Roads of Reckoning

Salvation

July 30th, 2006
John's motel room in Colorado is covered wall to wall in information about the yellow eyed demon. Weather charts, hieroglyphics, pictures, newspaper articles, books, notes, you name it. John sits at the table, the Colt laid in front of him. Sam and I lean against the counter as Dean paces.

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

"And that's when you took off." Dean says. Wow. Nearly a year ago, Dean came to me asking for help. How time flies I guess.

"Yeah that's right." John says. "The demon must have come out of hiding, or hibernation."

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

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

"Families with infants?" I question.

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

Sam tenses beside me.
"I was six months old that night?"

"Exactly six months." John nods.

"So basically, this demon is going after these kids for some reason. The same way it came for me? So Mom's death...Jessica. It's all because of me?" Sam asks.

"We don't know that Sam." I say softly.

"Oh really? Cause I'd say we're pretty damn sure Dem!"

"Don't yell at her." Dean says, getting frustrated. "For the last time, what happened to them was not your fault."

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

"No it's not your problem. It's our problem." Dean gestures around the room to John and I.

"Ok that's enough." John stands. The boys take a breath.

"So whys he doing it. What does he want?" Sam says softer. 

"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 stops, looking down in shame.

"Alright, so how do we find it?" I ask. "Before it hits again."

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

"These things happened in Lawrence." Dean finishes.

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

"Where?" Sam asks.

"Salvation, Iowa."

•———————————————————————•
We follow behind John's truck when suddenly he pulls over. We all jump out of the car, John is swearing like a mad man.

"Son of a bitch!" He yells.

"Dad what is it?" Dean asks.

"I just got a call from Caleb." John says.

"Is he ok?" Dean asks hurriedly.

"He's fine. Jim Murphy's dead." John says grimly.

"Pastor Jim?" Sam asks in disbelief. Pastor Jim was a good friend of John's and my parents. We would stay with him occasionally when our parents were on hunts.
"How?"