Chapter 3
About two months later, Sam desperately called Sarah.
"Sam." Sarah said flatly.
"Sarah, thank God you answered. I need your help." Sam said hurriedly.
"Oh, you have a lot of nerve, calling me for help!" Sarah said angrily.
"I know I don't deserve it but it's Dean. He told me about hell. We went through this whole thing with the angels and now he's sleeping even less. We've done 13 jobs in the last month! He won't stop!"
"What do you think I can do? Me and Dean don't really see eye to eye on most things." Sarah asked annoyed.
"Please. We need you." Sam pleaded.
Sarah sighed heavily, "Fine. Where are you?"
"Stratton, Nebraska. We are looking into a vengeful spirit." Sam said relieved.
"Alright. I'll be there by nightfall. Oh, and Sam, this is your one and only favor. Do not ask me for help again." She said coldly before hanging up.
She pulled up next to the parked impala and saw a very shocked and pissed look on Dean's face.
"Hey guys." She said awkwardly.
"What are you doing here, Sarah?" Dean asked confused.
"I, uh, called Sam. I wanted to see you guys." Sarah said while trying to follow Sam's nonverbal cues.
Dean didn't seem to buy it and turned to Sam saying, "You called her?"
"You've been running for a month straight. You weren't listening to me. Maybe you'll listen to her." Sam yelled.
"I don't need help!" Dean growled as they heard a scream come from the house. All three of them ran toward the house. Dean got there first and started pounding on the front door. When the door opened, Dean ran in saying, "We heard screams. What's going on?"
"Oh, you two! Did you touch my daughter?" One of the men asked aggressively.
"What? No!" Dean defended.
"Who are you guys?" the man asked and then added, "And who is this?"
"Relax, please. You have a ghost." Sam said moving a little in front of Sarah.
"I told you!" the teenage girl exclaimed.
"It's the girl!" the boy added.
"Both of you, relax. What are you guys playing?" the man asked.
"Your family's in danger. You need to get out of the house now." Dean said gruffly.
Just then all the lights in the house went out.
"What the hell?" the other guy said.
"Nobody move!" Dean commanded.
They heard some howling outside.
"Buster!" the boy yelled as the men ran outside followed by Sarah and the others. They found the words 'Too Late' written in blood on the white moving truck.
After making sure that Susan and the kids were okay, Sarah approached Dean and the others.
"Head to the motel I told you about. You'll be safe there." Dean told them.
"What are you two gonna do?" Brian asked.
"Oh, no! Oh, come on! Oh, come on!" Dean yelled seeing that his tires were slashed.
"Dude, the guns are gone. So is the… Basically, everything is gone." Sam said looking at the empty trunk.
"Mine, too." Sarah said slamming her trunk closed.
"Truck's no good." Ted said joining them.
"Both tires lashed." Brian stated.
"What kind of ghost messes with a man's wheels?" Dean growled.
"What's going on? What's going on?" Kate yelled before screaming. "She's there! She's there!"
"Where?" Her mother asked.
"She was right there in the woods!"
"What's a ghost doing outside?" Dean asked Sam & Sarah.
"You want to stay and find out?" Sam asked.
"Everyone inside!" Dean yelled.
"Are you crazy? We need to get the hell out of here!" Ted yelled.
"In what? This ghost is hunting us! Everybody back inside now! Move!" Dean commanded.
After getting everyone in a salt circle in the living room and getting everyone to listen, Sam started to figure out what they were up against.
"You saw her outside, right? Okay. Does she look like either one of these girls?" Sam asked Kate.
"Her. She was paler and a lot dirtier, but that was her." Kate said quickly.
"That's the girl in the walls." Danny said confirming her.
"So it's the daughter?" Sam said to Dean.
"That girl in the picture – she… she's dead?" Susan asked timidly.
"She killed herself inside this house." Sam told her.
"So what. The maid got her story wrong? Rebecca wasn't cremated?" Dean whispered to Sam and Sarah moving away from the scared family a litle.
"Unless her spirit's just attached to something inside the house." Sam suggested.
"She hung herself in the attic, right?" Dean asked.
