A/N: This letter is only one part and so are the next five. I hope you enjoy the hunt and will stay with me for the upcoming letters. Reviews would be great. NC
How did you kike the last episode? I thought it was one of the better ones they have had so far. Glad Cas and Jack are back.
G
Sam wiped the sleep from his eyes as he made his way through the bunker to the kitchen to find Dean sitting at the table on his laptop.
"Did you sleep any?" Sam asked going to the coffee pot and pouring a cup. He found creamer in the fridge, noticing they were getting low on supplies.
"Found us a possible case," Dean answered ignoring the question. "It's not too far away and sounds simple."
"Don't you want to rest for another day? We just wrapped up that case in Memphis and drove back without stopping. Aren't you tired?" Sam asked, really wanting to have another day to rest before jumping back into another hunt.
"No use sitting around doing nothing. We have no leads on Amara; no leads on a weapon to take her out and no leads on Lucifer. What else are we supposed to do? Might as well hunt while we can."
Sam sipped on his coffee and heard the frustration in his brother's voice because they had come up empty on all accounts so far. He knew Dean was right, there were still monsters out there and people that needed saving they could help. "Can I at least get a shower and change?"
"Yeah, but don't take all morning," Dean called after Sam as he walked away. He closed the laptop and sighed as he got up to head to his room to pack and then wait on his brother. He still didn't understand what took him so long in the bathroom and figured that would remain a mystery. He looked up forty minutes later as Sam strolled into the map room, his hair damp from the shower and carrying his duffle.
"Where are we heading this time?" Sam asked as he followed his brother to the garage.
"Stillwater, Oklahoma."
"And what is this possible case you found?"
"Some teenagers went missing and the locals aren't finding any evidence of what happened to them," Dean replied dropping into the driver's seat of the Impala. He waited for Sam to settle and started up his Baby listening to her roar to life under his experience fingers. He ran a hand over the wheel and mumbled lovingly to her before pulling from the garage and heading out to pick up the main road to head south to Stillwater.
"Remember when cases were simple monsters like a ghost or vampire or werewolf?" Sam sighed. "Now we have angels, demons, Lucifer, God, and God's sister, thrown in the mix."
"Yeah, it seems we get rid of one monster and another bigger and badder shows up that we have to deal with."
"Guess our first stop will be the local police station and see what they've got so far. For once we won't have to go to the morgue if there's been no bodies found yet? You don't think it's some prank and the teenagers are hiding out somewhere?" Sam questioned.
"Don't know, I mean this is October and you know how people get and crap that gets started this time of year."
"Yeah, people wanna talk to the dead, try to find ghosts, play in graveyards, do stupid things and mess with stuff they know nothing about. Maybe it'll be a quick salt and burn and we can take a break for a couple of days to rest and recharge."
"Nothing's ever that easy, so don't get your hopes up."
"I know." Sam wiggled around in the passenger seat trying to get comfortable and stared out the side window trying to let his mind calm and not think about what they were up against. He had only wanted to save his brother but unleashed a being like none they had faced before. Amara was God's sister and she was not happy to have been caged for all these eons and he didn't know if they stood a chance in hell of stopping her.
spn
It was midafternoon when they pulled into the small town of Stillwater. They stopped at a gas station to change into suits so they could pose as FBI and visit the local police station. Once they were ready, Dean got directions from the cashier and headed across town to a brick building and found the visitor parking.
Dean adjusted his jacket and tie after getting out of the car and took the lead heading for the front doors. He expected it would be like most other small town police departments that they had visited over the years and wasn't disappointed. An officer sat behind a counter talking on the phone as they stepped through the doors into a foyer that was blocked off from the rest of the place. He could see through an open door, desks and officers walking around or working.
"May I help you?" the officer asked after hanging up the phone.
"We're FBI, Agent Shaw and Wilson. We'd like to talk to whoever is in charge of the missing teenagers' case," Dean stated as he flipped his badge out for him to see.
The officer eyed both badges and lifted the receiver and punched a button. He spoke quietly into it and then hung up. "Someone will be out shortly. You can have a seat in those chairs over there."
"Thank you," Sam nodded as they moved to sit in plastic chairs against the wall. He let his eyes roam over the bulletin boards and the case with the wanted posters happy to see their faces were not among the ones hanging there anymore. It seemed like a lifetime ago when they were being hunted and pursued by real FBI agents. Those were some scary times.
