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phantismaFandom: Supernatural
Title: Leaving
Characters/Pairings: Sam/Dean, John, Ellen, Bobby, Caleb, Pastor Jim, Jo, Ash, OMC, OFC
Rating: NC-17 (for thematic reasons)
Word Count: 3140
Summary: Broken!Verse, chapter 44 (Click here for Index of all chapters)
Summary: John and Pastor Jim talk about the possibility of a traitor in their midst, Gabe, Allen and Ash search for hidden bugs, and Gabe makes a disturbing discovery
A/Ns and Warnings: Very dark. Includes memory of torture and rape and very dark violence.
“You really think leaving’s the right thing to do?”
Pastor Jim looked up from his packing. He shook his head. “I don’t know John. There’s a lot of people here, and I don’t think I can be much use to the boys or you. I can’t condone what you’re going to do.”
John stood in the door way, his hands in his pockets. “I’m not asking you to.”
“If I stay, it’s implied.”
“You can’t tell me he doesn’t deserve it.”
Jim sighed and sat on the bed. “I’ve seen enough of what was done to Dean to realize he does. I just…don’t think you need me here to do it.” He folded his hands on his lap. “If I’m being truthful, Sam and Dean shouldn’t be here either. Or Gabe or Caleb for that matter.”
“Ellen’s leaving. Taking Jo away.”
“After the incident last night, and Sam’s reaction this morning, I think that’s wise.”
John glanced over his shoulder, then stepped into the room and shut the door. “I need to say this. You leaving now…it doesn’t look good.”
Jim looked up at him. “Because that box showed up when I did?”
John shrugged. “I’m not saying I suspect you. God Jim, I’ve trusted you with my boys all their lives. I’m just saying we have to look at everyone.”
“You’re right. You do. And the most suspicious for you right now are the three of us who came late to the party.”
“Right. I mean…Jo is just a kid. I don’t think…I don’t think she has what it takes to deceive her mother like that.”
“Unless Ellen has been in on it from the beginning.” Jim’s words were soft, but John recoiled physically. “You said you have to look at everyone.”
“It’s hard to imagine anyone here being involved.” John sighed and pulled a hand through his hair.
“They don’t have to be here. There’s Gordon, heaven’s knows he’s not even the least likely to be involved. And Andrew for that matter. We haven’t even seen him.” Jim crossed his arms and stared at the floor. “I know these people as well as you do John…maybe better. Hell, even I realize it’s stupid to not suspect me.”
“I know. I just…” John closed his eyes. “I hate this. I fucking hate this.” He covered his face with his hands. “I don’t know what to do Jim. I can’t do this.”
“Which part of this?”
“I can’t spend the rest of my life suspecting everyone. We already live hard enough lives.”
“Maybe that’s what Michael wanted all along.”
“What?”
Jim stood back up and went back to packing his bag. “Michael never was accepted by the hunter community, not like Bill. The others saw him for what he was. Maybe he wanted revenge for his brother…maybe he wanted something more.”
John sighed. “And the boys?”
“Maybe they really were nothing more than a means to an end. I know that’s cruel, but…maybe that’s all it really ever was.”
“All I do is hurt them. I can’t trust anyone and I can’t help my boys. I can’t…”
“You can do this, John. You have to do this. If you don’t, who will?”
Gabe stopped in his tromping through the woods. He could just see the roof of the cabin through the trees. He swept his sensor in the direction of the house, but all he was picking up was the static put out by the dampers.
He plucked his radio off his belt. “Dad, I’ve finished my quadrant. I’ve got nothing.”
“Yeah, Gabe, I’m nearly through too. There’s no equipment out here that I can detect.”
“The only thing I’ve even seen on visual scans are the repeaters for the wifi.”
“Gabe, Allen, I checked the repeaters myself this morning.” Ash said. “I’m just finishing up running the main lines for creepers. I got nothing.”
Gabe sighed and looked around him. They were missing something. He knew it. “I’ll take a swing a little further out before I head back.”
“Be careful.”
“Always.”
He clipped the radio back onto his belt and headed back the way he’d just come. Something was bothering him. Something they should have thought of but hadn’t yet. He reached the end of his marked search area and stopped again, scanning the trees.
“Okay, think Gabe. If you were a fucking pervert and wanted to find Sam and Dean, how would you do it?”
