Chapter 5: Dissent in the Ranks

"Family . . . Whatever yeh say, blood's important . . ." - The Order of the Phoenix

RING.

"Dean."

RING . . . RING -

BEEP.

"Hello?"

"Sam, is that you?"

". . . Dad?"

Across the room from him, Alex sat up, fully awake. He tried not to pay too much attention to it as he focused on the fact that their father was on the phone. "Are you hurt?"

There was a brief pause from the other end of the phone. "I'm fine," came the familiar gravelly voice.

"We were looking for you everywhere," he continued, his voice quickening. "We didn't know where you were, if you were okay."

"Sammy, I'm alright." Dad sounded close to tears, the closest he had been in years. "What about you and Dean?"

Sam glanced over at his brother, who was just starting to wake up. "W-we're fine. Dad, where are you?"

"Sorry, kiddo, I-I can't tell you that."

"What?! Why not?"

"Is that Dad?" Dean asked incredulously, gazing over at his brother.

"Look, I know this is hard for you to understand, you just . . . you're gonna have to trust me on this."

The reason why suddenly became clear. "You're after it, aren't you?" Sam asked breathlessly. "The thing that killed Mom."

Another pause. "Yeah," came their father's answer, soft enough to barely be heard through the phone. "It's a demon, Sam."

"A demon?" He glanced back at Dean to find that his brother was looking for his shirt. "You know for sure?"

"A demon? What's he sayin'?" Dean asked. Again, Sam ignored him.

"I do. Listen, Sammy, I, uh . . . I also know what happened to your girlfriend." Sam's heart stopped. So Dad knew. He supposed he should be shocked by that fact, but he was too numb to be shocked by something like that. "I'm so sorry. I would've done anything to protect you from that."

"You know where it is?"

"Yeah, I think I'm finally closing in on it."

"Let us help."

"You can't. You can't be any part of it."

"Why not?"

Dean, now with his shirt on, reached towards Sam. "Give me the phone."

"Listen, Sammy, that's why I'm calling. You and your brother, you gotta stop lookin' for me. Alright? Now I need you to write down these names."

Sam squinted in confusion. What was Dad saying? What did he mean they couldn't help? They had Alex now, the three of them were together again, Dad couldn't do this on his own, he needed backup. "Names? What names? Dad, wha - talk to me! Tell me what's going on!"

His father's voice became sharp, commanding. Just as it used to back when Sam was little. "Look, we don't have time for this. This is bigger than you think. They're everywhere. Even us talking right now, it's - it's not safe."

"No," Sam refused. He just found their Dad again, he wasn't about to let him go, not until they had answers. "Alright? No way."

"Give me the phone - !"

"I've given you an order. Now you stop following me and you do your job. You understand me? Now take down these names."

Rage boiled up inside Sam. After all this time, he thought his father had changed at least a little, had at least wanted them to be okay, but it was still the same old damn argument. Do your job. Stop asking questions. Do as you're told. Just follow orders. His lips curled upward and he was about to release some of his frustrations on his father when Dean ripped the phone out of his hand. So instead he settled for clenching his hand in a fist and biting one finger while Dean took over.

"Dad! It's me, where are you?" Sam looked over just in time to see Dean's eyes widen, then glaze over with the familiar look of an obedient little soldier. Just the same as always. "Yes sir." Dean paused and gulped, then looked over at the night table next to them. "Uh, yeah, I got a pen. What are their names?"

Exasperated at Dean's good-boy act, Sam glared down at the covers, then glanced upwards. There was Alex, frozen on the couch, her eyes glazed over with tears and her face fixed in a mask of disbelief. Before he could even think of saying anything to her, she got up from her perch on the couch and swiftly walked to the bathroom, the door slamming shut behind her. In the back corner of his mind, he wondered if maybe he should check on her. She looked pretty upset. However, he ultimately decided against it. Checking on her might just make things worse. He should let her have her space for right now. Besides, he was in no shape to worry about what was going on with her. He could check on her later. Meanwhile, it seemed that they had another case to tackle.