The wait wasn't long as a middle-aged man in uniform stepped through the doorway and looked in their direction. He studied them for a moment before walking over and stopping at the chairs.
"I'm Sheriff Earp, how can I help you?" he asked holding out his hand to shake theirs.
"Hello Sheriff, I'm Agent Shaw and this is my partner Agent Wilson. We were sent down to lend a hand on your missing teenagers' case."
"Why don't you step into my office where we can talk," he replied leading them into the squad room and to the back to a small office. "I don't recall requesting any help from the FBI."
"We don't question the orders we're given sir. Our boss wanted us to come check it out and be sure it's not linked to any of the other cases we're working," Sam offered hoping that would ease the sheriff's mind.
"Don't know what I can tell you other than the fact I've got four missing teenagers and not a clue what happened to them," he said.
"Where were they last seen?" Dean asked.
"At the local hangout in town, Harry's. It's a diner on one side and ice cream shop on the other side. Most kids go there to socialize. I did get a little more out of a couple of their friends. Seems they were going to check out an abandoned house out near the old cemetery on the outskirts of town. It's the old Tanner place. Been empty for years now since no one wants to live that close to a cemetery. The bank owns it now and is trying to sell it. They were supposedly looking for a place for a Halloween party."
"And no one saw them after that?" Sam asked.
"Not that I was told, but no one's talking since they don't want to get them in trouble."
"And you checked this abandoned house out?"
"Yes, there was no sign of the kids and the caretakers said he didn't see anyone around there the day they went missing. He was gone for a few hours to get some supplies so he could have missed them."
"Could we get a copy of your reports so we can go over them?"
"Sure, but it's not much. If you wait here, I'll copy them. We've sent out notices to all the surrounding counties to be on the lookout for them or if they find any unidentified bodies that might match their descriptions."
"Good to know," Dean nodded. "We'll get a motel room and see what we can dig up," he mumbled to Sam when the sheriff stepped out.
"Since we haven't had lunch, we could go check out Harry's and see if any of the locals will talk to us," Sam suggested.
"Good idea. Should we go in as FBI or maybe undercover as distant relatives to one of the missing kids?"
"They'd probably be more likely to talk to a relative before the FBI. So, I guess motel first to change and then Harry's."
"Like I said it isn't much," Sheriff Earp repeated handing Sam a file with the missing persons reports and interviews from family and friends. "You'll keep me posted if you find any new leads?"
"Yes, we'll let you know," Dean told him. "Where's a decent motel around here?" he asked as they stood to leave.
"There's a Sleep Inn out near the road into town. It's clean and reasonably priced."
"Thanks Sheriff."
The brothers left the station and headed back out of town to find the motel and get a room for a few days. Sam went in and registered and paid for the room. He came out and motioned Dean to follow him around the office to the rows of rooms and to one on the end out of the main flow of things. He opened the door and waited as Dean grabbed their bags and strolled in putting his bag on the bed nearest the door.
"Let's change and check out Harry's," he told Sam as he dug out his clothes. "If there's time, we'll find this abandoned house and see if there's anything there."
"Okay, I'm going to scan these reports, you can have the bathroom first."
Sam sat down at the table and quickly looked over the reports of the four missing teens looking for anything out of place or off. They all went to the same high school and were in the same grade. They seemed like good kids with no police record or trouble with the cops. He looked at the names of the friends that were interviewed committing them to memory so they could talk to them and maybe get some more information from them than the sheriff did.
"Your turn," Dean told him stepping from the bathroom. He had his suit on a hanger and found his suit bag to put it in to keep it clean until he needed it again.
Sam slid the papers away and got up to find clothes before stepping into the bathroom to change. He looked at the reflection in the mirror and saw a weariness in his eyes that he couldn't hide. Sam looked away and turned on the cold water to wash his face and dry it. He stripped out of his suit and put on jeans, tee shirt, and button up shirt before gathering his pants, shirt, and jacket to hang them up. He folded the tie and put it in his jacket pocket before stepping into the other room.
