioned, but as Sam nervously fidgeted again, “Sam…do you know something that I don't?”
“Ava…I'm sorry,” Sam looked at her and took her hands into his own, “I wish I didn't have to tell you this.”
“Tell me what?” Ava asked as panic welled in her eyes.
“When the demon broke into your house to take you…your fiancé didn't make it,” Sam explained as Ava fell against his chest sobbing, “I'm sorry. I’m so sorry,” he soothed.
XXXXXX
Several hours had passed and the darkness of the night made it difficult to see far, but the house had been fortified and everyone was armed with some sort of weapon. At first everyone had been on edge, ready for the next attack, but as the time ticked on, they began to relax.
Sam continued to sit on watch while Jake stood at the front door, keeping guard. Andy slept hunched over on the table where Ava also sat. She leaned back in her chair as she fought off sleep. Sam sat at the window. He was positioned so that he could not only keep watch out front, but where he also had eyes on the backdoor. As more time passed, Sam’s eyes grew heavy. He felt himself nodding off. Suddenly all he saw were yellow eyes and his eyes shot open.
Sam panicked, “Jake! Behind you!” he shouted as the yellow-eyed demon appeared in the doorway behind Jake, but Jake didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge his words at all. Sam realized he must be dreaming. He willed himself to wake, but he couldn’t.
“How about you and I take a little walk, Sam?” the demon asked with a knowing smile.
Sam reluctantly followed the demon out of the house and into the street. A murderous glare fixed on the back of the demon’s head. Sam wished this wasn’t a dream. Seeing the yellow-eyed demon so close, made his blood boil with angry vengeance.
“You're awfully quiet, Sam. You're not mad at me, are you?” the demon goaded.
Sam shook with violent rage, “I'm gonna tear you to shreds, I swear to—”
The demon laughed, clearly amused and unafraid, “When you wake up, tiger, you give it your best shot.”
Sam forced himself to focus. He was stuck in this dream and he wouldn’t be able to actually kill the demon in front of him, but maybe he could get some useful information. “Where's my brother?” Sam questioned as his worry for Dean took over.
“Quit worrying about Dean,” the demon turned back to face Sam as he warned, “I'd worry more about yourself.”
“Why? You gonna kill me?” Sam sneered as he opened his arms wide, daring the demon to attack him.
“I'm trying to help you,” the demon scoffed, “That's why we're talking. You're the one I'm rooting for.”
Once again the demon turned his back on Sam and began to walk down the street. Rooting for, Sam repeated in his head as his brain flooded with questions.
“What's that supposed to mean?” Sam asked as he followed behind the demon.
“Welcome to the Miss America pageant!” The demon smiled with pride as he opened his arms wide to gesture to the town. “Why do you think you're here? This is a competition. Only one of you crazy kids is gonna make it out of here alive,” the demon revealed.
Sam eyed the demon with confusion, “I thought we were supposed to be—”
“Soldiers in a coming war?” the demon finished for him. “That's true. You are. But here's the thing: I don't need soldiers,” the demon leaned in and whispered into Sam’s ear, “I need a soldier. I just need the one.”
Sam doubted the demon was telling him everything, but he seemed to be giving away all sorts of useful information. Sam hoped that if he kept him talking he would learn more. “Why?” Sam asked.
“Well, I couldn't just come out and say that, could I, Sam? I had to let everyone think they had a fighting chance,” the demon’s face became serious, “But what I need is a leader.”
“To lead who?” Sam asked for the information he needed nervously.
“Oh, I've already got my army,” the demon said off-handedly, “or I will come the full moon.”
“You son of a bitch,” Sam sneered as he realized that the demon's plan was to release an army of demons from hell.
“Honestly, I'm surprised you hadn't guessed,” the demon taunted, “I mean, why do you think so many children flamed out already? Max Miller and Andy's brother, what's-his-name…they weren't strong enough. I'm looking for the best and brightest of your generation.”
“My generation?” Sam asked as a thought rang through his head, Just how many of us are there?
“Well, there's other generations, but let's just worry about yours,” the demon explained, “That's why I'm here, Sam. I wanna give you the inside track. You're tough. You're smart. You're well-trained, thanks to your daddy,” the demon grinned. “Sam –- Sammy –- you're my favorite,” he finished with a whisper.
“You ruined my life,” Sam fumed, “You’ve killed people I love.”
