A loud bang on Dean's motel door interrupted his attention. His gaze drifted from the television set to the door. Again, there was a loud knocking that made the whole room shake. He gripped his beer bottle tightly. He waited and listened for a minute until he heard another loud bang. He held his breath careful not to make any noise and quietly replaced his bottle on the side table. He picked up his gun and took a few steps closer to the door. It was too late for maid service, and no one else knew where he was. He listened again carefully at the door and put his eye to the peep hole. He didn't see anyone standing there. He cocked his gun as a precaution.
'Dean, open up the damn door.' A man's voice commanded through the wood. 'Don't make me stand out here all damn night.' He recognized the voice to be Bobby Singer's.
'Bobby?' Dean shook his head surprised that Bobby was there.
'No, it's the Easter bunny. Open the door.' Dean once again put his eye up to the peep hole. This time he saw Bobby's face on the other side. He opened the door for his old friend.
'Bobby, what are you doing here?' He asked him with confusion.
'What do you think I'm doing here?' He raised his eyebrows at him. 'You haven't answered any of my phone calls.'
'I've been preoccupied.' Dean grumbled. He closed the door behind his friend and led him into the living room. "How did you know I was here?'
'Think about who you're talking to here.' Bobby replied. Dean thought about it, Bobby was right he was the best hunter that Dean knew. It wouldn't be that hard to believe that Bobby tracked him down to this motel.
'Point taken.' Dean said as he forced a smile. 'So, do you want a beer?' He asked him.
'No.' He shook his head walking farther into the room.
'No?' Dean wrinkled his forehead in disbelief.
'No Dean.' Bobby huffed. 'This is not a friendly visit, I've got a bone to pick with you.'
'Wonderful.' Dean replied sarcastically. He walked to the fridge and pulled out a beer for himself. He looked at Bobby's irritated face while he took a long sip. The last thing he needed was another lecture but he knew he was about to get it. 'Alright, let me have it. What's going on?'
'I'm here to clean up your mess that's what's going on.'
'Bobby this really isn't necessary.' Dean sighed.
'Well I think it is. Look Dean, I know about what happened in Iowa, with that girl and her brother.' He gave Dean a look of disappointment. 'What a mess.'
'It wasn't suposto go down like that' Dean retorted. 'Do you really think that was intentional?'
'Of course not. The point is that it happened.' Bobby continued to stand with his hands crossed staring at Dean.
'I know.' Dean raised his arms up in the air in exasperation. 'But there's nothing I can do about that now.' He sat down in a chair and took a long sip of his beer.
'What were you thinking letting a regular civilian fight a Fallen Angel?' Bobby narrowed his eyes at Dean.
'I didn't know he was going to come up against the Fallen Angel. If I had, I would have never let him be there in the first place. You don't understand what it was like though, he was adamant about helping us. I know what it's like to feel totally powerless like he did, I guess I felt for the guy.' Dean lowered his eyes to the ground.
'What does that even mean?' Bobby questioned Dean.
'It means, he lost his mother and then had to become the one to look out for his sister. I guess I identified with him. I wanted to give him the chance I never had. A chance to make things right, to have a shot at a real life.' Dean felt overcome with emotion that he was trying to keep stuffed down inside. He could feel a weight on his chest. He swallowed hard and bit his lip trying to use the physical pain to distract himself.
'Dean, I get that. You know I wish things could have been different for you and your brother but you can't let that cloud your judgment. I wish to God your mom was still here, and John, I miss him every day. He was like the brother I never had.'
'I know that Bobby.'
'But that boy wasn't you. Fixing things for him wouldn't have made your life right again. You really messed up this time.'
'I know.' Dean solemnly bowed his head. 'It won't happen again alright?' He took a deep breath trying to recover from the emotional charge in the room. 'Now if that's all I need to get some sleep.'
'What about your brother?' Bobby asked him.
'What about him?'
'Do you realize Sam is staying at a motel five minutes from here?'
'Yeah I know.'
'Have you spoken to him since that day?'
'No. He doesn't want to talk to me.'
'And your just going to leave it at that?' Bobby shot back. 'Sorry if I've got to give you a little tough love here Dean but stop feeling sorry for yourself and go fix things.'
'I wish I could, but it's Sam who won't let me.' Dean raised his voice. 'He walked off in the middle of the night. Refused to get in the car. What am I suppsto do about that?'
'For one thing. Don't just let him go. If he's got to cool off that's one thing but it's been weeks Dean!'
'So it all falls on me? Sam has no fault in any of this.'
'It's not about who's at fault here don't you get that? He's your brother Dean.' Bobby sighed. 'He's upset because he thinks you just gave up. That's not like you Dean.'
