Unbreakable Hope

40. Two Minutes to Midnight

"Be careful," Bobby told them.

The trio left in the Impala.

EXT. SERENITY VALLEY CONVALESCENT HOME

Sam, Dean and Elena watched the home from the Impala.

"So this is Dr. Evil's lair, huh?" Dean asked.

"It's kind of more depressing than evil," Sam replied.

Dean studied the building. "Kinda seems like a four-color brochure for dying young. 'Course, to Pestilence, it's probably Dollywood in there. The amount of sickness running rampant."

"Great. A whole building full of people. We don't know who's human, who's demon, and who's Pestilence. So what do we do?"

"Hang on," Dean and Elena said.

INT. SERENITY VALLEY CONVALESCENT HOME

"Hey," Dean greeted. "Hi. Uh, she and I are looking for our Nana. Uh, her name is Eunice Kennedy."

"Go around the front and see the nurse," the security guard told them.

"You mind helping us out, sir?" Elena inquired. "Uh, she's about, mmm, about that small and gray hair, wears diapers."

Dean grabbed the security guard and knocked his head on the desk.

"Eunice Kennedy?" Sam repeated.

"That's the beauty of improv, Sammy," Dean said. "You never know what's gonna come out of your mouth."

"So, what are-" Sam began as he saw Dean drifting off to sleep and tapped his arm. "Hey. What are we even looking for?"

"Well, he's Pestilence, so he probably looks sick."

"Everybody looks sick." He pointed at a distortion on the monitor. "Hey."

A light smirk crossed Elena's face. "Oh, now we're talkin'."

INT. CELESTE'S ROOM

"Dr. Green, how was your trip?" Celeste asked.

"Oh, very productive," Dr. Green replied. "And how are we tonight, Celeste, my favorite patient?"

"Sir... The Winchesters and Elpis are here. We should go."

"Are you kidding me?"

"They have a track record with horsemen."

"You mean my brothers. What they did to my brothers. No. The only reasonable thing to do here is to... take it out of their healthy young asses. We're under strict orders not to kill the vessels or the sacrifice."

"Oh, if Satan wants them so bad," he began to yell, "he can glue them back together!" He beckoned the nurse closer. "Come. Come. Now then."

"Page me if she's dying," the doctor said.

The doctor vomited and fell to the floor and the nurse next to him broke out in spots and started gasping.

Sam, Dean and Elena rounded the corner and found the bodies of the doctor and nurse.

Sam coughed up blood. "Ugh... Must be getting close."

"You think?" Dean shot back as he began sinking to the floor.

"Dean?" He tried to help him, but stumbled and they fell to the floor. "Get up."

"The doctor will see you now," the demon nurse told them.

"Sam. Dean. Elena," Dr. Green/Pestilence greeted as Sam held his knife up, but keeled over and fell to the floor. "Come right in."

After a moment, Pestilence continued. "Hmm. You boys and girl don't look well. It might be the, uh, scarlet fever. Or, uh, the meningitis. Oh! Or the syphilis. That's no fun. However you feel right now? It's gonna get so very, very much worse. Questions? Disease gets a bad rap, don't you think? For being filthy. Chaotic. Uh, but, really, t-that just describes people who get sick. Disease itself... Very... Pure... Single-minded. Bacteria have one purpose -- divide and conquer." Pestilence stepped on Dean and Penelope's hands. "That's why, in the end... It always wins. So, you've got to wonder why God pours all his love into something so messy... And weak. It's ridiculous. All I can do is show him he's wrong, one epidemic at a time. Now... On a scale of 1 to 10, how's your pain?"