Chapter Nine
I was sharing a bed with Sam when he randomly shot up, looking scared, in the middle of the night. I flipped over. "What's wrong?" I asked, even though I already knew.
"Nothing" He said, lying back down. "Go back to sleep" He had another nightmare. Except this time, I had the intense feeling that it hadn't been about Jess. It was something else. I faced away from him, not wanting to let him know that I wasn't going to go back to sleep. I was going to stay up and make sure he was alright. I wasn't stupid. He was waiting for me to fall back asleep, and I wasn't going to. He just lay there, staring at the ceiling.
I let myself breathe easier, trying to convince him that I was out. Once he was satisfied, he got out of bed and started writing on a piece of paper. "What are you doing?" I asked, sitting up.
"I thought I told you to go back to sleep" he groaned.
"You did" I smiled. "But why don't you?" He put down the paper and pen and lied back down. "Sam?" I asked. "What was your nightmare about?"
"Nothing" he stated. "Just a woman"
"That makes it sound dirty" I smirked. Sam slapped me on the arm. "Who was she?"
"I don't know" he said. "But it was in a house"
"Okay?" I stated. "And?"
"And she was screaming" he said, flipping onto his side.
Dean stirred in his sleep. "You're really not helping the whole, dirty dream, factor here" I stated. He lay back down. "Was this like your other dreams?" I asked. He sighed and faced me. "Well?"
"I don't know" he said. I stared at the ceiling in annoyance. He nudged me in the side and I squirmed away. "You still ticklish?"
"Just go to sleep" I said, turning. He laughed and poked me in the side.
I squirmed into the blankets. "You remember when you were little and Dean would tickle you to stop crying?" he asked. I tensed up, knowing where this was going.
"Shh, I'm sleeping" I stated, and went back to trying to sleep. I went onto my stomach and buried my face in the pillow like I always did when I was trying to fall asleep. It was weird how some things never changed. The next morning, Dean was on the laptop, and Sam was still pretty out of it. I had taken a shower and was repacking my stuff. Not that I ever really unpacked it.
"All right. I've been cruisin' some websites. I think I found a few candidates for our next gig" Dean sighed. I nodded nonchalantly, mostly because I could care less what we did. I just wanted to kill something and find my father. "A fishing trawler found off the coast of Cali –- its crew vanished" He stated. "And, uh, we got some cattle mutilations in West Texas" I listened, and glanced at Sam. He was looking at the picture he drew last night. "Hey" Dean called. Sam looked up. "Am I boring you with this hunting evil stuff?" he asked.
"No. I'm listening. Keep going" Sam stated, looking back down.
"And, here, a Sacramento man shot himself in the head. Three times" Dean said. He waved his hand in front of Sam's face. "Any of these things blowin' up your skirt, pal?"
"Wait" he said suddenly. "I've seen this"
"Seen what?" Dean asked, giving him a confused glance. Sam got up and went searching through his stuff. Dean looked to me, as though I might have a clue what was going on. I just shrugged.
"What are you doing?" I asked. He pulled out a picture from when he and Dean were so little I wasn't even born yet.
"Guys, I know where we have to go next" He smiled.
"Where?" Dean asked. "Back home –- back to Kansas" Sam replied.
"Okay, random" Dean said, looking as confused as I felt. We had never been home since we left for good when I was only like eight months old. "Where'd that come from?"
"All right, um, this photo was taken in front of our old house, right?" Sam said, trying to explain. "The house where Mom died?"
"Yeah…" I stated, looking at the picture.
"And it didn't burn down, right? I mean, not completely, they rebuilt it, right?"
"I guess so, yeah" Dean nodded. "What the hell are you talkin' about?"
"Okay, look, this is gonna sound crazy but….the people who live in our old house –- I think they might be in danger" Sam said. He looked at me, pleading with me to believe him. I nodded, already on the same page. This had something to do with his dream last night. And if he had been right about Jessica, well then I sort of had to believe him, didn't I?
"Why would you think that?" Dean asked.
"Uh…it's just, um….look, just trust me on this, okay?" Sam stuttered. He got up, but Dean followed him.
"Wait, whoa, whoa, trust you?" Dean asked. Sam just gave him a sheepish look. "Come on, man, that's weak. You gotta give me a little bit more than that"
"I can't really explain it is all" Sam said. I stood up, not knowing what to do. If I said a word, I would give away Sam's secret, and in the Winchester household, that was as good as death.
"Well, tough. I'm not goin' anywhere until you do" Dean went on. Sam sighed, while Dean stared at him expectantly.
"I think you should tell him, Sam" I spoke up, coming closer to him. "He's our brother"
"Wait" Dean said. "You know, and I don't?" I nodded shyly. "Well now you have to tell me" He stated, glaring at Sam. Sam gave a defeated sigh.
"I have these nightmares" he said finally.
Dean nodded. "I've noticed"
"And sometimes….they come true" Sam went on.
Dean looked stunned. "Come again?"
"Look, Dean….I dreamt about Jessica's death –- for days before it happened" Sam said, trying to get him to understand.
"Sam, people have weird dreams, man. I'm sure it's just a coincidence" he said, sitting on the bed.
"No, I dreamt about the blood dripping, her on the ceiling, the fire, everything, and I didn't do anything about it 'cause I didn't believe it" Sam sighed. "And now I'm dreaming about that tree, about our house, and about some woman inside screaming for help. I mean, that's where it all started, man, this has to mean something, right?"
"I don't know" Dean said after a moment. "You believe this?" he asked me.