"You want to babysit? Sarah and I will check it out?" Sam suggested.
"No, it's just some backwoods hillbilly witch, and I'm not about to sit around here waiting for her to go all Deliverance on my ass." Ted said.
"Well, nobody's leaving the house." Dean said aggressively.
"Stop me." Ted said challenging Dean.
"Listen, man. I've got a gun. You don't get your ass back in that circle, you're gonna have yourself a third hole." Dean stated. Ted started at him for a moment then walked back over to his family.
Sam leaned over to Dean and whispered, "Dude, you don't have a gun."
"And? I'm not letting that bastard or anyone else die tonight." Dean whispered back.
"You cool?" Sam asked motioning upstairs.
"Go." Dean said back.
"Come on, Sarah." Sam said walking toward the stairway. Sarah sighed but followed Sam up the stairs, wanting to get this case over with as quickly as possible.
Once up in the attic, Sam and Sarah started searching for anything that might help them gank this ghost.
"Um… Sarah?" Sam said quietly.
"Hmm? You find anything?" Sarah asked not looking over at him.
"No… I just wanted to say thanks. You know, for coming to help. I know it wasn't what you wanted to do."
"No, Sam, this definitely is not what I want to be doing. I haven't done that in several months and look where that got me…" Sarah said practically whispering the end then added, "I shouldn't be here."
"Don't say that. Of course, you should be here with us. You're family."
"No. Not anymore, Sam. Not anymore. Let's just gank this thing and be done." Sarah said coldly.
"What? What are you saying? You know you're always welcome with us." Sam said with concern in his voice. "Why do you feel like you don't belong with us anymore?"
Sarah's head snapped up and said, "You know damn well why, Sam. Don't play stupid." Sam stood there staring at her when she said, "I found a diary. I think this is all that's up here." She then walked back downstairs to see the family run out the door. And then something started running toward her. Sam quickly walked in front of her and flashed a light in the creatures eyes making it run away.
Sam, Dean & Sarah then ran outside to check on the family.
"Hey. You okay?" Brian asked Dean.
"Where is everybody?" Dean asked him back.
"Hiding." Brian answered.
"Alright, go get them. Go. Go get them." Dean said getting rid of Brian. Then to Sam & Sarah, "So, it's not a ghost."
"So, it's just a girl?" Sam asked flabbergasted.
"It's not just a girl. It's psycho Nell. I'm telling you, man… humans. I don't know. Maybe it's the daughter, Rebecca. Maybe she didn't hang herself." Dean stated.
"Dude, no. She'd have to be like fifty years old by now." Sam said.
"Well, I don't know. What'd you find in the attic?" Dean asked.
"Some old junk." Sam said.
"And Rebecca's diary. That's about it." Sarah added handing it to Dean.
"I wish you'd found a howitzer. Listen, we got to get this family safe. I mean, it's just a human, so they can make a run for it. We just got to hold her off." Dean said giving the diary back to Sarah.
"We're okay." Susan & Kate said returning from their hiding place.
"Danny! Ted! We got to go!" Brian yelled.
"I'm good!" Ted said joining them.
"Danny! Come on!" Susan yelled.
"Danny, buddy, we got to go!" Brian yelled also.
"Told you it was some crazy bitch." Ted berated Dean.
"Yes, you did." Dean said sarcastically.
"Head to town. We'll take it from here, okay?" Sam said to Brian and Susan.
"Danny, come on, baby! We're leaving!" Susan yelled growing more panicked.
"Danny, we got to go!" Brian yelled.
They spent a few minutes trying to convince Susan that Dean & Sam would find Danny but it was useless. Susan wouldn't leave.
"Alright, until we find your son, the safest place for you right now is in the shed." Dean said.
"I'm not going out there with Mom alone." Kate declared.
"Yes, you are. It is the best defense. The windows are boarded up. It's our best shot right now. Trust me." Dean said to assure her then added, "Plus, Sarah will stay with you, keep you safe."
"What? I can help, Dean." Sarah said defiantly.
"You can help by keeping them safe." Dean said ending the conversation.
"Suse, Kate, go. Go." Brian urged them.
