Disclaimer: Any and all dialogue you recognise in this chapter was either taken from 1x07 Hookman or 1x08 Bugs. Thanks to Nadia for beta-ing.
Jess felt a chill run down her spine. "Lori, don't say that …"
But it was too late. The candles flickering on the altar at the front of the church all extinguished as one, and Sam jumped to his feet.
"Come on. We gotta go." He and Jess each grabbed one of Lori's hands, pulling her towards the basement door, but suddenly, the Hookman was there, his hook breaking through one of the panels.
"Go!" Sam shouted, pushing Jess and Lori ahead of him, and the two women ran down the aisle into a back room.
The spirit of Jacob Kearns followed, his hook swinging wildly as Sam stayed a few steps behind them, trying to draw the attention away from Lori, who had unintentionally signed her own death warrant.
Glass smashed, Lori's terrified cries echoed from the walls, and Jess let out a scream as that damned hook finally made contact, tearing through Sam's shoulder.
Jess jolted awake with a gasp, the remnants of a scream on her lips. She blinked a couple of times, bringing the dark interior of the Impala into sharp relief, only to jump violently when the car door opened.
"Dammit Sam!" She breathed, massaging her chest. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry." Sam said with a sheepish smile. "I thought you woke up."
"I did- just." Jess responded weakly. "But I hadn't quite left the nightmare behind." She undid her seatbelt and slid out of the car, stretching and melting into his arms in the same movement.
"Sorry." Sam repeated, brushing a kiss against her hairline. "Hookman again?"
Jess nodded into his shoulder, pressing a kiss against his shirt, against the same place the hook had penetrated, reassuring herself that no real damage had been done. "Where are we now?"
"Oklahoma still." Sam answered, gently untangling her hair with his fingers. "Dean's inside," he nodded at the bar they were parked outside, "and I'm searching for a job."
"Find anything?" Jess asked, but Dean emerged from the bar before Sam could answer, looking triumphant and waving a wad of cash in the air.
Sam rolled his eyes. "You know, we could get day jobs once in a while."
"Hunting's our day job," Dean said dismissively. "And the pay is crap."
"Yeah, but hustling pool?" Sam asked. "Credit card scams? It's not the most honest thing in the world, Dean."
Dean sighed. "Well, let's see. Honest or fun and easy?" He weighed it up for a few seconds before shrugging. "It's no contest. Besides, we're good at it. It's what we were raised to do."
"Yeah, well, how we were raised was jack." Sam muttered.
Jess bit her lip, inwardly agreeing with Sam, but didn't comment. How could she, when she'd never even met their father? "You know, Mom left …"
"We know, Jess." Dean interrupted. "But we can manage."
Jess nodded. Once the shock of the shifter debacle had passed, she had told the boys about her mother's legacy, and her plans to leave it gathering interest until she absolutely had to use it; they had agreed with her.
Hustling pool wasn't toobad (as far as she was concerned, if people were stupid enough to play for money with a stranger, that was their look-out, not hers), and while she wasn't crazy about the credit card scams, they only occurred when Dean hadn't had a chance to raise some money in a while.
Using the money outright would leave the account empty eventually, probably just before she really needed it.
"We got a new gig?" Dean asked.
"Maybe." Sam answered. "Oasis Plains, Oklahoma – not far from here. Gas company employee, Dustin Burwash, supposedly died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob."
"Human mad cow disease?" Jess asked.
"Mad cow." Dean repeated. "Wasn't that on Oprah?"
Sam raised an eyebrow. "You watch Oprah?"
"So this guy eats a bad burger." Dean said, after a beat of embarrassed silence. "Why is it our kind of thing?"
"Mad cow disease causes massive brain degeneration." Sam explained. "It takes months, even years, to appear. But this guy, Dustin? Sounds like his brain disintegrated in about an hour. Maybe less."
"Okay, that's weird." Dean conceded.
"Could still be a disease." Jess said, taking the paper from Sam to read the report herself. "Or something nastier."
