The Decisive Moment

Part 2

Beta: Tidia

“Why won’t he wake up?”

“I don’t know.” Max held back from pointing out James sounded just like the thing he always claiming not to be- a little kid. It didn’t help he was looking up at Max, his dark eyes wide and frightened. He had reason to be afraid, but it was still getting on Max’s nerves.

“He should have moved…or something. “ James ran his hand over JT’s hair. “This is bad, Max. Really bad.”

“We need a first aid kit.” Max didn’t need James stating the obvious, reminding him how far up the creek without a paddle they were. One look at JT was reality enough. He glanced at the younger teen. JT usually gave James something to do, a task he could focus on. “Where’s JT’s pack? He’ll have supplies.”

“I don’t know. He must have dropped it.” James kept his eyes on JT.

“See if you can find it.” Max pressed his butchered shirt to JT’s head, frowning when his friend didn’t flinch. Max had quickly found the source of most the blood, a nasty gash that ran a three-inch length of JT’s hairline. It was deep and disturbing. There was a smaller cut on his friend’s right cheek where his face was red and starting to swell. Max was worried about the injuries he couldn’t see. JT had hit the tree hard. Bits and pieces of Newton’s Law of Physics floated through Max’s head, along with the first aid drills he’d memorized.

“Damn it!”

“What?” Max looked up at James’s explicative.

“Our luck sucks!” James pointed.

Max followed his line of sight. JT’s day pack was illuminated by one of their dropped flashlights. It was about fifty feet from them, far outside the perimeter of the protection circle. “Wonderful.”

“I could go get it.” James moved closer to the circle’s edge.

“No!” Max shook his head. JT would never forgive him. “That thing zeroed in on you. It could be waiting.”

“We need supplies,” James said. “So unless you’ve learned a spell to levitate, I don’t see a choice here.”

“Shit.” Max growled. He knew enough to know he couldn’t leave the circle without breaking the blood binding spell. There was so much more he should have known about magic, could have known if only he’d taken the time to pay attention. “We’ll have to improvise.”

“How?” James stomped toward him. “You going to pull a medical kit from your boot now? Because I’ve got nothing.”

Max took a steadying breath, trying to remember all the reasons why he couldn’t pummel James. “The protection circle is all we have going for us.” Max was unprepared, weaponless except for his knife, and he felt guilty for failing them. He had gone up against angry spirits before, but never without expert back up, and never with a defenseless JT and James factored in. During the Abe Lundy deal, Dean told Max it was impossible to keep those you loved from getting hurt. Sometimes you had to be there to pick up the pieces, but Max wasn’t sure where to begin.

“How could I forget?” James kneeled on the other side of JT, touching his brother’s wrist. “The great wizard, Maxim Sawyer has saved us. What’s a couple of pints of blood and some brain matter?”

“Shut up.” Max’s patience was thin. “This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t taken off those crystals.”

James looked as if Max had reached out and cuffed him. His brown eyes locked with Max’s blue gaze and Max couldn’t ignore the tears that welled. Sometimes it was way too easy to forget James was a kid. He opened his mouth, fish like, but no typical smart ass reply popped out. The weight of what he’d done had Max scrambling to say something to take it all back. “I didn’t mean that, Jimmy. I’m just worried about JT.”

“No. You’re right. This is my fault.” James moved his hand to JT’s chest. His voice cracked. “I didn’t want Holly to think I was some kind of freak. JT had to be his stupid self and try to protect me and now he’s going to die.”

“JT is not going to die!” Max had been thinking the exact damn thing. Sometimes he worried his and James’s minds were wired the same way. They needed JT around to soften their fatalistic streak. JT always saw possibilities, the potential in bleak situations and hopeless people. Max sometimes thought it explained why their friendship had lasted so long. “I should have picked up on the spade sooner. I’m the oldest, the one with the most experience hunting.”

“Make up your mind.” James quickly swiped at his eyes. “Either I’m to blame or I’m not.”

“Your idiot brother was the one who just had to have that shot.” Max refocused on JT, checking the bandage with hopes the bleeding had stopped. Their luck was still shot. It had not. He replaced his shirt and added more pressure.

