Quietly, she found the stairs to the bottom floor and slipped down. Starla saw her and immediately perked up at the sight of her friend but Emily held her finger to her lips to indicate silence as she crept towards her. With one smooth movement she yanked the tape from Starla's lips before she tried to jerk the chains loose. The links were made of heavy iron, heavy enough to keep Starla from breaking them and Emily just wasn't strong enough to do it.

"Hold it right there." Emily turned around to see Black Baseball Hat holding a gun steadily on her and keeping his distance. "Sneaky." He admitted as he glanced over to her and Starla. "Not sneaky enough though." He said as he picked up his walkie talkie. "Hey, Billy. Get in here."

It was only a moment more before Billy was in the room too, pointing his shotgun right at Emily's head.

"Hey, can't we just talk about this?" Emily asked as she took a step forward. This slight movement seemed to set the demon hunters on edge.

"Stay right where you are!" Billy shouted at her as he raised his weapon slightly. "I will shoot you, bitch."

Emily tilted her head a little bit at the two of them.

"What do you think you're doing? We're not demons. We're just people trying to figure out what the hell is going on. I thought you guys were supposed to be the good guys!" She shouted at them, taking another step closer making Billy's nervous and itchy trigger finger press down a little bit more.

"We are the good guys." Black Ballcap said and even though he seemed nervous, unlike his friend Billy he was having an easier time keeping his voice calm.

"Good guys who shoot innocent mothers? Who kidnap girls and threaten to shoot them? Oh yeah, you guys are regular heroes." Emily rolled her eyes as she took another step forward.

Billy was backed up to the wall now as he kept the sight of his gun on her.

"You're a demon. There's nothing innocent about you or her." Ballcap said, maintaining his ground.

"Whoa. You guys are afraid of me." Emily said, more to herself than to them. "You're afraid of me." With that she doubled over laughing, she couldn't help herself. The sound was disturbing and insane as it echoed off the walls of the warehouse. Emily wasn't even that amused, but somehow laughter seemed like the only response at this juncture. Life was insane, and so why shouldn't she adapt? She immediately knew that they were afraid to come close to her, afraid that she was like Starla with super strength or like Chris with the ability to electrocute with a touch. What they didn't know was that all of Emily's power was controlled by her mind. She didn't need to even lay a finger on them.

"Shut the hell up!" Billy yelled again.

Finally, Emily stopped laughing and she stood back up, tall again with a few strands of dark hair covering her face as she looked through them before tossing them back and out of her line of vision.

"No. It's time for you to shut up, Billy." She said in a calm voice. Controlling peoples' minds had always been a bit like flirting for Emily. There was a certain chemistry you needed to have to draw people into your web and Emily found that seduction had always been the quickest way to achieve that goal. But this time, there was no hint of flirtation in her voice, no joy at the work she was about to do. Instead, it was calm determination.

"Turn your weapons on yourselves." She commanded and watched amused as both demon hunters did as she requested.

"Emily!" Starla shouted from the corner where she was chained. "Emily, you can't do this!"

"Why not?!" Emily demanded as she spun back around to look at her friend. "They killed Chris. They killed his mother. They would have killed you if you weren't bait for me. They should get a taste of their own medicine."

"Because if you do this you're no better than they are. Please, Emily. I know you're better than this." Starla begged her, her arms roughly jerking on the cuffs that held her in place.

Emily considered this for a moment. "Nope. I'm not. They want me to be the demon? I'll be the demon." She said as she felt a funny sensation behind her eyes that wouldn't quit. She didn't want to quit, this was something she wanted to see through until the end.

"Emily," Starla started again. "Please. Listen to me, okay? The murder in Dallas? That wasn't your fault. Sometimes things happen and you have to defend yourself but this is not the same thing, okay? If you do this that's it. I've lost you. You're gone. The only one that can touch you is Snell. They're assholes but they're still just people. You can't kill them."

"What about Chris? We can't just let them go. They'll come after us." Emily pointed out.

"We'll figure something out but you can't kill them. Just let me down out of these things and we'll figure it out together. Emily, come on. I'm your friend. We can do this together just like we've done everything else."

The incessant sound of Starla's pleas finally reached Emily's ears and she sighed heavily, the weight behind her eyes dissipating just as surely as it had hit her.

"Fine." She finally agreed before walking towards Black Baseball Cap. "Go let her out now." She commanded him and watched as he walked over to Starla and pulled a key out of his pocket, working to unlock the chains that held her in place.

"You." Emily said as she glanced over at Billy distastefully. "You can just sit and wait. Oh, and I'll take this please and thank you." She smiled at him as she stole the shotgun from his hands and quickly shot at his feet, forcing him to jump to avoid being hit.

