Author's Note: Thanks to my reviewers, you know I love you for it! Here's the latest installment. Don't forget to let me know what you think.
Chapter Four: Closing Doors
Sam stood inside the doors of the little drug store, waiting patiently for their 'go' order while Dean was outside, propped up against the brick wall with his cell phone pressed to his ear. Sam pushed out a deep breath through his nose as he let his gaze linger on his older brother for a moment. He couldn't help but think about the previous night's events and how easy it had been for Dean to go off the deep end. If there was anyone on the planet who he thought would put up with their father's games until the end of time, he was sure that it would have been Dean.
Dean choked back the bitter taste of frustration. It had taken him damn near ten minutes just to find a decent signal for his phone. Apparently, Clearwater didn't believe in the concept of cellular towers. When at last he managed to get a display of two bars, he quickly dialed and then…waiting. He stood there rubbing his hand over his hair, his entire body radiating his impatience. Finally, after four rings, he heard a click as someone answered the other end of the line.
"Hello, Dean." Missouri Mosely said.
"Hey, Missouri. How are you?" Dean greeted, not even asking how the psychic had known that it was him. Could have been caller id, but he was guessing not.
"I don't suppose I can complain. What about you? How are you boys doing?"
"We're doin' okay. I, uh, I have a question for you, Missouri."
"I know."
"We just met a girl named Danielle Chatham…"
"Boy, you better be nice to my Dani!"
"So, you do know her?"
"You didn't call me to ask me a question that you already knew the answer to, Dean. Don't beat around the bush."
"How do you know I knew the answer to that? I don't trust people that easily."
"But you trust her. You trusted her the moment you laid eyes on her. You and Sam both did. So, I say again, quit beating around the bush."
"All right." Dean groaned, he could practically see the larger than life woman tapping her foot at him. She had always had more patience with Sam than with him; probably because his little brother was so damn dopey, you couldn't help but love him. "I have a feeling we're about to get into something pretty dangerous and I just wanted to know…how good is she?"
"She's got more talent in her baby finger than most so-called psychics have in their entire bodies."
"I mean…"
"I know what you mean, honey. You're worried that she won't be able to handle it and you want me to tell you whether or not she can, but I can't."
"Yeah, I know. It was worth a shot though." He paused for a moment while Missouri just waited patiently on the other end for him to continue, "Why didn't dad tell us about her?"
"Who knows why John does what he does? Sometimes I wonder if even he knows."
"I thought I knew all of dad's hunting contacts."
"You do."
"Didn't know you. Didn't know her."
"That's because we're not hunters, Dean. We have a gift. Now, I'll try to exercise an occasional poltergeist, but I'm not about to go gallivanting off after werewolves and neither is Dani."
"Well, she sure didn't hesitate to come bursting into that house after me and Sam."
"How do you know she didn't hesitate?"
"What do you mean?"
"How long were you in that house?"
"I don't know. Twenty minutes, half an hour…"
"How do you know how long she stood outside, talking herself in and out of going in there?"
"I don't."
"Don't give her more credit than she deserves, boy. She's a scared kid with an extra sensitive tap into the feelings of those around her…alive and dead. You have no idea what that's like. At her age, it's hard enough to decipher your own emotions without having to delve into everyone else's."
"But, that doesn't explain…"
"She's not a hunter, Dean. She doesn't know about demons or creatures or possessions or whatever else it is that you go after. She knows a little about spirits, but only what I taught her. You didn't need to know about her."
"I guess you're right. I didn't need to know…but it would have been nice for dad to clue me in anyways. I guess that's just dad, though. Well, thanks, Missouri. It was actually good to talk to you."
"Don't sound so surprised. I am a very pleasant person."
Dean couldn't help but chuckle, "Yeah, yeah. I'll talk to you later."
"Dean."
"Yeah?"
"Tell Sam I said 'hi' and…take care of my girl."
