Chapter 26
With a failed attempted to rekindle his previous relationship with Cassie, Dean loaded up his brother and sister into the car and drove off. After driving for three hours, the Winchesters stopped in a one horse town and stopped to sleep in a motel.
Sam began to twist and moan in his sleep as a nightmare played in his head. He saw a man inside a classic blue sports car pull inside his garage and turn off his vehicle. As the door to the garage closed the doors locked trapping the man inside. Despite yelling and kicking at the door he couldn't escape. Sam let out a strangled cry as he saw the car turn over and his keys stuck inside the ignition. He heard the man screaming as the Carbon Monoxide began to slowly suffocate him as he tried to open the garage door by pressing on the remote; but the remote seemed to have died and wasn't working.
Sam could see the fear in the man's eyes as he saw the time on the dashboard read three thirteen in the morning. Slowly the man's cries vanished as he finally succumbed to the invisible poison.
Sam straight up gasping as his felt like it was about to be ripped to shreds. He looked over at the clock and his heart seemed to stop. It was two hours before the time in his dream. He hoped where the man lived he wouldn't be in a different time zone. He swallowed a few times before tossing a pillow hitting Dean in the face.
Dean's head popped up and stared at his brother for a minute as he tried to comprehend what just happened. When he saw Sam shaking Christina, who tried to slap his hands away, but sat up rubbing and yawning in her roll away anyways. "Where's the fire?" He asked rolling out of bed and sitting at the edge of his bed his blanket in between his legs.
"Had another vision." Sam said tossing his clothes into his backpack. "We got to go. we have less then two hours to get there."
"Where's there?" Christina asked tossing a hoodie over her shirt and slipped on her shoes over her bare feet as Sam had the sense of urgency in his voice.
"Not sure...But we got to go. Now." Sam rushed out the motel's door making Christina turn and look at Dean who had his pants on and was surprised to see him tying his shoes.
~DSCWIN~
Dean gripped his steering wheel tightly while Sam had his phone pressed against his ears. Christina was trying to stay away but had fallen back to sleep while they drove.
"McReady." Sam said his voice trying to remain calm. "Detective McReady, badge number 158; I have a signal 480 in progress I need to know who owns a two door Sedan Michigan plates Mary-Frank-six-zero-three-seven. Yeah...I can hold, just hurry please."
Dean shook his head. He knew his brother had some weird dreams in the past but he kept living in denial of his brother ever knowing things were going to happen. "It's just a nightmare, Sammy. Relax."
"Tell me again." Sam said his eyes were dark and annoyed.
"Sammy, it's a nightmare. You know naked in the front of the class kind of nightmare."
"This felt different, Dean." Sam said shaking his head as he couldn't get the image out of his brain. "It was like...When I dreamt about our house, and Jess."
"You're freaking out over nothing Sam. The licence isn't going to check out."
"Then why would I have such a specific detail, Dean?"
"I don't know, Sammy." Dean sighed. "But when you said you dreamt about the house and Jess. You were familiar to them. Have you seen this guy before?"
"No." Sam growled as he kept hearing the hold music on his phone. "But this...I hope it's not real."
"It's not going to be." Dean said before he saw Sam's body posture changed.
"Yes, I'm still here." He said grabbing a pen and held it over the paper under the license plate he saw in his nightmare. "Jim Miller...Saginaw Michigan. Do you have a street address?" Sam quickly wrote it down before glaring at Dean. "Thanks for the help." He hung up his phone and looked over.
Dean's face flexed as he couldn't believe what just happened. That his brother had a vision. Dean's hands gripped the steering wheel tighter as he fought to keep himself from thinking his brother was a creature that needed to be put down but shook it out of his thoughts.
"How long will it take us?" Sam asked glancing over at his brother.
"'Til Saginaw? Couple of hours." Dean answered as he couldn't believe this was happening.
"Drive faster." Sam spoke softly but his voice had a harshness that meant business.
The Impala roared as Dean pressed harder on the gas pedal.
~DSCWIN~
Flashing lights of red and blue greeted the Winchesters as they pulled up close to the house. Concerned neighbors surrounded the house and Sam felt something roll in his stomach as they pulled up.
The two brothers left the vehicle and walked halfway to the crowd when the sound of another door close caught Dean's attention.
Christina rushed to stand next to her brothers while looking more like a neighbor startled by the police then Sam and Dean. "What's going on?" she asked her brother who pulled her close to get her out of the way of a sudden rush of neighbors.
"I'll explain later." Dean said pulling her to his other side as that side was standing in shock. Dean moved them both to where Sam was standing trying to look as though he didn't know what had happened. Dean finally made it back to where Sam was standing when the coroner dragged a gurney out of the garage. He glanced up at his brother and saw the disbelief that what happened in the nightmare once again happened in real life.
~DSCWIN~
The Winchesters quietly made it to an affordable hotel. Sam sulked inside and slowly sat down on his bed still in shock at what had happened. He continued to stare at the floor when he saw the blue light from his laptop turn on. His head snapped up as he watched Christina began to search the web for anything that might help them figure out what was behind it all.