“The cost of doing business, I'm afraid,” the demon coldly stated. “I mean, sweet little Jessica. She just had to die. You were all set to marry that little blonde thing, become a tax lawyer with two kids, a beer gut, and a little McMansion in the suburbs,” he taunted with an eye roll before he became serious, “I needed you sharp and on the road, honing your skills. Your gifts.”
Sam held back the bile in his throat as the demon shared the reason behind Jess’ death. “What about my mom?” Sam demanded.
“That was bad luck,” The demon admitted.
“Bad luck?” Sam sneered.
“She walked in,” the demon pointed his finger between the two of them, “on us.” The demon continued with a shrug, “Wrong place, wrong time.”
Sam was shocked to hear a tinge of what almost seemed like regret in the demon’s tone. “What does that mean?” Sam pleaded. He had to know why the demon killed his mother.
“It wasn't about her. It was about you. It's always been about you,” the demon emphasized.
“What?” Sam asked again in confusion. Nothing the demon was saying made any sense. What about him had made it necessary for the demon to kill the two women he loved most.
A look of true shock crossed the demon’s face. He knew, well, that John had figured out Sam’s importance and that he’d revealed it to Dean before he was sent off to hell. But he truly couldn’t believe that the older Winchesters had kept Sam so in the dark. “Well…okay,” he smiled as he recovered from his initial reaction, “You caught me in a charitable mood. I’ll show you.”
The demon snapped his fingers and they were no longer on the streets in Cold Oak. Despite his disorientation, Sam glanced around their new location. It was a child's nursery.
“Look familiar?” the demon asked, when Sam only met him with a confused look, “I guess it wouldn’t, you were only six months old when this room burned to the ground.”
Sam’s shock disappeared as he focused on the man who, resembling his father, stood over his infant-self’s crib. As he recognized the yellow eyes of the man standing before him Sam attempted to attack, but the yellow-eyed demon grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“Relax, Sam,” the demon explained delighting in his anguish, “this isn’t real, it is just a hi-def instant replay. Enjoy the show.”
Sam watched as his mother, her eyes half shut, shuffled into the nursery. She stood at the door. “John?” she questioned. Sam called out for her, but there was no reaction as she continued asking, “Is he hungry?”
“Shhh,” the former version of the demon soothed.
Mary looked slightly confused, but muttered, “Okay,” as she turned to leave the room.
“Wait, Mom.” Sam called after her, his volume increasing as called out for her again desperately, “Mom!”
“What did I just tell you, Sam?” the demon mocked, “She can't hear you. This isn't real.”
Sam focused again on the scene in front of him. He watched as the demon sliced his own wrist causing blood to drip into his infant mouth.
Disgusted, Sam asked, “What the hell are you doing to me?”
“Better than mother's milk,” the demon whispered with pride.
A realization struck Sam, his powers, his abilities, the demon had given them to him. “Does this mean I have demon blood in me?” Sam cried out. When the demon only chuckled Sam growled, “Answer me!”
Before Sam could press further, he noticed that his mother had run back into the room. She slid to a stop. The former version of the demon turned to look at her, his yellow eyes glowing in the dark nursery.
A recognition came over his mother as she sneered, “It's you.”
“She knew you?” Sam questioned in confusion. Why would his mother have known this demon?
Sam’s thoughts were interrupted as the former demon began to force his mother up the wall as she groaned in pain.
“No! No!” Sam cried out for his mother, tears forming in his eyes.
“I don't think you wanna see the rest of this,” the yellow-eyed demon acknowledged as his mother let out a blood curdling scream. The demon snapped his fingers.
Sam jolted awake. Andy’s hand was on his shoulder and Jake stood in front of him.
“Good, you’re awake. Get up,” Jake ordered, “Ava’s missing.”
As Jake turned towards the door, Sam jumped out of his chair. He started to follow Jake, but paused and turned back to Andy, “Stay here, double check the salt lines.”
“Uh, no problem,” Andy assured.
As they stepped outside, they both surveyed the area. There was no sign of Ava.
“I’ll take the barn and the hotel,” Jake stated. “You take the houses, over there,” he directed as he pointed in the opposite direction.
“All right,” Sam agreed, but added, “Meet back here in ten minutes.”
Jake nodded in agreement. They parted ways and began to search for Ava. Sam had only made it a few houses down when he heard Ava’s blood curdling scream. He rushed back onto the street when he heard her scream again. He was surprised to hear it coming from the house they’d taken refuge in.
