standing in your flame

"Um..." Eva tried to think about it for a few moments, trying to run through her memories, but eventually shook her head. "I don't think they ever had a bad year with the crops - at least not from what I remember." She wondered why they were asking so many questions about the crops, though - why did crops matter so much when she and Callie had been about to die?

Sam frowned with the mention of it, shooting a look to Dean with the mention of it. It seemed like Tony and his wife were definitely involved, but he wondered if it was just them. "Were there ever any adults who seemed super close to them?" he asked eventually, looking to the girls, "Anybody who was around them a lot or who they seemed secretive with?"

“Our parents,” Callie nodded. “Grandma and Grandpa, some neighbours.” She looked to Eva. “Tim from next door, weren’t his parents the ones who paid for the farms maintenence one year?” Callie asked, making sure her facts were right. “Now I have a question.” She frowned. “What does all of this have to do with a kidnapping and probably a plot to murder?” She frowned.

Dean nodded with the information. “This the farm?” He asked as he came to two large, wooden gates, leading up a small dirt road. As the girls nodded, Dean led Baby carefully up the road, seeing the farm was empty apart from a vegetable patch and a barn. “Alright,” He murmured to himself, grabbing the stainless steel knife. “I’ll be back in a second.”

Sam frowned with the explanation, wondering if their parents and grandparents were involved in all of this, too - and the neighbors and some Tim guy's parents. How big was this? "Make it quick," he said to his brother, watching him, hoping he'd be careful, but he turned in his seat to focus on the girls, settling his gaze on Callie as he listened to her question. "It's going to sound crazy, but we think Tony and his wife, and possibly everybody you just listed, made a deal with a God for crops and, in return, they had to sacrifice those who were born in the Spring the year the deal was made 21 years later."

Eva stared at him for a long moment, blinking several times. "...You're right, it does sound crazy," she said, frowning slightly, "Our parents wouldn't do that. I mean... They're our parents, they wouldn't be involved in something crazy like this. And Tony and his wife are good, nice people! They wouldn't do that, either." She had to believe that. "And, I mean, come on, some God? Sacrifices? It sounds like something out of some low-rate occult film."

Dean tread lightly across the land, hoping that nothing was stalking around. Seeing no danger; Dean rushed to the dirt, stabbing the knife in, and for a brief moment, Dean was nearly sure the dirt had a pulse. Rushing back to the Impala, Dean slammed the door shut and locked it behind him. “All we have to do now is wait.”

Callie laughed at Sam’s explanation — not finding it funny, but finding it hard to believe. “Our parents love us, why would they let us die like that? Tony and Brenda were basically our second parents. I don’t know where where you’re from, but we’re from a good community.” Callie got defensive. “And Eva’s right, it does sound like some low budget horror fic. Are you even real agents?”

"Sometimes, people don't think about the real consequences they have to deal with when they make these deals," Sam told her carefully as he watched her, "And, sometimes, people just don't care - the crops matter more than the lives that are taken for payment. If your parents love you two, though, I'm assuming it's the first." He cleared his throat, though, with the question. "Uh, no, we're hunters. We pretend to be agents to get the information we need."

"If you're hunters, why are you here instead of out, tracking deer?" Eva asked, frowning gently as she watched him before looking to Dean, becoming more and more confused by the two. "How'd you even know we were in trouble?" She peered between the two before pointing at Dean. "And what the hell did you even just do in the crop field?"

Dean exhaled heavily. “Not that kind of hunter. We hunt the supernatural, research things that don’t sound right — ghosts, demons, all that fun stuff.” Dean turned in his seat to look at the girls. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but trust me, it’s real. It’s out there and it’s scary and right now, it’s coming for you.”

Callie frowned as a gust of wind passed through the farm, almost rocking the car. “It looks like it’s coming now,” she murmured to Eva. “You guys do this for a living? Are you nuts?” Callie asked.

Sam offered a half-amused, half-nervous chuckle in response. "Uh, yeah, we just might be," he said eventually, "But it's our job and we're good at it." He looked back at the girls again, watching them, but mostly watching Callie. "So, trust me when I say we're going to make sure you two make it out of this alive, okay? So, stay in here." He stared for a moment before he climbed out of the car.

