Just One Last Sacrifice - Chapt 3

Just One Last Sacrifice
Chapter 3 - To deliver a soul to Heaven


"She's in that one." The demon hissed, pointing to a darkened cell as Dean pushed him forward down the hall. "When we get in the way we end up here with the rest of the pathetic losers who sell their souls." He silenced as Dean pressed the blade to his throat.  

"Meg?" Dean called out, peering into the cell as he held onto his hostage. "Meg you in there?" He repeated. When he didn't get a reply, he tightened his grip on the blade he was holding to the demon's throat. "You lie to me and I'm going to send you back to Hells lowest wrung myself." He threatened, pausing as his eyes focused on the dark figure sitting on the floor in the corner of the cell.

"Now aren't you a sight for sore eyes." She cooed, her quiet voice almost lost among the screams of agony echoing down the halls. "Don't tell me you sold what was left of your soul again." She continued.

"No, but I am here for you." Dean was quick to reply, clamping a hand over on the demon's mouth as he plunged his blade into its chest. The young hunter let the demon fall to the floor at his feet as he pushed open the cell door. With nowhere to run or hide, there was no reason to lock the demons in their cells, the entire place was a prison. "C'mon get up, we gotta go." He said as he reached down to her. Though her tone of voice and attitude hadn't changed a bit, her appearance certainly had. Her clothes were torn and her face was smeared with dry blood, gashed and cuts covered what he could see of her arms and her bleached blond hair had faded back to black. Sent back to Hell by Crowley for hanging around with them, there was no doubt in Dean's mind that Meg had taken much more than a beating as one of Hell's lowest class citizens. "We don't have a lot of time, come on." He continued, grabbing her hand and hoisting her to her feet.

Meg winced in pain as he pulled her along down the hall, bloody hands reaching out to them from between bars of darkened cells. "You gonna tell me what's up or am I supposed to guess?" She asked, tripping over her own feet as she tried to keep up. She hadn't run in what felt like years and trying to keep up with Dean was proving difficult.

"I need your help with something." Dean was quick to reply, knowing they had to get out of Hell as soon as possible, before word of his presence got around. When she stumbled again, he paused in his steps and scooped her up in his arms. "Sam didn't finish the trials to close the gates of Hell, so I'm going to do them." Dean explained, taking a quick glance around as he continued down the hall. "I need to save an innocent soul from Hell."

Meg couldn't help put let out a chuckle at those words. "You think I've an innocent soul left to save?" She asked, resting her head against his shoulder as he carried her. "Hate to break it to you but..."

"Not your soul, the one of that girl you possessed." He cut in, heading into a shadowy corner and stepping out of the brush into Purgatory. "Her soul's still trapped in there with you, I need you to let it go. You can keep the meat suit but not the soul." He came to a stop and took a glance at the endless woods around them. When he spotted Tessa, he hurried to make his way over. The Reaper did little more than place a hand on his shoulder and the trio were back in the motel room.

"A Reaper?" Meg asked, swearing under her breath as Dean placed her down on the bed. "How in the Hell can you see a..." She paused as the thought suddenly crossed her mind. "Oh shit." She whispered, her eyes drifting from the Reaper to the young hunter who was now kneeling on the floor in front of her.

Dean caught the demon's eyes as he pulled the silver blade from the back of his belt. "I don't have much time do get this done." He said, clutching one of Kevin's translated notes. He glanced over his shoulder at Tessa and when she gave him a nod, he turned his attention back to the demon. "Give me your arm."

Meg held her arm out and watched as he gently rolled up her sleeve, pausing as his eyes studied the cuts and gashes that were already there. "What can I say, this meat suit's been to Hell and back more than once." She said with a forced smile. "It's not like I had an angel on my shoulder to just fix it all up again." She winced as he slid the blade against her flesh; first drawing blood and then with a few words taken from an ancient tablet, drawing out the innocent soul of a woman who'd died years ago. Feeling what was left of her host's soul drain from the body she'd taken over, Meg couldn't help but suck in a breath. It was a feeling unlike anything she'd ever felt before, and one she knew she would never experience again.

Blood dripped from Meg's arm down Dean's sharp blade as a stream of iridescent light started seeping from the open wound. Watching it flow through the air towards the waiting reaper was mesmerizing, an innocent soul free at last from a demon's tight grip. "I'll see that her soul gets to Heaven." Tessa said softly as she caught the young hunter's eyes. "You start working on that final trial."

Dean gave her a nod and just like that she was gone, leaving him alone with a  rebellious demon he'd pulled from the depths of Hell. Eyeing the fresh cut in her arm, he grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around the wound. "You go wash up, I'll gather my things and bring the car around." He said as he stood from the floor. He took a few steps but paused as the motel room around him suddenly started to spin. "Just make it quick alright?"

