Benediction (1/1, G, Sam)
Title: Benediction
Author: acerbus_instar
Characters: Sam Winchester
Rating: G
Warnings: Set post 5.02, although not explicit in any spoilery plot things.
Summary: Sam takes a moment to think, and blaspheme.
Word Count: 409
Disclaimer: No own.
"So you tried to put a fire out
But you used gasoline.
And when the congregation gathered 'round,
You're screaming 'It wasn't me.'
So there's a sickness that is going 'round--
But no one's got a vaccine.
I think you'd drown in holy water.
I think it's time we all come clean."
--Brand New
The church is Catholic. There's row upon row of tealights, dark in their glass votives, lined up at the Savior's feet. Towards the back, a statue of Mother Mary weeps.
He's been staring at them awhile, the candles. Admiring the bloody gleam of them.
He'd wandered in the righteously-heavy double doors of this backwoods church looking for clarity. The Nebraska rain thick on his sleeves is drying, the ache in his road-weary legs is easing, and he still doesn't know what he's doing. Where he's going. Why he's here.
When he realizes clarity isn't coming, he gets to his feet and presses his fingers wide against the polished smooth of the altar. It's late; the candles are dark. But he digs in his pocket for his own lighter and brings it to life with a practiced flick.
The first wick catches easy enough, burning soft and weak. It brings a notion to mind. He pinches the wick back into darkness, considers for a moment, and lights it again to the tune of an unspoken name - Sarah Blake.
Pleased, he lights the next, and the one after that, and the one after that, listing as he goes.
Evan Hudson. Jo Harvelle. Lucas Barr.
Saved, saved, and saved.
Hailey Collins. Ben Braeden. Tyler Thompson.
Saved.
Harry Spangler. Lanie Greenfield. Ed Zeddmore.
Saved.
Tessa. Deacon. Bobby.
All saved.
Six rows of candles, he brings to life. He holds a hand over the flame, feeling the rising currents of heat. And then he tests the weight of the gilded doubter laid out next to the display and drops it over the first candle, drowning the small wick.
He works backwards, to other names:
Meg Masters. Jeremy Frost. Nancy Fitzgerald.
Andy Gallagher. Ava Wilson. Jake Talley.
Olivia Lowry. Peter Warren. Pamela Barnes.
Jack Montgomery. Sue-Ann Le Grange. Steve Wandell.
Dead-dead-dead-dead.
Every candle goes out.
He rests his fingers on the lip of a votive, still warm with extinguished fire, and speaks in a low whisper: “John Winchester.”
In a smooth arc the candle topples to the floor, spilling hot wax as it goes. The red glass shatters, scattering across the scuffed floorboards. The rain water dripping off the cuffs of his jeans hisses at the touch.
“Jessica Moore.”
Crash.
“Dean Winchester.”
He pauses with a hand over the next votive in line. With one broad sweep of the arm, he sends a swath of candles tumbling to the floor in a cacophony of shattering glass.
He rubs the hot wax from his arm and studies the mess with a critical eye.
“Amen.”
Finis
A/N: Don't know about you, but I can't keep track of these names for the life of me, so for those curious souls here's a compendium of saved/not-saved (based on the episode Sam's referencing, and obviously with a couple dozen names left off):
Saved
Evan Hudson - Crossroad Blues
Jo Harvelle - No Exit
Lucas Barr - Dead in the Water
Hailey Collins - Wendigo
Ben Braeden - The Kids Are Alright
Tyler Thompson - Playthings
Harry Spangler - Ghostfacers/Hellhouse
Lanie Greenfield - Long-Distance Call
Ed Zeddmore - Ghostfacers/Hellhouse
Tessa - Death Takes a Holiday
Deacon - Folsom Prison Blues
Bobby - Dream a Little Dream of Me
Not Saved
Meg Masters - Devil's Trap
Jeremy Frost - Dream a Little Dream of Me
Nancy Fitzgerald - Jus in Bello
Andy Gallagher - All Hell Breaks Loose
Ava Wilson - All Hell Breaks Loose
Jake Talley - All Hell Breaks Loose
Olivia Lowry - Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester
Peter Warren - Red Sky at Morning
Pamela Barnes - Death Takes a Holiday
Jack Montgomery - Metamorphosis
Sue-Ann Le Grange - Faith
Steve Wandell - Born Under a Bad Sign
John Winchester - In My Time of Dying
Jessica Moore - Pilot
Dean Winchester - No Rest for the Wicked
Author: acerbus_instar
Characters: Sam Winchester
Rating: G
Warnings: Set post 5.02, although not explicit in any spoilery plot things.
