Dead Weight.

What is this?

Terre Haute, Indiana.

At a local diner, a man sat by himself eating dinner. He had a heavy plate of steak with french fries and lots of ketchup, mostly eaten. Despite this he looked fit. The man wore overalls with a Carhartt over them. He had on a John Deere hat. He wore his reading glasses as he scanned the local paper. He was one of only 5 or 6 people at the diner, staff included. The man looked up when the door opened. His wife strolled in.

"How was bingo?" The man asked his wife.
"I won $200," she replied.
He nodded his approval and stood up so they could go home.

They walked out to their car. As they made their way through a muddy parking lot, the man heard what sounded like angry dogs barking behind him. He turned to look and the noises stopped. Confused, the man scanned the area. It wasn't well lit. He couldn't see anything. His wife was already inside their truck and tapped on the window. The husband dismissed the oddity and got in.

They drove home. Bedtime prep. His wife was brushing her teeth. The man was finishing his paper in the study. He sat in a recliner by an open window. He heard it again. Dogs. Snarling. Barking. The man looked out the window. Nothing. Then, a crash in the kitchen, startling him. As he got up to take a look his doorbell rang.
He ignored the crash in favor of the front door. The man opened it.

"Jeff, hey," his neighbor Doug said. "Listen, have you seen any dogs around here? Mine got loose."
"I didn't know you had dogs, Doug." Jeff replied.
"That's probably because you've never seen them," Doug said, his eyes flipping beetle black. A demon. "They are invisible after all."

Jeff backed away in fear and heard another crash behind him. And growling. His wife came trotting down the stairs.

"Is someone at the door?" She asked.
Doug looked past Jeff."Oh, there you are," demonically enhanced Doug said. "Bad dog. You hungry? Come and get 'em."

The hellhound launched itself at Jeff as the demon watched. It sank its teeth in and splattered blood over Doug's face. Jeff's wife screamed as another hellhound latched onto her. Doug watched the couple get torn limb from limb.
"Another bloodline taken care of," the demon said.

******

Lawrence, Kansas.

Sam was subconsciously chewing on his nails. He was sitting in a local diner over breakfast which he of course was barely eating. The newspaper before him revealed part of the source of his nervousness. The dateline was 1983. Baby Sam Winchester was five months old. Adult Sam Winchester wanted to curl into the fetal position. It was about 4 weeks before the night his Mom would be killed. Sam was pretty sure Castiel had sent him here -- why? For a chance to stop things? Dean had tried once and it didn't work. To see it happen? To kill the yellow-eyed demon? Sam wasn't sure.

Sam still hadn't seen his brother, at least not adult Dean. Young Dean had gotten him a glass of water the night before and asked after Sam's awesome kicks. In the diner Sam stared off into space. What should he do? Sam had no idea where Castiel was or how to even contact him. Were the Enochian symbols still on Sam's ribs? He didn't know. Bobby didn't know the Winchesters yet, Harvelle's Roadhouse wasn't built yet and even if it were who knows if Ellen would be there. Jo wasn't even born yet. Would Ash be at MIT now? Sam had no clue. There were no cellphones, the Internet didn't exist yet and baby Sam's highest brain function included sucking his thumb. Adult Sam stared out the window. Was the yellow-eyed demon in town? No headaches yet. No visions. Would those still happen? The waitress came by to refill his coffee and snapped him back into reality. If you could call it that.

Sam hadn't noticed but a girl was watching him from the bar. Unable to hold out any longer she slid into the booth bench opposite him.

"Scuse me," she said. "I couldn't help but notice -- you're not from around here. And you look like you have a lot on your mind. Everything OK?"
Sam looked up and locked eyes with a pretty girl about his age. He managed a small smile back. "Sorry, I'm not really in the mood for chatting," he said.
She smiled back fully in return. "No problem," she said. "But I think you need some company."

She slid the newspaper out from under Sam's hands and opened it, starting to read. Sam bitchfaced, but knew he had a talking partner whether he wanted one or not.

