Hey guys! So I know it's been like months since I updated. But HEY, I GRADUATED WITH A FOUR-YEAR NURSING DEGREE, so it's okay, right? Anyway, I'm free now. Home, settling back in after the move, and job-hunting, so hopefully writing will be easier. If anyone is still sticking with this story from before, good on you! Huge shoutout; you've been so patient. Here we go!
"Dude, we have to wrap this up fast. If I have to sit through one more service...and man can eat crappy bacon-cheese fries only so many times. There's nothing else edible."
Sam looked up from his salad, a wry twinkle in his eye as Dean sat down across from him with a heaping plate of heart-attack.
"What're you talking about? I thought you'd be in heaven if that's all you had to eat for the rest of your life."
"No, I need the basic food-groups: bread, potatoes, and meat. Burgers, man. Chili dogs. Freakin' mom-and-pop pizza. Real ones, I mean, not these...mealy fakes. And I need a drink, Sammy. We're grownups, for crying out loud."
Sam nodded.
"I actually hear you, there. The salad bar's not bad though."
Dean rolled his eyes.
"Freakin' hippie. I'm ready to get out of Communist America, thank you very much. Speaking of that, Bobby called. School lets out in the next few days, right? Kids'll be leaving for the summer. Bobby figures if Pat and his Big Bad are gonna try anything game-changing, it'll be tonight or tomorrow night."
Sam nodded, all business once again.
"Right, well that would make sense. Fear needs an audience for his power to work. If all the kids leave, whatever they're planning would be easily covered up by the school before the students come back. The problem is, we don't know what the plan is."
Dean leaned forward over his plate and lowered his voice so the giggly table of Korean students beside them wouldn't pick up on the conversation.
"Who cares what the kid's goal is, you know? He's playing with fire, and you can bet whatever Mr. Choir Nerd is trying to accomplish isn't on Fear's priority list. You know these things. Demons are tricky jerks, you can't put one of 'em on a leash. A big-leaguer like Fear has gotta be even worse. It's gonna be deadly. Why just scare a few kids and cause a few suicides? Patrick wants to pin all this occult stuff on the new music director, right? Double-crossing Fear and framing his own personal little rival at the same time. I bet you though, getting rid of the music director might be a lot more literal and a lot more bloody than Patrick is picturing."
Sam sat back in his chair, running his hands back through his hair that kept trying to fall forward out of his relatively conservative style. He took a deep breath and blinked once or twice, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Okay, okay. So it's gonna happen tonight or tomorrow night, throw the whole place into chaos, start a chain-reaction of fear across campus. Depending on how bad it is, the graduation exercises might be rescheduled, keeping the kids here even longer. We gotta stop it, tonight."
The yellow-gold lances of sunset dappled the brick under the great sprawling tree that marked the center of campus, the spanish moss trailing gently on the breath of a nearly nonexistent breeze of sea-brine. Dee tucked her humidity-frizzed curls behind one ear in frustration as she struggled to organize her books and final projects in her purse as she juggled arms full of plastic-wrapped graduation regalia and two or three letters. Finally she got it all jammed inside and sat down on a bench, laying the cap and gown over the seat beside her and starting to go through today's mail.
"Heyyy, look at that! About to get out of here for good, huh?" Dean said, grinning at the mess of flowy black material on the bench beside her as his bow-legged saunter came to a stop in front of her. Sam's gaze lingered a little longer on the regalia with a strange look in his eyes. Something like a mixture of longing and resignation.
"Congratulations! That's amazing Dee. That's great. You going to graduate school after this, what are your plans?" he asked, his face lighting up with a genuine smile as he turned to her. She forced a gag and shook her head, firmly.
"Um, yeah, that would be a resounding no. They tried to rope me into two more years here, but with this crap going on? I mean don't get me wrong, having you guys here is pretty awesome, but a haunted school kinda sucks."
"Yeah, no argument there. Although I'd say any school kinda sucks though," Dean joked, winking at her. "Speaking of which, though, we're running on kind of a time crunch. We're thinking Patrick is the one messing around with Fear and ghosts. And we're thinking things are gonna get bloody. Like tonight. Do you have any idea how something like that might go down?"
"Yeah, it would be something with lots of visibility, probably with both staff and students…?" Sam added, ducking his head a little to meet her eyes since he was nearly two feet taller than the college girl.
She squinted, thinking, and then her eyes widened. She pulled out one of the envelopes she'd just been opening and handed it to them.
"The Senior's Supper on the Roof. It's like this fancy banquet for graduates. All the seniors go, the president of the college, and lots of staff and faculty make appearances. It's on the roof of the observatory building."
Dean and Sam traded meaningful looks.
"Perfect, this is perfect," Sam said, scanning the invitation to the dinner, "When is this?"
