Hey, sorry there hasn't been an update in a while. I've been busy with school stuff. I promise it will be less than a week before I post another chapter this time. Thank you for all the reviews and for sticking in there with me. On with the show...
The silence that had taken over the car on the way back to Savannah was starting to freak Dean out. Between that and what had happened back in Olney, something was seriously wrong. Sammy was keeping something hidden in that freaky head of his. The one time Dean had tried to get him to talk, though, Sam had ignored him, choosing instead to stare out the window. It was as if Sammy had checked out on him, but Dean knew he wasn't sleeping. At one point, he thought he was, because Sammy had started breathing quickly, sounding very much like he was trying to get away from something. It hadn't lasted long, maybe a minute and a half, and since then, he had just been in his own world. Pulling up to the dormitory parking lot, Dean announced "We're here." His voice had an edge of annoyance to it that he could not quite keep contained, and he wondered if Sammy even noticed it.
Sam shifted in his seat, turning to face Dean. The images had been assaulting him since they had left Dane's house, and he could feel them drawing closer. They shouldn't be here. Something was going to attack them that he couldn't control. For a brief moment, he considered telling his big brother what was going on. Maybe together they could deal with it, keep it from happening. This thing was going to affect them both. Hearing the aggravation in his brother's voice, Sam decided against it. Whatever was going to happen, it had not happened yet. He could still take care of it, make sure it didn't happen on his own. With any luck, he could take care of it without Dean ever knowing there was a problem. The two brothers sat there, looking silently at one another, each one feeling their emotions beginning to get out of control. Both were scared, and yet neither one wanted to voice it.
Sam was the first to break the silence, as he turned toward the door and left the car. Dean followed suit, stopping himself just short of screaming at his brother to say something. He was being to quiet and it made his nerves stand on edge. "Okay, so most of the activity has been happening on the sixth floor, right? What floor did Amanda live on again?"
"Amanda lived in room 301, three floors directly below where the epicenter is." Sam informed him, looking at the piece of paper that he had printed off that stated her address.
"What was she doing on the sixth floor then?" Dean asked, thinking aloud.
"I don't know. Maybe she had friends up there or something." Sam said, shrugging his shoulders. He smiled, shaking his head. Dean had no reason to be asking about why she was on that floor, except to divert his attention from what was going on in his head. It made him happy, and he was proud to have Dean as a big brother. They searched for an elevator, only to find that it was out of order. "I think I know why she really killed herself." Dean grumbled, not liking the idea of climbing six flights of stairs in the mid-April heat.
Sam shook his head, chuckling a little. "Why don't we find a janitor, and have him give us a key to Amanda's apartment? That way, we can stop halfway up."
"Good thinking, Sammy." Dean told him, and started walking. In his head, Sam said 'Sam,' knowing that it was pointless to argue the point.
After finding the custodian, Sam and Dean walked into the apartment where this eighteen-year-old had lived. It looked like a typical teenage girl's room, complete with posters of Chad Michael Murray and Orlando Bloom. From all of the pictures of her friends and the flowers on everything, it looked like she had been happy. Even the monitor on her computer looked like it belonged in a little girl's room. Sam counted down the second for a moment, and was surprised when Dean didn't comment on the pink computer. Dean picked up a bottle of vitamins that he had found in the desk drawer and cleared his throat, lifting them up so that Sam could see. "Prenatal vitamins?" Sam asked, suspiciously eyeing the bottle. "I guess we've found a pattern with the girls. Do you think her boyfriend knew?"
"I don't know, Sam. We should go talk to him after we leave here, though." Dean said, as he continued to snoop through her desk.
Sam walked toward the bathroom. It was a quaint little space, and not surprisingly, looked as though an artist should live here. It was a plethora of colors and mixtures of different fabrics and surfaces that had been combined to look kind of neat. He got in front of the small vanity mirror, noting the hand-carved pattern on the side of it. He started to open the cabinet, when it happened. The door slammed shut, locking behind him. He tried for a moment to get out of there, when he sensed that there was something behind him. Turning, he caught an image of Jessica with only one small difference: Her stomach was much larger. He would have gauged her at about eight months pregnant, but it was not possible. She would have told him if she was pregnant, would have kept him from leaving her that night. The news would have made his life brighter, knowing that they could have that family he always wanted. Her image transformed, small cuts forming huge pools of blood and she turned into a dark-haired woman with stunning eyes that bore into him. The room spun, and he knew he was falling to the floor. Reality set back in. He was sitting on the floor, and could hear Dean yelling to him from the other side of the door. It was only a moment before the door was pushed open, and Dean stood over him.
"Sammy!" Dean yelled, after hearing the door slam. He went to it and pounded, trying to get in but it seemed to be locked. He kept begging through the door, calling out to the only family that was still with him, wondering if this was the bad thing that had them both on edge. As he heard a noise of something heavy dropping within less than a minute later, he pushed the door open, still calling out for Sam to answer him. When the door finally opened, he was greeted with the vision of his brother sitting on the floor with a dumbfounded look on his face. "Are you okay?" He demanded, trying not to be too rough, but rough enough to elicit a response.
"Yeah, Dean...I just thought I saw something." Sam stammered out. He looked shook up, exhausted. Dean grabbed his arm, helping him to his feet in one grand swoop, supporting him from under his arms.
"Should we call it a day?" Dean asked, concern present in his voice.
"No. I'm fine. Let's just keep looking." It was hard to focus, but if they didn't find something out, someone else would die.
"Okay, well, I think we've found what we were going to find here, so let's just go upstairs." Dean wanted to get as much distance between this dorm room and his brother as possible.
Sam left the apartment first, and Dean took one last glance around the room before he closed and locked the door. His baby brother was withdrawing, and he had a feeling that it would only continue to get worse. He was exhausted, but not letting on. Dean would have understood if he needed some time to catch up after the ordeal they had been through, but Sam was trying to be one hundred percent on the first day.
The stairs seemed to be getting steeper the further up they went. Stopping on the top step to try to catch his breath, Sam sat down on the steps and rested his head in his arms. He could not figure out why it was so hard, and worried that maybe the doctors had all lied to him and his brother. Maybe he wasn't better at all, but they just didn't have the heart to tell them. Dean stood a few steps down now, directly in front of him, and the look of concern was too much to bear. First he was annoyed, and now he wants to play worried big brother. He picked himself up, to get away from the scrutiny.
They were in the hallway now, the place where Rachel Conner had killed herself. Both of the brothers looked at the window with dread. This was where it was all stemmed from, where some angry girl had taken her life. Sam looked over at Dean for a moment, trying to convey to him that he had the same feeling now as he had when they were nearing Dane's house. Something bad was about to happen.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to review with any kind of review whether it be constructive criticism, praise, or questions.
Also, as an extra note. Sensue is doing a fan fiction award thing at her site. Go nominate your stories. This is a plug for her, and for you to get recognized, because there are some wonderful stories out there.