Dead in the water

"Morning, daddy." A young blonde makes her way past her father kissing his cheek and enters the kitchen. Her older brother is already there enjoying a bowl of cereal.

"Morning, sweetheart." Is the fathers reply buried in his newspaper.

"All these workouts, Soph, I don't know. Guys don't like buff girls." Sophie gives her brother a steel glare.

"Yeah, well, girls don't like guys who still live at home." She whips around and stalks out of the house, her father's voice following her.

"Be careful!"

"I will." Neither of them saw her again.

Alex sat by silently watching her brothers go over newspapers and info gathering. Every few seconds she slowly lifted a bite of her pancakes to her mouth, trying not to catch Dean's attention; she wasn't allowed syrup after the great sugar catastrophe. She just finished her final bite when a young waitress walks over.

"Can I get you anything else?" She eyes Dean with a flirty look and his eyes roll over her figure, his pen drooping from his mouth as he gives her a heat filled stare. Sam interrupts, making the woman clearly upset.

"Just the check, please." He spares a tense smile and glances at Alex only now noticing her empty plate of sugar doom. He gives her a heated glare. "Where did you get that!"

"Okay." The waitress tersely walks off her hips swaying in the nonexistent wind. Alex rolls her eyes as she catches Dean's stare remaining on the girl's ass as she walks away. Dean turns and pouts at Sam.

"You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while. That's fun." He uses his pen to point out the girl.

Dean huffs and pulls Alex closer by her chair. "Here, take a look at this. I think I got one. Lake Manioc, Wisconsin. Last week, Sophie Carlton, walks in then doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water. Nothing. Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manioc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found, either. They had a funeral two days ago." Alex levels him with a bewildered stare.

"Did you say funeral?"

"Yes, they buried an empty coffin for closure or whatever." He shrugs and Sam scoffs.

"Closure? What closure? People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them."

Alex sighs, 'here we go again, and it's the third time this week'

"Something you want to say to me Sam?"

"The trail for dad it's getting colder every day."

By now the two of them are once again staring each other down, while Alex sits off to the side asking god why her brothers had to be such hard headed and idiots.

Dean was annoyed with his brother's attitude, he wanted to find dad too. "What are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Something. Anything." Sam shrugs his shoulders bunching up with tension ready to lash out.

"Know what. I'm sick of this attitude. You don't think Alex and I want to find dad as much as you do?"

"Yeah, I know you do."

"We are the ones that have been with him every single day for the past two years. While you've been off to college going to pep rallies. We will find dad, but until then, we're going to kill everything bad, between here and there. Okay?"

Same finally calms down and shoots Alex an apologetic look. "All right, Lake Manioc."

Alex sighs, she loves the impala as much as Dean but these long car rides always make her feel cramped, especially in her back, she's not sure why, just knows the area around her shoulder blades knots up and gets sore. It started a few months ago, Dean told her to stop being a wuss.

They come to a stop outside an old well lived in home, Alex stays in the car while her brothers approach the home to ask the family questions about the girl's disappearance. She watches her brothers enter the home and settles down for a nice long nap, her head beginning to hurt.

Dreamscape

The darkness was back, her eyes were forced shut. Where is she, why does she keep having this dream? The comforting hum wasn't there this time. Chills run down her spine and terror fills her heart. She could hear something far off, it was the voice, the hum. Only it was screaming, its voice was filled with such agony and despair, it chilled her to her core. All she wanted was to help it, ease its pain like it did hers…but she couldn't force her body to move, the pain in her heart grew with every pain filled cry. She just knew the screams were going to haunt her for the rest of her life. She'd never heard anything in so much pain before. Everything around her goes quiet and numb as she's forced out of her dream.

Dream End

Alex shot up in the seat. Her brothers rip around in worry.

"What's wrong Alex, did you feel something?" Dean ran his hand along his sister's cheek he could see that her eyes held horror and grief and it pained him in his very soul.