Bobby knocked at Sam’s door, softly. When Sam didn’t answer, he opened the door and peeked in. “Sam?”
Sam lifted his head from beside Dean’s. It looked like he’d been crying. “Can I come in?”
Sam sniffed and nodded, moving to sit up. Bobby closed the door and stood in front of it for a long minute. “I…wanted to see how Dean was.”
Sam shook his head. “He hasn’t…moved.” Sam wiped at his face. “Hasn’t said a word.”
Bobby nodded, his eyes falling on the duffle by the bed. “Going somewhere?”
Sam nodded. “Yeah. I’m taking Dean away. He can’t get better here. Not like this.”
Bobby crossed his arms. “Is that a good idea?”
“I don’t know. It’s the only idea I’ve got left.” Sam got up off the bed. “I can’t lose him, Bobby…not again.”
“You got a plan? I mean, you don’t got a car. It’s a long walk to town and neither you or Dean’s in any shape.”
Sam ran a hand through his hair. “I was thinking I could get you to give us a lift…or…Allen. Just someplace where we can get a car.”
“Then what?”
Sam shook his head. “Go…away…somewhere safe…somewhere no one knows us.”
Bobby sighed, turned his attention to Dean. “You boys had anything to eat today?”
Sam shook his head. “I don’t want to leave him.”
“Want me to bring you something?”
“We should…we should be going.”
Bobby smiled. “Eat first. Please?”
Sam nodded. “Okay. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Bobby let himself out of the room and sighed. Pastor Jim and John came out of another of the bedrooms and Bobby looked up. “John…we have a problem. Sam wants to leave. Wants to take Dean away.”
John looked over Bobby, then back at Jim. “Actually…it’s not a bad idea, Bobby. I asked Jim to take them.”
“You what?”
“We need to empty this place out. We need to get Ellen and Jo and Gabe out of here too. Caleb, if we can convince him.”
“So it’s just you, me and Allen against whatever the Gorlians have left? Are you crazy?”
John shook his head. “No. Allen thinks we might be clear. That we got them all, and what we didn’t get the feds are taking care of. We just have to clean up the mess.”
“Meaning Michael Harvelle.”
John nodded. “I’ll deal with him, then we sanitize the place.”
“I still don’t like it.”
Gabe didn’t like it. The whole thing was too clean. That box didn’t just appear on the porch. And Gabe couldn’t begin to believe that Pastor Jim had delivered it. He circled all the way down to the road. The main lines for power ran up to the house from the road. He remembered seeing a control box a ways down. Something was bugging him. Something wasn’t right.
Fifty feet down the road from the turn into the long gravel driveway, Gabe stopped and turned. There was something. He jogged back up to the turn, watching around him to make sure he wasn’t being watched.
Ash had shown him a passive camera system the last time he’d been at the Roadhouse with his father. One that wouldn’t turn up on sweeps unless it was active, and it was only active when something moved in front of it. Ash had said he’d installed one at the Roadhouse and up at Andrew’s cabin.
All Gabe had to do was find the camera.
Caleb heard footsteps and looked up, half expecting John or even Bobby. Instead Ash appeared from the back of the house, looking like something out of Ghostbusters with a backpack that sprouted wires and antenna. Caleb chuckled and Ash cocked a smile at him. “Made it myself…does EMF and EVP and radiation…among other things.”
“What? No beer dispenser?”
Ash made a face. “The refrigeration unit interferes with the readings.”
Caleb smiled. “So, how goes the search?”
“That’s why I’m here. There’s some electrical running out here, so I’ve come to check it.”
“Be my guest.”
“He awake?”
“Don’t know. Haven’t looked.”
“I’ll be a few minutes, so if you want to take a break…”
“I could use a chance to go to the bathroom.”
“I’ll hang out here til you get back.”
Ash watched Caleb walk away, then turned to the shed. “Well then, let’s have a look.”
Michael Harvelle raised a bruised and bloody face as the door opened, his eyes squinting against the glare. “Somebody’s having a bad day.”
There was a light in his eyes as Ash closed the door and kicked on the lights. He chewed at the gag. “You’ll be happy to know I’m not here to torment you.”
