Dean looked at Sam and was silent for a few seconds. His eyes were full of complex emotions - worry, distrust, and a trace of imperceptible pain. He was afraid that Sam would see blood again, see the devil again, and could not help but go back to the past. He had already lost too much, and he could not lose Sam again.
In the end, he nodded. "Okay. Okay. Just be careful. If you are in danger, just call me. I will go over immediately."
"I know." Sam picked up a salt gun, turned around and walked out of the basement.
Dean looked at his back, his eyes full of worry.
At 6:22 in the evening, Sam walked into the Quick-Mart convenience store.
The glass door of the convenience store was shattered on the floor, the shelves were tilted here and there, and the products were scattered everywhere. There were blood stains on the floor and walls, and there were several overturned shelves. Sam picked up a plastic bag and began to put the rock salt on the shelf into it. He moved very quickly and wanted to get the things back as soon as possible.
The wind chime at the door rang.
Sam immediately stopped, squatted down, and hid behind the shelves. He looked out from the gap in the shelves and saw two teenagers walking in. Their eyes were pure black, without a trace of white. One was holding a metal baseball bat in his hand, and the other was carrying a black backpack.
Sam's heartbeat began to accelerate. He slowly reached for the shotgun placed on top of the Campbell soup can.
The boy with the baseball bat found him, roared angrily, and rushed over like a wild beast.
Sam raised the shotgun and pulled the trigger. With a "bang" sound, the salt bullet hit the boy's chest. The boy was sent flying out and hit the shelf at the back. The cans on the shelf fell down and hit him.
Another boy rushed over from behind and hugged Sam's waist. Sam struggled, pulled out Ruby's knife from his boot, and stabbed the boy's neck with his backhand.
Blood spattered on Sam's face and hands, and warm liquid flowed down his fingers. The two teenagers fell to the ground, motionless.
Sam stood there, breathing heavily. He looked at the blood flowing on Ruby's Knife, and his eyes became confused. He stretched out his finger, lightly dipped a little blood, put it in front of his eyes, and looked at it carefully. The blood glowed with a strange red luster under the light, like a glass of tempting wine.
A familiar, shuddering desire rose from the bottom of his heart, wrapping around his heart like a vine, getting tighter and tighter. His throat began to dry up, and every cell in his body was screaming: drink it, drink it and you will become stronger, drink it and you will be able to protect everyone, drink it and you will make up for your mistakes.
No... no... Sam shook his head hard, trying to get rid of this terrible thought. I can't... I've quit... I can't touch it anymore... But... that feeling... that feeling of having power... I really miss it...
"Sam?"
Dean's voice came from the door, like a basin of cold water, instantly extinguishing the fire in Sam's heart. Sam suddenly came back to his senses, hurriedly wiped the blood on his hands and face with his sleeves, and put away Ruby's knife.
"I'm here." Sam shouted, his voice a little hoarse.
Dean walked in carrying two bags full of guns and ammunition. He saw the two corpses on the ground, looked at the knife in Sam's hand, and the unwiped blood on his face, and his eyes darkened. But he didn't say anything, he just handed a bag to Sam.
"Let's go." Dean said, turned around and walked out of the convenience store.
7:10 p. m., church basement.
Everyone was busy preparing weapons. The shaggy-haired man and the old woman were awkwardly assembling salt bombs, their fingers kept shaking, and they sprinkled the salt on the ground several times. Roger was practicing loading bullets, and he dropped the bullets on the ground in a hurry. Ellen was teaching the young man and his pregnant wife how to load the shotgun, with a patient tone.
"Then stick it in, yes, that's it." Ellen demonstrated, "Remember, when you shoot, you have to press the butt of the gun against your shoulder, otherwise the recoil will hurt you. Also, don't point the muzzle at yourself."
Dean put an M16 rifle on the table and watched Austin skillfully dismantle the gun and reassemble it again. His movements were clean and neat, and he looked like a veteran at first glance.
"You know guns very well." Dean said.
"Stayed in Fallujah," Austin said, "Twice. I just came back a year ago. My colleagues will know at a glance. Where are you serving?"
"Hell." Dean said expressionlessly.
Austin laughed, "No kidding, tell the truth."
"It's really Hell." Dean raised his head and looked into Austin's eyes. His eyes were very serious, without any hint of joking.