"Yeah" I said, sitting next to him. "I do"
"What do you mean you don't know, Dean?" Sam asked. "This woman might be in danger. I mean, this might even be the thing that killed Mom and Jessica!"
"All right, just slow down, would ya?" Dean said, starting to pace. He always did that when he needed to think quickly. "I mean, first you tell me that you've got the Shining? And then you tell me that I've gotta go back home? Especially when…."
"When what?" Sam asked.
Dean looked at us sadly. "When I swore to myself that I would never go back there?"
"Look, Dean, we have to check this out. Just to make sure" Sam said, almost pleading with him.
Dean nodded, grabbing his bag. "I know we do" He grabbed the arsenal bag, and left.
I grabbed my bag while Sam cleaned up a little and headed out to make sure he wasn't going to shoot someone. "Hand me that knife" he said, and I did.
"Are you okay?" I asked. "Because me and Sammy can do this on our own, you know, if you don't want to—"
"No, I'm not letting spoon bender go off with scary psychic girl" he stated. I was a little taken aback. I wasn't psychic, I just knew when my family was in danger. Geez. "And how come you didn't tell me?" he demanded.
"Because Sammy didn't want me to" I said, as though it was obvious. "It's not like you two don't keep secrets from me"
He glared at me. "Name one"
"Um, hello?" I said, waving my gun around a little. "You didn't tell me that any of this was real until I got attacked by it"
"That's different" he said. "We were trying to protect you"
"Well I was trying to protect you" I said, tossing my bag in the trunk. "So there" I added, as I hopped in the car.
We got there a little after noon the next day. The house looked just like it always had, maybe a little older, a little more worn down, but the same, nonetheless. I had to admit, I was scared to go in. It wasn't like this place was filled with happy memories. I never actually thought about coming to this place. From all I remembered, dad packed and left with us when I was only eight months. He cut all cords, he lost every connection, pulled Dean and Sam out of school, and we left. For good. Not that I blamed him. He had gone off the deep end a little when mom died.
No, wait, he went off the deep end before that, back when it happened the first time. When Sam was little, and my mom almost died in the fire upstairs. He got Sam and Dean out, and then my mom. She had said that she had seen a person in there. There had been someone in Sam's nursery. My dad must've figured out all the supernatural stuff between Sam and me, because by the time I was born, he was already hunting, unannounced to my mom, and Sam and Dean. Then when I came along, the thing came for me too. And killed my mom in the process.
Sam and I were sharing a room, and Sam swears he remembers everything, even though he was only like 5. I couldn't remember anything. Not one tiny detail. I only knew what my dad and brothers had told me about the fire and the blood. I shuddered. This wasn't something that I like to think about. My past was blotted with death. I mean, I killed my first creature of the darkness when I was twelve.
We had been watching the damn thing for a week now. It was just me and dad, on the road together, which now looking back I realize was just asking for trouble. Dad and I didn't do too well alone together on hunts. He told me to go right, and I went left. Not because I wanted too, just, because, well…I thought I knew better. Most of the time I didn't.
Anyway, we were watching the werewolf intently from the truck. Dean had taken the Impala to go out that night, leaving me and dad to finish the hunt by ourselves. Sam had left almost a month prior, and soon after dad decided that it was time for me to start hunting for real. I was so excited. I hadn't ever gone on a real hunt before. I had gotten caught in the crossfire before, and maybe helped burn a few bones, but was never in on the real action. This was my chance to prove myself. I didn't want to be daddy's little girl anymore.
The guy came out of the alley at a high speed run. Dad ran out of the car, and I followed right behind him, the silver bullet loaded gun in tow. We rounded the corner, and the guy was gone. "Stay close" he instructed. I nodded, keeping close behind him. My heart was beating in my chest, resounding in my ears. Why did Dean like this so much? I wondered. This was enough to give anyone a heart attack.
Out of nowhere, the werewolf popped out and threw me away from my father. I went flying into the wall, smacking my head on the brick. I lay crumpled on the ground as my dad shot a few rounds into the air, missing the werewolf by inches. My head was spinning, and blood was dripping down my forehead. But nevertheless, I did as my dad taught me and got my ass off the concrete, going to help him.
The werewolf hit the gun out of dad's hands, and punched him down. He fell, scrambling to get over to the gun. The werewolf pounced on him, pinning him to the ground. He pushed against him, trying not to let his fangs get anywhere near his neck.
I stood up, grabbed the gun, and stared for not more than five seconds before sending the entire magazine into the damn thing, the recoil making me shake. He fell dead, and I stared, trying not to cry. My dad got off the ground panting, and patting me on the shoulder.
"Good job" he said. "Let's go" I hesitated, staring at the dead thing on front of me. That thing had been human once. I had killed. I had shot something, and killed it. Blood was pooling around it, and somewhere inside of me, something clicked. I wasn't daddy's little girl anymore.
"You gonna be all right, man?" Sam asked, bringing me out of my memory, and back to the house in front of us.
"Let me get back to you on that" Dean said, getting out of the Impala. I followed to the front door, feeling slightly nauseas. A nice blonde woman answered the door, looking slightly flustered. I glanced at Sammy, seeing the recognition light up on his face. This was the same woman from his dream.
She looked curiously at us. "Yes?" she asked.
Dean took a hold, already putting on his lying face. "Sorry to bother you, ma'am, but we're with the Federal—"
"I'm Sam Winchester, and this is my brother, Dean and my sister Alexis" Sam said, interrupting him. "We used to live here. You know, we were just drivin' by, and we were wondering if we could come see the old place" I shot him a confused look.
