The Littlest Winchester

Chapter 120

We walked into a house, Dean went upstairs, Sam went right, Cas, Jack and I went straight. We walked into the kitchen, carved out guy on the table,
Cas said" Oh, no."
Jack said" He's cooking the body parts... again." Sam came in,
He said" I got nothing."
Dean said" Aw, come on."
" Seriously? How does this keep happening? I thought we had him this time."
" Look at this. He's all cut up. No restraints, like last time."
Cas said" And he was killed recently. I suspect he was very much alive when the cutting started."
Jack said" I don't understand. Why don't any of them fight back?"
Dean said" Yeah, who would just let themselves be eaten? Hey, I'll say it again. My money's on witchcraft."
Then Rowena said" Oh, look at you. Always blaming witches."
" 'Cause a lot of times it's witches."
Sam said" Rowena, your tracking spell was supposed to make this easier."
Rowena said" Huh! There I was, in the middle of a glorious rosewater and vanilla-oil massage, hidden away at an exclusive desert spa, when you called me, begging for my help."
Dean said" Well, because we've been chasing this guy for weeks. What's your point?"
" My point, Dean, is that you asked for my assistance, and I obliged. And while the killer eluded us, it certainly looks as if he was here quite recently. I'd call that a success."
" Oh, yeah, that's a success. Sam." Dean threw a wallet to Sam,
" Hello, Castiel." She walked over to him,
" Okay, looks like our dinner guest here, his name is Dennis Barron. He's 43, and this is his house. No signs of forced entry and no restraints."
Sam and I said" It's all the same."
" Yep."
Jack said" Well, not... everything." He held up a snake skin,
" Maybe it's his pet."
Sam said" I mean, no pictures in his phone. And, uh, this place doesn't exactly scream snake guy."
Rowena said" Not enough Pantera posters, for one." Jack started coughing, we all looked at him,
He said" There was some pepper on something. I don't know. I'm fine. I'm not dying." I patted his shoulder, shaking my head,
Dean said" Okay, so, what? This guy's some real Houdini?"
Cas said" Well, however he's avoiding us, he's now claimed the lives of at least six people in northern New Mexico."
" That we know about."
Rowena said" Aye, but this is the first one I've seen in the flesh. Did they all have these blackened lips?"
Sam said" Yeah, or just black patches of skin around their face and neck."
Dean said" Yeah, but we've been more focused on the missing eyeballs and cannibalism angle."
Jack said" Does the black lips mean something?"
Rowena said" Darling boy, everything means something. Be a dear and bring the snakeskin."
——
I washed my hands, then walked out of the bathroom, I heard coughing from where Jack was. I looked around then unlocked the door, walking in, shutting the door quickly. He saw me and I saw the energy he was using on his neck. I sighed,
I said" Tell me when you want to, just don't tell me when you're gonna die again. Deal?" He nodded his head, I let out a shaky breathe," Okay. Come on, let's go."

We walked back to the table, I looked around then jumped over the seat and sat next to Cas. Jack sat next to Dean,
Cas said" Are you all right?"
Jack said" I'm fine."
Dean said" Hey, see? Look at that. Everybody's fine."
Jack and I said" What?"
" Nothing."
Cas said" Okay, um... these killings- it seems like there's a ritualistic quality to the crime scenes, right? It's almost liturgical." And he thinks we know what that means... why? He glanced to me, then Dean and Jack," It means religious."
" Ah. Yeah. See, that one I knew." Jack and I nodded,
" Maybe we're wrong and- and this isn't a monster at all. Maybe this is just a deranged person who's been getting lucky."
Jack said" Anyone who could do this is a monster... I mean, even if they're human."
Dean said" Kid's not wrong." He grabbed his phone," Yeah. Okay. Got it." He hung up," Looks like Sam and Rowena have something."

Sam said" Okay, so we've made some progress." Dean, Cas, and Jack were sitting on the couch normally, I was on the top of the couch, my feet where their butts are.
Dean said" This is like an AV club presentation."
Jack said" What's an AV club?"
Cas said" It's a special group for people who do not play sports."
Dean and I said" Yeah, him." We pointed to Cas," He's AV club." Cas looked at us,
Rowena said" Excuse me, boys, but this is a bit more pressing than your hilarious banter. I believe we are hunting a gorgon, an ancient, cursed being with an affinity for snakes and a hunger for human flesh."
Dean said" Snakes for hair? That's like Medusa."
" You know about Medusa?"
" Oh, yeah. Clash of the Titans? Turns guys to stone?"
" Oh. That's an exaggerated version. It's not stone. More of a venom-induced paralysis. Hence, the blackened lips."
Cas said" And the fact that the victims didn't fight back."
" And the snakeskin, which, frankly, was a bit on the nose."
Sam said" Yeah. So we expanded our search based on this new information, and we found 17 unexplained deaths that could fit our guy, last three months, moving west across the southern US." He showed us the map, damn...
Jack said" 17 people?"
" Yeah."
Rowena said" Legend has it, every few months, the gorgon goes on a spree and gorges itself."
Dean said" Like a snake. That makes sense."
Cas said" So, is there anything in there that explains why this gorgon keeps eluding us?"
Rowena said" Uh, some lore says that a gorgon can tell people's fates, and, by consuming human eyes, they may glimpse the future."
Sam said" Yeah. We think that's how he sees us coming."
Cas said" So, then even if we use your tracking spell again, he'll know."
Jack said" So... how do we get him?"
Sam said" I don't know."