Family Remains

"A Secret?"

"Hi," I said slightly hesitantly.

I looked over at Dean who was standing off to the right of the guy and then over at Sam who stood on the other side.

"Who is he?" I asked.

"I'm Garth," The lanky guy said enthusiastically.

"Oh, hi Garth," I said, matching his enthusiasm.

"Bobby sent me with a couple things to help you with the case," He said.

"You're a hunter?" Dean questioned.

Garth looked over his shoulder at Dean and smiled widely.

"I am," Garth confirmed.

I could see that Dean mumbled something under his breath and I gave him a pointed look. Garth looked back at me and smiled and Dean put his hands up in surrender.

"So," I said. "How exactly do we get rid of her?" I asked, still not knowing this.

"Well, since she's immortal, Bobby had to do some deep research to find anything to get rid of her," Sammy started.

"And he found a way to contain her and eventually found a way to get her to us," Dean added.

"But you technically can't help us," Sam finished.

"What?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Have you ever heard of the Golden Apple of Discord?" Sammy asked me.

I nodded.

"Yes, its the apple of Eris, Greek Goddess of Discord and Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite fought for it, in the end Aphrodite won," I explained.

Sam nodded.

"Well, a few decades ago, Bobby found out that Aphrodite had managed to loose it," Dean continued, once again surprising Sam and I. "It took a bit but Bobby found it and sent Garth to go and retrieve it."

"And I did!" Garth said happily, looking proud of himself.

"Ok, how does the apple help get rid of her and why can't I help?" I questioned.

"We can use the apple to lure her into a Curse Box which Bobby made himself and inscribed the correct sigils and all we have to do is get her into it, close the box, say a charm, and poof!" Garth said.

"Poof?" I asked, confused.

"Bobby inscribed a sigil that'll it'll make it disappear into thin air and nobody will ever be able to find it again," Dean said.

"I still don't see why I can't help!" I said slightly louder.

"Bobby found a little secret out about this apple," Garth said.

"A secret?" I asked.

"If mortal women see the apple they're strangely drawn to it and if a woman actually touches it, it kill them," Sam told me.

I groaned.

"Then give me something that I can help with!" I exclaimed.

"How about you say the charm after she's in the box?" Dean asked me.

I thought this over.

"Ok, I can do that," I said.

"So remember, you cannot touch this apple," Dean reminded me.

"Ok," I assured him.

Dean took a bag from Garth and slowly pulled out a smaller box. Taking a small skeleton key, he unlocked the box, and flipped the lid. A weird feeling overwhelmed me and I took an involuntary step forward. Everyone gave me an odd look and Dean froze his actions.

"Ash?" He called out.

"Yeah?" I asked.

My voice sounded far away, kind of dreamlike, Like I was paying attention but at the same time I wasn't.

"Sam, please go stand by Ash, we need to make absolute sure that she wont touch it," Dean told him.

I could barely hear him, all I could focus my attention on was pull of the apple. I didn't notice Sam come over and stand next to me or anything else that lays beyond the box and out of my sight.

"Remember Ash," Sammy whispered. "You can't touch it."

Something in his voice pulled me back to earth and I was able to take in his words.

No touching, Ash, no touching, I told myself over and over.

Dean reached into the box and slowly pulled his hand back out. The more of his arm that I could see the more the pull tugged at me. It just continued to get stronger and stronger and it was getting harder to hold onto my senses.

"Ok, I'm taking it out now," Dean announced.

A golden apple the size of a fist appeared in my sight and I took another involuntary step forward. Sam put a hand on my shoulder and I stopped. It sounded as if a whispering was coming from thin air, egging me on to touch the apple. Somewhere deep inside told me not to even move, that if I moved that I would be hurt.

I took another step and Sam put his other hand on my other shoulder, stepping in front of me to stop me.

"No," He whispered. "Fight the pull. You need to get used to this otherwise you won't be able to help at all. Fight it, Ashley."

I blinked multiple times trying to get a hold of myself, but it was hard. It was like I was attached to a bungee and I was at the end where its pulled tight. It wanted to pull back, but the apple was keeping me right at the end. My breathing became ragged and I fell to my knees. Sam caught me before I hit too hard, but my fall had surprised him.

"Ash," He said with some force behind his voice.

Suddenly, the pull was gone and I slumped against Sam, completely drained of my energy.

"Ash?" Dean called out.

I passed out before I could answer him.