I apologize for the long delay with this story - real life really hit me hard the past few months and I forgot to post this story here. I have it finished though, so I'll post some of it now and the last of it next weekend if I have the time. By the 3rd of October for sure and again I apololgize for the delay.
A little warning for the upcoming chapters - they can be a little graphic and bloody this story was darker than I had originally planned it - if any of you have see Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow you'll know what I mean by that. I don't own Supernatural or Sleepy Hollow just borrowed them both for this story.
Chapter 3
Dean stayed in bed for the better part of the next day, but soon began to get restless and had gotten out of his bed late into the afternoon. He'd stumbled into the bathroom to take a hot shower, and had seemed a bit more like himself when he'd emerged. He still kept an arm wrapped protectively around his damaged ribs, but he walked taller, and his face was set in determination rather than pain.
Sam tapped his fingers impatiently against the coffee table while he stared at the laptop screen.
"You find anything?" Dean asked as he joined his brother in the living room. He saw a fresh pot of coffee and two mugs, one already haven been taken, and grinned. He poured himself a cup of the hot brew and joined his brother on the couch.
"The horseman doesn't have a specific name mentioned in any of the legends." Sam said as he lifted his mug to take a hearty swig of the hot brew. "But I did find record of a Casey Brewen."
"Casey Brewen?"
"Yeah, he wasn't easy to find because not too much is actually known about the guy. The only thing I can see is that he actually lived in the time the horseman was around until he mysteriously disappeared around the time the horseman was murdered. There are no records of him anywhere."
"Do you think he's our spook?"
"Could be. But even if he is, Dean, how are we supposed to find the head? It could be buried anywhere on the land."
"In the movie," Dean said frowning at the floor and gently rubbing his thigh. "Miranda Richardson had the head, sent the horseman after people she had a grudge against. People who were in the way of something." He looked up at Sam who looked simply puzzled. "Is there someone who would hold a grudge here? Someone who would want to kill off the guests?"
Sam shook his head. "Not that I can see, the only people here are Jean and Randy and their boys. They depend on the guests to keep this place going I don't think they'd want to kill them."
"Anyone else?" Dean asked.
Sam closed his laptop and frowned at his brother. "What are you getting at, Dean?"
"I'm just saying that this doesn't make sense. If the killer is killing people by sending the horseman after the people who come to the ranch and watch the DVD what's the point, other than just killing? There's no motivation behind it unless it's buried deep. An old grudge maybe, or something they want to happen. My best guess would be that they want this place closed down. Now either it's someone on the outside or it's someone on the inside."
"So you think it's Jean? Or Randy?" Sam asked incredulously.
"No, it's just..." Dean trailed off and rubbed his forehead wearily as though trying to rub away a headache. "I don't know, Sam."
"Well, if we are gonna stop this thing we're gonna have to figure out where that head is so we can destroy it, otherwise we're gonna risk releasing this thing once we've destroyed the DVD."
"In the movie the horseman always came out of that dead tree right?" Dean asked standing up swiftly and pacing back and forth across the small room.
"Yeah I guess so," Sam said slowly.
Dean nodded to himself, not seeming to have heard Sam. "The same place where he kept the victims heads. If we could find the tree..." He stopped and stared hard at a spot on the floor, as if trying to see through it.
He turned back abruptly to Sam his face tight with anxiety but lit from within with determination. "The horses, we can take them anywhere on the ranch right? Take them out for a ride on the trails?"
"Dean, you aren't seriously thinking about getting back up on a horse are you?"
"Hey, I don't like the idea myself. But what other choice do we have?"
Sam clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists. "I can't believe you. You spent the better part of three days in bed, most of it unconscious I might add, and now you think you're gonna stroll out of here get on a horse and go off on some trail ride?"
"Sam, we don't have a choice here. One of the other guests has already been marked, how long do you think it's gonna take for the horseman to come back and find her? She might not be here right now but she's gonna have to come back sometime to get her stuff, or else the horseman might just go find her at the hospital. He isn't bound to the land, Sam, he's bound to the curse and she's still a part of it."
Sam felt his stomach tighten and he had to swallow back some of the bile he felt creeping up his throat. He knew Dean was right but that didn't make him any happier about the fact that his stubborn mule headed and injured brother was about to get back onto a horse, not in the safety of a ring but on one of the dark and foreboding trails.
Dean seemed to have sensed that he had won and he looked triumphantly down at Sam, trying to appear as fit as he could while shooting Sam a cocky grin. "So, when do we leave?"
The black and white appaloosa stood patiently by the fence, his reins draped over his neck and his eyes half closed as the hot sun bore down on the trio. Jean was anxiously twisting a lock of her hair with her fingers while shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She bit her lip as she watched Dean walked around to the saddle, then lift his leg into the stirrup and haul himself over the horse's broad back almost as if he'd been doing it his whole life.
Jesse, Jean's quiet and shy son, had volunteered to take the brothers out on the trail. Not that Jean had approved, but Sam had insisted upon their behalf.
Ranger shifted under Dean's weight and snorted, blowing nosily out of his nose. Dean patted the horse's neck nervously then picked up the reins tightly, twisting the leather around his white fingers. Ranger tossed his head and snorted again, shifting his weight slightly and flattened his ears.
"Take it easy, Dean." Jean cautioned stepping forward and unwinding the reins from around Dean's fingers. "Hold them like I showed you, like you're holding two ice creams." She corrected his hold on the reins and Ranger instantly relaxed again, dipping his head to sniff at a few tasty looking weeds.
Jesse was outside of the gate turning his mount, a rather impressive and muscular bay, around in a tight circle, quickly changing directions and repeating the process so that the horse's muscles were warmed up on each side.
Sam was watching his brother silently from where he sat on Ebony's back. The mare swished her tail lazily and occasionally chomped at the bit.
"Ok, now you remember how to make him go? And how to change directions?" Jean asked as she adjusted Dean's stirrups so that they fit his legs a little more comfortably.
Dean nodded and nudged Ranger's sides with his heels. The gelding immediately responded, moving forward in a slow easy walk, that gently rocked Dean from side to side in the saddle. He looked to the right and gently pulled on the right rein directing Ranger in the right direction then repeated it with the left, Ranger responded easily and Dean seemed to relax a little in the saddle.
"Good," Jean said from the fence as she watched him work the gentle horse. "Ok, you boys ready to head out then?"
Dean pulled up on the reins and Ranger stopped. Despite how nervous he was he forced himself to remain calm. He nodded to Jean and waited for her to open the gate for them. Sam and Ebony led the way, with Dean nudging Ranger out behind them.
Jesse was waiting for them, his bay mount breathing heavily but looking rather excited to be going out on the trail. Jesse backed his mount up a couple steps then clicked and pressed into the horse's left side with his heel and the horse instantly turned on the spot, so they were now facing the right direction. Then he clucked again eagerly and urged the bay into a brisk trot.
Jean folded her arms across her chest and dug her fingernails into the soft skin of her arms as she watched first Sam then Dean copy him, and all three of them disappeared as they hit a bend in the trail.
