Chapter 4 Dead in the Water
Authors Note: Hello! Here it is chapter 4. I decided to post two time this week because I missed last week because I was sick. Also, I want to clarify some changes: Elizabeth is born April 1rst 1995, she was seven month old when Mary died. So, I hope you guys enjoy and don't forget to review, follow and favorite! Thank you all! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. I only own the fanfiction.
Spoiler alert of the show Supernatural.
SPN
Elizabeth had just finished eating her chocolate chip pancake, and was sad that she had. It had been so long since she had one, Sam did not stop to tell her that chocolate was not a breakfast. However, since she got a one hundred percent on her recent history test, Sam decided that it could some kind of reward.
Done with her plate, she pushed it away and looked for something entertaining. Sam was gone to the bathroom and Dean was concentrated circling some probable cases. She stretched her neck to see, but the words were too small for her to read.
"Can I get you anything else?" Asked the waitress.
Dean looks up, chewing his pen and smiles at the beautiful girl, who was also smiling at him. Before he could say anything, Sam came over and sat at his place beside his sister.
"Just the check, please".
"Okay" the girl answered, still looking at Dean with a naughty smile.
Once she is gone, Dean hangs his head down, discouraged. Elizabeth chuckled, taking notes on how to make the girls go away like Sam had just done. She did not mind Dean getting girls, but sometimes it was just annoying.
"You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while" he points at the waitress "that's fun".
"Ew" Elizabeth cringed.
She was not disgusted that her brother had girls, she knew it was a normal thing that everybody does. On the other hand, the way he talks about them and the other stuff he really enjoys, she does not like the images.
Sam only stares at his brother, his eyes saying everything. So, Dean hands him a newspaper, which Elizabeth took the chance to look at. Her brother had circled an obituary with a young girl, beside was her name written 'Carlton, Sophie'.
"Here, take a look at this, I think I got one. Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week Sophie Carlton, eighteen, walks into the lake, doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water, nothing. Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either. They had a funeral two days ago".
"A funeral?" Sam asked, frowning.
"Yeah, it's weird, they buried an empty coffin. For, uh, closure or whatever".
"That doesn't make sense" Elizabeth agreed.
"Yeah it doesn't" Sam nodded "and closure? What closure? People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them".
Elizabeth shrank in her seat, trying to escape the sudden tensions that installed itself. She knew he was making reference to their father, she also was a little mad that Dean was looking for another case instead of looking for their Dad. Yet, she had a blind trust towards him.
"Something you wanna tell me?" Dean asked him, containing his anger.
"The trail for Dad, it's getting colder every day".
"Exactly. So what are we supposed to do?"
"I don't know" Sam admitted "something. Anything".
"You know what? I'm sick of this attitude. You don't think I wanna find Dad? We wanna find Dad" he points at their sister "as much as you".
"Yeah, I know you do, it's just-"
"We've been the ones that's been with him every single day for the past two years, while you've been off to college going to pep rallies. We will find Dad, but until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there. Okay?"
The youngest Winchester had to agree with her older brother. She did want to find his father as fast as they could, but sometimes life is not as easy as she would want it to be.
"All right" Sam sighed "Lake Manitoc".
Dean was too busy looking at the beautiful waitress passing by, especially focusing on her butt.
"Hey!"
The oldest jerked straight, sending a questioning look to his brother.
"How far?"
SPN
Their first stop was the Carlton house, it was a beautiful place beside a calm lake. If it you did not know of the death that happened in that lake, it could actually be peaceful. But, Elizabeth did know about Sophie Carlton's disappearance in this lake, so it was not inviting to go for a swim.
As Dean parked the car in the entrance, he grabbed the necessary cards and turned towards his sister.
"You're staying in the car for this one" Dean told his sister.
"What? Why?"
"You wouldn't pass for a US Wildlife Service would you? And the babysitting trick won't always work".
It was obvious that this trick was not going to work, especially for bigger titles. It was another reason why Elizabeth wishes she could be a few years older, she could do so much more.
Instead of answering, the ten years old slumped herself against the seat, trying her best to not show her disappointed. Though, her brothers did not have to look at her to know she was mad that she was not able to participate in this part of the case.
"Why don't you take that time to read a chapter of your book? Tomorrow is your deadline" Sam proposed.
"But the book is boring!" She exclaimed "why do I even have to read it?"
"Let's make a deal" Sam turned shoulders to face her "read two chapters, and I will read the rest to you, what do you think?"
She did not have to think for a second, it was a way easier way out of reading something boring and go back quickly to read something good. She nodded, her smile coming back on her lips.
"And you call me soft" Dean chuckled "come on, let's go".
After her brothers had left the car, Elizabeth took her book and laid down on her back in the back seat of the Impala. She caught a glimpse at the car ceiling, bad thoughts running through her brain. Each time she is laying down anywhere, looking up at a ceiling, she only thinks about her mother. When she was a baby, she did see her mother burn away in ashes in front of her eyes. In comparison to Sam and Dean, she did not remember anything from that night. She was happy, she sees how Dean is still scared after seeing what happened every day, when he looks at her.