"Emily!" Starla shouted just as she was released.

"Sorry." Emily shrugged. "Couldn't help it."

Once Starla was down from the chains that had been holding her, she set about tying the hunters up with a loose piece of electrical cord that she had found in the rafters above the warehouse.

"How are they going to get out of here?" Emily asked her friend curiously as they both stood above them with their arms folded over their chest. "I don't know. I'm sure someone will hear them come morning if they scream loud enough. Either that or they'll gnaw their way free. Who cares? By then we'll be long gone."

Black Baseball Cap laughed from the spot where he was tied up.

"What's so funny?" Emily demanded, narrowing her eyes at him.

"The fact that you think you can get away. There are hundreds of people out there, just like us. Hundreds of people who hunt down demon bitches just like you. One of us is bound to catch you eventually."

Starla started to move forward but Emily grabbed her arm and stopped her. Stepping methodically and slowly over towards him she crouched down in front of him until she was staring right into his dark eyes.

"My friend was innocent. He didn't ask for any of this. He was chosen just like the rest of us were."

"Electro Boy wasn't innocent. He was a demon." He spat back at her.

Pulling out a lip gloss from her pocket she casually coated her mouth with it as she looked at him. "And if I ever see you again? I'm going to make you wish you were never born." She leaned in close and kissed him roughly on the forehead, leaving a lipstick print behind as she pulled away.

"His name was Chris Marten. Don't you ever forget it." The sound of Emily's voice echoed back to the bound demon hunters as her and Starla walked away.

Emily wasn't sure what to expect when she came home from her trip to Las Vegas to visit Sam but an empty apartment wasn't it. At first, she thought that maybe Dean was at the bar or maybe at Jo's apartment and so after she put her things back down in her room, she slowly walked upstairs. This time she made sure to knock, just in case he was home and had company. She didn't exactly want to walk in on that or anything remotely close to it ever again.

Once she was sure the coast was clear, she pushed open his door and realized almost immediately that nearly everything that had once made up his room was completely gone. Dean wasn't much of a nester, he tended to stay on the move all of the time but the last few months he'd started to make a life in New York and making a life meant that you were bound to collect a few things here and there. All of those things were gone and Emily looked around the room before sinking down on his bed.

"He moved out." She said to the empty room, more to herself than to anyone else. There was no one to hear her anyway and for a moment she thought about calling Faith. Then she immediately thought that Faith had probably heard enough bitching about Dean to last her a lifetime and she decided against it. Emily knew she was treading on dangerous territory but she had hoped that her and Dean could at least find some kind of common ground once she returned from her trip. Instead, she found their apartment completely empty. He'd just up and moved out while she was gone, without so much as a note or a word. Nothing.

Emily hated being alone. She always had. It was probably her tragic flaw. When she had been younger and on the run, she couldn't ever seem to stay away from people even when they continually died on her. After Hell, she'd clung to Dean because she knew him and Sam and Solvei and Faith because they'd saved her. It worked out well for everyone because Emily brought something to the table that none of them really had. People skills. When everyone had been swept away to New York, Faith had let Emily stay with her and after that couldn't be done anymore, she'd moved in with Dean. Now she was living alone.

She knew it was slightly insane, but she found herself back in the bathtub. She stretched out, trying to make herself as comfortable as possible but it was a bathtub. By its very nature, it wasn't very comfortable unless filled with warm water. Her fingers gripped around the edge of the tub, remembering the night when she'd been half out of her mind, terrified and alone and for some reason, the bathtub had been her safe place. Dean hadn't complained, he just climbed in with her and spent the night. She sighed as she leaned up and turned the hot water on.

It just wasn't the same without him.

I've read a lot of fashion magazines. I probably should have a better hobby than that but just trust me when I say reading Cosmo is probably the healthiest of all of them. So if you wanted to know about mascara or interior design, if you wanted to know about what jeans to wear with your body type or about celebrity gossip I'm your girl. I'm also really good at talking people into doing things, all kinds of things, whatever I want. You can call it a trick or a superpower if you want to but it just is. Unfortunately, that last talent sort of put me at a disadvantage for life.

I'm not a soldier. I don't fight battles or lead armies or kill anything or anyone. I read celebrity gossip and paint my toenails. I definitely do not fight to the death in a freakshow circus.

It didn't take me long to figure out what was going on. At first I thought it was just a bad dream but then he came to me and told me that I was gonna have to prove myself. Uhhh....yeah right! What the hell did I have to prove to the guy who killed my parents? The guy who made my whole life completely sucky. I wasn't going to give in and play his games and I made that decision right after I watched Ava kill like three people in a row. That chick was totally out of her mind psycho crazy.

