Chapter 8

Dean and I walked out of a local bar after making some money by hustling pool. Dean would play me and win with ease so when I challenged a local for money they would accept and then I would beat them for the money.

'Works every time' Dean said as we high five and walked back to the car to find Sam reading the paper.

'You know; we could get day jobs once in a while' Sam said

'Hunting's our day job. And the pay is crap' Dean said counting the money.

'Yeah, but hustling pool? Credit card scams? Not the most honest thing in the world' Sam said

'It's not my fault the local boys think they can beat me because I'm a girl' I said coyly

'Well, let's see. Honest… fun and easy. It's no contest. Besides, we're good at it. It's what we were raised to do and no one can beat Kaylee in pool' Dean said amused

'Yeah, well, how we were raised was jacked' Sam said laughing

'Yeah, says you' Dean said

'We got a new gig or what?' I asked

'Maybe. Oasis Plains, Oklahoma. Not far from here. A gas-company employee. Dustin Burwash supposedly died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob' Sam stated

'Huh?' Dean asked confused

'Human mad cow disease' I explained

'Mad cow. Wasn't that on Oprah?' Dean asked

'You watch Oprah?' Sam asked amused and Dean looked awkward. I laughed before coming to his rescue.

'So this guy eats a bad burger. Why is it our kind of thing?' I asked

'Mad cow disease causes massive brain degeneration. It takes months, even years, for the damage to appear. But this guy, Dustin, sounds like his brain disintegrated in about an hour. Maybe less' Sam explained

'Okay. That's weird' Dean agreed

'Yeah. Now, it could be a disease or it could be something much nastier' Sam said

'All right. Oklahoma!' Dean said clapping his hands together.

'Man. Work, work, work. No time to spend my money' Dean joked

'Whose money?' I asked

'Our money' Dean corrected and I nodded as we jumped in the car.

…

'Travis Weaver?' Dean asked as we got out of the car outside the Oklahoma gas company and walked over to a man in the carpark.

'Yeah, that's right' Travis said simply

'Are you the Travis who worked with Uncle Dusty?' Dean asked

'Dustin never mentioned nephews or a niece' Travis said confused

'Really? Well, he sure mentioned you' Dean said

'He said you were the greatest' I added

'Oh, he did?' Travis said smiling

'Listen, we wanted to ask you, what exactly happened out there?' I asked

'I'm sure exactly sure. He fell in a sinkhole. I went to the truck to get some rope and by the time I got back…' Travis started to explain before trailing off.

'What did you see?' Dean asked softly

'Nothing. Just Dustin' Travis said simply

'No wounds or anything?' I asked confused

'Well, he was bleeding from his eyes and his ears, his nose. That's it' Travis explained

'So you think it could be this whole mad cow thing?' Sam asked

'I don't know. That's what the doctors are saying' Travis said

'But if it was, he would've acted strange beforehand like dementia, loss of motor control. You ever notice anything like that?' Sam asked

'No. No way. But then if it wasn't some disease, what the hell was it?' Travis asked

'That's a good question' Dean said simply

'Can you tell us where this happened?' I asked

'Yeah' Travis said grabbing a sheet of paper and writing it down for us.

We thanked him and got back in our car, driving to the crime scene.

'Huh, what do you think?' Dean asked as we walked towards the hole.

'I don't know, but if Travis was right, it happened pretty damn fast' Sam said

'So, what, some sort of creature chewed on his brain?' Dean asked

'No, there'd be an entry wound. Sounds like this thing worked from the inside' I explained as Dean shined a light down there.

'Looks like there's only room for one. You want to flip a coin' Dean said

'Dean, we have no idea what's down there' Sam argued as Dean grabbed a hose.

'All right. I'll go if you're scared. Scared?' Dean mocked

'Flip the damn coin' Sam said as Dean chuckled. I rolled my eyes and grabbed one end of the hose and started climbing down the hole.

'Boys' I muttered to myself, ignoring Sam and Dean calling out my name. I dropped down to the ground and bent down.

'Kaylee! Are you okay?' Dean called out

'Yeah' I called back as I moved some dirty around and found some dead beetles. I quickly pocketed them and climbed back up the hole.

'So you found some beetles. In a hole in the ground. That's shocking, Kaylee' Dean said as we got back in the car.

'There were no tunnels, no tracks, no evidence of any other kind of creature down there' I explained

'You know; some beetles do eat meat. It's usually dead meat, but…' Sam started to say

'How many did you find down there?' Dean asked me

'10' I stated

'It's take a whole lot more than that to eat out some dude's brain' Dean said

'Well, maybe there were more' Sam argued

'I don't know. Sounds like a stretch to me' Dean said

'Guys! Stop arguing. It's a theory, relax. We need more information on the area, the neighbourhood, whether something like this has ever happened before' I explained as Dean looked out the window.

'I know a good place to start' Dean said as we pulled up outside a house with a BBQ.

'I'm kind of hungry for a little BBQ, how about you?' Dean asked and Sam just looked at him.

