Chapter 1
"House is on fire
And the flame is gonna burn in
I'll bet it's gonna burn"
The music blared as Dean sang along. Watching as his brother nodded along with the music, Sam rolled his eyes. He wondered whether Dean was even paying attention to the road. It was pitch black out, and while he had every confidence in his brother's driving (okay, maybe not complete confidence), he didn't want to end up a vengeful spirit. And at the level of irritation he was at right then there was no doubt he'd come to haunt the highway and the negligent drivers that used it.
Why were they out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night? Well, besides the fact that being out late traversing the dead zones of America was an average day for the duo, Sam had noticed a disturbing meteorological pattern surrounding a small area in the Midwest. We're talking full on earthquakes, lightning storms, people going missing, you name it. So they had to check it out. What bothered Sam the most about it though was it seemed eerily similar to the conditions surrounding the Devil's gate.
"The flame is gonna burn it!" Sam rubbed his temples, he could barely think with that darn music! In retrospect, Sam thought, Dean's habit of listening to loud jarring songs was probably why Sam had to be the brains in their supernatural hunter partnership.
"Could you turn that down?" Sam asked, practically yelling. Dean rolled his eyes but turned the volume down nevertheless. Sam heard Dean mutter something about him being a killjoy, but he ignored it. Opening the map, Sam checked their current position based on the road sign they had just whizzed past. "Pull over."
"We're in the middle of nowhere, Sammy." Dean pointed out. And they were. It seemed as though it was just flat planes that surrounded them, completely devoid of life; yellowed grass and hard earth, that's all that lay before them. That's what it looked like anyway. Sam looked at the map again. They were close to where all that supernatural activity was. The road didn't go through it so they'd have to walk the rest of the way. But it was more than just the position on the map that made Sam want to stop. He could feel something. Maybe it was intuition, or maybe it was his demon blood, but Sam knew this was where they needed to be.
"Would you just pull over?" Dean sighed and shook his head, pulling the impala over to the side of the empty two lane highway. Sam got out of the car and started walking out into the flat planes. He heard Dean call his name, clearly exasperated, but he kept walking. It was maybe only twenty yards when Sam noticed the sudden fog that appeared, and before he knew it he had entered a forested area. He stopped and looked around, he couldn't see very far ahead.
"Okay, this was not here before." Dean remarked as he caught up to Sam. "Was this on the map?"
"No." Sam answered offhandedly. Squinting his eyes, he saw a flash of color in the fog. "Did you see that?" Sam started towards where it had been. As he got closer he saw that it was a crimson butterfly, hovering in the air as if waiting for him. Sure enough as soon as he got a little closer the butterfly flitted onward. It was leading him somewhere.
"See what?" Dean asked following his brother. The butterfly had picked up speed as did Sam. He heard Dean call out after him, and realized that his brother had fallen behind, but he couldn't stop.
"Hey, Sammy!" Sam disappeared into the fog ahead, and Dean felt the familiar ache of anxiety emerging. Dean ran after his brother but was halted abruptly when, (and these would be the words Dean would use to describe it) he was attacked by a swarm of crimson butterflies. "What the hell?!" He swatted at them, and as they parted he saw a girl in a kimono on the path in front of him. Her back was turned to him. Cautiously Dean approached the girl. "Hey, are you-" when he reached out to touch her shoulder she suddenly vanished. "Ah, shit."
Dean started running again. He didn't have to go far before he found Sam standing in front of an entry way to a small village.
"Yo, Sammy we've got some spirits here…" Dean couldn't help but notice how out of it Sam seemed, almost as if he was in a trance. "Wherever here is."
"Lost village."
"What?" Dean asked. Sam turned to look at him.
"It's the lost village," Sam explained. "I did some research on this area, and apparently about half a century ago, on the day of the village's annual festival it just disappeared into the fog."
"Doesn't look very disappeared to me." Sam rolled his eyes. Dean crossed the threshold into the village and felt a chill. Sam followed after him. Not far along the path into town they saw a black bag lying on the ground. Dean bent down and retrieved it and started unzipping it. Sam had never really gotten use to going through other peoples' things, especially with Dean since he had the habit of pocketing the majority of whatever they were going through. "Relax Sammy, the owners dead."
Reaching inside the bag Dean pulled out two news clippings and a photograph of a man and a woman standing next to one another. Sam took the news clippings and read it aloud.
