Chapter 6: The Dollman

Dean was driving down the road in the rain, the radio playing nothing, Sedona asleep in the back seat. It was dark outside, and he wasn't sure where he was going. Dean saw a man at the side of the road, and he though about stopping for him. He really didn't think it was fair that anyone should be out in the rain. He waited, and the man walked up to the car. Dean rolled down the driver's side window and asked, "You need a ride?"

The man kept his head down, not revealing his face. Dean asked once more, "You need a ride?"

The man looked up, and Dean saw it was Sam. He said to Dean, "The Dollman."

Dean woke up to find himself sitting in the car in the morning light. Sedona came up to the passenger side window and asked him, "You want some coffee?"

He realized she was holding coffee in her hands, so he said, "Alright."

She got into the car and handed him a cup, and he drank it down slowly, still remembering pieces of his dream. Sedona looked at him and asked, "What's wrong? You seem upset."

"I'm fine. I think I need to run an errand though, by myself," Dean said.

"Alright. I'll just find you later then," Sedona said, leaving the car.

Dean drove the short way to the site of Sam and John's graves, then he went up to the headstones and stared at them. He told Sam's headstone, "I'm right here, Sammy, just let me know what you want."

There was silence in the still autumn air. Dean waited a short while longer, hoping to see or hear something, then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see an attractive young girl in a white dress, her skin pale. She asked him, "Who are you talking to?"

"No one," Dean answered.

"You know, sometimes it's hard to lose a loved one," she smiled at him.

"It can be. My name is Dean, by the way," he said.

"I'm Angela. I should be going, by boyfriend is waiting for me," she said, then she turned and left.

Dean watched her walk away for a few minutes, then he turned back to Sam's headstone. He asked, "Is that what you wanted me to see? Some pale chick in the middle of the cemetery?"

Dean happened to look over and he saw a tree in the center of the cemetery. It was an old, gnarled, menacing tree, unlike the other lively trees in other parts of the cemetery. Dean went over to the tree, surveying it a little. He looked down at the ground and saw that it looked like there was supposed to be a grave under the tree, but there was a hole in the ground, like someone had dug their way into it, or out of it for that matter. Dean leaned down and looked at the headstone, which said Angela Mason. He thought to himself about the Angela he just met, then he said, "I think I know where this is going."

Dean found Dr. Mason, Angela's father, fairly easily, and when he went up to the door and knocked, he checked the windows to make sure no one else was inside. Dr. Mason opened the door and asked with a solemn expression, "What?"

"Excuse me, sir, I'm a friend of Angela's, and I just wanted to ask you if you know anything about the night Angela died."

"No, please leave," Dr. Mason answered.

"I know this is hard for you, sir, but I really need to know what happened," Dean said.

"Please leave me alone. If you want answers, ask Neil, he was with her the night she died." Dr. Mason replied.

He closed the door on Dean, and Dean realized he wouldn't get far. He had already tracked Angela's boyfriend, the one she had mentioned, but he had been killed the night before, so there was only Neil to look into. Dean found Neil's house only a short way from Angela's home, and he knocked on the door. A young man answered it, asking, "Who are you?"

"I'm with the cable company. There was a power surge in the area and I've been checking houses to make sure that there was no damage done," Dean said.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember there being a power surge," Neil replied.

"Could I take a look at your electricity just to make sure?" Dean asked.

"Look, there really isn't anything wrong, I think you should leave," Neil answered.

"If I could just..." Dean started, but Neil shut the door on him.

Neil went back into his house, and into the basement, where Angela was waiting for him, along with several other pale skinned girls in white dresses. Angela asked, "Is he gone?"

"Yes, he's gone, and now you will all be part of my collection," Neil smiled.

"Does that mean we get to be like your other dolls?" one of the girls asked.

"Yes. They don't call me the Dollman for nothing," Neil answered.

Dean waited until nightfall, then he pulled up in front of Neil's house to check in on what was going on. He looked through the windows, waiting to see some sign of Angela. Soon, Sedona walked up to the car and asked, "Are you spying on someone?"

"I'm not spying, he might be a threat," Dean said.

"Right. Anyway, you could just burst in through the front door and catch him in the act. It might be easier than waiting for something to happen," Sedona replied.

"If I burst through the door and he's already hidden, he could call the police on me or something," Dean argued.

"Dean, people only see you when you let them. If you want to be invisible, go right ahead," Sedona said.

Dean had forgotten about that. He got out of the car, and imagined himself invisible to Neil. He went up to the door, then he opened it carefully, letting the wind catch it. Neil turned around in the chair he was sitting in, noticing the door, but not Dean. Angela and the other women were seated around Neil, and they too looked at the doorway. Neil got up to close it, saying, "Stupid wind."

"Are we going to become dolls today?" Angela asked.

"Of course. When the moon becomes full, you will all turn into porcelain dolls, and then you will be part of my collection forever," Neil said.

Dean hadn't realized how involved Neil was with the whole thing. He became even more interested when Angela said, "Thank you for allowing us to be part of your collection, Dollman."

"You are more than welcome, Angela," Neil replied.

Dean remembered what Sam had said, so he came up behind Neil and grabbed him. Neil struggled, not realizing where Dean was in the shadows. Sedona came from the back door, and threw a blade into the air. It cut off the heads of the three women at the table, letting them fall to the ground dead. Sedona came up to them and began taking their souls. Dean asked her, "What are you doing? They aren't demons."

"When they were brought back to life, their souls were replaced with a mimic. It imitates some of their characteristics, but it's not really human," Sedona said.

Neil broke from Dean's grasp, yelling, "What are you doing?"

He slipped on Angela's blood and fell, hitting the back of his head against the coffee table. He was dead before he even knew he had fallen. Sedona stood up and asked, "Are you supposed to take his soul?"

"No one told me to," Dean answered.

"Then who has his soul?" Sedona asked.

"I do," said Charlie from the corner.

Sedona became very quiet, while Charlie went over and took Neil's soul. He stood up, looked at Sedona carefully and said, "I told you not to get involved with Dean."

"I'm not involved, we just happen to be taking souls in the same situations," Sedona said, sounding slightly bitter.

"You know better than that, Sedona. It could be dangerous," Charlie said.

"She's not dangerous, I've spent plenty of time with her," Dean started.

"Dean, you don't understand," Charlie started.

"No, you don't understand. I'm tired of you telling me what to do. I can do what I want!" Dean said, then he left the room.

Sedona followed after him. They got into the car and Dean drove away, out onto an abandoned road. Sedona said to him after a long silence, "He's right, you shouldn't deal with me."

"Why the hell not?" Dean asked.

"Dean..." Sedona started.

"Just say it. I can take it," Dean said.

"I know where Sam is," Sedona replied.

"What?" Dean asked, turning to look at her.

He only looked away from the road for a second, but in that second, there was a flash of light, and then there was silence.