The two brothers smoothed their black suits and opened the doors to the Cambridge Antique Mall. It was four story antique shop, right outside of Boston. Sam and Dean walked to the front desk where a woman in her late fifties sat shaking her head frantically.
'Excuse me Ma'am.' Sam interrupted her. He looked around the room to all the glass display cases filled with antiques. The store was very quiet. There was an old smell to the shop.
'Yes? Yes.. what is it?' She asked without looking up at the two.
'Can we talk to you for a minute?' Dean continued, flashing his fake FBI badge in front of the woman's face. She immediately looked up at the two brothers. 'Good afternoon Ma'am. This is Agent Taylor and I'm agent Kilmiester were here from the FBI.'
'The FBI?' She gasped. 'Oh, my.' She nervously smoothed her hair down. 'I didn't know anyone from the FBI was coming here today.' She stood up quickly and walked around the counter to greet them. 'Don't get me wrong I'm glad you are looking into this.' She grabbed Sam's hand and shook it aggressively, then did the same to Dean's hand. 'Zelda was such a great girl.' She gushed. Her eyes widened as she thought about her previous statement. 'No, no she IS a great girl. I know you'll find her. You will wont' you?' She stared at them with fear and hope in her eyes.
'Well, Ma'am that's what were here for.' Dean assured her. 'Is there somewhere we can sit down and talk to you for a minute?'
'Of course.' She ushered them to follow her to the store room. 'You know Zelda was my best employee, she started working here after she finished college. She's an old soul.' She continued to babble to the boys.
'Old Soul?' Sam repeated.
'Is that why she dressed like that?' Dean cracked.
'What?' She shook her head. 'Zelda has a unique style.'
'Right.' Sam nodded. 'Sorry.' He shot his brother a dirty look.
'Yes, well.' She smiled proudly. 'She went to film school you know. Both of her parents are artists as well. They live in Nashville I think.'
'Well if she was a filmmaker why did she work in an antique store?' Dean asked. 'Why not a movie theater?'
'It's not easy to break into film. I don't know why she didn't work at a theater. She told me she really likes the history of the Antique Mall. She's very sentimental. She was always coming in here while she was still in college. After she was finished she asked if there were any positions open. She's my best employee.'
'You already said that.' Dean reminded her as they continued to walk through the different rooms of antiques. There was old furniture everywhere.
'This whole incident is so bizarre. The cops think she just took off but I know that isn't true.' She trailed off. 'You will find out what happened to her won't you?'
'Yes Ma'am were going to do all we can.' Sam assured her.
'I know. I'm sorry.' Once they arrived in the back store room Maryanne sat down on an old sofa, a dust cloud escaped as she put her weight on the cushion.
'So,' Sam continued to question her. 'Did Zelda have any enemies that you are aware of?'
'Oh heavens no! She has lot of friends. She gets along with everyone really.'
'Even your delivery driver?' Dean asked.
'John? Of course.' She furrowed her brow. 'Why would you ask that?'
'Were going to have to speak with him, as he was the last person to see Zelda the day she disappeared.' Dean reminded her.
'Well, he's not here right now. He just does delivery's for me. He spends most of his time at his upholstery shop a few blocks over.' She turned her head away from the boys and listened for a minute. 'Adeline!?' She yelled. 'Can you please call John to come over!?'
'Yes Maryanne.' A young girls voice yelled back.
'Adeline will call him.'
'Thank you.' Dean nodded.
'Just a few more questions.' Sam pulled out a little note pad and began scribbling. 'This store room is the last place that Zelda was seen?'
'Yes.' Maryanne took a deep breath and looked around the room. 'Everything is a mess. I'm sorry, it usually doesn't look so terrible in here, but the police, they tore everything apart.' Her answers were frantic and not exactly concise.
'What exactly was Zelda doing on the day in question?' Dean asked her. He walked over to an olive green desk that stood near them.
'That's Zelda's desk.' She pointed out to Dean.
'I see.' He sat down at the desk to see if anything seemed out of the ordinary. He picked up the ceramic jar that still sat on the corner of the desk. 'What can you tell me about this?' He asked Maryanne.
'Nothing really. It must have been one of the last items she looked at that day. She was unpacking a large box of antiques John had just delivered.' She sighed. 'The weird part of it was that I don't remember asking John to pick up the antiques.' She scratched her head. 'I guess that happens though.'
'Does it happen often?' Sam scribbled a few more notes down on his pad.
'Not really.' Maryanne shook her head.
'The jar she was looking at, is it the same jar your driver said he saw Zelda disappear into?' Dean asked.