Dean was having his misgivings as soon as Ranger picked up a brisk trot, eager to keep up with the other horses. He was having a hard time keeping his seat, and had grabbed onto the saddle horn to stop himself from falling off like he had the last time he'd gone faster than a walk. In front of him Ebony's long black tail swished around her bottom and her feet kicked up stones that occasionally hit Ranger, which would make him shy and snort. Dean found that particularly scary because every time Ranger shied Dean's balance became precarious and he'd grip as tight as he could with his legs and onto the saddle horn.
On the third occasion that this happened, Ranger picked up into a faster gate that made Dean forget the reins all together as he clung to the saddle horn with one hand and a chunk of Ranger's mane with the other. The horse had charged forward, easily passing Ebony who'd spooked and reared up for an instant before dropping down and snorting.
Jesse turned in his saddle, and had held up a hand towards Ranger. "Whoa!" He shouted firmly.
Ranger dug his front hooves into the ground and came to a stop, nearly dislodging Dean in the process.
"You alright?" Jesse asked as he brought his gelding closer to Ranger. He patted the appaloosa's neck gently then dismounted his horse and untangled Ranger's reins then handed them back to a white-faced Dean.
Dean felt himself nod although he wasn't conscious of actually making the gesture.
Jesse grinned up at him. "Better take it easy there, dude."
Sam caught up with them, his face just as white as Dean's. "Dean?"
"I'm..." Dean said breathy whisper. "I'm fine, Sammy." He said again although he was sure that he had convinced no one.
Sam frowned at him then looked at Jesse. Jesse was frowning in concern at Dean, then he glanced back down the trail, as if wondering to himself if he shouldn't just take them back now.
Dean seemed to have seen the same thing because he straightened himself up in the saddle and firmly held the reins as Jean had instructed, a little of the color returned to his cheeks. "Seriously, I'm fine." He repeated in a firmer voice.
Jesse didn't look convinced but could see that these two were determined to go on. "Alright," he said slowly as he looked Dean up and down one last time before getting back on his own mount. "Let's keep going."
Sam decided to take up the rear this time, that way he could keep an eye on Dean and make sure that his stubborn brother wasn't about to take another swan dive. Dean didn't seem to notice, he was too busy concentrating on maintaining control of his horse.
"Hey, Jesse," Sam called making their guide pull back on the reins and slow his mount a little. "You know these trails pretty well?"
"I practically grew up on the back of a horse. These trails were my backyard, so yeah I know them pretty well."
"You ever see anything strange while you were on them?" Sam pressed.
"Strange?" Jesse asked as he ducked under some low hanging branches. "What do you mean? Like the headless horseman?" He laughed and patted the bay's neck.
Dean forced a laugh too and hoped it didn't sound too strained. "No, just like anything out of the ordinary. Weird markings maybe? Or a dead tree?"
Jesse pulled up short and his bay stomped and pawed at the ground agitatedly. He looked a little excited as he turned back to look at the brothers. "As a matter of fact I have seen something like that." He said his voice quivering a little in his excitement. "I never told anyone before because it was just too strange but if you guys want to see it..."
"Yeah, absolutely!" Sam agreed quickly.
Jesse immediately dug his heels into the bay's sides and leaned closer to the horse's neck. "Follow me," he yelled back over his shoulder as the bay took off into a full gallop.
"Oh you've gotta be kidding' me." Dean groaned as the bay's long black tail disappeared in a cloud of dirt.
"Come on, Dean, we've gotta keep up." Sam encouraged. He tightened his reins and immediately Ebony shifted beneath him, her muscles coiled and ready for the faster gate. Her ears pricked forward and she shifted eagerly. Sam remembered Jess tell him that horses were competitive and loved to race each other, so if one horse started to run, the others would soon chase after him, eager to beat him. Sam sat deep in the saddle and looked at his brother.
Dean was sitting like a stone, staring at the reins while Ranger shifted impatiently underneath him. Sam felt a pang of indecision. "Dean, do you wanna head back? I can go see whatever it is Jesse's found."
Dean shook his head and tightened up his reins, Ranger bobbed his head and nickered.
"Sit deep in the saddle." Sam instructed.
"I can't sit deep, Sam." Dean snapped angrily as he glared at his brother. "My butt is already in the saddle it's not like the saddle is sinking here."
"Just readjust your seat until you are as deep as you can possibly get in the saddle." Sam instructed again very patiently. He waited while Dean shifted a little and Sam saw him slide his feet a little deeper into the stirrups. "Dean, just keep the ball of your foot in the stirrups, you don't want your foot to slip through and get stuck. If it does and you get thrown you'll be dragged."
Dean huffed irritably and readjusted his feet, feeling very vulnerable without something solid beneath his feet to help him stay balanced.
"Good, now gather you reins, lean close to his neck and kick him with your heels." Sam said as he too readjusted his position so as soon as Dean took off he could be right behind him.
Dean leaned forward and kicked Ranger's sides with his heels. The gelding immediately responded and took off into a gallop, Sam did the same and Ebony took off right after him.
The wind stung his eyes and made it impossible to breathe through his nose. Dean opened his mouth to breathe, hoping no bug was stupid enough to fly into it. His tongue immediately went dry and he tried to swallow but found the simple task almost impossible. The trees rushed past him in a blur of color and he felt the horrible sensation of briefly lifting out of the saddle before settling back into it again with each shift of Ranger's body.
He could hear Ebony's hooves right behind him and knowing that Sam was close made him feel a little bit better. He kept his face close to Ranger's neck, hoping that the closer proximity would help him keep his balance, he'd grab onto the damn thing's neck if he had to.
The trail came to a bend and when they had turned it they saw the trail branched off in several directions. Jesse was waiting for them from the trail off to the left. When he saw the brothers he grinned and kicked the bay into a gallop again, urging him forward and into a shallow stream a few yards ahead.
Water sprayed up and around horse and rider making him almost invisible for a second. Dean's stomach did a nervous flip but Ranger dove into the water without hesitation, kicking up pebbles and water as he hit the deepest part before pulling himself out and galloping off after Jesse and the bay, his nose high in the air as he surged forward. He could hear Ebony's hooves as she too found her way out of the stream and galloped thunderously to catch up with them.
As they entered the cover of the trees Dean was surprised to find himself moving with Ranger's gate rather than sitting stiffly in the saddle. He found that Ranger's gait had a rhythm. A four beat rhythm that he could easily keep in time with. He could feel his heart beating in time with the rhythm as they galloped down the trail. He leaned closer to Ranger's neck and leaned forward against the saddle horn. His body swayed gently with the gait, but instead of being afraid he suddenly found it invigorating.
"It's just up ahead," Jesse shouted over his shoulder at them.
Sam felt a wave of relief but as he glanced at his brother he couldn't hide the shock on his face. Dean was grinning. Sam's mouth popped open in surprise and he momentarily lost his balance, and had to grab onto Ebony's mane to keep his seat.
