Croatoan.

chapter forty-five , Croatoan

a/n : it's been a minute lmfao

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"How come you're so sure it's the one in Oregon?"

Sam thinks back to his premonition. "There was a picture." He answers. "Crater Lake."

"Okay, what else?"

"I saw a dark room, some people, and a guy tied to a chair," Sam states.

"And Dean killed him?" Athena asks, holding the black cat in her arms.

"Yeah. He thought there was something inside him." Sam says.

"So, it's just a normal Thursday." Athena softly whispers to the cat in a baby voice. "Yes it is—oh, yes it is!"

The cat purrs softly and rubs its face against Athena's hand. Dean rolls his eyes and sneezes. Athena wrinkles her nose, "Yuck, sneeze into your elbow."

"You know, this wouldn't be happening if you left Gilbert where you found him," Dean says in a nasal tone.

"He was alone on the side of the road," Sam says. "But, you shouldn't have been out there by yourself anyway, Athena. That's dangerous."

Athena looks at Gilbert and smiles, "They're just jealous." Her baby voice comes back. "Jealous of how sweet you are."

"What happened to you not being a cat person anymore?" Dean asks.

Athena shrugs a shoulder, "Gil changed my mind." She softly smiles at the cat and picks him up.

Dean shifts his eyes to the rearview mirror and watches Athena laugh as she pets the cat. A small smile forms across his lips, he looks at Sam and he had the same smile across his lips. Even though Dean had to keep popping allergy medicine, it was worth it seeing Athena smile.

"So, do you think he was a demon?" Athena looks at Sam. "And Dean thought he was possessed?"

Sam inhales a breath, "I don't know..."

Dean softly huffs, "Well, all your weirdo visions are always tied to the yellow-eyed demon somehow. So, was there any black smoke? Did we try to exorcise him?"

"No. Nothing. You just plugged him." Sam says.

Athena knits her brows together, "I don't get why you guys use so many other words besides 'kill'." She bunches her shoulders. "Ganked, plugged, ventilated, snuffed out. But you never use 'kill'."

"We're trying to censor ourselves," Sam says.

Athena rolls her good eye, "We're all mature here. Say kill."

"Well, I'm sure I had a good reason to kill him," Dean says.

Sam raises his brows, "I sure hope so."

Athena makes an 'oh' with her mouth. "Drama..." she picks up Gilbert and turns him to her. The cat meows and Athena giggles.

"What does that mean?" Dean looks at Sam.

Sam stays silent and Athena raises her brows.
"For the first time ever, I am not in the drama..." she presses her forehead against Gilbert's.

"I'm not gonna waste an innocent man," Dean says.

Sam falters and Dean notices. "I wouldn't."

"I never said you would!" Sam replies.

"Fine."

"Fine."

Athena presses her lips together as she and Gilbert share a look. Almost like they were both sharing the same thought.

"Look, guys..." Athena laughs. "...we don't know what's going on. But whatever it is, that guy in the chair is a part of it. So, we find him and that's when we figure everything out, right? Right."

Athena raises her brows, "Who knew I would be the voice of reason this time." She giggles. "My life is going...great." She looks at Gilbert. "For now."

She looks at Sam then at Dean. "You guys okay?"

"Fine." The brother's chorus.

Athena presses her lips into a frown and she raises her brows. "Drama..."

☆

Athena follows behind her brothers. Her backpack was in front of her chest and slightly unzipped. Gilbert's head was peeking out of the bag and slightly bouncing from Athena's walk.

"Morning. Can I help you?"

"Yeah, Billy Gibsons, Frank Beard, and—"

"Carol Danvers." Athena holds a hand up. "And this is Gilly." She scratches the top of Gilbert's head. Athena then motions her head to her brothers. "They're U.S. Marshall's."

The man looks at the girl, then at Sam and Dean. "What's this about?"

"We're looking for someone," Dean states.

"A young man, early 20s." Sam thinks back to his premonition. "He'd have a thin scar right below his hairline."

The man shifts, "What did he do?"

"We're actually looking for someone else, but we think this young man can help us," Sam says. "He's not in any kind of trouble or anything. Not yet."

"I think maybe you know who he is, Master Sergeant," Dean speaks.

Athena shifts her good eye to the man's tattoo.

"My dad was in the Corps. He was a corporal."

"What company?"

"ECHO-2-1."

"So, can you help us?" Sam asks.

The man hesitates, but he answers. "Duane Tanner's got a scar like that. But I know him." He says. "Good kid. Keeps his nose clean."

"Oh, I'm sure he does. Do you know where he lives?" Dean asks.

"With his family. Up Aspen way."

Athena smiles, "Thank you."

Gilbert meows and Athena points at the cat. "Gilbert says thanks."

The Winchesters walk across the street and Athena bumps her shoulder into an electric pole. She lightly touches the pole, "Sorry." Athena glances at the pole and stops in her tracks.

"Guys?"

Sam and Dean stop and they turn to their sister. They walk back over to her and read the words across the pole. Athena traces her fingers across the word.

'Croatoan'

"Croatoan?" Dean raises his brows.

