30. Purgatory (Part 2)

It takes all my strength to keep Sam in the cell. Bobby's punch almost sends him into me and us both out of the cell.

"Get the hell out of here, you black-eyed son of a bitch," the man snarls.

"What?" Sam gasps. "Bobby, it's Sam."

"Yeah, and I'm Elvis. Move your ass!"

"Bobby-"

"Get!"

"It's really him!" I wriggle my way to get in front of Sam.

Bobby's brows wrinkle above his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"

"There's proof enough that Sam is really here. I'm Max, I'm a friend of the Winchesters." Friend is stretching it a bit with Dean, but Bobby doesn't need to know that.

Bobby shakes his head. "No, Dean swore neither of them would take in another person, not after Lucifer."

I tilt my head.

"It's me!" Sam protests. "Okay, damn it. If it's not Sam...Then how do I know all about you and Tori Spelling?"

"What?"

"You're a fan. Yeah. Or-or, uh...Okay. What about your free pedicure at the Mall of America? You made Dean swear to never tell another living soul how it changed your life."

I feel awkward listening to this. I feel like I shouldn't be in here while Sam tries to convince Bobby he's really here.

But then the realization hits Bobby's face. "Sam?" A warm feeling grows when I see the men hug. It kind of makes Hell a little easier to swallow at the moment. "I'm sorry, Sam, but you're the two-hundredth Sam I've seen today. That's how they screw with me. Just endless Sams and Deans all wearing the same black eyes."

What torture will I be put through? I think of the lady with the burnt flesh. I think of the delusional people in the cells. Am I condemned to go mad? Am I going to be burned alive, have my skin peeling off strip by strip? What if there's something worse in store for me? Focus. Don't freak out now. Focus. Sam needs you.

"Wait a minute," says Bobby. "What the hell are you doing here? Please don't tell me it's what I think it is."

"No, no, no, Bobby, I'm good." I clear my throat. "I mean, we're good. We...We're here to get you. You don't belong here, Bobby." Sam hands over the demon-killing knife. "And we're getting you out."

"We can play catchup once we're out," I say, adjusting my grip on my new temporary weapon. "Come on."

"Where'd you find her?" I hear Bobby ask Sam. I'm peeking out the cell, making sure the coast is clear. Once it is, I move out.

"Long story."

"She another long lost friend of yours?"

"No."

"She a hunter?"

"Kinda."

"We know the way, right?" I ask Sam.

"We're going the right way. We're right behind you, Max."

I pretend as though I've got blinders on; I stare straight ahead. I don't give in to the moans and groans of tortured souls in Hell. I don't let them psyche me out. This feels like a test for me, a test to swallow my first impression of Hell.

Sam makes sure I don't make a wrong turn, he corrects me when necessary. We're all focusing straight ahead and nowhere else.

"You know where the hell you're going?" asks Bobby.

"Yeah, we're almost there," says Sam. "Get back. Get back, get back. Max." I'm pulled into a niche of the corridor with the men as we all hear the quiet footsteps.

I'm pushed aside gently as the men barrel out from our hideout and attack, with Sam leading the charge. Bobby kills the demon with the knife. I run out as another rushes for Bobby. Taking my weapon, I swing, it moves away. When Bobby slices into its body, I shove my weapon deep into its chest. Its body glows gold inside, a flickering light, before it drops to the ground. My body tingles from the fresh kill. I haven't killed anything since I saved Emmett and Sophie.

"Let's go!" Sam urges. "We got to get out of here!"

Whoa. My head spins. There's not one Sam, but two. Identical in every way. Bobby and I exchange a confused look. How can we tell which is which? I don't trust myself to take a chance and kill one Sam, because my luck, I'll actually kill Sam Winchester, and then Dean will kill me. Just because I'm his girlfriend doesn't mean he'll forgive me or give me a free pass for the murder of his baby brother.

"Guys, they're messing with you," says the Sam on the right of Bobby.

"Don't listen to him," says the Sam on the left. "He's not real."

"Guys, get away from him!"

"We got to go now-" Left-side Sam screams as Bobby shoves the knife into him. I cover my mouth with my hand in horror, but then slightly relax. Left-side Sam's body lights up, confirming that he's the fake. I let out a shaky breath of relief as the body crumples and lies still on the corridor floor.

"You knew somehow, right?" I ask Bobby, hopeful.

"Took a chance. Fifty-fifty." Now we're running down the corridor. If someone finds the body, they'll know something's up. We can't get away if we're walking. "What do we do now?"

"Look, look," says Sam. I catch him grabbing a high ledge-where he put his watch.

Next thing we know, we're spat out of Hell, and we're back to the familiar Purgatory forest. For once, I'm relieved. The little Hell tour was much longer than I had wanted it to be.

"What the hell is this?" Bobby asks.

"All right," says Sam carefully, "don't get pissed off. Purgatory."

"Balls!"

"Let's go," I say. The three of us leave the portal to Hell behind us. I don't want any more trips like this. It's not that this scares me or anything, I've caught a glimpse of Hell.

"So, what kinda bet did you lose to get your ass sent here?" Bobby asks me.

"No bet," I say. "I owe the Winchesters for saving my life."

"And you think paying it back is sending yourself to Purgatory and Hell?"

"I think it's safe to say I've earned enough experience to be here. Besides, this is good for me. Good practice."

"Let me get to the real question: why are you two really here?"

Sam is the one to explain it to Bobby: how Kevin translated the Demon Tablet; how he found out that there are three trials to complete to shut down Hell for good; how we figured out what the first trial was and how it was accomplished; and how we're on task number two.

