CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE: Who Ya Gonna Call?
When Jo woke up she felt oddly rested and at peace with no images of a nightmare still engrained in her eyelids.
The blonde breathed in the smell of whiskey and sulfur, slowly prying her eyes open as she felt fingers combing through her hair lightly.
She involuntarily clenched her fist as she groaned, grabbing a handful of soft fabric. With a look of confusion, she sat up to see where she had fallen asleep.
"Morning." Dean said gruffly, glancing over at her as she straightened all the way and ran tired hands down her face.
She noticed that he was in the same position he was last night, his hair still carefully styled with not a trace he had moved at all. "Did you sleep?"
Dean shook his head, smiling bitterly. "I don't anymore." He said, his tone final and preventing any further conversation on the topic. After standing up, he forced a cheerful grin. "I don't know about you, but I could use some greasy food."
Jo nodded, not sure how she felt about the demon suddenly not being able to sleep. But, he wasn't going to talk about it and who was she to pass up some good food?
…
"I found us a hunt." Sam said excitedly as he ran into the kitchen, waving around a piece of paper he had printed off.
John looked up from his steaming breakfast of eggs and bacon, curtesy of his eldest son, to see what Sam had.
"Lay it on me." Dean insisted around a mouthful of food, ignoring the disgusted looks from around the table.
"So get this," Sam began a little startled, not expecting his brother to be talking to him after what had happened with Lucifer. "About a month or two ago, this group of kids went poking around in this local haunted house."
"Haunted by what?" The eldest Winchester asked, his interest peaked.
The younger demon smiled slightly. "Apparently, a pretty misogynistic spirit. Legend goes, it takes girls and strings them up in the rafters." He stated grimly before continuing. "Anyway, this group of kids saw a dead girl hanging in the cellar."
"Alright, did anybody ID the corpse?" Jo asked, pushing her plate away as she finished her food.
"This is where it gets interesting. By the time the cops got there, the body was gone. So, the cops are saying the kids were just yanking chains." Sam explained, taking a sip from his thankfully still warm coffee before handing his father a copy of the article he had gotten his information from.
Dean shrugged his shoulders while glancing at the paper. "I hate to say it, but maybe the cops are right."
The youngest Winchester gave a considering look, although he seemed unsure. "I don't know man, I read some of their firsthand accounts and they seemed pretty sincere."
"Where'd you read their accounts at?" Jo asked, knowing those were normally sealed tight.
Sam rubbed his neck sheepishly before gesturing dismissively. "Well when I found this article, I wanted to get more information on the town and the house so I did some digging, surfed some local… paranormal websites." He said quickly before adding, "And I found one."
Dean seemed amused as he leaned his arms on the table, giving his little brother a strange look. "What was this website called?"
The long-haired demon cleared his throat before adding under his breath. " ."
The group at the table begun laughing before John shook his head. "Lemme guess, steaming live out of Mom's basement?"
Sam rolled his eyes but couldn't help but agree. "Most likely."
"I think we should check it out anyways." Jo offered her opinion, seeing no harm in it.
"I'll let you kids take this one. Mary and I found a hunt in Wyoming we're gonna meet Ellen and Bobby at." John said right before standing up. "Please, try not to get yourselves killed, alright?"
With that, the older hunter took off, leaving the three to begin to pack.
…..
Sam had been in the middle of packing his duffel when there was a soft knock at his door. After granting the person entrance, his brother walked in with a purposeful look.
"You okay?" The younger demon asked tentatively, knowing that there had to be something on Dean's mind as he set down a flannel shirt he had been folding.
"I don't think you should go on this hunt." The short-haired demon stated seriously, his features hard as his gaze never wavered from his brother.
Sam's brows scrunched together in puzzlement and shock as he crossed his arms. He had been waiting for his brother to ream him for making the deal but instead he saw nothing but concern in his green eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," Dean began, exhaling deeply. "Is that the safest place for you to be right now, is right here, where no supernatural being can come in and possess you." He said bluntly as he took another step into the room.
"Dean, I'm not just going to hide out in the bunker for the rest of my life." Sam tried to reason while the other demon adjusted his Henley shirt sleeve. "Plus I made a deal, I can't go back on it now."
