“You’re sure this is going to work?” Brian stared them down, his expression half-believing. Sam couldn’t blame him for not being sold on the idea. After all, they had let him and Baylee down before and nearly gotten Baylee killed in the process.
Dean straightened from where he leaned against the kitchen counter. “Yeah. We’re sure.” He held open his jacket, so Brian could see what was inside. “See these? The second that spirit shows up, we’re gonna destroy it.”
“That’s what you said last time. And don’t go showing off your big guns, buddy, they didn’t help anyone last time,” Brian shot back. “How do I know that it’s going to work one hundred percent?”
Sam tapped his neck and gestured towards Brian. “What are you wearing around your neck?”
Brian frowned then slipped his necklace out from under the collar of his shirt. The diamond-encrusted cross dangled on its end. “This? What’s this got anything to do with saving Baylee?”
“You believe in God, don’t you? You put a lot of faith into what He can do.”
“Of course. It’s only through Him that you’ll destroy this evil spirit because He’s going to help you.”
Sam tried not to roll his eyes and just nodded. “Right. Well, you believe in God, a being you can’t see but know does big things for you. You just have to have faith in us, too. We know what we’re doing. We’re going to work this the way we did a past case. It should work.”
“There’s a point nothing percent possibility it won’t work,” Dean added quickly when Brian’s mouth opened. “That means we’re gonna get this son of a—hmm. We’ll get it,” he finished when Baylee skipped into the room, and Brian glared at Dean.
Brian muttered under his breath as he watched Baylee pull a juice box out of the pantry. He seemed to be debating it over with himself, and, with one final glance in Baylee’s direction, he sighed. “Okay. Okay, we’ll do this your way. Are you sure holy water won’t just work?”
Sam patted his pocket. “I’ve got some just in case, but this isn’t a demon. Holy water only works on demons or those possessed by demons.”
“Okay.” Brian placed a hand on Baylee’s shoulder and smiled back when Baylee grinned up at him, purple juice staining his lips and teeth. “Why don’t you go brush your teeth, Bay? Then, we’re going to go on a special mission to chase away the monster.”
“Really?” Baylee’s eyes opened wide as he stared from his father’s face to Dean then Sam. There was a shadow of worry in his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“We don’t have to,” Brian told him, kneeling until he was eye level with his son. “Baylee, we can do this whenever you’re ready.”
Sam stepped forward and crouched next to Brian. Carefully, he rested one hand on Baylee’s shoulder. “Baylee, if we don’t do this soon, the monster will keep coming back. If we try our best and just do what we have to do, we can make it go away.”
“Forever?”
Sam’s grip tightened before his hand fell away and he nodded. “Yes. Forever.”
His eyes full of trust, Baylee bit his lip nervously. “Okay. Okay, we can do the mission, but is it okay if I’m scared? ‘Cause I’m scared. A lot.”
“It’s perfectly fine.” Dean had to hand it to Baylee. The kid was tough. “If you weren’t scared, you’d be like Superman or something. Even I’m scared.”
Baylee’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Sure. I’m scared because if Sam and I don’t get this monster for you, then something might happen to you or your dad. That’s what I’m scared of.” Dean held out his hand. “So, if you’re scared, I’m scared. How’s that?”
Baylee looked from Dean’s outstretched hand to his face. Then, he placed his tiny hand into Dean’s larger one. “Deal. Let’s go get that monster.”
***
Baylee scurried around the den. Dropping his crayons and not bothering to pick them up, he kept moving. Four feet from the television, he knelt on the floor for a moment before he was up and hurrying around again. Though he was as nervous as a cat, he didn’t let it show. He knew how important it was that he did everything exactly the way Sam and Dean had explained it to him.
When he stopped in the middle of the room, arms on hips, he studied the den and, seeing that it was the way he wanted it, he grabbed the remote and flipped on the television. Settling down on the rug, he cheered up when he saw that Dora the Explorer was about to finish and Go, Diego, Go was on next. He always told his dad that he liked Diego because Diego was a boy and did lots of cool things, but, if he were really honest, he liked Dora more. So what if she was a girl? She was still pretty cool.
“Focus, Baylee.” Brian’s voice came from the doorway, and Baylee whipped around to see Brian’s head peering around the side of the door. “Go.”