A few hours later, found Alex sitting outside the local police station as her brothers questioned the sheriff. As far as she was concerned her brothers had it handled and she could relax. That dream wore her out, who does that hum belong too, why is this happening to her, why couldn't she be normal like her brothers. Well at least what could be considered normal in her family.

Soon her brothers walk out led by a young woman with long dark hair and a charming smile. Dean was gazing at her like a lost puppy. Then he opens his mouth and Alex has to resist slapping him.

"So, cute kid."

"Thanks." The woman keeps walking and gives Alex a sideways glance when she joins Sam and Dean.

"Kids are the best, huh?" Sam and Alex share a look of exasperation. 'That didn't last long' Alex thought to herself.

The woman points out a rundown inn across the street. "There it is. Like I said, two blocks."

"Thanks." Dean gives her a flirty smirk, but the woman only regards him with an amused grin before opening her mouth.

"Must be hard with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line. Enjoy your stay." And with that the pretty woman turns on her feet and stalks away with a smile of victory.

Alex could be heard laughing for several blocks as she took in her brother's pouting, appalled face.

"Dude, "Kids are the best''?" Sam asks him.

Alex catches her breath and speaks up, "You don't even like kids."

"I love kids!"

Alex just stares into his eyes, face completely blank, "That was information I didn't need to know about you brother."

"Dammit you little shit that's not what I meant."

Sam shakes his head. "Name three children that you even know."

Dean remains quiet, his face pulled into a look of deep concentration, Alex was concerned he might actually break what brain cells he has left. Sam urges dean to speak

"I'm thinking!" With that they walk off, the crowd around them looking in their direction amused.

It's the next day and the 3 of them are huddled within their motel room, Sam is working on his laptop, while Dean is going through his clothing. Alex was lounged across one of the beds, Shooting pieces of ripped paper with a rubber band at the back of Dean's head. Each hit earned a more heated glare than the last. She just smiled innocently, hiding her makeshift weapon every time he looked over. Sam speaks up, catching their attention.

"So there's the three drowning victims this year." Alex nods and speaks up. "That's right it started with that older guy right?" Dean listens in before entering the conversation as well.

"Any before that?" Dean's face was hard and serious, taking in all the information Sam could share.

"Uh, yeah," Sam has a browser window open to The Lake Manitoc Tribune. DROWNING TAINTS ICE FISHING FESTIVAL. He clicks, and another browser window comes up, again the Tribune: 12-YEAR-OLD Girl DROWNS IN LAKE, Second drowning in 6 months at Lake Manitoc. Alex gasps quietly, "A little girl? This thing has no specific targets, what's its pattern?"

Sam Just shrugs completely lost, "Six more spread out over the past thirty-five years. Those bodies were never recovered either. If there is something out there, it's picking up its pace." Dean tosses the shirt he was holding onto his bed, stalking across the room.

"So, what, we got a lake monster on a binge?"

Alex cant help but feel skeptical, "This whole lake monster theory, it, it just bugs me. Its not something that we usually see especially this far from any type of coast it could have come from?" Dean comes over to read the article over Sam's shoulder.

Dean raises an eyebrow in Alex's direction, questioning, "Why?"

Sam speaks out in agreement with Alex, "No she right Dean something isn't right with this, Loch Ness, uh, Lake Champlain, there are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but here, almost nothing. Not even weird foot print sightings." Sam looks at the Tribune homepage again. "Whatever it is out there, no one's living to talk about it." He scrolls to the comments section of an article and Dean is quick to point at it.

"Wait, Barr, Christopher Barr. Where have I heard that name before?" Alex clambers up from her place on the bed and leans over Sam's other shoulder as he reads from the page.

"Christopher Barr, the victim in May." Sam clicks a link, opening a new page. The Article reads LOCAL Man IN TRAGIC ACCIDENT. The picture loads: it shows a police officer with Lucas, the little boy they brothers had seen the other day.

Sam feels a wince cross his face as they all read the article together, "Oh. Christopher Barr was Andrea's husband, Lucas's father. Apparently he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. Two hours before the kid got rescued." Sam clicks the picture for a better look, then scratches his head. "Maybe we have an eyewitness after all."

