The miracles of life remember your name.

Dean Struggles to Understand

Dean's pov….

To say Dad had Sean on a short leash was an understatement. He had pretty much been dragging him around by a collar. We hadn't taken on any challenging hunts, just some run of the mill hauntings and a mild poltergeist. But now we were investigating something that put fear in every parent, not just mine.

We couldn't ignore this case as much as Dad wanted to. Children were disappearing in the area. Some were Sean's age, some were a little older. I know Dad wanted to turn and run away as it hadn't been all that long since Sean's near death experience and the last thing we wanted to do was tempt any kind of fate. But we couldn't stop doing what we did best so we threw our towel into the ring and became players in this terrifying game.

Possibly due to the constant togetherness, our nerves were wearing a little thin. Sean has always been one to buck authority, to fight it on a regular basis, but this last week he has gone into overdrive. Dad had sent Sean on a long run during which I kept track of him and then to the showers and bed. We had a one bedroom motel/apartment. Sean and I had the bedroom and dad took the couch.

I laughed as we sat down to figure out our next move. "I don't get that boy, he always fights the powers that be and he rarely if ever wins. Especially with you, I don't get it."

"Yeah, well if he quit fighting then I'd be worried. That is what he needs to keep a constant in his life. I'm just part of the greater experience for him. Win, lose or draw, he needs to keep showing up and working towards his objective, whatever that may be. If he all of sudden became the perfect, obedient child then I would worry. Besides you and Sam got me all warmed up, what fun would it be if he did everything I asked?"

Fight the good fight little brother I thought as I climbed into the bed next to him. He always had been a sparkplug, fearless and ever ready for some action. I had noticed since his terrifying altercation with the shape shifter he had lost a lot of confidence. He wasn't so sure of himself; I hadn't heard his urgings to trust him. He had only been mistaken once in his life, but the mistake nearly cost him everything.

Sean's pov….

It was hot, and I mean just sit there and sweat hot. I know I had been pushing Dad's buttons, but I was bored and frustrated. We weren't too far from Sam, a few hundred miles. I knew better than to ask Dad about a visit, but I did it anyway. The request wasn't well received. I just wanted to see my brother, maybe it would help me to get through my troubles. I had been running a lot, that and target shooting with my bow. I didn't know much about his hunt, but I had a feeling I might called on to be bait. I knew Dad didn't trust my skills as a marksman yet, so I wasn't sure about all the target practice. The old man seems to have a plan for everything and I'm sure this is no different.

The morning started off with a bang. I had decided to run the route dad had assigned me on our arrival while it was still relatively cool. When I got back Dean was standing there shaking his head.

"Dude, I can't believe you said that."

"Dude, what did I say?"

"You told dad, we had no business here and how dare he use you to entice this creature out into the open. Oh and screw him and this job."

"What! When did all this happen? I've been out running my route, I haven't even seen Dad. Where is he anyway?"

"Out looking for you; remember you took off, you're just lucky he couldn't find his shoes."

"Dean, look at my face, you know when I'm lying. I am not lying it wasn't me. I push the envelope but I'm not a complete fool."

"I know you're not, but it sure looked like you."

"You have to help me; Dad is going to kill me."

"Yep, he certainly is," Dean said with a snarky smile.

We were still in the midst of our conversation when the door flew open and our very angry looking father stood there. I ran behind the couch and then behind Dean and then behind the chair, well you get the hint. I was trying to argue my point while staying healthy. I begged him to look into my eyes; he always knew when I lied. I usually hated it, but now I implored him to study my face and see I truly didn't have a clue as to what had happened. He stared into the eyes that mirrored his and came away satisfied.

"So what the hell was it then?" he asked while rubbing his face.

"Maybe it was an evil twin, a doppelganger; something that wants us to take our focus off of this hunt," Dean suggested.

"Well it's not going to. We go ahead with our plans, but Dean do not let him out of your sight. Understood?"

"Yes sir, understood."

Dean and I were supposed to go out to this area where there was a quarry. A lot of kids used to swim there on days like today. But recently in the wake of all the disappearances it was nearly empty. We got the local spin on things, it was a psycho serial killer, it was an old witch, and it was monster living in the deep water of the quarry that drowns the missing. We got more legends than any website could provide. I stuck close to Dean but did my own interviews, trying to get kids my age to talk. They were often more open and honest than the adults. Dean wasn't too successful but, I on the other hand found out a few interesting anomalies.

"There seems to be one consistent theme. They all think this old woman that lives on the hill has something to do with it. The really strange thing is that one kid's grandmother said this woman was an old lady when she was a kid. How can it possibly be the same woman, if she was old 65 years ago? I know people are living longer, but come on," I said.

"Hhhmmm, a perpetual old lady. Let's go talk to her," Dean agreed.

