Post by Silwyna on Apr 25, 2009 16:10:21 GMT 1
Thanks to Yor and Kaz for beta reading!
Chapter 3
John closed the door behind him and headed straight for the bed. With a heavy sigh, he sank down, his elbows on his knees as his hands raked through his hair.
Visions. Sam was having visions. Of people dying. And there were other children like him.
He closed his eyes and forced the rising panic down. There was no time for it.
He had known for a while something like this could happen. He had known Sam was special.
That night, when Mary had died, the demon had done something to his son. It had changed him.
“The demon has plans with them, John. He’s going to use them. Against us! He’s going to turn them against their own kind.”
John shook his head. He didn’t want to remember those words. He didn’t want to remember the whole conversation. He wished he had never met Carl Jenkins, had never learned the truth about what the demon had wanted in his house that night.
It had been easier to believe it had come for Mary. It killed him to know he hadn’t been able to save his wife, but it was easier than this. It was easier than knowing there was something after his son, his baby.
The demon had come for Sam that night.
And now Sam had visions… about people dying.
„He’s going to turn them against their own kind.”
No, John refused to accept it. Sam was still Sam. His Sam, who hated hunting so much simply because he couldn’t stand hurting anything or anyone, not even something evil.
Sam was good. Sam was what reminded him that not everything in this world was evil, that there was still something left to hope for.
He had screwed things up with Dean, had turned his oldest into a version of himself, the perfect hunter. But Sam, Sam still had dreams. He still had hopes for a future, for something normal.
John would give anything to give this normality back to his sons. To make things right… go back four years and not turn his son away.
Maybe then he could have been there. He could have stopped Sam’s world from spiraling down like his had. He could have been there when Sam’s first vision had come and maybe … maybe he could have done something about it.
A wave of despair rolled over him when he realized that he really couldn’t have stopped any of this from happening, even if he had been there. Sam would have still lost everything and the visions would still keep coming to him. It didn’t matter whether John was there or not, if Sam was supposed to turn evil, then …
“We have to kill them, John. We have to kill them all.”
John didn’t want to remember that conversation, because every time he did, a little part of him died.
“Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find the town’s library?” Sam asked the desk clerk at their hotel.
The young woman looked up from her computer and her face immediately lit up when she saw Sam. She smiled at him apologetically. “I could, but the whole area is cordoned off. A part of the ground near there has given way; apparently there are tunnels everywhere under the town no one knew about. My cousin works for the city planning department, he told me. The mayor is giving them a tough time because of it. Serves them right, if you ask me. Have you seen the building they put up in the middle of the park?” She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, the street in front of the library gave way; it was even worse at the fairground, half of that place is gone.”
“Oh, um, I hope no one got hurt too badly.” Sam said, trying to hide his disappointment.
“Too many.” The woman sighed. “Five people died. It happened so quickly.”
“I’m so sorry.” Sam felt miserable. Here he was disappointed about not being able to go to the library when people had died. His Dad was right … he was a selfish bastard.
“I didn’t know them.” She shrugged.
Sam frowned. “Oh …” He didn’t really know what else to say. “Well, um, thanks anyway.”
“Did you want to find something special in the library?” The woman held him back. “If you want to borrow a book, I have a few… in my apartment.” Her smile broadened.
“Oh, no, thanks. I was just interested in the town’s history. The Indian Wars, actually, there was a lot of fighting in this area back then, right?” Sam replied.
“Hm, I don’t have any books about that, but maybe something else might interest you?” She looked at him hopefully, shoving her chest forward.
“Um …”
“I could help you.” A second woman appeared from behind the counter. She looked shyly at Sam, her eyes quickly dropped as soon as she had his attention.
“I don’t really just need any book.” Sam said exasperated. He wished he had never asked. “I just …”
“The Indian Wars, I know. I can help you with that. I … studied history. Some time ago.” She went on, still looking at the floor rather than at Sam. “I don’t have the books anymore, but I can probably tell you all you need to know.”
“Really? That would be great.” Sam’s face lit up. “Um, over a coffee maybe? My treat.”
“Okay.” She gave him another shy smile and came around the counter to join him.
The clerk shot her a furious glare. “Have fun.” She said tight lipped.
“Thanks.” Sam smiled, before turning to his new acquaintance. “I’m Sam.”
“Amy.” She said her eyes again averted.
“Nice to meet you, Amy.” Sam smiled. “So, you gotta help me. Where do we go?”
