Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters. I and am not making any money on this…I'm just having fun!
Ties that Blind
Chapter 4 – Fire Dance
"No, all I saw was the family dying Dean…nothing more." Sam moved quietly to the bathroom and closed the door.
Dean watched as Sam played with the food on his plate. "You know Sam, you have to eat something or you're going to get sick."
Sam sighed. "I'm fine Dean…besides; I've had my allotment of greasy food for the week." Sam really wished they could afford a slightly better restaurant once in a while.
"Dude, you can never have enough grease!" Dean said as he continued to clean his plate.
Sam sat back and decided to concentrate on drinking his coffee. "So do you want to hit the fire department first? We need a list of names of the victims so that I can start cross checking them. Also, I did a search last night for the pattern and I couldn't find one…so this is one of the psychics who are falling outside the box."
Dean shook his head. "That's not necessarily true Sam…remember, this person could be from somewhere else and just moved here…there's nothing that says a kid has to stay in one place…look at us!"
"You know you have a point Dean. Ok, so who are we going to be today?"
"Well I'm going to be Fire Inspector Desoto and you will be Fireman Gage…we are from out of town looking to see if these fires match with some similar fires in our jurisdiction."
Sam laughed as he shook his head. "You really watch too much TV Dude."
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Dean walked into the Fire Department's headquarters and smiled at the young woman receptionist. "I was wondering if you could help me."
"What can I do for you?"
"Well my partner and I are checking into the recent outbreak of fires on the south side of Chicago. They may be similar to some fires that we are investigating in our jurisdiction. Could you tell me who is handling the case?"
"That would be Captain Meyer, but he won't be back in his office until later this week. I can let you take a look at the reports if you want and then give you his number. You can call him with any questions you might have."
"That would be great…say, I don't mean to be forward, well actually yes I do kind of…but are you doing anything later tonight?"
Sam rolled his eyes. "Come on Captain Desoto, we need to get back to our fire house before this afternoon."
Dean smirked as he pocketed the number and followed the young woman to the file room.
Sam immediately began to review the files, making notes of the names of the victims and the names of the owners of the property as some of them were rented. Finally, he read the reports to see if they mentioned any suspects or had any mention of how the fires started.
"You know Dean, the fire department can't figure out how the fires are being set, but there is no other explanation of how they are starting or spreading. Look this first one, only a room of the home went up in flames…the next one the fire seemed to spread further and faster until the one last night where the whole building seemed to go up at once."
"So, our fire bug is getting better at handling their psychic ability…just great!" Dean sighed as he closed the file he had been reading.
Sam stood and started to leave. "You know, there has to be some connection between these fires other than location. I'm going to head back to the hotel and see if I can't dig up more information on the families…maybe that will shed some light on who we are looking for."
"Sounds good Sam, I think I'll drop you off and check out the scene of last night's fire. There may be something the fire department missed."
"Dean, I should go with you…" Sam started.
"No, Sam…I can handle this one. Look, we may not have much time here before this fire bug decides to strike again. We need to split up and you know I hate research…so you drew the short straw there little brother!" Dean also didn't want Sam to see up close what had happened. He was already having enough trouble dealing with just seeing the people die in his vision…he didn't need to add the burnt out building to that picture in his mind.
"Ok Dean, but you need to be careful. Remember, I sensed someone watching us last night."
"Now you know that careful is my middle name Sammy!" Dean winked as he got into the driver's side of the car.
"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about!" Sam said as he took up his position as shut gun.
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Dean carefully entered the burned out building ducking under the yellow caution tape. As he made his way through the building, he wrinkled his nose at the smell of burnt wood and plastic that still filled the air. Dean hated that smell; it always reminded him of the fire in his childhood home.
Dean shook off the bad memories and began to look for the cause of the fire. As he entered the room that the firemen had indicated the family had died in, he noticed that the fire seemed to have burned hottest in this area. "Jeez, they never had a chance." Dean said quietly, he tried not to look at the tiny stuffed teddy bear that was charred and almost unrecognizable. "Who would want to hurt a kid?"
Outside a shadow watched the man moving through the burnt shell of the building. She always liked to come back after everyone was gone. It was almost like she could feel the torment of the people who died by standing in the destroyed home.
She carefully entered the building, her feet making no noise as she headed for the room she had seen the intruder enter. As she approached the doorway, she couldn't help but enjoy the view of the young man who was searched through the wreckage. "Wrong place wrong time" went through her mind as she slowly backed from the doorway.
How dare this man intrude…well whatever he was looking for, she figured that a small demonstration would make him wish he had stayed away. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the room that held the shadow of the man. She could feel the power welling within her. She had to be careful because if she used too much of her power, the new job she had scheduled for later would have to wait. But just a small one shouldn't hurt.
Her lips curled in a cruel smile as she saw the beginnings of the flame that always fascinated her. She watched as the flame began its slow dance with the stranger, she could almost feel his panic as the flames moved closer, eager to caress and devour. Soon the man would be nothing more than a pile of ash…his life forfeit to feed her empty soul. Satisfied that the fire would finish the job, she turned to leave. Already anticipating the thrill she would feel when once again she would set her inner demon free to collect her revenge.
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Dean turned as he heard the whoosh of the flames behind him. "What the hell!" he exclaimed as he backed away from the intense heat of the flames. As he moved towards the window, the wall burst into flames, blocking his last means of escape from the room. Dean glanced through the doorway and thought he saw a shape moving. But before he could say anything it was gone.
"Damn it!" Dean cursed as he pulled removed his jacket and pulled off his T-Shirt. Shrugging back into his jacket he quickly tied the shirt around his nose and mouth. Crouching down close to the floor, Dean tried to see through the thick smoke. It was getting hard to breathe; he knew that soon he would pass out. Desperate, Dean searched for a way to escape the flames; moving towards the wall farthest from the flames, he quickly kicked through the wall board. Using the last of his strength he broke through the wall into the adjoining room and paused only long enough to get his bearings before moving as quickly as he could from the house.
Once safely inside the Impala, Dean placed his head on the steering wheel and closed his eyes. Each breath was still an effort as he coughed trying to clear the smoke from his lungs. A moment later he heard the sound of sirens. "Time to get out of here" Dean croaked as he started the engine and began the trip to the hotel.
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Sam yawned as he continued to look up the history of the families that had died in the fires. In each case, the 'family' consisted of one or more adults and foster kids. The homes that were being targeted were foster homes. Sam had started to see if he could find the first fire. He had a hunch…but before he could continue he heard a soft tapping at the door.
Sam stood and reached into his backpack for his gun. Holding the gun behind his back, he slowly opened the door. Sam moved forward quickly as he realized that the person falling into the room was his brother. "DEAN!"
TBC
Raven524: Not to worry, Dean is just a little singed around the edges. Thanks again for all the reviews…you guys are the best!!