Okay y'alls. I thought up of this story after reading The Crucible in my English class, and I thought it would be a cool concept. I have been trying to get it started for about a month now, so here it is finally. Not finished yet, but certainly on its way.
Thank you for clicking on my story and deciding to read it and give me a chance. Please REVIEW! I love seeing them and I love taking suggestions if you have any.
LOVE, HO2FG (hunters-of-221B-from-Gallifrey)
It had been a long drive, and the three men in the 1967 Chevy Impala were beginning to get irritated with one another. The journey from Lebanon, Kansas to Massachusetts is about a day, and the hunters felt every second in their tired limbs and sagging eyelids. Dean was behind the wheel, as usual and he searched with hazy eyes for a motel on the expansive highway. Sam squinted to look at a neon sign blazing brightly in the night advertising the vacancy of a motel that made residence in the forest outside the city of Peabody, MA.
"Dean, pull over. We're close enough to Peabody and I am exhausted. Cas is practically falling over in the back. Just stop here." Sam pleaded sleepily. Dean groaned, but pulled into the small parking lot that belonged to the establishment and parked the car in front of the office. Sam got out to get a room and Dean turned to the half asleep ex-angel. Since Metatron had stolen his Grace, Castiel had become even more of a family member to the Winchesters. He needed to learn how to be human, more importantly, how to hunt without the aid of angel mojo. Cas was efficient with a shotgun, decent with a pistol and deadly accurate with his knife skills. Dean was impressed with his progress, only having been three months since the fall and nearly as deadly as Dean or Sam.
"Cas, Cas buddy. We're at a motel. Up and at 'em." Dean announced, startling Castiel. He sat up from the seat he was recently slouching down in, shocked and defensive. Dean laughed. "Good, instincts. You need those. Sam goes nuts when I do that to him."
"I find that easy to believe. You have taught me to be alert at all times. When you do that, I feel threatened." Cas mumbled as he got out of the car. Dean kept his expansive grin and got out of the car too. Sam came out and met them, tossing Dean a key.
"We're room two. Who's got the couch this time?" Sam inquired as they got duffel bags from the trunk. Dean shook his head and gestured to Castiel and Sam.
"You two figure it out, I had it last time. Decide amongst yourselves. I'm just freaking happy I get a bed." Dean smirked and gripped the key, going to the room Sam had indicated. Cas turned to Sam and held out his fist in an offer to Rock Paper Scissors for it. Sam laughed and mirrored the gesture.
"You do realize that I win every time I play this, right?" Sam asked. Cas smiled devilishly.
"Have you played me?" Sam shook his head. "In that case, do not count your luck too early."
"Hey, who's got the couch?" Dean asked them as they came in the door. Sam was frowning and grumbling, moving to the couch without conversation. Dean looked between the pair and chuckled. "Did you beat him at Rock Paper Scissors?"
"I do not understand why you do not win. It is not a hard game to accomplish once you have witnessed Sam' playing habits. Though I do not believe that a game of 23 wins to 0 loses is usual, correct?" Castiel questioned, much to Dean's amusement. Sam held up the middle finger to Castiel and Dean before falling onto the couch and knocking out nearly instantly.
"Sam's got the right idea, I'm exhausted. Night Cas. See you in the morning." Dean said before stripping off his shirt and slipping under the sheets. Castiel did the same and turned off the lamp.
"Good night Dean."
"Ma'am, FBI. I'm Agent Noble and this is my partner, Agent Harkness. Can we speak to you about your sister's death?" Dean asked the woman behind the screen. The woman had recently found her sister lying dead in her house, but the strange thing was that was completely flattened. Like something pressed her to death, but there was nothing heavy enough around to do something like that. Dean and Cas were at the sister's house and Sam was checking out the body. The woman let the pair in and went to the living room, where they followed her. "Uh, ma'am? Would you like to tell us what you saw?" Dean asked, sternly but calmly.
"I already told the police, they don't believe me, so why would the FBI?" She said, setting her head in her hands. Cas furrowed his brow.
"Ms. Lewiski, please, we are attempting to find out why she died. Everything you can tell us will help us with the investigation." Cas said, reaching across the small distance and gripping her hand and smiling at her. Dean was surprised at the gentleness compared to when he was an angel and attempted the 'bad cop'. Ms. Lewiski looked up from her hands and into his soft blue eyes.
