Chapter Eleven: Complications
Two days later, Charlie and Dean were healing up nicely and Sam made the conclusion that his visions were connected to the demon that had killed Mary and Jess. Dean protested, saying that until they found some sort of proof, that Sam's visions were probably just some freak thing. Alex agreed with Sam, saying that since he had dreams about Jess's death before it happened and visions about the girl at the warehouse, he guessed the 'Lord' the seemingly possessed girl at the warehouse was the demon. Charlie wasn't sure who to believe though Sam and her brother's assumptions seemed reasonable enough.
It was around seven in the morning on the third day after the incident at the warehouse. Alex and Sam were out trying to find some breakfast, leaving Charlie and Dean at the hotel. Dean was on Sam's laptop, searching for another hunt.
"How can you stand this city?" he asked suddenly, looking over at Charlie who was sitting on one of the beds.
"Geez, one little run in with a demon girl and you hate the whole place," she shot back, getting up and sitting at the table with him. "Find anything yet?"
He shrugged. "Not anything close." He leaned back in his chair, resting both his arms on either side of the laptop.
"How far is the closest one?" Charlie asked.
"Arkansas."
She gave a slight nod then looked down at the table. Not sure what possessed her to do so, she turned Dean's right hand palm up and gently traced the lines on it with her fingertips. He watched her silently for a while, not wanting to break the truthfully peacefull feeling that had come over them.
"Charlie," he said quietly after a while.
"Yeah?" she said, looking up.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, it just...it makes me relax. I'm sorry," she said beginning to pull her hand away.
He stopped her from moving away by closing his hand around hers. She looked right into his eyes as he leaned forward to kiss her. Just as he did, the door handle turned and Sam and Alex walked in. Sam looked from Charlie, who was inspecting her fingernails, to his brother, who had his right hand hovering over the touchpad, his eyes scanning a news article pulled up on the screen. Ignoring the presence of a tense, uncomfortable vibe, he held up the white bag in his hand.
"We found food," he said, walking over to the table and putting down the bag.
"Coffee," Dean said in a gruff voice. Rolling his eyes, Sam grabbed a cup out of the tray Alex was holding and handed it to Dean.
"I got you a bagel, and a bunch of donuts," Sam told Charlie.
"Hey I might eat a lot, but I don't need a dozen donuts," Charlie said in a teasing voice.
"Are you sure?" Sam replied with a grin, fishing a wrapped bagel out of the bag.
"Yes, I'm sure. Thank you, Sam," Charlie said, taking the food and coffee being held out to her.
"Find anything?" Alex asked, pulling up a chair next to Dean.
"Nah. Not unless you want to go to Arkansas," Dean replied, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Nothing closer?" Sam questioned, taking a donut and his coffee before sitting on the edge of the bed closest to the other hunters.
Dean shook his head. "Nothing, man. I checked everything I could find."
Sam was about to reply when a shooting pain filled his head. He dropped the coffee and donut in his hands as he fell to his knees, holding his head. "It's happening again," he managed to gasp out just as his head felt like it was cut in two. He heard Dean and Charlie calling his name, but their voices were slowly drowned out.
A pretty red headed woman hummed softly to herself as she leaned into her shower and turned on the water. Still humming a toneless tune to herself, she got undressed as the room filled with steam. Walking back over to the shower, she checked the water before stepping inside. Mind you this is NOT R rated, just imagine her from the shoulders up...gosh you people with dirty minds D She let the water fall over her shoulders, enjoying the way the warm water soothed her aching muscles. She was about to pour some shampoo into her hand when the knob on the shower turned all the way to hot.
"Ouch!" she exclaimed, trying to turn to the knob. It wouldn't budge and the firey hot water was not leaving huge red blotches on her skin. In a panic she tried to pull back the curtain, but it was stuck. She pulled with all her might and the curtain rod came smashing down. It hit her on the side of the face, making her loose her balance and fall out of the bathtub, smashing her head on the tile floor. Blood ran from her head as words slowly appeared on the foggy mirror, as if someone was writing them. Marion Ledger.
"Sam! Sammy!" Dean tried again, shaking his brother. Sam blinked a few times, the hotel room slowly coming into focus.
"Marion Ledger," was all he said.
Xxxxxxxx
"Tell me what you saw again," Charlie told Sam for the millionth time that day. Sam and Dean were driving in the Impala with Charlie and Alex following in the Camaro. Right after Sam told them what he'd seen in his vision, Alex had done a police scan on Marion Ledger and found her in Moab, Utah, about five hours away in the south.
Sam sighed. "What good would it do?"
"I'm just trying to find a connection between all the things you've seen," she said.
"You want a connection? Every vision I've had has been when somone dies!" His tone was a bit harsher than he had wanted and he immediately felt bad. "Charlie, I'm--"
"No, Sam. Don't apologize. I have no idea what you're going through and I should just stop interigating you."
