Chapter 40 : You're Dead

by

     I pushed my back against the wall, listening to the crunching of the snow behind the cabin. I glanced over at Dean, his eyes trained on the machete tight between his fingers. He had no idea what he had been getting himself into, and I felt terrible for being the one to do this to him - but Dean was nothing if not brave, and other than Jonah, he was the only person I trusted completely to have my back. 

     "Ready," I mouthed, knowing the creature knew we were there. 

     Dean took a deep breath but nodded, and I reached down, taking his free hand in mine - squeezing it gently before dropping it to the side and rounding the edge of the cabin. It was dark enough to hide them towards the shed along the treeline, but there was just enough light flooding through the window above the sink to bring my chest into a frenzy. 

      It wasn't another vampire. 

      It wasn't Sam finally making his way up from the motel Dean had left him in. 

      It was the little blond bitch that I thought I had left dead on the side of the road in Chicago. 

     "Meg? What the hell?"          "Sorry," she muttered, finally spinning around. Her leather boots dug into the snow as she took a step forward, and I felt Dean's hands on my arm as he gently tugged me back. I couldn't move, though, let alone let him stand in front of me when this was my battle. "I would have knocked, but I figured I would let you have a few more minutes with your boyfriend. Especially with what I'm about to do to him."

      "Dean, you need - you need to go," I told him, my voice low and shaky as I pulled from his grip and blindly tried to push him back. He held my hand tightly as we stumbled back through the snow but held me close to his side, as her lips curled up into a sadistic smile. 

     "No, Dean, stay," she insisted. "You're gonna wanna see this."

      "You're dead," he spat at her. "We killed you."

      Meg looked heartbroken for all of a minute before she began to laugh and turned to me. "You really should have given your guard dog the rundown on demons, Andrea." Meg pulled a small blade out from behind her, my heart sinking as the familiar hilt glistened in the palm of her hand. "Do you really think a seven-story drop would be enough to kill me? Little Meg Masters, yeah? But me? There's only one way to kill a demon, and if the rumors are correct, you haven't found it yet."

     "Found what?"

     "Pretending to play dumb Andrea is only gonna make me mad."

     "Well then, if you know we don't have it, then why are you here?" 

     "Because the party's over," she said, her voice dropping dangerously. "My father would like to see you now."  

      My chest had fallen into the pit of my stomach. I didn't know what I was thinking when I thought I could go after the colt without him finding out. If it were the one thing that could kill him, of course, he would know about it, and of course, he would have left me alive long enough to find it for him. Why would he waste time tracking it down when he had someone desperate enough to do it for him. 

     And now he knew. He knew it was real. He knew I had found it. All he had to do was take down the nest and call it a day, and if I was lucky enough - end the decade of torture he had put me through. 

     I just couldn't let him end Dean as well. 

     "Are you going to make me do this the hard way?" Meg asked, twirling the small knife between her cold, bony fingers. Her dead eyes bounced back and forth between us, and despite everything my heart told me to do, I pulled out of Dean's grip. 

      "What the hell are you doing?" 

      I couldn't look him in the eye, but the anger in his voice as he demanded an answer pulled at my gaze. The cold air had nipped away at the tip of his nose, leaving it as reddened as his cheeks, and his green eyes were brimming with fear. "I'm sorry," I muttered.

      "Wait. Wait. Wait. You're not actually gonna go with her?"

      "Dean - "

      "She doesn't have a choice Dean," Meg butted in. "She's -"

      Dean held his machete up at her and snapped. "You shut your god damn mouth! She's not going anywhere with you!" 

      Meg laughed, but without hesitation, she whipped her hand towards Dean, and the machete flew from his hand to hers. "What are ya gonna do, Dean?" She chuckled. "I mean, honestly - what are you even capable of doing?"

      "He's not going to do anything," I told her, earning a crazed look from the next to me. "Dean."

       He shook his head. "No. No fucking way! You can't go with her." 

       "I have to," I muttered, his hands cupping my cheeks, forcing me to look at him. 

       His eyes searched my face. "Andi, she will kill you."

       "No," Meg piped up, earning our attention. "But I will kill you. Unless she comes quietly."

       "You're not going to touch him." 

       "You don't think so?" 

       I ignored her and grabbed Dean's wrists tightly. His hands were cold against my cheeks, and his thumb brushed the wetness that I hadn't even realized fell from my eyes.  "I have to go," I told him. "You have to let me go."

       His head dropped, and he muttered under his breath, but nothing that I could hear even only inches away from him. Neither of us had some this coming, at least not so soon - and I found myself wishing I had everything I needed on me right then and there to take the blond hair bitch out for good. But we weren't prepared for this. 

       Meg was too strong, and we had nothing to fight back with other than the fear of losing each other. But even that wouldn't have been enough. It wasn't for Jonah or the child I never had, so I knew it wouldn't have been for Dean. Not when there was a slight chance that Dean would walk away with nothing more than a bit of frostbite and hell of a lot of rages. 

        "Dean, listen -"

        "No!" He snapped, stepping back. "It's like you have a dog damn death wish. I'm not letting you do this." 

        I took a deep breath and finally looked up at him. "I'm not asking for your permission, Dean. I'm telling you what I'm doing." He ran his hands over his face, and I stepped forward, pulling at them, forcing him to look at me. "This is how we win, Dean," I told him softly, hoping meg couldn't hear me. 

       "No, this is how I lose you," he muttered back. "Again!" 

        Meg lit up in a fit of giggles. "Oh Dean, you can't lose what you never had." She told him, finally fed up with the lack of raging adrenaline, and stepped towards. "Now, kiss her goodbye and scurry off before I decide you truly are as worthless as you seem." 

       "Why aren't you fighting this?" He asked me, his jaw tensing. "We can take her." 

       I gave him a small smile but shook my head. "No, Dean, we can't. I didn't hold up my end of the deal," I said, biting down on my lip to keep it from trembling. "If we try to fight her, she will kill you, and I already told you I can't lose anybody else that I love."