"Yeah you can." The elder Winchester insisted. "You haven't said yes yet, so you just gotta keep saying no." He reasoned as Sam picked up a gray t-shirt to fold.
"And what do you think Lucifer would do if I tried to go back on my deal? Huh?" The floppy-haired demon said with exasperation as he threw the shirt down on the bed before throwing his arms out to the side. "He would kill you, Dean! I'm not gonna let that happen."
Dean rubbed at his chin as he slowly realized Sam was right. But, that didn't mean he had to be happy about it. "We're gonna figure out a way to jam the devil back in his box, I promise." He stressed, wanting his brother to know he was going to try his hardest to keep him safe.
The younger Winchester just nodded as his throat began to clog with emotion. He felt extremely relieved that his brother didn't seem to be pissed at him and was willing to work with him still, offering nothing but forgiveness as the pair stood there in determined silence.
…
"Castiel, I'm surprised to see you out and about and not up the Winchester's asses."
The angel turned around, seeming unfazed by the newcomer. "What do you want, Crowley?" He asked, sounding bored as he waited for the former King of Hell to speak.
"I want to help you help me help ourselves." The demon said vaguely, shoving his hands in his black slacks.
"Speak plain." The angel growled, already fed up with Crowley.
The former King of Hell's lips curled as he took a step toward the dark-haired being. "I want to discuss a simple business transaction. That's all."
Castiel arched a brow before he scoffed. "You want to make a deal? With me?" He asked to make sure he heard right, before growing irritated. "I'm an Angel, you ass. I don't have a soul to sell."
"But that's it, isn't it?" Crowley prompted, going into his prepared spiel. "It's all about the souls. That's what it comes down to, doesn't it?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Cas snapped as he started to become tired of dealing with the vermin before him.
"I'm talking about Raphael's head on a pike." He offered, his Scottish accent coming out as he spoke. "I'm talking about happy endings for all us, with all the possible entendres intended. Come on, just a chat."
"I have no interest in talking with you." The angel remained defiant, having no intention to deal with the former King of Hell.
Crowley grinned mischievously as he raised both his eyebrows. "Why not? I'm very interesting. Come on, just hear me out for five minutes. No obligations." He tried, but when the angel still seemed less than convinced, he added. "I promise I'll make it worth your while."
With obvious hesitance, Castiel sighed deeply before nodding.
…
"So these three kids where at the house that night?" Dean clarified as Jo, Sam, and him made their way to the small restaurant all decked out in their FBI wear.
The younger demon nodded as they made their way inside, asking the hostess if she knew where the kids where. When she pointed them in the right direction, they made their way over and sat across from the three at the table they had been sharing.
"Who the hell are you guys?" The guy who was seated in the middle with messy brown hair asked suspiciously.
The two demons and one hunter fished their badges from their pockets, flashing them at the three now terrified teens.
"What's this about?" The one girl seated to the far left questioned, flicking her long blonde hair behind her shoulder as she narrowed bright green eyes at them.
Jo put her badge away and crossed her arms, leaning them on the table as her tone became professional. "We just wanted to talk to you about what happened in that house the other night."
"What do you want to know?" The teen situated on the far right chimed in with black hair carefully styled back.
"Anything you can tell us about that night would be appreciated." Sam stated, grabbing a small notebook and pen to write down anything significant.
"It was the scariest thing I ever saw in my life." The teen in the middle, whose name was Chad if Sam recalled correctly, began, still seeming freaked out. "I swear to god, I've never been that scared in my life."
Mike, the boy on the end, leaned in close. "When we walked in, you instantly got this creepy vibe. The walls were painted black-" He stopped when Chad corrected him, telling the three across from them the walls were really red.
"I swear there was blood all over the walls, no way that was paint." The girl, Sydney, said before shaking her head in disgust.
"There were all these freaky ass symbols on the walls too, pentagons and crosses and stars." Chad explained, seeming frazzled. "And when we went downstairs to see that poor girl with black-"
"Blonde-"
"Red hair, just hanging there…" Sydney stated, finally establishing the non-important hair color. "That girl was real, you have to believe us."
