Fiction: Hell and Fury - Part 4 - NC-17
INFO Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Present day
The information was burning a hole in his pocket. He'd felt the slip of paper he'd written the address on earlier when he'd searched for change for a meter. Now Sam stood outside the bakery Bobby had told him about just a few days ago. The chances of finding what he was looking for were slim to none. He'd gotten sidetracked when he'd met John Constantine. He was here with a virtual stranger who claimed to know their father, and had slept beside Sam just last night. He should have thought that it was insane, but then Sam had left sanity behind a long time ago. That particular address wasn't even on the Winchester map. Fate and a demon had seen to that.
"Why exactly are we in this town?" Constantine asked as he walked around the Impala. They were parked in front of the bakery in a town called Blazeville, a place so small, it wasn't even on any of the maps. The sign outside the town limits had no population number listed. Sam was wondering if he'd written the name down wrong. He checked his slip of paper again and thought about calling Bobby, but he wasn't in the mood to talk to the man just now. He was in the mood to find Lilith and this location was where Bobby had said there'd been some activity. He leaned against the car and sighed. He had no clue what to do next.
"I don't know," Sam said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I just thought we could get something to eat and you could use a smoke." Constantine lit a cigarette right on cue. Sam smirked and took a look around the town. It was quiet for that time in the afternoon. He would have thought there would be at least a few people walking the streets, but they hadn't seen anyone yet.
"Right, now tell me the real reason we stopped in this place," Constantine said after a long pause.
"Bobby said there was a possible demon sighting here," Sam said, scratching his nose.
"Right then," Constantine said with a nod. "We should probably be on our merry way."
Sam stood and glared down at the man for a moment before walking to the back end of the car.
"You can leave any time you want," Sam said as he unlocked and opened the trunk.
Constantine tossed his finished cigarette on the ground and walked to Sam's side with a sigh.
"No, I can't," he muttered. He muttered something else that Sam didn't quite catch and chose to ignore. It was probably something rude in British talk that Sam wouldn't get anyway.
Sam tossed a small hex bag to Constantine who caught it against his chest. He stuffed it in his pocket without asking what it was. Sam took a few vials of holy water from the stash, noting he would have to get more soon, and handed one to Constantine. He put one in his own pocket and then took out the demon knife. Maybe it wouldn't kill Lilith, but it didn't hurt to have as much ammunition as possible. He held it up to show Constantine, who took it and turned it over, scrutinizing the symbols on the blade.
Sam stood up straight and watched as the older man examined it as though he were an expert. "Can you read what that says?" Sam asked, curious at Constantine's reaction to the knife. Constantine stroked his chin and held the knife up, closing one eye as he continued to study the blade. He turned it over again several times, looking at it from a few angles.
"Hm, yes," Constantine said, handing the knife over to Sam. "It says 'pointy end up'."
Sam snatched the knife from Constantine's hand and sneered.
"Ha, ha, very funny," Sam said as he slotted the knife inside a sheath. He then tucked the sheath in the waistband of his jeans at the small of his back.
The jangle of a bell caught Sam's attention and, when he turned to look in the direction of the sound, he saw that there was a man running out of the bakery. He looked terrified and almost ran into Sam, and then he let out a scream and turned to run away from them. He was half-way down the street before Sam thought that they should probably go after him.
Sam tore after the man with Constantine shouting after him to stop.
"Hold on," Sam called out when the wide-eyed terrified man disappeared around the corner of a building in the distance. "I'm not going to hurt you."
The man was obviously too afraid to stop and listen to reason. Sam turned back to find that Constantine had disappeared.
"Great," he muttered. Sam rushed after the fleeing man and, when he rounded the corner, he found Constantine and the man in a struggle. The man, who Sam now realized was just a teenager, was babbling something Sam couldn't understand. He rushed forward and grabbed the boy by the shoulders, trying to calm him down. The boy lashed out and managed a lucky punch across Sam's jaw. Sam staggered back more from the surprise than the actual blow, rubbing at his chin as Constantine tried to calm the boy down enough to get him to speak coherently.
"Hey, settle down," Constantine said, pinning the boy's arms behind his back. The boy struggled for a few more seconds, then seemed to give up and went limp in Constantine's grip.
"Take me, just make it fast," the boy said with tears in his eyes.
Sam stepped forward and held his hands up to show he was unarmed. He held out the vial of holy water just in case the guy was faking.
"I swear, we're not going to hurt you," Sam said in his most soothing voice. "We just want to know what happened here and where everybody went."
