CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Later that night, Damon and Nyx are driving back into Burkitsville, and she sees Dean's car parked on the side of the road behind a newer car, that's not nearly as nice. She quickly tells him to pull over, and he does as she said.

The pair then walk over to the trunk of the older car, and Dean looks up upon hearing them. His eyes widen and then he grabs​ Nyx, and pulls her into a tight hug. "Oh, thank God. I am so sorry, Nyx." He says as she hugs him.

"Don't worry about it. I just want to forget the whole thing happened." She tells him. "What's going on here?"

"There's a couple in the orchard. I think they're going to die if we don't save them." He says as he lets go of her.

"Well, then, what are we doing standing here for?" She asks as she quickly grabs a gun from the trunk. "Let's go."

The three of them go into the orchard, and Damon points them in a particular direction. The vampire can hear the panicked couple as they run through the maze of apple trees. They quickly come to a stop when they come across the trio, probably in part to the guns that the two hunters are holding.

"Get back to your car." Dean tells them as a figure starts to walk up behind them. "Go! Go!"

The couple quickly runs past them, and Dean shoots the thing​ that's chasing after them. Nyx fires off a shot of her own, but it doesn't even slow the thing down. Dean then grabs her arm and they start running, following the couple — and Damon — that they just saved.

They make it to the Impala and turn back to see where the thing is. The couple hides behind them as they point their guns toward the orchard. But the thing isn't after them anymore.

"What the hell was that?" The guy behind Dean asks.

"Don't ask." The hunter tells him.

"Are you guys okay?" Nycole asks as she looks at them.

"We are now." The girl says, looking at her. "Thanks."

Once they manage to get the couple out of town, Dean and Nyx get into the Impala, and Damon gets into his own car. He follows them to a motel for all of them to stay for at least the night.

Dean turns his attention to Nyx once they're in their room — Damon got himself his own seeing as he definitely has enough money for it, and he definitely doesn't want to be sharing any space with Dean if he doesn't have to. She's not paying attention to him, she's toeing out of her shoes by the bed that she gets to herself for the night. Since Sam's not with them at the moment, nobody has to share or take the floor.

"Alright, enough of this being pissed off at each other bullshit." He says, and she glances at him as she shrugs out of her jacket. "What is it? What did I do?"

"You don't want my opinion, remember?" She says as she leaves the black leather jacket on a chair and walks back over to her bed.

He then makes his way over to her and gets her to stop going through her duffle bag. "I wouldn't​ be asking if I didn't want to know what you're thinking." He says, and she turns around so they're standing face to face.

"I've seen plenty of different sides of you since we met." She says. "The hard-ass teacher when you were training me, a tough as all hell hunter, the protective big brother, a concerned friend, this...softer side whenever we seem to start to be getting closer..." And then she realizes just how close they are in this instance.

He seems to notice it too, and his eyes travel her face as she momentarily​ loses her train of thought. She takes a deep breath and steps away from him. He clears his throat as he looks down.

"My point is... You change whenever your dad is around, or calls, or, hell, is even mentioned." She says, getting back to what they were talking about.

"No, I don't." He argues.

"Yes, you do. Everything about you changes. Your posture, your voice, your attitude. And you talk about these orders he gives." She says. "I know I haven't been hunting nearly as long as you have and this is all still kinda new to me, but I have never heard someone call their father sir the way that you do. I mean, I know that he's a Marine and he probably used a lot of what he learned in the military in his hunting... But Dean, you're his son, not his soldier. And Sam — he's just worried about your dad."

"You think I was too hard on him?" He asks, and she nods.

"Yeah, maybe a little. I think you're both hard on each other." She tells him honestly.

"You're probably right." He agrees. "So, are we done fighting?"

"Yeah." She nods. "Hey, after we finish this job and we get Sam, can we hit a laundromat...or a shoe store?"

"Uh... Yeah, I guess. Why?"

"I blew chunks all over my shoes, and I want to toss 'em out." She tells him, and concern immediately takes over his features.

"Are you alright? You're not getting sick, are you?" He asks, and she shakes her head.

"No, I'm not sick. It's just, uh... Isobel killed herself. She took off her daylight necklace...in broad daylight." She says as she looks at him. "And the smell...the burning"

"Are sure you're alright?" He asks, and she nods.

"Yeah, it's just not really a sight that I..."

"Yeah." He nods, and she sighs.

—

Dean and Nyx are on the phone with the younger Winchester boy, telling him what's going on with their case. "The scarecrow climbed off its cross?" He questions.

"I'm telling you, Burkitsville, Indiana, fun town." Dean says sarcastically. Nyx has the phone on speaker.

"It didn't kill the couple, did it?" Sam asks.

"No, we can cope without you, you know." He says, and she punches him in the arm. "Ow! Are we back to that?"

"Stop being a dick." She tells him.

