/ 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 /
XXIV. War
—
AFTER GOING TO THE TWO DIFFERENT hospitals, the Winchesters decided to rendezvous back at the motel room. The four of them sat in the room, processing the vision Sam had told them he just had. While John looked at the youngest son in disbelief, Sam grimaced at his sudden migraine and rubbed the bridge of his nose using his pointer finger and thumb.
While the adults were arguing on whether or not Sam's vision was reliable, Sybil's focus was on her spellbook. They were so busy tracking down the potential victims that they didn't notice Sybil reciting a spell that expanded her abilities. She started to feel light-headed, so she stopped and laid down, listening to the conversation until she was okay to continue casting the spell.
"Something like this starts happening to your brother, you pick up the phone and call me," John scolded, looking up at Dean from the motel bed he sat.
Dean turned over his shoulder from where he stood, slightly scoffing at his father's statement. "Call you? Are you kidding me? Dad, I called you from Lawerence, all right? Sam called you when I was dying. We even called you when Sybil was able to use the Mist. Getting you on the phone— I got a better chance of winning the lottery."
Sybil frowned slightly at the conversation. Although she felt terrible that her father was out of the loop about what was going on with his kids, she understood Dean's frustration.
John just nodded. "You're right. Although I'm not really crazy about this new tone of yours, you're right."
"Look, guys, visions or no visions, the fact is we know the demon is coming tonight," Sam stated. "This family's gonna go through the same hell we went through."
"No, they're not," John replied. "No one is... Ever again."
When Sam's phone began to ring, Sybil gasped loudly and sat up, grabbing the attention of the three men.
John sat up and moved over to the motel bed next to the one he was sitting on. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"
"Don't answer that," Sybil warned, shaking her head.
Sam raised an eyebrow before turning his attention towards his phone. "Why?"
"It's Meg."
Dean looked Sybil in shock. "How do you know?"
"I just have a feeling," Sybil explained.
"Isn't she the girl that took a swan dive from that building," John asked his sons.
Dean nodded. "Yeah, I was sure that she was dead."
Sam hesitantly picked up his phone from the table and answered it. "Hello?"
"Sam?"
Sam's eyes widened as he turned towards Sybil, confirming that her suspicions were correct. "Meg. Last time I saw you, you fell out a window."
"Oh, yeah, thanks to you. That really hurt my feelings, by the way."
"Just your feelings," Sam asked, mainly in disbelief that she was even able to pick up the phone and call him. "That was a seven-story drop."
"Let me speak to your dad."
Sam looked at John as he walked closer to him. Sam looked away before he replied. "My dad? I don't know where my dad is."
"It's time for the grown-ups to talk, Sam. Let me speak to him now."
Sam looked at his father once more, he finally gave the phone to him. John put it against his ear before speaking. "This is John."
"Howdy, John. I'm Meg. I'm a friend of your boys. I would say your little girl too, but she didn't really like me when we first met."
"She must've had a good reason not to," John said sternly, suddenly feeling overprotective over his only daughter.
"I'm also the one who watched Jim Murphy choke on his own blood."
John closed his eyes, his eyebrows furrowed slightly to show that he was suddenly upset at what he had heard. Sybil hated seeing her dad angry and knowing that Meg was the cause gave Sybil a motive to get better at using her powers.
"Still there, Johnny boy?"
"I'm here."
"Well, that was yesterday. Today, I'm in Lincoln visiting another old friend of yours. He wants to say hi."
After hearing a familiar voice on the other line, John's eyes widened as he came to the realization of who was with Meg. "Caleb?"
Dean and Sam heard the name and turned towards their father, concern taking over their faces. Although Sybil was unfamiliar with that name, she was still afraid of what Meg was planning to do with her father's friend.
"You listen to me. He's got nothing to do with anything," John pleaded. "You let him go."
"We know you have the colt, John. We also know that your little girl not only has control over the Mist, but she's also able to use its energy."
John closed his eyes once more, shaking his head slightly. "I don't know what you're talking about. My daughter is just a normal little girl. She doesn't have any powers."
"Oh, okay, so listen to this."
All of a sudden, Caleb screamed on the other end of the line, followed by gagging noises. John began calling after Caleb, hoping that he would reply and reassure him that he was alright. Unfortunately, Meg's voice was heard again.
