Supernatural: Red Sky at Morning

A/N: I'm back with a new story, folks! And not only do the Winchesters have to solve dry land drownings in this story, they will also have to deal with a certain con-artist, who Liz will meet this time. I have made a few minor changes, some of which were inspired by the animated Supernatural series, and I do home you enjoy it. Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Supernatural or Criminal Minds; I just own the characters that I happen to create.

CHAPTER ONE: AN UNPLEASANT REUNION

"When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth."

Proverbs 8:29

Plymouth, Massachusetts

The harbor…

It was a clear night and the sky was filled with stars; a young woman was jogging along the harbor's walkway, listening to her iPod. She stopped at a water fountain for a drink when she heard thunder, followed by a sudden gust of icy cold wind that made her shiver.

'That's strange,' she thought, straightening up and looked out over the water, seeing something that was even stranger. "What the-?" she gaped at the thunderclouds that was suddenly forming and she gasped when she saw sliding past a ghostly old sailing ship. She removed her headphones and stared as it crossed into the harbor, and then it vanished. "No way…"

Unnerved by the sight, she put her headphones back in, still spooked, and jogged back the way she'd came earlier.

Two nights later…

The same young woman was taking a shower, unaware when a dark figure approached and placed his hand on the glass of the shower door, water forming around it and running down the glass; there was a squeaking noise, and she slid open the door to peer out.

"Hello? Aunt Gert? Mike?"

Deciding that it was nothing, she shut the door, unaware of a sole handprint fading from the surface of the glass; she let the hot water run over her body, and was just about to shut her eyes when a shadow moved past.

"What the-?" she began when she was attacked from behind!

Screaming, she pounded against the glass, struggling against whatever was holding her when murky water began filling the shower at a fast pace until it was above her head. After a few seconds, her muffled screams turned to a gurgling noise, and she stopped moving.

The dark figure released her so that she was floating in the water until it drained away so that she was left slumped against the glass, dead, with the shower still running with absolutely no change whatsoever.

Three days later…

Gertrude Case, aunt of the victim, Sheila, sat in the living room of her home with her nephew, Mike, and three state officers, who were actually the Winchesters.

"But I don't understand," Gert told them, holding a framed picture of her late niece in her hands. "I already went over all this with the other detectives."

"We both did," Mike agreed.

"Right, yes," Dean confirmed. "But, see…we're with the Sheriff's Department, not the police department – different departments." And both Gert and Mike seemed to accept that explanation, thanks to some mental nudging from Sam.

"So, Mrs. Case…" Sam began.

"Please. Ms. Case," Gert interrupted, eying Sam in a way that made him uncomfortable, especially the emotions he was sensing from her.

"Okay," Sam stammered. "Um, Ms. Case, um…you were the one who found your niece, correct?"

Gert nodded. "I came home, she was in the shower."

"Drowned?" Liz asked.

"So the coroner says," Gert responded, keeping her gaze on Sam. "Now, you tell me, how can someone drown in the shower?"

"How would you describe Sheila's behavior in the days before her death?" Sam asked. "I mean, did she seem frightened? Maybe she said something out of the ordinary? Or see anything strange?"

Gert frowned. "Wait a minute. You're working with Alex, aren't you?" she asked suddenly.

"Alex?" the Winchesters repeated caught off guard by the question.

Mike frowned. "Are you three working for that con artist?"

"Con artist?" Dean repeated and then laughed, shaking his head. "Oh no, absolutely not. We don't work with con artists at all."

Mike seemed to buy that. "Oh, that's good, 'cause that woman was around here asking similar questions about Sheila and something about her rubbed me the wrong way." And then winced when his aunt swatted his arm.

"Be nice, Mike," Gert scolded before returning her attention to the Winchesters…well to Sam that was. "Alex has been such a comfort. But I'm sorry. I thought the case was solved."

Sam shook his head. "Well, no. No, not yet."

Gert nodded while Mike scowled. "I see."

"Um, why don't Mike and I talk in private?" Liz suggested, wanting to hear more about this Alex person.

"Good idea," Dean agreed and watched as they both left.

Sam cleared his throat. "So, anyways, we were talking about your niece."

"Well, yes," Gert admitted. "Sheila mentioned something quite strange before she died. She said she saw a boat."

"A boat?" Dean repeated.

"Yes," Gert confirmed. "One minute it was there, then it was gone. It just disappeared right before her eyes. You think it could be a ghost ship? Alex thinks it could be a ghost ship."

Sam shrugged. "Uh, Could be."

"You let me know if there's anything else I can do for you," Gert requested and she traced a finger slowly along his hand, leaving Sam very uncomfortable, and Dean did his best not to laugh. "Anything at all."

Out in the hallway, Mike and Liz faced each other while listening in on the interview in the living room.