Dean was waiting and slipped into his jacket while Sam found his and followed him to the Impala. They headed back to the main road and to Harry's. Since it was between lunch and dinner, the parking lot was not crowded, and they had their choice of spaces. Dean parked where he thought his Baby would be okay and got out heading for the front door of the diner. When they went in, they looked both ways seeing one led to a diner and the other to an ice cream shop. They went left into the diner and up to the counter to order.
"Good afternoon gentlemen. What can I get for your pleasure today?" a bubbly young woman asked when Dean motioned to her they were ready.
"I'll have the barbecue platter with fries," Dean said.
"And for you sir?"
"I'll have the broasted chicken plate with green beans and small salad, ranch dressing," Sam told her.
"And a name for the ticket?"
"Sam."
"Here's your drink cups. We'll call your name when it's ready," she said.
Dean went to the self-serve station for soda, trying to decide what he wanted. There were containers of sweet and unsweet tea sitting beside the station, if he wanted that instead. He filled his cup with ice and choose sweet tea with lemon. Sam chose unsweet tea with lemon and joined him at the table to wait for their order. They sipped on their drinks and Sam got up when his name was called to get the tray loaded with food. He carefully sat it on the table and unloaded the tray before sitting it aside.
"Looks good," Dean commented checking the bottles of barbecue sauce for the kind he liked before squirting it onto his barbecue.
"This is so, tender," Sam said. He pulled off another bite of chicken marveling at the rich, savory taste and sighed happily. Sometimes it was hard to eat healthy when Dean picked the places they ate at.
"I figure high school kids should be showing up soon and we can see who knew the missing ones. Maybe they didn't tell the sheriff everything they knew."
"You're probably right, but you can't intimidate them," Sam cautioned him knowing sometimes Dean could go a little overboard with his questioning if the person did cooperate.
They finished their meal and while Dean had a piece of pie and coffee for dessert, Sam watched the people coming and going and paid attention when high school kids started coming in. He motioned to Dean who was finishing the last bite of pie and looked in the direction Sam was nodding. He wiped his mouth and dropped the napkin onto the plate before getting up. He had already paid, and they were only waiting for high schoolers to show up.
"Hey guys, can we talk to you?" Dean asked as they stopped at a table with five high schoolers sitting around it.
"Why should we?" one asked eyeing Dean and Sam.
"We're trying to help find the students that disappeared," Sam told them.
The group looked at each other for a moment before another asked. "What do you want to know?"
"Did you guys know the four who went missing?" Dean asked. He pulled a chair from another table over while Sam took the other chair for the table.
"Yeah, we were all friends," one said sadly.
"The sheriff mentioned that they went to an abandoned house on the outskirts of town; is that true?" Sam questioned. "The Tanner place?"
"Yes, we were looking for a place to have a wild Halloween party that would be spooky and scary. We were going to set it up like haunted house."
"Are there any stories about the place being haunted?"
"There's always been rumors going around, but most of us have been there and it's just creepy and rundown now."
"Did they do something else while they were there?" Dean asked when he saw a couple of the kids look at each other with guilt plastered on their faces. He knew they were holding something back.
"If you want us to help your friends you need to be honest with us," Sam said.
"Sophie had this book and they were going to try and do a séance," one finally admitted. "They were going to practice so we could do it at the party."
"What was this book she had?"
"I didn't really get to see it. She said she found it in a used bookstore, and it had spells and weird stuff in it."
"When are you kids ever going to learn to not to fool around with things you know nothing about? You don't know what might happen messing with that crap," Dean growled at them.
"Can you tell us where this house is?" Sam asked quickly when he saw the scared looks on their faces.
"It's on the outskirts of town beside the old town graveyard. You take Main Street to Willow Branch Road, turn left and go like four miles, turn right onto Sleepy Hollow Road and you'll see a sign for the cemetery and the house is below it."
"Thanks for your help," Sam nodded getting up and pulling Dean with him.
"You'll find them, won't you?" a girl asked.
"We'll try," Sam told her.
spn
"That's just great, if they did contact a spirit there's no telling what they could have unleashed," Dean ranted once they were in the car.
"I know, but you don't need to scare them."
"They need to be scared."
"Let's go find this house and check it out. If they were able to summon a spirit maybe there's something there the locals missed that will tell us who it was."
"I hope so, we can't dig up the whole graveyard to burn and salt the bones."
