Thanks to PrincessSparkles95 for following/faving my story.
NicoleR85: thanks!
~Interstate 35~
Fire of Unknown Origin by Blue Öyster Cult plays as Dean drives along the road. He glances over at his brother who was fast asleep with his mouth open. Dean grinned and carefully put a plastic spoon in Sam's mouth. He then took a photograph with his phone and sent it to Lena.
~motel room~
Lena looked over in the direction of her phone when it chimed. She got up from the table where she'd been looking into the 'Hell House' on her laptop. She knew the Winchesters wouldn't be too pleased about her being there because of the potential danger. Lena wasn't stupid, she wasn't going to go and face the spirit of the building dubbed the 'Hell House' on her own. Besides if it wasn't for her, the case wouldn't have likely come to the brother's attention for some time. Considering where she found it, , wasn't the sort of place they'd go looking for hunts. It wasn't the kid of thing she would be looking at either, except for the fact that she was bored.
Her finals were over and she didn't have much to do while waiting for the results, so she decided to search for potential cases. Hence looking at the website.
Lena picked up her phone and saw she had a message from Dean. She clicked on it and her eyebrows raised when she saw the picture of Sam with a spoon in his mouth. Only Dean she thought shaking her head setting phone down.
~Interstate 35~
Dean turned up the music, singing loudly.
"Fire...of unknown origins...took my baby away!"
Sam jerked awake, flailing a little when he realised that he had something in his mouth. He spat it out as Dean air drums along to the song on the steering wheel. Sam wipes his mouth and turns down the music.
"Ha ha, very funny", he said, not at all amused.
Dean chuckled "Sorry, not a lot of scenery here in East Texas, kinda gotta make your own", he said.
"Man we're not kids anymore Dean. We're not going to start that crap up again", Sam grumbled.
"Start what up?" Dean asked.
"That prank stuff. It's stupid, and it always escalates", Sam replied.
"Aw, what's the matter Sammy, scared you're going to get a little Nair in your shampoo again huh?" Dean teased.
"All right, just remember you started it", Sam said warningly.
"Ah ha, bring it on baldy", Dean said.
"Where are we anyway?" Sam asked.
"A few hours outside of Richardson", Dean answered "Gimme the lowdown again?"
Sam took to printouts from the dashboard. "All right, according to what Lena sent me, about a month or two ago this group of kids goes poking around in this local haunted house", he said skim reading the information Lena had sent him.
"Haunted by what?" Dean questioned.
"Apparently, a pretty misogynistic spirit. Legend goes, it takes girls and strings them up in the rafters. Anyway this group of kids see this dead girl hanging in the cellar", Sam explained.
"Anybody ID the corpse?" Dean asked.
"Well, that's the thing. By the time the cops got there the body was gone. So cops are saying the kids were just yanking chains", Sam told him.
"Maybe the cops are right", Dean said.
"Maybe, but I read a couple of the kids first-hand accounts. They seemed pretty sincere", Sam said.
"Where'd you read these accounts?"
"Well it was amongst the stuff Lena sent me. She got it from a paranormal website of all places", Sam replied " ".
"Lemme guess, streaming live out of Mom's basement", Dean joked.
"Yeah, probably", Sam agreed with a grin.
"Yeah. Most of those websites wouldn't know a ghost if it bit 'em in the persqueeter", Dean said.
"Look. We let Dad take off", Sam said reminding him "Which was a mistake, by the way. And now we don't know where the hell he is, so meantime we gotta find ourselves something to hunt. There's no harm checking this thing out".
"You just wanna do this because Lena sent you the info. You hoping we'll run into her again?" Dean asked.
"It's doubtful we will run into her", Sam said.
"I know. But you didn't answer my question Sammy", Dean pointed out.
"It would be nice to see her again", Sam admitted "We haven't seen her since the whole Reaper thing".
"Tell you what, as soon as we finish this job, we'll give her a visit", Dean said "And then you can ask her out".
"Dean", Sam said in a complaining tone. It had been one of those topics that his brother had kept brining up every so often, asking Lena out.
"Sam, Lena is an incredibly attractive, very smart young woman. Who happens to know what we do. And instead of running away, she's accepting the fact that's who we are"
"That's only cos of her brother", Sam pointed out.
"Yeah but you like her, right?" Dean pressed.
"I do", the younger Winchester admitted.
"Then ask her out", Dean said.
"Why are you so insistent that I ask Lena out on a date?" Sam questioned.
"Because I want you to be happy Sam", Dean answered "You deserve to be happy".
"Well I appreciate that. But Lena and I are just friends", Sam said. Besides her half-brother would probably kill him for showing an interest in the young woman.
"Uh huh", Dean said not really believing him "So what about those kids?" he asked changing the subject "where do we find them".
"Same place you always find kids in a town like this", Sam replied.
~Rodeo Drive: night~
The Impala pulls up outside the fast food place. Sam and Dean got out of the car at the same time that Lena was coming out of Rodeo Drive. "Hey guys", she greeted when she spotted them.
