The Randomness of Life, Tag;; Sam

[Anna James]

Anna wasn't exactly in the best mood ever. The exorcism she had performed about two hours earlier hadn't exactly gone according to plan and she had a nice sized cut along her cheek to prove that. Sure it had ended successfully and Anna was more then aware that's what should matter, it didn't help her mood any. She should have gone to a motel afterwards, but she had chosen to head to the new Roadhouse instead. She wanted something familiar and figured that after about three weeks of no contact, she probably should check in. And since she was only a couple of hours away, she just drove instead of calling. It was always more effective when attempting to convince people she was really okay and not saying so. A couple cuts and bruises here and there was still okay. It was normal for the line of work.

Pulling her SUV up in front of the Roadhouse, she paused and looked at the newly rebuild building. When she had caught wind that it had burned down, she tried her hardest to head out to Nebraska and make sure Ellen and Ash were okay but she was stuck in the middle of a job. Then she heard Ash had died in the fire but Ellen had survived from Bobby and that put her mind at ease a little. Hopping out of her car, she winced when a bruise on her stomach twisted the wrong way but she ignored the pain and headed inside. Her eyes sought out the other faces, looking for anyone familiar.

[Sam Winchester]

Even though he and Dean had only recently discovered the roadhouse, he could hardly believe that it and it's homey atmosphere were gone. The new one looked vaguely similar, it had the same decor, the same faces, but there was a lingering air of sadness that hadn't been at the original.

It was probably because of Ash. Harvelle's definitely wouldn't be the same without him. Everyone was dying these days. Ash, John, even him and Dean.

Not that he'd let him.

He sighed, pushing his drink aside and letting his hazel eyes scan the room as he heard the door creak open. He recognized her right away, even through the crowd and the cloud of smoke that had formed around him thanks to an older hunter with a nicotine addiction.

"Anna!" he called.

[Anna James]

Keeping a disgusted look from covering over her features, Anna sent a table of hunters a look that said 'forget about it' before freezing when she heard a familiar voice call her name. Sam Winchester. That was a face she hadn't seen for a long time, it had to of been months since the last time they had run into each other. And while she had heard rumblings that him and Dean were okay, it was never as good as seeing or hearing from them directly. She couldn't stop the smile as she made her way over to where he sat.

"Sam," she said, stopping next to him. She hesitated only for a second before wrapping her arms around his neck in a brief hug. "I'm so glad to see you're okay," she told him as she released him. She took a seat next to him. Words couldn't describe how happy she was to see him well and sitting there. Her imagination tended to get a little carried away when communication all but died. "How are you?"

[Sam Winchester]

Her hug was a bit of a surprise, but Sam could honestly say he was grateful for it. Hunters were generally not a very touchy feely bunch, but after all he had been through these past few months, an old friend was a welcome sight, especially one he cared for as much as he did Anna.

"Glad to see you to," he said honestly as he pulled away. "And I... well, things are complicated, as usual. Come on, I'll buy you a drink or something. I haven't seen you in ages. We have a lot to talk about."

[Anna James]

Anna crossed her legs and nodded at his offer for a drink. She needed one after the job she had just pulled. Her interest was peaked when he said things were complicated. Sure she knew things with the Winchesters were never easy, but she had the feeling that there was more to it then the normal round of complications. She wanted to ask him about it, but didn't. She knew Sam well enough not to press and that if he wanted her to know he would tell her when he was ready to. "Yeah we do have a lot to talk about. It's insane out there," she said referring to the huge jump in demon activity.

She sighed tapped her fingernail on the counter as she pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket with the other hand. "I haven't been this busy since...well, I've never been this busy. There was a time where I was surprised to receive more then one call a week about something. I'm averaging three or four a day. I have at least ten voice-mails waiting to be returned and about five that I haven't even listened to," she told him, raising an eyebrow. "What's going on out there Sam? Something tells me that if anyone knows it's you and Dean." She knew it wasn't fair to assume that, but she couldn't help it. They were pretty much the center of information. If something was happening they knew.

[Sam Winchester]

After he ordered a round of drinks for the two of them, Sam settled back, eager to hear how things were going with Anna. He nodded as she explained things out there were grim, knowing that after the door had opened and the YED was defeated, their troubles were just beginning, and all of them would have to work double time to be rid of them. There really was no time to rest, and too much to do.

"Things are about to get pretty bad, Anna," he told her, deciding not to sugarcoat things and knowing she would appreciate that. "Dean and I... we were there when something went down, something big. Basically the short of it is, a bunch of demons were let loose. We all have our work cut out for us."

[Anna James]

Listening to him intently, Anna frowned. She didn't understand how something like that could happen with Sam and Dean involved. She didn't question their abilities, never would. But she could be confused how they could fail to stop these things from getting out. She knew there was more to what he was saying and she wanted to know what it was. She deserved to know why she was wearing herself to the bone saving people.

"How about you tell me the whole story?" She said straight out. "How did they get out? Where did they get out from? Because I would think it to be hard to just climb out of Hell." She watched him closely, knowing that he was never good at hiding his emotions. "Does this have to do with what happened to the original Roadhouse? And Ash? Bobby said that it was demon related, not that I hadn't already put that together, but he said that it was connected to something bigger."

[Sam Winchester]

He knew Anna would probably want an explaination, deserved one even, but there was just so much to explain and so much of it was unexplainable. He knew Anna had seen a lot, any number of things that normal people thought were just fairytales, but somehow he thought that him coming back from the dead was going to freak her out in more ways than one.