We headed to the house on the hill. We knocked, but there was no answer.

"Maybe she finally kicked the bucket," Dean suggested.

"No, I don't think so," I said as I headed around to the back of the house.

I walked through the gate and found a girl picking flowers in the backyard. As I approached her I felt an odd sensation. She looked like a very normal girl. As promised, Dean was on my tail. He asked about the old lady but was met only with a shy smile.

"That was her." I said as we got in the car.

"What are you talking about?"

"That was the old lady, she can change her appearance."

"Not another shape shifter," Dean groaned.

"No, that's her when she was 12. She can revert to a younger self. I saw Dad's notes; there was something about a figure called Lady Midday. She ages like everyone else, but lives for an excessive amount of time. She appears as an old lady or as herself at a younger age. But in order to do so, she must kidnap and kill children. They tend to be around the age that she shows herself as. And it is always in the heat of the summer, but I don't know why."

"Maybe it's because more kids are running around outside. It kinda' sounds like a Shtriga." Dean suggested.

"A what?"

"Nothing…it was a hunt we went on when I was just a little older than you. The shtriga stole a person's soul or something like that. In the process, the person died."

"Did it appear as an old woman or a child?"

"I don't know."

"Can you find out? Ask Dad or something? What if we're dealing with the same thing?"

"We're not; just drop it, okay?"

"Why? We need to know what is going on."

"Just drop it, Sean. Alright? It is not a shtriga, Dad would have already picked up on it."

"Okay, jeez who pissed in your cheerios?"

"Watch your language!"

"You taught it to me."

"Yeah, well I don't want to hear it right now."

SCREEECH was all I heard as Dean slammed on the brakes. Both of our jaws dropped open as we stared at the figure in the middle of the road.

"Dean?"

"Yeah, buddy."

"That's me."

"Yeah, it sure looks like you."

Then as quickly as it came, my alter ego disappeared.

"What the hell, I mean heck was that?" I asked in shock.

"It must be a doppelganger. It had no shadow, and that is a tell-tale sign of a doppelganger, no shadow, no reflection." Dean explained.

"Why is it here?" I wanted to know.

"I wish I knew, sometimes there are reasons for things and other times it's just a mystery."

"What about this time?"

"That remains to be seen brother."

We told Dad of our findings, including Dean nearly running over me, except that it wasn't me and he shared his results.

"My first thoughts were correct, it is what we in the business call, Lady Midday. There aren't many around, thankfully as they are very difficult to kill."

"How do you kill 'em?" Dean asked.

"You have to kill them when they are about to victimize their prey. They have to be in the act of choosing their victim. An arrow through the heart while in this process is said to probably work."

"Probably, what kind of cure is that? Probably. I don't like those odds at all." Dean ranted.

"I'm not done, son. The arrow must also be soaked in the blood of a child." Dad said while glancing in my direction.

"I'm not liking the implication here," I gulped.

"Also, the theory is that the child whose blood is used, must be the one who shoots the creature.

"I can't shoot well enough to get her in the heart, even if I'm close to the target. Is Dean too old to be counted as a child?"

"It depends if we are talking biological or maturity. But yes he is too old. There is another method; this one is proven to work."

"Let's hear it; it has to be better than the first one," I offered.

"The child who is the intended victim is killed by someone else before this Lady Midday can kill them. It has to happen just as she is ready to attack. Apparently seeing a life disappear, the life she needs to go on just shuts her down. Like a lack of oxygen, she just can't continue or start over."

"MMmmm, that doesn't sound like a very good plan, maybe we should go back to the first one," Dean suggested.

"How about the doppelganger? Maybe we can use it?" I added.

"Sure we'll just invite it over for a bucket of chicken and reason with it, that the sacrifice it is willing make would help mankind everywhere. Doppelgangers are bad omens, Sean. They don't help people; they aren't good things to have around. I've got to take a break, get out of here for a while," Dean fumed.

As the door slammed behind a very frustrated Dean, Dad and I just scratched our heads and tossed around some ideas.

"Well, this creature won't stop until she kills what she needs."

"How many is that?" I asked.

"The legend states it is half the number of the age she appears. So if she is 12 then it would be 6. It is usually divided evenly between girls and boys. So far two girls and one boy have disappeared, meaning a boy would be next."

"Dad, you can have some blood to soak the arrows in, but I'm really not up to sacrificing myself. We have to find another plan."

Smiling and putting his hand on my head he said, "Let me make some phone calls; we need some more information."

"Has the numbing stuff taken effect yet?" Dad asked.

"Yeah, I can't really feel anything." I said as I pinched my arm. "Why can't you go in over the scars I already have? They bled forever."

"Because I don't want to go that deep. I'm going to cut vertically right here," he said as he pointed with the alcohol soaked gauze pad. "It should give me plenty of blood and should stop with direct pressure. Watch TV and it'll be over before you know it."