Austin's smile froze on his face. He looked into Dean's eyes, which were full of exhaustion and pain, as well as a hint of indifference that could see through life and death. He realized that Dean was not joking with him. He nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
Sam sat alone in the corner, looking at his hands in a daze. The feeling he had in the convenience store just now has not disappeared, covering him like a shadow. His fingers still have the warmth of blood, and the desire is still stirring in his heart, and may burst out again at any time.
Dean came over and sat next to him.
"Hey." Dean said.
"Hey." Sam raised his head and smiled reluctantly.
"What's wrong?" Dean asked in a calm tone.
"Nothing," Sam shook his head, "It's just... in the store, those demons were possessing teenagers. They were still kids. I had to slit a kid's throat."
"Sam, you have no choice." Dean's tone was very calm, "If you don't kill him, he will kill you. Then he will kill more people."
"I know," Sam nodded, "It's just... I used to think... I hope I can still save people like before. Instead of just killing people like I do now."
"You mean, when you drank the devil's blood and became ecstatic?" Dean said with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.
Sam opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but finally closed it. He stood up, walked aside and ignored Dean.
I'm sorry, Sam. Dean said silently in his heart. I didn't mean to say that. I was just... I was just afraid that you would go back to the way you were then.
"I'm leaving." Ellen stood up, picked up her shotgun, and checked the ammunition.
"Where are you going?" Dean and Sam stood up immediately.
"I can't sit here and wait," Ellen said, "My daughter is still outside. I have to find her. If I don't come back in half an hour, you leave. Don't wait for me. Get these people out of here and save every one they can."
"Wait," Sam said, "I'll go with you. One more person will give you more strength."
"Wait a minute," Dean took Sam's arm, pulled him aside, and said in a low voice, "You want to go out? You are not suitable to go out in your current state."
"What's wrong?" Sam shook off Dean's hand and said in a cold tone, "Do you think I will relapse as soon as I see the devil? After so many things, haven't I learned my lesson?"
"Have you absorbed it?" Dean's eyes were cold, like a knife, piercing Sam's heart. "When you were at the convenience store, what were you thinking when you looked at the blood on the knife? Don't think I didn't see it."
Sam looked into Dean's eyes. He didn't answer, but turned around and walked towards Ellen.
"Where did you last see her?" Sam asked Ellen.
"It's in the residential area three streets ahead." Ellen pointed to the end of the street, "We were searching for survivors there, and then we met a group of 'demons' and got separated."
The two picked up their guns and walked out of the basement.
Dean looked at their backs and punched the wall.
7:45 pm, residential area of the town.
Sam and Ellen walked cautiously on the dark streets. The moonlight filtered through the branches and cast mottled shadows on the ground, like monsters with teeth and claws. There was silence around them, with only the sound of their footsteps and the occasional gunshot coming from the distance.
"What's going on between you and Dean?" Ellen asked suddenly, "It's hard for me not to notice that the atmosphere between you is very strange. It's like two cats that are ready to fight at any time."
"It's nothing," Sam shook his head, his tone a little evasive, "It's just that the work is stressful. You know, it's the end of the world."
"I thought some girl was caught between you." Ellen smiled, but the smile quickly disappeared, "It's strange to say that. Didn't you always say that Qiao was not suitable for this job? You always said that it was too dangerous and you didn't want her to get involved."
"She is really not suitable," Ellen sighed, looking up at the moon in the sky, his voice full of helplessness and pampering, "She should go to college, fall in love, get married and have children, and live a peaceful and happy life like other ordinary girls. Instead of holding a gun and dealing with monsters and monsters every day like she does now, not knowing whether she will be alive tomorrow. But if she insists on doing it... I have to watch her. I can't leave her alone."
Sam was silent. He remembered Dean and Bai Haorui. The same was true for Dean and Bai Haorui. He always treated him as a child, always protected him, and didn't want him to get hurt. But he let Dean and Bai Haorui down again and again. He ruined all their lives with his own hands.
Sam suddenly stopped. He pointed to a two-story house in front. Smoke was rising from the chimney, which was particularly conspicuous in the darkness.
"Look." Sam whispered.
"Is it the chimney that is smoking?" Ellen frowned, "Who would light a fire at this time? And the whole town has a power outage."
"It looks like it." Sam nodded and tightened his grip on the gun in his hand, "Let's go over there and have a look. Maybe Joe and Rufus are inside."
They quietly approached the house, hid behind the nearby bushes, and looked into the house. The lights were on in the living room, and the curtains were tightly drawn, and they could only see the moving figures inside.
