hello everyone. thank you all for the great reviews and for waiting patiently for the next chappy ;). i now know i have mono :( so i've given myself off a few says at work. but, of course, my family all came in to visit at the same time. haha. as always, enjoy and let me know what you think.
AFTERGLOW
Chapter 2
Sam sighed in frustration, pushing away his laptop and reaching for a french fry. He'd been scouring the internet all day, searching for something that linked all the victims, but still, there wasn't anything. Add to it the fact that nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened at the church, and Sam was stuck at square one— again. He felt betrayed by his research, if that was at all possible. The world of demons and haunts was usually an open book, countless mythologies reaching back throughout the ages, waiting for someone to study them, to learn from them. It was like opening a treasure chest, another world crossing the boundaries of time, recounting stories from long before.
But now, well now it was all just mocking him.
"You and your laptop having a fight or something?" Dean chimed in from across the table, a smirk plastered across his face.
Sam just rolled his eyes, leave it up to Dean to figure out exactly what was pissing him off.
"Aw, come on, Sammy, I'm sure you two can work it out."
"Bite me."
"So, I take it geek-boy extraordinaire is striking out— again."
"What do you mean 'again?'"
"You've been burned by the books before, little brother."
"You're not really helping, you know that."
"I never said anything about trying to help."
"If you're mister perfect then you tell me what you figured out?" Sam began, jabbing his fork into his streak with a little more force than was necessary.
"I thought I was the beauty and brawn, you're the brains."
"So you struck out, too, then."
"Don't count me out so soon, I was picking up you slack."
"Oh yeah." Sam began, crossing his arms. Why did he and his brother always seem ten years younger when they were trying to discuss something?
"Yeah. See, it just so happens that I found someone."
"That's great, I'm happy for you."
Dean just shot him a look, washing down a mouthful of food before answering. "You better learn to be nicer or I'm not gonna share my intel."
Sam just stared at him, his arms still crossed, waiting for the older man to continue.
"As it so happens, Sammy, I found a witness."
Sam opened and closed his mouth a few times, his arms falling to his sides as he stared at his smirking brother in disbelief. How had Dean managed to find a witness? Sam had been over account after account, each on saying nothing more than so and so just up and vanished.
"You liar."
"I'm not lying."
"Yes, you are. There were no witnesses, Dean."
"Says you."
"Says me and every police report."
"Oh yeah, 'cause the police do such a bang up job when it comes to hunting."
"This may not be anything supernatural, we already discussed that."
"Oh well, my intel puts this way beyond normal."
"Are you trying to pull information out of your ass again?"
"I've never pulled information out of my ass."
"Atlantic City?"
Dean just smiled, holding in a laugh at the memory. "That was just you being lovable and gullible Sammy."
"Shut up."
"Dude, I still can't believe you believed me. I mean, come on, a haunted slot machine."
"You suck." Sam began, sliding out of the booth, throwing some money on the table.
"You're just a sore loser."
"This isn't a competition."
"Uh huh."
"Whatever, Dean. Who's this wonderful witness of yours?"
"His name's Mark Wislow. His best friend Laurie Kris went missing."
"And Mark saw it?"
"Better yet— the thing tried to get him, too."
6666666666666
Sam stood on the run down porch of what looked like a vacant house, the only clue to its occupation a dim light shinning from one of the upper rooms. The young hunter sighed— he could remember living in places just like this when he was younger. Their dad picked homes based on two criteria; price and privacy. And while those were the same two things most celebrities looked for, the Winchesters were in a much different pay bracket.
"Tell me again how the police managed to miss this guy." Sam asked as Dean knocked on the door.
"They just didn't talk to him. He was kind of hard to find to start with. All I got was he was the last one to see Laurie, they were in another room of the church together."
"Then how do you know whatever we're after tried to get him?"
"'Cause one of the other kids said he came running around the corner, going on about something coming out of the wall at them."
"What else did he say?"
"Nothing. They all kind of laughed, thought he was joking. So the kid left— the others didn't realize Laurie hadn't come back till morning."
"Nice friends." Sam mumbled, silencing when he heard footsteps approaching. The battered old door swung open a minute later.