“So this is all JT’s fault?”

“That’s always my story.” It was never true. Max chased trouble, dragging JT along for the ride. JT couldn’t resist trying to do the right thing, even if it was the thankless job of saving Max from himself.

“Blaming the injured guy? That’s low, even for you, Sawyer.”

Max flashed him a smile, hoping to ease some of the tension. “Right up there with using my awesome body to catch your girl’s eye.”

“I knew you weren’t being chivalrous." James snorted. He didn’t look quite as scared. “You’re an ass.”

“I’m definitely no knight in shining armor.” That was more JT’s gig, one that Max was going to make sure he had a chance to continue. JT’s low moan saved Max from James’s reply. They both turned their full attention to the injured teen. JT muttered something unrecognizable. His face twisted in pain before his eyes blinked and then opened.

“JT?” James bent closer to his brother. “Can you hear me?”

“Jimmy?”

“Yeah. I’m here. Max, too.”

Max let out a breath when JT moved his head to look at him, arms and legs shifting slightly as he struggled to get his bearings. If he was moving on his own, there was less of a chance of any back or neck injuries. “Dude, you scared the shit out of us.”

“What…happened?” JT’s eyes fluttered, seemingly with herculean effort for him to keep them from closing. “You guys okay?”

“We’re fine,” Max said. “You and James’s friendly ghost went a couple of rounds.”

“You looked promising at first, Bro,” James added, gently. “But Zombie Hiker definitely won.”

JT lifted his left arm to shove Max’s hand away. “M’head hurts.”

“Yeah. I bet it does.” Max eased up on the pressure, but didn’t move the bandage. “Make an extra effort to clot and I’ll stop.”

“Are you okay?” James guided his brother’s arm down, taking his hand in his. “You wouldn’t wake up.”

“I don’t know.”

JT’s honesty was usually reassuring, but now Max only felt unsettled. Max had done a cursory scan. No bones were protruding. That was a good thing. “Does anything feel broken?”

JT licked his lips. “My camera?”

Max and James shared a look. “What?”

JT’s eyes snapped open and he struggled to raise himself up. “My camera broken?”

“Are you kidding me?” James repositioned his hand on his brother’s chest, keeping him from moving around. “You were tossed against a tree, you moron. You checked out on us and you’re bleeding. I could give a shit about your camera, JT.”

Max hadn’t noticed the camera was missing. He scanned the area around them, figuring the strap must have snapped. Max didn’t see the Nikon and feared what kind of shape it might be in. It was a gift from Ben. JT treated it like a member of the family. Max couldn’t look at the stupid thing without being hit with a collage of mental snapshots, all memories shared with his best friend. The idea of it busted and broken, unable to magically capture any more moments had him caught up in JT’s anthropomorphic concern.

“Max.”

James’s voice forced Max to take a deep breath, stopping his runaway alarm before it snowballed. He had to keep it together. As long as JT was awake and breathing, the worst wouldn’t happen. “I promise we’ll find it, J, but we need to know you’re okay.”

The vow had JT turning his head toward him with a grimace. “My chest and left side hurts,” he admitted. “It’s hard to breathe.”

“Stay still.” Max figured bruised or broken ribs. He’d had both, once from Lacrosse and another time when he and James decided to ride Icarus, Ben’s horse, double and bareback. As injuries go they sucked, but weren’t usually life threatening. All the organs underneath were cause for concern. “Take short, shallow breaths.”

JT nodded slightly. “Easy for you to say.”

Max smiled at the more typical JT reply. “How about your head? How bad?”

“Bad.” The moment of levity disappeared with JT’s groan. “I’m dizzy…feel sick. There are two of you.”

“Two of Max,” James said. “No wonder you feel sick.”

“Hey. It’s every girl’s dream, but not a good sign for JT.” Max swallowed hard. He didn’t need to look at James to know the younger teen was thinking the same thing. Concussion, maybe worse considering JT’s nose was still bleeding. He kept the light tone, mimicking what he’d experienced with his uncles and father when one of them had been hurt and they were forced into crisis mode. It was a lot easier to make jokes when the adults were around. “Thank God for the Winchester reinforced steel.”

