Hey guys, real quick before this chapter starts. I have two chapters of an original fic titled "In Praeteritum" on FictionPress under the same pename as here. It's a direct prequel to Fallen and if you guys wanted to check it out, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
- Gallifreyan98
October 20th, 2008 - Rock Ridge, Colorado
Amy sighed as she sat in the back seat of the Impala, waiting for Sam and Dean to come out of the morgue. They had gotten word a couple days ago about a man who had suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack and had decided to go check it out. Sam and Dean had told Amy to stay in the car, since having three FBI agents show up probably wasn't the best idea.
Twenty minutes after they had gone inside, Amy saw Sam and Dean emerge from the morgue.
"So what have we got?" Amy asked as Sam and Dean got back into the car.
"Guy named Frank O' Brien," Sam informed her, handing her a stack of papers. "Died of a heart attack."
Amy looked at Sam. "Heart attack? That doesn't exactly sound like our kind of thing."
"Well, not at first," Dean agreed, "but this guy plus two others dropped dead unexpectedly. All of them were completely healthy before that."
"Okay..." Amy said, starting to understand.
"Sheriff in town was friends with O'Brien," Dean continued. "Sammy and I will talk to him, figure out anything we can. You wanna go back to the motel or wait in the car again?"
"I'll wait in the car," Amy decided. "It shouldn't take too long anyways."
Dean nodded before starting the engine and driving off towards the sheriff's office.
Amy sat, once again, waiting for Sam and Dean to come out of the building. She leaned back against the window, watching the cars drive by before the sound of a group of teenagers talking on the sidewalk behind her distracted her. Finally, she spotted them, talking amongst themselves as they walked towards the Impala. Before they got to the Impala, however, Dea pointed at the teenagers, then in a different direction, walking away from the car and leaving a very confused Amy to watch them leave.
Amy pulled out her phone, dialing Sam's number.
"Yeah?" Sam asked as he answered the phone.
"You're going the wrong way," Amy said matter-of-factly. "Where are you guys going?"
"I'm not sure," Sam said. "Dean said something about not liking the teenagers near the Impala and wanted to get away from them or something?"
This only confused Amy even more. "Okay? That's weird."
Sam scoffed. "Yeah," he agreed. "Listen, just hang tight. We'll head back around as soon as I can talk some sense into Dean, here."
"Alright," Amy said before hanging up the phone.
Ten minutes later, Sam and Dean finally began walking back across the street, towards the car. As they got closer to the Impala and the teenagers, Dean got evidently more nervous. He didn't take his eyes off of them as they opened the doors and got in.
"What was that all about?" Amy asked as Sam and Dean got into the front seat.
"Don't ask," Dean said simply.
Amy turned to Sam, hoping for a response, but only got a mere shrug.
"Alright, well, I know I'm not sitting in the car again when you go to question the next guy. I'm either going with or back to the motel."
"It probably wouldn't hurt for you to come with," Sam agreed.
"Oh thank god," Amy said as she leaned back against her seat.
Dean drove them to Mark Hutchins' house. When they arrived, Amy got out of the Impala with them, and Sam handed her her fake FBI badge that said Agent Kramer on it.
Once everyone was ready, Dean led them up to the front door and rang the doorbell. A moment later, the door opened and a man emerged.
"Yes?" the man asked.
"Mark Hutchins?" Sam asked. The man nodded. "Agents Tyler, Perry, and Kramer," Sam continued as they flashed their badges. "We're looking into the death of Frank O'Brien. Mind if we ask you a few questions?"
"Uh, no, not at all," Mark said, shaking his head. "Come on in." He opened the door for them, stepping aside as they walked into the house.
"Cool snake," Amy said with a smile as she pointed to the boa constrictor around Mark's neck.
"You like snakes?"
Amy nodded. "Oh yeah. Snakes, spiders, etcetera. I found a tarantula when I was little. Wanted to keep it as a pet."
Mark let out a hearty laugh as he led them further into the house.
"Tyler, Perry, and Kramer," Mark said with amusement as he led them into the main room. "Just like Aerosmith." The room Mark had led them to was filled with glass cages containing lizards and snakes.
"Yeah, small world," Sam chuckled as they sat down on a couch. "So, the last time you saw Frank O'Brien?"
Mark sat down in a chair across from them. "Monday, he was watching me from his window," he explained. "I waved at him, but he just closed the curtains."
