Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad that you liked the story so far. Pretty soon I'm going to add a chapter that is a completely made up case. It'll focus more on Lexie, but it'll be awhile for me to get that up since it takes longer to write. Okay, I'll shut up now! Thanks again!
Chapter Three
We drove for awhile with nowhere to go. Dad hadn't contacted us. So, with nothing to do, we just kept heading east. On the fourth day, Dean was looking for something to do. We had stopped at a diner to eat. "What are you doing?" I asked, as Dean circled stuff in the newspaper. "Reading? I didn't know you could do that"
"Shut up" he said, hitting me on the arm really hard.
I held it in pain for a second. "Move" I said, "I gotta pee" He let me out and I went to the bathroom in peace. Believe it or not, but living with two guys for weeks is more annoying than it sounds.
"That's fun" he said, pointing at a blonde waitress who walked by. I rolled my eyes and took my seat. "Here, take a look at this, I think I got one. Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week Sophie Carlton, 18, walks into the lake, doesn't walk out" Dean stated. "Authorities dragged the water—nothing. Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either. They had a funeral two days ago"
"A funeral?" Sam said, handing me the paper to look at,
"They buried an empty coffin" Dean replied. "For uh, a closure or whatever"
"Closure?" Sam scoffed. "What closure? People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them"
"Something you want to say to me?" Dean asked, crossing his arms.
"Really guys?" I asked, annoyed. Here we go, they were fighting again.
"The trail for dad—it's getting colder every day" Sam said, ignoring me.
Dean nodded. "Exactly, so what are we supposed to do?"
"I don't know. Something, anything" Sam responded, frustrated.
"You know what? I'm sick of this attitude" Dean said, leaning forward. "You don't think I wanna find dad as much as you do?"
"Yeah, I know you do, it's just—"
"I'm the one that's been with him every single day for the past four years, while you've been off to college going to pep rallies" Dean interjected. "We will find dad, but until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there"
"Okay" I said cutting him off. "I think we get the picture. We all wanna find dad, now let's just drop it"
Sam rolled his eyes and the waitress walked past again with a smile at Dean. "All right, Lake Manitoc" Sam sighed. Dean just stared off at the waitress. "Hey!"
"Huh?" Dean said, as I slapped him on the arm.
"Let's keep it in your pants, Dean" I stated.
"How far?" Sam asked him.
He shrugged, "A couple hours, maybe"
"Then let's go" Sam said, standing up. I followed, and I thought Dean was behind me until I turned around and saw him flirting. "Dean…" Sam sighed.
I put my hand up. "I got this" I stated. I went back, pulling him by the arm out the door.
We drove up to the house of the dead girl a few hours later. Dean knocked on the door. "Will Carlton?" he asked.
"Yeah that's right" he stated, opening the door farther.
"I'm Agent Ford; this is Agent Hamlin and Becket, our intern. We're with the U.S. Wildlife Service." He said. "We need you to tell us everything you know about what happened"
"C'mon" he said. "I'll take you to the lake"
He led us out back to where there was a murky lake. A man who I presumed to be his father was sitting on a bench out on the dock. "She was about 100 yards out" Will stated, "That's where she got dragged down"
Dean looked skeptical. "Are you sure she didn't just drown?"
Will nodded. "Yeah. She was a varsity swimmer. She practically grew up in that lake. She was as safe out there as she was in her own bathtub"
"So no splashing? No signs of distress?" Sam asked in disbelief.
"No, that's what I'm telling you" he said, shaking his head.
"Did you see any shadows in the water?" Sam asked. "Maybe some dark shapes breach the surface?"
"No" he said. "Again, she was really far out there"
"You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?" Dean asked.
"No, never. Why?" Will asked, looking at the lake. "What do you thinks' out there?"
"We'll let you know as soon as we do" Dean nodded politely. He motioned for me to follow him.
"What about your father? Can we talk to him?" Sam asked.
Will turned, sighing as he eyed his dad, sitting on the dock. "Look, if you don't mind, I mean…he didn't see anything and he's kind of been through a lot"
Sam nodded, following me. "We understand" We got back into the Impala.
"Well that was a load of nothing" I stated unhelpfully. "We have no clue still"
"Let's go to the police" Sam said. "See if we can get a report or something" We headed to the police station right on the next road. Sam knocked on the door again. "Hi, we're here with the Wildlife Service, we would like to talk about Sophie?"
