Chapter 7: "Fight The Beast"

"Was that the owner?" the bald man inquired, stunned. "He's a ghost too?"

"He is now," Dean confirmed. "He was controlling the spirits here until one killed him a few hours ago."

"What?" Tiffany starred at him. "How?"

"That's not important right now," Dean told her. "What I want to know is how he is able to manifest only hours after his death."

"The other spirits," Sam suggested. "There are so many here. He must have fed off their energy and the deaths."

Dean nodded. "So he likely is the reason the doors won't open and he's probably still controlling the others."

"We need to get back to Joseph's body and burn it," Sam said.

Dean agreed.

He turned to the bald man. "Do you know how to shoot?"

The bald man nodded.

Dean passed him a shotgun and a handful of rocksalt bullets.

"Everyone stay here," he ordered. "Get in a corner and keep an eye out. See a ghost, shoot it."

The group did as told, and Sam and Dean raced to the stairs leading to Joseph's room.

Halfway down the stairs, Sam, who was behind Dean, was shoved. Falling he slammed into Dean, who began rolling too.

They hit the cement floor with thumps and grimaces.

They rolled onto their stomachs and pushed themselves up onto their feet to see Evelyn standing at the top of the stairway, where she had pushed Sam.

"We're trying to free you!" Sam yelled.

"I will not let you burn Joseph's body," Evelyn growled, ignoring him.

Dean shot at her, but she disappeared before the rocksalt could touch her.

Sam turned to open the door into the basement as Dean watched his back, gun raised.

Sam slipped through the door and Dean followed, both on alert.

Dean was reaching for the door to Joseph's room when he was slammed into.

A bulky man with a crew cut knelt over him and began punching him.

Sam aimed his gun at the spirit, but it was ripped out of his hands by Joseph, who smiled. "You two are going to make great company here."

"Not happening," Sam said.

He pulled an iron rod out of his jacket and swung it at Joseph, who dissolved on contact.

Racing over to Dean, Sam swung at the head of the spirit punching him and it disappeared.

Dean quickly got to his feet and they charged into Joseph's room, quickly throwing salt on his body and squeezing a bottle of lighter fluid over it.

Before Dean or Sam could throw a match on Joseph's remains half a dozen spirits, including Joseph and Evelyn, manifested and dragged them, on their backs, away from it.

Dean was thrown against a wall and Sam into a bureau. The flat screen standing on it rocked and fell over, missing Sam's head, but hitting into his shoulder.

Dean hit one of the spirits attacking him in the head with his gun, but it didn't do much. It did give him enough time to pull out the iron rod he was carrying though, and he was able to defend himself from the spirits kicking and punching him.

He fought to reach Sam, who was being ruthlessly beaten by three new spirits that had appeared, along with Joseph, but every time Dean swung at one ghost and it dissipated, a new one appeared in its place.

Luckily Sam was able to reach out and grab the rod he'd dropped on the floor when he was thrown. He fought back against his attackers with it, then pulled out his gun and began shooting at the ghosts farther away from him and ones about to reach Dean.

When only Joseph was left standing, he and the brothers faced off. He was standing in their way to his body.

Knowing he couldn't beat shotguns, Joseph disappeared, but only for a split second. He reappeared behind Sam as he prepared to light a match, knocking him over.

The odds were against him though. As he fought with Sam and Lucas, now one of the ghosts, manifested into the room, Dean pulled out the lighter he was carrying and after getting a flame, threw it onto Joseph's body.

Joseph's spirit howled and exploded. When he did, Lucas stopped and starred at them, confused, before disappearing on his own terms.

Sam stood and Dean glanced at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Sam said. He looked over at Joseph's burning body, watching as the rug underneath him caught on fire. "We need to get out of here."

He and Dean raced back upstairs to the guests they'd left in the lobby.

"Thank God you're okay!" Tiffany exclaimed.

"Try the doors!" Dean shouted.

The bald man turned and successfully opened it.

"Get out of here!" Dean commanded the group.

They didn't need to be told twice, but when the Winchesters didn't follow them out, Tiffany backtracked to the doorway.

"You coming?" she asked them.

"Go!" Sam yelled. "We'll be right out."

Tiffany hesitated, but listened, and ran away.

After she was gone, Dean and Sam ran back to their room upstairs, collecting their belongings before running back to the main entrance and out the front door.

The bald man was calling 911 on his now working cell phone when the Winchesters joined the group outside.

"The fire isn't going to burn down the whole building; not when it's in the basement," Sam noted as they stood beside the others. "Someone might restore it."

Dean nodded. "Then we need to act quickly, and make sure this place burns to the ground."

A/N: Sorry for not having an update for so long. Hope this chapter makes up for it. 1 or 2 more to go. Let me know what you think. :)