'Oh my.' Maryanne scratched her head. 'I don't know what that's all about. For one thing, the jar is glued completely shut.' She took a deep breath as if she was troubled. 'John is a very smart, very ambitious young man. It doesn't make sense that he would tell the police these kinds of things, it just made them more suspicious of him. Are you suspicious of him?'
'We can't actually get into that Ma'am.' Dean replied.
'He would never do anything to hurt Zelda, I'm sure of that.' She frowned.
'Okay. Back to the jar, no one has been able to open it?' Sam asked.
'It's an odd little thing.' Dean said as he turned the jar over. He saw a strange marking on the bottom and motioned for Sam to come over and look at it.
'No, I'm not even sure if it does open. It looks like the jar was made somewhere around the mid 1920's.' Maryanne nodded her head. 'Honestly, I've never seen anything quite like it.'
'Well, if you don't mind I think were just going to spend some time poking around here.' Sam said.
'That's fine. Anything you need agents.'
'Thank you for your cooperation.' Sam nodded at her. 'And if you could let us know when your driver arrives.' He smiled at Maryanne.
'Absolutely.' She agreed. 'Do you boys need anything else?'
'No, were fine thank you.' Dean assured her.
'Okay.' She turned to exit the room.
'Dean, turn that jar over again will you?' Sam urged his brother. Dean turned it over, there were two distinct markings on the bottom of the jar. 'Do you know what this marking is?' Sam asked pointing to one of the symbols.
'I have no idea.'
'It's the marking of a Pandora.'
'A Pandora? As in Pandora's box?' He frowned incredulously.
'That's the one.'
'Sammy, this isn't even a box.' Dean nodded his head towards the jar.
'I know it's not a box Dean.' Sam shook his head. 'You see in the legend of Pandora's box, the box was actually a jar. I recognize the markings on the bottom, it's a Pandora's box. The other symbol is the Greek symbol for evil.' He pointed it out.
'Ooh scary.' Dean shuddered in jest. 'So, this chick got sucked into an evil jar?'
'It kind of looks like that.' Sam replied.
'I though that a Pandora's box was supposed to let evil out into the world. Not suck people inside.'
'That's just the original.' Sam began. 'You see the original jar dates back to 500 BC, but what people don't know is that there isn't just one Pandora's box. The Pandora itself is actually a race of manipulative creatures who are contained in these jars. They wait patiently inside until someone opens the top, and then they suck them inside their evil fantasy world.'
'All in this jar?' Dean shook his head looking at the jar.
'Yeah. Maryanne said that the top doesn't come off this one, but I bet it would if you really wanted it to.'
'I don't know if I want it to.' Dean put the jar back onto the desk.
'If she's inside, the only way to get her out is to go in after her.' Sam nodded.
'Of course it is.' Dean sighed. 'So what exactly is inside?' Dean raised his eye brow skeptically at his brother.
'I don't know each Pandora's box is different. The thing is that when you are trapped inside you don't realize it because it seems so real. They're basically traps. Places where souls are tricked into staying forever. I'm willing to bet that she doesn't even realize that she's inside of the jar.'
'So, this Pandora's box fantasy island is kind of like a Djin thing?' Dean replied pointing out the similarities between the two creatures.
'Oh.' Sam was caught off guard by Dean's question. He remember the time Dean was captured by a Djin, a humanoid creature that feeds on human blood. The Djin made Dean think he was living in a fantasy world when he was really just in a half unconscious state. His mind was tricked by the poison the Djin injected into his skin. Dean was tied up in the basement of an old warehouse outside of Topeka. He was missing for days and didn't even know it. The Djin slowly drank his blood over that time causing Dean's life to slowly slip away. Sam tracked him down but once he found him, he was unable to snap Dean out of his unconscious state. It wasn't until Dean realized his new world wasn't right, that he broke free of the Djin's spell.
'Well? Don't freak out?' Dean interrupted his thought. 'It's just a question.'
'It's similar I guess.' Sam nodded still thinking about Dean's terrible incident with the Djin. Dean was in the hospital for a week after that run in. It made Sam nervous to think that Dean could be put into a similar situation again.
'What?' Dean narrowed his eyes at him. 'Stop thinking about it. I'm fine, everyone is fine.'
'Yeah, Sorry.' He nodded trying not to alarm his brother.
'Excuse me gentlemen.' Maryanne called out to Sam and Dean. 'John is here.' Dean stood up, and he and Sam took a few steps towards where he was entering the room. They watched as he walked slowly towards them. He was a tall pale young man in his mid twenties. He had black hair and brown eyes. He had an air of self confidence to him.