John stood outside his sons’ door, hesitant. When he finally knocked, Sam answered the door. “Oh…I thought…”
John licked his lips. “Can I come in?”
“Depends. What do you want?”
“Sam, please. I just…I know you want to be alone with Dean. And…I think maybe you’re right.”
Sam didn’t answer, just opened the door wider. “Bobby said he hasn’t changed.”
Sam closed the door and waved a hand at his brother. “He just lies there. Staring.”
John crossed to the bed and squatted beside it. His hand was gentle as it slid over Dean’s cheek. “He just stopped.”
“What?” Sam moved closer, hovering.
“He was…furious, throwing things…then he was running and I stopped him. I grabbed his wrists and he…he just shut down. I think…I think he though I was…one of them.”
John closed his eyes and pressed his face to Dean’s shoulder. “I did this. He can’t…you need to take him someplace quiet. Someplace safe. Someplace where I can’t hurt him again.”
“Dad—“
John held up his hands. “Bobby’s making lunch for you boys. Then Pastor Jim is going to take you to Tulsa. He’s going to help you find the Impala. It’s probably been impounded by now. Then…I want you to take Dean and go. I don’t want to know where. You call me when…when he’s better.”
“What…what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to finish this. Clean up the mess.”
“Dad, it’s Gabe.”
Allen looked up, scanning the tree line. “Go ahead Gabe.”
“Are you back at the house?”
“Yes. Where are you?”
“Coming up the drive. Meet me.”
Allen turned and looked down the driveway, raising a hand when he saw Gabe. He dropped his backpack and radio and headed down to meet him. He didn’t have to get close to see Gabe was upset. “Gabe?”
Gabe nodded, grabbed his arm and gestured into the woods with his chin. Allen came along easily, following quite a ways until he finally got impatient. “Gabe?”
“Just a little more. For safety.”
“What are you talking about?” The topped the ridge behind the cabin and Gabe stopped, handing a small hand held television to his father. The screen showed a flat image across the end of the driveway, showing a patch of road and the entrance to the property. “What’s this?”
“Passive camera system. I didn’t find it because it has no signal.”
“How’d you find it this time?”
“It’s been bugging me. This whole thing…it’s too clean. Someone had to know this group, had to know who was likely to end up here. Know we’d need an internet connection. Know we’d sweep for devices.”
“An inside job.”
Gabe nodded. “Ash.”
Allen frowned at him. “Ash? He’s as loyal as they come.”
“Maybe. Maybe his loyalty belongs to someone else.”
“Why Ash?”
“He installed this. He told me about it a few months ago. He was bragging about how it was his own design. He installed one here and one at the Roadhouse.”
“What triggers it?”
“Motion and weight. A car, even a bike, you’ll see shots of a kid on a bike who crosses onto the property with a fishing pole.”
“A person on foot?”
Gabe shrugged. “Not that I’ve seen.”
“We can’t go accuse him just based on this.”
“I know. But I wanted someone else to be aware. We need to watch him.”
Allen nodded. “And we need to do a background check on him.”
“Ellen isn’t going to like that.”
“So we don’t tell her.”
“I’m concerned about using this internet connection to do the searching. He’s probably tracking usage.”
“We’ll have to risk it. Maybe we can keep him busy while you do it. Get him occupied on something else.”
Ash moved further into the shed, his eyes sweeping over the instruments collected. He picked up a screwdriver and held it up to examine. “I did come to give you a message though.”
Ash moved closer, watching with amusement as the prisoner started to realize exactly why Ash was there. “Several actually.”
He set one hand on his shoulder and shoved the screwdriver into Michael’s left side. “That is from my mother. She says hi.” Michael yelled into the gag as Ash pulled the screwdriver out. “Oh, yes, I realize she’s dead. But…that never stopped you.” He slammed the screwdriver in the right side. “That one’s from Billy. He says you’re a prick.”
Ash pulled it out and held it up, watching blood run down it’s length. “I know. You want to know where you went wrong as a father. I get that. It isn’t really all that important, you know?” He shoved again, into his shoulder. “That one’s all me. Just so you don’t think I don’t care.”
He left the tool buried in his flesh, then stepped away to look him over. “See, it isn’t about you anymore.” He reached for the screwdriver, drawing it out slowly. “You fucked up. Uncle Ashley knew it would come to this a while ago. He took care of Uncle Terry himself.”