"So, how many more of these trials after this?" Bobby asks us. Between the three of us, I'm protected by both of the men on both sides.

"Just one," I report. "Don't know what it is, though-not yet. Kevin's still translating."

"Well, you saw back there in Hell, I ain't got a lot of rust. Just feels so good to be back in action again. Might be handy if you had me around to help."

"Bobby," Sam says carefully, "I'd-I'd love that, believe me. The thing is, for this trial to be completed, your soul has to enter Heaven. And besides, if that weren't the case, we burned your bones, Bobby. There's nothing to tie your spirit to Earth."

"Yeah. Yeah, well...You know, I always figured that'd be the end of it...You know, just a Hunter's Funeral. Zip. Nothing. And I was okay with that. Imagine my surprise."

"Well, I guess if there has to be an eternity, I'd pick Heaven over Hell."

Wouldn't we all?

"Yeah. 'Cause there's nothing screwy going on up there."

I'm lucky I only know about the demons, I know nothing about just how screwed Heaven must really be right now. It's hard to imagine the very place people look forward going to after death is in chaos. No place is in order now, it seems. Not Earth, not Heaven. Purgatory and Hell seem to have it together more.

That's a scary thought.

"I wish I made the rules," says Sam.

"Well...I'll, uh, do my part, get to the end of this, but...I ain't exactly the retiring type, so, you idjits figure out a way to spring me..."

"Yeah. No, of course." We all come to a halt. I don't recognize the place, but I have to assume that we're back where Ajay wants us to be. I look around expectantly to find our rouge reaper, but he's nowhere in sight. "That's, uh-yeah."

"Oh, well, let's get topside. What's going on, Sam?"

"This is it. This is the place. I'm sure of it."

"Where your cabbie's supposed to meet you?"

"Yeah. At exactly...now."

"Are we sure we're at the right spot?" I ask timidly.

"I'm sure of it."

"Then where is he?" Ajay still hasn't shown.

"So, he's running a little late," says Bobby.

"No, see, that's the thing. He was very specific, Bobby, like, to the minute."

"And if he doesn't show...?"

I inhale deeply, feeling the dread settle into my bones. "We got no way out. But Ajay wouldn't screw us over like that...would he?"

"No, we gotta assume something went wrong."

"Like what?"

"Like somebody probably found out and caught him."

I rub my face. He's probably dead if the wrong people got him. I sigh through my nose. "Looks like we'll have to stick together and find a way ourselves...if there even is one."

"And if there's not one?" asks Bobby.

"We'll have to survive the rest of our lives in here. If Dean and Cas could do it, so can we, right? I mean, Dean made it through a year."

"Dean spent a year in this place?"

"Running and fighting, all day, every day," Sam responds.

"I guess we're lucky we're not getting any action right now," I mutter, walking a bit, looking through the tree line.

"Must have been hell on you not being able to get him out all that time. You did try?" Bobby asks Sam.

"Look, Bobby, Dean and I had an agreement, okay?"

"I know that agreement. I taught you that agreement. That's a non-agreement. I get the feeling a lot must have happened while I was gone."

You have no idea, I want to say. I don't know how long Bobby's been gone, I've only met the man today. Don't think Purgatory is the place to be telling stories at.

"Max!"

I see them coming, and I backpedal to regroup with the men. Three monsters charge for us, sharp, shark-like teeth protrude over the normal human canines. Why do I want to assume they're vampires? Sam easily takes out the first one, by beheading it. Aim for the head, aim for the head. My only issue: the vamp is taller than I am.

I lure my vamp away so Bobby isn't bombarded with two on him-he's already got one. My vamp runs right for me, I swing my weapon hard at it. I end up making a deep gash into its forearm. It snarls loudly and throttles me onto the ground. I kick at its stomach, using my weapon to keep the teeth from ripping my throat apart.

"A little help here!" I call out, hearing the vamp's teeth chomp together anxiously. It just can't wait until it finds flesh to bite into.

A hand pulls the vamp right off me, leaving me gasping for breath on the blood-stained, head-stained ground. As I sit up, someone new takes out my vamp for me. I cringe as the vamp's throat gets torn apart. My savior takes a look at me, and I feel sick to my stomach.

We've got a fourth vampire in this game.

Sam's at my side, helping me to my feet. Bobby runs for the forth vampire, ready to stab.

"Bobby, no, no, wait!" Sam abandons me to haul Bobby away from the vamp. "Wait! Wait!"

"What the hell, Sam?!" I screech.

"Oh, so you want me dead after I just saved your life?" says the vamp, standing. I swallow hard, trying to look anywhere but his sharp teeth. I take note of the light Southern accent. The vamp is a bit scruffy looking, looking as though he's from another time with his clothes. "How's that any way to repay me, darling?"

"Don't say that again," I say quickly.

"Why are you here?" asks Sam.

"Dean sent me," says the vamp.

"I-I'm sorry. Did you say Dean sent you? As in, his brother?" I try to put two and two together. "Uh-uh, I don't buy it for a second. Dean doesn't seem like the type to make friends with monsters like you."

I'm not surprised that the vamp looks offended by my harsh tone. Well, it sounds out there, a hunter to make friends with something he's probably hunted a dozen times.

"Dean?" Bobby chimes in. "Not my Dean."

"He's a buddy of Dean's, guys," Sam explains.

"A buddy?"

"A good buddy," says the vamp.

"A frigging vampire?" Bobby rants. "First, you got Max here pulled into this mess, and now you mean to tell me that Dean's become friends with a vampire? Well, you two really went off the rails while I was gone, didn't you?"