"Will do." Dean said and flipped his phone closed just as Sam pushed his way out of the restaurant, a brown paper bag in his arms.
Dani came bursting through the library doors, her eyes searching up and down the street for any sign of the boys or the Impala. She had three pages of hastily scribbled notes stuffed down in her shoulder bag, filled with information that she wanted to tell the guys about as soon as she possibly could. Impatience reverberated in the air around her as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, anxiously watching for them to come pulling down the street.
"Dani." A gruff voice that she knew all too well breathed in her ear, making her jump.
She spun around and came face to face with Eddie. His caramel colored eyes frantically searched her face as his expression twisted into something akin to desperation. Before she could register what was going on, Eddie grabbed her rather roughly by the upper arms and jerked her to him. On instinct, Dani tried to squirm away from him, but his fingers bit into her biceps, clamping down like a vice. She stopped struggling and locked gazes with him; challenged him.
"Eddie," she said, her voice exuding confidence, "let me go."
"Why won't you just talk to me?" he asked through clenched teeth, pulling her tighter against his chest.
Dani tried to push away from him, her hands pressed firmly against the puffy material of his gray winter coat. One hand holding solidly onto her arm, his other snaked up to clamp onto the back of her neck. He pulled her to him like he was going to try and kiss her, forcing her to turn her head away.
"Eddie, stop it." She said, unable to control the tremor in her voice.
"I know that we can work this out, babe." He breathed against her cheek.
"I don't want to work it out, Eddie. I just want it to be over." Dani hissed, twisting around in his hands just before she delivered a hard kick to his shin.
"Ow!" Eddie howled, relinquishing his grip on her.
She took off down the sidewalk, making it about five steps before Eddie caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to a stop. He slammed her into the side of the library building and used the length of his body to pin her there. He clutched her jaw tightly in his hand, forcing her to look up at him. Dani shoved against his shoulders with all her might, but Eddie didn't even budge.
"Tommy told me that you were here with some guys! Who are they, Dani? Are you screwing around on me, Dani?"
"No, Eddie." She answered, and he looked relieved at her words, "I'm not screwing around on you because we're not together!"
"Damn it, Dani!" he growled, "You are gonna listen to me!"
"Get off of me!" she cried.
"No!" Eddie exclaimed, "Now, I know I can get a little bit jealous…"
"Understatement of the year!" Dani quipped, slapping him across the face.
Eddie glared at her as a red handprint appeared on his cheek. He jerked her slightly away from the wall and bashed her head back against it, earning himself a satisfying yelp of pain from her as the first few tears spilled from her eyes. She moved to kick him again, but he worked his way in between her legs so she had no leverage.
"Don't you ever fucking hit me." He sneered.
Just then, Eddie's body was ripped away from her, leaving Dani leaning against the wall clutching at her throat. She looked up to see that Dean had taken Eddie by the collar of his jacket and slung him a ways down the sidewalk and was now stalking after him. Sam appeared at her side and put a calming hand on her arm.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Dani nodded without looking at him, unable to tear her eyes away from Dean and Eddie. Eddie had stumbled backwards as Dean advanced on him, his fists clenched at his sides; very much resembling a lion stalking its prey.
"What the hell is your problem, man?" Eddie demanded.
"My problem? Oh, that's funny!" Dean snarled, catching the other man by the front of his shirt and throwing him up against the side of the building. Dean like to consider himself a pretty laid back kind of guy; he went with the flow of things; took things as they came. But when some asshole felt the need to take it upon himself to hit a woman, well, Dean had a problem with that…and he had gotten into fights for less. "You like smacking around little girls, huh?"
"Maybe you should mind your own business, man." Eddie said, straightening to his full height and squaring his shoulders to make himself appear more intimidating.
Dean, the slightly taller of the two, stepped up to him until they were practically nose to nose, more accurately the tip of Dean's nose to the bridge of Eddie's, and glared at him. "Dani is my business." He said, his gravelly voice going low and cold.
