A/N: I don't own anyone but my OC's….though I wished I owned the guys….*sighs*
Brooklyn screamed in terror as she sprinted down the street. Her heart was pounding hard as she stumbled over some trash cans and rolled along the pavement. The growls grew louder which propelled the frightened hunter to her feet and running once again.
"No! Get away!" She yelled as the beast growled and drew closer to her.
The Chihuahua wagged its tail and followed the human. Its pink bandana flapped behind it as it chased the hunter down.
43 hours earlier…
Brooklyn looked up to see Dean and Sam returning. She closed the book in her lap and slid off the bed.
"How did it go?"
"Sam got sprayed in face with spleen juice," the grin appeared on Dean's face as he recalled his brother's misfortune.
"Ha ha," Sam forced out a dry sarcastic laugh. Dean lost the jacket and loosened the tie then handed the file over to Brooklyn.
"So we have three stiffs all in good health with no underlying conditions suddenly drop dead from heart attacks within 24 hours," Brooklyn closed the folder and looked up expectantly.
"Well they also had some strange scratches on the exact spot of their arms," Sam recalled.
"And?" Brooklyn darted her eyes between them both.
"We don't know what caused them," Dean said sheepishly.
"So what could be our monster of the week?" Brooklyn laced her fingers together resting them in her lap.
"Well maybe after our visit to the sheriff we may have an idea," Dean sat down beside her.
"Let's hope so," she sighed.
Sam was feeling a little ill after the whole spleen incident so Brooklyn went in his place to speak with the sheriff. The young deputy sitting behind the desk continued grinning and staring straight at Brooklyn as they waited for the sheriff. Dean sat there and flashed an odd look to the deputy just as the sheriff stepped out.
"Cow's bells...." he huffed in frustration, "Linus have you seen my…."
The sheriff noticed the hunters sitting there and turned to his deputy.
"Who are they?"
"Federal agents," Linus spoke up.
"And you kept them waiting?!"
"Well you said not to disturb…." The sheriff waved the hunters in.
"Shoes off," he barked as his slipped his own off.
Dean noticed the wall to wall shelving of trophies and awards as they sat down.
"Al Britton," the sheriff shook their hands then promptly pulled out an economy sized bottle of hand sanitizer pumping an excess amount into his hand. Dean looked over at Brooklyn as she shot back the same puzzled expression to him.
"So what can I do for Uncle Sam?" Britton continued rubbing the sanitizer over and over again as if he was making sure he had covered every square inch of his hands.
"Well we're investigating the death of Frank O'Brian. We understand some of your men found his body," Brooklyn spoke up watching the sheriff's face freeze in an odd look as he started to answer.
"They did. Me and Frank we were friends. Hell, we were Gamecocks," Dean burst out laughing earning a glare from not only the sheriff but Brooklyn as well. The hunter ceased mid laugh and clammed up as Britton continued.
"That's our softball team's name. They're majestic animals," Dean was at a loss for words as the man glowed over a bird with a name that made a grown man laugh.
"Look I'd known Frank since high school and to be honest I just got the momentum this morning to go see him."
Dean looked over at Brooklyn who seemed to be in some kind of train of thought. The hunter looked up at the sheriff.
"Was Frank acting strange recently? Perhaps he was afraid of something?"
"Oh yeah real jumpy," Britton responded quickly.
"Do you know what scared him?" Dean leaned forward in his seat.
"No, he wouldn't answer his phone or anything. I finally sent some of my boys over to check on him and well you know the rest of the story."
Britton coughed hard then doused his hands in more sanitizer. His odd behavior caused the hunters to exchange glances with Dean mouthing "What the…."
"So why are the Feds so interested in Frank's death? You two don't honestly don't think there's a case here." Britton continued rubbing his hands as it now started to turn more frantic and rapid.
"No not at all. It's probably just a heart attack like the coroner ruled," Brooklyn smiled politely.
"Something's not right Dean."
"I agree, the sheriff was definitely a germophobe," Dean grinned.
"No, genius I mean the way O'Brian died along with the others. Healthy one day then dead within 48 hours and not to mention they all displayed the same deep wounds in their arms? Something's not adding up. They all get a nasty case of the frights and keel over?"