"Surveyor missing: 'With the start of construction for All God's Dam approaching. Masumi Makimura (26), a geological surveyor dispatched to the area, has gone missing. Mr. Makimura went to the area to investigate the site that would be submerged once the dam was built, but hasn't been heard from for five days.' Search for Surveyor called off: 'The search for Masumi Makimura (26), the surveyor missing since the fourth of this month, came to a close yesterday. Mr. Makimura had been helping to conduct a geological survey for All God's Dam. As of yesterday, he has been missing for ten days.'" Sam and Dean looked at each other, neither of them sure what to make of the information.
"Mr. Makimura?" Dean asked and laughed. "What kind of a name is that?"
"It's Japanese." Sam answered, a little annoyed by his brothers reaction. Looking up from the clippings Sam saw a woman in a white kimono standing in front of one of the houses. "Dean," he nodded his head in the direction of the spirit, which just stood there watching them. Dean turned to look. They watched as the spirit disappeared into the house.
"Is it just me, or does that spirit want us to follow it?" Dean asked, giving Sam a confused look.
"I don't know." Sam walked towards the house though. The door was unlocked, and the wood creaked as he pulled it open. "Come on."
The house was old, and after so many years of disuse looked more like a cave than any sort of home. Sam pulled out his flash light, as did Dean. There didn't seem to be any light switches on the walls. Layers of dust covered everything. On the wooden table though, under layers of time, Sam saw a book. It looked like a journal. Picking it up and brushing it off as best he could Sam opened it.
"I've heard rumors about the lost village before. Long ago, a massacre occurred on the day of a ceremony, and the village was wiped from the map. Twin Deity Statues in the forest lead lost people to the village entrance. Once you passed the gate however, you cannot go back. The village eternally relives that night of death. The insane laughter of a woman is said to echo throughout the village. The only survivor of the massacre at the village was a lone woman." When he got to the next page he saw that a good chunk of it had been torn out. He continued with the next "Sometimes I sense someone passing by the window. He carries a torch, and mutter things. He seems to be searching for somebody. But it is not Masumi. In the distance, I can hear some kind of sad ceremonial song being sung. They say that this village vanished on the day of a ceremony, and that day is repeated over and over again."
"This is one messed up village." Dean said looking at the book from over Sam's shoulder. "Hey, the brochure say anything about a massacre?" Sam muttered a no, sarcasm seemed to be his older brother's default setting.
"You know what this means though?" Dean asked rhetorically. "A whole village full of vengeful spirits. And if that journal's right we're stuck in here with them." Dean was far from pleased with the situation. He was getting a little pissed, mostly because they hadn't brought anything with them from the Impala. Except for their machetes, but those were useless against spirits. Looking through the cabinets in the kitchen of the old house Dean tried to find salt. "Didn't these people eat?" He asked annoyed. There was nothing in the kitchen. Not just no salt, but no anything. Sam shrugged.
Sam continued to look around until his foot hit something. Looking down it was an old cell phone lying on the floor. Picking it up he tried to turn it on. Miracles of miracles it still had some power left. It had no signal, neither did Sam's or Dean's, but it did have several voice messages. Putting his ear to the phone he listened to the first one.
"Masumi... It's me, Miyako. I came to look for you. Let's go home together. Together, we can make it. Call for me if you get this. I'll be nearby. Miss you." He pressed the button to move on to the next message. "Someone! Anyone! Whoever hears this, look for me. I'm trapped in this village. HELP ME!" Her voice was scared and desperate, and Sam couldn't help but feel afraid for her, even though in all likelihood she was long dead.
"Dean," Sam gestured to him. Dean came over and Sam handed him the phone. He listened to the message. Dean had no idea what to make of it, but he seemed as shaken up as Sam was. Dean pocketed the phone.
Walking into what looked to be the living room Dean noticed an old camera sitting on the coffee table.
"Hey, check this out." Dean picked up the camera, turning it over in his hands. A small booklet lay next to where the camera had been, Sam opened it.
"The camera Obscura created by Dr. Aso to capture supernatural phenomenon."
"Does everything in this village have an instruction manual?" Dean scoffed. Sam smiled at his comment, he was right, it was odd that everything seemed to be so perfectly labeled. That they had found that journal that explained the village's history was little too convenient. Sam looked through the booklet, flipping the pages, just skimming.
"Check this out," Sam caught his brother's attention. Dean had been messing around with the camera, pretending to take pictures. "According to this manual, this camera has the ability to exorcise ghosts."
