The weather is freezing, but I don't complain as Dean drives through the streets of Lawrence. The Impala doesn't have a heater, and it's a shame, though it beats walking 5 miles up to Carl Mason's house. The way there is mostly quiet, we don't talk about the kiss or what needs to be done. His gaze is focused on the road, and my head is too preoccupied with what to ask the police officer. I have no idea how he seems to be connected to my father's case. Yet I know there must be something he can tell me, judging by my mother's interest in him.
Maybe Dean was right and I jumped too soon at the opportunity to learn more about this. Should I just drop my father's name to Carl? Or should I dive into the existence of the supernatural? Either of those things sounds scary enough. Perhaps, the scariest part is to actually learn what killed my father all those years ago. I didn't think this through, but it's too late to go back now. And even if I dare, as I told Dean, Elena would never allow us to accompany her next time.
"Are you ok?" Dean's question pulls me out of my thoughts. He quickly looks my way. "You seem awfully quiet for a girl on a mission."
How do I tell Dean that I've got a bad feeling about this? "Yeah, just thinking." I don't say anything else, and he keeps driving to our destination. It takes another 15 minutes to finally get to Carl's house.
The man leaves up a hill on the outskirts of town. There's not much to see in the surroundings, and there's no way to get there unnoticed considering that the Impala is the only car besides the pickup truck on the driveway.
"Do you have any idea how you wanna tackle this?" Dean asks the question I don't know how to answer.
"Not really, let's- let's just ask him about his job with your dad first," I respond hesitantly. "He might tell us more if he knows you're his ex-boss son."
My friend doesn't look convinced. "Or he might tell us less."
"I guess, but there's only one way to find out." I step out of the Impala with as much confidence as I can muster. Dean follows shortly after. The wind is even cooler outside the car, and I shiver involuntarily. I suppose I should have brought a jacket with me, but I forgot it at the Winchester home.
"Here," Dean says as he hands me his jacket. I hesitate before taking it. When I do, he smiles at me and helps me put it on. I don't need his aid to do so, I allow it because it's nice to -as bad as it sounds- have his hands on me. It reminds me of the kisses that we've shared.
"Thanks," I murmur. Just as I begin to slip away from him, Dean holds my face between his hands. His green eyes travel to my lips, and I try not to do the same. I fail miserably. They look so inviting, it's a task in itself not to fall into temptation.
"Whatever he tells you, or doesn't tell you, don't forget I'm here with you." I nod and we approach the door.
The home is old and kind of unkept, I would almost believe no one is living here if it weren't for the car and noises coming from the inside. It sounds as if Carl Mason is moving furniture around. Dean and I share a glance as we climb up the porch's steps. We knock on the door and the noises instantly cease. For a few seconds, nothing happens. It's unclear, but Carl seems to be pretending no one is home.
I knock again, "Mr. Mason, we know you're in there." The noises resume. "We just want to ask you some questions."
It takes Carl Mason another minute of moving stuff around before he finally comes to the door. I don't know what I was expecting, but a smiling man wasn't it. The ex-cop looks clean, refreshed, and very willing to hear our request. "Hey there! So sorry for the delay, but I'm in the middle of some... house renovation." He opens the door wider to let us in. "Come on in, you said you wanted to ask some questions, right?"
Dean goes to step inside, but I place a hand on his arm. He glances at me oddly. "Yeah, are you ok with that, Mr. Mason?"
The man's smile widens even more. "Of course, why wouldn't I be? Always happy to help."
This is too weird. "But we haven't even told you what this is about." Carl Mason's smirk erases instantly, and I try to subtly reach for the knife in my waistband.
"Isn't this about the for sale sign?" The grin is back on his face. I stop my movements.
"What?" Dean asks, flabbergasted, and I'm as confused as he is.
"For the house?" The chubby man points to the lawn, where there's a FOR SALE sign pinned. Was that there before?
"Ah- no," I speak, "we're not here for the house."
The man seems dejected by my response. "Oh, I was- really looking forward to selling, you see."
"Why?" Dean asks curiously.
He shrugs, "let's just say I'm ready to move out of here." Carl takes a moment to look us over more carefully. "Are you even old enough to buy a house?"
I sigh, annoyed. This is going nowhere. "We aren't here for the house. We want to ask you some questions about a case."
Now Carl is scandalized, "a case? That's private information, you know." He shakes his head and begins to close the door. "You better go home, kids."
"Wait!" Dean stops the man. "She's exaggerating, it's not about a case, it's on some- ah- public information that isn't very clear." I glance at Dean but remain quiet, where is he getting at? "You see, we're writing this school paper, and it's due tomorrow, you'd be a lifesaver if you help us out with clarification."
