Escaping Hell

Matter of Time

I wake with a start, and sitting up so fast causes me to be dizzy. My head throbs. What time is it? It's chilly outside, and I can see my breath in the cold air. The stars twinkle above me, and that's when I realize that Matthew is nowhere to be found. I scan the area, looking for a clue as to where he might have gone. Standing up, I look around on the ground, and that's when I find his phone. It's smashed; someone purposefully destroyed this, I can tell.

Grabbing my own phone out of my pocket, I call Dean.

"Lucy? Where are you?" Dean asks immediately.

"I'm fine, but Matthew is gone. His phone is broken and I don't know where he is," I say, beginning to panic.

"Hey, hey, calm down. Where are you?" Dean asks again.

"I don't really know. He took me to this field and we had a picnic and I have no idea where I am," I say, not able to contain my hyperventilation.

"Well, maybe Cas will be able to find you..." Dean trails off.

Then, I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I scream out of surprise. Spinning around, I am relieved to see Cas.

"Oh, thank god it's you," I say, hugging him briefly, "Where's Matthew?"

"I'm not certain. He is probably being hidden by someone, or something," Cas says with a stressed look.

"Okay, well, zap the boys here, and while you're doing that," I explain, "I'm going to start looking for Matthew."

Cas nods, and then he's gone.

I have a gut feeling to go deeper into the woods, and so I start my trek. Soon enough, I hear the footfalls of Sam, Dean, and Cas behind me. Eventually, we come across a three-way dirt path.

"Well, should we split up?" Sam asks.

"Cas, you go left. Sam, you go right. Lucy, you and I will go-" Dean's words get cut off by me putting my hand to his mouth.

"Hold on," I say, "I think I hear something."

As everyone stands still, the silence is deafening. We wait a good twenty seconds until I hear it again. That sound of wood snapping...

"Do you hear that?" I ask, beginning to move toward the noise.

"No. What is it?" Cas asks.

"The sound of snapping branches..." I trail off. Then, Sam spots something.

"There's some smoke over there; we should follow it," he suggests. I pick up the pace, and I'm almost running as fast as I can. When the group gets to the source of the fire, there is nothing but a note taped to a tree by the fire.

It reads, "Dearest Lydia: I regret to inform you that your beloved Matthew will be dead in only a matter of time. That is the price you must pay for locking up my master. It's such a pity, because you see, Matthew is not what you think he is. I guess you'll never be able to find out the truth! You can pick up his body at the place you'd expect to find it; after all, home is where his heart is."

"Cas! You have to take me to Matthew's!" I scream, dropping the note into the fire, never wanting to see it again. He grabs my shoulder, and suddenly I am in Matthew's bedroom. As Cas leaves to get Sam and Dean, I hear whimpers coming from downstairs. Pulling out my demon knife from under my clothes, I wield it, ready to encounter anything I must. Creeping down the stairs, I see Matthew tied to a chair. He doesn't see me, for I am behind him, but I grab his hand in order to cut off his ropes. He squirms when he feels my touch, but then I whisper in his ear, "Shh. It's me. I'm gonna get you out of here."

I'm about halfway through when I feel the presence of a demon behind me. I whip around, and push the demon up to a wall. Pressing my knife against his neck, the demon laughs in my face.

"Oh, come on, I thought we were friends," the demon smiles.

"Not anymore. Get ready to die, asshat," I smirk.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he shrugs.

"Why not?" I ask.

"Lots of demons are after you," he explains, "It would put an even bigger price on your head if you killed me."

"I don't care. You don't touch Matthew, you don't touch my family. You wanna kill me? Fine. Go ahead," I snarl in the demon's face.

"Lucy? What is he talking about?" Matthew asks in a worried panic.

"Go on, tell him the truth. Tell him about how Lucifer is still eating away at your soul. Tell him about what your brothers really do for a living. Tell him about every lie you've told him," the demon laughs.

"Lucy?" Matthew asks again, sounding scared.

I look back at Matthew, our eyes locking for a moment. I hear Sam and Dean come down the stairs, and that's when the demon shoves me off of him in an attempt to run. "Lucy! Kill him!" Dean yells. One second, I'm looking at Matthew. The next, I'm watching my knife find its way into the demon's back, killing it instantly.

I retrieve the knife while Sam and Dean release Matthew. As I clean the knife with my sleeve, I look back up to Matthew. He is rubbing his wrists, which are covered in rope burns.

"Are...you okay?" I ask carefully. Matthew nods, avoiding looking me in the eye. His eyes shift towards the dead demon on the floor.

"What was that whole thing? I mean...what was he talking about?" Matthew asks.

I sigh deeply. "Matthew, I don't think that this is the best place to talk about-"

"No! You tell me right now! Lucy, please. Please. I need to know," he pleads.

Sam and Dean look at me with sorrow. They know what will happen, as do I. "My brothers and I...we hunt the supernatural. We kill them so that they can't hurt anyone."

"So that's all you do? You kill people?" Matthew asks.

"They're not people. They're monsters," Dean says.

"No, Dean. Matthew is right," I shrug.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asks.

"Don't play stupid with me! You know that I'm supposed to become a demon! Unless we can figure out how to get out what Lucifer put in me, I'm damned!" I yell.

"You're one of them?" Matthew whispers, backing away from me.

"Matthew, I-" I try to begin, but Matthew keeps shaking his head at me.

"Just, please, stay away and don't hurt me," Matthew says, and I can see that he's about to cry. That's the moment I realize - I have broken his heart. His trust. His everything. I lied to him and put him in danger.

"I promise. I'm sorry," I say. Sam and Dean still have that look in their eyes...the look of sorrow. "Excuse me." I leave the room, and I go back upstairs. On the way there, I pass Cas. He looks extremely puzzled, but maybe he can make Matthew forget about all of this. That would break my heart, but if it helps him to be happy, so be it.

I can't leave until Cas, Sam, and Dean do. So, for now, I will wait. Wait until the memories of me can't be found in Matthew's mind.