Originally aired: 07/12/2006

Writer: John Shiban
Director: Robert Singer

Guest Stars: Bobby Hosea as Sarge, Simon Longmore as Man at Barricade, Kate Jennings Grant as Dr. Lee, Sonja Bennett as Pamela, Nolan Funk as Jake Tanner, Diego Klattenhoff as Duane Tanner, Laurie Murdoch as Mr. Tanner

Official CW Description

DEAN DECIDES TO TELL SAM "THE SECRET" - After Sam has a vision of Dean killing a young man who seems to be possessed by a demon, the two brothers head off to Oregon to search for answers. They come across a town infected by a deadly virus that drives a person to kill. Sam becomes infected by one of the locals and prepares for his deadly fate, but after nothing happens to him, Dean decides to come clean and reveal what John whispered to him before he died.

Full Synopsis

Dean is aiming a gun at a young man who is tied up in a chair. The man is yelling that it's not in him, but Dean doesn't seem to believe him. He asks the doctor about his blood, but she replies that she can't tell. The man is still pleading with Dean, but in the end he pulls the trigger.

Motel
Dean enters the room to see Sam rubbing his head, having obviously had another vision.

On the road
Dean and Sam are driving. "There are only two towns in the US named Rivergrove," Sam says, and Dean asks how come he's so sure it's the one in Oregon. Sam remembers seeing a picture in his vision. "There was a picture of Crater Lake," he says. "Ok what else?" asks Dean. "I saw dark rooms – people, and a guy tied to a chair." Dean asks if he killed him, and Sam replies yes. "You thought there was something inside him." "What, a demon? Was he possessed?" "I dunno," says Sam. "Well all your visions are tied to the yellow-eyed demon somehow. So was there any black smoke, did we try to exorcise it?" "No, no, nothing. You – you just plugged him, that's it." "Well I'm sure I had a good reason," says Dean, and Sam only answers, "I sure hope so." Dean looks at him. "What does that mean? I mean, I'm not gonna waste an innocent man." Sam looks away. "I wouldn't!" Dean insists. "I never said you would!" answers Sam quickly. "Fine," says Dean. "Fine," says Sam. "Look, we don't know what it is. But whatever it is, that guy in the chair is part of it. So let's find him, and find out what's what." "Fine," Dean replies. "Fine," Sam finishes, looking annoyed.

Town of Rivergrove
Dean and Sam pull up in the town, driving past the same sign that Sam saw in his vision. They park beside the sidewalk and Sam sees a big black man with a fishing rod sitting outside a shop. "He was there," says Sam, and they get out of the car and walk over. "Morning," Dean greets him. "Morning," replies the man, "Can I help you?" "Uh, yeah. Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard, US Marshalls," Dean replies, pulling out his fake badge. The man asks what this is about, and Dean replies that they are looking for someone. "A young man," continues Sam, "Early twenties…" He thinks back about the man in his vision – "with a thin scar right below his hairline." "What did he do?" asks the man, and Sam tells him he did nothing, they're actually looking for someone else and they think he could help them. "He's not in any kind of trouble. Not yet," says Dean, and then notices a tattoo of a coat of arms on the man's arm. "I think maybe you know who he is, Master Sergeant." He tells the man that his father was in the same corps, he was a Corporal. Sam asks if he can help them, and the man replies that Dwayne Tanner has a scar like that, but he's a good kid, he keep his nose clean. "I'm sure he does," says Dean. "You know where he lives?" The sergeant tells them he lives with his family and points in the direction, and the boys leave.

Dean and Sam walk aross the road and when Sam accidentally bumps into a wooden telephone pole, he turns around to look at it, and sees the word 'Croatoan' carved into it. "Hey," he says, and Dean looks back. "Croatoan?" he says. "Roanoke? Lost colony? Ring any bells?" asks Sam. When Dean just looks lost, Sam asks, "Did you pay any attention in history class?" When it becomes apparent that Dean hasn't, Sam goes on Roanoke was one of the first English colonies in America. Late 1500s." "Oh yeah yeah yeah. I do remember that," says Dean. "The only thing they left behind was a single word carved in a tree. Croatoan." "Yeah. There were theories, Indian raid, disease, but nobody knows what really happened. They were all just gone. Wiped out over night." "You don't think that's what's going on here, I mean…" begins Dean. "Whatever I saw in my head, it sure wasn't good," says Sam. "But what do you think could do that?" "Well like I said, all of your weirdo visions are always tied to the yellow eyed demon somehow," says Dean. "We should get help," Sam says. "Bobby. Uh, Ellen maybe?" "Yeah that's a good idea." Dean gets out his cellphone, but he can't get a signal. Sam tries as well, but still nothing on his. Dean then tries a pay phone nearby, but still nothing. "I'll tell you one thing," Dean says, "If I was gonna massacre a town? That'd be my first step."

