Supernatural: Roadkill
A/N: Here's the next story, folks, and I hope you all are enjoying the current season of Supernatural, 'cause I know I am.
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: A CLOSE CALL
"The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places."
Psalms 18:45
Highway 41
Nevada…
It was a dark and stormy night, and the road that the car, containing Molly and David McNamara, was driving on was slick and wet; inside the car, the song The House of the Rising Sun by The Animals, was playing on the radio, Molly was driving and David was looking at a map with a flashlight.
"We're lost," Molly stated, keeping her eyes on the road.
David shook his head, turning the map around. "No, this is a short cut."
Molly sighed. "Babe, it's just that we've been on this road over an hour," she complained. "We haven't seen a single car."
David rolled his eyes. "Molly, I know how to read a frigging map. Okay?"
"We passed that gas station," Molly pointed out. "Let's just go ask someone."
"That was forty minutes ago," David protested. "We're not turning around."
"Come on," Molly moaned. "Isn't this argument a little archaic? Men can ask directions these days."
David gave her a look of mock horror. "Oh, no, no, we can't," he said, turning the flashlight off. "It's against our genetic code. Look, I know exactly where we are."
Molly glanced at him, her eyebrows raised. "Oh, yeah. Where?"
"Hwy 99, okay? It cuts right through," David told her, just as they passed a sign that read Highway 41, proving him wrong.
Molly gave her husband a skeptical look. "Highway 99?"
David sighed, not wanting to admit that he was wrong. "Okay so we're taking the scenic route."
Molly moaned, frustrated. "David. It's our anniversary and we're spending it stuck in the car."
"I know. I'm sorry," David apologized. "Hey, let me make it up to you, okay? Come here." He leaned over and nuzzled his wife on the neck.
"No," Molly protested, trying very hard not to smile and kept her eyes on the road. "Stop. I'm mad at you."
David laughed, he knew his wife too well. "Oh come on. Hey, you love me."
"No, I don't. You're a jerk," Molly laughed, unable to keep a straight face. "David, I mean it!" She then turned away from looking at the road to push her husband away.
David laughed. "Ha, ha." He then looked down the road and saw something. "Molly!"
A man was standing in the road in their direct path; Molly screamed and braced herself for impact.
"Look out!" David shouted.
Molly turned the wheel, just barely missing the man, and the car went off the road and down a steep edge; seconds later, the car smashed into a tree.
Inside the car, Molly slowly woke up and saw that she was alone; mumbling her husband's name repeatedly, she carefully got out of the car. Looking around she began shouting for her husband, but got no response. Molly walked through the wintry bare forest still calling for her husband; after a while, she saw a small wooden building with a light on. Going over to the building, she knocked on the door.
"Hello? Anyone here?" Molly called out and then opened the door. "Hello?"
Walking inside she saw bloodstains and metal implements on the wall; the man from earlier was standing at the end of the room with his back to her, and so she couldn't see that his stomach was torn with his intestines showing.
"Sir?" Molly asked, glad that he was all right. "Sir, are you all right?"
The man turned and his face slowly transformed into rotting flesh and maggots, and she screamed, terrified.
Soon, Molly was running wildly through the forest with the pine trees grasping at her. She made it to the highway and saw a car in the distance at a curve; breathing hard, she ran out in the highway.
"Stop!" she shouted, waving at the oncoming car.
The car was the Impala and its' tires screeched as Dean, who was in the driver's seat, clearly surprised, and he was trying to stop the Impala. "Holy!"
After several nerve-wracking seconds, he managed to get the Impala stopped less than a foot from Molly; she was holding her hands out as if she could stop the vehicle that way, and she gasped, relieved they stopped.
"You've gotta help me," Molly cried as she ran over to the passenger side and began smacking her hand against the window urgently. "Please. Please."
Sam quickly rolled down his window. "All right, all right, calm down," he requested. "Calm down. Tell us what happened?"
A short while later, the Winchesters and Molly were standing out on the road and she was telling them about what'd happen.
"I swerved and we crashed," she explained. "And when I came to…uh, the car was wrecked. My husband was missing. I went looking for him, but that's when the man from the road, he started chasing me. He's…he…"
"Did he look like he lost a fight with a lawn mower?" Dean asked.
Molly stared at him, surprised. "How did you know that?"
"Lucky guess," Dean responded, wincing when Liz elbowed him in the ribs.
"Behave, Dean," she ordered.
"Ma'am, what's your name?" Sam asked politely.
"Molly," Molly answered. "Molly McNamara."
"Molly, look. I think maybe you should come with us," Sam suggested. "We'll take you back into town."
Molly shook her head. "I can't. I have to find David. He might've gone back to the car."
"Well, we should get you somewhere safe first," Sam offered. "Dean, Liz, and I will come back here. We'll look for your husband."
Molly shook her head firmly. "No. I'm not leaving here without him." And the Winchesters gave each other worried looks. "Would you just take me back to my car, please?" she asked.
Dean shrugged as if the easiest thing to do was to give in to her wishes; Liz rolled her eyes, and Sam made a face and sighed.
"Of course. Come on."