"Winchester" the woman said, in thought. "Yeah, that's so funny. You know, I think I found some of your photos the other night" I was shocked. "You did?" Dean asked.
She nodded and stepped aside. "Come on in" she smiled. "I'm Jenny" She let us in, and I glanced around, trying to see if anything seemed familiar. From the look on Dean's face, it seemed like he definitely thought so. I felt so left out with all of this. We were led to the kitchen, where a young girl was doing her homework and another toddler was jumping in his playpen.
"Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice!" he shouted excitedly.
The woman smiled. "That's Ritchie. He's kind of a juice junkie" she laughed. She handed him a sippy cup. "But, hey, at least he won't get dirty" She walked over to the girl and pointed to us. "Sari, this is Sam, Alexis and Dean. They used to live here"
"Hi" She smiled. I gave a halfhearted wave.
"So, you just moved in?" Dean questioned. He was still on I'm-on-a-job-and-I-still-need-to-get-it-done mode.
"Yeah, from Wichita" she nodded.
Dean gave a nod. "You got family here, or….?"
"No" she said, shaking her head. "I just, uh….needed a fresh start, that's all. So, new town, new job –- I mean, as soon as I find one. New house."
Sam smiled. "So, how you liking' it so far?"
"Well, uh, all due respect to your childhood home –- I mean, I'm sure you had lots of happy memories here" she said sheepishly. I gave a weak smile. Hell yeah, happy memories my ass. "But this place has its issues" she sighed.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
"Well, it's just getting old. Like the wiring, you know? We've got flickering lights almost hourly" she sighed. I felt my throat close up. Flickering lights?
"Oh, that's too bad" Dean sighed, trying not to show the fear in his voice. He couldn't hide it from me though. I could read him like a book. "What else?"
"Um…sink's backed up, there's rats in the basement" she listed, then stopped. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain"
"No" Dean scoffed. "Have you seen the rats or have you just heard scratching?"
She looked at us like Dean was nuts, but then thought for a second. "It's just the scratching, actually"
"Mom?" Sari whispered. Jenny leaned close to her. "Ask them if it was here when they lived here"
"What, Sari?" I asked, coming closer to her.
"The thing in my closet" she stated, sounding genuinely scared.
"Oh, no, baby, there was nothing in their closets" Jenny smiled. She looked to me. "Right?"
"Right" I laughed. "No, no, of course not"
"She had a nightmare the other night" Jenny explained.
"I wasn't dreaming" Sari insisted. "It came into my bedroom –- and it was on fire" I glanced at Sam and Dean, noting the shocked look on their faces.
"Well Sari" I said, leaning close to her. "Can you keep a secret?" Her eyes widened and she slowly nodded. "Pinky promise?"I asked, knowing that if I did that she would really believe me. She clasped her pinky with mine and gave me a worried look. "Okay, well when I was really little and I still lived here, I was scared sometimes at night too, but my brothers taught me a secret"
"What?" she asked, more fascinated by the second.
"Every night before you go to sleep, you check the closet, and then nothing can sneak in there while you sleep" I replied. "It's always worked for me"
"You still check your closet?" she asked, looking doubtful.
I nodded vigorously. "Yeah, every night" I smiled, glancing at Sam. "Right, Sammy?" He nodded. Sari smiled and looked satisfied, so I stood up straight. "Well, I think we should be going, right Dean?"
"Yeah" he smiled. "Thanks for letting us see the house"
"You hear that?" Sam asked as soon as we were out of earshot. "A figure on fire"
"And that woman, Jenny, that was the woman in your dream?" Dean asked.
Sam nodded. "Yeah. And you hear what she was talking about? Scratching, flickering lights, both signs of a malevolent spirit"
"So the house is definitely haunted" I stated. "I mean, Sari seemed real freaked"
"Yeah, well, I'm just freaked out that your weirdo visions are comin' true" Dean scoffed.
Sam looked panicked. "Well, forget about that for a minute. The thing in the house, do you think it's the thing that killed Mom and Jessica?"
"I don't know!" Dean said.
"Well, I mean, has it come back or has it been here the whole time?" Sam asked.
"Or maybe it's something else entirely, Sam, we don't know yet" Dean said, trying to calm him down.
"Well, those people are in danger, Dean. We have to get 'em out of that house" Sam said.
"And we will" Dean nodded.
"No, I mean now" Sam said, pointing back at the house.
"And how you gonna do that, huh?" Dean asked. "You got a story that she's gonna believe?" Sam looked to me for help, but I just sighed.
"Sorry Sam, Dean's right. We have nothing"
Sam shrugged. "Then what are we supposed to do?" he asked desperately.
"Maybe we should check the closet" Dean said, giving me a stupid smile. I just glared at him. "That seems to be the answer to all of Lexie's problems"
"Shut up" I sighed, sliding into the backseat of the Impala.
"Seriously" Dean continued getting into the car and driving to the gas station on the corner. "Where did you get that from?"
I glared at him, a little hurt. "It's what you used to tell me" The look on his face told it all. He remembered now. About how when we were younger, and I hadn't known yet, and I was scared of the dark, and he would tell me that when he checked, they disappeared and were too scared to come back. He gave me a small smile, and turned to Sam.
"We just gotta chill out, that's all" he stated. "You know, if this was any other kind of job, what would we do?"