Not only was I refusing to actually fight at all but it wasn't like I could even do anything! I can talk anyone into doing anything except for my fellow freaks. Basically my power was totally useless and so I decided my best course of action was to hide. I didn't really think it would ever work. I mean, I knew I could psych out Ava because she was nuts but I didn't think I could really fool the demon. He's like the Great and Powerful Oz or something. He must've gotten way too excited about his impromptu celebrity deathmatch because he didn't even notice.

No one ever noticed at all.

So that's it. That's how the story ends. I hid in a little wooden shack that's like as big as a closet until it was over. All of the other freaks killed each other and now I'm the only one left. Well, me and some guy named Sam Winchester. Whoever he is.

Emily found herself alone on New Year's Eve. It wasn't an entirely new concept, she had spent most of her time since the Sorensons' death being on her own. So when she found herself at the bar alone doing shots of Absolut she tried not to think too hard on it. Facts were facts and if Emily really wanted to find company she wouldn't have to work too hard to do it. The truth was, she'd been spoiled for awhile now, had gotten too used to having company all of the time with Sam and Dean always around. Tonight the Winchester brothers were off on a case and one that must be particularly dangerous. It was a natural assumption to make since Dean had told her that under no circumstances was she to go with them. Either that or he was just trying to blow her off. Considering their past, she was willing to believe either one of her theories.

Then there was the fact that they had been in one place for longer than Emily would like to be. Things just seemed static and she wasn't entirely sure what was going through either of their heads. Not that she had ever bothered to ask. Instead she began to think about Leah and how her welcome had probably been overstayed. Whenever Emily had stayed in one place for too long in the past bad things had always happened. That was what made finding the Winchesters so damn convenient. They were always on the move.

She began to construct elaborate speeches in her head, practice this over and over again as if she were in front of a mirror. She was trying to think of something to say to them to break through the wall that had somehow come up, to get answers. But as she drank shot after shot the words began to become muddled and confused. By the time midnight hit she had completely abandoned the idea.

Sometimes life was entertaining if you waited for the shit to hit the fan anyways.

I've met a lot of guys over the time that I was on the rode. Some of them were decent guys, others of them were no good but hey, that's life, right? And it never really mattered anyways. I could never stick around long enough to actually have a real relationship with them. They all seemed the same after awhile, just kind of blending together over the years. At least that was until I met David in Vegas. I'd been hustling at the Palms, which was my new favorite casino. There was always so much action going on and anytime they tried to throw me out for cheating I would just tell them that they didn't want to do that. Easy as pie.

David was a local writer who had just gotten a promotion, so he was celebrating by blowing all of his new cash at the Palms Casino. He took a shine to me and I thought he was a total hottie so I helped him out and made sure he won so that he could spoil me with his earnings. Duh. I can totally get my own money but it seemed more fun to spend it with someone else. We went up to my room and tried out the hot tub and the rest should be history.

I told him I had to leave town and he didn't like that very much. In fact, short of begging he did everything he could to get me to stick around. It only took him a week to get under my skin and I agreed to stay at his apartment in Vegas. He didn't know me, he didn't even know my real name then. I was going by Sarah at the time.

I was so stupid. I really thought for a little while that I could make it work. He asked me to marry him and I said yes and suddenly I was thinking about being a wife and starting a family of my own. I should have known from the beginning that I could never actually do that. I had to keep on the move because that's how I survived, it's how I stayed away from the Yellow-Eyed Demon.

So instead of running from him, I moved in with him, even agreed to marry him. Just for one second his eyes flashed yellow and the game was up, I could only guess he had done it on purpose cause he never seems to slip up. I'm not sure if I ever knew the real David, or if it was the demon all along. I didn't stick around long enough to find out.

If I was stuck on a deserted island I think I would definitely want Seeley Booth with me. Normally I'd say Dean but I think Sammy would throw himself off a cliff without big brother. Besides, Dean and I would just argue for eternity over the dumbest things. Like, whether or not using a grenade to catch fish is a good idea. I guess on my deserted island we have grenades.

Anyways, I think I would get along better with Seeley for extended periods of time on a desert island. He could just use his cop thing to track down food and then shoot it, not with a grenade but you know with a regular gun. And also, he's really easy to mind control, even easier than Dean which is really saying something. He might want to work on that except for it works to my advantage. I figure I could spend a lifetime making him do stupid things like reciting the alphabet backwards while standing on his head.