Fire. Heat, unbearable heat. Her heart pounding in her chest. No way out. The soft fur of her stuffed tiger pressed against her flushed skin. Her mother's eyes, wide with fear, replaced with the yellow eyes of the shadow man next to the crib. A heart monitor beeping incessantly somewhere close to her. Her father's voice, angry, grieving, pleading. Another voice, older, tight with stress. Sam and Dean playing. The woman with the kind face on the edge of the bed. A couple in their late forties. The McCabe kids. The heart monitor going faster and faster until it flat-lined -

Alex forced her eyes opened as she jerked from slumber, a bump in the road causing her head to snap forward and hit the window. With a groan, she rubbed the spot where her forehead met the glass and sat up, trying to place herself. Everything she saw was dark, but at least she could tell she was in the backseat of a car and she was moving at a fairly fast clip.

"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty."

She looked up towards the front, her heart pounding furiously in her chest. There was Dean in the passenger's seat (odd, especially since he drove most of the time) and Sam driving. Her heart slowed and she breathed a sigh of relief. Of course. She was in the Impala. She had been dreaming again or something. They were on their way to another job. "Hey," she finally responded, sitting up fully. "What's going on?"

Sam glanced at her in the rearview mirror before looking back at the road, while Dean was studying something (it looked like a map) intently. "We're just goin' over what Dad left us over the phone. Turns out that the names that he gave us are all couples."

"Couples?" she asked, leaning forward in her seat.

"Yeah, three different couples. All went missing."

"And they're all from different towns?" Sam chimed in. "Different states?"

"That's right, yeah," Dean confirmed. "Washington, New York, Colorado. Each couple took a road trip cross-country. None of them arrived at their destination. None of them were ever heard from again."

"Well, it's a big country, Dean," Sam pointed out. "They could have disappeared anywhere."

"Yeah, could have," Dean replied, "but each one's route took them through the same part of Indiana, always on the second week of April, one year after another after another."

"Hang on, isn't this the second week of April?" Alex asked again.

"Yep."

"So Dad is sending us to Indiana to go hunting for something before another couple vanishes?" Sam summarized.

Dean pointed at Sam without looking up. "Yahtzee."

Alex nodded, resigned to the fact that they would have to put their search for Dad on hold for another day. She glanced over at Sam, who had gone oddly quiet. For some reason, Alex thought he looked rather annoyed by this prospect, though she wasn't quite sure why. Yeah, she supposed she was annoyed too, but they still had lives to save; she could always resolve her own issues with Dad at a later date.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dean shake his head in amazement as he continued to study the map-like object in his hands. "Can you imagine putting together a pattern like this?" he asked his siblings. "The different obits Dad had to go through? The man's a master."

She stiffened, pushing down a surge of resentment that welled up quickly within her. She didn't know why that caused such a strong reaction in her. After all, it wasn't like Dean was wrong - their father was incredible at his job. Yeah, but he sucked at being a father. The surprising thought was shoved aside, however, as the sound around them changed from the quiet humming of the engine to the crunch of gravel on the side of the road.

Sam sighed as he stopped the car, putting it in park, and Dean looked up in bewilderment. "What are you doing?"

Sam cut the engine, plunging the car into silence. "We're not going to Indiana," he said. His voice was quiet.

Alex raised an eyebrow while Dean studied their brother. "We're not?"

"No. We're going to California. Dad called from a pay phone - Sacramento area code."

Oh shit. Sam was serious. Alex gripped her seat hard as she felt the tensions begin to rise. This could get ugly fast. "Sam," Dean started in a warning, weary tone.

"Dean, if this demon killed Mom and Jess and Dad's closing in, we got to be there. We've got to help."

"Dad doesn't want our help," Dean replied.

