We made our way into the auction house without being noticed, the three of us moving quickly to search the place over. "How do you lose your wallet, Dean?" Sam asked, frustrated, to which Dean scowled and threw his arms up in a shrug.
"Hey, guys!" A sweet voice made the boys and I turn quickly to see a dark haired girl walking toward us.
"Sarah, hey!" Sam tried to play it cool.
So..that's her.. I couldn't help but smile as she glanced at me. "I don't believe we've met."
"I work with the boys, lucky me, right?" I stuck out my hand. "Evelyn Brannigan."
"Sarah Blake." She shook my hand before stepping back to look at Sam. "What are you doing here?"
"Ohh.." Sam looked back at Dean, who shrugged. "We..we are leaving town and... You know, we came to say goodbye."
"No, what are you talkin' about, Sam? We're stickin' around for at least another day or two." Dean assured, to which Sam gave him a confused look. Dean suddenly reached into his pocket, "Oh, Sam, by the way.." he pulled out his wallet. Thank God.. "Gonna go 'head and give you that twenty bucks I owe ya." He looked at Sarah. "I always forget, you know." The older Winchester took the money from his wallet and handed it out to Sam. "There you go." Sam gave Dean an odd glare before snatching the money. "Well, we'll leave you two crazy kids alone. We gotta go do..somethin'...somewhere."
Dean turned away from them and I followed, giving Sarah a little wave, which she returned sweetly. Once outside of the action house, I bumped Dean with my shoulder. "Good goin', Sam! She's gorgeous and adorably sweet."
"He's crazy not to go after her." Dean agreed.
"I like her. But, Dean..." I trailed off, causing him to glance over at me.
"What?"
"Don't you think it's gonna suck for Sam when we leave? He likes her, it's obvious. And not like the way you like girls." I replied, my eyes on his.
"The way..the way I like girls? What's that supposed to mean?" He stopped walking, cocking his head at me.
"Guys! Guys, wait!" Sam called to us, jogging across the parking lot. Dean held my stare for a moment longer before turning to his brother.
"What are you doin'?" Dean threw his hands up.
"The painting, Dean! It's in there!" His face was full of shock and concern.
"What? No way." I shook my head as reached us.
"Oh, it is. I saw it." He muttered, the three of us climbing into the Impala. "I don't understand, Dean, we burned the damned thing!"
"Yeah, thank you, Captain Obvious." Dean growled. "All right, we just need to figure out another way to get rid of it.. Any ideas?"
"Okay, all right. Well, um, in almost all the lore about haunted paintings it's always the painting's subject that haunts 'em."
"Yeah... All right, so we need to figure out everything there is to know about that creepy ass family and that creepy ass painting. What were there names again?"
"Merchant." I spoke up from the back seat. "Sam, you did, uh.. Tell her not to sell it, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. I did." He shook his head. "They weren't planning on it, anyway."
"Good." I put my hands on their shoulder rests. "Then let's go figure out how to get rid of this thing. Once and for all."
"You said the Isaiah Merchant family, right?" The man before us had just plopped down a large, and very old, binder down onto the table.
"Yeah, that's right." Sam replied, hands in his pockets.
"I dug up every scrap of local history I could find." He informed as Dean walked over with a book in hand. "So, uh, are you kids crime buffs?"
"Kinda, yeah. Why do you ask?" Dean answered, looking at the older man.
"Well..." He held up an old newspaper article, the headline reading about the sinking of the Titanic. He pointed to a side article. It read, 'Father Slaughter Family, Kills Self'. "This."
"Yeah, that sounds about right." The older boy was looking at the paper.
"The whole family was killed?" I asked the man, who glanced at me.
"It seems this Isaiah, he slits his kids' throats, then his wife, then himself. Now, he was a barber by trade. Used a straight razor."
"Why'd he do it?" Sam questioned curiously.
"Well, uh, let's look." He turned the article toward himself. "Ahhh.. "People who knew him describe Isaiah as having a stern and harsh temperament. Controlled his family with an iron fist. Uh..wife, uh, two sons. Adopted daughter."" He skimmed on through the article. "Uh..yeah, yeah, yeah.. "There were whispers that the wife was gonna take the kids and leave." Uh, which, of course, you know. That day and age, um, so instead.. Old man, Isaiah, well. He gave them all a shave." The old man drew his hand across his throat making a strange noise before chuckling. Dean laughed lightly, glancing at Sam and I, who glared at him.