"Now, I'm sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?" said the man, leading us to his office.
"You sure it's accidental?" Sam said. "Will Carlton saw something grab his sister?"
"Like what?" he asked, opening up an office. He motioned to three chairs. "Here sit please" he said. I took the far left seat. "There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake. There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness monster"
"Yeah" Dean laughed. "…right"
"Will Carlton was traumatized, and sometimes the mind plays tricks" he said. "Still, we dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep just to be sure, and there was nothing down there"
"That's weird though I mean that's…that's the third missing body this year." Dean stated.
"I know. These are people from my town" the man said. "These are people I care about" Dean nodded. "Anyway" he sighed. "All this—it won't be a problem much longer"
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.
"Well the dam, of course" he said, narrowing his eyes.
"Of course…the dam. It's uh…sprung a leak" Dean said, making something up. I nodded, not knowing what to do either.
"It's falling apart" the man said. "And the feds won't give us the grant to repair it, so they've opened the spillway. In another six months there won't be much of a lake. There won't be much of a town either. But as Federal Wildlife, you already knew that"
Dean nodded a little too enthusiastically. "Exactly"
A tap on the door made me jump. "Sorry, am I interrupting?" a young woman asked. "I can come back later"
"Gentlemen, this is my daughter" the man smiled.
"It's a pleasure to meet you" Dean said, standing up and holding out his hand. "I'm Dean"
"Andrea Bar" she grinned. "Hi"
Dean was infatuated. "Hi" I looked to Sam and rolled my eyes.
"They're from the Wildlife Service about the lake" Mr. Bar said. Andrea nodded. A small boy, I would say like seven, walked in. He had longer hair that was a copper color.
"Oh hey there. What's your name?" Dean asked. He just wandered away. I wanted to laugh, but couldn't. Yeah, it's okay kid, Dean would scare me too.
"His name is Lucas" Mr. Bar replied.
"Is he okay?" Sam asked. The kid had a beaten expression on his face.
"My grandson's been through a lot" Mr. Bar replied. "We all have. Well if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know"
"Thanks. You know, now that you mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced hotel?" Dean asked as we headed to the door.
"Lakefront motel, go around the corner, it's about two blocks south" Andrea smiled.
"Two—would you mind showing us?" Dean asked sheepishly.
Andrea laughed. "You want me to walk you two blocks?"
"Not if it's any trouble" Dean replied. I sighed and wanted to punch him. Way to go Dean.
"I'm headed that way anyway" she smiled. "I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three. We'll go to the park, okay sweetie?" She kissed Lucas on the head and headed out the door. Sam muttered thanks at Mr. Bar.
We walked two blocks out, and Dean tried to make conversation with Andrea. "So…cute kid" Dean smiled.
Andrea smiled back. "Thanks"
Dean grinned happily. "Kids are the best, huh?" Andrea didn't reply.
I looked up at Sam, amused. "Shoot me now"
"There it is" she pointed. "Like I said. Two blocks"
"Thanks" Sam said.
"Must be hard with your sense of direction" Andrea said to Dean before turning away. "Never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line…" she said with an evil smile. "Enjoy your stay!" she called over her shoulder.
I laughed. Sam did too. ""Kids are the best"?" he mocked him. "You don't even like kids."
Dean was defiant. "I love kids"
"Name three children that you even know" Sam said, folding his arms.
Dean pointed at me. "I don't count" I stated, "I'm your sister"
Dean tried to think. Sam rolled his eyes and walked away. Dean just scratched his head. I scoffed and followed Sam. "I'm thinking!" he called, annoyed.
Sam got us a room and went right to his laptop. "So there's the three drowning victims this year" Sam sighed.
"Any before that?" Dean asked.
"Uh yeah…six more spread out over the past 35 years" Sam said. "Those bodies were never recovered either. If there is something out there, it's picking up its pace"
"So what, we got a lake monster on a binge?"
"This whole lake monster thing—It, It just bugs me" Sam stated/
"Why?"
"Loch Ness, uh Lake Champlain—There are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but here, almost nothing" he said. "Whatever it is out there, no one's living to talk about it"
"Maybe it's not a monster" I shrugged. "Maybe it's a spirit that drowns people?"
He pointed at the screen. "Wait, Bar, Christopher Bar" he said, "Where have I heard that name before?" I got up and leaned over Sam.