Dean tucked the money inside his jacket. "Alright, Oasis Plains it is."
"So you found some beetles in a hole in the ground." Dean snorted. "That's shocking, Sam."
They had left the scene of Dustin's death- once Sam had been lowered into the hole he had been trapped in- with Sam in the back of the Impala, so he and Jess could both examine one of the dead beetles he had found.
"There were no tunnels, no tracks." Sam said. "No evidence of any other kind of creature down there."
"You know, some beetles do eat meat." Jess said thoughtfully. "Normally dead meat, but … How many did you find down there?"
"About ten." Sam answered.
Dean glanced at them in the rear-view mirror. "It'd take a whole lot more than that to eat out some dude's brain."
"Well, maybe there were more." Sam said.
"I don't know." Dean said sceptically. "Sounds like a stretch to me."
"We need more information on the area, the neighbourhood." Sam said. "Whether something like this has ever happened before."
Dean made a non-committal noise, slowing the car.
"What?" Sam asked.
"I know a good place to start." Dean said, pointing at a sign reading Models open. New buyers' BBQ today!. "I'm kinda hungry for a little barbeque, how about you?"
Sam and Jess looked at each other, then both gave him a knowing look.
"What?" He protested. "We can't talk to the locals?"
"And the free food's got nothing to do with it?" Sam asked.
"Of course not." Dean scoffed. "I'm a professional."
"Of course you are." Sam muttered, as Dean pulled over.
"Growing up in a place like this would freak me out." Dean commented, as they walked back towards the open house.
"Why?" Sam asked.
"Well, manicured lawns, "How was your day, honey?"" Dean shuddered. "I'd blow my brains out."
"I grew up in a place like this." Jess said flatly.
"There's nothing wrong with normal." Sam said defensively.
Dean shook his head. "I'd take our family over normal any day."
His gaze slid over them both as he spoke, and Jess smiled, warmed in a way the weather was lacking.
"Hang on." She said. "You go ahead; I'm gonna run back to the car and get a jacket; I'm freezing."
Dean tossed her the keys, and she caught them deftly, darting back towards the Impala.
Sam and Dean continued on to the open house and knocked on the door. An older man answered it, a friendly, probably fake, smile plastered on his face. "Welcome."
"This the barbeque?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, not the best weather, but …" The man shrugged, holding out a hand. "I'm Larry Pike, the developer here. And you are?"
"Dean." He said, shaking Larry's hand. "This is Sam."
Larry shook Sam's hand as well. "Sam, Dean, good to meet you. So you two are interested in Oasis Plains?"
"Yes sir." Sam lied.
Larry nodded. "Let me just say, we accept homeowners of any race, religion, colour or … sexual orientation."
The boys paused, a little puzzled, when Jess appeared between them. "They're brothers." She said with a smile, taking Sam's hand and offering her other hand to Larry. "I'm Jessica. Sam and I are looking for our first house together."
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Larry began, shaking her hand.
Jess laughed. "Don't be. Gives me something to rib them about."
Larry led them through the house into the back yard, where he introduced them to his wife, Joannie, who swiftly engaged Jess in conversation, and a very energetic woman named Lynda, their head of sales.
"I take it you two are interested in becoming homeowners!" Lynda said cheerfully.
"Well …" Sam began, catching Jess's eye.
"Well, let me just say," Lynda continued, "We accept homeowners of any race, religion, colour or … sexual orientation."
Dean chuckled, as Jess excused herself to join them. "Well, I'm gonna go and talk to Larry. Okay, honey?" He swatted Sam's ass as he walked away and Jess smacked him over the head as he passed.
"Next time, we leave your brother at home." She said in mock-irritation, hiding a smile.
Sam shook his head, looking tired. "Sorry about him." He said to Lynda, who looked thoroughly confused. "This is Jessica; we're the ones looking for a house."
"Don't worry." Jess said hastily, before Lynda could apologise. "It's a common mistake."
"Squatting." Jess murmured, peering out through the bedroom curtains.
