by Amelia Esla
As Sam sat in the passenger seat, he couldn't stop thinking about the priest. Father Gregory was only trying to do what was best for his group. He thought what he was doing was truly what God would've wanted. He did what he thought was right, yet he was so, so wrong. Honestly, Sam felt he could relate. Sam was always doing what he thought was right but nothing good ever came of it. Luckily, he had Dean to help him, but he couldn't rely on his big brother forever.
Megan sat alone in the backseat. She had really wanted this camp to work. She couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life driving to nowhere.
She glanced up at the front seat and sighed. Maybe she would, if it would mean spending that time with the Winchesters. There was something about them that drew her to them. She remembered her conversation with Dean. What he told her was so personal that it shocked her. He had never confided in her like that, and...It made her feel good. She couldn't really explain the feelings Dean gave her. Every time he touched her she felt warm and fuzzy, and she didn't want him to stop. She would deny it if anyone asked, but it was true.
Dean rolled the car into a parking lot of an abandoned hotel. It looked like it used to be a pretty nice place, but it had gone to hell in the last few months. Dean parked the car and turned it off. After a moment, Dean let his fingers drop from the wheel. "I figured this place would be good to stop for the night. Probably gotta clear out some zombies first though."
Sam got out first, running his fingers through his long hair. I really need to trim this, he thought, distracting himself from his other thoughts. Dean glanced into the rearview mirror at Megan, who just stared back blankly. Dean wished he knew what she was thinking- it was easy to read Sam's face, but Megan could hide behind her stare easily when she wanted to.
Dean and Megan exited the car slowly. Dean gripped onto his gun, remaining alert to any possible threats. Megan, on the other hand, was too lost in thought to pay attention.
"It's a big building," Sam commented once the other two caught up to him. "Should we work it together, or split up so we can hurry up and sleep?"
Dean frowned. He didn't like the idea of splitting up- anybody who's ever seen a horror movie knows what a terrible idea that is- but he also knew how tired everyone was. It would be quicker to split, and cover more ground. That way, they could all relax. "We'll split up," Dean decided, Sam and Megan agreed.
The whole hotel was five stories high. Megan took the top two floors, Sam took the next two down, and Dean took the ground floor and basement.
Megan worked cautiously. She was supposed to clear all the rooms of any zombies, while also keeping a look out for anyone alive. The boys told her that if anyone alive attacked her, she should shoot first and ask questions later, but Megan was pretty sure she'd never be able to pull the trigger.
The elevators were, obviously, not working, so she had to walk up all 5 stories. She and Sam walked together until the 3rd floor when Sam got off, but they did so silently. Megan continued up for two more flights, and by the end she was breathing heavily. As if today hadn't been tiring enough...
Sam worked quickly. He snuck through the halls and made sure to open every door along the way. Behind one of the doors he heard growling. Quietly, he creaked open the wooden door. The zombie didn't hear him come in, so Sam was able to run up and jab his knife into its skull rather than waste bullets.
Other than that, the floor was completely empty. It was eerily quiet and dark, and it put Sam on edge. It wasn't that he was scared of the dark- but he was afraid of what was in it.
Alone in the silence, Sam's thoughts shot through his head one after another. He thought about Dean and what his father confessed to him. He thought about the "angel" that wanted him dead. He even thought about Jess, and how much he wished she was here now.
Dean was much better at silencing his own mind. He swept through the ground floor, thinking only of his job. He didn't sneak around like the others, he just strutted through the halls, daring anything to come and get him. He kicked down each door as he passed it, and checked for signs of life. As he figured, there were quite a few of the dead stuck in these rooms. Zombies weren't particularly good at opening doors.
By the time he got to the basement, he felt an odd mixture of exhaustion and overconfidence. Maybe if he had been more alert, he would have heard the hushed whimpering sound coming from the next room, and he wouldn't have had so easily walked into the Dijnns trap.
He was walking through a doorway when he felt something hard and heavy hit the back of his head, and then he felt his face connect with the cold ground.
...
Dean awoke with a start. His eyes shot open as he took in his surroundings. What the hell...? He was lying in a warm, comfortable bed, staring up at a popcorn celling. A woman he did not recognize was lying in bed beside him. He sat up, holding his head. It sure felt like he had just gotten knocked out, but he couldn't feel any mark or blood where he had been hit.
He carefully crawled out of the bed, trying to not wake the strange and sleeping woman. He snuck out, expecting to see a hotel hallway like the one he had been in before. Instead, he found a living room and kitchen. Where am I? Suburbia?
The sound of a car horn interrupted his thoughts. He went over to the window and pulled back the curtain, just enough to peak out. A white car drove by, honking its horn at some teenagers in the street. In shock, Dean noticed the house across the street, with its lights on and a man taking out the trash. No...No way, he couldn't believe it. Everything was normal... No zombies... no dead…just, life…
Dean felt like he had just woken up from a long, terrible dream, but he had the feeling that he had actually just entered one.
14- What Is
Dean searched frantically for a phone, and dialed Sam's number. "Hello?" Sam's voice answered calmly on the other line.
Dean's voice caught for a moment before he answered. "Sammy, is that you?"