Jesse pulled up abruptly, kicking up a spray of dirt and rocks. Dean pulled back on the reins and Ranger too stopped, his sides heaving a little and some foam forming in the corners of his mouth. He chomped at the bit and lowered his head sniffing at a few pieces of tall grass that blew gently in the light breeze.
Sam pulled Ebony to a halt beside Ranger and quickly dismounted. Dean swung his leg over Ranger's back and easily dropped to the ground. His legs were a little stiff, and he discovered that he couldn't press his legs together, he was even more bowlegged than he had been before. He decided to ignore that as Jesse took out a few lead ropes and handed one to him and Sam.
"Hook these to your horse's halter and tie him to a tree. Don't ever use the reins because if they spook and pull it can really damage their mouths. Hollywood is never very accurate on horse care." Jesse explained as he clipped the lead onto his mount's halter and tied him to the closest tree. The bay immediately dropped his head down and plucked a few blades of the long grass.
Dean and Sam tied their horses and then followed Jessed down a very narrow trail. They had to watch where they stepped as the trail was uneven and often hid a large dip or stone underneath the tall grass.
"One of our foals got loose a couple of months ago," Jesse said as he led the way. "I tracked him down here and found him under this tree." He lifted a few low branches for the brothers and they found themselves in a small shaded meadow. The tall grass was still lush and full around the outer edges, but as you got closer to the middle they were brown and dead, a few flowers had shriveled up and then the ground was nothing but dirt that surrounded the roots of a tall tree with long bare branches that touched the ground.
Dean stepped towards the tree, Sam followed him, both of them scanning for signs they were familiar with. A few dead leaves crunched under their boots as they approached the ancient dead tree. Dean rapped gently on the aged wood with his knuckles and stepped back to look up at the dead tree's large branches. Sam had crouched and had picked up a handful of soil, letting the earth run between his fingers.
"This is the only tree like this around here," Jesse said stepping forward and placing a hand on the tree's trunk. "The earth around here is really rich, good for farming and stuff. We've had quite a few offers on the ranch but Mom refuses to take it. She loves the horses too much."
"Do you know what happened here, Jesse?" Dean asked as he walked around to the other side of the tree, scanning the ground.
"No and that's the weird thing. We don't use pesticides out here, and there were no lightning strikes on this tree. If there were you'd see the damage. It's almost like it just died on its own. It wouldn't be weird if we knew it had been sick or old, but it wasn't either. It used to be one of my favorite spots to ride out to on Buck. In fact just a month before the foal got loose this tree had tons of leaves and everything, it was perfectly healthy. Now look at it."
Sam's head snapped up. "Two months ago?"
Jesse nodded. "Yeah it was the weirdest thing."
Sam shot a glance at Dean and saw that he was thinking the same thing he was thinking. Whoever had started these killing had discovered where the horseman's head was two months ago and it wasn't long after that the killings had started.
Dean straightened up, he'd found what he'd been looking for. An upturned plant root stood out of the ground and as his expert eyes continued to scan the area he knew that the hole was easily big enough to hide a human head and still not be easily noticed, unless one knew what to look for. The earth had recently been disturbed, by someone who didn't seem to think that anyone would notice the disturbance.
"We'd better get heading back, it's getting late." Jesse said lightly as Sam brushed the earth from his jeans.
"Sure," Sam agreed easily with a quick glance back at his brother. But then he stopped his brow furrowing. "Dean?"
Dean was scowling at the tree, his forehead crinkled and his eyes fixed on a slight knot in the tree.
"Dean?" Sam asked again walking over to meet him. "What is it?"
"You remember in the movie where the horseman kept his victims' heads?" Dean asked as he peered up at the tall branches stretching towards the sky, his eyes squinted against the sun's glare.
Sam suddenly felt sick as he looked at the knot hole and saw something thick oozing out of it. He looked back to Dean who was looking back at him, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together as though rubbing something off of them. Sam leaned forward and touched the knot hole and felt his stomach lurch as his fingers came into contact with the familiar warm sticky substance.
"We're gonna have to go back to that tree," Dean said as he ran a dandy brush over Ranger's side, a few loose hairs and dirt drifted to the ground.
"Yeah, but we can't do it right now," Sam agreed as he set down his own dandy brush and picked up the hoof pick. He ran his hand down Ebony's right front leg until he reached her ankle, then he clucked once with his tongue and she easily lifted her foot into the air. Sam used the pick to clean out her hoof, ridding it of dirt and any stones she might have pick up along their ride.
Dean nodded as he patted Ranger's neck. "You're right we're gonna have to go after everyone's asleep tonight."
"Tonight?" Sam promptly let go of Ebony's hoof in surprise and she let it drop back down to the ground. Sam straightened and looked over Ebony's back at his brother. "Are you insane?"
"What?" Dean asked as he tossed the dandy brush into the grooming kit and picked up the body brush. He began to go over Ranger's coat with it, starting on his neck just under the mane.
"Dean, we are not going back out there today." Sam said as he walked to Ebony's back right leg and repeated the process in getting her to lift it.
"Sam, we don't have time to waste here. We need to finish the job so we can get out of here."
Sam scowled as he picked out a stone that had gotten trapped under Ebony's shoe. He gently eased it out then let her drop her foot again. He placed a hand on her back and walked around her rear so that he could clean out her left back leg.
"That is unless you intended to stay. Maybe you prefer shoveling horse manure to hunting." Dean said calmly as he ran the brush over Ranger's flanks.
"That's not what this is about, Dean." Sam snapped as he picked up Ebony's last leg to clean out her hoof.
"Then what is it about, Sam?" Dean said just as hotly, he tossed the body brush into the kit and glared at his brother from over Ranger's back. The gelding tossed his head, a little startled at Dean's sudden change of tone.
"I can't," Sam's voice dropped to almost a whisper and he lifted the back of his hand to press against his eyes for a minute.
"You can't what, Sam?" Dean demanded.
"I can't go through that again, Dean." Sam whispered, barely loud enough for Dean to hear.
Dean clenched his jaw. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"I can't do it again, Dean! Seeing that thing go after you! Seeing you throw yourself right in front of him! What the hell were you thinking anyway?" Sam shouted straightening up and tossing his hoof pick at the wall across from him. It banged loudly and several of the horses in their stalls whinnied and shifted in their stalls. "Do you have any idea what that did to me? To see that son of a bitch swing his sword right above you and then you go down?" Sam turned to Dean his face red and his hands balled into fists. A vein on his neck was popping, only equaled by the vein on his forehead that was throbbing slightly underneath his skin.
"I thought he'd taken you, Dean! I thought I'd lost my brother to that son of a bitch. That your head would be gone! That there would be no way in hell I could fix it this time because you wouldn't even be a whole person anymore! I can't do it again, Dean, I can't." Sam's voice broke slightly as he looked at his brother his large hazel eyes widen and honest and shiny with unshed tears. "I won't." He whispered the rage in his voice gone almost as quickly as it had come.