"She was also kinda hot." Mike added, ignoring the glare his friends shot him. "What? You know, in a dead sort of way."
"Alright!" Dean said enthusiastically before glancing at Sam and Jo with wide eyes and raised brows.
"How'd you find out about this place anyway?" The younger demon asked, wanting to make sure they had everything they needed.
The three all shared a look before saying at the same time, "Craig."
…
"Can I help you with anything?"
Sam, Dean, and Jo looked towards the young man standing behind the counter of the music store they had just walked into, a small bell having signaled their arrival. They took time to briefly glance around at the rows upon rows of classic records, the walls littered with band posters.
"We sure hope so. Craig Thurston?" The blonde hunter asked as she made her way over to him, taking out her fake badge to show to him. When he nodded, she continued. "I'm officer Black, these are my partners Armstrong and Howard. Mind if we ask you a few questions about a local haunting you know of?"
Craig seemed to see what she was getting at which caused him to sigh. "You mean the Hell House?"
"Bingo." Dean said, smiling slightly at the anxious worker before them.
"I didn't think there was anything to the story." He said dismissively before running a hand through his hair.
"We'd love to hear the story." Jo prompted, her tone indicating he really didn't have a choice in the matter.
He took a deep breath as he tried to remember everything he had been told. "Well supposedly back in the '30s this farmer, I think his name was Mordachai Murdoch or something like that, used to live in this house with his six daughters. It was during the Depression and his crops were failing so he didn't have enough money to feed his children. That's when he went off the deep end." He explained, gesturing as he talked.
Sam, clearly interested, encouraged Craig. "How did he go off the deep end?"
"The guy figured it was best if his girls died quick instead of a slow painful death they would have because of starvation." He elaborated, making sure to remember all the details he could. "So, one night, Mordachai attacked them. Legend goes they screamed, begged for him to stop but he wouldn't and just strung 'em up, all six of them. After he was all finished, he just turned around and hung himself. Now people say that his spirit is trapped in that house and he strings up any girl that goes inside."
Dean seemed unconvinced as he asked skeptically, "Where'd you hear all this?"
"My cousin Dana told me. I don't know where she heard it from. But, you gotta realize, I-" He paused, a thin lip smile forming on his face. "I didn't believe any of it for a second.
"Now you do?" Jo questioned, making sure she understood what he was saying.
"I don't know what the hell to think! You guys, I'll tell you what I told the police. That girl was real and she was dead." He said earnestly, his eyes pleading with them to believe him. "This was not a prank. I swear to God. What kind of person jokes about something like this?"
Dean nodded and tapped the glass counter. "Thanks, we'll keep in touch." He said, right before the group of three turned and left.
…
"I can't say I'm surprised this place is haunted. I mean, look at it." The elder demon pointed out as they emerged from the woods on a muddy path.
They all took in the ramshackle house that was falling apart, Jo's hunter instincts kicking in instantly.
As the group walked inside, the blonde pulled an EMF meter from her dark jacket pocket, turning it on as she made her way around the house. When she caught a look outside a window, she cursed under her breath and shoved the instrument away.
"Something wrong?" Sam asked as he saw her put it away.
"There's power lines all around here which mess with the readings." The huntress explained, sighing with exasperation.
"Old man Murdock was quite the tagger in his time." The long-haired demon pointed out as they took in the different markings on the walls. "What do all these symbols mean?" He asked, getting closer to one in particular.
Jo walked over to where Sam was, examining the cross with a dot in the middle, the bottom stroke looking like an upside down question mark. "I've seen this before… somewhere." She paused, trying to rack her brain as she dug her phone out to take a picture of it.
The younger demon's face scrunched up as he ran his long fingers across the symbol. "It's paint. Seems pretty fresh too." He said, holding up his now red dusted finger.
Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound coming from one of the rooms that branched from the main area they were in. With the three now on high alert, they maneuvered to where Sam and Jo were on either side of the door right before Dean kicked it open.
Their visions were flooded with bright light, blinding the two demons and hunter.
"Oh, cut. It's just a couple a humans." A brown-haired young guy with a beard groaned right before the light went off. "What are you guys doing here?" He questioned, seeming annoyed as he crossed his arms.