Dwayne's house
Sam and Dean go to Dwayne's house, and when they knock on the door a young man answers it. Dean holds up his US Marshall badge and asks if Dwayne Tanner lives there. "Yeah, he's my brother," the man replies. Dean asks if they can talk to him, but he replies that he's on a fishing trip right now. "Are you parents home?" asks Dean, and the young man replies "Yeah, they're inside." Right then an older man walks up behind Dwayne's brother, and Dean quickly says "US Marshalls, sir. We're looking for your son Dwayne." "Why, he's not in trouble is he?" the father asks. Dean says they just want to ask him some questions, and Sam asks when he'll be back from his trip. "I'm not sure," says the father, and Sam says "Well maybe your wife knows." "Oh I don't know, she's not here right now," the dad replies. "Well your son said she was," Dean replies. "Did I?" the brother says, smiling. "She's out getting groceries," says the father. "So when Dwayne gets back is there a number where he can get a hold of you?" Dean replies that they'll just check back later, and they start down the steps. "That was kinda creepy, right?" Dean says when the others have gone back inside the house. "A little too Stepford?" "Big time," Sam answers. They head around the side of the house and quickly crouch down, creeping along over to a window. Inside, the mother is tied to a chair and gagged. "It's okay, Mom," says the son. "It's not going to hurt." The father pulls out a knife and cuts his son's arm. Dean and Sam watch from a gap in between the curtains, then quickly go to the door, load their guns, and break in. As soon as they get in, the father runs at them with the knife, and Dean shoots him. The son runs and jumps out the window, and although Sam follows and aims at him, he doesn't shoot him and he escapes.

The street
Sam and Dean pull up to a small clinic in town, and Sam takes the mother inside. Dean goes to the trunk. Inside, a young nurse comes out when Sam calls for help, and asks what happened. "She's been attacked," Sam replies, and the nurse calls for Dr. Lee. Another woman comes out and says for Sam to bring her in. Dean walks in behind with the father draped over his shoulders. Dr. Lee asks if the father was attacked as well, and Dean says no, he actually did the attacking and then got himself shot. "Shot?" the doctor exclaims. "And who are you?" "US Marshall," Dean replies. "I'd show you my badge but…" "Right, sorry. Bring him back here," the doctor tells him.

"You said Jake helped him?" the doctor asks Mrs. Tanner. "Your son Jake?" Mrs. Tanner nods. "They beat me. And tied me up." "Do you have any idea why they would act this way? Any history of chemical dependency?" "No of course not," she replies. "I don't know why. One minute they were my husband and my son, and then the next, they had the devil in them." Dean asks to talk to Sam in the other room.

"Those guys were whacked out of their gourds," says Dean. "What do you think, multiple demons? Mass possession?" Sam asks. "If it is a possession, there could be more," Dean replies. "Of course that's one way to wipe out a town, you take it from the inside." "I dunno man. We didn't see any of the demon smoke with Tanner, or any of the other usual signs." "Well whatever. Something turned him into a monster." Dean turns to look back at Sam. "And you know if you would've taken out the other one, we'd have one less to worry about." "I'm sorry, alright?" Sam answers. "I hesitated, Dean. It was a kill." "No, it was an it," Dean replies. "Not the best time for a bleeding heart, Sam." The doctor comes out behind them and Sam asks how the patient is. "Terrible!" she replies. "What the hell happened out there?" "We don't know," Dean says. "Yeah? Well you just killed my next door neighbour," Dr. Lee says. "We didn't have a choice," Dean replies. "Yeah well maybe so, but we need the county sheriff," she answers. She says they also need the coroner. Sam says the phones are down, and she says she knows, and asks if they have a police radio in the car. They reply that they do but it's down as well. Dean asks how far it is to the next town, and the doctor tells him 40 miles. Dean says he's going to find help, and tells her that Sam will stick around to keep them safe. "Safe from what?" she asks, and he replies "Let me get back to you on that."