Dean was stunned into silence. It was rare to see Sam really angry, they'd been back together almost two years now since Dean had picked him up from Stanford. And Dean had never seen him this angry. Not even after John had died. Not after Dean had punched him in the face. Not after discovering that Victor Hendrickson was now hunting them, not even after discovering that Dean had been right about the angel wanna be.
Sam sniffed loudly and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand again, dislodging the tears there. Then without a backward glance at him he walked out of the stable, leaving Dean and both horses behind him.
"Hey there, how was your ride?"
Dean looked up from Ranger's last hoof and smiled up at Jean, who was leaning against one of the cross ties posts and was grinning down at him. "Exhilarating."
"I'm sure, not everyone could stay on at a full gallop after only being on a horse once." Jean said with a sly wink.
Dean chuckled and released Ranger's foot and straightened up brushing his hands on his jeans. "Sure gives one an appetite. You bring food?"
"Glad you're feeling better." Jean said easily. "Dinner is in half an hour. Where's Sam?"
"He went back to the cabin I think." Dean said doubtfully as he unclipped Ranger's halter and took him back to his stall. "Think he wanted to grab a nap before we ate."
"Oh," Jean said doubtfully as she watch Dean slide off Ranger's halter and hang it up outside of the stall before closing and locking the stall door. "Ok well we'll see you boys in half an hour then."
Dean nodded then turned away heading towards the cabin and a hot shower. He was definitely feeling the muscle soreness now. The sun was starting to set on the peaks of the mountains as Dean left the barn, the sunset turned the world orange and red and Dean scuffed his boots in the gravel as he made his way slowly to the cabin.
He hadn't realized what it had looked like to Sam when he'd saved Angela from the horseman. He hadn't thought about what he was doing at all, he'd just reacted like he always had. Thrown himself in front of the bullet, stop anyone else from getting hurt. Make his life mean something.
He never admitted that last part to Sam. But he felt that he was in a constant struggle to measure up to it. He wasn't stupid, he knew now that John had made a deal for him after the car accident. He knew that he shouldn't be alive and the only reason he was alive was because it was unnatural. It shouldn't have happened. He should be rotting in the ground right now. He should have stayed dead because if he had John would be alive and Sammy would for sure be safe. John would have saved him. John could have saved Sam from whatever darkness lurked for his brother. But Dean, Dean wasn't sure if he could and that scared him.
Whatever was out there, whatever it was that was coming for them was big. Dean knew that and he knew that John had known that. He knew that Sam was aware of it on some level, but he wasn't sure if Sam knew just how deep they were in it. After his confession about John's last words with Dean, Dean had been more than a little reluctant to talk to his brother about any of this. Sam had left him. Had taken off while his guard was down, while he was sleeping. Had snuck out and left him with no note, nothing. It had made Dean dig into his deepest resources in trying to find the kid.
Sam had been so determined to get away from him then. And it hadn't even been that long ago. Dean just couldn't fathom Sam's anger at him. He wasn't dead and neither was that Angela girl. That was the job. Sam knew that. Saving people, hunting things - that was the family business. No matter what the cost that's what they did.
Dean wasn't blind, he knew that there would be no happy endings for him. As he'd told Sam before there would always be something out there to hunt. Some evil would always be waiting in the shadows. And if there weren't people like them out there to stop them, no one would.
It wasn't as though Dean hadn't realized what the job had cost them. He was well aware of that. Too aware of it at times. And there were days when he wished that John hadn't brought them into this life, hadn't cursed their family, hadn't condemned them to be hunters. To be some kind of hero. And he sure as hell wished that John hadn't dumped what he had dumped on Dean's shoulders before he went off and made the deal with that demon.
No matter how many people Dean saved. No matter how many evil sons of bitches he put down it would never make up for the fact that his life had been saved in exchange for John's soul. That would always be on his head, and he would never be able to make up for that. To live with the knowledge that John was in Hell, literally, burning for ever was more than Dean could bear some most days. Some days he didn't even find it worth it to get out of bed. But always did for Sam's sake. He was drowning and no one was around to pull him out of the water this time. Not even Sam.
Dean pushed open the cabin door and let himself in. The bathroom door was cracked open and the bedroom door was closed. The heat from the shower was still lingering inside the confines of the bathroom, so Dean knew that Sam must have taken a shower not too long before. He hoped that he'd saved him some hot water. A cold shower after all that hard riding wasn't something that Dean really looked forward to.
As he passed the bathroom the bedroom door opened and Sam emerged, his hair still slightly dripping, his clothes sticking to his damp skin, a crumpled up towel held under one arm. He stopped when he saw Dean and quickly dropped his eyes, worrying his lower lip between his teeth.
"Sam," Dean said quietly.
"No, Dean," Sam interrupted lifting his eyes to meet Dean's briefly. "I'm sorry - I shouldn't have gone off like that."
"No, man, I should've done something different. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I wasn't thinking." Dean was not going to let Sam go into a guilt trip over this. It was his decision that had made Sam react like that. Hell, if it had been him in Sam's place he'd have done more than just rip him a new one. He'd have freakin' tied his ass to the bed and made him stay in the cabin while he finished the job alone.
Sam's mouth curled up in a half smile. "I left you some hot water," he said quickly changing the subject so he could let Dean off the emotional chick flick hook.
Dean sighed in relief, for being released from the knowledge of taking a shower and the caring sharing moment that always made him feel awkward. He grinned and cocked a finger at his brother. "Good, cause if you hadn't I'd have had to kick your ass."
"As if you could reach that high." Sam joked as he looked at Dean's legs, which were more bowed than usual. He grinned.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh while you can, Sasquatch." Dean said as he brushed past his brother so he could retrieve some clean clothes from his duffel. "Jean said dinner is in half an hour so go do your hair - that should only take you a decade or two." He snickered and Sam lightly punched him in the shoulder.
Dean grinned as he realized that even though the act was natural Sam was still conscious of Dean's still tender ribs, and for that he was grateful. He quickly kicked off his boots and retrieved some clean clothes before heading to the bathroom.
"Hurry up I'm hungry." Sam called behind him.
"I'll be ready before you are, princess." Dean grinned as Sam turned, picked up a pillow and tossed it at him. Dean closed the bathroom door just in time to avoid the hit.
Dean slowly pulled off his shirt, suppressing the grimace as he worked the material over his arm with the ragged scar the horseman had given him. He tossed the shirt to the corner of the bathroom and looked down at the pink bumpy scar. His finger trailed over it, running against the slightly rough skin. He knew it wouldn't last, scars always faded, soon it would just be a thin white line running just under his elbow. Another souvenir to show off for the chicks. But for Dean it was something else. Another reminder that he was indeed just a human, and no matter how strong a human was they could always fail or fall. This time he'd been lucky and he hadn't failed, and he hoped that it would be the same way when Sam needed him the most. He hoped in that hour that he himself would be the victor of another scar and Sam would be untouched, but he feared that he might not be and then his world would be over.
