Jim stood frozen at the bottom of the clinic steps. His hand hovered near the railing, but he didn't move. Behind him, Tabitha stayed close, while the kids stood nervously in between their parents. Jim's face was full of tension with his eyes shifting between the dark windows of the clinic and the fading sunlight.
Dean and Kenny slowed their pace as they walked up. Dean studied Jim carefully who seemed to be thinking hard. He could see Jim wasn't scared for himself—he was scared of making the wrong choice for his family.
He glanced at Kenny, then back at Jim. After a short pause, he spoke, "It's tough trusting strangers, isn't it? I mean..if anyone had told me what Boyd told you, I'd have thought the guy was crazy. Honestly, I probably would've laughed in his face."
Jim looked at Dean, sizing him up. He didn't answer but his expressions made it clear what was on his mind.
Kenny frowned at Dean, confused. He whispered, "What are you doing? Trying to convince him or scare him off?"
Dean ignored him. He took one step closer, keeping his hands visible. His voice stayed caln. "Look, I'm just like you. I only showed up this morning. Got here confused, thinking I'd lost my mind."
Jim's brow furrowed, doubt appearing on his face. "This morning?" he asked slowly. "You're saying you've only been here one day?"
Dean nodded with a small smile. "Yeah. Hard to believe, I know. But it's true. So I get it. All this stuff Boyd told you—it sounds insane."
Jim's expression hardened. That was exactly what had been running through his mind. Boyd's story was insane, and now here was another man backing it up. It almost felt like they were working together. His jaw clenched. "How do I know you're not part of it? That this isn't some setup?"
Dean gave a small laugh—not mocking, but relaxed. He tilted his head. "You don't. You really don't.....That's the truth. You don't have a reason to trust me, or Boyd."
Tabitha's eyes flicked between the men. Ethan and Julie pressed closer to her, picking up on their parents' tension.
Dean let out a slow breath, softening his tone. "Think back to when you first stopped for directions. That was the moment, Jim. If Boyd had any bad intentions, that was when he would've shown them. If he wanted to take advantage of you, that was the perfect chance."
Dean didn't go into specifics—didn't say how Boyd could've threatened them or taken what they had. Not with the kids standing right there. But the weight in his voice made the meaning clear enough.
Jim froze. His mind replayed the scene. If the man had been a predator, he wouldn't have wasted time talking about rules or choices. If this was all some kind of scam, Boyd had already passed up the easiest chance to pull it off.
Dean's voice stayed calm, almost gentle. "That doesn't mean you have to like it. But it does mean you've seen how he acts when he has the upper hand. And that matters."
Jim swallowed. His suspicion was still there, but doubt crept in. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Dean. "And you? You're way too calm for someone who just got here."
Dean chuckled quietly. "Well you are not the only one suprised by that. The truth is, when you show up here in dark—when those things are out—you don't get time to argue or doubt. You either adapt fast, or you don't make it."
The words hung heavy in the air, but Dean didn't take them back.
Kenny finally spoke up, nodding quickly. "It's true. Dean's only been here one day, but he already stepped up. He's staying at the clinic tonight to help watch everyone. He doesn't have to, but he is."
Tabitha's hands stayed tight on her kids' shoulders as she turned to Jim, waiting for his choice.
Dean spoke again, quiet but firm. "I'm not here to force you. You've got your family behind you, and you're the one they'll follow. But nobody in this town owes you a damn thing. And yet Boyd still puts his ass on the line every single time when people like us show up. He could just walk away and worry about keeping himself alive—but he doesn't."
Dean leaned in slightly, eyes steady. "Why? Because if he doesn't, more families fuc—die. That's the truth. So doubt all you want—but don't ignore the fact that he's standing here, giving you a chance, when he's got nothing to gain from it."
Jim's hand gripped the railing tighter. He looked at Tabitha, at Ethan, at Julie—their pale, anxious faces trusting him. His throat tightened.
At last, he gave a small nod. He turned to his family. "Alright. We're going in."
Dean stepped back, letting them pass. His face was calm, but his mind was already moving ahead. Getting Jim inside was only step one. Surviving the night was the real test.
Kenny glanced sideways at Dean as they followed. "You know," he murmured, "for someone who just got here, you sure talk like you've been doing this for years."
Dean gave him a faint smile. "Maybe I'm just a fast learner."
After talking for a bit, they didn't linger outside any longer and stepped into the clinic.
Kenny quickly locked the door and after double checking whether it's locked, he check upon the Tailsman hanging by the door.
The clinic's main room was already alive with chattings of people . Dean's eyes swept the space: a long, open area with two side windows facing the street, a counter lined with medical supplies on one wall, and stretchers along the back. At the far end, a short hallway led to the basement stairs and the rear exit—the only other door besides the front.
Tom was the first Dean noticed—his size made him hard to miss. Three others stood near the center of the room, faces vaguely familiar from Kenny's quick introductions earlier. Their names slipped from Dean's mind.