“There’s a cafe right here in the hotel. It’s still open.” Amy replied hesitantly.
“Great. Let’s go.”
Sam found out pretty quickly that if Amy found a subject she was interested in, all her shyness was forgotten. For the past two hours she had told him practically everything she knew about the town’s history during the Indian Wars and the battles that had taken place in the area.
Sam enjoyed listening to her immensely. Not only were her descriptions vivid and entertaining, but she confirmed there had been a battle on the exact same meadow he had had his vision.
“How did you know about that?” Amy asked looking at him surprised.
“Oh, um, I … I’m just really interested in that time. So, um, was there anything … special … about that battle?” Sam asked, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.
“Special?”
“Yeah, like something … not … uh …”
“Not normal?”
“Yeah.” Sam laughed quietly. “I know it’s a stupid question.”
Amy gave him a warm smile in reply. “Not really. Abnormal things happen here all the time.”
“Really? Like what?” Sam asked, his interest piqued.
“Oh, um, you know … just things.” She blushed and stared intently at the coffee cup in front of her.
“I see.” Sam took a deep breath before he continued. He was afraid he would spook her completely, but he just had to know. “So, what about the hotel? Anything interesting about it?”
“It wasn’t built yet back then, so …” She shrugged apologetically.
“What about later? I mean, you work here, right? Must be exciting?” Sam tried again.
“Oh, uh, yeah … not really.” She laughed quietly. “It’s just a job. The hotel belongs to my aunt and after …” She stopped and stared at her coffee, looking like she was suddenly a million miles away.
“After what?” Sam asked carefully.
Amy took a deep breath and when she looked up again, she was smiling. “Aunt Karen offered me a job and I was grateful to have one. What about you?”
“Me? Oh, I’m … I’m taking some time off, actually. I was pre-law at Stanford, but then … things happened.” Now it was Sam who stared down at his coffee, lost in his own thoughts.
“I understand.” Amy said quietly.
Sam looked up and their eyes met. The way she looked at him, he knew she really did understand. “I’m on a road trip with my brother right now. It’s fun … most of the time.”
“I can imagine. I always wanted to travel and see the world.” Amy said.
“Me too.” Sam grinned.
For the next half hour they discussed all the places they wanted to see in the world. Sam loved it. Discussing something that had nothing to do with monsters, demons, visions or taking out revenge on the thing that killed his mother and girlfriend – it felt amazing. For the first time in a long time he felt like he could actually breathe freely.
“That is quite a list you have there.” Sam laughed.
“Yes, it is. Not much else to do here other than dreaming about going somewhere else.” Amy sighed.
“One day you’re going to see it all.”
“So will you.”
“Yeah.” Sam said quietly.
“Yeah.” Amy’s eyes went back to her coffee cup.
Sam’s did too.
“There was a murder once.” She suddenly said out of the blue.
Sam looked at her surprised. “At the hotel?”
“Yes. I was still a kid, but I remember all the police and my aunt was crying and she kept screaming that it would ruin her. It didn’t.” She added dryly.
“Obviously.”
“Yeah. A simple murder isn’t going to shock this town.” A shadow crossed her face. “Nothing ever does.”
“This town doesn’t exactly strike me as having a high crime rate.” Sam said. “It looks rather peaceful, even with the damage from the flooding.”
“Yeah, we’re a peaceful little town.”
Sam looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. “Nothing’s perfect, huh?”
“No, it really isn’t.” She smiled sadly.
“So, the murder … you remember what happened?”
“You want the short version or the gory details?” She gave him a mischievous grin.
“I think the short version will suffice.” Sam laughed.
“A woman was murdered, stabbed by her husband. I think she had an affair, but that might just be town rumor. You know how fast those spread.”
“Yes, I know.” Sam smiled. He remembered the crazy witness reports he and Dean had collected over the years. People had a huge tendency to amplify what had really happened. It didn’t make finding the truth very easy.
“He stabbed her several times. The whole room was covered in blood. I know … I sneaked in at night to have a look.” She winked at him.
“You strike me as the adventurous type.” Sam grinned.
“Yeah, I was.” Her smile faded and something sad flashed through her eyes. “Not anymore though.”
“What happened?” Sam asked carefully.
She shrugged. “Curiosity killed the cat. I learned the hard way that not knowing everything is sometimes better.” She gave him another smile, but it looked forced this time.
Sam knew this kind of smile too well.