Sam gave a long sigh. "We'd try to figure out what we were dealin' with. We'd dig into the history of the house"
"Exactly, except this time, we already know what happened" Dean said.
"Yeah, but how much do we know?" Sam asked. "I mean, how much do you actually remember?"
"About that night, you mean?" Dean asked. Sam nodded. "Not much. I remember the fire…the heat" He paused. "And then I carried you two out the front door"
"What?" I asked, surprised. It wasn't like I remembered any of it.
"You did?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, what, you two never knew that?" Dean asked. I shook my head. "And, well, you know Dad's story as well as I do. Mom was….was on the ceiling. And whatever put her there was long gone by the time Dad found her"
"And he never had a theory about what did it?" Sam asked.
"If he did, he kept it to himself. God knows we asked him enough times"
"It's not like he ever wanted to talk about it" I added, leaning forward. "At least not to me" Dean put an arm around my shoulder, but it really didn't make me feel much better.
"Okay. So, if we're gonna figure out what's goin' on now…we have to figure out what happened back then. And see if it's the same thing" Sam stated. "Yeah. We'll talk to Dad's friends, neighbors, people who were there at the time"
"Does this feel like just another job to you?" Sam asked, looking at Dean sadly.
Dean paused for a minute, and then gave a small sigh. "I'll be right back" he said. "I gotta go to the bathroom" He walked away and rounded the corner.
"Sam" I said. "I don't think we should do this job"
He gave me a surprised and confused look. "We have too. You heard that little girl—"
"Yeah" I said slowly. "I know, but…I mean…I don't know if I can. What if we find out something bad? About mom"
"You mean like what killed her?" Sam asked. "I don't know"
"Yeah" I sighed. "I'm just…"
"Yeah, I know" Sam said giving me a small smile. "It's alright" I sighed and rested my head on the seat. "You think Dean really went to the bathroom?" he asked me, a knowing look on his face.
"No" I said, "He went to call dad" I thought for a second. "I can read you guys like a book"
"No you can't" he scoffed. "Tell me what I'm thinking right now"
"Besides the obvious, Lex you are so wrong?" I asked. "Your thinking about how you want to know what's in our old house so bad, and hopes it's the thing that killed mom, so that you can destroy it. But at the same time you're terrified that it's the thing that killed mom because dad's not here, and he should be. And you feel scared because your vision came true. And you don't know what that means" I paused, reading the apparent shock and uncomfortable look on his face. "That about cover it?"
He nodded. "You're scary"
I laughed, "Just what every girl wants to hear" I paused. "But seriously, you two are like freaking open books"
"Well I can read you too, you know" he smiled. "You feel scared to go in the house because it was never really yours. I mean, it was but…and you feel the same way about mom's killer. You want to find it, but you don't want to. And you miss dad, and you feel like he's abandoned you. And you're scared"
"That about covers it" I stated dully, as Dean came back, his eyes slightly red. I knew he had been either crying, or trying not to cry. I gave Sam a look, and leaned back. "Where to Dean?"
"The garage" he said with a grunt. "
"The one where dad worked?" I asked. I couldn't remember it at all either. Dean just nodded and we drove up the block.
We got out of the Impala, and Dean walked up to some guy. "Are you the owner?" he asked.
"Yeah" the guy said, wiping his hands on a towel. "What's it to you?"
"Did you know John Winchester?" Sam asked, holding out a fake badge.
The man thought for a moment, then looked surprised. "Hell yeah I did. We worked the garage together before he took off"
"So you and John Winchester, you used to own this garage together?" Dean asked in surprise as we followed the man into the garage.
"Yeah, we used to, a long time ago. Matter of fact, it must be, uh…twenty years since John disappeared" he mused. "So why the cops interested all of a sudden?"
"Oh, we're re-opening some of our unsolved cases, and the Winchester disappearance is one of 'em." Dean remarked.
"Oh, well, what do you wanna know about John?" the guy asked.
"Well, whatever you remember, you know, whatever sticks out in your mind" Dean replied, glancing around a little.
"Well…he was a stubborn bastard, I remember that" he laughed. "And, uh, whatever the game, he hated to lose, you know? It's that whole Marine thing" That sure sounded like my father. Stubborn about everything from losing at poker, to what I watched on TV. "But, oh, he sure loved Mary. And he doted on those kids" At the mention of us, I looked to Dean, but he was emotionless.
"But that was before the fire?" Sam asked.
"That's right" he nodded. "He ever talk about that night?"
"No, not at first" he sighed. "I think he was in shock"
"Right. But eventually? What did he say about it?" Sam asked, really wanting some sort of answer.
"Oh, he wasn't thinkin' straight. He said somethin' caused that fire and killed Mary" the man remarked.
"He ever says what did it?" Dean asked.
"Nothin' did it" the man said, looking annoyed. "It was an accident –- an electrical short in the ceiling or walls or somethin'. I begged him to get some help, but…."
"But what?" I asked, as he trailed off.
"Oh, he just got worse and worse" the man replied.
"How?" I asked.
"Oh, he started reading' these strange ol' books. He started goin' to see this palm reader in town"
"Palm reader?" Dean asked shooting me a look. "Uh, do you have a name?"
Dad's old friend scoffed. "No" He shot us a confused look. "Why are you re-opening the cases?" he asked.
"Just double checking that we didn't miss anything important" Sam said with a shrug. "But thank you for your time"
We left, getting into the Impala and stopping at a pay phone. We needed a phone book. "All right, so there are a few psychics and palm readers in town" Sam said, glancing at the book. "There's someone named El Divino. There's, uh –-" he laughed. "There's the Mysterious Mister Fortinsky. Uh, Missouri Moseley—"
"Wait, wait. Missouri Moseley?" Dean asked.
