Sam, Dean, Levi and Tasie parked and opened the trunk. Dean pulled out four tasers. Ethan was sleeping in the back.
"What do you have those amped up to?" Sam asked.
"A hundred thousand volts," Dean replied.
"Damn."
"Yeah, Levi 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 and Tasie 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 and Tasie started to take the kids upstairs, but a hand grabbed their legs, knocking them back down. The children screamed and ran to the top of the stairs.
"Sam! Tasie!" Dean and Levi called.
Dean shot his taser and missed. "Sam, get 'em outta here! Tasie, Levi, go with 'em."
Sam threw his taser to Dean. "Here take this!"
Sam and Tasie ran up the stairs and moved the children out of sight.
Dean and Levi moved around the basement on high alert, shining their flashlights into corners. "Come on!"
A ragged, hairy creature leapt up and shoved Dean and Levi backwards. Dean lost his weapon and flashlight as he fell. Levi pushed Dean to the side as 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. Electricity moved from the creature through the water and to Levi. The two shook and twitched. The creature fell, and Levi lost consciousness.
Dean shook his brother-in-law. "Levi? Come on, man."
Sam and Tasie ran down the stairs and saw Dean and Levi in the corner, the latter unmoving. "Levi!" They ran over and half lifted Levi, holding his face. "Levi, hey. Hey."
Tasie stroked her husband's cheek. "Levi? Levi! No, please!" She looked between her brothers in a panic.
HOSPITAL
Sam, Tasie, holding Ethan, and Dean stood at the desk with a receptionist.
"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, Tasie and Dean 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, Tasie and Dean noticed a doctor walking towards them and glanced at the cops. "Excuse me."
"Sure. Thanks for your help."
"Hey, doc. Is he..."
"He's resting."
"And?"
"The electrocution triggered a heart attack. Pretty massive, I'm afraid. His heart... it's damaged."
"How damaged?" Tasie asked shakily.
"We've done all we can. We can try to make him comfortable at this point. But, I'd give him 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."
Tasie's jaw clenched and she walked away.
Sam and Dean walked away, an upset look on their faces.
They sighed and made their way to Levi's room.
Levi was watching TV as Sam, Dean, Tasie and Ethan entered. "Have you three ever actually watched daytime TV? It's horrible."
Sam shook his head and sighed. "Dean, Tasie and I talked to your doctor."
"That fabric softener teddy bear. Oh, I'm gonna hunt that little bitch down."
Tasie frowned. "Levi."
Levi 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?" Dean said. "We're not gonna leave you here."
Levi's tone turned serious. "Hey, you better take care of that car. Or, I swear, I'll haunt your asses. Dean may drive it, but it's a car we all ride in. Take care of Ethan."
"Sam, Tasie and I don't think that's funny."
"Oh, come on, it's a little funny." Levi paused a moment. "Look, Sammy, Dean, Tase, what can I say, dudes, it's a dangerous gig. I drew the short straw. That's it, end of story."
"Don't talk like that, all right?" Sam said. "We still have options."
"What options? Yeah, burial or cremation. And I know it's not easy. But I'm gonna die. And you three can't stop it."
"Watch us," Tasie said sharply.
Ethan whined, holding his hands out to his father.
---
Sam made his way back to the motel room and started researching. Tasie, Dean, who insisted on driving them back, and Ethan stayed at the hospital with Levi.
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 Levi. He'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 Dean, Tasie and I are uh... gonna do whatever it takes to get him 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 Levi leaning against the jam, looking terrible. Tasie, holding Ethan, and Dean stood behind.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked.
"I checked myself out," Levi replied.
"What, are you crazy?"
Tasie frowned. "Yes. He is."
Levi entered the room, leaning on everything within reach. "Well, I'm not gonna die in a hospital when I know the doctors can't do anything." He shrugged.
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, Tasie and Dean."
Sam helped Levi to a chair while Dean and Tasie walked in, the latter still holding her sleeping son. "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. 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 Levi while Tasie got Ethan out. Levi opened his door and looked around. There was a sign next to the tent that read 'The Church of Roy LeGrange. Faith Healer. Witness The Miracle.'
Levi grimaced and started pulling herself from the car and Sam tried to help. "I got ya."
"I got it," Levi 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, Levi, this guy's supposed to be the real deal."
Levi 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," he 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.
Levi frowned. "I mean, come on, Sam, a faith healer?"
"Maybe it's time to have a little faith, Levi," Tasie said.
"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, focusing on Levi. "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."
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 Levi and Tasie, and their son Ethan."
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 five 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 them and moved inside the tent.
Dean looked after Layla. "Well, I bet you she can work in some mysterious ways."
Tasie rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "Child present."
Sam, Dean, Tasie, Levi and Ethan, who had decided he wanted to walk, entered the tent. The sign at the entrance read 'Welcome All Faiths. True Believers Revival.'
