Part 1, Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Carthage, Missouri
As promised, Judas returned just before dawn, carrying a spear. The shaft alone was taller than he was, nearly as tall as Dean; and the blade, wickedly sharp, extended another foot into the air.
"Where'd that come from?" Sam asked.
Judas smiled a little. "Does it really matter? It's sharp and it's iron, and it will be useful."
Dean eyed it. "Thought you didn't want to kill anyone."
"I don't want to be cruel," Judas corrected mildly. "Especially when it won't accomplish anything. I also don't want to be defenseless, and I'm better with this than a gun."
Dean considered that for a minute, then shrugged, accepting it.
Because Castiel was riding with the Harvelles, Judas wound up in the backseat of the Impala as they drove to Carthage. For the most part, he stayed quiet the whole way there; an uncomfortable, impossible to ignore presence that made the whole drive down even tenser. He continued to keep his silence while the three of them checked out the police station. His eyes were moving constantly, marking the streets around them, but either he didn't see any threats or he was choosing not to say anything about them.
It wasn't until until the three of them met up with the Harvelles, after they'd lost Cas and Ellen and Jo filled them in on what Cas had said he'd seen, that he spoke at all. And even that, he didn't initiate.
"You didn't mention reapers," Dean said.
Judas blinked. "Where did you get the idea I could see them?" he asked, seeming genuinely confused.
"Cas said you could help with scouting," Sam said. "I don't think we would've thought reapers if he hadn't already seen them, though."
"I can see demons' true faces, and hellhounds, and a few other things likely to turn up," Judas said. "Not reapers, though. Not unless they want me to."
"You have any idea why they might be here?"
He tilted his head, considering. "It's possible Lucifer slaughtered this entire town. That would be a reason for so many. But if they were here for that...Ellen, you said Castiel said they were just standing around?"
"He didn't mention what they were doing," Ellen said. "But he didn't seem like he was tracking anything moving, so, yeah, probably they were just standing there."
"That's...atypical." He thought for a minute, then shook his head. "My guess would still be that there are so many because the entire town was killed," Judas said. "Maybe it was for a ritual, or maybe he was bored or frustrated. Though I'm not sure why the reapers weren't active, if that's the case."
"Well, that's comforting," Ellen said, after an uneasy beat.
Judas shrugged apologetically. "I'm sorry I don't have a better answer. But I highly doubt reapers gather for..." He trailed off.
"Something wrong?" Dean asked.
"There you are," a woman's voice called, before Judas could answer.
"Meg!"
Judas shifted his grip on the spear, bringing the blade low, with the shaft across his body for protection, looking just about everywhere except directly at Meg.
"What do you see?" Ellen asked him, in an undertone, while the boys were talking with the demon, keeping her busy.
"Hellhounds," he answered, grimly. "A lot of them. Do you see anywhere we can retreat?"
"There's a hardware store, about a block back," Jo supplied. "Think we can make it?"
"They're fast," was all he said.
"When have you known us to ever make anything easy?" Dean was saying, before firing off a shot and yelling, "RUN!"
The five of them fell back towards the hardware store.
"Sam, three o'clock!" Judas yelled.
The taller Winchester turned and shot where Judas indicated, rewarded by an angry yelp.
"Thanks," he said.
Judas, the only one who could see the hellhounds, stayed outwardly calming, continuing to call out targets. He was also the only one without a long-distance weapon, and forced to stay on the defensive, laying around him with his spear. Its shaft broke in two in less than a minute, drastically reducing Judas' already-limited range. He shifted position and dodged around something--probably the hellhound who'd broken his spear--slashing at it as he went by. He was just a hair too fast to be entirely natural.
And it was probably a trick of the light, but Ellen could have sworn she saw Judas' eyes flash silver.
That can't be good.
Then Dean went down, and it only took twenty seconds for everything to go to hell.
Jo shot the hellhound off him, then got knocked down and mauled by another.
Contrary to expectation, time didn't stretch, with each aching fraction of a second lasting forever until Jo hit the ground, blood spraying all the way up to her face. Instead, it was fast, and messy, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
Jo screamed, followed by Ellen an instant later. Dean, face grim and set, dove for her, with Sam following to cover them both.
Judas stayed with Ellen, whose focus was completely on her injured daughter, trying to keep her from getting hurt as well. He called out targets to Sam, using what was left of his spear to help him cover the rest of their retreat.
Finally--too damn late--they made it to the store and slammed the doors.
