I Believe the Children Are Our Future Part 1
Dean, Sam and Angela, wearing suits, held up FBI badges.
"Agents Page, Plant and Madison, FBI." Dean introduced.
"What brings you by, Agents?" the doctor asked.
"We need to see Amber Freer's body." Angela replied.
"Really? What for?"
"The police report said something clawed through her skull?" Dean asked.
"You didn't read the autopsy report that I emailed out this morning?" the doctor frowned.
"W-we had, uh, server issues." Sam replied.
The doctor walked away. Dean, Sam and Angela followed. The doctor opened one of the freezers and pulled out the slab with Amber's body. He tossed back the sheet from her head.
"When they brought her in, we thought she was attacked by a wolf or something."
"Or something." Angela repeated.
"But we were wrong." The doctor replied. He picked up a plastic bag from the slab and showed it to the three hunters.
"Is that a—Sam started.
"It's a press-on nail." The doctor nodded. "We found it in her temporal lobe."
"Is that even possible?" Angela asked.
"Wait; are you, you saying that she did this to herself?" Dean raised a brow.
"Uh-huh." The doctor nodded. "She scratched her brains out. It'd take hours, and it'd hurt like hell, but sure, it's possible."
"How?" Dean asked.
"Pick your acronym, OCD, PCP. It all spells crazy."
Sam pulled back the sheet a little further. Amber's right hand had four press-on nails still attached; the middle finger had nothing.
"My guess, some kind of phantom itch. I mean, an extreme case, but…"
"Phantom itch?" Sam asked.
"Yup." The doctor covered Amber's head and slid the slab back into the freezer, closing the door. "All it takes is someone talking about an itch, or thinking about one, even, and suddenly you can't stop scratching."
"Thanks, doc." Angela replied.
Sam scratched under his collar, Dean scratched his ear and Angela scratched her arm.
~/~\~
Sam was sitting in the armchair in Jimmy's family's living room, holding a notebook and pen, and Jimmy's father and Francine were sitting on the sofa. Dean and Angela were wandering around behind them.
"Okay. Okay, now, some of these questions might seem a bit odd, but please just bear with me." Sam said. "Have you noticed any cold spots in the house?"
"Uh… no." Jimmy's father replied.
"Okay, uh, what about strange smells?" Sam asked.
Angela looked around a corner. Jimmy was there.
"Whatcha lookin' for?" Jimmy asked.
"Don't know yet." Angela walked up to Jimmy. "It's, uh, Jimmy, right?"
Jimmy nodded.
"So, Amber was your babysitter?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am." He nodded.
Dean came over. "Most of my babysitters sucked." He commented. "Especially Ms. Chancey. She only cared about two things. Dynasty and bedtime." Dean chuckled.
"Did you, uh, see anything strange that night?" Angela asked.
"No, ma'am."
"You sure about that?" she asked.
"I-I would tell you if I knew something." He assured.
Dean and Angela looked at him.
"I promise. One hundred percent. Cross my heart." Jimmy swore.
Angela looked up at Dean then back at Jimmy.
"Well, Jimmy, I, uh… I happen to know when you're lying." She whispered.
"I'm not." Jimmy replied.
Angela leaned down and put a hand on Jimmy's shoulder. "We gonna start talking truth, or are he and I gonna have to take you on a little trip downtown?" she raised a brow.
~/~\~
Dean, Sam and Angela were leaving.
"Angie, I can't believe you threatened to bring that kid downtown." He laughed.
"Yeah, well, we got what we needed, right?" she held up the packet of itching powder. "Kid said he put this on his babysitter's hairbrush."
"There's no way itching powder made that girl scratch her brains out." Sam replied. "It's just ground-up maple seeds."
"If you have any other theories, we're open to 'em." Dean said.
A cellphone rang. Sam pulled out his and answered it. Dean and Angela opened the doors to the Impala.
"Yeah?" Sam asked. "…Yeah, we'll be right there."
Sam went around behind the car.
~/~\~
A nurse zipped up a body bag and he and another nurse rolled it out of the room while the doctor watched from the corridor. Sam, Dean and Angela came up behind him.
