Dean was nervous; this would be the first hunt he would go on since Jim's death, and while he was excited about leaving his home and town for the day, he couldn't entirely escape the familiar feelings of anxiety that always accompanied a hunt. It was a nervous sort of excitement for the upcoming case, and what their results would yield. So far, their information was restricted to what Sam managed to scrounge up. Two girls had been found murdered in their home. No suspects, and the police were baffled as to who (or what) could have caused it.
Of course, Caleb and Dean knew more than the average person or cop, and would be able to decipher things much clearer than a fed would be able to. Strangest of all about this case, and the one thing that had alerted his baby brother to it? Their hearts had been ripped clean from their chests, and the room they had been found in, had been locked from the inside. The police had had to break it down to even get inside.
"Dean," Caleb said, as they pulled into the county medical examiner's office. "Are you doing okay?"
"Hmm?" Dean murmured, breaking out of his jumbled thoughts. "Yeah, I'm good."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," Dean said, as he cupped his hand under his chin. "It's just those same feelings are coming back."
"Nervous?"
"Yeah."
"Do you want to go in with me or wait in the car?"
"Go in with you."
Neither of the boys like to be separated from Caleb or Bobby, and Dean would feel a lot safer traveling into the dark and depressing morgue with him, than staying exposed in the car.
"Alright," Caleb agreed, as he stopped the car and prepared to get out. "You know you can't go in the room with me, right?"
Dean nodded; he had guessed as much.
No one in a position of authority would allow a minor into those rooms where the bodies were observed, and Dean was sort of glad. He had his entire life to be involved in that part of that life, and for the time being, he could wait until he had been trained properly.
"So after you get out?"
"After we leave, we'll go get some lunch and see if we can scrounge anything else up."
"Sounds good."
The air was frigidly cold with the approaching winter weather. There was only a limited number of seats to choose from, no doubt it wasn't a popular place to visit.
Instead of sitting, Dean chose to lean against the far wall, quietly observing Caleb strike up a conversation with the lone receptionist there. It was fascinating, watching Caleb weave an expertly crafted lie about why he was there, and the urgent need to view the bodies of the deceased sisters. Dean couldn't wait to start training for that, but that would have to wait a few more years until he could pull of the appearance of an adult.
"I'll be right back," Caleb said, coming up to Dean. "Stay right here."
"I know."
"Okay, and if anything happens-"
"I'll get back where you are."
"Right."
Not that Caleb thought the demon or demons would be stupid enough to strike now, but he had no idea what their limits were anymore. Jim's death had rocked them all to their core. Especially with knowing that it was a demon that caused it, and to see the evidence of that displayed on the security camera. So far, the search for the YED had yielded no results. It was almost as though the demon was lying low, waiting to make his next move.
While he waited for Caleb, Dean took the time to peruse the limited reading material they had stocked up on. Most of it was outdated magazines, and informational pamphlets about the place, and what services they claimed to offer, and those didn't hold much interest for Dean. Finally finding, to his amusement, a Playboy that a customer must have left behind, he decided to leaf through that while he waited. Even though the photo spreads inside caught his attention, he wasn't entirely paying attention to them, either, as he listened for Caleb.
"Career day?" the receptionist asked, as she glanced over at Dean.
"Yeah," Dean said, throwing her a careless smile.
"Your Dad a fed?"
No doubt, she had caught the drift when Caleb had flashed his fake FBI ID to her upon first meeting her.
"Yeah."
He wouldn't bother telling her that Caleb really wasn't his dad, even though he was the closest thing he had to a real father. Instead, he bowed his head to continue reading, hoping that the girl would get the message and leave him alone to wait.
"Do you want to be one?"
Apparently not.
"Definitely," Dean replied.
"It sounds so scary."
"It is, but it's also fun sometimes."
And dangerous.
And deadly.
And full of the kinds of monsters and ghosts that people only dreamed about in their worst nightmares. If there was ever one perk of the job, it was that it did offer some thrills and excitement that he normally wouldn't have gotten anywhere else.
"Do you do any work?"
"No, too young."
Duh.
"Oh, I see."
He was saved the task of responding further to her, when Caleb came out from the back. It was clear that he had found some things out, but obviously couldn't divulge what in the company of the overbearing receptionist.
Grateful to get out of there, he and Caleb next scouted out a suitable place to have lunch. In a small town like that, their options were limited, if they wanted to eat and be guaranteed some privacy. Finally settling on a diner that seemed to have a sizable lunch menu, they waited until the hot waitress was well out of earshot before Dean leaned foreword, intent on talking the case right down to the most ridiculous of detail.
"Okay, so what happened back there?" He asked, pausing to take a sip out of his refreshing iced water.
"Well," Caleb said with a sigh, "the vic's were in the exact same shape that the paper reported. Hearts were ripped clean from their chests, and cops have no leads so far."
"Yeah, I mean, what psycho can do a heart transplant like that, and then magically lock the door from the inside?"
"Exactly, and there's no forensics for them to fall back on, either."
"So what's our next lead?" Dean asked, as he paused their conversation when the waitress laid their food down.
"I got the address of the parents from the forensics guy."
"So we're going there?"
Caleb nodded. "Yeah."
"Can I go in?"
"If we get really creative, yeah."