John had a family picture with him, his wife and the three children in front of the house before the fire. It was one of the only family pictures they had with Elizabeth in it. When she had seen her mother's face, she was slightly shocked to see a similar face. Even though her whole family kept telling her how much she looked like her mother, this picture was her confirmation.
Too busy with her thoughts, Elizabeth did not even read a word of her book when her brothers came back. She jumped into a sitting position when they entered the car, earning a laugh from Dean.
"So?" Elizabeth asked quickly, not wanting Dean to mock her.
"Well" Sam started "Will Carlton, Sophie's brother, said that she was a good swimmer, he is pretty sure she got dragged down. No signs of distress, but he didn't see any shadows. So we are going to the police station".
"And let me guess" Elizabeth glanced at Dean "I have to stay in the car for that too?"
"Girly, you are a genius".
Elizabeth sighed, she had enjoyed helping on the Wendigo case in Blackwater Ridge. Even if she had got injured and got scared to death of an ugly monster that probably wanted to kill her, she still enjoyed it. The feeling afterwards to see Haley and Ben reunite with Tommy, it was the best reward.
SPN
Once again, Elizabeth was left alone in the car, but this time she was really reading her book. It was so boring she had to re-read the same ling more than once. And once again, she got distracted, beside her, she caught sight of the familiar leathered journal. She knew she was not allowed to look through it, but her curiosity won over her judgement.
Elizabeth took the journal, opening it at a random page and started to read:
January 16th 1996
The holidays have been hard without Mary. I don't even remember Christmas because I was too drunk, I've missed Alex's first Christmas, so did Mary… Alex is now nine months old and doesn't even know what is happening, Dean is still silent and Sammy is doing the same as his brother. I don't know what to do anymore, I want to quit hunting and take care of my kids, but I am scared for them that they are going to get killed by an evil son of a bitch and I want to kill the one who took away my Mary from me and my family. The one who took the mother from her kids that she won't see grow up. I want revenge.
Revenge. The will that changed all of her life, and the three other men of the family. A part of her regretted to read this entry, but she wanted to know more about everything. Even after telling his daughter all about the supernatural world, John had stayed silent on the details of her mother's death. The only thing Elizabeth knew, was how her mother died and the scars it left on her family.
Through the cracked open windows of the Impala, Elizabeth heard her brothers' voices coming closer towards the car. She quickly put back the journal back in its place and pretended to read the book.
Dean tapped on the hood of the Impala, making Elizabeth jump and get her attention towards him.
"Come on, Eli, we're gonna take a quick walk".
Finding it weird, she got out of the car without asking a question. However, when she saw the dark haired woman, about Dean's age, she understood. Her older brother was probably once again trying to get a girl.
"Is she you're daughter?" The woman asked.
"No" Dean said, passing an arm around his sister's shoulder "she's my little sister".
It was not uncommon for people to take Dean as Elizabeth's father, he was actually touched, but it would have been too weird. If she was his daughter, he would have had her at about sixteen years old, which is young to have children.
"Her name is Elizabeth" Dean presented her "and this is Andrea, she is going to show us to the motel".
"Hi" Elizabeth greeted, politely.
"Happy to meet you" She replied, with a warm smile.
Elizabeth followed her brothers and Andrea down the road, staying beside Sam. It was not a secret to anyone that Dean was going to try to flirt with Andrea.
"So" Dean said "cute kid".
"Thanks".
"Kids are the best, huh?"
Elizabeth slapped her forehead with her palm, it was the worst flirt she had seen coming from Dean. She was also surprised that he was flirting with a girl who had a child that was uncommon. But on the other hand, he probably did not know most of the women life when he went out with them.
"There it is" Andrea said, pointing at a motel "like I said, two blocks".
"Thanks" Sam told her.
She gives Sam and Elizabeth a smile before turning her attention towards Dean.
"Must be hard, with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to decent pickup line" she waves, starting to walk away "enjoy your stay!"
Sam and Elizabeth contained their laughter, knowing Dean was going to tell them to shut up. Still, they could not help it, finding it very funny to see him getting turned down.
"Kids are the best?" Sam repeated, mocking him "you don't even like kids".
"I love kids" Dean defended himself.
"Name three kids that you know" Elizabeth quizzed him.
Dean thought for a second, lifting his fist in front of him to make the counts.
"You" he points at his sister, lifting one finger up.
"Not a family member, you dummy" she chuckled.
He thinks again, staring at his fist going deep in his memory. However, he could not think of any names. Sam and Elizabeth just shook their heads playfully and walked towards the motel.
"I'm thinking!" Dean called out.
Elizabeth quickly turned around, sticking her tongue out teasingly, earning the same thing from Dean.
"Kids" Sam sighed, with a grin.
SPN
The second they were in the motel room, Elizabeth jumped in the bed in a sitting position, bouncing up and down. After being seated in the car for so long, she had a lot of energy gathered inside her.
"So, who was that girl?' She asked.
"Andrea? Sheriff's daughter" Dean answered.
"And she has a kid?" She already knew the answer, but wanted to know more.
"Yeah" Sam confirmed "his name is Lucas".
