The Men by the Lake
<Katia’s POV>
Just as he had been instructed to, Sam somehow used his genius skills to track down the closest family which matched our description- possibly the next family to be attacked by this demon and its Hellhounds- before our deadline came. Now- once we’d all collected the weapons suitable for this task- the three of us sat in Dean’s Impala whilst observing the house which matched the address we’d found.
For some reason, I couldn’t think of anything to say to even ease the worry which I felt; I knew whichever demon was committing these attacks would have information on my current situation, and it would probably use that information to get to me.
‘Dean, look,’ Sam announced quickly as he nodded in the direction of the house. Although the demand had been instructed to Dean, I also looked in the same direction.
A woman was walking towards a car, a baby bundled up in her arms. That was probably the wife, and the newborn child; now the man was being left a home by himself. ‘If the demon is planning on attacking here, it’ll probably be soon,’ Dean replied as he watched the woman climb into her small car.
In each of the deaths so far, no one had been with the victim as he was actually killed; each family seemed to show up too late, once the act had already been committed.
‘What are we going to do then? Just wait until something looks off in the house, or are we checking it out now?’ Sam questioned whilst looking to his older brother; I just stayed silent in the back seat whilst clutching the duffle bag which I’d put my own weapons into.
‘Wait,’ Dean answered. ‘If we go in now the demon might not show, no one was home with the victim as they were killed so we shouldn’t change that,’ he continued.
‘Okay,’ Sam replied simply. He then turned in his seat to look at me, ‘you okay?’
Instead of speaking, I just nodded with a fake, reassuring smile. All I wanted was for this hunt to be over with and for us to move onto something less personal.
It was fifteen minutes later when Dean decided that we should make our move; apparently he had seen two figures through the window and “unless that poor bastards having an affair, he’s close to be attacked” he informed Sam and I. Immediately the three of us were out of the car and running towards the family home.
When we got into the hallway, which was decorated traditionally with photos of the entire family- most of them were pictures of the newborn child- the three of us parted ways in search of this demon which was no longer stood by the window.
I ended up going upstairs, following the muffled sound which was only just audible. Dean had taken the downstairs, indoor area whilst Sam had gone outside and towards the shed and garage. Unfortunately, I think I’d pulled the short straw and I was the one walking directly into the arms of this murderous demon.
‘Please,’ a voice choked from the room behind the closed door ahead of me. Unlike Sam, I didn’t have a demon killing blade or an angel blade like Dean; I did still have my Purgatory blade though, I’ve never tried it on a demon, but if it kills already dead creatures in Purgatory it’s got to at least injure the demon badly enough to save the poor victim.
The growls of the Hellhounds could be heard through the thick, wooden door; that noise alone had me trembling. The last time I had heard a vicious growl like that was when they were being aimed at me; I heard that ferocious growl as my body was torn apart.
Standing in the hallway, I had wasted enough time and now I actually had to help the poor man on the opposite side of the door. I was armed with a Purgatory blade and right now I looked untouchable (beside the broken wrist); to the demon on the other side I probably just looked like another chew toy for its demented pets.
Finally, with a deep breath I shoved the closed door open and entered the room. The demon looked startled; the man didn’t even notice me as he lay face to face with a growling mutt.
I recognised his face, this demon had been there when I was in Hell; he’d pass by my cell on a daily, a smirk constantly playing on his lips as he teased the pain I went through. And now, it’s my turn to get revenge.
‘Katia Bryant, or do you prefer Winchester now?’ the demon asked; he reminded me of Crowley, only a little though... Crowley was better.
‘Go to Hell,’ I hissed as I pulled the Purgatory blade out from behind my back; the poor man who already had blood trickling down his face looked up to meet my eyes, I could see the glimmer of hope that flickered in his eyes as he realised he actually had a chance of surviving.
‘You’re too late, Katy; he’s already a lost soul!’ the demon- whose name I had never bothered to learn- announced as he looked towards the victim. ‘These hounds already have a thirst for this man’s blood,’ the demon continued to hiss as he dragged his fingers through his greasy, long, grey hair.
‘Stop them then, let him go, take me,’ I practically begged. Just the thought of being slightly responsible for someone’s death scares me.
‘Attack!’ the demon chimed; immediately the Hellhounds pounced on the poor victim, piercing screams erupted from his mouth and I couldn’t bear to look in his direction.
I froze; I should’ve helped him, tried harder. All I felt was anger, and rage towards the demon who was entertaining himself by killing innocent men. The Purgatory blade seemed to take control of me, without thinking twice I plunged it straight through the heart of the damned demon.
It took him by surprise as I twisted the jagged blade; his face seemed to drop and he grimaced when the pain struck him. The look of pure hatred didn’t budge from my face until I yanked the blade from his chest; the demon was dead and his Hellhounds seemed to follow leaving a torn up man in their place.
‘Katia!’ Dean yelled as he charged into the room I was in. He looked at the bleeding body of the victim first before turning to me, and then he turned to the demon that was collapsed on the bed.