Sam's eyes softened when he finally saw the young man. Mark was sixteen years old, but Sam would have guessed younger had he not read the kid's bio. He looked small, there was no other way to describe it, like the kid was trying to hide away from the world. His shoulders were slightly slumped, his face haunted and pale— and Sam wasn't sure if the boy's current condition was a result of what he'd witnessed or something more.
"Hello," Sam began, not wanting to scare the skittish boy away, "are you Mark Wislow?"
"Yeah, who're you?"
"We're detectives."
"What're you doing here?"
"We came to speak with you about Laurie Kris. I understand you were with her the nigh she vanished."
"Yeah," Mark began, shifting a bit. "me and about six other people. They already talked to the cops."
"Well, we wanna talk to you now. We're looking into some of the disappearances. I'm sure Laurie's family will be grateful for any information on her disappearance."
"If they even notice she's gone," Mark mumbled beneath his breath.
"Excuse me?" Dean cut in, his sharp voice making the boy look up so fast Sam was sure the kid had given himself whiplash. "You may not care she's gone, but others do."
"Don't take that condescending tone with me, Mister." Mark began, his eyes flashing with a fire Sam didn't think the kid could possess. "I'm the only one that even knew she was missing at first, I'm the only one that even cared. Hell, we took a train to another state when we were twelve and no one even noticed we were gone. So don't tell me I don't care."
"I'm sorry." Sam broke in, moving between his brother and the angry teen. Sam knew Mark was speaking out of emotion, out of loss, but he still didn't trust Dean not to hit the mouthy kid. "We didn't mean it that way."
"The other kids." Dean began after a few moments, his face unreadable. "They told us you saw something that night."
"I told them I couldn't find Laurie." Mark stated, though his eyes and stance gave him away.
"Mark, we really need to know what happened."
"Laurie said she saw something cool in the back room. We always liked old buildings, secret passageways, stuff like that. She said she found a hidden door or something." Mark stopped, taking a long breath. Sam couldn't help but feel for the kid— it was painfully obvious the teen had lost way more than just his best friend.
"She went in first, she was always kind of a dare devil. I was only a few feet behind—." Here Mark paused, fear running through his amber eyes as the memories of that night came rushing back to him. He'd seen something, of that Sam was positive, he just didn't know if the kid would be forthcoming with that information.
"She was just gone." Mark began a moment later, Sam sighing in frustration. "I never saw her again."
"Alright, Mark, thank you for your time." Sam nodded, knowing he wasn't going to get anything else from the kid.
"It's weird, you know." Mark continued to talk, stopping both brothers in their tracks. "I knew her most of my life— she was all I really had. I thought she'd always be there, and then, one day, she was just gone. I don't even know how to describe it."
"Like a piece of the earth is missing." Dean's voice startled Sam, the young hunter turning toward his brother. "Like there's a big hole were the light used to be."
"Yeah, exactly."
"You're not the only person in the world to lose someone important, Mark. Any information you have can help us."
Mark looked like he was gonna spill, looked like he was gonna let them know just what they were up against. But, a moment later, he closed the door slowly, indicating the end of their conversation.
"Well," Dean began, making his way down the battered porch steps, "that went well."
"What did you expect, Dean, the kid lost his best friend."
"I expected a little cooperation. If I lost my best friend I'd be doing more about it than feeling sorry for myself. Especially if I saw the bastard that hurt her."
Sam heard the underlying meaning of his brother's statement loud and clear. He knew Dean was talking about more than just Laurie, about more than Mark's tight lipped stance on the subject. On more than one occasion Dean had seen Kerri hurt, watched as his long time friend was used as a pawn against him. And, while Dean had done everything in his power to keep the redhead safe— there was only so much Dean could do. No matter what his big brother said or did Sam knew Dean was only human— something Dean himself seemed to forgot.
Sam let his thoughts wander as he followed his brother to the car. Kerri wasn't the only person weighing on the young man's mind. Ever since the Roadhouse Sam hadn't been able to get Evelyn out of his thoughts. He knew what it was like to be one of the psychic children, had seen what had happened to the others. He could only imagine what the Demon did to Ev. Sam he been studying the Yellow Eyed Demon, learning everything he could about others like him, about what was really going on. But, time and time again, he hit a wall.
