Chapter 1
Spokane, Washington. The city lived up to its stereotype; the dark clouds which loomed above constantly poured buckets upon buckets of rain over the heads of the citizens. Everyone kept going on, doing their normal routines, unaffected by the ugly weather. This included Sam and Dean Winchester as they raced through in their midnight black Impala. They were headed 10 miles outside of the town to a more quiet location where there had been reports of ghost sightings. That was their job, after all, to inspect the strange things happening in the world.
"So, what exactly is so special about a few moans and groans in an old farm?" The elder brother was at the wheel as usual, trying to see as best as he could with the treacherous rain. It didn't seem like a big problem to him; some ghosts don't need to be ganked if there is nothing serious happening.
"Well, I dug a little deeper into the history of the old farm area. Over the course of 50 years, 18 deaths happened either in the house or the barn right next to the house. The latest death was ruled out as a suicide, but get this: she had black goo near her ear and so did her friend, who was with her while she was in the barn." Sam always did more research than Dean, going through old archives and newspapers. They usually had a case, but he was always double sure that it was actually what they deal with rather than just a strange coincidence. "The first death reported was of two sisters taking their lives together back in 1963, one in the barn and one in the house. According to some reports, their husbands killed them and made it look like they committed suicide. Both were hung."
"Why would the husbands do that? Oh wait, let me guess, they were planning to run away to together, Laverne and Shirley style?" Dean winked and chuckled, making his usual jokes about anything to lighten the mood and try to get a chuckle out of Sam.
"Actually, yeah. They were found in bed together 4 days later in a hotel 2 states over." Dean looked slightly shocked that he was right about this. He shrugged and shook it off.
"Well that still doesn't justify murder." They turned down a rickety dirt road as the rain let up, then disappeared once they could see the barn in sight. Freaky. Yet it was normal for them, Dean was just glad his baby wouldn't get that much mud on her tires. The barn was a rusted brown with red spots, so you could see it used to be a bright red when it was first built. The house was the same, yet the brown was from the mud splashed onto it from an assortment of things, and the white paint was almost completely covered over. The clouded windows were ready to crack and the panels were hanging on for dear life. Yep, just like out of a horror movie. Or a day in the life of the Winchesters. The car stopped just a few feet away from the house, headlights directed into the living room where they could see antique furniture layered with dust. "Someone needs a better interior decorator."
The boys stepped out of the car and scanned the area. There wasn't another soul in sight—living soul, that is. Who knows what could be inside this place. Dean circled to the trunk to get out their supplies. Holy water, salt, shotgun shells, a lighter, a book of matches, and 2 shot guns, each loaded with salt shells. He loaded everything into the dirty, old, army duffel bag with J. Winchester stitched on the side. They had been dragging this bag around for their whole lives, and seeing their dad's name etched on the side caused confusing emotions in Dean every time he saw it. Sam took the duffle bag out of his older brother's hands while shutting the trunk. Walking up to the house, Dean peaked his head into the window before turning to his brother.
"Well, we've got two places and two bodies to burn. Speaking of, where are these old bats?" There was nothing for miles, sure as hell no cemeteries nearby that they could walk to.
"They are buried behind the barn, according to the newspapers. There should be two rocks with their names carved into them to make it. I'll take the barn, you take the house? Check it out before we really burn them?" Dean nodded and they split up. As Sam headed to the barn, Dean kicked his way into the house, looking around with the gun by his side, ready at any moment. He looked around, squinting at the creepy pictures of the old sisters and other out of date objects around the house. There were some newer looking beer bottles to indicate some people had been here, probably the ones who had gotten themselves killed. Stupid kids. As he kicked around he heard a faint sound.
"Sammy?" he called out, but instead of his brother, there was a young woman standing before him. Dean's mood turned into a flirty sort. She was obviously very beautiful, yet different. Still, why was she here? "Hey gorgeous, what are you doing here?" The beauty smiled and stepped forward towards him, very seductively. Her face suddenly turned rotten as blood streamed down her eyes and she screamed an eerie shrill. Dean didn't take a second look and shot her, making her disappear into thin air. Well, there is definitely some ghost activity here. As he was about ready to walk outside to tell Sam, he heard the noise again. He spun around expecting the same pretty face yet now she was with a male around the same age. Stunned he shot the girl again, she disappeared and the male ran towards him with the identical face the girl had. Another shot and he too disappeared. What the hell? He ran outside and yelled for Sam who was also running outside, looking just as confused.
"Do you have more than one freaky thing in there?" Sam nodded and quickly looked behind Dean.
"Dean!" The older one looked behind and noticed seven different ghosts heading towards him, somehow being able to abandon the house. He started to back up towards Sam until he heard the younger one scooting backwards. Seven more were emerging from the barn towards the brothers who were back to back, both confused on how this was all happening. This wasn't normal-then again, what was in their lives?
"Sammy, how many rounds do you have left?" Dean asked, looking at the 14 different ghosts surrounding him. The angry grunt meant he was down to the last one. He luckily had two left, yet that still wasn't enough. The duffel bag was dropped in the house when he shot the first ghost who was now staring right at him. Options were limited and time was running out. The ghosts were gaining in on them as they held their guns steady ready to shoot. Something or someone got to them before they had a chance to pull the trigger. Shots rang out as three ghosts turned into mist. An old Ford 250 whipped around the circle of spirits, shooting each and every one, not missing a single ghost. The truck stopped with dirt flying everywhere. Three men jumped out from the back with guns held high, rushing towards the brothers as two girls climbed out of the truck with guns at their side.
"You guys okay?" One of the guys asked Sam and Dean who were still awestruck by the strangers who came out of nowhere and knew exactly what to do with the ghosts. "They won't be gone for long, do you know what those things were?"
"Of course we do, are you hunters?" Sam questioned the oldest of the men, wondering how these people got here so quickly and without them noticing. They nodded as the girls approached to join the men in a circle. They all looked like a group of stray dogs joined together after wandering the streets. The tallest of the males was the most rugged with a thick beard, a beaten baseball cap much like Bobby's, and rustic looking clothes. In fact, he looked like a slightly younger Bobby Singer, and looked to be the leader to the pack. A lanky fella stood to his left, wearing a smaller and looser version of what the older guy was wearing. The 2 girls approaching were different in a way. A brunette girl, who had bright green eyes and a plaid shirt with combat boots, was leading a younger girl who appeared almost identical except with blonde hair. They were obviously sisters, not just by appearances, but how they stayed close when around other people. The last of the bunch was a 20-something kid who was the muscles of the group, carrying a gun matching Dean's and lugging a bag most likely filled with the same ingredients for a ghost hunt. Everyone did a quick once-over of everyone else, deciding what to do. Finally the scruffy, Bobby Singer-looking guy reached his hand out towards Sam.
"Trucker. Nice to meet some other hunters." He shook Sam's handing while pointing to the others. "This here is Travis, Rider, Jess, and Emma." They all nodded in acknowledgment towards the Winchesters.
"I'm Sam and this is my brother, Dean." Sam replied, gesturing towards Dean.