Ash paced away a little. “I don’t think he expected me to be so eager. But hey, it’s my inheritance isn’t it? Mine and Billy’s.”
He stepped in close again, setting the point of the screwdriver under Michael’s chin. “Last message. It’s from Uncle Ashley. He says he’ll be taking the organization in a new direction…after he cleans up your mess.”
He shoved up hard, until the head of the screwdriver was flush with Michael’s chin and the tip protruded through the top of his head. “And I can stop being Ellen’s fucking errand boy...and Jo’s fucking baby sitter.”
Gabe sprinted up from the backside of the house, glancing to the shed, expecting to find Caleb still sitting guard. Instead, Ash was there. Ash raised a hand in greeting and Gabe echoed the gesture absently. As he reached for the screen door, Caleb was just coming out.
“Hey.” Caleb’s hand brushed over Gabe’s and they both glanced over to Ash, who was apparently engaged in watching something on the ground.
Gabe breathed in the steadiness that had come over Caleb through the night…smiling a little at the thought of what that night had been for both of them. “You okay?” Caleb asked.
Gabe nodded, then tugged on his hands a little, looking pointedly at Ash. “Don’t trust him.” He said it as softly as he was able and Caleb’s eyes sought his out.
“What is it?”
“Not yet. Gotta prove it. Just…keep him busy until Dad comes.”
Caleb nodded. “We don’t have much time. Everything’s breaking up.”
“What do you mean?”
“Leaving. We’re all leaving.”
“I better get busy then.”
He slipped away, into the dark interior of the house, leaving Caleb to distract Ash. The house was busy, with Bobby putting food on a tray to take to Sam, and Ellen hauling her things out to the car. Gabe grabbed his laptop and headed upstairs, settling in an empty bedroom to work.
Sam knelt beside his brother. “I need you to sit up Dean.” He swallowed around the tears when Dean obeyed without question, without expression. Just sat up, hands in his lap. “Bobby brought some soup. Okay? Can you…” His voice cracked and he forced himself to clear his throat. “Can you eat for me?”
Dean didn’t move, just stared off over Sam’s shoulder. “Okay, I’m going to help you Dean. Open your mouth.”
Sam lifted a spoonful into Dean’s mouth. “Good. Swallow.” He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. He could do this. “Another one. Open. Swallow.”
He got almost half the bowl into him before there was a knock on the door. Pastor Jim opened it. “You boys ready?”
Sam got up and set the bowl aside. “Yeah, I guess.” He leaned down for the duffle, but Jim beat him to it.
“This everything?”
Sam nodded. “I’ve cleared the living room. We’ll go straight out and into my car.”
“What about Dad?”
“There’s something up. He said to call him later. He gave me this.” He handed Sam an envelope.
Inside it was a small amount of money and some credit cards. “It isn’t much, but it should get you wherever it is you’re going.”
Sam tucked the envelope into his jeans pocket and reached for his crutches. “Okay, Dean, this is it. I need you to get up and come with me.”
Dean’s attention shifted, his face tilting up to Sam’s, though it was as blank as before. Almost in slow motion he stood, shuffling forward and stopping at Sam’s elbow. “Good Dean. You follow me. Do you understand?”
Dean nodded and Sam felt a little thrill…it quickly vanished though as Jim held the door open. Dean followed blindly as Sam led them down the stairs and through the doorway. Jim brought up the rear, putting their bag in the passenger seat while Dean held the door for Dean. “In the car Dean. We’re going for a drive.”
Sam climbed in beside his brother as Jim got behind the wheel. The cabin looked peaceful. Sam knew it wasn’t. Sam knew they were running away, leaving their father with his hands full. For the moment, Sam couldn’t bring himself to care.
Ellen stood at the door and watched the boys leave. She wasn’t going to be far behind them. She suddenly wanted nothing more than to get home, to take her daughter far away from this madness.
“Are they gone?” John asked.
She nodded. “I’m next. Allen’s gone out to get Caleb.”
“Gabe?”
She shrugged. “Haven’t seen him.”
Jo came bounding down the stairs. “Gabe’s upstairs on his laptop.”
“I’ll get him.”
“No need.” Gabe came down with his laptop in his hands. “I’m right here.” His face was white. “I think I found the last Gorlian.”
