46. Midnight

I knew he'd find me, one way or another. I didn't think he'd have the audacity to just drop in and steal me right before the brothers' eyes. That was a ballsy move. I guess when you're a demon you can get away with stuff like that.

I have no idea where I am. I know I'm not in the woods anymore, I don't smell the outdoors. Instead I smell...mold. I'm not buried alive, am I? I do a mental face-palm. Why would I be buried alive when Crowley's got a Hellhound coming for me?

Feeling a slight headache, I open my eyes to slight darkness. The room is foreign to me. This room gives me a library sort of feel, with the high shelves of dusty books. There's an empty desk, and judging by the light I see on the floor, I've got a large window behind me. Where am I? Crowley could have taken me anywhere.

Speaking of the King of Hell, he's nowhere to be found. But that doesn't mean he's not around here somewhere. Consistent ticking turns my attention to a grandfather clock in the room. I swallow as I read the time: 11:55.

The doorway is open, begging me to take the chance and flee. But what's the point if Crowley will find me? What's the point when I know I can't outrun this? I chose this, stupidly, almost a decade ago. And now, thanks to an ambush, I'm out of time.

A storm rolls overhead: high winds howling; rain pounding; lightning streaking behind me, briefly illuminating the room I'm in. It's the perfect setting for a horror movie: an abandoned house, a storm above my head.

Each heartbeat feels like a second going away.

I'm not entirely sure what Sam and Dean are doing. They could be looking for me right now. Or they could be like Crowley said, they got their demon and they're undergoing completing the final trial as I stand here now. Sam might be holding Dean back from searching. Or, neither of them are bothering at all, because they know they won't be able to reach me in time.

"I could've lived without the theatrics!" I shout in the room.

"Where's the fun in that?"

He appears out of thin air. I want to find something close by, something heavy enough to throw at him and do some damage. My brain is torn: stay here and take it like I'm supposed to, or let myself fight pointlessly until my heart stops?

Crowley smiles impishly. "Hello, poppet."

I cringe at the nickname. "Crowley. You're pretty brave to abduct me like you did."

"But isn't that what you want?" He steps into the room. "To face this alone, without any witnesses other than myself?"

I don't remember telling him that, ever. Can he somehow read minds?

"I read your face, not your mind," he clarifies. "I feel it's personal this way. Me as the sole witness." He looks at me thoughtfully. "What? No begging?"

"Why try when I'll die anyway?" A loud clap of thunder shakes the floor under our feet. "Besides, the first attempt failed."

"Ooh, so we're taking this like a warrior." He laughs. "Pretty bold of you."

"I'm not afraid."

"Of dying? No, you're right, you're not. You're just afraid of what happens after. Like I said, your face is easy to read."

Wait a second. The hexbag. I search for it in my pockets, but I come up empty.

"Oh, right, that little trinket," says Crowley. "I left it behind, a little parting gift for the boys. It wouldn't matter anyway, I'd point the Hounds in the right direction of you anyway."

I pale.

"Did I ever tell you when you die, Maxi?"

"When my day is up."

"Midnight."

Last I read the clock it's 11:55. How much time do I have left? Three minutes? Two? One? What if I'm just counting down the seconds now? I haven't checked the clock since I woke up here.

A bolt of lightning makes the room momentarily brighter. I can hear them in the distance, their growls mixing in with the storm. My heart races. They're coming.

"Do you know where you are?" Crowley asks me.

I look around the room. Nothing is familiar to me. "No idea."

His eyes widen in astonishment, whistling lowly. "What a shame."

"Should I?"

"I would think so. This is home, Maxi."

"H-home?" I look around. "No...this isn't my house. We're not in Normal."

"Oh, yes we are, darling. This is your old room, in fact. Makes sense that your family converted it to a small study. They moved on, just like you had."

My upper lip twitches in anger. "You're wrong. You're lying. This...this isn't my house." I feel the trembling course through my body.

"Oh, but it is. Don't worry, your family isn't here anymore. They've vacated the premises, good thing for both parties. Makes this all the more...sweeter." His Cheshire cat grin ignites a fire in me, a fire that I might just use against his hounds.

A loud, deep bell tolls in the house. I feel the color drain from my body. Midnight. All I have left now are the twelve tolls, one of the last things I'll ever hear.

One.

"Time's up, poppet."

Two.

The storm picks up, almost like it's siding with Crowley. I have no allies in this, just myself. Not even a weapon to help defend myself.

Three.

My palms sweat, my heart is running so fast I'm waiting for it to run itself to death. Any death is better than the one I'm about to go through.

Four.

I kind of want to get it over with. I don't want the Winchesters to burst in at the last minute. I don't want them to watch.

Five.

I know it'll hurt. I want it to be quick. I've seen the bloody results.

Six.

My nails find my palms. All I can do it wait. I'm vulnerable.

Seven.

I blow out air through my nostrils. This is it. This is really it. I'm not coming back from this. One life for another. I wish I had known that when I had made the deal. But maybe I would have still gone through with it. My mother gets to watch my siblings grow up, date, get their hearts broken, watch them get married, see their children. She'll get to be a grandmother, that's always been her big thing. I've given her that opportunity.

Eight.

Crowley looks a bit impatient. I am too. I just want the dread to stop. Though I'm not happy about saying it, I just want Crowley to have my damn soul already.

Nine.

I hold off on the good thoughts. I want those to stay with me as the hounds are tearing me to ribbons. I want those to bring me some sort of comfort.

Ten.

I keep the tears at bay. I can't let Crowley see them; he'll think I'm weak. The tears wouldn't be shed for me, but for Dean. For the fact that his life won't allow him to have a happily ever after. He was bred a soldier thanks to his dad. He's wearing down with all the fights, all the slayings of monsters. One day, he'll be overpowered. One day, he'll want to make it all end. One day, he'll want a calm future. But that will never happen for him.

Eleven.

The growls are louder now, practically hovering outside of the house. My breath catches. There's more than one. Dean had warned me there was the chance of more than one Hellhound coming to dinner.

The rain pelts the window, the window I'm expecting the hounds to break through and attack me from behind. I'm waiting for the floor to become hot and change colors, into colors of fire. I'm waiting for the flames to climb the walls, crawl along the floor until they lap up from my feet.

Twelve.

The last bong lasts the longest. Another crack of lightning brings life into the room. Ironic. I watch Crowley with wide, yet calm eyes. I wait for it, for the shatter of glass, for the tiny shards to hit my back as I'm tackled.

I wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. I feel like I wait an eternity before I see it: my doom.

It doesn't make a dramatic entrance through the window; it pads to stand at its master's side. It's massive, some mutant dog that you'd expect in an experiment gone wrong. It froths at the mouth, making me wonder if it's got rabies. Crowley pats the beast's head. Its eyes glow, already devouring me before its jaws and claws can find any purchase in my skin.

All we're waiting for now is the command.

I can already hear Dean's voice screaming in my head. I'm glad he's not here to see this. I hope him or Sam don't coming in during the feast.

I'm just glad I'm not being eaten by a pack. That seems to be about the only perk to this.

Two words sentence me to death: "Chow time."

**[hides] Only the epilogue now.

[shoves out tissues, chocolate, shock blankets]**