28. The Second Trial
My visit from Crowley is pushed to the back of my head with the next case the Winchesters comes across: vampires in Conaway Springs, Kansas. There, we encounter a group of teenager hunters, the group founded by a girl Sam and Dean know from a previous case. In these kids' cases, they're hunters in their spare time, when they aren't doing school work. Yes, they go to actual school, like, normal school.
In the end, turns out the man who was giving the kids a home was only trying to create a "better" generation of hunters by allying with a vampire. The sick bastard was shunned by the kids, and the grief made him take his own life. From then on, the kids were on their own. But they seemed to be tight-knit, so there was a good chance that they'd be good friends for a long while. It was a different dynamic to see, as the only hunters I've been around is the pair of brothers.
The kids reminded me of myself a little bit: the motivation, the survival instinct. It was a shame that they were trying to juggle two different things instead of choosing one and sticking with that path for the rest of their life.
Now, here I am, back at the bunker. I've gotten an early rise this morning, and I decide to let my frustration out by hitting the shooting gallery. I don't hold back and make it a goal of mine to demolish the target until it's shreds of paper. Every bullet is another release of my anger. If only I could put Crowley as my target and blast the bastard back into Hell.
My teeth grind together. He ruined me. He ruined my life. He's going to take my life away from me. I'm running out of time. I need to tell Sam and Dean. Thinking it is one thing, actually telling the boys will be harder on me, I know.
I pretend I'm knocking out demons like it's child's play. Bang. Bang. Bang, bang, bang. I fire mercilessly until I'm out of bullets. I realize I'm breathing heavy from the shot of adrenaline in my system. I put my hands down on the table, realize they're shaking. I'm shaking. It's from anger, not fear. I'm not afraid of Crowley. I never was. But I know some part of me is afraid. Some part of me doesn't want to die so young.
Part of me isn't ready to leave this new life I've adopted.
"Someone's getting busy this morning," Dean comments.
"Needed the practice," I say.
"Whoa. You okay, Max?"
"Yeah. Fine." I turn to him. "Why?"
"Well, call me crazy, but the target took a hell of a beating."
"What, you don't get spells where you just want to release all emotions by blasting away?" I ask smartly.
"Not often, no. Something up?"
"Lack of sleep. Not exactly a mood lifter."
"I'll say. When's the last time you slept, Max?"
"Really, you're asking me that? Like you and Sam are poster boys for a good night's sleep."
Dean takes my face carefully in his hand. "If there's something going on, we need to know."
"It's just my internal issues. Still having a hard time letting go of the past." Because the past sure as hell isn't letting go of me anytime soon.
"Anything I can do to help with that?"
"Not unless you can erase the past or change it," I say sorrowfully. "What are you down here for, anyway? You think I got lost in the halls?"
"We need to head to Garth's boat. Kevin called."
"Oh? What'd he want?"
"He sent out an S.O.S."
I swallow, feeling the nerves set in. "Is he in trouble?"
"That's why we're going."
I nod. "Okay. Let's not waste any more time. The kid could be gone by the time we get there." I'm heading for the door, with Dean on my heels.
* * *
"Kevin, open up!" Dean's pounding on the metal door. "Kevin!"
"Whoa!" I say as Kevin opens the door, looking like he's seen a ghost. I can't sugarcoat his appearance. He's carrying a frying pan, a weapon of his choice. The most terrifying thing is his eyes. His eyes are haunted, his appearance is worn and unkempt. He's reverted back to how I first saw him. Poor kid. "Whoa. Geez. What's going on? What's with the S.O.S.?" Sam, Dean, and I let ourselves in.
"It's him," says Kevin.
"It's who?" asks Sam.
"Crowley."
"What about him?" asks Dean.
"He's in my head."
"He's...in your head," I repeat slowly.
"Do you know what that means?"
"Yeah, it means we need to up your anxiety meds," Dean says carefully. "Kevin, you're dreaming. Look, if Crowley knew where you were, he'd do a hell of a lot more than mess with your head."
"All right, where's Garth?" Sam asks.
"On a case or-or the dentist," the kid stammers. "I don't know. I haven't heard from him."
"Okay, well, what did you want to tell us that you couldn't say over the phone?" I ask, focusing on the task at hand. I sigh. "Would you put down the frying pan, please?" Kevin appeases me and puts the pan back on the stove.
"I translated the second trial from the tablet."
"You...crazy prophet, you. Nice work!" Dean says.
"And if Crowley's in my head, he knows."
"Okay, he's definitely not in your head," the brothers say almost simultaneously.
"He's not in your head, Kevin," I say gently, trying to not repeat the boys. "It's okay. Just...We know you're distressed. Just stay with us, all right? What's the second trial?"
"An innocent soul has to be rescued from Hell and delivered unto Heaven," the prophet reports.
"What?" I tilt my head.
"'Unto.' That's-that's how God talks."
"Rescue a soul from Hell?" Sam repeats. "Like actually...Go to Hell? How-how do you get a soul unto Heaven? I mean, how do you even get a soul out of Hell?"
"We're gonna need an expert," says Dean.
* * *
When Dean meant "expert," the last thing I thought of was a demon. Well, logically, demons would know all about Hell. We summoned a crossroads demon and got him trapped in a huge Devil's trap. Now, we've got him in an abandoned building, tied to a chair, under yet another Devil's trap. All we've got left is the interrogation.
"I ain't got nothing," the demon says defiantly. With a nod from Dean, I throw some holy water on the demon. I hide the tiny smirk as the demon's skin sizzles.
"You want to change your answer?" I ask.
"Bite me."
"Well, then how about another owie?" Dean says.
The demon screams as I put more holy water on him. I'm getting way more enjoyment out of this than I should. I'd love it even more if we had the King of Hell in our presence instead of the common demon.
"You know, wouldn't it be a lot easier just to tell us how to enter Hell, uh, uninvited?" says Sam.
"It's...a secret."
"We promise we won't tell anyone," I deadpan.
"No! Wait. I can't. It's forbidden. They're gonna kill me." The demon howls as, for a third time, I pour holy water on the son-of-a-bitch. "Please...All right, look...For a price, y'all can be smuggled across Hell's border."
"By who?" Dean asks.
"Rogue reapers. They got secret ways, in and out. Not just Hell-the Veil, Heaven."
"Rouge reapers smuggling people?" asks Sam.
"People, souls..."
"So, what? They're like Hell coyotes?"
"Now kill me. Come on, man. Better death than Crowley."
"Hmm. Good point," Dean muses. "But first you're gonna tell us...everything."
And spill the demon does. It takes the persuasion of a lot of holy water to get every detail we need to get this second trial underway. After some more torture by holy water, we get a name, and an address.
**Trial 2 of 3. Let's do this!**