Sam, Dean and Laurey parked and opened the trunk. Jonathan was asleep in the back. Dean pulled out three tasers.
"What do you have those amped up to?" Sam asked.
"A hundred thousand volts," Dean replied.
"Damn."
"Yeah, Laur and I want this raw head extra frickin' crispy. And remember, you only get one shot with these things. So make it count."
They moved down the basement stairs with guns and flashlights.
A noise caught their attention and they moved towards a cupboard.
"On three," Dean whispered. "One. Two. Three."
Dean swung the door open, revealing a young boy and girl crouched inside, covering their ears.
"Is it still here?" Sam whispered and the kids nodded.
Dean looked at the boy. "Okay. Grab your sister's hand, come on, we gotta get you out of here. Let's go, let's go." They moved towards the stairs. "All right, go!"
Sam started to take the kids upstairs, but a hand grabbed his legs, knocking him back down. The children screamed and ran to the top of the stairs.
"Sam!" Dean and Laurey called.
Dean shot his taser and missed. "Sam, get 'em outta here! Laurey, go with 'em."
Sam threw his taser to Dean. "Here take this!"
Sam ran up the stairs and moved the children out of sight.
Dean moved around the basement on high alert, shining his flashlight into corners. "Come on!"
A ragged, hairy creature leapt up and shoved Dean backwards. Dean lost his weapon and flashlight as he fell. He glanced around, scrambled across puddles of water to grab the taser and pressed it on the creature as it moved towards him, electrocuting him. Laurey suddenly got a flash of a vision and ran down to Dean and pushed him out of the way. Electricity moved from the creature through the water and to Laurey. She lunged at Dean and tried to rescue him, The two shook and twitched. The creature fell, and Laurey lost consciousness.
"Laur?" Dean called, shaking her. "Laurey!"
Sam ran down the stairs and saw Dean, holding Laurey, in the corner, the latter unmoving. "Laurey!" He ran over and half lifted Laurey and shook her. "Laurey, hey. Hey."
HOSPITAL
Sam stood at the desk with a receptionist. Dean refused to leave Laurey's side.
"Sir, I'm so sorry to ask," the receptionist said. "There doesn't seem to be any insurance on file."
"Right. Uh, okay." He pulled a card from his wallet and handed it to the receptionist.
The receptionist glanced at the card. "Okay, Mr. Burkovitz."
Sam saw two cops waiting and walked over.
"Look, we can finish this up later," one of the cops said.
Sam shook his head. "No, no, it's okay. We were just taking a shortcut through the neighborhood. And, um, the windows were rolled down, and we heard some screaming when we drove past the house, and we stopped. Ran in."
"And you found the kids in the basement?"
"Well, thank God you did."
Sam noticed a doctor walking towards them and glanced at the cops. "Excuse me."
"Sure. Thanks for your help."
"Hey, doc. Is she..."
"She's resting."
"And?"
"The electrocution triggered a heart attack. Pretty massive, I'm afraid. Her heart... it's damaged."
"How damaged?"
"We've done all we can. We can try and keep her comfortable at this point. But, I'd give her a couple weeks, at most, maybe a month."
"No, no. There's, there's... gotta be something you can do, some kind of treatment."
"We can't work miracles. I really am sorry."
Sam walked away, an upset look on his face.
He made his way to Laurey's room.
Laurey was watching TV as Sam entered. Dean was holding Jonathan. "Have you ever actually watched daytime TV? It's horrible."
Sam shook his head and sighed. "I talked to your doctor."
"That fabric softener teddy bear. Oh, I'm gonna hunt that little bitch down."
"Laurey."
"I was kidding. I like the bear." She looked up and clicked the TV off. "Yeah. All right, well, looks like you're gonna leave town without me."
"What are you talking about? I'm not gonna leave you here."
Her tone turned serious. "Hey, you better take care of that car and my little boy. Or, I swear, I'll haunt your ass."
"Sam and I don't think that's funny," Dean said.
"Oh, come on, it's a little funny." Laurey paused a moment. "Look, Sammy, Dean, what can I say, guys, it's a dangerous gig. I drew the short straw. That's it, end of story."
"Don't talk like that, all right? We still have options."
"What options? Yeah, burial or cremation. And I know it's not easy. But I'm gonna die. And you can't stop it."
"Watch me," Sam replied in a determined tone.
Dean tucked Laurey's hair back. "Don't you see anything to let you know you'll be okay?"
Laurey met his eyes and shook her head. "No, I don't. Promise me you'll take care of Jonathan." Her voice caught. "Please."
"Laur-"
"Dean. I need you to promise me my son will be okay and that you'll tell him I loved him."
"You'll tell him yourself. I promise."
Laurey turned her head away as a tear fell down her cheek.