‘I messed up; I was too late,’ I stammered as I stared at the body of the victim. ‘We need to go,’ I announced; in my hand I still held the Purgatory blade- which Dean had now seen- and blood dripped from the tip and onto the carpet.
-
Sam had insisted that we all came back to the motel to get ourselves cleaned up before heading out to get dinner or something; I really wasn’t hungry and the thought of food made me feel sick. Either way, I was now stood beneath a freezing cold shower- which had once been hot- whilst trying not to cry.
I have just over three months left on Earth and this is how my life is playing out. Crowley is creating his own hunts to remind me of a memory I tried so hard to forget, people are dying because of me and I am lying to the only people I actually trust.
With a sniffle, which was mainly from being stood in the freezing water for so long, I climbed from the shower and quickly picked up my towel before wrapping it around my body.
The jeans I’d been wearing earlier on had splatters of blood on them; I quickly screwed them up and threw them into the same duffle which my Purgatory blade was in. Afterwards, I took some black skinny jeans from my rucksack along with a loose-fitting white top. Once I’d put my underwear on I quickly got dressed; before adding my signature leather jacket- which once belonged to my mother- and a pair of combat boots.
I had to wash my hair when I showered; somehow demon blood had managed to get into that also. Now it was dripping down my back so I just scrubbed my towel across it before pulling it into a messy bun on the top of my head; I’ve not had my hair cut since before Purgatory, now it’s getting pathetically long but getting it cut hasn’t really been my main priority since I’ve been back.
The knock on my motel door alerted me that Sam and Dean were ready to leave. After we’d stopped at the diner, Dean decided that it would be best to continue the journey to Kansas as the roads would be quieter at night. To be honest, I really wasn’t feeling like going to Kansas to settle down into Dean and Sam’s new lifestyle; not after the chaos of today anyway.
‘Come in,’ I shouted in the direction of the door; Sam walked in alone, I guess Dean had already gone to his car. ‘You don’t have to wait up you know, I’ll just meet you at the diner,’ I informed him.
‘Yeah, but you shouldn’t be driving with your wrist still in a cast,’ Sam pointed out, becoming that protective parent once again. I looked at him as if to say “whatever” but tossed him two of my bags nonetheless. Silently I picked up the other, final bag and pulled it onto my shoulder before following Sam from the motel room.
-
‘You sure you don’t want anything, we aren’t going to be stopping again ‘til we get to Kansas?’ Dean managed to get out around a mouthful of food; he and Sam were eating some sort of grilled sandwiches, I just sipped water through a straw whilst staring absently at the tabletop.
‘Positive,’ I replied with a small smile; after I’d spoken I went straight back to sipping my water.
Sam placed the remainder of his sandwich onto his plate before looking at me; I could see the concern on his face out of the corner of my eye so I turned to look at him. ‘You’ve been quiet all day, are you sure you’re okay?’
‘I’m fine, tired,’ I lied before going straight back to what I’d been doing previously, sipping my water. I could also see Dean looking at me but I couldn’t be bothered to look at him also; my head was pounding as I thought over the events that had occurred in the short period of time which I’d been back with Sam and Dean in.
‘Is that it?’ Dean asked. I just nodded, not removing my mouth from the straw; I didn’t even attempt to look up at Dean. ‘When we were back at that house, what did you use to kill the demon?’
I knew this conversation was going to arise, after all I didn’t have a demon killing blade or an angel blade so what was I supposed to use to kill the demon? ‘That knife thing?’ I answered, playing dumb. ‘I found it when I was with the Robertson’s; they didn’t like the look of it and said I could keep it.’
Lies.
‘It looked like a Purgatory blade,’ Dean pointed out; finally I looked up to him from my drink, how did he know what that was? ‘Had a bone handle, right?’
‘Yeah, I don’t know the name of it though,’ I lied; of course it was a Purgatory blade and I had obtained it in Purgatory. But, how did Dean know what it was?
‘You said you found it,’ Sam pointed out; I’d only previously said that so it wasn’t like I’d forgotten. ‘Where did you find it, those things are meant to be kind of rare?’
‘A witch hunt,’ I answered quickly. Dean and Sam seemed to fall for my lies as they both nodded believingly. ‘If it’s that rare, how come you two know what it is?’
Sam turned to Dean; they were keeping some kind of secret from me. Dean quickly picked up his grilled sandwich again before taking a large bite. ‘Dean I think you should tell her,’ Sam decided.
Dean hadn’t said anything yet; he finished his sandwich before taking a large drink from my glass of water. Sam had pushed his food away once the conversation of the Purgatory blade had sprung up.
‘Dean,’ Sam snapped; whatever Dean wasn’t speaking about Sam obviously thought it was better for me to know. I didn’t want to force anything out of anyone; I had a hell of a lot of my own secrets anyway.
The eldest Winchester stood up from his seat. ‘I need to take a leak; you tell her if you’re so bothered.’
‘Dean,’ Sam tried to stop his older brother from leaving but he was having none of it. ‘You’re such a jerk,’ Sam mumbled under his breath before turning to look at me again.