"What are you doing here?" Sam asked both surprised and pleased.
"I thought I'd do some investigating, see if this really was your kind of thing", Lena replied "just didn't expect you to turn up so soon".
"You really think that wise Lena?" Dean asked "you're not exactly a hunter".
"Dean, I'm not going to go in the house by myself. I'm not stupid", Lena said "and you don't have to be a Hunter to interview people or do research", she pointed out.
"Well since you're here, what did you find out?" Sam asked.
"I talked to three of the eye witnesses. Their stories do vary slightly in description but all of them mentioned the hung girl", Lena said "and I also learned the name of the person who'd told them about the house. Craig Thurston. He works at the local music shop".
"Let's go talk to Craig. See what he has to say", Dean said.
~music shop~
The trio enter the shop gaining the attention of Craig. "Can I help you three with anything?" he asked moving out from behind the counter.
"Yeah, are you Craig Thurston?" Sam asked.
"I am", Craig confirmed.
"Well we're reporters with the Dallas Morning News. I'm Dean, this is Sam and Lena", Dean said.
"No way. Well I'm writer too. I write for my school's lit magazine", Craig said.
"We're doing an article on local hauntings", Lena spoke up "and rumour has it you might know of one".
"You mean the Hell House?" Craig asked.
"That's the one", Lena replied.
"I didn't think there was anything to the story", Craig said.
"Why don't you tell us the story", Sam suggested.
"Well, supposedly back in the '30s this farmer, Mordechai Murdoch, used to live in this house with his six daughters. It was during the Depression, his crops were failing, he didn't have enough money to feed his own children. So I guess that's when he went off the deep end", Craig said. Lena nodded along, that fit with what she'd discovered on that site .
"How?" Sam asked.
"Well, he figured it was best if his girls died quick, rather than starve to death. So he attacked them. They screamed, begged for him to stop but he just strung 'em up, one after the other. And when he was all finished he just turned around and hung himself", Craig explained "Now they say that his spirit is trapped in the house forever, stringing up any other girl that goes inside".
"Where'd you hear all this?" Dean questioned.
"My cousin Dana told me", Craig replied "I don't know where she heard it from. Ya gotta realize, I - I didn't believe this for a second".
"But now you do", Sam stated.
"I don't know what the hell to think, man. You guys, I...I'll tell you exactly what I told the police, ok? That girl was real. And she was dead. This was not a prank. I swear to God, I don't wanna go anywhere near that house ever again, ok?"
The three of them thanked him for his time and left the shop.
The next day the three of them walked up to the Hell House. "Maybe you should wait outside Lena", Sam suggested.
"Why? Because I'm a girl?" Lena asked "I said I wouldn't go into the house alone. You guys are here so I'm going in. Besides, I ain't afraid of no ghost" and with that she walked into the decrepit building. The brothers exchanged looks before they followed her inside.
Dean whistled as he looked around the room they'd entered, eyeing the symbols that were painted on the walls. "Looks like old man Murdock was a bit of a tagger here in his time", he remarked.
"And after his time too. That reverse cross has been used by Satanists for centuries but this sigil of sulfur didn't show up in San Francisco until the '60s", Sam said nodding to a symbol.
"That is exactly why you never get laid", Dean said staring at his brother. Lena just shook her head and moved over to one of the walls.
"Have you guys seen this symbol before?" she asked considering it. There was something about it seemed very familiar.
"I don't recognise it", Sam replied after he had a look. He took a picture of it as Dean walked over to a wall and frowned at the symbol that was painted on it.
"What about this one Sam?" he asked.
"No", Sam replied and took a picture of that symbol too.
"Looks like a weird upside down question mark", Lena commented.
Sam reached out and touched the symbol "its paint", he stated "Seems pretty fresh too".
"If Mordechai was the one who supposedly did those, then that wouldn't be fresh. Nor would there be symbols on the walls after his time", Lena stated.
"I agree with you on that one", Dean said "and I hate to I hate to agree with authority figures of any kind, but ... the cops may be right about this one".
"Yeah, maybe", Sam said sounding a little hesitant about writing it off. A sudden noise the brothers on alert. They walk over to a door, taking up positions either side. Lena stands next to Sam. Dean nods at his brother and they burst through the door. Bright lights shine in their eyes.
"Oh, cut. It's just a coupla humans", Ed Zeddmore said as Sam and Dean shield their eyes. Harry Spengler turned the light off and the brothers blinked trying to get rid of the white spots they were seeing from being temporarily blinded. "What are you guys doing here?" Ed asked.
"What they hell are you doing here?" Dean demanded.
"Ah-ha-ha. We belong here, we're professionals?" Ed replied.
"Professional what?" Lena asked stepping out from behind Sam and Dean. Both Ed and Harry straightened up when they saw her.
"Paranormal Investigators", Ed answered and handed over a business card to each of them.
Lena looked down at it, her eyes widening when she saw that they were the people who ran that paranormal website. "No way. You guys run that website. The HellHounds one", she said looking up at them.