I had a lot to think about after my talk with Seeley. Leah was in town and I knew that the Winchesters wouldn't stay here forever so I had to make up my mind fast. It didn't seem right to destroy everything by going to see her. I wanted to see my sister so badly but ever since I was little I knew I wouldn't cause anything but trouble for her and my parents, and that's why I stayed away. But after getting kidnapped by Gabe demon it was pretty obvious that it didn't matter how far I ran the demon guy knew where my family was even when I didn't. Could I really protect her?

I hadn't gone back to check in with Dean and Sam because I wasn't really sure that I wasn't to say any of it outloud just yet. I needed to think about it. They could understand that, right? Well, Dean would. I think. Either way I found myself out at a bar, nursing a Jack and Coke (so not my usual drink) when I noticed a brunette couple come in and sit down at a booth not that far from me. Normally I wouldn't have paid attention to them but there was something about them that caught my eye. I understood what it was when the guy referred to the girl outloud as Leah.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, too late clamping my hand over my mouth. The two of them turned around to look at me and I quickly turned the other way, using my hair as a shield that they couldn't see through. Crap. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't just meet her like this, but I was wildly curious. Slowly I turned back around and peeked at the two of them, they had gone back to talking.

Quickly I stood up and walked around the corner to the other room in the bar. There was some kind of party going on, and a tray of shots sat on a table. Walking over to the table I picked up two of them and quickly downed them before making a face. Ew.

"Hey." Some guy was in front of me, smiling down at me. "Are you a friend of the bride or the groom?"

Looking around I realized this was some kind of wedding reception. Great. "Umm. I'm the bride's sister." I answered casually.

"No, you're not." He frowned at me. "I've known her my whole life."

Ugh. Wouldn't he just go away already. Turning the full heat of my gaze on his face, I forced myself to smile slightly at him. "I am. You remember me. Serena? You've known me your whole life."

He looked confused for a minute and I almost thought it didn't work until he shot a big goofy grin in my direction. "Serena! Right, right. How you doing?"

"I'm fantastic." I muttered as I picked up another shot and downed it, feeling it burn it's way down my throat.

"So a few of us have a hotel room across the street and we're about to move this party somewhere more private. You interested?" He was giving me a look, his eyes sweeping me from head to toe. Yeah, I knew what kind of party he was talking about.

"Okay." I shrugged.

By the time 3 am hit, and I was stumbling back to the motel where I was staying with the Winchesters I was pretty well fucked. I'd even managed to convince the bride I was her sister before she slipped me a few pills to "help me sleep". Yeah, I felt kind of sleepy and drunk but at least it beat the never ending question that was gnawing at the back of my mind.

What now?

Muse: Emily Sorenson
Fandom: Supernatural
Artist: Blue October
Album: Consent to Treatment
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1040

( I wish I could go to sleep and wake up with amnesia and try to forget the things I've done. I wish I knew how to keep the promises I made you, but life I guess it goes on. Yeah I know it goes on... )

//locked//

I have a lot of skeletons in my closet. Most of them I would rather keep there but every once in awhile one will totally pop up and bite me in the ass again. Mostly because Demon Bitch Boy won't stop bringing them up like they're not all mostly his fault anyways! Like that guy I set on fire once.

Not only did he deserve it but I would have never had to do it if I wasn't constantly getting chased from town to town. I know he had a wife and kids but I thought he was gonna hurt me so I just....reacted. I didn't know that he wasn't, I just assumed because when you're out on your own you have to assume that everyone is out to get you. And I made the mistake of listening to the demon, letting him convince me that I was justified and that this man was going to hurt me. I didn't say I was smart.

My list of bad ideas and mistakes is so long I'm not sure I'll ever be able to remember them all. Everyone has skeletons in their closets though, I don't even think it's just because of the life I've been living. The thing that makes me different from everyone else is that I can really hurt people, sometimes without even trying at all. I know I'm not supposed to abuse my power but the better I get at it the easier it gets sometimes and then it's just completely unintentional. The demon told me that I'm supposed to be part of some big evil army. Which first of all, what the hell? I'm so not a soldier. But it doesn't matter I don't think, at least not for this kind of army. The lower he can drag me down the more likely he thinks it is that I'll just give up and join his side.

The thing is? It doesn't matter how low I get, or how many skeletons I have in my closet. The demon didn't count on one thing when he chose me.

He didn't count on Dean and Sam Winchester.

#1. Do You Ever Wonder- Blue October
#2. James- Blue October
#3. She's My Ride Home- Blue October
#4. What If We Could- Blue October
#5. Amnesia- Blue October
#6. Let It Go- Blue October
#7. Congratulations- Blue October
#8. Drop- Blue October
#9. X Amount of Words- Blue October
#10. Ugly Side- Blue October
#11. A Quiet Mind- Blue October
#12. Inner Glow- Blue October
#13. Somebody- Blue October
#14. Come In Closer- Blue October
#15. Amazing- Blue October





( lyrics )

#1. Zombie by The Cranberries
I guess this song reminds me of my family, and I don't mean the Sorensons. I mean the people who named me Jennifer.