"I checked the property out and didn't find any murders or deaths linked to the house or anything that would point to supernatural."
"Maybe that's a point in our favor."
"Let's hope so."
Dean followed the directions through town and found the road the cemetery was on. He saw the house on past the rock wall surrounding the cemetery and found a driveway that led to it. The yard was overgrown with weeds, vines, grass and littered with leaves from the surrounding trees. The house was a one story, clapboard with a large front porch.
Dean parked the Impala and got out giving the area a once over. He looked toward the rock wall that bordered the property and could see the headstones and markers since the house was elevated on a small hill. He noticed there were family mausoleums scattered throughout the property; those he could see seemed old and eerie.
Sam moved to look at the house that had seen better days. Paint was peeling from the sides, shutters hung from one hinge off the windows that had shutters. There were panes of glass that had been broken out and replaced with wood. Leaves and dirt had blown onto the porch and was scattered in piles in corners and at the door. He pulled out the EMF monitor and turned it on, watching the readings and looked at the power lines that ran to the house.
"This is no good. There still must be some trickle of power messing with the readings."
"Let's check out the inside first and then we'll go look in the graveyard."
Dean headed for the steps and stumbled from the uneven pavers covered in leaves. He swore under his breath and moved cautiously to the steps.
"Make sure they're not rotten," Sam warned him as Dean stepped onto the first wooden step.
"Right," he replied. Dean moved closer to the end of the steps and carefully put his full weight on them taking them slowly. Once he was on the porch, he went to a dirty window and wiped away the coating to look in. "How do you suppose the kids got in?" he asked eyeing the locked door and the extra bar that was locked across it.
"Maybe the backdoor?" Sam asked. He walked to the end of the porch and stepped down to search for the backdoor.
"Yell if you find anything. I'm going to try these windows," Dean called to him. He pulled out a knife and went to one of the windows to try and jimmy the lock open. He heard a click and tried pushing up on the outside, but the window wouldn't give. There was still something stopping it from opening. He grumbled to himself and looked the way Sam had gone when he heard him yell. Dean headed down the steps and around the side of the house to see what he had found.
"I was able to get the side window opened and get in. I opened the backdoor."
"Alright then, let's check this place out," Dean said. He followed Sam to the backdoor that led into a laundry room and then the kitchen. He pulled out a flashlight and shone it around since the lighting was dim. He moved deeper into the house and found a large room he thought was a family or living room. He played the light around the room and Sam moved down a hall to check out the bedrooms. As the light roamed around into the corners of the room, Dean looked for something out of place but didn't see anything that even noted the missing teenagers were here. All he saw was what seemed like the floor was cleaner in one spot than the rest of the room like it had been swept.
"Didn't see anything back there," Sam told him shining his light into Dean's eyes.
"Dude!" Dean complained shielding his eyes.
"Sorry," Sam shrugged.
"Nothing here either, but it does like someone cleaned an area here on the floor," Dean pointed with his light.
"It's rundown and dirty, but I don't really see anything here," he huffed looking around before suddenly sneezing. And before he could do or say anything he sneezed again. "I need…I need…To get out…." he sneezed and headed for the kitchen.
"Wuss," Dean called to him thinking there was nothing here to find. He headed out to find Sam standing outside breathing in some clean air and clearing his throat, spitting to the side.
"What's with you?"
"Dust in the nose," Sam coughed.
"You're not going to pass out on me, are you?"
"No! I'm fine."
"Okay then, while we're here, let's check out the cemetery."
Dean headed for the rock wall and hoisted himself over it to land softly on the other side. He stepped back as Sam clambered over to join him. They walked between the headstones and looked around for a moment before wandering deeper. They both startled when an older male voice yelled at them.
"What are you two doing in here?"
They turned and saw an older man striding toward them. He was dressed in work clothes and carrying a sling blade over his shoulder. There was an angry, sour look on his face as he eyed them.
"Hello," Dean said. "We're looking into the disappearance of four teenagers from around here. Have you seen or heard anything recently?"
"Those teenagers are a menace. They come in here leaving trash, partying, and defacing the tome stones," he spat.
"What do you do here?" Sam asked.
"I'm the caretaker for the cemetery. I take care of the graves," he told them. "Very few people come here anymore. They are either cremated or use the other cemetery that they opened a few years ago."