"What?" Sam asked, looking confused.
"That's a psychic?" "
Uh, yeah" Sam said, looking at me like I would know what Dean was going on about. "Yeah, I guess so"
"Gimme the journal" he said, holding out his hand to me. I grabbed it off the seat and tossed it to him. "In Dad's journal…here, look at this" he said, opening to the first page. "First page, first sentence, read that"
Sam read out loud. "I went to Missouri and I learned the truth"
Dean shrugged. "I always thought he meant the state"
We made it to Missouri Mosley's house in a matter of a few minutes. Lawrence was a small town. She was a heavy set African American woman with an attitude to match even Dean's. When we got there she was with someone else, so we waited on her couch. Her house was decorated normally for a psychic. "All right, there" she smiled, letting the man out the door. "Don't you worry 'bout a thing. Your wife is crazy about you" The man looked relieved, and gave her a smile as he walked out the door. She sighed, "Whew. Poor bastard. His woman is cold-bangin' the gardener" she remarked, looking at us.
"Why didn't you tell him?" Dean asked, eyebrows raised.
"People don't come here for the truth" She said. "They come for good news" I looked at Sam, and then just sort of stared at the woman. "Well? Lexie, Sam and Dean, come on already, I ain't got all day" She left without another word and I got up to follow her into the next room. "Well, Lemme look at ya" she laughed. "Oh, you boys grew up handsome" she said. She pointed at Dean. "And you were one goofy-lookin' kid, too" Dean just glared at her, while I smirked. "And Lexie, you're so beautiful, just like your mother" she said, putting a hand on my face.
"Sam" she said, grabbing his hand. "Oh, honey…I'm sorry about your girlfriend. And your father –- he's missin'?" I was surprised.
"How'd you know all that?" Sam asked. "
Well, you were just thinkin' it just now" she said as though it was obvious.
"Well, where is he? Is he okay?" Dean asked.
"I don't know" she said, shaking her head.
"Don't know? Well, you're supposed to be a psychic, right?" Dean demanded.
"Boy, you see me sawin' some bony tramp in half?" she asked, angrily. "You think I'm a magician? I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I can't just pull facts out of thin air" She motioned to the chair. "Sit, please" she said. I sat down, and put my head in my hands. "Boy, you put your foot on my coffee table, I'm 'a whack you with a spoon!" Missouri said suddenly, making me jump.
"I didn't do anything" Dean insisted.
Missouri narrowed her eyes. "But you were thinkin' about it" Dean just raised his eyebrows at her, and Sam and I shared a smile. I liked this lady.
"Okay. So, our dad –- when did you first meet him?" Sam asked.
"He came for a reading. A few days after the fire" she said. "I just told him what was really out there in the dark. I guess you could say…I drew back the curtains for him"
"What about the fire?" Dean asked. "Do you know about what killed our mom?"
"A little. Your daddy took me to your house. He was hopin' I could sense the echoes, the fingerprints of this thing" Missouri said.
"And could you?" I asked, leaning forward a little.
"I…." she stuttered, shaking her head.
"What was it?" Sam asked. "
I don't know" she said. "Oh, but it was evil"
"We'll its back" I said, sitting back. "Or something is at least"
"So…you think somethin' is back in that house?" she asked, surprised.
"Definitely" Sam said, with a nod.
"I don't understand" she said. "I haven't been back inside, but I've been keepin' an eye on the place, and it's been quiet. No sudden deaths, no freak accidents. Why is it actin' up now?"
"I don't know" Sam shrugged. "But Dad going missing and Jessica dying and now this house all happening at once –- it just feels like something's starting"
"That's a comforting thought" Dean remarked, earning himself a little glare from Missouri. "Well, what should we do? Just stake out the house tonight?"
"Maybe we should take Missouri there" I suggested, Dean giving me the death stare. He didn't like Missouri. I could tell. That was a perk.
"I don't know baby" Missouri said, sounding sad. "I'm not sure it would be worth it"
"But maybe you could, I don't know-"
"Yeah" she said, reading my thoughts. "Okay, we should go then" She stood up as Sam and I followed, with Dean grumbling and coming up the rear.
We took the Impala back to the house, and I couldn't help but think that something bad was going to happen. I mean, this was not a normal case. Emotions were running high. That was dangerous. You had to be focused when you were on a case. Not worried about your family issues. "Sam, Alexis, Dean. What are you doing here?" Jenny asked as she answered the door.
"Hey, Jenny. This is our friend, Missouri" Sam smiled, pointing to her.
"If it's not too much trouble, we were hoping to show her the old house. You know, for old time's sake" Dean said.
"You know, this isn't a good time. I'm kind of busy" she said softly, looking flustered.
Dean put a hand up. "Listen, Jenny, it's important" Missouri smacked Dean upside the head. "Ow!" he exclaimed, looking confused.
"Give the poor girl a break, can't you see she's upset?" she asked, looking at Dean angrily. She looked to Jenny. "Forgive this boy, he means well, he's just not the sharpest tool in the shed, but hear me out"
Dean gave me a stunned look, while I tried to hold back a laugh, Sam putting a hand on my shoulder. He was choking back a laugh too. Jenny just looked confused. "About what?"
"About this house" Missouri said, motioning around her.
"What are you talking about?" Jenny demanded.
