Supernatural - Chapter 11: No Turning Back (Patreon)

Early the next morning, the three of them split up again.

Dean continued keeping an eye on Lisa and Ben, while Sam and Murphy followed the list they'd compiled the night before to investigate unfinished buildings owned by a Cicero real estate company.

Knowing the changelings' nest was connected to red clay saved them the trouble of visiting every victim's home and searching for common clues.

The difficult part was that the same company had more than a dozen building projects near Morning Hill. Half-finished, unoccupied houses were scattered all around the neighborhood, and the construction records didn't necessarily reflect what was actually happening on-site.

Sam handled conversations with the local planning office and construction companies, while Murphy dug through the developer's project files at the public library.

By the end of the morning, they'd narrowed their search to three construction areas north of Morning Hill. Then they drove out to inspect them one by one.

...

The next time Dean saw Ben, the boy was sitting alone on a park bench, holding an empty game console box.

A group of older boys stood nearby. One was showing off Ben's console to the others.

Dean walked over and sat beside him.

“What's wrong?”

Ben glanced at him and recognized the man from yesterday's birthday party. “Ryan said he wanted to borrow my game for a minute, and now he won't give it back.”

“Then why don't you take it back?”

“He's bigger than me.”

“So?” Dean shrugged as if that made no difference.

Ben frowned, apparently convinced he'd been asked a stupid question. “I can't beat him in a fight.”

Dean followed Ben's gaze to the boy who was visibly bigger than him, then gave Ben an assessing look. A peculiar smile tugged at his lips. “Who says you have to beat him in a fair fight?”

Ben looked puzzled.

Dean leaned close and whispered a few words in his ear.

The suspicion on Ben's face gradually gave way to eager anticipation. He rose from the bench and approached the boys, glancing back at Dean halfway there.

Dean gave him an encouraging gesture.

Ben stopped in front of Ryan and politely asked for his console back.

Ryan didn't return it. Instead, he deliberately held it up where Ben couldn't reach, drawing laughter from the other boys.

Ben turned as if he were giving up and walking away. The moment Ryan relaxed, Ben spun around and kicked him squarely between the legs.

Ryan let out an agonized scream, clutched himself, and dropped to his knees.

Ben snatched back his console and raced toward Dean, unable to hide his excitement.

“I did it!”

Dean grinned with satisfaction. “Nice work.”

“Benjamin Isaac Braeden!”

Lisa's furious voice rang out behind them.

Dean's smile froze.

Lisa hurried over, glanced at Ryan doubled over on the ground, then turned to Ben beside Dean.

“What did you just do?”

“He took my game.”

“So you kicked him?”

Lisa caught Dean's unmistakably guilty expression and immediately put the pieces together. “Did you teach him that?”

“I just gave him some advice on dealing with bullies.”

“You told an eight-year-old to kick somebody in the...”

Remembering that Ben was right beside her, Lisa forced herself to swallow the rest of the sentence.

“What is wrong with you?”

Dean's smile disappeared.

He wanted to point out that Ryan had stolen Ben's property first, and that Ben needed to know how to defend himself. But the anger in Lisa's eyes suddenly reminded him of what Murphy had said the day before.

He knew next to nothing about Lisa and Ben's daily life. Yet after just two days here, he was already influencing the boy according to his own habits.

“I'm sorry,” Dean said.

Lisa blinked. She clearly hadn't expected him to apologize so readily.

Dean looked down at Ben. “Listen to your mom. Next time, tell a teacher or find another grown-up to help.”

Ben looked disappointed. “But I got it back.”

“Yeah, you did. But your mom's right. I shouldn't have taught you that.”

Lisa's expression softened a little.

She sent Ben to wait a short distance away, then folded her arms and faced Dean. “Why did you really show up here out of the blue?”

“I told you yesterday. I saw the news and figured I'd stop by while I was in the area.” Dean scratched his head and stuck to his original excuse.