Sarah sighed and said, "Alright ladies, into the shed." She then bent down and removed two silver knives from her ankle holster. "Here," She said giving them to Dean.
"Hey, why didn't you bring those out before?" Ted asked sarcastically.
"We didn't need silver against a ghost, dumbass." She retorted and then turned to walk away.
"Don't you need something to help you 'protect' the girls," Ted said, emphasizing the word protect.
"Don't you worry about us, Princess. I don't need a weapon." Sarah retorted.
"And why's that?"
"Because I am the weapon." And with that she disappeared into the shed.
Sarah, Susan and Kate bunkered down in the shed with a heavy wooden table in front of the door until Sam and Brian returned. After a few minutes, Brian said, "Look, why are we just standing here? Let's go in. Let's check the house."
"We have to wait for those guys to get back, okay?" Sam said tiredly.
Just then there was a knock on the door. "Sam, it's me." Dean said.
"Help me out." Sam said starting to move the table. Once the table was moved they opened the door and Dean walked in.
"Did you get Danny?" Susan asked.
"No." Dean muttered.
"No? Well, where's Ted?"
"He's outside." Dean said not looking at them. Sarah and Sam both knew by the look on his face that Ted was gone.
"Well, why doesn't he come inside?" Susan asked not realizing Dean's demeanor.
Dean paused then forced the words out of his mouth, "Because I had to carry him out. I'm sorry."
"You're… what do you mean? What does that mean, you're sorry?" Susan said losing it.
"Are you saying that he's dead?" Brian asked.
"No. No, he's not saying that he's dead. You're not saying that, are you?" Susan sputtered out.
"We were in the walls and she attacked." Dean admitted sadly. Sarah fought her urge to try and comfort him.
"Oh my god." Susan whispered.
"And I couldn't get to him in time."
"Uncle Ted is dead?" Kate asked.
"I shouldn't have left him alone. I'm very sorry." Dean said before walking back outside.
"Sarah? Where's the diary?" Sam whispered.
"Hmm? Oh yeah…" Sarah said snapping out of the daze she was in. She pulled the diary out of the jacket and handed it to Sam.
He opened it and started skimming, holding it so that she could read it too. After a moment, Sam was listening to the others conversation more than reading, so Sarah skipped a head a few pages.
Suddenly, Sarah gasped and ran outside. She saw Dean talking with Brian. Dean looked over at her and then excused himself from Brian.
"You okay?" he asked approaching her.
Sarah let out the breath she had been holding and muttered, "I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
"It just got a little too stuffy in there." Sarah said with a little too much attitude.
"Is the job getting to you?" Dean asked moving to put his arm around her shoulders.
Sarah quickly avoided his arm, and said, "No. It's not the job."
Dean just stared at her. He saw her hardened expression but didn't miss the hurt and unshed tears in her eyes. Slowly he nodded and walked back over to Brian.
After a few minutes Sam walked out of the shed and called Sarah and Dean over.
"What is that?" Dean asked pointing at what Sam was holding.
"Rebecca's diary. I just finished reading it." Sam answered.
"And?" Dean asked impatiently.
"That girl back there? Pretty sure she was Rebecca's daughter." Sam said.
"Rebecca had a kid?" Dean asked surprised.
"It's all she talks about. Being pregnant, being ashamed of being pregnant." Sam said.
"Jeez, rent Juno and get over it. Wait, why kill herself after the baby?" Dean said earning a very harsh look from Sarah.
"Maybe because her dad called her a dirty little whore and said he was gonna lock the baby up." Sam answered.
"Why would he say that?" Dean asked.
Sam and Sarah stayed quiet, waiting for Dean to figure out the connection.
"Oh, gross."
"Yeah."
"So the daddy was the baby daddy too?" Dean asked looking queasy.
"Dude, was a monster." Sam added.
"Wow, a story ripped from an Austrian headline. Humans, man. So she's been locked up her whole life?"
Sarah walked back into the shed then not wanting to hear what else they said. After a minute, Dean walked into the shed and approached Sarah.
"Sam and I are going back in. Keep the others safe out here." He said to Sarah.
"Yep." Sarah said not turning to look at him.