Athena nods her head and softly hums. She and Sam look at Dean, who is blinking at them cluelessly.

"Roanoke. Lost Colony. Ring a bell?" Sam tries to jog Dean's memory.

Dean presses his lips together. Athena bites the inside of her cheek.

"Dean, did you pay any attention to history class?" Sam asks.

"Yeah. The shot heard around the world." Dean bunches his shoulders. "How bills become laws."

"That's not school. That's 'Schoolhouse Rock'." Sam says.

"Whatever..." Dean brushes Sam off.

"Hey, maybe Dean's not a books guy." Athena shrugs a shoulder. "He's a hunter books guy."

Dean points at Athena, "Thank you, Athena!" He then looks at Sam. "At least someone understands."

Athena purses her lips, "I mean, it wouldn't kill you to read an article or two."

Dean rolls his eyes. "Can someone just explain it to me?"

"Roanoke was one of the first English Colonies in America—late 1500s," Athena pronounces.

Dean raises his brows, "Oh, yeah, yeah, I do remember that." He nods. "The only thing they left behind was a single word carved in a tree, 'Croatoan'."

"Yeah, and there were theories—Indian raid, disease—but nobody knows what really happened," Sam adds. "They were all just gone wiped out overnight."

"You don't think that's what's going on here." Dean shifts his eyes from the word carved into the pole to his brother.

"Whatever I saw in my head, it sure wasn't good." Sam sighs. "What do you guys think could do that?"

Athena scrunches her brows, "A virus."

Dean looks from Athena to Sam. "Did your weirdo visions show something having to do with a virus?"

Sam shakes his head. Dean presses his lips together, "Well, like I said before, your visions are always tied to the yellow-eyes demon somehow, so..."

"We should get help," Sam suggests. "Bobby, uh, Ellen, maybe."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Dean opens his phone. He raises his phone and knits his brows together. "I don't have a signal."

Sam and Athena grab their phones. Sam frowns, "Me neither."

"Samesies!"

Sam and Dean turn to Athena and she blinks. "What?"

"Samesies?" Dean knits his brows together.

Athena bunches her shoulders. "I was trying something new." She looks at Gilbert. "And they did not like it."

Athena follows her brothers to the telephone booth. Dean places the phone against his ear. The phone clicks. "The line's dead."

"I'll tell you one thing...if I was gonna massacre a town, that'd be my first step."

Athena wiggles her fingers, "Cut off from the outside world, and the only way to save this town is with our bare hands." She says in an action movie tone.

Athena then shudders, "I got chills."

Sam lets out a soft chuckle and walks toward the Impala. Dean stands beside Athena, "Can I admit something?"

Athena looks up at her brother. Dean gives her a small smile. "I kinda got chills too."

Athena laughs, "Yeah, you did!" She raises her hand.

Dean laughs softly and gives Athena a high five.

☆

"You could give us a warning before you start firing, you know?" Athena pulls at her earlobe and winces.

"Sorry, I just thought that maybe saving this woman was important, y'know?" Dean's voice was leaking with sarcasm.

Athena squints her good eye. "You don't have to be rude."

"It was sarcasm, Athena."

Athena opens her mouth, "Oh. Then never mind." She follows Sam. Sam enters a building with an injured woman by his side."

"Hello? We need a doctor here." Sam calls out.

A lady in floral scrubs enters the waiting room. Her eyes shift to the woman. "Mrs. Tanner, what happened?"

"She's been attacked." Sam answers.

"Dr. Lee?!"

A doctor quickly walks into the waiting room and her eyes widen at the sight of Mrs. Tanner, bleeding.

"Bring her in."

Athena walks back over to the door and holds it open. Dean walks into the building with a tarp-wrapped body over his shoulders. He grunts out a small 'Thanks'.

Athena follows after Dean. The eldest Winchester looks at the doctor. "Hey."

Dr. Lee turns to the siblings. Her eyes then shift to the body on Dean's shoulder. "Is that...?"

"Mr. Tanner?"

"Was he attacked, too?" Dr. Lee inquires.

Athena and Dean look at each other. The young girl winces, "Actually, uh...he was the attacker, and he got shot."

Dr. Lee's eyes widen, "Shot?"

Dean nods, "Yup."

"And who are you two?" Dr. Lee asks.

"U.S. Marshal."

Athena then raises a hand, "I'm the U.S. Marshal in training, and this..." she points at the cat, which had its head poked out of the bag. "...is our Mascot!"

Dean clears his throat and Athena looks at him. She raises her brows and her smile drops. She turns back to Dr. Lee. "I-I mean, I'm sorry...I know this might be a bit...traumatizing."

"And I'd showed you my badge, but..." Dean motions to the body.

Athena presses her lips together. "Can we put the body somewhere or are we gonna keep playing hot potato with it?"

Dean looks at Athena, "That was a good one."

Athena raises her brows and softly smiles. "I know, right?"

"You can bring him back here."

Dr. Lee guided Dean to a supply closet and that's where he put the corpse. Everyone then went to the examination room to hear what Mrs. Tanner had to say.

