Comfort Crowd Δ SPN [ 1 ]

025. SALVATION

They're in the motel and John's research is all over the place. Ophelia and Libby are on one of the beds, coloring. John is sitting at a desk -- also covered in research -- while Dean stands next to him and Sam is leaning against the counter across from the room.

"So this is it. This is everything I know. Look, our whole lives we been searching for this demon, right? Not a trace, just... nothing. Until about a year ago. For the firs time I picked up a trail." John explains.

"And that's when you took off." Dean says.

"Yeah. That's right. The demon must've come out of hiding or hibernation." John says.

"All right, so what's this trail you found?" Dean asks.

"It starts in Arizona, then New Jersey, California. Houses burned to the ground. it's going after families, just like it went after us." John says.

"Families with infants?" Sam asks.

"Yeah. The night of the kid's six month birthday." John says.

"I was six months that night?" Sam asks.

"Exactly six months." John states.

"So basically, this demon is going after these kids for some reason. The same way it came for me? So mom's death... Jessica." Sam glances at the oblivious Libby. "It's all because of me?"

"We don't know that, Sam." Dean says.

"Oh, really? Cause I'd say we're pretty damn sure, Dean." Sam says.

"For the last time, what happened to them was not your fault." Dean states.

"Right. It's not my fault, but it's my problem."

"No, it's not your problem. It's our problem!"

"Okay. That's enough." John interrupts them.

"So why's he doing it? What does he want?" Sam asks after a moment. Ophelia feels the very obvious tension. She feels her dad's frustration and slight annoyance along with Sam's frustration and guilt. Ophelia goes over to Sam and tightly hugs him, as a form of comfort. Sam puts his hand on her back, accepting the hug.

"Look, I wish I had more answers, I do. I've always been one step behind it. Look, I've never gotten there in time to save..." John trails off.

"All right, so how do we find it? Before it hits again?" Dean asks.

"There's signs. It took me a while to see the pattern, but it's there in the days before these fires crop up in an area. Cattle deaths, temperature fluctuations, electrical storms. And then I went back and checked and..."

"These things happened in Lawrence." Dean says and John nods.

"A week before your mother died. And in Palo Alto... before Jessica. And these signs, they're starting again." John says.

"Where?" Sam asks.

"Salvation, Iowa." John states.

+++

They're in Salvation and on the way, they learned that Pastor Jim had died, making the three men try to find this thing even faster since they're not sure if it was the demon who killed Jim or not.

Sam walks out of the medical center with Libby in his arms and flipping through his notebook of all the records he copied of babies turning six months old.

Sam stops and winces as he gets a vision. He clutches his head with his free hand, squeezing his eyes shut. Libby looks at him, worried, not sure what's happening to him.