"Does it say what happened to the bodies?" Dean pulled it together, looking back to the man.
"Just that they were all cremated." He answered flatly. We were all silent for a moment.
"Anything else?" Sam finally asked. I stood beside him, watching the older man.
"Yeah, actually. I found a picture of the family." He put the newspaper down, grabbing a book and opening it. "It's right here, somewhere. Right! Here it is." He lifted the book to show us. I leaned forward, squinting at the picture. It looks...different..
"Um, could we get a copy of this please?" I asked, glancing at Dean, who was eyeing us questioningly.
"Hm. Sure." He made a copy of the painting from the book for us.
"Thank you so much." I said sweetly as I took the paper copy from him. "And thank you for your time."
"Oh, it was nothing!" He grinned. "You kids gave me something to do today." He assured. The boys shook his hand and we left the library. Once in the car, I sat back in the seat, staring at the picture as Dean left the parking lot. I studied it carefully as Dean drove along, reaching the motel within minutes.
"Do you see it?" Sam piped up from the front seat, as Dean pulled into the motel and parked.
"See what?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, I thought it looked different." I nodded, as I moved to get out of the car. Sam got out and stood beside me. "He was...lookin' down, right?" I asked, pointing to the man's face.
"Yes." Sam agreed.
"Let me see." Dean held his hand out and I gave him the copy. We walked to the door, Dean unlocking it for us to step inside the motel room. I walked over and flopped backward on our bed, before scooting back to lean against the pillows. The boys sat down at the table, Sam taking the picture back after Dean finished inspecting it. "You two are sure about this?"
"Yes, Dean!" I huffed. "How do you not see it?" He turned in his seat, giving me a slight glare, before looking back to his brother.
"I'm tellin' you, man, I'm sure of it. The painting at the auction house, dad is looking down. Painting, here, dad's looking out. The painting has changed, Dean!"
"All right, so you two think that, uh, Daddy Dearest is trapped in the painting and is handin' out Columbian neckties like he did with his family?" Dean offered, looking back down at the paper.
"Well, yeah, it seems like it." Sam agreed. "But if his bones are already dusted, then how are we gonna stop him?"
"All right, well, if Isaiah's position changed, then maybe some other things in the painting changed as well. You know, it could give us some clues." Winchester brought up a valid point.
"What, like a Da Vinci Code deal?"
"I don't...know..uhh, I'm still waitin' for the movie on that one. Anyway, we gotta get back in and see that painting." Dean stood from the table, walking over to our bed. "Which is a good thing 'cause you can get some more time to crush on your girlfriend."
"Dude." Sam sounded irritated as Dean threw himself on the bed, leaning against the cushioned headboard. "Enough already."
"What?" Dean fussed, crossing his arms. I rolled over on my side, facing away from the two. This's not my business...
"What?" Sam's annoyance was thick in his voice. "Ever since we got here, you've been trying to pimp me out to Sarah. Just back off, all right?"
"Well," Dean wasn't giving up, "you like her, don't ya?" His little brother raised his arms, avoiding Dean's eyes. "All right, you like her. She likes you, you're both consenting adults.."
"What's the point, Dean?" Sam raised his voice slightly. "We'll just leave. We always leave."
"Well, I'm not talkin' about marriage, Sam." Dean huffed out a slight laugh.
"You know, I don't get it. What do you care if I hook up?"
"'Cause then maybe you wouldn't be so cranky all the time." Dean said calmly. I heard Sam huff out a breath and I could feel Dean moving to sit up. "You know, seriously, Sam. This isn't about just hookin' up, okay? I mean, I-I think that this..Sarah girl could be good for you."
"I second that!" I raised my hand.
"And I don't mean any disrespect, but I'm.. I'm sure that this is about Jessica, right?" Dean asked, everything inside of me frozen. Uh, oh.. Dean could be an idiot sometimes, and I wasn't sure what he was about to say or how Sam would react. "Now, I don't know what it's like to lose somebody like that...but... I would think that she would want you to be happy... God forbid, have fun once in a while.. Wouldn't she?" The softness in his voice showed how much he loved his brother. I felt proud to know the boys in that moment, the words that Dean had spoken just a reminder of what a good man he was.