"It's uh, it's tonight. I was just about to go get ready...you guys gonna come?" She asked, looking between the two of them. She couldn't decide if she was excited or terrified at the idea.
"Looks like we're getting that date after all, huh? Right?" Dean winked, moving closer and smirking. She colored. Yep. Definitely excited, even though she kind of hated herself for it.
"Okay, I'll meet you outside my dorm in an hour so I can walk you over and show you where we're going. Do I need to bring extra salt in my handbag or anything? My roommate has some I think, and I could bring a bottle of holy-water."
Sam chuckled.
"It wouldn't hurt. But don't worry, we got this. See you in an hour."
An hour later the sun had gone down, giving way to a hot, starry Florida night. The occasional short, cool bursts of sea-breeze made everything feel exciting, like a storm was about to break, though a cloud wasn't in the sky. Dee came down out of the dorm building in a black dress that came to just above her knees, strappy black platform heels, and a little black handbag with her ticket and a few ghost repellents tucked away inside. Dean whistled when he saw her, eyes flicking up and down with a quick, appreciative scan. Sam elbowed him, shooting him the signature disapproving glare.
"Focus, dude. Not the time."
"Sam, have you met me? It's always the time. This, little brother, is why your luck with women is legendary for not existing."
Sam rolled his eyes.
"Ready guys?" Dee asked, tucking her bag under her arm while she ran her hands through her short, curled hair to make sure it stayed out of the way. "It's a few minutes' walk. You look...nice. Got what you need?"
"Don't worry sweetheart. I always show up packing," Dean grinned, quirking an eyebrow and opening his suit jacket to show her the guns hidden in the inside pocket and tucked into the waistband of his slacks. She giggled nervously and nodded.
"Oh. Well, good. Come on."
The closer they got to the observatory building, the thicker the crowds of well-dressed senior students grew, talking eagerly among themselves. The elevators to the rooftop inside were absolutely thronged. Dee grunted indignantly when someone walked by and pushed her to get closer to the front of the line. She straightened her back and her jaw hardened.
"Wow, I just love it when people push and shove. It's so ladylike and mature. Next person that touches me, I'm going to punch in the face." Her tone was very calm and level, but she projected well enough for the crowd in the immediate vicinity to hear. Dean snorted with laughed and shot Sam a thumbs up. Sam just looked mildly impressed and took a step back from her, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. She grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry guys. I'm usually nicer, I promise. That was...rude. Sorry. I'm just done. Anyway, guys' elevator is across the lobby. I'll meet you at the top? I'll tell you if I see Patrick anywhere." She winked and squeezed into the next elevator, jam-packed with clamouring young women as even more tried to surge onboard. She waved at them as the door closed, blowing a stray curl out of her face with bemused irritation.
"She's crazy. I kinda like it," Dean chuckled, joining the stream of suit-clad male students as they made their way to the men's elevators. Sam raised his eyebrows but made no comment.
Dee was waiting for them at the top, where the students could finally disperse and breathe a little. Charts of constellations decorated the walls while the carpet was an interesting pattern of stars and planets on a deep blue background. Definitely an observatory. Wide doors channeled the guests into a rough line, going out onto the open rooftop where dinner would be served.
Dean lit up as soon as the smells rising from the buffet-style catered lines flavored the rooftop night air. His eyebrows rose and a grin spread across his face.
"Alright! Texas barbecue, baby. Now we're talking. Sign me up for that. Sammy, why can't every hunt have rooftop catering?"
Dee wasn't hungry, so she moved quickly through the line, giggling at Dean piling heaps of pork, garlic bread, slaw, and baked beans to dangerous heights on the plate. Sam was hardly paying attention, scanning the open seating area and crowds for anything amiss. He tapped Dean's shoulder and pointed.
"Patrick is over there at the table by the railing. We should sit close by." He grabbed a water, before following Dee along the narrow walkway connecting the serving area to the seating section and claiming the nearest available table.
"Okay, so what's the game plan?" Dee asked, leaning forward over the table and lowering her voice a little. Sam shrugged.
"We don't really know what to expect, so just stay sharp I guess. I think you were right about the setting though; it's crawling with students and pillars of the college."
Dee nodded in the direction of the wandering faculty who were stopping by all the tables in turn to mingle and offer congratulations.
"Look. There's Dr. Zach. The music director."
All eyes at their table went to Patrick to gauge his reaction. The boy had been bragging about his selection to speak at the graduation exercises to his admirers at the table but when Dr. Zach made his appearance he sat straight up, his gaze tracking the man's movements with rapt attention.
Suddenly he stood up, slowly, his chair scraping across the concrete as it was pushed back with his movement. And without warning, every light on the observatory rooftop went out.