'Thank you Maryanne.' Sam waved to her as she walked away. 'John, hello.' Sam stuck his hand out to him. 'You got here quick.'
'My shop is pretty close, so I just came right over.' He spoke slowly, his eyes watched Sam and Dean suspiciously. He was dressed in a black jump suit that had his name printed on the top right in yellow stitching. He also had a belt around his waist with upholstering tools hanging from it. A pack of cigarettes poked out from his front breast pocket.
'Well, thank you for joining us here.' Dean continued. 'This is agent Taylor, and I'm agent Kilmeister from the FBI.' He looked over at Sam's notebook. It says here your name is John Gillis?'
'It is. You can call me Jack if you want.'
'Okay Jack.' Sam said.'
'So..' Jack continued to look at them suspiciously. 'Did you say your last names were Taylor and Kilmeister?'
'Correct.' Dean assured him.
'Do you guys play in Motorhead?' He chuckled.
'What?' Sam opened his eyes wide. He felt and air of annoyance come over him as he realized someone else recognized Dean's fake names.
'Lemmy Kilmeister and Phil Taylor, they're members of the band Motorhead.' He tapped his foot impatiently at them.
'Never heard of them.' Dean replied quickly shaking his head. 'So, John Gillis, you aren't actually employed by the Antique Mall correct.'
'No. I own my own upholstery shop a few blocks away. I just do deliveries for Maryanne on the side.'
'You own the shop. By yourself, that's impressive.' Sam shook his head.
'I guess so.' he shrugged his shoulders.
'How long have you been working for Maryanne?' Sam asked him
'Three years.'
'And in that time how long was Zelda also employed here?' Dean looked him up and down suspiciously as he and Sam fired questions at him.
'She's been here for quite a while, I'm not exactly sure how long. A couple of years I guess.'
'Were the two of you close?' Sam continued questioning.
'I don't know.' He shook his head. 'I mean, not really.' He took a deep breath. 'Look, I told the cops all this already, do I really have to go over it again?'
'Yes.' Sam and Dean both answered in unison.
'Fine. All I know is that I dropped off a box of antiques that day. When I got up Monday morning there was a message on my answering machine from Maryanne to pick up some stuff from the Johnson Estate sale. So, I picked up the box and brought it to the antique mall. Pretty typical stuff.'
'But Maryanne says she doesn't remember asking you to pick up the antiques.' Dean reminded him.
'She definitely did. I heard the message.' He nodded his head. 'I'm not making this up.'
'The box that you picked up that day, contained this jar?' Dean asked holding up the jar.
'Yes. Later on that day, when I came in to see if Zelda wanted lunch, she was sitting at her desk playing with that jar.'
'And then she vanished?' Sam asked him.
'Yes, she vanished.' Jack shook his head in frustration. 'There was a bright light, I don't know it was weird, it filled the whole room. I couldn't see what was going on but I heard Zelda yell my name. I tried to get to her but I was blinded. When the light dissipated she was gone. All that was left was the jar, and her glasses.'
'Do you believe in Extra Terrestrial's John Gillis?' Dean asked him.
'Aliens? No.'
'Ghosts?' Dean continued.
'No.'
'Have you ever been hospitalized for a Psychiatric condition.' He asked him.
'No!' Jack yelled at Dean. 'I'm not crazy okay?'
'Okay.' Dean smirked. 'Well, do you think maybe she was playing some kind of trick on you then?'
'No.' He shook his head. 'Zelda wouldn't do something like that.'
'Why not?' Sam asked.
'Cause, that just isn't the type of person she is.' He shook his head with aggravation. 'I know its unbelievable but I'm telling the truth about what I saw that day. I can't explain it.'
'How do we know that you haven't done something with her?' Dean asked him.
'Like what? Kidnap her?' He ran his fingers through his hair. 'Why would I kidnap Zelda?'
'You tell me?' Dean raised his eyebrows at Jack.
'I just wanted to see if she was hungry. If I knew that there was something terrible in that jar I never would have brought it here.' Dean turned to Sam to see what his reaction was to Jack's statement. Sam studied his face closely as he continued to talk. 'I just can't believe that she's really gone. I'll never see her again.' He trailed off. Sam raised his eyebrows as he realized something.
'That's it.' Sam smiled widely.
'What?' Jack asked.
'You like her, don't you Jack?'
'What are you talking about?' He shook his head.
'Zelda, you've got a crush on her.'
'What? Just because I'm upset that she's disappeared?' Jack furrowed his eye brows at Sam. 'Anyone would be upset if they saw what I saw.'
'It's more than that.' Sam nodded. 'I can see it in your eyes.'
