Reckless and Brave

XX. Mr. Tambourine Man (Part I)

[Salvation]

In their motel room, the Winchesters had put up articles, weather charts, pictures, and other assorted information that had to do with the yellow-eyed demon, or what Holly called 'Ol Yellow Eyes.

John was sitting at a desk, papers everyone and had the Colt in front of him. Sam was leaning against the counter while Dean paced. Holly was standing by the door, crossing her arms.

After a moment, John said, "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 first time, I picked up a trail."

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

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

"Alright, so what this trail you found?"

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

"Families with infants?" Sam asked.

John turned to him. "Yeah. The night of the kid's six-month birthday."

Holly frowned. "Okay, but all these were babies. Sam was three."

"Three years and six months. Frankly, I haven't been able to figure out why the demon left us alone for three years. Perhaps it knew that you would be born, Holly, and decided to wait."

Sam narrowed his eyes. "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?"

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

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

Dean let out a frustrated sigh. "For the last time; what happened to them was not your fault."

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

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

John stood up and glared at his kids. "Okay. That's enough."

They all took a breath to calm themselves down. After a moment, Sam asked, "So why's he doing it? What does he want?"

"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..." He looked down, sadness covering his face.

Dean met his dad's eyes. "Alright, so how do we find it...before it hits again?"

"There's signs. It took me awhile 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..."

"These things happened in Lawrence."

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

"Where?" Sam and Holly asked.

"Salvation, Iowa."

Holly scoffed softly. "Well, that's ironic."

They started their drive to Salvation, and John was in the lead, closely followed by the Impala. A few moments later, John pulled to the side and the Impala followed. Everyone climbed out and John cried, "God damn it!"

"What is it?" Dean wondered.

"Son of a bitch."

"What is it?!"