Past 3

Both Sam and Dean breathed a sigh of relief when 8 o'clock rolled around the next morning and no Grim Reapers suddenly popped into existence in their kitchen. They proceeded to go about their business, not mentioning the previous day, and determined to behave as normally as possible. Normal for them however, was not particularly normal, and so it wasn't surprising that as Sam scrolled through the morning news on his tablet, he came across a potential case.

"So, get this" he said without looking up. "A group of university kids died under suspicious circumstances while partying in some cabin they rented in Linnden Park, Colorado.

Dean made a sound halfway between a thoughtful hmm and a grunt which Sam knew was his cue to continue.

"Apparently, the four of them rented this cottage for the weekend. It had recently been reopened after the owner renovated it to rent out to vacationers, before that it had been empty for years."

"Very Cabin in the Woods. How'd they die?"

"The article doesn't really say, just mentions that the police think violence may have been involved."

"Does it say any of their names?"

"Yeah, let's see. Jamie Geller, Chris Atler, Shelby Lee, and Simon Holt."

Dean stared ahead of them, not closing his eyes, but seeming to zone out for a moment. "Jamie and Simon were stabbed, Chris had his throat slit, and Shelby's head was bashed in. They were terrified Sam."

Sam swallowed uncomfortably. "So, you just know this?"

"Yeah, apparently."

"Can you tell what killed them?"

Dean sighed. "No, that would be too useful."

"That's okay. I think I've got a pretty good idea actually. Turns out back in the fifties the cabin used to be owned by this guy who lived there with his daughter. Real paranoid hermit type, tried to keep as much away from other people as possible, so when his daughter wanted to leave to get married, he murdered her. He ended up getting the death penalty."

"So, are we dealing with his ghost or hers?" Dean asked.

"Won't know until we get over there I guess."


Dean grumbled as they got into the recently revamped Impala, but she still ran as well as ever. In fact, as they headed west towards Colorado, they noticed that the gas gauge didn't move at all, seemingly remaining continually at full.

"Great. She's probably running on the souls of the damned or something" Dean complained.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sam asked cautiously.

"About what?"

"This whole thing going on with you and Tessa, and what Tessa is saying" Sam danced around is awkwardly.

"No."

"Just no? Dean, this isn't just going to go away on its own. If Tessa is telling the truth then we need to be prepared for what's going to happen next and if she's not, then we need to figure out what's going on with you."

Dean sighed. "She's telling the truth, Sam" he said simply, "I can tell."


They arrived at the cabin in record time and found the place abandoned. Apparently, the local cops hadn't even bothered to post someone to watch the crime scene and all they needed to do was step over some police tape as they headed through the door.

Inside the floor was covered with blood stains and evidence markers and their EMF detector went off almost immediately.

"Here we go" Dean said, putting away the detector and pulling out his shot gun. They both stuck close to the door, ready to leave at a moment's notice. All they needed to do was get a good enough look at the ghost to figure out its identity and then they were out of there. They didn't need to wait long before the temperature dropped suddenly, and something began to coalesce in the middle of the room.

For some reason women always seem to make creepier ghosts than men, thought Sam as the murdered daughter appeared before them, looking pretty murderous herself.

"So, it's the daughter then" Dean murmured as he raised his shotgun and fired into her chest, dispersing her. "Any idea where she's buried?"

"No, we'll have to do some more research" Sam replied. Dean's customary complaint about research was cut off when the front door of the cabin slammed shut with a bang.

"Shit! How is she back so soon?" asked Dean.

"It wasn't her" Sam answered as they were faced with a second ghost, the father presumably. This ghost may have been less creepy looking than his dead daughter, but he was faster off the mark. Before either hunter could fire off a round, it raised its hand and slammed them both into a wall. A few seconds later the daughter flickered back into existence as well to assist with her father's mission to keep the Winchesters pinned like bugs to the wall. Dean strained against the invisible bonds trying to reach the packet of salt stashed in his pocket. He almost had his fingers around it when Tessa suddenly appeared beside the ghosts.

"What in Hell are you doing?" she asked, looking at Dean with disgust.

"Fighting a ghost" Dean growled back at her, "maybe you'd like to help."

"You're Death and you're being overpowered by a couple of ghosts? That's pathetic" she admonished him. "Your predecessor would have blasted them into Hell with a mere thought and you can't even get yourself down off that wall."

"I'm working on it" said Dean, fumbling for his salt.

Tessa stepped directly in front of him, ripped it from his grasp and Dean wondered balefully why neither of the ghosts were going after her. "You're working on it the wrong way. You don't need cheap tricks anymore; you just need to focus."

"Focus?"

"That's right. Focus on their energy, then find your own."

Dean rolled his eyes but then obediently closed them. Sam watched uncomfortably as a look of concentration furrowed his brother's brow. It reminded him too much of how it felt to try and tap into his own powers. It must have worked though because after only a few seconds Sam felt a sudden lurch and both he and Dean were dropped to the floor.

Dean strode forward, suddenly seeming totally unconcerned by the two ghosts. They were nothing; why should he fear them? He approached the daughter first.

"Grace Parker" he started talking directly to her. "You aren't as innocent as everyone thinks, are you? You helped your father kill your fiancé, just like you helped him kill all the others before. Too bad for you that last one fought back and took you with him. And you" he turns to the father, "Joshua Parker, you're a Grade A sicko, aren't you? Training your daughter to seduce and murder men so she could claim their money. I'm afraid it's Hell for both of you." With that, Dean makes a motion with his hand like he's shooing a fly and both ghosts disappear.

Sam watched his brother warily, wondering what he was going to do next. Dean looked over at him, "well, I guess that will save us some digging" he said.