"You're gonna think this is crazy," he finally said after a few minutes. "But have you ever had a dream so real you felt like you were living it?"
The girl tipped down just a corner of the paper. "Sure, all the time. I dream about me and Rick Springfield, married with two kids. A boy and a girl. Me living the life in Los Angeles." She stared off for a moment. "But then I wake up."
"Well," said Sam, "What if you don't wake up?"
She laughed. "You a zombie or something?"

Sam half smiled. He hadn't considered it -- was he? No, no. That seemed unlikely.

"I guess I'm just confused." He finally relaxed a bit."My name is Sam. Sam...Hagar."
"Hee, like the singer? That's pretty funny." She held out her hand. "Joey Woodson. Nice to meet you."

Sam shook the outstretched hand. His shoulder still stung a bit."Woodson, how do I know that name?" He searched his brain's archive.
"Oh, probably because of Woodson's garage. My Dad used to own it. He died a few years back though. Now John Winchester runs the place. He kept the name though, such a sweet guy."

Sam bit his lip as he remembered. If time was holding up at all it was Anna who'd killed this poor girl's Dad. Yet another life the Winchesters were responsible for ending. But that was then and this was...also then. But a more recent one. A plan clicked in Sam's college boy head.

"Hey, you know, I met John Winchester last night. Seems like a cool guy," Sam began. Joey nodded. "I'm new in town and I need a job. I saw a sign in the garage window. Think you could help me get hired?"

Joey thought about it. "You any good with cars?"
"Yeah sure, I know all about tuning carburetors and calibrating wheels and stuff," he lied.
Joey seemed bemused. "Uh huh. Well, lucky for you I know John's so desperate for help he'd probably take a guy with no hands at this rate."

Sam let the slight pass. He asked Joey if they could head over right then. She agreed. Sam dropped a few dollars on the table and they headed to the shop.

Another person had been watching him from the counter. And as Sam and Joey left the diner the counter dweller watched him go. His eyes flipped beetle black.

******

Fort Collins, Colorado.

Dean arrived while it was still dark out. He stopped at a gas station to refill. A group of kids were also there and from the looks of it they were causing trouble. Dean grimaced and rolled his eyes as he saw them trashing the inside of the store. He went to pop the trunk where he was hiding the supplies from Bobby. He grabbed a small automatic loaded with rock salt shots more out of habit than anything. Then he strolled towards the store. Outside one of the bikers sat on his bike, arms crossed. As Dean approached the college kid stared him down. Finally as he got close Dean watched his eyes flip beetle black. Dean didn't know how he knew but he'd known. Just can't get away from it. He tightened his jaw and walked in, ignoring the demon outside for now. He pretended to avoid the confrontation at first, instead heading back towards the beverage center. He grabbed a 2-liter of water, opened it, said a quick prayer and dropped in a rosary. There were three of them. Dean calculated, he plotted. And then he walked up front.

The demonically enhanced teens backed away to let Dean approach the register, where Dean paid for his gas. He met the frightened cashier's eye and winked. When Dean turned around he'd been swarmed by the three. He smiled.

"Hey guys," he said calmly. "Looking for something?"

The demons shot confused looks at each other. Dean looked at each of them and tried to decipher what they were thinking. Were they confused because they recognized him? Or confused because he was so calm? After a few seconds one of them stepped forward.

"What are you doing here?" The demon asked.
"Oh, you know, just topping her off and refilling," he said, pointing to the water he was cradling in his arm.
"Oh?" said the demon. "Funny, we're refilling too..."

