Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death Chapter 2
Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death
Chapter Two
Like a Ship on the Sea
Dean’s nerves were already so frayed that he wasn’t sure how much more he could handle.
They had been in New Jersey for four hours now and he was right about how much he hated it.
They were currently sitting in a crappy motel room a few minutes from the bar that John had last seen the demons at.
They still didn’t have a solid plan, especially now that Meg had informed them that Crowley’s second was in fact a woman.
So now Dean was pacing back and forth outside of the hotel room, he was trying to get hold of Sam but he wasn’t answering any calls.
Talking to Mary had done little to ease his fears. Sam had been fine when she went to work; he’d been quiet during dinner but otherwise seemed okay.
It was that comment that had made Dean feel uneasy.
‘Seemed okay’ wasn’t really good enough for him.
“Dean.”
Sighing heavily, he ended the call and slipped the phone into his pocket. When he turned around he came face to face with Cas.
“I’m worried about Sam.”
Cas being his usual self just stared back at him and Dean clenched his hand into a fist.
“I can’t sense him.”
Dean’s eyes grew wide in panic. “What the hell does that mean?”
Cas stepped closer and reached out and rested his hand on Dean’s arm. “It just means that he’s not currently afraid nor panicked, there are no emotions there, he just is.”
Dean exhaled sharply. “Are you sure?”
Cas nodded back and smiled softly. “Yes, I’m sure but if it changes, I will tell you.”
“I still just… I can’t help it, Cas.”
Cas smiled again and pulled him into a hug. “I understand but Dean, I promise you that he’s okay.”
Dean slipped his hand to the back of Cas’ neck and pulled him into a kiss.
It was a nice moment, a normal moment, and he allowed himself to actually enjoy it.
He pushed aside all thoughts of demons, missing siblings, road trips and innocent murder victims.
Dean could feel Cas’ warm hand on his neck, his fingers twisting in his hair.
Cass broke the kiss and dropped his gaze to the ground.
“We should probably go back inside.”
Dean cocked an eyebrow at him. “Wait, do you mean back to our room or do you mean to the room where we’ll be planning the murder of Crowley and his second?”
“It’s been a year now,” Cas told him, “and I still only understand about half of what you say.”
“Well,” Dean replied, “we’ll have to do something about that sometime.”
Dean kissed him again before he grabbed him by the hand and tugged him back to the room.
Pushing open the door, he could see John standing over the desk. There was a stack of newspapers to one side, several file folders and a small wooden box taking up the remaining space.
Meg was lying on the couch; one arm was tucked under her head and her feet were on the armrest.
“Was starting to think we’d have to turn a hose on the two of you,” Meg said, her eyes shut the entire time. “The parking lot, really?”
Dean sighed heavily. “Really, why are you here again?”
Dean glanced over his shoulder when he heard his father mutter something but he didn’t bother to ask him to repeat it.
“Apparently, I’m here to watch the two of you making out.”
“Uh,” Dean replied, “no one was holding a gun to your head, but you know what, that’s a good idea.”
“That’s enough,” John snapped at them.
Dean walked over to the desk while Cas took a spot on the couch next to Meg.
“Okay, so what are we doing?”
“The only place that I’ve seen them so far is the bar. That’s where we need to focus on.” John told them.
“Sounds fun,” Meg muttered as John turned to glare at her.
“So, what, your grand plan is to stake out a bar,” Meg continued. “You know John, the past decade you’ve been a pain in the ass. If there is a demon out there who doesn’t know you then they’re new. My point is that everyone knows John Winchester.”
Dean folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the desk. “You’re a bitch, sorry I mean demon, why don’t you go and check it out?”
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” John said. “We don’t know who is there and if it’s really Crowley’s second, then he would be fairly powerful, yes?”
“I guess so,” Meg answered. “But can I just say, I don’t want to.”
~*~*~*~
Sam stared at the phone sitting on the desk in front of him.
He had eight missed calls from Dean, two from Ash and two from Jo.
He hadn’t really been in the mood to talk to anyone, not since his ‘fight’ with Dean earlier in the day.
He liked the quiet and comfort of his bedroom, even now, it felt safe.
There was no else in there to tell him what to do, there was no one asking how he was doing every other hour.