I don't know if it's the lifesaver part, but Carl seems more convinced now than before. "Fine! Step inside kids." The man opens the door, and we finally follow him.
The house isn't what one would expect a 'renovating house' to be like. Sure, there's furniture in places it normally isn't, but aside from that, everything looks normal. There are no cans of paint or working materials. There's even a layer of dust covering the whole place as if no one has been living here.
It's too odd. "Dean..." That's the only thing I can say before everything turns black.
...
Life is funny in a sarcastic kind of way. As a hunter, I've learned to identify monsters since I was seven. It's almost impossible that one can take me by surprise. Almost. Because, above everything else, I've never encountered a demon face-to-face before. Elena never allowed us to go near those cases, probably too worried we would end up like my father. Of course, I knew the basics of demons, like the eyes or the holy water. It never occurred to me to carry it with me to a simple interrogation. And the Colt! Man, I know I left the gun back at the motel. Why would I need it to ask questions to Carl Mason? Except if Carl Mason is a demon.
The first thing I feel is my hands tied behind my back, the strength of the rope is nearly bruising. The next thing I know is that I'm thrown haphazardly on the floor like a used rag doll. Everything hurts on my left side against the hardwood floor. My guess is that it's been a while since I've been in this position. I try to listen in on my captor's whereabouts but the house seems to be quiet. I wait a few seconds to make sure, and when I don't hear anything, I peek through my eyelashes.
Carl Mason isn't around. I'm in the middle of the living room, right in the center where the sofa used to be. I know because I managed to get a look at the place before I was knocked out. To my relief, Dean is next to me in a similar state that I am. It's not as if I'm happy he's unconscious, at least he isn't dead or gone. Fuck, I should've known better, I'm the most experienced hunter of us both. Now I've placed him in danger yet again. Maybe my mother had the right idea when she insisted no one outside the family should know about the supernatural.
"Dean," I whisper, trying to wake him up. "Dean!" He begins to stir in his sleep. While he wakes, I try to undo my binds. It's then that I also notice that our feet are tied up as well. "Dean, are you ok?"
He blinks awake, "what happened?"
I'm seething. "The motherfucker tricked us! He's a demon."
Dean sounds alarmed, "a demon? Are you sure? How do you know?" He attempts to break free from the rope as well, and I feel even more guilty.
"He's a monster and knocked us out while we weren't paying attention, there's a weird, unsolved murder investigation with his name on it, and he knows something about my father's death." I stop moving when I remember the knife tucked in my boot. "It's just a wild guess."
"Son of a bitch, what are we going to do?"
That's a good question indeed. I don't have anything we can use against a demon with me right now, but I guess if we manage to escape before he comes back, it won't be necessary. It's going to be ok, this might be my first demon, yet it isn't my first rodeo. Either with a monster or being trapped by said monster.
"There's a knife tucked inside my boot. He took the one in my waistband but not the other. You think you can reach it?"
Dean tries to look at me unsuccessfully. "Maybe. What if he comes back?"
"That's why we need to hurry, come on!" The plan seems easier said than done. I have to twist my ankle as close as I can to his back without hurting my own ribs on the hard floor. I end up kicking him twice before we manage to find the right position. God, that sounded bad. "Do you have it?"
"Wait, just one more sec..." Holding the current angle is more challenging than not. "Almost there..." God, I hope the demon doesn't come back soon. "Done!" Now I can relax my posture and sit up.
"Great, give it to me, I'll cut my binds."
"No, let me do mine and then I'll undo yours."
I hesitate, "are you sure you can do it?" I don't want him to cut a finger off by mistake.
"Yeah, sure." Dean appears to be very confident, so I allow him to continue. He sits and begins to work. Unfortunately, just then, I hear a door open and close. The floorboards creak under somebody's weight, someone is coming over, probably the fat, demon cop. Dean hears too, and slows down his movements so Carl doesn't suspect. Finally, on the threshold leading to another hall, the man appears.
He smiles wickedly, "it's nice to see that you're well-behaved. Just as I left you!" If his previous behavior wasn't any indication of his nature, he flashes his black eyes at us. Dean jumps slightly, and the demon cackles. "Haven't seen a demon before in your life, boy?"
Dean doesn't answer, he's too concentrated on cutting off his binds, unsuspicious. "How did you know we were coming?"
Carl's -the demon's- gaze is directed at me. "I knew someone was going to come eventually, I just didn't think it'd be two kids." He laughs again, "are you playing to be hunters?"
I try not to feel offended by his mockery. "I know you have something to do with my father's death!" He feigns innocence. "James Colt, ring any bells?"