And with that he took a swing at Dean, who ducked to avoid it. Another demon sucker punched Dean from the side causing him to drop the water. It rolled away from him down the aisle. Dean swung back quickly, grabbing the snack display off the counter and hitting one of the demons with it. It staggered back as the other two swooped in to take its place. Dean clocked the second demon with a right jab and pushed it back into the demon behind it. Then he scrambled for the holy water. He shook the water bottle and flipped off the lid. He sprayed the water at the demons and watched as they backed away in pain. Once he was confident they were incapacitated Dean started Latinating. The fourth demon ran in just as he was beginning -- perfect timing. He completed the exorcism spell as quickly as he could. He was surprised to even remember it. Finally their mouths flew open as streams of dark black smoke exploded out of their mouths and towards the ceiling. It swarmed until Dean was done and then it disappeared into the night. The kids all collapsed, fainted.

Dean turned to check on the cashier. He had the phone in his hands to call the police but was frozen in shock. Dean smiled to himself. He found himself in front of the porn rack. Busty Asian Beauties were waiting for him. He picked up a copy.

"Mind if I take this one?" He asked.
"Take it," the cashier whispered.

Dean smiled and waved a thanks. He exited the mart and replaced the gas nozzle. And then he took off for the nearest diner.

******

Ridiculously scenic mountain university town.

Dean pulled into one of the university parking lots and got out of the car. He saw students walking across the large plaza from building to building, some sitting outside in the dry sun. He headed towards the admissions building. At the front desk he spotted a young female college student. A young, hot female college student. Perfect, he thought.

Dashing El Deano flashed the pearly whites. "Hi there," he said in his best drawl. "I'm hoping you can help me. See, my sister, she's a student, and well, Daddy sent me because we haven't heard from her in weeks. I'm hoping you can help me find her."

The girl raised a brow and gave him the once over. She cleared her throat. From a desk nearby, her boss leaned out of his cubicle to do the same. Dean flashed the same grin and waved. The boss bitchfaced but slid back into the cube.

The girl leaned in. "I'm sorry but I can't help you. Colorado State is not authorized to give out information about its students."
Dean leaned in closer yet. "Please," he said. "Help me."
The girl slid a sticky note and a pen towards him. She leaned back. "I'm sorry, sir, but I can't help you." She tapped the pen to the sticky note and handed the pen to Dean. "Sorry."

A little while later, Dean had the girl's address, her schedule and her GPA. He stopped by the girl's dorm room. Her roommate said she was at the library working on a research project. And that she'd be the only one in the library listening area at almost midnight on a Friday.

Dean entered the library and headed up to the second floor. He spotted her from across the floor. She was tall with long dark hair and, as Dean noticed, a nice ass. Dean paused to compose himself. Once ready he went up and tapped her softly on the shoulder. She removed her headphones and spun around. Dean found himself momentarily distracted, just long enough to make the young woman uncomfortable.

"Can I help you?" She asked, flashing a smile.
"Um, yes, sorry. Well this is kind of awkward. Has anyone told you that you're really pretty?"
The girl smiled, amused. "Thanks, but I have a boyfriend."

She turned to put her headphones back on but Dean ducked back into her sight.
"Well, actually, you know your roommate Heather?" The girl nodded. "Well, I have this crush on her. But I'm too nervous to go up to her. And I was kind of hoping you could tell me a bit about her and, you know, help me hook up with her?"

Dean flashed a semi-confident smile at the last part. Playing it smooth as always. The girl weighed this man. Was he a stalker? Just plain crazy? Or a genuine guy? She settled on the last option.

"Heather, huh? I suppose I could help a dude out. For a price," she said, her smile turning sly. "Buy me a beer and I'll tell you what you need to know."

Dean smiled back. Like a charm, it worked.

******

Frat-boy infested bar.

Dean tried to pace himself but the girl, who formally introduced herself as Alexis Parker, drank even slower. Everyone called her Alex she said and Dean should do the same. Except tonight Dean was Keith Richards to cover his ass. He had hoped to get her drunk quickly so he could start unloading his plan on her, but this girl wasn't going to be drunk till next Thursday at this rate. And Dean didn't want to wait that long. He was trying to lie about why he wanted to date Alex's roommate but it just wasn't coming together for him. At all. And Alex was clearly starting to see through it.