There was no pity and no guilt.
In his room, on his own, he was just Sam.
He heard his phone chime again and he glanced down in time to see it was another call from Dean.
Leaving the phone on the desk, he got to his feet and left the room making his way down the hall to the bathroom.
Closing the door, he clicked the lock into place.
Turning on the shower, he stripped off his clothes and kicked them into a pile before he stepped under the stream of water.
It was a little too hot but he didn’t adjust the temperature.
Resting his palms flat against the tile, he tilted his head under the water.
Closing his eyes, he tried to clear his mind but it wasn’t an easy task. He was constantly thinking, constantly worrying.
He was forever trying to solve a puzzle but there were too many pieces missing and he had no idea where to start.
A small thudding sound drew his attention. He glanced up but he couldn’t determine where the noise had come from.
Sucking in a deep breath, he reached toward he faucet but stopped in his tracks when a dark liquid started bubbling up from the drain.
He stumbled a little, his feet slipping on the tile and he threw his arm out to steady himself.
The liquid kept coming and he could see it was taking on a red hue.
His eyes grew wide as the blood quickly crept toward him and while he still had the nerve, he reached over and turned the water off.
But the blood kept coming and as his panic grew, he got out of the shower and grabbed for a towel and quickly wrapped it around his waist.
It was then that he noticed the strange fog that had filled the room and it wasn’t the type of steam that came from the water being too hot.
He was desperate to get out of there but when he tried the door handle, it wouldn’t budge.
He tried banging on the door but there was no sound, he couldn’t even hear his own voice.
The feeling of fingers grazing against his shoulder caused him to spin around and he could have sworn he saw a dark figure and he tried to scream.
He couldn’t hear his own voice but he did hear another.
“Death will come for you.”
Sam squeezed his eyes shut and tried to block it all out. He just wanted it all to stop, he wanted to be left alone.
A few minutes later when he opened his eyes again, it was all gone.
The fog, the blood, the voices.
He was alone in the room again but he did notice a handprint on the glass and his blood ran cold.
He kept hearing that phrase over and over. “Death will come for you,” and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something horrible was about to happen.
~*~*~*~
Dean paced back and forth at the foot of the bed. He stopped after a few minutes and turned to look at Cas who was lying on the bed, coat, shoes and all.
“You’re still concerned about Sam?”
“Well yeah, can you tell if he’s okay or not?” Dean questioned him.
“He’s a little… I’m not quite sure how to describe it,” Cas told him. “He’s afraid but not afraid for his life.”
Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay, do you that we should…”
“Right now,” Cas answered. “I think that he will be fine but as soon as that changes, I will tell you.”
Dean sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair.
Cas finally sat up and crossed his legs and rested his hands on his knees.
“What are you concerned about now?”
Dean glanced over at him. “Right now, I’m worried that Meg is going to screw us over.”
“Why would she do that?”
Dean cocked an eyebrow at him. “I don’t have to explain demons to you again, do I?”
“I’m aware of what she is,” Cas answered. “Perhaps I should have worded it differently, why now?”
“Because now would be perfect,” Dean replied as he slumped down on the end of the bed. “We’re here in Jersey while Sammy is on his own.”
“He’s not exactly on his own though.”
Dean glanced over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. “What, you mean Mom? Sure, she knows how to handle a gun but she can’t take on Crowley.”
“What about Bobby?”
Dean exhaled loudly. “He’s off on some hunt in Arkansas at the moment, he’s also trying to find a way to stop Crowley. He would never get to them in time.”
“But I could,” Cas told him. “The moment I sense real trouble with Sam, I’ll find him.”
Dean fell back on the bed and groaned heavily. He could feel Cas shifting beside him.
He was so exhausted and they hadn’t even done more than just stand around and plan.
“You should try and get some sleep.”
Dean scoffed back at him. “There is a lot that I should be doing. Showering is probably one of them.”
Cas got to his feet and walked toward the door.
“Uh…” Dean said. “That wasn’t really the reaction that I was going for. Where are you going?”
“I’ll go and get some dinner while you take a shower.”
“Oh,” Dean said with a sly grin. “Was kinda hoping that you’d stay. We finally get a little bit of time alone without all the bullshit and you’d rather get food.”