"Christopher Bar, the victim in May" he said, clicking around. "Oh…Christopher Bar was Andrea's husband. Lucas' father. Apparently, he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned, two hours before the kid got rescued. Maybe we have an eyewitness after all"
"No wonder that kid was so freaked out. Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over" Dean said.
Sam rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it"
We headed to the park so that Dean could hit on Andrea more while Sam and I actually tried to figure things out. She was sitting on a bench, watching Lucas from afar.
"Can we join you?" Sam asked with a smile.
"I'm here with my son" she smiled.
"Oh…" Dean sighed. "Mind if we say hi?" he remarked. She shook her head. "C'mon Lex"
I followed him. "Why am I coming?" I asked as we made our way over.
"You're a kid" he said. "You know how kid's brains work" He kneeled down next to Lucas. "How's it going?" he asked. He grabbed one of Lucas' toy soldiers and smiled. "Oh I used to love these things" I just stood there. He made gun sounds and made the soldier fly over like he killed it.
"So crayons is more your thing? That's cool. Chicks dig artists" Dean remarked.
I sighed and sat down hoping he would shut up. "Hey these are pretty good" Dean said.
"Hi Lucas" I said, looking at him drawing. "You can ignore him, he's dumb. You mind if I sit and draw with you for a while?" I picked up a crayon. "I used to love drawing when I was your age" I drew some random lines. "You know, I'm thinking you can hear me; you just don't want to talk. I don't know exactly what happened to your dad, but I know it was something real bad. I think I know how you feel. When I was your age, I felt the same way. Anyway…Well maybe you don't think anyone will listen to you, or uh…or believe you. I want you to know that I will" I said. "You don't even have to say anything, you could draw me a picture about what you saw that day with your dad on the lake" He didn't say anything. "Okay, no problem" I sighed.
"This is for you" I handed him my picture. It was all five of us. "This is my family" I said. I pointed to the people. "That's my dad" I said, pointing to the biggest one. "He's cool. And that's my mom" I paused. I had nothing to say about her. "That's my annoying brother, Dean. And that's the geeky one, Sam" I stopped. "I drew them biggest, because they're cool, like super heroes. They know all this awesome stuff, and can like, protect you from monsters. For real, I swear. They taught me stuff too" He still didn't say anything. "All right, so I'm a sucky artist" I sighed, leaving my picture. "I'll see you around, Lucas"
I stood up, shrugging at Dean and then turning away. "I tried" He followed me away. "I told you I don't do well with little kids. I probably just scarred him for life. It's not like I was ever a normal kid, you know?"
Dean didn't say anything. "Lucas hasn't said a word, not even to me—not since his dad's accident" Andrea said as Dean and I came back.
"Yeah we heard" Dean said, sympathetically. "Sorry"
"What are the doctors saying?" Sam asked,
"That it's a kind of post-traumatic stress" Andrea replied helplessly.
"That can't be easy, for either of you" Sam responded.
"We moved in with my dad" she said. "He helps out a lot. It's just…when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw…"
"Kids are strong" Dean said, cutting her off. "You'd be surprised what they can deal with"
"You know, he used to have such life. He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth" she smiled. "Now he just sits there. Drawing those pictures, playing with those army men. I just wish…" Lucas walked up to me. "Hey sweetie" Andrea said.
He handed me a picture. "Thanks…" I said softly. "Thanks Lucas" He silently walked back to his table. I looked at Dean.
We headed back to the hotel room. Sam disappeared to do some research for awhile, and I couldn't help but think he was waiting to ambush me. When he stole the remote out of my hand, I knew I was right. "Hey" I objected, when he turned the TV off. "I was watching that"
"I'm a superhero?" he asked.
I sighed and leaned back. "Dean…no chick flick moments"
"So, I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie" Sam said, opening the door.
"What do you mean?" Dean asked, turning to look at him.
"I just drove past the Carlton house. There was an ambulance there" he said. "Will Carlton is dead"
"He drowned?" Dean asked.
"Yep, in the sink"
"In the sink?" I asked, in shock.
"What the hell?" Dean asked. "So you're right, this isn't a creature; we're dealing with something else"
Sam nodded. "Yeah, but what?"
"I don't know. A water wraith maybe? Some kind of demon?" Dean listed. "I mean something that controls water…water that comes from the same source"
"The lake" Sam stated. I nodded. "Which would explain why it's upping the body count. The lake is draining. It'll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time"
"And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere" Dean said. "This is gonna happen again soon"
"And we do know one other thing for sure. We know this has got something to do with Bill Carlton" Sam replied.
