Chapter Seven
The ear wasn't bleeding like a normal ear would, instead it was covered in a thick, clear goo. I reached out and pocked it, it had an almost waxy feel to it. All the parts finally clicked into place. The realistic Dracula, the Wolfman with canine hair, the mummy… it was the work of a shapeshift. A seriously delusional one who wanted to make the movies a reality, and marry Jamie from the sounds of it.
"We should check on Jamie," Dean said, heading back the way we came, "And call Sam?"
"He called you Harker," I told Dean, "And Jamie, he called her Mina."
"I did notice that," Dean nodded, "Weird, right?"
"They are characters in Dracula," I said, thinking back to when I had read the book at thirteen. It really was a well written book, one of my favorites, even if it was horribly inaccurate. I was also slightly annoyed that Dean had ended up being Harker, but I tried not to dwell on the interworking's of a mad shifter less it drives me into a jealous rage. "They were engaged. Dracula kidnaps Mina to make her his bride."
"What, you actually read Dracula?" Dean asked.
"It's a really good book," I smiled, "Even if it's not accurate. I think that the shapeshifter really believes he Dracula."
Dean sighed, "I don't doubt it."
We found Jamie standing in front of her bar, shifting back and forth on her feet. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw us, but there was still fear in her eyes.
"Go inside," Dean nodded toward the bar door, handing the ear to me, "Find something to wrap this in. I'm gonna call Sam."
I took the ear, fighting the discuss as the clear goo slid down my palm. I followed Jamie to the bar, where she ducked behind it and handed me a towel. I folded it in half, depositing the ear face up before folding the towel around it and whipping of my hands. Jamie watched all of this with a look of utter shock and horror before turning around a snagging a bottle of whiskey.
"I could use a drink," She said, grabbing three glasses.
She walked back around the bar and plopped into the nearest booth. I followed her, sitting own on the other bench and placing the ear beside me. Jamie poured us each a finger of whiskey, downing hers in a single gulp, and pouring another, "So, what just happened?"
I downed my own drink. It burnt on the way down, but I liked the warmth that spread through me. I shrugged, "Basically, monsters are real."
"Hey," Sam said, walking toward us with Dean, "You guys all right?"
"Peachy," I smiled at him. Dean took the seat next to me and grabbed the towel, asking me with a look if it was the ear. I nodded, and he dropped it on the table.
Looking at Sam, Dean said, "And we think we know what's going on."
"Yeah?" Sam asked, looking from Dean to the towel.
"Part of it at least," Dean said, motioning for Sam to open it.
Sam reached up and flipped, staring down at the ear tucked into it. A look of discus spread across his face, "Uh, the ear part?"
"Ripped it off of Dracula's head during the fight," Dean informed him, "Touch it."
Sam scoffed, but Dean was dead serious. Slowly, Sam reached out, his fingers sliding around the top of the ear, "Ugh."
"Feel familiar to you?" Dean asked.
Realization dawned on Sam's face, "Oh, man."
"The skin of a shapeshifter," Dean confirmed, "Just like St. Louis and just like Milwaukee. Of course, this one's all holding buckets of crazy. Oh, and…" Dean paused to pull out the ribbon while Sam recovered the ear, "This must have fallen off during the fight. Look at the label on the ribbon."
"It's a costume rental," Sam said after reading the label, "All three monsters, the Dracula, Wolf Man, and the mummy, all the same critter, which means we need to catch this freak before he 'creature of the black lagoon's' somebody."
"So, you guys are like Mulder and Scully or something and the X Files are real?" Jamie asked, smiling awkwardly.
Dean chuckled, "No, The X Files is a tv show. This is real."
"Oh," Jamie's smile grew, she kind of looked close to tears.
"Okay, so, the stagecraft, the costuming," Sam said, pacing as he thought this through, "It's like he's trying to reenact his favorite monster-movie moments, right down to the bloody murder."
"Wait a second," Jamie said, "Who the hell is Mina?"
"She was engaged to Jonathan Harker in Bram Stockers' Dracula," I told her, pursing my lips, "Dracula kidnaps her to make his undead bride for all eternity."