The demon's eyes are now quite surprised. "Well, well, this is about the Colts? For a moment there, I thought you were here for the murder case."
Of course he had something to do with that as well. I hurry up to keep questioning him, even if the conditions aren't optimal. "What do you know about my father's death?"
He shrugs, "James Colt had to die, it was meant to be for destiny to happen."
From the corner of my eye, I see Dean shot me a glance. He must be done with his binds. I shake my head slightly. "What does that even mean?" My words are directed at the demon in front of me.
"Who are you? Are you the youngest Colt or the oldest?" The monster asks with a smirk on his face. There must be something in mine that tells him the answer he seeks. "Ah, I see, you're heaven's sword." He looks disappointed for a second, as if he had hoped for me to be Lily. "It would be so easy to kill you now," he takes a step closer and I tense up. Whatever happens, I must be brave. "But everything must happen as it's written." The demon nods to himself.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You'll find out soon enough." He takes one more step, and that's when Dean jumps from his place.
The demon is clearly taken by surprise, Dean manages to tackle him to the ground with surprising strength. They both fall and I look around frantically for the knife. To my luck, Dean has it with him, so I can't use it to break my bounds. I struggle in them while my friend uses the weapon to stab Carl Mason's body. The demon pushes Dean to the side and laughs at his attempt to hurt him. It's a common, silver knife, so I'm not surprised it does nothing against the monster.
"Hey!" I scream, trying to get his attention away from Dean. It's clearly unsuccessful, so I start with plan B. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio," that clearly gets his attention, "omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo, omnis legio diabo..." The demon's face shows rage, and I should have seen what came.
He lifts a hand, and the air is suddenly not there anymore. My lungs burn, I can't breathe. The chanting stops, and he smiles murderously. From the corner of my eye, I see Dean gaining his bearings. He looks at me and then at the demon. I don't need to be a genius to know what he plans to do; attack head-on with brute strength. It won't work, the demon will just kill him. The same way demons killed my father. I can't let him do that, I can't. He trusted in me to show him the ropes of hunting, he trusted I would keep him safe, and I failed. I know now why my mother insisted not to let anyone know about the supernatural. His life is at risk because of me.
I try to say his name, to tell him not to attack, to ask for him to run, but the air is just not there. Just as I'm about to slip away into unconsciousness, there's a loud bang and the air is back. I breathe in as much as I can, my lungs still burning from the strain. I cough and fall on my side once again, my hands remain tied up. I don't know what's happening, but a tender voice next to me utters words of reassurance. It's then that I notice the gentle hand on my back, caressing in circles. Then, my hands and feet are free and Dean helps me sit up.
"Are you ok?" There's worry in his eyes I've never seen before. Except, perhaps, in Elena's eyes. I nod with a soft smile on my face, kind of feeling like I might pass out any second. Dean's eyes are so green–
"What were you thinking?" Fuck. It's not until then that my brain processes what happened, the bang. Elena stands by the door with the Colt in her hands and a serious look on her face. Before her is the dead body of Carl Mason.
"Mom..." my voice is weaker than I would have liked.
She doesn't let me speak. "Coming to a demon's house, unprotected, with a strange boy?" Elena shakes her head in clear disappointment.
I try to stand up, and Dean has to help me. It's embarrassing. "It's- it was about father's case..."
"I know that." I've never seen her so angry. "I was following this lead, and you had to mess it up," she says my name firmly.
Dean steps up, "Ma'am, it wasn't her fault, I convinced her to come."
Elena doesn't spare Dean a glance. "Stay out of this, boy." Then, she adds a little softer, "why don't you wait outside while I talk to my daughter?" Even though it's structured as a question, we all know it isn't. Dean looks at me one last time before stepping out. I try not to meet his eyes, too embarrassed to do so. When he's finally out of earshot, my mother speaks again. "What were you thinking?" It's the same question uttered when she arrived, and I still don't know what to say to make her less angry at me.
"I wanted to help." My voice is as pathetic as I feel.
Elena remains silent as she studies me for a moment. I can't figure out what she's thinking. Finally, she says, "Come on, let's go. There are a lot of things we have to do."
I'm skeptical. "There are?"
"Yes, we have to drop off that boy and go to the motel to pack."
Suddenly, I feel dizzier than before. "Pack?"
Elena doesn't respond, but we both know the answer to my question. We can't stay in Lawrence any longer. At that moment, I swear I can hear my heart breaking.
AU What Is and What Should Never Be (2x20)
Part Six Point Five (Patreon exclusive): This is an alternate reality (+18). -check the external link-