'I just don't know what else to do. I feel so guilty, but it's like I'm paralyzed.'
'Well, I know for a fact that Sam has been looking for ways to get that boy and his mother back.'
'What?' Dean furrowed his brow. 'Is that possible?' Dean perked his head up. He felt a glimmer of hope for the first time in weeks.
'Anything is possible Dean.' Bobby reminded him.
'Yeah I realize that, but I mean do you really think he can find a way to get him back.' Dean pressed Bobby.
'I know he can.' Bobby nodded his head confidently.
'That's great.' Dean smiled to himself. 'I wish him luck then.'
'Wake up you Idjit, he needs you. Dean this is your show, you created this mess and you have to fix it. I have a good solid lead. There is a Hoodoo Medicine man I know who says he's freed lost souls before.' He handed Dean a small piece of folded paper. 'He lives in Savannah Georgia.'
'But...' Dean thought about what this could mean.
'This is going to be your peace offering to Sam.' He stared at Dean solemnly. 'Go see The Medicine Man, and do what he says. Tell him I sent you.'
'I don't know Bobby. A Hoodoo Medicine man? Isn't Hoodoo bad news?'
'Not all of it.'
'I don't know.' Dean watched Bobby's eyes very carefully. There was something strange about this whole interaction.
'Listen, if you ever want to be okay with Sam again you've got to listen to me.' Dean stared back at Bobby. He reluctantly stuck his hand out to receive the piece of paper.
'Alright Bobby.' Dean agreed. 'If you say so.'
'Good. Now you better get going.'
'Now?'
'No need to spend any more time in this self pity motel room.'
'Well.' Dean shook his head. 'I'll check out tomorrow morning, is that sufficient?' He antagonized Bobby. He was annoyed at how push he was being.
'It's fine.' Bobby cleared his throat. 'I'll be seeing you.' Bobby nodded his head and headed to the door.
'That's it, your leaving?' Dean asked him incredulously.
'That's it. Give me a call after you make things right.' Bobby walked out the door silently and closed it firmly behind him.
Dean fiddled with radio stations in the Impala, nothing good was coming in. He kept his eyes focused on the road. Forty miles to Savannah. He tried to put thoughts about his brother, Hunter and Evi out of his head. He wanted to fix this if possible and go on with business as usual. He looked down at his cell phone lying on the passengers seat. He thought about Bobby and how cold he was at the Motel. He wouldn't stay for more than a few minutes and even refused a beer. Dean felt uneasy in the pit of his stomach. He really let everyone down and could feel his soul aching over it. He continued to drive desperate for some music to drown out the thoughts in his head. There was nothing around him, no scenery to distract him. He continued to move the dial with his right hand. The static over the radio began to let up and he heard the beginning of 'Hair of the Dog' by Nazareth. A smiled crept onto his face.
'Hell yeah.' He said nodded his head. He turned the volume knob up as high as it would go. The music blared into his ear filling him with happiness. He pressed hard on the gas pedal, it was the first time he felt good in weeks. He rolled down the window and let the wind flow through his hair. The sooner he got to Savannah and dealt with this the sooner his life would be back to normal.
Dean arrive in downtown Savannah thirty minutes later. It was warm, and the sun poured through his window. He watched as the Spanish moss that hung from the trees swayed back and forth in the slight breeze. Savannah was beautiful and had a sense that it was alive. He felt a presence with him as he drove around. He finally pulled up to small house painted deep orange and brown. He looked down at the address that Bobby gave him and then back at the house. This was the place. He parked the car and climbed out of the Impala. He began down the sidewalk towards the house. There were thick colorful curtains hanging in all the windows. He noticed strange markings on the trees nearby and other types of charms hanging from branches. He wasn't thrilled about the idea of going to a Hoodoo Medicine Man but he trusted Bobby, even if he was acting strangely towards Dean. Slowly he walked closer to the house, when a tall young black girl opened the front door. Her appearance was breathtaking. She walked outside and was heading towards Dean. She stopped when she saw him standing in front of her. She stood still not speaking for a minute before she began.
'Can I help you?' She asked him slowly.
'Yes. I'm sorry.' He apologized for catching her off guard. He felt that he was caught off guard by her as well.
'That's alright.' She continued to speak slowly. She was wearing dark sunglasses and a long multi colored sun dress. Her long black hair was very straight and reflected the suns rays. She had long muscular arms and long red fingernails. Dean studied her face, she had high check bones and full red lips. He found himself forgetting completely what he was doing at the house.
'Hi.' he stuttered.
'Did you need something?' She asked him.