Dean Huffs with sympathy and understanding as Alex looks down in silent agony, "No wonder that kid was so freaked out. Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over." With the conversation ending on a silent and tense note Alex is quick to head into the bathroom to avoid seeing the anguished looks on her brothers faces at the thought of their mother.

Alex decided to stay at the motel for the rest of the day, when Dean had come to the bathroom door saying that they were going to go find Lucas and Andrea. "Alex, are you sure you don't want to go? You always hate being left behind.."

"Yes Dean I'm sure, I'm not very good with kids and Sams got a better chance at talking to Andrea than I do, plus I didn't sleep very well and had a..weird dream…" The look that flashes through Dean's eyes tells her he knows she is referring to the incident in the car yesterday when she woke up terrified. 'Please don't ask me about it Dean I'm not ready to talk about it' He can see the desperation in her eyes for some peace to think and decides to drop it for now.

"Ok, But you call if something so much as twitches weird in here, alright?" Alex giggles at Dean's overprotective streak as he and Sam leave through the door casting her worried glances.

As soon as the door shut Alex immediately crumples onto the bed with a groan, "I need to figure this shit out...come on Daddy, Where are you? You promised you would be there whenever I needed you." With a sigh she sits up and pulls a cd player and headphones from her bag, " I need to think and a good all singing the stress away is what i need."

Plopping her mixtape cd into the player She presses play and lets the lyrics flow through her, her lips part and she belts out the first line of her favorite song, Her voice clear and strong filled with emotion and reverberates throughout the room. She's so lost in starting her song she doesn't sense a pair of familiar blue eyes watching her with interest. *i'll put a link in the end notes to what she would sound like singing*

'There is a house in New Orleans

They call the Rising Sun

And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy

And God, I know I'm one

My mother was a tailor

She sewed my new blue jeans

My father was a gamblin' man

Down in New Orleans

Now the only thing a gambler needs

Is a suitcase and a trunk

And the only time he's satisfied

Is when he's all drunk

Oh mother, tell your children

Not to do what I have done

Spend your lives in sin and misery

In the House of the Rising Sun

Well, I got one foot on the platform

The other foot on the train

I'm goin' back to New Orleans

To wear that ball and chain

Well, there is a house in New Orleans

They call the Rising Sun

And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy

And God, I know I'm one'

The song slips from her lips strong and powerful, old Blues being one of her guilty pleasures, the being have seen enough of the girl unsure of being able to control themselves in the presence of such an interesting creature leaves. 'No one must know of her...' The flutter of his departure goes completely unnoticed. As the day goes on with Sam and Dean confronting Andrea and Lucas and with Alex letting off some steam in the hotel, they are completely unaware of the fluid and vengeful sight currently circling a certain lake cabin.

Bill, the father of Sophie who had drowned the week prior, is sitting in a chair in his living room, doing nothing. Will Sophie's brother approaches from behind looking haggard and worried.

Will "Hey, Dad? You, you should probably eat something. I'm gonna make some dinner, okay?" Bill says nothing lost to his grief for his daughter and turns his head away. Heading into the kitchen Will begins washing a fish at the sink. He does not turn the water off when he begins cutting up the fish. The water turns brown. Will notices and shuts off the water. Black water comes up through the drain and fills the sink. Will rolls up his sleeve to pull the plug out of the drain. He comes up with the plug, but the water doesn't drain. He sticks his arm back in the water, and something grabs it, pulling him into the sink. Fighting against the pull on his arm his body thrashes in the sink his hands claw at the sinks edge fitfully trying to escape the waters clutches as his body slows and goes limp he drowns. With the deed done The water drains leaving the boy slumped into the sink soaking wet. Bill was left completely unaware of his remaining child left breathless in the kitchen.