"What happened?" Sam asked.
"Guy got electrocuted."
"Any idea how?" Angela asked.
"Eh, maybe a loose wire or a piece of equipment shorted out. So far, we haven't found anything."
"Witnesses?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, gut in there, Mr. Stanley." The doctor said.
Stanley was an old man sitting in a chair in the room, looking out the window.
"He says he saw it, but he's not making a lick of sense. Senile."
"Thanks." Angela replied.
Sam, Dean and Angela entered the room. The doctor left.
"Um, Mr. Stanley?" Sam asked.
"It was just a joke." Stanley replied. "I didn't know it would really work."
"What would work?" Dean asked.
Stanley looked at Dean. "All I did was shake his hand."
Stanley held out his hand: he was holding a joy buzzer. Sam, Dean and Angela looked at it and each other.
~/~\~
Dean put on a pair of goggles and a pair of gloves. He adjusted the goggles and picked up the joy buzzer. He looked at the buzzer for a moment, then turned to Sam and Angela.
"You ready?" Dean asked.
"Hit it, Mr. Wizard." Sam replied.
Sam and Angela held a pair of goggles to their eyes.
There was a large uncooked ham in two stacked aluminum-foil pans sitting on the table in front of Dean. Dean held the joy buzzer over the ham, hesitated, and pressed it to the ham. Electricity crackles. Steam rose from the ham as it changed color. When the ham was blackened, Dean removed the joy buzzer. The ham sizzled. Sam and Angela lowered their goggles and gawked. Dean flipped up the dark-plastic visor on the goggles.
"That'll do, pig." He said.
"What the hell?" Angela and Sam asked.
Dean took off the goggles, still staring at the now-cooked ham.
"That crap isn't supposed to work." Sam said.
"This thing doesn't even have batteries." Dean added.
Dean had taken off one glove and now removed the other.
"So… so, what?" Angela asked. "Are, are we looking at cursed objects?"
"Sounds good." Dean replied. He pulled out a knife, flipped it open, and cut a piece off the ham. "Maybe there's a powerful witch in town." He ate the piece of ham. "Is there any like between the, uh, the joy buzzer and the itching powder?"
"Uh, one was made in China, the other Mexico, but they were both bought from the same store." Sam replied.
Dean cut off another piece of ham. "Hmm." He hummed.
Dean held up the piece of ham. Sam and Angela shook their heads. Dean ate the ham.
~/~\~
Seen through the glass on the store door, Sam, Dean and Angela walked up. The door chimed when they walked in. Someone laughed and the door chimed again. Dean, Sam and Angela walked around.
"Sam! Angie!" Dean called.
Dean picked up a whoopee cushion and held it up, grinning. Sam sighed and shook his head, turning away. Angela rolled her eyes. Dean brought the whoopee cushion up to the checkout counter, which had a display of rubber chickens next to it. The owner came out of the back room.
"Welcome to the Conjurarium, sanctum of magic and mystery." The owner smiled.
Sam and Angela came up to the counter.
"You the owner?" Sam asked.
"Yep."
"You sold any itching powder or joy buzzers lately?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, a grand total of one each." The owner replied. "They aren't exactly big-ticket items. Look, you three here to buy something or what?"
Dean pulled out some cash from his wallet, held up the whoopee cushion, and handed the owner the cash.
"So, you get many customers?" Angela asked.
"Kids come in. They don't buy much, but they're more than happy to break stuff. These days, all they care about are their iPhones and those kissing-vampire movies. The whole thing makes me just—
"Angry?" Dean asked.
The owner paused, then nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I am angry. This shop has been my life for 20 years, and now it's wasting away to nothing."
"Which is why you hate them." Angela said.
"I suppose."
"You wish there was something you could do about it." Dean replied.
"Yeah, I guess I do." The owner shrugged.
"So you're taking revenge." Dean pulled a rubber chicken off the display and slapped it down on the counter. "With this." Dean held up the joy buzzer and pressed it to the rubber chicken.