Dean swore he could almost hear the table groan under the weight of the food. A steaming pot roast sat in the middle of the table, surrounded by steamed carrots, boiled potatoes, sweet peas, green salad, homemade biscuits, something he wasn't quite sure of that sat in the middle of the table in a clear glass bowl, all he knew was they were little cubes with all the colors of the rainbow, quite literally, and a fruit tray that ranged from apples to oranges with several things in between. Dean's stomach growled as Jean brought out an extra bowl of potatoes just in case.
"Help yourselves," Jean said with a smile as she set the potatoes down on other side of the pot roast. Sam picked up the bowl of green salad and began to dish some onto his plate. Dean helped himself to some of the pot roast, and found the meat so soft and juicy that it fell apart under his fork. He had to stand up and lean across the table in order to get some onto his plate.
Jean handed Dean a bowl of potatoes and he helped himself to a large serving then passed the bowl to Sam.
"Hey, Jean," Sam asked as he tipped some of the potatoes onto his plate. "What's that in the middle?" He pointed to the large clear bowl with the rainbow squares inside it.
"That is my own little Jell-O idea." Jean said proudly as she picked up the clear bowl and spooned some Jell-O onto her plate. "It's rainbow Jell-O as I call it. It has strawberry, orange, lemon, lime, berry blue and grape Jell-O flavors in it."
Dean wrinkled his nose a little. He'd never been a fan of Jell-O, he'd eaten too much of it while he was in the hospital after a hunt gone wrong.
"It's kind of like a fruit blend. It's really good most people who hate Jell-O love this once they've tried it." Jean tried to hand the bowl to Dean but he hesitated.
Sam nudged Dean a little and Dean relented, spooning out as little as he could without hurting Jean's feelings. It made his plate seem really colorful if nothing else. Sam helped himself to a larger portion before passing the bowl along to Jesse.
"So where did you guys go on your ride today?" Asked Randy as he poked a few of boiled potatoes onto the prongs of his fork.
"Down one of the trails." Dean said through a mouthful of pot roast. It was surprisingly juicy and tender. It almost melted in his mouth and it made his stomach growl angrily. The sweet juices made his mouth water and he helped himself to another bite.
"We went on the west trail across the creek." Jesse added helpfully as he used his spoon to pick up some of the Jell-O mixture.
"Ah," Randy said with a smile as he scooped some carrots onto his plate. "Our most popular trail. Did you boys get wet?"
"A little," Dean admitted.
Randy laughed. "Yep, that'll happen on that trail."
Sam scooped up some of his Jell-O and popped it into his mouth, then his eyes widened in surprise. He turned to Dean and nudged him. Dean rolled his eyes a little and reluctantly slid some of Jell-O squares into his mouth. It was surprisingly good, and he felt his eyes widen just as Sam's had.
Jean, it seemed, had been watching them. She laughed. "Do you like it?"
"Wow," Dean said and the Jell-O cubes ran down his throat.
Sam grinned. It didn't take a lot for Dean to be impressed with food, but there were certain kinds of foods that Dean hated just on principle. Jell-O was one of them. Hospitals always seemed to have an endless supply of Jell-O and it was always nasty.
Dean helped himself to another mouthful of the colorful squares. The mixture of flavors was overwhelming and made his taste buds tingle in a strange way that made his insides squirm. But he rather liked it. He eyed the large bowl of rainbow Jell-O still sitting in the middle of the table and swallowed his mouthful. "Do you buy them like that? In the squares I mean?"
Jean laughed. "Oh, no I do all that myself. We just buy the Jell-O in the boxes and I mix it up and cut it up after its solid. It takes me a few days to get them put together because they need to be in the fridge for so long, but it always makes it worthwhile in the end."
"It's really good," Dean complimented her as he scooped up his last bit of Jell-O.
"I'm glad you like it," Jean said with a bright smile. "But don't fill up on it I made cake for dessert and we have three kinds of ice cream."
Sam suppressed his laughter as Dean's grin widened. He stabbed a tomato with his fork and popped it into his mouth.
The meal went quickly, despite how much food there was. Jesse and Stephen cleared the table while Randy went to fetch the ice cream and Jean got the cake from the fridge. Randy returned first with vanilla, chocolate, and mint ice cream, Jesse and Stephen brought clean plates and Jean returned with her cake.
"This is Stephen's favorite kind." Jean said as she removed the tinfoil to reveal a thick layer of vanilla icing covered with mini chocolate chips. She cut into the cake and served each of them a piece.
"What kind of ice cream would you like?" Randy asked.
Dean looked at the three different kinds and grinned.
Jack and Priestly were waiting just outside the dining room when the brothers emerged fifteen minutes later their stomachs full to the point of exploding. Sam was shaking his head at how his brother could eat so much and stay so thin. Even after Dean's second piece of cake and fourth scoop of ice cream his stomach incredibly stayed flat.
"Dude, that was awesome." Dean said grinning as the brothers headed for the back door to head back to their cabin.
Priestly stood up on his hind find and started to dance around in a circle hoping for a treat. Jack looked at the puppy with a bored expression then sniffed and quickly looked away as if embarrassed for him.
"Dogs, dinner." Jean called from the dining room. Both dogs immediately dashed into the other room, their tags jingling.
Sam pushed open the back door and the brothers stepped into the night.
"So when did you wanna go back to the tree?" Dean asked as they started across the back towards their cabin, their boots scuffing against the gravel.
"We could head out first thing in the morning." Sam said as he peered up at the cloudless night and the endless stars that seemed to stretch like a blanket across the sky.
"Sounds good," Dean agreed at once. "How early?"
"We should try and head out as early as we can. But not too early we don't want Randy and Jean askin' a lot of questions."
"Good point," Dean said as he pushed open the cabin door. "We'll head out after breakfast."
"Think they'll let us head out on our own?"
Dean shrugged as he flicked on the hall light and started for the bedroom. "There's always one way to be sure they won't know until we're back."
"How's that?" Sam asked as he followed his brother into the bedroom.
Dean grinned. "Don't tell them."
The next morning was stressful for the brothers. They acted as casual as they could during breakfast, chatting easily with Jean's family while they ate their pancakes, sausages, scrambled eggs and biscuits. Sam wasn't sure why there were biscuits being served with pancakes, but he figured it must be a dude ranch thing, Jean made biscuits with every other meal, and he'd never had better biscuits so he didn't complain.
When asked what was on their agenda for the day the brothers were careful, giving half truths and not mentioning how they were planning on going off on their own when they were done here. They knew that Jean and the boys would be busy with the breakfast clean up and Randy had already finished the morning feeding, so it'd be at least an hour before he went out to start mucking stalls. The brothers had gotten up at the crack of dawn to pack a bag with all they'd need when they got to the dead tree so all they had to do was go out, saddle up the horses, and get on the trail before anyone saw them leaving.
Sounded simple enough. But that didn't mean that they weren't still stressed about it. Both brothers showed the stress in subtle little ways, Sam was quieter and didn't seem as interested to contribute to the conversation, Dean ate less than usual and played with his scrambled eggs instead of eating them.