"Maybe something spooked 'em,' Dean shrugged.
"Okay let's say something did. What could be so terrifying that it would literally scare a human to death?"
"What couldn't? I mean take your pick here Brook," Brooklyn knew he had a point.
"You're right Dean. This is going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack. So what's the next step?"
"We go see the person who saw O'Brian alive: his neighbor Mark Hutchins."
As they started to leave, Brooklyn turned a sharp right pulling Dean along.
"What are you doing?"
"Too many people over there," Dean looked over at the crowd of shoppers then at Brooklyn who was already starting to drag him across the street.
Brooklyn looked around seeing the array of reptiles in cages and tanks but her attention quickly went to the large python around Mark Hutchins' neck. She felt her fear beginning to rise as Dean interviewed the man.
"Tyler and Perry! Like the guys in Aerosmith!" Mark beamed as Brooklyn smiled unevenly. She looked to see a bearded dragon staring right at her and hiss through the tank. She shrank further in the cushions wishing she was anywhere but there.
"So when was the last time you saw O'Brian?" Dean played the role of agent with a smooth air around him.
"Monday! He was watching me from his window and when I waved he jerked the curtain shut. He was acting pretty weird."
Brooklyn settled uneasily in her seat as she spied the baby gator in its tank. She continued fidgeting around ready to bolt at any time.
"Did he seem any different than usual? Was he scared of anything?"
"What wasn't he scare of? Al-Qaeda, rain, witches…."
"Witches?" Brooklyn asked eyeing the snake around his neck once again.
"Yeah the Wizard of Oz was on the other night and he swore that green bitch was out to get him."
Dean looked up before beginning again. He could see Brooklyn becoming agitated even more but focused on the task at hand. The hunter was becoming worried over her strange mood.
"So tell me what was Frank like?"
"Well he's dead and I don't wanna hammer him but…..Frank was a dick in school. He got better after but in those four years he was like a bully. He probably taped half the town's butt cheeks together."
Dean started laughing until Mark added, "Mine included."
"Oh," Dean swallowed the lump that had appeared in his throat.
"So Frank pissed a lot of people off huh? Who wouldn't want him dead would be the better question," Brooklyn asked.
"Like I said he got better until what happened to his sister."
"Frank had a sister?" Brooklyn sat up.
"Yeah a younger sister by the name of Jesse. He had raised her after their folks died in a crash bout 15 years ago. Frank took it pretty rough."
Brooklyn stared at the snake as it slithered up Mark's neck. The man saw her body tense and smiled reassuringly.
"Oh don't worry about Donny! He's a sweetheart. It's Marie you have to worry about. She smells fear."
Dean did a double take as Brooklyn looked down seeing an albino python sliding down her chest. She closed her eyes and bit down hard on her bottom lip.
"Dean…Get me outta here," she whimpered.
Brooklyn had showered at least three times before forcing herself out and into the room. She had started to scratch her legs and arms causing the skin to turn a bright red hue. Dean was looking up something on the laptop and turned his head noticing the marks starting to form. Sam had felt better and offered to head to the clerk's office returning an hour later.
"Find anything?" Dean looked up.
"I dunno if this is really called anything but Frank's sister Jesse was bipolar and for some reason she went off the reservation and went missing. Several days later they found her body face down in the river outside of town.
"Any chance ol' Frank helped push her over the edge?" Dean asked his brother.
"Nope, Frank was working the swing shift when she went missing."
"One down and a thousand more to go," Brooklyn muttered as she continued scratching her legs and arms.
Brooklyn had decided to rest leaving Sam and Dean to scout out Frank's place.
"We searched the place top to bottom and no hex bag, sulfur and the EMF was null."
"So no witches ghosts or demons," Dean suggested.
"Nope, not this time," Sam sighed. Suddenly both brothers heard a noise and looked around before realizing it was coming from Dean's pocket. Dean pulled out the EMF seeing it was going ballistic. He turned in a circle watching it drop until was going off a full speed. Dean looked up seeing it was coming from where Brooklyn was sleeping.
"Uh Dean what's going on? Why is Brooklyn sending the EMF into a frenzy?"