"Can you hear that? That's the sound of your friend dying. Now, let's try this again. We know you have the gun, John. We know that your daughter has the powers that we need. Word travels fast. Although not many hunters are aware of your demigod daughter, we all can sense her powers no matter how far she is. So, as far as we're concerned, you just declared war, and this is what war looks like. It has casualties."
John stuck his tongue against the inside of his cheek, attempting to conceal his rage. "I'm gonna kill you, you know that?"
"Oh, John, please. Mind your blood pressure. So, this is the thing— we're gonna keep doing what we're doing. Your friends, anyone who's ever helped you, gave you shelter, everyone you ever loved, they'll all die unless you give us that gun and the little girl."
John clenched his jaw before sighing.
"I'm waiting, Johnny. Better answer before the buzzer."
"Okay," John complied.
"Sorry? I didn't quite get that."
"I said okay," he repeated. "I'll bring you the colt."
"And?"
"You're asking for too much. That's my daughter."
"We want what we want. Do you want to continue this war?"
John exhaled sharply. "No."
"There's a warehouse in Lincoln on the corner of Wabash and Lake. You're gonna meet me there."
John looked at his kids briefly before replying. "It's gonna take me about a day's drive to get there."
"Meet me there at midnight tonight."
"That's impossible," John protested. "I can't get there in time, and I can't just carry a gun on a plane."
"If you decide to make it, come with just little Billie."
—
"SO, YOU THINK MEG IS A a demon," Sam asked.
John nodded. "Either that or she's possessed by one. It doesn't really matter."
"What do we do," Dean questioned.
Sybil looked down at her thumbs, watching as she twiddled them anxiously. She heard her name come up multiple times in the conversation, but she was unable to listen to what Meg wanted to do with her.
"I'm going to Lincoln," John stated.
Dean took a step forward as Sam looked up in shock. "What?"
"And I'm bringing your sister with me."
Dean stood in front of Sybil. "Like hell, you are!"
"It doesn't seem like I have a choice," John said, his face remaining emotionless. "If I don't go, a lot of people die. Our friends die."
"And if you go and bring Sybil, she dies," Dean exclaimed.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she could feel herself start to panic. She didn't want to go with Meg and the demon. She tried to stay with her family, and she thought that she wanted her to stay with them.
Sam glared at his father. "The demon is coming tonight for Monica and her family. That gun is all we got. You can't just hand it over."
"Who said anything about handing it over," John asked. "Look, besides a couple of vampires and us, no one's really seen the gun. No one knows what it looks like."
Dean furrowed his brow. "You're just gonna pick up a ringer at a pawn shop?"
"Antique store," John corrected.
"You're gonna hand Meg a fake gun, and hope she doesn't notice?"
John sighed. "Look, as long as it's close, she shouldn't be able to tell the difference."
"Yeah, but for how long? And what about Sybil? What is your plan on them not taking her?"
John looked at Sybil, who was remaining her gaze at the floor.
"Sybs," John said, crouching in front of the little girl, "do you still remember how to use the mist?"
"Kind of," she whimpered. "I just remember the feeling."
"Do you think you can do it again?"
She shrugged. "Maybe."
"She's going to use the mist to disappear once they try grabbing hold of her," Sam asked, attempting to understand his father's plan.
John nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to do her practice on the car ride there. There's no way in hell they're going to get my daughter too."
"How long can she stay hidden," Dean questioned, doubting his father's plan. "What if she figures out?"
"I just — I just need to buy a few hours, that's all."
Sam straightened up, grabbing Sybil's attention. "You mean for Dean and me. You want us to stay here and kill this demon by ourselves."
John looked down for a moment before returning to eye contact. "No, Sam. I want to stop losing people we love. I want you to go to school. I want Dean to have a home. I want Sybil to be able to grow up living a normal life, exactly like she had before we found her."
John turned his back against his children, walking a couple steps away from them. His voice began to shake out of emotion. "I want Mary alive. I just... I just want this to be over."
—
I know this chapter was really, really long, and there weren't many Sybil scenes. Still, this chapter was significant to build up to what's going to happen next! Thank you, guys, for being very patient with me! Another couple of chapters should be up tonight, so stay tuned ;)