Eva listened quietly to the information they were being given. Ghosts, demons, Gods, whatever else... How did all of that stuff actually exist? Swallowing, she gave Callie's hand a squeeze and nodded obediently to the order to stay in the car before she looked to her sister. "How the hell did this end up being our lives?" she asked quietly.

Dean glanced back at Eva, making sure he was okay before he climbing out of the car with a breath. “C’mon!” Dean called out. “If you think you’re having these girls, you’re wrong.” Dean tightened his grip on the knife, hoping nothing would backfire now.

Callie looked at her sister, blinking in surprise. “I...” She sighed. “Don’t know.” She confessed, turning to watch the boys. “But, I think we can trust these guys.” She shrugged. “At least, I hope we can.” She trailed off, her eyes focusing on Sam for a brief moment before the wind got stronger thunder began clapping in the skies above.

Sam pulled out his own knife and looked to his brother, debating for a moment before he went into the field just long enough to drive his knife into the soil, though he could feel the ground beginning to shake. Stumbling back with the knife, he stared for a moment before he returned to his brother's side, frowning as the weather was getting worse. "Pretty sure it's mad now," he mentioned to Dean, but that meant it was getting closer.

Eva nodded slightly in response, cringing with the way the thunder clapped, how loud it was compared to normal. "Yeah, I hope we can, too," she murmured, though she wasn't too sure how easy it'd be to hear over the wind and thunder outside. While it was slightly muffled in the car, it was still very loud and rough and worrisome.

“Let it be mad, we’re ready.” Dean frowned, the ground beneath them starting to split, separating Sam and Dean from each other. A dark figure rose up, a scarecrow in appearance with unnaturally green eyes. “Dude. You fugly.” Dean commented as the Earth came to a standstill, still gripping to his knife.

Callie gasped as the ground split, rocking the car viciously on it’s frame. She held on to the back of Sam’s seat, watching as a dark figure rose from the ground. “Holy shit.” She murmured. “Eva, look,” she kept her voice low, letting Sam and Dean handle it — they were clearly good at their jobs and Callie didn’t want to cause anymore trouble than the boys were seeming to already be going through.

The scarecrow didn't talk, but it swung its arm at Dean, holding a scythe.

Sam frowned, watching with concern, but he quickly rushed to jump across the split in the earth to join at Dean's side, determined to help his brother survive this. The scarecrow seemed to notice him right away and slung the scythe at him instead. Sam tried to focus on keeping it distracted, dodging its swings, but occasionally trying to stab at it with his knife.

"Oh, my God," Eva breathed out, staring at the figure for a long moment as she tried to stay steady in the car. She tried to be quiet, worried that even the quietest noise would attract the creature's attention. "That thing is terrifying."

Dean ducked, pushing Sam out of harm’s way as the scarecrow continued trying to take hits with its scythe. Using an unseen force, the scarecrow flung both boys a few feet away from him; turning his attention to the car as Dean rubbed his head, having hit it against a rock.

Callie frowned. “We need to do something, we can’t let them do this by themselves,” she whispered. “Is there a way we can distract it to get the boys a head start?” She gasped and ducked down a little as the scarecrow looked in their direction.

The thunder clapped even louder and Callie looked to Eva. “Oh my God.”

Sam grunted when he landed, having broken a scarecrow post from being thrown against it. For a moment, he was disoriented, but he forced himself back to his feet, took a deep breath, and tried to get back into the fight.

Eva ducked quickly with her sister, tensing slightly, because it felt like the scarecrow thing just knew where they were, like it could sense them. With the thought, she found herself chewing on her lip. "We could be bait?" she suggested quietly, looking to Callie. She didn't really like the idea but the only way to get the scarecrow's focus away from the guys was to get it to focus on them, it seemed.

“Follow my lead,” Callie murmured, getting out of the Impala. “Hey!” She shouted at the scarecrow, throwing a rock from the ground at it. “It’s us you want? Then come and get us!” She stood in her spot, planning to lead the scarecrow towards the front of the Impala.

Dean looked on as the girls started to use their own form of distraction. Despite Sam and Dean’s warnings to stay in the car, Dean couldn’t help but feel grateful as he stood to his feet, approaching the monster from behind, knowing if this didn’t work, the girls would be dead meat.