"It seems we have found their base camp." Ellen whispered.
"Devils are not afraid of the cold," Sam said, "I really don't know what they are burning."
Sam was about to rush in when suddenly someone grabbed Ellen's arm from behind and pulled her over.
Sam turned around suddenly, raised the gun, and hit the man in the face with the butt of the gun.
"Let go of my mother, you evil bitch!" came Joe's voice. Her eyes were pure black, and she was holding a pistol in her hand, pointing at Ellen's head.
"Qiao!" Ellen exclaimed, unable to believe his eyes.
"Give me my mother back, you black-eyed bitch!" Joe roared, his finger on the trigger.
Ellen pushed Qiao away and hit her on the head with the butt of the gun. Qiao groaned and fell to the ground.
"Ellen, run! They must have heard it!" Sam shouted.
At this moment, someone hit Sam hard on the back of the head with the butt of a gun from behind. Sam's vision went dark, he lost consciousness and fell to the ground.
He raised his head in a daze and saw Rufus standing in front of him, with a cigarette in his mouth and pure black eyes.
"I got you, you bastard." Rufus said with a sneer, and hit Sam with the butt of his gun.
Sam completely fainted.
8:15 pm, "Devil's Basement" living room.
Sam was tied to a strong wooden chair and placed in front of the fireplace. The fire in the fireplace was burning brightly and crackling, and the orange-red flames made his face turn red.
Sam slowly opened his eyes and felt a splitting headache. He could clearly feel a big swelling on the back of his head. He struggled a bit and found that the rope was tied very tightly and was deeply embedded in his flesh, making it impossible to break free.
Rufus and Joe stood in front of him, holding holy water and salt in their hands, their faces full of anger and disgust.
"Don't waste your efforts," Rufus said, spitting out the cigarette butt in his mouth, "This is the rope I specially use to tie up demons. It has been soaked in holy water and salt. You can't break it off. Just stay here and get out of Sam's body, you evil son of a bitch."
Rufus slapped Sam with a backhand, causing blood to flow from the corner of Sam's mouth.
Joe picked up a bottle of holy water and poured it all on Sam's face. Sam choked and coughed violently, and the cold holy water flowed down his neck and into his clothes.
Rufus grabbed Sam's hair and tilted his head back so that his face faced the ceiling.
"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I expel you and all unclean souls from this God creation!" Rufus recited the exorcism spell loudly with a loud voice.
"Wait!" Sam shouted, "Stop reading! Listen to me! I'm not a devil!"
Rufus ignored him and continued to recite the exorcism spell. He grabbed a handful of salt and sprinkled it on Sam's face and mouth. Sam coughed violently, and the salt particles choked into his trachea, making him almost suffocate.
"Please! Stop!" Sam's voice became hoarse, "Look! Nothing happened! If I were a devil, the holy water and salt would have worked on me long ago! Isn't this strange?"
Rufus and Joe stopped and looked at each other. They looked at Sam. His eyes were still normal brown, there was no reaction of being exorcized, and there was no black smoke coming out.
"Why doesn't it work?" Joe asked Rufus doubtfully, "Did we recite the exorcism spell wrong?"
"I don't know." Rufus frowned, his eyes full of confusion, "It's impossible. I have used this exorcism spell to drive out more than a hundred demons, and I have never failed."
At this moment, Sam saw Roger standing at the door. He leaned on the door frame with a strange smile on his face. He slowly turned the silver ring on his hand, and the ring sparkled in the firelight.
Sam suddenly felt dizzy. When he opened his eyes again, he saw his reflection in the eyes of Joe and Rufus - his eyes were pure black, exactly like those "devils".
"Look," Rufus pointed at Sam and said to Joe, "He is still pretending. But he is not as powerful as we thought. It doesn't matter, we have plenty of ways to make him show his true form."
"Please," Sam said desperately, "Listen to me! Things are not what you think! It was him! It was Roger who did it! He is controlling your thoughts! He is not human!"
But Joe and Rufus didn't listen to him at all. Joe picked up a wooden stick and hit Sam hard on the stomach. Sam bent over in pain and almost vomited.
8:30 pm, church basement.
Dean was pacing back and forth in the basement, like a lion trapped in a cage. He glanced at his watch every few seconds, feeling increasingly anxious. Forty minutes had passed, and Ellen and Sam had not returned yet.
