Chapter 7: Ghost of You
At the end of the world
Or the last thing I see
You are never coming home,
never coming home
And all the wounds that are ever gonna scar me
For all the ghosts that are never gonna catch me
If I fall, if I fall down
My Chemical Romance – Ghost of You
"Sam, stop playing with your food," John snapped. They were currently in a diner, eating their dinner. The plans for tonight were easy: break into the school and scan that damn art class for EMF. Hopefully, nothing would go wrong and they'd be able to be back at their motelroom before midnight. Then, they'd have to find the remains of whoever was killing those poor girls and salt and burn them.
Sam looked up from his pasta. He hadn't thought his father had noticed his pushing around of his food. He wasn't that hungry, even though he'd barely eaten at noon. It was like there were big knots in his stomach, preventing him from eating. His stomach and throat just closed at the thought of having to put that forkful of – delicious smelling – pasta in his mouth.
"Sorry dad," he sighed and to prove his father that there was nothing wrong, he took a big bite. Sure, it tasted pretty good, but he felt like he couldn't swallow. He just kept chewing and chewing in an attempt to get his food so small that it would glide down his throat like water. Come to think of it, maybe he should have a sip of water to wash away the food.
He reached for his glass and brought it to his lips. Nope, this wasn't working either.
He put back the glass and grabbed his chair, painfully swallowing everything that was in his mouth. He shuddered and eyed the rest of his plate. This was going to be a long evening.
Luckily, his father's attention was drawn back to Dean, who was talking loudly around mouthfuls of food. Sam hadn't really been listening, but he thought it was about Dean's new friends. Sam knew it wasn't fair to be jealous, but he couldn't help but feel like he'd been replaced somehow. Dean didn't need him anymore now that he had friends to hang with, and the feeling of not being needed anymore was pretty scary.
He glanced at Dean. Was he really not needed anymore? It was kind of looking like it.
Sam was halfway down his pasta when Dean finally decided he was full. The diner had one of those all-you-can-eat-buffets, and Dean had gone back three times. Every time he came back, his dish was loaded overly full with all kinds of meat and as little vegetables as possible. Dad's plates looked exactly the same: loads of unhealthy, greasy meat and barely any vegetables, although at least more than Dean.
Sam pushed his plate away and when his dad looked funnily he pretended not to notice.
"I'm full too," he said with a smile.
"You sure?" John asked, "'cause if you're hungry tonight, I'm not running to one of those night shops again. You'll just have to wait until breakfast then."
"I'm sure daddy," he gave his father his most innocent expression, even though he actually felt like walking away and hiding in the Impala like a small child, "I had a lot of lunch."
Sure, he didn't like lying, but he was trained by the best. If his father suspected something was amiss, he didn't say anything. He just nodded and got up, leaving a small tip on the table. Sam noticed Dean wink at the young brunette that was waiting another table. She blushed slightly and batted her eyes with a small smile. Then she looked back up to see if her actions had the desired result. Dean grinned approvingly before he went through the door, looking back one last time.
"What time is it?" Sam asked as he slammed the door of the car shut.
"Nearly 10," Dean answered, "Both girls were killed around 10, maybe we'll see some action."
"You want another girl to die, Dean?" John asked sternly. Sam noticed a tad of amusement in his voice as well.
"No!" Dean blushed, "That wasn't what I meant. No, I just… no. I didn't mean it like that..."
Awkward, a little voice that sounded suspiciously much like Dean mumbled in Sam's head. He almost grinned and looked out of the window. He was dead if Dean caught him laughing at his embarrassment. Last time Sam had made the mistake of openly laughing at his brother's misfortune, Dean had locked him up in the bathroom for an hour. After Dean had used it to do very stinky business, mind you. Sam felt disgusted all over again by just thinking about that awful hour in the small and smelly thing. And no matter how hard he screamed, Dean had left him there for the full hour, just like he'd promised.
All he'd done was laugh when some pretty girl had blown Dean off with a very sharp remark about the size of her heels being bigger than Dean's dick. It was her that had said it in front of her friends, not Sam. All he'd done was laugh. But it wasn't the girl who'd gotten punished. It had been Sam. Sure, he'd understood Dean's humiliation, but it was no fair locking him up for that. What was he supposed to do anyway when she'd said that? Call her a bitch and tell her that she was being unnecessarily mean? He'd only have humiliated Dean even more. Maybe Dean would have locked him up for 2 full hours if he'd done that. Thank you very much.
A dreadful feeling settled in his stomach when he saw the school building. He wanted to tell his father to turn around and just let someone else handle the hunt, but he knew he couldn't do that. He took a deep breath and told himself to be a man, not a pussy. It was just a building. He'd hunted before.
Somehow, he didn't think it was the hunt that was bothering him so much. The school building reminded him of actually going to school and the people that went there as well. He had the vague feeling that they were waiting for him, ready to make his night as miserable as his days.
But that wasn't so. As he'd said, it was night. No sane person – or no sane student at least – would come to school after hours. The parking lot was empty but their own car and when Sam slammed his door shut behind him, it echoed through the dark.
"Ssh!" Dean and John whispered in unison and Sam ducked away in his collar.
