Unexpected
They first went to the college cafeteria to grab something to eat, and then walked to the sonority house. Working on empty stomachs was never a good idea, considering one doesn't know what could happen afterwards. One could get hit over the head, tied up for hours, and have no strength to fight because they had nothing to eat.
A pitiful excuse, really, but they didn't want to talk to attractive girls and have their stomachs growl in protest.
As they walked up the steps, Dean was about to knock, but the door was pulled open. Rose welcomed him with a smile and, unlike last time, no other girls behind her, eyeing him like a piece of chocolate.
"You're back." she said and then looked over at Sam, maintaining that smile. "With a friend." She added.
"I'm agent Leary." Sam said and she continued to stare at him, like she forgot about Dean.
"I'm Rose." She said and stepped aside to let them in. As soon as they walked into the house, the girls stared at them from the side room, from the stairs, from everywhere. Suddenly, Dean felt like prey walking into a predators' den. He sort of liked the attention, but it was getting weird.
"Hello, ladies." Sam said and then they quietly started to giggle.
"Hi." Most of them said, softly, like timid creatures; they weren't timid creatures at all, not by the way they eyed Sam and Dean like a pretty pink designer dress on sale. It looked like they were ready to pounce on them. Rose wasn't kidding last time when she said it was like walking into a den of lionesses.
"We'd like to ask you all about a fellow student." Dean said, deciding to brush it off or he'd start pushing Sam towards them, saying he was all theirs to fight for.
"Oh, I thought you were here for Stacy." Rose said, behind her sexy librarian glasses.
"Well, maybe you all might have some information that could be useful." Sam said and the girls let out a soft rumble of laughter, as if they loved the idea they could have the attention of the, no doubt sexy, FBI agents.
"I'll go get Stacy." Rose said and then turned to the girls. "Ladies, be nice." She added and they giggled again, as if the idea of being nice with attractive men was absurd.
The girls began gathering in the side room, inviting Sam and Dean to sit with them. Dean wasn't so sure the room was big enough for all of them, but he underestimated the girls. They shared chairs and were in such close proximity of each other, totally comfortable with sharing their personal space with a sonority sister. Dean had to stop his mind from getting any ideas.
"So, which student are we talking about?" said one of the girls Dean had met earlier.
"Rowan McKinley." Sam said and the girls all glanced at each other with mixed expressions. "Stacy said we should talk to her. When we did, we didn't get anything useful other than her roommate, Veronica, had played a terrible prank about the snake Stacy had seen." Sam said, no doubt sounding sensitive which the girls obviously liked.
Stacy then entered the room with Rose who looked a little agitated, probably that her tip hadn't been as successful as she had hoped.
"Of course they'd play all innocent." Stacy said, out of her funk, apparently, and looking more like the other girls: pretty and girlie.
"Why did you want me to talk to her?" Dean asked and she grunted. Yeah, she was clearly agitated. Or maybe she was on her menstrual cycle. A not-so-sensitive thought, but his name wasn't Sam Winchester.
"Something doesn't seem right about Rowan." Rose said and the girls all agreed. "We invited lots of newcomers to our sonority for rush. Rowan was one of them and she seemed to fit our criteria, but she didn't seem to fit in well." She added, confusing Dean who now had a frown slowly forming. Sam quickly glanced at him and then jumped in, indirectly clearing his brother's confusion.
"By that you mean she could have lots in common with you girls, but wasn't as sociable." Sam said and the girls all smiled.
"Exactly." Rose said and Dean now raised his eyebrows, as if he still didn't get it.
"Veronica mentioned jealously and maybe even resentment that Rowan didn't join your sonority, getting attention from the guys on campus." Sam said and the girls all exchanged what seemed like bewilderment mixed with irritation.
"Naturally. Veronica hates the idea of sonorities just because her idea of friends is those with benefits." Rose said and the others agreed. Dean still didn't get all the girl drama, but Sam did, as per freaking usual.
Besides the girl drama, Dean still didn't see how Rowan fit into all of this. So she was socially awkward. So was Dean in some ways. Who wasn't? And so what Veronica wasn't a Malibu Barbie? She seemed more of a borderline Goth anyway, but that doesn't mean they have to dislike her. If being different makes Rowan and Veronica suspects, then it was completely pointless being there in that house.
Sam caught Dean's expression and quickly jumped in, smiling apologetically at the girls for interrupting.
"So, would Rowan know anything about this snake that could be useful to the case?" Sam asked and Dean relaxed, listening, giving the girls one last chance before he walked out.
The girls were quiet for a brief moment, exchanging looks of uncertainty.
"Well, at our rush party, one of the guys was dressed up as a ghost. You know, white sheets and chains, trying to scare the newcomers by telling the story that this place is apparently haunted." Rose said and then the girls, oddly, began speaking for themselves.
"He tried to scare Rowan a little with how our haunting ghost died and she seemed totally different. She was a little creepy. He tried to float around her and then scare her from behind, but she only smiled, totally unnerved." One of the girls said, one that Dean hadn't yet met.
"Yeah," said another. "She turned to Brad, the one dressed like a ghost, and said that wasn't true. She said she didn't sense death in the house. No one had died and there's no haunting ghost." The girl added and the others all looked uncomfortable.
