Maddison Winchester: Journal 1 {Supernatural}

21 Salvation: Part 1

July 13th - July 14th, 2006

We were still in Colorado. Dad had a motel room that he had been hanging onto for a while. It was a big deal for him to show us because it was covered with all of the research he had collected about the demon we had been chasing for so long. He explained everything that he knew about it and where he thought it was going. He also told us that now that we had the Colt, we would hopefully be able to kill it.

Dad sat behind a desk strew with research and the Colt. "So, this is it. This is everything I know. Look, our whole lives, we been searching for this demon, right? Not a trace, just... nothing. Until about a year ago. For the first time, I picked up a trail."

Dean nodded. "And that's when you took off."

"Yeah. That's right. The demon must have come out of hiding or hibernation," Dad said.

"All right, so what's this trail you found?" Dean asked.

"It starts in Arizona, then New Jersey, California. Houses burned down to the ground. It's going after families, just like it went after us," Dad explained.

"Families with infants?" Sam asked.

Dad nodded. "Yeah. The night of the kid's six-month birthday."

"I was six-months-old that night?" Sam asked.

"Exactly six-months," Dad said.

"So basically, this demon is going after these kids for some reason. The same way it came for me? So, Mom's death... Jessica. It's all because of me?" Sam asked.

"We don't know that, Sam," Dean said.

Sam furrowed his brow. "Oh, really? 'Cause I'd say, we're pretty damn sure Dean."

Dean was getting frustrated now. "For the last time, what happened to them was not your fault."

Sam raised his voice, "Right. It's not my fault, but it's my problem."

"No, it's not your problem. It's our problem!" Dean yelled.

Dad stood up. "Okay. That's enough."

Sam and Dean took a deep breath and were silent for a moment.

"So, why's he doing it. What does he want?" Sam asked.

"Look, I wish I had more answers, I do. I've always been one step behind it. Look, I've never gotten there in time to save..." Dad looked down, upset.

"All right, so how do we find it before it hits again?" Dean asked.

"There's signs. It took me a while to see the pattern, but it's there in the days before these fires, signs crop up in an area... cattle deaths, temperature fluctuations, electrical storms. And then I went back and checked... and—" Dad explained.

"These things happened in Lawrence," Dean said.

Dad nodded. "A week before your mother died. And in Palo Alto... before Jessica. And these signs, they're starting again."

"Where?" Sam asked.

"Salvation, Iowa," Dad said.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We set off for Iowa. I rode with Dad while Sam and Dean trailed behind in the Impala. We had been riding for a while, randomly making eye contact but not saying anything to each other. I had so much to tell him, but I didn't want to get any of us in trouble, so I kept quiet, and so did he. It made for an awkward ride.