AN: Here's the next chapter! Sorry it took so long!
Gracilynn sits in the Camaro, her head resting on the window, eyes closed. Her dad and uncle were inside the house in front of her talking to the mother of the first victim, Thomas Jeffords. Gracilynn had woken up about ten minutes before they left and insisted on tagging along even though she still felt horrible. She argued she was sick of the hotel room and just needed to get out; she would even stay in the car and sleep the whole time. Eventually, Gracilynn pulled out the big guns and shot the puppy-dog look in full force at her dad and uncle and they both crumbled letting her come. Gracilynn sighs and resituates herself, moving so her back is resting on the side of the car. She jumps slightly when a girls' face meets her from the opposite window. Calming herself down, Gracilynn furrows her eyebrows. The girl is no older than seven with blonde hair and blue eyes. Gracilynn looks over at the house but doesn't see her dad and uncle; in fact, she doesn't see anyone. Sighing, Gracilynn looks back to the window across from her and sees the little girl is still watching her from outside.
"'Cause that's not creepy," Gracilynn mutters to herself as she slides the seat in front of her forward and opens the door, climbing out of her car. She stretches and shuts the door behind her, turning around to look at the young girl. The little girl takes a couple steps back but continues to watch Gracilynn with interest. "You live here?"
The little girl nods her head, glancing at her house before looking back at Gracilynn. Gracilynn nods her head. She glances at the house herself before turning her attention back to the girl in front of her.
"What's your name?" Gracilynn asks softly, crouching down to be more on level with the little girl.
"Mya," the little girls says quietly, still wary of Gracilynn. Gracilynn offers her a soft smile.
"How old are you? Twenty-two?" Gracilynn asks, causing Mya to grin and shake her head. "Fifty-seven?"
Mya giggles and shakes her head.
"No…I'm seven," she says with a grin, taking a few steps towards Gracilynn. Gracilynn keeps her eyes on Mya when she asks the next question carefully.
"Mya…do you know Thomas?" Gracilynn asks her, hoping she doesn't scare the girl to shut down. Mya's face falls but she nods her head.
"He is my brother," she answers, her lip protruding out. Gracilynn offers her a sympathetic look.
"I'm sorry Mya," Gracilynn says, inching forward slightly, glad Mya lets her.
"He was supposed to take me on the Ferris wheel," Mya says, her eyes welling up.
"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay," Gracilynn says calmly, trying to get the girl to stop crying. Gracilynn furrows her eyebrows a little. "Mya, were you with Thomas when…when he got hurt?"
Mya nods her head. He bottom lip starts to tremble and a tear falls down her cheek. Way to go Gracilynn, make the kid cry. Gracilynn takes a deep breath.
"I'm sorry you had to see that Mya," Gracilynn says sympathetically. She puts a comforting hand on Mya's shoulder, surprised when Mya quickly moves in for a hug, squeezing her tight. Getting over her shock, Gracilynn returns the hug, patting Mya's back. Someone clears their throat and Mya pulls back swiftly, her and Gracilynn looking up at Dean and Sam who've just arrived. Dean raises an eyebrow at Gracilynn and Gracilynn has the decency to look sheepish for leaving the Camaro. Mya quickly run back to the house, stopping at the front door and looking back at Gracilynn. Gracilynn waves at her and Mya returns it before disappearing into the house.
"What happened to staying in the car?" Dean asks, looking between Gracilynn and the front door where Mya was just at.
"That was Mya; Thomas' sister. She was there when it happened," Gracilynn says, not taking her eyes off the front door. Dean and Sam look over at Gracilynn, noticing her jaw and body tense. Gracilynn opens the door and climbs into the back seat. Dean and Sam share a look before climbing in the car themselves, Dean starting the Camaro up and driving towards the hotel.
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"So, he was cremated?" Gracilynn asks her dad and uncle as she lies down on her dad's bed, staring up at the ceiling. They had just gotten back to the motel room and had filled her in on what they found out about Thomas.
"Yeah," Dean answers, taking a sip out of his beer from where he's sitting at the table. Sam is sitting across from him, an untouched beer in front of him and his computer open, his fingers typing on the keyboard.
"Which means there is probably something else holding him here," Sam replies, not taking his eyes off the computer.
"My money is on the roller coaster he died on," Dean says, looking over at his brother.
"From the sounds of it, it seemed pretty messy," Gracilynn says, looking over at her dad and uncle.
"He got ran over by a roller coaster, there's bound to be human remains all over that thing," Dean says, nodding his head in agreement. He looks over at his brother. "You find out what roller coaster it was?"
"Yeah, it was The Nightmare," Sam says, looking up from his computer and sharing a look with Dean. Gracilynn rolls her eyes.
"How ironic," she says, shaking her head, looking back up at the ceiling.
"Dean, the fair's still going on tonight. We won't be able to burn the thing till everyone leaves. What if this thing strikes again before then?" Sam asks worriedly, his lips in a frown and his head cocked slightly.
"We go tonight. Hang around until everyone leaves. If something goes wrong at least we'll be there to try to stop it," Dean says, not liking what Sam has pointed out. Gracilynn glances over at her uncle before sitting up.
"So, when do we leave?" she asks, looking between her dad and uncle. Dean glances over at her and raises an eyebrow.