Since the woman looked to be about Dean's age, the boy was probably a few years younger than Elizabeth. She hoped to be able to meet him, maybe be able to talk to a kid in the same branch of age as her.
"What did you learn from the sheriff?" Elizabeth asked, starting to be out of breath from jumping up and down.
"Sheriff said they scanned the lake, but nadda. Also, they're gonna put a dam".
Elizabeth frowned, not seeing what was the problem was with the dam. If there was no lake, it meant no more problem, right?
"Well" Sam said, looking at his laptop "there's the three drowning victims this year".
"Any before that?" Dean asked.
"Uh yeah. Six more spread out over the past thirty-five years. Those bodied were never recovered either. If there is something out there, it's picking up its pace".
"So, what, we got a lake monster on a binge?"
"This whole lake monster theory, it, is just bugs me" Sam sighed.
"Do you think it could be the Loch Ness monster?" Elizabeth proposed "I know he lives in the water".
"Loch Ness, huh" Sam glanced at his sister with a grin "Lake Champlain, there are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but here, almost nothing... whatever it is out there, no one's living to talk about it".
"Wait" Dean said after reading a part of the article Sam was looking at "Barr. Christopher Barr. Where have I heard that name before?"
"Christopher Barr, the victim in May" Sam read "oh. Christopher Barr was Andrea's husband, Lucas's father. Apparently he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. Two hours before the kid got rescued. Maybe we have an eyewitness after all".
Dean nodded, he was about to say something to his brother, but his jumping sister distracted him. To calm her down, he grabbed her shoulders, holding her still.
"You have way too much energy today" Dean ruffled her hair with one hand while the other held her shoulder "why don't you take that energy for a run?"
"Dean" Elizabeth whined "I hate running for nothing, you know that".
"Come on, Dean" Sam got up, closing his laptop screen "why don't we bring her to the park? Just you know, let her run around like a normal kid. What do you think, Elie?"
Elizabeth's eyes widened, she had not gone to a park in a long, long time. Getting excited to go back, feeling like a little girl, she nodded enthusiastically.
"Guess we can take an hour or two" Dean agreed "come on, go to the car speedy".
Not having to be told twice, the little girl ran out the room in a record of time.
SPN
It was not what she had thought. At first, she was happy to go to the park, however, when they arrived, she got suddenly very shy. There was a lot of kids, about her age, running around on the playground. She inspected the modules, not knowing where to go, all the swings were taken.
Sam and Dean did not see their little sister's confusion, having spotted Andrea sitting on the bench, quietly watching her son.
"Can we join?" Sam asked as he walked to her.
"I'm here with my son" she said pointing to her child.
Dean followed her direction, recognising Lucas sitting on the ground, using the bench as a table to draw. Elizabeth had also looked, he did look younger than her, maybe something was going to be interesting in this park.
"Oh. Mind I go say hi?" Dean asked.
Andrea nods, letting Dean go see Lucas. Elizabeth followed her brother, wanting to meet the boy. When they arrived beside Lucas, Elizabeth was surprised to see how emotionless he looked when he drew, but went to the conclusion he was probably very concentrated.
Elizabeth stayed on her feet's, letting Dean take a seat on the bench next to Lucas. Seeing his sister's presence, Dean gave her a warm smile, mentioning her to go sit on his lap. Even though she felt like a baby when she did this, she decided to go anyway.
"Oh, I used to love these things" Dean exclaimed, picking an army man, he imitates guns and explosions before putting it down "so crayons is more your thing? That's cool. Chicks dig artists. My sister here is really good in drawing too".
Usually, Elizabeth would have rolled her eyes at her brother's words, but she was still confused from Lucas's reaction. There were none. She found him weird, but in a way, she thought of what Sam had said back in the motel, he had seen his father die.
"Hey, these are pretty good" he commented "you mind if I sit and draw with you for a while?"
Dean grabbed a crayon and construction paper, using his sister's lap as support. Elizabeth just watched as her brother started to draw badly.
"I'm not so bad myself. know, I'm thinking you can hear me, you just don't want to talk. I don't know exactly what happened to your dad, but I know it was something real bad. I think I know how you feel. When I was younger, I saw something".
He pauses, thinking about his mother and what he had seen. It was something that could not get out of his mind. Thinking that this boy had seen his father's death at a young age, he understood the way he acted.
"Anyway" Dean continued "well, maybe you don't think anyone will listen to you, or, uh...or believe you. I want you to know that I will. You don't even have to say anything. You could draw me a picture about what you saw that day, with your dad, on the lake. Okay, no problem. This is for you".
He holds up his drawing, showing five stick figures, each with different characteristics. Even though they were badly drawn, Elizabeth could see who was who.
"This is my family, that's my Dad. That's my Mom" he pauses "that's my geek brother, that's my little sister here and that's me. All right, so I'm a sucky artist. I'll see you around, Lucas".
Dean put down his drawing on the bench and lifted his sister off his lap. Giving one last look at Lucas, Dean left, followed by his sister. They went back to Andrea, who was now standing up, discussing with Sam.
"What are the doctors saying?" he asked Andrea.
"That's a kind of post-traumatic stress".