The boy broke down into tears, sobbing. "My girlfriend Massie killed almost everyone in the town," he managed between sobs. "Everything was fine. We were on a date and she said she had to go to the bathroom and when she came back, she...."
"What's your name, son?" Constantine asked. He released his grip on the boy, who leaned against him for support.
"Derek," he said.
"Now try to tell us exactly what happened," Sam said.
Derek took a few deep breaths. Sam noticed that he had a few bruises on his left cheek and jaw. He also had a cut above his left eye. Sam flinched in sympathy.
"Massie went nuts. She started killing everybody we ran into, but told me she would spare me," Derek said. His eyes filled with tears. "She even killed my...." He broke down and couldn't continue.
"Where's the sheriff's office?" Sam asked.
"It's burned up," Derek managed to say. "She killed Sheriff Winters and all his deputies."
"Where is this little Massie now?" Constantine asked.
Derek pointed back in the direction of the main street where Sam had parked the Impala.
"She's in the bakery."
"Derek," Sam said, taking him by the arm and turning him away from where they'd come from. "I want you to run to the outer limits of town and don't stop to talk to anyone, even if they're someone you know. Do you understand?"
Derek stared up at Sam, wide-eyed and in obvious shock. Who knew what he'd seen? Sam couldn't be sure, but he had a good idea that this was Lilith's doing. Once Derek was a few hundred feet from them and seemed steady enough on his feet, they headed for the bakery.
When they entered the bakery, they found one teenage girl behind the counter. She was young, no more than sixteen at most, with long straight blond hair that she wore in a pony tail. Constantine remained close to the door as Sam approached the counter.
"Can I help you?" the girl said. She was short and had to look up to make eye contact with Sam. Sam glanced briefly at the baked goods, noting they sold five different kinds of pie.
"We're looking for some information," Sam said. He glanced back at Constantine who wasn't even paying attention to them. Sam noticed that the glass, which had been dark from the outside, showed a clear view of the street. He could see the Impala parked just outside, although his view was tinted, so the glass must have been one-way.
"What kind?" she asked.
Leaving his position by the door, Constantine approached the counter and examined the girl. He tilted his head and leaned left. He seemed to be looking past the demon-possessed girl at the half-open door behind her. Sam barely blinked when he spotted the legs in the room behind the waitress. Was that blood under them? Sam nodded at the name tag on the girl's blue shirt that said Massie. Constantine suddenly pulled his vial of holy water from his pocket and splashed the girl across the face. Smoke started to rise from her skin where the holy water had landed.
"That was so mean," she said.
"Not Massie then," Constantine said. Sam jumped back and pulled the knife from its sheath.
The girl straightened, pouting. "How did you find me, Sammy?" she asked. Her eyes milked over and flashed white for a brief moment.
"Lilith," Sam said. It was her, just as Sam had suspected. His heart raced and his palms started to sweat.
She turned her attention to Constantine who barely twitched a muscle as she scrutinized him.
"You're rather sloppy, Lilith," Constantine said. "We ran into your boyfriend just outside. Not to mention the trail of dead bodies you've left all over town. This place reeks of your demon filth."
Lilith walked out from behind the counter and circled around Constantine, eying him like a cat eyes a mouse. Sam felt every muscle in his body tense.
"You brought me a new toy, Sammy," she purred. Constantine didn't even flinch. He stood silent as she reached up. Her hand hovered just over Constantine's lips. "He's kind of old, but he's cute." She crinkled her nose, and Sam sneered, ready to spring at any moment.
"Don't you touch him," Sam threatened. They should have been better prepared and he shouldn't have brought Constantine with him. Lilith couldn't kill Sam, but she sure as hell could kill Constantine. The guy didn't deserve what was going to happen. He'd stumbled into a bad situation that was about to get so much worse. "He's not a part of this."
Lilith suddenly rushed over to Sam, stopping just in front of the knife. She grinned down at the blade and tsked. "You brought him here. He's a part of this now." Her voice went from sweet to angry in a split second. She leaned closer to Sam, who glared down at her. The strike of a match snapped Sam out of his stare-down.
Sam and Lilith looked over to find Constantine puffing on a cigarette.
"She's right. I am a part of this," Constantine said, nonchalantly. Sam was irked by the man's ability to be so casual in the face of danger, but maybe that was because Sam hadn't had a chance to tell Constantine just how big a threat Lilith was. He should have. There'd been plenty of opportunities. Sam was going to get his father's friend killed, and it was his fault, just like Dean had been his fault.
