Roads of Reckoning

Phantom Traveler: Part 2

We sit in the motel room in full research mode. There are images and articles taped to the walls and strewn across our beds. I'm sitting next to Sam at the table reading, while Dean is on the bed.
"So every religion in every world culture has the concept of demons and demonic possession right? I mean, Christian, Native American, Hindu, you name it." Says Sam.
"Yeah but none of them describe anything like this." Says Dean.
"Well that's not exactly true. You see according to Japanese beliefs, certain demons are behind certain disasters, both natural and man~made. One causes earthquakes, another causes disease."
"And this one causes plan crashes?" I ask. Dean gets up.
"All right so what? We have a demon that's evolved with the times and found a way to ratchet up the body count." He says.
"Yeah. You know, who knows how many planes it's brought down be for this one?" Sam says. Dean snorts and turns away. I look up from my book.
"What?" Asks Sam.
"I don't know man. This isn't our normal gig. I mean, demons, they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. This is big, and I wish dad was here." Sam nods.
"Yeah. Me too." Dean's phone rings and he answers it. It's Jerry. They go back and forth and Dean hangs up.
"Another crash?" I ask.
"Yeah let's go." He says.
"Where?" Asks Sam.
"Nazareth."
•———————————————————————•
Jerry is looking down a microscope again.
"Sulfur?" Dean asks. Jerry nods.
"Well that's great. All right, that's two plane crashes involving Chuck Lambert. This demon sounds like it was after him."
"With all due respect to Chuck, if that's the case, that would be the good news." Says Sam.
"What's the bad news?" Says Dean.
"Chuck's plane went down exactly forty minutes into flight. And get this, so did flight 2485."
"Forty minutes?" Asks Jerry. "What does that mean?"
"It's biblical numerology." I explain. "You know Noah's ark, it rained for forty days. The number means death."
"I went back, and there have been six plane crashes over the last decade that all went down exactly forty minutes in." Says Sam.
"Any survivors?" Asks Dean.
"No. Or not until now, at least, not until flight 2485, for some reason. On the cockpit voice recorder, remember what the EVP said."
"No survivors." I say.
"It's going after all the survivors. It's trying to finish the job." Says Dean.

That night, Dean is driving and Sam hangs up the phone.
"Alright. That takes care of Blaine Sanderson and Dennis Holloway. They're not flying anytime soon." He says.
"So our only wildcard is the flight attendant Amanda Walker." States Dean.
"Right. Her sister Karen said her flight leaves Indianapolis at 8pm. It's her first night back on the job."
"That sounds like just our luck." Says Dean.
"Dean, this is a five~four hour drive man, even with you behind the wheel." He ignores Sam's protest.
"Call Amanda's cellphone again, see if we can't head her off at the pass."
"I already left her three voice messages. She must have turned her cellphone off."
"God, we're never gonna make it." I say.
"We'll make it." Says Dean.
•———————————————————————•
We rush into the airport and check the Departure board.
"Right there." I say. "They're boarding in thirty minutes."
"Okay. We still have some cards to play. We need to find a phone." Dean picks up a courtesy phone. Sam and I wait. Dean hangs up and a voice over the PA calls Amanda. Dean looks over at us, Amanda has picked up. Sam and I move closer to hear. I can't quite hear the conversation but Dean hangs up, pissed.
"Damn it! So close."
"All right, it's time for plan B. We're getting on that plane." Says Sam.
"Whoa, whoa, how just hold on a second." Dean says, eyes wide.
"Dean, that plane is leaving with over a hundred passengers on board, and if we're right, that plane is gonna crash." I say.
"I know." He says.
"Okay. So we're getting on the plane, we need to find that from and exorcise it. Dem and I will get the tickets. You get whatever you can get out of the trunk. Whatever that will make it through security. Meet us back here in five minutes." Dean looks at us anxiously.
"Are you ok?" Sam asks.
"No not really." Dean says.
"What? What's wrong?"
"Well, I kind of have this problem with, uh..."
"Flying?" I ask.
"It's never really been an issue until now." He says.
"You're joking right." Sam says, staring at his older brother.
"Do I look like I'm joking? Why do you think I drive everywhere?"
"Alright. Uh, I'll go." Says Sam. I nod.
"I'll go with you." Dean looks back and forth at us.
"What are you, nuts? You said it yourself, the plane's gonna crash."
"Dean, we can do it together, or we can take this one. I'm not seeing a third option here."
"Come on! Really?"
•———————————————————————•
I sit in the middle of the two boys. Sam looks out the window and Dean is in the aisle seat reading the safety card.
"Just try to relax." Says Sam.
"Just try to shut up." Dean snaps. The plane takes off and Dean jumps at every rumble and sounds. I look at Sam and we share a smirk. Dean leans back and hums to himself, Sam looks away from the window.
"You're humming Metallica?" He asks.
"Calms me down."
"Look man, I get you're nervous, all right? But you got to stay focused." Dean nods.
"I mean, we got thirty two minutes and counting to track this thing down, or whoever it's possessing, anyway, and perform a full on exorcism."
"Yeah on a crowded plane. That's gonna be easy."
"Just take it one step at a time. Now who's it possessing."
"It's usually gonna be somebody with some sort of weakness, you know, a chink in the armour that the demon can worm through. Somebody with an addiction or some sort of emotional distress."
"Well this is Amanda's first flight after the crash. If I were her, I'd be pretty messed up." I suggest. Dean looks to the back of the plane at the flight attendant.
"All right, well, that's got to be Amanda back there, so I'll go talk to her, and, uh, I'll beg a read on her mental state."
"What if she's already possessed?" I ask.
"There's ways to test that." Dean goes into his bag and comes out with a Virgin Mary shaped bottle of water.
"I brought holy water."
"No." Sam says and snatches the bottle away and tucks it inside his hoodie.
"I think we can go more subtle. If she's possessed, she'll flinch at the name of God."
"Oh. Nice." Dean turns to go.
"Hey." I grab his arm. "Say it in Latin."
"I know." He turns to go again.
"Okay hey." I grab him again.
"What?!"
"In Latin, it's Christo."
"Dude, I know! I'm not an idiot." He says and walks off.
Sam and I sit in silence. I look over to him and catch his eye. He quickly turns away and rubs his hands down his thighs. I feel my face go red.