“Right.” Jimmy played along, forcing a laugh. “Uncle Sam says Ben should do some kind of medical study on us, write about it in a journal like Grandpa Mac.”

“We need Ben.” JT’s breath caught. “And Dad.”

Max sighed. “That could be a problem.”

“Why?” The look on JT’s face was guilt inducing. Max had never wanted Ben and Dean more.

“We’re trapped here,” James supplied. “Max did a spell.”

“You used magic?”

“I didn’t exactly have a choice.” If JT hadn’t been in jeopardy, the reprimand in his voice would have been annoying. “It’s kept that thing away from Jimmy, but we can’t leave the circle without breaking the blood binding.”

JT squeezed his eyes shut, his breath in short harsh pants. “Good thing my pack has some stuff…”

“It’s on the outside,” Max said. He felt like an idiot for going off half-cocked. His father was always telling him to think things through. Magic was to be respected, used with a cool head. JT had been the only one to bring supplies. He and James tended to depend on the Eagle Scout. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” JT looked at Max. “We’ll just wait.”

“That’s not a good idea,” James said. “You’re still bleeding.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Jimmy.”

“That’s uncertain.”

Max jerked at the unfamiliar and unexpected voice. James turned, both of them facing the stranger on the other side of the silver circle.

“He looks rather grave to me.”

“Who are you?” Max stood, taking the spade with him.

The man inched closer to the circle, smiling when the silver light brightened, hummed at his approach. “I’m Malachi Harris.”

The name was familiar. Max shouldn’t have cared; should have been completely relieved to see another person on the trail, someone to bring help for JT. Something about the way the man was smiling, seemingly unsurprised to encounter three teens in a weird glowing circle out alone in the middle of the night wasn’t right. Max picked up the spade holding it in front of him. “Stay where you are, Dude.”

“Max…” JT’s tone was wary.

Max glanced back. “It’s okay. I got this.” Something was definitely off and Max had made enough mistakes tonight. He kept his eye on the newcomer, who lifted his hands in a gesture of peace and gave Max another winning smile.

“It’s okay. I’m quite harmless.”

Max looked the guy up and down. He was definitely out of place, older, maybe in his late twenties. His hair was blond, slicked back like a model from a men’s cologne commercial. The clothes were all wrong for the woods, dress shirt and slacks, making the guy look like he’d taken a major wrong turn while out for his daily soy latte.

“Max, I think he’s dead.”

“Another freaking spirit?” James’s unique insight was not what Max had expected. He turned to look at the younger teens, both staring intently at Malachi. Max wasn’t the only one spooked. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“Jimmy?” JT shifted on the ground, trying to get up. He’d made it to his knees, his left arm held snugly across his midsection.

“Don’t.” Max moved closer to the younger boys, keeping himself between them and Harris incase the silver protection circle failed them. The night was getting worse by the minute, spinning completely out of his control. He cut his gaze to Jimmy. “Is this dude dead or not, Great Ghost Whisperer?”

“I don’t know.” James shook his head. “He’s different, but the same.”

“You’re a necromancer?” Harris seemed way too pleased. He clapped his hands. “Death’s chosen. How splendid.”

“He is not a necromancer.” Max took a threatening step towards the circle’s edge. He didn’t like the fact the man new supernatural lingo. James’s psychic abilities were new, a curve ball. It didn’t change the way Max felt about the younger boy. Uncle Caleb, Sam, and Grandpa Mac were all psychic. The new facet only made Max more aware of James’s vulnerability and his need to be extra vigilant to protect him. "

“Stop talking to him, Max,” JT said.

Max glowered at his friend. “It’s not like walking the other way and ignoring him is an option here.

“I understand your concern, Maxim. Necromancy has a rather negative connation.”

“How do you know my name?”

Harris ignored Max’s question, continuing to address James. “I assure you I’ve known my share of hunters who have coveted such a gift, myself included. It will serve you well in our profession.”