Elizabeth understood everything now, to why Lucas was so silent and emotionless. She had felt the same way when her father had told her about this world and when Sam had left for college. She had cried at first, but then the hurt took it's place. She had not felt like talking to anyone for a few weeks.
"That can't be easy. For either of you".
"We moved in with my dad. He helps out a lot. It's just...when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw..." She looks at the ground, sadly.
"Kids are strong" Dean said to comfort her "you'd be surprised what they can deal with".
"You know, he used to have such life. He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth. Now he just sits there. Drawing those pictures, playing with those army men. I just wish—"
Andrea stops talking at the sight of her little boy joining them with his head shyly down.
"Hey sweetie" Andrea smiled at him.
Without saying a word, Lucas handed his drawing he had in his hands to Dean. Confused, Andrea, Sam and Elizabeth stared at the exchange between the two of them.
"Thanks. Thanks, Lucas".
Elizabeth looked at the drawing in Dean's hands. It was a small house, however, it felt familiar.
SPN
Elizabeth sat at the table, doing some more boring school work. She did not want to do anything, but Sam had insisted that she gets her notes up. For each assignment and exams, she had about sixty to seventy percent, for Dean it was totally okay. However, Sam knew that she had better potential and could go even higher.
"Dean" Elizabeth leaned her head on her hands "can I stop now?"
"Continue until Sam comes back, okay?"
He sat next to her, looking at was she was doing, she was correcting her mistakes of a text she had to write that Sam had read out loud the day before. Her online teacher had sent it back before Sam left with a good note of seventy three percent. Even though he was proud of her mark, Sam told her to correct her text, adding even more work to what her teacher was giving her.
After what seemed hours of torture, Sam came back. Elizabeth closed her laptop and put away all of her stuff in her backpack, feeling free to do what she pleases.
"So, I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie".
"What do you mean?" Dean asks.
Sam sits in front of his sister, ignoring that she was putting her stuff away. If he wanted her to continue loving him, he had to let her some time off of school.
"I just drove past the Carlton house. There was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead".
"He drowned?" Dean asked.
"Yep, in the sink".
"What the hell?" Dean exclaimed "so you're right, this isn't a creature. We're dealing with something else".
"Yeah" Sam agreed "but what?"
"I don't know. Water wraith, maybe? Some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water...water that comes from the same source" Dean suggest.
"The lake" Elizabeth understood.
"Which would explain why it's upping the body count. The lake is draining. It'll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time" Sam sighed.
"And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere" Dean gets up "this is gonna happen again soon".
The dam, now she understood why it is a problem.
"We could start by talking to the father" Elizabeth said getting up "he probably knows something we don't".
"Well, 'we' doesn't count you in" Dean pointed out "but yeah, it took both his kids".
She had to see this coming, but it still sucked and she was still not happy. She wanted to help find what had taken two children from a father.
"And I've been asking around. Luca's dad, Chris, Bill Carlton's grandson" Sam informed us.
"Let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit".
SPN
Bugging Dean with something was always the way to get what Elizabeth wanted. At first, Dean wanted her to stay in the car, but she managed to be let out and stay by the car. However, being who she was, she followed behind, staying hidden behind a tree to see what was happening.
The little girl could not hear the conversation between her brothers and the man, being too far away from her. They were on the dock, someplace Elizabeth wishes she could be seeing a beautiful view of the lake. But when she saw the depressed expression on the man's face, she remembered all the atrocity that happened because of this water. It would not be very safe to get close, especially because she did not know how to swim.
When her brothers walked back towards her, she hurried to go sit on the hood of the Impala. She was disappointed that she could not hear what had been exchanged.
"Aw, I think the poor guy's been through Hell. I think he's not telling us something" Dean said as they got closer to the car.
"So what now" Sam leaned against the Impala.
"I guess we-"
"Dean" Elizabeth cur him off, staring at the house "can you give me Lucas's drawing?"
Her brother pulls out the paper from his jacket, handing it to his sister, frowning. Elizabeth ignored the two pairs of eyes on her inspecting the drawing and the house, it was the same. She knew this house was familiar the first time she had seen Lucas's drawing.
"What is it?" Sam asked her.
"Look".
She placed the drawing in front of her, making the comparison between the real and the portrayal.
"Huh" Dean sighed "maybe Bill's not the only one who knows something. Good job, Girly".
Elizabeth grinned brightly, happy to finally be helpful on this hunt. She had been benched for most of the parts, she could now prove to her brother that she was more capable than he thinks.
SPN
Lucas definitely knew something the Winchester's did not. They decided to continue their research by going to see the boy. For this one, Dean decided to let her come inside, especially when Sam told him it was nothing dangerous.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea" Andrea refused.
"I just need to talk to him" Dean insisted "just for a few moments".
"He won't say anything. What good's gonna go?"
"Andrea" Sam said with his little 'it's okay' voice "we think people might get hurt. We think something's happening out there".
"My husband, and the others, they just drowned. That's all" she told them, frustrated.
"If it's what you really believe, then we'll go. But if you think there's even a possibility that something else could be going on here, please let me talk to your son" Dean convinced her.
"Okay…" Andrea pauses "I'll take you to him".
