The doors of the church creaked open, drawing the attention of everyone inside. Henry strolled back into the sanctuary, unfazed, an unconscious blonde woman slung over his shoulder like a sack of flour.
Dean blinked, stepping away from the panicked crowd. "Okay, Henry... who is that on your shoulder?"
"An old acquaintance of yours," Henry said, walking over and setting her down on one of the wooden pews.
Sam's eyes widened, and Ellen let out a sharp gasp, shoving past the Winchesters to get to her.
"Jo?" Sam asked, disbelieving.
"Yeah, her. And we have a new issue," Henry announced, dusting off his jacket.
"There are no demons in this town. Every dead body I checked outside was clean — no sulfur, no burns, no demonic residue. Just normal humans."
Ellen froze, looking up from her daughter's pale face. "What are you talking about? I saw their eyes go black."
"You only think you saw it," Henry said.
"Whatever's happening out there, it's a town-wide hallucination. They're just regular people tearing each other apart."
Dean ignored that for a second, crouching in front of the pew, reaching out to gently shake Jo's shoulder.
"I'd be careful, Dean," Henry warned, arms crossed. "She isn't exactly in her right mind."
Dean shot him a dark look. "Did you do something to her?"
"She and a dozen armed locals tried to blow my head off, so I put her to sleep before things got messy," Henry said flatly. "But whatever's messing with this town's perception still has its hooks in her head."
Before Dean could argue, Jo's eyes snapped open. She blinked, focusing slowly on the man kneeling in front of her.
Dean's expression softened into a relieved smile. "Hi, Jo. It's—"
Her fist whipped out, connecting solidly with his jaw. The smack echoed through the quiet church.
Dean grunted, stumbling back and crashing onto the floor, clutching his jaw. Jo scrambled up against the back of the pew, eyes wild, chest heaving, glaring at him like he was a monster.
Henry looked down at Dean writhing on the floor and sighed. "Said so."
Dean groaned, rubbing his swelling jaw as he pushed himself up. "Okay, point taken."
Jo scrambled further back along the pew, pulling a silver knife from her boot. She didn't look relieved to see her mother or the Winchesters — she looked like a cornered animal.
"Stay back!" Jo screamed, slashing the knife through the air. "Stay the hell away from me, you black-eyed sons of bitches!"
Sam held his hands up. "What? Jo, it's us. It's Sam and Dean."
"Don't lie to me!"
Beside them, Ellen raised her shotgun, hands trembling, aiming it at her own daughter's chest.
"Didn't I tell you?" Ellen cried, voice cracking. "I told you she was possessed! Look at her! Her eyes are pitch black!"
Dean froze, looking from Ellen's tear-streaked face back to Jo, stepping closer to get a better look. "Black?" He glanced at Sam, equally confused. "Ellen, what the hell are you talking about? Her eyes aren't black. They're normal."
"Are you blind?!" Ellen snapped, finger tightening on the trigger. "She's a demon, Dean! I'm looking right at her!"
"And I'm telling you, her eyes are hazel!" Dean shouted, stepping between the shotgun and Jo. "Put the gun down, Ellen! She's not possessed!"
Henry stood still at the edge of the aisle, watching the chaos. The pieces locked together in his mind. He looked at Jo, staring at them in genuine terror, then at Ellen, aiming a gun at her own daughter with the same fear in her eyes.
"It's an illusion," Henry said, calm, cutting through the shouting.
The room went quiet for a second, all eyes on him.
"That's why the town tore itself apart," he explained, stepping closer. "Nobody is possessed. Something's twisting their perception — making them see normal people as monsters. Jo sees black eyes on us. Ellen sees black eyes on Jo."
He looked at Dean, expression darkening with the realization of what was happening in River Pass. "This isn't a demon invasion, Dean. Someone's intentionally making these people go to war with each other."
Jo lowered her knife a fraction, mind spinning. If they were demons, why were they just standing there talking? Why hadn't they snapped her neck or ripped her apart? The confusion gnawed at her, but survival instinct screamed at her to run.
She spun on her heel, bolting for the side door — and slammed face-first into a wall of a chest.
She bounced back, stumbling, and looked up. Henry hadn't moved an inch.
"Leaving, are we?" he asked, flat.
***
Fifteen minutes later, in one of the dusty back offices of the church, Jo was tied to a wooden chair, straining against the ropes, glaring at the three of them and spitting a string of curses vile and creative enough to echo off the plaster walls.
Dean leaned against the doorframe, eyebrows raised, impressed. He glanced at Ellen. "Well. I gotta say, Ellen, Jo really learned some fine words."
"Shut up, Dean," Ellen muttered, rubbing her temples. It killed her to see her daughter tied up like a monster, but she was slowly starting to realize the Winchesters might be right.
Sam ignored the cursing entirely, flipping through a heavy leather-bound Bible he'd grabbed from the pulpit, cross-referencing it with what he remembered. Finally he slammed his hand on the desk.
"I think I know what's going on here," he announced. He looked at Ellen. "You mentioned the signs that started this whole mess — a shooting star hitting the edge of town, the river water turning polluted, right?"
"Yeah," Ellen said, frowning. "The river went toxic overnight. Smelled like copper and blood."
"It's from the Book of Revelation," Sam said, turning the Bible to show them. "A great star falls from heaven, poisoning the rivers and springs. It's one of the omens."
Dean straightened, his face dropping. "Omens for what, exactly, Sam?"
"The Horsemen," Sam said grimly.
"Think about it. No demons — just a whole town of normal people suddenly hallucinating, turning paranoid, slaughtering each other in the streets. That's exactly what he does. He takes away the peace and makes men slay each other."
Henry leaned against the back wall, arms crossed. "The Red Horseman."
"Exactly." Sam nodded. "It's War. He's here in River Pass. He's the one making everyone see demons."
*****
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