"Hmm. Did you speak to him recently?" Sam continued. "Did he seem different? Uh, scared?"
"Oh, totally," Mark said with a laugh. "He was freaking out."
Sam and Amy exchanged a glance, before looking at Dean, who also looked freaked ou.
"Do you know, uh..do you know what scared him?" Dean asked nervously.
"Well, yeah, witches," Mark said, as if it was the most obvious thing ever.
"Witches?" Sam asked. "Like...?"
"Well, "Wizard of Oz" was on TV the other night, right?" Mark explained. "And he said that green bitch was totally out to get him."
"Was there anything else that scared him?" Amy asked.
"Everything else scared him," Mark explained. "Al-Qaeda, ferrets, artificial sweetener. Those pez dispensers with their dead little eyes. Lots of stuff."
"So, tell me. What was Frank like?" Sam asked.
"I mean, he's dead, you know?" Mark replied, slightly nervous. "I-I don't want to hammer him but, he got better."
"He got better?" Sam questioned.
"Well, in high school he was, he was a dick," Mark admitted.
"A dick?" Sam repeated.
Mark nodded. "Like a bully. I mean, he probably taped half the town's butt cheeks together," Mark glared at Dean as the hunter snickered before continuing, "Mine included."
"So he pissed a lot of people off," Dean said, straightening up. "You think anyone would have wanted to get revenge?"
"Well, I don't," Mark began before looking at them, confused. "Frank had a heart attack, right?"
"Just answer the question, sir,"
Mark shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Like I said, he got better," he repeated. "And after what happened to his wife."
"His wife?" Dean asked. "So he was married."
Mark nodded. "She died about twenty years ago. Frank was really broken up about it." He smirked, seeing Dean stare at the boa around his neck. "Don't be scared of Donny. He's a sweetheart. It's Marie you got to look out for." Mark nodded to the couch and Amy turned to see an albino snake creeping up from behind the couch towards Dean. "She smells fear."
Dean smiled nervously as the snake began to crawl down his lap.
"Cool," Amy said with a smile as she watched the snake slither around.
Later that night, Amy joined Sam in searching Frank's house while Dean went to the county clerk's office to do some digging on Frank's wife.
"Well, doesn't smell like there's any sulfur," Sam noticed as he opened the door to Frank's apartment. "Search around for any EMF. I'll look for hex bags."
"Does Dean seem a bit off to you today?" Amy asked as she waved her EMF meter around. "Like, a little jumpy?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah, he does. I'm sure it's just nerves or something." Sam chuckled nervously, but Amy could tell he thought something else was going on.
After searching the entire apartment, they came up clean, not finding a single hex bag or trace of EMF.
Sam sighed. "Come on, let's head back to the car."
Sam led Amy back to the car, where Dean was reading something in the front seat.
"Hey," Sam greeted as they got into the car. "Any luck at the county clerk's office?"
Dean sighed. "I'm not sure I'd call it luck. Frank's wife, Jessie, was a manic-depressive. She went off her meds back in '88 and vanished," he explained. "They found her two weeks later, three towns over. Strung up in her motel room, suicide."
"Any chance Frank helped her along to the other side?" Sam asked.
Dean shook his head. "No, Frank was working the swing shift when she disappeared. Airtight alibi." He started the Impala and began driving through town. "How was Frank's pad?"
"Nada," Amy said.
"Searched it top to bottom," Sam added. "No EMF, no hex bags, no sulfur."
"So probably no ghosts, no witches, no demons," Dean listed off.
Sam scoffed.
"Three down and ninety-seven to go."
"Yeah." Sam leaned over, looking at the speedometer. "Dude, you're going twenty."
"And?" Dean questioned.
"That's the speed limit," Sam said pointedly.
"What? Safety's a crime now?" Dean asked. He drove through the intersection, past their hotel.
"Uh..." Amy said, pointing to the hotel as they drove past.
"Dude, where are you going?" Sam asked. "That was our hotel."
"Sam, I'm not gonna make a left-hand turn into oncoming traffic. I'm not suicidal," Dea blurted out. He looked confused by his own statement. "Did I just say that? That was kind of weird."
The EMF meter suddenly started going off in the duffle bag next to Amy.
"Do you hear something?" Sam asked.
Amy dug the meter out of the bag to find it loudly going off. She handed it to Sam, who moved it to and from Dean. As the meter got closer to Dean, the noise got louder and louder.