Sam ran back to the house as fast as his legs could carry him. He rushed through the back door and into the living room, but came to a sudden and horrified stop in the doorway as Andy’s body blocked his path. Guilt wracked Sam’s body at the sight of Andy’s gutted corpse.
“Sam!” Ava cried in distress, “I just found him like this!”
Sam tore his eyes away from Andy to glance up at Ava, “What happened?” He didn’t wait for her to answer as he began to survey the room.
“I don't know!” Ava cried, shaking her head.
Looking around the room, everything seemed in place. He couldn’t understand how the Acheri could have entered. He stepped around Andy’s body as he began to search the room. He realized that the demon entering wasn’t the only odd occurrence. If Ava was missing, why had she been the one to stumble upon the body.
“Where were you?” Sam questioned her, suspicion in his eyes.
“I just went to get some water from the well,” Ava explained through her tears, “I was only gone…maybe, like, two minutes!” she insisted.
“You shouldn't have gone outside. Ava, we have to—” Sam’s lecture about sticking together was stopped as he noticed the salt line in the window. There was a thin line removed down the center of the sill.
“Who did that?” Sam looked at Ava with angry suspicion.
“I don't know, maybe Andy—”
Sam cut off her stammering reply angrily, “Andy wouldn't do that and that line wasn't broken when I left.”
“What?,” Ava asked in shock, “You don't think that I—”
And that was when Sam knew. This Ava was not the Ava he’d met before. “I'll tell you what I think: you’ve been gone for five months. You're the only one with all that kind of time you can’t account for.” A realization struck Sam as he thought about Lily’s death, “And that headache you got, it happened right as the demon got Lily.”
“What are you trying to say, Sam?” Ava asked, tears welling in her eyes.
“I want to know what happened to you?” Sam demanded as he stepped closer to her.
“Nothing!” Ava cried, but Sam’s distrustful eyes continued to stare at her, she sighed. Her face no longer held sadness or fear. She looked up at Sam with a malicious smile, “Had you going though, didn't I?” She wiped her eyes, “You're right,” she confirmed, “I've been here a long time. And not alone, either. People just kept showing up. Children, like us. Batches of three or four at a time.”
“You killed them?” Sam accused, “All of them?” He couldn’t believe that the sweet, bubbly Ava had been turned into a killer just a few days after he’d met her.
“I'm the undefeated heavyweight champ,” she smiled with pride.
“How could you?” Sam interrogated.
“I had no choice,” Ava scoffed, “It was me or them.” Ava smiled cruelly, “After a while, it was easy. It was even kind of fun. I just stopped fighting it.”
“Fighting what?” Sam questioned.
“Who we are, Sam!” she exclaimed. “If you just quit your hand-wringing and open yourself up, you have no idea what you can do,” she encouraged excitedly, “The learning curve is so fast, it's crazy, the switches that just flip in your brain. I can't believe I started out just having dreams. Do you know what I can do now?” Ava taunted.
“Control demons,” Sam stated, unimpressed.
“You are quick on the draw,” she shrugged, “I should have remembered that about you.” Ava lifted her hands to her head. Her face contorted with concentration and pain. “I'm sorry, Sam. But it's over.”
Sam raised the iron poker in his hands. He readied himself for the fight as he turned towards the window. He had to deal with the demon before he could deal with Ava, but he didn’t know if he could kill her. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that. As the demon’s black smoke pooled at the window. The sound of bones snapping and Ava’s pained gasp caused Sam to spin around just in time to see Ava’s body falling from Jake’s hands.
“I had to do it,” Jake uttered as Sam stood there in a stunned silence.
The demon’s black smoke disappeared from the window, leaving Jake and Sam alone. Sam continued to stare at Jake in shock. He couldn’t believe he’d so easily killed Ava. He found himself unable to form words as he attempted to speak several times.
“I had to do it,” Jake repeated.
Jake’s sad voice snapped Sam out of his disbelief, “I know.”
XXXXXX
Dean slowed as he drove further up the narrow dirt road that led toward the abandoned town of Cold Oak. He came to a stop, when the road ended due to several old trees and rocks blocking the road in. It was apparent the former residents had wanted this town to be sealed off.
“It looks like the rest of the way’s on foot,” Bobby stated as they exited the vehicle and moved toward the trunk to gather supplies.
