Supernatural - Chapter 2: At Bobby's House (Patreon)

“Oh my God!”

Murphy had barely stepped into the bathroom when Sam heard her shriek.

“What happened?”

Thinking she might have seen something an ordinary person was never meant to see, Sam hurriedly opened the door without giving it another thought.

Murphy was standing motionless before the mirror, looking horrified. “Wait. I've been talking to you guys looking like this?”

In the mirror, her white foundation had worn off in patches, exposing her natural skin tone. Her black eyeshadow and eyeliner were a smudged mess, and the tears she'd shed from sheer exhaustion had streaked mascara across her face. Most of her black lipstick had vanished at some point too.

She really did look like a ghost. It was a miracle Sam and Bobby hadn't tried to exorcise her.

Murphy grumbled to herself.

“Pretty much,” Sam admitted with a helpless look. “As long as nothing's wrong. I'll shut the door so you can finish washing up.”

He pulled the door closed, then abruptly opened it again. “Uh, you should probably lock it. You know, in case you want some privacy.” He sounded a little embarrassed.

Murphy shrugged, grabbed the soap nearby, and started taking off her makeup. Meanwhile, she tried to decide what she could and couldn't reveal when the inevitable questions began.

...

When Murphy finally emerged from the bathroom, she found the three men gathered around a table, talking over a map.

“...All of them are concentrated around here, except for one place in southern Wyoming.” Bobby traced a circle on the map with his finger.

“Wyoming?” Dean repeated.

“Yeah. That area's completely clear. Not a single unusual incident.” Bobby frowned in thought. “Almost like...”

“Like what?” Sam asked.

“Like the demons are surrounding it.” Bobby looked grim.

“What are you guys talking about?” Murphy had heard enough to realize they hadn't noticed her, so she finally spoke up.

“Nothing.” Dean straightened, looking surprised to find her face clean at last. “Come into the kitchen. We've got some food and water for you.”

“Sam,” Bobby said, stopping Sam as he instinctively moved to follow. “I'm getting old, and these papers are making my eyes go blurry. Mind giving me a hand? Maybe you'll catch something I missed.”

Sam was still thinking about the demons' activity. He agreed without giving the request much thought.

Bobby went into the kitchen too. Murphy was already wolfing down a sandwich. She was so hungry she could barely think. She hadn't even bothered with the cutlery, just stuffing one bite after another into her mouth.

Dean exchanged a glance with Bobby as the older man came in. Bobby poured a glass of water and offered it to her.

Murphy put the last bite in her mouth and chewed slowly, amused by how obvious the two men's little scheme was. With Sam out of the room, she saw no reason to keep pretending.

“Holy water, right?” She took the glass, washed down her food, and drained every drop.

“...How did you know?” Dean and Bobby both stared at her, their expressions turning serious.

“I know this cutlery's solid silver, too.” She picked up the knife and fork she'd ignored earlier and held them up. “But I'm not particularly keen on hurting myself. If you want to test me, could you just make a tiny cut on the back of my hand?”

Dean took the knife hesitantly and drew it lightly across the hand she held out.

“Ow.” It stung, but Murphy kept her hand where it was so they could see there was no burn.

“So you really are just human?” Dean handed her a Band-Aid, still plainly unconvinced. Bobby watched in silence.

“Didn't that demon last night already tell you?” Murphy made no attempt to hide what she knew from Dean. “Yes, I've figured out she was a demon.”

“How the hell do you know so much?” Dean asked, trying to look stern while avoiding another furious glare from Bobby.

“What exactly did you do, you idiot?” Bobby demanded through clenched teeth, keeping his voice low. “What did you do?”

“Would you two like some privacy before I explain?” Murphy offered.

“No!” “No!”

The answer came in perfect unison.

“Fine.” Murphy shrugged and delivered the story she'd prepared. “I already told Sam and Dean that I'm from 2026. What I left out is that I'm a hunter too. Back where I came from, I mostly worked in a support role, so I've got access to a lot of information.”

Dean tried to restrain himself but couldn't. “What kind of hunter dresses like that? And are you even old enough to be an adult?”