"Am I haunted?" Dean asked nervously. "Am I haunted?!"
Blue Bird Hotel
Dean finally drove them back to the motel, where they got out and headed up to their room on the fourth floor.
"Okay, what the hell, man?" Dean asked as they entered the room. "Am I haunted or what?"
"I don't know," Sam replied, "maybe." He looked over at Amy, who shrugged.
"I don't know, either," Amy said, "but I'm sure we can figure this out."
"I'll call Bobby in the morning, see if he can shed some light on the subject. Just, try to get some sleep for now. We'll figure this out in the morning."
October 21st, 2008
The next morning, Sam and Amy went out to get breakfast, leaving Dean alone in the motel room.
"You think he's gonna be okay?" Amy asked.
"Yeah," Sam said with uncertainty. "He'll be fine."
"If you say so," Amy said as she followed Sam down the sidewalk.
Sam bought a small box of donuts for breakfast. As they walked back to the hotel, he called Bobby on his cell.
"Hey, Bobby," Sam greeted into his phone. There was a pause. "Yeah, we're doing alright. Hey, listen we're working this case and could use your help with something."
Another pause.
"Yeah, she's here. Hold on, I'll put you on speaker."
Sam put his cell on speaker, holding it so Amy could listen in.
"Hey, Bobby," Amy said into the phone.
"Hey, kid," Bobby's voice came from the speaker. "Alright, so what's going on?"
"You know that guy Frank O'Brien?" Sam asked.
"The guy who dropped dead of a heart attack?" Bobby asked. "Yeah, why?"
"Well, it turns out, right before he died, he was pretty freaked out."
"Over just about everything," Amy added.
"Okay..." Bobby said, trailing off.
"And now the same thing is happening to Dean," Amy continued.
"What do you mean, the same thing is happening to Dean?"
"Exactly that, Bobby," Sam said. "Yesterday, after we talked to the sheriff, he wouldn't go towards the Impala when there were a group of teenagers near it."
"And last night, he actually drove the speed limit and refused to 'turn left onto oncoming traffic' towards our motel room," Amy added.
"And then the EMF meter started going crazy around him," Sam finished.
"Well, if I didn't know any better," Bobby spoke, "that sounds like ghost sickness."
"Ghost sickness?" Sam and Amy asked.
"Well, there are some cultures out there who believe that certain spirits can infect the living with a disease."
"But we haven't seen a ghost in weeks," Amy pointed out.
"Ghost sickness can be spread just like your common cold through patient zero," Bobby replied. "Symptoms include anxiousness, then a lot of fear until it's too much for your heart to handle."
"Wait, so, then how come Sam and I weren't infected?" Amy asked.
"Well, I've been looking into O'Brien as well," Bobby said. "Turns out Frank was at a softball tournament over the weekend with two other guys. Called themselves the Cornjerkers."
"Anything about these guys stick out?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, all three of them were dicks," Bobby said matter-of-factly.
Sam and Amy exchanged a glance. "What?" Sam asked.
"Well, Frank was a bully, back in the day."
"Yeah," Amy said with a nod.
"And the other two guys, one was a vice principal and the other was a bouncer."
"They used fear to scare people," Amy realized.
"How long does he have then?" Sam asked.
"About forty-eight hours from the time of infection," Bobby explained.
As they got closer to the Impala, the faint sound of Eye of the Tiger could be heard playing over the speakers.
"Okay, thanks, Bobby," Sam said as they approached the car. "We'll call you if we need anything else."
Sam hung up the phone and led Amy over to the Impala. As they got closer, Amy could see Dean lying on the front seat, air drumming to the music. Sam banged on the top of the roof, scaring Dean, who turned off the car.
Dean got out of the car, looking around as he rolled up his sleeve. "Dude. Look at this," he said as he showed them a bunch of small scratches on his arm.
"We just talked to Bobby," Sam said as he handed the box of donuts to Dean.
Dean took the box of donuts and, after sniffing the box, tossed it into the car. "And?"
Sam looked at the box of donuts, confused. "Um, well, you're not gonna like it."
"What?" Dean asked.
"Bobby says it's ghost sickness," Amy explained.
"Ghost sickness?" Dean repeated.
Sam nodded. "Yeah."
"God, no," Dean complained.
"Yeah," Sam repeated.
"I don't even know what that is," Dean stated.
"Okay. Some cultures believe that certain spirits can infect the living with a disease, which is why they stopped displaying bodies in houses and started taking them off to funeral homes," Sam explained.