"Okay, but its absolutely insane." She gave in. She went and sat on the couch. Dean and Cas sat across from her in the love seat, which was slightly awkward, but they managed. "Well, I was coming to get Amanda for a drink, and I heard the muffled screaming inside. The door was locked, but I had a key so I was able to get inside. She was lying on the ground, trying to yell, but there was nothing coming out of her mouth. Amanda...it was like she had this...force pressing her down, but it was invisible. I could see the weight become heavier on her body then, she kind of stopped struggling as soon as I got close to her. I reached to feel for a pulse, but I couldn't find one. There...there was so much blood. It was coming from everywhere. You would have thought you dropped a boulder on her, but...there was nothing. The police don't believe that she was crushed under nothing. I tried to tell them, but they just call me crazy and wave it off." She explained, wiping away a tear that traced down her flushed cheek. Dean exchanged a glance with Castiel.
"Well, Ms. Lewiski, I-"
"Please, call me Jenna." She cut in. Dean nodded and continued.
"Jenna. We believe you. Uh, did you feel anything strange? Any cold spots? Or maybe the smell of rotten eggs? Or maybe, was she acting strange lately?" Dean asked, looking around the room a little bit. Jenna crinkled her nose and thought.
"Ummm...I don't...think so? But isn't those kinda weird questions? I mean, why would you ask them?" Jenna asked. Castiel looked at Dean, then at her.
"The FBI likes to explore all angles, so we need to ask a very wide variety of questions. True they are quite strange, however they help with our job. I believe we are done with questions, right, Agent Noble?" Castiel said, and Dean nodded. They stood and Dean took out a business card. He handed it to her and straightened his tie.
"Call us if you have anything else to say, or if something happens. Have a nice day, ma'am." Dean smiled lightly and walked to the door and out to the car. "So, no sulfur, so no demons. No cold spots, probably not angry spirit. I would say...witch? Let's meet Sam at the crime scene and see if we can find a hex bag." Dean said, going down the walkway. They got in the car, Cas nodding in agreement.
"I would believe so. It seems most probable. And judging the area, I find it quite ironic that there is a witch here." Cas chuckled to himself. Dean looked at him skeptically. "Do you not know where we are?"
"Massachusetts. Peabody. What's so special about Peabody and witches?" Cas looked at Dean with a shocked look.
"Not Peabody itself. But I believe you know its sister town. Salem." Castiel said with a frown. Dean nearly stopped the car, but he managed to keep going.
"WHAT?! Why the hell didn't I know that? That is DEFINITELY something I should have known. If Salem is only a few miles away, that means that there is a good chance the witch is there." Dean contemplated. They pulled up to the apartment Amanda rented, taking in the abundance of yellow caution tape around the entrance. Both the men stepped out of the car and walked up to where Sam was waiting at the front for them.
"Hey, did you guys know that this town is only 12 miles from Salem? Like, 'witch trials' Salem. A little suspicious, don't you think?" Sam said to them as they traveled up the stairs. Cas and Dean nodded as they approached the room. Once they walked in, they could see the extreme amount of blood soaked through the carpet and splattered all over. The pattern of the blood DID look like what Jenna had described, like someone had crushed the vic with a heavy object. Sam looked at the scene and knitted together his brows. "I'm pretty sure that one of the death sentences for witchcraft was being crushed by rocks. But...this was supernatural." Sam said confused about the scene. Dean's eye was caught by a small patch of leather tucked among the many books on Amanda's wall. He went over and pulled out a little brown bag from the shelf. He untied it and saw that it contained rabbit's teeth, bird bones and small metal circle that Dean didn't recognize. It was three swirled pieces in the center that extended to the curly outside. It was old and worn, but well preserved from obviously a very long time ago.
"Check it out. Hex bag. Looks like we got a witch for sure. Have either of you seen this symbol before?" Dean asked, holding up the metal piece. Sam thought for a second, then shook his head. Castiel, however, took one look and twisted his face in disgust.