If Jean noticed she didn't say anything, although her lips were slightly pursed and her eyebrows cocked as she watched Dean's fork circle the eggs time and time again.
After breakfast Dean headed for the cabin to get their bag while Sam hurried to the barn to saddle the horses. He'd picked that up a lot faster than Dean had and could do it much faster as a result.
By the time Dean snuck into the barn Ranger was tacked up and ready for him. The appaloosa perked his ears forward in curiosity as Dean approached and nickered softly. Dean reached up and rubbed the velvety soft nose then patted Ranger's neck heartily.
Sam tightened the girth on Ebony then checked it with his fingers to make sure that it was tight enough. When he was sure it was he did up the girth and let the stirrup drop. He nodded to Dean to let him know they were ready.
Dean grabbed Ranger's reins and led him away from the cross ties, looking around carefully as the stepped out of the back door of the barn to make sure the coast was clear, then led Ranger to the fence, shouldered his bag, climbed a few fence rails and then swung onto Ranger's back. Sam gripped Ebony's reins tight at the neck and mounted from the ground, not needing the aid of the fence.
"We'll need to hurry, once we get past the barn we're in plain sight of the back window." Sam pointed out as he turned Ebony towards the trail. He dug his heels into her sides and urged her into a canter. She whinnied, a little startled at the urgency he expressed and immediately responded. Dean copied the motion and Ranger too accelerated into a three gated canter. It was almost as fast as a gallop, Dean observed, but smoother.
The house passed quickly by in a rush of color and soon the brothers were hidden by the tall trees. Only when they could no longer see the barn did they slow their horses. Sam patted Ebony's neck heartily and Dean released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"Think they saw us?" Dean asked as Sam led the way down the trail they'd taken the day before.
"I don't think so, but best to get to the tree before they notice that we're missing and so are our horses."
Dean nodded. Once it was discovered that he and Sam as well as their horses were gone it wouldn't take them very long for Jean to send someone out to search for them. He dug his heels into Ranger's side and the horse picked up into a trot, snorting loudly as they came upon the stream.
"Do you really think that the tree is where they are?" Sam asked as Ebony charged into the stream, kicking up a spray of water. Ranger plunged in right behind her, his nose so close it was almost on her rump. Ebony's ears flattened against her head and she whinnied and swished her tail.
Dean pulled Ranger up a bit giving Ebony some space and wiped some of the water from his face. "That's where my money is."
"Did you bring the...?"
"Yep," Dean answered before Sam could finish the question.
"In the movie the horseman came out of the tree right?" Sam asked as he kicked Ebony into a trot as they hit they hit level ground once more.
"That's right, it was a portal between worlds, where the horseman could enter and escape Hell." Dean said as he too kicked Ranger into the faster gait.
"Do you think it's the same thing here?" Sam wondered.
"It's possible, everything else has been like the movie so why not this?"
"Any ideas on who's controlling it?"
"No, but it's either someone who is on the ranch or close to the ranch who wants it to close. Jean seems determined to keep it open, but if the horseman keeps killing people she might not have a choice."
Sam set his jaw, knowing that Dean was right. He urged Ebony faster.
The tall dead tree was just as foreboding as it had been last night. Both brothers tied their horses at the trail and walked slowly down towards the tree, their steps in synchronization, their breathing was barely audible over the crunching of the dead leaves beneath their boots.
"Can you hear that?" Sam whispered as he looked around at the surrounding trees. All along the trail they'd heard the sounds of life, birds singing in the trees, the occasional rustle of leaves as some small mammal scurried away from them. But here it was silent. Never a good sign.
Dean nodded and he too looked up into the neighboring trees. The trees with branches closest to the dead tree had turned brown and withered, they drooped down towards the earth, with only a few still hanging onto a few dead leaves. No wind rustled the trees, and even the sun seemed to struggle through the thick canopy of the surrounding trees to light up the small meadow here.
Dean circled around to where he'd been studying the tree last night and dropped his bag to the ground, crouching next to it and unzipping it quickly. Sam kept watch, trailing his eyes over the surrounding trees, back up to the trail and the horses, and then to Dean.
Dean retrieved his axe and straightened up, looking at the tree apprehensively. "Do you wanna...?"
Sam shook his head minutely and Dean nodded. He'd expected as much. He took in a deep breath and stepped up to the tree, the axe dangling at his side in his loose grip. Sam backed up a few steps, his stomach tight, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to see this. If this was what they expected then what they were going to find here wasn't going to be pleasant.
Dean's fingers tightened around the axe handle and he shifted his position with his feet slightly apart but at a better angle for him to do what he was about to do. He looked over his shoulder at Sam, who nodded once quickly, then turned back and swung the axe.
It hit the tree with a hollow thud, which seemed to bounce around the trees and echo back to them a thousand times. Dean didn't pause he swung the axe again with the same results. The axe blade dug deep into the dead tree's trunk, but pulled free easily when Dean tugged on the handle.
On the fifth swing something spurted out of the trunk and hit Dean in the face. Dean flinched and wiped some of the sticky substance away from his eyes, then rubbed his face against his arm to rid his face of the rest of it before swinging the axe again.
More red crimson shot from the tree this time, splattering Dean's clothes with it. Dean didn't stop this time, he swung again and again, his blows becoming heavier with each swing of the axe. Blood splattered up on his face, his hands, his shirt and even his jeans so that he was gory with the substance. Then on the thirteen swing the trunk split and something rolled onto the ground straight to where Sam stood. It hit his boot then rolled back limply.
The tangle of long black hair covering it like a mop. Sam stomach lurched and he looked up at his brother, who was looking just as pale as he was. But Dean wasn't looking at the bodiless head that had rolled towards Sam. He was looking at the tree, one hand over his mouth. Sam was almost afraid to look, but he forced down the sick induced bile and stepped up to his blood splattered brother.
"Looks like this isn't the first time the bastard has been on a killing spree." Dean muttered.
The trunk was full of heads and Sam felt sick at the sight of them all. Men, women, and even a few that looked like they had once been children. Blood coated the inside of the tree and tendrils of hair had been caught on some of the bark's rougher spots. Some of the victims' eyes were closed, but most of them were open and they were the same horrified expression on each face. And there right at the front was Kari. Her long blond hair rested underneath her severed neck, cushioning the head against an older decaying head. Her eyes were open wide and her mouth open in shock.
Varying smells of decay escaped the now opened trunk, perfuming the air and making both Sam and Dean gag. They were used to death, they'd dealt with it enough to be used to the smell, but this was overwhelming. Dean turned away from the tree, and walked swiftly to the trees on the far side of the meadow where he disappeared. Sam knew he wasn't going to make it that far. He took a few steps away from the tree and quickly relieved his body from the breakfast he'd eaten that morning.