She was starting to tire and he was starting to get bored. And then it got worse when a friend -- a male friend -- came up to talk to Alex. Dean bitchfaced. The guy introduced himself to Dean as Greg. When Dean went to shake his hand though, he watched in horror as Greg's eyes flipped beetle black. Dean met his enemy's glare, but Greg's human pupils returned before he turned back to Alex. Dean was now convinced the demons knew who he was.

"Who is this guy?" The demon formerly known as Greg said to Alex. "Chad wouldn't like this. We should get out of here."

Dean watched frustratingly as Alex nodded in agreement. She put the half-drunken bottle back on the bar and stepped down from her stole. Dean grabbed her wrist.

"No, come on, I need your help," he implored.
"Dude, I'm tired and you're boring, so no offense but I'm out," Alex rejected him.

Dean watched helplessly as his vessel target left with Greg. As they walked out the front he slipped out the back and into the car. Dean drove around the block until they made it to demon Greg's car and then followed them back to Alex's dorm. He had watched them get out of the car and head in. He waited outside of the sorta secure facility until a couple of kids came out, then slipped in. He punched the elevator to the 3rd floor. Dean heard the screams before door opened. He ran down the hall to Alex's room and threw the door open. She was inside, demon Greg's hands around her neck. He looked over with a smile.

"Persistent, aren't we?" The demon asked.
Dean brandished his gun. "Let her go," Dean ordered.
It was never that easy though. The demon's smile stayed. "Who? Her? First tell me, Dean Winchester, what exactly do you want with this girl?"
Alex looked over at Dean -- this monster knew him? And called him by a different name?
"She's my cousin."
"Unlikely. You're different too, although I can't say how. We've been following you and your Daddy for awhile now. Your brother too. But it seems like you already knew that. Here's the strange thing though, a couple of my friends are following you and Pops right now in Minnesota. So tell me, how is it that you're in two places at once?"

His grip on Alex's neck tightened and she gagged.
"You want to learn my trick? Fine. But let her go."
"Sorry, can't do that. Not about to let go of something you want so badly."

Alex, having had enough, stomped down on the monster's foot as hard as she could. It caused demon Greg to release his grip just enough so she could fall back coughing. Dean used the opportunity to pelt him with rock salt. The demon staggered back a few steps and reached for stability. Once stabilized he righted himself and ran back into the kitchen.

Dean followed him, gun at the ready the entire way. There was only one place to hide in there -- the laundry room. Dean approached slowly. He took his right hand off the gun and started to reach for the door when the demon launched himself out. Dean fell on his back and scooted a safe distance away as the demon approached with a knife. Dean reached into his jacket and as the demon landed on him Dean caught its wrist with his left hand and sank his own knife into it with his right hand. It wasn't his preference to kill the demon but that's how it ended. The demon's face glowed momentarily before Greg's body slumped on top of Dean. He pushed it off and got to his feet.

Once upright Dean was surprised to see Alex's scared face meeting his own calm look. She rubbed her neck absently. "I figured you were halfway to Denver by now," he cracked.
"Heather's dead!" she cried in return.

Dean ran down the hall to check and sure enough Alex's roommate had been slaughtered sometime since Dean had left. "Crap," he said. He turned back to Alex. "You need to get out of here," he said.

"Oh sure. I'm totally going to go with the creepy guy who lied about his name with the guns and the knives who just shot my friend and was interested in my now-dead roommate. Did I mention the creepiness factor is off the charts here?!?"
"Alex," Dean said. "I know how this looks but I just saved you! And Mr. Cool and Infected over there..." he said, pointing to Greg. "There are more like him coming right now for you. If we don't leave now we might not make it."

She looked into his eyes to weigh the truth. While she was considering it her dorm room door started pounding. And pounding. And then it flew open, with Alex's demonically enhanced floor advisor plus two floormates waiting.

"Alex," the former watchdog said. "It's past floor curfew. All visitors must leave by any means necessary."