"Anything?" Dean asked tossing off his shoes and sinking into the bed nearest the hotel door.
"Nothing for sure." Christina said rubbing the back of her head and fighting not to yawn. "Narrowed it down with a witch hex or a poltergeist."
"Just those two huh?" Dean asked looking at Sam who just stared off into space. "Well, we can always go visit the family. Share our condolences."
"I highly doubt they'll just let us walk in." Christina said looking down at the small chair that was tucked in the corner. "I mean, we just arrived. We really don't know a lot about them."
"We'll think of something." Dean said watching as Sam laid down and rolling onto his side. "We just got to do it."
Christina watched as her older brother rolled to his side so that he was watching his brother. She felt like a third wheel, as she never had experienced any of Sam's nightmares even back in college. As she began to sit and settle into the chair her feet propped up with her backpack. She fought with sleep for a few minutes as she kept wondering how he looked, back at the house, as though he failed at protecting someone.
~DSCWIN~
The impala slowed to a stop a few car lengths away as the Winchesters returned back to the house. People slowly filed inside and a few exited the house wearing dark clothing.
Dean slowly stepped out in his black FBI shoes, but in a Catholic father's outfit. Sam stepped out wearing an identical outfit and opened the back door to allow his sister to walk out wearing a black knee length skirt, a black cardigan with a white blouse underneath and a black head cover. Dean adjusted the outfit and lead the two towards the house.
"Just play along." Sam whispered to Christina who looked like she was freezing in her skirt. The damp Michigan air didn't help with the outfit.
Dean knocked on the door and readjusted his outfit just as the door opened up.
The man who answered looked to be in his late forties or early fifties, with thinning grey hair and hard brown eyes. He scanned all three of the new visitors that were now standing as he forced a smile. "May I help you?" He asked his voice hard.
"We are new to this town and heard of the recent loss at this home." Dean said trying to make his voice more priestly as close as he remembered when he was younger. "I'm Father Simmons and this is Father Frehly and our newest member Sister Wilson."
The man that answered awkwardly shook each of their hands before allowing them entrance. "Yeah, it seems hard for my sister-in-law and my nephew. I mean, my brother was no saint but he did his best to be a good husband and father." The brother of the victim lead the three further into the house until they met up with the victims wife who was busy shaking hands with some of the neighbors they had met the night before.
As Dean, Sam and Christina made their way through the people that had walked around, talking in low whispers. The man that let the three inside walked up to a woman wearing a gray sweater and was holding a casserole that had been given to her by another neighbor.
"Alice, you got more guests."
Alice Miller tried to blink away some tears that were beginning to refill her eyes. "Sorry, I'm not sure Frank introduced himself." She shook each of the Winchester's hands. "It's a pleasure of you Fathers to come; and you as well, Sister."
"The pleasure is all ours." Christina said with calm eyes.
"Please, help yourselves." Alice said motioning to the many choices of food.
"Don't you have a son as well?" Sam asked gently.
"Yes, Max." Alice said pointing to a young man sitting quietly in the corner. "Excuse me, Fathers...Sister..." Alice shook hands awkwardly with each of the Winchesters.
"What now?" Christina asked getting a weird glance by some of the guests.
"Go talk with this Max, kid." Dean said snagging a few mini pigs in blankets by someone who was walking passed with a plateful. "I'm going to look around." Dean smiled at how good the small hors d'oeuvres tasted before walking off nodding and greeting some of the guests.
Meanwhile Sam gently grasped Christina's arm and dragged her towards the lone boy in the corner.
Max Miller was a pale kid with curly blonde hair. His pale blue eyes were distant and zoned out, still in shock, when Sam and Christina walked up to shake his hand.
"Afternoon, Max was it?" Sam asked taking the young man's hands and gave it a gentle shake. "I'm Father Frehly and this is Sister Wilson. We're both sorry for your loss."
Max gave a shrug as if he had already moved past the death. "Can't stop death from taking those we love." He said his voice soft and just as distant as his gaze. "Mom's the most shaken up, though. But we have plenty of support and tuna casserole to comfort us." He tried to chuckle at his own joke but it turned into a soft sob.
"Did you know your Father was capable of doing that to himself?" Christina asked gently taking Max's hand.
The skin was cold as if Max was left out of the elements but continued to hold his hand to calm the boy down as he shook his head slowly.
"I knew my Dad was under a lot of stress because of me wanting to go to school. But never to the point where he would kill himself." Max sighed and gently removed his hand away from Christina to rub his eye. "But now I'm not so sure what I should do."
"I'm sure you could get help," Sam said feeling a strange connection to the young man that sat in front of him. "I mean does your Mom work?"
Max shook his head again. "No, but my Uncle Frank has been helping with bills when my Dad's work was slow. But I think Mom will be needing to find a job eventually."
Christina looked up when she saw Dean slowly make his way back to them and sat down taking another mini pigs in a blanket that was set in front of the group.
"Father Simmons," Sam said giving Dean a soft bitch face. "I believe we should return to our church. This family obviously needs to be prayed for."
Dean nodded, snagged a couple more hors d'oeuvres from the plate and headed to the door saying a quick goodbye to Alice as all three left.