"Yeah, It took both his kids" Dean added.
Sam nodded. "And I've been asking around. Lucas' dad, Chris—Bill Carlton's godson."
"So do you think Bill is next?" I asked.
Dean stood up. "Let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit"
We drove to the lake again, where Mr. Carlton was still sitting on the bench on the dock. "Mr. Carlton…we'd like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind" Sam said.
Dean stepped forward. "We're from the Department…"
Bill scoffed, cutting Dean short. "I don't care who you're with. I've answered enough questions today"
"Your son said he saw something in that lake" Sam said, pushing him for answers. "What about you? You ever see anything out there?" He said nothing. "Mr. Carlton, Sophie's drowning and Will's death—we think there might be a connection to you or your family"
"My children are gone. It's…its worse than dying" he cried. "Go away…please"
We turned around and headed back to the car. "What do you think?" Sam asked.
"Aw, I think the poor guy's been through hell" Dean remarked "I also think he's not telling us something"
"We're missing something" I stated. I put my hands in my pockets and pulled out Lucas' picture. I stopped.
"What is it?" Sam asked.
I handed the picture to Dean. "Huh" he said. "Maybe Bill's not the only one who knows something" The picture Lucas drew was of the Carlton house.
We went right to Andrea's house. We knocked on the door. "I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea" Andrea said after Dean said he wanted to see Lucas again.
"We just need to talk to him, just for a few minutes" he said.
"He won't say anything, what good's it gonna do?" she asked.
"Andrea, we think more people might get hurt" Sam persuaded her. "We think something's happening out there"
"My husband, the others—they just drowned" she said. "That's all"
"If that's what you really believe then we'll go" Dean stated. "But if you think there's even a possibility that something else could be going on here, please let me talk to your son"
She thought for a second, and then opened the door. Dean led me to the back, where Lucas was sitting with his toys. I looked to Dean. "I don't know what to say" I said softly. "I don't want to"
Dean just nudged me forward. "Hey Lucas" I smiled. "You remember me?" I sat down. "You know, I, uh…" I looked at his drawings of a red bike. "I wanted to thank you for that last drawing…but the thing is, I need your help again" He was coloring a person in water. "You know" I sighed. "I really think you should talk to my superhero brother, okay?" I looked to Dean for support.
"How did you know to draw this?" Dean asked him. "Did you know something bad was gonna happen? Maybe you could nod yes or no for me." he said. Lucas just kept drawing. "You're scared. Its okay, I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared, too. I didn't feel like talking, just like you. But see, my mom—I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave. I have to, to take care of Alexis here, and Sam. And maybe…your dad wants you to be brave, too" Lucas dropped his crayon and handed Dean a picture. "Thanks, Lucas" he said.
We drove around, trying to find the place in the picture that Lucas had drawn for us. IT was a white two story church and a yellow house with a red bike in front. "Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died" Dean remarked, as Sam stared at it.
"There are cases going through a traumatic experience could make people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies" Sam said, with a shrug.
I looked out the window in silence. "Whatever's out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow?" Dean went on. "I mean it's only a matter of time before somebody else drowns. If you got a better lead, please"
"All right…" Sam sighed. "We got another house to find"
"The only problem is there's about a thousand yellow two-stories in this county alone" Dean scoffed, annoyed.
"See this church?" Sam pointed. "I bet there are less than a thousand of those around here"
Dean smirked. "Oh, college boy thinks he's so smart"
"You know, um…what you said about mom…" Sam said slowly. "You never told me that before"
"It's no big deal…" Dean said, and I could feel him blushing. He grimaced. "Oh God, we're not gonna have to hug or anything, are we?"
"And what's with you with the superhero thing?" Sam asked, looking at me with a cheesy smile on his face. I glanced at him, feeling stupid and annoyed. I have to learn to keep my mouth shut.
"Shut up, sasquatch" I remarked. "I ain't hugging you either" I glanced back out the window. "Stop" I said, pointing. Dean hit the brakes.
We got out of the car; walking up to a white church and I glanced on the other side of it. A yellow house. We went to the door. The woman opened the door. "Hey" Dean smiled. "Can we have a word?"
"Sure" she remarked. She was an older woman, probably middle fifties to sixties. She let us inside.