"Yeah, I know she would." Sam said softly, the sound of his voice making me sad for him. "Yeah, you're right." He sighed. "Part of this is about Jessica.. But not the main part."
"What's it about?" Dean asked, but Sam was silent. "Yeah, all right." I felt Dean lean back against the bed. "Well, we still gotta see that painting, which means you still gotta call Sarah, so.." I rolled onto my back as Sam grabbed his phone. He pressed a button and put the phone to his ear, clearing his throat.
"Sarah, hey, it's Sam.. Hey, hi.. Good, good, yeah. Um, what about you?" He paused again. "Yeah, good, good. Really good."
"Smooth." Dean whispered, causing me to jerk my head over at him.
"Shut up." I mouthed, widening my eyes a bit at him.
"So, ah, so listen. Me and my brother were, uh, thinkin' that maybe we'd like to come back in and look at the painting again. I.. I think maybe we are interested in buying it..." Sam leaned forward suddenly, his tone changing. "What? Who'd you sell it to?" He asked, standing up. "Sarah, I need an address right now...She might be in danger.. No! No, you stay put, Sarah. I'll call you when I can." He hung up the phone. "We gotta go, now!" Sam was heading for the door, Dean and I right behind him.
Sam gave Dean directions as he sped to our destination. I leaned up in the seat, clutching each side of the front seats. "I thought you said she wasn't gonna sell it!"
"She didn't. It was her dad." Sam said.
"Great, great going, Mister Chuckles." I leaned back, still gripping the front seats. "How much longer?"
"It should be right up..here..we're close. Dean?" Sam looked at his brother.
"Sammy, I'm goin' sixteen over, all right." Green Eyes fussed, as Sam pointed at a large house up ahead.
"There, there!" He said surely, Dean whipping in. He drove up behind a vehicle, who's lights went off. We jumped out of the Impala, meeting Sarah.
"Sam, what's happening?" She asked worriedly, as we reached her.
"I told you, you shouldn't have come." He said lowly, as we ran toward the stairs. Bounding up them, we reached the front door, Dean knocking hard.
"Hello? Anybody home?" He called, banging on the door.
"You said Evelyn might be in danger, what kinda danger?" She asked as Dean and I kept trying to shoulder the door.
"I can't knock this sucker down." Dean pulled something from his pocket. "I gotta pick it.." He began picking the lock.
"What are you guys, burglars?" Sarah was obviously freaking out.
"No." I said calmly, waiting for Dean to get the door open.
"I wish it was that simple." Sam moved from the window. "Look, you really should wait in the car. It's for your own good." He told her as Dean got the door open. We started inside, ahead of Sam and Sarah.
"The hell I will!" I heard her following behind us. "Evelyn's a friend!" She barged past Dean and I. "Evelyn?"
"Evelyn?"
I saw her sitting half turned from us in her chair as Sarah started forward. "Sarah, hold up!" I whispered, but she kept moving. I saw the painting above the fireplace, the father looking down. Just like Sam and I had said. He appeared to be... Is he lookin' down at the..daughter? I wasn't sure why, but it gave me an odd feeling.
"Evelyn?" Sarah's voice pulled me from my thoughts. "It's Sarah Blake.. Are you all right?" She leaned forward to touch her shoulder.
"Wait!" I cried as her hand made contact.
"Sarah, don't. Sarah!" Sam was too late. The older woman's head fell back, throat slit so deep that her head was barely attached to her body. Sarah screamed as Sam grabbed her. Something pulled me away from the grisly scene, my eyes darting back up to the painting. The man was staring straight ahead again.
"Dean!" I looked at him and then to the painting.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Sarah saw it, too, before Sam ushered her from the room. "Oh, my God!"
"We told you!" I whispered harshly, as we left the room and Dean looked over at me.
"He was definitely lookin' down when we came in." He agreed as we stepped out onto the porch.
"Look, Sarah, come to our motel." Sam was saying as we stepped outside. "I'll explain everything. But we can't be here, you have to tell the police you came here alone."
"This is insane!" Her face was scrunched up in fear. "You want me to lie to the police?"
"You gotta trust us." I spoke up, hoping that I could convince her. "Sam will explain everything. I promise."
"Fine.. Fine, but you better." She glared at Sam. "Go, I need to call."
"Thank you, Sarah." Sam said quietly, before we took off. On the road, Sam shook his head. "I didn't want her involved."
