Meeting Two - Introductions
Dean motioned to his brother over his shoulder, positioned his rifle in front of him, and opened the door to the abandoned warehouse. There weren’t many gigs where his stomach turned and he worried he couldn’t handle it, but it struck in full force as he entered the building.
Though the entrance was empty, a chilly air swept through the room and caused the hairs on his arms to stand up. Before he could motion for Sam to enter, the door slammed shut and his legs gave out from underneath him. He could hear his brother hollering for him, but every sound abandoned his body as an invisible forced squeezed him from the center until he was unconscious.
When Dean came to, he attempted to jump and run, but whatever nasty he had stumbled upon had taken measures to keep him in place. His legs and arms were chained to something around the corner, but he couldn’t make out what. He tried to break free of the chains, when he heard a moan.
“Could you not do that? I think you broke my wrist.”
Dean rolled his eyes. Leave it to him to get saddled with a pansy. He continued to pull and the voice shouted, “Just stop. The chains are bound with magic, and magic is the only way to break free.”
“Like Abra Cadabra?” Dean asked.
“We’re so screwed,” the man’s voice responded.
“Speak for yourself. I, for one, don’t plan to waste away in some haunted warehouse.”
“The place isn’t haunted. It’s a ruse.”
“Huh?”
“A ruse, just a—”
“I know what a ruse is,” Dean snapped. He suddenly felt like he was having a conversation with his brother. Except his brother he wouldn’t kill for annoying him to death. “I’m just not sure why you don’t believe this place is haunted. My readings were off the chart.”
“Readings?” the guy scoffed. Dean felt the pull on his wrists and grimaced as the guy continued, “Great, an amateur ghost hunter. Why do I always end up like this? It’s never Wyatt, never my cousin Penelope. Just me – doomed.”
“Would you shut up? And who are you calling an amateur? I’ve been doing this all my life.”
“So have I!”
“And yet you’re both chained together to a wall,” another voice said.
Dean glanced up and there was a tall, broad-shouldered blonde staring from him to who he assumed was the other guy. Dean couldn’t figure out where the hell the guy had come from, but worse was the recognition that dawned on him. He had seen that guy before, weeks back in the woods while fighting some crazy demon.
The blonde focused on the guy Dean was chained to and said, “Chris, it’s like you don’t listen to me. I told you to orb out, not get caught.”
“Yes, it was all part of plan. Now get me out of these chains.”
With the flick of the wrist, the chains fell away. Dean sat there, unsure of what to do or how to react. Sure enough, when the guy he had been chained to stood up, it was the other one from the park. Dean pointed at them and said, “Who the hell are you two?”
Dean rubbed his hands over his eyes, making sure they didn’t disappear and weren’t figments of his imagination. After all, the last time he saw the two of them, they had disappeared into thin air. They had fought off that nasty demon that attacked Sam with little trouble. Even though Dean was used to seeing shit that couldn’t be believed, two guys disappearing in blue lights was a bit much, and he almost managed to convince himself that the whole scenario was a bad dream.
Whenever Sam would press for more information about what happened in the woods that night, Dean would try to play the whole thing off.
“So exactly how did you know to clean out my cuts with that liquid and holy water?” Sam asked. He glanced down at the fading scars from the attack – the only proof that Dean hadn’t imagined the whole thing – and added, “Have you run into that demon before?”
Dean shot a look at his brother out of the corner of his eye before focusing back on the road. He shrugged and replied, “Do you know how many things I’ve dealt with in my time? It seemed like a good idea.”
“Seemed like a good idea?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Right. I don’t buy it. I think there’s more to the story.”
“Whatever you say, Encyclopedia Brown. Why not focus on finding us our next gig?” Dean countered, tossing his brother some of the notes he had recorded the night before.
Sam rolled his eyes and asked, “What freaked you out so bad that you won’t tell me about it?”
“I don’t get freaked out, Sam. I am always cool and collected.”
Sam sighed and said, “You shouldn’t have gone back to face that thing without back-up.”
“I had back-up. Trust me.”
Sam leaned his back against his seat and said, “And you’re not going to explain.”
