Reckless [Dean Winchester]

12. Kevin

Since I've never met this "Kevin" guy, I force the rest of the burger down. I haven't aired out since the incident with Henry Winchester and Abaddon the Knight of Hell.

By the time I've stuffed my face, the brothers come back with some supplies. I swallow and trot after them up the stairs.

* * *

Our destination is an abandoned, rusty-looking boat. During the drive, the brothers filled me in on who this "Kevin" person is. Supposedly, he's a prophet of God (the poor guy). And supposedly there's this thing called a Demon Tablet, and since demons are after Kevin, he's gone into isolation to decipher the scribbles. That explains why I haven't heard of him until recently. Apparently, also, on the Demon Tablet, there's a way (supposedly) to close the Gates of Hell. Yes, I shit you not, the Gates of Hell.

Well, demons have to come from somewhere, right?

Dean parks the Impala near the boat, and we climb out to arm ourselves. Instead of my shank, I opt for the gun.

"Just be lookout, let us take action," Dean tells me as he hands me the weapon. I frown behind his back as he and Sam walk up the ramp to the door. Dean is the first to step through, with Sam and me in tow. I look over my shoulder as the brothers step further into the room. "Kevin? It's us."

I decide to take part in the search for Kevin. My mouth parts at the abundance of notes on the walls. It seems very excessive, to have the inside of the boat covered like this. With the gun low at my side, I join Dean as he heads for a door. The markings I can't understand: N 2Rt stb. The hell is that supposed to mean? Some sort of code? I'm the one who pulls open the door.

"Oh, God," I say, turning my head the moment I see a vomiting kid. He's bowed over the toilet, and he doesn't sound like he's quitting anytime soon. "Found him."

Sam squeezes his way between Dean and me. I cover my mouth and step away from the room so I don't end up like Kevin.

We wait until it stops. I keep my distance, we all do. Though Kevin looks considerably better (and by better I mean not puke-stained), he looks miserable. He looks dog-tired and about to collapse at any second. He reminds me of me when I had been at my worst. He also reminds me of someone else, someone much younger than me. Someone that I couldn't save.

"Geez, you're just walking medical issues, aren't you, kid?" I say softly once he's sat himself at the table, dabbing his nose with a tissue.

"Who're you?" His voice is distortedly nasally.

"Max," I say before Dean can get in that awful nickname. "Don't worry, this is the first I've seen you too, and heard about you. I promise, I'm on their side."

"Well, I'd think so since you're with them."

"Quite the sassy kid, aren't you?"

"Wow," Dean interrupts our talk. "You look like hammered crap."

"Subtle, Dean, real subtle," I hiss.

"Would you rather play it down?"

"Are you sleeping?" Sam cuts in.

"Not really," Kevin mumbles.

"Are you eating?" I ask.

"Hot dogs, mostly."

"Sure, yeah-breakfast of champions," Dean says sarcastically. "Look, I'm gonna feel dirty saying this, but you might want a salad and a shower."

"I know, and I've been getting bad headaches and nosebleeds, and I think maybe I had a small stroke. But it was worth it."

My eyes bug a bit. "What was worth it?" I dare to ask.

"How much did you clue her in on?" Kevin asks the brothers.

"As much as she needs to know," says Sam.

"I figured out how to close the Gates of Hell."

This is news to all three of us. Sam and Kevin chuckle, and Dean's so happy he actually smiles.

"You-" he sputters. "Come here, you smelly son of a bitch." He goes to Kevin and gives the kid a big hug, forcing the kid up off the ground. This gets a laugh, a small one, out of me.

Sam claps his hands. "Okay, okay. So, what does this mean? What are we looking at?"

"It's a spell," Kevin explains.

"And?" Dean adds.

"And it's just a few words of Enochian, but..." He hands a paper over to Dean.

"Oh, here we go."

"...the spell has to be spoken after you finish each of the three trials."

"T-trials," I stumble, "like, uh, 'Law and Order'?"

"More like Hercules," says Kevin, as Sam takes the paper from Dean. "The tablet says, 'Whosoever chooses to undertake these tasks should fear not danger, nor death, nor...' A word I think means getting your spine ripped out through your mouth for all eternity."

"Good times," I deadpan.

"Basically, God built a series of tests, and when you've done all three, you can slam the gates."

"So, what-God wants us to take SATs?" Sam asks.

"I-I guess. Uh, he works in mysterious ways."

"Yeah, mysterious, douche-y ways," Dean mumbles. "All right. Where do we start?"

"I've only been able to crack one of the tests so far, and it's gross. You've got to kill a hound of Hell and bathe in its blood."

Hound of Hell? Bathe in its blood? Three trials? Closing the Gates of Hell? Somehow, I'm not as overwhelmed as I expect. It has to be from my previous supernatural encounter. It sounds like a hell of a task, either way. I haven't even heard about a Hellhound before.

"Awesome," says Dean.

"Awesome?" Sam and I exclaim.

"Yeah. Hey, if this means icing all demons, I got no problem gutting some devil dog and letting Calgon take me away."

"Where are you gonna find one?" Kevin asks.

"Well, Hellhounds like to collect on crossroads deals. So all we got to do is track down some loser who signed over his special sauce ten years ago, get between him and Clifford the big dead dog-easy."

"Doesn't sound easy," I mutter.

"It's not," Sam agrees.

"Look, you get on the net-see what you can dig up," Dean orders. "I'm gonna go for a supply run because we need goofer dust, and the kid needs to eat something that's not ground-up hooves and pigs' anuses-not that there's anything wrong with that. Maxipad, you're with me."

I grit my teeth at the name. "You really sure you want me around, Dean?"

"You won't do anything. Come on." He begins to head for the door we came in.

"You think I won't."

"Where'd you find her?" I hear Kevin ask Sam as we leave.

"She tried to steal the car."

"And she lived?" Kevin sounds really amazed by the result.

"Yeah, tell me about it."