---
Sam made his way back to the motel room and started researching.
He dialed a number. "This is John Winchester. I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean. 866-907-3235. He can help."
Sam fought tears. "Hey, Dad. It's Sam. Uh... You probably won't even get this, but, uh... it's Laurey. She's sick, and uh... the doctors say there's nothing they can do. Um... but, uh, they don't know the things we know, right? So, don't worry, 'cause I'm uh... gonna do whatever it takes to get her better. All right... just wanted you to know."
Sam hung up, tossed his phone on the bed and sat there silently. The was a knock on the door and he looked up quickly, tears in his eyes. He opened it to find Dean, holding Jonathan, and Laurey leaning against the jams, the latter looking terrible.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked.
"She checked herself out," Dean replied, frowning at Laurey.
"What, are you crazy?"
Laurey entered the room, leaning on everything within reach. "Well, I'm not gonna die in a hospital when there might actually be a chance. Blame Dean. He gave me the idea."
Dean sighed as he entered.
Sam huffed a laugh and shut the door. "You know, this whole I-laugh-in-the-face-of-death thing? It's crap. I can see right through it."
"Yeah, whatever, dude. Have you even slept? You look worse than me and your brother."
Sam helped Laurey to a chair. "I've been scouring the Internet for the last three days. Calling every contact in Dad's journal."
"For what?"
"For a way to help you. One of Dad's friends, Joshua, he called me back. Told me about a guy in Nebraska. A specialist."
"You're not gonna let me die in peace, are you?"
"I'm not gonna let you die, period. Neither will Dean. We're going."
---
Sam drove them to Nebraska and they drove along a rutted gravel road towards a large white circus tent set up in a field.
People made their way towards the tent on the muddy ground, many on walking frames or helped by others.
Sam got out and ran around to help Laurey while Dean unbuckled Jonathan. Laurey opened her door and looked around. There was a sign next to the tent that read 'The Church of Roy LeGrange. Faith Healer. Witness The Miracle.'
Laurey grimaced and started pulling herself from the car and Sam tried to help. "I got ya."
"I got it," Laurey replied angrily, pushing Sam away. "Man, you are a lying bastard. Thought you said we were going to see a doctor."
"I believe I said specialist. Look, Laurey, this guy's supposed to be the real deal."
Laurey frowned. "You really brought me here to see a man who heals people from a friggin' tent?"
An elderly woman with an umbrella passed by. "Reverend LeGrange is a great man."
"Yeah, that's nice," she muttered.
They walked past an angry man remonstrating with a cop. "I have a right to protest. This man is a fraud. And he's milking all these people out of their hard-earned money."
"Sir, this is a place of worship," the sheriff said. "Let's go. Move it." They walked away.
"I take it he's not part of the flock," Dean noted.
"But when people see something they can't explain, there's controversy," Sam explained.
Laurey frowned. "I mean, come on, Sam, a faith healer?"
"Maybe it's time to have a little faith, Laurey."
"You know what I've got faith in? Reality. Knowing what's really going on."
"How can you be a skeptic? With the things we see everyday?"
"Exactly. We see them, we know they're real."
Sam looked between them. "But if you know evil's out there, how can you not believe good's out there, too?"
Dean glanced at Sam. "Because I've seen what evil does to good people."
Laurey stared blankly, for fear that her emotions would betray her. "I saw my husband brutally murdered. That kind of affects a person's mind."
A young woman overheard them. "Maybe God works in mysterious ways."
Dean smiled. "Maybe he does. I think you just turned me around on the subject."
"Yeah, I'm sure."
Dean held out his hand. "I'm Dean. This is Sam. That's Laurey, and this is her son Jonathan."
The young woman took Dean's hand. "Layla. So, if you're not a believer, then why are you here?"
"Well, apparently my brother here believes enough for the three of us."
An older woman approached them and put her arm around Layla. "Come on, Layla. It's about to start."
The women smiled at the trio and moved inside the tent.
Dean looked after Layla. "Well, I bet you she can work in some mysterious ways."
Laurey rolled her eyes and let out a sigh.
Sam, Dean and Laurey entered the tent. The sign at the entrance read 'Welcome All Faiths. True Believers Revival.'
Laurey looked at the small stage which had a lectern with candles on it. She felt a strange sense of peace, though not of death. Quite the opposite.
Dean looked around and tilted his head to the corner. "Yeah, peace, love, and trust all over."
Sam and Laurey followed his gaze to a security camera. Laurey started to take a seat, but Sam put an arm around her and moved them towards the front.
"Come on," Sam said.
"Don't!" Laurey cried. "What are you doing? Let's sit here."
"We're sitting up front."
"What? Why?"
Sam moved his friend up the aisle. "Come on."
Laurey growled. "Oh, come on, Sam."