Dean expected them to be happy to hear they didn't have a ghost, but they obviously hadn't come into contact with one. If they had, they'd have been very overjoyed and relieved.
"Rowan then seemed back to normal after Brad's story and when Rose asked her if she was alright, she didn't seem to remember saying anything to Brad." Stacy said with her arms crossed over her chest, looking less agitated than earlier.
"It's no wonder she's bunked with Veronica. I wouldn't doubt it if they're both witches." One of the girls said, getting the others to agree with her.
Dean glanced at Sam as if to say they weren't going to get anything else. Sam's expression was agreement and nodded to the girls.
"Thanks for your time." Dean said as he got up. The girls all seemed a little sad to see their guests go, all except for Stacy who was probably still recovering from her shock of seeing a giant snake.
"We'll be in touch if we have any more questions." Sam said, which seemed to make the girls happy.
"You're welcome any time." Rose said and she girls tried to cover their giggles with their hands. Sam and Dean nodded and saw themselves out.
As they walked down the steps and began walking away from the sonority house, walking back to the college, Sam tilted his head as if something dawned on him. Dean followed his gaze and guessed that his brother was probably looking at the fence with the gaping hole in it that the snake made to get around unseen.
"What?" Dean asked.
"Dr. Manderly, the man I was talking to about the camera in the corner of his porch, had seen the snake in front of his house." Sam said and took out his cell phone, looking at the picture of the Polaroid. "Judging by the pattern of the snake's scales, I'm guessing he was heading to the college. Then, on the surveillance camera at the convenience store, we saw the snake go in the direction of the dorms." Sam said and Dean raised an eyebrow, not exactly getting the big deal of this epiphany.
When Sam noticed, he sighed and had that usual irritated expression that said his older brother wasn't as smart as him, little brother I-went-to-Harvard. It was frustrating that they couldn't be on the same page.
"The snake is obviously going somewhere. Stacy was in its way. I think, if the girls are right to think this might involve Rowan, the snake could be going to the dorms." Sam said and Dean slowly nodded, as if pretending to catch on.
"So we stake out the dorms and stalk Rowan." Dean said and Sam nodded his head.
"In the meantime, I'm calling Dr. Manderly to see if his research might be useful to us." Sam said and began dialing a number he got from a small business card. Dean glanced around while his brother was asking questions.
Alright, so this was a legit case with a real giant snake. Was it Jormungand, Loki's Norse offspring? He still wasn't sure about that. For one, Gabriel was an Archangel. The children he had with a Norse chick had to be half angel, not a giant freaking snake that was the doom of the Norse Gods!
And Dean couldn't quite understand Rowan going all Ghost Whisperer on the sonority girls. The fact that she didn't remember anything seemed true, or else she might have hinted something when they had met her.
"No, that sounds good, Dr. Manderly." Sam said, snapping Dean out of his thoughts. "Did you find anything on how to stop Jormungand?" he asked and Dean's mouth nearly fell open. Not another that believed this was the Norse snake of death.
He shook his head, looking at the back door of the college. How could a big snake go up and around unnoticed, besides the convenience store camera? How did it know where to go? If it really was Jormungand, than was he really looking for his sister, according to Sam's theory which was just as weird as this whole case?
"Oh right, well, thanks for your time, Dr. Manderly." Sam said and hung up with a light grin on his face.
"What?" Dean asked, not sure he bought the Norse mythology of this case.
"He said Thor hadn't stopped Jormungand. In Norse's mythology of an apocalypse, Thor is supposed to kill the creature, but die from its poison." Sam said and Dean found that to be highly uplifting, in a very sarcastic manner. "So, if I mean to kill this giant snake, which is obviously not Jormungand, a simple beheading should do." Sam said and Dean snorted.
"You mean he isn't on the mythology band wagon?" Dean asked and Sam shot him a glare.
"I'd say he's on the fence, but given that he's a scientist, he won't believe it until he truly sees it. Kinda like someone I know." Sam said, then Dean was the one to shoot his brother a glare.
"Funny." Dean said, but Sam wasn't laughing.
They reached the college and entered by the back doors, apparently going to the cafeteria.
"The problem is, when you decapitate a snake, its can still bite up until an hour later." Sam said and Dean glanced over at him, disgusted. "It still bites when stimulated. There's a video that shows a decapitated snake biting its own body." He added and pulled out his phone to find that video on Youtube to prove he wasn't crazy.
Dean raised his hand and shook his head, clearly disgusted. Sam began tucking his phone back in his pocket.
"So, we slice its head off and watch it for an hour?" Dean asked and Sam shrugged his shoulders. "And you're sure it might be heading over to the dorms?" he asked and Sam nodded his head, oblivious that his older brother was attempting a decapitation pun. "You think it could be after Rowan?" he asked, trying to not feel offended and Sam met his eyes, looking uncertain.
"It does sound weird that she was normal, then shifted to this strange death sensing girl, then reverted back without any memory of it happening." Sam replied and then Dean knew he was beginning to think his theory of Jormungand on the hunt for his sister could be correct after all.
"Well, we'll grab some snacks, sit in the Impala and conveniently park it in front of the dorms." Dean said and Sam nodded like he liked that idea.