Title: Leaving
Characters/Pairings: Sam/Dean, John, Ellen, Bobby, Caleb, Pastor Jim, Jo, Ash, OMC, OFC
Rating: NC-17 (for thematic reasons)
Word Count: 3140
Summary: Broken!Verse, chapter 44 (Click here for Index of all chapters)
Summary: John and Pastor Jim talk about the possibility of a traitor in their midst, Gabe, Allen and Ash search for hidden bugs, and Gabe makes a disturbing discovery
A/Ns and Warnings: Very dark. Includes memory of torture and rape and very dark violence.
“You really think leaving’s the right thing to do?”
Pastor Jim looked up from his packing. He shook his head. “I don’t know John. There’s a lot of people here, and I don’t think I can be much use to the boys or you. I can’t condone what you’re going to do.”
John stood in the door way, his hands in his pockets. “I’m not asking you to.”
“If I stay, it’s implied.”
“You can’t tell me he doesn’t deserve it.”
Jim sighed and sat on the bed. “I’ve seen enough of what was done to Dean to realize he does. I just…don’t think you need me here to do it.” He folded his hands on his lap. “If I’m being truthful, Sam and Dean shouldn’t be here either. Or Gabe or Caleb for that matter.”
“Ellen’s leaving. Taking Jo away.”
“After the incident last night, and Sam’s reaction this morning, I think that’s wise.”
John glanced over his shoulder, then stepped into the room and shut the door. “I need to say this. You leaving now…it doesn’t look good.”
Jim looked up at him. “Because that box showed up when I did?”
John shrugged. “I’m not saying I suspect you. God Jim, I’ve trusted you with my boys all their lives. I’m just saying we have to look at everyone.”
“You’re right. You do. And the most suspicious for you right now are the three of us who came late to the party.”
“Right. I mean…Jo is just a kid. I don’t think…I don’t think she has what it takes to deceive her mother like that.”
“Unless Ellen has been in on it from the beginning.” Jim’s words were soft, but John recoiled physically. “You said you have to look at everyone.”
“It’s hard to imagine anyone here being involved.” John sighed and pulled a hand through his hair.
“They don’t have to be here. There’s Gordon, heaven’s knows he’s not even the least likely to be involved. And Andrew for that matter. We haven’t even seen him.” Jim crossed his arms and stared at the floor. “I know these people as well as you do John…maybe better. Hell, even I realize it’s stupid to not suspect me.”
“I know. I just…” John closed his eyes. “I hate this. I fucking hate this.” He covered his face with his hands. “I don’t know what to do Jim. I can’t do this.”
“Which part of this?”
“I can’t spend the rest of my life suspecting everyone. We already live hard enough lives.”
“Maybe that’s what Michael wanted all along.”
“What?”
Jim stood back up and went back to packing his bag. “Michael never was accepted by the hunter community, not like Bill. The others saw him for what he was. Maybe he wanted revenge for his brother…maybe he wanted something more.”
John sighed. “And the boys?”
“Maybe they really were nothing more than a means to an end. I know that’s cruel, but…maybe that’s all it really ever was.”
“All I do is hurt them. I can’t trust anyone and I can’t help my boys. I can’t…”
“You can do this, John. You have to do this. If you don’t, who will?”
Gabe stopped in his tromping through the woods. He could just see the roof of the cabin through the trees. He swept his sensor in the direction of the house, but all he was picking up was the static put out by the dampers.
He plucked his radio off his belt. “Dad, I’ve finished my quadrant. I’ve got nothing.”
“Yeah, Gabe, I’m nearly through too. There’s no equipment out here that I can detect.”
“The only thing I’ve even seen on visual scans are the repeaters for the wifi.”
“Gabe, Allen, I checked the repeaters myself this morning.” Ash said. “I’m just finishing up running the main lines for creepers. I got nothing.”
Gabe sighed and looked around him. They were missing something. He knew it. “I’ll take a swing a little further out before I head back.”
“Be careful.”
“Always.”
He clipped the radio back onto his belt and headed back the way he’d just come. Something was bothering him. Something they should have thought of but hadn’t yet. He reached the end of his marked search area and stopped again, scanning the trees.
“Okay, think Gabe. If you were a fucking pervert and wanted to find Sam and Dean, how would you do it?”