Murphy glanced down at her long, lace-trimmed dress, still arranged in layers around her. She laughed awkwardly. “It's a hobby, okay? And of course I'm an adult! I graduated from college three years ago and have been working ever since. I'm twenty-six!”

“You?” “You?”

Once again, both men spoke together.

Dean and Bobby traded glances, and Dean was the first to look away.

“A hunter who traveled here from the future, huh? Wow. Happens all the time.” Bobby's sarcasm was unmistakable. “So how'd you manage that?”

Murphy sighed. “I honestly don't know. I'd love an explanation myself. I already told Dean what happened. One second I was standing in my house. The next I was beside him and that demon, watching them make out.”

“Hey!” Dean protested, stunned she'd just blurted that out.

Bobby went silent for a moment before turning to Dean and speaking through gritted teeth. “You actually did it. You traded your soul to bring Sam back, didn't you? How much time have you got left?”

“Bobby...” Dean looked at him pleadingly.

“How many years?” Bobby pressed, his voice hardening.

Dean closed his eyes for a moment. “One year,” he answered faintly.

“Damn it, Dean!” Bobby looked as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

In the living room, Sam was still absorbed in the documents. Bobby's curse had been too loud to miss, though, and he began wondering what the other three were doing in the kitchen.

“That's why we need to find that yellow-eyed bastard, and fast. I'm going to kill him myself. It's not like I've got anything left to lose.” Dean looked at Bobby with a mixture of sorrow and determination.

“You!” Bobby seized him by the collar. “What is it with you Winchesters? You...”

“Uh... Sam's coming.” Murphy spoke up weakly. She had no desire to get tangled up in what felt like a father-son argument, but she'd spotted Sam heading for the kitchen out of the corner of her eye.

Bobby released Dean at once and gave his shirt a few awkward pats, as if that would disguise what had happened.

“What's going on?” Sam asked, leaning in the kitchen doorway.

“They thought I was a demon,” Murphy jumped in, trying to cover for them. “They tested me and found out I wasn't, so now they're disappointed.”

“What? Seriously?” Sam looked doubtful. The atmosphere suggested a fight between Dean and Bobby, not disappointment over a test.

“Yep. They were arguing about what kind of thing I am. But I'm not some thing. I'm just a normal person.” Murphy shrugged as if it were no big deal.

Dean and Bobby gradually managed to get their expressions under control. Bobby stayed silent while Dean did his best to look innocent. “Right. I mean, someone claiming she came from 2026 sounds pretty crazy, doesn't it?”

“All right, I'll prove it to you. Lucky for you, I've got an annoyingly good memory. You were just saying that southern Wyoming was clear, right? Well, I...”

Bang, bang, bang!

Someone was knocking at Bobby's door again.

Everyone except Murphy immediately went on alert.

Murphy mentally reviewed what she remembered. Her presence had already nudged the story a little off course, but she had a pretty good idea who was at the door.

“Who is it?” Bobby opened up. Ellen, whom they'd believed had died in the roadhouse fire, stumbled forward and collapsed into his arms.

The instant she saw Ellen, Murphy silently formed her name with her lips. Sam, who'd been keeping an eye on her, barely caught the movement and almost thought he'd imagined it. But he had more urgent things to worry about.

“Ellen?” Dean and Sam stared at her in disbelief. “Oh my God!”

Ellen said nothing. Her face was full of grief as she embraced them.

“Get inside!” Bobby ushered everyone in and shut the door again.

...

Bobby poured a glass of water and pushed it across the table to Ellen, gesturing for her to drink.

“Is this really necessary?” Ellen had calmed down, but she looked exasperated. With everyone watching her so intently, she drank the entire glass of holy water without hesitation.

Ha! Classic!

Murphy made herself inconspicuous again, simply watching from the sidelines. She could hardly contain her excitement. It felt like she was finally accepting that she'd entered another world and slowly becoming part of it.

“Can I have some whiskey now? I'd much rather drink that, thanks.” Ellen set the empty glass down and pushed it back toward Bobby.

While Bobby poured her a drink, Dean and Ellen discussed how she'd escaped the fire. Ash's safe came up as well.