“Dean, you disappeared for nine years. Then you suddenly showed up at my son's birthday party, and today you're at the park teaching him to fight.” Lisa fixed him with a stare. “And the way you look at Ben is strange.”

Dean glanced away, feeling guilty. “I just think he's a pretty cool kid.”

“He is,” Lisa agreed. “But yesterday, did you think he might be yours?”

Dean nearly choked on his own saliva. “No.”

Lisa said nothing.

“Okay, I wondered for a second,” Dean admitted. “But I know the answer now.”

“Who told you?”

“Miss Cleo.”

Lisa looked even more confused, and a little suspicious. “You call those psychic hotlines on TV now?”

Dean didn't explain. He stayed quiet for a moment, and his usual grin faded.

“Some things have happened lately, so...”

“Is it serious?” Lisa's concern was immediate when she realized he wasn't joking.

Dean offered no details. He merely glanced toward Ben, who was examining his recovered console for damage.

“Maybe that's why I felt like coming back. I wanted to see how you were doing. And maybe find out whether I'd left something behind somewhere.”

Something shifted in Lisa's eyes. A wistful smile appeared. “Dean, I really did like you back then.”

Dean turned toward her.

“Those few days were crazy, and they were fun,” Lisa said with a slight smile. “For a while afterward, I even wondered whether you'd come back.”

“I didn't know.” Dean truly hadn't. Back then, he hadn't even known whether he'd survive the next day.

“I know,” Lisa said. “That's why I moved on with my life. I had Ben, moved here, made new friends. It's been years. We're not the same people we were.”

Dean listened in silence.

Murphy had told him yesterday not to pull Lisa back into his life without telling her what she was getting into, just because he wanted to see her again.

Lisa had her own home, a job, friends, and a child who depended on her.

Dean, meanwhile, had less than a year left.

If his contract really couldn't be broken, he had no right to barge into her life during his remaining months, raise her hopes again, and then vanish without warning.

“You're right,” Dean said.

Lisa looked faintly surprised.

“I won't drop by out of nowhere again.” His mouth twisted into a rueful smile. “Especially not to teach Ben how to fight.”

“That's probably for the best.” Lisa could tell he was talking nonsense again with that last remark.

“But let me give you a number.” Dean remembered the case unfolding nearby and decided a little preparation couldn't hurt.

Lisa, who had just started to relax, immediately looked wary again.

“Don't get the wrong idea.” Dean pulled out a pen and wrote his cell phone number and Bobby's landline number on a piece of paper. “If anything strange happens, call me.”

“What kind of strange?”

“Accidents nobody can explain, weird people, noises in the middle of the night, suddenly smelling sulfur. Stuff like that. You'll know if it happens, though I really hope it never does.”

Lisa stared at the numbers, her expression growing stranger. “Are you putting a curse on us?”

“Of course not.” Dean was perfectly serious. “It's just a precaution. If you can't reach me, try the other number. Tell whoever answers that you know Dean Winchester. He'll help you.”

Lisa looked at the scrap of paper for a while before putting it away. Her confusion hadn't gone anywhere. “What exactly is your job?”

Dean doubted he could explain it in a few words. “You know, dealing with strange stuff. Saving people, hunting things. Family business.”

Lisa plainly had more questions, but Ben had come running back over.

Dean didn't linger. He patted Ben on the shoulder, then wisely pulled his hand away before Lisa could get angry again.

“Listen to your mom.”

“What if somebody steals my stuff again?”

“Find a grown-up first.”

Ben was clearly unimpressed with the answer.

Dean lowered his voice. “If there's absolutely no other way, then kick. Just don't tell your mom I said that.”

“Dean,” Lisa warned.

“Okay, okay.” Dean immediately took a step back. “I'm going.”

He turned toward the black Impala parked beside the road.

As he left the park, Dean looked back at mother and son one last time.

Ben was playing with his console again, while Lisa stood beside him, clearly still lecturing him about what he'd done. They looked no different from any other family in the neighborhood.