'She's just a really nice girl that's all.' He clarified his position.
'Yeah, right.' Dean smiled widely at Jack. 'Sammy's right, you like her.'
'Great, whatever. Think what you will.' He huffed. 'I don't see how this fits into the whole FBI interrogation thing.' He exhaled audibly.
'Relax, it's cool.' Dean tried to reassure Jack. 'No need to be embarrassed, we saw her picture. She's a pretty girl.'
'Is this guy for real?' Jack looked over at Sam. Sam shrugged his shoulders in response.
'Come on Jack.' Dean nodded his head at Jack. 'I get it, you guys are into the same weird old people stuff, antiques and upholstery. It makes sense.'
'Well, great I'm so glad I came over here for this. You guys are great FBI agents, I'm sure that our talk has been helpful.' Jack dismissed them angrily. 'Are we done yet? Can I go?'
'Hold on a second.' Sam attempted to keep Jack around. 'Don't mind my partner.' He shot Dean an exasperated look. 'It's just we need to asses everyone's motivation in this case. Were not trying to make fun of you, it's actually a good thing that you like her. Makes you less suspicious.' He smiled.
'Well, it's hard not to like Zelda. She's talented, smart and funny. She's the kind of girl you can have a real conversation with. She's not like other girls around here.' He shook his head.
'So I'm assuming she didn't know about your feelings for her.' Sam continued.
'I don't know, I asked her to come see my band play a couple of times, but she never showed.' He shrugged his shoulders.
'You play in a band?' Dean asked him.
'Two bands actually.' John clarified. 'I play drums and guitar.'
'Nice.' Dean smiled. 'What kind of music?'
'I don't know. Just regular rock and roll I guess. Blues based rock and roll.' His face softened as he talked about his music.
'Okay.' Sam shook his head at his brother. 'I think that's all we need for now.'
'Good.' Jack nodded his head.
'We'll contact you if anything else comes up.' Dean assured him.
'I'll be on my way then.' He turned around and began walking away from the boys.
'Nice talking to you John Gillis.' Dean waved him away. Jack left the store room and Sam and Dean were alone looking at the massive room. Dean sat back down at Zelda's desk, he opened some of her drawers and pulled out her papers. 'So, what are we going to do Sammy? Do you believe what the kid said?'
'I do. And I think were going to have to go in and get her.' Sam sat down on an old wooden chair and flipped through his notebook. 'There's a summoning ritual for a Pandora in here somewhere.' He pointed his finger to the page. 'Once were in there we can summon the Pandora to release the souls that want to be freed.'
'The souls that want to be freed?' Dean stood shook his head. 'Right now she doesn't want to be freed right? Cause she doesn't know where she is.'
'Exactly.' Sam nodded. 'We have to convince Zelda to come with us. Which isn't going to be easy because she's been in there almost a week. She may have completely forgotten her real life.'
'Bummer.' Dean answered flatly. He continued rifling through the stuff in Zelda's desk drawers. He pulled out a flyer from the bottom drawer. 'Hey, take a look at this, it must be a flyer for one of Jack's bands.'
'Huh.' Sam scratched his head looking at it.
'Look, she drew little hearts on the bottom around the date.' Dean chuckled.
'This was last month.' Sam took a deep breath. 'But she didn't go.'
'Hey, look at this too.' Dean laughed as he pulled more stuff out of the drawer. 'She's got a newspaper article in here about him.'
'Let me see that.' Sam looked at the headline. It announced Jack's shop opening five years ago. There was a picture of him smiling, standing in front of the shop. 'Call it a day Upholstery Shop.' Sam repeated the name of the shop.
'Looks like he wasn't the only one with secret crush.' Dean smirked. 'He's an odd guy don't you think?'
'He's a little eccentric I guess.' Sam answered. He continued looking at the picture while he tried to figure out what to do next. 'Wait a minute, that's the answer Dean.' Sam shook his head. 'Jack, that's how we get her back here.'
'What your saying is that we go into the jar and tell her that upholstery boy likes her, and unless she gets her ass back to the 21st century she's going to miss out and be lost forever?'
'Something like that.' He nodded his head.
'You think that'll work?'
'I don't really know. But, what other angle do we got here Dean.'
'Alright.' He agreed. 'I guess it's as good as a plan as anyone we've had before. Next question is how do we get this thing open?' Dean asked trying to pry the lid off.
'I don't know.' Sam shook his head. 'But we should stop by the upholstery shop before we time travel back to get Zelda. Jack may have some more information about her we can use to convince her she's in the wrong time period.'
'Okay.'