"DEAN!"
Sam tore through the woods, wandering blindly in the darkness. There was a general chill all around him, as though the late spring night had suddenly grown colder when he entered the shadow of the trees. A fine mist was all that was left of the thunderstorm that had passed through.
"DEAN!"
"ANNA!"
A female voice startled him. He dashed through the trees to the left, and nearly collided with the pretty woman who had been with the kids the night before.
"Who are you?" the woman asked hurriedly, steadying herself.
"Sam. Dean's my brother."
"He went in here looking for Anna," she replied, not bothering to introduce herself. "I can't find a sign of either one of them."
"They went in here?"
"Yeah, about thirty minutes ago."
Sam nodded, and moved forward. The woman followed, dodging trees and roots. They pushed on for about five minutes. The woods were getting noticeably colder.
"Do you feel that?" she shivered.
"Yeah."
Audrey Rose.
The ghost was still active. Dean hadn't been able to stop it.
Dean…
There was a small sob from the far corner, in the shadow of an oak tree. The woman pushed past him, bending down into the deep roots.
"Anna!" she stood up, cradling the little girl in her arms. "Anna, baby, are you alright?"
Anna stared at him, her eyes welling with tears. "Mommy. Doll."
"Someone took your doll?"
Anna nodded. "Mine."
"I'll get it back for you," he said.
"Sam." The woman held up a flannel shirt. Anna had been wrapped in it.
It was the one Dean had been wearing earlier that day. He put her here—to protect her…
"Take her out of here," he instructed. "Take all three kids and lock the doors of that house, do you understand me?"
"Wh—"
"Don't ask questions, just trust me…please."
The woman stared at him for a moment, then nodded, and trotted off with Anna.
Sam swallowed, and pressed further into the woods. "DEAN!"
There was no sound, only a deep, echoing silence.
"DEAN! DAMMIT, ANSWER ME!"
His breath was coming out in puffs. He stared at it as it dissolved in front of him. It was getting colder.
He followed the chill, turning left, then right. A small knoll rose in front of him.
As Sam climbed it, the burnt wreckage of the old Anderson house rose in front of him, far in the distance. Directly behind it—directly in front of him—was the pond where Audrey Rose had died.
Dean's leather jacket, and a scattering of common salt, were by the lake shore.
There was something floating in the water at the center.
"Oh, God…NO!" He ripped off his jacket, tossing his gun aside, and dove in. He cut as quickly as he could through the water, paddling to the thing in the middle of the lake. He reached it, flipping it over.
The Olivia doll.
Sam glanced around, puzzled. "DEAN?"
His mind raced. Why'd she give up the doll? What happened to the ghost? Where's Dean…
She died at the bottom of the pond…trapped in the grass.
Sam immediately dove under the water.
The pond wasn't too deep—maybe fourteen feet. It was clear enough that he could see straight to the bottom.
Straight to Dean, wrapped in the pond grass, his face smooth, and empty.
Sam cried out through the water, and dove downwards. He couldn't see his brother's eyes.
Please don't let them be open. Please don't let his eyes be open.
Open means death.
He reached him within a few second, tearing at the tendrils wrapped around his neck, chest and arms. His eyes were closed.
Sam grasped him around the chest, pulling upwards. He felt a slight tug, and then suddenly they were floating smoothly to the top, to the clear air above the pond. He broke the surface, yanking Dean's head above the water.
"DEAN! Dean, answer me!"
His brother felt cold. He pulled him through the water as quickly as he could, to the empty sand of the shore.
He wasn't breathing. There wasn't a pulse.
Come on…
Sam felt a familiar wave of panic washing through him. "Come on, come on!"
He started chest compressions, breathing into Dean's mouth every sixteen counts.
Come on…
1…2…3…4…5…6…
Come on, you idiot! Don't die on me now!
1…2…3…
"COME ON! DEAN!"
1…2…3…4…
The panic began to spread. It can't be. It can't be just me and Dad. It has to be you! Come on! Breathe!
Dean spluttered for a moment, pond water gushing from his mouth and nose. Sam sat him up, trembling, a wave of euphoria running through him. He slapped his brother on the back. Dean choked up a bit more water and sat up fully, wiping at his mouth.
"What happened?"
"You do this to me too many times, you SOB," Sam laughed shakily.