"Wait, you said Jake helped him? Your son Jake?"

Beverly nods her head. "They beat me. Tied me up."

"I don't believe it."

The doctor looks at her assistant, "Pam..."

The doctor looks back at the injured woman. "Beverly, do you have any idea why they would act this way? Any history of chemical dependency?"

"No, of course not," Beverly says. "I don't know why. One minute, they were my husband and my son, and the next, they had the devil in them."

Athena's back straightens. "We've gotta talk." Dean voices. He leaves the room, and his youngest siblings follow.

"Those guys were whacked out of their gourds," Dean says.

"What do you think, multiple demons? Mass possession?" Sam asks.

"Wouldn't there be more signs of people being possessed if it was a mass possession?" Athena inquires. "I mean, I didn't see any at the house."

Sam and Dean listen to Athena. "No, yeah, you're right. We didn't see any of the demon smoke with Tanner or any of the other usual signs."

"Well, whatever, something turned him into a monster," Dean says. "You know, if you would have taken out the other one, there would be one less to worry about."

"I'm sorry, all right? I hesitated, Dean. It was a kid." Sam apologizes.

"No, it was an 'it'." Dean replies. "It's not the best time for a bleeding heart, Sam."

"Well, if he doesn't have a bleeding heart, then that's just a sign of him losing himself," Athena speaks up. "And we don't know if it, for a fact, still was a kid or if it was an 'it'." She looks between her brothers. "So, let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Footsteps are heard approaching and the three siblings look at the Doctor. "How's the patient?" Dean asks.

"Terrible. What the hell happened out there?" Dr. Lee asks.

"We don't know," Dean answers.

"Yeah? Well, you just killed my next-door neighbor." Dr. Lee snaps.

Dean blinks. "We didn't have a choice."

"Maybe so, but we need the county sheriff." Dr. Lee says. "I need the coroner—"

"The phones are down."

"I know. I tried. Tell me you've got a police radio in the car." Dr. Lee hopes for the best.

Dean nods, "Yeah, we do, but it crapped out just like everything else."

Panic crosses Dr. Lee's face. "I don't understand what is happening."

"How far is it to the next town?" Dean asks.

"It's about 40 miles down the sidewinder." Dr. Lee answers.

Dean looks at Athena and Sam. "I'm gonna go down there and see if I can find some help. My partner, mini partner, and mascot will stick around and keep you guys safe."

Dr. Lee looks at the Athena. Her backpack was in front of her stomach while the cat's head was still poked out. The youngest Winchester gives the doctor a thumbs up with a bright smile. "We'll protect you!"

Dr. Lee knits her brows together. "Protect us from what?"

Then Athena's smile drops. She looks at Sam and he had the same look of confusion across his face. Athena. Then she looks at Dr. Lee. "I...don't know...?" She points at the doctor. "I'll get back to you on that!"

☆

After Beverly attacked Sam, he knocked her out and tied her up in a supply closet. The doctor was looking into a microscope at Beverly's blood.

"What if we all have it?" Pamela asks. "What if we all go crazy?"

"Well, freaking out isn't going to help." Athena voices, her tone soft. She was sitting in a chair in the examination room. "You've got to stay calm. All we can do is wait."

The doctor points at Athena, agreeing with her. "The Marshal is bringing help."

"I can't. I've got to go." Pamela starts to freak out.

"Pam?"

The woman makes her way over to the door. "No, you don't understand. My boyfriend's out there." She looks back at everyone. "I've got to make sure he's okay."

Pamela leaves the room and Athena shoots up from her seat and points at the girl. "Sam, tackle her! She's getting away!"

Sam presses his lips and exhales through his nose. He stares at Athena with his signature 'stop talking' look. It was the look he would always give Athena and Dean whenever they would say something corny or stupid.

Athena closes her mouth and sits back in her seat. Sam follows after Pamela.

Athena turns to the doctor with a smile. "Hey, do you have any ointment for my scar?" She motions to the bandages on her left eye. "I ran out of mine."

The doctor smiles softly, "Of course. Come take a seat." She pats the examination bed.

Athena sits her bag on the chair and Gilbert crawls out of the bag and lays on the chair. Athena sits down on the bed and the doctor stands in front of her. The girl unwraps the bandage from her eye. Dr. Lee puts some gloves on and examines Athena's healing eye. "It seems like it's healing well."

"You'll be able to take that bandage off in no time."

Athena's face drops and she glances away from Dr. Lee. "Oh, good to know..." she recovers and softly smiles. "Thank you."

Dr. Lee returns a smile to the girl. She puts some ointment on Athena's stitching and places a new bandage back over her eye. Athena never thought about taking the bandages off her eye after it healed. Athena didn't know if she felt comfortable with it.

A knock is heard in the front room and Athena raises her brows. "That must be Dean." She hops off the examination bed and makes her way to the front room.

Sam opens the door, to Dean and another man entering the building. Athena gets to the front room with the three men. The girl looks at the new man and wiggles her fingers at him. "Hi, I'm Athena and this is Gil--wait, you're the guy from earlier!" she points at him. "I ready introduced myself."