"You all right?"
"This is ridiculous," she muttered, slapping Sam's hands away. "I'm good, dude, get off me."
Sam let go and pointed to three empty seats behind Layla and her mother. "Perfect."
"Yeah, perfect," Laurey replied sarcastically.
Sam moved in first. "You take the aisle. Dean, you take the middle."
He tried to help Laurey sit and she raised a hand irritably. Jonathan reached toward his mother who took him, shooting a dirty look to the brothers.
A blind man wearing sunglasses was helped to the lectern by a woman. "Each morning, my wife, Sue Ann, reads me the news. Never seems good, does it?" The crowd agreed with Roy. "Seems like there's always someone committing some immoral, unspeakable act."
As Roy spoke, Sam saw a table on stage, filled with religious items. He noticed an old wooden cross that was topped by a smaller cross in a circle.
"But I say to you, God is watching," Roy said.
"Yes he is," the crowd murmured.
"God rewards the good, and He punishes the corrupt." The crowd nodded, cheered and murmured. "It is the Lord who does the healing here friends. The Lord who guides me in choosing who to heal by helping me see into people's hearts." The crowd continued murmuring.
Laurey said quietly to Sam and Dean, "Yeah, sure, and into their wallets."
"You think so, young lady?" Roy asked and the crowd fell silent.
"Sorry," Laurey apologized.
"No, no. Don't be. Just watch what you say around a blind man, we've got real sharp ears." The crowd laughed. "What's your name, dear?"
Laurey cleared her throat, hesitating. "Laurey."
"Laurey. I want-I want you to come up here with me."
The crowd clapped. Layla and her mother didn't move. Sue Ann moved to center stage, smiling at Laurey.
Laurey shook her head. "No, it's okay."
"What are you doing?" Sam whispered.
"You've come here to be healed, haven't cha?"
Laurey hesitated again. "Well, yeah, but ah..." the crowd clapped and made encouraging noises, "...maybe you should just pick someone else."
Sam and Dean looked at their friend like she was insane and the crowd clapped loudly.
"Oh, no," Roy said. "I didn't pick you, Laurey, the Lord did."
The crowd was getting more excited. "That's right! Yeah! Come one!"
"Get up there!" Sam cried excitedly.
Laurey reluctantly rose and Dean took Jonathan from her. Sue Ann moved to assist and stood her next to Roy.
"You ready?" Roy asked.
"Look, no disrespect, but ahh, I'm not exactly a believer," Laurey admitted.
Roy smiled. "You will be, daughter. You will be." He turned to the crowd. "Pray with me, friends."
The crowd lifted their arms and joined hands. Roy lifted his hands in the air, then placed one on Laurey's shoulder, then one on the side of her head.
"All right now. All right now," Roy said to himself.
Laurey's eyes glazed over. Her knees weakened and she sank to her knees, Roy's hands still on her head.
"All right, now," Roy said again.
Laurey wobbled then fell back and slipped to the stage floor.
Sam and Dean jumped from their chairs and ran to the stage. "Laurey!"
The crowd clapped excitedly.
Sam grabbed the front of Laurey's hoodie and Dean placed a hand on Laurey's cheek. Laurey's eyes burst open and she gasped. "Say something!"
Laurey blinked groggily and looked up. Roy was standing above her, hands out from his sides, palms up, a happy expression on his face. Slightly behind Roy stood a tall man in a black suit with white hair, pale white, wrinkled skin. He stared at Laurey, then turned and vanished. Laurey watched him, shocked. The sense of peace slowly faded and she registered a hand on her cheek before seeing her relieved friends. Dean hastily removed his hand and the two shared a look.
---
Sam and Dean took their friend to the hospital to get her checked out.
"So, you really feel okay?" Sam asked.
Laurey frowned. "I feel fine, Sam."
The doctor entered, reading paperwork. "Well, according to all your tests, there's nothing wrong with your heart. No sign there ever was. Not that a woman your age should be having heart trouble, but, still it's strange; it does happen."
"What do you mean, strange?"
"Well, just yesterday, a young guy a little older than you, 27, athletic. Out of nowhere, heart attack."
"Thanks, doc."
The doctor said as she left, "No problem."
"That's odd."
"Maybe it's a coincidence," Sam guessed. "People's hearts give out all the time."
"No, they don't."
"Look, Laurey, do we really have to look this one in the mouth? Why can't we just be thankful that the guy saved your life and move on?"
"Because I can't shake this feeling, that's why."
"What feeling?"
"When I was healed, I felt... wrong. Cold. And for a second, I saw someone. This old man. And, Sam, Dean it was a spirit of sorts."
Sam looked at her a moment. "But if there was something there, Laurey, I think I would've seen it, too. I mean, I've been seeing an awful lot of things lately."