The rest included Boyd, Kristi, Father Khatri, the nurse Gina, Jade and his friend, the Matthews family, Kenny and Dean himself. Donna wasn't there—she had gone back to Colony House to deal with some kind of fight that had broken out among her people.
That made sixteen of them in total. The room felt crowded, but not overwhelming. Chairs and small tables were shifted to the sides, giving just enough space for everyone to move around without tripping over one another.
Boyd quickly took command, his voice cutting through the low noise. "Listen up. We're not using the basement tonight. Too cramped to fit sixteen people, too easy to trap us in there if things go bad. We hold the main room."
He gestured toward the Matthews family. "You stay at the back, close together. Safer that way."
Then he pointed to two of the townsfolk. "You two—front door."
Boyd moved on, glancing at the windows. "Khatri, you're on the right window. Take Mark with you." Mark stepped forward, and Boyd gave a nod of approval.
He turned to Dean and Kenny. "You two, left window. Keep your eyes open."
Finally, Boyd positioned himself with Tom at the exit. "We'll cover this side."
Everyone shifted into place as per Boyd's order.
Dean who sat beside the completely covered glass, let out a slow breath. For tonight, this was their ground to hold.
Time dragged in the clinic. Everyone was wide awake, cramped together in the dim room.
Kenny leaned against the wall below the left window with Dean. They spoke in hushed tones, swapping stories of who they'd been before this shitstorm. Dean found Kenny easy to talk to—someone who'd seen more than most and survived.
Hours ticked by. Conversation faded. Silence took over. Everyone just wanted the night to hurry the hell up. Fortunately, the clinic remained undisturbed—no knocks on the doors, no whispers from the shadows, no eerie signs of those things outside.
Dean, who had taken an ample nap in the afternoon, shifted uncomfortably on his knees and back after sitting for so long. Others felt the same, occasionally standing to stretch along the walls or walking a few steps around the room before returning to their posts.
Dean stood up and cracked his neck.
"Man, I need a damn massage," Kenny muttered.
Dean grinned. "Seriously. Me too."
Suddenly, a voice broke the silence.
"Where… am I?"
All heads turned. On a stretcher near the far wall, Jade's friend was trying to sit up. His eyes blinked rapidly, scanning the room. His hands fumbled at the sheets as he tried to make sense of where he was.
Kenny's eyes widened. "Sheriff! One of the stretcher guys is awake!" His voice echoed through the clinic, startling several townsfolk and drawing a glance from Tom at the back.
Boyd sighed and stood from his spot near the exit. He moved toward the stretcher calmly but with authority. Dean watched him. Boyd didn't raise his voice or use threats; he just spoke quietly to the man. It took about fifteen minutes of patient, steady explanation before Jade's friend finally stopped thrashing. His blinking steadied, and the panic in his eyes faded.
Even then, he didn't seem to fully trust Boyd, but he decided to stay put until morning. Boyd gestured for space and returned to his post, leaving the man who said his name was Tobey, quietly on the stretcher. The tension in the room slowly eased, though the fragile calm reminded everyone how thin their safety really was.
Dean leaned against the wall, letting his shoulders relax slightly.
A few more hours had passed since Tobey woke up. It was now past midnight. Everyone, except Ethan from the Matthews family, was still awake. The tension in the room made sleep impossible.
Kenny, sitting beside Dean, muttered, "All this time and no monsters… hope the next few hours would be the same."
Dean facepalmed silently. 'Damn it, why are you setting up red flags for us?'
Just then a low rumble broke the quiet night—the sound of an engine in the distance. Dean and Kenny sat up immediately.
Two of the townsfolk cautiously went to the draped glass doors, trying to see outside, but it was too dark and the truck wasn't in the sight yet.
Kenny muttered, "Four new arrivals in a day?"
Dean frowned. In the few times he'd seen this show in his previous world, other than the Matthews family and Jade, no one else had ever appeared in the town during the first season. But now, there was a new arrival outside. Did this happen because he was here? Or was there some other reason?
Soon the vehicle came into view, headlights cutting through the darkness. Peter leaned forward, trying to see clearly. His voice was tense. "It's an old truck. Hard to see in the dark, but it's going too fast. The driver might have run into the monsters, or maybe they're just panicking because of the loop."
The truck drove closer, its headlights flashing across the houses. Harry asked Boyd, while keeping an eye on it,"What the hell do we do? Can we help them?"
Before Boyd could answer, the truck swerved hard as it neared the clinic. The driver turned the wheel sharply, sending the vehicle off the road and straight toward the double doors.
"Truck! Move!" Peter along with Harry, who had been guarding the door until now, shouted at the top of their lungs. They rushed backward, scrambling out of the way.
The very next moment, the front double doors of the clinic burst inward. A small truck slammed through the glass-and-metal frame, tearing into the room. Shards of glass and debris flew in all directions. Tires screeched, metal bent, and the combined sound of the impact and the rising panic filled the entire clinic.
The talisman hanging by the door was torn loose in the chaos and clattered to the floor. It slid across the ground and stopped at Dean's feet, hitting him harder than a hangover on Sunday morning.
A sudden and brutal remainder that their last line of protection was gone.
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