Chapter One
Sam felt a chill suddenly enter the rotting room, and saw the breath leave her in a fog. He was here. She raised up her gun and cocked it back, but she continued her search for anything that this spirit could be tied to. She stopped at the dresser, torn between wanting to search for anything, and wanting to find the bloated man before his knife found her. She didn't have to hesitate long. A growl came from behind her.
Sam spun gun ready, but so was tubby. He knocked the weapon away as she pulled the trigger, the salt round just barely missing him. Sam danced away further from the weapon to avoid the wicked kitchen blade stained a deep red that had been swiped at her midsection. He gave an angry growl again and raised his arm to try again.
"HEY!" The spirit turned to look behind him, and Sam crouch knowing well what was about to happen next. Dean stood in the doorway of the room and fired off a round that made the spirit dissolve for the time being, the casing punching a hole in one of drawers she was about to check.
Dean brought the weapon down and rushed to his sister. "Hey you ok?"
Sam shook off his concern while she bent down to pick up the lost rifle. "Fine, almost sushi, but you sure came in the nick of time." She paused; not feeling or hearing the tell tale signs of a ghost in the room she continued with Dean. "So you find anything, because I seem to be at a loss."
"Damn right I found something." Dean smirked. "Attic. I'll tell you on the way."
Dean took off out of the room and up the rickety stairs practically two at a time. Sam followed quickly on his heels. "Found a journal, apparently our friend would overdose upstairs then weave strands of his victim's hair into a chain already made of his own hair."
"So aside from the obvious disgust at jewelry taste; he wrote in a journal? He doesn't seem the sensitive type." She took the steps two at a time, not even winded by the time they had made it to the hallway upstairs.
Dean reached up and pulled down the stair to the attic. "It wasn't your typically girly crushes Sam. Trust me when I say that he had some messed up theories."
He started up the stairs. Sam following up as well, until a swollen hand clamped onto her ankle knocking her body, then head to the steps. She scrabbled for a hold but he dragged her down and swept up his hand, making the attic door retract the steps and spring the door back up.
Sam now with her back supported on the carpet, kicked out with her other leg and caught the man in his midsection. It might not have winded the spirit, like it would have any other, living breathing creature, but it did the job and her ankle was released.
She could hear above her, her brother pounding and yelling her name through the attic door. "I'm fine! Burn it!" She yelled scrambling for her gun and running toward the stairs.
In the attic Dean heard the retreating steps and angrily slammed his hand down on the floor. "Damn it." He shot up and started looking around the cluttered room.
Sam scrambled down the stairs taking the spirits attention away from Dean while he was busy elsewhere trying to find and burn the chain. She heard the man grunting as he followed. Great she seemed to have his undivided attention. She muttered under her breath, "Come on Dean."
Halfway down the steps the man appeared in front of her blade swinging dangerously at her neck. Sam ducked down under the blade, but the action caused her to trip going down the rest of the stairs in a painful tumble.
Before she could scramble back up again the spirit was next to her his foot kicking out sliding her across the hallway and away from her weapon.
Upstairs Dean cursed and tore through the man's belongings. Boxes that were now moldy and deteriorating slowly were over turned while Dean shifted through trying to find a chain of hair. He blocked out the distant sound of fighting. Finally in one of the boxes he found an elaborate tin chest. When opened he found it, a disgusting circle of hair with an amulet hanging off.
Not taking time to admire it, he set the box down and pulled out his lighter. After a few more curses and striking his thumb on the button in attempt to light it up, the flame sprang up and he threw it in the tin.
Sam cried out as his hand splayed and she flew back again, this time into the wall. She tried lifting her head up but he lifted his hand back up and her head slammed back into the wall with a painful thud. He lifted up the blade took two steps toward the woman and stopped. He put his hands to his head where his hair sat on flames. He gave a despite scream as the fire traveled down his body dissipating the spirit for good.
With tubby gone Sam felt his hold on her disappear and she hit the ground hard landing on her hands and knees. She took a few deep, wheezing breaths while listening to Dean kick down the attic door.
"Sammy! You ok?!"