Dean was becoming anxious, they were so close and Dean just wanted to find Sam. He sighed, searching the dense woods was probably going to take hours and the darkness was going to give the demons the advantage. Dean knew they were in for a battle, it was going to be a long night.
Dean pulled a flashlight and a shotgun from the trunk. He added extra rounds of salt and iron rounds into his pockets. Dean glanced at Bobby and noticed he was already armed and ready to go. He turned his focus on Buffy and watched as she pulled her scythe from the trunk and holstered it around her back, with the custom strap he had made for her.
“All right, let’s go,” Dean said as he closed the trunk.
Dean and Bobby started forward towards the woods, but Buffy didn’t move, “I think we need to split up,” Buffy suggested.
“What? No.” Dean protested looking at the dense woods in front of them, “The plan is to stick together.”
“Dean–” Buffy tried to reason with him, but he interrupted her again.
“Buffy, no! There are an unknown amount of demons between us and Sam,” Dean argued. The demons had already taken Sam and he wouldn't risk losing her too.
Buffy pointed to the scythe on her back, “I can slice and dice them all sorts of ways.” Buffy knew Dean was worried about Sam and this wasn’t him thinking she was incapable, but still she was frustrated. Buffy knew this was the only plan that made sense because time was definitely of the essence.
Bobby recognized the scene in front of him. Buffy and Dean were a lot of great things, but he didn’t know if he’d ever met two more stubborn people. How they existed together in a relationship was sometimes astonishing. When they disagreed on a course of action they could fight for hours. They didn’t have that kind of time and Bobby certainly did not have the patience.
“Let’s stop wasting time,” Bobby chided. “Dean, your girls right. You and I can head straight on, while Buffy loops around and approaches from the back.” Bobby didn’t wait for either of them to answer as he started into the woods.
Dean shot a glare to the back of Bobby’s head. Dean huffed. He knew they were right, but was not willing to admit it especially as he watched Buffy’s face light up with a satisfied smirk.
Buffy moved closer before lifting herself onto her tiptoes so she could place a soft kiss on Dean’s cheek. “I’ll be fine, Sam will be too,” she offered before she backed away into the woods. She gave him one last sweet and reassuring smile as turned and ran into the darkness. In a blink of an eye she was out of sight.
Dean stared off in the direction Buffy had gone for just a moment longer. He shook his head and let out a breath, trying to release the worried tension from his body as he followed after Bobby. He just had to believe that Buffy would be fine and that they would find Sam before anything happened to him.
XXXXXX
Jake and Sam walked out of the house, leaving the bodies of Andy and Ava behind.
“I think we can make it out of here now,” Sam informed Jake as they stepped onto the porch.
“But the Acheri demon?” Jake questioned as they made their way onto the street.
“Ava was summoning it, controlling it,” Sam quickly explained, “It shouldn't come back now that she's dead.” He met Jake’s eyes seriously, “We've gotta go.” Sam turned to head towards the woods, but stopped when Jake spoke up.
“Not ‘we’, Sam,” Jake clarified, his tone no longer friendly, but that of a battle hardened soldier, “I’m sorry, only one of us is getting out of here.”
“What?” Sam was shocked by the sudden change in Jake.
“I had a vision,” Jake revealed, “That yellow-eyed demon or whatever it was, he talked to me. He told me how it was.”
“No, Jake, listen,” Sam implored, “You can't listen to him.”
Frustration flashed across Jake’s face, “Sam, he's not letting us go. Only one. Now, if we don't play along, he'll kill us both,” Jake argued. “Now, I like you, man. I do. But do the math here. What good's it do for both of us to die?” Jake began to reason with him, “Now, I can get out of here. I get close to the demon, I can kill the bastard.”
“You’re scared, I get it,” Sam attempted to reason, “but you come with me and we can kill him together.”
“How do I know you won't turn on me?” Jake asked cautiously.
“I won't,” Sam insisted, hoping that Jake would believe him.
“I don't know that,” Jake said with deadly sincerity.
Sam was desperate, he didn’t want to fight Jake. He knew Jake was scared and the yellow-eyed demon was convincing, but Sam didn’t want to give that yellow-eyed bastard the satisfaction of them turning on one another.
An idea hit him, “Okay, look,” Sam said as he put one open hand out in front of him and used his other to draw out the old hunting knife he had found. He held it by the blade as he showed it to Jake. He bent down slowly, his eyes never leaving him as he placed the knife on the ground. He stood up cautiously, his hands out and open as he addressed Jake, “Just come with me. Jake, don't do this. Don't play into what it wants.”
