Scarlett Winchester

Chapter 9: We'll Live Like Spoiled Royalty and Partners In Crime

Later we were in the motel and Sam was on the phone with Bobby. "Yeah, all right. Well, keep looking, would you? Thanks, Bobby." Sam hung up the phone. "Well... we're not dealing with the anti-Claus." He said. "What did Bobby say?" Dean asked. "Uh, that we're morons. He also said that it was probably meadowsweet in those wreaths." Sam replied looking at his laptop. "Wow! Amazing... What the hell is meadowsweet?" Dean asked. I rolled my eyes. "It's pretty rare and it's probably the most powerful plant in pagan lore." Sam said. I swear he's like a living encyclopedia. "Pagan lore?" Dean asked still very confused right along with me. "Yeah. See, they used meadowsweet for human sacrifice. It was kind of like a... Chum for their gods. Gods were drawn to it and they'd stop by and snack on whatever was the nearest human." Sam stated. "Why would somebody be using that for Christmas wreaths?" Dean asked. "It's not as crazy as it sounds, Dean. I mean, pretty much every Christmas tradition is pagan." Sam said. "Christmas is Jesus's birthday." I said. "No, Jesus's birthday was probably in the fall. It was actually the winter solstice festival that was co-opted by the Church and renamed "Christmas". But I mean, the Yule log, the tree, even Santa's red suit - that's all remnants of pagan worship." Sam said. Wow you learn something new everyday. I still like it for Jesus's birthday but you know... "How do you know that? What are you gonna tell me next? Easter bunny's Jewish? So you think we're gonna dealing with a pagan God?" Dean asked. "Yeah, probably Hold Nickar, God of the winter solstice." Sam said. "And all these Martha Stewart wannabes, buying these fancy wreaths..." Dean trailed off. "Yeah, it's pretty much like putting a neon sign on your front door saying "Come kill us"." Sam said. "Great." Dean stated sarcastically.
Sam read an article on his laptop "Huh... When you sacrifice to Hold Nickar, guess what he gives you in return." Sam said. "Lap dances, hopefully." Dean joked. "Mild weather." Sam stated.
Dean Looked out the window. "Like no snow in the middle of December in the middle of Michigan?" he asked. "For instance." Sam said. "Do we know how to kill it yet?" Dean asked. "No, Bobby's working on that right now. We got to figure out where they're selling those wreaths." Sam said. Suddenly I had a thought. "You think they're selling them on purpose? Feeding the victims to this thing?" I asked. "Let's find out." Sam replied looking at me.
We walked into a little shop. "Can I help you boys?" an employee asked. " Uh, hope so. Uh, we were playing Jenga over at the Walshes' the other night, and, uh... well, she hasn't shut up since about this Christmas wreath, and..." he looked at me "I don't know, you tell him." he said. I looked at him annoyed. Why couldn't he have picked on Sam. Cause Sam's not as pathetic as you it wouldn't have been as convincing. Bee was sitting on the counter with her legs crossed and she messing with her nails her posture was perfect. I held back a groan and looked at the employee "It was yummy." I said. "I sell a lot of wreaths, sweetheart." he said to me. "This one would have been really special. It had green leaves, um, white buds on it. It might have been made of, uh... meadowsweet?" I said messing with my fingers. He nodded "I know the one your talking about I'm all out." he said. "Seems like this meadowsweet stuff's pretty rare and expensive. Why make wreaths out of it?" Dean asked. "Beats me I didn't make them." the man said. "Who did?" I asked. "Madge Carrigan, a local lady. She said the wreaths were so special, she gave them to me for free." The man said. "She didn't charge you?" I asked. "Nope." the man said. "Hell no. It's Christmas. People pay a butt load for this crap!" the man said. "That's the spirit." I said sarcastically rolling my eyes.
Later we walked back into the motel. "How much do you think a meadowsweet wreath would cost?" Dean asked. "A couple hundred dollars, at least." Sam replied. "This lady's giving them away for free? What do you think about that?" Dean asked. "Well, sounds pretty suspicious." Sam responded. I nodded in agreement. I sighed and grabbed so pajama pants and a T-shirt and walked into the bathroom. When I walked back out Sam and Deans quiet voices stopped me from walking into view. "Why do you want Christmas so bad?" Sam asked. "Why are you so against it? I mean, were your childhood memories that traumatic?" Dean asked. "No, that has nothing to do with it." Sam said honestly. "Then what?" Dean asked confused. "I-I mean, I-I just... I don't get it. You haven't talked about Christmas in years." Sam said. I was about to walk out deciding it was nothing important when Dean much more quietly, as if to keep me from hearing, said "Well, yeah. This is my last year." what? I thought. Sam sighed "I know. That's why I can't." he said as quietly as Dean. "What do you mean?" Dean asked confused. "I mean I can't just sit around, drinking eggnog, pretending everything's okay, when I know next Christmas you'll be dead. I just can't." Sam said. I took their silence as a chance to speak up. "What do you mean he'll be dead next Christmas?" I asked. Sam and Dean both looked at me horrified.