The three Winchester's followed her upstairs to the boy's room. Elizabeth got jealous for a second, the room was full of toys, crayons and it was nice and cozy. She did not feel like she needed this before, but seeing it changed her way of thinking. Being a normal child could be an experience she would want to try.
Elizabeth focused her attention on what Lucas was drawing: a red bicycle. She remembered seeing the same one when they went to the park.
While her brother went to see Lucas, bending down to be at his height, Elizabeth stayed with Sam and Andrea, watching.
"Hey, Lucas. You remember me?" Dean asked "you know I, uh, I wanted to thank you for that last drawing. But the thing is, I need your help again".
Of course, Lucas did not respond, continuing his drawing which was a little troubled. Elizabeth could see a man drowning in the water, was that his father?
"How did you know to draw this? Did you know something bad was gonna happen? Maybe you could nod yes or no for me" Lucas doesn't answer or move "you're scared. It's okay. I understand. See, when I was younger, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared, too. I didn't feel like talking, just like you. But see, my mom, I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe, your dad wants you to be brave too".
Elizabeth's heart tightens, especially when she sees Sam's sad look. It was painful to be the only one who does not remember. Knowing she should be grateful that she does not remember that horrible night, keeping her a nice image of her mother, she did not like to see her brothers this way.
What hurt the most, was that she never cried her mother's death, not once. She felt like she could not feel sad because she never met her. Sam and Dean had told her multiple times that Mary Winchester loved her, but she was a baby. What if she saw her today? What would she think about her little girl?
Lucas drops his crayon and looks up to Dean, leaving the three witnesses in awe. Mainly Andrea, who thought her son would never be the same, but seeing this sent her hope. The boy gave Dean another drawing and went back to his drawing, as if nothing had happened.
"Thanks Lucas" Dean smiled at him, getting up.
Andrea could not talk, she let the Winchester's leave without saying a word.
SPN
Elizabeth sat in the front seat between her brothers, eyeing the drawing Lucas had given Dean. It was a white church with a yellow house beside it and a boy with a blue baseball cap with a red bicycle next to him.
"Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died" Dean said.
"There are cases, going through a traumatic experience could make people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies" Sam explained.
"Whatever's out there, what if Lucas is tapping into somehow? I mean, it's only a matter of time before somebody else drowns, so if you got a better lead, please"
"All right, we got another house to find" Sam sighed annoyed.
"The only problem is there's about a thousand yellow two-stories in this county alone" Dean pointed out.
"See this church? I bet there's less than a thousand of those around here" Sam said.
"Oh, College Boy thinks he's so smart" Dean joked with a British accent.
On a normal day, Elizabeth would have laughed at her brother's silliness. But today she was not feeling it, Dean's words about his sentiments about his mother's death kept going into her mind.
"You know, um…" Sam paused "what you said about Mom… you never told me that before".
"It's no big deal" Dean answered, quickly.
By the way he answered, Elizabeth knew he was lying, so she stared at him, waiting for him to say something truthful.
"It's no big deal" Dean said with that I-hide-my-feelings tone "oh God, we're not gonna have to hug or anything, are we?"
Sam did not answer, bringing his attention to the scenery outside. When he heard Dean say those words to Lucas, he felt the same, he also felt mad that his brother had seen everything and kept it inside.
SPN
They quickly found the white church, and like in Lucas's drawing, there was the yellow house next to it. Dean goes up first, knocking on the door.
"Hello?" An old lady answered "how can I help you".
"We're sorry to bother you ma'am" Dean told her "but does a little boy live here, by any chance? He might wear a blue ball cap, has a red bicycle".
"Uh… Come in" she steps aside to let them in "no sir, not for a very long time. Peter's been gone for thirty-five years now".
Elizabeth looked at a framed picture sitting on the coffee table of an about thirteen years old boy, she guessed was Peter.
"The police never, I never had any idea what happened. He just disappeared" the woman added "losing him, you know, it's… it's worse than dying".
"Did he disappear from here?" Dean asked her "I mean, from this house?"
"He was supposed to ride his bike straight after school, and he never showed up" she answered on the verge of tears.
Dean, who was checking the house, spotted a picture on the mirror that caught his attention. He takes it off of its place and reads the back.
"Peter Sweeney and Billy Carlton, nineteen seventy" he read at the back of the photo.
SPN
As they got back to the car, they started to put the pieces together.
"Okay, this little boy Peter Sweeney vanishes, and this is all connected to Bill Carlton somehow" Sam stated.
"Yeah, Bill sure as hell seems to be hiding something, huh?" Dean sighed angry.
"Maybe Bill did something to Peter" Elizabeth suggested.
"What if Bill killed him?" Sam added.
Elizabeth cringed, if the boy was about thirteen when he died and Bill Carlton was his friend at the time, he was probably the same age. If he really did kill his friend, Elizabeth did not understand how he could continue on living.
"Peter's spirit would be furious" Dean agreed "it'd want revenge. It's possible".
SPN
When they arrived to Bill Carlton's house, Elizabeth knew instantly something was wrong. Mainly because she could hear the roar of an engine coming from the lake.
"Sam!" She shouted running towards the lake "Dean!"
"Elizabeth!"