Cas suddenly looked conflicted, it had been a hectic few days, they’d barely had time to stop and breathe, a few moments alone with Dean would be nice.
“Just go,” he said as Cas headed out the door. “Bring back pie.”
Cas managed to find a diner not too far from the motel and he ordered burgers, fries and also made a point to not forget pie, so he ordered two of them.
As he was making his way back, almost 20 minutes later, he was suddenly hit with an overwhelming surge of fear.
He could sense Sam’s unease and without hesitating to keep his promise to Dean, he ‘zapped’ back to the room and dropped the bags onto the bed before he ‘zapped’ right back out again.
Appearing in the Winchester kitchen, he made his way through the house until he was standing outside of Sam’s door.
He could hear him moving around but the sense of fear had greatly dissipated.
Hesitating for just a moment, he knocked on the door and waited for Sam to answer.
“Damn it Cas, what are you doing here?”
Sam was half dressed, he held his t-shirt in one hand and had a towel draped over one shoulder.
Drops of water fell from his hair and Cas watched as Sam grabbed the towel and ran it over his head.
“I could sense your fear, I came straight away.”
“I’m fine, Cas,” Sam replied. “I mean there was a moment there when something weird happened but to be honest, I’m not even sure if it was real.”
Cas narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean, what happened?”
Sam shook his head as he tossed the towel onto the bed and pulled the t-shirt on.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does.”
Sam sighed heavily and wiped at his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. Sometimes things happen and yes, they scare me but I don’t know if they’re real or not. I can’t keep running to everyone every time something strange happens.”
“Sam, we’re here to help you. All we want is for you to be safe.”
Sam smiled half-heartedly. “Thanks, I know that you’re just trying to protect me and I appreciate that but I need to deal with some of this stuff on my own.”
“The point is that you don’t have to do that, Sam.”
Sam walked across the room and sat down at his desk while Cas stood at the foot of the bed.
“If I ever want Dean to get off my back, then I have to do this myself.”
“Sam, would you like to come back with me to New Jersey?”
Sam shook his head. “I don’t think so. It would probably be better if I just stayed here. You can tell Dean that I’m fine.”
“And I’m sure that you understand that Dean would prefer to have you close, that way he would be able to keep an eye on you.”
Sam muttered under his breath. “I don’t care. I don’t want to go to Jersey and I don’t need a babysitter.”
“I understand that Sam…”
Sam shook his head and folded his arms over his chest. “I don’t think that you do. And honestly, this whole sensing me thing, it’s super weird. I don’t need you appearing out of nowhere every time I have a feeling.”
Cas narrowed his eyes. “Sam, we’re just trying to protect you.”
“And I get that but I’m never going to be able to deal with all of this if everyone is doing the dealing for me.”
“Okay,” Cas replied. “I understand, I’ll tell Dean that you’re fine.”
And with that he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“Where the hell did you go?”
Dean got to his feet and walked over to Cas, pulling him into a hug.
“I came out of the bathroom, saw the bags on the bed, but no you.”
“I’m sorry,” Cas replied as he hugged Dean back. “I went to check on Sam.”
Dean’s eyes grew wide as he took a step back. “What? Is he alright?”
“He’s fine, possibly a little agitated but he’s fine.”
Dean exhaled loudly and the nodded. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I am.”
They both sat down at the small table and Cas pulled a burger from the bag.
“Some of this was meant for John.”
Dean grinned back at him and then rolled his eyes when Cas’ expression remained neutral. “Yeah, I already gave it to him.”
~*~*~*~
John pushed the burger wrapper aside and picked up one of the newspapers from the table.
There were two articles in particular that got his attention; a young couple from Hoboken had been missing for two weeks and a college student from Long Island had been found in the woods just outside of Franklin Lakes. His throat had been slit and there had been a strange symbol carved into his chest.
It wasn’t why they had come here but a part of him did want to investigate.
A thudding sound from the room upstairs drew his attention away from the paper.
Glancing at his watch, he noticed that it was just after nine o’clock.
He had called Mary earlier and he would check in again before calling it a night, whenever that may be.
He was still waiting on some sort of news from Meg. She had been gone for a little while now, so either no news was good news or she was in some kind of danger.