Sam chuckled, walking back to the table and looked at Jamie, "Mina, the intended bride, and Harker, the fiancé that stands in the way. Seems like he's fixated on you, like he sees you as his bride."
"Wow," Jamie said, still smiling. Her cheeks must have been killing here, "Lucky me."
She poured herself another shot of whiskey and Sam continued, "But to fixate on you, my guess is that the shifter has to have seen you before or been around you."
"She works in a bar," I said, "She's around people every day."
"Jamie, has anybody strange come to town?" Dean asked, "Somebody that has taken a specific notice of you?"
"I don't know, Dean," Jamie shook her head, thinking, "It's Oktoberfest. Like True said, I'm a bartender. There's lots of people. I… Wait a second. There is Ed."
"'Ed Brewer' Ed?" Sam asked.
"Yeah," Jamie nodded, "He moved here about a month ago. Lucy swears he has a crush on me. He comes in almost every night. But, you know, I don't think he's the type of guy-"
"Where does Ed live?" Dean interrupted.
"I don't know," Jamie admitted, "But he works at the old movie theater. I think he's a projectionist there."
"True takes care of Mina?" Sam asked.
"Yep," Dean said sliding out of the booth. He turned around and looked down at me, "Stay here."
"You got it, Harker," I said, turning back to Jamie and smiling.
Sam and Dean headed out, leaving us girls alone. Jamie poured us another round of drinks and we sat in awkward silence, sipping our drinks. After a few moments of avoiding eye contact, Jamie slid out of her seat. She started walking back and forth next to the booth, looking at anything but me.
"So, monsters are real?" Jamie asked.
I nodded, "Basically."
"And the shapeshift," Jamie went on, wringing her hands together, "He can turn into different people."
It wasn't a question but I answered it anyway, "Yeah, it can. Or apparently, old time movie monsters. Which would be cool if he wasn't murdering people."
"And you guys aren't really FBI, are you?" Jamie asked, turning back to me.
"Not by a long shot," I said, taking another sip of my drink.
"And you and Dean, are…?"
"Together," I said, glad she now knew for certain that Dean was off the market.
"Sam and Dean are…?"
"Real life brothers," I nodded.
"So, you guys just do this together?" Jamie asked, sliding into the both in front of me, "You guys just tramp across the country on your own dime until you find some horrible nightmare to fight?"
"Technically, it's my sisters' dime," I admitted. I mean, it was family money, that Echo was supposed to be in charge of. I had been taking money from her for years, not that she cared. I guess she would rather me taken care of then struggling for cash. I would have the Winchesters sleeping in better hotels if the would let me, but they didn't want to accept money from me.
"That must suck," Jamie scoffed, "How do you and Dean manage it?"
I smiled, "I mean, it's not easy. The constant threat of death and all that, but it's worth it."
"I mean, you're giving up your life for this terrible, I don't know, responsibility," Jamie shook her head, "Why do you do it?"
I took a deep breath, thinking this over, "I don't think I'm giving up my life. I think there is nothing more important than saving people, and if I'm the one that has got to do it… then it's a price I'm willing to pay."
"But, I mean, you and Dean," Jamie said cautiously, "How long have you two been…?"
"Couple of weeks, sorta," I said.
"What do you mean, sorta?"
"We've known each other for about a year," I elaborated, "But he was… sick… before. He, um… anyway, we got this second chance. All relationships are hard work, but like I said, it's worth it."
The floorboards creaked from behind the bar, a light flicked on. Jamie and I looked over to see her bartender friend holding a bottle of alcohol. She smiled at us, "Oh, hey, Jamie. I'm sorry, I thought you went home."
"Lucy, it's okay," Jamie said, smiling at her.
"Lucy?" I asked, eyeing the other woman. In the Dracula, Lucy Westernra was the name of Mina's best friend, and I was pretty sure she was a brunette. It could have been a coincidence, Lucy was a common enough name, but I wasn't going to take chances.
