I'll Tell You My Sins so You Can Sharpen Your Knife

The next morning, Sarah sat outside at the top of the stairs leading up to her room at the motel. She carefully set her microwaved pop-tarts on top of her coffee mug and took a drag of her cigarette. It was a beautiful New England morning.

She heard a door open behind her and turned to see Sam walking out of his room. He came over and sat next to her. “Morning.”

“Morning.”

“You ready for today?”

“Are you?”

He shrugged. “How do you prepare to be scared out of your wits? What are you thinking about?”

She took a deep breath and smiled. “How much I’d like to move out here, some day.”

“I hear the winters suck.”

“Yeah, but I can watch hockey all the time.” She ground out her cigarette. “Where’s your brother?”

“In the shower. We’ll be ready to go soon.”

She nodded and ground out her cigarette.

“So the plan is just for us to wander around, and hope he senses us?”

She grimaced. “I know it sounds like crap. But honestly, you two have so much baggage that for The Slender Man you’re a full Thanksgiving meal. With desert.” She stood and patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll be out and about. Keeping an eye on you two, just in case he moves too fast. As soon as you start to see him, call me.”

“But I thought you can’t do anything until he gets really close.”

“I can’t. Doesn’t mean I can’t prepare.”

The door opened and Dean came out, no shirt on and towel in hand. “Sam, shower’s open.”

Sam got up and went into his room. Sarah tried to ignore Dean’s eyes boring holes into her back.

“Hey Sarah? How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight.” She replied shortly.

“No, really. How old?”

Sarah gathered her things, stood, and glared at Dean. “I’m twenty-eight. When is it finally going to click in your head that I don’t practice black magic?” She pushed past him to get to her own room. “Colossal fucking idiot. Maybe I’ll just let the Slender Man get you.”

“Not funny, Sarah.”

She slammed the motel room door behind her. Dean returned to his own room to find Sam on his way into the shower.

“You sure this is gonna work?” he asked uncertainly. “That Sarah knows what she’s doing?”

“Of course.” Sam said bracingly. “Don’t worry.”

“She just threatened to let the Slender Man get me.”

“She didn’t mean it.”

“How do you know that?”

“Do you mean half of what you say to her?”

~*~

Sarah sighed and searched the bottom of the cardboard holder for the last of the french-fries. She had a good view of Sam and Dean throwing a football back and forth.

“What are we doing, Sarah?”

She calmly looked into the rearview mirror to see Crowley behind her. “Hey, Crowley. Want a McNugget?”

“If you knew what was in those, you wouldn’t either.” He peered into the bag next to her. “Necromancer’s bells, silver knife, and a spell to call running water. Summoning the dead?”

“Laying a trap. Not that it’s any of your concern.”

“For what?”

She didn’t respond. She held up binoculars and looked at the Winchesters. Dean was checking something just over Sam’s shoulder.

“So you’re binding then.”

“What do you want, Crowley?”

“Just making sure you’re not trying to trap one of mine.” He studied a speck on his lapel. “Call it recon.”

“The king of hell does recon, now?”

“It would appear that I’m the only demon who can get within twenty feet of the Winchesters without getting pricked. So, yes.”

Sarah sighed and tossed the binoculars aside as her phone started to ring. “We’re not trapping a demon. So it’s not your concern. Go away before I trap you.”

“Touchy.” He muttered, disappearing.

Sarah put her phone to her ear. “Hey, Sam. You see him?”

Sam swallowed heavily into the phone. “Yeah. He…he’s a lot closer than you said he’d be.”

She sat upright and put her McNuggets next to her supplies on the passenger seat. “How close?”

“I don’t know. Twenty feet?”

“Shit.” Sarah muttered. The Slender Man must be hungry. “Alright. That sickness you’re feeling? The dread and fear? It’s just him. Just some cosmic radiation. Remember, he can’t hurt you. He’s trying to make you hurt yourself.”

“I know.”

“Well, make sure Dean knows.” Sarah started the car. “Alright, head towards the woods. I’ll go through the golf course and meet you that way.” She hesitated. “And whatever you do. Don’t listen when I ring the bells.”

She watched the brothers turn and start to head towards the woods, then pulled out of the parking spot. She would have a longer walk than the boys, but hopefully nothing would go too wrong until she got there.

“What are we looking for again?” Dean muttered as they passed from park land into forest.

“Sarah left markers.” Sam replied. “She said we’d know it when we saw it.”

“What was she doing out here, anyway?”

“Preparing some sort of spell, I think.”

“Is this going to work?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why do we trust her, again?”

“You trusted her on the last job you did with her.”

“Yeah, and she knocked me out and let the witch get away.”

“Because she was thirteen. She saved your moral conscious.” Sam looked up. “Look. That must be the first marker.”

A tree had been spray painted with a bright pink wiccan symbol for light.

“Sam.” Dean said dryly, his eyes fixated ahead. “Since when did he pass us?”