"Sorry," he mumbled. His father opened the trunk and took out their EMF meter and three shotguns filled with rock salt. The small handgun with actual – and very lethal – bullets in it disappeared in his father's waistband. He quietly closed the trunk and Sam was vaguely surprised at how silent his father could be, even though he'd seen it before. It just was a big contrast to his own noisiness.
One of the shotguns was pressed into his hands and he held on to it stiffly. His eyes darted from the brick building over the trees of the small forest behind the pond to the empty sports fields. He felt out of place. Not only were you not supposed to be at school after it closes, he just didn't fit in here. Then again, where did he fit in? He was always the freak.
"Come on," John said in a low voice. His sons followed him to the front door and Dean quickly picked the lock, grinning when he heard the click that indicated that the door was no longer locked. Sam's heart was beating loudly when he went through the doors and into the silent and dark hall. Adrenaline ran through his body.
Walking through the empty corridors with the only light coming from his dad's flashlight was something he should be used to by now. Yet, it still felt a bit weird. Schools just aren't supposed to be deserted and dark.
They climbed the stairs in silence, shotguns at the ready. Sam noticed the pretty white coat the skinny girl from his Latin class – Mia, he'd learned today – had been wearing that morning, hanging in the art wing. Apparently she'd forgotten it and he felt the sudden urge to rip the coat in little pieces or at least set fire to it. But then he'd have to explain his behavior to his father, and he just wasn't ready for that.
"This should be the one," Dean mumbled, pointing at the door with yellow police tape. He pushed the tape away from the handle a little and worked on opening this lock as well. Within half a minute, Sam heard the click and the door slid open. John pushed his oldest aside and tested how far they could open the door without ripping the police tape. Apparently, that was pretty far since the policemen hadn't bothered to actually attach the tape to the door, just the doorframe. John pushed it aside and crawled inside. Sam and Dean followed quickly.
It smelled like paint and blood in the room. Against the walls, there were several paintings and sketches. The desks had been pushed aside either by the policemen to do their job, or by the killer because it needed its space. There were white lines on the floor, indicating the two places were the girls had been found.
"It's probably a spirit with a grudge against cheerleaders," John said, "So we should be safe."
"I'm not so sure Sammy's safe then," Dean grinned. Sam glared at him.
"Shut up, Dean," he mumbled.
"Aw," Dean laughed, "Is it your time of the month, Samantha?"
"Shut up!" Sam all but yelled and he shoved his brother. His voice echoed through the big room and Dean looked taken aback. That sure wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting. He always teased his little brother, that was just the way it was. Why be a bitch about it now?
"Don't be a loser, Sammich," Dean rolled his eyes to cover his surprise at Sam's reaction. Sam opened his mouth to retort, but John quickly interrupted.
"Boys," he said loudly, "We're working here, not on a school trip. So shut up and work, the both of you."
"Yes sir," his sons said in unison, looking slightly ashamed at their behavior. John nodded.
"Dean, scan the room for EMF," he ordered, "Sammy, look for anything that can help us."
"Yes sir," they said again. Dean laid his shotgun on one of the empty desks, trusting his father and brother to protect him if necessary. He pulled out the EMF meter and switched it on. It flickered once and zoomed softly. But it didn't spike. He slowly made his way through the room, scanning the walls and desks and paintings. He paused when he saw Paco's name on a drawing. It was a clown, but not the kindergarten kind of clown. The clown looked sad and shyly over his shoulder, its back towards the viewer. It had a balloon in its hand, but the helium was exhausted which resulted in the balloon lying flatly on the ground. It was actually a really pretty drawing, though really sad as well.
He scanned the drawing just to be sure, but no EMF was found on it.
Sam was on his knees on the floor looking for blood or ectoplasm or hexbags or really anything that could point in the direction of the killer being supernatural, when he heard Dean call him.
"Sam," Dean called. He looked up to see Dean showing him some kind of drawing. He squinted his eyes to see what was on it, and his heart skipped a beat when he realized it was a clown. He rolled his eyes.
"Ha ha, Dean," he said in an annoyed voice, "Not funny."
Dean laughed and shook his head in amusement. It was just too easy to get to Sammy. He caught his father's eyes and noticed with relief that he was looking at least a little amused as well. He grinned at him, and John smiled back, then waved his hand to indicate that Dean should work on.
"I don't find anything," Sam sighed after a while, when he'd searched his half of the room. His dad was almost finished as well. Dean walked over to the places where the bodies had been found.
His EMF meter beeped loudly, startling him.
"Dad," he called, unnecessarily. John was there in three strides, watching over his son's shoulder as Dean scanned the area again. Strangely, the EMF only spiked on one of the two body-places. There were traces of it on the between the lines of the other body as well, but only one of them really spiked.
"Good job, Dean," John patted his oldest on the shoulder, "At least now we're certain that we're not dealing with some psycho kid with a chemistry set."
Ah, the new school year started today ^^ which means my younger brother and sister had to go back to school today and the house is miiiine ^^ well, apart from my mom and my dog and the man who's painting my bedroom that is ;) only some 25 days left, and my year starts as well... ah, how awesome university is sometimes... It's so much harder, but so much more fun as well ^^
and finally, after 2 months of shitty weather during the summerbreak, we now have sun! On the first day of school ^^ oh, all those poor kids who can not lie in the garden right now ;) Nah, I'm just being mean ;)
- Lune x