"I think you know what I'm talking about" Missouri said, probably reading her thoughts as we spoke. "You think there's something in this house, something that wants to hurt your family. Am I mistaken?"
Jenny narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?"
"We're people who can help, who can stop this thing. But you're gonna have to trust us, just a little" she said, as Jenny just looked unsure. She stepped sideways to let us in the house. We entered, and Missouri just led us upstairs into the far left room. It was Sari's bedroom. "If there's a dark energy around here, this room should be the center of it" Missouri said, with a sigh.
"Why?" I asked, confused.
"This used to be yours and Sam's nursery" she replied. "This is where it all happened" I looked to Sam, but he didn't seem to remember much of it. We both glanced at the ceiling, then shared a worried look. "That an EMF?" Missouri said to Dean. He nodded. "Amateur" she remarked.
Dean glared at her, and then looked down at the EMF. He held it up, showing Sam and I that it was going crazy. "I don't know if you boys should be disappointed or relieved, but this ain't the thing that took your mom" Missouri said.
"Wait, are you sure?" Sam asked. She nodded, and I took a step forward. "How do you know?"
"It isn't the same energy I felt the last time I was here. It's somethin' different" she stated.
"What is it?" Dean asked.
Missouri shrugged. "Not it" she said, opening the closet. "Them. There's more than one spirit in this place"
"What are they doing here?" Dean demanded.
"They're here because of what happened to your family" she said. "You see, all those years ago, real evil came to you. It walked this house. That kind of evil leaves wounds. And sometimes, wounds get infected"
"I don't understand" I said, confused. My house was a wound? What?
"This place is a magnet for paranormal energy" Missouri went on. "It's attracted a poltergeist. A nasty one. And it won't rest until Jenny and her babies are dead"
"You said there was more than one spirit" Sam said.
Missouri sighed. "There is. I just can't quite make out the second one"
"Well, one thing's for damn sure –- nobody's dyin' in this house ever again." Dean said with a finality.
"So whatever is here, how do we stop it?" I glanced from Sam, to Dean, then to Missouri. No one seemed to have a clue.
"We need to get back to my house" Missouri said, sounding irritated. "I need to get supplies" We went back to Missouri's house and sat at her table while she gathered supplies.
"So, what is all this stuff, anyway?" Dean asked, looking at all the miscellaneous odds and ends on the table. There seemed to be roots and herbs or something.
"Angelica Root, Van Van oil, crossroad dirt, a few other odds and ends" Missouri stated.
"Yeah? What are we supposed to do with it?" Dean asked.
"We're gonna put them inside the walls in the north, south, east, west corners on each floor of the house" She replied.
Dean scoffed. "We'll be punchin' holes in the dry wall. Jenny's gonna love that"
Missouri gave him a sly look. "She'll live"
"And this'll destroy the spirits?" Sam asked. Missouri nodded.
"Both of them?" I added.
"It should" Missouri replied. "It should purify the house completely. We'll each take a floor. But we work fast. Once the spirits realize what we're up to, things are gonna get bad"
"Look, I'm not sure I'm comfortable leaving you guys here alone" Jenny said, as Missouri and I sort of forced her and her kids out of the house.
"Just take your kids to the movies or somethin', and it'll be over by the time you get back" Missouri smiled. Jenny gave her an unsure look, but got in the car nevertheless. I walked back inside, heading to one of the corners, a bag in my hand. I kicked a hole in the drywall with the toe of my shoe, and stuffed the little back of Missouri's concoction in.
Missouri motioned for me to follow her. "Your brothers can get this floor. We'll take the basement" she smiled. I nodded and we headed downstairs. I went to one corner and she took another. In a matter of seconds, I heard her scream. A chest had pinned her to the wall. I ran to try and help her, but she was trapped. The chest had her pinned tight.
She grimaced in pain. "Keep going, baby" she said. I hesitated, but grabbed the bag from her and tried to get it to the wall. "Watch out!" she yelled. I glanced up in time to see her pointing behind me. A wrench flew from halfway across the room, bashing me in the head.
There was nothingness. Dark dark nothingness.
I felt a pain in my head but it was a dull aching pain, like when you have a headache. I couldn't see a thing, not even outlines of shapes or anything. I was blind. I felt like I was moving, but I couldn't be sure. For some reason, I felt terrified all the sudden. I could hardly move. I could barely breathe. There was something watching me. I panicked; wishing Sam or Dean, or hell even Missouri was there. "Your fault" said a low whisper. "All your fault"
"What?" I asked, not realizing that I could speak.
"Your mommy's gone because of you" it screeched. "All your fault"
"Alexis!" shouted a voice. I shot up, feeling nauseous and dizzy. My head was reeling. The entire kitchen was spinning. Dean was basically holding me straight. I gave him a wry smile. "Did we do it?" I asked. "Are they gone?"
Dean looked to Missouri, who nodded. He put a hand on my forehead. "Are you alright?" he asked. "That wrench did a good one on your head"
"I'm okay" I sighed, feeling the blood on the back of my neck. I sat straighter to try to prove it. I glanced around at the totally destroyed kitchen. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. Something still wasn't right. "So it's totally over?" I asked, looking a Dean. He rubbed my back a little and smiled. I took that as a yes, even though my gut wasn't so sure.
"You sure this is over?" Sam asked Missouri. He seemed to be thinking the same as me. Missouri nodded.
"I'm sure" she stated. "Why? Why do you ask?"