Dean almost turned to walk away when he saw a slight tremble of her shoulder. He grabbed her shoulder and spun her to face him and saw the tears falling down her face. "What's wrong?" he asked full of concern.
Sarah just shook her head, not knowing what to say. Dean placed both hands on either side of her face and started wiping away her tears with his thumbs. "Sarah, when this-"
"So help me, if the end of that sentence is 'we will talk' I will knee you so hard you won't find your balls for weeks." Sarah spat at a shocked Dean.
Just as Dean was about to say something, they heard Sam calling for Dean to hurry up. Dean continued to stare at Sarah before giving her a small encouraging smile and placing a kiss on her forehead. "I've missed this." Then he hurried out to Sam.
Sarah stood there for a moment, thinking how nice it was to feel Dean's lips on her skin again. Shaking herself out of her trance, she walked over and placed the table back in front of the door.
They all stood quietly, listening for any sounds outside when one of the boarded up windows burst. Kate and Susan screamed as Sarah tried to move them to the other side of the shed. She grabbed a rake and handed it to Susan and grabbed a shovel for herself.
Many minutes passed as they watched the now broken window. Sarah moved a little too close to the wall as a knife was plunged through a crack.
"Aah!" Sarah cried out feeling the blade pierce her right upper arm.
She moved from there as a portion of the wall fell. Susan's rake became wedged under the fallen wall. Next they see the girl try to crawl in holding her bloody knife. Sarah grabbed the shovel with her left hand and moved to hit her with it when the girl is dragged away by her ankles.
They heard her struggle and then stabbing sounds and then a loud knock on the door. Susan and Kate screamed again.
"Would you two stop screaming?" Sarah said exasperated while holding her left hand on her injury.
"Susie!" They all hear Brian yell.
All three girls rush to move the table from the door and open the door to see Brian standing outside holding a bloody knife. Susan saw Danny and rushed to him, with Kate and Brian following.
Sam and Dean appeared outside and saw the girls dead body. Sarah moved to lean on the shed causing Dean to see her. He then saw her slide to the ground.
"Sarah?!" Dean growled moving over to her. "What's wrong?" Dean scanned her and saw the blood running down her right arm. "Oh, it's just a flesh wound. Sam, get the first aid kit."
"Just stop the bleeding." Sarah said woozily.
Dean moved to take off his belt but Sarah stopped him, "No. Mine is canvas. You'll get a tighter hold."
Dean nodded and started to undo her belt. She held her breath as her body started reacting to his touch. Dean quickly removed her belt from her waist and placed it above the wound.
"Okay, let's get you up on the porch so I can see better." Dean said and before she could move to get up, he scooped her up being mindful of her injury.
"Dean! I can walk! Put me down!" Sarah yelled at him, but he just kept walking.
"Let's go in the kitchen, Dean, so we can wash it." Sam said walking up with the first aid kit. So Dean kept walking and carried her over the threshold. Sarah quietly steamed not wanting to let her mind think about how that would never happen for nicer reasons.
Dean set her down on a chair and instructed her to lean on the table and extend her arm out so he could look at it better.
"Okay, good news it doesn't look like it hit anything vital." Dean said after cleaning it.
"And the bad news…"
"The bad news is that we need to stitch it up."
"Great." Sarah said sarcastically. "Well, give me the needle. I'll do it."
"You can't even see it properly. Just let Sam do it. He'll be done in no time." Dean said pouring some whiskey on it.
Sarah hissed then said, "Give me that!" Dean handed her the bottle and she took a few big gulps to help alleviate the pain. Sam sat down and stitched her up rather quickly while Dean went back under the house to gather up all of their stolen weapons and then went to work on his flat tires.
When Sam was finished he noticed that Sarah had passed out so he cleaned everything up and then carried her outside and placed her in the back of the impala. He heard Susan tell Dean, "Thanks." Before Dean walked over to him.
"She's out cold. I should have taken the whiskey bottle away from her." Sam stated holding up the now almost empty bottle for emphasis.
"Nah, I'd rather her out cold right now instead of drunk and pissed."
"Yeah, I guess. Well, I'll take her car and follow you." Sam stated. Dean nodded and got into the impala.