"Sammy?" Dean stared up at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Saving your ass, apparently," said Sam. "I swear, Dean, you can't do anything the easy way, can you?"
Dean half-smiled at him. "It's part of my charm." His eyes grew serious. "Did you see Anna?"
"She's with the case worker."
"But she's alright?"
"She's fine, last time I checked."
"What about that…thing?"
"You mean…this?" Sam grasped the doll, waving it in front of him.
"JEEZ!" Dean jumped back. "Don't wave that thing around!"
Sam grinned. "Still got a doll thing?"
"Hey, you can call me a pedophiliophobiac or whatever the hell you want, just keep that thing away from me. The ghost's after it—and Anna. We need to find her."
"The ghost has a name—Audrey Rose."
"Audrey Rose?"
"Yeah. She's Annabelle Anderson's twin sister."
"Sister?"
"Yeah. Apparently, they were arguing over this," he held up the doll. "I think Annabelle pushed her into this pond over it, and she got tangled in the weeds and drowned. The way Annabelle acted, it's like she didn't care."
"So the ghost is seeking revenge on her sister."
"Yeah…except her sister's dead, so she's finding substitutes. Like Amelia Arnette…and some of the other kids involved in that 'A.R.A' story."
"Except not many kids have those initials, so it's not much of a story."
"Right. It just looks like random drownings."
"So if the ghost is after those with the initials of her and her sister, why Patty Amly?"
Sam shrugged. "My only guess is that she's like the Mom. Audrey's mother was told to forget Audrey ever existed. I guess her spirit equated Patty and the doll with abandonment."
"Great. So how do we get rid of her?"
"That, I don't know. Typically rock salt, but we have to destroy the focus."
"The doll's the focus. Destroy the doll."
"Shouldn't we wait until the ghost is here? Maybe destroy them together?"
"How, Sam? One of them's a ghost, one of them's a doll. It's not like we can shoot them both with salt."
"Maybe not with salt, but…"
"But what?"
"Here…you take this." He shoved the doll at Dean.
"No way."
Sam rolled his eyes. "Come on, Dean. Take it. It's not going to strangle you."
"Hey. The last thing I remember before blacking out in that pond was this creepy thing's face staring straight at me. It might very well be possessed."
Sam held the doll out to him.
Dean snatched the doll from him. "Fine. What are you up to?"
"I've got to run and get something. You stay here. Take this," he handed Dean the sawed off shotgun. "Find Anna, and make sure she's safe. If this thing's going to reappear, it's going to be near her. And after that doll."
"Right, right, child of Chucky, I got it." He started to trot off. Sam jogged behind him.
In a few moments they were through the woods. The Amly house appeared in view, lights on in the kitchen. Dean started off towards the porch. Sam didn't follow him—instead, he turned to the side of the house, wearing a slightly sheepish expression. Dean glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow. "What now?"
"I, uh…gotta borrow the Impala one more time."
"What?"
"Real quick, Dean, I promise."
"SAM."
"I'll be back in less than five. I promise." He turned backwards, swinging the keys. "Don't you go jumping into anymore ponds, you hear me?"
"I didn't jump…you better not get even a scratch on that car, do you hear me? If you so much as dent it, I swear to God, Sam, you'll have more than this freakin' baby doll to worry about!"
Dean clambered up the porch steps, banging on the door. There was a whisper of movement in the house, and Sally Lewis appeared a few moments later, staring cautiously out the door. She cracked it open.
"What are you…how did you get back?"
"Oh, come on," Dean said angrily. "I just saved that kid's life, and you're still not gonna let me in?"
She frowned. Aaron appeared behind her, staring at the doll in Dean's hand apprehensively.
"Why'd you bring that back here?"
"I had to," he said, pushing past Sally. "Where's Anna?"
"In the den—in her pack n' play."
"Don't let her out of your sight, do you hear me?" he said.
"Where's Sam?" Aaron asked, pushing between them. "Why are you all wet?"
"Sam went on an errand." For what, I don't know—probably should have asked. "I went for a swim."
"In the pond?"
Dean flashed Aaron a forced smile. "I didn't have much of a choice." He entered the living room. Anna was in a portable playpen, watching her brother Simon as he raced cars on the TV. When she saw Dean, she stretched her little hands towards him. He picked her up, letting her have hold of the doll.