"Okay, get to the good stuff," Dean urged.
"Symptoms are you get anxious," Sam began.
Dean nodded. "Yeah."
"And then you start getting scared," Amy continued. "Until your so scared your heart can't handle it anymore."
"Sound familiar?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, but Sam, we haven't seen a ghost in weeks," Dean pointed out.
"Well, I doubt you caught it from a ghost," Sam said. "Look, once a spirit infects that first person, Ghost sickness can spread like any sickness through a cough, a handshake, whatever. It's like the flu. Now, Frank O'Brien was the first to die, which means he was probably the first infected. Patient zero."
"Our very own outbreak monkey," Dean realized.
Sam nodded. "Right. Get this, Frank was in Maumee over the weekend. Softball tournament. Which is where he must have infected the other two victims."
"Were they gamecocks?" Dean asked.
"Cornjerkers," Sam corrected.
"So, ghosts infected Frank," Dean realized. "He passed it onto the other guys and I got it from his corpse?"
"Right," Sam confirmed.
"So now what, I have forty-eight hours before I go insane and my heart stops?"
"More like twenty-four," Sam corrected.
"Chances are, you got infected at the morgue," Amy added.
Dean scoffed. "Super."
"Yeah."
"Well, why me? Why not you?" Dean asked. "I mean, you got hit with the spleen juice."
"Gross," Amy muttered.
"Yeah, um, you see we have a theory about that too," Sam explained. "Turns out all three victims shared a certain, uh, personality type. Frank was a bully. The other two victims, one was a vice principal, the other was a bouncer."
"Okay," Dean said, not quite getting the point.
"Basically, they were all dicks," Sam concluded.
"So you're saying I'm a dick?" Dean asked, slightly offended.
"No, no, no," Sam said. "It's not just that. All three victims used fear as a weapon, and now this disease is just returning the favor."
Dean scoffed. "I don't scare people."
"Dean, all we do is scare people."
"Okay, well then, you're a dick too," Dean pointed out. "And so is Amy."
"Hey!" Amy cried out, offended by Dean's remark.
Sam let out a laugh. "Apparently, we're not."
"Besides, I wasn't even with you guys when you went to the morgue," Amy pointed out.
Dean rolled his eyes. "Whatever. How do we stop it?"
"We gank the ghost that started all this," Sam stated. "We do that, the disease should clear up."
"You thinking Frank's wife?" Dean asked.
Sam shrugged. "Who knows why she killed herself, you know?" He looked at the hotel behind him, before turning back to Dean. "Hey, what are you doing waiting out here, anyway?"
Dean pointed a finger up to the hotel. "Our room's on the fourth floor," he stated.
Sam shook his head.
"It's...it's high," Dean finished.
Sam scoffed. "I'll see if I can move us down to the first."
"Thanks."
Sam nodded. "Sure."
Amy leaned against the Impala as Sam went inside to move them to a lower floor and Dean climbed back into the Impala.
"Hey hand me that box of donuts?" Amy asked. Dean handed her the box and she took a glazed one out, taking a bite as she handed the box back to Dean.
A short while later, Sam walked back out of the hotel.
"Alright," Sam said as he handed Dean the room key, "we're on the first floor. You go relax in the room while Amy and I go dig up anything we can on Jessie O'Brien, okay?"
Dean nodded. "Yeah, sure. Piece of cake."
Sam nodded. "Okay, then." When Dean didn't move from the car, Sam added, "Dean, that means you need to get out of the car and walk to the room."
"Walk?" Dean asked, pointing across the parking lot. "Across there?"
Amy nodded. "Yes, Dean. Across there."
"But what if a car comes?"
"What if a - " Sam stopped himself mid sentence, exchanging a glance with Amy. "Dean, a car isn't going to come."
"You don't know that," Dean pointed out.
Sam sighed. "Okay. Amy, wait in the car," he said as he tossed Amy the car keys, "I'll be right back."
Sam led Dean across the street into the motel room as Amy started the engine and climbed into the passenger seat.
A moment later, Sam came back out, getting into the driver's side.
"We need to get this sorted out," Amy stated as Sam closed the car door. "ASAP."
"Yeah," Sam scoffed as he backed out of the parking space. "Ya think?"
Sam and Amy spent the next few hours digging up anything they could find on Jessie O'Brien. They soon learned that Jessie had been cremated, which ruled her out as the ghost haunting Dean.