"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Dean said sardonically, looking down at the camera in his hands. Sam was about to reply, when both of them noticed the sudden chill in the air around them; they could see their breath. "Please tell me you brought some salt or iron with you." Sam shook his head. "Crap."
The spirit appeared before them. Long black hair covered half of the girls face, and the white dress she wore was far too big for her, it hung on her body formlessly. Sam and Dean backed up as she came forward. Dean's eyes scanned the room looking for something made of iron. Before he could finish his assessment he suddenly tripped backwards. Without meaning to Dean's finger had pressed down the button on the camera and a quick flash filled the room and the spirit howled in pain as it seemed to burn to ashes before them.
"Dude," Dean started just as shocked as Sam was that the camera had actually worked. "Did this camera just kill Sadako?"
"Yeah, yeah it did. Way handier than burning remains." Sam replied, patting Dean on the back. "I think we should go."
"Yeah." They both headed towards the door closest to them. Dean pulled the handle. The door didn't budge. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" Dean yanked the handle until the nob came off. "Great" he muttered.
"We'll just go out the way we came" Sam reasoned turning and heading back toward where they had come. Sam wondered whether they'd even be able to get out. Another spirit might have trapped them in there, but if that was the case all they had to do was wait until it showed itself. At least now they had a weapon. A great weapon at that, it was way better than having just salt or iron that was for sure. Sam stopped abruptly. "This was the way we came right?"
Dean came to stand next to Sam, and looked down the long dark corridor. The house layout seemed different. This was one of the weirdest hunts yet that's for sure.
"Just," Dean started, "stay behind me." Dean held the camera at the ready his index finger poised above the button. Sam did as his brother asked and slowly they began to make their way down the hallway. At the end of the hallway they were greeted by a locked door. Sam stepped forward and pulled out his lock picking tools.
A strange noise caught Dean's attention, it sounded as though something was being dragged. Dean looked down the corridor they had come from as Sam worked. From within the darkness a body emerged. A bloody broken body, with one arm missing, numerous cuts and a broken leg that he was dragging the spirit of a man dragged its way towards them. Dean swallowed and brought the camera up. With a small click the spirit burned away the scream from the man making Sam turn to look.
"You got that door open yet, Sammy?" The door swung open and the brothers stepped inside closing the large wooded door behind them. It was a study. Books littered the shelves and papers were stacked everywhere. Several torn pages lay on the ancient mahogany desk. Sam picked up the pages and pulled out the journal he had found before. The pages had come from there. He read the pages that had been removed.
"Sometimes I hear an eerie song-like sound coming from the family altar. It sounds like it's coming from deep below. Maybe it's just the wind? Or maybe there really is something behind that wall...How much time has passed since I came here? How long will this night last? I can't take the darkness. It's driving me crazy... I have to get out of here! I have to see Masumi…. I must be tired. If I start to relax, I pass out. Even in a crazy place like this. The darkness here is creeping into my dreams. Slaughter, rivers of blood, fallen people, a woman in a bloodstained kimono, insane laughter, and twin sisters calling out 'Don't kill me!'. That woman's laugh is seared into my mind. I don't want to sleep anymore. Masumi found my note. He WAS in the village! I can see him soon. I can't move...I'll wait here. He'll be back. He'll find the way out. If he comes back… He came."
"Okay, we are getting out of here right now." Dean turned back to the door only to come face to face with a vengeful spirit. It was the woman in the white kimono that had led them to this house. She looked Japanese, her elegant ebony hair held up by clips and a fancy looking Japanese comb.
Dean lifted the camera but the ghost waved her hand and several books from the shelf flew at Dean knocking the camera out of his hands.
"Dean!" Sam yelled. He saw the camera and made a dash for it. The spirit moved the desk back pinning Sam to the wall. He pushed at the desk but it didn't budge. Dean was assaulted by books as he tried to get to the camera. Looking around Sam saw the lamp on the desk, it was metal, taking it in his hands he recognized it was exactly what he needed. Iron. He flung the lamp at the spirit, which vanished. But only momentarily, it soon fazed back and it turned on Sam angry and more vengeful than ever. But that brief interlude had given Dean enough time to grab hold of the camera. The spirits gaze moved to Dean and it waved its hand violently at the book case behind Dean. The camera flashed and the vicious blood curdling scream erupted through the room, followed by the loud crash of the wooden bookcase onto Dean.
Dean barely heard Sam's voice as he called out his name in panic. With that the eldest Winchester brother fell into the black darkness of unconsciousness.