Elizabeth ignored Dean, even by the use of her full name. She continued to run towards the lake, followed by her brothers who quickly passed her. The engine was indeed coming from Bill Carlton's boat.
"Mr. Carlton!" Dean called out loudly "you need to come back! Come out of the water! Turn the boat around!"
It had no effect, the man ignored Dean completely, probably not even hearing him.
"Mr. Carlton!" Sam tried.
Still nothing. To her horror, the boat flips over, sending it upside down on the lake. Sam, being the closest to his sister, grabbed her hiding the sight in front of them. However, she had seen everything, it did not scare her, it made her mad.
SPN
Later, the police showed up, the sheriff, Jake, asking them to talk to him in private in his office. In the waiting area, Andrea and Lucas were sitting there. Elizabeth noticed how Lucas was rocking back and forth, looking worried, but mostly scared. She wanted to go see him and help him, but knew they were in enough trouble for now.
"Sam, Dean, Elizabeth" she greeted, standing up "I didn't expect to see you here".
"So now you're on a first-name basis" the sheriff said pissed, but soften "what are you doing here?"
"I brought you dinner" she lifted a brown bag.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I don't really have the time".
"I heard about Bill Carlton. Is it true" she asked "is it something going on with the lake?"
"Right now we don't know what the truth is. But I think it might be better if you and Lucas went on home" he explained.
Suddenly, Lucas jumps on his feet, grabbing Dean's arm, trying to get his attention. Alarmed by the boy's state, Dean looked down at him.
"Lucas, hey, what is it? Lucas".
"Lucas" Andrea bents down next to her son.
"Lucas, it's okay. It's okay. Hey, Lucas, it's okay. It's okay".
Andrea stands up, pulling her son away from Dean to take him outside, but Lucas kept his eyes on Dean until they were out of the building. Elizabeth knew there was something wrong, Lucas seemed to know so much, but what was this about?
The sheriff led them to his office, telling them to sit down. Dean sat on one, while Sam took the other, making Elizabeth sit on his lap.
"Okay" he started "just so I'm clear, you see… something attack Bill's boat, sending Bill, who is a very good swimmer, by the way, into the drink, and you never see him again?"
"Yeah, that about sums it up" Dean confirmed.
"And I'm supposed to believe this, even though I've already sonar-swept that entire lake? And you're describing is impossible? And you're not really Wildlife Service?"
Elizabeth looked at her brothers, she knew things could end badly. She did not know a lot about laws, but this was certainly a big break.
"That's right, I checked. Department's never heard of you two".
"See, now, we can explain that" Dean sighed.
"Enough. Please. The only reason you're breathing free air is one of Bill's neighbors saw him steering out that boat just before you did. So, we have a couple of options here. I can arrest you two for impersonating government officials as material witnesses to Bill Carlton's disappearance. And for you" he points at Elizabeth "I could call CPS. Or, we can chalk this all up to a bad day, you get into your car, you put this town in your rear-view mirror, and you don't ever darken my doorstep again".
CPS. Three letters Elizabeth has always been scared of, ever since she knew what it was. With the houseless and weird lifestyle she lives, she could easily taken by people who are in the dark concerning the supernatural. Being away from her brothers and father was her worst nightmare.
"Door number two sounds good" Sam nodded.
"That's the one I'd pick" Jake told them.
SPN
Door number two is the one they had picked. They were back on the road, in the middle of the night heading nowhere, only as far as possible of this town.
The traffic light turned green, but Dean did not press on the gas pedal, watching the road deep in his thoughts.
"Green" Sam said.
"What?" Dean snapped his head to his brother.
"Light's green".
Dean presses on the pedal, but turns the other way he was supposed to be, earning a confused look from both his siblings.
"Uh, the interstate's the other way" Sam informed him.
"I know" Dean said with no emotion.
Then why the hell is he going the other way?
"But Dean, this job, I think it's over" Sam stated.
"I'm not so sure".
"Dean" Elizabeth leaned against the front seat "Bill killed Peter and Peter's spirit got it's revenge. So the job is done, he should be gone. Now, can we just leave this place?"
Elizabeth did not want to stay in this town any longer, she felt like they just had a failure. The Carlton family was all dead, and no one was left to save. It was their job to save people and hunt things, but this time it did not happen this way.
"All right" Dean looked at his sister through the rear-view mirror "so what if we take off and this thing isn't done? You know, what if we've missed something? What if more people get hurt?"
"But why would you think that?" Sam asked.
"Because Lucas was really scared" Dean answered.
He was right about this, though, Elizabeth did find it weird too to see Lucas this agitated.
"That's what this is about?" Sam sighed.
"I just don't want to leave this town until I know the kid's okay" Dean stated seriously.
"Who are you? And what have you done with my brother?" Sam asked sarcastically.
Elizabeth laughed at her brother's comment, receiving a glare from Dean.
"Shut it".
SPN
Dean had made it to the house quickly, wanting this bad feeling out of his chest. He knew his siblings did not understand, but his hunter senses brought him back to the house.
The three Winchesters' exit the car and head to the front door. Elizabeth could already see Andrea get out the house angry that we woke her up in the middle of the night.