After taking a deep breath and a good look at her, he nodded. "You're right, Anna. Okay, I guess I'll just start from the beginning." Looking around, Sam leaned in and lowered his voice. "The demon... he gathered up most of us. You know, the other psychic. It was like this alternate reality or something. It was insane, Anna." Sam swallowed. "It was a test. To see who would run his twisted little army."

[Anna James]

Anna got the feeling that he didn't really want to tell her, not that he didn't want her to be involved, there was something more to it. Something she was sure he would eventually get to explaining. She already knew it was serious, but when he glanced around and leaned in while he spoke she knew it was bigger then she could possibly imagine. "Wait," she started, keeping her voice down just like him. "When you say gathered you mean..." She didn't quite no how to say it without having a dead feeling fill the pit of her stomach.

"Test how?" She wanted to make sure that she got everything. Even though if a demon was involved she knew she wouldn't understand any of the reasoning behind it. There had been rumors of some kind of coming war, demons had been spouting off about for the past couple of months apparently. It was all circulating through the hunting community.

[Sam Winchester]

Glad that Anna was being discret about the whole thing as well, he answered her questions as best as he could. "I don't know if it was all of them," Sam admitted. "There were a few I hadn't seen before, and some I had," Sam bit his lip, thinking about Ava and Andy. "But I think some of them were...gone before I got there. He pitted us against each other, Anna. I guess he wanted to see who would come out on top. Who was the strongest or something."

He knew the Yellow Eyed demon had a bit of a soft spot for him, and that would never stop freaking him out. It made him wonder what kind of person he was deep down inside, and what the blood he had been fed had done to him. Then again, maybe something had been there from the start. After all, he had to have been chosen for a reason.

It was a puzzle Sam was still unraveling, even though the Yellow Eyed demon was history.

[Anna James]

As her frown deepened, Anna thought about what he was saying. What all it meant exactly, not really liking the conclusions she was coming up with in her head. She knew by the word gone he meant dead, but when he said it was meant to see who would come out on top. "So you were supposed to kill each other? And whoever was left standing was who was the leader?" She asked making sure she was getting this. And then something hit her.

"And you're here alive," she whispered. "Sam, you didn't..." She couldn't bring herself to say 'kill them'. She didn't think he could do that, but he was alive and only one of them was supposed to be from what she was getting from him. She looked at him, hoping he would tell her differently. Tell her that she got the information messed up and that it wasn't like that. She hoped that was it, she almost prayed for it.

[Sam Winchester]

When she trailed off, Sam bit his lip knowing that he would have to tell her the worst part of the story next. She seemed shaken when she realized that he and the other psychics had been put in a kill or be killed situation Sam couldn't help but wonder if Anna assumed the worst of him, even though he had never really given her any reason two. He often wondered if people could sense the potiental for destruction he knew was in there somewhere.

"No, I could never..." Sam took a deep breath, knowing what had to come next. If Dean's life weren't at stake, and if he didn't need help anywhere he could get it, he would have never told her, but time was running out, and Anna was definitely someone he trusted with both of their lives. "Anna, I don't quite know how to say this but... I'm just gonna put it out there. I died."

[Anna James]

Relief didn't begin to touch what she felt when he told her he couldn't have killed them. Anna released the breath she hadn't known she was holding and closed her eyes. "Oh thank god," she whispered, taking a deep breath and letting it out before looking back to him. She never thought he could, but survival made people do things they never would have dreamed of doing before. It was all instinct and you couldn't fight that, especially when someone was coming after you with a weapon of sorts.

I died. Anna felt all the color drain from her face as she shook her head. "No, you couldn't have Sam. That's not funny. You're right here in front of me, I touched you," she rambled but she could see it in his eyes that he wasn't joking in the least. Her chest tightened at the thought and her breathing became harder. "But there's only one...one way you can bring someone back," she whispered, trying to sort it all out in her mind. "I need some air," she said, standing on shaky legs and heading to the door. She felt like she was going to pass out. She just couldn't wrap her mind around it. Sam and dead. They didn't belong together.

[Sam Winchester]

As soon as he saw Anna's color start to fade, he knew his worst fears were about to be confirmed. Accepting that people come back from the dead was a little too much to take, even for professionals, especially since they knew the steep prices to be paid. When she rose from her chair, Sam jumped up and followed her, feeling the eyes of the bar's patrons on the both of them but not really caring until he reached her, grabbing her shoulder and turning her around.

"Anna, it's okay!" he exclaimed, trying to calm her down, even though he knew he'd have to fess up about the price later. "You're right, I am here and I'm touchable and I'm fine. Nothing went wrong, I promise. I won't eat your brains or anything," he joked weakly.

[Anna James]

Anna knew he would come after her, it was just like him to do so, but she needed to be outside or she was going to pass out on him. There was no easy way to face this, death was never easy. Everyone knew that. And coming back from it? That was even harder to deal with. She looked at him when he turned her around and shook her head slowly as he spoke. "Sam..." She could feel tears building up and she just wanted to get outside, away from the people watching them stand there. Away from the hunters trying to figure out what exactly Sam had said to upset her, a fellow hunter who had proven to be stronger then most of the men in that room.

Grabbing his hand, she pulled him outside with her. She released him as soon as she felt the cool night air hit her. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down but her mind was racing as was her heartbeat. "Who made the deal?" She asked, keeping her back to him. It was the only way she knew to bring someone back from the dead. Wrapping her arms around herself to keep out a chill, she waited for him to answer her.