"At least we get some privacy for once." Sam pointed out, pushing the door closed. "Dean's practically unconscious."
Jess snorted. "I'm not surprised. He never sleeps properly in motels. It's like he's always on red alert."
"He's always been like that." Sam said. "Dad always taught us that an attack could come from anywhere at any time. At least in a house like this, we have some time to prepare ourselves while they get up the stairs."
Jess nodded silently.
"You agree with me, right?" Sam asked quietly, drawing closer to her.
"I think …" Jess said slowly. "I think that parts of your childhood were not what they should be. I think that your father should have put you and Dean before revenge, but I also know how difficult that must be. He clearly loved your mother very much, and no one would listen to him, thought it was an accident …"
"They thought it was an accident?" Sam interrupted, brow creasing in confusion.
"Her name came up while I was searching for Bloody Mary." Jess told him, finally turning away from the window. "Initially a suspicious fire, closed as accidental, caused by faulty wiring in the ceiling."
Sam breathed out a humourless chuckle. "Faulty wiring … right."
Jess smiled weakly. "I think your father probably did the best he could, Sam, and was trying to protect you, but that doesn't make any of it okay. And it's okay to be upset about it."
Sam nodded jerkily, his jaw clenched. "Are you okay with all of this?"
Jess frowned a little. "What do you mean?"
"This." Sam repeated, waving his hand around the room. "Hunting. Squatting. Living out of the back of the Impala. Risking our lives and breaking the law practically every week."
"Sam …" Jess reached out to him, laying a hand on his arm, feeling how tense he was. "Where's all this coming from?" "
Back there … you were in your element." Sam said softly. "That's your life, Jess."
"No." Jess said quietly. "This is."
"But if hunting wasn't an issue …" Sam began.
"Then maybe that would be my life." Jess finished, stepping closer to him. "Let me rephrase that. This is my life. My life has always been my family, and you – and Dean – are all I have left. So if you're hunting, I'm hunting, and if you're not, I'm not. And – y'know – it's not that bad …"
"Name one good thing about it." Sam challenged, not looking convinced.
"Tommy Collins." Jess said promptly. "While we're at it, Haley Collins, Ben Collins, Lucas Barr, Andrea Barr, Amanda Walker … Hell,everyone on that freakin' flight. They're all alive because of you – because of us."
Sam sighed, a small smile quirking on his lips, and settled down on the bed. "Are you sure you're happy? Because …"
Jess chuckled. "Honestly? I was talking out of my ass earlier. Those people might say they're open to all homeowners, but let's face it, did you see an inch of diversity out there? I was what they wanted me to be, and it was as boring as hell."
"Really?" Sam asked.
"You kidding?" Jess shook her head. "How can you stretch a discussion about how to get mayonnaise out of blouses into a twenty minute discussion?!"
Sam gaped at her. "Twenty minutes? About laundry?"
Jess nodded, looking tired. "And then an hour-long discussion planning our wedding."
Sam gave her a look rather like a rabbit trapped in the headlights. "Er, Jess …"
"I know." Jess assured him. "But you try telling them that. They're like vultures. They either have no daughters, or their daughters aren't old enough, or their daughters are, but were smart enough to let their mothers nowhere near their wedding."
Sam relaxed slightly. "At least they were interested."
Jess shook her head, moving to sit beside him, nestling against his side. "I swear, if we hadn't needed information …"
Sam chuckled, pressing a kiss to her head. They sat in silence for a few seconds, before a yawn crept over Jess, escaping her before she could bite it back.
Sam stretched, yawning in turn. "Thanks for that. We should get some sleep."
Jess nodded into his shoulder, not really moving as he rearranged them both so they were lying down. The house, although empty, was probably a show house, because it was fully furnished, although the beds weren't made.
Jess wasn't too bothered. The house was warm, and she hardly needed a blanket wrapped in Sam's arms. "You're not going to be too comfortable tomorrow." She warned sleepily. "Maybe we should make a pillow out of something."
"I'll be fine." Sam assured her. "I'll wake you up at two, and we'll swap places."