Ellen grew more somber as she spoke. She felt she should have died alongside everyone else in the roadhouse. Dean's expression darkened too, his mind apparently somewhere else.

“You mentioned a safe. What was inside?” Bobby asked.

Instead of answering, Ellen turned toward Murphy, who'd been quietly observing them for quite some time. “Who's she?”

All eyes shifted to Murphy. Neither brother nor Bobby seemed inclined to introduce her.

“Ah, got it. I'm not welcome for the next part of the conversation, am I?” Murphy took the hint and started toward another room. “Want a friendly tip before I go?”

“Let's hear it,” Bobby said shortly.

“The cemetery. And the Devil's Gate.” Murphy was suddenly irritated. She'd had enough of being treated like a threat and didn't feel like explaining further. She turned and walked away.

While the others silently considered her words, Murphy poked her head back into the room. “Oh, and Ellen? I'm Murphy. Nice to meet you.”

She smiled at Ellen, looking unexpectedly sweet with her freshly washed, fair face, and disappeared again.

Dean instinctively started after Murphy to ask what she'd meant, but Sam stopped him.

“Ellen's situation is more important right now. Let's finish discussing it. I'll talk to Murphy afterward.”

“Good point. I'll leave it to you, my gentlemanly nerd.” Dean patted Sam on the shoulder twice. He was worried Murphy might reveal the deal he'd made to bring Sam back, but finding out more about the yellow-eyed demon mattered even more at the moment.

The others picked up where they'd left off.

Ellen brought out the map that had been kept in the safe. Bobby hauled out a thick book, and together they began to realize something was very wrong.

“My God.” Dean was impressed by Colt's genius.

“A devil's trap a hundred square miles across,” Sam said in admiration.

“What's inside that needs protecting on that scale?” Ellen asked.

“No idea, but I found something right in the center...” Dean hesitated.

“What?”

“An old cowboy cemetery.” Dean was clearly remembering Murphy's parting words.

“And the Devil's Gate?” Bobby asked, growing more uneasy by the moment.

“Could be. Maybe Colt wasn't trying to keep demons out. Maybe he was trying to keep something in.” Sam was suddenly more interested than ever in what else Murphy knew.

All four fell quiet, turning over what they'd just discovered.

“How does she know any of this?” Bobby asked, baffled by how strange it all was.

“I've asked her that enough times already. I'd like to know myself.” The more Dean thought about it, the more unfathomable Murphy seemed, and the more dangerous.

“I'll go talk to her.” Sam got up to look for Murphy, who'd wandered off somewhere.

...

Sam eventually found Murphy in Bobby's backyard, staring blankly at the Band-Aid on the back of her hand.

“Hey.” He sat beside her, doing his best to appear friendly.

“Hey. You guys finished talking?” Murphy glanced at him, her thoughts in turmoil. Her mind felt like a computer running at full speed, with information pouring through it faster than she could make sense of it.

One moment she felt exhausted. The next she remembered she was in the world of Supernatural, a show she'd loved for years. Shouldn't she be thrilled? Yet almost immediately, that excitement gave way to bewilderment.

“Yeah, we're done. How about you? Want to talk?” Sam studied the dark-haired woman beside him. There was something mysterious about her, but he didn't sense any danger.

“I don't know what to say. Is there anything you'd like to ask?” Murphy looked away toward the distance.

“Why do I feel like you know everything? Before any of us had even seen Ellen, I noticed you say her name. And what you said about the cemetery and the Devil's Gate. Was all that true?” Sam asked everything that had been bothering him.

“I guess you could say I know just about everything. I already explained why to Dean and Bobby. You can ask them. And everything else I told you is true. Whether you believe me is up to you.” Murphy stared into the distance as though the shapes of the clouds had suddenly become fascinating.

“I believe you. I just want to know what else you know,” Sam pressed.

“What else do I know?” Murphy echoed with a sudden smile.

She turned back to him. “Do you know what you're asking me? It's like telling me to pick any word or sentence at random from a family Bible. Sure, I could do it. But what would be the point?”

Sam held Murphy's gaze, trying to work out what she meant.

“What about me? Do you know anything about me?” he asked, hoping that giving her a specific subject would make things easier.

Murphy fell silent.