"Dean?" He sounded surprised to hear from Dean. "What's wrong?"
Dean took a deep breath. "I don't know, man. I don't know where I am. The last thing i remember we were in that hotel. I was in the basement and something attacked me. Then I woke up in bed next to some hot chick..."
"You mean Carmen?" Sam asked. He put down the book he was reading. "Dean, you're drunk dialing me,"
Dean's brow pulled together. "What? No, I'm not. Stop screwing around. Somethings upSam. The zombies are all gone and-"
"Look, man, you need to sleep. Just... get some rest, and I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Sam didn't wait for a response before hanging up the phone.
"Wait, Sam? Sam!" Dean closed his eyes and put down the phone. Something was obviously up- he strained to remember what had happened before he blacked out.
He had been in the basement of some hotel...Sam and Megan were upstairs. He was walking into a room when somebody hit him over the head. Who was standing behind the door...?
A Dijnn...? Dean considered. It made the most sense. They usually hung out in dark places like this- even if there weren't many humans around. Whatever attacked him was obviously something living, and only a monster could do something like this.
"Hunny?" The woman in the bed- apparently Carmen- was standing in the doorway. "Babe, what are you doing up?"
Dean smiled awkwardly. "Hey... Carmen. I just uh..."
"Aw, you just couldn't sleep, huh?" She smiled, brushing her hand on his shoulder.
"Uh, yeah," Dean faked a laugh.
Carmen wrapped her arms around his neck, standing up on her toes a bit to see him eye-to-eye. "Well, why don't we go back to bed, and I'll see if I can do anything to help?"
Dean grinned. "Yeah...sure." He almost considered taking her up on that offer... it was his wish come true, right? But then he remembered the situation at hand, and decided against it. "In a minute- you go ahead."
"Okay. Don't stay up too long..." Carmen agreed, giving him a gentle kiss before going back into the bedroom.
Dijnns granted wishes- so was this his wish?
He certainly never spoke it out aloud, which meant it was reading his mind. Dean felt his stomach clench. Did that mean...? He surveyed the living room, looking for anything that might make things clearer. He spotted a framed photograph on the bookshelf. No... It can't be...
Dean grabbed the keys sitting on the counter and ran out of the house.
...
Sam finished the third and fourth floor. He entered the last, empty room, and lied down on the bed. He could fall asleep right then and there if his mind would let him.
You either have to save Sam...or kill him...
Sam knew that there was something wrong with him, and he wished to God he knew what. What could possibly make his own father say something like that? And to his brother? He didn't want to be different- he wanted to be normal. Even in this world, there were still normal people out there, right?
He knew his brother meant well, but this was something Dean couldn't fix for him. Dean would never kill Sam, even if his father begged him to. Even if Sam begged him to. He would die himself trying to save Sam, and for that Sam was grateful. But now he had to be strong for once, and figure this out himself. He may never be normal but he could still be good.
Sam's whole body went tense as he heard footsteps from down the hall. He tightened his grip on the gun and sat up. Did I miss any zombies? Or are there living people in here?
"Sam?"
Sam closed his eyes and sighed with relief. "Megan," he got up and went into the hallway. Megan was walking from the stairwell on the opposite end. "What's wrong?"
Megan caught up to him and shrugged. "Nothing. The top floors are cleared, now." She stared up at Sam, who was at least 8 inches taller than her. "So I guess that means we're gonna stay here for a while?" She asked after a moment.
"Yeah, i guess so. Depends on Dean, i guess."
Megan nodded and looked away. When she glanced back at him she had on odd expression on her face that Sam couldn't quite place. "Can I ask you something personal?"
"Yeah, shoot." Sam cleared his throat. He crossed his arms, which he always did when he felt vulnerable or nervous. Not that he should be. I mean, this is Megan for petes sake. We can trust her.
Megan paused, contemplating how to put her thoughts into words. "Well, Dean...um, what was he like? Before the world ended? Was he different?"
Sam had to hold back a smile. Maybe Dean had a bit of a secret admirer... "He was basically the same. Still bossy, still an asshole. But he has always been a hero, even if it got him into trouble."
Megan smiled at that. "So he's always been like that?"
"No. He used to be...different. He was always so full of life, you know? But that was before..." Megan was about to stop him when his voice trailed off. She didn't mean to impose, but he continued before she could say anything. "Before our father died. It happened right before the world went to shit. It was a demon...the same one that killed my mother and my... girlfriend." Sam kept a straight face, but inside he could feel the pain of seeing Jess on the ceiling-feel the heat on his face- like it all happened yesterday.
"Oh. I didn't...I didn't realize-"
"No, no, its okay, really. You might as well know. Dean was dying. He wasn't going to make it, and... there was nothing we could do." Sam explained. He knew that Dean wouldn't want him to tell her all of this, but he went ahead anyway. "Our father made a deal with the demon- Dean's life for his."
Megan realized she was holding her breath. She couldn't imagine what that must have felt like to know that someone else, your father especially, died to save you. That would change anyone. "I'm so sorry," She practically whispered. Sam gave her a small smile of appreciation. "Thank you for telling me,"
Sam nodded. "Don't tell him I told you. I mean, you should know- you're like one of us now- but he doesn't really tell anyone stuff like that," They didn't say anything else for a while.