And that was precisely the sort of thing Dean was supposed to protect.

...

Sam and Murphy found red clay near the second construction site they inspected.

It stood very close to Morning Hill. Several houses already had their basic frames in place, but the exterior walls, doors, and windows were unfinished. The developer had furnished one house as a model home, while the others were temporarily deserted by the construction crews.

Most of the soil around the buildings was grayish. Only near the house farthest into the site could they find patches of dark-red clay.

It was caught around the underground vents, window frames, and rear door, matching the traces left at the victims' homes exactly.

Behind the house, tire tracks showed that vehicles had passed through repeatedly. The ruts led directly to a door opening into the basement.

Murphy and Sam circled the house to examine it, but didn't rush inside. They were nearly certain they'd found the nest. The trouble was that there would be more than a few creatures disguised as children waiting for them.

Their mother was hiding there too.

The real children should still be alive. The mother needed to feed on them over time, and recklessly setting the place on fire could hurt the captives along with the monsters.

They waited nearby until Dean returned and told him everything they'd found.

“You two work fast,” Dean said, plainly surprised.

“That's what happens when a mother and son work together!” Murphy practically puffed up at the compliment. She couldn't resist claiming seniority over Sam, without realizing she'd managed to insult someone else in the process, too.

“Ow!” Sam gave her a sharp elbow in the side. When she saw both brothers staring at her, Murphy offered a guilty little laugh. “Ha ha. Sorry. Ha ha.”

Then she went completely still, like a robot whose power had been cut, and pretended to be nothing more than a post standing there.

Dean and Sam rolled their eyes together. Apparently, the more comfortable Murphy got around people, the more annoying she became.

They wasted no more time talking. The three climbed through a window and began searching the building as quietly as possible.

Murphy had prepared two compact fuel-powered flame torches so they wouldn't have to scramble for something to light once they were in the nest. The flames would be steadier than those from an improvised burning stick, and easier to direct.

She had insisted on bringing a small fire extinguisher, too.

There were children inside. Killing the monster wouldn't be much of a victory if they burned the entire building down around them.

The moment they entered, they caught a damp smell of earth mixed with decay.

The upper floors showed no signs of habitation, but fresh red clay was smeared around the basement door lock. The farther they went down, the stronger the rancid smell became, until they could make out the faint clinking of chains.

Sam found the imprisoned children first.

Rough iron cages stood at the far end of the basement, several children locked in each one. Most were weak and pale, with marks around their wrists and along their necks from prolonged feeding.

Dean swept his flashlight across the cages. The beam stopped abruptly on a familiar face.

Ben was in there.

“What?!” Dean nearly bit his tongue in surprise. He'd seen Ben only that morning!

“Dean.” Ben recognized him too. His face was dirty, his jacket torn, but he seemed to be alert.

“How did you get here?”

“A woman said Mom wanted me to go with her.” Ben was trying hard to sound calm, but his voice wouldn't stop shaking. “Then I woke up here.”

“It's okay. I'm getting you out.”

Dean took out his tools and started working on the cage's lock.

At that moment, his cell phone rang.

The sudden noise echoed through the basement. Several children flinched at once, and even Sam and Murphy, busy opening the other cages, jumped.

“Can't you put that thing on silent?” Murphy hissed through clenched teeth.

Dean gave them an apologetic look. Then he checked the screen and saw Lisa's number.

He answered immediately and lowered his voice. “Lisa?”

Sam and Murphy glanced over. Ben perked up as well.

“Dean.” Lisa was deliberately speaking in a whisper. “There's something wrong with Ben.”

Dean's hands stopped moving. He looked at the real Ben in front of him, his feelings suddenly complicated, but he asked, “What's he doing?”

Lisa sounded frightened. “He was asleep, and then suddenly he was downstairs again. He keeps staring at me and asking me to play with him.”

Not long ago, someone who looked like Ben had come home alone. His appearance, voice, and memories were all right, but his behavior seemed completely unfamiliar to Lisa.