Lilith was obviously outraged at Constantine's lack of fear. She lunged forward and grabbed at Constantine's hand but, he somehow managed to dodge her. She stumbled and turned, just as shocked as Sam. He hadn't even seen Constantine move. How the hell had he done that? Sam watched as Constantine took another drag from his cigarette, eyeing the 'no smoking' sign. There was cocky and then there was downright foolish. Sam hadn't decided yet which category Constantine fell under.
"Lilith is it, then," Constantine said, "So then, get on with it. Kill me. I'm right here."
Lilith raised her hand. Panicked, Sam rushed forward to put himself between the demon and his new friend. He couldn't just let Constantine die. A bright white light filled the room and moments later it faded. Constantine was still standing just where he'd been. Sam moved to his side making sure the door was right at their back.
"What the hell?" Lilith screamed in outrage. "Are there two of you? How can there be two of you that I can't kill? I want to be able to kill you." To Sam's amazement, she stomped a foot on the floor then shrieked.
"You'll have to thank Nergal for that one, love," Constantine said. "Demon blood," he added as explanation, tapping his own chest.
There was a pause and Sam watched as the expression on Lilith's face changed from anger to surprise. Lilith's eyes went wide and she turned and ran back behind the counter, disappearing through the door to the back room. Sam started to rush after her but Constantine grabbed his arm.
"We have to go after her and save that poor girl," Sam shouted. Constantine flung his arm across Sam's chest and held him.
"You're probably right," Constantine said. Sam relaxed and pulled out of Constantine's grip.
Constantine was calmer than Sam felt he had a right to be. After all, Lilith had just tried to kill him and the man had practically invited her to do just that. How could he have known that Lilith wouldn't be able to touch him?
"You have demon blood in you." Sam barked. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Constantine backed away from Sam, who calmed himself even though he wanted to shake the man thoroughly for keeping something like this from him.
"It's not something I advertise," Constantine said. He grabbed Sam by the lapel of his jacket and pulled him out of the bakery. "We'd better get going. There's bound to be some law enforcement eventually and we don't want to be here when it arrives."
Sam didn't resist. Once they were out of the bakery, they got into the car and Sam drove them away. The streets were eerily silent as they drove out of town. There wasn't a person to be found, and that worried Sam. He couldn't imagine that Lilith had killed the whole town, but then maybe she had. She was without mercy or remorse.
November 1995
The man tied to the chair screamed again. John Winchester splashed him with holy water. Skin sizzled and smoked as the blessed liquid landed on the face that was turned up to the ceiling. The man's face was so twisted and contorted from the agony he was obviously feeling, that his expression couldn't even be called human.
"Screw you," he yelled at John. John walked around him, taking care not to step inside the devil's trap he'd spray painted on the wood floor beneath the man. John Constantine stood a few feet away, sucking on a smoke as he watched the odd tableau unfold before him.
"No thank you," John said as he screwed the cap back onto the flask of holy water. He tucked the small metal container in his back pocket and pulled out the pages he'd brought with him. An ancient incantation was written on the paper in Constantine's neat script.
"What's that," the demon-possessed man sneered. "Your grocery list?" He laughed like it was the funniest joke he'd ever heard.
John smirked and started to read the words out loud. The demon inside the trapped man stopped laughing.
"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica..."
"That's right, you bloody tosser," Constantine said, flicking his extinguished butt across the room. They were in an abandoned motel off of Route 66. It had been a few years since John had last seen Constantine, and then earlier today he'd called asking for assistance. Somehow, Constantine had found the number of John's new cell phone, the new cell phone he'd just gotten only a few months before. John seriously needed to learn some of Constantine's tricks. He claimed it was magic, but John had never seen anyone use real magic as far as he knew. Maybe Constantine was telling the truth or maybe he was just spewing bullshit. John had yet to figure out which.
John continued to read aloud, enunciating the foreign words as carefully as possible. The man began to writhe on his chair. He screamed a few times, and then flung his head back. A pillar of black smoke shot out of his mouth and eyes toward the ceiling, vanishing when it hit the old plaster. John stopped the chant and stared in amazement at what he saw. Constantine had been right. He looked over at the man who stood a few feet away.
"Where did it go?"
"Back to Hell," Constantine said. "It might claw its way back up here, but that would take time."
John checked the man's pulse. He was dead. They were sure that this would be the case, but John had hoped.
"We should bury him," he said, suddenly feeling regretful. They may have banished the demon, but it hadn't been in time to save the poor soul the demon had ridden all these weeks. Constantine nodded and they untied the man. John carried the body outside while Constantine cleaned up any evidence that they'd been there. Digging the hole took awhile, and as John wrestled and strained with the wet dirt, Constantine chain-smoked in silence. John was sweating like a pig and he stripped down to his sleeveless t-shirt. When the hole was deep enough, John placed the body in the shallow grave and said a short prayer over his final resting place. He stared down in remorse at the poor guy who'd done nothing to deserve his horrible fate.