She then dismissively waves a hand. "Whatever, never hurts to do it twice, right?"

The man then nods his head. He's honestly glad she introduced herself twice because he didn't remember her from their first meeting.

"Did you guys get to a phone?" Sam asks.

"Roadblock." Dean looks at the man he brought inside. "I'm gonna have a word. Doc's inside."

The sergeant nods his head, and Athena slightly opens her mouth. "Words." she corrects. "He's gonna have words, so it might be a while."

Mark pulls his brows together and looks at the brothers. Sam smiles softly while Dean frowns and nods his head, telling him to just go with it. The man slightly opens his mouth, "Oh, uh, thank you for the clarification."

Athena bunches her shoulders and smiles softly. Marks leave the area and Sam looks out the glass door. "What's going on out there, Dean?"

"Man, I don't know, I feel like Chuck Heston in 'The Omega Man'." Dean throws his hands up. "Sarge is the only sane person I could find."

"What are we dealing with? You guys know?"

"Yeah, the doc thinks it's a virus," Sam states.

Dean slowly nods his head, "Okay, great. What do you two think?"

Athena shrugs, "She's definitely right."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Sam nods his head. "And I think the infected are trying to infect others with blood-to-blood contact. But it gets better. The virus? Leaves traces of sulfur in the blood."

Dean raises his brows, "A Demonic virus?"

"Yeah, more like demonic germ warfare," Sam states. "At least it explains why I've been having visions."

Dean exhales a sharp breath. "It's like a Biblical plague."

Athena snaps her fingers, "A Biblical Germ Warfare." she then shudders. "Horrifying."

"You're telling me..."

"Hey, I looked through Dad's journal and came across something about the Roanoke Colony," Athena speaks.

"And?"

"He's always had a theory about Croatoan." Sam voices. "He thought it was a demon's name. Sometimes known as Deva or sometimes Resheph."

"A demon of plague and pestilence," Athena adds.

"Well, that's terrific. Why here? Why now?"

Athena shrugs, "I dunno."

"But, Dean, who knows how far this thing can spread?" Sam speaks. "We've got to get out of here we've got to warn people."

"They've got one in here!"

Dean's back straightens and he looks at his two siblings before walking into the waiting room of the clinic. "What do you mean?"

"The wife--she's infected," Sam states.

"We've got to take care of this," Mark speaks. "We can't just leave her in there. My neighbors--they were strong. The longer we wait, the stronger she'll get."

Dean grabs his gun from the back of his waistband and Athena's eye widens. "Wait, you're going to kill her?"

Dean looks at his shaken sister and he softly sighs. "Unless there are any other ideas. This might be the way to go." he then walks into the examination room where Dr. Lee and Pamela were. Sam and Mark follow after Dean while Athena was left with a pit in her stomach. She makes her way into the room to all the adults talking.

"Doctor, could there be any treatment? Some kind of cure for this?"

Dr. Lee hesitates, she looks at each person in the room.

"Can you cure it? Dean asks.

"For God's sake, I don't even know what it is!" She exasperates.

"I told you, it's a matter of time before she breaks through," Mark speaks.

"Just leave her in there, you can't shoot her like an animal!" Pamela exclaims.

Athena fiddles with her fingers, "Maybe we should wait."

Sam's eyes soften, "Athena, if we wait, she might get through and hurt all of us."

Athena's breathing quickens and she knits her brows together. She had no idea what the right choice was and that frustrated her.

"Sam."

Sam turns to Dean and the eldest Winchester motions his head to the door. They all walk over to the door and Sam pushes the door open.

"Mark. What are you doing?" The wife cries. "Mark, it's them. They locked me in here. They tried to kill me."

Athena knew that the woman was infected, but her crying sounded real. She was so scared. Athena's heart begins to pound through her ears and tears brim her eyes. She covers her ears as the woman's sobs grow louder than before.

Then Dean pulls the trigger three times.

☆

"Why are we staying here? Please, let's just go."

"Uh, we can't, 'cause those things are everywhere," Dean speaks.

Pamela places her hands on her knees and exhales a breath of exhaustion. "Oh, God..."

"She's right about one thing. We can't stay here." Sam speaks. "We've got to get out of here, get to the Roadhouse, somewhere. Let people know what's coming."

"That's a good point." Dean nods. "Night of The Living Dead didn't exactly end pretty."

Athena sighs, "Okay, I thought I was the only one thinking that this was giving off some weird...Zombie energy here and I don't like it!" She then wipes her forehead.

Sam pats the top of Athena's head in a supporting manner. Athena relaxes and lets out a sharp breath.

"Lots of folks up here are good with rifles." Mark voices. "Even with all your hardware, we're easy targets. So, unless you've got some explosives..."

Sam's eyes trail behind Dean and Mark. He raises his brows when he sees all the chemicals on the shelves. "Hey, Thena?"

She looks up at Sam.

"You still up for some inventing?" Sam asks.

Athena pulls her brows together, she follows his gaze and looks at the chemicals. She raises her brows and a smile spreads across her lips. "You want me to make bombs?!"