"You sure about that Dean?" Elizabeth asked him "it's kindda late, normal people go to bed early".
Dean ignores his little sister and rings the doorbell, waiting anxiously in front the door. Suddenly, Lucas opened the door, the poor boy was panicking, hyperventilating.
"Lucas? Lucas!" Dean called out.
The boy ran in the house, the Winchester's following him up the stairs. Elizabeth had to be careful not to slip because of the water running down. The water came from the bathroom, under the closed door.
Dean pushes Lucas away protectively with one arm and the other grabbed his sister's, not wanting her to be in any danger. He had a hard time keeping Lucas calm, but his sister helped the boy by putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Sam kicked the door open, Andrea was laying in the bath struggling to get out, but an invisible force kept her there. He ran to her aid, having a hard time to pull her out of the bathtub. After a few attempts, she finally gets free, falling on the floor, helped by Sam as she coughs out water.
Elizabeth and Lucas were brought downstairs, to let Andrea to the time to calm down and get dressed. Dean had told his sister to watch over Lucas while he went to help Sam and Andrea. The ten years old was happy to finally have something to do that is useful. She was also happy that they had come back, all thanks to Dean. If they didn't came back, Andrea would have died and maybe even Lucas!
She just sat in front of him on the floor of the living room, watching Lucas draw another drawing. There was already a lot on the floor, some of them were copies of others.
"You think you could show me a drawing?" Elizabeth asked him "something that could help my brothers out?"
Lucas dropped his crayon and glances at the paper beside him, it was yet again a drawing of the red bicycle. With no warning, he gets up, walking out of the room.
"Lucas?" She called out, standing up.
She followed him to the kitchen, where Sam, Dean and Andrea were speaking. Lucas stopped by the backdoor, looking through the window.
"Sam, Dean" Elizabeth said, not taking her eyes off Lucas.
Both Winchester men and Andrea looked up at her, then at where she was pointing. Seeing everyone had their attention on him, Lucas walked out the door.
"Lucas, honey?" Andrea called out.
Since Lucas knew a lot more than everyone, they let him walk, following close behind to make sure he was not going to get hurt. Not far, he stopped, staring at the ground.
"You and Lucas get back to the house and stay there, okay?" Dean ordered Andrea "Elie, go with them".
Andrea did not argue, after what had happened, Elizabeth was not surprised. It must be scary to almost drown in a bathtub. Even she did not take any baths, the little girl is never going to take one. She also decided to follow without a word, feeling like she had to protect the mother and son.
From the window, Elizabeth watched her brothers dig up the ground until they pulled out a red bicycle. She instantly recognized it as Peter's bike, the little boy who had disappeared years back.
Suddenly, a man arrived, pointing a gun to her brothers. Seeing her brothers in danger, she did not think a second before running out the door. Andrea followed, close behind her, telling her to stay in the house, but Elizabeth did not listen to her.
"Dad!" Andrea shouted running towards the group.
"And now you got one seriously pissed-off spirits" Dean continued ignoring Andrea.
Yet, he saw his sister, cursing to himself to see her there when there is an armed man, going crazy over a horrible story. At least, she was behind them, so Jake maybe haven't seen her.
"It's gonna take Andrea, Lucas, everyone you love. It's gonna drown them. And it's gonna drag their bodies God knows where, so you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt. And then, after that, it's gonna take you, and it's not gonna stop until it does" Sam tried to reason with Jake.
"Yeah, and how do you know that?" Jake asked skeptic.
"Because that's exactly what it did to Bill Carlton".
"Listen to yourselves. You're insane".
Elizabeth stayed behind, staying quiet and wondering how they could get this man to listen to them. He was clearly lying, and was panicking at the thought of someone knowing the truth.
"I don't really give a rat's ass what you think of us. But if we're gonna bring down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them, and burn them into dust. Now tell me you buried Peter somewhere. Tell me you didn't just let him go in the lake" Dean wished.
"Dad, is any of this true?" Andrea asked horrified.
"No" Jake lied again "don't listen to them. They're liars and they're dangerous".
"Something tried to drown me" Andrea told her father "Chris died on that lake. Dad, look at me" Jake look at her "tell me you, you didn't kill anyone".
The sheriff could not lie again, he looked down guilty to the ground. Andrea gasped brining a hand to her mouth.
"Oh, Andrea" Jake continued almost in tears "we were kids. We were so scared. It was a mistake. But, Andrea, to say that I have anything to do with these drowning, with Chris, because of some ghost? It's not rational".
"Stop being skeptic" Elizabeth said revealing herself "after all of this how can you be? We're trying to help!"
Jake's gun went directly to her, the look in his eyes scared Elizabeth, freezing her to the ground. The man had already killed someone, and seemed to be ready to do anything to save himself.
"Whoa! Take your gun away from her" Dean ordered and Jake obeyed pointing it at Dean "all right, listen to me, all of you. We need to get you away from this lake, as far as we can, right now".
Sam mentioned to his sister to come to him, with a single hand movement. As soon as she was next to him, he took his sister's jacket, pulling her to his side, pushing her behind him.
"Lucas!"