"Well, I don't care."

Alex's eyebrows shot up into her scalp. "He's given us an order," Dean continued, his voice harder than before.

"I don't. Care," Sam repeated. Dean and Alex both looked at him incredulously. This was the first time Alex had ever heard him directly disobey an order from Dad. What had happened to the sweet little boy she had once known, the one who looked up to their father and whose biggest dream was to have his approval? Sam gazed back at Dean, not even looking at Alex. "We don't always have to do what he says," he continued.

"Sam, Dad is asking us to work jobs, to save lives," Dean replied. "It's important."

"Alright, I understand. Believe me, I understand. But I'm talking one week here, man, to - to get answers. To get revenge."

"Alright, look, I know how you feel -"

"Do you?" There was a pause as Alex and Dean gave him another incredulous look. "How old were you when Mom died? Four? Alex you were, what, three?" Alex felt her jaw clench. What the hell did he think he was doing, bringing up Mom? He knew how much of a touchy subject her death was. Before she could ask, though, Sam continued. "Jess died six months ago. How the hell would you know how I feel?"

Whatever Sam was hoping to evoke in Dean, Dean clearly wasn't buying it. This must have been something they had talked about before. Instead, Dean tried a different tactic. "Dad said it wasn't safe. For any of us." His statement seemed to have about as much effect on Sam as Sam's had on Dean, as all that Sam did was shake his head in disbelief. "I mean, he obviously knows something that we don't, so if he says to stay away, we stay away."

"I don't understand the blind faith you have in the man," Sam replied. "I mean, it's like you don't even question him."

"Yeah, it's called being a good son!" Dean shot back.

"Dean!" Alex reprimanded, not able to stay quiet any longer. Why the hell were they fighting? They needed each other. That was why they had found her, wasn't it? Because they all needed each other?

Her words fell on deaf ears. Sam opened the door and got out, slamming it shut behind him. Dean rolled his eyes and followed suit. Alex quickly got out as well, if only to make sure this didn't end in a fistfight. She watched in horrified disbelief as Sam began taking his things out of the trunk, Dean walking around and eyeing him up. "You're a selfish bastard, you know that?" Dean asked, his voice hard and cutting. "You just do whatever you want. You don't care what anybody thinks."

"Dean, stop it!" Alex yelled at him, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him back. Dean ripped her hand from his arm and tossed it off.

"You stay out of this," he warned her. She stepped back in fear. His face was tight with a quiet rage, the likes she had never seen on him before.

"That's what you really think?" Sam asked. He already had his backpack on.

"Yes it is," Dean answered quickly, turning back to him.

Sam gave a quiet scoff, then grabbed his laptop bag from the trunk and shouldered it. "Well, then this selfish bastard is going to California." And with that, he walked off into the night.

"Wha - Sam!" Alex called after him.

"Come on, you're not serious," Dean said.

"I am serious," Sam replied without looking back.

"It's the middle of the night! Hey, I'm taking off! I will leave your ass, you hear me?"

Sam finally stopped and turned around. "That's what I want you to do."

There was a heart-wrenching silence. Alex felt her heart drop as she waited, hoping against all hope that he was kidding. Then Dean's voice came from next to her. "Goodbye, Sam."

"Wh - Dean!" she said. "What are you doing? You're just going to leave him in the middle of nowhere?"

"Hey, I'm just doing what he wanted me to do," Dean told her. His voice was unsympathetic. "Let's go. Back in the car."

She stared at him in stunned silence for a few moments, then felt something inside her snap. Grabbing him again, she turned him around and punched him as hard as she could in the shoulder. "Ow! Dammit, Alex!"

"What the hell is WRONG with you?!" she screamed at him, her voice echoing into the empty night. "You honestly think you're going to just drive off and leave him here alone?! Are you insane?! You spend all that time trying to find me just so you can have the Winchester kids back together and now you're going to drop everything because of one argument?"