As far as Sam could tell, all the special kids flamed out early, many dying within a year of their power's initial appearance. If this was all part of some great plan, then the Demon had screwed up royally. The only bit of information he'd been able to find was that Evelyn Harrison was the exception to the rule. She was older than the rest by a few months, older than Sam by six months, and as far as he could tell, the only 'chosen' child to be born in 1982.
At that thought, something else floated through Sam's overloaded mind— loneliness. Evelyn was the epitome of it. From what he'd managed to get out of Kerri, Evelyn had gone on a downward spiral after he and Dean left all those years ago. It was impossible for Sam to believe, and for months he was sure Kerri was blowing things out of proportion— until the day he saw Ev at the Roadhouse. For reasons he couldn't explain, he didn't think it was the Trickster playing jokes. Evelyn was just different that day, something less than human, but still more than an illusion.
That incident has sent Sam's mind racing, the young hunter thinking back to his childhood for the first time in a very long time. And, it was only then that he understood just why Evelyn had fallen apart so completely. She didn't play with other kids, didn't socialize outside her own family. Yes she was always full of life, causing mischief on a scale Dean couldn't rival, but it was always around the house, always in the company of her sister. And Sam knew why. Evelyn had learned the truth about what was in the dark at a very young age, and it had followed her the rest of her short life.
It wasn't that Evelyn was alone with the knowledge, they all knew what their fathers did, the young girl just let if effect her more than anyone else. Either that, or she never learned to deal with the truth properly. Everyone had always gone out of their way to shield Evelyn, treating her like some kind of princess, locked away in a tower far out of everyone's reach. They protected her, sheltered her, hid her, and in hindsight, it was their overprotectiveness that had eventually killed her.
Sam had learned to hunt, had faced what was on the other side of the shadows. Kerri had been trained since she was a toddler, all her father's research locked in her mind, against her will. And Dean, Dean was thrown into it, going from a four year old to an adult in one harrowing night. Evelyn though, she was kept away from it all, and as a result, she'd never learned to deal with the alienation it caused.
Sam's mind drifted even further back, back to a night he wished he could forget. He'd seen the real Evelyn when the watcher had attacked, had seen terror and loneliness reflected in her seven year old eyes. She was stronger than any of them had ever given her credit for— but hindsight is twenty twenty. For maybe the hundredth time since returning to Valley, Sam wanted to know what went on in those ten years between the earth demon and Evelyn's death. He wanted to know what she'd become, what she'd done, how she lived. But he couldn't bring himself to ask Kerri such personal questions. After all, Evelyn was her little sister, and Sam knew the young girl's death had devastated the redhead, and he didn't want to bring up the horrors of her troubled past. No, this was something he was going to have to figure out on his own.
"You gonna get in the car, or just stand there admiring its beauty?" Dean's voice brought Sam back to the present, the young hunter realizing he was leaning against the car, staring off into space.
"Huh? Yeah," he mumbled, pulling open the passenger door.
"You ok?"
"I'm fine."
"Sure you are," Dean began, starting the engine. "you normally stare off blankly."
"I wasn't staring blankly I was thinking."
"About what?"
"The hunt."
"Yeah right. Spill, Sam, you've been like a zombie for weeks now."
"Dean—."
"Don't, Dean, me with that whiny voice."
"My voice is not whiny."
"Yeah, says you. Look, Sam, if this has something to do with the visions I need to know."
"I haven't been having visions."
"Alright, nightmares."
"The nightmares are just that, nightmares. We've got more important things to focus on now, Dean. This thing, whatever it is, is gonna strike in the next day, we gotta figure out what we're up against."
Dean sat silent for a few minutes, obviously decided if he was gonna let Sam weasel his way out of the conversation. "Whatever, Sam. We could just keep anyone from going in."
"And when has that tactic actually worked?"
"Spoil sport. What's our next step then?"
"Library."
"That's not gonna help, Sam."
"Well then let me see that report you got about Mark. Maybe there's something you missed."
"You gonna find it with your super geek senses?"
"Just, stop being an ass and give me the papers."
"There're in the glove box." Dean grumbled, turning up the music as Sam searched the glove box.
The younger man was happy Dean had dropped his line of questioning, but he knew the reprieve wouldn't last long. Sam just hoped they finished this hunt and had the chance to move onto something knew before that happened. The younger Winchester couldn't shake the feeling that his nightmares and Dean's sullenness had something to do with the current hunt. And he knew that 'something' was never a good thing.
