Not What He Seems

Chapter 8

Riot is in the middle of a very nice nap when the whole building starts to fall apart. There's a rumble, and one of the floorboards pops up — incidentally one he had been lying down on. He jumps up and trots over to Sam, shoving himself behind a church pew by his owner's side.

Dean starts pulling things out of his duffel bag. He hands one to Sam, which is the only glimpse Riot gets, and the thing — an axe? — is so weird. even Sam does a double take.

"It's from Purgatory," Dean says, which Sam seems to accept as a perfectly normal explanation.

Riot's heard rumors of the place before — starting and stopping within the span of a few weeks, right around the time he ditched his clan and ran away. From what he's gathered, the place is full of monsters — and not monsters like skinwalkers, either. No, it's the most brutal and ruthless monsters to ever walk the earth. The most brutal monsters...

And Dean?

What the fuck?

The door bursts open, but Riot can't see who it is. That the curse of being a dog in a small space — he can't turn around without hopping up on the pew and peering over, and he values his life too much for that.

"Dean Winchester, back from Purgatory."

From the way he says it, Riot is guessing this isn't a friend.

"Spanky the demon," Dean replies. "Yeah, I've heard of you. You're the one who uses too much teeth, right?"

Riot lies down and slips under the pew. If they're dealing with honest-to-god demons, he wants no part in this. He's just really hoping Sam and Kevin make it out of this okay, because Riot already knows there's nothing he could do to help them if this goes sideways.

Riot still can't see anything that's going on, but, from the grunts and smacks he's hearing, he's guessing it's not pretty. As much as he hates not being able to see what's happening, if he's not going to see it, he doesn't want to see anything. He closes his eyes and waits for it to be over. Through every sizzle and broken table, Riot just squeezes his eyes shut tighter.

And just when things start to calm down...

"Hello, boys."

Riot fights the urge to whimper. Whoever this is, he knows them, and it doesn't seem to be in a good way. Riot always heard that hunters tend to make enemies. It looks like that finally caught up to the Winchesters.

"Dean," the man says, then pauses just long enough for Riot to wonder what the hell he's missing by closing his eyes. "You're looking... Well, let's just say Purgatory didn't do you any favors."

Riot can't help but wonder if that means this guy once knew a nicer Dean. Riot would have liked to meet that version of him.

"Where's your angel?" the man asks.

That would explain everything. No wonder Dean's so pissed. He must have been launched into Purgatory with his girlfriend, and it looks like only one of them came out. And if this new guy has no problem bringing her up, it's pretty evident that he's the bad guy.

"Ask your mother," Dean says without a moment's hesitation. If he really did lose someone close to him, he does a hell of a job pretending he's okay. Kevin was onto something when he said they don't deal with their emotions well.

"There's that grade-school zip," the man says. "I missed it. I really did." With the pep in his tone as he says, "Moose!" it's apparent that he's changed subjects to taunt. "Still with the pork chops. I admire that."

Riot really wishes he was human so he could ask what the fuck this guy is talking about.

"Let Channing go," Kevin says.

Confused, Riot reluctantly opens his eyes and looks under the pews. He can't see much, but there are two sets of feet in the doorway, so one of them must be the guy and one must be Channing, right? He's decently sure Channing was Kevin's ex that Sam and Dean just paid a visit to, so this is interesting.

"She's not Channing," Dean says. "Not anymore."

Right. Demonic possession. Riot should have guessed.

The man makes an interesting proposition — letting Channing go back to her old life if Kevin agrees to work with him. To make a long story short, Kevin agrees to go with him, much to the Winchesters' chagrin. He goes out back to grab his things, leaving everyone else to wait.

"Chin up, gentlemen," the man says, almost mockingly. "I'm a professional."

Riot's not entirely sure what that means, but he doesn't like that sound of it. He takes a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what he's going to do. Whoever this man is, he sounds dangerous, and Riot isn't letting Kevin go off with him. Not for some stupid deal to save some chick he supposedly hasn't seen in over a year.

So Riot sprints through the pew and out the other side, then makes his way through the double doors and off to find Kevin. He's vaguely aware of the man cracking a joke about him, but he's not interested in the slightest. He just needs to find Kevin.

And he finds him right behind the doors.

That was easy.

"Hey, buddy," Kevin whispers. "C'mere, out of the way." He pats his thighs, and Riot trots over to him, standing by his side. "Look, buddy, I'm doing what I have to do, okay? I'm getting me, Sam, and Dean out of here. And I really want you to come along, too, but if you don't make it to the car, we don't have time to wait around. This is life or death, literally."

Riot rubs his head against Kevin's leg. He's not entirely sure why Kevin is standing back here holding a string, but he does know that whatever he's going to do, it's going to be quick, and Riot's got to be on his toes if he doesn't want to give up and head back to Amelia. He doesn't want to take the journey just to disappoint her when she finds out he made it alone.

The man calls Kevin's name a few times, clearly getting suspicious. Riot can hear him coming closer, can hear the doorknob turn, the door start to open...

And he just looks like a normal dude. And Channing just looks like a normal girl. This isn't what Riot had expected at all.

"Kevin," the man says, exasperated.

Kevin pulls on the string, and a whole ass waterfall pours down on the man and Channing. They start to sizzle, like this was boiling water, but it couldn't have been. It was just in a little box. It couldn't have been that hot.

Unless they're both demons, and that was holy water.

Kevin's a genius.

"Sam! Dean!" Kevin calls out, sprinting passed the sizzling demons. "Run!"

Riot rubs after him, staying right by his side until they get to the car. Riot makes sure Kevin is in first before hopping back in the backseat with him. With the time it takes Dean to turn the car on and drive, Riot has more than enough time to get situated, lying on the floor so he doesn't get knocked around if Dean hits a bump.

He's safe. His heart is pounding a mile a minute, but he's safe. And, arguably more importantly, so are the Winchesters and Kevin. Riot may value his life more than he could ever put into words, but these three have a plan to save the world. Riot would put their importance over his, no questions asked.

As they're driving away, Riot notices Kevin looking out the window, not like he's admiring the view or staring off into space, but like there's really something to look at. Riot sits up just in time to see the man snap Channing's neck.

Riot lets out a short huff and hops up on the seat next to Kevin, resting his head in the boy's lap. He doesn't care if Dean knocks him off this seat with his atrocious driving. He's not letting Kevin suffer through this without him.