“Nope.”
Sam had dropped the topic after a few more weeks of pestering Dean, and that made it easier for Dean to put the whole ordeal out of his mind. But now it was staring him in the face – the same two guys that he had watched in the woods, the two that probably saved him and his little brother, were standing in front of him.
“Him? I was chained to him?” Chris replied. He shot Wyatt a look that Dean couldn’t read, and said, “Didn’t we save your ass already? Our legacy says nothing about saving the same idiots over and over again.”
“You’re saving me? That’s rich,” Dean replied. He stood up and said, “Look, I always figured there had to be more of us out there, though this is the first time I’ve ever encountered others. Maybe we need to work out a territory thing. Because I’m not much of a team player, and we really need to stop running into each other like this.”
Wyatt nudged Chris in the side and said, “He seems to think we’d want him on our team, little brother.”
Chris rolled his eyes and said, “Did your whitelighter send you here?”
“My what?”
“I think that answers your question,” Wyatt replied.
“Well, he’s not a demon,” Chris said. He met Dean’s gaze and said, “So what are you?”
“Uh...human.”
Wyatt chuckled and said, “He hasn’t got a clue.” Wyatt stepped closer to Dean, placing his hand on his shoulder and said, “Dude, you’re so out of your element here, man. The fact that you know about this stuff puts you in danger, but to actively seek it out when you can’t protect yourself? That’s just stupid.”
Dean really wished he had his gun at that moment. Instead he settled for a scowl and said, “I’ve been doing this since I was a little kid. And I’ve gotten myself out of worse jams than this one.”
“How about you leave this one to us then?” Wyatt turned away from Dean and spoke to his brother, “Mom said that the only way to kill this thing is to bring out its human half first. Then it will be mortal.”
Chris nodded and asked, “But how do we do that?”
Wyatt shrugged and said, “Yeah, no one in the family had any ideas on that. Uncle Kyle was going to check in with the Elders, but that could take years.”
“We don’t have years. This thing has been tormenting children in this town. It has to be stopped,” Dean interrupted. Suddenly, he realized that he had no idea where the hell his brother was, or if he was okay.
“What’s wrong?”
“My brother. He was outside last time I saw him, but he wouldn’t have stayed there. And he manages to attract evil like a magnet,” Dean answered.
To Dean’s surprise, Wyatt slapped him on the back and said, “Little brother, right? I can relate.”
“Yes, because big brothers are wise and all-powerful,” Chris commented.
Wyatt shut his eyes and said, “Your brother is in the building, but the thing hasn’t found him yet.”
Dean stepped away and said, “I don’t even want to know how you did that, but thanks.”
Dean started to walk off when Wyatt grabbed his arm and asked, “Where do you think you’re going?”
“To find my brother and kill this son of a bitch.”
“First off, you can’t kill this thing, not with any gun or superstitious remedy. Second, I’m the one who knows where your brother is,” Wyatt replied. He turned to Chris and said, “Follow me.”
Before Dean could react, Wyatt grabbed his arm and they disappeared into little blue lights. Next thing he knew, he was falling to the floor right at Sam’s feet, a little groan escaping from his lips.
Dean felt his brother’s arm go around his waist and pick him off the ground. Sam asked, “Where did you come from?”
“I’m not sure and thinking about it gives me a headache,” Dean muttered.
Sam fixed his weapon on Wyatt and Chris. Sam studied his brother and asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Dean replied.
“That thing dragged you off and locked the doors. I had to climb in through the roof.”
Dean nodded. Sam was definitely better at the hunting than he ever gave himself credit for, but Dean knew better than to say something like that. Not only was it totally mushy, but Sam would probably hightail it back to the Ivy League at the very thought. Dean lowered Sam’s weapon and said, “And they’re not the enemy, I don’t think.”
“What—”
Dean shot his brother a look that said he’d explain later and then he moved back over to Wyatt. He said, “They’re on our side, Sam.”
“Wyatt, you need to orb the two of them out of here. This is too dangerous for them. They’re innocents,” Chris replied.
“Innocent? I don’t think that word’s been used about me since—” Dean began.