"Sam made his choice!" he yelled right back at her. "He wants to go take off and look for Dad even though we have lives to save, then fine! I'm not stoppin' him! Now you can either come with me and help me stop another couple from dying at the hands of some freak or I can take off and leave you here with him. It's your choice, sweetheart."

Alex gave him a glare of disbelief and clenched her teeth, her lips pressed together in a thin white line. "And here I thought family mattered to you," she said, turning away from him and getting back into the car on the passenger's side, slamming the door shut behind her. After a few minutes, Dean got into the driver's seat, closed the door, turned on the engine, and started driving into the night. As the car crunched over gravel and went back onto the relatively smooth asphalt, Alex looked out of the rear windshield, just in time to see Sam turn around and walk away from them.

Burkitsville, Indiana

Rain ran down the windows of the car in long rivulets as they entered the quiet town. The town itself was cheerful enough, but the day outside was gray and gloomy. Perhaps it could sense the mood inside the Impala and had mirrored itself to match. Whatever the reason, Alex was glad that it was this miserable, but at the same time hoped that it was dry wherever Sam was.

The car stopped and she heard a beeping sound next to her from a cell phone. She raised her head from where it had been leaned against the window and glanced over, just in time to see Dean, phone in hand, scrolling through something. She didn't have to see the screen in order to know it was his contacts. He paused, thinking for a few moments, then shook his head slightly as he clenched his jaw and closed the phone, putting it back in his pocket. Noticing that Alex was sitting up, he looked over at her. "Get any sleep?"

She shook her head. "You know I don't sleep well in cars," she replied, her voice quiet. She still wasn't sure she wanted to talk to him after what happened last night, but it wasn't like she had another option. They did have a case to work.

He nodded, seeming to understand everything that hadn't been said. "Right. Forgot about that."

There was a tense silence for a few moments, neither party willing to say what was actually on their minds and waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally it was Alex who gave in first. "So, another stop, huh?"

"Yep."

"So what do we do now?"

Dean glanced around, his eyes landing on a small cafe to their left. An older man was sitting outside of it on one of the chairs, leaned backwards so that his back was against one of the windows. From what they could see, he had a sullen expression on his face. "Now we talk to the locals again, see if anybody saw anything. Let's start with Happy over there."

He nodded definitively and got out of the car, leaving Alex to follow behind him. Looking up, she saw a sign outside the establishment reading 'Scotty's Cafe' with an intricate design painted around it. It looked to be a rather small, well-kept place. The windows all had lacy curtains pulled shut, there were flower boxes at the front, and small tables with red-and-white gingham table cloths and black wooden chairs sat in little clusters under the awning. The man with the unpleasant expression was in one of those chairs, leaning it on its back two legs and staring at them as they walked up. As she had seen from the car, he was an older man, his curly hair slightly longer than usual and with little streaks of gray in it, wearing jeans, a button-up shirt, and a heavy jacket.

Dean sauntered right up to him as Alex followed closely behind, trying not to look too out of place. "Let me guess - Scotty," Dean said, clearly referencing the sign. Alex guessed he had seen it too.

The man looked at the Impala parked at the corner of the street, then gave a slow look up towards his own sign, and then back at the pair before him. "Yep."

Dean nodded. "Hi, my name's John Bonham. This is my friend, Jamie Page." He tilted his head to indicate Alex next to him.

Scotty studied them. "Aren't those the drummer and lead guitarist for Led Zeppelin?"

"Actually, the guitarist for Led Zeppelin is Jimmy Page," Alex corrected him. "Common mistake. But it's good to see you're a classic rock fan." Dean elbowed her, clearly trying to get her to shut up without making it too obvious.

Scotty seemed to notice but didn't comment on their exchange. "What can I do for you, John and Jamie?"