'We're sorry to bother you ma'am, but does a little boy live here, by chance?" Dean asked. "He might wear a blue ball cap, has a red bicycle"
"No sir" she shook her head. "Not for a very long time. Peter's been gone for 35 years now. The police never—I never had any idea what happened. He just disappeared. Losing him—"she choked. Sam pointed to some toy soldiers. I glanced at Dean, then back at the lady. "You know, it's…its worse than dying" she finished.
"Did he disappear from here—I mean, from this house?" Dean asked.
She sighed. "He was supposed to ride his bike straight home after school, and he never showed up"
Dean nodded and picked up a photo. His face fell. "Thank you for your time" he remarked, and pushed me out the door.
"What are you doing?" I asked, as he quickly ran back to the Impala.
"I know who's next" he said. I hopped in the backseat, with Sam close behind me. He sped to the Carlton's house again.
"Okay this little boy, Peter Sweeney, vanishes, and this is all connected to Bill Carlton somehow?" Sam asked as we pulled around a corner.
"Yeah, Bill sure as hell seems to be hiding something, huh?" Dean remarked.
"And Bill—the people he loves—Are all getting punished" Sam stated.
"So what if Bill did something to Peter?" Dean asked.
"What if Bill killed him?" Sam went on, his eyes widening.
"Then Peter's spirit would be furious. It'd want revenge" Dean nodded. "It's possible"
We pulled up to the small house on the lake for the third time now, and I got out of the car. "Mister Carlton!" Sam yelled. I rounded to the rear.
"Hey, check it out" Dean pointed. Mr. Carlton was heading out into the lake on his boat. I glanced at Dean, and then went sprinting down the yard onto the dock.
"Mister Carlton! You need to come back!" I yelled.
"Come out of the water!" Dean yelled.
"Turn the boat around!"
The boat slowed, and Mr. Carlton was thrown from the boat. It capsized and Dean, Sammy, and I were left standing on the empty dock. He was dead. Sirens sounded from behind us as we three just stood there stupidly.
"Sam, Alex, Dean, I didn't expect to see you here" Andrea said, as we were escorted into the police station
"So now you're on a first-name basis" Mr. Bar nodded. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.
She held up a paper bag. "I brought you dinner" She looked at us, searching for something that she wasn't going to find.
"I'm sorry sweetheart; I don't really have the time" Mr. Bar remarked, pushing me a little.
"I heard about Bill Carlton, is it true?" she asked. "Is something going on with the lake?"
"Right now we don't know what the truth is" Mr. Bar said, shooting death glares at us three. "But I think it might be better if you and Lucas went on home"
Lucas whimpered and grabbed Dean's arm. "Lucas, hey, what is it?" he asked, kneeling down. "Lucas, it's okay. It's okay" Lucas took his mother's hand and left, looking back at me. I felt bad for him.
"Okay, just so I'm clear, you see…something attack Bill's boat, sending Bill, who is a very good swimmer, by the way, into the drink, and you never see him again?" Mr. Bar asked as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Yeah, that about sums it up" Dean sighed.
"And I'm supposed to believe this, even though I've already sonar-swept that entire lake, and what you're describing is impossible, and you're not really Wildlife Service?" he stated. I glanced at Sam. Dean just glared at him, surprised. "That's right, I checked. The department's never heard of you two" he explained.
Dean smirked. "See, now we can explain that"
"Enough please" he said, putting a hand up. "The only reason you're breathing free air, is one of Bill's neighbors saw him steering out that boat just before you did" he went around his desk. "So we have a couple of options here. I can arrest you for impersonating government officials and hold you as material witnesses to Bill Carlton's disappearance. Or we can chalk this all up to a bad day, you get into your car, you put this town in your rearview mirror, and you don't ever darken my doorstep again"
Dean glared at him, angrily. Sam cleared his throat. "Door number two sounds good".
"That's the one I'd pick" Mr. Bar remarked, opening the door for us to leave.
We got in the Impala, anger radiating off of Dean. I decided to just keep my mouth shut. We drove towards the highway. I didn't feel really bad until Dean was at the light to turn right onto the road to let us lead. The light turned green and I closed my eyes. Sam smacked Dean.
"What?" Dean remarked.
"Light's green" he pointed. Dean sighed, and turned left.
"Uh, the interstate's the other way" Sam said.
"I know" Dean said. He drove back towards town.