"If it was your friend... Would you have not done the same thing?" I asked, leaning back against the seat.
"I know.." He trailed off. The ride back to the motel was silent, and once we got inside our room, we waited. Dean grabbed the laptop, trying to look into anything we may have missed. I was behind him, hands on his shoulders as I leaned in, reading the screen in front of him. Sam was pacing back and forth. I felt for the kid, knowing that he was worried about her.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock. Sam rushed over to open the door, Sarah storming in past him. "Hey, you all right?" He shut the door.
"No, actually. I just lied to the cops and told them I went to Evelyn's, alone, and found her like that."
"Thank you." His voice was soft.
"Don't thank me, I'm about to call them right back if you don't tell me what the hell's going on. Who's killing these people?" She fussed, fear and concern in her voice. Sam looked back at us and I shrugged. He turned back to Sarah.
"What." He stated.
"What?" She asked, confused.
"It's not a "who". It's "what" is killing those people." She looked at him as if her were insane. "Sarah, you saw that painting move." She let out an agitated laugh, pacing a circle.
"No... No, I was.. I was seeing things. It's impossible." She stopped back in front of Sam, her eyes on him.
"Yeah, well, welcome to our world." Dean muttered, and she glanced at us before back to Sam.
"Sarah, I know this sounds crazy... But we think that that painting is haunted." The boy in front of us said to her. She kind of snickered, but had tears in her eyes.
"You're joking?" She looked from Sam to Dean and I. We were all three silent, just watching her. "You're not joking.." She sighed. "God, the guys I go out with.."
"Sarah, think about it." Sam's voice was gentle as he explained. "Evelyn, the Telesca's, they both had the painting. And there have been others before that. Wherever this thing goes, people die. And we're just tryin' to stop it.. And that's the truth." She took a breath.
"Well, then, I guess you better show me." She started past Sam. "I'm coming with you."
"What? No." His words made her stop as he turned to face her. "Sarah, no, you should just go home. This stuff can get dangerous and... And I don't want you to get hurt." I tightened my grip on Dean's shoulders, glancing back down at the screen.
"Look, you guys are probably crazy, but if you're right about this? Well, me and my dad sold that painting, we might've got these people killed.. Look, I'm not saying I'm not scared because I am scared as hell, but..I'm not gonna run and hide either." She strode to the door, turning when she opened it. "So, are we going or what?" She walked out.
"Damn." I mumbled, glancing at Sam.
"Sam?" Dean was pointing at the door, his eyes on Sam. His brother turned, giving him a look. "Marry that girl."
"Uhhhh.. Isn't this a crime scene?" Sarah grimaced, her shoulders hunched slightly. I gave her a friendly smirk.
"Well, you've already lied to the cops. What's another infraction?" Dean and Sam opened the door, the four of us piling inside the house. Sam lifted the painting from the wall, as Dean moved in front of Evelyn's blood stained chair to keep Sarah from having to look at it. Sam brought the picture down onto the couch and stepped back to examine it. He's lookin' back down again.. We were all silent, studying the creepy portrait.
"Aren't you worried that it's gonna, you know..kill us?" Sarah was obviously uncomfortable as she eyed the thing.
"Nah, it seems to do its thing at night. I think we're all right in the daylight." Sam assured. I was standing beside Dean, who pointed to the paper copy of the painting in his hand. He glanced at me as I looked at where his finger was pointing. Glancing back up at the painting, I looked at the spot, then back at the paper.
"Too weird.." I whispered and Dean nodded.
"Sam, check it out." He said, handing the copy to Sam who was turning toward him. "The razor, it's uh, it's closed in this one but it's open in that one."
"What are you guys looking for?" Sarah asked.
"Well, if the spirit's changin' aspects of the painting then it's doin' so for a reason." Dean explained.
"But what's the reason?" I looked up at Dean, who's eyes met mine. They told me he wasn't sure either.
"Hey, hey, look at this." Sam was comparing the paper copy to the portrait. "The painting in the painting." Dean and I moved forward to get a better look.
"Looks like a crypt or a mausoleum or somethin'." Dean looked around grabbing a thick ashtray behind him. Putting it up to the painting, he leaned in closer. "Merchant."
I really enjoyed Sarah Blake's character and wished her and Sam would have had more storyline.
She was a bad ass and would have been a great hunter, in my opinion!
Hope you're all enjoying!
~Kaila B