Dean quickly took over again, clearing his throat and pulling two folded squares of paper out of his pocket. "I was wondering if, uh, you've seen these people by chance," he said, unfolding them and giving them to Scotty. Looking over, Alex could see that they were one of the couples who had gone missing - Holly and Vince Parker.

Scotty glanced at the pictures briefly. "Nope. Who are they?"

"Friends of ours," Dean answered. "They went missing about a year ago."

"They were supposed to call us when they got to where they were goin', but . . . we never heard from 'em," Alex said, crossing her arms over her chest and playing the part of the concerned friend. "They passed through somewhere around here and we've already checked Scottsburg and Salem -"

"Sorry," Scotty interrupted, abruptly cutting her off and handing Dean back the pictures. "We don't get many strangers around here."

There was an awkward pause and Alex nodded. "Right. Of course." She added in a touch of disappointment to her voice and rubbed her arms for emphasis.

Dean, on the other hand, went for a different approach. "Scotty, you got a smile that lights up a room. Anybody ever tell you that?" Scotty stared at him in hard silence, his face firmly set in a frown. Dean chuckled awkwardly in response. "Never mind. See you around. Let's go, Jamie."

Together, the two walked off, feeling Scotty's hard eyes on their back. Alex waited until they were out of his earshot to speak again. "I don't like it," she whispered.

"Well, I mean, small town life never did appeal to you, and God knows Scotty-boy could do with a cup of happy juice -"

"No, I mean he's hiding something," she clarified.

"Oh yeah, that too."

"I mean, did you see the way he just shoved the papers back at us and cut me off? Everyone else at least waited to tell us to buzz off, and the look on his face?" She shook her head. "I dunno, I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Alright, well, tone it down a little there, Carrie Fisher," Dean replied. "That was just one guy. We still have a whole town to search through. Don't want people getting too suspicious before they have to."

"Yeah, you're right," she acquiesced. "Where to next?"

"Let's try the garage next, they mighta had car troubles," he answered, nodding towards a building reading 'Jorgeson Motors'. "Who knows, maybe these people will be a little more friendly."

However, as it turned out, the people at the garage and general store were about as helpful as Scotty had been. "You sure they didn't stop for gas or something?" Dean asked. The older couple who ran the store, Harley and Stacey felt just as closed off, just as secretive.

Stacey, an attractive woman with blonde hair reaching her chin, crossed her arms and shook her head while Harley, a tall man with salt and pepper hair, turned back to them while studying the picture. "Nope, don't remember 'em." He looked up at Dean and Alex, a concerned look on his face. "You say they were friends of yours?"

"That's right," Alex answered.

"Did the guy have a tattoo?"

Everyone looked up. A young woman, about Dean and Alex's age, was coming in from the back, her arms ladened with a pile of parcels. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, a few strands hanging loose and framing her face. "Yes, he did," Dean replied.

The young woman put the boxes down on the counter and walked over to where Dean and Alex stood, looking at the pictures. She nodded and looked up at Harley and Stacey. "You remember? They were just married." She handed the pictures back to Harley, who studied the pictures again with a thoughtful look.

"You're right," he said, seeming to remember. "They did stop for gas. Weren't here for more than ten minutes."

"Do you remember anything else?" Dean asked, seizing on this opportunity.

Harley glanced at the picture again. "Well, I told them how to get back to the interstate. They left town."

"Could you point us in that same direction?"

"Sure."

"Thank you so much," Alex said. "We really appreciate it."

Within minutes, Alex and Dean were back on the highway, driving out of town and following Holly and Vince's trail. "You get a weird vibe from them too?" Dean asked as he drove, keeping an eye on the road.

"Yeah, same one that I got from Scotty. They're hiding something."

"Well, if they are, I don't think the girl's in on it."

"What is up with that town? It's like they're all trying to keep something hidden. You don't think they killed the couple, do you?"

"Yeah, well, if they did, they do a damn good job of covering it up." Dean would have continued, but he was interrupted by a wild beeping from the back seat. "What the hell? Lix, can you reach into my bag, see what that is?"