Electricity crackles. The owner yelped and jumped back. "Oh! No!"
The rubber chicken melted. The owner stared, making inarticulate noises. Dean, Sam and Angela watched the owner.
"Yeah, something tells me this guy is not a powerful witch." Sam said.
"Sorry. Sorry." Angela said.
Dean, Sam and Angela left.
~/~\~
The girl's father was lying in a hospital bed. A nurse offered him a glass with a straw. He waved it away. Sam and Angela were in the room with a notebook and pen; they left. Dean was in the corridor, talking to another nurse, whose name was Jen Fremont.
"Well, I, uh, appreciate that, nurse…" Dean read her name tag. "Fremont."
"Please, call me Jen." She smiled.
"Oh. Jen it is." Dean smiled back.
Fremont smiled at Dean and left. Sam cleared his throat and Angela raised a brow. Dean turned to them, clapping once.
"What's up with Toothless? Cavity creeps get ahold of him?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. Close." Angela replied. "He wrote up a description."
Sam read from his notebook. "Five foot ten, three hundred fifty pounds, wings, and a pink tutu. Said it was the tooth fairy."
"So he's obviously whacked out on painkillers." Dean replied.
"Maybe." Angela replied. "Whatever it was got past locked doors and windows without triggering the alarm."
"Come on. Tooth fairy?"
"And it left 32 quarters underneath his pillow. One for each tooth." Sam said.
Dean nodded. "Well, I will see your crazy and raise you some. There's a couple of kids upstairs with stomach ulcers, say they got it from mixing Pop Rocks and Coke. Another guy… his face… froze that way."
"What way?" Angela frowned.
Dean looked in all directions, then pulled out the sides of his mouth and crossed his eyes. He held it for a moment and let go.
"He, uh, held it too long, and it, it stuck." Dean said. "They're flying in a plastic surgeon." Dean poked his cheeks and wiggled his chin.
"So, I mean, if you add all that up…" Sam hesitated.
Dean and Angela raised their eyebrows.
"I got nothing." Sam sighed.
Sam started down the hallway past Dean and Angela, turned and walked alongside him.
"I though sea-monkeys were real." Dean said.
"They are. They're brine shrimp." Sam replied.
"No, no, no, I mean like in the ads. You know, like the sea-monkey wife cooks the post roast for the sea-monkey husband, and the sea-monkey kids play with the dog in the sea-monkey castle, real. I mean, I was six, but I believed it."
"Okay." Angela and Sam replied.
"Point is…" Dean said.
Dean stopped. Sam and Angela stopped and turned.
"Maybe that's the connection." Dean said. "The tooth fairy, the Pop Rocks and Coke, the joy buzzer that shocks you, they're all lies that kids believe in."
"And now they're coming true." Angela replied. "Okay, so whatever's doing this is, is reshaping reality. It has the powers of a god. Or—Angela clenched her jaw in annoyance. "Of a trickster."
"Yeah, with the sense of humor of a 9 year old." Dean said.
"Or you." Sam replied.
Angela giggled as she and Sam walked off. Dean followed.
~/~\~
Dean sat at the table and took another bite from a sandwich. The remnants of the cooked ham sat on the table. The door opened and Sam and Angela came in, Sam holding a map. Dean looked up.
"Dean, really?" Angela asked. "Still with the ham."
"We don't have a fridge." Dean defended through a mouthful of ham.
Sam closed the door and put the map down in front of Dean.
"Well, we found something." Sam said.
Dean stood up for a better view. Sam pointed to a red X on the map for every incident.
"Um, tooth fairy attack was here, Pop Rocks and Coke was here, then you've got itching powder, face freeze, and joy-buzzer all located within a two-mile radius." Sam indicated the area containing all the red X's.
"So, we got a blast zone of weird, and inside, fantasy becomes reality."
"Looks like." Angela replied.
"And what's the A-bomb at its center?" Dean asked.
"Four acres of farmland… and a house." Angela said.
"Our motel isn't in that circle, by any chance?" Dean asked.
"Yeah." Sam replied. "Why?"