The pastor sat at the table, clasped his hands, and prayed in a low voice. "Jehovah is my shepherd, I will never lack. He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, because you are with me..."
His voice was trembling and full of fear.
Suddenly, someone knocked hard on the door, and the knocking was rapid and panicked.
Everyone was startled. Dean immediately raised his gun, walked to the door, and looked out through the peephole.
He opened the door, and Ellen rushed in. His face was pale, his clothes were torn several times, and there was a new scratch on his face.
"Where is Sam?" Dean asked eagerly, his heart skipping a beat.
Ellen shook her head and slumped down on the chair, covering her face with her hands and her shoulders shaking constantly. The young woman handed her a bottle of water. She took the water and took a sip, but she choked and coughed.
"They took him away." Ellen's voice was filled with tears, "Qiao... Qiao was possessed. She and Rufus took Sam away. I finally escaped."
"The devil took him? Oh my God!" the pregnant woman screamed, shaking with fear. "What if they come in? Will the devil come in? Will they kill us?"
"They can't get in." Dean said, trying to sound calmer. "There are Devil's Trap and salt lines at the door. They can't get in. Don't panic."
Dean grabbed his shotgun and headed for the door. He had to save Sam. No matter what Sam did, he was still his brother. He couldn't leave Sam alone.
But he stopped when his hand was on the door handle. He looked back at the frightened faces in the basement. They were all looking at him, treating him as their only hope. If he left, these unarmed civilians would be like lambs to be slaughtered, and they would be slaughtered.
Dean gritted his teeth, put down the gun, and walked back to the table. He sat heavily on the chair, put his hands in his hair, and closed his eyes in pain.
I'm sorry, Sam. Dean said silently in my heart. I'm sorry. I can't leave. These people need me. When I settle them, I will go to rescue you immediately. You must hold on.
"Okay," Dean took a deep breath, raised his head, and his eyes became firm, "We have to make a plan. Ellen, tell me everything, word for word. It starts from the time you and Sam leave here."
8:50 pm, church basement.
Dean and Ellen were sitting next to the table. There was a map of the town spread out on the table, which Ellen took from the gas station.
"Dean, Joe is possessed," Ellen said with a cry in her voice, "We have to drive the devil out of her body, we can't hurt her,"
Ellen seemed to remember something. "She actually called me a black-eyed bitch."
"You get hurt too easily." Dean said, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
"That's not what I meant," Ellen shook her head, "She called me a 'black-eyed bitch'. She thought I was a devil."
Dean frowned. A terrible thought flashed through his mind.
"This is so weird, isn't it?" Ellen said, "Holy water and salt have no effect on them. My daughter may be a little straight, but she's not stupid. She always wears the anti-possession amulet Haorui made for her around her neck and never takes it off. There's no way a demon can possess her. There's something wrong with the whole thing."
"What's your intuition?" Dean asked Ellen.
"My instinct is to call Bobby and Haorui for help, or find Sam." Ellen sighed, "But now No. Bobby was injured, Haorui was treating him, and Sam was taken away again. You only have me, and I only have you. So we have to figure this out."
"Okay," Dean nodded and looked at the map, "Why did Rufus come to town? Are there any special signs."
"He said it seemed to be related to water." Ellen said, "He said that the river water not only turned smelly, but also turned black. People who drank the river water would go crazy. First they would become irritable and irritable, and then they would start attacking others."
"Pastor," Dean turned to the old man wearing a priest's uniform, "Do you know what she said about the water?"
"The river water suddenly became dirty," the pastor said, his voice trembling. "Just last Wednesday, the river water turned dark brown, bitter and smelly. Then the next day, the devilish things started. First, the police in the town went crazy and shot and killed three people. Then more and more people started going crazy, their eyes turned black, and they killed everyone they saw."
"Is there anything else? Anything is fine." Dean looked at everyone, "No matter how small it is, tell me."
"It may be a little strange," Austin said, scratching his head, "But there was a meteor that night. A very big one, with a long tail, and fell from the sky. It was also Wednesday night. Not long after the river water became dirty. Many people saw it."
Dean and Ellen looked at each other.
"This is definitely not a coincidence." Dean said.
"So you think this has something to do with aliens?" Austin asked, his eyes full of curiosity.
"This is not "The X-Files", man." Dean rolled his eyes.
Dean stood up and walked to the bookshelf. There was a worn-out Bible on the bookshelf. He picked up the Bible and turned it over quickly. His fingers slid across the pages and suddenly stopped.