Levi looked at the small stage which had a lectern with candles on it.
Dean looked around and tilted his head to the corner. "Yeah, peace, love, and trust all over."
Sam and Tasie followed his gaze to a security camera. Levi started to take a seat, but Tasie put an arm around him and moved them towards the front.
"Come on," Tasie said.
"Don't!" Levi cried. "What are you doing? Let's sit here."
"We're sitting up front."
"What? Why?"
Tasie, followed by her brothers, moved her husband up the aisle. "Come on."
Levi growled. "Oh, come on, Tasie."
"You all right?"
"This is ridiculous," he muttered, pushing her hands away. "I'm good, Tase, get off me."
Tasie let go and pointed to four empty seats behind Layla and her mother. "Perfect."
"Yeah, perfect," Levi replied sarcastically.
Sam moved in first. "You take the aisle. Dean, Tasie, you take the middle."
Tasie tried to help Levi sit and he raised a hand irritably. Ethan reached toward his father who picked him up, shooting a look to his wife and brothers-in-law.
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 and Tasie saw a table on stage, filled with religious items. They 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.
Levi said quietly to Sam, Tasie and Dean, "Yeah, sure, and into their wallets."
"You think so, young man?" Roy asked and the crowd fell silent.
"Sorry," Levi 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, son?"
Levi cleared his throat, hesitating. "Levi."
"Levi. 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 Levi.
Levi shook his head. "No, it's okay."
"What are you doing?" Sam and Tasie whispered.
"You've come here to be healed, haven't cha?" Roy asked.
Levi hesitated again. "Well, yeah, but ah..." the crowd clapped and made encouraging noises, "...maybe you should just pick someone else."
Sam, Dean and Tasie looked at their brother-in-law/husband like he was insane and the crowd clapped loudly.
"Oh, no," Roy said. "I didn't pick you, Levi, the Lord did."
The crowd was getting more excited. "That's right! Yeah! Come one!"
"Get up there!" Sam and Tasie cried excitedly.
Levi reluctantly rose and Tasie took Ethan from him. Sue Ann moved to assist and stood him next to Roy.
"You ready?" Roy asked.
"Look, no disrespect, but ahh, I'm not exactly a believer," Levi admitted.
Roy smiled. "You will be, son. 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 Levi's shoulder, then one on the side of his head.
"All right now. All right now," Roy said to himself.
Levi's eyes glazed over. His knees weakened and he sank to his knees, Roy's hands still on his head.
"All right, now," Roy said again.
Levi wobbled then fell back and slipped to the stage floor.
Sam, Tasie and Dean jumped from their chairs and ran to the stage. "Levi!"
The crowd clapped excitedly.
Tasie grabbed the front of Levi's hoodie and placed a hand on his cheek. Levi's eyes burst open and he gasped. "Say something!"
Levi blinked groggily and looked up. Roy was standing above him, 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 Levi, then turned and vanished. Levi watched him, shocked.
---
Sam, Tasie and Dean took Levi to the hospital to get him checked out.
"So, you really feel okay?" Sam asked.
Levi 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 man 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, 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, Levi, 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, Tasie, it was a spirit of sorts."
Tasie looked at him a moment. "But if there was something there, Levi, I think Sam and I would've seen it, too. I mean, we'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, Levi's been hunting long enough, and researching enough, to trust a feeling like this."
Sam sighed. "Yeah, all right. So, what do you three wanna do?"
"I want you and Tasie to go check out the heart attack guy," Levi said. "I'm gonna take Ethan and visit the reverend. Dean?"
Dean nodded. "I'll go with you, man."
---
Dean and Levi, holding Ethan, 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," Levi 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?" Levi 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 man with an important purpose. A job to do. And it isn't finished." Levi looked at him, slightly surprised. Ethan smiled.
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?" Tasie inquired.
"Well, thin air is what. I mean, it wasn't anything."
"All right, thanks."
As Sam and Tasie left, they noticed the clock on the wall wasn't working and the former said, "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?" Tasie questioned.
"How'd you know?" the man asked, surprised.
Tasie and Sam shared a look.
ROY LEGRANGE'S PORCH STEPS
Dean and Levi, holding his son, were leaving. Layla and her mother were waiting to go in.
"Dean, Levi, Ethan, hey," Layla greeted.
"Hey," Dean and Levi replied.
"How you feeling?"
"I feel good," Levi 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 Levi before asking the latter in a frustrated tone, "Why are you still even here? You got what you wanted."
Levi 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 Levi apologized.
"It's okay," Layla replied.
Mrs. Rourke stared into her daughter's eyes and said slowly, "No. It isn't." She looked to Levi. "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 Levi watched them go and turned to look back at Roy and Sue Ann's house.