"But Dean, this job—" Sam sighed. "I think it's over"
Dean shook his head. "I'm not so sure"
"If Bill murdered Peter Sweeney and Peter's spirit got its revenge, case closed" Sam said "The spirit should be at rest"
Dean sighed in frustration. "All right, so what if we take off and this thing isn't done. You know, what if we missed something? What if more people get hurt?" he asked.
Sam looked confused. "But why would you think that?"
"Because Lucas was really scared"
Sam looked surprised. "That's what this is about?"
"I just don't want to leave town till I know the kid's okay" Dean explained.
Sam raised his eyebrows. "Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?"
Dean rolled his eyes, glancing at me. "Shut up" We drove to Lucas' house. It was silent.
"Are you sure about this? It's pretty late man" Sam said as Dean went to ring the doorbell.
The door flung open. "Lucas!"I asked, as he grabbed my hand. "Lucas? What's wrong?" he pulled me, running to the bathroom. Murky brown water was pouring out of the crack between the door and the floor.
Sam and Dean were right behind me Lucas kicked and pounded on the door. Dean picked his up and handed him to Sam. With one fell kick, he slammed down the door and busted in. Sam handed Lucas to me, who was squeezing my hand so hard I thought it was going to break. I glanced in to see Sam trying to pry Andrea out of the bathtub. She was drowning. I held Lucas back, not wanting him to see this. He held Dean's hand too, looking terrified.
"It's okay" I said slowly. "Sam's gonna save her" He whimpered, and I silently prayed I wasn't lying. I heard a gasp and a thud as they fell onto the floor.
He saved her.
I hung out with Lucas while Sam and Andrea talked about what happened. Lucas was coloring, and I just watched and eavesdropped. "Can you tell me?" Sam asked.
"No" Andrea cried. "It doesn't make any sense. I'm going crazy"
"No, you're not" Sam remarked, with a comforting smile. "Tell me what happened—everything"
Andrea sighed. "I heard…I thought I heard…there was this voice. What did it say? It said…it said "Come play with me." What's happening?" she asked.
Dean smacked a picture in front of her. I stood up, giving Lucas a smile. "Do you recognize the kids in these pictures?"
"What?" she asked, looking at him like he was crazy. "Um…Um, no. I mean, except that's my dad right there. He must have been about 12 in these pictures" I glanced at the picture of the Boy Scout troop.
"Chris Bar's drowning-The connection wasn't to Bill Carlton" Dean stated. "It must have been to sheriff"
"Bill and the sheriff—they were both involved with Peter" Sam said.
"What about Chris?" she asked. I walked back to Lucas, who I noticed was staring out the window as though he was watching something.
"Lucas?" I asked, slowly, not wanting to scare him.
Dean came over quickly. "Lucas, what is it?" he asked.
Lucas took my hand and took me outside. Everyone followed behind us. He stopped and stared at the ground. "You and Lucas get back to the house and stay there, okay?" Dean said, looking at Andrea. She pulled him away. "Lexie, get the shovels"
I ran to the Impala and grabbed two shovels. Sam took one and Dean the other, so I just stood and watched. I heard and dull thud, and got down on my hands and knees. Dean pulled out a red bike. They dig until there is a thud, and then they get down on their knees and finish digging with their hands. "Peter's bike" Sam said.
"Who are you?" Mr. Bar said, coming from nowhere. He had a gun pointed at us.
"Put the gun down, Jake" Sam said, holding his hands up in surrender.
"How did you know that was there?" he asked, in shock. He stared at the bike in fear.
"What happened—you and Bill killed Peter, drowned him in the lake and then buried the bike?" Dean said. "You can't bury the truth, Jake. Nothing stays buried"
Mr. Bar shook his head. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about"
"You and Bill killed Peter Sweeney 35 years ago" Dean said angrily. "That's what the hell I'm talking about"
"Dad!" Andrea said, running to us.
"And now you got one seriously pissed off spirit" Dean went on.
"It's gonna take Andrea, Lucas, everyone you love. It's gonna drown them" Sam said, glaring at him. "And it's gonna drag their bodies God knows where, so you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt. And then, after that, it's gonna take you, and it's not gonna stop until it does"
Mr. Bar scoffed. "Yeah, and how do you know that?"