"I just came to borrow a bottle," Lucy said, holding up the bottle she was holding, "I kind of got something going back at my… anyway, I'll see you guys later."
"Seriously, Lucy, it's been a crazy night," Jamie said, smiling from Lucy to me and then back again, "Why don't you stay for a drink, and we can have a kind of girls night."
I smiled, knowing this could be my one chance to investigate Lucy, "Sounds fun."
"Okay," Lucy said, shrugging. She came around the bar with another glass and sat beside Jamie. Lucy poured us each a shot, sliding the glasses in front of us.
"So," Lucy said, taking her glass, "Why was it a crazy night?"
Jamie downed her drink and launched into the story of how she was attacked by Dracula, and thankfully saved by me and Dean, leaving out the part of the shapeshifter. She gave me a look, and I understood why she didn't want to mention it. It was one thing to see it first hand, but it was another to admit it to the people you know. Most times, they would think you were crazy.
"Oh, that sounds awful," Lucy said, her face full of sympathy, "Jamie, honey, are you okay?"
"He didn't even touch me," Jamie said drunkenly, indicating herself, "Dean and True just blew right in and fought him off."
"Anyone would have done it," I smiled, "So, are you from around here, Lucy?"
"It was amazing," Jamie said as if I hadn't spoken. She was blinking slowly, a lopsided smile on her lips.
"You and your partner must be really good together," Lucy asked me, ignoring my earlier question.
"The best," I muttered, narrowing my eyes at Jamie before returning my attention to Lucy, "I don't know much about you, what's your last name?"
"That's a strange question to ask," Lucy's smile broadened. Before I could react, she grabbed the of whiskey and cracked it across my face. I whipped to the side, unconscious before I hit the floor.
"True! True, are you alright?"
I woke slowly, feeling strong hands sliding under my shoulders and pulling me into a seated position. The motion made my head swim, my brain pounding against my skull. I reached up and touched the side of my face, feeling the sting as I touched a cut on my cheek. Blinking through still blurred eyes, I saw blood on my fingertips.
"True?" It was Sam's voice.
I turned my head, looking around me. I was no longer beside the booth where Jamie and I had been talking. Someone, the shifter maybe, had dragged me to the back of the bar and dumped me by the bathroom. I turned to Sam who was kneeling beside me, his hand still against my shoulder. I blinked at him, trying to focus on his face.
"What happened?" I asked. The movement of my jaw causing the cut on my cheek to stretch and burn, more warm blood dripped down my cheek.
"I don't know," Sam admitted, titling my face sideways so he could look at the cut. "Brewer was a bust, he's not the shifter. Dean came in to get you and Jamie, when he didn't come back. I came to check on you guys, found you here."
He's words danced around inside my head in slow motion, it took too long for me to realize what he was saying, "Where's Dean?"
Sam tucked his hands under my arms and pulled me to my feet. Once I was steady, he looked my in the eye, "He's not here. Neither is Jamie."
"Lucy," I pressed my hand to my head, thinking back, "Lucy must have taken them. She's the shifter. We got to find them."
"We got to find where she lives," Sam said, gently leading me toward the front door, "That's where they've got to be."
As it turned out, the shifter was going by the name Lucy Westernra, so finding its house wasn't hard. Sam parked the Impala down the street so we didn't alert anyone to our presence, and we walked up to the front door. Sam quickly picked the lock and opened the door smooth, allowing us to slip inside. Pulling out our guns already loaded with silver bullets, we silently made our way through the house. Sam took the lead, as we inched along.
Sam turned down a hallway, bumping into a table that had been set right around the corner. He caught the table, but not before a glass vase full of fake flowers tapped against the wall. Sam grabbed it before he could topple over, and we held our breath. I strained my ears for any evidence that we had been heard, but didn't hear anything. We continued down a long hallway that ended in stone steps heading down.
We entered a room that an exact replica of Frankenstein's laboratory. From the old scientific tools covered in dust on the table, the electric wiring on the walls, and the wooden slab that the monster had been strapped to. In the monster's place as Dean, dressed in white shirt and lederhosen. He was even wearing knee high socks and traditional Swedish shoes.
