[h3] Anna [/h3]

Anna nodded at Sam’s advice to just keep cool and try to stay aware of the strange man on the bus. Everything in her bones told her that they should avoid the bus altogether, but they had to get back to the group somehow, and it was unlikely Cason would be willing to just pop in, if she called. So, she followed the man onto the bus, keeping her distance with Sam behind her. She watched the man closely for a moment, and then took a seat a few rows ahead of him, dropping her bag on the floor at her feet. 

“I mean, at least there’s the good news…you can exorcise demons.” She said offhandedly. She wasn’t sure if Sam’s powers depended on demon blood the same way hers did. She knew they were linked, but the extent of their link was still a mystery. Either way, Hell had plans for them both. The man’s heartbeat rang out in the bus like some sort of pissed-off snake. It drowned out every voice around them and Anna’s heart pounded in her chest with both annoyance and anxiety.

As the bus began rolling forward, the sound of the man’s heart grew louder, and then without warning, he sat in a free seat beside Sam. His hands were in his lap and he was staring straight ahead. Anna couldn’t handle the tension anymore. She turned, leaned across Sam, and asked, “What do you want?”

The man didn’t turn to her. He simply stared forward, as two men took seats behind Sam, reaching over the back of his seat, and wrapping their arms around his neck to restrain him. Anna yelped, and grabbed one of the men’s arms, trying to burn them desperately. It was then that she realized that no one on the bus seemed bothered by them. She stopped resisting and looked around at every single face. The people all sat, fake smiles plastered to their faces as they watched the struggle.

“W-what is this? Some sort of trap?” She stammered, as her eyes came back to the man in front of her. He was now staring straight into her eyes with a weird trance-like smile on his face. 

“A gift…from Alastair.” He muttered, pulling a large dagger and slicing his wrist open. A set of arms wrapped around Anna’s chest, pulling her tight to the seat as the man roughly gripped her jaw, forcing her mouth open, and began pouring his blood down her throat. Slowly, smoke began to pour from the arm around Anna and the demon holding her began to scream. The scene caused the demon that had force-fed her to cackle excitedly. “Amazing!”

Anna spat what little demon blood was left in her mouth, fury in her eyes as her heart hammered in her chest and her skin simmered with the heat of her blood. Without hesitation, she placed both her hands on the demon’s face as he laughed, melting him right in front of Sam’s face. She looked animalistic as the other demons released Sam and scooted back from him, terrified of the duo together. The melting demon never stopped laughing, “C’mon Sam! Take them out! Massacre them! It’s in your blood! Ruby made sure of that. She made sure you were fed. How much have you drank?! How much…”

With a tightened sudden grip, Anna burned him out, dropping his burnt husk on the floor of the bus alley, panting. She turned to Sam, using the back of her hand to wipe a dark smear of blood from her nose, her eyes solid white as she seethed at him.


[h3] Dean and Cason [/h3]

Dean shook his head at Nat’s argument to his terms. He was unmoving. Cason would die if harm came to her. It was the most he was willing to offer in terms of concession. But when she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, he melted into her grip, forgetting all about the situation with Cason. All he could think about at that moment was making sure she was okay. 

Her soft mumble made him smirk, and he shook his head against the top of hers, “You’re not a disappointment, idiot. You’re just careless. I should know about carelessness. Keep your nose clean for a little while…that’s all I ask.”

Dean reached a hand up, stroking Nat’s hair as he held onto her tightly. It seemed like forever ago that she was willing to hug him like that, or even be near him for much of any reason other than to argue and bicker. 

Cason looked up at Mika as she nodded, nodding back at her, but then he frowned in confusion and tilted his head. Why would Sam and Anna need them to hang back? It wasn’t like there was anything important happening in this town, anyway. But as she nudged her head toward the door, he took the hint and sighed. He knew exactly what she wanted him outside for. She was going to grill him, away from Nat and especially away from Dean.

As Cason followed her to the door, Dean pulled back from Nat, just enough to smooth her hair back from the sides of her face with a small smile, “I’m trying to understand all of this. You know that, right? You understand why this is…impossible for me. Between whatever the hell is going on with Sam and Anna. I mean, she showed up, with Cason. He’s a demon and she’s…whatever the hell she is, which just brings up whatever Sam is. I refuse to let anyone else get hurt by demons while we’re just…fine with it.”

Cason stepped outside with Mika, immediately buttoning his pants and placing his hands on his bare hips with a sigh, “So, I’m going to get the protective mom ‘I’ll kill you’ speech, aren’t I? I mean…hit me with it. As long as Nat doesn’t have to deal with it anymore, I’ll take it.”


[h3] Duke [/h3]

Duke began to smile as Esme confirmed that she would love to run away with him. The urge to scoop her up and run out that door with her was strong, but as she continued, he realized she was turning the idea down. The word ‘but’ hit him in the stomach harder than any demon ever had and his shoulders dropped a bit. He scanned her face as he let her words wash over him, pushing away the disappointment to think with reason. He opened his mouth to speak, but she continued with the absolute truth.

They couldn’t just leave, and pretend that what was happening wasn’t the literal end of the world. Putting on blinders and leaving their friends and family to die wasn’t the answer, here. Even he, a runner, couldn’t disagree with that. Duke gritted his teeth and sighed through his nose, realizing that there wasn’t much way to get away. His conscience wouldn’t allow it.

He leaned his head forward, placing his lips against the top of her head for a moment as he thought it over and she gripped onto his shirt. His mind was made up before she was even able to ask him to stay. He and Dean weren’t as close as they had been all those years ago, but they had sworn to go out in a blaze of glory together, and that’s exactly what would happen if this was the apocalypse.


Duke swept a piece of Esme’s hair from her face and he chewed at his lip, before finally speaking, “We can’t leave…not till we know the job is done. Just don’t seem right to go.” He muttered, turning his gaze to the wall behind her as he thought of what to say, or where to go with his thoughts. After a moment, he looked back down at her.

“Bobby gave me some information about a farm. Apparently, Anna was born there…and had a story kinda like Sam’s. Mom and Dad burned up on the ceilin', burned the house down and I don’t know if she even knows. I don’t know the poor girl too well. But the place is lit up with demon activity and from what Bobby was able to get from the weird nerdy angel…Castiel or whatever, the angels fully expect Dean to handle it.” He finally admitted, turning his gaze down to pull a piece of paper out of his damp pocket. On the paper was scribbled an address for a home in a small town in Western Missouri. “I guess while we make our plans to leave…we can keep him safe, together. That’s takin' care of each other, right?”

He shrugged with a slight glimmer in his eye. If they had to stay, he was going to do some reckless fun in the meantime. Taking Esme with him just kept his head on straight, while he did what he did best. He held the paper out to Esme, giving her a chance to look over it and see if she had any bad vibes before they had to break the news to Dean.