"Because that's exactly what it did to Bill Carlton"
"Listen to yourselves, both of you" he chuckled with no humor in his voice. "You're insane"
"I don't really give a rat's ass what you think of us" Dean said. "But if we're gonna bring down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them, and burn them into dust. Now tell me you buried Peter somewhere. Tell me you didn't just let him go in the lake" The look on Mr. Bar's face pretty much said it all. I thought I heard a noise, and went to see, but Mr. Bar followed me with his gun.
"Stop moving" he growled. Sam glanced at me. I stopped.
"Dad, is any of this true?" Andrea asked.
"No. Don't listen to them, they're liars and they're dangerous" he said. "Something tried to drown me. Chris died on that lake"
"Dad, look at me" she cried. "Tell me you—you didn't kill anyone" she pleaded. He looked away. "Oh my God"
"Billy and I were at the lake. Peter was the smallest one. We always bullied him, but this time…it got rough" he stated. "We were holding his head under the water, we didn't mean to. But we held him under too long and he drowned. We let the body go, and it sank. Oh Andrea, we were kids. We were so scared. It was a mistake. But, Andrea, to say that I have anything to do with these drowning, with Chris, because of some ghost…it's not rational"
I heard the voice again, and looked around. What the hell?
"All right listen to me, all of you" Dean said. "We need to get you away from this lake as far as we can right now"
I looked to the lake, and gasped. Lucas was going towards it. "Lucas!" I ran away, not caring if Mr. Bar shot me anymore. I just ran. Lucas put his hand in the lake, reaching for something. Suddenly, he flipped over and disappeared under its dark surface.
"Come play with me" said a soft voice. I panicked and ran to the edge of the dock.
"Lucas!" I screamed, Dean shoved me behind him and dived into the water.
"Stay out of the water" Sam shouted, jumping in after Dean.
"Oh my God!" Andrea said, taking off her jacket.
"Andrea, stay here" I said, grabbing her arm.
Sam surfaced. "We'll get him just stay on the dock" he yelled. He dived again.
I kneeled as close to the water as I could get. "Please" I pleaded. I wasn't sure who I was asking. It wasn't God. I was sure I wasn't asking him. I guess I was calling to my superheroes.
"Lucas where are you" Andrea pleaded.
"Peter, if you can hear me" Mr. Bar said, starting to wade in the water. "Please Peter, I'm sorry. I'm so—I'm so sorry"
"Daddy, no" Andrea cried.
"Peter. Lucas—He's just a little boy" he went on. He was ignoring us. "Please, it's not his fault, it's mine. Please take me"
"Jake, no!" Dean shouted, coming up for air.
All the sudden I saw a little boy's head pop out of the water for a split second. Then he was gone and Mr. Bar was dragged down.
"Daddy! Daddy! No!" Andrea cried. I held her back as best as I could. Sam came up again empty-handed. Andrea just sort of fell limp. She had given up.
Dean came up, holding something in his hands. It was Lucas.
We had packed up the very next day. Dean had been upset. He wanted to save Mr. Bar, but Peter's spirit had killed him. "Look, we're not gonna save everybody" Sam sighed, shoving stuff into the trunk.
He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I know"
Andrea came walking up, and I felt arms close around my waist. "Hey Lucas" I smiled, hugging him back. He grinned up at me.
"Hi Lexis" Andrea smiled. "Sam, Dean"
"Hey" Dean replied.
"We're glad we caught you" she said. "We just um, we made you lunch for the road" She pointed to Lucas, who was now holding a tray. "Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches himself"
"Can I give it to them now?" he asked. He started talking the moment he woke up after almost drowning.
"Of course" Andrea smiled.
He went to hand me the tray. I smiled. "Come on Lucas; let's load this into the car" Dean said, pulling him. He looked at me, as though telling me to follow. I grabbed his hand.
Dean put the sandwiches in the car. "All right, if you're gonna be talking now, this is a very important phrase, so I want you to repeat it one more time" he said seriously.
"Zeppelin rules!" Lucas smiled.
"That's right" Dean grinned. "Up high" He high fived him. "You take care of your mom, okay?"
"Like you take care of Lexie?" he asked, looking at me.
"Yeah" he smiled. "Just like that"
"All right" he laughed.
Andrea came up and kissed Dean. "Thank you"
Dean thought for a second, and then got in the car. "Sam, move your ass" he said. "We're gonna run out of daylight before we hit the road" Sam rolled his eyes and got in the car, as did I. As we drove away, I waved to Lucas. He was a good kid.