"So, something must be animating it — a spirit?" Sam suggests, ignoring their usual bickering.

"No, it's more than a spirit." Dean tells his brother. "It's a God — a Pagan God, anyway."

"What makes you say that?"

"The annual cycle of its killings, and the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman, like some kind of fertility rite." He explains. "And you should see the locals. The way they treated this couple, fattening them up like a Christmas turkey."

"The last meal." Sam says. "Given to sacrificial victims."

"Yeah, we're thinking​ a ritual sacrifice to appease some Pagan God." Dean says.

"So, a God possesses the scarecrow..."

"The scarecrow takes its sacrifice." Nyx finishes his thought for him. "And for another year, the crops won't wilt and disease won't spread."

"You know which God you're dealing with?" Sam asks.

"Nope, not yet."

"You figure out what it is, you can figure out a way to kill it."

"We're actually on our way to a local community college." Dean says. "We got an appointment with a professor. You know, since we don't have our trusty sidekick Geek Boy to do all the research." He adds, and Nyx punches him again. "Ow! Would you stop that?!"

Sam laughs. "You know, if you're hinting you need my help, just ask."

"I'm not hinting​ anything." His brother says, and she looks at him. "Actually, uh... I want you to know... I mean, don't think—"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too." The younger boy says.

"Sam, you were right." He tells him. "You gotta do your own thing. You gotta live your own life."

"You serious?"

"You've always known what you want, and you go after it. You stand up to Dad. I mean, you always have. Hell, I wish I..." He trails off. "Anyway... I admire that about you. I'm proud of you, Sammy."

"I don't even know what to say." Sam says.

"Say you'll take care of yourself."

"I will." He says. "Hey, Nyx. How are you doing? I mean, since Isobel..."

She takes a deep breath. "I'm okay." She tells him. "I only met her the once, and it's not like she's ever made a good impression on any of us, so..."

"She was still your mom." He says.

"I'm alright, Sam. Really."

"Hey, I thought you said Damon was with you." He says, and Dean starts laughing.

"She injected him with vervain, and we left him in our motel room." He tells his brother. "He was getting on her nerves all morning."

"Sounds about right." Sam chuckles.

"Call us when you find John." Nyx tells him.

"Okay." He says. "Bye, Dean. Bye, Nyx."

"Bye, Sam." She hangs up the phone.

Dean looks at her for a second before turning his attention back on the road ahead. She's wondering what changed between now​ and when they left Sam.

"Don't look so surprised." The older boy says. "I heard what you said last night, and I thought about it. You were right."

"I'm not surprised." She tells him.

"You're officially a part of this." He tells her. "Just remember, Nyx, you asked for it." He says, and she chuckles.

She sighs. "So... A possible Pagan God and annual sacrifices. Something weird is definitely going on in this town." She says, and he nods.

They get to the college and meet with the professor. Dean starts asking him about Pagan mythology and their Gods.

"It's not every day I get a research question on Pagan Idolatry." The professor says as they walk down a long flight of stairs.

"Yeah, well, call it a hobby." Dean says as he glances at Nyx.

"But you said you two were interested in local lore? I'm afraid Indiana isn't really known for its Pagan worship."

"What if it was imported?" The teenager asks. "You know, like the pilgrims brought their religion over. Wasn't a lot of this area settled by immigrants? Like that town near here, Burkitsville — where are their ancestors from?"

"Northern Europe, I believe." The professor says. "Scandinavia."

"What could you tell us about those Pagan Gods?" Dean asks.

"Well, there are hundreds of Norse Gods and Goddesses."

"We're actually looking for one. It might live in an orchard."

They go into his office, and he gets an old book out. "A woods God." The professor says. "Well, let's see."

He starts flipping through the pages, and Dean stops him when he sees an image of something that looks similar to a scarecrow. "Wait, wait, wait. What's that one?" He asks him.

"That's not a woods God, exactly." He says.

"The Vanir?" Nyx tries to read it.

"Vanir were Norse Gods of protection and prosperity." The professor tells them.

"Keeping the local settlements safe from harm. Villages built effigies of the Vanir in their fields. Other villages practiced human sacrifice, one male and one female." Dean reads a passage. "It kind of looks like a scarecrow, huh?"

"Well, I suppose." The professor says.

"This particular Vanir, its energy sprung from a sacred tree." Nyx reads more.

"Well, Pagan​s believed all sorts of things were infused with magic."

"Like nature." She nods; they're not wrong.

"So, what would happen if the sacred tree was torched?" Dean asks. "Do you think it would kill the God?"

The professor chuckles. "Son, these are just legends we're discussing here."

"Of course. Yeah, you're right." He agrees. "Listen, thank you very much."

"Glad I could help." He says as he shakes Dean's hand, and Nyx smiles at him.