He wanted to say something, anything to turn that smile into a real one again, but the ringing of his cell phone stopped him. With an apologetic glance, Sam answered the call.
“Where the hell are you?” Dean’s angered voice yelled into his ear.
Sam rolled his eyes. “In the hotel’s cafe. Drinking coffee. What’s the problem?”
“What’s the problem? Damn it, Sam, you said you’d be back in an hour.”
“So?” Sam glanced at his watch and immediately knew why his brother was as furious as he was. Having been gone for nearly three hours had put Dean into full worried big brother mode and Sam couldn’t even blame him.
“Three hours, Sam! You’re three hours late!” Dean said angrily.
“Actually, I’m just two hours late.” He flinched, imagining how that reply probably infuriated his brother even more. “Look, I’m sorry. I’ll be back soon.”
There was a moment of silence and Sam could practically hear Dean trying to stay calm and not drag him back through the phone that instant.
“Fine. Just get back here.” Dean pressed out eventually and ended the call.
Sighing, Sam looked back at Amy. “My brother.”
“It’s nice to be missed.” She smiled.
“Yeah, well …” Sam smirked. He pulled out his wallet and placed the money for their coffees on the table. “This was nice. Thank you for taking your time and telling me all this.”
“Thank you.” She smiled, pointing at the money. “And it was nice for me too. I don’t get to do this very often.”
Sam looked at her for a moment. “You should.” He said.
“Maybe.” She shrugged, her eyes downcast again.
“Can I give you a ride home? Our car is parked right outside.”
“I live here, in the hotel, but thanks.” She smiled.
“Okay then.”
They both got up and walked into the lobby in silence.
“Good night.” Sam said.
“Good night.”
He turned to his room, when she called after him.
“Did I tell you that you sleep in the room?”
“The room?”
“Yep.” She winked and waved him goodbye before turning to the stairs to her own room.
Sam shook his head as he watched her disappearing. He couldn’t help grinning as he walked to his room.
It vanished quickly when he stepped into their room. He saw Dean sitting on the bed, TV remote in his hand and flipping through the channels. He looked up for a short moment, giving Sam an angry glare before turning back to the TV.
Next to Dean, Sam saw a dead woman, knife still stuck in her abdomen. And the walls were covered in blood.
“Oh no.” He groaned.
A few moments later the pain hit him again full force.
TBC
Chapter 3
John closed the door behind him and headed straight for the bed. With a heavy sigh, he sank down, his elbows on his knees as his hands raked through his hair.
Visions. Sam was having visions. Of people dying. And there were other children like him.
He closed his eyes and forced the rising panic down. There was no time for it.
He had known for a while something like this could happen. He had known Sam was special.
That night, when Mary had died, the demon had done something to his son. It had changed him.
“The demon has plans with them, John. He’s going to use them. Against us! He’s going to turn them against their own kind.”
John shook his head. He didn’t want to remember those words. He didn’t want to remember the whole conversation. He wished he had never met Carl Jenkins, had never learned the truth about what the demon had wanted in his house that night.
It had been easier to believe it had come for Mary. It killed him to know he hadn’t been able to save his wife, but it was easier than this. It was easier than knowing there was something after his son, his baby.
The demon had come for Sam that night.
And now Sam had visions… about people dying.
„He’s going to turn them against their own kind.”
No, John refused to accept it. Sam was still Sam. His Sam, who hated hunting so much simply because he couldn’t stand hurting anything or anyone, not even something evil.
Sam was good. Sam was what reminded him that not everything in this world was evil, that there was still something left to hope for.
He had screwed things up with Dean, had turned his oldest into a version of himself, the perfect hunter. But Sam, Sam still had dreams. He still had hopes for a future, for something normal.
John would give anything to give this normality back to his sons. To make things right… go back four years and not turn his son away.
Maybe then he could have been there. He could have stopped Sam’s world from spiraling down like his had. He could have been there when Sam’s first vision had come and maybe … maybe he could have done something about it.
A wave of despair rolled over him when he realized that he really couldn’t have stopped any of this from happening, even if he had been there. Sam would have still lost everything and the visions would still keep coming to him. It didn’t matter whether John was there or not, if Sam was supposed to turn evil, then …
“We have to kill them, John. We have to kill them all.”
John didn’t want to remember that conversation, because every time he did, a little part of him died.
---SPN---
“Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find the town’s library?” Sam asked the desk clerk at their hotel.
