Those Who Fall

13

It was dusk, because it was more likely that the tourists and locals would have cleared out by then. The Impala's tires crackled over the gravel road. When they came to a stop, it was Em that remarked, "Damn, that's creepy."

Everyone agreed. It was a series of stone buildings, all having two or three levels, and they all seemed empty. They all got out of the car, checking their knives. Em made sure that her iron knife, though it would likely be useless in this hunt, was strapped to her right forearm and made sure the releases would work correctly. She hadn't told Sam or Dean about the knife that Castiel slipped to her on the night of her first hunt, nor had she told them about the strap that she made that would allow for it to release into her hand if the need arose. She'd tell them if it became important.

She honestly doubted it would be important this hunt.

They broke off into their pairs, Sam and Cas starting further down the line to cover more ground, and Em and Dean started closer to the car.

"Stay alert, tell me if you see something, and keep your knife handy," Dean instructed. Em nodded curtly, not wanting to say anything.

The first house was clear. The second had a few signs of struggle, disturbed dust, a small splatter that seemed like blood, and a handprint on the wall.

The third is where things went to shit.

It started when Em saw a silhouette behind Dean. She yelled, "Look out!"

He whirled around, and the Djinn punched him. Dean flew backward, into a wall, and he groaned in pain.

Em backed away, terrified, brandishing her knife in front of her. He approached her slowly, and Em attempted to plunge the knife down into his heart, but the djinn grabbed her hand, and slammed his hand into her forehead. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she collapsed. "No!" Dean shouted, leaping forward and slammed his blade into the djinn's heart. The djinn fell, dead, and Sam and Cas appeared in the doorway.

"What hap-" Sam asked.

"It almost got her. I got it first though."

_______

Em woke up with a jolt. She wasn't in the motel, she was in a bedroom. The walls were painted a mint green, with pictures of her, Dean, and a woman that looked similar to Castiel, and there were some of Sam and a blonde woman. The last thing she remembered was the djinn hunt, so...

Was this her wish?

Why did it show the Winchesters?

Was all of that just a bad dream?
She heard footsteps in the hall, so she ducked back under the covers. The door opened, and she pretended to be asleep. She heard someone chuckle quietly, but he closed the door and left. Em waited for a half hour so she could get up and look around her room to check out what her alternate self's interests were. There didn't seem to be any differences from her current self, so she didn't know what was different. She then remembered how Dean said he escaped from his wish world. He said he killed himself, the whole 'die in dream, wake up IRL' thing. She didn't quite think she wanted to do that, but she wanted to have some time to spend living a normal ish life.

___

Back in the real world, as Emmeline was passed out in the other room and Sam was on a food run, Dean was pacing in the motel room as Cas was sitting down.

"It's my fault," he kept muttering.

"Dean, we all know the risks."

"Yeah, but if I had listened to Sam," he started.

"It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, but the djinn punched me out, but if I was faster, I could have kept him from almost getting Em."

"Dean, the important thing is you kept it from getting her and you killed it in the end."

"Yeah, I guess." He sat on the couch with a sigh.

There was a muffled thud from the other room.

Dean bolted to see what happened.

He saw a mildly disheveled Em slowly lifting herself up from where she had fallen off the bed. He rushed forward to steady her. "Hey, take it easy kiddo," he said.

"What the hell? Wait..."

"We're in Wisconsin. Green Lake. You passed out on the djinn hunt."

She shook her head as if to clear it. "That was weird."

"Yeah, they're supposed to show you a world where your wish is real."

Em peeked behind Dean to see Cas looking in the room. SHe looked like she was going to say something, but the door to the other room opened, and Sam walked in with some grocery bags. "D'you need any help, Sammy?"

"Yeah, there's another few bags in the car."

Dean got up to help Sam. Castiel walked in and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Honestly, no. I have no idea how to interpret the djinn-dream."

Cas nodded. "If you need help, or want to talk it out, I can try to help."

"Thanks."

*strikes an awkward pose*