"No, it's good to know someone cares."
Charlie couldn't help smiling. "Well, I do. And I'm sure Dean does too."
Sam glanced over at Dean, who's eyes were on the road. "I'm sure."
"Don't sound so sarcastic, Sam."
He chuckled. "I was trying my hardest."
She laughed as well. "I could tell. But seriously, Sam. Don't these visions scare you?"
"Yeah, they do, but what can I do? I can't stop them."
"I wish I could find a way to help."
"Lets just hope we get to Marion before she dies."
Xxxxxxxx
At around one-thirty in the afternoon, two classic cars pulled up in front of the Moad police station. The four inhabitants of the cars got out and met between the two.
"Me and Sam will go and find out Marion's address," Charlie instructed.
"Can't I do anything with my brother?" Dean asked as she went to get out her fake police badge.
"No," she answered sharply, before turning to Sam. "Come on, the faster we find her the more likely we will be able to save her."
Sam nodded and followed her inside. The building was made of concrete blocks, but the inside had a feeling of being an acual home. Pictures of successful cases hung on the walls and the warm sunlight coming in the through the windows gave a golden touch to everything. The two walked over to the young receptionist who was sitting neatly behind her desk, doing a crossword puzzle.
"May I help you?" she asked when they walked up.
"Yes, we need to find an address of a local person here in town," Charlie replied.
"May I see some I.D.?"
Both of them held up their I.D.'s and she nodded. "Alright, who are you looking for?" she asked, placing her fingers on the keyboard.
"Marion Ledger," Sam told her. With a nod, her fingers flew over the keyboard and a moment later a small box popped up on the screen.
"1678 Orange Street, Apartment 89," she told them.
"Would it be too much trouble to give us directions from here?" Charlie inquired.
The receptionist smiled before she took out a piece of paper and drew them a small map leading straight to Marion's aparment. Sam thanked her and the two walked outside.
"Did you get it?" Alex asked as soon as they got to the cars.
"Yeah," Charlie said before turning to Sam. "Should we head there now?"
"I think so," Sam replied.
The four hunters got back into their cars and Charlie followed the Impala to Orange Street. They parked next to the curb outside of the aparment building, and once again met between the two.
"Now what?" Charlie asked.
"I say we go and get her," Dean said.
"And say what? Oh, our friend here saw you die a few hours ago," she snapped.
"I agree with Dean," Sam spoke up. "Come on."
While Dean and Charlie glared at each other, the four walked up the steps to apartment 89. Dean, Charlie and Alex stood to the side as Sam knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again, this time adding her name.
"Marion Ledger?" he called through the door. After waiting another minute, he turned to his companions. "Should I pick the lock?"
"Try the door first," Alex said out of nowhere.
Sam shrugged and put his hand on the doorknob. Surprisingly, it turned and he pushed open the door. He turned back to Alex. "How did you know it wasn't locked?"
He shrugged. "Just a guess."
"Come on, lets see if she's home," Dean said, pulling out his homemade EMF meter as the four walked into the house. It looked like Marion had just moved in, as there wasn't much furniture and the walls were blank and white.
"Marion?" Charlie called, as Dean walked beside her. She glanced over at him. "Anything?"
"No. The place is clean. Not even a blip on the thing," Dean replied irritably.
"Hey guys," Sam's voice called from somewhere in the back. The three followed his voice and found him standing in a doorway. "We're too late."
And there she was. Just as in his vision, lying on the floor, a blood pool around her and the water still running in the shower.
Xxxxxxxx
"So you're Marion's cousin?" the policeman asked Sam. After they had found her body, Charlie had called the police and told Dean and Alex to get out of there, leaving Sam and herself to deal with the police.
"Yeah," Sam said with a nod. "I was coming to visit her on my way to California. I found the door unlocked and she was lying there."
"And her?" the man asked, nodding to Charlie, who was watching the EMT's place Marion's dead body in a white bag.
"My girlfriend," Sam replied. "Is that all? This has kind of been hard for us."
"Of course, I'll call with any other questions."
With a small smile, Sam walked over to Charlie and put his arm around her shoulders. She raised an eyebrow and looked up at him.
"I told the cops you were my girlfriend," he told her simply.
"You wish," she told him with a smile.
He smiled back, but it lacked any enthusisum.
"Maybe we should go find Dean and Alex," Charlie suggested, starting to walk towards the road heading into town.
He followed silently and when they got out of the vasinity of the apartments, he let go of Charlie's shoulders and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Charlie looked over at him, really worried about what had happened and how Sam was going to deal with it.
"Sam," she started quietly.
"We were too late," he said quickly, looking down at her with such a sad expression that Charlie had to look down before she started crying.
A/N: So...this is just something that my mind cooked up. Any good? Please review!!! They make me happy!