Dean eyed the guy and then flicked his gaze to the one next to him, noticing he was holding a small video camera. "What the hell are you doing here?" He retorted, his lips forming a straight line.
"Uh, we belong here. We're professionals?" The same guy said as if it was obvious.
Jo seemed suspicious of the pair as she put her hands on her hips. "Professional, what, exactly?"
The pair shared a look before eyeing Jo up and down unsubtly. "We're uh- paranormal investigators." He said with pride, trying to come off as macho as he handed the blond their business card. "There you go, check us out." He said, his tone becoming flirtatious.
The two boys looked over her shoulder to read the card and Dean let out an aggravated grunt. "You gotta be kidding me." He complained, shaking his head.
"Ed Zeddmore and Harry Spangler? . You guys run that website." Sam said in disbelief that he had relied on what the two in front of him had done.
"You fans?" The one with black hair and a baby face, Harry, asked, excitement radiating from him.
"Oh, yeah. We're huge fans." The middle Winchester said sarcastically as he looked around the small kitchen they had found the two in.
Ed seemed smug as he adjusted his glasses. "And ah, we know who you guys are too." The three looked at them both sharply, panic surging through them before he continued. "Amateurs. Looking for ghosts and cheap thrills."
Dean rolled his eyes, clearly done with the conversation but Ed went on anyways. "So, if you guys don't mind, we're trying to conduct a serious scientific investigation here." He stated before he remembered Jo was a female. "But, you can stay if you want." He invited, giving her what was supposed to be a seductive smile but turned out to be more of a grimace.
"I just wanna know what you've got so far." The young hunter admitted, trying to hide her amused grin. She had to be honest, she was curious as to what these two could've come up with.
"Harry, why doncha tell 'em about EMF?" Ed said, saying the last word like it was the most extraordinary thing he could tell them.
Sam couldn't help but want to play along as well, so he decided to humor them. "EMF? What's that?" He bit back his smile, nudging Jo in the side when she almost started laughing.
Harry cleared his throat and held up a similar device that the blonde had used earlier. "Electromagnetic field? Spectral entities can cause energy fluctuations that can be read with an EMF detector. Like this bad boy right here." He explained before turning it on.
Dean snorted loudly, smirking at Sam who was trying to seem engrossed in what was being said.
"Well, that is just too many big words for my lady brain to handle. But, I trust that it detects ghosts." Jo promised them, her voice rising in octaves as she tried to seem innocent. "Wait, have you guys, you know?" She asked, the two investigators giving her a perplexed look. "Have you ever seen an actual ghost before?"
"Once." Ed answered, nodding to himself. "We were uh, we were investigating this old house and we saw a vase fall right off the table."
"By itself." Harry added, earning a fake shocked look from the youngest Harvelle.
"Well, we didn't actually see it, we heard it." Ed amended, before his tone turned to one of reflection. "But, something like that, it changes you."
"Yeah, I can just imagine." Dean said, making sure to keep his tone from sounding too sarcastic. "Well, we should go guys, let them get back to work."
"Yeah, you should." Ed agreed with fervor, chuckling slightly.
When the three took off, Ed turned to his partner. "Sorry, that pot we smoke gave me the giggles."
…
TBC
Guys, I know, I'm sorry. I'm the worst. Holy crap, has it really been almost two months since I've updated? I apologize especially since this isn't an exciting chapter. But, life has really been kicking my ass lately. I hope to get back to writing more often, but I can say that I will never abandon this story. So, if you're willing to stick with me and continue to read and review, I'll still be willing to update. Thanks for keeping with me through these longer than usual gaps between updates, I'll try to do better. Special thanks to babyreaper (We all know the Winchester's luck, so you can pretty much assume what's gonna happen.), kasey123 (I'm so glad you still like it! And trust me, I'm working on it.), 1983Sarah (I feel the same about Crowley, but he will always find a way to weasel his way back into places.), Souless666 (People can't help but let Crowley live, they always underestimate him.), TuxedoSammy (I'm so glad you like it and I hope I don't disappoint!), and CrackedCrow (I'm extremely flattered by your words and I'm so happy you like it so much and I hope you continue to.), for reviewing! It means a lot! Have a great week!