The River

Chapter 17 - Missed Shots

The engine of the Impala roared in protest as it was pushed to its limits. The black car was moving like lightning down the interstate while we raced against time we didn't have.

Bobby figured Sam had been taken to a town that had been abandoned for decades. The lore said that the town was so haunted that every citizen fled. It seemed like the perfect place for a demon to hide a person.

Dean sharply hit the breaks, sending all of us flying forward as he pulled off on the shoulder of the highway. There was a small trail entrance with signs saying Do Not Enter, Biohazardous Material, Violators will be Prosecuted.

"I guess we're on foot the rest of the way," Bobby said.

We climbed out of the car, grabbing various weapons from the trunk before running through the woods. The pit in my stomach was back and I knew I'd feel a lot better if I had the Colt. We were running head-on into a deadly battle and we might as well had been carrying Nerf guns to protect ourselves.

We ran for what felt like hours but Dean didn't stop screaming Sam's name the entire time. I was starting to think we would never find the place just as we burst through the thick brush into an opening. There were many abandoned houses with boarded-up windows lining the street. In the middle was the clock tower, a giant brass bell was hanging from it.

"That's it!" Dean exclaimed, pointing at the statue. "Sam!" He screamed again.

A faint "Dean," sent us running. We saw Sam limping towards us with his arm clutched against his chest. There was a big gash above his eyebrow that was oozing blood in a stream down his face.

"Sammy," Dean breathed a sigh of relief. We slowed our pace now that we could see he was alive and somewhat well, letting ourselves catch our breath.

Suddenly, a man dressed in a military uniform appeared out of the trees next to Sam. "No!" I screamed.

"Sammy, look out!" Dean shouted.

But it was too late.

The uniformed man thrust a blade through Sam's back, causing Sam's chest to bow forward as the knife pierced him. The blade went so deep that a small stream of blood started to form on the front of his shirt, while blood was squirting from the back. Sam's legs went limp and through the chaos, a small voice in my head told me that his spinal cord had been severed.

Sam dropped to his knees and Dean charged towards him. He grabbed Sam before his torso could hit the ground and kept him propped up. "Sammy, look at me! Everything's going to be alright. It's not that bad."

Bobby chased after the murderer, shooting his shotgun but missing the shots. He continued after him until he was out of sight.

I turned back and Dean was holding Sam's limp body. Sam's blood was dripping from Dean's hands and Dean was shouting his name over and over.

I felt a physical rip in my chest that caused my breath to come out in a sharp whoosh. I felt like my legs were going to give out from underneath me as I watched the man who had quickly become like a brother to me die. I turned away from the unbearable sight and caught a glimpse of a figure staring at us from the woods.

A figure with glowing yellow eyes.

The normal colors of my vision were replaced by a hazy red as an intense rage burst through me and pounded through my veins, heating every inch of my body. Before I could control my actions, I was charging at the demon. He was behind all of this and I was going to make him pay.

As I closed in on him, I could see he was smiling. A frenzied laugh burst through my lips as I took in his taunting grin. I knew it wouldn't harm him but I grabbed the pistol from the waistband of my jeans and emptied the clip right into his chest.

"You son of a bitch!" I screamed as I threw the gun to the ground. I closed in on him and threw a punch that caught him in the jaw.

He continued to laugh and just as I was about to sharply knee him in the groin, he grabbed me by my throat and pinned me against the trunk of a tree.

I spat at his face and he looked at me with an exaggerated look of disgust. "My, I didn't expect such awful manners from such a fine lady."

"Go to hell," I hissed and he chuckled again.

"Been there, done that."

"You son of a bitch, I'll kill you myself," I shrieked. A strangled choking sound escaped my throat as Azazel squeezed my neck harder in response to my words.

"You should be thanking me," Azazel cooed. "If you're lucky, when I open the doors to Hell, maybe your folks will finally escape the pit."

It was just as well as he stabbed me because his words cut through me like a knife. I spent all this time knowing that demons had slaughtered my family and that was bad enough. Now I knew that not only did they murder them in cold blood, but they also dragged their souls to damnation for eternity.

I screamed in outrage and knocked my head forward, smacking my forehead into Azazel's. He wasn't expecting me to head-butt him, and he had to step back to regain his balance. He let go of my throat and I fell to the ground with a loud thud, the back of my head hitting the earthy floor.

Before I could make a move, he had his foot on my neck, pinning me to the ground instead. "You insignificant little girl," he spat. I could tell I made him angry because the taunting, sarcastic act was up. "Don't cause more trouble than you're worth."

Although his foot was practically crushing the bones of my neck, I glared at him and with as much venom as I could pack into my voice as I was being choked I said, "You look into my eyes, you piece of demonic shit, and tell me if I'm lying to you. Colt or no Colt, we will kill you." Although I couldn't breathe, I used my last bit of breath to say it and the words were menacing.

Azazel stared into my eyes for a moment, a small smirk playing on his face. "Give it your best shot," he said before disappearing into thin air.

I gasped for air as the lifted pressure allowed me to breathe again. I quickly struggled to my feet and saw Bobby running back to Dean.

Dean was still in the street, holding Sam's lifeless body. I knew he hadn't realized that I had been fighting Azazel just twenty feet away. Agonized sobs wrecked through Dean's body and he couldn't stop screaming Sam's name.

The fight was far from over but it felt like we had already lost...

Sam Winchester was dead.