He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard someone knock on the door.
Meg was standing there and he almost laughed, she had appeared as if he had wished it so.
He motioned for her to come inside but she seemed a little hesitant.
“You want to tell me what’s going on?”
After exhaling loudly, she finally came inside and John closed the door behind her.
“Okay well the good news is that it’s not Crowley’s second.”
John stared back at her and waited impatiently for her to continue.
“The bad news is that I have no idea who it actually was.”
John was more confused than ever; if he hadn’t been following Crowley’s second, then who had he been wasting his time on?
“I have some more news,” Meg told him.
John squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before he looked back at her. “Good or bad?”
“Well it’s not good.”
John rubbed at his eyes. “So, what then?”
“I heard them mention the name Azazel.”
John simply stared at her. He had heard that name a few times over the years but it didn’t really mean all that much to him.
“Okay fine, we should still do something about them.”
Meg took a step back and held her hand out in front of her. “It’s one thing to be dealing with Crowley but Azazel, that’s not even… you don’t want to be messing around with Azazel.”
“He’s a demon,” John replied. “How different can he be?”
“Crowley is crazy,” Meg told him. “Azazel is psychotic. He’s only loyal to Lucifer, fanatically so.”
John cocked an eyebrow at her. “Lucifer, really?”
“The one and only,” she said. “Azazel is unlike any of the other demons John, he’s one of the old ones.”
“What does that mean, how do you know so much about him?”
Meg crossed her arms over her chest and inhaled sharply. “I know so much about him because he made me.”
~*~*~*~
Dean flicked the cap off the beer bottle and watched it as it clattered across the table.
“Are you sure…”
“Dean, the answer won’t change,” Cas replied, cutting him off. “And it won’t until something happens with Sam.”
“Yeah but…”
Cas reached across the table and placed his hand over Dean’s.
“Sam is fine, please stop asking me every ten minutes.”
Dean narrowed his eyes and then took another long pull on the beer.
“Do you think that we’ll ever actually stop this?” Dean asked after they’d been sitting in silence for several minutes. “That we’ll have a normal life?”
Cas smiled half-heartedly. “As long as you’re in a relationship with an angel, your life won’t be normal.”
“I know,” Dean replied with a roll of his eyes. “But the other stuff, all this crap with Crowley, having to always look over our shoulders. Is the rest of my life going to be spent protecting Sam?”
“You would do that regardless.”
Dean smiled softly to himself. “Yeah I would but I never thought that I’d be protecting him from demons.”
Cas watched as Dean finished off the beer.
“Perhaps it’s not ideal but it’s what you’ve been dealt. You’re doing the best you can.”
“But it’s not enough.”
Dean got to his feet when there was a knock on the door.
Pulling open the door, he saw Meg and John standing there. Dean knew that any chance of trying to get some sleep was about to be taken away from him.
John and Meg took seats at the table while Dean and Cas squeezed themselves onto the very small couch a few feet away.
“So, what’s going on?” Dean asked.
Meg explained word for word what she had already told John and by the end of it, Dean was more lost than before.
“Azazel.” Cas said, more to himself than to the others.
“You’ve encountered him before,” Meg replied.
Cas nodded back at her. “A few times but the last encounter happened a very long time ago.”
“I’m confused,” Dean told them. “Who exactly is this guy?”
“Azazel is one of the old ones.”
Dean rolled his eyes, he just wanted straight answers, and he hated these damn riddles and half explanations. “Old ones?”
“Azazel is an original demon,” Cas answered. “One of the first four demons in existence.”
Dean’s eyes widened in surprise, it wasn’t exactly what he had been expecting.
“Lucifer created Azazel,” Meg continued, “and Azazel created me.”
They all turned their attention to Meg and this time she rolled her eyes.
“I spent a lifetime serving him,” Meg explained. “It was all for what I thought was a greater purpose, how wrong was I?”
“Why did you stop working for him?”
“I was as close to him as anyone but he kept a lot from me so I heard a lot of rumors,” Meg continued. “One of those rumors was that he would stop at nothing to free Lucifer.”
“Come again,” Dean replied. “Free Lucifer?”
Meg sighed heavily and ran a hand through her hair. “Cas, have you told them anything? Anything at all?”