Dean's eyes widen he snaps his eyes over to the bottles of chemicals. "She doesn't know how to make bombs!" He then looks at Athena and notices her smug smirk. Dean's face drops.

"You know how to make bombs?!"

A knock on the door catches everyone's attention. "Hey, let me in—let me in, please!"

Sam, Dean, and Mark run over to the front door. "It's Duane Tanner."

Athena pokes her head out of the room and looks at the panicked man outside the clinic door. Mark opens the door for him and Duane stumbles into the building. "Oh, thank god."

"Duane, you okay?" Mark asks.

Dean turns to Sam, "That's the guy that I..." he clicks his tongue and motions his hand across his neck, signifying murder.

Sam nods his head, "Yeah."

"Who else is in here?" Duane asks.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa." Dean walks over to Duane. "Easy there, Chief." He looks over at Dr. Lee.

"Hey, Doc, give Duane. Good once-over, would you?"

They all make their way to the examination room.

"Who are you?" Duane looks at Dean.

"Never mind who I am." Dean brushes him off.

Duane sits on the examination bed.

"Duane, where you been?" Mark asks.

"I was on a fishing trip up by Roslyn. I came back this afternoon." Duane states. "I saw Roger McGill being dragged out of his house by people we know. They started cutting him with knives."

"I ran. I've been hiding in the woods ever since."

Athena tilts her head.

"Has anybody seen my mom and dad?" Duane asks.

Dean winces, he leans close to his siblings. "Awkward..."

"More like sad." Athena voices.

"You're bleeding."

The Winchesters snap their eyes over to the boy on the table.

"Where did you get that?" Dean asks.

"I was running. Must have tripped." Duane answers.

Dean looks at Mark, "Tie him up. There's no rope in there."

Duane pulls his brows together. He stands up, "Wait—"

Dean points his gun at Duane. "Sit down!"

Duane flinches and he looks at everyone else in the room. Athena shrugs, "He's the one with the gun."

"Sorry, Duane. He's right. We've got to be careful." Mark says.

"Careful? About what?" Duane asks.

"Did they bleed in you?" Dean questions.

Duane raises his brows, "No. what the hell?! No!"

"Doc, any way to know for sure? Any test?" Sam asks.

"I've studied Beverly's blood work backward and forwards."

"My mom."

Dr. Lee looks at Duane with sympathy, but she continues to speak. "It took three hours for the virus to incubate. Sulfur didn't appear in the blood until then, so, no, there would be no way of knowing."

Athena raises her brows, "Not until he turns, right?"

Dr. Lee swallows but she nods her head. Sam looks at Dean and notices the cold look on his face. "Dean, I got to talk to you. Now." Sam's tone is stern.

Athena raises her brows, "Glad that's not me." She looks at Gilbert with a smile.

Dean rolls his eyes and walks out of the room with Sam. Athena sits with Gilbert and watches as Mark ties Duane up.

"I-I don't understand why you guys are doing this." Duane sweats.

Athena tilts her head, "There's something going around your town and it's making people kind of...Cuckoo for Co Co Puffs."

Duane's eyes widen, "What?!"

"I tried to say it in simpler terms. But in actuality, there are people in your town and they're spreading a virus around that's making people hurt each other." Athena explains.

Duane's face pales. Athena tilts her head, "I think I broke him."

"Dean!"

Athena snaps her eyes over to the door and Dean walks through it. She pulls her brows together. Her eyes shift to the gun in Dean's hand. "What...where's Sam?"

"In the other room," Dean answers.

"No, no, no, no." Duane stammers. "You're not gonna—"

"Athena wait outside." Dean motions his head towards the door.

Athena raises her brows, understanding what's happening. She looks at Duane, who was crying. "N-No—Dean, you don't even know that he's infected."

"Oh, God, we're all gonna die," Pamela says.

Athena rolls her eyes, "Just calm down."

"Maybe he's telling the truth," Mark says.

"No, he's not him—not anymore." Dean shakes his head.

Athena shakes her head, "But, you don't know!"

"Athena, by the time we do know, he'll already be turned into one of those things!" Dean exclaims.

"Oh, God! No, please—I don't want to die!" Duane cries.

Athena didn't know if Duane was infected or not. But he was begging for his life. She wasn't just going to let him die without a fight. She was going to do whatever she could to protect him. Athena inhales a deep breath as Dean stalks over to Duane. She runs toward the tied-up boy and stands in front of him with her arms out.

Dean stops in his tracks, "What are you doing?"

"I'm not gonna let you kill him--"

"Ask the doctor! It's not in--"

"Can you please shut up, I am trying to save your life!" Athena snaps at Duane. "Christ..." she looks back at Dean with pleading eyes.

"You can't just...shoot first and probably feel bad about it later." Athena shakes her head. "That's not right and you know it." she lowers her arms.

Dean hesitates for a moment and Athena bites the inside of her cheek. "You're not him, y'know?"

Dean's body tenses and he looks back at Athena's soft expression.

"You're not dad," Athena says. "You can be your own person. And I know you don't want to do this."