‘Look, I really don’t mind not knowing; everyone has secrets right?’ I smiled as I played with the straw of my drink once again. ‘Plus, if it’s about Dean and he doesn’t want me to know then it’s really not in my place to pry,’ I continued whilst taking small sips from my drink every so often.
‘If he didn’t want you know he’d say, he’s always been awkward about things like this,’ Sam told me calmly. I nodded respectfully in response; if Dean was reacting like this it must’ve been quite serious, usually he’s pretty chilled out about everything.
‘Well, spill then,’ I urged as I then began chewing the top of my straw.
‘Until about four months ago Dean was in Purgatory; he’d been stuck there for a year,’ Sam spoke; the tone he said it in made the entire situation seem so casual, as if he was speaking about Dean being in prison or something. I looked at Sam, shock filled my face.
‘Is he okay?’ I asked quickly.
Sam nodded. ‘The entire topic is still kind of a sore subject with him but he’s definitely getting there with it,’ Sam told me.
A thought came to me, something from my own experience in Purgatory. I tried to focus on all of the small details that came with the flashback. ‘Trench coat,’ I spoke softly, more to myself than Sam but he still heard me. ‘Is that why Castiel didn’t come when I called for him, he was down there with him?’
Sam just nodded once again. I didn’t even know how to respond to him; was I supposed to console him on something that had happened to his brother? Was I supposed to freak out because deep down I already knew that Dean had been down there?
‘I left my phone in the car, can I have the keys? I need to go fetch it,’ I explained myself to Sam; as soon as he gave me the keys I practically sprinted from the diner.
Once I’d slid into the driver’s seat of my car I let out a groan of distress before slamming the door shut. How come, when I feel vulnerable everything decides to hit me at once? I felt like I was going to cry as I tried to get my head around what I had just been told; Dean had been to Purgatory, the two men I saw down there weren’t just something I’d imagined as a coping mechanism.
-Flashback-
The dried, dead leaves which covered the dirt floor of Purgatory crunched as a Leviathan head rolled across them. Seconds later the body plummeted after it; I just stared ahead in pure terror. Once again I had been caught in some pathetic, near-death experience yet I’d managed to gain the upper hand.
Using my shirt- which was already blood stained and torn- I cleaned the blade of any remains; after all, I didn’t want my only survival tactic to rust or become blunt. With the back of my hand, I mopped the black, tar-like, goo from my face.
Like with every other kill I committed, I had to complete the routine of checking the body for any weapons which could possibly help me survive down here for a little longer; once I’d collected each blade, or stake, I dropped them into my rucksack before continuing my way through the forest.
I clung onto the trunks of trees whilst trying not to trip over the large roots, or dead bodies, which scattered the floor. Plus, if I stumbled there was a chance that some blood-thirsty creature would hear me and come running.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see the reflection of the lake; that place was basically a death-trap within itself. If anyone stayed there for too long they were bound to end up getting slaughtered within an hour or two, after all the place was completely open with no place to hide.
As I climbed over a fallen tree trunk, I looked out to the lake only to see two unlucky figures.
They looked like two men, and they stood together whilst speaking beside the filthy water which Purgatory had to offer. I continued to move closer to them, just to try and work out whether they were human or not, but I stayed hidden behind each tree trunk I passed.
With each step, the men seemed to become more familiar to me. One of the men looked just like Dean, he wore a brown leather jacket; and beside him stood a man who was dressed in a trench coat, just like Castiel. Immediately, the hope I felt rose as I tried to clambered across the tree roots and towards the two men; but the reality came back to bite me in the ass as some sort of creature let out a piercing shriek behind me.
I immediately came to a halt before spinning around slowly. Following the slow action came a smooth, swift chop straight through the centre of the hungry animal. It crumbled before me, but its shriek had probably attracted the attention of creatures from miles away; it wasn’t exactly a quiet shriek.
All I had to do was run, but first I needed to make it to Dean and Castiel. I turned towards the lake once again, I was going to run towards the men but they were no longer there.
The hope I had previously felt disappeared, it was replaced with a sense of foolishness. Why the hell would Dean or Castiel be in Purgatory? An angel in Purgatory doesn’t make any sense and Dean had no reason to be down here, not unless he’d managed to get himself dragged down here.
It had actually happened; I had become that lonely, and that desperate that I began to imagine people up. I was already stuck in Purgatory, and now I was driving myself crazy with the hopes of being reunited with Dean, Sam and Bobby once again.
-End Flashback-
I don’t know why, but whilst I was lost in my thoughts I began to cry. I had only been back with Sam and Dean for a couple of days yet I already managed to get one man killed; and then to add onto the guilt of that I left my brother in Purgatory because I thought that I’d made him up!
Maybe I’m not ready to be reunited with Sam and Dean; maybe this is not how things are supposed to be... That could be the reason for everything going so badly, because it’s just not supposed to happen this way.
---
What do you think? I don’t know if I like it...
Katia’s unsure...about life. I promised drama in the last chapter, does this count as enough drama?
-T xox