“Lucifer is locked in a cage,” Cas began. “Eons ago, Lucifer was cast into the cage by Michael and it was locked with 600 seals.”
“Right, because one seal just wasn’t quite enough,” Dean said sarcastically.
“600 might not be enough,” Meg retorted.
“In order to free him, 66 of those seals need to be broken,” Cas continued. “Azazel is trying to break them.”
“What does that have to do with us though, we’re looking for Crowley.”
“It doesn’t have anything to do with us, not really,” Meg replied. “We randomly stumbled upon it.”
“Of course, we did.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that we need to do something about them,” John pointed out.
“I don’t think we should get involved,” Meg told them. “I know Azazel and trust me when I say that it would be wise to stay as far away from him as possible.”
“I agree with Meg,” Cas replied as he glanced at Dean. “One of the seals that needs to be broken is that a righteous man must spill blood in hell.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Dean asked.
“It means that at this very moment, we focus on Crowley and then Azazel.”
~*~*~*~
Sam waited at the curb, so far three cars had slowed down as they had driven past but none of them had stopped.
He was waiting for Jo to pick him up.
After Cas had left, Sam had called her and he had agreed to go out with her and Ash.
Apparently, they had made plans to take him to some nightclub near the college.
He stood there for another several minutes before a car finally pulled over and as the window rolled down, Sam could hear Ash’s voice.
With a shake of his head, he pulled open the back-passenger door and climbed in.
“Dude, this is gonna be awesome, I can’t believe that this is the first time you’re gonna come out with us,” Ash said as he closed the window.
“Yeah, I’m sure it will be great,” Sam replied. “So, where exactly is this place that you’re taking me?”
“It’s near the college, about 20 minutes from here,” Jo explained. “It’s a cool place, you’ll have fun.”
“You drink right, Sam?” Ash asked. “I’ve seen you drink since you came back?”
Sam rolled his eyes even though Ash couldn’t see him. “Yeah, you’ve seen me drink.”
“Right, cool,” Ash replied. “So, where are your brother and his kooky sidekick?”
“Kooky sidekick?” Sam repeated with a laugh. “They’re in New Jersey.”
Ash twisted in the seat to look at Sam. “Why the fuck would they go to New Jersey?”
Jo and Ash knew almost everything that was going on and they were handling it well but they had decided to distance themselves from the finer details of it all and Sam had agreed that at least a few people in his life should have ‘normal’ lives.
“He still gives me the creeps,” Ash said.
“Cas is not creepy,” Sam told him. “He’s a little quirky but he’s a good guy.”
“Well technically he’s not a guy though,” Ash pointed out. “He’s weird, he does this thing where he just kind of stares at you.”
“You’re an idiot.” Jo said as she glanced over at him.
Jo pulled the car into the parking lot and cut the engine.
The three of them made their way toward the club.
Sam could already hear the music pulsating from the inside and there was already a sizeable crowd gathered near the door.
Jo had graduated from the college a few years earlier and she still knew a lot of the people, including the bouncer. They spoke briefly before making their way inside.
Sam was starting to regret coming out, it was too loud and there were too many people.
Sure, he loved music but whatever was playing was just noise to him and a headache quickly set in.
“Dude, you want a beer?”
Sam nodded back at Ash. “Yeah, I guess.”
He watched as Ash disappeared into the crowd and he felt Jo tugging on his arm.
“I can see a table over there, let’s go.”
He followed Jo across the room and took a seat at the small table.
Sam glanced around to take it all in; he didn’t recognize anyone and for a moment that made him feel incredibly sad.
Growing up he had had plenty of friends but he had spent the majority of his time with Jo, Ash and Jess.
Now though, he didn’t know anyone outside of that group.
It mostly didn’t bother him but there were times when he thought about what might happen if he had died, it was a morbid though but he couldn’t help it. Would anyone outside of that group go to his funeral, would they care enough to?
“Sam.”
Jo’s hand on his arm pulled him from his thoughts.
“Sorry, did you say something?”
She pointed to Ash who was standing beside him; he was holding a beer out to Sam.
“Thanks.”
Sam noticed that Ash had already drunk most of his and without taking one mouthful, he held the bottle back out to Ash.
