The Beast Within

-Chapter 4-

"Let anyone who has an ear listen:
If you are to be taken captive, into captivity you go"( Rev. 13:9-10)

Neither Sam nor Dean had seen it coming. That same day they were having lunch in a small diner down the road and Dean couldn't help it. All this talk about distilled beverages had instilled in him a craving for a cool beer. Along with his trademark burger with extra onions and fries he ordered a bottle of Budweiser. Sam just gave him the usual look, as Dean, onions and the Impala just didn't go together very well. Not when he was riding shotgun.

"Found anything on the mansion yet?" Dean said when he opened the screw capped bottle. "Was it built on the infamous Indian burial ground maybe?"

"Is anything really ever built on an Indian burial ground?"

"Hey, that haunted shopping mall in Oklahoma is build around one!" pointing at Sam with the bottle in his hand, leaning his back against the vinyl covered bench.

Sam just gave him an indefinable look and turned the open notebook around, so his brother could see the screen.

"Oh you got to be kidding me!"

Sam didn't. He would not joke about this sort of thing.

"Oh, I am so going to love this assignment!" Dean smiled.

"That's what I was afraid of."

When Sam and Dean arrived at the Lemp Mansion this evening, Sam was ready to kill his older brother on the spot.

At the entrance of the big 19th century mansion stood Wonder Woman, asking every visitor for their tickets.

"Oh, we are on the list. It's Batman and Robin, we are from the Oklahoma Mail and here to report on tonight's murder mystery." Dean knew how to charm the ladies and he could never resist a Wonder Woman.

"I am sorry..but you are not on the list" she said politely.

"What? Really, are you sure? Oh man, that happened twice now this week. Someone at the office really is sleeping with their eyes open."

"I am sorry but.."

"May I?" Dean asked and already managed to look at her clipboard over her right shoulder. His eyes were swiftly scanning the entries looking for the word "Press".

"Ha!" He exclaimed. "That's where the dog's buried! Mr. Stetson and Mr…" he had to look twice "Mr..Protznowski!" he tried his best to pronounce that name "There" he said triumphant "That's us. But I prefer to be called Batman."

"Welcome. Please take your game cards and enjoy tonights mystery" she said and pointed to a table dressed with a white cloth and ca. 50 envelopes on it. On each was the guest's name nicely written in calligraphy letters. Before Sam could react, Dean snatched the Stetson envelope so that Sam was stuck with an unpronounceable name.

"Just great" Sam grumbled and scratched his itchy spandex Robin outfit and continued to look miserable, while Dean enjoyed the party that looked like a comic book convention.

As they both opened their envelopes to find out, if one of them was the murderer, the game master was announcing tonight's game and explaining the games rules.

"Do not share your secret identity with your friends. Only you should know what your envelope contains." So when Dean tried to take a glimpse at Sam's gamecard his brother quickly held it away from him and gave him a "no-way" look.

The mansion was filled with a bunch of people in various comical outfits, all in great anticipation of tonight's murder mystery. Dean was having a field day, while Sam was looking at the period furniture and paintings, searching for clues. He noticed that lavender was placed throughout the whole house and he had also noticed that lavender was planted outside, all around the house. He knew from his books that lavender had an old tradition in folklore. Amongst its medicinal properties it was also used to ward of evil spirits and to protect a house from bad luck. So whether this was a real haunting or not, someone definitely believed in it though.
Maybe they were on the wrong track and the lavender lady wasn't the root of the problem. Maybe she had tried to protect herself from something far more powerful all this time. Something far older. Sam felt a cold shiver again. What if those suicides weren't really suicides?
What if…

"Excuse me" someone said suddenly.

When he turned around all he felt was a hard object having an unexpected rendezvous with his skull, then darkness followed from there on.

When he woke up he found himself surrounded by strange characters. Slowly he recognized Hong Kong Phooey, or a guy pretending to look like him and then Batman, reaching out to help him up.
"What happened to you, Robin?" Dean asked his brother who was feeling his head for wounds. All he seemed to have was a very sore spot on the back of his head.

"I don't know, Dean. I think I got hit by something." Dean guided Sam to a more quiet corner. He was alert and worried.

"Did you see anyone…or anything?"

"No…" Sam said, looking around.

"Well, while you were out, the "murder victim" appeared in the lounge. Some old lady is tonight's victim. If you ask me they should have picked the guy in that Shrek Outfit. He looks terrible."

"Dean, I think someone is trying to protect this house."

"Really? Who and why?"

"I don't know yet, but it's all that lavender around the house. Someone's definitely trying to ward off evil spirits."

"Huh, I wondered why it smelled of Agatha Christie's ghost in here"

"I think that those suicides might have been also a result of something else, and…"

"Excuse me" someone suddenly said and when Sam and Dean turned around they were startled to see a Zombie. I took them a moment to realize that it was only a costume.

The Zombie grabbled for his game card and read a question on it.

"Did you speak to the victim..before she was murdered?" the guy in the Zombie costumes read. Dean smiled and pulled out his own card. On there it said "If someone asks you a question about the murder, point him towards the kitchen." So Dean said "I heard the Butler had an argument with her. I think he is in the kitchen. I you ask me, it's never the Butler."

"Ah, uhm, thanks man" The Zombie said and staggered off, looking for the kitchen.

"Well, this is perfect. Everyone is hunting around for clues so I think we should do the same Sammy…Sammy?" When Dean turned around, his little brother was gone.

"Sam?"