They drove to the place where Molly had driven off the road; they got out and headed towards the steep edge.
"It's right over there," Molly told them; the Winchesters shined their flashlights and - they saw nothing but dirt and patches of snow. "I'm sure this where it was," she said, confused. "We hit that tree right there. This doesn't make any sense."
As the Winchesters shined their flashlights and looked into the forest for anything, Molly began to make her way down to the spot. Once she was out of earshot, Dean turned to Sam and Liz with a worried look.
"Dean, we gotta get out of here," Sam suggested, looking around warily. "Greeley could show up at any second."
"What are you gonna tell her?" Liz asked.
Sam sighed. "The truth."
Dean shook his head, not liking that idea. "She's gonna take off running in the other direction."
"Dean's right," Liz agreed. "And it won't help matters if she does."
Molly, having looked around the area, called up to them. "I know it sounds crazy, but I crashed into that tree. I don't know who could've taken it. It was totaled." And then realized just how frantic she sounded when she saw the uncertain looks on the Winchesters' faces; she tried to get a hold of her emotions and spoke more calmly as she climbed back up to them. "Please, you have to believe me."
"Listen, we do believe you, all right?" Sam told her reassuringly. "That's why we wanna get you out of here."
"But what about David?" Molly asked once she rejoined them. "Something must have happened. I have to get to the cops."
"Cops. That's a great idea," Dean agreed. "We'll take you down to the station ourselves, okay? So just come with us. It's the best way we can help you and your husband."
Molly took one final look at where the car should've been and nodded. "Okay."
Soon they were back on the road; the headlights were barely illuminating the icy road, and Molly was in the backseat with Liz.
"We were supposed to be in Lake Tahoe," Molly said wistfully, still thinking about her missing husband.
"You and David?" Sam asked.
Molly nodded. "It's our five-year anniversary."
Dean snorted. "A hell of an anniversary."
Molly sighed since it wasn't the sort of anniversary that she wanted either. "Right before, we were having the dumbest fight. It's the only time we ever argue, when we're stuck in the car."
Sam chuckled. "Yeah, I know how that goes." Liz giggled while Dean gave Sam a grumpy look.
Molly smiled slightly, but then it faded. "You know the last thing I said to him? I called him a jerk. Oh, God. What if that's the last thing I said to him?" she wondered, scared.
"Molly," Sam said reassuringly. "We're gonna figure out what happened to your husband. I promise."
"We both promise," Liz agreed.
Molly grimaced but nodded; at that exact moment, the radio spontaneously began to buzz and then play music…the same song that was playing in Molly's car earlier.
Dean stared at it, confused. "Did you?"
Both Sam and Liz shook their heads. "No."
Dean groaned. "Great. I was afraid you'd say that."
Molly leaned forward, troubled. "This song…"
"What?" Dean asked.
"It was playing when we crashed," she recalled.
Dean looked at Sam, who stared back as if he too realized something significant, and even Liz was worried. Sam swallowed when the music stopped and a voice crackled over the radio.
`"She's mine. She's mine. She's mine."`
"What is that?" Molly asked.
"Trouble," Liz responded and then looked ahead. "Dean!"
Directly ahead, a man was standing in the highway directly in their path. Sam's eyes widened, Liz cringed, and Molly stared on in horror, afraid for the impending impact; only Dean remained unfazed by the fact that a man was in their lane.
"Hold on." He then pushed down on the accelerator; the Impala roared as it sped up, and both Sam and Liz braced themselves.
"What are you doing?" Molly asked, alarmed; seconds later, the Impala drove through the man and he turned into a cloud of black dust. All four of them turned around in shock of what happened. "What the? What the hell just happened?"
"Don't worry, Molly," Sam said confidently. "Everything's gonna be all right." And at that exact moment, the Impala's engine began to cut out.
"You spoke a little too soon, Sammy," Dean grumbled, hating it when supernatural forces messed with his car while Liz groaned; he pulled the vehicle to the side of the road, and turned the ignition, but the engine wouldn't start. Both Sam and Liz were extremely worried. "I don't think he's gonna let her leave."
The realization sank in and Molly leaned back in the seat, terrified.
After trying to get the engine started again, they got out of the car, and Dean went to open the trunk.
"This can't be happening," Molly moaned, doing her best not to freak out.
"Well, trust me," Dean told her. "It's happening." He got the weapon's trunk opened and wedged the sawed off shotgun in the corner to hold it open; Molly saw all the weapons and, visibly disturbed, she backed away.
"Well, okay," Molly stammered. "Thanks for helping, but I think I got it covered from here." And she turned to leave.
Sam went after her. "Wait, Molly, wait a minute."
Molly shook her head. "Just leave me alone."
"No. You have to listen to me," Sam pleaded.
Molly kept walking. "Just stay away."
Sam sighed. "It wasn't a coincidence that we found you, all right?"
Molly stopped and looked at him, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"We weren't just cruising for chicks when we ran into you, sister," Dean explained as he and Liz joined Sam. "We were already out here. Hunting."