He wiped a shaky hand across the back of his mouth, getting rid of any more traces of sick that might be there. It was worse than what they'd expected. So many more victims from so many years ago. This wasn't the first person to control the horseman, someone else had controlled him before, but this time the man who held the blade had a whole new twisted way of doing it.
Dean emerged from the trees a minute later, still looking awfully pale and his legs shook as if they didn't want to support him. Sam frowned at him as Dean got closer and he could see the light sheen of sweat on his brother's face.
"Well, that was disturbing," Dean said simply as he looked back at the tree trunk full of heads. He wiped his hand across his forehead to remove the last of the evidence of his weakness. Then ignoring his brother's worried gaze he crouched down next to the tree and used the tip of the axe blade to move a few of the heads over to see just how many were in there.
"Looks like there's at least twenty in here," Dean said at last. He straightened and dusted the dirt off his knees. He looked back up at the tree thoughtfully. "You know when we stop the horseman we should burn the tree...and everything else."
"Yeah," Sam agreed at once, he looked at the head on the ground a few feet away from the tree. He wasn't sure if he should put it back in the trunk or not. He wasn't sure if there was anything left in his stomach at this point, but he was willing to be that anything left in there would come up in a hurry if he picked up that head.
"We'd better get heading back," Dean said after a minute. He too glanced at the head at Sam's feet, then cocked an eyebrow at his brother, almost challengingly.
Sam ground his jaw together, sucked in a deep breath and grabbed a handful of the long black hair. It twisted around his fingers, Sam tried to ignore how the head swung back and forth like a pendulum, and quickly walked back to the tree and stuck the head next to Kari's. His stomach lurched again as the varying decay smells assaulted his nose. He turned away and quickly walked back towards the trail and the waiting horses.
Dean took out a clean handkerchief from his bag and repacked the axe. Then he followed Sam, wiping as much of the blood off his face as he could. But there was nothing he could do about his blood splattered clothes, he'd have to change as soon as he could, and hope in the meantime that no one saw him.
As their luck would have it, they didn't make it very far before Jesse caught up with them. He was again riding the muscular bay and his face was strained with worry lines and his knuckles white. As soon as he saw the brothers color returned to his cheeks and relief flooded his face, immediately replaced with concern when he saw Dean's blood covered clothes. He kicked his gelding forward to meet them.
"Are you guys ok?" Jesse demanded as soon as he was close enough to greet them. "Dean, are you hurt?"
Dean shook his head, wondering how in the world they were supposed to explain this one. With all the blood coloring his shirt he looked like he'd just been in a bar fight.
"Why are you covered in blood? Where the hell did you guys go? Do you know that everyone on the ranch is out looking for you?" Jesse scowled at them and the muscles in his jaw bunched disapprovingly.
"It's kind of a long story, Jesse," Sam started apologetically.
"Well you'd better start talking," Jesse countered angrily. It was obvious that he wasn't going to except any piss poor excuse from them.
Dean opted for the truth. It was usually enough to make people think they were insane enough to let well enough alone. "We went back to the dead tree you showed us yesterday."
That pulled Jesse up short and his mouth opened in shock as his eyes widened in disbelief. "You what?"
"Sam and I went back to the tree to see if that's where the horseman is keeping all his victims' heads." Dean said simply.
"The horseman? That's just a story. It's make believe." Jesse said incredulously.
"It's supposed to be," Sam said gently. Ebony shifted uneasily beneath him and her ears swiveled slightly listening to something that only she seemed to hear. "He's not though, he's a ghost, an angry one at that and he's killing people. We're just trying to stop him."
"See that's kinda what we do, Jesse, hunt ghosts, demons, monsters all your worst nightmares." Dean added with a smirk.
Jesse's eyes darted back and forth from Sam to Dean as if waiting for one of them to pull a sly grin and give up the joke. Neither of them did. "Is this some kind of sick joke?"
"Nope," Dean said seriously.
Jesse swallowed hard and looked over his shoulder at the trails he knew his family was on as they searched for Sam and Dean. He turned back to the brothers and stared at them hard for a minute. Then he reached back behind him and pulled something off his saddle. It turned out to be a walkie talkie. "I found them, they were on the west trail."
Static escaped from his own walkie talkie for a minute before Jean answered. "They ok?"
"They're fine, we're heading back to the barn." Jesse reassured.
"We'll meet you there."
"We're pretty far down the trail, might take us a while. We'll meet you at the house later." Jesse said quickly with a quick glance at the brothers.
Sam and Dean raised their eyebrows in surprise and looked at each other in shock.
"Sounds good, don't bring them in hot." Randy's voice answered this time.
Jesse rolled his eyes and twisted the knob until the walkie talkie went dead, then he glared at the brothers. "Who the hell are you guys?"
"We're hunters."
"Hunters?" Jesse asked with an eyebrow raised incredulously. Then he frowned and pulled on Buck's reins turning him towards the west trail. "We can't talk here, everyone will be back before too long."
Sam looked inquisitively at Dean, who shrugged and then the brothers turned their horses around and followed Jesse down the trail at a furious gallop until they were well down the trail and not far from the path that would take them to the meadow.
Jesse didn't slow until he recognized the area, then he pulled up abruptly on his reins and Buck dug his front hooves into the ground. Jesse turned him around quickly so he was facing the brothers. Sam and Dean quickly pulled up on their own horses, bringing them to abrupt halts. Both of them snorted and shook their heads.
"Now," Jesse said hotly, "start explaining."
Dean let Sam talk, not feeling the need for both of them to explain what they were trying to do here. Instead Dean kept his eyes roaming over the land, he felt uneasy so close to the creepy head filled tree. There was still so much they didn't understand about this case and until he did he didn't want to be hanging out around the place that the horseman stored his victims' heads, as well as what could be a portal to the underworld.
When Sam finished a few minutes later Jesse still looked incredulous. He pursed his lips and frowned a little, "So you're telling me that you two go around the country hunting these things? And that you think the horseman is a ghost?"
Sam nodded.
Jesse snorted, then laughed. "You guys are crazy. There's no such thing!"
"Jesse, you said yourself that something weird happened to that tree two months ago," Sam tried patiently.
"Yeah, but you're saying it's because of a ghost?" Jesse was no longer laughing, but he looked skeptical.
"If they're angry enough they could easily turn the ground bad. And trust me this bad boy is mean enough." Dean said sharply. "And unless we stop he him he's going to kill someone else and he won't stop."
"And how are you supposed to stop a ghost?" Jessed demanded with one eyebrow raised.
"Salt and burn the bones," Sam said quickly.
"There aren't any bones to burn," Jesse snapped impatiently. "Casey's head was separated from his body and they were buried in two separate places, no one knows where."
"Well, we're pretty sure that his head was buried underneath that tree." Dean said pointing towards the large dead tree.
"And why do you think that?" Jesse asked, barely suppressing another snort of laughter.
"Well for one, there's disturbed earth which means someone was digging around out here for something. And second because all the horseman's victims' heads are stuffed up in that tree trunk."