"Ugh. It is a symbol of witchcraft that courts used to brand so called witches with. It makes me sick that so many people were killed under my Father's name. Many of my siblings wanted to interfere with it, but the archangels held us back. It was...difficult." Cas grimaced, and took the metal symbol. "I think we may have to go to Salem. "
"Why? Maybe whoever this witch is just took inspiration from Salem, but lives here." Sam suggested. Dean was about to agree when Sam's phone rang. He grabbed it and checked the number before answering. "Hello?"
"Yes, this is Agent Tyler, what happened?...Another one?...Of course, I'll be right down." Sam said, hanging up. He looked at Dean and Cas. "That was the coroner. There's been another strange death, and this one is a little more...familiar."
"So, she was hung...but there's no rope?" Dean asked the coroner. The small man nodded and unzipped the body bag. The young woman who had died was probably the same age as the other woman who died, but this girl had large, purple bruises wrapped around her neck. Her face was a similar shade from asphyxiation, but the marks on her throat closely resembled a rope burn and like she hung herself. After taking a look at the house she was found in, there was obviously no rope around. The guy who found her said that she was dangling from nothing for a few seconds before she slumped to the ground. Of course, the incompetent police not only didn't believe him, but also missed the hex bag, which held the same contents as the one in Amanda's apartment.
"The scarring and tissue damage around her jugular and trachea indicate that she was choked by something. There are no finger prints, and there are clear markings of a rope-like pattern along the column of her throat. If the circumstances where different, I would immediately call the cause of death as hanging." The mortician explained. He pushed his round glasses up his pudgy nose and opened the file on the girl. "She was a sweet kid. I used to know her family back way back when. Her name was Julie Skaro. She just got back from a trip though. Uh, little road trip to Salem with two of her friends. One of 'em was that other girl that died, Amanda. Kind of strange." He shrugged and put down the report. "I'll leave you gentlemen alone." Sam nodded and thanked him. Once he was gone, Sam turned to Dean and Castiel.
"So, both vics happened to go on a road trip to Salem and get killed by some witch. That's no coincidence. I think we need to check out the third girl on the list. Either she's next, or she is the witch." Sam reasoned. Cas thought for a second.
"This does not make any sense, though. Why would a witch kill people in the same way that supposed witches were killed almost 325 years ago? Payback?" Castiel asked, contemplating every possible reason. Dean shrugged.
"Probably. This chick probably feels all self righteous and decided to kill off some people who said some bad things about witches in Salem or whatever. Point is, we can handle this." Dean said, gesturing to the door. "Come on. Let's find that witch."
It didn't take too long. Peabody was a relatively small city, so it wasn't too hard to find the girl. Much to the dismay of Team Free Will, she lived on the outskirts of town, decently close to Salem. Before going to her house, they changed into their usual get up, Cas had taken to wearing jeans and regular shirts as opposed to his old suit and trench coat, though he kept the trench coat in the Impala. Once they got to the house, they could tell from the appearance and distance from any other buildings that this could be dangerous, so they ensured to stock up on weapons. Cas took his knife (the demon knife became his once it was evident he could handle it best), while Sam and Dean grabbed their shotguns. The trio walked up to the front door, and before they could knock, the door swung open.
"Well, that's a little cliche. Scary old house that has a door that can open itself? Weird." Dean mumbled as they went inside, weapons drawn. Sam took the lead and pointed his gun into the room off to the right, Dean took the one to the left, Cas went straight. A blood curdling scream rang out from the top floor, obviously from a woman. Dean was the closest to the staircase, so he ran up without waiting for either Sam or Castiel. His feet pounded against the splintered the wood of the stairs. He could hear one of the other men coming up behind him. Dean went down to the end of the hall at the top of the stairs where the screams were coming from. He kicked down the door and took in the scene in front of him.
There were two women in the room. One was the girl they came for. Dean remembered her name being Abigail Williams or something. She was reading from a book and watching the other girl in the room screamed as water streamed out of her mouth. She was drowning, but the water was coming from her mouth instead of going down her gullet. Abigail chanted the last few words and the drowning woman stilled and stopped choking, the last remnants of water trickling out of her blue lips. Dean raised his shotgun at Abigail.
"Hey you bitch!" He yelled, catching her attention. She looked up and smiled grimly. Sam and Castiel ran up behind him, brandishing their weapons. She laughed and flung the trio against the walls with a flick of her hand. She closed her book with a loud thud and smirked.
