Part 5 – Searching for a Ghost

The ride back out to the road was made in silence. It was Dean's turn to cast curious glances at his brother as Sam stared out the window into the inky blackness. He didn't know what caused his brother to suddenly become so quiet, but Sam's mood swings were starting to grate on Dean a little.

Dean knew that Sam had noticed the scrutiny. What surprised him was that Sam finally pulled his attention from the window and turned to face his brother.

"I don't know if you should go out there," Sam stated bluntly.

"What?" Dean asked in surprise. "Where did that come from?"

Sam shook his head. "This thing already ran you over; it could have something else in mind. I'm just saying, maybe it's better if I check it out and you wait in the car."

Dean caught a glimpse of the cringe that crossed Sam's face as he realised what he had just said. Dean had to admit, it was a bad choice of words. Now that Sam had implied he didn't believe his brother equal to the task, Dean's pride demanded that he not give in and Sam knew it.

Dean didn't bother to reply.

Sam sighed and nodded his head. "Okay. Forget I mentioned it."

Without warning, the radio burst to life, sending country music blasting through the previously quiet car.

"What the hell?" Dean yelled over the noise.

Sam reached over and tried to turn it off, but the radio remained stubbornly on.

At the same time, Dean felt the steering wheel begin to turn under his hands. The car began to speed up. Dean stepped on the brake, trying to slow the vehicle, but it had no effect.

This was not good.

"Put you seatbelt on!" Dean ordered Sam. Dean was fighting the car, trying to regain control. He couldn't do up his belt, but Sam could. With the short drive to their destination and the desire for a quick exit from the car, neither brother had bothered with their seatbelts.

That was clearly a mistake now, Dean noted as the car took a particularly dangerous turn at high speeds.

Sam clicked his belt into place and turned to see if he could reach Dean's. Without warning, a bright light appeared directly in front of the car. The figure of a man was clearly visible standing on the road.

"Oh, crap." Dean gritted his teeth. They were going to hit him!

Dean pounded the brakes, ignoring the blaring music and Sam's barely audible horrified curse. There was nothing he could do.

The impact was shocking. A blast of cold air slammed into the brothers, knocking the breath from their bodies. A brilliant white flash illuminated the car, blinding the occupants as they braced themselves.

Dean continued to step on the brake; cringing from the sensory overload he was experiencing.

The car finally responded and screeched to an abrupt halt. Just as suddenly, the light vanished and the car became silent once more.

Dean let out a small breath, watching as it fogged and then dissipated in the frigid air. Everything had stopped. His ears still rang from the music, but he heard Sam's short breaths and turned to face his brother.

"You okay?"

Sam swallowed. He glanced into the backseat and then nodded slowly. "I'm fine. You?"

Dean took a quick look out the windshield. There was no sign of damage to the car. "I'm okay," he said with a relieved grin.

"Please tell me that was the ghost and we didn't just hit a living person," Sam muttered.

Remembering the struggle to control the Impala, Dean nodded. "Pretty sure that was our ghost. Let's check it out."

Sam pulled himself from the car, trying to ignore the slight shake in his limbs. Seeing that light had reminded him altogether too much of the Woman in White who had tried to kill him earlier that year. He had been relieved to note that there was no one in the backseat. Sam let out a deep breath. The figure had been a man, anyway. Definitely not a Woman in White.

He saw Dean grab the bag of weapons before his brother handed him a gun. Sam noted the rock salt bullets Dean grabbed as well. It wasn't much, but it would help.

The two walked behind the car, searching for any sign of the being they had inadvertently hit.

"Definitely a ghost," Dean muttered.

Sam nodded absently. "If this is where he was hit, it isn't likely that someone would move him too far away, right?"

Dean shrugged. "Probably not. I doubt the driver would put the body in the car, either. That leaves a lot of evidence. The damage to the car could be from hitting an animal, but blood in the backseat isn't so easily explained."

"Okay, so we start looking in this area."

Dean pulled out a pair of flashlights and tossed one to Sam.

"Let's get to work."

They had been at it for over an hour. It was just after 5am, and the sky was beginning to lighten in the pre-dawn.

Sam scraped another glob of mud off of his boot. Apparently there had been a lot of rain in the area recently. It made trudging through the woods less than pleasant. Sam yawned and continued to look for any sign of a body.

He shot an annoyed glare at his brother. Dean was still going strong. How the man could function on so little sleep and so much stress was beyond Sam.

Sam kicked at a fallen log. This was ridiculous. The undergrowth had most likely grown over the body in the past three years. This was worse than a needle in a haystack.

"At least with a needle you can use a magnet," he stated grumpily.

"What was that?" Dean's confused voice broke into Sam's ponderings.

"Nothing," Sam muttered.

Dean shrugged.

"Actually, you know what? It isn't nothing," Sam announced in irritation. "We're trying to figure out who killed this guy and he isn't even helping. I mean, sure, he showed us how he died and where. That isn't what we need now, though, is it?"

Dean whistled slowly under his breath.

"I'm sorry," Sam shot back sarcastically. "This just isn't my idea of a productive night."

"Maybe if we asked it for help it would pop out and show us," Dean suggested innocently.

As if in response to Dean's statement, a branch snapped somewhere to the right of the brothers.

The two Winchesters peered into the underbrush.

"I bet that's a raccoon . . ." Sam muttered.

"Oooo-kay," Dean responded before heading into the bushes where the sound originated.

"Do you see anything?" Sam called.

"Not yet."

Another twig snapped further ahead.

"I think it's leading us there," Dean surmised with a grin. "Wouldn't that be nice of it? I told you it liked me!"

Sam rolled his eyes, but followed his brother.

It was not long before the snapping stopped. Dean and Sam found themselves in an area where there had clearly been a fire some time earlier. Blackened stumps remained where towering trees had once reached into the skies. The trees that had survived the blaze were scarred from the flames and the resulting heat. The entiregrove had the appearance of a forest trying to re-establish itself after a fire. The new underbrush was thick, concealing the ground from view.

"We're never going to find anything," Sam groaned.

Dean frowned. Sam was likely right. It was rather like a needle in a haystack. He stared absently at the surrounding foliage and once again tried to piece together what he knew.

Frank Lawrence had been hit by a car. Someone had hidden his body, likely in the area they were now occupying. The forest had suffered from a fire at some point.

He tapped his fingers against his flashlight. He was missing something.

"Dean?" Sam's voice cut into his thoughts. "I think I found something."

He turned to his brother. "What is it?"

Sam held aloft a small rectangular object and grinned. "It's a wallet."

Dean's eyes widened and he motioned to Sam to open it. "Please tell me it's something useful."

He watched Sam's expression as his brother's grin widened. "Oh, yeah! That's what we need!"

"Frank Lawrence?" Dean surmised.

"Frank Lawrence."