Chapter Seven - Sam
"Any ideas on where we are yet?" the deputy asked us.
"Underground," Dean predictably said.
Even though I rolled my eyes at my brother's statement, even though I expected nothing less from my older brother, I still laughed. Older brothers - what do you do with them? Can't live with them, can't live without them.
The deputy didn't seem amused. Somehow, I wasn't surprised by that.
"I think I may have seen this type of thing before," I said, musingly.
"Oh, really? Care to divulge?" the deputy asked, sounding the most interested since we'd arrived on the scene almost an hour ago.
"May I first have a word with my colleague?" I asked, as politely as I could.
The deputy harrumphed, managing to sound scarily like the sherriff still aboveground, before going off into the middle distance to examine what looked like an ancient mosaic in the wall, but which probably wasn't all that ancient after all.
If I was right.
"Come on, Sammy, give. Where are we?" Dean asked, seriousness, invading his noramlly amused face.
"We're in an alien spacecraft, Dean," I said, not wanting to beat around the bush.
"An alien spacecraft. First you think I'm dreaming about world domination, then you think Santa isn't real, now you think we're on an alien spacecraft. Next you'll be telling me there's little green men harvesting peoples livers and infecting everyone with ignorance," Dean said, staring pointedly over at the deputy. "I think you've finally cracked up, Sammy!"
"After all we've faced - demons, vampires, shapeshifters, even ancient scarecrow deities and you can't believe in aliens? Trust me, I've seen this sort of thing on the internet," I told Dean.
Dean gave me another of his sideways looks; this one with the added extra of raised eyebrows.
"So that's what you do all day on the internet? Look at aliens?" and Dean gave me one of his cheeky grins.
"Don't even go there, Dean Winchester," I said, only half joking.
I still had to smile despite myself at him. Dean only gave me a slow wink.
"Anyway, on this website," I said, deciding to ignore my cheeky brother. "It had photos of a spacecraft almost exactly like this. And is this not the spot where those lights were coming down during that storm last night? I bet if you flew over in a helicopter, you'd see crop circles!"
Dean looked as though he was giving the subject some serious thought at last.
"I think you're right on the lights score at least, Sammy. I'm not too convinced about that spaceship and crop circle theory, though, I'm afraid. I think this was put here by some ancient people, like the Maya or perhaps by some covert government operation, perhaps. Remember the Roswell incident?" Dean asked.
"Also to do with aliens, Dean!" I said, with a smile.
"Ah," Dean said, as though he'd been caught out.
"Oh, well, whatever it is, I'm sure we'll come to the bottom of it in time. We usually do. This place seems deserted, anyhow. Perhaps now is a good time to go exploring properly," I told my brother.
What I didn't say aloud to him was - "before the aliens come back."
If I was right on the alien score, and this place was currently deserted, then it stood to reason that the aliens would be putting in an appearance at some point. If the people upstairs were anything to go by, I didn't think we'd want to be found armed with nothing more than a flashlight each.
"Okay, deputy - " my brother began, turning round to where the deputy had last been.
He wasn't there.
"Deputy?" Dean tried again.
He wasn't anywhere.
"Where's he gone? I didn't hear him leave!" I said, stamping on the floor to prove a point that this place did, indeed, make a metallic noise whenever anyone moved.
It was so quiet down here that it stood out quite dramatically when we came in.
"Hey, Deputy Dawg," my smart-ass brother called.
Still no answer - not even a bark or a whimper or even a bad-tempered curse.
"He's not here, Dean," I whispered, despite myself, even though there was seemingly no one else here to hear us.
The echoes of my whispers came back at me with scary resonance I didn't like, even as Dean suggested something else I didn't like.
"Maybe we should go look for him," he suggested.
"I think maybe we should go up top, Dean. What if we disappear, too?" I asked, uncertainly.
"Well, we don't know what's happening to poor old Deputy Dawg. We might just save him from getting his Pedigree chummed, if you get my meaning!" and Dean gave me a cheeky grin which did nothing to hide his obvious worry.
That was my brother all over - bravery and humour through adversity. An annoying ass he might be at times, but I couldn't help but admire him at times...