"Oh, is she?" Eddie seethed.
"Yeah." Dean said, a dangerous twinkle in his eyes.
"Dean!" Dani called as she and Sam came trotting toward them, "Come on, Dean, let's go! He's not worth it."
"So, this is the guy that's been going psycho, huh?" Sam asked, slowing his pace to a determined walk.
"That's Eddie, yes." Dani replied.
"Hey, Dean."
"Yeah."
"Save a shot for me."
"You got it, Sammy."
"You have got to be kidding me!" Dani exclaimed.
Sam took his place beside his brother, both of them staring down at Dani's ex-boyfriend like hungry wolves. Dani ran up behind them and jerked on both of their arms, but having next to no affect.
"If you guys do this, you're no better than he is." She said.
Dean could hear Dani's voice, but it sounded faint and far away. Tunnel vision had set in and he had gone into that place in his mind; that place that surged with adrenaline and anger and a freaky kind of quiet. It was where he went when he was ready for a fight. He heard their newfound friend's light voice again, prompting him to speak.
"Sammy," Dean said without taking his eyes away from his target. Another lesson from dad: Never lose sight of your target.
"Mmmhmm." Sam responded.
"Take Dani to the car."
Without a word, Sam turned to Dani. She narrowed her eyes as she looked up at him. Did he honestly think that she was just going to be bosses around like that? He didn't try to force her though. Instead, he just held out his arm to her.
"Come on, Dani." He said gently.
The way that she was glaring up at him; completely indignant, he was afraid for a moment that she was going to lash out at him. He wasn't sure if he could explain to her that once you were in with the Winchesters…there really was no escape. And they were more than their fair share of protective.
Dani cast an uncertain glance to where Dean and Eddie were still locked in a staring contest with one another, then she wordlessly stepped into the nook of Sam's arm. He curled his long arm around her shoulders and they walked off to the car. Once they were a couple of yards away, with lightening quick speed, Dean reached over and caught Eddie by the shirt. He jerked the psycho forward so that he was speaking directly into his face.
"If you ever lay so much as a hand on her again, my brother and I will hunt you down and I swear to you on everything holy and unholy, it will be the worst case of suicide they ever found." Dean stated, his voice matter-o-fact. Then, with a harsh shove, he let Eddie go, turned on his heel and walked casually back across the street to the car.
Once he slid into the driver's side, Dean peered over the seat to look at Dani in the back, "Why weren't you in the library?"
Dani was just about to snap out some witty retort when a thought slapped her upside the head like a hammer and all thoughts of being angry for their knight in shining armor routine left her.
"Oh, God, I almost forgot!" she said, grabbing her bag and digging through it, "I came outside to find you guys when that…idiot distracted me! I found something! Uh, head back to my place. We'll talk about it there."
"All right." Dean said as he turned the key in the ignition and the car rumbled to life.
"Okay," Dani said through a mouthful of chili-cheese fries as she looked down at her messy notes, "so after you guys left, I looked up that Odius Hughs guy."
"The guy that built the house, right?" Sam said, licking a glob of mustard from his thumb.
"Yeah." Dani answered.
The three of them were camped out on her living room carpet with stacks of greasy food, her handwritten notes, and photo copies from the library spread out around them. Dean took a swig of beer, wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and picked up a photocopy of a portrait of Odius Hughs.
"Woo," he chortled, "he was not a happy looking fella!"
"No, he wasn't." Dani agreed. The man in the picture was skeleton thin with black hollowed out cheeks and dark eyes that seemed to pop out of his skull. His hair was nothing more than thin silver wisps and he wore a matching long scraggly beard with no mustache. And it was a painting! You'd think the artist would have tried to be a bit more flattering to the poor guy, "But, I don't think that Odius is our problem."
"Good." Dean said, shaking his head, "Cause if that's how he looked alive, I'm not sure I could handle the guy dead."
"See, I think it's his youngest son," Dani said, crawling across the floor to another photocopy and handing it to Dean, "Tate."
