Don't Go Eating My Heart

Who Let the Hellhounds Out?

This chapter takes place during Season 5 Episode 20. I am not responsible for spoilers in the comments.

The boys had called to say that it had been Pestilence's swine flu, but no sign of the actual horseman, or where he was going, or what he was planning. Which equaled a pile of jack with a side of squat. Bobby and Marley were doing their best to get a more accurate location on Pestilence, but it wasn't easy. Marley was skimming through news articles on her laptop like crazy trying to look for any kind of illness outbreak at all. Bobby would then plot them on a map to see if there was any sort of pattern.

It quickly became apparent that the pushpins labeled Swine Flu were only showing up in the West. 2 cases in California and this was the first one in West Nevada. Just those three. If Pestilence really was the cause of this and starting in the west, then he was just getting started.

Almost a day after the boys' first phone call, Sam called again. Bobby was sitting at his desk, a book on the 4 horsemen lying open in front of him, and a glass of whiskey, along with the bottle, sat beside the book. Marley was lying on her stomach on the couch, her feet mindlessly kicking the air above her as she scrolled through papers for the counties surrounding Ely, Nevada. She had stopped scrolling when Sam called, but remained in her position on the couch as Bobby put the phone on speaker for her to listen.

He told them the story of how Crowley had popped up in the backseat of the Impala spouting crap about being able to help them get Pestilence. They had gone with him to his house (which had been burned down by pro-Lucifer demons) to discuss the plan, and that's when the demon announced Sam wasn't welcome on the hunt. Either Dean could go alone to get some demon who knew where Pestilence was, or they lost their chance at finding Pestilence.

"And then Dean just walks..." Sam scoffed as he took a swig from the liquor bottle he had found in one of the cupboards. "Right out the door, with Crowley."

"Look, Sam, I got no love for demons, and yeah, this whole thing is crazy, but... I don't know. After so long of chasing up zilch, maybe it's time to go crazy."

Marley tilted her head in thought, considering whether or not she would agree to work with a demon if it offered a shot at possibly saving the world. Seemed like a lot of ifs and maybes.

Sam scoffed lightly. "Yeah, maybe." There was a pause of silence, but Marley could hear him take a swig of his drink before speaking, his voice quiet. "Hey Bobby?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh... remember that time you were possessed?"

"Yeah. Rings a bell." Bobby spoke sarcastically.

"When Meg told you to kill Dean, you didn't. You took your body back." Marley could hear the thought forming as he spoke.

"Just long enough to shank myself, yeah."

"Well, how'd you do it? I mean, how'd you take back the wheel?"

Bobby leaned forward from his previously relaxed position in his desk chair, and his eyes flitted to Marley, concern flashing through his irises. "Why are you asking Sam?"

That bottle was sounding closer and closer to empty, the slosh of the liquid echoing louder as the bottle became more empty. Marley was doing everything in her willpower to not run upstairs and get her go-bag right then and there. But she needed to hear Sam's plan... and then she was out of there.

"Say we can open the cage. Great. But then what? W-we just lead the devil to the edge and get him to jump in?"

"You got me." Bobby said shrugging, realizing he was clueless as to how they would actually do it. They were just kinda flinging this plan together as they went.