"So, what were you saying about this Alex lady?" Liz asked, taking out a notebook and pen to take some notes.

Mike sighed. "Well, she came around the day after Shelia died, asking questions about what she might've seen before she died, did some communication thingy with this board thing – an Ouja board I think…anyway, she supposedly made contact with Shelia's spirit, said something about her being at peace, and then declared the case solved."

"And you don't think your sister's case has been solved so easily?" Liz asked, already suspicious of whom this Alex person might be. 'And if it is who I think it is, then I'm gonna get some payback for the rabbit foot business.'

"Absolutely not," Mike confirmed. "My sister was murdered by someone who made it look like she'd drowned in a shower, and I want proof that this person is in jail…at least."

Hearing Sam and Dean thanking Gert, she nodded. "Okay, we'll do what we can to find your sister's killer, Mr. Case."

"Thanks."

Soon the Winchesters were walking along the docks, where the water was crowded with pristine, moderately sized boats.

"What a crazy, old broad," Dean laughed, referring to their interview after comparing some notes.

"Why?" Sam asked. "Because she believes in ghosts?"

"Look at you," Dean teased. "Sticking up for your girlfriend. You cougar hound."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Bite me."

"Not if she bites you first," Dean teased back, wincing when Liz hit his arm, and he changed the subject. "So, who's this Alex? We got another player in town?"

"Probably," Liz agreed, "according to Mike, this Alex uses Ouja boards as a part of her scam."

Sam shrugged. "Maybe, Maybe not. Doesn't change our job, but we can have Garcia run a check on where the one person that we know who uses Ouja boards and figure out where she currently is."

Both Dean and Liz agreed with that. "And what looked like a ghost ship, right?"

Sam nodded. "It's not the first one sighted around here, either."

"Really?" Dean asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Sam confirmed. "Every 37 years, like clockwork, reports of a vanishing three-mast clipper ship out in the bay. And every 37 years, a rash of weirdo, dry-land drownings."

"Wow," Liz said, surprised by the number.

"So, whatever's happening is just getting started," Dean realized.

"Yeah," Sam agreed.

"What's the lore?" Liz asked.

"Well, there are apparitions of old wrecks sighted all over the world," Sam explained. "The S.S. Violet, the Griffin, the Flying Dutchman – almost all of them was death omens."

Dean thought about that. "So, you see the ship and then a few hours later, you pucker up and kiss your ass goodbye?"

Sam nodded. "Basically."

"Yikes," Liz muttered, cringing at the thought.

"What's the next step?" Dean asked.

Sam sighed. "We gotta I.D. the boat."

"That shouldn't be too hard," Dean remarked. "I mean, how many three-mast clipper ships have wrecked off the coast?"

Sam laughed sourly. "I checked that too, actually. Over 150."

"Wow," said Dean and Liz, surprised by the number of wrecked ships.

Sam nodded. "Yeah."

"Crap," said Dean as they walked up a flight of stairs and headed toward an empty parking space; he looked around, confused. "This is where we parked the car, right?"

Both Sam and Liz looked around, confused. "I thought so."

"Where's my car?" Dean wondered, looking around for the missing Impala. "Where'd it go?"

"Did you feed the meter?" Sam asked exchanging a look with Liz as they checked the meter they'd been parked next to.

"Yes, I fed the meter," Dean snapped, beginning to panic. "Sam, Liz, where's my car? Somebody stole my car!"

"Calm down," Sam suggested.

"I am calmed down!" Dean snarled. "Somebody stole my ca-" and he started hyperventilating, alarming his siblings.

"Whoa!" Liz exclaimed, grabbing her twin when he began doubling over. "Dean. Hey, hey, hey. Take it easy."

Just then, a woman with dark blonde hair and was wearing a red dress suit, skirt, and red high heels sauntered up, prompting Dean and Sam to scowl while a wary expression crossed Liz's face. "The '67 Impala? Was that yours?"

"Bela," Sam growled.

"I'm sorry," Bela said, unapologetically. "I had that car towed."

"You what?!" Dean yelped. 'My baby!'

Bela shrugged in a manner that set the Winchesters on edge. "Well, it was in a tow-away zone."

"No, it wasn't!" Liz protested. 'So this is Bela…bitch.'

Bela smirked. "It was when I finished with it."

"What the hell are you even doing here?" Dean demanded angrily. 'She'd better not have harmed my baby or I'll kill her myself!'

"A little yachting," Bela answered flippantly.

"You're Alex," Sam realized. "You're working with that old lady."

Bela nodded. "Gert's a dear old friend."

"Yeah, right," Liz scoffed. "What's your angle?"

"There's no angle," Bela responded. "There's a lot of lovely old women like Gert up and down the eastern seaboard. I sell them charms, perform séances so they can commune with their dead cats."