“You’re a hunter?” Max tried to block James and JT from view, feeling JT’s penetrating gaze willing him to shut up. He straightened his shoulders, determined to show no fear. He hadn’t had much exposure to other hunters. Elijah and Ethan Mathews didn’t really count because they were like extended family. Riley and Bradley were around a lot and Uncle Caleb had even let him work a poltergeist gig with them. But as for the general ranks, he was clueless. “A ghost hunter. That’s a bit of an oxy-moron isn’t it?”

“I’m not technically dead.” Harris tilted his head, running his hand down the length of his chest. “It’s my suit that James senses. It’s been expired for quite some time, but I can't seem to let it go. The ladies do love this face.”

“You’re not human.” James looked at Max. “I’m not sure how I know, but I do. He's something else.”

“You’re right.” Malachi smiled at James. “I’m something much, much more.”

Max stepped back. “Something more than human always spells trouble.”

“It saddens me how prejudice is passed from one generation to the next. Demons aren’t all bad, just look at your Uncle Caleb.”

“Uncle Caleb isn’t a demon!” James jumped up, taking a brash step forward.

“You’re a demon?” JT made it to his feet despite Max’s objections.

They had bigger problems than JT’s stubbornness. A demon was not what Max expected, everything he secretly feared. Demons were taboo, a sore subject in their family all the way around and not just because of Uncle Caleb’s lineage. Max suspected there was a bigger story, one they hadn’t been privy to. He turned to glare at James. “You are never taking those crystals off again,” he hissed.

“I didn’t know I was on demon radar!” James was struggling to keep JT upright, both of them swaying.

“Guys,” JT groaned, his hand reaching out to grab the back of Max’s shirt. “Calm down.”

“Necromancers are attractive but it wasn’t his abilities that called to me.” Malachi’s gaze flicked from JT to James and then to Max. “It was your magic that brought me here, young witch.”

Thoughts raced through Max’s mind. He was a witch when it was convenient and even then he wasn’t a very knowledgeable one at that. Max didn’t know any spells to counter something as powerful as a demon, wasn’t completely sure the magic he had used thus far would keep them safe. He hadn’t really read his father’s journal carefully.

“The same magic that will destroy you if you don’t leave now.” JT’s voice was soft, but determined. Max admired the bravado, but wasn’t surprised when Harris laughed.

“I’m surprised at you, Jonathan Winchester,” Malachi chided. “A relationship built on lies is never on strong foundation. We both know your buddy Maxim is no Harry Potter.”

“Then why are you here?” Max demanded. He might have been well aware of his limitations but having them flaunted by demon kind was another story entirely.

“Because The Triad power is hard to ignore. I'm not the only one to notice. Others will come. You’re in more danger than you imagine.”

Max took a wider stance, a tighter grip on the spade. He felt JT’s hold on his shirt increase in response. “Then I should send you back to where you came from. Make you an example for them all.”

It was a bigger boast than JT’s attempt, way over the top. Max was never very good at knowing when to stop talking. The demon didn’t laugh, but raised a brow in challenge. Max didn’t blink and when Harris suddenly turned, a purposeful stride taking him in the direction of the darkened woods Max allowed himself a moment to believe they had finally caught a lucky break, but then Harris stopped.

“Now, now.” He scooped up JT’s day pack, turning once more to face them. “I wouldn’t do anything in haste. JT is still bleeding and his breathing doesn’t sound so great. Humans tend to need things like blood and oxygen.”

“Max…” JT coughed. “Don’t even think about it.”

Max ignored the warning in JT’s shaky voice, stepping to the boundary of the circle. JT feared the repercussions of another sucky plan, but Max was more afraid of the consequences of his inaction. They needed the supplies if they were going to be stuck through the night. “What do you really want, Harris?”

“Maybe you should ask your father.”

“You know my father?” Max faltered, his focus wavering.

“TheTriad, as well.” Harris came closer.

“Malachi Harris is in Samuel Colt’s journal.” JT spoke up suddenly with more strength than Max feared he could spare. Max flashed him a look, glancing to James who nodded.

“He’s right. I remember now, too.”

“You don’t say?” Max was still sifting through his mind, drawing a blank on the details. James was quick to help him out.