Sam and I rushed forward, Sam tucking his gun under his arm as I turned to face the stairs. Putting my gun up, I smiled at Dean, "Love the look."
"Shut up," Dean said, looking back and forth between me and Sam. Sam pulled out a hammer, and begun prying up the straps holding Dean. Dean's eyes darted around the room, "You guys are just in time. That guy was about to Frankenstein me."
Pushing the metal straps off of him, Dean stepped down. Sam held up the demon knife and Dean took it. One down, one to go. He turned, heading back for a set of double wood doors off to the side of the stairs. If this shifter hadn't been completely crazy and killed people, and if we weren't there to be rescuing Dean and Jamie, I would have been impressed. The amount of detail he had paid to this set up was remarkable. It couldn't have been easy, or cheap. That kind of dedication could be respected.
We stood in front of the door, Dean and Sam shared a look as to who would have the pleasure of bursting in. Dean lifted his arms in the direction of the door, indicating for Sam to go ahead. Sam lifted his leg, slamming his foot into the door. Instead of bursting open, Sam's foot fell through the door. His foot got caught as the whole thing fell forward, slamming into the ground with a thud and taking Sam with it. He stumbled forward, his long legs keeping him on his feet.
He panted, glancing back at us and said, "Let's go."
Dean rolled his eyes, motioning me to follow. Stepping over the fake door, we headed down a hallway. At the end was another double door looking thing. This time, Sam checked the side, finding that actual door knob. He pushed the door open, leading the line as we went in. It was another impeccably decorated room that made me feel like I was actually in Dracula's castle. Laying unmoving on the bed was Jamie, dressed in a beautiful white silk gown.
Sam rushed toward her, but was grabbed from behind and pulled him away. Spinning around, Dracula hurled Sam at the wall. Sam's massive body easily broke through the cheap plywood, leaving a massive hole as he fell to the ground.
In his fake Hungarian accent, Dracula called after him, "You will never win, Van Helsing."
"Actually, that would be me," I called.
Dracula spun around, hissing at me. Ponting my gun at his chest, I pulled the trigger. The sound of the gun echoed around us, the bullet meeting its mark seconds later. Dracula looked down at his chest in shook, stumbling slightly as his eyes me mine, "Silver?"
"No one expected the hero to be the uncredited woman number one," Dracula muttered, stumbling.
"Uncredited woman number one?" I repeated.
Dracula ignored me, turning to look at Jamie. She had gotten to her feet, staring at him. Dracula staggered back, holding up his hand, "No, Mina, do not weep." Dracula sank into a chair, leaning into a dramatic pose. "Perhaps this is how the movie should end."
With one last breath, Dracula was no more.
Groaning, Sam stepped back through the hole and scooped his gun up from where it had dropped on the rug. Dean got to his feet and came over to me, touching my cheek gently where the cut was. Jamie gathered up her clothes, looking more then ready to get the hell out of her. I was ready too. My head had started bounding again, and I just wanted to sleep.
We left the house of horrors in a hurry, calling in an anonymous tip that we had heard gun shots. We dropped Jamie off at her place, after she insisted that she was going to be alright on our own. Dean pulled me into the bathroom the second we got into the motel room, first aid kit in hand. I had almost forgotten about the cut; I hadn't even bothered cleaning off the blood. I looked at my face in the mirror. It wasn't one little scratch like I thought it was, but three scratches like claw marks.
"Pretty nice shot there, Van Helsing," Dean smiled, his hand tilting my face toward his. He had run a towel under the cold water and begun gently whipping at the blood.
I smiled, and it hurt, "I can't believe I got to shoot Dracula."
Discarding the towel into the sink, Dean pulled out a bandaged and unwrapped it. He placed it gently against my cheek, "We are never gonna hear the end of that, are we?"
"I got to shoot Dracula," I repeated, "No Van Helsing has had the pleasure. I can't wait to tell Echo."
