John Winchester was seated at the kitchen table in one of their latest run down establishments in a very long list of short term rented accommodations they had lived in, looking through the local papers for his next hunt.
His eldest son Dean was gone out to try and earn them some money and his youngest Sam was still at school. Dean would pick him up on his way home from whatever no name bar he was hustling in today.
John was brought from his thoughts as the phone began to ring. He got up and answered it finding that it was Pastor Jim on the other end.
"Jim. Have you got something for me?" John began.
i"You know John not every time I call has to do with a hunt, but on this occasion, yes, there is a hunt I believe you could help me with, well, more specifically Sam may be able to help with." /i Jim informed him.
"Jim, Sam is fifteen; he is too young to be a part of a hunt! And if you think I'm letting my son play bait to some-"John said, his heckles on the rise before Jim interrupted.
i"Whoa John, stop right there. I have no intention of using Sam as bait, but I do feel his help could greatly benefit us on this hunt. More specifically you and Dean, as Bobby and I are heading over a couple of states to take care of a werewolf."/i Jim stated.
"What is the hunt?"
i"A spirit, the case is complicated. Why don't you and the boys meet me at Bobby's and I can bring you up to speed?"/i
"Dean and I can take care of a spirit; we'll pack up and head out tonight. We should be in Sioux Falls by morning. Sam doesn't need to be a part of this. He's still just a kid." John told him.
i"I remember another kid putting down a black dog not two long after his fifteenth birthday John. Sam is just as capable if he was given the chance."/i Jim said matter of fact.
John was interrupted in his reply as the front door opened and Dean and Sam came through it.
"We will discuss this tomorrow when we get there. I'll see you in the morning." With that John ended the conversation.
John could see Sam tense as he hung up the phone. Probably because Sam liked the school here and had some presentation or such he had been taking about for the last two weeks that was due by the end of the week.
"We're moving out?" Dean asked but John could tell it was more of a statement.
"Pastor Jim needs our help with a spirit; we're meeting him at Bobby's in the morning." John informed them and could see Sam was about to start complaining so he continued.
"Jim thinks that Sam may be able to help us on the hunt, I told him we would have a look at the research." John concluded.
"Really?" Sam asked hopefully all thoughts of his presentation seeming to be forgotten.
"What?! Sam's too young to hunt!" Dean voiced anxiously.
"Dean you were hunting when you were my age. I sick of being the tag along that always has to wait in the car. I want to help." Sam threw back at his older brother.
"Enough, both of you. I told Jim we would discuss it in the morning. I'm not making any decision until I have gotten all the information." John said leaving no room for argument.
He felt bad that he had used the idea of Sam going on a hunt to stop an argument. He had no intention of letting his youngest boy anywhere near danger but he could worry about that when they were at Bobby's.
"Go pack up, will be leaving in twenty. We can grab something to eat on the road." John ordered and he didn't miss the look of worry and frustration on his eldest face.
Dean would do anything to protect his brother and putting him into a hunt was something that would not sit well with him but John had no intention of letting Sam near the spirit either.
The impala pulled to stop in front of Bobby's at 6:45 am. The porch door swung open and Pastor Jim came forward to greet them.
"You made good time John. Bobby has breakfast almost ready." Jim said as he shook his friend's hand.
"I'm sure the boys will appreciate that, me, I need a cup of the black stuff." John said closing the impala's door and heading towards the house.
Jim moved around to the other side and could tell that Dean already knew of his idea to use Sam on the hunt. It didn't surprise him that Dean wouldn't be happy about it.
"Dean, how are you son?" Jim asked again offering his hand.
"Hungry, did you say something about breakfast?" He replied without his usual enthusiasm.
"Bobby is just dishing it up." Jim told him and the young man followed his father to the house.
Sam came up to Jim and enveloped him a hug.
"Hi Pastor Jim. Am I really going to be helping on this hunt?" Sam asked eagerly stepping back from the embrace.
"We will see Sam. Let's get some food in you first. You're all skin and bones. We'll discuss the hunt after breakfast." Jim offered and the two made their way into the house.
After everyone had their fill of bacon and eggs Sam cleaned up and Dean put on another pot of coffee. Once everything was done the five of them took a seat around the table and Bobby pulled out a folder of newspaper clippings and other pieces of paper inside.
John went through the folder and with added information from the older two men he put the hunt together.
There was a string of disappearances of boys between the ages of eighteen and twenty one. All the victims were found wondering towards a nearby town three days after they first disappeared, severely traumatized, beaten and refusing to talk about what had happened to them.
From the interviews Jim and Bobby had conducted one of the victims had mumbled 'he was just a kid but ghosts weren't real' and a second victim had mentioned the name Aiden.
So far, none of the victims had been killed but the last two victim's injuries were a lot more severe which meant the spirit was escalating.
Bobby had narrowed down the spirit to be one Aiden O 'Rourke, sixteen, who had lived in the area with his father and brother before all three had disappeared. When police investigated they found the family home covered in blood but no trace of the family.
An article on the police investigation had said that the neighbours had referred to the father of the boys as 'a mean drunk' and complaints had been made to the police department about suspected abuse. The investigation concluded that the father had killed the two sons and disposed of their bodies in the woods behind their house before taking off on the run.
That case was over seventy years ago, but over the years there had been reports of the ghost of a young boy being seen walking the tree line of the woods. The hunters suspected it was the restless spirit of Aiden.
"Okay so say it is Aiden I don't get why Sammy would play bait? The victims have been between eighteen and twenty one not fifteen. We just need to find the body and burn the bones end of story." Dean stated.
"We don't want Sam to play bait. The problem is that Bobby and I have scoured every inch of the house and the woods and we cannot find where the father buried the bodies. What we were thinking was that Sam could engage Aiden in conversation see if he could get him to talk about what happened and hopefully disclose the location of his body. He may feel more open to talking to a kid his own age. We are out of options here and if he's not stopped he will eventually escalate to murder." Jim explained.
"Or he could decide to make Sammy his next victim!" Dean spat back.
"Two of the victims were with their kid brothers when they were taken and the kids were knocked out and left, he didn't go near them. Also a fifteen year old boy reported seeing the ghost and he watched him for a few moments before he left the kid alone. The spirit is focused on older boys. We don't think Sam would be in any danger." Bobby added.
"You don't think?! You want to risk Sammy on a whim." Dean said enraged.
"Cool it Dean. The plan is not a bad one and there is no evidence that this spirit would attack another kid. But Jim, Dean is right, he could easily break pattern. I'm not willing to risk Sam's-"John began.
"I want to do it. I'm able to do this Dad. We can set up a salt circle for me to stand in the house, you can stay nearby and I can yell if I need you. If we don't try this someone could die." Sam interrupted.
"No. You're not doing it." Dean ground out.
"Dean, wait. It could work, but there is no guarantee he would come to the house." John said.
"We have to try Dad, please?" Sam asked.
"Alright, we'll give it a shot." John relented.
"Dad!" Dean yelled disbelievingly.
"We will be with him every step of the way and we will take every precaution. End of discussion son." John stated firmly.
"Okay, we'll leave this in your hands and we'll leave to take care of the werewolf. If you need anything just let us know, you hear?" Bobby asked.
John nodded and then Bobby and Jim left for their hunt. However, John couldn't help the anxious feeling he had in the pit of his stomach.