"See, little girl? I told you I'd get it back."
Aaron raised an eyebrow at him.
"What? Haven't you ever seen a grow guy pick up a kid before?"
The lights flickered around the house. Simon whined as his video game flashed off, and restarted. "Fantastic," Dean muttered. I shouldn't have let her hold the doll. "Lock the doors," he instructed Sally. "Aaron, I want you to go and get as much table salt as you can find."
Both left without hesitation.
Anna clutched at the doll. Simon started to whimper. "Don't worry," Dean said gruffly. "Everything will be alright."
Aaron returned a few moments later with a large container of iodized salt. "Will this work?"
"Perfect." He set Anna down in the playpen, who cried when he let her go. "Just a moment, kiddo. I gotta stop that terrible two-year old from coming back." He circled the playpen, along with a large area next to it, with the salt.
Sally came back, and stopped in the entryway. "What are you doing?"
"Never mind that, just get over here in the circle."
"Are you crazy?"
"Does this look crazy? Never mind, don't answer that. Look, you know something weird is going on, so let's just pretend that it's not so weird and you'll actually be nice and do something I ask you for once."
She cocked an eyebrow at him.
"Come on, please. For the sake of the kids?"
She pursed her lips together, but marched forward, careful not to disrupt the circle. Dean leapt out of it, picked up Simon, and set him inside. Aaron was the last to step in.
The lights flickered again, and the wind outside the house began to rattle the doors. Dean watched the flickering for a moment.
It's close.
He moved back inside the circle, picking Anna up. She clutched at his t-shirt, damp from the pond.
The lights flickered a final time, and went out. Simon gasped. Aaron flicked on his video game, casting a little light in the area.
Come on, Sam.
The wind rattled against the windows. Dean raised a hand to the doll.
"You have to say goodbye to it, now, Anna."
She looked up at him, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry. I know you want to keep it. But you can't. Your Mommy would want you to give it up, so you and your brothers can be safe."
"Mine," she whimpered.
"There's another little girl out there who thinks it's hers too. It is hers, Anna. She let you have it for a little while, but now you have to give it back."
"Come on, Anna," said Aaron gently, handing Simon his video game. "Mom wants you to be safe. She loves you."
Anna released the doll, weakly. Dean handed her down to Simon, and stepped out of the circle.
"Where are you going?" Sally asked.
Dean pulled the shotgun from his waist of his jeans. "Hunting."
Sally eyed the gun. "Nuh uh. Put that up."
"Relax." He flashed her a smile. "It's rock salt. Now you all…" he checked the barrels. They were both loaded. "Stay in that circle. Do you hear me?"
Her nose wrinkled up. She still didn't like him. "Yes."
Dean clutched the doll in the crook of his arm, the shotgun out in front of him.
The house was dimly lit from the outside light, which was starting to pick up thanks to the storm clearing. He crouched down, tiptoeing through the house. It was eerily silent.
She's coming…
One of the windows rattled. A lamp on one of the end tables flickered on, then off again.
Aaron had Anna clutched tightly against him. Simon was beside them, holding up the video game screen, lighting them all in a strange green tint.
The windows behind Dean exploded.
He dove to the ground, behind an armchair. The kids screamed, ducking down, as glass flew through the room.
He peered over the side of the chair. A silvery mass was floating through the window, spreading out tendrils of aura, the bright center wafting slowly inside, near the children.
The little girl materialized before them. She stood perfectly still, then stretched her chubby hands towards Anna.
"Hey!" Dean shouted, waving the doll. "I've got your Holly Hobby right here!"
The ghost turned, her silver eyes glistening. "Mine."
"That's right, I know, mine, mine, mine. Then come over here and get it!"
She stared at him.
He felt the same force that had grabbed him by the pond seize him around his waist. He held tightly to the shotgun and the doll, trying to brace himself.
She flung him across the room, slamming him down into the dining room table. It shattered under the impact.
The room was spinning around him, and his back ached from the force of the landing. He stood weakly, raising the shotgun.
Aaron set Anna down, behind him, as the first shot was fired.
The ghost wisped away, disappearing into the air. The salt had had no effect.
Damn…it's not going to work. What do I do first?
He stared at the doll, still clutched in his hand. If he destroyed it, it might make her angry—very angry. She might go straight for Anna. And the salt was no guarantee in stopping such a powerful entity.