'Um.' He felt his face grow red with embarrassment. He continued to stare at her beautiful figure. He felt like he was under some kind of trance looking at her.
'I have things to do today.' She shook her head at him.
'Oh yes.' He laughed. He shook his head quickly to break out of his head. 'Yes.' He cleared his throat. 'Sorry, I don't know what happened there. Brain fart I guess.' He laughed nervously again.
'I'm sorry?' She shook her head confused at his joke. 'What's wrong with your brain?'
'Never mind.' He pointed to the house she just walked out of. 'Do you live here?'
'Who's asking?' She tapped her right foot rapidly on the pavement.
'My name is Dean.' He smiled. 'I'm here looking for someone. A friend of mine sent me to see. His name is Abassi...' He attempted to pronounce the Medicine Man's name.
'Oh, well he isn't here. I'm so sorry.' She replied quickly. 'You have a nice day though.' She nodded her head and turned to walk away.
'Wait please, I drove a long way to see him. It's important.' He urged the girl. She turned back to face him. 'Do you know when he'll be back?' Dean asked her.
'No.' She shook her head. 'I don't know.'
'Well, can you leave him a message? Please?' Dean pleaded with the girl. She stared back at him for a long time with out speaking.
'What's the message?' She asked him reluctantly.
'My name is Dean Winchester, I'm a friend of Bobby Singer's. I need to talk to him about, well we have this situation.' He paused thinking about how he would phrase the rest of his sentence.' It's kind of a long story. I just really need to talk to him.'
'Wait.' She took a step closer to him. 'Dean, you said.'
'Yes.'
'I heard that name recently.' She clutched onto his hand and dug her thumb into his palm.
'Whoa.' Dean tried to pull away from but her grip was quite strong.
'It was the name in my dream last night. Yes. It was hard to see, but now.' She pulled down her sunglasses to reveal her eyes. One was deep honey colored and the other a pale white. Dean jumped at the sight of her eye.
'Sorry.' He apologized for his reaction.
'It's quite alright.' She smiled. 'It's an honor really.'
'Being blind in one eye?' He asked skeptically.
'It happens after your exposed to the secrets of the universe. As human beings our bodies can only handle so much. Some people go completely blind, some only in one eye. I consider my self very blessed.' She smiled.
'That's a good way of looking at it I guess.' He shrugged. 'Aren't you kind of young to know all the secrets of the universe?' He continued to prod her.
'What you don't believe?' She giggled. 'You came all the way here to see the Medicine Man but you are a non believer? Doesn't that seem a little strange to you?' She raised her eyebrows at him. 'You know, Hoodoo only works if you believe.'
'Yeah I've heard that.' He took a deep breath. To tell the truth Dean didn't want to believe in Hoodoo. It gave him the creeps.
'Well, skeptic, you must believe somewhere or else you wouldn't be here.' She nodded her head at him. 'It will all be revealed in time.' She continued to press into Dean's hand. 'Well, I'm sure of it now.' She confirmed looking at him. 'It's you. The one from my dream. This was meant to happen, you were meant to come here.' She looked around the yard like she was trying to make sure no one was watching her. 'Come inside now. We have much to talk about.' She dropped his hand.
'Alright.' Dean agreed. He watched her turn back towards the house and quickly slip in the front door. Dean followed a few steps behind her into the small house. The door creaked loudly as he closed it behind him. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust to his new environment. The house was dim and dusty. Old tattered Oriental rugs covered the dark hardwood floors. He walk the small living room slowly looking at all that it continued. There were books piled everywhere and burnt out candles. He continued to almost tip toe through the room into the large kitchen. Inside there were cages of all sorts laying on the floor. He saw birds, snakes and other rodents encased in these small prisons. There was a strange smell that permeated the whole house as well. It smelled organic like the earth cooking. Hoodoo symbols were written everywhere and animal bones were piled in random spots throughout the house. Dean swallowed hard, he didn't like being in the house. It made him feel slightly uneasy. He stopped at the kitchen table where the girl was removing items so they would have a clean place to talk. He wasn't sure what to say to her now that he was inside the house. He decided to start slowly.
'So, nice place you got here.'
'Thanks.' She replied sarcastically. She knew the house must have looked strange to Dean.
'Rent or own?' He continued to embarrass himself.
'Why don't you have a seat Dean.' She instructed him to sit at the table.
'Sure. Thanks.' He sat down again feeling his face grow warm with embarrassment. 'So, you know my name.' He began trying to find out more about this girl. 'But I didn't catch yours.'
'Well, my name is Ofure.' She answered.
'Ofure. Nice to meet you.' He smiled warmly. 'So, this whole Hoodoo thing. What's your title? Are you like a...Priest. No, not a priest.' exhaled audibly realizing he was drowning.