She looked up gratefully as he thundered down the steps. Using the wall she pushed herself up and met him at the bottom.
"I'm super." She wheezed the sound not making Dean feel any better.
He took her head in his hands and inspected the lump swelling up just above her brow line. "You are going to have one hell of a headache in the morning Sammy."
"Once again-" She slapped away Dean's hand and frowned. "It's Sam, not Sammy."
She moved to bend down and pick up her weapon off the ground, but Dean stopped her. "I'll get it." He stooped down and grabbed the gun, pressing it back in her hands. "There you go… Samantha."
xxxXXXxxx
Sam jolted awake when something hit her leg, avoiding perfectly the nice purple bruise swelling on her thy. She groaned when she saw Dean standing above her his a-typical big brother grin on his face.
"Up and at 'em Sammy." He chirped. "I have food, and then you should probably take a warm bath, because in the morning your muscles are going to be sore as hell."
"They already are." She groaned sitting up. Everything seemed to hurt. When she had hit the stairs head on not only had it left a good lump, that had it not been for the Tylenol would be pumping more pain through her skull, it had also bruised her stomach and upper thy. Simply sitting up and draping her legs over the bed was torture. "And what do you mean in the morning? It's not morning?"
Dean smirked and shifted through a bag sitting on the small table in the corner. A delicious smell drifted out of it. "Yeah it's about eleven. You dozed off for about thirty minutes." He took out two Styrofoam containers. "We wrapped up that hunt pretty quickly huh Sammy."
"Why did you wake me up if it's just eleven?" Sam groaned and rubbed at her eyes.
"You don't listen well at all." Dean stabbed a fork and knife into something inside the Styrofoam and walked across the room to hand it down to his sister. "Because your awesome big brother figured that you hadn't eaten in 24 hours, and got you chicken fried steak. And you're taking a bath and soaking to relax those muscles."
"Dude I'm twenty two, not five, you cannot tell me when to bathe." As irritated as she was the food did smell good, and a hot bath didn't seem like such a bad idea.
Dean rolled his eyes when he turned his back on his sister and sat down to eat his own meal. "And I've been taking care of you for twenty two years and know that if you don't soak in a warm bath, you're going to be a bitch in the morning. Or at least more so than usual."
"Oh shut up you Jerk." Sam pulled the plastic cutlery out of the steaming piece of meat. After a few bites of the steak and the mashed potatoes she did admit to herself that she did feel a little better. Not that she would admit that out loud, her brother's head was already swollen to begin with.
Dean monitored Sam from the corner of his eye. She sat stiffly on the bed shoveling the meal pretty dang eagerly into her mouth. Finally, even though all the food hadn't been eaten, she placed down the container and looked content. Dean pushed out of his chair and clapped, the sound startling his sister, and amusing him.
"So bathroom, now."
"I'm going. I'm going." Sam groaned forcing herself to her feet.
"Need help getting there?" Dean asked, a brow raising.
"No!" She cried indignantly. Walking quickly, although stiffly too, she reached her doufle and dragged out a pair of pajama bottoms and one of Dean's old undershirts. "I don't need your help."
Dean chuckled as the door to the bathroom slammed. When they found dad he would be happy to know that his strong, independent daughter was still intact. College and a romantic relationship lost hadn't done a thing to change her. He sat back down to the meal, and wolfed down the remaining food. Tossing his own container in the trash, he stood up and collected his sisters, closing up the Styrofoam and putting it back in the bag with his pie for later.
His blackberry buzzed in his back pocket and he paused to look at it long enough to see who it was that was calling. "Hey Bobby."
"Hey boy, got your message that you took care of the Slayer." Bobby said from the other line. "He sounded like a nasty piece of work."
"Well he certainly wasn't a walk in the park, Bobby. Man killed 48 people when he was alive; Sammy was nearly his tenth as a dead man." Dean said gruffly his head turning at the sound of the water turning off inside the bathroom.
"I'm sure it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. You and your father raised her well. How is she doing anyway?" Bobby asked care in his tone.