#2. Live a Lie by Default
I've always had to pretend to be someone else.

#3. Capricorn (A Brand New Name) by 30 Seconds to Mars
Emily, Maggie, Molly, Sarah, Kate, Nina, Ashley, Anna, Jill, Lynn, Summer, Kristen, Lily, Vanessa .....

#4. Transatlanticism by Death Cab For Cutie
I met a guy and I was stupid enough to think that maybe a normal life could pan out for me.

#5. Dying by Hole
So it turns out that demons have minions or bitches or whatever the hell you wanna call them.

#6. Angel by Massive Attack
I don't really believe in love anymore. I mean, I know it exists for some people, but not for people like me. I just take what I want, tell people what I want them to do. Everybody has their own way of surviving and adapting, it's just that mine is like, way effective.

#7. Hunter by Bjork
This song reminds me of hooking up with the Winchester boys. They feel kind of like home, mostly because they never stop moving either. Plus, I've learned a ton of stuff about hunting demons from them.

#8. Why Don't You Come Over by Garbage
Dean.

#9. Hold On, Hold On by Neko Case
Sam and I had to run off on Dean because we didn't want to drag him into our mess.

#10. How To Disappear Completely by Radiohead
Oh, I don't know. This whole crazy possession thing that seems to be going around.

Okay, granted Sam and Dean made it a lot easier for me to talk my new friend into leaving with me but really the reason I'd done it was well, because I didn't want to stay in that church one second longer. I'd already been there way longer than everybody else. Like I really wanted to stick around and listen to the stupid demon talk more smack about everybody through Gabe. I was starving and dirty and bruised and all I wanted to do was have some breakfast and shower. In no particular order of importance.

"Where's your car?" I asked him when we back outside. Steam was rising through the cracks in the pavement and it freaked me out. Were we really that close to hell? I mean, I knew the story of Centralia, that stupid demon had told me it like ten million times. But the fact that I was being held hostage by a demon here? Yep, Centralia was hell. No doubt about it.

I was a little surprised when he lead me over to a black SUV. Figured a guy like that would have something a little more flashy, like Dean. Ugh. Don't even tell me he's a cop. This car had cop written all over it. Not that I was too worried about him looking me up. By the time he knew any better I would be long gone. And as it turned out? He was ridiculously easy to control. Dean had been like that in the beginning too but he was slowly getting a little better at resisting me. Boys were just easy anyways, and this one? No exception.

"Let's get out of here." I said to him, making sure that he knew it wasn't a question but a command as I climbed into the front seat. My new friend dutifully started up his truck and I turned around for a minute and pressed my mouth into a firm look as the church slowly faded from view. Poor Gabe. I really liked him actually, which was sad because he was probably gonna die now. And then who the hell knew if I would be the next one to get possessed. Oh God, I probably am next and I'm gonna go crazy and kidnap people and come back to this place. Oh, I'm never coming back to this place.

"By the way, what's your name?" I finally asked him once we were far enough away from Centralia that I could relax.

"Seeley." He replied mechanically as he kept his eyes locked on the road.

"Seeley?" I arched an eyebrow in his direction. "That is the gayest name I've ever heard." What? It was. What the hell kind of name was Seeley anyways. "Did your parents hate you? Never mind. I don't really want to know."

I felt like I could breathe again the minute we were passing the Centralia border into the neighboring town. I didn't care where we went as long as we got the hell away from there. Luckily for me, it was like fate had made the decision for me because a little bit over the border was a small diner. "Hey, pull in here." I directed Seeley and waited patiently until he had parked the truck in front of the diner. Wow. I was starving.

"Let me have your wallet." I said as I held my hand out. Mmm. Pancakes. Taking Seeley's wallet out of his hand I jumped down out of the car and headed towards the door. It was there that I stopped and turned around. Seeley was still sitting in the car. Oh. Right. "Come on. Let's go in here." I smiled at him with a wink as he scrambled out of the car and followed me into the diner.

He was kinda fun actually.

It wasn't until we'd both sat down and had pancakes in front of us that I got bored with having the poor dumb jock just do whatever I said. It's only really fun in theory. Okay, it was way more fun in reality but even I get bored with it sometimes. I could see him coming out of his daze as I chewed on another piece of pancake.

"Morning, Sunshine." I smiled at him with a wink when he looked around with a bewildered expression on his face.

