Disclaimer: I do not own the Winchesters, even though I'd like to!
The Pesky Poltergeist Problem
Dean grabbed the car keys and the cup of coffee Sam had brought him then headed out the door hoping to catch Sam before he left the hotel. That kid brother of his was so damn stubborn sometimes Dean wanted to smack him up the side of the head. He stabbed the button for the elevator and took it down to the main lobby. Sam was standing near the front doors reading the newspaper that had attracted his attention and started this whole mess. Every now and then he looked up and checked the parking lot.Sam was distracted from reading by a very familiar voice calling his name. "Sam," his brother called. "The car's out this way. If were going to do this lets get going."
Without turning Sam smiled. He really could do this alone, but he didn't want to. He put the newspaper away, wiped the smile from his face and turned to his brother. "You don't have to go if you don't want to Dean. All I'm going to do is look around."
"Come on Sammy," was all Dean said before turning and heading to the parking garage.
Sam and Dean got in the car and headed out towards Bastrop. They drove in silence the first ten minutes or so while Sam finished reading the article in the paper. When he put the paper down and looked up at the road Dean asked, "Okay, what do we know so far?"
"Not much," Sam told him. "This girl, Misty Brandon, went missing two days ago while she was at work."
"While she was working, and nobody noticed anything?"
"She's a park ranger at the state park in Bastrop. Her truck was found abandoned at the parks senic overlook but there was no sign of her and no sign of a struggle. They searched the area for hours and even had dogs out trying to track her. The problem is, being a park ranger she was all over the park. The dogs were almost running in circles."
"Then, last night around ten o'clock she shows up at the hospital begging for help. Two doctors and three nurses along with nearly twenty people sitting in the waiting room saw her. They all said the same thing. She came in screaming for help. She had dried blood in her hair and on face. Her shirt was torn and dirty so were her pants. Then she disappeared."
"So she ran away, why is this our kind of job?"
"Because she didn't run away, she just disappeared. According to one witness she just turned to mist and vanished. She scared the hell out of everyone in the emergency room."
"Sam don't you think it's possible that she had just died? Maybe her spirit just didn't realize it, but has moved on now."
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Because I spoke with someone in the emergency room this morning. She has been back three times since her first visit and every time she just vanishes. It's causing such a problem they're considering closing the emergency room until they can figure out what to do about it."
"Has anyone tried to talk to it?"
Sam shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not sure, but I figured we'd go to the hospital first and talk to the staff. After that we'll head out towhere she disappeared, check it out; maybe talk to some of her co-workers."
The hospital was circus. There were three news vans in the parking lot, as well as several police cars and a crowd of people around the entrance. Hospital Security was screening everyone who tried to enter the emergency room. "Um, any suggestions as to how we are going to get past this?" Dean asked.
Sam looked out the car window at the commotion. He was quiet for a minute then said, "I think I've got a sharp pain in my side, you may need to help me inside."
"Sounds like a plan." Dean said, "Let's go see how good an actor you are Sammy."
As it turns out Sam was a good enough actor to get them inside to the waiting room.It was packed with people and Dean suspected the majority of them were just there as sight seers. There were some people who actually needed to see a doctor and the registration and triage staff seemed to be doing a good job sorting them out.
Sam went to the registration desk and asked to speak with Becky,the woman he'd spoken with previously. He had explained to her that he was a private investigator hired to find Misty Brandon because the police seemed to have given up the initial search. When Becky came out to the waiting area Sam shook her hand and said, "Hi, I'm Sam Pennington, we spoke on the phone this morning. This is my partner Dean Holloway."
Becky gave them a quick once over then said, "Well Mr. Pennington I don't know anymore then I've already told you, so I'm not sure what else I can do to help."
Dean drifted away as they spoke and walked around the Waiting area. He had his handy ex-walkman EMF meter out and was checking the area, but the meter didn't peak once. He put it in his pocket and started listening to the chatter in the room. Almost everyone was talking about the ghost, most in very hushed tones, but some people were actually laughing about it. Idiots didn't know what kind of trouble an angry newly departed spirit could cause. A sudden silence permeated the room followed by a several hushed prayers.
Lookingfor what was causing the change Deanturned around andfound himself almost nose to nose with Misty Brandon. She was exactly as she had been described in the paper, but the paper didn't say how good-looking she was. It didn't say she had long wavy red hair and piercing green eyes. It didn't say she was just a few inches shorter than him, and it didn't say she was so well put together that Jessica Simpson would be jealous. In fact the only thing marring her beauty was the bloodmatted at hertemple.
"Help me!" She pleaded. "Please."
Stunned it took Dean a second to gather his wits and reply. "Where are you?"
Confused by the question she said, "What are you talking about, I'm right here."
"No, I mean your body. Where is your body?"
"I'm right here," She insisted.
"Misty, um, I think you are… well, dead. We need to find your body so we can put you to rest and you can move on." Dean knew he had gone too far. He saw the look of terror come over her face and knew he was about to pay for it. He was right.
"NO! I AM NOT DEAD!" she shouted and she struck him in the solar plexus as hard as she could with the heel of her palm.
Dean went sailing across the waiting area and slammed into a bank of chairs that had been abruptly vacated as the people in them saw him flying in their direction. With the wind knocked completely out of him it took a few minutes for him to catch his breath and untangle himself from the chairs.
Sam had been speaking with Becky, but when the room became quiet he looked around and saw Dean face to face with the spirit of Misty Brandon. "Oh shit," he said quietly.
"Yeah, Becky said, that was my reaction the first time I saw her too."
Sam watched as Dean spoke with the ghost. He wasn't sure what Dean was saying, but he knew that whatever it was had upset her. His brother was sent sailing across the room to land awkwardly among the waiting room chairs and Misty vanished, "Dean," he shouted and ran to his brother who was untangling himself from the chairs. "Hey, Dean, you okay."
Shaking his head and giving his brother a look of complete disgust he replied, "I'm fine."
"Then let's get out of here."
Once they were back in the car Dean looked at Sam and said, "Vacation, Sammy, it means rest and relaxation. It does not mean I get my ass thrown across the room by a pissed off poltergeist!"
Sam smirked and asked, "Well, what did you say to it?"
"Nothing, I just… I told her she was dead and asked where her body was."
"Dean, how many times has dad told us? Ghosts do not like to be told they are dead. How many times do you have to be tossed around before you get it into that thick skull of yours?"
"Well hell, Sammy, if I was dead and didn't know it I'd want someone to tell me."
Shaking his head at his brother's remark Sam replied, "You know, sometimes you scare me."
"Whatever." Dean said putting the car in gear, "Do you know where the park is?"
A/N Thanks for reading and please review!