Dean smirked. "Obnoxious. I think she's finally coming around. I mean her boyfriend's death messed her up for a little while. She got a little too, driven. Kinda like I remember Dad being when I was young. But she's finally acting like her normal self." Dean frowned though. "I don't imagine you called to check up on us."
"I didn't you idjit. I have a favor to ask."
Twenty minutes later Sam stepped out of the bathroom towel drying her long hair. "Hey Dean. I was thinking we could-"
She paused when she saw the deep look of though on her older brother's face as he scanned her laptop. She could just read over his shoulder the article title.
"Job?" She asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.
Dean didn't look up from the computer. "Yeah, Bobby called. A friend of his had his daughter go missing a day ago. She went with her boyfriend to a bar, and after he dropped her off at the house. She didn't even make it to the door. A hooded figure swept in and took the woman away, before the man could even get out of the car."
"I'm guessing the kid didn't see the face?" She asked leaning down to read the article. She ignored the glare she got from her brother when her hair started dripping onto his shoulder.
"Boyfriend says that the figure was just bulky in figure and hooded; moved at an impossible speed." Dean said pushing her back. "You are dripping on me woman. Why don't you go dry your hair off and go to sleep, we'll leave in the morning."
Sam threw her towel at him; it made a bull's eye landing right over his head. "Why don't you act a little nicer, and explain what we'll be walking into."
"Damn it Sam." Dean tore the towel off and threw it to the ground. "You're tired. A few hours ago you were being banged around by the Slayer, just get some rest and we'll talk in the morning about the new case."
"No Dean!" Sam walked forward and pointed her finger into his chest. "You listen to me. I am tired of you babying me. Do I enjoy this line of work? No. But I was born in it and I know what it takes to survive. Quit treating me like I'm still some snot nosed little girl. I'm not."
"Babying you?"
"Yes! You don't think I see it, since I've come back; you have been on full big brother mode. And as much as I love you and appreciate you wanting to protect me, just stop it. I can be just as much help on a hunt as you or dad can be."
Dean sighed and folded the computer down. "I'm just trying make sure your safe Sam, only hours ago, a ghost was trying to slice and dice you."
"Wait. Wait. So you're saying that if I hadn't distracted him, and he went to find you locked in the attic, you could have handled him single handed." Sam growled, spinning around. "You're saying that Dean Winchester, THE Dean Winchester, with his cape and supervision; could have both found the disgusting necklace of hair and fought him off at the same time."
Dean sighed, and reached out to give her a comforting touch. Sam dodged him though and in her fury and haste to get away nearly knocked over one of the wooden chairs.
She gave a sarcastic laugh. "Well I'm sorry Superman. I won't get in the way again."
"That's not what I meant."
"Oh what did you mean? Wait I got it, it's because I'm female right, and all females should be protected by their knight in shining armor."
"No," Dean rushed forward and shoved his sister into an embrace. She squirmed to get out. "Look, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant. You are strong and capable. I really appreciate you having my back."
She finally stopped fighting him.
"Look I just barely got you back. For years you were gone, in college. No calls, no updates. Even dad was really freaked."
"I just want to be treated as an equal Dean. I don't want to be your, or dad's soldier. I don't want to be a pesky little sister."
"You are my pesky little sister, Sammy." Dean finally smirked allowing Sam out of his embrace. "But yes, you are my partner. You are not just a soldier."
"Then I want to know what we're doing. Where are we going? What does Bobby need?" She said giving her obnoxious, protective, big brother a stern look.
xxxXXXxxx
The impala's rumbling stopped and Dean straightened up his tie. Ok Samuels." Dean smirked. "Ready to go."
Sam rolled her eyes at her brother. How he managed to find the most obnoxious names for them when they went undercover was beyond her. "Yeah yeah." She opened her door and gave a low grunt as she pushed her tall, lanky form out of the low car.