"Yikes." Dean said.
"Okay," Sam said, leaning over to look at the picture as well, "and why do we think it's little Tate?"
"Well," referring back to her messily scribbled notes, "I found out that Odius's wife, Patricia, died of pneumonia back in New York, leaving Tate and his older brother, William motherless. Then, later, that same year, William was thrown from his horse and broke his neck. This all took its toll on daddy Odius and the books say that he pretty much became a recluse after that."
"All this making me even more willing to think that it is Odius hop, skip, and jumping his way through that mansion." Dean commented.
"I don't think so, because all accounts of him state that he was thought to be a 'kindly old man who didn't deserve to suffer as much as he did'." Dani said, using a direct quote from one of the books that she had read.
"So, what do the good old books tell us about baby Tate?" Dean asked, stealing one of Sam's fries.
"Just that he was fascinated by devices of torture and that several of the Hughs's slaves vanished without a trace." She stated flatly.
"Oh, is that all?" Sam said with widened eyes.
"Well, then there's the kicker." Dani said.
"Do tell." Dean chimed.
Dani looked up at both of them for a long moment, then offered them the paper with her most important note scribbled on it, "He practiced Necromancy."
Dean tilted forward to get a better look at the paper at the same time Sam rose to his knees and snatched it from her hand.
"So, Tater-tot liked to commune with the dead, huh?" Sam said.
"I don't suppose you found anything about where he was buried, did you?" Dean asked.
Dani shook her head, "I couldn't even find what year he died."
"Yeah, but get this," Sam said, trying to make out Dani's damn near illegible handwriting, "she found reports that he spent a lot of time by himself doing his 'research'. I'm assuming that the research they're referring to is Necromancy so, I'm guessing that he did it somewhere that he knew he could have plenty of privacy."
"Yeah, those pesky dark arts rituals…the neighbors seem to frown on them for some reason." Dean quipped.
"Somewhere like an attic…or a basement." Sam continued as though uninterrupted, "Probably be a good place to start looking."
"Yeah, okay." Dean said, "And the human barometer here can probably tell us where the energy's the highest at."
"What?" The exclamation had escaped Dani's lips before she even realized that she had opened her mouth, "You want me to go with you? Back there? Tonight? No, no, no. I…I…I thought I was just going to be helping you guys out with some research, maybe…point out a cemetery or two. There was never anything said about going back to that house."
"Hey, Dani." Dean said, scooting over next to her and touching her arm, "Look at me."
Dani slowly turned her face toward him, letting herself get lost in the depths of his brilliant green eyes. He had his hands on both of her arms now, rubbing up and down them as if to keep her warm.
"You know, Sam and I won't let anything happen to you, okay." Dean said, "And believe me, I wouldn't be asking you to do this if we had even a little bit more to go on, but right now, kitten, you're the best weapon we have."
A chill ran through her body that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room. She looked over at Sam. He was asking her for her help with those wide, innocent, puppy dog eyes of his and suddenly, she knew that she couldn't say no to them; either of them.
"I'm scared." She said, hating how weak her voice sounded.
Sam was rubbing her back now. She hadn't seen him move over to them.
"We won't let anything happen to you." Sam echoed his brother's words.
"Not is we can help it, anyways." Dean threw in with a devilish grin.
Dani laughed despite herself, "Well, hell, who could turn down that offer?"
It seemed all too soon after that, they had wound their way down that bumpy, broken road and were parked in the thick of a group of trees, shielding the Impala from sight. Dani stood there, leaning against the side of the car while the guys stood in front of the open trunk, checking their shotguns. Dean stuffed a container of lighter fluid somewhere in the confines of his jacket and each of them shoved some extra shells of rock salt in their pockets. Dean then pulled the silver semi-automatic handgun that she recognized as her own from the trunk and ejected the clip. He eyed the compact rock salt bullets, cast her a quick glance, then slammed the magazine back into the chamber and held the gun out to her.