"Yes we do", Ed confirmed proudly.
"I actually started looking at your site a couple of days ago", Lena informed them.
"Oh yeah? What did you think?" Harry asked.
"It's very...interesting and rather informative", Lena replied. Both Ed and Harry seemed pretty pleased by that.
"We've been on the site loads of times", Dean spoke up "huge fans". He moved past Ed to lean against the counter.
"And ahh, we know who you guys are too", Ed said glancing between Sam and Dean.
"Oh yeah?" Sam asked.
"Amateurs", Ed replied "Looking for ghosts and cheap thrills. Probably trying to impress your pretty friend here" he nodded to Lena.
"So if you guys don't mind, we're trying to conduct a serious scientific investigation here", Harry added.
"What have you guys got so far?" Lena questioned, feigning interest.
Ed turned to his friend "Harry, why doncha tell 'em about EMF?" he suggested.
"Well..." Harry began.
"EMF?" Sam asked deciding to play dumb, trying hardest not to smile.
"Electromagnetic field? Spectral entities can cause energy fluctuations that can be read with an EMF detector", he held up a rather an EMF "Like this bad boy right here".
He turned it on and it immediately starts beeping and clicking. "Whoa. Whoa. Its 2.8m", Harry said excitedly looking at the device.
"2.8. It's hot in here", Ed added glancing around the room.
"So have you guys ever really seen a ghost before?" the brunette asked continuing her 'interest' in what they were doing.
"Once", Ed replied "We were, uh...we were investigating this old house and we saw a vase fall right off the table..."
"By itself", Harry finished.
"Well, we, we we we didn't actually see it, we heard it", Ed corrected "And something like that...it uh...it changes you".
"I'll be it does", Lena remarked pretending to be fascinated by what they were saying, in actual fact she was doing her best not to laugh at these wannabe ghostbusters. If they'd seen an actual ghost, they'd probably run away screaming she thought.
"Ok, I think we get the picture", Dean said wanting to leave these two amateurs alone so that they could get on with their own investigation "Yeah. I think I get the picture. We should go, let them get back to work".
"Yeah, you should", Ed agreed.
Sam, Dean and Lena started to leave the room when Harry called out to the brunette woman. "Hey um whatever your name is...could I have your number?"
"Yeah... I don't think so", Lena said. No way was she giving her number to either of the HellHound boys. They were absolutely not her type. Besides she wasn't the kind of girl who gives her number to any relatively cute guy she meets. Sam and Dean being the exception as she knew that she would be able to help them from time to time thanks to her knowledge of the supernatural...and of course being a member of the supernatural herself. Not that the brothers knew it. Yet.
Just in case there was some truth to Craig's story, the trio decided to head to the Library to do some research. Actually, it was Sam and Lena who spent hours combing through books and archives. Dean had decided to check out the local police station. Which of course turned out to be a complete waste of time, so now he was waiting for Sam and Lena to be done.
The older Winchester looked up when the pair eventually exited the Library and walked down the steps. "So what did you two find out?" Dean asked.
"We couldn't find a Mordechai but did find a Martin Murdock who lived in that house in the '30s. He did have children but only two of them, both boys, and there's no evidence he ever killed anyone", Sam reported.
"And I checked on those symbols we found. It was really weird. They were pretty random, no link between them at all", Lena added "though there's that one symbol that's really bugging me, I know I've seen it somewhere before".
"I'm sure you'll figure it out", Sam said optimistically "What did you find out Dean?" he asked his brother.
"Stopped by the police station to look for an ID on our dead girl…nothing", Dean answered "didn't really help that I had hardly a description to give to the police", he added giving Lena a pointed look.
"Hey! It's not my fault, those kids couldn't seem to decide what she looked like. I gave you the best description I could, from the variety I was given", Lena said defensively.
"In any case, we did our digging and this one is a big bust", Dean said, none to happy about it "For all we know those HellHound boys made up the whole thing".
"Yeah, all right", Sam agreed.
"I say we find ourselves a bar and some beers and leave the legend to the locals", Dean suggested.
"Sounds good to me", Sam said "Lena?" he glanced at the brunette, really hoping she'd say yes.
"Count me in", Lena said as Dean got into the Impala "though no beers for me, I don't drink".
"More for me and Sammy then", Dean said. He turned the key in the ignition and suddenly Latino pop-dance music blasts from the speakers. When the older Winchester tried to turn the music off, the windscreen wipers started moving.
Sam stands at the passenger side grinning at his brother, watching in mild amusement as Dean frantically turned everything off. Even Lena was trying her hardest not to laugh at him.
Sam got into the passenger seat, still grinning. He licks his finger and marks an imaginary '1' in the air then points to himself.
"That's all you got?" Dean asked giving his brother a dirty look "Weak. That is bush league".
"I thought it was pretty funny", Lena remarked before she walked over to her car which was parked a couple of vehicles down from the impala.
Sam gave his brother a smug look "Don't say a word", Dean warned him.