SCREAM, SINNER.

                                    

                                          
The cold air hits him as they leave together. It was a good idea to bring a coat, even if the wind blows it everywhere. Casey coughs as the gale immediately undoes his immaculate hair. 
They pass by the burnt ruins of the church, and Casey slows. Jesse doesn't notice until he's a few steps ahead, but he pauses, hands in his pockets, and looks back. Casey stands in front of the wreck. His hand drifts to his breast pocket, though his eyes are on the church. His lips move silently as Jesse waits; his head bows, his silver cross flashing in his hand. 
Casey remains motionless for a few heartbeats, then he slowly straightens up, slipping the cross back. His eyes remain on the church for a moment longer, then he turns away. He catches up with Jesse, and the two of them continue on their way. 
They hadn't exactly woken up early, something that Jesse silently curses himself for. The last thing he wants is to be caught out in something unsavoury in the darkness, and the fact that they wasted precious daylight doesn't sit well with him.
By the time they reach the Grays' house, Jesse's hands are frozen solid, despite the fact that they were deep in his pockets the whole time. The ring is probably icy, but he can't quite feel it anymore. He winces as they walk up the porch, imagining how his hands will hurt when he raps against the door. 
To his luck, Casey steps forward and knocks against the door. They exchange a glance as he steps back. 
The door swings open, revealing Noelle. She raises her eyebrows wearily as she shifts her weight to the other foot. 
"I don't think now's a great time," she says, her voice low, smoothing her skirt down nervously. "Nicolas and Noah are butting heads in the kitchen again." 
"That's...actually, we would like to speak to Nicolas," Jesse says. He can hear Nicolas's frustrated voice and Noah's steely calm one. "If that's alright, of course." 
Noelle blows out a breath. She tugs on the ends of her hair, watching the two of them uneasily. "I s'pose so," she says finally. "I reckon it'll be good for them to be apart for a little bit. Talk to him outside, won't you?" 
"Course," Casey says, a bit tersely. "Could you go and call him out?"
Noelle dips her head in a nod and heads back inside, the door closing behind her with a snap. 
As they wait outside, Jesse can't help but worry. Worry about all the things that he knows tie together in some way, some impossible way that he just can't connect - the cow, Elisha's accident, the black-cloaked figures that the boys claim they saw, Buck, Lillian, the corpse, his demon. They all run circles in his head, round and round and round until he runs his hands through his hair, exhausted just from thinking about it. 
"Do you think it has something to do with me?" Jesse asks quietly, voicing something that's been nagging at the back of his mind since Annabelle's death. 
"What?" 
"All of this." He's terrified. Terrified about what exactly he may have brought down on this sleepy little town and its inhabitants. 
"I don't know, Jesse. Why did you come here anyways?" 
"I didn't. I...I..." He waves a hand, trying to find the right word. "Reappeared, I s'pose, a mile north of here." 
"That was six months ago, wasn't it?"  
"Yeah. So what?" 
"Why didn't you leave?" Casey turns to face Jesse fully. He steps forward, until he's nose to nose with him. Well, almost. He's still almost three inches shorter than Jesse. "Why didn't you leave?"