Song Remains the Same

Chapter 31: Closer to God

"You can have my absence of faith...
you can have my everything."
- Nine Inch Nails

Just Outside of Blue Earth, Minnesota
5:53 am

Sam sat straighter. "Hey, hey—what's that?"

Dean was already slowing down. Ahead in the middle of the road, two flaming cars blazed. Three figures had been thrown clear of the incinerated wreck out onto asphalt. The fire cast an intense orange glow over the horrific scene.

"Holy shit." Dean jerked the Impala to a halt. Both brothers were already halfway out of the car with Alex close behind, all three sprinting—they didn't even bother to close the car doors behind them.

The heat was intense and suffocating. Each sibling reached a different victim at the same time, and all three realized it was a trap at the same time too. Because the second Dean crouched over a middle-aged woman, the moment Sam knelt to pick up a teenage boy, and the instant Alex grabbed onto the feet of a thirty-something man to drag him away from the flaming vehicle he was sprawled next to—the three accident victims opened their eyes. Eyes that were black as night.

"Demons!" Dean bellowed. Like they were poison, Alex let go of the demon's ankles—but not in time. He grabbed her wrists with lightning speed, yanking her down and slamming her back-first onto the hard concrete then... trying to bite her neck—?! Holding the demon back with every ounce of strength she had, Alex took a stupid chance and let go with one hand then punched the demon across the face. She was immediately hit in return—her head whipped sideways and she yelped, pushing at the demon's shoulders valiantly. It was growling, snarling, and trying to bite her again—what the fuck?!

"Hey!" Sam's voice roared somewhere nearby, and her attacker was torn off then slammed up against the flaming truck. Steam hissed and the demon screamed in agony as Sam, face twisted up in pain from being so close to the fire, held the demon down, searing clothing to skin against the hot metal shell. Sam punched the demon brutally across the face, holding it by the front of the shirt—not noticing the teenage demon running up behind him—and Alex was scrambling to her feet, screaming "Sam!" in warning, but it wasn't in time. The teenager jumped onto Sam from behind, biting him on the shoulder savagely—and Sam screamed in pain, letting go of the demon that was now on fire. He stumbled back and Alex lunged across the space separating herself and her twin, managing to clumsily tear the teenage demon off her twin. She and her adversary then fell to the ground where they rolled across the rough pavement in a fight for dominance.

The teen had to be only fourteen or fifteen, so he was smaller and weaker than the others but he still managed to end up on top of her, grinning ruthlessly as he began to choke her. Sam was suddenly there again, grabbing the kid up and tossing him aside like he weighed nothing—but then Sam was tackled by the flaming demon and the two of them went down hard. Alex was stuttering up to her feet, whipping out her hunting knife, not even sure what she was gonna do with it—and then she was suddenly pulled backward by the teenager. She twisted and fought back with a yell, but then maybe two seconds after she was grabbed, she felt the demon go tense. He screamed and his grip went slack on her. Dean yanked Ruby's blade out from where he'd plunged it into her attacker's back. And before Alex could even fully register what had happened, he moved her aside roughly, holding the blade high, bringing it down on the demon Sam was grappling with.

With a terrible inhuman shriek, the demon's skeleton flickered as it died and fell off Sam. A stunned, breathless silence fell over the scene. Dean pulled his rattled brother up to his feet. They all stared at each other, shocked and realizing they were lucky to be alive. They had been totally unprepared for that very unexpected turn of events. Alex spat out blood and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, face wrinkled in revulsion. Sam was grimacing, making a pain-filled sound as he held a hand over a bloody gash on his shoulder. Dean and Alex both reacted at the same time, noticing the wound then examining it with the same concerned expression.