The advisor held her hand up and Dean went flying backwards towards the window. It crashed apart as he hit it but Dean fell aside. Alex stumbled back. As the group approached her she gathered all of her strength and pushed a bookcase down on top of them. Then she helped Dean to his feet. They ran back towards the suite-separating door, opened it and ran through.
Next door, her suitemate was making out with her boyfriend on the bed. Dean's primal instinct got the better of him just long enough to stick out his hand to high five the dude. Lucky dude. They made it to the emergency stairs and flew down them.

In the lot, Dean pulled Alex towards his car. He started it and peeled out just as the demons ran out the door. They tried to follow for a bit but quickly gave up their chase. Alex watched until the demons disappeared from view and then turned to face forward. She stared blankly as the past hour's events caught up with her. Then she turned to Dean.

"Who are you?" She insisted. "And what the hell just happened?"
"My name is Dean Winchester," he replied. "And I'm a demon hunter. Those were demons. And I saved you from them." He quickly glanced over at her. "You can thank me later."
She scoffed. "OK, why were they after me?"
"I'd love to sit here and have story time but I think we should find someplace less likely to get us both killed first. Is there somewhere we can go?"
After a moment she nodded. "My parents live just outside Omaha. Get on I-25 North, then take 80 East."

******

Lawrence, Kansas.

Sam's hands were covered in slimy blackness. Oil, to be more specific. He was bleeding a car jacked up above him as John Winchester watched. Sam could only hope he remembered how Dean had shown him to do it. Once the oil stopped dripping he grabbed the filter. It took some jimmying but he eventually got it out. Then Sam slid in the replacement filter, replaced the drain plug, filled the oil back up to the proper level and sealed up the reservoir.

"Ahem," John said. "Not the most graceful oil change I ever saw but you did the job." He smiled. "I think I can work with ya. Didn't your Daddy ever have you working on cars?"
Sam managed a weak smile. "No, sir. My father was a road warrior. Didn't see him much."

No sense in lying on that front. John nodded. He patted Sam on the back. "We'll have you up to speed in no time, Sammy." Sam could only chuckle.

Over the next few days John taught Sam some of the basics from changing tires to replacing spark plugs to setting new brake pedals. It was a simple joy Sam had never known. His Dad was unlike Sam had ever seen him -- content and at peace. The youngest Winchester spent his off-time getting to know the town, buying up farmer's almanacs and listening to the farm reports at night for omens. He was staying above the Woodsen's house garage in a bachelor unit. It wasn't glamorous but it was home. Plus, Joey and her mom felt safer having a big strong Ginormotron around.

Sam's mind was on only one thing: stopping Azazel from killing his Mom. Stopping him from dripping demon blood into baby Sam's mouth. Phase one of the plan was earning the Winchester family's trust. So far, so good. Mary and John had both asked Sam if they'd met before, but Michael had kept his promise to wipe their memories of the events of Sam and Dean's last time traveling adventure. Mary brought the boys lunch every day. Dean occasionally tagged along. Sam enjoyed seeing his youthful brother -- a clear Mama's boy but so much more innocent then he would be just a month later if Sam didn't succeed. He had to succeed.

At night Sam wondered about adult Dean. He wondered about the Apocalypse. Had Lucifer won? Was this the aftermath? Who sent Sam back here? And was everything the same as Sam had heard about it? What point in the stream of time did he land in? Was Dean dead? Or was he too somewhere lost in the right place, wrong time? Would Sam ever see his brother again?

Sam had checked out a few books from the Lawrence library: Le Voyageur Imprudent by René Barjavel, Minds, Machines, and the Multiverse by Julian Brown and The Quantum Mechanics of Minds and Worlds by Jeffrey A. Barrett. Every book he'd read cautioned against changing past events for fear of destroying known futures. But Sam couldn't think of one future event that justified letting his past remain as it was -- not reuniting with his brother, not meeting Jess, not anything. If his parents stay alive and together, Dean and Sam grow up like normal kids. Maybe Sam still meets Jess. Maybe not. The risk was worth it to him. Worth it if it all works out to a normal life. No more hunting. No more brooding. Just a nice, nuclear family.