"I am no bitch, dear sir. However, you seem quick to judge by looking at many of your weapons. All of you are hunters, aren't you? Oh goody! I haven't seen one in a century." Abigail purred at them. Castiel widened his eyes.
"Abigail Williams...THE Abigail Williams? The girl who accused about half of the so called witches in Salem?" He asked, fury seeping through his eyes. "So many of my siblings wanted your head on a platter, and now I may get the pleasure of doing so."
"Oh calm down. It was quite fun though. Playing the sainted little girl who was so helpless to witches. Just a simple little scream or two and any one I pointed at would be dead within a week. And now, I am going to kill you." She went back over to her book and turned the pages till she found a marked page, the yellowing pages hard to read.
"How are you going to kill us? Hex bag? Some weird spell? Whatever." Dean spat at her. She chuckled and shook her head.
"I am not so simple. I have had hundreds of years to practice my magic. I am going to do something...a little more fun." Then she started chanting in Latin. Abigail went over to they and took Castiel's knife from the floor and admired it. Then, she ran it up each of their arms, drawing blood. She collected the blood from the wincing men and took it back to the alter. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you. Very soon."
Abigail took out a liquid from behind her and poured it into the bowl with Cas, Dean and Sam's blood. They all writhed in pain as it felt like they caught fire. Dean looked over to comfort his brother, but found him gone, same as Castiel. Soon, he felt a weightlessness sensation and suddenly falling to the ground. It reminded him of when Cas could fly and he would pop Dean back and forth between places. Except this time, his veins were on fire and all he could feel was hard dirt beneath him.
"Dean?!" A voice yelled out from a small distance away. Dean opened his eyes and found two familiar orbs of blue searching his face. "Dean, are you okay?"
"Yeah, Cas. Just...hurting." Dean responded, sitting up. The fiery sensation was fading, but his back was aching from landing somewhere resembling a field. Sam was standing up already and looking around. "Sammy, where the hell are we? Did she send us somewhere?"
"I have no clue. It looks kinda similar, so maybe we're still in Massachusetts?" Sam suggested. Dean felt for his weapons and found only the knife he kept in his boot. Sam had no luck either, and Cas had nothing.
"I have a very bad feeling about that." Castiel said as he pointed at some smoke coming from inside the forest. "But it looks like our only chance. Shall we?" He grinned and started walking to the smoke column. Dean shrugged and followed, letting Sam fall behind them.
"We should probably be prepared for anything. She probably sent us to a cannibal camp or something. Cas, you take the knife. If we get in trouble, I would want him to have it." Dean contemplated. He held the hilt and tossed it to Castiel, who caught it and put on his belt. After walking for a few minutes, they came to a path. It wasn't paved, but it was well worn. Sam knelt down and looked at the tracks.
"I don't see any tire tracks. Only horse, and some wheel. Most of them are coming from where the smoke is. Maybe...Amish settlement?" Sam said. He looked up and down the road, then started walking towards the smoke's source. Another few minutes went by before they came to a small village. It seemed kind of...new. Even though it was dingy because of the quality of the materials, the houses and buildings were freshly built, some even in construction with wooden frames.
"Well, looks like Amish village was right, Sammy." Dean commented, looking around with slight awe. Castiel kept a straight gaze and walked to a man who was driving a cow through the town.
"Excuse me, but may I ask what this place is?" He asked politely. The man laughed and then stopped after he realized they were serious.
"Well, you three happen to be in Salem. Where else would you be? I do not believe that there is a village anywhere close to here besides this place. Are you traveling?" The man asked, curious, but somewhat weary of the trio.
"Yes. I suppose you could say that. And may you please point us in the direction of the nearest lodging?" Castiel inquired. The man thought for a second, then shook his head.
"If you are going to be staying, I should probably warn you. Witches have been spotted in these parts." He whispered. Castiel furrowed his brow and looked at him. Dean scoffed and the man scowled at Dean. "You should watch that mouth. Lucifer will be after you." Sam nearly choked on air. He managed to keep a straight face though. Cas shot him a look, then turned back to the man.
"May I please inquire the date?" Cas asked. He looked at Castiel with a weary face.
"March 19, in the year of our Lord 1692."