Later that day, Sam was asleep and I was laying in the backseat, just thinking. I wondered if Lucas would be okay. I hoped he would. He deserved to have a happy childhood. Dean glanced back at me, but I didn't move. "Superhero" he scoffed lightly. "If anything, you're my superhero"
"I don't think so" I smiled, flipping over. "You're more of a superhero than I ever would be"
"I'm not even that great of a brother" he scoffed. I sat up, glaring at him. Was he serious? Did he really think I thought that or was he just fishing for compliments. The look of genuine sadness in his eyes answered that for me.
I closed my eyes and sighed. "You're a good brother Dean, always have been" I stated. "You basically raised me, and I think I turned out okay"
"I drag you around to fight monsters for a living" he said, giving me a look in the rearview mirror. "I and Sam went to school too, you don't even do that. I make you do home school"
"I like doing home school" I stressed. "It's easier than having to worry about up and leaving every month or so"
"Yeah…" he trailed off. "But seriously, don't you want to be…normal?" Dean asked. I thought about that. Yeah, I had wanted that every once in awhile. "I should've tried harder" he stated
"Remember when I was eight and you were eighteen?" I asked. "I knew about the hunting, and you taught me to shoot a gun"
"Yeah" he scoffed. "So?"
"And I couldn't hit anything" I smiled. "But you told me it was okay, because you wouldn't give up on me" He was silent. "I can shoot anything under the sun" I smiled. I thought about how vigorous the training with dad had been. Dean hadn't made it any easier. He had trained my ass until I could shoot a pistol, shotgun, rifle, and crossbow. I could climb and break into any house, pick any lock, speak almost fluent in Latin (actually that was Sam), and kill any son of a bitch that came to attack me. I was safe because of him. I was stronger. I hadn't thought so at the time, though.
When I was younger, training sucked. All I did was get my ass whooped by either Sam or Dean the entire time. Dad refused to let them take it easy on me, and so most of the time I ended up flat on my back. I was only an eight year old girl for god's sake. Dean, at eighteen, had me on my ass in seconds.
"Try again" my dad demanded, as I landed on my back for the umpteenth time that night.
"Dad" Dean sighed, turning around. "I'm sick of fighting girls"
"Hey" Sammy and I said in unison.
"You'll do as I say" my father said coldly. "Now go again"
I stood up and waited for Dean to strike. Again, he simply was able to beat me down and take my gun from me. It was just a paintball gun, but good practice. The shots could knock me sideways, but hardly even touched Dean.
My father sighed and I could hear the frustration in his voice. "Again"
Dean rolled his eyes. "Dad" he said. "Seriously? She can't even keep her feet on the ground"
"I know" my dad said. "But she has to learn. She is weak, but I think in time…"
I had heard enough. I was pissed and annoyed and I just wanted to kill something. "Ugh" I yelled as I jumped on Dean. I ran at him hard enough that I made him stumble a little. I had a good grip on his neck, and took him down. I reached into my belt and took out my little knife, holding it at him. "Shut up!" I yelled.
He smirked and took it out of my hands. I kicked at his hand until he dropped it and then kicked it farther away from him. The gun was closer, so I closed in on that and shot him three times in the chest and abdomen. He, Sammy and my father stared at me in shock. I stood up, dusted myself off, and smiled. "I think I hit you" I said, pointing out the orange paint on his clothes.
The sound of clapping coming from my father made my heart swell in pride. "Good Job Alex" he said. "I think that's enough for one night" And with that he disappeared.
"So Dean" Sam smiled. "I think you just got beat by an eight year old girl"
"Shut up" Dean said, but he smirked at me like he was proud, even though he was embarrassed and didn't want to admit it.
"You did a good job" I smiled, thinking of the memory.
"I did a decent job, at best. I'm no superhero" he remarked, looking at me in the backseat. "I made mistakes, I-"
"Dean" I sighed, cutting him off. "Shut up"
He was silent for a moment. "So am I like superman or batman?"
"Batman" I remarked, with a sleepy sigh. "You can't fly" I paused. "Actually, you don't have any powers other than being a pain in the ass"
"Thanks" he laughed. "I guess that's fair"
"If it counts for anything, you're really good at it"
"Lexie, don't make me come back there" I just laughed and went back to pretending to sleep. I was safe. Sam and Dean were safe. I wondered about dad, and then just fell asleep.
Because sometimes it's easier to just pretend everything's okay. At least for a little but anyway.