In the Impala
After a little while of driving, Dean comes upon a car in the middle of the road. It is empty, but the windows are broken and there is blood inside. He finds a knife on the ground with blood on it.

Clinic
Sam is looking at the body of Mr. Tanner while the doctor looks at his blood sample. She tells Sam that apparently the man's body was fighting off a viral infection. "What kind of virus?" asks Sam, but she says she can't tell. Sam asks if an infection can cause people to act like that, but she says not that she's ever heard of. Dementia, yes, but not violence like that. "And I've never seen one that did this to the blood," she continues. "Did what?" asks Sam. "It leaves this weird residue," she replies. "If I didn’t know better, I'd say it was sulphur."

In the Impala
Dean is still driving. He comes up to the bridge, but it is blocked by a bunch of cars, and there are men with guns standing outside. One of them is Jake Tanner. Suddenly a man comes to the window and scares Dean. "Sorry, road's closed," the man says, and Dean replies "Yeah, I can see that. What's up?" "Quarantine," he replies. "Quarantine? For what?" asks Dean. "Don't know. Something going around out there," the man answers. "Yeah, who told you that?" asks Dean. "County sheriff," the man says. "Yeah? Is he here?" "No. He called. Say, why don't you get out of the car and we'll talk a little?" Dean laughs. "You are a handsome devil, but I'm sorry, I don't swing that way." "I'd sure appreciate it if you got out of the car just for a quick minute?" the man says again. "I bet you would," says Dean, and suddenly puts the car in reverse. The man is holding on to Dean's jacket and gets dragged alongside. The others start firing at him, but Dean does some smooth driving and manages to knock the man off and gets away without a scratch.

Clinic
"I don't understand," Mrs. Tanner is saying. "Are you saying my husband and Jake had a disease?" "That's what we're trying to figure out," replies Dr. Lee. "Now, during the attack, do you remember, did you have any direct contact with their blood?" "Oh my God. You don't think I've got this virus, do you?" "Beverley, I don't know what to think. But with your permission, I'll take a blood sample." Mrs. Tanner nods, but when Dr. Lee pats her hand and then takes her wrist, she suddenly begins to scream and throws the doctor aside, then throws Sam aisde as well, amazingly strong. She comes at Sam again with a pair of scissors but Sam hits her over the head with a fire extinguisher, and she is knocked out.

In the Impala
Dean is still driving, looking for help. He glances back over his shoulder, and when he looks back forward, there's a man standing in front of him, the same black man as earlier. He's pointing a gun at Dean, and he tells him to put his hands where he can see them and get out of the car. Dean slowly gets out but as soon as he's out he whips out a gun and tells the man to drop his gun. "Put it down!" yells the other man. "You put it down!" yells Dean. "Are you one of them?" yells the man. "No, are you?" Dean yells back. "No!" "You could be lying!" "So could you!" Finally Dean takes one hand off his gun. "Alright. We could do this all day. Let's just take it easy before we kill each other." They slowly lower their guns a little. "What the hell is going on with everybody?" asks the other man. "I don't know," says Dean. "My neighbour, Mr. Rogers –" begins the man "You've got a neighbour named Mr. Rogers?" Dean asks. "Not anymore," finishes the other man. "He came at me with a hatchet. I put him down. He's not the only one, it's happening to everyone." Dean says he's heading over to the doc's place, but the other man says he's getting out. Dean tells him there's no way, the bridge is covered, but the other man doesn't believe him. Dean says fine, and gets back in his car. But finally the other man pulls out a smaller gun and gets in the car next to Dean, aiming it at him. Dean is still pointing his pistol at him as well. "Well this ought to be a relaxing drive," he says quietly.