Sam settled into bed. Through the skylight he could see hundreds of stars above Kansas. Childhood tales came back to him. He wondered if he knew any of those stars.

******

Sam snapped awake when he heard the door slam. It was the house door first. Then the door to his apartment. He sat up in bed, and watched the door intently. A shotgun purchased at the local hardware store was loaded with rock salt and sat an arm's reach away. Sam heard light footsteps. The incoming air shifted his ajar bedroom door slightly. Then a hand pushed it open. Sam's eyes widened.

And then they relaxed as he saw it was Joey. "You shouldn't be here," he admonished her. Joey looked away, then down, then back at Sam. She was in her nightgown with a light robe over it. She smiled ever-so-slightly and tip toed closer to the bed.

Sam smirked and looked away. "Joey," he sighed.

She sat down next to him on the bed. She smiled at Sam. He started to smile back but then realized something was not quite right. Sam started to reach for the gun but Joey pushed him back against the wall, holding him by the neck. Her eyes filled in black.

"What's the matter? Don't you want company Sam Winchester?” The demon in Joey smiled.
Sam waited, expecting the eyes to flash yellow. They did not."Who are you?" Sam snarled. "Ruby? Meg?"
The demon laughed. "No, no. Not Ruby. Certainly not Meg. Definitely not Lilith. And not bad old yellow eyes either. You can skip the guessing Sam, because you have no idea who I am. But I know you. And your brother. Now you just listen to me. A long time ago there was this demon who went around to all the little baby rooms and gave darling infants drops of demon blood to drink. The plan was to raise up a new army for Lucifer. Thing is, Lucifer already had an army in waiting. It just needed a leader. I didn't know the first time around. But now..." the demon trailed off.

"Now I've seen how things could unfold and I know I can do it one better. So you go ahead and stop Azazel if you want. In the end it won't change a thing. Lucifer will rise whether it's your brother that breaks the first seal, your Dad, you, or some other 'righteous' nut. Things are either gonna turn out badly for you Sam, or they're gonna turn out worse."

"I'm here with a choice Sam. You can help me lead this army like you were destined to do. Help me bring on the Apocalypse -- now -- and we can save all this dragging out over the next 20-whatever years. Or you can try, by yourself, to stop every demon that's trying to free Lucifer." Her voice turned lower. "Which is, by the way Sam, every demon. You can kill us but no matter how many of us you stop there will always be another one ready-in-waiting." She stood up and turned away.

"So how about that Sam? You end up back here and you're right back in the same hole. How's it gonna end this time?" Demonic Joey turned back towards Sam to meet a barrel in her face.
"I don't care what you say," Sam said, "and I don't care how many of you there are. I will take down every one of you until there is no demon left on this Earth." He cocked the gun.
"If you shoot me, I kill the host." Said with a shrug.
"Yeah?" Sam replied, "So?"
He brought the gun up to aim. "Sam, you're more ready than I thought!" The demon cheerfully replied.

And then, just as suddenly as it had arrived, the demon exited its host, leaving Joey collapsed on the floor. Sam rushed to her once the demon was gone. Her eyes fluttered back to life.

"Sam?" She asked, confused. "How did I get here?"
"Sleepwalking, I guess," Sam replied. It was clear she remembered nothing. "Let me take you back home."
"I was having a horrible dream," Joey continued, "I was awake but I couldn't control my body."
"You're OK now," Sam reassured her. "It was just a nightmare. A bad one. Sometimes I have them too."
Joey was looking over into the corner of the room. "What is that?" She asked, motioning towards Sam's charged cellphone.
"Just a fancy walkie-talkie," he said. "Come on, let's get you home.” Sam guided her down the steps.