---
Dean, Ethan and Levi made their way back to the motel and entered. Dean threw his keys on the bed and started taking off his jacket while Levi laid Ethan down, as it was time for a nap. Sam and Tasie were at their laptops.
"What'd you two find out?" Dean asked.
"I'm sorry," Sam and Tasie said quietly.
Dean threw his jacket on the bed and approached Sam and Tasie as he and Levi questioned, "Sorry about what?"
"Marshall Hall died at 4:17," Tasie replied.
"The exact time I was healed," Levi stated in a stunned tone.
"Yeah. So, Sam and I put together a list of everyone's Roy's healed, six people over the past year, and we 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."
Levi held a hand up in a stop motion. "Wait, wait, wait. So Marshall Hall died to save me? Wow."
Sam looked at him, upset. "Levi, the guy probably would've died anyway. And someone else would've been healed."
"You should've never brought me here."
"Levi, I was just trying to save your life. To give both you and Tasie 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," Levi deadpanned. "Something else is doing it for him."
"What do you mean?" Sam, Tasie and Dean asked.
"The old man I saw on stage." He 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 and Tasie looked at Levi, 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 Levi, you said you saw a dude in a suit."
Levi 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, Tasie, Ethan and Dean couldn't."
"Maybe."
He pursed his lips. "There's nothing else it could be Sam. The only question is how Roy is controlling the damn thing."
"That cross," Sam and Tasie said.
"What?" Dean and Levi asked.
"There was this cross, Tasie and I noticed it in the church and we knew we had seen it before," Sam said as he looked through some papers and snorted, holding the card up to Dean and Levi. "Here."
Dean and Levi 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 five 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. Ethan was sleeping in the car.
"If Roy's using a spell, there might be a spell book," Sam said.
"See if you two can find it." Dean looked at his watch. "Hurry up too, the service starts in 15 minutes. Levi 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 and Tasie told him.
"Thank you," the protestor replied.
Sam and Tasie made their way to Roy's house. They watched as Roy came down the stairs, assisted by Sue Ann on one arm, a dark-haired man on the other.
Sam and Tasie climbed in a window and started searching the house. They looked on the bookshelves and Sam 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 Levi 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 Levi were walking slowly up the side aisle.
Dean's phone rang and he answered. "What have you two got?"
Sam spoke. "Roy's choosing victims he sees as immoral. And Tasie and I think I know who's next on his list. Remember that protestor?"
"What, the guy in the parking lot?"
"Yeah. Yeah, we'll find him. But you and Levi can't let Roy heal anyone, all right?"
Dean hung up and he and Levi moved further towards the front of the tent.
Sam and Tasie were 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 Levi 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," Levi told her.
"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, Levi and Layla stared at each other.
Sue Ann stood waiting and held out her hand. "Layla."
"Please," Dean and Levi 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 Levi and shook her head. "I'm sorry."
Dean and Levi called out, "Layla. Layla!"
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 Levi, frustrated, moved to stand near Mrs. Rourke. She was crying and covering her face with her hands.
PARKING LOT
Sam and Tasie continued to watch.
Wright ran around a car as the reaper slowly followed. "Help!"
Sam and Tasie 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 and Tasie found Wright and looked around wildly. "Where is he!"
Wright grabbed Sam and Tasie's shoulders and pointed. "Right there!"
Sam and Tasie 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 need to do something," Levi said quietly, moving to the back of the tent.
Dean nodded and he and Levi yelled, "Fire! Hurry, tent's on fire!"
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 Levi 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. "Levi 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 and Tasie, nodded, and turned back to see the reaper in front of him. "No!"
Sam spoke into the phone. "Dean, Levi, 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 Levi yanking on his arm. He looked to where he was pointing and the two of them looked at Sue Ann who was behind the stage, facing the corner and reciting. "Sue Ann."
Levi 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 and Tasie 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 Levi and tucked the cross inside her blouse. "Help! Help me!"
Dean and Levi 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 and Tasie moved to help Wright as the former said, "We got you. We got you."
"Thank God," Wright said.
CHURCH TENT ENTRANCE
Two cops manhandled Dean and Levi 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, Levi." Dean and Levi 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 Levi.
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, Levi?" Layla asked. "And it could have been my only chance."
"He's not a healer," Levi 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, Levi."
She walked away. Dean and Levi 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 Levi said under her breath, "You deserve it a lot more than me."
Dean glanced at him worriedly and Levi quickly looked 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 Levi walked past behind them to where Sam and Tasie were waiting and they overheard.
"Thank you, reverend," Mrs. Rourke replied. "God bless you."
---
The five 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, Tasie and I found this." He handed the little book to Dean and Levi 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," Levi 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, Levi."
Dean took the book back from Levi 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?" Tasie asked.
Levi looked at his wife. "Maybe both. Whatever we do, better do it soon or he's healing Layla tonight."