"Hunting for what?" Molly asked, and Sam was about to answer-
"Ghosts," Dean said simply, turned and headed back to the Impala, wincing when Liz smacked the back of his head as she followed; Sam shot an exasperated look at his brother.
"Don't sugarcoat it for her."
Molly stared at them like they all were crazy. "You're nuts."
Dean turned back at that. "Really? About as nuts as a vanishing guy with his guts spilling out?" he then grinned and shrugged when Molly didn't respond. "You know what you saw."
"Oh, stop it, Dean," Liz complained and the two of began bickering.
Sam was upset at how callous Dean was acting and how troubled Molly was. "We think his name is Jonah Greeley," he explained. "He was a local farmer that died 15 years ago on this highway."
Molly shook her head. "Just stop."
"One night a year, on the anniversary of his death he haunts this road," Sam continued, ignoring her request. "That's why we're here Molly. To try and stop him."
Molly wasn't buying this explanation. "Yeah, I suppose this ghost made my car disappear too."
"Crazier things have happened, huh?" Dean remarked, breaking off his argument with Liz.
"You know what? I'm all filled up on crazy," Molly told them, fed up. "I'm gonna get the cops myself."
Dean sighed, not liking where this was going. "I don't mean to be harsh, but I don't think you're gonna get too far."
Molly frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that Plan A was trying to get you out of here," Liz explained. "Obviously, that didn't go over too well with, uh, Farmer Roadkill."
"Molly we're telling you the truth," Sam said seriously. "Greeley's not gonna let you leave this highway."
Molly stared at them stunned. ""You're se…? You're serious about this, aren't you?"
Dean nodded. "Deadly."
Sam also nodded. "Every year, Greeley finds someone to punish for what happened to him. Tonight, that person is you."
Molly was shocked. "Why me? I didn't do anything?"
Sam shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Some spirits only see what they want."
"So you're saying this Greeley, he took my husband?" Molly asked, when they didn't answer, she immediately assumed the worst. "Oh, God."
Both Dean and Liz stoically glanced away from Molly to Sam, who sighed again.
"Molly, look, we're gonna help, all right? But first, you gotta help us."
Dean nodded at Sam's handling of the situation and grinned, while Liz rolled her eyes at her twin's antics.
"Help you?" Molly repeated "How?"
Some time later, Molly led them back to the hunting cabin, and Dean flashed his light inside.
"This is it," she confirmed, peering through the doorway. "This is where I saw him."
Cautiously, Dean stepped into the building, looking around. "Must have been his hunting cabin," he remarked, noting the bloodstains and the equipment on the walls. "Huh. Seems like a real sweet guy."
After searching around outside, both Sam and Liz made their way into the building.
"No markers or headstones outside."
"You're looking for Greeley's grave?" Molly asked, surprised.
Sam nodded. "Yeah."
Molly didn't understand. "Why?"
"So we can dig up the corpse and salt and burn it," Dean answered.
Molly rolled her eyes. "Oh, sure. Naturally."
"It's a way to get rid of a spirit," Liz explained.
"And that'll save David?" Molly asked, still thinking about her missing husband.
Sam shrugged. "Well, this is what'll help both of you. Provided there's a corpse to be found."
"So how do we find it?" Molly asked.
"I'm not sure," Sam admitted. "After Greeley died, his wife claimed the body. That's the last anyone saw of her. Good guess she brought him back here. But they had a thousand acres. He could be buried anywhere on them."
Molly was amazed by all of this. "So this is really what you guys do. You're like Ghostbusters."
"Yeah, minus the jumpsuits," Dean agreed. "Look, lady, this is a fascinating conversation and all but this highway's only haunted once a year. And we got till sunup to wrap this thing up. What do you say we move it along? Okay? Great." And he then went back outside.
Liz rolled her eyes and looked at Molly, who looked mildly annoyed by Dean's attitude. "If you want to smack him, Molly, be my guest." And Molly smiled.
"What are we looking for?" Molly asked as they left the hunting cabin, both Dean and Liz going to the left while she and Sam went to the right.
"Greeley's house," Sam answered. "Maybe he's buried there. Look for roads or paths or something. Stay close."
Molly nodded. "Yeah. Okay."
As they walked through the woods, the wind picked up a bit, and she heard a faint whispering. `"Molly. Help me. Molly."`
Molly started, turned, and began following the whisperings, thinking that it was her husband. "David? David? David?" and went deeper into the forest, losing sight of Sam.
Suddenly, Greeley grabbed Molly, and she shrieked; just as suddenly both Dean and Liz were there with their shotguns to Greeley's head.
"Whoops," Dean said and they pulled the triggers; the rock salt exploded from the guns and Greeley dematerialized, dropping the terrified woman. Molly gasped and in a daze got up off the ground; Sam, having heard the gunshots, ran to the scene.
"Hey, are you all right?" he asked, helping Molly up. "Just take it easy, all right? You're gonna see David again. You will."
Both Dean and Liz were checking the area and found something. "Hey. Follow the creepy brick road." And they pointed their flashlights at a crumbling brick path that ran through the trees.
Sam nodded to Molly. "Go ahead." And they followed after the twins.
A/N: And that's it for the first chapter. R&R everyone!