"Well, excuse me, psychic wonder," Dean said. "But you're just gonna need a little faith on this one. Sam, Laurey's been hunting long enough to trust a feeling like this."
Sam sighed. "Yeah, all right. So, what do you two wanna do?"
"I want you to go check out the heart attack guy," Laurey said. "I'm gonna take my son and visit the reverend. Dean?"
Dean nodded. "I'll go with you, Laur."
---
Dean and Laurey, holding her son, made their way to Roy LeGrange's and he motioned for them to sit on the couch. Sue Ann stood, filling two glasses.
"I feel great," Laurey said. "Just trying to, you know, make sense of what happened."
"A miracle is what happened," Sue Ann told them. "Well, miracles come so often around Roy."
"When did they start?" Dean inquired. "The miracles."
"Woke up one morning, stone blind," Roy explained. "Doctors figured out I had cancer. Told me I had maybe a month. So, uh, we prayed for a miracle. I was weak, but I told Sue Ann, 'You just keep right on praying.' I went into a coma. Doctors said I wouldn't wake up, but I did. And the cancer was gone." He took off his sunglasses, revealing white eyes. "If it wasn't for these eyes, no one would believe I'd ever had it."
"And suddenly you could heal people."
"I discovered it afterward, yes. God's blessed me in many ways."
"And his flock just swelled overnight," Sue Ann added. "And this is just the beginning."
"Can I ask you one last question?" Laurey questioned.
"Of course you can," Roy answered.
"Why? Why me? Out of all the sick people, why save me?"
"Well, like I said before, the Lord guides me. I looked into your heart, and you just stood out from all the rest."
"What did you see in my heart?"
"A young woman with an important purpose. A job to do. And it isn't finished." Laurey looked at him, slightly surprised. Dean took Laurey's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
SWIMMING LOCKER ROOM
"I'm telling you, he seemed healthy," the employee said. "Swam every day, didn't smoke. So, a heart attack just kind of seemed, well, bizarre."
"And you said he was running right before he collapsed?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, yeah, he was freaking out. He said that something was, uh, was after him."
"Did he say what?"
"Well, thin air is what. I mean, it wasn't anything."
"All right, thanks."
As Sam left, he noticed the clock on the wall wasn't working. "Hey, buddy? Your, uh, your clock's busted."
"Oh, yeah, we, uh, can't get it workin'," the man replied. "Just froze at 4:17."
"Is that the same time Marshall died?"
"How'd you know?" the man asked, surprised.
ROY LEGRANGE'S PORCH STEPS
Dean and Laurey, holding her dozing son, were leaving. Layla and her mother were waiting to go in.
"Dean, Laurey , hey," Layla greeted.
"Hey," Dean and Laurey replied.
"How you feeling?"
"I feel good," Laurey answered. "Cured, I guess. What are you doing here?"
"You know, my mom, she wanted to talk to the reverend."
Sue Ann came onto the porch. "Layla?"
"Yes, I'm here again."
"Well, I'm sorry, but Roy is resting. He won't be seeing anyone else right now."
"Sue Ann, please," Mrs. Rourke begged. "This is our sixth time."
"Roy is well aware of Layla's situation. And he very much wants to help just as soon as the Lord allows. Have faith, Mrs. Rourke." She went inside.
Mrs. Rourke stared, then turned and looked at Dean and Laurey before asking the latter in a frustrated tone, "Why are you still even here? You got what you wanted."
Laurey looked down as Layla said, "Mom. Stop."
Mrs. Rourke glanced at her daughter. "No, Layla, this is too much. We've been to every single service. If Roy would stop choosing these strangers over you. Strangers who don't even believe. I just can't pray any harder."
"Layla, what's wrong?" Dean asked.
"I have this thing..." Layla began hesitatingly.
"It's a brain tumor," Mrs. Rourke interrupted. "It's inoperable. In six months, the doctors say..." Layla put a hand on her mom's shoulder, stopping her.
"I'm sorry," Dean and Laurey apologized.
"It's okay," Layla replied.
Mrs. Rourke stared into her daughter's eyes and said slowly, "No. It isn't." She looked to Laurey. "Why do you deserve to live more than my daughter?"
Mrs. Rourke walked away. Layla took a shaky breath and followed her down the stairs. Dean and Laurey watched them go and turned to look back at Roy and Sue Ann's house.
---
Dean and Laurey made their way back to the motel and entered. Dean threw his keys on the bed and started taking off his jacket while Laurey laid her son down. Sam was at his laptop.
"What'd you find out?" Dean asked.
"I'm sorry," Sam said quietly.
Dean threw his jacket on the bed and approached Sam as he and Laurey questioned, "Sorry about what?"
"Marshall Hall died at 4:17."