Bobby knocked at Sam’s door, softly. When Sam didn’t answer, he opened the door and peeked in. “Sam?”
Sam lifted his head from beside Dean’s. It looked like he’d been crying. “Can I come in?”
Sam sniffed and nodded, moving to sit up. Bobby closed the door and stood in front of it for a long minute. “I…wanted to see how Dean was.”
Sam shook his head. “He hasn’t…moved.” Sam wiped at his face. “Hasn’t said a word.”
Bobby nodded, his eyes falling on the duffle by the bed. “Going somewhere?”
Sam nodded. “Yeah. I’m taking Dean away. He can’t get better here. Not like this.”
Bobby crossed his arms. “Is that a good idea?”
“I don’t know. It’s the only idea I’ve got left.” Sam got up off the bed. “I can’t lose him, Bobby…not again.”
“You got a plan? I mean, you don’t got a car. It’s a long walk to town and neither you or Dean’s in any shape.”
Sam ran a hand through his hair. “I was thinking I could get you to give us a lift…or…Allen. Just someplace where we can get a car.”
“Then what?”
Sam shook his head. “Go…away…somewhere safe…somewhere no one knows us.”
Bobby sighed, turned his attention to Dean. “You boys had anything to eat today?”
Sam shook his head. “I don’t want to leave him.”
“Want me to bring you something?”
“We should…we should be going.”
Bobby smiled. “Eat first. Please?”
Sam nodded. “Okay. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Bobby let himself out of the room and sighed. Pastor Jim and John came out of another of the bedrooms and Bobby looked up. “John…we have a problem. Sam wants to leave. Wants to take Dean away.”
John looked over Bobby, then back at Jim. “Actually…it’s not a bad idea, Bobby. I asked Jim to take them.”
“You what?”
“We need to empty this place out. We need to get Ellen and Jo and Gabe out of here too. Caleb, if we can convince him.”
“So it’s just you, me and Allen against whatever the Gorlians have left? Are you crazy?”
John shook his head. “No. Allen thinks we might be clear. That we got them all, and what we didn’t get the feds are taking care of. We just have to clean up the mess.”
“Meaning Michael Harvelle.”
John nodded. “I’ll deal with him, then we sanitize the place.”
“I still don’t like it.”
Gabe didn’t like it. The whole thing was too clean. That box didn’t just appear on the porch. And Gabe couldn’t begin to believe that Pastor Jim had delivered it. He circled all the way down to the road. The main lines for power ran up to the house from the road. He remembered seeing a control box a ways down. Something was bugging him. Something wasn’t right.
Fifty feet down the road from the turn into the long gravel driveway, Gabe stopped and turned. There was something. He jogged back up to the turn, watching around him to make sure he wasn’t being watched.
Ash had shown him a passive camera system the last time he’d been at the Roadhouse with his father. One that wouldn’t turn up on sweeps unless it was active, and it was only active when something moved in front of it. Ash had said he’d installed one at the Roadhouse and up at Andrew’s cabin.
All Gabe had to do was find the camera.
Caleb heard footsteps and looked up, half expecting John or even Bobby. Instead Ash appeared from the back of the house, looking like something out of Ghostbusters with a backpack that sprouted wires and antenna. Caleb chuckled and Ash cocked a smile at him. “Made it myself…does EMF and EVP and radiation…among other things.”
“What? No beer dispenser?”
Ash made a face. “The refrigeration unit interferes with the readings.”
Caleb smiled. “So, how goes the search?”
“That’s why I’m here. There’s some electrical running out here, so I’ve come to check it.”
“Be my guest.”
“He awake?”
“Don’t know. Haven’t looked.”
“I’ll be a few minutes, so if you want to take a break…”
“I could use a chance to go to the bathroom.”
“I’ll hang out here til you get back.”
Ash watched Caleb walk away, then turned to the shed. “Well then, let’s have a look.”
Michael Harvelle raised a bruised and bloody face as the door opened, his eyes squinting against the glare. “Somebody’s having a bad day.”
There was a light in his eyes as Ash closed the door and kicked on the lights. He chewed at the gag. “You’ll be happy to know I’m not here to torment you.”
John stood outside his sons’ door, hesitant. When he finally knocked, Sam answered the door. “Oh…I thought…”
John licked his lips. “Can I come in?”