Clinic
The young nurse is beginning to get nervous. "What if we all go crazy?" she says. The doctor replies that they've just got to wait, the Marshall is bringing help. "No, I can't, I've got to go," the nurse says, standing up and heading for the door. "Pam," begins the doctor. "No, you don't understand, my boyfriend's out there, I've got to make sure he's okay," she says, and keeps going. Sam gets up and follows her. He tells her to wait. "I know you're upset, but it's safer if you stay here for now. Help is coming." He hears the Impala's engine and then its door close. "There they are," he says. "Sammy? Open up!" calls Dean. They come inside and Dean says he's going to have a word with Sam, and tells the sergeant the doc's inside. Sam asks Dean what's going on, but Dean doesn't know, he says the sergeant's the only sane person he could find. "What are we dealing with, do you know?" he asks. "Yeah, the doc thinks it's a virus." "Yeah, what do you think?" "I think she's right. And I think the infected are trying to infect others with blood to blood contact. Oh – but it gets better. The virus leaves traces of sulphur in the blood." "A demonic virus?" Dean asks. Sam says yes, at least it explains why he's been having visions. "It's like a biblical plague," Dean says. Sam tells Dean he's been looking through Dad's journal, and John always had a theory on Croatoan. He thought it was a demon's name. A demon of plague, of pestilence. Dean asks why here, why now. Sam doesn't know. He says who knows how far this thing can spread, they've got to get out of here, to warn people. Suddenly the sergeant calls from the other room, saying they’ve got one in there. Dean and Sam run in. "What do you mean?" asks Dean, and Sam explains that the wife is infected. The sergeant says they’ve got to take care of this. "My neighbours, they were strong. The longer we wait, the stronger she'll get." Dean pulls out his gun. "You're gonna kill Beverley Tanner?" cries Pam. Sam asks if there's anyway to cure it, but the doctor doesn't know what it is. They go to the door where the wife is locked in and Sam opens the door. Beverley is sitting in the corner. "Mark, what are you doing?" she cries. "Mark, they locked me in here, it's them that are infected. Mark, please!" The sergeant hesitates, and Dean asks if Sam is sure she's infected. Sam nods, and Dean steps in front and shoots her.

Mark looks outside through the blinds, he can see people standing out there, waiting. Dean and Sam are loading guns. Sam looks at Dean for a minute but says nothing. Pam accidentally drops a vial of blood and panicks, thinking she got some on her, but she is fine. "Why are we staying here? Please let's just go," she says. "No, we can't, those things are everywhere," Dean argues. "She's right about one thing," says Sam. "We can't stay here, we've got to get to the roadhouse, somewhere. Let people know what's coming." "Yeah you got a point. Night of the Living Dead didn't exactly end pretty," says Dean. The sergeant says that he doesn't think they have a choice, as lots of people up here are good with rifles, they'd be easy targets. "So unless you've got some explosives," he says. Sam and Dean eye the alcohol and other chemicals on the shelves, and Sam says they can make some. Suddenly they hear banging on the door and a man's voice calling, "Let me in please!" The sergeant opens the door and a young man comes inside. "Dwayne, you okay?" asks the sergeant. "That's the guy that I – uh – " Dean makes a motion at his throat, and Sam nods. Dean asks the doctor to test his blood. Mark asks Dwayne where he's been, and Dwayne tells him he was on a fishing trip. He tells them he saw one of his neighbours getting attacked by people. "Has anybody seen my mom and dad?" he asks. "Awkward," Dean says quietly. The doctor finds a cut on Dwayne's arm, and when Dean asks where he got it, he replies that he was running, he must have tripped. Dean tells the sergeant to tie him up, there's rope in the other room. "Wait," says Dwayne, starting to stand up, but Dean aims a gun at him. "Did they bleed on you?" asks Dean. "No," says Dwayne. Sam asks if there's any way to check if he has the virus. Dr. Lee replies that she studied Beverley's blood work, and it took three hours for the virus to incubate. She says there'd be no way of knowing, not until he turned. Sam says he has to talk to Dean, and they leave. The sergeant begins to tie up Dwayne.