'What? We can't talk to the locals?' Dean asked

'The free food's got nothing to do with?' Sam asked laughing

'Of course not. I'm a professional' Dean said causing me to choke on my drink with laughter.

'Right' I laughed as Dean pulled over.

'Growing up in a place like this would freak me out' Dean said as we got out of the car.

'Why?' Sam asked

'The manicured lawns, "how was your day, honey?", I'd blow my brains out' Dean explained

'There's nothing wrong with normal' Sam stated

'I'd take our family over normal any day' Dean replied as I smirked before my phone rang.

'Hey' I said into the phone

'Hey, Kaylee. It's Kane' Kane said

'Is everything okay?' I asked worried as Sam and Dean knocked on the front door.

'Yeah, no more appearances… I just… wanted to see how you were doing? It was the anniversary of your father's death last week. Sorry I didn't call on the day' Kane said and I smiled sadly

'I'm okay, thanks for your concern Kane… look I got to go but I'll call you later okay?' I asked and he agreed before hanging up. I looked over to Sam and Dean to see them talking to a man.

'Yeah. Not the best weather, but… I'm Larry Pike, the developer here. And you are…?' Larry asked

'Dean. This is Sam' Dean introduced

'Sam, Dean. Good to meet you. So you're interested in Oasis Plains?' Larry asked

'Yes, sir' Dean replied

'Let me just say, we accept homeowners of any race, religion, colour… or sexual orientation' Larry said as I walked over to them, trying not to laugh.

'We're brothers' Dean corrected before pulling me to his side.

'This is my fiancé, Kaylee' Dean introduced, ignoring my glare.

'Hello' I said through gritted teeth.

'Our father's getting on in years. We're looking for a place for him' Sam added, trying not to laugh at my shocked face as Dean kept his arm around my waist.

'Great. Great. Well, seniors are welcome too. Come on in' Larry said letting us into the house.

'Come on sweetie' Dean said grinning as I elbowed him in the ribs, hard, causing him to cough.

'You said you were the developer?' Sam asked as we walked into the backyard to see people talking and eating.

'18 months ago, I was walking this valley with my survey team. There was nothing here but scrub brush and squirrels. And you know what, we built such a nice place to live that I actually bought into it myself. This is our house. We're the first family in Oasis Plains. This is my wife, Joanie' Larry introduced

'Hi there' She said shaking hands with us.

'Sam, Dean and Kaylee' Larry introduced

'Tell them how much you love the place, honey. And lie if you have to because I need to sell some houses' Larry joked before walking off.

'Don't let his salesman routine scare you. This really is a great place to live' Joanie said as another woman stepped up.

'Hi, I'm Lynda Bloome, head of sales' Lynda introduced

'Lynda was second to move in. She's a very noisy neighbour, though' Joanie said before walking off.

'She's kidding, of course. I take it you two are interested in becoming homeowners?' Lynda asked

'Yeah, well…'Sam started to say

'Let me just say that we accept homeowners of any race, religion, colour or sexual orientation' Lynda said as I laughed before Dean pulled me to his side.

'This is my fiancé' Dean explained before kissing me lightly on the lips. I grabbed his arm and dug my nails in deeply, causing his to grit his teeth in pain.

'I'm going to go talk to Larry. Okay, honey?' I asked fuming before walking off to get a tour of the house with Larry.

'You got three choices: carpet, hardwood and tile' Larry explained as we walked back downstairs after the tour.

'Oh, someone likes bugs' I said looking a table full of bugs in a container.

'My son. He's into insects. He's very inquisitive' Larry explained before we walked back outside to see a boy talking to Dean and Sam.

'Matthew!' Larry called out before storming over to them, with me following.

'I am so sorry about my son and his pet' Larry said

'It's no bother' Sam said simply

'Excuse us' Larry said before pulling his son away but the elbow. As soon as they were out of eye sight I turned to Dean and slapped him hard across the face.

'What the hell?' Dean asked holding his cheek.

'Never, ever, kiss me without my consent again' I said seething and Dean looked at me, slightly scared and nodded.

'Remind you of somebody?' Sam asked, looking at Larry and Matthew. Dean looked confused, still holding his cheek.

'Dad?' Sam asked

'Dad never treated us like that' Dean said

'Well, Dad never treated you like that. You were perfect. He was all over my case. You don't remember?' Sam asked as Dean shook his head.

'Maybe he had to raise his voice, but sometimes you were out of line' Dean said

'Right. Like when I said I'd rather play soccer than learn bow hunting' Sam said

'Bow hunting's an important skill' Dean replied as I stood their awkwardly

'Whatever. How was your tour?' Sam asked me

'Oh, it was excellent. I'm ready to buy' I said grinning

'So you might be on to something. Looks like Dustin Burwash wasn't the first strange death here' Dean said to me, warily.

'What happened?' I asked

'A year ago, before they broke ground one of Larry's surveyors dropped dead on the job. Get this: a severe allergic reaction to bee stings' Dean explained

'More bugs' Sam and I said at the same time.

…