“He was an Advisor,” Jimmy said. "A traitor to his Triad. He ambushed and murdered his own Knight and Guardian. Samuel Colt took care of him.”

They all were well-versed in Brotherhood history. James had a passion for it, the gorier the story the better. Juliet liked to joke that Grandpa Mac used the journals in The Tomb to teach James to read before he turned three.

“That explains how he ended up in Hell.” Max’s stomach twisted as the added information had him remembering the infamous account for himself. There was no more sacred trust than that between a Triad, the Advisor holding a privileged post. “But not what he’s doing here.”

“Smart boy.” Malachi was nonplussed by James’s revelation. “Would it help to say that I’ve been redeemed?”

“There is no redemption for that,” JT said, weakly.

“People in glass houses…” Malachi came closer, dangling the bag like a carrot. “You’d be surprised at what those closest to you have had forgiven.” He shrugged. “I have made my fair share of mistakes. I want things to be different for us.” Malachi didn’t wait for Max's reply. He tossed the backpack across the silver barrier, retreating several paces. “I would like for us to trust one another.”

"That's not going to happen. You need to leave." JT twisted his hand into Max's shirt.

"I see The Triad has been rather selective in the tales they’ve shared. Revisionist history runs amuck as you three are obviously inadequately prepared.”

“We’re fine,” Max said. “Get the hell out of here.”

Malachi bowed his head. “As you like, but rest assured I’ll be watching you.”

“Great.” Max blinked and the demon was gone. He turned to his friends. “Are we supposed to be comforted?”

JT replied by collapsing. Max and James managed to catch him before he hit the ground, easing him the rest of the way down.

“Hey!” James patted his brother’s cheek. “Stay awake.”

JT blinked owlishly. He drew one arm across his ribs as the other reached for his head. “I’m… awake.”

“I told you not to move.” Max caught his hand, holding onto it to keep his friend from touching the wound. The gash near his hairline was still bleeding; JT’s face ghastly white beneath the red. He found the bandage he’d used before, placing it over the wound and applied pressure. JT flinched, trying to evade his heavy touch. “You never listen,” he said softly.

“Pot meet Kettle.” JT stopped squirming. He took a hitching breath, latching onto Max’s hand instead of pulling away. “You talk way too much, man.”

“I’ve been saying that for years,” James added. He’d unzipped JT’s pack, using their only flashlight to dig inside. “No one ever listens to me.”

“Still doesn’t stop you from trying.” Max eyed the bag. “I need something to stop the bleeding.”

“Super Glue,” JT said.

There were three doctors in their family and the best they could do was Super Glue? Max snorted. “Works for model air planes.”

“Number one recommended by Vietnam medics.” James said. He continued to dig through the bag, tossing out two books in his haste. "Old school boxers and football players, too."

Max shook his head, sharing a quick look with JT.

JT attempted a smile. “Don’t say it.”

Max ignored the opportunity to point out how random and strange James could be, focusing on the books instead. One was The Scout Manual; Max had teased JT about it earlier. He picked up the other, squinting at the cover. “The Zombie Survival Guide? Dude?”

“Uncle Sam said the information is pretty accurate,” JT said.

“Sometimes you surprise me.” Max tossed the book aside, watching anxiously as James continued to rifle the supplies. “Like that load of bull you spewed with Harris. That was a pretty good bluff you tried to pull off, Eagle Scout.”

“I almost believed you,” James said. He found the small first aid kit, dropping it by Max before digging in again. “If I hadn’t known how completely inept Max is I would have totally fallen for it.”

“Why haven’t you tried out that game while we’ve been in the hot seat?” Unlike James, JT could be trusted with a secret. Money wasn’t a persuading factor with him, but there had been plenty of times when JT could have spared them punishment if he’d just twisted the truth.

“If I’m going to lie, it’s going to be for a good reason.” JT licked his lips. "That way it’s believable."

“Girls are a good reason.” Max released JT’s hand, opening the kit, finding the contents fine for run of the mill stuff, but not equipped for ghost battling. The Super Glue would have to do. “So is ditching school.”

“Says you,” JT said. “I like school.”