"Right," Jesse didn't stop the laughter this time. "There's a whole bunch of heads in a tree trunk." He shook his head then looked up at the brothers through his eyelashes. "You guys are insane."
"Maybe, but there's one way to prove otherwise." Dean said simply, then he turned abruptly and started for the tree.
"Dean," Sam warned his eyes darting nervously to Jesse then back to his angry brother.
"He's not gonna believe us, Sam. He wants proof and we have some right here." Dean shot back over his shoulder.
Jesse rolled his eyes. "Are you guys for real?"
Sam said nothing, he simply looked at Jesse seriously then jerked his head in Dean's direction. Jesse didn't bother masking his sigh of irritation, but he followed after Dean. As he and Sam approached the tree Sam slowed his pace, letting Jesse take the lead, knowing what was coming next.
Jesse stepped over some of the exposed tree roots but stopped dead in his tracks when something with long tendrils of black hair rolled towards him. Sam saw Jesse's muscles tighten as the head caught on a tree root and stopped, tipping back slightly so the face was exposed.
Jesse was still for several long seconds, but then he had turned and was running back for the horses.
"Jesse, wait!" Sam called after him, trying to grab his arm as Jesse passed him, but Jesse side stepped him and continued back to the trail. Sam caught only a swift glance and Jesse's face but he'd seen corpses with more color than Jesse did right now. "Jesse!" Sam yelled after him and jogged to catch up with him. His long legs made short work of the distance between them and he caught Jesse's upper arm in a tight hold, forcing Jesse to stop.
"We tried to tell you." Sam started softly.
Jesse turned on him then. "Tell me? TELL me?" Jesse's voice broke as he stared up at Sam his eyes incredulous. "You guys just brought me to the place where all these heads were, the heads of all the victims whose heads were never found. You guys knew where they were! You brought me out here to either have me join them, or to pin the murders on me!"
"That's not true," Sam started, feeling Dean advancing on them. He held up a hand, cautioning Dean to stay back. "The horseman is..."
"There is no such thing as the headless horseman!" Jesse screamed at them, his voice high and shrill now. He pointed an accusing finger at Sam. "You guys did this, how else would you know about where the heads were?"
"Because we do this for a living," Dean snapped finally tired of biting his tongue. He ignored Sam's outstretched hand and glared at Jesse as he approached. "Whoever is behind this, whether you believe it's the horseman or not is going to keep killing people unless we stop it." Dean pointed to the limp head with the blank eyes, the eyes that reflected nothing, but the face that was forever frozen with the shock and disbelief etched on it.
"We should call the police, tell them where the heads are." Jesse said, taking a few steps back from Dean.
"No, we can't until we stop this. Otherwise we're just gonna piss this thing off." Dean's patience was thin. He hated police coming in and screwing up a case because they didn't know what they were really dealing with.
Jesse swallowed hard and looked at the bodiless head of Tish, unshed tears stung his eyes and then he blinked them back. "So if it is the headless horseman, and that's a huge what if...how are you going to stop him with no bones to burn?"
"Well, someone is controlling him. Making him kill these people. Someone who probably had a grudge against the family or the land. Whoever they are, they are conjuring up this thing and forcing him to kill people. And whoever it is has a twisted sense of humor, making the horseman do almost everything he did in the movie."
"The Johnny Depp movie?"
Dean nodded wearily. "Do you know anyone who might have a grudge against this place, Jesse?"
Jesse shook his head. "No the only people that ever come here are the guests for the ranch, we've had a few offers on the place from some big companies who like the land and want to build up shopping malls and stuff, but Mom won't sell. She loves the horses too much."
"What about Randy?"
Jesse shrugged. "He doesn't really like the horses that much. He says they eat up all his money and use up all his time with all the work we have to do with them. He doesn't get as much pleasure out of them as Mom does and he's tried to talk Mom into some of the offers that have come through on this place."
Dean stiffened, Sam squared his jaw and looked hard at Jesse. "Has that caused a lot of arguements between them? The split decision on selling the place?"
"They've been fighting more," Jesse said with a slight shrug. "But in the end Mom always gets her way." Jesse stopped and looked at the brothers suspicously. "You don't think it's him?"
"He has a motive, Jesse," Sam said softly. "So far he's the only one who fits the bill. We're gonna have to find out if it really is him."
"No, it can't be him. He wouldn't hurt anyone, honest!" Jesse said his eyes going wide with panic now replacing the usual calm that seemed to drift around him.
"Do you know of anything else connecting the victims besides that they all stayed here?" Sam asked patiently.
"No," Jesse answered at once frowning a little.
Sam frowned a little too, but seemed to believe Jesse because he swiftly looked up at Dean and nodded once who returned his gaze evenly. Then Sam looked back at Jesse. "We should probably get back before they come looking for us again."
Jesse nodded and bit his lip, looking back down at the bodiless head before him. He seemed to be frozen as he stared at it for several long seconds then he lifted his head and stared up into Sam's eyes again, his own eyes shiny with unshed tears.
"If you catch who's behind this and break whatever hold they have on this thing what will happen next?"
Sam hesitated and he could see from the corner of his eye that Dean too looked uncomfortable as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
The truth was, that they both knew exactly how spirits took to being controlled and forced to kill people, and the results were never pretty. Whoever controlled the spirit usually ended up meeting the spirit's wrath and usually died a horrible bloody death. If it was someone in Jesse's family that was controlling the horseman, they were playing with fire and they were going to get burned. The brothers knew all this but they weren't sure if they wanted Jesse to know it. Because even if Jesse knew who it was, even if he could convince whoever it was to stop doing what they were doing it was too late, the brothers still needed to make sure that whatever was going on here was stopped for good, they couldn't take the chance that it wouldn't start up again after they'd gone. But as the horseman had already been forced to kill he was on the war path, which the brothers knew that if you started that it was like lighting a stick of dynamite. It might be fun at first but if you held onto the dynamite too long it would blow up in your face.
Sam opened his mouth, trying to come up with something comforting to say on the fly, but Dean beat him to it.
"We're not going to lie to you, Jesse," Dean said calmly, sizing Jesse up with his eyes for a long moment as Jesse turned to stare at him. "It isn't going to be pretty, these things don't take well to being controlled, being summoned to do someone else's dirty work. Whoever it is that is controlling the horseman has started something they can't take back, and usually when that happens it always comes back to bite them."
Jesse started back at him blankly. "So the horseman is going to be mad?"
"That's one way of putting it," Dean said with a slight shrug. "You remember the end of the movie? What the horseman did with Katrina's step mother?"
The color quickly drained from Jesse's face and his mouth opened in horror. He looked back at the dead tree beside them and took an involunatry step away from it, his hands trembling slightly. He seemed aware of the fact that his mouth was open after a few seconds and closed it, then turned back to Dean swallowing hard. "Do you really think that the horseman is coming out of this tree, just like he did in the movie?"
"There's only one way to be sure," Dean said casually as he slung his duffel over his shoulder and slipped his thumb under the strap to stop it from digging into his shoulder. "We'll have a stake out."