They walk toward the door, and Dean opens it. He suddenly falls backward and lands on Nyx, knocking her to the ground along with him. She looks up just in time to see the butt of a rifle coming at her face.

—

"The next person who hits me over the head is getting their ass kicked." Nyx says, and Dean looks at her. "How are we gonna get out of here?" She questions.

"I bet you're​ wishing you hadn't vervained Damon now, huh?" He asks.

"That's not funny."

The door to the cellar they're trapped in opens, and they both look up. Scotty — the diner owner — has a rifle pointed at them, and he has two other people with him.

"It's time." The woman says, and Dean and Nyx look at each other.

The sheriff walks over as well, and he and Scotty force them out of the cellar before tying them to trees to keep them from leaving the orchard. Nyx clenches her teeth as she looks at the man who's tying her up.

"How many people have you killed, sheriff?" Dean asks. "How much blood is on your hands?"

"We don't kill them." The sheriff says, trying to defend what they do.

"No, but you sure cover up after. I mean, how many cars have you hidden or clothes have you buried?"

"Where I'm from, the sheriff protects people from monsters. She doesn't offer them up as human sacrifices." Nycole says, and he turns to face her. "How do you look at yourself in the mirror everyday?"

"The good of the many outweighs the good of the few." He says, and she scoffs.

"You know, there is such a thing as karma. You'll all get what's coming to you for the things that you've done."

They all walk away from the two hunters, and Nyx looks over at Dean. "So, what's the plan?" She asks him.

"I'm working on it." He says, and she sighs.

"I am getting really sick of being tied up so people can try to kill me." She says, and he looks over at her. "Wendigo, vampires, a friggin' Pagan God. This is getting more than a little ridiculous."

"You got out then, we'll get out now."

"There was someone looking for me then." She reminds him. "Sam's​ probably halfway to California by now, and Damon has no idea where we are."

They sit there for hours and eventually the sun goes down. They're sitting in the darkness and neither one of them has a plan of escape. They can't get out of the ropes to escape.

"Can you see the scarecrow? Has he moved yet?" Dean asks, and she tries to look around the tree that he's tied to.

"I can't see it." She tells him, and he sighs.

They suddenly hear footsteps walking toward them, and both of the hunters start struggling against their ropes even more. "Dean? Nycole?" Sam calls.

"You are my new favorite person." Nyx says as he comes into view.

"What about me?" Damon asks as he suddenly appears in front of her.

"You're earning some points back." She tells him as he unties her.

"I take back everything I said. I'm so happy to see you." Dean says as Sam goes to cut the ropes binding him to the tree. "How'd you get here?"

"I, uh... Stole a car." Sam says, and Dean and Nyx both start laughing.

"That's my boy." Dean says. "Keep an eye on that scarecrow. It could come alive at any minute."

"What scarecrow?" The younger boy asks, and his brother looks to where it's supposed to be.

"We need to find that sacred tree and burn it." He says as they start to run through the orchard.

"In the morning. Let's just get the hell out of here before we run into leatherface." Nyx says, and then a flashlight is shone on them.

They turn and see the old couple who was with Scotty and the sheriff. The man who tied her to the tree has a gun pointed at their group.

"I can kill them." Damon says quietly.

"No." Nyx tells him.

"This way." Dean says as he grabs Nyx's hand. They turn and see Scotty with a gun of his own.

"Damn it." She mutters.

They turn again and this time the sheriff is standing in their path. They're completely surrounded by these crazy ass townspeople.

Dean instinctively pulls Nyx closer to him and her back is almost against his chest. She reaches out and pulls Sam so that he's standing at their side, Damon's standing on the other side of them. They hear a weird noise and start looking around the orchard.

"How's that plan coming along?" Nyx asks as she looks up at Dean.

"I'm working on it." He says, and she sighs.

One of the men screams, and they all look at the old man who's standing beside his wife. He has a hook through his chest and the woman standing next to him is screaming as she looks at it.

"Jesus Chr—" Nyx then backs up as far as she can and Dean puts his hand on her side just above her hip.

The Vanir scarecrow then pulls the hook out of the man's chest, and he falls as it grabs the woman who's still screaming. He then puts his hook through the man's leg and pulls them away from the others as the townspeople all take off running​ in different directions.

"Let's go." Dean says as he pulls Nyx away from them. She's still holding onto his brother's arm, so she pulls him with them as Damon leads the way out of the orchard. The four of them get the hell out of there as fast as they possibly can.

They go back the next morning to find the sacred tree. They're​ gonna burn the damn thing down so that nobody else will ever get killed by the Pagan God. They had to do a lot of research to find it, but it's well worth it in the end.

They find the tree with ancient looking symbols carved into it, and then Sam dowses it in gasoline. Dean picks up a broken tree branch from the ground and lights it on fire. Sam walks back over to Nyx and Damon as Dean sets the apple tree on fire.