Dean scoffed. "And let me guess, it's all a con."

"The comfort I provide them is very real," Bela countered.

"How do you sleep at night?" Liz demanded, disgusted.

"On silk sheets, rolling naked in money," Bela retorted. "Really, Elizabeth. I'd expect the attitude from your brothers, but you?"

"You stole that rabbit's foot from me!" Liz snarled. "And I almost died!"

"We all have to die at some point," Bela countered and then turned to Dean. "Cute. But a bit of a drama queen, yeah?"

"Drama queen? Why I oughta-" Liz began, but fumed when both Sam and Dean restrained her.

"You do know what's going on around here," Dean pointed out, reining in his own temper. "This ghost-ship thing, it is real."

"I'm aware," Bela confirmed and then scowled. "Thanks for telling Gert the case wasn't solved, by the way."

"It isn't," said Sam.

"She didn't know that," Bela snapped. "Now the old bag's nephew, Mike, stopped payment and they're demanding some real answers."

The Winchesters took some grim pleasure in that. "They have a right to know what really happen to Shelia."

Bela scoffed. "Like that really matters. Look…just stay out of my way before you cause any more trouble. I'd get to that car if I were you…before they find the arsenal in the trunk. Ciao." And she left while the Winchesters glared at her.

"Can I shoot her?" Dean asked.

"Not in public," said Sam sourly. "Let's go get the Impala back," he suggested and they headed off to rescue their car.

Later that same night, a middle-aged man was in a very nice bathroom and was brushing his teeth when there was a faint sound, and he glanced behind him, almost certain that he saw something from the corner of his eye. "Hello?"

Deciding that he was imagining things, he turned back to the sink and finished attending to his teeth; he turned to leave…when he saw that the old-fashion bathtub was nearly filled with murky water. "What the-?"

It was then that the water started bubbling, he stared in confusion as the bubbling water began rising upward slowly until it'd grown to five feet, and then a tentacle shot out and wrapped it around his head!

The man tried to scream, but the water completely enclosed around his head, muffling all sound, and began filling his lungs as the tentacle dragged him toward the tub.

Seconds later, he slumped as he was pulled face first into the tub, his body twitching slightly as it rested half-in and half-out of the water that was now draining away; a dark figure stepped out of the shadows, stared at the body for a moment before fading away into nothingness.

The next morning, the police were going in and out of the house and roping off the area; the late victim's brother, Mr. Peter Warren, was standing outside with Bela, who was impersonating a reporter and was interviewing him…well she was pestering him actually.

"No," Peter answered, shaking his head. "Police said that he drowned, but I don't u-understand how…"

"I am so sorry for your loss, Mr. Warren," said Bela unconvincingly. "Now, if you could just tell me one more time about the ship your brother saw."

At that moment, Dean, Liz, and Sam showed up, once again wearing suits and, after flashing their badges, approached them with the intent to get Bela to leave.

"Ma'am, I think this man's been through quite enough," Dean told her curtly. "You should go."

"But I just have a few more questions," Bela protested.

"No, you don't," Sam told her coldly.

Bela scowled at them. "Thank you for your time," she told Peter before leaving.

"Sorry you had to deal with that, sir," Liz told Peter. "They're like roaches." And Bela shot them an angry look.

"So, we heard you say your brother saw a ship," Sam commented, gently nudging Peter's mind.

Peter nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

"Did he tell you what it looked like?" Dean asked, hoping to narrow down the possible ships.

"It was, uh…like the old yankee clippers," Peter described. "A smuggling vessel. The rakish topsail, a barkentine rigging. Angel figurehead on the bow."

"That's a lot of detail for a ship your brother saw," Sam remarked, exchanging a look with his siblings.

Peter shrugged. "My brother and I were night diving. I saw the ship, too." And the Winchesters exchanged a look behind the man's back.

Across the driveway, Bela was talking to one of the cops and pointed in the Winchesters' direction; Sam noticed this, sent out a mental command to delay the cop, and nudged both Dean and Liz, alerting them to the danger.

"All right. Well, we'll be in touch."

"Thank you."

A few hours later, the Winchesters were parked in a nearby grove of trees, and they were at the trunk, loading their shotguns with salt rounds…when Bela just happen to show up like a bad penny.

"I see you got your car back," she commented.

"You really want to come near me when I got a loaded gun in my hands?" Dean asked scathingly; thanks to Sam's Jedi ability, they'd managed to get the Impala back with very little trouble.

"Now, now," Bela tsked. "Mind your blood pressure. Why are you even still here?" she asked. "You have enough to I.D. the boat."

"That guy back there saw the ship," Sam said shortly.

Bela wasn't surprised, having eavesdropped on the whole thing. "Yeah? And?"