"Is it okay if we look around. We won't bother anything," Sam assured him.
"I guess, can't really stop you," he grumbled turning to head back the way he came.
"That was weird," Dean mumbled watching the caretaker move away.
"Yeah, I agree," Sam mumbled. He turned and wandered around looking at the headstones noticing how old some of the were.
Dean didn't move until the caretaker was out of sight and went to join his brother. They worked their way toward the front gate looking for any signs. Sam slowed and walked toward some small tome stones when he noticed something sticking up out of the grass. He reached down and pulled a piece of scrap paper from the grass and looked at it.
"What'd you find?" Dean asked.
"It looks like a list of some kind list," Sam mumbled flattening it out and holding it to the last light of the day.
"Could it be the teenagers?"
"Maybe."
Dean looked around to see if he could see anything else that might give them a clue about the teenagers. "You see anything else?"
"No and we're losing light."
"Why don't we go grab something to eat and come back tonight to check this place out?"
"Fine with me." Sam gave the place one more look before turning and following his brother toward the gate. They walked down the road to the driveway of the house and up it to the Impala. Sam looked out across the cemetery and saw the caretaker watching them leave. He got a creepy feeling about the guy but couldn't put his finger on why. He dropped into the passenger seat and closed the door as Dean cranked the car. Dean pulled around and drove down the driveway and back toward town.
spn
The sun had sunk behind the horizon and darkness had covered the land as the brothers made their way back to the cemetery to check it out. They stopped at the gate and saw it was locked, but that never stopped them before. Dean got out and went around to the trunk of the car so they could arm themselves before climbing over the wall and into the cemetery.
They had a full moon that cast an eerie glow on the surroundings around them. Dean got his bearings before heading off toward where some of the older and larger mausoleums were at the back of the property. They walked around a path that circled the area.
"Did you hear that?" Sam asked as a noise out of place drifted to him on a breeze blowing through the cemetery.
"What?" Dean asked stopping and cocking his head as he let his senses one to his surroundings. It wasn't but a moment before he caught a whimper just barely auditable to the human ear.
"This way," Sam whispered as he hurried along the path to the back corner of the property.
A sliver of light could be seen around the door of the mausoleum that stood there. Sam stopped and pulled out a gun as he waited for Dean to do the same. The door opened slowly and squeaked when Sam gently pushed it wide enough so they could get in. They paused just inside the door, waiting to see if anyone was alerted. Frightened, muffled cries suddenly echoed from deeper in the interior. This prompted the brothers to move down the steps and to the archway that led to the main room with burial sites lining both sides of the walls.
Sam did a quick look around the corner and saw three teenagers tied and gagged in the corner. They were struggling and crying out against their gags and he saw the reason why. The last teenager's body was stretched out on top of a crypt and blood was being collected in buckets from his slashed arms. The caretaker was standing beside the body and sliced off a piece of flesh from his upper arm and began to eat it.
Sam went in first targeting the man before he shouted, "Don't move!"
"You! Hunters!" he sneered in disgust, blood dripping from his mouth and down his chin.
"Get away from him," Sam ordered as he stepped closer. "You're no ghost, that's for sure. I'm thinking a ghoul."
"Got me," he laughed hauntingly holding out his arms. "You're not as good as you think."
Before Dean could turn, something slammed into him knocking him to the ground and stunning him for a moment. With Sam's attention on his brother, the caretaker launched himself at Sam making him stumble backwards and slam into the wall hard. He lost his grip on his gun that clattered to the ground at his feet. Sam started throwing punches trying to get space between him and the ghoul. He couldn't see Dean who was still on the ground on the other side of the crypt. The ghoul grabbed his arm as he threw a punch and tossed him across the room toward the teenagers who were wriggling and crying out in panic.
Before Dean could get turned around, a solid form plowed into him knocking him off balance and back down. He acted on instinct and bent his legs to kick out as hard as he could, catching the second ghoul in the stomach and propelling him away. He rolled to his stomach and crawled toward where his gun had fallen. His fingers had just brushed the butt of it, and they grasped it as he was suddenly pulled backwards by a leg. He rolled back over and kicked with the other leg catching the ghoul in the face but didn't dislodge him. He was younger than the caretaker and stronger. Dean cried out in pain as a knife was stabbed into this thigh, thankfully missing the bone and artery.
