Summary: Bobby is missing and the boys are called to the mountains of Oregon by a mysterious phone call. The caller insists they will get Bobby back after they solve the mystery of who is killing the nuns in a mountainside Convent.
Warnings: Violence, References to God, Catholic practices, Angst/Drama/Supernatural occurrences, Language
(I am not Catholic and I do not plan to offend anyone especially in my Vatican references)
Rating: PG
Pairings: None
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Evil in God's House
The habit she wore seemed a bit tight around the neck for Sister Mary Catherine. She had been up since five that morning and at seven that night she felt a bit suffocated. She turned off the light in the kitchen after she washed her hands then dried them on the towel near by. She smiled at Sister Mary Louise, as they were coordinated almost to the second.
--
They had known one another for twenty years after having arrived the same day to take their vows. They walked together in silence before they approached the split in the corridor were Mary Louise would go left to her room and Mary Catherine to the right. They said their goodnights then went their separate ways.
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The Oregon convent in the Oregon hills was one of the only ones left on the West Coast. There were fifty nuns present in the old building. Most had been there for more than ten years a few over thirty years since it had been converted from a museum. There were many noises, drafts and roaming animals outside that one had to get used to in an old building. Mary Catherine had heard it all, she was confident and relaxed as she walked toward her room the sounds were almost a comfort, although the coldness and the wolves were a nuisances.
--
Born and raised in the Midwest, the daughter of a Baptist minister who was wooed to the Catholic Church by a smooth talking young man at the age of fifteen, she felt she had seen it all. It wasn't that she didn't believe in the way Christians lived she just wanted more from her spiritual life. Her father's sermons didn't match up with his lifestyle. There were other women and her mother knew of them. Her brother had been on drugs since before he was in high school though no one talked of it. It wasn't the life she wanted to lead.
--
Catholicism had won her over completely though the young man had been lost in the shuffle. She wanted to dedicate her life to God, no mortal man required. Over the years new nuns came and went, she took it in stride. She was always willing and happy to meet them no matter if they stayed or not.
--
On the other hand, Mary Louise, had been raised in the Catholic Church, it was almost a right of passage for her to join the convent. She sighed as she tried to focus on her Lord and not think of the list she needed to prepare for her trip to the town the next day.
--
"Hail Mary," she said under her breath with a sigh.
Her hands were in her pockets while her head was slightly lowered as she walked leisurely. The clanking of her dark sensible shoes as they kissed the stones echoed through the hallway.
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"Hail Mary Full of Grace," she continued.
--
Calmness turned to nervousness as the sound of feet shuffling softly appeared behind her. Suddenly, every deep breath was a prayer.
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"Hail Mary Full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee
--
More shuffling could be heard behind her it seemed to be getting closer though she dared not look. All the other sisters were long ago in the bed, she and Mary Catherine were the ones who closed up things every night.
--
"Blessed art though among women," she breathed as she rubbed the rosary in her pocket.
--
The prayer only worked for a moment before the hot breath of fear snaked down her spine. She was almost to her room when a hand grabbed her fiercely around her mouth. She closed her eyes at the pain the action made in her neck. Her eyes were wide with fear as she came against the chest of someone who seemed well over six feet tall.
--
He squeezed her neck with his bare hands as she finally saw his deep red eyes. Then she hit the floor hard, as he looked down at her lifeless body. Her eyes were open, still wide with fear. The man who wore a priest outfit looked down with a smile as he walked away.
--
Two weeks later,
Dean and Sam had finally made it to California. The sunshine, the bronzed bodied women, and poltergeist in old mansions had drawn them.
--
Dean grinned at Sam on the beach. Sam laughed; Dean had gotten his wish of a hunt in the heat. He had actually dawned a pair of walking shorts for the three days they had had been in Palm Springs.
"You are something else, "Sam said to Dean who paid him no attention as he watched two golden bodies pass by them though both girls looked back.
"Oh Sammy, this is the life. I think we should move here there are plenty of old places with hunt material. Hey, maybe set up a Road House or something," he said as he stretched his neck to look at another passing female.
She smiled at Dean as she looked him over but kept walking when he winked, okay maybe I shouldn't be so obvious, he thought.
--
Sam knew his brother was only daydreaming so he sighed while he shook his head. They had come for a break but immediately found a hunt. It had been a massive Palm Springs mansion that sported a hundred year old poltergeist. The thing was wicked and both of the brothers understood why the house had sat empty for so long before it was sold. The realtor had known the history of the house they were certain after having the house listed for a mere three months and for a huge commission a family had suckered into buying the place.
--
The couple had been scared half to death on the first night when they began to see things moving, hear sounds of crying, as well as feeling drafts. The woman ran an ad in the paper for a paranormal expert and Dean had seen it that was two days earlier. They made quick work of the job before they went back to relaxing.
--
Sam's desire to get back to a regular hunting routine was interrupted that night by a phone call. The caller called in on Sam's cell phone and he picked up without checking caller I.D.
"Hello?"
"Sam Winchester?" the male voice asked.
"Yes, who is this?" Sam asked as he looked across the room at his brother who lay on his bed half-asleep.
"All you need to know is we have Bobby Singer," was the answer Sam received before he sat up straighter in the chair.
"Bobby? Why? What?" he stuttered.
"Shut up and listen. You will get Bobby back once you do a job for us."