And it was. I really didn't feel much and Dad wouldn't let me look. He bandaged me up and no blood soaked through. I continued to watch television and hold my hand over my head as we went over tomorrow's plan. Dean still wasn't home, but it was time for me to go to bed.

Dean's pov….

"About time, dude," Dad said as I stumbled in the door. "You can stay on the couch tonight; I'll be in with Sean."

I crashed right onto the couch and the world became dark.

"Okay, you understand everything, right?"

"Yes sir, I've got it. We've been over it and over it."

"I know I have never asked this much of you before, but you will be saving a lot of lives. This is the big one, kiddo. Just stay strong, resist the urge to run no matter how hard this gets. You know if she succeeds every 12 years, 6 kids will die each time. We just can't let that happen."

"We won't. I'm willing to do this, Dad."

The door slammed. What was that? I wasn't able to force my eyes open until the room was empty. Oh my God, was Dad going force Sean to sacrifice himself? No, that wasn't possible. But it sure sounded like he was going to be more than bait. I had to get up and get going. Dad had gone crazy and Sean needed me.

I drove like a bat out of hell but couldn't find where they were. My heart was pounding and the sweat was pouring off of me. How could Dad do this? I never thought he would go this far. Where were they!? I pulled off and just started running towards the quarry. I was in the area Sean and I had been the other day when I saw him. He was walking away from me. I started to shout his name when Dad tackled me.

"Shut up, Dean," he whispered through gritted teeth.

"I will not. What are you doing? What is Sean doing? I can't believe this."

I then found myself unable to talk as dad had stuffed something in my mouth and continued to hold me down. I squirmed and fought as I watched my brother getting closer to this Lady Midday. He wasn't holding his bow and I knew he was planning on being the next victim. I couldn't understand how Dad would allow this. I could still see him from my position and I nearly vomited. He was going to kill his own son. Dad's bow sat nearby, the arrows were soaked with Sean's blood, I was certain of it. If I could only get up and get Sean's attention, but I still no match for my father and now it was going to cost me dearly.

He was only feet away from the old woman when something caught my eye. It looked like an arrow flying through the air and my brother hit the ground. I screamed through my gag. How could this be happening? I thrashed around as best I could. I was going to kill the son of bitch that did this my brother; they were as good as dead. I had no idea what I would do to my father. My eyes were blurred with tears as I looked towards the grisly scene. I could see another figure and then another arrow fly striking the old woman in the chest. She collapsed in a heap next to the small frame that preceded her in death. Finally dad released me. I pulled the gag out of my mouth as I stood up and threw it at my father, and then I gave him a right cross that sent him reeling backwards. I took off in a full run. My eyes were still filled with tears and I couldn't make out the figure who was surveying the damage. As I got closer the form didn't seem to get much bigger. Was it a woman? Who did Dad get to do this? I didn't care; I was going to kill whoever it was with my bare hands. I threw my body onto the killer and we rolled several feet. I was screaming and was very much out of control, as I raised my fist I heard a familiar voice scream my name.

"DEAN! What the hell are you doing?"

"Sean? Is that you? But then who is…,?" I asked in astonishment.

"My evil twin came in handy. The joke was on me the other day, but today I had the last laugh. Dad made some phone calls and we discovered that on occasion, doppelgangers can be manipulated to perform a certain task. It took a lot of mental effort and energy but I convinced the thing to walk a straight line for me. Then I shot him, it wasn't easy shooting myself either. It was really weird. See your bucket of chicken idea worked. Anyway, the old woman thought this creature here was me and she freaked, thinking her prey had been stolen. To be sure of her demise I got close enough and put one through her heart. Do you think I hit it?"

As I stepped back to get a good perspective another arrow whizzed by and landed next to Sean's. With the second arrow in place the woman just withered and became mummified before our eyes.

"You were close, kiddo, just a little to the left," Dad beamed at Sean. "Good job, you stayed focused and the mission is complete."

"What happened to you guys, you're both covered in dirt and why is your lip bleeding, Dad?" Sean asked while squinting into the sun.

"Long story, lets go, I'm sweating to death," I answered abruptly.

"You thought what?" Dad screeched. "How could you think I would sacrifice my child? I would never even consider it. Not Sean, not you, and not Sam. Have I been that horrible of a father that you would think this little of me?"

"No sir, I guess I overheard only part of the conversation and when I saw the shape, I just thought…."

"Well you thought wrong. Give your brother some credit; do you think he would give up so easily? Maybe next time instead going out and drinking yourself stupid you should stay around and be a part of things."

I just nodded, feeling like a total idiot. Sean slid over my way and wrapped his arms around me. "You fought for me, you cried for me. Wow, I don't know what to say big, brother."