"We aren't going anywhere. You're staying here," he says, finishing up his beer. Sam looks between his brother and niece with an amused smirk on his face, watching the two of them begin their next "discussion".
"You need all the help you can get," Gracilynn argues, turning her body so she completely facing her dad. Dean shakes his head.
"You're still sick. I can't have you out there when you're not 100%," Dean says, getting up and putting the beer bottle next to the sink. He turns around and looks directly at Gracilynn.
"What if something happens? You two will be trying to save people. I could run crowd control," Gracilynn offers, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow. Dean shakes his head again.
"We can handle this ourselves, Gracilynn. Just get yourself better so you don't have to sit out the next hunt too. We both know you'll just love that," Dean says sarcastically, looking pointedly at Gracilynn. Gracilynn scowls.
"Fine but you can't keep me here if you're out there," she says with a cocky smirk. Dean narrows his eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asks, a scowl forming on his face. Sam snorts.
"I think she means if she doesn't go with us, she'll go without us," Sam explains, his amused smirk growing. Dean sees this and sends him a glare before turning it on his daughter.
"Gracilynn…" Dean warns her, his jaw tensing.
"Dad, I'm nineteen. If I want to go, I'm going to end up going," Gracilynn says, standing up and staring at Dean, refusing to back down. Dean's scowl intensifies as he stares his daughter down as well. Gracilynn knows the precise moment her dad has given in; she sees his eyes soften just slightly, but enough to know he's going to go her way.
"Fine, but if you're not better by the next hunt, you're grounded to the motel again," Dean says reluctantly, frustrated Gracilynn has won again. Dean turns around and gives his brother a glare while Gracilynn gives her uncle a victory grin. "And wipe the damn smile off your face."
Sam snorts, hearing the endearment in his brothers' voice. Sam glances over at Gracilynn and sees the smile almost gone but notices there are still traces of it playing on her lips. Gracilynn didn't take the remark to heart; she heard the love in her dad's voice even if he was incredibly frustrated she has won again.
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Gracilynn walks through the fair, keeping her eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. They had arrived at the fairgrounds about an hour ago and they had immediately split up, each of them taking a third of the amusement park area. They were to call the other two if they saw anything that seemed weird. Gracilynn sighs and looks at her surroundings once again, her eyes falling on a Fried Dough seller. A smile appears on her face and her eyes shine with excitement. Gracilynn hurries over and stands in line waiting her turn to order her fried dough.
As the person in front of her steps up to the window, Gracilynn looks around the fair. Suddenly, she freezes, her eyes trained on the Ferris wheel line. Her eyes instantly grow big and she feels her stomach drop. There in line is Mya; by herself, waiting to get on to the Ferris wheel.
"Miss?" Gracilynn's head whips around to the seller in front of her. His eyebrows are raised and he looks as if he's been calling her for a while.
"What?" Gracilynn asks, confused, her mind over at Mya. The man sighs.
"Are you buying something?" he asks her, waving his hand around him at the food.
"Uh…no," Gracilynn says, quickly leaving the line and running over to where the Ferris wheel line is. She knew the ride operator wouldn't let her go on the ride by herself but she doesn't want to take any chances.
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Mya is only seven years old but she knows they won't let her on the ride by herself. So, she sneaks by the operator, hiding behind a group of teenagers walking past him and up the stairs to their bucket. Mya doesn't want to sit with them so she waits for them to get in the bucket, standing off to the side so no one can see her. The operator hits a button and stops it when the next bucket comes to the stairs. Mya quickly climbs in when he looks away to send the next group of people through. Little does anyone know, including the operator, that the Ferris wheel begins moving to the next bucket.
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Gracilynn comes to a halt at the fence surrounding the Ferris wheel, watching the scene playing in front of her. She sees the operator focusing his attention on the people next in line; which brings her attention to the moving wheel. If he isn't controlling it, then that means… Gracilynn's eyes grow wide as they move over to the bucket Mya is in.
"Dammit," Gracilynn mutters before looking around. Not seeing anyone paying attention, Gracilynn jumps over the fence and rushes to the side of the stairs, making sure the operator doesn't see her. She jumps up onto the top of the stairs and makes her way to where Mya's bucket is. Gracilynn grabs one of the bars and hoists herself onto another bar below it, climbing over to Mya's bucket. Gracilynn climbs inside it and takes a seat next to Mya, making sure she's face her had on.
"Mya what are you doing?" Gracilynn asks, worry in her eyes. Mya looks up at her with sad eyes.
"Thomas was supposed to take me on the Ferris wheel. I wanted to ride on it," she says, hanging on to the railing beside her as the Ferris wheel moves again.
"We need to get off here. Now," Gracilynn says, standing up and grabbing Mya. Mya yanks her arm out of Gracilynn's grasp and slides away from her, shaking her head.
"No. Thomas said that if I go on the Ferris wheel he'll come with me," Mya pleads, tears welling up in her eyes, his bottom lip protruding outwards. Gracilynn freezes, her breath catching in her throat.
"Wh…what?" she asks as the Ferris wheel begins to move, the buckets full. Gracilynn's eyes get bigger and she looks down, seeing them get further and further away from the ground.
AN: Please review and let me know what ya'll think! Love getting feedback from you guys!