Previous: Part 1, Chapter 4 Next: Part 1, Chapter 6
Carthage, Missouri
As promised, Judas returned just before dawn, carrying a spear. The shaft alone was taller than he was, nearly as tall as Dean; and the blade, wickedly sharp, extended another foot into the air.
"Where'd that come from?" Sam asked.
Judas smiled a little. "Does it really matter? It's sharp and it's iron, and it will be useful."
Dean eyed it. "Thought you didn't want to kill anyone."
"I don't want to be cruel," Judas corrected mildly. "Especially when it won't accomplish anything. I also don't want to be defenseless, and I'm better with this than a gun."
Dean considered that for a minute, then shrugged, accepting it.
Because Castiel was riding with the Harvelles, Judas wound up in the backseat of the Impala as they drove to Carthage. For the most part, he stayed quiet the whole way there; an uncomfortable, impossible to ignore presence that made the whole drive down even tenser. He continued to keep his silence while the three of them checked out the police station. His eyes were moving constantly, marking the streets around them, but either he didn't see any threats or he was choosing not to say anything about them.
It wasn't until until the three of them met up with the Harvelles, after they'd lost Cas and Ellen and Jo filled them in on what Cas had said he'd seen, that he spoke at all. And even that, he didn't initiate.
"You didn't mention reapers," Dean said.
Judas blinked. "Where did you get the idea I could see them?" he asked, seeming genuinely confused.
"Cas said you could help with scouting," Sam said. "I don't think we would've thought reapers if he hadn't already seen them, though."
"I can see demons' true faces, and hellhounds, and a few other things likely to turn up," Judas said. "Not reapers, though. Not unless they want me to."
"You have any idea why they might be here?"
He tilted his head, considering. "It's possible Lucifer slaughtered this entire town. That would be a reason for so many. But if they were here for that...Ellen, you said Castiel said they were just standing around?"
"He didn't mention what they were doing," Ellen said. "But he didn't seem like he was tracking anything moving, so, yeah, probably they were just standing there."
"That's...atypical." He thought for a minute, then shook his head. "My guess would still be that there are so many because the entire town was killed," Judas said. "Maybe it was for a ritual, or maybe he was bored or frustrated. Though I'm not sure why the reapers weren't active, if that's the case."
"Well, that's comforting," Ellen said, after an uneasy beat.
Judas shrugged apologetically. "I'm sorry I don't have a better answer. But I highly doubt reapers gather for..." He trailed off.
"Something wrong?" Dean asked.
"There you are," a woman's voice called, before Judas could answer.
"Meg!"
Judas shifted his grip on the spear, bringing the blade low, with the shaft across his body for protection, looking just about everywhere except directly at Meg.
"What do you see?" Ellen asked him, in an undertone, while the boys were talking with the demon, keeping her busy.
"Hellhounds," he answered, grimly. "A lot of them. Do you see anywhere we can retreat?"
"There's a hardware store, about a block back," Jo supplied. "Think we can make it?"
"They're fast," was all he said.
"When have you known us to ever make anything easy?" Dean was saying, before firing off a shot and yelling, "RUN!"
The five of them fell back towards the hardware store.
"Sam, three o'clock!" Judas yelled.
The taller Winchester turned and shot where Judas indicated, rewarded by an angry yelp.
"Thanks," he said.
Judas, the only one who could see the hellhounds, stayed outwardly calming, continuing to call out targets. He was also the only one without a long-distance weapon, and forced to stay on the defensive, laying around him with his spear. Its shaft broke in two in less than a minute, drastically reducing Judas' already-limited range. He shifted position and dodged around something--probably the hellhound who'd broken his spear--slashing at it as he went by. He was just a hair too fast to be entirely natural.
And it was probably a trick of the light, but Ellen could have sworn she saw Judas' eyes flash silver.
That can't be good.
Then Dean went down, and it only took twenty seconds for everything to go to hell.
Jo shot the hellhound off him, then got knocked down and mauled by another.
Contrary to expectation, time didn't stretch, with each aching fraction of a second lasting forever until Jo hit the ground, blood spraying all the way up to her face. Instead, it was fast, and messy, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
Jo screamed, followed by Ellen an instant later. Dean, face grim and set, dove for her, with Sam following to cover them both.
Judas stayed with Ellen, whose focus was completely on her injured daughter, trying to keep her from getting hurt as well. He called out targets to Sam, using what was left of his spear to help him cover the rest of their retreat.
Finally--too damn late--they made it to the store and slammed the doors.
Previous: Part 1, Chapter 4 Next: Part 1, Chapter 6