Summary: Sam takes a moment to think, and blaspheme.
Word Count: 409
Disclaimer: No own.
"So you tried to put a fire out
But you used gasoline.
And when the congregation gathered 'round,
You're screaming 'It wasn't me.'
So there's a sickness that is going 'round--
But no one's got a vaccine.
I think you'd drown in holy water.
I think it's time we all come clean."
--Brand New
The church is Catholic. There's row upon row of tealights, dark in their glass votives, lined up at the Savior's feet. Towards the back, a statue of Mother Mary weeps.
He's been staring at them awhile, the candles. Admiring the bloody gleam of them.
He'd wandered in the righteously-heavy double doors of this backwoods church looking for clarity. The Nebraska rain thick on his sleeves is drying, the ache in his road-weary legs is easing, and he still doesn't know what he's doing. Where he's going. Why he's here.
When he realizes clarity isn't coming, he gets to his feet and presses his fingers wide against the polished smooth of the altar. It's late; the candles are dark. But he digs in his pocket for his own lighter and brings it to life with a practiced flick.
The first wick catches easy enough, burning soft and weak. It brings a notion to mind. He pinches the wick back into darkness, considers for a moment, and lights it again to the tune of an unspoken name - Sarah Blake.
Pleased, he lights the next, and the one after that, and the one after that, listing as he goes.
Evan Hudson. Jo Harvelle. Lucas Barr.
Saved, saved, and saved.
Hailey Collins. Ben Braeden. Tyler Thompson.
Saved.
Harry Spangler. Lanie Greenfield. Ed Zeddmore.
Saved.
Tessa. Deacon. Bobby.
All saved.
Six rows of candles, he brings to life. He holds a hand over the flame, feeling the rising currents of heat. And then he tests the weight of the gilded doubter laid out next to the display and drops it over the first candle, drowning the small wick.
He works backwards, to other names:
Meg Masters. Jeremy Frost. Nancy Fitzgerald.
Andy Gallagher. Ava Wilson. Jake Talley.
Olivia Lowry. Peter Warren. Pamela Barnes.
Jack Montgomery. Sue-Ann Le Grange. Steve Wandell.
Dead-dead-dead-dead.
Every candle goes out.
He rests his fingers on the lip of a votive, still warm with extinguished fire, and speaks in a low whisper: “John Winchester.”
In a smooth arc the candle topples to the floor, spilling hot wax as it goes. The red glass shatters, scattering across the scuffed floorboards. The rain water dripping off the cuffs of his jeans hisses at the touch.
“Jessica Moore.”
Crash.
“Dean Winchester.”
He pauses with a hand over the next votive in line. With one broad sweep of the arm, he sends a swath of candles tumbling to the floor in a cacophony of shattering glass.
He rubs the hot wax from his arm and studies the mess with a critical eye.
“Amen.”
Finis
A/N: Don't know about you, but I can't keep track of these names for the life of me, so for those curious souls here's a compendium of saved/not-saved (based on the episode Sam's referencing, and obviously with a couple dozen names left off):
Saved
Evan Hudson - Crossroad Blues
Jo Harvelle - No Exit
Lucas Barr - Dead in the Water
Hailey Collins - Wendigo
Ben Braeden - The Kids Are Alright
Tyler Thompson - Playthings
Harry Spangler - Ghostfacers/Hellhouse
Lanie Greenfield - Long-Distance Call
Ed Zeddmore - Ghostfacers/Hellhouse
Tessa - Death Takes a Holiday
Deacon - Folsom Prison Blues
Bobby - Dream a Little Dream of Me
Not Saved
Meg Masters - Devil's Trap
Jeremy Frost - Dream a Little Dream of Me
Nancy Fitzgerald - Jus in Bello
Andy Gallagher - All Hell Breaks Loose
Ava Wilson - All Hell Breaks Loose
Jake Talley - All Hell Breaks Loose
Olivia Lowry - Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester
Peter Warren - Red Sky at Morning
Pamela Barnes - Death Takes a Holiday
Jack Montgomery - Metamorphosis
Sue-Ann Le Grange - Faith
Steve Wandell - Born Under a Bad Sign
John Winchester - In My Time of Dying
Jessica Moore - Pilot
Dean Winchester - No Rest for the Wicked