Instead of turning on the television or hunting for a snack the way he usually did, he had sat silently in the living room, staring at her for an unnaturally long time.

Dean looked through the bars at the real Ben and said, “The thing in front of you isn't Ben. Lock your door right now. Stay away from it for the moment, and don't let it know you've noticed anything wrong.”

“Keep something you can use as a weapon nearby, if you can. The real Ben is with me. I'll bring him home soon.”

Lisa obviously had a thousand questions, but there was no time for answers.

After ending the call, Dean quickly broke the lock on Ben's cage. Sam and Murphy had already helped the children who could walk out of the others.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs.

A woman in a real estate company uniform appeared in the basement doorway.

Murphy had seen her photograph among the company's records. She was the agent responsible for the Morning Hill project, the person best placed to approach local families, observe their children, and visit the construction sites without attracting attention.

In the dim light, the woman's face still looked human. But in a broken pane of glass leaning against the wall, her reflection showed something else entirely.

Gray, withered skin clung tight to her bones. Black veins spread across her face, and her eyes were like empty, lightless sockets.

The mother changeling had returned.

As soon as it saw the children being released, it lunged at Sam, who was closest.

Sam dodged in time, but its tremendous strength still sent him crashing into the wall. Dean picked up a piece of lumber and swung it at the mother, drawing its attention away from the children.

The mother was far quicker than the ordinary changelings.

It didn't need supernatural mind control. Pure physical strength was enough to send a grown adult flying. It punched Dean out of its way and turned on Murphy, only to stop when she raised the flame torch threateningly.

The mother seemed to sense that the weapon could kill it. For the moment, it didn't dare move. They stood facing each other in a tense standoff.

Dean dragged himself back to his feet through the pain and moved beside Murphy, keeping watch with her.

Meanwhile, Sam continued breaking the locks on the remaining cages.

Once Ben was free, he didn't run away alone. Instead, he helped several of the younger children crawl toward a narrow ventilation opening. Sam lifted the ones too weak to move and passed them up to safety, one after another.

Only after the last child had left the basement could the three hunters fight without holding back.

Murphy ignited her torch again, and flame lit the gloomy room.

The mother instinctively backed away, but Dean and Sam moved to either side, cutting off its escape from the basement. The second torch blocked the stairs and drove it away from the piles of lumber, toward an unfinished space with exposed concrete.

Realizing its life was in danger, the mother tried to charge straight through the flames and attack Murphy. Dean slammed into it in time to knock it off course.

At the same moment, Murphy turned the nozzle directly toward the creature.

Flames raced across its clothes and skin. It screamed with a shrillness that hardly sounded human, crashing wildly into the basement walls until the fire swallowed it completely.

Sam used the extinguisher to contain the flames spreading around them, preventing the burning monster from setting the entire house alight.

As the mother fell, the changelings scattered throughout the neighborhood died at the same instant.

Lisa had locked herself in her bedroom. Outside, the thing wearing Ben's face kept pacing back and forth. A moment later, something heavy hit the floor.

When she finally gathered the courage to open her door, there was no sign of Ben in the living room. Only a small gray-black mark remained, as though something had burned there.

The same thing happened in other households.

Some parents saw their children's faces turn monstrous in the mirror before the changelings collapsed the instant their mother died. Others hadn't realized that the things living beside them weren't their real children until the impostors vanished.

The police soon began receiving reports from all over the area.

Sam had already made an anonymous call to tell them where the missing children were being held. By the time the police cars and ambulances arrived, most of the rescued children were safely outside the house.

The scene quickly descended into chaos.

Missing children, a real estate company's basement, iron cages, and an abundance of inexplicable evidence would keep the police busy for a long time. While nobody had the chance to check their identities, the three hunters quietly slipped away with Ben.

When Lisa saw Ben climb out of the Impala, she rushed out of the house almost immediately.

She pulled him into a crushing embrace, as though she needed to feel him in her arms to be sure he was real. Ben finally stopped pretending to be brave. Clutching her clothes, he burst into frightened tears.