Max looked up at the slurred words. JT’s eyes had slipped closed. “J?”

“Just resting,” JT replied.

James finally fished out the Super Glue. “Found it.”

Max took the tube thankful to have something productive to do. “No sleeping on a gig, Dude.”

“Not really a job,” JT said.

“Ten to one, we’ll still get in trouble.” Max lifted the bandage, using it to wipe away as much of the blood as possible. “The whole ‘we didn’t mean it’ thing only works for the girls.”

“You know whether we did it on purpose or not, this is like our first real hunt together.” James moved closer to JT as Max started on closing the wound.

“Not counting the one to the twenty-year town when we got busted.” Max ignored JT’s hiss of pain as he pinched the jagged sides together. “That one got shut down early thanks to Jimmy.”

“We got a good movie out of the deal.” James laid his hand on JT’s shoulder. “You know they say Super Glue actually decreases the chance for scarring.”

Max rolled his eyes at the quick redirect. Sparing his friend’s boyish good looks was the farthest thing from his mind, stopping the bleeding his only priority. “JT could use some roughing up.”

“I could use a doctor.” JT exhaled.

“I know, man.” Max spread a generous amount of glue over the wound. He didn’t want to think about the issue of the damage they couldn’t temporarily fix. JT was not one to complain, was more likely to brush off an injury than to call attention to it.

James was worried too. “What are we going to do?”

Max didn’t have an answer for the younger teen. The options were non-existent. “We wait it out. There is no other choice.”

“There’s always another choice,” JT said.

Max took his hands away from the gash, thankful when the seal held. Blood loss was one less thing they had to worry about. “Not this time, J.”

“At the first hint of dawn…” JT pulled in a ragged breath. He gripped Max’s shirt. “You two have to go.”

“We’re not leaving you alone,” James said.

“If it comes to that I’ll stay here, and the kid can go.” Max didn’t think the spirit would be such a threat in the light of day.

“No. Not with that demon…” JT shook his head. “You have to protect him.”

“Who’s going to protect you?” James snapped. “We leave and Max’s spell is broken.”

“No spell is going to help me.” JT closed his eyes again, his breathing more labored.

“Stop arguing with him, James.” Max didn’t want to leave JT, but to save his life he might have to take the chance. “If we run, we can be back in no time.”

“We don’t even know the way!” James pointed out. “What if we get lost?”

“We’ll take JT’s MacGyver watch. It has the co-ordinates and a compass.” Max’s father was always picking up cutting edge technology from his friend Adam. JT was a willing participant in Dad’s gadget love fest and often a willing test subject.

“I’m not doing it,” James said.

“You’ll do what I say,” Max ordered. On a good day he could admire James’s cockiness, took his fair share of blame for some it, but today was not a good day. “Like you pointed out, this has become a hunt and I’m senior hunter.”

“You’re seriously pulling rank? You don’t have a ring.”

“Seriously.” Max clenched his fists. “I don’t need a ring.”

James knew he was backed into a corner, and looked to JT for some leeway. Only JT was offering no reprieve today. His eyes were closed again. When James touched him he didn’t move. “JT?”

Max pressed his fingers against JT’s throat. “He’s out cold.”

“How much time do you think we have?”

Max had no idea. “It depends on what’s wrong with him.”

“What if we’re too late?”

“Don’t even go there.” Max sat back on the ground, pulling his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. “He’ll be fine.”

It was the mantra Max repeated as the minutes crept by. He kept his eyes on James, who vacillated from watching JT to searching the darkened woods around them. When his face suddenly shifted from totally terrified to puzzled, Max was quick to catch on. “What?”

“I don’t know.” James rubbed his head. “I felt something.”

Max felt something too. It was called helplessness. It was new. He got to his knees, his hand hovering over JT’s chest. “Something as in things are about to get even worse?”

“No.” James slowly got to his feet. “Something else.”

Max was about to tell the teen this was no time to be obtuse when he saw it: a light, several lights. Maybe Pastor Logan was more with it than Max had thought. “A rescue party?”

“Even better.” James turned to him, a tentative smile in place. “It’s a hunting party.”