"The exact time I was healed," Laurey replied in a stunned tone.
"Yeah. So, I put together a list of everyone's Roy's healed, six people over the past year, and I cross-checked them with the local obits. Every time someone was healed, someone else died. And each time, the victim died of the same symptom LeGrange was healing at the time."
"Someone's healed of cancer, someone else dies of cancer?"
"Somehow. LeGrange... he's trading a life for another."
Laurey stood. "Wait, wait, wait. So Marshall Hall died to save me? Wow."
Sam looked at her, upset. "Laurey, the guy probably would've died anyway. And someone else would've been healed."
"You should've never brought me here."
"Laurey, I was just trying to save your life. To give you a chance to raise your son."
"But, Sam, some guy is dead now because of me."
"I didn't know. The thing I don't understand is how Roy is doing it? How's he trading a life for a life?"
"Oh, he's not doing it," Laurey deadpanned. "Something else is doing it for him."
"What do you mean?" Sam and Dean asked.
"The old man I saw on stage." She paused a moment. "I didn't want to believe it, but deep down I knew."
"You knew what? What are you talking about?" Sam questioned.
"There's only one thing that can give and take life like that." Sam looked at Laurey, confused. "We're dealing with a reaper."
"You really think it's THE Grim Reaper? Like, angel of death, collect your soul, the whole deal?"
Dean shook his head. "No. It's not the Grim Reaper. A reaper. There's reaper law in every culture on earth, going by at least a hundred different names."
"But Laurey, you said you saw a dude in a suit."
Laurey frowned. "What, you think he shoulda been working the whole black robe thing?... You said it yourself that the clock stopped right? Reapers stop time. And you can only see 'em when they're coming at you which is why I could see it and you and Dean couldn't."
"Maybe."
She pursed her lips. "There's nothing else it could be Sam. The only question is how Roy is controlling the damn thing."
"That cross."
"What?" Dean and Laurey asked.
"There was this cross, I noticed it in the church and I knew I had seen it before." Sam looked through some papers and snorted, holding the card up to Dean and Laurey. "Here."
Dean and Laurey leaned into the card and the former said, "A tarot?"
"It makes sense. A tarot dates back to the early Christian era right, when some priests were still using magic? And a few of them veered into the dark stuff? Necromancy and how to push death away, how to cause it?"
Dean frowned. "So Roy's using black magic to bind the reaper?"
"If he is, he's riding the whirlwind. It's like petting a dog leash on a great white."
Dean rose to put his cup in the sink and leaned against it. "Okay, then we stop Roy."
"How?"
"You know how."
"Wait, what the hell are you talking about, Dean, we can't kill Roy."
"Sam, the guy's playing God, he's deciding who lives and dies. That's a monster in my book."
"No. We're not going to kill a human being, Dean. We do that and we're no better than he is."
"Okay, we can't kill Roy, we can't kill death. Any lightbulbs going off, college boy?"
"Okay. Uh... If Roy's using some kind of black spell on the reaper, we gotta... figure out what it is. And how to break it."
---
The four drove back to the tent.
The Impala bounced down the badly graveled and potholed road, passing a sign that said Service Today. They parked and exited.
"If Roy's using a spell, there might be a spell book," Sam said.
"See if you can find it." Dean looked at his watch. "Hurry up too, the service starts in 15 minutes. Laurey and I'll try to stall Roy."
The protestor held out a leaflet to Dean. "Roy LeGrange is a fraud. He's no healer."
Dean took the leaflet. "Amen, brother."
"You keep up the good work," Sam told him.
"Thank you," the protestor replied.
Sam made his way to Roy's house. He watched as Roy came down the stairs, assisted by Sue Ann on one arm, a dark-haired man on the other.
Sam climbed in a window and started searching the house. He looked on the bookshelves and pulled out the one book without dust on the shelf in front of it. It was the Encyclopedia of British History. He flipped through it, found nothing, and realized there was another, smaller book, hidden on the bookshelf behind the larger one. Inside was a picture of a skeleton reaper, and on another page the wooden cross he saw earlier in the tent. The one that died for Laurey was an openly gay teacher, the woman jogging an abortion rights advocate. He found a third clipping about Wright, the man handing out leaflets at the front of the tent.
CHURCH TENT
Dean and Laurey, holding her son, were walking slowly up the side aisle.
Dean's phone rang and he answered. "What have you got?"
Sam spoke. "Roy's choosing victims he sees as immoral. And I think I know who's next on his list. Remember that protestor?"
"What, the guy in the parking lot?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'll find him. But you and Laurey can't let Roy heal anyone, all right?"
Dean hung up and he and Laurey moved further towards the front of the tent.
Sam was searching the parking lot.
"Layla," Roy called. "Layla Rourke. Come up here child."