“Depends. What do you want?”
“Sam, please. I just…I know you want to be alone with Dean. And…I think maybe you’re right.”
Sam didn’t answer, just opened the door wider. “Bobby said he hasn’t changed.”
Sam closed the door and waved a hand at his brother. “He just lies there. Staring.”
John crossed to the bed and squatted beside it. His hand was gentle as it slid over Dean’s cheek. “He just stopped.”
“What?” Sam moved closer, hovering.
“He was…furious, throwing things…then he was running and I stopped him. I grabbed his wrists and he…he just shut down. I think…I think he though I was…one of them.”
John closed his eyes and pressed his face to Dean’s shoulder. “I did this. He can’t…you need to take him someplace quiet. Someplace safe. Someplace where I can’t hurt him again.”
“Dad—“
John held up his hands. “Bobby’s making lunch for you boys. Then Pastor Jim is going to take you to Tulsa. He’s going to help you find the Impala. It’s probably been impounded by now. Then…I want you to take Dean and go. I don’t want to know where. You call me when…when he’s better.”
“What…what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to finish this. Clean up the mess.”
“Dad, it’s Gabe.”
Allen looked up, scanning the tree line. “Go ahead Gabe.”
“Are you back at the house?”
“Yes. Where are you?”
“Coming up the drive. Meet me.”
Allen turned and looked down the driveway, raising a hand when he saw Gabe. He dropped his backpack and radio and headed down to meet him. He didn’t have to get close to see Gabe was upset. “Gabe?”
Gabe nodded, grabbed his arm and gestured into the woods with his chin. Allen came along easily, following quite a ways until he finally got impatient. “Gabe?”
“Just a little more. For safety.”
“What are you talking about?” The topped the ridge behind the cabin and Gabe stopped, handing a small hand held television to his father. The screen showed a flat image across the end of the driveway, showing a patch of road and the entrance to the property. “What’s this?”
“Passive camera system. I didn’t find it because it has no signal.”
“How’d you find it this time?”
“It’s been bugging me. This whole thing…it’s too clean. Someone had to know this group, had to know who was likely to end up here. Know we’d need an internet connection. Know we’d sweep for devices.”
“An inside job.”
Gabe nodded. “Ash.”
Allen frowned at him. “Ash? He’s as loyal as they come.”
“Maybe. Maybe his loyalty belongs to someone else.”
“Why Ash?”
“He installed this. He told me about it a few months ago. He was bragging about how it was his own design. He installed one here and one at the Roadhouse.”
“What triggers it?”
“Motion and weight. A car, even a bike, you’ll see shots of a kid on a bike who crosses onto the property with a fishing pole.”
“A person on foot?”
Gabe shrugged. “Not that I’ve seen.”
“We can’t go accuse him just based on this.”
“I know. But I wanted someone else to be aware. We need to watch him.”
Allen nodded. “And we need to do a background check on him.”
“Ellen isn’t going to like that.”
“So we don’t tell her.”
“I’m concerned about using this internet connection to do the searching. He’s probably tracking usage.”
“We’ll have to risk it. Maybe we can keep him busy while you do it. Get him occupied on something else.”
Ash moved further into the shed, his eyes sweeping over the instruments collected. He picked up a screwdriver and held it up to examine. “I did come to give you a message though.”
Ash moved closer, watching with amusement as the prisoner started to realize exactly why Ash was there. “Several actually.”
He set one hand on his shoulder and shoved the screwdriver into Michael’s left side. “That is from my mother. She says hi.” Michael yelled into the gag as Ash pulled the screwdriver out. “Oh, yes, I realize she’s dead. But…that never stopped you.” He slammed the screwdriver in the right side. “That one’s from Billy. He says you’re a prick.”
Ash pulled it out and held it up, watching blood run down it’s length. “I know. You want to know where you went wrong as a father. I get that. It isn’t really all that important, you know?” He shoved again, into his shoulder. “That one’s all me. Just so you don’t think I don’t care.”
He left the tool buried in his flesh, then stepped away to look him over. “See, it isn’t about you anymore.” He reached for the screwdriver, drawing it out slowly. “You fucked up. Uncle Ashley knew it would come to this a while ago. He took care of Uncle Terry himself.”