“Dude, you are so lame,” Ash said. “You’re not even gonna have one drink?”
Sam shook his head and got to his feet. “I’ll stick to water.”
As he made his way toward the bar, he had to push past large groups of people.
He was starting to feel claustrophobic and he was struggling to breathe.
He noticed a door off to the side that lead to a patio, it wasn’t anywhere near as crowded out there as it was inside and he could do with some fresh air right now.
As he got closer to the door, he noticed that there was someone standing there that seemed awfully familiar and when she turned around, his blood ran cold.
Standing just a few feet away from him was Jess.
He stood there for what felt like an eternity before he finally moved again.
AS Sam took a step closer to the door, Jess moved further away.
He watched as she stepped through the door and disappeared out of view.
His eyes wide, he quickly followed after her, he couldn’t lose her, not again.
As he stepped through the door, his breath caught in his throat at what he saw.
The crowd of people were gone, it was as if they had never been there at all.
Instead the courtyard he was expecting to see, he found himself standing in the middle of a large room, there were tables and chairs placed at various spots, a few couches and near the door were two very large looking men in white uniforms.
Shaking his head, he walked toward them but they didn’t even so much as glance in his direction.
A light tapping noise from somewhere within the room caught his attention and he noticed another doorway across the room.
Just beyond the door he could see her, she was standing in the hall, facing away from him.
“Jess.”
She didn’t move so he went after her. As he approached the double doors she started to walk away from him and as he pushed through the doors, the hall was gone.
Now he was standing in the middle of Jess’ bedroom.
Spinning on his heel, he looks for any sign of her but the room was empty.
None of this made sense to him, he wasn’t there when Jess died, and he still actually didn’t know for sure how it all happened.
But here he was in her house, in her room.
He could hear footsteps and a moment later the bedroom door swung open and Jess strolled in.
“Jess, oh my god, how is this…”
He tried to reach out to her but his hand went through her like she was made of air and he stumbled forward.
“Jess?”
Still she didn't turn toward him.
She dropped her purse onto the dresser and her phone onto the bed.
She grabbed a change of clothes from the closet and dropped them onto the bed.
No matter how many times he tried to get her attention, she never once looked at him and it broke his heart that he was so close to her and couldn’t talk to her.
He watched as she disappeared into the bathroom.
Turning his head toward the door, he thought he heard more footsteps and tried to imagine who it could have been.
The door opened and a man stepped into the room but Sam didn’t recognize him. It wasn’t Jess’ father; he was a much taller, thinner man than the one standing before him.
Panic began to set in; he didn’t know who this man was or what he was doing in her room.
Sucking in a sharp breath, he tried to call out to her again and even though she appeared from the bathroom, it wasn’t because she had heard him.
When she saw the man standing there she let out a shrill scream which didn’t seem to faze the man at all.
Sam could see the fear in her eyes as she weighed her options.
There was only one way out but the man was blocking the door.
He took a few steps toward her and she instantly dove for the phone sitting on the bed but he swatted it out of her hand. It clattered to the floor.
She started to scream again but the man ignored her pleas to be left alone.
He reached out and grabbed at, covering her mouth with one hand and he pushed her up against the wall. Her head hit it with a loud thud and Sam cringed at the sound.
What occurred next happened so fast that Sam wasn’t entirely sure of what he was seeing.
The man spun Jess around and pushed her down onto the bed, she was desperate to reach her phone but it was too far away.
Then it was as if she was frozen in place, she couldn’t move an inch and she began to scream again.
Sam watched in horror as Jess was lying paralyzed on the bed.
He could smell it before he saw it, the smoke, it was overwhelming and he lifted his hand to his nose to try and block it out.
Then he saw the flames, small at first, they soon were lapping at the edges of the bed.
He took a step forward, the heat from the flames stinging his skin. He desperately tried to reach her, become more and more panicked.
It was so strong; the smoke was getting too thick and the flames too hot.
Her screams filled the room as the flames lapped at her skin and he could see the tears lining her cheeks.
Stumbling backwards, his foot caught on the edge of the dresser and he brought his hands to his face.
Sliding down the wall he sat on the floor and watched as the fire burned.
Her screams echoed in his mind and he tried to block it out.
