Meanwhile, Sam and the others drove their cars through the streets, playing recordings of the exorcism spell over loudspeakers.
"We still don't know why so many of them are escaping, wouldn't it be smart to interview one of them?", noted Rudy, who was on patrol with Sam.
"We'll have no choice, more are coming after us than we're exorcising," Sam agreed, spotting a woman fleeing from the hunters.
Immediately, the Winchester gave chase, stopping the car at the side of the road and following her on foot the rest of the way. At the end of an alley, he cut her off. Instinctively, the demon wanted to leave her body but Sam forced her back into her vessel.
"I'm not going to hurt you if you answer me a few questions," he assured her, stopping Rudy who was coming toward them with his gun pointed.
"You're hunters, why should I trust you," the demon doubted, "You're going to kill me anyway."
"Maybe we'll let you go if you show yourself useful," Sam said calmly and put the knife away.
Puzzled, the woman watched him do it and thought for a moment.
"You know what? I'd rather die than go to hell anyway," she sighed, "All hell has literally broken loose down there since Lucifer left."
"Lucifer's been in the cage for a long time, I thought Crowley would be in charge?", Sam bristled.
"He was, but then the Knights came and overthrew him, it's been anarchy ever since. Those who escaped have fled and are hiding somewhere," the demon explained, "The rest are at war. Crowley's followers against those of the infernal knights."
"Great now there's a civil war going on in Hell too, as if we didn't have enough problems already," Sam snorted in annoyance and moved away from the woman.
"Hey!", she shouted, spreading her arms, "Please do it, I'd rather die by the hand of a hunter than be tortured by Cain's people."
Astonished, the hunters looked at the demon, wondering what must be going on down there, that demons would voluntarily die instead of setting foot in hell once again. Unsure, Sam drew his blade.
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"Don't worry, the woman was already dead, I found her in the hospital," the demon desperately informed.
Sam believed her and rammed the knife into the woman. Relieved, the monster squeezed out a thank you before the body slumped lifelessly to the ground.
"I've really been doing this shit for a few years now, but NEVER has a demon begged me to kill it, so if you ask me, the shit has hit the fan," Rudy muttered thoughtfully.
This was a rarity for Sam too, and he wanted to tell his brother about it immediately.
"Dean, forget the gate! The demons are coming out of all the holes because they're fleeing Hell. There's a war going on there," the younger Winchester clarified.
"Then let them fucking fight it out there and leave the humans out of it," grumbled Dean, who was nearby with his group, "What's the plan? Do we storm hell?"
"We could let Lucifer go free, he might be able to end it all," Sam suggested.
"Are you insane?", snarled Dean, upset, "The devil stays right where he is, we'll find another way, and if we go to war on Crowley's side. As much as I loathe this son of a bitch, at least we had peace from the demons when he was king of hell."
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Josie listened attentively to the conversation and could hardly believe what Dean and Sam had experienced before she met the brothers. Lucifer was just a figure from the Bible to her, and she knew Crowley only from a few Winchester's anecdotes. And from the looks of it, she had to go to war for a stranger.
"Dean, you're not serious, are you? We're hunters we kill monsters not fight them side by side," Cliff reminded the Winchester after he hung up and looked at Josie with a serious look.
"Our job isn't to kill monsters, it's to save people, and if that means teaming up with them against a common enemy to help as many as possible, then so be it," Josie defended Dean, who looked at her as perplexed as Cliff.
"That actually sounds plausible," the blonde huntress admitted, looking up questioningly at Cliff.
"Alright," he sighed, "But I swear to you, if I'm not home on Thursday it's going to be something, my girls have a school play and I promised to be there."
"You will be, buddy" Dean promised and made his way over to Sam and Rudy.
This time, instead of Cliff, Josie walked by his side.
"Thanks for your help earlier," Dean said quietly.
"Well, I was like Cliff at first I also thought it was about killing monsters because they shouldn't exist. I wasn't about the people I was protecting with it, it wasn't until I hunted with you and Sam and saw who I was actually helping with it, then I realized what the real reason was to hunt. And if you're sure we should be on Crowley's side, then I am too."
Surprised, he looked over at her. No one had ever been so sure of his decisions as she was, not even Sam agreed with everything without doubting.
"But maybe I'm a little bit behind you though," she added shyly, because the thought of fighting against a superior number of demons did scare her a bit.
"That's where you belong," he spoke firmly, "Who else has my back?"
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A smile graced Josie's lips. She slipped under his arm and draped it around her shoulders. It comforted her to know that someone would protect her if she was afraid, and it made her proud that he still trusted her to have his back if it came down to it. Moreover, she felt relieved. She had just admitted to being scared and expected a stupid line, but he encouraged her instead.