Ash paced away a little. “I don’t think he expected me to be so eager. But hey, it’s my inheritance isn’t it? Mine and Billy’s.”
He stepped in close again, setting the point of the screwdriver under Michael’s chin. “Last message. It’s from Uncle Ashley. He says he’ll be taking the organization in a new direction…after he cleans up your mess.”
He shoved up hard, until the head of the screwdriver was flush with Michael’s chin and the tip protruded through the top of his head. “And I can stop being Ellen’s fucking errand boy...and Jo’s fucking baby sitter.”
Gabe sprinted up from the backside of the house, glancing to the shed, expecting to find Caleb still sitting guard. Instead, Ash was there. Ash raised a hand in greeting and Gabe echoed the gesture absently. As he reached for the screen door, Caleb was just coming out.
“Hey.” Caleb’s hand brushed over Gabe’s and they both glanced over to Ash, who was apparently engaged in watching something on the ground.
Gabe breathed in the steadiness that had come over Caleb through the night…smiling a little at the thought of what that night had been for both of them. “You okay?” Caleb asked.
Gabe nodded, then tugged on his hands a little, looking pointedly at Ash. “Don’t trust him.” He said it as softly as he was able and Caleb’s eyes sought his out.
“What is it?”
“Not yet. Gotta prove it. Just…keep him busy until Dad comes.”
Caleb nodded. “We don’t have much time. Everything’s breaking up.”
“What do you mean?”
“Leaving. We’re all leaving.”
“I better get busy then.”
He slipped away, into the dark interior of the house, leaving Caleb to distract Ash. The house was busy, with Bobby putting food on a tray to take to Sam, and Ellen hauling her things out to the car. Gabe grabbed his laptop and headed upstairs, settling in an empty bedroom to work.
Sam knelt beside his brother. “I need you to sit up Dean.” He swallowed around the tears when Dean obeyed without question, without expression. Just sat up, hands in his lap. “Bobby brought some soup. Okay? Can you…” His voice cracked and he forced himself to clear his throat. “Can you eat for me?”
Dean didn’t move, just stared off over Sam’s shoulder. “Okay, I’m going to help you Dean. Open your mouth.”
Sam lifted a spoonful into Dean’s mouth. “Good. Swallow.” He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. He could do this. “Another one. Open. Swallow.”
He got almost half the bowl into him before there was a knock on the door. Pastor Jim opened it. “You boys ready?”
Sam got up and set the bowl aside. “Yeah, I guess.” He leaned down for the duffle, but Jim beat him to it.
“This everything?”
Sam nodded. “I’ve cleared the living room. We’ll go straight out and into my car.”
“What about Dad?”
“There’s something up. He said to call him later. He gave me this.” He handed Sam an envelope.
Inside it was a small amount of money and some credit cards. “It isn’t much, but it should get you wherever it is you’re going.”
Sam tucked the envelope into his jeans pocket and reached for his crutches. “Okay, Dean, this is it. I need you to get up and come with me.”
Dean’s attention shifted, his face tilting up to Sam’s, though it was as blank as before. Almost in slow motion he stood, shuffling forward and stopping at Sam’s elbow. “Good Dean. You follow me. Do you understand?”
Dean nodded and Sam felt a little thrill…it quickly vanished though as Jim held the door open. Dean followed blindly as Sam led them down the stairs and through the doorway. Jim brought up the rear, putting their bag in the passenger seat while Dean held the door for Dean. “In the car Dean. We’re going for a drive.”
Sam climbed in beside his brother as Jim got behind the wheel. The cabin looked peaceful. Sam knew it wasn’t. Sam knew they were running away, leaving their father with his hands full. For the moment, Sam couldn’t bring himself to care.
Ellen stood at the door and watched the boys leave. She wasn’t going to be far behind them. She suddenly wanted nothing more than to get home, to take her daughter far away from this madness.
“Are they gone?” John asked.
She nodded. “I’m next. Allen’s gone out to get Caleb.”
“Gabe?”
She shrugged. “Haven’t seen him.”
Jo came bounding down the stairs. “Gabe’s upstairs on his laptop.”
“I’ll get him.”
“No need.” Gabe came down with his laptop in his hands. “I’m right here.” His face was white. “I think I found the last Gorlian.”