Finally after the fight they had discussed the case. So far three women had gone missing. Megan Winter's had gone missing in Dallas. Three days later her abusive boyfriend Maxwell Power's disappears, only to be found a day later with his head bashed in, and with his manhood gone. Two weeks later in Lewisville Texas, Maya Colt another frequent flyer at the hospital thanks to her husband goes to a bar after one of their fights and isn't seen again. Three days later William Colt is found head smashed in. Rachel Dashner, is the next victim only after a week, in Sherman Texas. Same MO, goes to a bar with boyfriend and goes missing; only thing this time is boyfriend witnessed her being taken off with by a hooded figure, that moved impossibly fast. Too fast for him to even step out of his vehicle.
It had been three days and if patterns continued Ash Harkness, Dashner's boyfriend, would be the next with his skull flattened.
Sam took the lead and started up the walk while Dean shut the door and looked up at the house. Man seemed to have accumulated quite a bit of money in his short 25 years. If the pattern continued he was also a sick on of a bitch that beat on his girlfriend.
He joined Sam up at the door just as it was opening. A disheveled Harnkess opened the door. It appeared that in the days following his girlfriends disappearance he wasn't getting a lot of sleep.
"Are you Ashton Harkness?" Sam asked.
The man looked at them both through the crack in the door. "Yes, who is asking?"
"I'm Agent Samuels, this is Agent Bloom. We have some questions for you." Sam pulled out her badge from her coat pocket, and waited until Dean had fished his out before she flashed the badge.
The man opened the door wide and frowned at the two agents standing at the entrance. "I already spoke with the sheriff's office, and they all but called me crazy."
Dean folded the badge and stuck it in his back pocket. "We have a few more leads that we would like to follow, so some fresh insight might be nice."
"Could we come in?" Sam asked.
Harkness looked at them both until he finally moved out of the way and splayed his hand in a semi-inviting way. "Sure."
Sam entered first and Dean followed, they stood in the entrance hall until Harkness closed the door and ushered them into the sitting room. He showed them to the couch and sat on a deep plush chair. "Now what do you want to know."
"We want you to reaccount the evening. Every little detail counts." Dean said put off al little by the whiteness of the room.
"You may even remember something that you didn't tell the local department." Sam said softly.
"Not much to say. Picked her up at nine, and we went over to the Nightly Rodeo." At their confused glances he added. "It's a local spot; country music, beer, and pool. Anyway we stayed until about midnight, and I drove her home so that she could get some rest before morning. She had some early hours.
"As she was walking up to her apartment, I saw this hooded man."
"How do you know it was a man?" Sam asked.
Harkness shrugged. "I didn't get a good look because he stayed mostly in the shadows, but I did notice that he had broad shoulders, and looked very built. He moved fast though, impossibly fast. One second she was there, and the next she was over his shoulders and gone." The man scrubbed his face. "I didn't even have a chance to get out of my car."
"Why didn't you walk her up to her apartment?" Dean asked, leaning back into the pillows.
"How do you mean?"
"Mr. Harnkess, most men after dates, will walk their partner home to ensure their safety." Sam expanded the concept.
"Well the evening didn't end well." Ashton Harkness awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't tell the sheriff's department because I would be implicated, but we did have a fight. I have been trying to convince her to cut ties with her brother. He gets arrested weekly for drunkenly behavior, and she is stopping her life to help him. Just last week her boss fired her because she hadn't shown up to work for the hundredth time. I just told her to put him in a rehab facility, and after a few choice words between the pair of us I slammed my drink down a little too hard, and didn't notice her hand there."
Sam looked over at her brother a confused look on her face. "I hate to ask, Mr. Harkness, but had there been any other event where she received injury."
"If you are asking me if I beat her then the answer is no. You can ask everyone we know, and even check records at the hospital. I have never laid a hand on Rachel. That night was the first time that I had unintentionally hurt her." Harkness said with a voice quivering in anger.
"According to the files the bar tender seemed to notice a few bruises; wrists, and her cheek." Dean included.
"Like I said, you can check with her brother, she bailed him out again and he gave her a whollop. That's why I was trying to convince her to get him some help."
Both siblings turned to give each other side glances. Innocent or not, they would have to watch the house tonight to make sure that Ashton made it through to the morning alive.
A/N- Everything is written out for this story except for the ending. I'll put out a chapter every couple days.