'Close actually. I'm a Hoodoo Priestess.' She replied matter of factly. 'I studied under my grandfather since I was little girl. He taught me all he knew.'
'Your Grandfather?' Dean asked. 'The Medicine Man?'
'Yes. He is my Grandfather. He knew that one day he would die and there would be no one to continue with his great work so he taught me. Three years ago I lost my sight, it was the proudest moment of both our lives.'
'Your Grandfather is he blind?'
'Yes, completely.'
'Okay.' He watched as Ofure sat down across the table from him. He looked around the room to see where all the exits were. If he had to leave he wanted to make sure he could. He noticed a back door and a few windows he could easily get out of. His body was stiff and on guard. He felt very aware of all the sights and sounds that swirled around him. His hand sat on his gun. 'Speaking of your grandfather, do you know when he will be back?' He asked her.
'I'm sorry to say. He won't be back.' She shook her head.
'Never?' He cleared his throat. 'Did he go on a trip or is he...dead?'
'He's been gone for months.' She began. 'One night he went for a walk. He knows these streets by heart. He counts every step. There is no way he could have gotten lost. Morning came and he never showed.'
'What do you think happened.'
'I don't know.'
'Well, did you try to look for him or tell the police?'
'No.' She shook her hand. 'That's not how we do things. I have used all my abilities to find him. I know that he will one day come back to me. I just don't know when that is.'
'I'm so sorry.' He shook his head. It sounded strange, the old man disappearing in the night like that. He wondered why Ofure was so calm about it. There was a lot about these people he would never understand. 'So, not to be a jerk but I need to talk to him. What the hell am I going to do now?' He thought for a minute. The Hoodoo Medicine Man was his only hope for getting Hunter and his mother back.
'Well, I'm still here.' She replied.
'Do you think you could help me?'
'That all depends.' She smiled. She got up from the table and walked to the kitchen counter. There were all kinds of jars and tinctures with various colored liquids in them. She unscrewed a glass jar containing a brown liquid substance. 'For me to help you, I first need to know that I can trust you.'
'Trust me? Listen lady I just need to help get a friend back. Whatever I can do to pay you I will. But that's all this is, a business transaction.'
'I sense you don't feel at ease here.' She walked back tot he table with the jar in her hand. 'Why is that?'
'No reason.' He lied. 'I'm just anxious to get this whole mess taken care of.'
'Well, I assure you I can help you find your friends.' She set the jar down on the table in front of Dean. 'Now, you must drink this.'
'What? No way.' He shook his head adamantly. 'It looks like someone scraped the bottom of a river and put it in a jar. I can pay you but I'm not gonna drink that.'
'I don't want your money, I want your honesty. I can see you are not being honest.'
'Come on.' Dean exhaled. 'You've got to be crazy.' He could smell the pungent scent coming from the jar. 'What is that anyway?'
'It's just basic truth tonic. I need to make sure you aren't here to harm me. This special mixture works as a lubricant if you will. It lowers your defenses and lets me know who you really are. You don't have anything to hide do you?'
'Whoa. I'm not going to harm you, but I've got plenty in here.' He pointed to his head. 'That's not fit for public consumption.'
'It's only me. Not the whole world. I'm just seeking out what's relevant.'
'Sorry, that's just not going to happen.' He put his hand down firmly on the table.
'But it's the only way for you to find this lost soul and reconnect with your brother again.'
'Listen, I assure you I'm not a bad guy. But I'm not going to drink that. Letting my defenses down is out of the question. They're all I got.' He raised his eye brows at Ofure.
'Well then I'm sorry I can't help you.' She began screwing the cover back onto the jar.
'There must be another way.' Dean's brain began racing. He couldn't walk away from this, but drinking the mystery liquid was beyond stupid. His mind brought him back to what Ofure said a few minutes ago. 'Hoodoo only works if you believe.' He nodded his head. That was the key, he would just drink it and expect for nothing to happen. As long as he didn't believe it couldn't hurt him.
'This was the only way.' She picked up the jar and began to walk away from the table with it.
'Hold on.' He put his hand up to her. 'What if you drink it first? You know, just so I make sure it isn't poison.' She began to smile.
'Alright Dean, I can do that.' She unscrewed the cover to the jar and took a large sip. He watched as her face contorted slightly and her throat swallowed down the liquid. 'It isn't the most pleasing taste but it's not the worst.'
'Alright.' He took the jar from her and held it in his hand. He watched as little brown roots and leaves floated around in the jar. He took a deep breath and poured the liquid into his mouth. 'Here goes nothing.'