Jess smirked. "You can try."
She felt Sam shrug. "You don't have to wake up. I'm sure you make just as good a pillow as I do."
"We'll have to compare notes." Jess murmured, tilting her face up to kiss him.
Sam hummed in agreement against her lips. It had been a long time since they had any real privacy, and they easily fell into the relaxed banter they had toned down for Dean's sake. "Next time," he murmured, "we are booking a separate motel room."
As a rule, Jess wasn't scared of bugs. She tended to ignore spiders, unless they were particularly large or crawling on her feet (at which point it was the shock that got to her, rather than the actual presence of the spider), and beetles tended to fascinate rather than frighten.
The vision of a veritable cloud of bugs swarming towards the house, however, was enough to scare anyone.
"Oh my God …" Larry whispered, his hand clutching his son's shoulder.
"We'll never make it." Sam said grimly.
One of Matt Pike's hands made its way into Jess's and she squeezed it gently. She was the one who had coaxed the boy into showing them the Native American burial site he had found the day before, which had led them to uncover the curse on the land. With Lynda also dead and found covered in dead spiders, they had tried to evacuate the Pikes as quickly as possible, but Larry had refused to listen to his son.
"Everybody in the house." Dean said sharply. "Inside, go!"
They hurried inside, and Larry slammed the door shut, locking it.
"Okay, is there anyone else in the neighbourhood?" Sam asked.
"No, it's just us." Larry answered shakily, as his wife entered the room.
"Honey, what's happening?" She asked. "What's that noise?"
The sound of the swarm was getting louder, almost shaking the house.
"Call 911." Larry told her, but she didn't move. "Joanie!"
Looking frightened, she reached for the phone, but the hunters weren't taking any chances.
"We need towels." Dean said.
"In the closet." Larry said, looking confused.
Sam clapped Matt on the shoulder. "We need to lock this place up – windows, doors, fireplaces, everything."
Matt nodded seriously. "Got it."
"Phones are dead." Joanie informed them.
"They must have chewed through the phone lines." Jess murmured, taking some towels from Dean and padding out the front door. "And the power lines." She added, as the lights flickered and died.
"No signal." Larry added, checking his cell phone.
"You won't get one." Dean said grimly, peering out the window. "They're blanketing the house."
"What do we do now?" Larry asked.
"Try to outlast them." Sam answered, coming downstairs with Matt. "Hopefully, the curse will end at sunrise."
"Hopefully?!" Larry repeated.
Dean emerged from the kitchen with a can in his hand.
"Bug spray?" Joanie asked incredulously.
Dean flashed her a ghost of his usual smile. "Trust me."
The fireplace began to creak ominously, and Matt swallowed hard. "What is that?"
"The flue." Sam muttered, glancing back at him.
"All right, I think everyone needs to get upstairs." Dean said hastily, just as the swarm burst free from the fireplace, buzzing angrily.
Under the screams of terror, Dean flicked open a lighter and aimed the bug spray at it, causing the flame to flare up, warding of the bugs for a few seconds. "Everybody upstairs!" He ordered. "Now! Go, go, go!"
They wound up in the attic, ducking under the beams and rafters to back themselves into a corner. The buzzing was growing ever louder, and sawdust began sprinkling down upon them like a snowfall as termites began to chew through the roof.
A second later, the swarm burst through and Dean pulled out the bug spray, while Sam and Jess frantically tried to patch up the hole in the roof.
It was to no avail, and as they resorted to simply swatting the bugs away, Jess began to consider the fact that this was how she was going to die.
Mentally crossing herself, she silently began to pray, as her mother had taught her. Saint Michael the archangel, protect us in battle …
Light suddenly streamed through the hole in the ceiling and for one crazy second, Jess almost thought there was a figure standing in the ray of light.
She blinked, and realised that the 'figure' was actually the bugs, shooting back out of the house in a kind of cyclone. Within seconds, the attic was empty, and she, Sam and Dean cautiously approached the hole to peer out.
Dawn had come.
The curse was broken.
They were safe.