The young woman looked up from her computer and her face immediately lit up when she saw Sam. She smiled at him apologetically. “I could, but the whole area is cordoned off. A part of the ground near there has given way; apparently there are tunnels everywhere under the town no one knew about. My cousin works for the city planning department, he told me. The mayor is giving them a tough time because of it. Serves them right, if you ask me. Have you seen the building they put up in the middle of the park?” She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, the street in front of the library gave way; it was even worse at the fairground, half of that place is gone.”
“Oh, um, I hope no one got hurt too badly.” Sam said, trying to hide his disappointment.
“Too many.” The woman sighed. “Five people died. It happened so quickly.”
“I’m so sorry.” Sam felt miserable. Here he was disappointed about not being able to go to the library when people had died. His Dad was right … he was a selfish bastard.
“I didn’t know them.” She shrugged.
Sam frowned. “Oh …” He didn’t really know what else to say. “Well, um, thanks anyway.”
“Did you want to find something special in the library?” The woman held him back. “If you want to borrow a book, I have a few… in my apartment.” Her smile broadened.
“Oh, no, thanks. I was just interested in the town’s history. The Indian Wars, actually, there was a lot of fighting in this area back then, right?” Sam replied.
“Hm, I don’t have any books about that, but maybe something else might interest you?” She looked at him hopefully, shoving her chest forward.
“Um …”
“I could help you.” A second woman appeared from behind the counter. She looked shyly at Sam, her eyes quickly dropped as soon as she had his attention.
“I don’t really just need any book.” Sam said exasperated. He wished he had never asked. “I just …”
“The Indian Wars, I know. I can help you with that. I … studied history. Some time ago.” She went on, still looking at the floor rather than at Sam. “I don’t have the books anymore, but I can probably tell you all you need to know.”
“Really? That would be great.” Sam’s face lit up. “Um, over a coffee maybe? My treat.”
“Okay.” She gave him another shy smile and came around the counter to join him.
The clerk shot her a furious glare. “Have fun.” She said tight lipped.
“Thanks.” Sam smiled, before turning to his new acquaintance. “I’m Sam.”
“Amy.” She said her eyes again averted.
“Nice to meet you, Amy.” Sam smiled. “So, you gotta help me. Where do we go?”
“There’s a cafe right here in the hotel. It’s still open.” Amy replied hesitantly.
“Great. Let’s go.”
---SPN---
Sam found out pretty quickly that if Amy found a subject she was interested in, all her shyness was forgotten. For the past two hours she had told him practically everything she knew about the town’s history during the Indian Wars and the battles that had taken place in the area.
Sam enjoyed listening to her immensely. Not only were her descriptions vivid and entertaining, but she confirmed there had been a battle on the exact same meadow he had had his vision.
“How did you know about that?” Amy asked looking at him surprised.
“Oh, um, I … I’m just really interested in that time. So, um, was there anything … special … about that battle?” Sam asked, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.
“Special?”
“Yeah, like something … not … uh …”
“Not normal?”
“Yeah.” Sam laughed quietly. “I know it’s a stupid question.”
Amy gave him a warm smile in reply. “Not really. Abnormal things happen here all the time.”
“Really? Like what?” Sam asked, his interest piqued.
“Oh, um, you know … just things.” She blushed and stared intently at the coffee cup in front of her.
“I see.” Sam took a deep breath before he continued. He was afraid he would spook her completely, but he just had to know. “So, what about the hotel? Anything interesting about it?”
“It wasn’t built yet back then, so …” She shrugged apologetically.
“What about later? I mean, you work here, right? Must be exciting?” Sam tried again.
“Oh, uh, yeah … not really.” She laughed quietly. “It’s just a job. The hotel belongs to my aunt and after …” She stopped and stared at her coffee, looking like she was suddenly a million miles away.
“After what?” Sam asked carefully.
Amy took a deep breath and when she looked up again, she was smiling. “Aunt Karen offered me a job and I was grateful to have one. What about you?”
“Me? Oh, I’m … I’m taking some time off, actually. I was pre-law at Stanford, but then … things happened.” Now it was Sam who stared down at his coffee, lost in his own thoughts.
“I understand.” Amy said quietly.
Sam looked up and their eyes met. The way she looked at him, he knew she really did understand. “I’m on a road trip with my brother right now. It’s fun … most of the time.”
“I can imagine. I always wanted to travel and see the world.” Amy said.
“Me too.” Sam grinned.