Meg watched as he stumbled to steady himself, placing a hand on the bed post to catch his balance. "These trials, they're draining the life out of you, aren't they?" She asked, standing up as Dean hunched over and started coughing up blood. She put a hand on his back and couldn't help but notice the heat radiating through the fabric of his shirt. '"Dean?"

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as his coughing fit finally stopped, leaving him with a raspy voice and a burning in his chest. "I don't have much time, we need to get this done fast." He said grabbing the angel blade from the bed and tucking it away.

"That reaper mentioned a final trial." Meg started, looking on as Dean hastily started to gather his things.

"I need to cure a demon, so I'm going to cure you." Dean was quick to reply. "And to do that, we first need to find hallowed ground."

"Cure a demon?" Meg repeated, her doubt more than obvious. "You want to cure me? Is that even possible?"

"It is." Dean replied, pausing as the room around him started to spin again. "And if you're willing to accept that, I think I can get it accomplished much faster than if I tried to cure a demon against its will." As everything around him came to a stop, he turned to face the demon who was now standing behind him. "Meg do you want to do this?" He asked as he caught her eyes. "Do you want to be human again and help me close the gates of Hell for good?"

"What's the catch?" She asked casually. "I've been around the block a few times to know that nothing ever comes without a few strings attached."

"There is no catch, not for you at least." Dean replied quietly. "Do this with me and I'll restore your soul... Don't you want to be human again?"

There was a moment of silence between them and Meg couldn't help but notice that something had changed, something about him was different. She could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice, he was practically begging her. Being human again had never crossed her mind, because once she'd given into the tormented darkness that awaited her in the pit, she'd become just as twisted as the rest of them. Once a demons was born of a tortured soul in Hell, the evil within ate away at its humanity. There was no turning back, but this was the chance of a lifetime. "All right I'll do it." She replied, putting her trust in the man who'd pulled her from the depths of Hell. "So we need a church or something?" She asked, extending her hand as he gave her a nod.

"What?" He asked, his eyes drifting down to her open hand.

"You can barely walk a straight line, I'll drive." When he hesitated, a grin crossed her face. "Promise I won't even drive her through anything this time."

Dean fished the keys from his pocket and handed them over, knowing he was in no shape to drive when he could hardly keep his balance. "Let's do this."

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"Scythe." Sam said, turning the laptop over so Castiel could have a look. "There's been five suspicious deaths in the last week, all in a small town called Scythe about three hours drive from here. All the victims showed signs of a wild animal attack, three of the five happened inside their homes, doors were all locked from the inside." Sam went on. "The same article I found also came up in Dean's search history, that's got to be where he went."

"I can get us to Scythe, but then what should we look for?" Castiel asked, watching as Sam started typing away on the laptop. "If he doesn't want to be found, he wouldn't have used a credit card anywhere, right?"

"It's a fairly small town off the main road." Sam continued. "Probably only has one gas station and a motel or two." There was a moment of silence as the young hunter studied the small screen in front of him. "There, can you take us there?" He asked as he turned the screen so Castiel could have a look at the address he'd pulled from a map. "It's the only gas station in town and if Dean drove three hours to get out there, then there's no doubt in my mind he stopped to gas up once he got there."

Castiel gave him a nod as he reached out to place a hand on the young hunter's shoulder, feeling everything from the anxiety to the guilt that was coursing through his body. In a fraction of a second, the pair found themselves standing by the side of the road next to a deserted gas bar. "He's been here." The angel declared, taking a quick glance around. "Hours ago."

"Good, come on." Sam said as he made his way towards the small attached convenience store, the angel following close by. The bell above the door rang as they entered and the tall man behind the counter looked over.

"Can I help you with anything?" He asked, eyeing the pair as they made their way over.

"We're actually looking for someone." Sam started as he flashed a fake badge. "Have you seen a 30 something year old, James Dean sort of guy, little shorter than I am. He was driving a black 1967 Impala?"

"Yeah I saw him." The man replied with a nod. "He gassed up early this morning, asked if there was a motel nearby so I pointed him to the 'Valley In' downtown."

"Ok thanks alot." Sam said with a smile. He glanced at his watch as they headed out of the store, it was now  just past four in the afternoon and  Dean had been missing for close to twenty hours. The pair turned the corner and Castiel took a quick glance around before reaching out to put a hand on Sam's shoulder, moving them from the gas bar on the edge of town to a cheap motel down the main stretch. "This place is a dive." The young hunter remarked as they quickly made their way over, hoping to catch up with Dean before he got himself in too deep.

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