Dean smiled, his eyes trailing over my face. He reached up a hand, tucking a stray hair behind my ear. His hand slid farther back, tangling in my hair and forcing my chin up. His lips found mine, claiming me in a passionate kiss. Fire burned inside me and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling me against me. Dean's hand found my waist, pushing me back until I was against the sink. Whatever doubt I was feeling over Jamie evaporated in that moment, I was completely consumed but Dean.
Too soon Dean pulled away, wrapping his arms around me and holding me close, "You kill me, you know that?"
"Interesting choice of words," I smiled, leaning into him with my arms still around his neck.
"You know what I mean," Dean pressed another quick kiss against my lips.
"So, was this job everything you hoped it would be?" I asked, fully intending to change the subject.
"Actually, yeah," Dean's started at a spot over my head, "You know, these last few years… I started thinking that the job was to much, you know, it started weighing on me."
"It's not easy," I agreed.
"Ever since I got back," Dean continued, still not looking at me, "Things have been different. My life has been different. I realized that helping people, saving them, it's kind of awesome. What we did today was awesome."
I agreed, that's one of the reasons I did this job. Risking my life was worth it, if it meant that even one innocent person lived. If I had to hunt so that no one else had to turn to this life, then I'd do it. This had always been my life. I couldn't imagine trying or doing anything else.
"What w do is a gift, a mission," Dean said, finally looking at me, "It's a mission from God."
It felt as if my eyes popped out of my head. I hadn't expected a rebel like Dean to accept a mission from God. I figured he would fight it tooth and nail, I know I would have. I didn't believe in fate or destiny. Maybe it was because Terminator was my favorite movie growing up, but I was a strong believer that we made out own fate, took our own path in this world.
"So, you're ok with God having a job for you?" I asked.
Dean shrugged, "The angles are dicks, but they are trying to stop the apocalypse, right?"
I returned his shrug, "I assume so."
Dean kissed my forehead, "Let's not stress about it, alright? Let's get you into bed."
I let Dean pull me from the bathroom. Sam was already in one bed, still dressed and already asleep. Or at least pretending to be a sleep, I could have sworn I saw his eyes flutter. Dean and I got into bed, snuggling close together. With his warm body against me, in the safety of his arms, exhaustion hit me hard. I drifted off to sleep.
I was standing in a long hallway. The walls and roof were white, and the carpet beneath my feet was a rich crimson color. I looked behind me, the hallway stretched on, having no end. Turning back around, I started forward. I felt as if something was calling me. Not my name, but something deeper. An ancient power deep inside my soul, drawing me forward.
"True?"
I froze at the sound of my own voice. I flipped around, looking at the figure that was standing there. It was me, but it wasn't. The other me had the same eyes, same nose, same tanned skin, same lips and chin, but her auburn hair was longer. It fell down around her hips like a fire waterfall, gently swishing back and forth as if in a breeze. She was dressed in an ancient Greek dress, with a split up that show one of her legs. A double gold belt was wrapped around her slim waist, and gold bracelets around her wrist and a golden headband rested along her forehead. My mind drifted to the shifter, but even as I thought the thought I knew she was no shifter.
"Do not open the door, True," the other me said, giving me a warning look.
"What door?" I demanded, throwing up my arms to indicate the hallway, "There aren't any doors."
"There will be," Other me gave me a sad look, as if she knew something I didn't, "Promise me that you will not open it."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your time is drawing to an end," she said, her face growing dark with an anger that sprung up out of nowhere, "Events have been set in motion, events that will-"
I didn't get hear the rest of what she was going to say. I was woken up by the loud beeping of Sam's alarm, forcing my eyes to fly open. I threw of the blanket and stood, looking around the room. I could still feel the other me's presence, as if she had actually been standing over me. Her words rang in my ears, the same words that Claire had said when I had the other dream: don't open the door.
Frustration had me pacing back and forth in the room. I was vaguely aware that Sam had turned off the alarm, and was now watching me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dean through his legs over the bed and sit up, rubbing his eyes. But my mind was racing.