The Slender Man was no longer behind them. He was carefully moving through the trees ahead, grey suit un-torn, checking to see if they still followed. That was just before the end game Sarah had told them about, when he started to lead his prey. Sam put his phone to his ear.

“Hello?” Sarah answered.

“He’s in front of us.”

“Shit.” She hissed. “Shit. Shit. Alright, stay calm.”

“How am I supposed to stay calm when you’re not calm?”

“Shut up. Just follow the markers. Once you cross the dry creek you can stop. And keep an eye on Dean.”

Sarah hung up and tossed her phone on the passenger seat. She quickly parked and pulled off her jacket, revealing the athletic shirt underneath. She grabbed the things from the passenger seat and left the car. She with held a shudder as she pulled the strap of bells over her head. Their magic called to her, begging for release. Asking for permission to raise monsters.

“This is not the time,” Sarah growled at herself, “for an existential crisis about life choices.”

“Ma’am?” a voice called. Sarah looked up to see an elderly white man in a pastel polo. “Do you have a permit for that?”

She looked at the gun in her hand. “Ah, shit.” She muttered, raising the gun and knife together, and sprinting towards the woods a few feet away. “No time for that either.”

Sam and Dean jumped over a dried out creek. “This is it.” Sam said. “Where she said.”

“Then where the hell is she?” Dean growled.

A twig snapped and the brothers turned. A small island had been made by the dried creek. And on the other side stood a man in a grey suit and a hat. He had no hair and no expression. But he was very tall, and very thin.

Another sound. Water. Dean looked around to find that the creek was rapidly filling with water, and running downhill. The Slender Man tried to walk backwards, over the creek, and couldn’t.

“Scared?”

The three of them turned to see Sarah calmly walking through the creek and onto the small island. Her green eyes glowed, and hints of light emanated from her.

“The raised dead can’t cross running water.” She said. “Because that’s what you really are. Just a pile of twisted, dead souls.”

The Slender Man looked at her. Sam suddenly felt sick and doubled over.

“Sam, I can’t see him.” Sarah said. “What’s he doing?”

Dean aimed his gun at Sarah. “Stop.”

She glared at him. “Dean. Put it down. I’m here to help.”

“You put us here in the first place!”

“Dean. Don’t make me hurt you. He’s affecting your mind.” She slowly reached for the smallest bell on the belt.

“Don’t move!” Dean shouted.

Sam managed to stand. “Dean. Stop.”

“WHY DO YOU TRUST HER?”

Sarah snapped her fingers and the clip slid out of Dean’s gun. Sam rushed forward and forced Dean down onto the forest floor.

“Just stop her.” Dean whispered. “She talks to Crowley. She wants to kill us.”

Sarah pulled out the first bell. The smallest bell. Ranna*, the sleep bringer. She rang the bell as she pulled a heavy gold locket out of her pocket. Like a cloud being lifted, the Slender Man materialized before her. She could only bind him if she could see him.

Sam was smacking his brother on the back. “Come on, Dean. Don’t listen to the bell. Don’t go to sleep.”

Sarah slid her hand up the belt. The third bell, Kibeth, the walker. She rang and forced the slender man to approach her. He fought the call of the bell, but she was stronger. She was the strongest, armed with these bells. She slipped the locket around his neck.

The sixth bell. Saraneth. His mouth opened into a silent scream as she rang the bell.

“I bind you to this token.” She whispered.

The seventh bell whispered to her. She could ring Astarael. She could throw the Slender Man into death and end everything. But to ring Astarael meant everyone who heard the bell would be taken along. It would take her with but that was okay. Who, other than Castiel, would really miss her presence?

But Sam and Dean would be taken as well.

She let her hand rest on the heaviest bell, but she did not remove it from the leather holds.

“Begone.” Sarah told the monster.

The locket fell to the ground. A new etching appeared on the smooth surface. A faceless man.

“Sarah!” Sam called.

Sarah turned and saw Dean lying on the ground, Sam smacking him across the face.

“I told you not to listen!” Sarah said, running over and checking his pulse. It was very, very slow.

“What’s happening?” Sam asked.

“He’s sleeping like the dead.” Sarah said, putting a hand on the first bell. “He heard the first bell.”

“Well, ring the bell again and bring him back!”

“It doesn’t work that way!” Sarah snapped, her eyes crackling with an angry energy. “If I ring the sleeper again we’ll all sleep. And if I ring the waker, I’ll wake up all the dead within a mile radius and throw the three of us into death.”

“Well, what do we do?”

“Shut up.”

“Sarah!”

“SHUT UP!” she roared.

Sam was pushed back, away from his brother. Sarah leaned over Dean and began whispering very, very quickly.

“Sarah, what – “

But before he could finish his sentence, Sarah leaned down and kissed Dean full on the mouth. Dean’s eyes snapped open, and Sarah pulled away. Sarah sat back and closed her eyes, breathing heavily.

“Sarah?” Dean asked.

She stood. Her eyes no longer glowed, and she no longer emanated a magical light. “Come on.” She muttered, stooping to pick up the locket. “The car’s back this way.”