"Never mind" Sam sighed. "It's nothin', I guess"
"Hello?" Jenny asked, walking in the door. "We're home" She walked into her destroyed kitchen, and abruptly stopped. "What happened?"
"Hi, sorry. Um, we'll pay for all of this" Sam said sheepishly.
"Don't you worry. Dean's gonna clean up this mess" Missouri said, helping me off the table. Dean stared at her, not moving an inch. "Well, what are you waiting for, boy? Get the mop" she demanded. He walked away, not looking very happy. "And don't cuss at me!" she added, as he mumbled under his breath. She handed me off to Sam. "Sam, help your sister out please"
"He got a please" Dean said, starting to clean up. I smiled, and Sam helped me walk out. I was still really dizzy, and couldn't walk straight. He led me to the porch, where I sat down so that we could wait for Dean. I put my head in my hands, my brain throbbing. I felt like someone was hitting me over the head with a hammer. Well close, it was a wrench. I glanced behind me, praying Dean was close so that I could lie down. I caught a reflection of myself in the window. God, I was beat up. I leaned closer. What was…. A figure was standing in the living room, on fire. I gasped and whipped around to tell Sam.
"Do you see—" I stopped. There was nothing there.
"What?" he asked, looking confused? I just stared, really confused. "Are you alright? You feel nauseous or…"
"No" I said. "I thought I saw something. I'm okay" I sat straight, trying not to think about it. I had just hit my head. Missouri said it was fine.
A little later, Dean exited, we said goodbye, and headed into the Impala. Missouri was dropped off right away. "Stupid psychic" Dean mumbled as he left her house. "Jesus Christ" He stopped the car and went into the trunk. "Move" he instructed, climbing into the backseat next to me. He opened the small first aid kit that we had.
"I'm going to get dinner" Sam said, getting out of the car and walking to a diner right up the street. "What do you want?"
"Chicken tenders" I remarked, watching Dean open the antiseptic.
"Burger" Dean said, "Extra onions" Sam left, and Dean started to move closer to my head. I backed off a little. "Dude, you gotta let me clean it" I stared at the cotton swab.
"The last time I let you near me with the first aid kit you got cotton stuck to the wound" I accused. He glared at me, and I slowly turned around. "Just be careful" He smirked and began cleaning it. The alcohol burned, but my mind was still reeling. I was thinking about the fire. What the hell was up with that? And the intense feeling of dread? Oh wait, that was because Dean was coming at me with sharp objects. He finished, dabbing at it with a towel or something.
"There, now was that so bad?" he asked with a smirk.
"No" I said with a sigh. "Thanks"
"What, that's it?" he asked. "Not snotty sister response?" I shrugged and sat forward. He sighed, rolling his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing" I smiled, trying to throw him off.
"I think we should watch the house tonight" Sam said, as Dean pulled into the motel.
"What?" Dean asked, looking at him like he was nuts.
"I second that" I added, thinking about the shape that I saw. It had to be something if Sam was feeling it too.
"I thought Missouri said that it was cool?" he asked. "Why do we need to watch the house?"
"Dean" Sam sighed, giving him his classic puppy dog eyes. Dean restarted the car and sighed. "You two are a pain in my ass" he said.
"All right, so, tell me again, what are we still doin' here?" Dean asked, leaning back in the car.
"I don't know. I just…I still have a bad feeling" Sam said. Staring intently at the house.
"Why?" Dean asked. "Missouri did her whole Zelda Rubenstein thing, the house should be clean, it should be over"
"Yeah, well, probably" Sam said, shooting me a look. I had agreed with him after all. "But I just wanna make sure, that's all"
"What about you, ankle biter?" Dean asked, turning around. "You agree just to piss me off?"
I smiled and went back to staring at the house. "No" I said. "But that's a plus"
"Yeah, well, problem is I could be sleeping in a bed right now" Dean said, sliding down and closing his eyes.
"Dean" Sam said, smacking him and pointing to the upper window of the house. "Lexie. Look, Dean!" Jenny was pounding on the window screaming in fear. I jumped out of the car and ran to the house. My head started pounding at the new rush of activity. "You grab the kids, I'll get Jenny" Sam said to me and Sam.
I ran with Sam into Ritchie's room, and grabbed him out of his crib. "Mommy?" he asked, still groggy.
"No, Lexie" I said, smiling. He wrapped his arms around my neck. "C'mon sweetie" I carried him to the hallway and Sam met me. We carried Sari and Ritchie down the stairs.
"All right, Lexie, take Ritchie and Sari outside as fast as you can, and don't look back" Sam said, looking at me seriously. I nodded and started to lead them outside to Dean and Jenny. Suddenly, Sam was thrown backwards into another room. I wanted to go back, but both Ritchie and Sari were screaming in fear. I took them out and fell to my knees in pain. I wasn't sure if it was because Sam was in danger or because my head hurt from earlier.
Dean took one look at me and looked at Sari. "Sari, where's Sam?"
"He's inside. Something's got him" She cried, clinging to her mom. Dean looked to me, and I nodded to confirm it. He looked to the doorway. The door slammed shut, locking Sammy inside. He immediately ran to the Impala while I got my head back. I ran next to him, more blood now dripping down my neck. Not that it mattered. I was Alexis Winchester, I was always ready for a fight.
He grabbed a shotgun and an ax and headed for the front door ignoring me completely. "Sam?" I yelled, trying to stay out of the way of the ax.
"Sammy!" Dean was still hacking away, as Sam was probably dying inside. I waited anxiously, my head pounding like a bitch. "Stay here, Lex" Dean said, making a hole. He was so close to making one big enough.