"And he's going to die," Liz added, facing the woman, "so we have to save him."

Bela laughed. "How sweet."

"You think this is funny?" Dean asked, annoyed by her lack of empathy for others. 'Even that crazy cop had more empathy when he was goin' after Garcia.'

"He's cannon fodder," Bela sneered. "He can't be saved in time, and you know it."

Dean scowled and turned away. "Yeah, well, see, we have souls, so we're gonna try."

Bela laughed again. "Well, I'm actually going to find the ship and put an end to this. But you have fun."

"Hey, Bela, how'd you get like this, huh?" Liz asked sarcastically. "What, did daddy not give you enough hugs or something?"

"I don't know," Bela responded icily. "Your daddy give you enough?" and they glared at each other. "Don't you dare look down your nose at me, girlie. You're not better than I am."

"We help people," Liz growled, her hands clenching into fists.

"Come on," Bela scoffed. "You do this out of vengeance and obsession. You're a stone's throw from being a serial killer. Whereas I, on the other hand, I get paid to do a job and I do it. So, you tell me – which is healthier?"

Both Sam and Dean had to restrain Liz…again. "Bela, why don't you just leave? We've got work to do."

Bela smirked again. "Yeah. You're 0 for 2. Bang-up job so far." And she left.

"I so hate her right now," Liz growled. "Can I kill her?"

"Not in public."

That night, the Winchesters were staking out Peter's home, and they were also doing research to id the ship, plus trying to find a connection between the victims.

"Anything good?" Dean asked, stretching.

"No, not really," Sam admitted. "I mean…both brothers are Duke University grads. No criminal record, but I'm havin' Garcia do a deep search since all I found was a few speeding tickets. They inherited their father's real estate fortune six years ago."

"How much?" Liz asked, bored.

"$112 million," Sam answered.

Dean whistled. "Nice life."

Both Sam and Liz agreed. "Yeah. Nice, clean, aboveboard. So why did they see the ship? Why Sheila, too? What do they all have in common?"

"Maybe nothing," Dean suggested.

"No," said Liz. "Sam's right, there's always something."

Just then, Peter came out of the house, having spotted them. "Hey, you!"

Dean groaned. "I think we've been made." They got out of the car and went to the gate.

"What are you guys doing?!" Peter demanded angrily. "You watching me?"

"Sir, calm down," Sam requested, going Jedi. "Please."

"You guys aren't cops!" Peter snapped, not being affected…somehow. "Not dressed like that. Not – not in that crappy car."

"Whoa, hey," Dean protested. "No need to get nasty."

"We are cops, okay?" Liz told him. "We're undercover. We're here because we think you're in danger."

"From who?!" Peter snapped.

Sam tried his Jedi trick again. "If you just settle down, we'll talk about it."

Peter refused, something in his head had snapped. "No, you just stay away from me!" and he ran away.

"Wait!" Sam shouted.

"Hey, you moron! We're trying to help you!" Dean shouted through the bars of the large gate. "Dammit!"

They watched helplessly as Peter got into his car and drove directly toward the gate-

-until the engine suddenly died and the car rolled to a stop.

"Oh, that can't be good," Dean muttered, and both Sam and Liz agreed. Trouble was coming.

Peter turned the key repeatedly, cursing loudly as the engine refused to start. "Come on! Come on!"

Just then, a dark figure appeared in the passenger seat; he was dressed in old seaman's clothes that were covered by a navy coat, his long hair was dripping into his eyes, and he was deathly pale and wet.

"What the-?!" Peter yelped and scrambled for the door, but it was locked, and he couldn't get it open. "Help! Help!"

"Get the salt gun!" Sam ordered and he and Liz began climbing the gate while Dean ran back to the Impala; they landed on the other side and ran for the car.

Peter flattened himself against the door, terrified; the spirit faced him with a cold glare, wrapped a single hand around his throat and began squeezing while the car began filing up with murky water.

By the time Sam and Liz reached the car, it was completely filled with water and Peter wasn't moving.

"Peter!" Liz shouted, tugging on the handle. "Peter!"

The spirit glared at them, releasing his grip and revealing that he was missing a hand when he raised the stump – and Dean arrived on the passenger side, armed with the salt gun. "Sam! Liz!"

His siblings ducked as Dean fired, destroying the window and the water began flowing out while the ghost disappeared; Sam yanked the door open, and both he and Liz were soaked with water as it poured out, and he reached inside to check on Peter.

After a few seconds of looking for a pulse, his shoulders slumped and he shook his head, and both Dean and Liz kicked the car in frustration. They'd failed…again.

A/N: And so ends the first chapter, I hope you all enjoy it. Also, the animated Supernatural episodes are out on DVD and have been for a while, you'll enjoy them, especially if you like Japanese animation. R&R everyone!