Jake nodded his head. He mirrored Sam’s actions as he placed his own weapon on the ground next to Sam’s knife.
“Okay,” Sam sighed with relief as Jake stood with his hands out in front of him. But as soon as Sam let his guard drop Jake surprised him by delivering a fierce uppercut punch that sent him flying through the air and the wooden fence behind him.
Sam groaned as he landed on the ground. He laid there trying to catch his breath as fear coursed through him. He struggled to get up as Jake approached.
Jake paused to stare down at Sam, but Sam recognized the flash of deadly intent that crossed Jake’s eyes. Sam struck out with a kick to Jake’s gut as he lunged for him.
As Jake moved toward Sam he landed several quick kicks on Jake’s body causing him to stumble back. This allowed Sam the opportunity to stand. Sam threw a punch as Jake charged forward, but Jake dodged. Jake immediately sent a powerful punch into Sam’s shoulder. Sam screamed out in pain as he felt the bones cracking in his arm.
Sam turned his back on Jake due to the force of the blow. As the pain flooded his body, Sam didn’t have time to realize he’d left his back open to Jake. Jake took advantage of Sam’s pain and sent a devastating punch to Sam’s open back.
Sam collapsed on the ground and attempted to recover, but Jake kicked him in the face, sending him back to the ground. Sam groaned as his vision began to blur and go dark. He realized Jake was going for the knife, but he couldn’t make his body get up. Slowly and without much success he attempted to drag himself away.
Jake stood over a barely conscious Sam. Knife in hand, he pulled his arm back, ready to stab the knife into Sam’s chest.
“Please, don’t,” Sam begged, blood coming from his mouth as he coughed.
“It’s you or me,” Jake said one last time as he slammed the knife toward Sam, but his arm was halted by a small hand.
“Then it's gonna be you,” Buffy quipped as she threw Jake back away from Sam.
“Buffy?” Sam questioned as his eyes rolled back in his head.
Buffy didn’t have time to check on Sam because Jake was already lunging at her, the knife aimed with deadly intent. Buffy caught his wrist and stopped his attack. Jake screamed, his wrist shattering as Buffy forced him to drop the knife. The pain didn’t deter him long as he used his other arm to swing powerfully at Buffy. As she blocked the punch, Jake brought his knee up into Buffy’s stomach.
Buffy hunched slightly as the wind was knocked from her lungs. Jake took advantage of her momentary disorientation and punched her hard in the temple. Buffy fell to the ground.
“You must be the super powered girl,” Jake observed as he stood over her. “I thought you’d be taller,” he muttered to himself. Then he reached down to take her scythe from her back offering her a quiet apology, “I’m sorry.”
As Jake’s hand brushed her back, Buffy locked her legs around his before she rolled onto her back forcefully flinging Jake onto the ground beside her.
“I’m not,” Buffy remarked coldly as she sent a backhanded punch into his face. His nose shattered from the force of her blow.
As Jake groaned in pain, Buffy rapidly shifted herself into a fighting position. She stood defensively between Sam and Jake.
Jake recovered quickly, but Buffy was already on the offensive. She leveled him with several quick body blows before she sent him flying with a powerful kick. Jake flew back several feet, landing with a painful crack as he broke through the old wood fence.
Buffy started toward Jake when she heard Dean’s booming voice calling out for them, “Buffy?! Sam?!”
“Here!” she called back, turning to search for him in the dark. When she saw Bobby and Dean running toward her, she turned back toward Jake, but he was gone.
“Damn,” she muttered to herself before she turned back toward Sam, “Sam?” she questioned, as she approached his prone form. Concern welled in her stomach as he didn’t respond and laid there unmoving. Buffy began to panic, he shouldn’t still be unconscious, she felt her breath hitch as she considered the worst. What if he’s dead? Buffy knelt beside Sam, Thank God, Buffy thought as she noticed the rise and fall of his chest.
“Sammy?!” Dean slid to the ground and roughly pulled Sam into his lap by his underarms. He began tapping at Sam’s face, “Sammy? Sam, wake up!”
“Dean,” Buffy started, but Dean continued trying to rouse Sam.
“Dean!” Buffy shouted to draw his attention to her. His head snapped toward Buffy, his eyes were wild with panic. Buffy reached out and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, “We need to get him to the hospital.”