She took it from his hands, offering him a smile in return as she tucked the weapon into the back of her jeans. They each loaded fresh batteries into their flashlights, knowing brand new batteries would do no good if a spirit came near them, but changing them out nonetheless.
Sam slammed the hood of the trunk down and the group began making their way toward down the road toward the mansion. He had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach; hating that they had had to bring her along with them. She didn't want to be there; and in truth, she shouldn't have to be. His gaze fell on the house, and the thoughts of Dani were replaced with a sudden almost devastating need to get inside of that house. That was…odd.
Dani watched as Dean deftly climbed the fence with a practiced ease; marveling at how she hadn't noticed the skills the first night that they had been there. Granted, circumstances had been different then and now, she was trying to focus on anything other than what it was that she was about to do. Sam helped her lift herself over the fence and she gracelessly dropped down next to Dean, stumbling backwards and barely managing to remain on her feet. But, she had stayed on her feet and that was what mattered. She was followed quickly by Sam, who was just as nimble in climbing as his brother. Dani smiled to herself with the thought that the Winchesters were truly just a gifted family.
They crept quickly across the yard, the boys, ever the watchful guardians, all the time made sure that they kept Dani in between them. They climbed the front porch steps as fast as possible, the gap from Sam's foot a reminder of what would happen if they lingered too long on a single stair. Dean nudged open the door and he and Sam entered together, swinging their guns around in a quick scan. Dani stepped in behind them.
The wave of energy from inside that hit her was like a full frontal assault, causing her to sway slightly on her feet. She grabbed hold of the nearest thing to her in order to keep her balance, which just happened to be the sleeve of Dean's leather coat. He caught her by the elbow to help steady her, his brows drawn together in concern.
"You okay?" he asked in a hushed whisper.
"Yeah," she said, "It's just always a little much when I first walk in. Makes me dizzy, you know."
As soon as she had her feet back under her, she released his sleeve and he, in turn, let go of her arm.
"All right," Dean said, "Same as last time?"
"This is a scouting mission, right?" Sam said, covering the opposite side of the house.
"Yeah, you go upstairs and look for a door to the attic. I'll search down here for a door to the basement. Either of us find one, we call for the other." Dean said, "We don't go in alone, you hear me?"
"Hey, I wholeheartedly agree." Sam said.
"I think we should all stick together." Dani said, knowing that it probably didn't matter what she wanted.
"We cover more ground if we split up." Dean exclaimed.
"Dani."
"Yeah, Sam?" Dani responded.
"You stay with Dean." Sam told her, then turned to Dean, "Let's not risk having her fall through the floor if we can absolutely avoid it."
"Yeah," Dean nodded, "If she doesn't pick up any strong vibes down here, we'll take her upstairs later."
"What am I, a puppy that needs to be walked?" Dani said, drawing a pointed look from the brothers and added, "Okay, yeah, I kind of am."
"All right." Sam said with a slight laugh and started for the winding stairway.
"Be careful, little brother." Dean called after him. He threw a glance at Dani over his shoulder, "You stay right at my back, got it?"
"No worries there, man." Dani said, tucking herself in as closely to him as she could get.
They began to work their way through the house, going into what seemed to have once been a living room first. They crept through the room with Dean pulling open door after door which turned out to be numerous different closets. Dani eyed something along the far wall and against her better judgment, felt herself leave Dean's side as she crossed over to it. It was a huge, bricked fireplace. There was an engraving in the back of it that she couldn't quite make out, so she began to stoop down to get a better look. It was a carving of a woman…but, she was trapped in something; some kind of contraption. She reached her hand back, needing to touch the engraved stone for some reason. Just as her fingertips were about to graze it…
Something caught her by the arm and jerked her roughly to her feet. With a gasp, she found herself staring into Dean's very angry eyes.
"Was there something about stay right at my back that you didn't understand?" he growled. When he had turned around and she had been gone, he had panicked. The last time he could remember being that freaked was when Sam had disappeared.