Sam threw a pillow at Dean's head to get his attention. Dean jumped up with a frown on his face as he eyed Sam suspiciously. Sam motioned for him to come over to him.
--
Dean put his ear to the phone in an attempt to listen to the caller, whose voice neither of them recognized.
"Fine, so what is this job…?" Sam asked again but was cut off mid sentence by the gruff voice on the other end.
--
Mary Catherine couldn't get her head around the fact that three nuns had been killed in two weeks. It had been years since any deaths had taken place on the property the last few times it had been deaths from old age, a few older nuns had passed on to the other side. There deaths had been a time of celebration of moving on to a greater calling. Nothing violent had ever had occurred at their Convent as far as she knew. She closed her eyes before she sighed. Her hands were clasped together as she looked up at the statue of the Virgin Mary.
"Oh Mary mother of God, what can we do?" she asked in a whisper.
She was lost in her thoughts and didn't hear when Dean cleared his throat behind her.
She jumped when he spoke.
--
"Excuse me are you Sister Mary Catherine?" he asked with a slight smile.
Mary Catherine stood up, though she still had to look way up to see the young man's face. Though she was only forty-five she felt older. She found Dean attractive in an abstract way. He has kind eyes, she thought.
"Yes, I'm she," she said.
"I'm Dean, if you would rather sit down to talk," Dean volunteered to the woman who was only about five foot four or five.
She nodded before she followed him to the pews , Dean was seated before Sam came in the aisle a second later.
--
"Sorry I'm Sam," he said before he took a seat on the other side of small woman.
Dean smiled and was relieved that Sam had shown up into to do the questioning.
"Are you the young men, Father Murray mentioned?"
"Yes, he found us by referral," Sam said with his head tilted a bit down, he hated to lie in a church.
Father Murray was some how involved with the people who had taken Bobby. Sam and Dean still were not sure why anyone would go through the trouble to kidnap Bobby, when they would have done the job just because they were asked. The whole thing worried Sam more than anything. He could not bear to lose Bobby after having lost their father. They had Ellen doing research while they did the job, though it was very discreet. So far, Ellen believed the situation might be connected all the way to the Vatican.
--
Deaths in a church were bad enough but someone or thing killing nuns in a convent was barbaric, Sam thought.
"Are you okay?" Mary Catherine asked Sam as she touched his arms then looked into his dark hazel eyes.
She saw conflict in the young man, she felt a stirring in him that was not identifiable to her. She moved her hand away a second later but gave him a weak smile.
"Yes, I'm sorry just recuperating from time off," he said with a slight laugh.
Mary Catherine smiled but she knew the young man was nervous, she hoped she was not somehow intimidating him.
"Um what do you need to know?"
"Well, um the deaths, were there anything about them that were similar besides the location and the vocation of the victims?"
That's my boy, Dean thought as he watched the nun's reaction carefully. She was calm, subdued, relaxed, definitely at peace. He wished he had that way of thinking of life, some times.
"I personally didn't find any of the victims. The maintenance person found two of them in the corridors in the morning when he came in to clean the floors. It would have been before sun up he starts earlier so the floors are not slick as we all began our morning prayers."
"Okay, um where was the third person found?"
"She was found in her bed, her neck was broken.." she said as she allowed the thought to wash over her Dean saw she as her hands began to shake.
He could tell this one thing disturbed her. He could only imagine the thought of someone coming to kill you in your bed would be anyone's undoing.
--
They both watched as she reached in her habit pocket to pull out a tissue before she dapped under her eyes.
"I'm sorry. We don't like to feel frightened, maybe it is our sin, pride….Either way, well it goes against our faith. I have to confess when evil comes to your house well, you see things in a different light. Though, it shouldn't be so. Trust in God not in man, certainly not in ourselves."
She put the tissue away as she gathered her courage around here again. Sam waited only a second before he asked a new question.
"So nothing about the three victims was connected?"
"No, they were not related, not from the same states, they arrived at different times, the only commonality was that they were here."
"I know I am not to ask a woman's age," Sam began with a smile.
"No, go ahead we are not of the world, to live a long life is an honor."
"Okay well these victims' ages were around twenty years apart. One was only twenty-five, one was forty-five, the last one was sixty-four."
Mary Catherine was quiet for long moments, then she looked at Sam then Dean.
"I……..I guess I have been remiss in my duties as the abbess."
"What do you mean?"
"I didn't notice the ages, until you mentioned it I only saw that we had lost our loved ones, our sisters, daughters of God, and I missed the obvious."
Sam stroked her hand as he watched her crumble again. She seemed to take it harder when she fell apart this time. Dean shrugged, what could they do? She was a nun it wasn't as though they could hug her or if she would want them too.
--
They waited long moments as she seemed to return to herself after she blew her nose.
"I'm sorry I am not being a good representative of the sisterhood today."
Sam told her not to worry they would let her know if there were any more questions. Otherwise, they would be in and out during the investigation.
Mary Catherine stopped them before they walked away, "So you do paranormal investigating?"
"You must be strong believers to take on that job," she commented.
Sam only smiled, he still prayed but often he was even less certain then when they had left Brother Gregory's parish. He really wanted, no, needed to have faith in a higher power. Dean on the other hand was not riding the fence he was standing beside the fence lately. He did not believe in God but he understood logically if there was evil there had to be good. Sam thought for Dean that was progress.
"We'll see you around, again real soon," Dean said as neither answered her faith question.
--
TBC