The next day Alex and Dean are inside the motel room sitting on a bed Playing an intense game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Alex was in the Lead with 10-6 wins. She was on a roll and the loser had to buy the other their favorite dinner. Sam opens the door to the motel stopping in his tracks as he eyes his siblings, as he watches them slap a fist into their palms before throwing their hands out gifting Alex with another win. Her cheer of victory is loud as she rolls off the bed, "Italian tonight sammy!"

Sam just shakes his head and gets down to business bringing his sibling back into seriousness. "So, I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie."

Alex Huffs, " I told you!"

Dean Gives a swift nod and implores deeper, "What do you mean?" Sam sits next to Dean on the bed as Alex leans over hands pressed into the sheets.

"I just drove past the Carlton house While on the way back from looking into what could be in the lake. There was an ambulance brother Will Carlton is dead."

Dean frowns, surprise coating his voice, "He drowned?"

Alex Looks between her brother's confusion covering her voice as well as surprise, "He went out into the lake after what happened with his sister?"

Sam shakes his head, "No you don't understand, He drowned in the kitchen sink."

"What the hell? So I was right, this isn't a creature. We're dealing with something else."

A swift grunt from Dean is enough to catch their attention, "Yeah, but what?

Alex is the first to start listing things off, "I don't know. Water wraith, maybe? Some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water," a look of realisation spans her face as she goes through suggestions, "..water that comes from the Same source."

Sam's face goes lax in realisation as the 3 of them feel like slapping each other, "The lake! Of course!"

Alex pushes off from the bed and paces the length of the room, " This would explain everything, if the dam really is leaking and they are close to draining the lake then it's running out of time.."

Dean stands up abruptly, worrying, internal panic coating his face as he thinks over everything happening, " And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere. This is gonna happen again soon." Alex sits down on a chair near the window to get out of his way.

"Sammy, Dean, this just got a whole lot more complicated."

Sam nods, "At Least we do know one other thing for sure. We know this has got something to do with Bill Carlton."

Alex looks between her brothers, "It took his kids, while one wasn't even in the lake this thing is pissed, but why?"

"I've been asking around. Lucas's dad, Chris-Bill Carlton's godson." Sam drops the final bomb on them, Dean's face falling as everything clicks together.

Dean picks up his coat and points at Alex, "Come on you're going, let's go pay a visit."

The smile of excitement that grows on her face is beaming as she grabs their dad's jacket and bounds out the door, "We are getting spaghetti on the way back, Dean pays."

Alex stands at the beginning of the Dock as her brothers approach the grieving man, not willing to bring herself any closer to the water. The longer she was near it the more her muscles and very being seemed to twitch and vibrate in aggravation. Something was wrong, and she didn't like this feeling flowing through her.

As her brothers walk back towards her they take in the look on her face, Dean is the first to speak, "Yo whats up squirt, your freaky mojo picking some freaky hoodoo vibes or somethin' ?"

Sam has to hold back his chuckle at the pout she tries to hide.

"No it's not the same as before, but this place is setting off my senses like you know when you enter a place that you really shouldn't and your senses go haywire like you're being watched or followed…"

"Hmmm, kinda like being hyper aware almost, Like a survival instinct like some wild animals have." Dean looks at the both of them, mouth opening and closing.

"You guys are nerds." The 3 of them open the doors to the impala climbing in, all 3 doors shut simultaneously with a harmonious thud. "We should head to Andreas and talk to Lucas again, that picture he gave me matches the Carlton house."

With a murmur of agreement Deans backs up the car and drives out of the driveway of the Carlton house and heads into town.

Alex leaned against the hood of the impala while Sam and Dean are inside Andreas house, talking to her. I can see them through the window as they attempt to convince her to let them speak to Lucas. 'Can't wait until I'm older and can ask questions with them, Dean used to bring me along until sam came back, i don't understand why i cant go anymore'

They are in there for about 20 mins before they are coming back out,Deans waves a new Drawing from Lucas in the air. "Got it! We are gonna drop you off Back at the motel."

"Of course you are…"

Dean and Sam are in the front of the Impala as they all talk about the case, Sam hands the picture to Alex for her to see. "The kid is good.."