Everyone glances at the lake, the place where Jake was staring at. Lucas was on the edge of the dock, reaching his arm towards the water. They all started to run towards the lake.
"Lucas!" Dean called out.
"Lucas! Baby, stay where you are!" Andrea shouted.
Suddenly, a hand comes out the water, grabbing Lucas's wrist and pulls him down into the lake. Sam and Dean gain more speed hurrying to jump in the lake to go and save Lucas.
Elizabeth knew she was no help, she could not even swim. Instead, she stayed with Andrea, trying to keep her calm.
"Andrea, Elizabeth, stay there!" Sam shouted as he came out for air.
"No! Lucas!" Andrea cried.
"They're going to find them" Elizabeth assured, more for herself "we have to stay here".
About at the same time, Sam and Dean come out the lake, both of them empty handed.
"Sam?"
Sam shakes his head, diving back in the lake, quickly followed by his brother.
"Lucas! Where are you!" Andrea cried harder.
Next to them, Jake took off his jacket, taking a few steps in the lake.
"Jake! Get away from the water!" Elizabeth warned.
Jake did not listen, the only thing he cared about was to get his grandson back to his daughter he loves so much.
"Peter" he cried "it you can hear me… please, Peter, I'm sorry. I'm so… I'm so sorry".
"Daddy, no!"
Her brothers could not go to his aid, too occupied to find Lucas. She only had to think for a fraction of a second before running to Jake. Luckily for her, the water only arrived to her knees. She tried to grab Jake, but he was too far away, water arriving to his chest. Elizabeth wanted to go help him, but if she drowned, she could not help him.
Instead, she watched helplessly as Jake got pulled down the lake. She took a few steps back, afraid to be taken too, but nothing came.
A second later, Dean got out the water, an unconscious Lucas in his arms. Elizabeth prayed to a God, she did not believe in that he was one hundred percent okay.
SPN
A few hours later, Sam, Dean and Elizabeth had changed into dry clothes. Elizabeth was blaming herself, for two reasons. First of all, she could have stayed in the house when Jake appeared with his gun, and watch over Lucas. Secondly, if she had known how to swim, it was so stupid. She does not understand how she never learned that important skill, especially since she is a hunter.
Elizabeth sat silently in the backseat, her feet's hanging out the door. She was still deep in her thoughts when Sam walked over to her and Dean who was packing the trunk.
"Look, we're not gonna save anybody" Sam told them.
Elizabeth brought her knees up to her chest, hiding her face between them. She felt so guilty, even though Jake had done something bad, he was still a human being.
"I know" Dean mumbled.
Before Sam could talk to his sister, knowing she was also disappointed, Andrea arrived with Lucas beside her.
"Sam, Dean, Alex" she called greeted.
"Hey" Dean replied.
"We're glad we caught you" she smiles "um, we made you lunch for the road. Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches himself".
"Can I give it to them now?" Lucas asked.
Elizabeth smiled at Lucas's voice, at least there was something positive coming from this. They had lost Jake, but at least Lucas and Andrea can live happily.
"Of curse" Andrea kisses Lucas on his head.
"Come on, Lucas, let's load this into the car" Dean led Lucas to the car.
"How you holding up?" Sam asked Andrea.
"It's just gonna take a long time to sort through everything, you know?"
"Andrea" Sam sighed "I'm sorry".
"You saved my son. I can't ask for more than that. Dad loved me. He loved Lucas. No matter what he did, I just have to hold on to that".
"I could have saved him" Elizabeth mumbled to herself.
Andrea, who heard what the little girl said, bent down in front of Elizabeth placing a comforting hand on her knee.
"You were brave you know?" She told her with a warm smile "if I was your age, never would I have ran in the water to save someone I don't even know".
"Thank you" Elizabeth told her, forcing a smile.
However, she was not a normal ten years old, her job was to save people. She knew that this feeling was only going to get away after a while.
"All right, if you're gonna be talking now, this is a very important phrase, so I want you to repeat it one more time".
Elizabeth looked over her shoulder, seeing sandwiches beside her, making her stomach growl.
"Zeppelin rules!" Lucas exclaimed.
"That's right. Up high" Dean and Lucas high-five "you take care of your mom, okay?"
"All right".
Dean got out of the backseat and went to say goodbye to Andrea, who gave him a kiss on his lips.
"Thank you" she smiled.
Dean scratched his head, making Elizabeth laugh, she was not used to him looking embarrassed when he kisses a girl.
"Sam, Elie, move you're asses. We're gonna run out of daylight before we hit the road".
As a goodbye, Elizabeth waved to Andrea and Lucas before closing the door of the Impala. Sam and Dean sat at their respective spot in the front seat. They were back on the road, a failure turning to a saving. However, it was not enough for Elizabeth, there was still too many deaths caused by that ghost.
"I want to learn how to swim".
Sam and Dean were both surprised by her words, after what had happened, it was not what they expected to hear.
"You don't know how to swim?" Sam asked her and turned to his brother "you didn't teach her?"
"Guess I forget" Dean sighed, feeling stupid "of course I'll teach you Girly".
Elizabeth nodded and got her attention to the outside world until she fell in an unpeaceful sleep.