"Alright, so if it's not Jessie?" Amy asked as they left the library, "then who the hell could it be?"
"Frank O'Brien had to have come in contact with a ghost some time before he died, right?" Sam asked.
Amy nodded. "Right."
"So we just need to figure out who that ghost was."
"Oh, yeah, that should be no problem. We've only got," Amy paused, checking an imaginary watch, "a day to find this ghost and it's not like there are hundreds or even thousands of them out there."
"We should find out where Frank worked," Sam stated. "Maybe that'll give us some clues."
Sam drove the Impala back to the hotel. Amy followed him into the room, where Dean was found sitting on the sofa, drinking a beer, while a broken clock lay on the floor.
"Everything all right?" Sam asked, looking at the broken clock.
"Oh,yeah," Dean said, chuckling nervously. "Just peachy. Find anything?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah, Jessie O'Brien's body was cremated, so I'm pretty sure she is not our ghost." He grabbed Dean's arm. "Hey, quit picking at that," he said, gesturing to the scratch marks Dean had been picking at. "How you feeling?"
"Awesome," Dean replied sarcastically. "It's nice to have my head on the chopping block again. I almost forgot what that feels like."
"Don't worry, Dean," Amy said, "we'll figure this out."
"Yeah," Sam agreed. "We'll keep looking."
Dean suddenly began to cough violently.
"Dean?" Amy asked, panic driven in her voice.
"You okay?" Sam asked, holding his brother as he bent forward. "Hey!"
Dean began to choke.
"Dean," Sam repeated. He quickly turned his brother away, leading him to the bathroom, with Amy following behind.
Dean coughed a few more times over the sink before spitting out a wood chip.
Sam picked up the woodchip, looking it over. "We've been completely ignoring the biggest clue we have, you," he told Dean.
"I don't want to be a clue," Dean
"The abrasions, this, the disease, it's trying to tell us something," Sam continued.
"Tell us what, wood chips?" Dean asked.
Sam nodded. "Exactly."
"The lumber mill," Amy realized.
"Let's go check it out," Sam said. He grabbed his brother by the shoulders. "You're coming with."
Sam drove the Impala to the local lumber mill with Dean in the passenger seat and Amy once again in the back. When they arrived, Dean got out, looking at the mill apprehensively.
"I'm not going in there," Dean stated.
"We might need you," Sam said. "You're going in, Dean."
Dean took a shot of whiskey and sighed. "Let's do this." He looked back up at the building. "It is a little spooky, isn't it?"
Amy got her shotgun out of the trunk as Sam handed one to Dean.
"Oh, I'm not carrying that," Dean said, looking at the gun. At Sam's look, he laughed nervously. "It could go off. I'll man the flashlight." He smiled, gripping the flashlight tightly.
Sam sighed. You do that."
"Let's go, scaredy cat," Amy said as she followed Sam and Dean into the mill.
Sam, Dean, and Amy made their way through the mill. With Dean around, though, the EMF meter began to go crazy.
"EMF's not gonna work with me around, is it?" Dean asked as Sam moved the EMF meter near him.
Sam rolled his eyes. "You don't say. Come on."
They continued moving further into the mill.
"Wait," Sam said, startling Dean as he pointed to a gold ring on the floor. "To Frank. Love, Jessie," he said as he read the inscription. "Frank O'Brien's ring."
"What the hell was Frank doing here?" Dean wondered.
"No idea," Sam said as he continued walking.
As they walked into a room full of lockers, a soft rustling noise could be heard from inside one of the lockers. Amy and Dean stood off to the side as Sam grabbed the handle to the locker, counting down from three, before yanking the door open.
As soon as Sam opened the door, a cat bolted out from the top shelf, startling Dean so much that he screamed for a good few seconds, before stopping to catch his breath.
"That was scary!" Dean exclaimed. Sam rolled his eyes and walked out of the room with Amy. "Wait," Dean called after them.
"Hey, what's that?" Amy asked, pointing to something that was half-buried in woodchips.
Sam picked it up, examining the I.D. Card as Dean caught up with them. "Luther Garland."
Dean pointed to a drawing on a nearby table. "Hey, this is uh...this is Frank's wife," he said, walking over.
"Plot thickens," Sam said as he walked over to the drawing.
"Yeah, but into what?" Dean asked.