The crowd burst into applause. Layla, stunned, looked around and rose to hug her mom.
"Mom," Layla said. "Thank you."
"I love you, child," Mrs. Rourke replied.
Dean and Laurey watched them hug and muttered, "Oh, man."
As Layla passed them, Dean grabbed her arm. "Layla, listen to me. You can't go up there."
"Why not?" Layla asked. "We've waited for months!"
"You can't let Roy heal you," Laurey told her, getting a flash of a woman.
"I don't understand, Roy healed you, didn't he? Why can't you let him try?"
"'Cause if you do, something bad is going to happen. We can't explain. We just need you to believe us."
Dean, Laurey and Layla stared at each other.
Sue Ann stood waiting and held out her hand. "Layla."
"Please," Dean and Laurey begged.
Layla stared at the hand Sue Ann was offering, then turned back and stared at her mother, who was standing and ringing her hands. Layla looked at Dean and Laurey and shook her head. "I'm sorry."
Dean and Laurey called out, "Layla. Layla!"
Dean glanced at Laurey to see her shutting her eyes. "You okay?"
Laurey shook her head. "No."
Sue Ann smiled and put her arm around Layla to take her to the stage. "Dear child!" The crowd happily clapped.
As they reached the stage, Sue Ann softly said, "You deserve this."
Roy took Layla's hand. "I knew the Lord was planning. I knew it was just a matter of time."
Dean and Laurey, frustrated, moved to stand near Mrs. Rourke. She was crying and covering her face with her hands.
PARKING LOT
Sam continued to watch.
Wright ran around a car as the reaper slowly followed. "Help!"
Sam turned, searching for where the voice came from.
CHURCH TENT
"Pray with me friends," Roy said, glancing to Layla. "I hope you're ready."
Layla smiled. "I am."
PARKING LOT
"Help! Help me please!" Wright yelled.
Sam found Wright and looked around wildly. "Where is he!"
Wright grabbed Sam's shoulder and pointed. "Right there!"
Sam grabbed Wright and pulled him away. "Fine, come on."
CHURCH TENT
Roy was about to lay his hands on Layla, who looked enraptured.
"Dean, we've got to do something," Laurey said quietly, moving to the back of the tent.
Dean nodded and he and Laurey yelled, "Fire! Hurry, tent's on fire!"
Jonathan began crying, not liking the sudden yelling and Laurey softly consoled and apologized to her son.
Layla opened her eyes and looked towards the crowd. Everyone started to rise and evacuated.
Mrs. Rourke moved towards the stage. "No! No, please. Please don't stop. Reverend, please, please! Please don't stop, please!"
Dean and Laurey watched helplessly.
"Friends, if you'd all just leave the tent in an orderly fashion... and we'll figure out what's going on out there and we'll come back," Roy instructed.
Dean pulled out his phone and spoke. "Laurey and I did it, we stopped Roy."
PARKING LOT
Sam held his phone to his ear and Wright looked around.
"David, I think it's okay," Sam said.
David looked around at Sam, nodded, and turned back to see the reaper in front of him. "No!"
Sam spoke into the phone. "Dean, Laurey, it didn't work. The reaper's still coming!"
CHURCH TENT
"I'm telling you, I'm telling you it didn't work. Roy must not be the one controlling this thing."
"Then who the hell is?" Dean asked, feeling Laurey pulling on his arm. He looked to where she was pointing and the two of them looked at Sue Ann who was behind the stage, facing the corner and reciting. "Sue Ann."
Laurey stalked up to her and spun her around with one arm. Sue Ann gasped and stopped reciting, reaching down to hold a cross on a chain around her neck. It was the same wooden cross Sam had seen earlier.
PARKING LOT
The reaper was holding his hand to Wright's face. Suddenly, he stopped, looking confused, and rose.
CHURCH TENT
Sue Ann stared at Dean and Laurey and tucked the cross inside her blouse. "Help! Help me!"
Dean and Laurey backed away, nodding and staring at Sue Ann like they shouldn't have expected anything better. Two cops grabbed them roughly and pulled them away.
PARKING LOT
The reaper stared at Wright lying on the ground gasping for breath, then turned away and vanished.
Sam moved to help Wright. "I got you. I got you."
"Thank God," Wright said.
CHURCH TENT ENTRANCE
Two cops manhandled Dean and Laurey through the entry. They shook them off as soon as they were outside.
Sue Ann followed close behind. "I just don't understand. After everything we've done for you two. After Roy healed you. I'm just very, very disappointed, Laurey." Dean and Laurey stared at Sue Ann, saying nothing. "You can let them go. I'm not gonna press charges. The Lord will deal with them as he sees fit."
Sue Ann left and the cops turned to Dean and Laurey, who was still holding her son.