The little girl materialized in front of him again, holding out her arms for the doll. Dean stared at it worriedly.
She reached her little fingers forward, grabbing at him. "Mine."
What the hell do I do?
"DEAN!"
Sam burst through the door, skidding to a halt at the sight of the little girl in front of his brother. The ghost turned, catching sight of him, and shed her pleasant image. The hollow-eyed, drowned little girl roared at him, loud enough to rattle the entire house. Anna and the boys screamed.
The girl vaporized, the tendrils of her aura shooting forward.
Right at Sam.
"DEAN!" he cried, tossing something towards him.
The entity picked him off the floor, slamming him against the wall.
"SAM!"
Sam was pinned to the wall, wincing, his neck flush with the boards. The girl re-materialized again, her subtle roar still echoing through the house. Her fingers, long wisps of silver, closed around his throat.
"G-gra...ve…D…dust…" he managed to choke out.
Dean stared at the two shotgun shells in front of him. Sam had put the grave dust from ARA's grave into them.
He scrambled towards them, opening the barrels and loading one of the shells into it. One salt shell was left.
Salt, and grave dust. That ought to be good enough.
He took aim.
The entity was right in front of Sam.
Dammit!
The cartridges should break upon impact, but there was no guarantee that they would explode directly at the ghost. They could hit Sam. He was too close, even for rock salt.
"Sam!"
His brother shook his head, grasping at the invisible force clutched around his throat. "SAM!"
He searched frantically around. Where's that damn doll?
He'd dropped it near the ruins of the table.
"Mine," said a soft voice behind him.
"NO! ANNA!" Aaron screamed.
Anna had wandered out from the salt circle, and was grabbing for the doll on the floor.
"ANNA!" Dean shouted.
The ghost immediately turned, and with a frightful roar, released Sam. He fell to the floor, rubbing his throat.
The entity materialized in front of Anna, grabbing at the doll. Anna held fast to the doll's arm.
"MINE!" roared the ghost.
Anna was screaming, playing tug-of-war with the doll's arms. "MINE!"
"ANNA!" Aaron screamed. He was being held back by Sally, who was watching the entire scene in horror.
"SAM!" Dean shouted. "SAM!"
Sam staggered to his feet at his brother's call, and nodded. Dean flipped the gun to him, then raced to the girls.
"ANNA! Let it go!" he cried.
Sam raised the shotgun.
"Let go of the doll!" Dean screamed.
"ANNA!" cried Aaron.
Anna was crying, her face red. The ghost was crying out, the windows of the house bursting around them, electricity sparking.
"Anna!"
"ANNA!"
"ANNA. LET GO."
Something, a voice, soft and pleasant, filled the air above them. Anna stopped tugging at the doll, glancing around. The ghost disappeared, then reformed behind her, the doll in her arms, one ragged hand reaching for Anna.
Dean dove towards her, grabbing her in his arms, and rolled away, just as Sam pulled the trigger.
Dust and rock salt exploded through the air, the main portion firing through the center of the entity. It wailed, the wind around it rising, as it dissolved into the air. In its hand, the doll's face was completely shattered.
It disappeared into itself in a single, great burst of light, taking the doll with it.
Sam panted, lowering the gun, and clutching at his ribs. Dean was rising, Anna still in his arms. There was blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The lights in the house flickered back on. Outside, the moon burst through the clouds, shimmering down into the yard. Sally and the boys emerged from the circle. She was carrying Simon.
"You all right?" Dean asked. She nodded, her eyes wide.
"Aaron?"
"I'm cool," he said softly. Dean handed Anna down to him. She was sucking her thumb.
"What happened?" asked Sam, straightening himself. "I didn't think she'd let go."
Dean shrugged. "Dunno. I thought I heard something, but…"
"You heard my Mom," said Aaron, looking up at them. "She told her to let go."
Sam glanced at Dean. "Really? Your Mom? Are you sure?"
"It was her," said Aaron firmly. "Really. Maybe it's weird, but it was real." He smiled shakily at Dean.
Dean shrugged. "I suppose it's possible. Anything's possible. I mean, look at us. We just nearly got our asses whipped by a two-year-old girl."
Sally glared at him. Aaron and Simon both giggled.
Sam just shook his head.