Dean tore off the drawing and the machines around them suddenly turned on. Gun at the ready, Amy spun around to see a tall, bald, man in a workers uniform. She shot the ghost as Dean sprinted out of the mill.
"Hey!" Sam shouted at Dean. "Come on!"
Amy and Sam sprinted after Dean, out of the mill. They found Dean outside, hiding behind the Impala as he took another drink of his whiskey.
"Guess we got the right place," Sam said.
"Looks like it," Amy added. "You okay there, Dean?"
Dean took another shot of whiskey. "Oh yeah," he said. "Peachy."
"Alright well, hang in there," Sam said. "Let's head down to the sheriff's office and get the file on Luther."
Amy waited in the car, once more as Sam and a now-drunk Dean headed into the sheriff's office to get the file. Dean had finished the entire bottle of whiskey on the car ride to the office, leaving Sam to have to lead him inside.
Sam handed Amy the file as they got into the car and she immediately began flipping through it.
"Dean and I need to head down to the retirement home. If anyone knows anything about Luther's death, it'll be his brother," Sam said as Amy flipped through the file.
Amy sighed. "Okay. So, I guess I'll wait in the car then?"
"Yeah," Sam said. "Sorry about that. I know you've been with us long enough to go in for questioning with one of us, but having three FBI agents show up might raise suspicions."
"No, I get it," Amy said, handing Sam the file. "You guys talk to Mr. Garland. I'll wait in the car."
Peaceful Pines Retirement Home
Amy stood outside the Impala as she waited for Sam and Dean to come out of the retirement home, pulling her jacket tighter around her.
"Now we know what these are," Dean said, gesturing to the scratches on his arm as the door opened and he walked out with Sam, "road rash. And I'm guessing Luther swallowed some wood chips when he was being dragged down that road."
"Makes sense," Sam agreed. "You're experiencing his death in slow motion."
"What happened?" Amy asked.
"Turns out Frank killed Luther," Sam explained. "Dragged him up and down the lumber mill road."
"What the hell?" Amy asked.
"Alright," Dean said, clapping his hands together, "I say we burn some bones and get me healthy."
Sam scoffed. "Dean, it won't be that easy."
"No, no, it'll be that easy," Dean insisted. "Why wouldn't it be that easy?"
"If Luther was dragged up and down that road, he would have been ripped to pieces," Amy explained.
"He was probably scattered all over that road," Sam continued. "There's no way we're gonna find all the remains."
"You're kidding me," Dean said.
"Look, we'll just have to figure something else out," Sam insisted.
Dean scoffed. "You know what? Screw this."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Dean," Sam argued.
"Come on," Dean yelled. He turned back to Sam. "No, I mean, come on, Sam. What are we doing?!"
"We're hunting a ghost," Sam stated.
"A ghost, exactly!" Dean repeated. "Who does that?"
"Us."
"Us?" Dean asked. "Right. And that Sam, that is exactly why our lives suck. I mean, come on, we hunt monsters! What the hell?!" he shouted. "I mean, normal people, they see a monster, and they run. But not us, no, no, no, we - we search out things that want to kill us. Yeah? Huh? Or eat us! You know who does that? Crazy people!"
Amy walked up to Sam, standing by him as Dean continued ranting.
"We...are insane!" Dean continued, gesturing his finger to the three of them. "You know, and then there's the bad diner food and then the skeevy motel rooms and then the truck-stop waitress with the bizarre rash. I mean, who wants this life, Sam? Huh? Seriously? Do you actually like being stuck in a car with me eight hours a day, every single day?" Dean didn't give Sam time to answer before continuing. "I don't think so! I mean, I drive too fast. And I listen to the same five albums over and over and over again, a-and I sing along. I'm annoying, I know that. And you -you're gassy! You eat half a burrito, and you get toxic!"
Dean looked over at Amy. "And her?" he asked. "I mean what the hell were we thinking? She wakes up, or whatever in this world, knows practically everything about us and we just decide to make her a hunter?"
Amy opened her mouth to protest on Dean's statement, but closed it, ultimately deciding not to.
"What is wrong with us. I mean, you know what?" Dean sighed, tossing Dean the keys. "You can forget it."
Sam caught the keys. "Whoa, Dean. where are you going?"
"Stay away from me Sam, okay?" Dean asked as he walked away. "Cause I am done with it. I'm done with the monsters and - and - and the hellhounds and the ghost sickness and the damn apocalypse. I'm out. I'm done. Quit."
Amy sighed as Dean disappeared down the street. "Well, that went well."