All of Athena's life she has watched Dean try and be someone he wasn't in order for his dad to have some form of pride in him. But, not it's turned Dean into someone he wasn't. Athena was praying this wasn't him.

Athena shifts her eyes to the gun in Dean's hand and it begins to shake. He lets out a frustrated breath and looks away from Duane. "I can't do it..."

Athena lets out a small breath, "You don't have to feel bad about having a conscious, Dean."

☆

Athena was a great teacher. She was patient, kind, and understanding. So, when her brothers got stuck on a step when it came to crafting the bombs; they weren't afraid to ask. And Athena was eager to help. After Dean didn't go through with shooting Duane, the siblings all sat in silence while making the bombs. Gilbert was in the corner of the room, eating a can of cat food. Athena and Dean never told Sam what was said in the room. Athena felt like Dean wasn't comfortable with sharing it and she was right. For some reason, he felt ashamed.

"It's been four hours." Dr. Lee speaks, entering the room. "Duane's blood is still clean. I don't think he's infected."

"I'd like to untie him, if that's all right."

Dean doesn't speak, he just goes back to working on the bombs. Sam looks at Dr. Lee and nods, "Sure."

Dr. Lee leaves the room. Sam looks at Dean, "You know I'm gonna ask you why."

Dean lets out a deep sigh, "Yeah, I know."

"So, why? Why didn't you do it?" Sam asks.

Dean stops and thinks back to the conversation. He glances at Athena and watches her work on one of the bombs. Did she really mean everything she said? Or was it just to get him to stop killing Duane? Dean blinks and looks back at the containers. "We need more alcohol."

Sam looks at Athena, "What'd you say to him?"

Athena looks at Sam and slightly opens her mouth. "Just...the truth." she looks at her eldest brother with a small smile. A lump forms in Dean's throat and he looks back at the bombs. Sam walks into the room to grab more alcohol. The room stays quiet for a moment. Dean inhales a breath, "Did you really mean what you said earlier?"

Athena softly hums and looks at her big brother. Dean feels embarrassed for even asking, "About me not being like dad?"

Her good eye softens. "Yeah, of course, I meant it, Dean." she chuckles. "Dad was...a good hunter, but he wasn't a good person." Athena bites the inside her cheek. "I don't want that for you, or Sam. You guys aren't like him."

Dean's eyes burn and he swallows the lump in his throat. "You're too good for this world, Thena."

Athena smiles, "You called me, Thena."

Dean raises his brows, "Is that okay?"

Athena softly laughs and she nods her head. "Yeah, that's okay."

A thud is heard in the other room Sam was in. Soon a scream comes from the room, causing Athena's heart to quicken. Dean runs over to the door and twists the door handle, but it was locked. Athena stands up. Dean kicks the door open and shoots Pamela, dead. Athena runs over to the room and sees Sam on the ground, covering a wound. Sam reaches for Dean's hand, but Mark stops it.

"She bled on him," Mark states.

Athena's eyes widen, "What?"

"He's got the virus."

Dean urged Dr. Lee to continue checking Sam's wound, hoping he was okay. Athena was holding Gilbert in her arms while her good eye never left Sam. She hasn't spoken since they found out Sam was infected.

"What does he need to examine him for?" Mark asks. "You saw what happened."

"Did her blood actually enter your wound?" Dr. Lee asks.

"Come on, of course, it did!" Mark shouts. Athena flinches.

Dean looks at Mark, "We don't know that for sure."

"We can't take a chance," Duane speaks.

Athena snaps her eyes over to Duane. "What?"

"You know what we have to do."

Athena scoffs, "Nobody's shooting my brother."

"He's not gonna be your brother much longer," Duane speaks. "You said it yourself--"

"Why the hell are you talking?" Athena snaps at the boy. Everyone looks at the 11-year-old. "You would've been dead by now if it weren't for me. And honestly, I'm kind of regretting saving your ass, right now!"

"Who's child is this?" Duane points at the girl.

Athena smacks his finger out of her face. "I'm no one's child. I'm an orphan!" she sticks her tongue out at him.

"Athena, Dean."

The two siblings turn to Sam. He had a look of defeat that caused tears in Athena's eye.

"I'm infected. Just give me your gun and I'll do it myself." Sam says.

Dean scoffs, "Forget it."

"Dean, I'm not gonna become one of those things." Sam retorts.

"We still have time, we can try and figure something out!" Athena exclaims, her voice shaking.

"Time for what?" Mark speaks. "Look, I understand he's your guys' brother, and I'm sorry--I am." He pulls his gun out and cocks it back. "But, I've got to take care of this."

"No!"

"I'm gonna say this once." Dean starts, his voice is cold and to the point. "You make a move on him, you'll be dead before you hit the ground. You understand me?"

Mark doesn't say anything and that irks Dean. "Do I make myself clear?!--"

"Dean!--"

"What are we supposed to do?!"

Athena covers her ears from the sudden screaming. She inhales a shaky breath. As soon as the room becomes silent again, she takes her hands off her ears. Dean rummages through his pocket, "Get the hell out of here. That's what." he tosses the keys to Mark.