//locked//

The first time I ran away from my life was after the demon killed the Sorensons. I don't really count leaving my real family as running away, because I didn't really set out to abandon them. I was just playing on the swings and one thing lead to another. Even when I was little I knew that I didn't want anything bad to happen to them. I guess that first time was a lie too. My name was a lie, I'm not even sure how I started going by Emily, it was just something that Mrs. Sorenson liked to call me. She said I looked like an Emily, and eventually it just became my name. I didn't have to lie to many people though, I was home schooled up until my junior year of high school and I didn't go out much because I was always afraid of who or what I would bump into.

They say you can't be saved by a lie, and I guess that you probably can't. I'm not sure you can be saved by anything, so the truth isn't exactly on your side either.

After the Sorensons died I had just enough money to get from LA to Phoenix. I hadn't figured out how to use my power yet, I didn't even know that I had one so I couldn't just tell people to do things and expect them to do it. Back when I was seventeen I had to do things the old-fashioned way which meant stealing most of the time. Stealing was easy most of the time, that is until I actually got caught. Lucky for me I got caught by a couple of University of Arizona kids and they were more interested in why I would want to steal than the actual stealing itself.

I hadn't thought up a lie yet. I know, I probably should have planned something but as it turns out? I think pretty quick on my feet. I told them my name was Autumn Clark and that I grew up on a farm in Oklahoma. I made them think that I was an orphan because of a fire that had started in the barn, my parents had rushed in to save the animals but instead were killed by the flames. I knew they bought it, I even believed it myself for a minute before I remembered that I was lying.

It turned out one of the girls, Eva. She lived in a sorority house and just happened to be sleeping in a room with an empty bed so she let me bunk with her for awhile. She said that in the fall she would help me appeal to the dean for admission to the university, and that my parents death should qualify me for all kinds of financial aid. I didn't have the heart to tell her that would never happen. It wasn't much, just a small room for the two of us to share and the other girls were really loud. But at least it was something and sometimes at night I'd lay on the mattress and look up at the ceiling and really pretend that I was Autumn and that I belonged here.

All good things come to an end. I loved Phoenix and my friends there but eventually the demon found me again and I had to move on.

They say you can't be saved by a lie, but once upon a time I almost was.

Emily wasn't sure what to do after the inevitable death of the Sorenson family. One would think that after a lifetime of living a lie that starting a new lie would be easy. The truth is, Emily could barely remember who she used to be. She had been so young when the demon had first appeared to her, had called her by her real name. Sometimes Emily pretended that Jenny was someone else, an old friend maybe- of the imaginary variety. A little girl who had died a long time ago.

The demon wasn't forgiving and he seemed intent on watching Emily flail and flounder, desperately trying to grapple onto any kind of solid ground. Even back then she understood that this, like everything else he had ever done to her, was only a test. He wanted her to prove how strong she was. Although it bothered her that she was giving him exactly what he wanted, she didn't have a choice. She could either curl up and cry, wait until death found her too. Or she could move on, get on with her life. The choice was harder than it should have been but eventually Emily found herself in the passenger seat of a sixteen wheeler chattering animately with a bearded man from Tennessee. She didn't know where he was going, but it hardly seemed to matter. She had nowhere to go.

She had a lot of different jobs, had gone by a dozen different names and had innumerable relationships with all kinds of people. She never stayed in one place for too long for fear that any kind of permanent attachment would make for an addition to the body count following her around. Maybe Emily was giving the demon what it wanted, proving how strong she could be when she needed to be. But she couldn't just lay down and die, she had to stand up and move on.

Emily stays silent for most of the trip to Centralia, and despite her better judgment does as Gabe tells her to. He stops along the way for gas and food but Emily stays rooted to the passenger seat of the car even though her instincts tell her to run, to use her phone and call Sam or Dean. The trouble is that she believes Gabe when he tells her that with one slip up he'll have her parents' house ablaze within seconds, long before she can do anything about it. Instead she props her foot up on the door and rests her elbow on her knee, nervously biting her thumbnail.

Once they pass the town line into Centralia Emily understands what Gabe had been talking about before. The first thing she notices is the steam rising from the pavement surfaces through little cracks in the road. She asks Gabe what had happened there but he doesn't answer her and she doesn't press him. He's not really Gabe anymore, Emily knows that but he's still wearing Gabe's face and since the Demon never formally introduced himself she'll keep calling him Gabe. She tries not to think about it and instead focuses on the scenery passing her by from the passenger seat of the car. The warning signs make one thing really clear, Centralia isn't the kind of place you want to visit.