Someone was seriously trying to communicate with me, the problem was: I had no idea what they were talking about. That's probably the point. The other me had said there will be a door, which means I haven't come across it yet. But she also said my time was drawing to an end, did that mean I was going to die? Or just the time until I came across a door I wasn't supposed to open? Or what if I was, if it was a good door, and something bad was trying to keep me from opening it?
No, that wasn't it. Whatever the other thing was, I knew it wasn't evil. I could feel it, I knew it was true more then I knew anything else. This warning was real, strangely that didn't make me feel any better. I thought back to the conversation that Dean and I had the night before, about how I didn't believe in fate, but it seemed someone had plans for me. The other me said that events had been set into motion. Did this have anything to do with God and the angels? Was it something about the looing apocalypse?
I didn't realize that Dean had been talking to me until his fingers wrapped around my arms, forcing me to stop pacing. He's green eyes were dark with worry when he fixed them on me, "What are you doing?"
"I had a dream," I said.
Dean lead me over to the bed, forcing me to sit down. Sam came around the side of the bed, grabbing one of the chairs from the table and taking a seat. Dean sat on the bed beside me, sharing a worried look with his brother. I took a deep breath and told them about my dream.
"It was just a dream, True," Sam said. I remembered how I hadn't told him about my dream about Claire saying the same.
"It's not just a dream," I said, telling him about the other dream and how I had woken up to learn that Castiel really had sent Dean into the future, "They were both real."
"I don't like this," Dean rose from the bed, pacing just as I had done, "I don't like something sneaking into your dreams."
"I don't like people manipulating my life!" I said, standing as well. I wanted to go back to sleep, to find the other me and demand answers. To find out why I wasn't supposed to open the door, what was behind it, who was plotting against me, and why any of this had to do with me. Frustrated, I collapsed back onto the bed.
"Do you think this has anything to do with the apocalypse and the seals?" Sam asked, looking at me with that pity filled puppy dog look of his.
None of us said anything, because none of us knew for sure. There was no way we could get answers, even if I could fall back to sleep, I had no clue if I would be visited by the other me again. After all, she had told me what I needed to hear.
"We should go," Dean said suddenly.
He began throwing things into his bag, as if he thought we could out run this. I hated to break it to him, but we couldn't our run my dreams. Neither Sam or I argued, though. Once we were packed, we took our things out to the car. Filling the trunk just as some called out to us. Peaking around the lid of the boot, I saw Jamie walking toward us. She smiled and waved.
"I'm glad I caught you," Jamie said, coming to a stop beside us, "Are you leaving?"
Dean closed the trunk, "Yeah, gotta hit the road."
"I get it," Jamie nodded, tucking her hands into the front pocket of her jeans, "I just wanted to thank you, you know, for saving my life."
"All in a day's work," I forced a smile.
"Well, I'll let you get going," Jamie said, starting to walk away, "Thanks again."
Waving by, Jamie walked away. Dean opened the back do for me to slide in, and then got into the front. Sam joined him, and Dean started the car, pulling out onto the road and gunning it for the highway.
"The shifter man had a point, you know? It would be nice if life was like the movies," Dean muttered, "You know, hero gets the girl, monster gets the gank, and a happy ending."
"Out movie never gets an ending," I said, looking out the window as Pennsylvania flew by in a blur.
"If I was turning life into a movie, I wouldn't do this 'Abbott and Costello meet the Monster' crap," Dean said, sounding as if he was trying to lighten the mood.
"Yeah," Sam agreed, also catching on, "No, I know what you'd pick."
Dean chuckled, "No, you don't."
"Yeah, I do," Sam said confidently.
"No, you don't," Dean insisted, "You don't."
"'Porkey's II," Sam said.
"What?" Dean said, his face falling.
"You heard me," Sam smirked.
"Lucky guess," Dean said in a deep, disappointed voice.
If I where to pick a movie, it would be one of those rom-coms, where the outcast girl got the guy. They would ride of into the sunset and live happily ever after. There would be no monsters in my movie, nothing for us to hunt. We could get married, have children, and live normal lives. I loved being a hunter, but if I could create a world where we weren't needed, that would be bliss. That would be my happy ending.