Athena pulls her brow together. "Take my car. You've got the explosives. There's an arsenal in there. You two go with him."

"You got enough firepower to handle anything now."

"What about you?" Mark asks.

Athena and Sam look at their big brother and Dean had a solemn expression across his face.

"Dean, no." Sam shakes his head. "No. Go with them. This is your only choice."

Athena's eyes widen and she shakes her head.

"You're not gonna get rid of me that easy--"

"We can't just let them go off by themselves," Athena speaks up. Sam and Dean look at her. Athena shakes her head, "We can't just give up."

Dean's eyes soften, "Athena..." he starts, but he ends up letting out a shaky breath. Dean felt deep in his heart that this was the right choice. Athena would be so much better off without him.

Athena knits her brows together and shakes her head. "What?"

Sam's face drops, realizing what Dean was doing. "Dean, no."

Athena snaps her gaze over to Sam, still not understanding. "Can you guys please explain to me in words? I can't understand this reading eyes and facial expressions, okay?!" her frustration rises. "Tell me what's going on?"

Dean's eyes were teary, but he quickly wipes at them; not wanting to waste any time. "You're a good person, Thena." he crouches in front of her. "Never forget that."

Athena shakes her head as Dean looks at Mark.

"Get her out of here, too."

Athena pulls her brows together and a small breath of disbelief leaves her lips. "N-No." a smile twitches onto her lips. She looks at Sam and sees the same look of guilt in his teary eyes. "What are you guys...I'm not gonna just leave you guys here." Athena scoffs. "Y-You're out of your minds."

"Athena, you're just a kid," Sam says. "If I don't even want Dean to stay, I'm sure as hell not gonna let you. He'll be right behind you--"

"No, he won't!" Athena snaps as her breathing quickens. She looks at Dean. "No, I'm not leaving!"

Mark wraps an arm around Athena and then grabs her cat with the other. Tears fill Athena's eyes and she thrashes in the man's grip. "No, let me go!" she cries. Her head begins to feel light. "Guys, please, don't leave me!"

Just hearing her screams of protest quickly change to sobs, struck the brother's hearts. Hard. It made both brothers rethink their choice to stay behind. As the door closes, leaving the two brothers alone; Sam looks at Dean.

"Dean--"

"Forget it, Sam."

Sam's brows shoot up and he scoffs, "Athena needs you!"

"Really?!" Dean shouts. "Because I think she would be better off without me. After everything dad..." he shakes his head. "After everything dad did to her. I could've stopped it--but I didn't. As a matter of fact, I added onto dad's shit, and she..." Dean's voice gets caught in his throat and he looks away from Sam. The middle Winchester's eyes widen from how devasted Dean was over his past choices. "...she deserves better."

"So, you think that leaving her alone is the best idea?" Sam asks.

Dean shakes his head and looks at the ring on his finger. "She won't...be alone." he lets out. "She'll call Bobby because she's smart." he exhales a shaky breath. "And Bobby...he'll take care of her. Like he always has."

Sam's eyes widen, "What? Dean, you know Athena wouldn't go for that. You can't just expect her to live with Bibb knowing how this ended for us!"

Dean looks at Sam with tears in his eyes. "I don't have any other ideas, Sammy." he bunches his shoulders. Dean walks around the room and ends up leaning against the desk. "I'm tired..."

Sam pulls his brows together, he doesn't say anything; so he lets Dean continue.

"I'm tired of this job..." Dean trails off. "This life...this weight on my shoulders, man. I'm tired of it."

"So, what? So, you're just gonna give up?" Sam huffs. "I mean, you're just gonna lay down and die? Look, Dean, I know this stuff with dad had--"

"You're wrong."

Sam stops talking and he watches as Dean's eyes glaze over. Dean shakes his head, "It's not about dad. I mean, part of it is, sure--"

"Then, what is it about?"

Dean thinks about all the secrets his father laid on him. It made Dean sick to his stomach just thinking about them. He opens his mouth to speak, ready to lay it all out there; but a sound is heard outside. Quick footsteps are heard approaching the door and Dean sees Dr. Lee knock on the door. He pulls the door open.

"You better come see this."

Sam and Dean walk out of the clinic. It was still dark outside, but from the hint of light on the horizon, you could tell it would be daytime soon. The town was entirely still and empty. There were no townspeople walking around and there definitely weren't any civilians bleeding on others.

"There's no one. Not anywhere." Dr. Lee states. "They've all just vanished."

Dean looks amongst the group of people and pulls his brows together. "Hey, where's Athena?"

Sam's back straightens and he looks around the town. Mark looks at the brothers, "She's by your car. Hasn't moved since I got her out the building."

Sam and Dean look at each other, both having the same thought. They make their way over to their little sister. The brothers round the car and see Athena with her back against the tire. Her good eye was looking straight ahead, you could tell from the moonlight reflecting off her face that she had been crying. Gilbert was laying beside her on top of the backpack while her knees were pulled toward her chest. Athena knew both brothers were standing right there and she wanted nothing more than to run up to them with open arms. But the girl couldn't help but feel pissed off that they chose to leave her alone.