Megan repeated his words in her head: You're like one of us now... They trusted her, which is something she had not felt in a long, long time. For Dean to open up about his mom, and Sam about his dad, really said something. She realized that if they were honest with her- then she should be honest with them.
"Sam... there's something I've been meaning to ask you about. I've been worried about it for a while now..."
Sam sat down on the hotel bed he had been lying on before. Megan sat down beside him. "What is it?"
Megan bit the inside of her cheek before speaking. "Well...do you remember what that- shape shifter, or whatever- said to me? Or rather, about me?"
"No...not really... what did she say?"
"She said that I was...different. That she would tell you both about me if you would let her live." Megan felt her stomach clench. She had been worried about this for months, but she didn't want to tell them. She was embarrassed, and a just little bit scared.
Sam, however, seemed unconvinced. "So? She was just trying to make a deal so that we'd let her live. She was lying, Megan. Shape shifters, demons, ghosts- they all lie."
"Yeah, but she wasn't the only one!" Megan argued. "The priest, from the church, he said something too." She paused. "He was looking into peoples souls- to judge them, or whatever- and when he looked into mine, it was different."
That got Sam's attention. He may not have been an angel, but that didn't mean he couldn't see things that living humans couldn't. Maybe Father Gregory saw something that Sam and Dean weren't able to. "How was it different?"
Megan had to blink back tears that were threatening to form in her green eyes. "I don't know. He didn't say. He said that I was, like, 'sent by God,' but that can't be right. Could it? How could I be any different that you or Dean without even knowing it?"
Sent by God... That was a new one. Sam racked his brain for some monster that fit her description, but he didn't exactly have much to go on. Most monsters didn't even have souls. Damn... maybe I should have let that shape shifter live. Maybe she would have been useful.
For now, they had nothing. No information except the babblings of two monsters who probably didn't even know what they were talking about. Sam had nothing to offer Megan. "I wouldn't worry about it, Megan. We'll figure this out- if there's even anything to figure out."
"Okay...thank you. I just... i just wanted you to know." Megan reached over and hugged Sam, who was a little surprised. Still, he wrapped his arms around her anyway.
"You're going to be fine, Megan. Dean and I will make sure of it."
"Thank you," Megan let go of him. "Speaking of Dean, you think he's done yet?"
"Probably finished awhile ago. Let's go get him."
15- What Should Never Be
Dean could not believe what was happening. His mother was alive, Jess was alive, Sam was in school like he wanted- everything was exactly how it should. It didn't make any sense, but it was perfect, and Dean wished that that was enough.
He knew deep down that this couldn't be real- could it? This was some kind of monsters trick. It had to be an illusion.
But at the same time that his skeptic mind was doubting this reality, the rest of him desperately wanted it to be real. He may have just been some drunk mechanic whose brother didn't even know him- or want to know him, for that matter, but everyone he cared about was happy. And if they were happy, he was happy.
It wasn't until he saw the half-dead girl appear and disappear before him that even that part of his mind had to admit that everything was wrong.
It must have been a Djinn, it was obvious at this point. It had granted him his unspoken wish: for his mother to live. Now he was in what he assumed was some parallel universe where she had lived.
So his mother was alive, but that meant the Winchesters had never become hunters. Anyone they had ever saved had died instead. Dean didn't think that he could live with that.
He knew he had to figure out who the hell that girl that was following him was- and reverse what the Djinn had done, as much as he'd like to stay. But he could hear his fathers voice in his head: "You're happiness for all those peoples
lives- no contest."
He's right... Dean thought. I have to do this...
Deans heart was pounding as he and his apple-pie-brother creeped quietly down the stairs of a high-price hotel. He was sure that this was the same one he had been in when the Djinn attacked him, and he hoped that the Djinn would still be there. He hadn't wanted to take Sam, who was all but useless in this state, but he had insisted.
"Dean," Sam spoke in a harsh whisper. "This is crazy. Someone's gonna catch us down here and call the cops!"
"Shh!" Dean peered around the corner at the bottom of the stairs. The basement was dark and eerily quiet. It barely looked in better condition than when the whole place was zombie infested. "Keep your voice down."
"Holy shit," A they entered the room, half a dozen bodies hung from the ceiling. Each one strung up and hooked up to an IV. One girl, hanging from a rope in the middle of the basement, seemed to be alive. She looked terrible, like she was dying, and she was staring straight ahead. The IV was poked into her soft skin, and was draining blood out of her. Dean immediately ran over to her, holding her head in his hands. He took her pulse. "It's her."
"Dean, what's going on?" Sam grabbed his brothers arm.
"Shh! Come here!" Dean pulled Sam behind a wall, and watched the Djinn stalk into the room. It went over to the girl, who whimpered as he came closer.
She doesn't know where she is... Dean noted to himself. He watched in disgust as it unplugged the IV bag and squirted her blood into it's mouth. He willed his increasingly-frightened brother to stay silent as it wandered back upstairs-presumably to another hideout.