Baylee nodded. Taking a deep breath, he told himself to forget about Dora and Diego. In his mind’s eye, he saw Boots and kicked him into the back of his mind. Conjuring up the right image, he held himself very still and, putting his hands over his face, he peeked through his fingers as he kept concentrating on his mental image.
Sam and Dean quietly slipped into the room and stood still in opposite corners of the room. Their watchful eyes shifted between Baylee and the television. Slowly, ever so slowly, a breeze began to flow through the room. It fluttered the curtains and the hair that Sam had let grow a little too long over his eyes.
After a few moments, the television went to static, and Baylee froze in place. No matter what his dad, Sam, and Dean had said about how safe he would be, he was still terrified.
The air in front of the TV seemed to shimmer then shifted to a static image in the shape of a girl. It flickered and faltered for a few seconds before it took on solid shape. The girl’s hair was long, dark, and bedraggled. It hung limply down her back and fell in clumps over her face, covering her eyes. Her head was bent, and her dirty, torn gray dress dripped water on the floor. Slowly, her hands stretched out in front of her. Her fingers were tipped with razor-sharp nails in a deadened black shade.
When she began to move, Baylee scrambled backwards and found himself with his back against the couch. There was nowhere to go, and he began to whimper in fear.
“Come on, Bay.” Brian stood in the doorway, now, twisting his hands together. His knuckles were white with fear as it looked increasingly as though his son was about to be hacked to bits.
At the sound of Brian’s voice, Baylee’s whimpering stopped. His eyes focused on the floor near Samara’s feet, and, though it was hard, he began to giggle. They were nervous giggles at first, a bit hesitant. Then, they became stronger, and Samara slowly lifted her head as though to see what it was that was so funny.
And then she slipped and fell.
Baylee howled with laughter as the banana peel he’d left on the floor slid towards him. He didn’t cringe when, in an instant, Samara was up on her feet and moved towards him again. This time, Sam noticed that, when her hands stretched out, her nails were dulled and no longer sharp.
“Okay, Baylee. Part one down, focus on part two now,” he murmured and slipped his rock salt filled gun out of its holster.
Baylee struggled with his laughter but managed to settle a bit and stared down Samara. “You’re not scary,” he told her simply. “You’re just a fidgeman of my imagination.”
“Close enough,” Dean muttered and moved into place behind Samara.
Samara used one hand to carefully lift the hair out of her eyes. The sounds emitting from her throat were incoherent and garbled.
Baylee just shrugged. “You remind me of Uncle Nick’s ugly old girlfriend, Paris. She was dumb. I don’t remember her, but Daddy says she has the mind of a peanut. That’s what you have, S’mara. The mind of a peanut.” His hand brushed across the floor in a seemingly absent gesture.
Dean lifted his hand, and the blade caught the light and gleamed. In seconds, Samara slipped on the crayon Baylee had rolled under her foot and flew backwards. Dean’s hand slashed downwards and, in an instant, there was a head rolling on the floor. Sam lifted his gun and shot the head and its accompanying corpse.
As all four men watched, Samara’s body disintegrated until all that was left was a pile of dirty rags, a banana peel, and a red crayon.
“Is that it?” Brian stared, a little dumbfounded, at what he’d just witnessed. “Is she, or the spirit or whatever, gone?”
Dean nudged the rags with the toe of his boot. “Yeah, she’s gone.”
“I did good, right?” Baylee bounced in place. “I helped just the way I was supposed to, right?”
Sam grinned and held up a hand. “You did way good. You’re the bravest kid I’ve met.”
Baylee slapped Sam’s hand and grinned at the three adults. “There’s no more monster! You guys made the monster leave! You’re the bestest! I love you, guys!”
And then, in a move Sam and Dean least expected, they each found themselves with an armful of four year old. They exchanged baffled glances as each patted Baylee. When he stood next to Brian, grinning again, Sam and Dean looked up at Brian. His smile was brilliant, too, and there were tears glistening in his eyes.
Uncomfortable for the first time in a while when confronted with gratitude, they simply shrugged. “You’re welcome,” Sam finally said.
Note from me: Okay, I admit, it wasn't as amazing a way to kill off the monster as I'd originally planned, but I hope it's not too shabby. There's one more chapter, so hang on!
Author's Chapter Notes:
Whoo-hoo! New chapter, finally! I hope you all enjoy this one...the end is near...