Dean Glaces back at her, "Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died."

"There are cases-going through a traumatic experience could make people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies. "

"Whatever's out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow? I mean, it's only a matter of time before somebody else drowns, so if you got a better lead, please."

"All right, we got another house to find."

Dean: The only problem is there's about a thousand yellow two-stories in this country alone." Alex looks at the picture more closely. Before waving it in Sam's face.

"There's a church in this drawing, it looks like one of those antique ones, bet there's not alot of those left.."

"Oooo, The brat is learning somethin' eh."

The car remains silent for a bit before Sam nervously glances at Dean with a contemplative puppy dog eyed look, "You know, um... What you said about Mom... You never told me that before." Alex looks confused, before she slides into the back, leaving them to speak privately, she wasn't inside with them and if Dean wants her to know he will tell her. Plus it's about mom and she knows that it still bothers Dean since he's the only one who remembers her, Sam was too young to remember much besides a select few memories and Alex was only 6 months.

Dean shrugs looking away from Sam, "It's no big deal," as Sam remains quiet giving him 'that' look Dean groans in disgust, "Oh God, we're not gonna have to hug or anything, are we?" Alex snorts in amusement.

"Only you Dean."

As they pull up outside the motel Dean glances back at Alex with a bit of Guilt, "It won't be like this forever brat, You'll look old enough to back us up soon enough…"

"I know Dean, doesn't mean I'm happy about it though.." She shuts the door with a huff and jogs inside to wait for her brothers, she'll get to help actually hunt the thing at the end and that's all that matters for now.

The Next Day

Alex Sprints out of Andreas house down towards the dock, she had been left in the house with Andrea and Lucas while her brothers started to dig into the spot Lucas had pointed out to them. She and Andrea had been talking about bits of Alexs's childhood and certain things she'd done in the few schools she'd been allowed to go to, when she'd seen Andreas and the sheriff hold her brothers at gunpoint.

Andrea had asked her to stay with Lucas while she went to stop her father from doing anything rash. She looked out the window for a minute too long and Lucas had Vanished, The back front door left open, She hadn't even stopped to think the second she saw him lean off the dock.

Her legs force her to move fast as she rips the leather jacket from her shoulders, she can hear hear Andrea and her brothers scream out behind her as Lucas is dragged off the dock, Without a Second to process any thoughts Alex leaps off the dock diving into the water, swimming as deep as she can go, The air left in her lungs stings as she keeps swimming deeper into the murky water searching for any sign of Lucas of the spirit of Peter. Her mind barely takes in the sound of her brothers diving in after her.

Running out of air much slower than she would have previously thought she is finally forced to come up for air. Through the water clogging her eyes and ears she can see Andrea crumpled on the dock screaming for her baby boy, tears streaking her face. Dean and Sam resurface behind her in time to see Andreas' father swim out into the lake.

"PETER, I'm sorry Peter, Please let Lucas go, He's just a little boy, take me, take me instead!" His body is forcefully dragged under the water as Dean and Sam make another dive for Lucas, Sam comes up shaking his head, Both ALex and Andrea begin to despair before Dean breaks the waters edge, Lucas clutched tightly in his arms. Alex swims towards the shore as Dean drags Lucas onto the dock beginning CPR. As her tired body fades in and out of consciousness she can vaguely hear the young boy hack up lungfuls of water… he was ok, the sheriff did not make it but the little boy was ok, this hunt was a success in her book… and with that her body goes limp on the shore, Sam lifting her from her watery resting spot.

! #! #$

Heyyyyyy! Chapter 5 is rewritten and finally a complete chapter. This is the final chapter rewrite done, and i'll have the new chapter out soon, Full episode of 3 winchester siblings, i know Alex doesn't have a full sway within the hunts yet but i did that on purpose, shes 16 with white hair and with what people would mistake as tattoos on her arms, she got away with being Dean apprentice or even just as his sister on occasion before sam came back, but now that sam is there she'd be more in the way as a young teenager. The way things are going now will have an effect later on in the story.

Kitty