Deans POV (Sorry if it sucks):
"What do you mean he'll be dead next Christmas?" I heard Scarlett say. Oh no. I thought. Sam and I had talked about when and how we were going to tell her and this was not how. I didn't know how to tell the daughter I just met I was going to hell soon. "Scarlett." I sighed. "A while ago I made a deal to save Sam. I got a year to live then I had to go to hell." I said. She frowned "Crossroads deal? It's supposed to be ten years though!" She exclaimed. I squinted my eyebrows in confusion. I knew she had hunted a little but I didn't think she knew about the crossroads. "Yeah but normally the demons don't want your soul as bad as mine." I said. She looked really upset and she muttered something about a Jason. Finally she sighed "How much time do you have left?" She asked. "Under a month." I said. Her head shot up "EXCUSE ME! YOU WAITED TWO MONTHS TO TELL ME AND NOW YOU ONLY HAVE A MONTH LEFT? WE'RE YOU EVEN PLANNING ON TELLING ME OR WERE YOU PLANNING ON ME JUST WATCHING HELL HOUNDS RIP YOU TO SHREDS AND BEING REALLY CONFUSED?!?" She was yelling. I had never seen her mad before this but she was a lot like me when she was. She took in a breath "I can't believe I'm going through this again." She said. "What?" Sam and I both asked confused. "My... " She paused "Boyfriend... " She dragged out the works as if deciding whether it was the right word to use "He-he made a crossroads deal a few months back. Then he left me because he didn't want me to be with him knowing he only had ten years." She said obviously holding back tears. She rarely showed us weakness she always held everything in and we could always tell. She was a lot like me. I just felt bad I couldn't do anything to help.
Scarlett'S POV:
I was holding back tears. "I'm going to bed." I said going over to my bed and laying down in it turning away from the men. I could still feel their eyes watching but I ignored it. Oh this is priceless... How what do you think will happen to you once Deans dead? It's good-bye Sam because there's no Dean to feel responsible for a daughter and no Dean to make Sam out up with you which like I said Dean only makes Sam out up with you because he thinks he has to. Bee spoke my thoughts. I closed my eyes and buried my head further in the pillow.
The next day Sam, Dean, an I walked up to a house covered in decorations. I was wearing a white NY Jersey, converse, and blue skinny jeans. (picture if her in the jersey in media (yes it's her)) Both boys had been hesitant around me all morning, which I mean I did kind of blow up on them for the first time so... "This is where Mrs. Wreath lives, huh? Can't you just feel the evil pagan vibe?" Dean asked sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and knocked on the door. "Yes?" a woman asked opening the door. "Please tell me you're the Madge Carrigan who makes the meadowsweet wreaths." Dean said. "Why, yes I am." She said sweetly.
"Ha! Bingo." Dean shouted faking excitedness. "Yeah? Uh, well, we were just admiring your wreaths in Mr. Sylar's place the other day?" I said smiling at her. "You were? Well, isn't that meadowsweet just the finest-smelling thing you ever smelled?" She asked. She was overdoing the sweet thing it was so obviously fake. "It is, it sure is. But the problem is, is that all you wreaths had sold out before we got the chance to buy one." Sam said pretending to be upset. "Oh, fudge!" Madge said frowning. "You wouldn't have another one that we could buy from you, would you?" u asked. "Oh, no, I'm afraid those were the only ones I had for this season." She said frowning at me. "Aww..." I said. "Tell me something, why did you decide to make them out of meadowsweet?" Dean asked. "Why the smell of course I don't think I've ever smelled anything finer." She said. "Yeah you mentioned that." Sam said. "What's going on honey?" a man, most likely her husband, asked. He had a pipe in his mouth and clothes that were very out of style. Him and Madge were like the perfect 50s couple. "Well just some nice people asking about my wreathed dear." Madge said smiling at her husband. "Oh, the wreaths are fine. Fine wreaths. Oh, care for some peanut brittle?" The man offered some peanut brittle and Dean and I reached out to take one but Sam smoked our hands away. "We're okay." he said. Stupid. Bee said.
Dean and I were sharpening wooden stakes while Sam was on his computer. "I knew it! Something was way off with those two." Sam said clapping his hands. "What'd you find?" Dean asked. "The Carrigans lived in Seattle, last year, where two abductions took place right around Christmas. They moved here in January. All that Christmas crap in their house - that wasn't boughs of holly. It was vervain and mint." Sam replied. "Pagan stuff?" I asked. "Serious pagan stuff." Sam replied. "So what, Ozzie and Harriet are keeping a pagan god hidden underneath their plastic-covered couch?" Dean asked. "I don't know. All I know is we gotta check them out. So, what about Bobby? He's sure evergreen stakes will kill this thing, right?" Sam asked. "Yeah, he's sure." Dean replied. Each of us walked up to Madge's house holding wooden stakes. Dean picked the lock and we walked inside. Dean looked at the plastic covered couch "See? Plastic." he whispered. I shook my head. Sam and Dean were looking in the living room and I walked to the kitchen. I moved my flashlight around and stopped on a locked door. "Hey, guys." I called. They came in as I picked the lock and Dean nodded approving. We walked down to the basement. It was disgusting there was bloody bones and organs and other gross things everywhere. I poked a bag hanging from a wall and it moved. Suddenly I felt someone grab my neck and lift me off the ground. I screeched and heard Dean and Sam run over "Scarlett!" Dean yelled. They try to help me but her husband comes out of nowhere and grabs both of them. He knocked their heads against a wall and they past out. She still had my neck and I was struggling to breathe "Gosh I wish you hadn't come down here." Madge said. I shined the flashlight on their faces and was horrified to see their monster features. Madge bashed my head against the wall and everything went black.