Sam and Amy spent the next several hours driving around, looking for Dean, until finally finding him back in the motel room
"Amy and I looked everywhere for you, Dean," Sam said as Amy followed him into the motel room. "How the hell did you get here?"
"Ran," Dean stated as he took a drink of his beer. "What do we do now? I got less than four hours on the clock. I'm gonna die, Sammy."
Sam and Amy sat on the couch, Dean in between them.
"No, you're not Dean," Sam stated. "You're not going back."
"Back?" Dean asked, fear in his voice.
"We won't let anything happen to you, Dean," Amy assured the hunter. "Sam and I will figure this out, right? We have before."
Sam turned to Dean with a smile. Without warning, Dean suddenly grabbed Sam by the shoulders, pulling him backwards as he backed up against the wall.
"No! You get out of my brother, you evil son of a bitch!" Dean shouted, struggling against Sam.
"Dean, what the hell are you talking about?" Sam shouted. "No one's possessing me."
Amy jumped forward, trying to help Sam calm down Dean. "Dean?" she asked as Dean started choking. "Dean, hey!"
"Hey, hey, hey, Dean," Sam said, trying to get his brother back to reality. "Hey, Dean. Dean. Dean."
Dean finally seemed to snap out of it. He calmed down, looking up at Sam and Amy.
"Call Bobby," Sam instructed Amy. "Tell him to meet us at the mill."
Amy nodded, running off to grab her phone and call Bobby.
October 22nd, 2008 - Lumber Mill
Amy stood with Sam next to the Impala as they waited for Bobby to show up. Around six in the morning, a familiar car pulled up
"Howdy, Sam," Bobby greeted, getting out of his car. "Amy."
"Hi Bobby," Amy greeted back.
"Hey, Bobby," Sam said. "Thanks for coming so quick."
"Where's Dean?" Bobby asked.
"Uh, home sick," Sam stated.
"So, have his hallucinations started yet?" Bobby asked.
Sam nodded. "Yeah, a few hours ago."
"How we doing on time?" Bobby asked.
"We saw the coroner about 8:00 a.m. Monday morning," Sam recalled, "so, uh...just under two hours. What about you? You find anything?"
Bobby pulled out a book. "This uh, encyclopaedia of spirits dates to the Edo period." He handed the book to Sam. Amy looked at page, which was filled with Japanese characters.
"You can read Japanese?" Sam asked, looking at the text.
In response, Bobby said something in Japanese.
"Guess so," Sam said with a scoff, "show-off."
Amy rolled her eyes as Bobby continued. "Anyway, this book lists a kind of ghost that could be our guy." He pointed to a picture in the book. "It uh, infects people with fear. It's called a Buru Buru."
"It say how to kill it?" Sam asked.
"Same as usual," Bobby stated. "Burn the remains."
"Great," Amy muttered.
"Uh...is there a Plan B?" Sam asked.
"Well, the Buru Buru is born of fear," Bobby explained. "Hell, it is fear. And the lore says we can kill it with fear."
"Scare a ghost to death?" Amy asked.
Bobby nodded. "Pretty much."
"How the hell we gonna do that?" Sam asked.
"How did this Luther guy die?" Bobby asked.
"He was road hauled," Amy explained. "Dragged up and down the road behind a car, with a chain around his neck."
"Wait a minute," Sam said. "That might work."
"What, you wanna roadhaul a ghost?" Bobby asked.
"It could work," Sam said. "I'll call Dean, let him know we have a plan."
Before anyone could say anything, Sam walked away, pulling out his phone.
"Do we have a plan?" Amy asked.
"Sam seems to think so," Bobby replied.
A moment later, Sam came back to the car.
"This is a terrible plan," Bobby stated.
Sam scoffed. "Yeah, tell me about it."
"I know I said, "scare the ghost to death" but this?" Bobby asked.
"Hey, you got a better idea, I'm listening," Sam insisted.
"Okay, so, what are we gonna do?" Amy asked.
"Well, lucky for us, I've got an iron chain in the trunk of my car," Bobby explained. "I know a spell to enchant it so we should be able to get it around Luther's neck if we're lucky. You guys just gotta make him mad. I'll stay here with the car to... roadhaul the ghost."
"Okay," Sam said. He grabbed his shotgun, handing the other to Amy. "Let's go then."
Amy followed Sam into the mill. They walked through the small, office like room from earlier and the locker room, but Luther was nowhere to be seen.