Rage built up in him as he let the pain fuel him and he roared in anger bringing up the gun and shooting the ghoul in the face twice. When the pressure eased on his lower leg, he struggled to his feet to see his brother being straddled by the caretaker. It was all Sam could do to keep him from taking a bite out of his neck.
Sam looked up into the frightened faces of the teenagers and knew he had to save them. He pushed himself up and yelled out in anger as he rammed the ghoul in the stomach knocking him away. Sam looked frantically around for his gun and finally saw it against the wall. He made for it only to be tackled again by the ghoul caretaker. The ghoul dug his fingers into Sam's clothes and pulled himself up his body as Sam fought to throw him off.
Sam cussed profusely as he struggled to hold the ghoul off. He could feel the fetal breath on his face when the ghoul gnashed his teeth together trying hard to bite him. Sam could feel his arms weakening and his elbows began to bend letting the ghoul's mouth draw closer. Before Sam's arms gave out, a shot ran out and blood splattered over his face and the ghoul went limp in his arms. He threw the body aside in disgust and groaned in pain from being tossed around.
"Sammy?" Dean called out limping his way. "You okay?"
"What happened?" Sam asked when he saw the Dean had his hand pressed to his leg and he was limping.
"It's nothing," Dean grimaced pressing a hand to the wound. Blood dripped from between his fingers until Sam smacked it away and tied a bandana around it as he tsked at Dean.
"We need to get these kids out of here," Dean said. He let Sam doctor his leg before turning to the hostages and pulled out a knife to cut their bonds. They were crying and thankful of the rescue. The girl broke down when she looked at the body of her friend lying dead on the crypt.
"I'll call Sheriff Earp and get an ambulance out here," Sam said pulling out his cell.
"Okay gang listen up," Dean stated firmly to get their attention. He gave them a serious expression before continuing. "You were kidnapped by these two and held hostage here. Your friend was killed first and you didn't see anything else. I wouldn't say anything about what you really saw, got it?"
They looked up at him with fearful eyes as they clung to each other, trembling uncontrollably.
"The sheriff will be here shortly," Sam told them. "C'mon guys let's get out of here," he offered trying to help them up and steer the kids to the door. "Can you make it Dean?"
"Yeah, I'm right behind you," he grunted as he used the wall for support to make his way to the steps. He grimaced, taking one step at a time and stepped through the door into the cool night air. He drew in a breath of clean air and sighed pushing the pain down not wanting to show it in front of Sam.
spn
"The ambulance is here. They can look at your leg," Sam told him as he used his flashlight to signal where they were at.
"I'm fine. I'll take care of it when we get back to the motel," Dean said.
"No, you won't. They have what we need. I'll get it from them. Over here!" Sam called to the EMTs.
"What have we got?" one asked looking at the three teenagers huddled together.
"They need taken care of and I need some supplies to take care of my brother's leg," Sam told them.
"What?" the other EMT asked giving Sam a puzzled look.
"I know what I need," Sam insisted. He investigated the open bag and took out several items before going to Dean and helping him stand. "The sheriff has been called and he will take over."
Sam helped his brother to the Impala and got him settled in the passenger seat before going around to the driver's side to get in. He drove them back to the motel and got Dean inside depositing him on his bed.
"Get your pants off and I'll stitch that up for you," Sam told him going to the bathroom to wash his hands and get some towels.
Dean growled some unintelligent words as he worked his jacket off and dropped it to the floor. He unlaced his boots and almost fell off the bed getting them off. He fell back on the bed and undid his jeans and lay there panting as the room began to spin.
Sam came out of the bathroom and looked at Dean seeing the sweat popping out on his face and how pale he looked. He laid the towels by him and reached down to wiggle the jeans down and grabbed the bottoms to pull them the rest of the way off. He put a towel under his leg and cleaned the wound before stitching it up to stop the bleeding. Once he was done and got pain pills in him, Sam let Dean go to sleep. He covered him and wiped his face before cleaning up and decided to take a shower to wash the blood off him. He figured they would head out in the morning and go back to the bunker. While Dean healed, they would check to see if there was any information on Amara or Lucifer and if not, well there were other monsters out there that needed stopped, the family business.
The End