Eva shifted, climbing out of the Impala after her sister, staring at the scarecrow for a long moment. "We're right here!" she called over the storm eventually, "And we're not moving or going anywhere, so if you want us, this is your chance to get us! Better hurry, though!"

Sam stared at the girls in shock for a moment, watching Callie mostly with concern, but he figured they probably needed this right now. "Dean," he called, looking to his brother before he quickly went towards the creature - if they both went after it at the same time, one of them had to be able to get it. He hoped his brother understood the plan - and the creature was still distracted with the girls. Quickly, Sam rushed over, stabbing his knife at the creature, hoping to land it.

Dean looked at Eva as he rushed over to the beast, ensuring she was safe, promising himself no harm would come to her. Plunging his blade into the monster’s side, seeing Sam had gotten the other side, the scarecrow made an unearthly noise, the wind picking up. Dean stood in front of Eva, protecting her from the aftermath as he kept her against the Impala, knowing she was protected between him and the car.

Callie gripped onto the trunk of the Impala as she watched the beast’s eyes turn from green to red, the God crumbling to dust before their eyes. And as quickly as the storm started, it faded away, the ground reconnecting and the thunder ceasing to clap in the heavens. “Eva, you okay?” Callie asked breathlessly, still in shock.

Sam had made sure to quickly block Callie from the way the storm had gotten worse in the moments the God was dying. He'd tried his best to make sure she was safe from everything that came with the God's death and, when it all died down, he breathed out but looked down at Callie, examining her for a few moments. "Are you alright?" he asked, "You didn't get hurt in any of that, did you?"

Eva stared at the deteriorating creature until it was gone, shocked with all of the events, but a part of her was sure that the most shocking part of it all was how quickly Dean had moved to protect her. She stared at him for a long moment before she cleared her throat when she heard her sister and she nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," she assured, looking over at her, only then noticing Sam's own protective stance in front of Callie, "Are you okay?"

“I’m fine,” Callie reassured Eva and Sam, studying Sam for longer than she intended, grateful to him for the kindness he had shown her. “Thanks for, well, you know.” She ducked her head, regrouping with Eva, concerned for her sister.

Dean looked back at Eva, offering her a small smile. “You two are safe now,” He promised. “But it’s been a hell of a day, so how about we go and get some food?” Dean clapped his hands, still subtly studying Eva, knowing that for first timers, it could be a daunting, or even traumatising, experience, and he wanted to let the girls have the opportunity to calm down and relax and realise that nothing could get to them anymore.

Not while he and Sam were there.

"You don't have to thank us," Sam assured her, offering a smile, though he was glad to hear that she was okay. For a few long moments, though, he eyed her, wanting to make sure she was okay and that she wasn't just saying it to ease anybody's concerns. Still, he looked to Dean, arching a brow. "Comfort food, then?" he suggested, going along with his brother's idea, because it only seemed right, and a part of him wanted to stick around a while longer, just to make sure Callie was okay.

Eva watched her sister, still worried about her, but she nodded slightly. Even if they weren't okay, she was sure they'd get through all of this together - they got through everything together. Hearing Dean's suggestion, she blinked, looking up at him. "Oh, um, sure, okay, food would probably be a really good idea right about now," she admitted, though she was hopeful that nothing else would go wrong for their birthday - though she doubted that anything could be worse than what had just happened.

Dean nodded. “Of course it’s a good idea, when is grease never a good idea?” Dean grinned, clearly satisfied with himself of a job well done. “You two were great out there, by the way. Took some guts to do what you did back there. That God, well, he was powerful.” Dean got into the driver’s seat of Baby, focusing the rear view mirror on the sisters once more.

Callie nodded as she listened to Dean. “We just... thought it would be a good idea to help,” she shrugged, looking to Eva for back up as she put her safety belt on, watching as Sam entered the car, feeling her cheeks rise to a smile. “You two were great too. Used to this, huh?”

Dean nodded proudly. “Yeah, it’s something you get used to. So, I gotta ask — do twins really have shared connections?” His grin nearly fell at Sam’s look of dismay. “What?”