The first cop said, "We catch you round here again son, girl, we'll put the fear of God in you, understand?"
"Yes sir, fear of God," Dean replied. "Got it."
The cops gave them one last push.
They turned to find Layla waiting for them. "Layla?"
"Why would you two do that, Dean, Laurey?" Layla asked. "And it could have been my only chance."
"He's not a healer," Laurey told her.
"He healed you."
"We know it doesn't seem fair, and I wish we could explain," Dean said. "But Roy is not the answer, I'm sorry."
Layla shook her head sadly. "Goodbye, Dean. Goodbye, Laurey."
She walked away. Dean and Laurey raised their eyes to the sky and turned to watch her.
Layla turned back. "I wish you two luck. I really do."
Dean's voice cracked. "Same to you."
Layla turned to walk away again as Laurey said under her breath, "You deserve it a lot more than me."
Dean glanced at Laurey worriedly and she flicked her eyes to him before quickly looking away.
Layla walked past where her mother was talking to Roy and Sue Ann.
"Private session tonight, no interruptions," Roy said. "I give you my word, I'll heal your daughter."
Dean and Laurey walked past behind them to where Sam was waiting and they overheard.
"Thank you, reverend," Mrs. Rourke replied. "God bless you."
---
The four made their way back to the motel.
Sam sat on the bed. "So Roy really believes."
"I don't think has any idea what his wife's doing," Dean replied.
"Well, I found this." He handed the little book to Dean and Laurey stood to look at it. "Hidden in their library. It's ancient. Written by a priest who went dark side. There's a binding spell in here for trapping a reaper."
"Must be a hell of a spell," Laurey stated, taking the box from Dean to look closer.
"Yeah. You gotta build a black alter with seriously dark stuff. Bones, human blood. To cross a line like that, a preacher's wife. Black magic. Murder. Evil."
"Desperate," Dean added. "Her husband was dying, she didn't have anything to save him. She was using the binding spell to keep the reaper away from Roy."
"Cheating death, literally."
Dean frowned. "Yeah, but Roy's alive, so why's she still using the spell?"
"Right. To force the reaper to kill people she thinks are immortal."
"May God save us from half the people who think they're doing God's work."
"We gotta break that binding spell, Dean, Laurey."
Dean took the book back from Laurey and looked at the picture of the cross. "You know Sue Ann had a coptic cross like this. When she dropped it, the reaper backed off."
"So you think we gotta find the cross or destroy the alter?"
Laurey looked at Sam. "Maybe both. Whatever we do, better do it soon or he's healing Layla tonight."
---
The four made their way to the church tent parking lot that night and rolled in without lights and stopped. Jonathan was asleep in the car.
"That's Layla's car," Sam noted. "She's already here."
Laurey nodded sadly. "Yeah."
"Laurey..."
Before Sam could say anything else, Laurey said, "You know, if Roy woulda picked Layla instead of me, she'd be here right now. And if she's not healed tonight, she's gonna die in a coupla months."
"What's happening to her is horrible. But what are you gonna do? Let somebody else save her? Dean said it himself, Laurey, you can't play God."
"Yeah, but it's not fair."
Sam shook his head. "No, it's not."
Dean sat without speaking, then got out of the car and Sam followed. They approached the tent and peeked inside. Roy was speaking to a small group of the faithful, including Layla and her mother.
"Gather round, please, everyone, gather round," Roy instructed. "Come in closer, come on up."
"Where's Sue Ann?" Dean asked.
"House," Sam replied.
The three moved to the house and Dean said, "Go find Sue Ann, Laur and I'll catch up."
Sam, as he was being pushed away, asked, "What are you gonna...?"
Laurey spied the two cops from earlier coming down the stairs and she and Dean called out, "Hey!"
The cops looked over and Dean taunted, "You gonna put that fear of God in us?"
The cops dropped their coffees and ran at Dean and Laurey, who took off.
As soon as they were gone, Sam ran up the stairs and checked around the house. It was dark. He turned back, confused, then spotted light emerging from the cracks of the outside basement entrance.
Dean and Laurey silently crept up beside a camper van. The cops were on the other side with flashlights.
"You see them?" cop one asked.
"Nah," cop two replied.
---
Sam moved towards the basement entrance, opened the doors, and slipped inside.
---
Dean slowly rose next to the passenger window of the camper van, looking behind him and keeping Laurey behind him. A large dog jumped at the window, barking wildly and they leapt back. On the other side of the van, the cops shone their lights underneath, then in at the dog who was still barking.
"Psycho mutt," cop one said.
The cops moved on and Dean and Laurey, who had climbed to the roof, looked over. They looked around and laid on the roof a moment.