For the next half hour they discussed all the places they wanted to see in the world. Sam loved it. Discussing something that had nothing to do with monsters, demons, visions or taking out revenge on the thing that killed his mother and girlfriend – it felt amazing. For the first time in a long time he felt like he could actually breathe freely.
“That is quite a list you have there.” Sam laughed.
“Yes, it is. Not much else to do here other than dreaming about going somewhere else.” Amy sighed.
“One day you’re going to see it all.”
“So will you.”
“Yeah.” Sam said quietly.
“Yeah.” Amy’s eyes went back to her coffee cup.
Sam’s did too.
“There was a murder once.” She suddenly said out of the blue.
Sam looked at her surprised. “At the hotel?”
“Yes. I was still a kid, but I remember all the police and my aunt was crying and she kept screaming that it would ruin her. It didn’t.” She added dryly.
“Obviously.”
“Yeah. A simple murder isn’t going to shock this town.” A shadow crossed her face. “Nothing ever does.”
“This town doesn’t exactly strike me as having a high crime rate.” Sam said. “It looks rather peaceful, even with the damage from the flooding.”
“Yeah, we’re a peaceful little town.”
Sam looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. “Nothing’s perfect, huh?”
“No, it really isn’t.” She smiled sadly.
“So, the murder … you remember what happened?”
“You want the short version or the gory details?” She gave him a mischievous grin.
“I think the short version will suffice.” Sam laughed.
“A woman was murdered, stabbed by her husband. I think she had an affair, but that might just be town rumor. You know how fast those spread.”
“Yes, I know.” Sam smiled. He remembered the crazy witness reports he and Dean had collected over the years. People had a huge tendency to amplify what had really happened. It didn’t make finding the truth very easy.
“He stabbed her several times. The whole room was covered in blood. I know … I sneaked in at night to have a look.” She winked at him.
“You strike me as the adventurous type.” Sam grinned.
“Yeah, I was.” Her smile faded and something sad flashed through her eyes. “Not anymore though.”
“What happened?” Sam asked carefully.
She shrugged. “Curiosity killed the cat. I learned the hard way that not knowing everything is sometimes better.” She gave him another smile, but it looked forced this time.
Sam knew this kind of smile too well.
He wanted to say something, anything to turn that smile into a real one again, but the ringing of his cell phone stopped him. With an apologetic glance, Sam answered the call.
“Where the hell are you?” Dean’s angered voice yelled into his ear.
Sam rolled his eyes. “In the hotel’s cafe. Drinking coffee. What’s the problem?”
“What’s the problem? Damn it, Sam, you said you’d be back in an hour.”
“So?” Sam glanced at his watch and immediately knew why his brother was as furious as he was. Having been gone for nearly three hours had put Dean into full worried big brother mode and Sam couldn’t even blame him.
“Three hours, Sam! You’re three hours late!” Dean said angrily.
“Actually, I’m just two hours late.” He flinched, imagining how that reply probably infuriated his brother even more. “Look, I’m sorry. I’ll be back soon.”
There was a moment of silence and Sam could practically hear Dean trying to stay calm and not drag him back through the phone that instant.
“Fine. Just get back here.” Dean pressed out eventually and ended the call.
Sighing, Sam looked back at Amy. “My brother.”
“It’s nice to be missed.” She smiled.
“Yeah, well …” Sam smirked. He pulled out his wallet and placed the money for their coffees on the table. “This was nice. Thank you for taking your time and telling me all this.”
“Thank you.” She smiled, pointing at the money. “And it was nice for me too. I don’t get to do this very often.”
Sam looked at her for a moment. “You should.” He said.
“Maybe.” She shrugged, her eyes downcast again.
“Can I give you a ride home? Our car is parked right outside.”
“I live here, in the hotel, but thanks.” She smiled.
“Okay then.”
They both got up and walked into the lobby in silence.
“Good night.” Sam said.
“Good night.”
He turned to his room, when she called after him.
“Did I tell you that you sleep in the room?”
“The room?”
“Yep.” She winked and waved him goodbye before turning to the stairs to her own room.
Sam shook his head as he watched her disappearing. He couldn’t help grinning as he walked to his room.
It vanished quickly when he stepped into their room. He saw Dean sitting on the bed, TV remote in his hand and flipping through the channels. He looked up for a short moment, giving Sam an angry glare before turning back to the TV.
Next to Dean, Sam saw a dead woman, knife still stuck in her abdomen. And the walls were covered in blood.
“Oh no.” He groaned.
A few moments later the pain hit him again full force.
TBC