Dean stood a little way off and didn't interrupt them.

Only when mother and son had begun to calm down did Lisa notice the other two people standing behind him.

Dean followed her gaze and belatedly introduced his brother. “Oh, right. This is my brother, Sam. He works with me.”

When it came to Murphy, though, he visibly hesitated, uncertain how to introduce her.

Murphy spared him the trouble. “I'm Murphy. You could say I'm their colleague.”

Sam glanced at her when he heard the word. Dean fell silent for a moment before accepting the description.

“Oh, so you're Miss Cleo?” Lisa immediately remembered the person Dean had mentioned earlier.

“What?” Murphy looked baffled. She had no idea what Lisa meant.

Dean, on the other hand, looked distinctly embarrassed. Apparently, making a joke behind someone's back was one thing. Having it repeated to their face was another. Sam gave Dean an expression that clearly said, I knew it.

“Oh, it's nothing. Just a joke.” Lisa spotted Dean's discomfort and hurriedly changed the subject. “So you're the ones who saved my Ben?”

“Yeah. Mostly Sam and Murphy, though. I didn't really do much.” Dean remembered the job he'd been given and how he'd still failed to prevent Ben's abduction. The thought left him miserable, wondering how he'd managed to mess it up.

“What are you talking about? We handled it together. Even without me, you two could've taken care of it just fine.” Murphy wasn't happy with the way Dean was putting himself down, and she emphasized that last point.

Lisa finally understood why Dean had insisted that she call him if something strange happened. She was beginning to grasp just how dangerous the family business he'd mentioned really was.

She thanked all three of them sincerely. When they were about to leave, she couldn't resist adding, “Would you stay for dinner? I mean, just saying thank you doesn't seem like enough. I'd like to do something for you.”

Dean was about to refuse on instinct when Sam answered immediately. “Sure. We're practically starving, actually.”

Murphy jumped in to back him up. “Exactly! And I'd really love to try your cooking, Lisa. I haven't had a proper home-cooked meal in ages.”

It was the truth. At Bobby's, meals usually meant boiled beans, fried bacon, or takeout. Murphy hadn't known what to do with the ingredients in his kitchen, either.

“Hey!” Dean stared at the two of them in disbelief, unable to understand what had gotten into them.

Lisa burst out laughing at the three of them.

“Oh, stop being so polite. I'd be delighted to have the people who saved Ben for dinner. Honestly, dinner hardly feels like enough.”

She opened her front door and invited them all inside. Dean brought up the rear, still a little stiff.

The meal turned out to be more peaceful than anyone expected.

They didn't talk about that evening's danger, demons, or monsters. They simply chatted about ordinary things. Murphy didn't always understand the cultural references or jokes, but her own sense of humor had Lisa laughing so hard she could barely sit upright.

Sam watched the two women with an amused smile. He also glanced at his brother, who was slowly relaxing.

He was glad Murphy had joined them. At the very least, she'd already helped both brothers a great deal, especially Dean.

Dean had been awkward at the start of dinner.

This house had once represented the other life he'd imagined for himself. A beautiful woman, a boy who looked like him, a home far removed from hunting monsters and death.

Now that he was finally sitting there, he didn't dare hope for anything more. Lisa and Ben had a life of their own.

All he could do was make certain monsters didn't destroy that life, then leave when the danger was over.

...

After dinner, the three of them didn't stay any longer.

Lisa walked them to the door and thanked them once again. Dean reminded her that no matter how unbelievable something seemed in the future, she shouldn't doubt her own judgment or try to deal with it alone. She should call him first.

Lisa promised she would.

There was no fresh start between them, and no vague promise left hanging.

What they'd felt for each other had been real. The fact that it was over was real, too.

Dean looked at Ben one last time, then turned toward the black Impala parked beside the road.

As the engine started, the lights of Lisa's house gradually disappeared from view outside the window.

He didn't look back.