“—never,” Sam finished for his brother, smirking in his direction. “My brother and I can take care of ourselves.”
“Besides, you said you need to bring the human side out. I’m sure that we can handle that and then you can do your mojo,” Dean replied.
Sam looked at him and said, “Did you just say ‘mojo’ with a straight face?”
“Do you want me to have them orb you to China?” Dean countered, pointing to the other two men. He said, “I’m not leaving until I know this thing is gone for good.”
Chris sighed and Wyatt replied, “Fine.” Wyatt shut his eyes again and when he opened them he pointed toward the furnace. “It’s hiding in there.” He turned and walked in that direction, his brother right on his heels.
Dean followed behind, covering the rear, and Sam stuck with him. Sam motioned with his head to the other guys and asked, “Friends of yours?”
“I don’t do friends. You know that.”
“So?”
Dean shrugged and said, “Think of them as necessary allies for the moment.”
Sam accepted that answer and said, “You’ve got a nasty cut on your forehead. We might need to take you to an emergency room.”
Dean patted his brother on the back and said, “You’re right. Wouldn’t want to mess up such a pretty face.”
Dean and Sam came up next to Wyatt and Chris who were positioned on either side of the door. Wyatt glanced at Dean and said, “Okay, it’s all you, man.”
Dean kicked the door open and mentally prepared himself for anything. He had been caught off guard at the entrance of the warehouse and it wouldn’t happen again, especially not when he felt like he had to prove himself. He immediately noticed the foggy outline and next thing he knew he was knocked to the ground. Again.
“Dean!”
Dean hopped back up and moved into the furnace. He saw the outline of the creature once again in the streaks of light coming in through the cracks in the boarded up windows. He rushed toward it and threw the small container of salt he carried on it. He had no idea what it would do, but salt in general usually pissed demons off.
It worked because the thing slammed him into a group of the pipes and that was the last thing he remembered.
When he woke up, his brother was standing over him with an annoyed look and Wyatt had his hands on Dean’s forehead. Dean blinked up and said, “Uh...you’re invading my personal space.”
“He was healing you,” Sam replied.
“Oh, of course,” Dean commented. He strained to see around his brother and Wyatt as he asked, “Where’s the demon?”
“Gone,” Sam answered. He extended his hand to help his brother up off the ground. He asked, “You okay?”
“Would you stop asking me that? I’m fine,” Dean replied. He looked at the other two and extended his hand to Wyatt. He said, “I’m Dean Winchester and this is my brother, Sam.”
“Wyatt and Chris Halliwell,” Wyatt responded. He glanced from Dean to Sam before exchanging looks with Chris. Wyatt continued, “The two of you really should walk away from this.”
“We can’t,” Sam said, surprising Dean. He knew that Sam was back in this whole thing for now, to avenge Jessica, but it still shocked him to hear his brother sound so firm about their destinies.
Wyatt sighed and said, “Well, then be careful. And if you ever need anything, you let me or Chris know – just call out for us and we’ll come.”
Dean glanced at his brother and replied, “How very Field of Dreams.”
Chris rolled his eyes and said, “It works. If you call for us, one of us will hear you.”
Wyatt nodded and added, “Yeah, and we have some connections that you don’t.”
“I have connections,” Dean countered.
Sam rolled his eyes. “No you don’t.”
Dean ignored his brother and said, “Thanks for all the help, both times.”
“Are you two okay getting out of here? Or do we need to orb you somewhere?” Chris asked.
Dean shook his head and said, “I’m very fond of walking and using my own two legs. Exercise is good for you and all that jazz.”
Chris laughed and said, “Take care” before disappearing in a flood of lights. Wyatt nodded, mumbled “goodbye” and followed his brother’s lead.
When it was just the two of them, Sam asked, “Who are they?”
“I have no idea.”
“We’re not alone, Dean. There are others like us.”
“They are definitely not like us,” Dean replied. He rubbed his hand along his chest and said, “I could’ve sworn that thing broke a rib.”
“It did.”
Dean met his brother’s gaze and said, “Yeah, definitely not like us.”
{Fin}