---
The five made their way to the church tent parking lot that night and rolled in without lights and stopped. Ethan was left in the car.
"That's Layla's car," Sam noted. "She's already here."
Levi nodded sadly. "Yeah."
"Levi..."
Before Sam could say anything else, Levi 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," Tasie said. "But what are you gonna do? Let somebody else save her? Dean said it himself, honey, you can't play God."
"Yeah, but it's not fair."
Sam and Tasie shook their heads. "No, it's not."
Dean and Levi sat without speaking, then got out of the car and Sam and Tasie 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 and Tasie replied.
The four moved to the house and Dean said, "Go find Sue Ann, Levi and I'll catch up."
Sam and Tasie, as they were being pushed away, asked, "What are you gonna...?"
Levi spied the two cops from earlier coming down the stairs and he 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 Levi, who took off.
As soon as they were gone, Sam and Tasie ran up the stairs and checked around the house. It was dark. They turned back, confused, then spotted light emerging from the cracks of the outside basement entrance.
Dean and Levi 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 and Tasie moved towards the basement entrance, opened the doors, and slipped inside.
---
Dean and Levi slowly rose next to the passenger window of the camper van, looking behind them. 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 Levi, who had climbed to the roof, looked over. They looked around and laid on the roof a moment.
---
Sam and Tasie 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 Levi, taken from the security camera the first time he was in the tent, before he was healed. His face had been crossed out with what looked to be blood.
Sue Ann, from behind Sam and Tasie, said, "I gave your brother-in-law/husband life and I can take it away."
Sam and Tasie were furious. They toppled over the table the alter 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 and Tasie stretched to push against them and kept trying.
"Sam, Tasie, can't you see?" Sue Ann said. "The Lord chose me to reward the just and punish the wicked. And your brother-in-law/husband is wicked and he deserves to die just as Layla deserves to live. It is God's will." Sam and Tasie continued to survey the room. "Goodbye, Sam. Goodbye, Tasie."
Sam pulled a block of wood out from the wall and smashed out a small boarded up window.
Dean and Levi 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. Levi turned back to see the reaper walking towards them.
The reaper placed his hands on the sides of Levi's head and he convulsed once.
"Levi!" Dean yelled, furiously looking around.
---
Inside the church, Layla was sinking to her knees. Outside, Levi was doing the same. His eyes glazed over.
Dean started slashing at air, trying to save his brother-in-law.
Sue Ann, still outside the tent, was reciting, holding up the cross. Sam and Tasie appeared, the former grabbed it and threw it aside, breaking a glass bottle of blood.
The reaper stopped what he was doing and looked up. Levi fell to the ground, gasping. Dean rushed to his side to make sure he was okay.
---
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 and Tasie 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 and Tasie left her lying there and went to look for Dean and Levi.
Dean and Levi made their way back to the Impala just as Sam and Tasie approached.
"You two okay?" Sam and Tasie asked.
Levi shook his head as he 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. Levi was sitting next to him, with Ethan on his lap, also staring at nothing.
Sam and Tasie watched their brother and brother-in-law/husband. "What is it?"
"Nothing," Dean and Levi replied.
Sam and Tasie waited a few seconds and repeated in a more gentle tone, "What is it?"
"We did the right thing here didn't we?" Levi questioned.
"Of course we did."
He glanced at Sam. "Doesn't feel like it."
A knock at the door stopped them.
"I got it," Sam told his brother, sister and brother-in-law.
He opened the door as Dean, Tasie and Levi turned to look. It was Layla.
"Hey, Layla," Sam greeted. "Come on in."
"Hey," Layla said, entering and Levi, handing Ethan to Tasie, quickly rose.
"How did you now we were here?" Levi asked.
"Sam and Tasie... called. They said you... wanted to say goodbye?"
Levi glanced at Sam and Tasie, the former of whom was at the door, looking sheepish.
"I'm gonna... grab a soda," Sam said as Dean and Tasie followed their brother. They left, and Sam closed the door behind them.
"So, uh," Layla began, "where are you going?"
"Don't know yet," Levi answered. "Our work kind of takes us all over."
Layla watched Levi in silence for a moment. "You know... I went back to see Roy."
Levi nodded. "What happened?"
Layla sat on one of the beds. "Nothing. He laid his hands on my forehead but nothing happened."
Levi 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 him. "Must be rough. To believe in something so much, and have it disappoint you."
Layla smiled. "You wanna hear something weird?" Levi 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 Levi's shoulder, staring at her. "Goodbye, Levi."
She rose and moved towards the door. Levi closed his eyes a second, remaining still.
Levi rose and turned to face Layla. "Well..." He cleared his throat as Layla turned back to face him. "I'm not much of the praying type... but... I'm gonna pray for you. And I know my brother will too."
Layla's eyes shined with unshed tears. "Well... There's a miracle right there." She turned and left the room. Levi stood staring at the door.