"Sure." Doing as she was told, she leaned over and rummaged around in the bag, her hand not finding anything. "I can't reach. Can you pull over?"

"Fine," he replied, acquiescing and pulling off to the side of the road and putting the Impala in park. Nodding her thanks, Alex unbuckled and climbed over the seat, trying not to hit Dean in the face. "Hey hey hey, watch the leather!" Ignoring his protests, she sat down and started rummaging through the bag, finding the source relatively quickly now that she could see. "Find it yet?"

"Yeah," she replied, pulling it out. "It's the EMF meter. It's going crazy." True to her word, the little black box in her hands was squealing wildly, the indicator swinging from the yellow to the red and back. She looked up at Dean to find him squinting in confusion. "We're not near any power lines or anything, right?"

"Can't be, we're in the middle of the boonies," he replied. "Only power source is back near the town."

"So you think there's something here?"

"Maybe." Dean looked around, then stopped when he looked to his right. "Let's try over there." Alex glanced up, curious, and saw what he had been referencing: an arch right in front of what looked to be an orchard. A strange feeling washed over her the second she laid eyes on it, as if something she had eaten wasn't agreeing with her. However, the sound of her brother slamming the car door next to her brought her out of her daze just long enough to scramble out and follow him. Together, the siblings crossed the road and walked into the orchard.

As soon as Alex stepped through the arch, though, she found she had to pause for a second. That same feeling from before was back, stronger this time. "You alright?" Dean asked, and she looked up to find him turned back towards her with a glimmer of concern in his eyes.

She nodded, forcing herself to forget the strange feeling. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Let's keep going." Dean shrugged and consented, continuing his trek through the orchard. Alex followed a little after, managing to catch up with him. "This place gives me the creeps," she said as they made their way deeper and deeper through the trees.

"C'mon, don't tell me you're scared," Dean teased. "What, you afraid one of the trees is gonna come to life and getcha?"

"Dude, knock it off, I'm being serious here."

"Hey, I can hold your hand if it'll make you feel better."

"You're an ass, you know that?" Dean just laughed. "Seriously, though, you really don't think this whole thing's a little weird?"

"Well, we do hunt supernatural beings for a living. Weird just comes with the . . . territory . . ." He suddenly trailed off and stopped.

"What is it?" she asked, halting next to him and looking around. "You find something?"

"Check this out," he replied, walking in the direction he was staring. Following him, she saw what it was that had caught his attention. It was a large scarecrow up on a cross. Its clothes were torn and ratty, as if it had been there for a while, and it had long scraggly hair that hung down to the collar of its worn-down coat. Its hat, shirt, jeans, and scarf were all faded and tattered, and it had a scythe inserted into one arm. The face itself had no nose or mouth, but instead two holes where the eyes were supposed to be and long lines of stitches.

Dean took one look at the messed-up scarecrow. "Dude, you fugly."

Alex gave him a look.

"What? Tell me that's not the ugliest-lookin' thing you've ever seen."

She opened her mouth to reply but stopped and took a closer look at the thing. "There's something on its arm."

"So get a ladder and take a look."

"Are you crazy? I'm not getting near that thing! Do you see that scythe?"

Dean sighed and shook his head. "Making the big brother do all the dirty work. That's just cruel." Alex rolled her eyes in response. Dean grabbed a ladder standing next to a nearby tree and placed it next to the nightmare scarecrow's cross, climbing up high enough so that he was face to face with the thing. He eyed it for a few seconds while Alex held her breath, then leaned over and pulled back its sleeve just a bit to reveal an swirled design inked into a layer of shriveled leather. Pulling out the missing persons' reports, he glanced down at the top one, back to the scarecrow's arm, then up at the scarecrow's face. "Nice tat." He turned back to Alex. "Looks like we figured out what happened to the Parkers."