John tossed the shovel and gear in the trunk of the Impala. He felt dirty and not just because he was covered in filth. He needed a shower in the worst way. They got in the car and drove in silence. Constantine's intense gaze kept turning John's way. It was driving him nuts and he wanted to shout at the man. How the hell had he gotten himself in this mess? The man he'd just buried had been wearing a wedding ring. He probably had a family somewhere that they didn't know about and they were probably waiting for him to return home. There was nothing that could be done, so John had to put his growing guilt aside. They'd rid the world of a demon who had been terrorizing and killing people, and John reminded himself that hunting evil was what he had chosen to do.
He flinched when Constantine slipped his arm behind John's head, and ran his fingers through John's filthy hair.
"I'm dirty," John said.
"We'll get you cleaned up good and proper," Constantine replied. It was a few miles before they came across a motel. The vacancy sign was lit and John parked the car in front of the main office. The place looked like it had seen better days, but it was late and he desperately needed to get out of his dirty clothes. Once he booked a room, he parked right out front. There was only one other car that was parked at the other end of the lot.
John unlocked the door and dropped his duffle on the floor. Constantine walked in past him and flipped the light switch. The room looked like it had been decorated in the seventies and no one had ever bothered to update the look. The only light seemed to be a single hanging lamp shade above a round table in a far corner beside the bathroom door. A queen-sized bed was the largest piece of furniture in the room. John trudged over to the bathroom and flipped a switch. The bathroom consisted of a toilet, tub and sink with no countertop, and warm light bathed the dark red tiles. He barely grunted his intentions before entering and letting the door swing closed behind him. John leaned against the white porcelain sink and stared into the mirror on the wall. He looked like shit. He stripped off his dirty clothes and tossed them on the floor under the sink.
When John was naked he turned the water on, relieved to find that the showerhead let out a decent spray. He stepped in and yanked the yellow shower curtain closed. He leaned his head against the tiled wall right under the water and stood staring down at the dirt swirling down the drain as it washed away. Every muscle ached, his arms and shoulders felt like they were going to fall off. He jumped when the shower curtain was pushed aside and Constantine stepped in behind him.
John turned with his back to the hot water to pull Constantine close and kiss him hard on the mouth. Constantine reached up and ran his fingers through John's hair. They stayed like that for a long time, hot water sluicing over them as they kissed hungrily. When they pulled apart, John leaned his forehead against Constantine's shoulder and cried silent tears that washed away before they could fall. When it was over, they cleaned each other in silence. There was nothing sexual about it, though they were both semi-hard the whole time. When Constantine lathered soap on John's cock, John moaned and closed his eyes. He grew harder with each stroke and Constantine kissed him on the throat as he held them both in his hand and stroked them together. It wasn't long before John was overcome with his orgasm. He locked his knees to stop from falling to his knees. Once he'd stopped coming, John realized that Constantine was still hard. His cock stood up straight, and brushed against John's hip.
John lowered himself to his knees and sucked the length in. Constantine fell back against the tiled wall and braced himself with one hand as John sucked him off, water splashing in his eyes. Moments later, come splashed inside his mouth and John sucked harder until Constantine pushed him away. John fell back on his bare ass, laughing. He watched as Constantine collapsed and slid down the tiled wall of the bathtub. They barely fit in the tub. John pulled Constantine against his chest, and wrapped his arms around him.
They lay like that for a long time, water raining down on them.
"Could you do me a favor, John," John finally said. When Constantine didn't reply, John continued. "If you're ever in my neck of the woods, could you look out for my boys, Sam and Dean?"
"I can do that," Constantine said. After a long pause, he pulled himself up. John watched as Constantine rinsed off under the shower head. He glanced down at John and winked before pushing the shower curtain aside and stepping out of the tub.
John stood and rinsed off, noting his hands were wrinkled. The heavy calluses had gone white and puffy from the water. John stared at the skin lost in thought. When he snapped back to reality, he turned off the water and pushed the shower curtain aside. The white towel provided was barely large enough to cover him, so John didn't bother to hide his nudity. What was the point? Constantine had seen it all and he sure as hell wasn't ashamed. John couldn't help but smile as he reflected on what had just happened in the shower.
He walked out of the bathroom still lost in contemplation when he noticed that Constantine's things were gone.
So was the man.
PART 5