Dean hesitated, then held up his right hand: the palm was covered in hair. Sam looked away, closing his eyes and Angela hid her face in Sam's shirt.
"Dean!" she yelled.
"Ugh, dude…" Sam sighed. "That's not what I think it is, right?"
"I got bored." He mumbled. "That nurse was hot." Dean grinned.
"You know you can go blind from that, too." Sam replied.
"Give me five minutes." Dean said. "We'll go check out that house." Dean walked around Sam and Angela.
Angela looked at Dean as he walked away. "If you use my razor I'll freakin skin you!" she yelled.
"Yeah, do not use my razor!" Sam agreed.
Dean smirked.
~/~\~
A mail truck drove past the house and past the Impala, which pulled up and parked. Dean, Sam and Angela, wearing suits, got out and crossed the streets, walking up to the house. Dean checked Ruby's knife, which was tucked into his belt. Sam bent down to pick the lock, but straightened up in a hurry when the door opened. A boy was there; his name was Jesse.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"Hi." Angela smiled. "Uh, what's your name?"
"Who wants to know?"
The three hunters glanced at each other.
"The, uh…" Dean cleared his throat and pulled out his badge, showing it to Jesse while Sam and Angela went for their badges. "FBI." Dean said.
Sam and Angela held up their badges. Jesse took Dean's.
"Let me see that." Jesse examined Dean's badge and handed it back. Sam and Angela put their badges away.
"So, what, you guys don't knock?" Jesse asked.
"Are your parents' home?" Angela asked.
"They work."
"Well, you mind if we ask you a few questions, maybe take a look around the house?" Sam asked.
"I don't know." Jesse replied.
"Come on. You can trust us. We're the authorities." Dean said.
Dean held up his badge again. Jesse was unimpressed. He glanced between the three of them. Dean, Sam and Angela tried to smile reassuringly.
~/~\~
A pot of soup was boiling on the stove. Jesse went up to it and turned it off. Sam, Dean and Angela followed him into the kitchen, looking around. Dean hung back.
"What's that?" Sam asked.
"It's called soup." Jesse took the pot off the stove. "You heat it up and you eat it."
Sam chuckles. "Right. I know. It's just, um… I used to make my own dinner, too, when I was a kid."
"Well, I'm not a kid."
Dean noticed the artwork on the fridge.
"Right. No, I, I know. Um…" Sam held out a hand. "I'm Robert, by the way. This is Morgan." He gestured to Angela.
Jesse shook Sam and Angela's hands. "Jesse."
"Jesse, nice to meet you." Angela smiled.
Dean stepped closer, holding a picture of a bearded man with pink wings and tutu. "Did you draw this?"
Jesse nodded. "It's the tooth fairy."
"That's what you think the tooth fairy looks like, huh?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. My dad told me about him."
Dean glanced at Sam and Angela. "Huh."
"What, didn't your dad tell you about the tooth fairy?"
"My dad?" Dean asked. Dean chuckled. "My dad told me different stories."
"Well, the tooth fairy isn't a story."
"What do you know about itching powder, Jesse?" Angela asked.
"That stuff will make you scratch your brains out." He replied.
"Pop Rocks and Coke?" Dean asked.
"You mix them, and you'll end up in the hospital. Everyone knows that."
Dean pulled the joy buzzer out of his pocket and held it up.
"You shouldn't have that." Jesse said.
"Why not?" Dean asked.
"It can electrocute you."
"Actually, it can't. It's just a wind-up toy. It's totally harmless. Doesn't even have batteries."
"So it can't shock you?"
"Nope. Not at all. I swear." Dean replied.
"Oh. Okay."
"I mean, all it does is just shake in your hand. It's kind of lame. See?" Dean pressed the joy buzzer to Sam's chest.
The buzzer buzzed. Sam stiffened up and turned to Dean, looking murderous.
"What did you say your name was, again?" Dean asked.
A/N: Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I really liked writing this, it was fun ^-^ Also, don't forget to watch Supernatural tonight at 9:00 pm Eastern! Jensen directed it :) Love you guys!
Don't forget to review, review, review!
~Emily