"This is my vision, Dean. It's happening," Sam says. "Yeah I figured," Dean replies. "You can't kill him, alright? Not yet. We don’t know if he's infected or not." "Oh I think we're pretty damn sure," Dean argues. "Guy shows up middle of nowhere, got a cut on his leg, whole family's infected?" "Alright, then we should keep him tied up and wait and see," Sam insists. "For what? For him to Hulk out? Try to infect somebody else? No thanks, can't take that chance." He starts to walk past Sam, but Sam stops him. "Hey look man, I'm not happy about this, alright? But it's a tough job, you know that." "It's supposed to be tough, Dean!" says Sam. "We're supposed to struggle with this, that's the whole point!" "What does that buy us?" asks Dean. "A clear consience, for one!" says Sam. "Too late for that," says Dean, starting to walk away again. "What the hell's happened to you?" yells Sam. "What?" Dean stops. "You might kill an innocent man, and you don't even care," Sam goes on. "You don't act like yourself anymore, Dean. Hell you know, you're acting like one of those things out there." Dean pushes past him and when Sam tries to stop him again, Dean shoves him aside and goes into the other room, locking the door behind him. Sam yells for him to unlock it, but Dean just pulls out his gun and aims it at Dwayne, who is tied up now. Dwayne starts pleading with Dean, but Dean doesn't believe him. The doctor says she can't tell if it's in him or not. Mark says maybe he's telling the truth, but Dean still doesn't believe him. He raises the gun again, saying "I got no choice." Dwayne continues to plead with Dean, and Dean's finger presses the trigger a little, but he doesn't pull it. "Dammit," he says, he can't do it.

Later, the boys are making explosives. The doctor comes up to them and tells them that it's been over four hours and Dwayne's blood is still not infected. She says she thinks he's fine, and she'd like to untie him. Sam says that's fine. Sam turns to Dean and says, "You know I'm going to ask you why." "Yeah I know." "So, why? Why didn't you do it?" "We need more alcohol," Dean says, and Sam stands up to get it. He goes into the other room and asks Pam how she's holding up. "Good," she says. "It'll all be over soon." She closes the door behind Sam and locks it. "In fact," she says, "I've been waiting for this the whole time. To get you alone." She suddenly jumps on Sam, and then cuts his chest with a knife, then cuts her hand, and presses her hand on his chest. Dean breaks in and shoots her. Sam holds out his hand for Dean to help him up, and Dean moves forward, but Mark stops him. "She bled on him. He's got the virus."

Sam is sitting down, and Dean asks the doctor to check Sam's wound again. Mark gets angry and asks why she has to examine him, he's infected. "You know what we have to do," he says. "Nobody's shooting my brother," yells Dean. "It's not gonna be your brother much longer," says Dwayne. "Nobody's shooting anybody," Dean says. "You were gonna shoot me!" yells Dwayne. "You don't shut your piehole, I still might!" Dean yells back. "Dean," says Sam, "They're right. I'm infected. Just gimme the gun, I'll do it myself." "Forget it," Dean says. "Dean, I am not going to become one of those things," Sam argues. "Sam, we've still got some time," Dean says. "Time for what?" Mark cuts in. "Look, I know he's your brother, and I'm sorry, I am. But I gotta take care of this." He pulls out a gun. "I'm gonna say this one time. You make a move on him, you'll be dead before you hit the ground, you understand me?" Dean says. "Do I make myself clear?" "Then what are we supposed to do?" Dean suddenly takes his keys out of his pocket and tosses them at Mark. "Get the hell out of here, that's what. Take my car. You've got the explosives, there's an arsenal in there, you two go with him. You've got enough fire power to handle anything now." "What about you?" asks Mark. Dean doesn’t answer. "Dean, no, no, go with them," says Sam. "This is your only chance." "You're not gonna get rid of me that easily," says Dean. "He's right, come with us," says Mark. Dean doesn't move. "Okay, it's your funeral," he says, and they leave. The doctor stops before she leaves. "I'm sorry. Thanks for everything, Marshalls." "Um, actually we're not really Marshalls," says Dean. "Oh," she says. She leaves, and Dean locks the door behind her. He turns around back to Sam. "I wish we had a deck of cards, and a fooz ball table or something." "Dean, don’t do this," says Sam. "Just get the hell out of here." "No way," replies Dean."Gimme the gun, and leave," Sam orders, starting to cry. "For the last time, Sam, no." Sam slams his hand on the table. "This is the dumbest thing you've ever done." Dean makes a face. "I don’t know about that. Remember that waitress in Tampa?" He shudders. "Dean, I'm sick," says Sam. "It's over for me. It doesn't have to be for you." "No?" "No, you can keep going." "Who says I want to?" Dean says suddenly. "What?" Sam gapes at him. Dean sits down. "I'm tired, Sam. I'm tired of this job… this life. This weight on my shoulders, man, I'm tired of it." "So what, you're just gonna give up? You're just gonna lay down and die? Look, Dean, I know this stuff with Dad had –" "You're wrong," Dean interrupts. "It's not about Dad. I mean part of it is, sure, but –" "Then what is it about?" They hear the door open outside and someone knocks on the door. It's the doctor. "You better come see this," she says.