She stays quiet in the car and watches with amazement as more steam rises from the ground, warning signs still urging visitors to leave as soon as possible because the ground was unstable. Unstable ground is the least of Emily's worries but the signs don't do anything to set her frazzled nerves at ease. When Gabe pulls up in front of the old church right next to the cemetery she stays rooted in place almost as if by habit. If things were loud before, now her body is screaming at her to fight and run and if none of the above work start hurling out every bit of anger and sarcasm she's ever learned with her words. Instincts don't win the battle and eventually she's dragged inside an old church. Her eyes nervously raking over the pews, a few of them splintered and broken as he drags her onto the pulpit.

It's not until she's pushed against the giant cross and Gabe begins to tie her to it that she starts yelling at him to let her go, bargaining, all of the things she's seen in every bad movie in every dirty motel room. Her wrists rub themselves raw against the thick grain of the rope binding her to the cross. Even she knows that he's not going to give into her demands and so eventually she quiets and rests her head against the cross. Her eyes trace the outline of the stained glass window across from her. There's a small hole through the upper right hand corner of the glass, almost as if someone had thrown a rock through it. Despite the imperfection Emily could still make out the scene. It was of Jesus, and he was blessing his children.

I was pretty proud of myself. After all, I put Dean in his place for a few minutes. It just happened to be that his place was right underneath me. From the minute he'd first said it I knew I was gonna have to make him eat those little sister comments. I'm nobody's sister, nobody's daughter either. That made me a totally free agent and I had to take these moments to reap the benefits of the lifestyle I'd been keeping for the last couple of years. That lifestyle pretty much guaranteed that I was mostly by myself. I knew that even the Winchesters were a fleeting presence in my life.

When I finally passed out I started to dream again. It wasn't a surprise. Demon Boy had come and gone pretty frequently in younger years but over time his threats became more persistent. Except this time we were standing in front of a house that looked way too familiar to me. I hadn't been here in so long I was surprised that I recognized it at all, but some things you just can't forget. Like the family you abandoned.

"What's going on?" I asked him, finally pulling my eyes away from the house and towards the monster. "What are we doing here?"

"They're going to die." He informed me. "You're going to kill them."

I looked back at the house frantically. My parents and my sister still lived in there as far as I knew. I hadn't talked to any one of them in a really long time but that was because I needed to keep them safe. Jack used to tell me that if I ever came back here I'd only put them at risk, and considering what happened to him and his wife I believed him. So I never went back.

"Don't do this. You can't have them! Not them." I yelled at him. I wanted to rush in there and tell them all to run but for some reason my feet seemed glued to the pavement of the street outside.

"Are you ever coming home to me, Jenny?"

"That's not my name. You shut your mouth and leave them alone!" I threatened him, my hands curling up into small fists. Just as I did I felt something warm on the side of my face and turned around just in time to watch the house go up in flames. "No!" I yelled, running towards it but it was already gone. I couldn't even get within a few feet of it without feeling the intense heat on my skin, so instead I sank down on my knees in the front yard and bent my head as I watched my tears make a small pool in the grass.

I woke up with a start. Another dream but this time we'd been at my parents house. My real parents and suddenly I couldn't shake the worry. I glanced over at Dean still crashed out in bed and almost snickered before I stood up and slipped into my clothes before leaving the room. There was a small coffee shop across the street that I knew had internet access. I ordered a cup of coffee and slowly drank it as I scanned the Los Angeles news page. There had been a fire last night and I swear my heart almost stopped beating for a second. There really had been a fire, but according to the reports both of my parents had survived. Nothing was mentioned about Leah.

I didn't finish my coffee, just left a few crumpled up bills on the table before getting up and heading back across the street. Walking into my room this time instead of Dean's I kept my jaw tight as I threw my duffel bag on the bed and started to fold my clothes, throwing all of my stuff inside of it. I couldn't stay here anymore. Dean already had Sam to worry about anyways, and the only way I could get the demon to back off of my parents was to actually go and...I don't know. Do something. I actually didn't really have a plan but I never do anyways. I'm like a cat, I always land back on my feet. I just have to get used to the nine different lives part.

Blah blah blah. Go in, set the house on fire I get it already! I know that I'm still a newbie to all of this demon hunting stuff despite growing up in a house where the patriarch made a living of it, but I can handle setting a house on fire. I like fire. I mean, I wouldn't call myself a pyro or anything but it's pretty. What wasn't so pretty was the smell of the gas can that I had to carr in with me. Yuck. I've smelled smellier I guess but I knew this was gonna be clinging to my clothes all the way back to the hotel. Showers all around then. And Sam still owed me a beer, I was planning on making him pay up tonight.