Sam moved quietly through the basement to a candlelit alter littered with parts of dead animals, blood, horns, etc. There was a photo in the middle of Laurey, taken from the security camera the first time she was in the tent, before she was healed. Her face had been crossed out with what looked to be blood.
Sue Ann, from behind Sam, said, "I gave your friend life and I can take it away."
Sam was furious. He toppled over the table the alters was on, then ran at Sue Ann, but she was already up the stairs. She closed the hatches and secured it with a beam. Sam stretched to push against them and kept trying.
"Sam, can't you see?" Sue Ann said. "The Lord chose me to reward the just and punish the wicked. And your friend is wicked and she deserves to die just as Layla deserves to live. It is God's will." Sam continued to survey the room. "Goodbye, Sam."
Sam pulled a block of wood out from the wall and smashed out a small boarded up window.
Dean and Laurey were heading towards the tent when some lights went out. They stopped, looking behind them, and watched the line of lights lighting the path go out one by one. Laurey turned back to see the reaper walking towards them.
The reaper placed his hands on the sides of Laurey's head and she convulsed once.
"Laurey!" Dean yelled, furiously looking around.
---
Inside the church, Layla was sinking to her knees. Outside, Laurey was doing the same. Her eyes glazed over.
Dean started slashing at air, trying to save Laurey.
Sue Ann, still outside the tent, was reciting, holding up the cross. Sam appeared, grabbed it and threw it aside, breaking a glass bottle of blood.
The reaper stopped what he was doing and looked up. Laurey fell to the ground, gasping. Dean rushed to her side to make sure she was okay and let out a relieved sigh.
---
In the tent, Roy raised his hand from Layla's head, confused. "I don't understand..."
"I don't... feel any different...?" Layla said.
Sue Ann fell to her knees beside the blood. "My God, what have you done!"
"He's not your God," Sam retorted.
Layla looked up at Roy, confused. "Reverend?"
"Sue Ann?" Roy called.
Outside, Sue Ann looked up and saw the reaper. He smiled at her. Terrified, she rose and turned to run. The reaper was there. He placed his hand on her head, her eyes glazed over and she fell to her knees. After a moment, still smiling, he allowed her to slip to the ground where she convulsed once, twice, and died. The reaper watched, looking satisfied.
Sam left her lying there and went to look for Dean and Laurey.
Dean and Laurey made their way back to the Impala just as Sam approached.
"You two okay?" Sam asked.
Laurey shook her head as she and Dean said, "Hell of a week."
"Yeah... All right, come on. We should get going."
They entered the car and made their way back to the motel room.
Dean sat on the bed, staring at nothing. Laurey was sitting next to him, holding her son, also staring at nothing.
Sam watched his brother and friend. "What is it?"
"Nothing," Dean and Laurey replied.
Sam waited a few seconds and repeated in a more gentle tone, "What is it?"
"We did the right thing here didn't we?" Laurey questioned.
"Of course we did."
She glanced at Sam. "Doesn't feel like it."
A knock at the door stopped them.
"I got it," Sam told his brother and friend.
He opened the door as Dean and Laurey turned to look. It was Layla.
"Hey, Layla," Sam greeted. "Come on in."
"Hey," Layla said, entering and Laurey quickly rose.
"How did you now we were here?" Laurey asked.
"Sam... called. He said you... wanted to say goodbye?"
Laurey glanced at Sam, who was at the door, looking sheepish.
"I'm gonna... grab a soda," Sam said as Dean took Jonathan and walked to his brother. They left, and Sam closed the door behind them.
"So, uh," Layla began, "where are you going?"
"Don't know yet," Laurey answered. "Our work kind of takes us all over."
Layla watched Laurey in silence for a moment. "You know... I went back to see Roy."
Laurey nodded. "What happened?"
Layla sat on one of the beds. "Nothing. He laid his hands on my forehead but nothing happened."
Laurey sat beside her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry it didn't work."
"And Sue Ann. She's dead you know? Stroke."
"Yeah I heard. Roy's a good man. He doesn't deserve what's happened." She looked at her. "Must be rough. To believe in something so much, and have it disappoint you."
Layla smiled. "You wanna hear something weird?" Laurey turned to look at her. "I'm okay. Really. I guess if you're gonna have faith... you can't just have it when the miracles happen. You have to have it when they don't."
"So what now?"
Layla smiled softly. "God works in mysterious ways." She laid her hand on Laurey's shoulder, staring at her. "Goodbye, Laurey."
She rose and moved towards the door. Laurey closed her eyes a second, remaining still.
Laurey rose and turned to face Layla. "Well..." she cleared her throat as Layla turned back to face her. "I'm not much of the praying type, especially as of late... but... I'm gonna pray for you. And I know my friend will too."
Layla's eyes shined with unshed tears. "Well... There's a miracle right there." She turned and left the room. Laurey stood staring at the door.