Outside the clinic
Outside it’s silent. "There's no one, not anyone. Not anywhere. They've all just – vanished," says the doctor.

Clinic
"Well, it's been five hours, and your blood's still clean," says the doctor to Sam. "I don't understand it, but I think you dodged a bullet." "But I was exposed. How could I not be infected?" Sam asks. "I don't know," Dr. Lee replies. "But you're just not. I mean, compare it with the Tanner samples…" She looks through the microscope. "What the hell?" "What?" asks Sam. "Their blood. There's no trace of the virus. No sulphur, nothing."

Outside the clinic
Dwayne and the sergeant are leaving, going south. Dwayne says the doc should come, but she says she needs to talk to the authorities, if they'll believe her. "What about him?" asks Dean about Sam. "He's going to be fine," she says. "No signs of infection." "Hey man, don't look at me," says Sam when Dean looks at him weird. "I got no clue." "I swear, I'm gonna lose sleep over this one," says Dean. "I mean, why here, why now? Where the hell did everybody go? It's not like they just freakin' melted." "And why was I immune?" wonders Sam. "Yeah, that's a good question," says Dean. "You know I'm already starting to feel like this is the one that got away?" He gets in the car and Sam follows.

Somewhere on the road
The sergeant and Dwayne are driving. "You mind pulling over up ahead there?" says Dwayne, and Mark obliges. "I gotta make a call," says Dwayne. "No phone out here," says Mark. "I got it covered," replies the younger man. "What the hell is that?" asks Mark, and suddenly Dwayne cuts his throat, and catches the blood in a silver cup, one that looks the same as the one that Meg had all that time ago. He stirs his hand in it. "It's over, you'll be pleased," he says. "I don't think any more tests are necessary. The Winchester boy, definitely immune, as expected. Yes. Of course. Nothing left behind." His eyes go black.

Somewhere by a lake
Sam and Dean are leaning on a fence by a lake, having some drinks. "So, last night, you wanna tell me what the hell you were talking about?" Sam asks. "What do you mean?" asks Dean. "What do I mean? I mean you said you were tired of the job. And that it wasn't just because of Dad." "Forget it," says Dean. "No, I can't. No way," Sam argues. "Well, man, I thought we were both gonna die. You can't hold that over me." "No, no no no. You can't pull that crap with me, man. You're talking," Sam says. "And what if I don't?" "Then I guess I'll just have to keep asking until you do." "I don't know, man," says Dean, turning around. "I just think we ought to… go to the Grand Canyon." "What?" said Sam incredulously. "Yeah, I mean, all this driving back and forth cross country and you know I've never been to the Grand Canyon? Or we could go to TJ. Or Hollywood! See if we could bang Lindsay Lohan." "You're not making any sense," Sam says. "I just think we should take a break from all this. Why do we get stuck with all the responsibility, you know? Why can't we live life a bit?" "Why you saying all this?" asks Sam, and Dean stands up and starts to walk away. "No no no no. Dean, you're my brother, alright? So whatever weight you're carrying, let me help a little bit." "I can't," says Dean. "I promised." "Who?" asks Sam. "Dad," replies Dean. "What're you talking about?" Sam asks. "Right before Dad died, he told me something," begins Dean. "He told me something about you." "What?" says Sam. "Dean, what did he tell you?"

Synopsis by Deanandhisimpala

Episode Music

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Extras

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Video Clips

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