It should have been quick, but damn it I couldn't stop listening to that weird creaking noise coming from the basement door. Doesn't curiosity kill the cat? I know, I should just ignore it and set the house on fire and leave but what if there's someone down there? Someone real, and I'm about to set them on fire. Damn it. I bit down on my lower lip as I pulled the basement door open and tried to flicker on the lights but the fuse must have been blown or something.

"Figures." I muttered as I flipped open my cellphone and used it to light my way down the cellar steps. I looked around but it was hard to see anything down here at all. "Hello?!" I called out but nobody answered me. The worst part was I could still hear that creaky noise. It was setting my teeth on edge as I made my way blindly into the basement. I didn't get very far though before I felt myself bump into something that was hanging from the ceiling. Swallowing hard I slowly tipped my chin up and raised my phone so the eerie blue light was reflected off, yep that was a person. I opened my mouth to scream but clamped my hand over it and managed to swallow it back down.

Blindly I turned back around and scrambled up the steps. I was about to make my way back into the light when suddenly another figure stepped up in front of the doorway. It was a man I'd never seen before but his eyes were a glowing amber color that instantly drew me in. No. That's not how this stupid thing works. I draw you in! You don't draw me in!

"Hello Emily." He said to me with a bright smile as if we're not standing right in the middle of a haunted house covered in gasoline with a dead body hanging from the ceiling in the basement.

"Get out of my way." I said forcefully as I looked up at him.

"Make me?" He asked as he leaned down closer to me. "C'mon, Emily. Talk me out of it." He said right in my face before he started laughing at me. Jerk! "Oh wait, that doesn't work on me. I have big plans for you, Emily. You and your friends..."

"Oooh. Am I supposed to be scared now?" I arched an eyebrow in his direction and yeah, I was supposed to be scared now. I get the big creepy hint. I struck the match and just gave him another look.

"Are you going to set me on fire just like you set that priest on fire? Just like that man back in Texas? Quite the firebug, aren't we? You know that poor guy had three kids back home to take care of?"

I bristled at the comment. "Shut up. You don't understand."

"I understand." He smirked as he leaned in again and tapped me on the chin. "I'm the only one that does."

Angrily I pushed past him and ran towards the door, the sound of his laughter echoing after me as I struck the match and torched the place without even bothering to turn back and watch it burn. I ran so fast out of the house, not paying attention to where I was going that I ran smack into Dean and we both fell over onto the grass. Rolling over onto my back I watched the flames lick the outside of the house as the yellow eyes slowly disappeared from the window. He wasn't dead, of course he wasn't dead. Crap. I hope he wasn't headed for Sam next.

Fifteen years ago my life changed forever, and it all had to do with a set of stupid swings. It was just another day, I was just a kid and even though my older sister seemed a little larger than life she was just a kid too. I wanted to play on the swings but she was thirsty, she kept insisting that she had to go get something to drink. I wasn't thirsty so I decided to wait for her on the swings. She shouldn't have been gone that long and in reality she probably wasn't, she was just gone long enough for my entire life to change.

It was like something out of one of those bad late night horror movies that my mother wouldn't let me stay up late enough to watch but I did sometimes anyways. He came to me while I was on the swings, and his eyes were bright yellow. Almost like a cat's or something, only creepier. He kept trying to tell me things I didn't understand, tried to convince me to come with him and left me with the impression that refusal wasn't an answer. I didn't know what to do, I was just waiting for my big sister to come back and play with me.

To a kid demons look different. I was afraid, I can remember shaking a little and to an adult that's a clear sign to run or fight but to a kid there's still that sense of awe too. Like everything is larger than life and if my older sister who was probably ten at the time seemed so statuesque, a demon was sure to look enormous to me. Luckily for me, Jack Sorenson happened to come along and somehow managed to chase the demon off.

It's hard to explain destiny to an eight year old and even though now I'm sure Jack knew almost as little about what I was capable of as I did at the time, he tried his best anyway. I can't lie and say that I fully understood everything that he was telling me but one thing was very clear, I was a danger to the people around me. Especially my mother, for reasons I didn't understand then and understand all too well now. I knew all the stories about bad men who offer you candy and tell you to get into their van, but Jack wasn't like that at all, he saved me from that demon and continued protecting me for years afterwards. His family took me in as one of their own despite the fact that one thing was very clear, I'm poison.

Once upon a time, my name was Jenny. I had parents and an older sister named Leah and I liked strawberry ice cream and pizza on Fridays and getting pushed on the swings. I used to have a normal life. But once upon a times don't exist for who I became, Emily Sorenson, whoever she is.

I can't ever go home, because I will destroy them all if I do.