"Athena--"

"You guys weren't even going to say goodbye." Her voice was hoarse from all of her crying. "Am I seriously not that important to you?"

Sam's lips part, "No, Athena, we just thought this was the best way--"

"You guys thought this was the best thing for me?" Athena stands up and picks Gilbert up. She gently places him in her bag and slips it on her shoulders. "You didn't even ask me what I thought was best for me!"

"You would've chosen to stay with us, Athena," Dean speaks, his voice small.

Athena wipes her nose, "Yeah, you're right. I would've. Because that's what families do. They stick by each other, no matter what!" she shakes her head. "But, you guys...once again chose each other. You stayed together and you left me."

Dean never thought about it that way. He just thought that he was giving Athena another chance at a better life. Athena wipes the tears from her face. "I'm going back inside..." she brushes past her brothers and goes into the building.

☆

As soon as Dr. Lee told Sam that his blood was clean, the Winchesters made their way to the Impala as Duane and Mark drove off in a Pick Up Truck.

"What about him?" Dean motions his head to Sam.

Dr. Lee looks at the three siblings. "He's gonna be fine. No signs of infection."

Athena gives the doctor a wave before she goes back into the clinic. Dean looks at Sam and Sam holds his hands up. "Hey, man, don't look at me. I've got no clue."

Dean raises his brows, "I swear, I'm gonna lose sleep over this one."

"I mean, why here? Why now?" Dean questions. "Where the hell did everybody go? It's not like they just freaking melted."

"Croatoan disease," Athena speaks. "Everybody catches it and everybody disappears?"

"Why was I immune?" Sam questions.

Athena purses her lips, "Don't have any answers or hypotheses for that one."

They all pile into the Impala and drive out of the town.

After driving for hours, Dean told, Sam and Athena, he wanted to stop and "smell the roses". Athena doesn't know what conversation Sam and Dean had in that clinic, but she knows it was a conversation that caused Dean to act differently. Sam was sitting on the fence with a beer in his hand. Dean was leaning against the fence and Athena had a bottle of apple juice in her hand as she sat on one pillar of the fence with her legs hanging out.

"So, last night--you want to tell me what the hell you were talking about?" Sam asks.

Dean purses his lips, "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" Sam chuckles. "I mean you said you were tired of the job and that it wasn't just because of dad."

Athena raises her brows, "Wow, you said that?" she drinks her apple juice.

Dean sighs, "Forget it."

"No, I can't. No way." Sam shakes his head.

"Come on, man, I thought we were both gonna die." Dean looks at Sam. "You can't hold that over me."

"No, no, no. You can't pull that crap with me, man." Sam says. "You're talking."

Dean scoffs, "And what if I don't?"

Athena frowns, "You might as well just tell him. He'll just keep asking you until you do." she moves her head from side to side and hums.

Dean inhales a deep breath, "I don't know, man...I just think maybe we ought to...go to the Grand Canyon."

Athena pulls her brows together.

"What?" Sam and Athena chorus.

"Yeah, you know, all this driving back and forth across the country--do you know I've never been to the Grand Canyon?" Dean asks.

"I don't think any of us have been to the Grand Canyon," Athena speaks. "Actually, that sounds fun. Let's do it!"

Dean points at Athena, "That's the spirit." he shrugs. "Or we could go to T.J. or Hollywood--see if we could meet Lindsay Lohan."

"The girl from Parent Trap?" Athena's mouth goes agape.

Dean nods his head and Athena smiles.

"You're not making any sense," Sam says. Athena raises her brows, remembering that she was getting distracted from the actual conversation.

"I just think we should take a break from all this," Dean says. "Why do we got to get stuck with all the responsibility? Why can't we live life a little bit?"

Sam pulls his brows together, worry starts to rise in him. "Why are you saying all this?"

Dean's ecstatic attitude falters. He turns and makes his way back over to the Impala. Sam hops off the fence, "No, no, no, no. Dean, you're our brother, all right?"

Dean turns to Sam.

"So, whatever weight you're carrying, let us help a little bit," Sam assures him.

Dean shifts his eyes to Athena, even though was mad at him; she still had mutual feelings with Sam. He looks back at Sam, "I can't. I promised."

Athena starts to feel the same confusion as Sam. She untangles herself from the fence and walks over to her brothers. "Who did you promise?"

None of them hardly talked to anybody else.

"Dad."

Athena's back straightens and her jaw clenches.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asks.

Dean hesitates, but he gets it out. "Right before dad died...he told me something," he states. "He told me something about you."

"Dean, what did he tell you?"

Athena looks at Sam, and all the color drained from his face. Whatever it was their father told Dean, it wasn't good. And Athena could feel that.

She just wished that she also felt that the heavy guilt hanging off of Dean from another secret he'd been holding in.

Then maybe Athena would've been prepared for what came next...

━━━━━━━━━━

author's note.

I wanted to post this today but I just got back from work and I'm so mfn tired rn. So, I am going to take the FATTEST nap! I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter <333

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