"No" I replied, going in first. I could feel him fuming at me, but we were too occupied to fight now. "Sam!" He was pinned to the wall in the living room, staring at the fiery figure in front of him.
"No, don't!" Sam shouted as Dean came running in, guns blazing. "Don't!"
"What, why?" Dean demanded.
"Because I know who it is" Sam stated. "I can see her now" The fire vanished, and, in its place, was my mom. She was smiling slightly, and giving all of us proud and happy looks.
"Mom?" Dean asked, lowering his gun. She took a step towards him.
"Dean" She smiled. Dean's eyes were red and watery. She looked at me next, and I thought my heart was going to stop. I was in shock; sure, because I think at any other time, I would've clung to my mom like no one's business. I would've been crying and shouting at the top of my lungs. But instead I just stood there, feeling a faint tear roll down my cheek.
"Alexis" she smiled.
She turned to Sam. "Sam" she said. Sam was pretty much bawling. Her smile faded. "I'm sorry" she stated.
"For what?" he asked. She didn't answer him, but began walking away. She stared at the ceiling. I took a step towards her, but a hand on my wrist held me back. Dean just shook his head.
"You get out of my house" my mother said angrily. "And let go of my son" She burst into flames and slowly made her way onto the ceiling, and then disappeared. Sam fell off the wall, and walked to me and Dean.
"Now it's over" Sam said, giving me and Dean a knowing look.
"Thanks for these" Dean said, as he handed me some photos. I was only a baby in all of them, and half I wasn't even in, but they were fun to look at nonetheless.
"Don't thank me, they're yours" Jenny laughed. I placed them in the trunk.
Dean pulled me into the car. He was mad at me, I could tell. "I want you to give me a good reason why I shouldn't just bust your ass right now" he stated, glaring at me a little.
"Um, because you love me?" I asked, smiling slightly. He didn't smile back. "Look, Dean"
"Don't you look Dean me, ankle biter" he said, narrowing his eyes. "You disobeyed a direct order back there. What if you had gotten hurt? What if you died or something?"
"I didn't" I said, stubbornly. "Dean, I'm a big girl. I know you want to protect me, but seriously? We had to save Sam. You think I was just going to stand on the sidelines as Sam died in there?"
"He didn't" he replied. "But that's not the point" He sighed. "You always listen to me. Or dad. What made it different this time?"
I was silent for a second, trying to think of a good answer. "Because the last time I followed dad's orders, he disappeared" I stated, coldly. "So this time, I decided my instincts would be better"
He only sighed. "Fair enough" he said. "But you still need to listen when I tell you to do something, alright?"
"Okay" I said, nodding. I leaned into him a little. "Dean, do you think mom really saved us?" I asked, sitting next to him in the car.
"Yeah" he said, putting an arm around my shoulder. "Why?"
"I don't know" I said, shrugging. "Just making sure I'm not crazy I guess"
"Oh no" he smiled. "You're crazy" He smirked as I glared at him. It was times like these I knew I was going to be okay. Right after a hunt, when Dean was in a good mood and usually was cool with whatever. This time was different though. This time we had seen our mom. And I felt funny? I don't know.
"Don't you guys be strangers" Missouri called as Sam got into the car with us.
"We won't" Dean replied, shooting me a look that said only-if-I-can't-help-it.
"See you around" Jenny called, as we drove off. I sighed and leaned into Sam, as Dean drove. We stopped before leaving town at the diner, and I realized why I felt weird. I felt like someone was there, and it wasn't Sam or Dean.
"Hey" I said as we exited. "I think I left my one coat at Missouri's"
"No you didn't" Sam said, giving me a confused look. I gave him my best shut the hell up glance, and he realized what I was getting at. "Oh, wait, I think your right"
"What?" Dean asked, not realizing what the hell was going on. I glanced at him.
"Alright," he sighed, "But make it fast. No chit chat" We pulled up to her house and I went to the front door. I knocked, and she let me in without a word.
"Am I like Sam?" I asked, out of nowhere. I had to know. Was there a reason that Sam and I had weird powers? I mean, his were much better than mine, but still. What the hell?
"Baby, what do you—"she stopped, probably just reading my thoughts. "Sam is…no, you're not like him"
"Then why do I know that my father was here" I stated. "And don't lie. I can feel him"
"Lexie, honey, I haven't heard from your father" she said. "And don't you worry about Sam, or about you, or Dean. It's gonna be alright"
"I know" I said. "I know, but Missouri, I can tell when they're in trouble and I can't, I can't…" I stopped. I just felt so helpless.
"Baby, look at me" she demanded, lifting my chin up. "You are not in trouble. You are Alexis Winchester, and you are the strongest child I have ever known. And I know that everything is going to be okay" Tears fell down my face. "But you need to tell your brothers about how you feel. About everything, its gonna take you"
Outside, a car horn honked. They were waiting. "What do you mean?" I asked, confused.
"Trust me" she said, leading me to the door. "Talk to them"
I headed back to the car, Dean shooting me a confused look. "Where's your jacket?" he asked. He caught a look at my tear-stained face and turned around completely. "Did she say something to you?"
"No" I choked out, wiping my face.
"You wanna talk about it?" Sam asked lightly.
I sniffed and thought about what Missouri said. It was gonna take me. I was going to be taken by it. "No" I replied, as Sam put an arm around my shoulders. If it was gonna take me, it better be prepared, because I was one hell of a fighter.