"I'm…I'm sorry," Dani stuttered, "But, look."
She pointed to the fireplace and, keeping a hand on her wrist, Dean leaned down to examine it further. Dani knelt down with him, leaning in again to touch her hand to the picture. Her fingers touched one of the indented marks and a surge of images and emotions crashed into her mind.
Pain. Long, drawn out screams. White lace splattered with red blood. More screams. Tears. Pain. An assortment of sharpened knives and surgical tools. Wrists bound by cold metal. The longing for death. Pain.
With a sharp gasp, Dani became lightheaded and fell back away from the carving. The only thing that kept her from hitting the ground was Dean's well honed reflexes. He managed to reach out and catch her at the last second.
Sam stepped carefully over the creaking second level of the old mansion, avoiding spots that sank under his weight. He alternated, darting glances through doorways and up at the ceiling in search of either a door leading to set of stairs or a trap door in the ceiling panels. Every now and again he would hear a rustle of movement somewhere in the distance and would pivot and take aim, ready to fire.
He slipped into an old bedroom that held a broken, sagging four poster bed draped in dusty red velvet and gold threaded pillows. There was a small vanity with a cracked mirror, littered with an antique silver handled brush, three broken flowered hair combs, a molding powder box, and several dried up perfume bottles. The white lace curtains that covered the floor to ceiling window blew in a breeze of unknown origin, sending Sam pivoting once again to take aim at something that wasn't there. In the opposite corner of the room was a tall bureau in which a few of the drawers had been tugged open, overflowing with abandoned articles of colorful clothing.
Sam held his breath as his flashlight began to flicker on and off.
Dean lead the way under the unhinged door and into the rotting kitchen that stank of mildew and animal droppings. Still a little dizzy, Dani kept her fingertips pressed against his back, trying to stay in constant contact with him. He swept the light across the room, coming to a stop on a closed door adjacent to the way they had entered. He flashed Dani a reassuring look and began to step toward it.
Sam turned around and instantly shouldered his gun, but something in him wouldn't let him fire. Standing in front of him was a thin, pale little girl who couldn't have been more than eleven years old wearing a dirty pink dress trimmed in dingy white lace. Her hair was light brown and hung limply around her face and she stared up at him with lifeless black eyes with dark circles underneath them. There were dark marks resembling bruises across her wrists, neck, and…the top of her forehead. The corners of her mouth were drawn down in a macabre frown as she took a step toward him.
Dean wrapped one hand around the doorknob and, with a deep breath, yanked it open and pointed his gun inside. Hundreds of jars containing questionable material stared out at him from what was obviously a pantry. He released the breath he had been holding and stepped inside to see if there was a trap door or something that might serve as the entryway to a cellar. Dani laid her hand against the doorframe.
A woman with red-orange hair pulled into a neat bun at the back of her head wearing a long dress covered by a white apron standing in the pantry. She was humming. She picked up a jar filled with some kind of jam and turned toward the door. Her eyes widened and she screamed. The jar smashed against the pantry floor.
Dani choked and panted as she pulled her hand back from the doorframe. She leaned back against the wall and held a hand to her forehead as she waited for Dean to finish examining the inside of the pantry, when her eyes traveled over to the open door on the other side of the room. It opened up into blackness and it seemed to be getting closer. She looked down at her feet to find that she had crossed half of the room and now stood at the midway point between the open door and the pantry. She didn't remember moving.
"Dani?" Dean said, drawing her attention.
She turned her back to the opening and looked at him. He came out of the pantry and took two steps toward her.
"Yeah, we need to check that one, too." He said, "But, you better let me go first."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Dean watched as it was like a vacuum turned on and Dani was all of the sudden sucked violently into the black void, the door slamming closed behind her. She had barely had time to scream.
Author's Note: That's it for now. Please, please, pretty please, review and let me know what you think! I'm begging you here! Thanks.