"Any luck?" Bobby asked through the walkie talkie as they entered the room with machinery.
"I don't know what's wrong, Bobby." Sam said. "Last time he came right at us. It's almost like he's, uh," he scoffed, "like he's scared."
"Wait, no he didn't," Amy realized.
"What do you mean, kid?" Bobby asked.
"Last time we were here, Luther didn't come right at us," Amy explained. "It wasn't until," she paused, looking around until she spotted a drawing. "Until Dean tore one of the drawings." She grabbed a drawing, looking at Sam for confirmation.
Sam readied his shotgun. "Do it."
Amy tore the drawing off and the machinery whirred to life.
"Tear off another," Sam instructed.
Amy tore off another drawing and the machinery started moving faster.
"Come on, Luther!" Sam shouted. "Where the hell are you? What are you waiting for?"
Amy tore off another drawing as Sam turned back around to face her.
"Amy!" Sam shouted, panic in his voice as he pointed behind the young girl.
Amy spun around, just in time to see Luther before she was suddenly thrown back into the wall.
"Ow," Amy groaned as she stood up.
Sam was on the floor as he struggled with Luther's spirit, who had him pinned. She quickly ran up, grabbing the chain and throwing it around Luther's neck, wrapping it around.
"Bobby, punch it!" Sam shouted.
Outside, the sound of an engine revving could be heard. The chain began to move and a moment later, the doors were thrown open and Luther was dragged outside.
Sam and Amy ran outside to see Bobby speeding up the road, Luther's ghost behind him. Just before Bobby hit a wall, Luther's ghost disappeared, and Amy breathed a sigh of relief along with Sam.
Sam immediately pulled out his phone, calling Dean.
"Hey, Dean," Sam said into his phone. "How you feeling, man?" There was a pause. "Great, that - that's great." Another pause. "Okay, sure thing. I'll head down to the motel and get you, then." There was a final pause. "Okay. See you then."
Sam hung up and followed Amy over to Bobby.
"I cannot believe that worked," Bobby said as they approached.
"Yeah," Sam said with a slight laugh. "Me either. Hey listen, I'm gonna go pick Dean up from the hotel. See you guys in a bit." Without another word, he got into the Impala and drove off.
Amy sat on the trunk of Bobby's car as they waited for Sam to return.
"How you doing, kid?" Bobby asked.
Amy sighed. "Okay, I guess." She rubbed her sore back. "You know, for a ghost, Luther sure hits hard."
A short while later, Sam pulled up in the Impala with Dean.
."So you guys road-hauled a ghost with a chain?" Dean asked as he stepped out of the car.
"Iron chain etched with spell work," Sam explained.
Dean took a sip of his beer. "Hmm, that's a new one."
"But, hey, it worked," Amy reminded him.
"It was what he was most afraid of," Sam continued. "It was pretty brutal, though."
Dean let out a laugh. "On the upside, I'm still alive, so uh, go team!" he cheered, raising his beer.
"Yeah." Sam smiled. "How you feeling, by the way?"
Dean nodded. "Fine."
"You sure, Dean?" Bobby teased. "'Cause this line of work can get awful scary."
"I'm fine," Dean insisted. "You want to go hunting? I'll hunt. I'll kill anything."
"You hear that guys?" Amy asked, looking at Dean the same way she looked at a puppy. "Dean wants to hunt the scawy monsters."
"Awwww, he's adorable," Bobby teased. "I got to get out of here. You boys drive safe."
"You too, Bobby," Sam said as Bobby walked to his car. "Hey, thanks."
"See ya, Bobby," Amy called out as Bobby drove off.
"So uh...so, what did you see?" Sam asked his brother. "Near the end, I mean."
"Oh, besides a cop beating my ass?" Dean joked.
"Seriously."
Dean looked at Sam for a moment before looking away, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes. "Howler monkeys," he stated, taking another shot of beer. "Whole roomful of them. Those things creep the hell out of me."
Sam chuckled slightly. "Right."
"No, just the usual stuff, Sammy," Dean insisted. "Nothing I can't handle."
"Well, I don't know about you guys," Amy spoke up, "but I wanna get out of here."
"Yeah, let's get out of here," Dean agreed.
After packing their shotguns into the trunk, the three hunters climbed into the Impala. Amy rested her head on the window as Dean started the engine and drove off, leaving the town of Rockridge, Colorado behind.