Dean knew exactly why she was setting it off…..She was haunted.
The next morning Dean returned with donuts and coffee as Sam was on the phone with Bobby. Brooklyn was once again itching her arms and legs this time the marks were deeper and redder.
"Brook quit it," Dean gently reprimanded her and handed her a coffee. She sniffed it and put it aside shocking Dean and Sam both.
"Brook you love coffee," Dean looked at her.
"Caffeine's bad for you and donuts are like hand grenades to your health," she pointed at the box in his hand.
"You love donuts….I even got you a chocolate iced one, your favorite," Dean was genuinely hurt at her rejection of the sweet confectionary.
"Thanks but I'm not hungry," Brooklyn got up and walked in the bathroom.
Dean looked over at Sam hoping he had some better news.
"You're not gonna like what Bobby had to say. It's ghost sickness."
"Oh no, god no," Dean lowered his body on the bed and let his head fall into his hands.
"Yeah, I know. I wished I had better news Dean. But it seemed all of the victims shared a common trait you could say. Frank was a bully, one victim was a principal and the other was a juvenile detention supervisor. Basically they were all dicks."
"Brook is not a bully or a jerk!" Dean shot up.
"Dean I'm not saying she is. All the victims had used fear as a weapon and now this disease is returning the favor tenfold. But you know how ghost illness can be spread like any other illness."
"So you're saying that one of us carried it and passed it to her?"
"Yeah," Sam exhaled.
"Brooklyn has 24 hours left to live. So remind again how we stop this?"
"We have to find the ghost that started this and destroy it."
Dean nodded and looked up to see Brooklyn standing there with a look of pure fear distorting her beautiful features.
"Dean….Can we move to the first floor? This floor's too high and what if there's a fire? What if we don't make it?"
Dean looked over at Sam who merely nodded and went to get a lower level room.
"Thanks Dean," Brooklyn smiled weakly. Dean just held her hoping they could gank the ghost responsible before he lost her.
Brooklyn decided to delve into ghost sicknesses after Dean had broken the news to her. She had freaked out to say the least but Dean reassured her they would get rid of the ghost before the disease did her in.
So now she was seated in the chair reading the passage before her.
In many cultures there is a belief that certain spirits can infect the living with a disease. This led to bodies being taken out of homes and placed into funeral homes.
Symptoms start out with anxiety then fear and then fear so intense the victim's heart finally gives out. Ghost sickness victims are affected by hallucinations….
Brooklyn felt a sudden coughing fit grip her body lasting for several seconds. When she finally recovered her eyes spotted the picture of a man with his chest ripped out and another of a man vomiting blood.
"Gross," she whispered then noticed some words highlighted in bold.
You're dying….
Again…..
Bitch…..
Worthless…..
Brooklyn's mouth dropped in horror and she rubbed her eyes frantically hoping it was just her eyes playing tricks on her.
You gonna cry???
Baby gonna cry????
Where you're going no one will hear you cry…..
Brooklyn flung the book across the room and heard her heart beat louder and louder. She looked up hearing the clock ticking extremely loud.
Several minutes later Dean and Sam returned seeing the clock was smashed on the floor and Brooklyn curled up on the couch with a six pack close by.
"Brook you okay?" Dean noticed the fear in her eyes as she took a long swig of beer.
"Peachy, just peachy," she whispered.
"Well we found out that Jesse O'Brian's body was cremated so she can be scratched," Sam said.
Dean's eyes caught movement and spotted Brooklyn scratching hard once again.
"Brook quit it," He grabbed two towels from the bathroom and wrapped them around her arms holding them in place with his hands.
"Dean it itches so much…." She whined and fought to wiggle out but stopped when she started coughing harder than the first time.
"Brook!" Dean leaned her forward as something fell out of her mouth and on the floor.
Sam picked up the object and rinsed it in the sink. Dean pulled Brooklyn back up seeing her face splotchy and red as her eyes were bloodshot.
"Baby you okay?"
"Just fine fucking tastic!" She spat. Dean ran his hand up and down her back as Sam rushed out of the tiny bathroom.
"I think we've found a huge clue!" He held up the rock between his fingers.
Okay next chapter soon!!!!