He didn’t want to see that, to know that this is how she died and how afraid she must have been.
He loved her, he had loved her almost his whole life and because of him, she was gone.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to focus on the good memories that he had of her. He wanted to remember all the good times they had had growing up.
As tears burned his cheeks, he dared to open his eyes again and with a sad shake of his head, he found that he was no longer in Jess’ room. He was back in the large, white room where this had all started.
He wiped the back of his hand across his eyes and drew in a deep breath.
He wanted to go home; he wanted all of this to be over with.
A scratching sound a few feet away from him drew his attention to the far-right wall.
As he turned around, he watched with wide eyes as something appeared to be written on the wall but there was no one standing there.
His breath caught in his throat as he read the words.
They were words he had seen already.
‘Death will come for you.’
A cool breeze rushed past and Sam spun on his heel, he couldn’t see anyone but he knew that he wasn’t alone.
More letters started to appear and they formed a name and when he read it out loud, he could feel himself falling and then everything went black.
“Sam.”
He let out a sharp hiss when he felt someone slap him across the face.
Slowly things began to clear and when he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see Dean leaning over him.
“Dean?”
“Yeah Sammy, it’s me.”
He tried to sit up but Dean pushed him back down. Sam didn’t really have the strength to fight him on it.
“Where am I?”
“You’re at home Sammy,” Dean told him. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Sam replied. “I’m okay, Dean.”
Dean finally let Sam sit up and Sam wiped his hand across his eyes.
“What happened?”
“Do you remember being at the club?”
Sam glanced over at Jo who was sitting on the armchair across from him.
“The club,” Sam repeated. “Uh yeah, I remember.”
“Okay well, Ash and I found you out in the courtyard, a couple of people said you passed out and Cas sensed that something was wrong.”
Cas was sitting on the arm of Jo’s chair while John stood off to the side.
“You all came back?”
“Of course,” Dean told him. “I wanted to get back as soon as possible so we left the car with Meg, she’ll be back… whenever.”
Sam stared at his brother. “I’m sorry, did you just say that you left your precious baby with Meg?”
Dean gave his head a shake. “Uh hell no, we took Cas’ car.”
John ignored the irrelevant car talk and approached Sam. “What happened to you?”
Sam gave his head a shake as the memories rushed back and his heart broke all over again.
Fresh tears spilled down his cheeks as she glanced up at Dean.
“Sammy, you’re starting to freak me out, what’s going on?”
“It’s Jess,” Sam told them. “I don’t know how it happened but I saw her.”
Jo glanced over at Dean and they both shared the same concerned look.
“You… you saw her?”
Sam nodded back. “Kind of, it was more like a dream though. I saw how she died.”
“Fuck,” Dean muttered under his breath.
He knew better than anyone what Jess had meant to Sam and how hard her death had been on him.
Sam ran a hand through his hair before he continued. “It was so horrible. She must have been so scared. I saw it all but I couldn’t do anything to stop it. Nothing.”
Jo reached over and placed her hand on Sam’s. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry that you had to see it.”
Sam drew in a deep breath to try and calm himself down.
“We were wrong.”
Dean narrowed his eyes at him. “What do you mean, what are you talking about?”
Sam tried to calm his nerves but he still felt so on edge about this whole thing. “We thought that Crowley killed her, we blame him for it.”
“Sammy, what are you talking about?”
“Crowley didn’t kill her,” Sam explained. “I saw the man who did that to her and it wasn’t Crowley.”
“Okay, so if it wasn’t Crowley,” John asked. “Then who was it, do you know?”
Sam looked over at his father. “I didn’t recognize him but I know his name.”
Dean waited for him to continue but Sam just stared at a spot on the wall.
Dean placed his hand on Sam’s arm to get his attention. “You gonna tell us or do we have to guess?”
Sam nodded lightly as he glanced at each one of them before he focused back on Dean.
“His name is Azazel.”
Dean’s eyes widened in surprise. “I’m sorry did you just say Azazel?”
Sam nodded back. “Yeah, there was a name, it appeared on the wall, does it mean something to you?”
Dean glanced up at John and Cas who looked just as surprised as he felt.
“Yeah, Sammy, it does.”
Chapter 3