Chapter 32

June 15, 2005

Gleneden Beach, Oregon

"So people are just walking into the ocean and drowning themselves?" I asked. The three of us were sitting in a diner getting something to eat before we started investigating. It was still early in the morning so we had some time before we really needed to get to work. We had all ready checked into a room at some motel.

"I'll have scrambled eggs, hash browns and bacon please," I told the waitress as I handed her my menu. She nodded and left to go put our orders in to the kitchen.

"That's just about it." John said after she left. "Eight people in the past month have walked into the ocean in the middle of the night and were found swept onto shore the next morning."

"And we know they're just walking into the ocean?" Dean asked. "They weren't just going swimming or anything?"

"They were all fully clothed, with shoes and watches and jewelry." John said. "Either people in Oregon are weird and love swimming in the freezing ocean with all their clothes and expensive accessories or they are walking into the ocean."

"Then maybe they're being possessed by something." I suggested. "That's what it sounds like. Or maybe it's kind of like the deity we dealt with in Arizona."

"Both possible theories." John said. The waitress came back with our food and I eagerly started munching on my bacon. "We'll have to do more research after we eat."

...

After breakfast, Dean and I went down to the beach with our janky E.M.F. reader to see if we picked anything up. Nothing showed up or even seemed like there could have been possible spirit activity where any of the bodies had been but I could have sworn I heard a melody playing far off in the distance. Just because there weren't any signs of ghosts didn't mean it wasn't supernatural. I shrugged off the music in the distance and we met John back at the motel to see what he had found at the library. He wasn't back yet so I searched the internet on my laptop for any ideas while we waited for him.

"Could be a magical fish," Dean said with a laugh. I rolled my eyes.

"Or SpongeBob Squarepants," I added. I thought about the melody that I thought I had heard. "Hey Dean, did you hear any music or anything down at the beach?"

He bit his lip in thought but shook his head. "I can't remember."

"Weren't you paying attention?" I asked. He smiled and came to sit in front of me on the bed.

"Honestly I was paying more attention to you." I sucked on my front teeth to try to keep from smiling but I couldn't. Sometimes he said the most amazing things that made my heart leap. It made me glad I ended up with the Winchesters, even if my mother had died. I would probably have never gotten together with Dean. I leaned forward and kissed him sweetly. Of course that had to be the moment that John came into the room.

We pulled away as John closed the door behind him but he was concentrating on some papers he had printed out and he hadn't noticed us. Dean kissed my forehead quickly before sending his attention to his dad.

"What did you find?" Dean asked.

"There were a lot of those magazines that write about aliens and stuff that reported having seen mermaids swimming around here." He said. I quickly did an internet search for mermaids and started reading.

"There are myths that say mermaids can enchant mortals by singing their song and calling them into the water." He said. That explained the music that I heard.

"Come seek us where our voices sound," I sang to myself.

Dean and John both raised an eyebrow and stared at me like I was some homeless lady on the street offering sexual favors for cocaine.

"What?" John asked. I tried to keep myself from laughing and just shook my head.

"Nothing, but I could have sworn I heard some sort of melody when Dean and I were down at the beach." I said.

"Then we'll have to be careful." John said.

"Here's the obvious question," Dean said. I could tell he was having a little trouble wrapping his head around the possibility of a mermaid. But I mean, come on. How are mermaids any weirder than boggarts or faeries? "How do we get rid of it?"

"That's the easy part," John said. "We can kill it with anything. The hard part is finding it and actually killing it."

"Well, they have to be above water in order to sing and enchant a person, right?" I said. John nodded. I shrugged. "We'll just need some bait."

We both turned to look at Dean who stared back with wide eyes.

...

It had started raining by the time we were ready and Dean was looking miserable sitting out on the beach in the cold weather. I felt bad for him, but I really wasn't in a better position. I was up in a tree with my crossbow watching the ocean for any mermaids that might show up. John was hiding in some rocks with a gun and Dean had a gun on himself too, just in case.

We waited in the rain all night but the mermaid never came.

"I bet it knew we were waiting for it," I told the others as we got back into the motel room. John left to do some more research and Dean and I took the time to warm up in the shower together.

When we got out of the shower John still wasn't back yet. I sat at the table by the window and looked out. There were a few shops around, but one in particular caught my eye.

"Come on, Dean." I said, grabbing my jacket and my wallet. He followed in suit, confused as to where we were going. I led him across the street to the fishing shop and I started looking around at all the different fishing poles and lures.

"Can I help you?" I turned and saw a man around John's age sitting behind the counter. I smiled and went up to him.

"Yeah, I was just wondering," I said. "Do any of the local fisherman come in here for supplies?"

He nodded.

"Do they ever talk about what they see out there?" I asked. The guy nodded and leaned forward. "I'm curious if any of them have ever mentioned seeing a mermaid."

The guy chuckled. "Honey, every man who comes in this shop is aiming to catch that damn mermaid."

Dean came up behind us.

"Any of them ever come close?" He asked. The guy nodded.

"Yeah, a man named Rick Palmer came real close, so he says."

"Is there any way we could get a hold of him?" I asked sweetly. The guy studied me for a moment before going through one of his books. He wrote down something on an index card and handed it to me. It had the guy's phone number and the name of his boat, The Jenny. I nodded. "Thank you."

We left the shop and hurried back to the motel room.

"So what are we going to do with this?" Dean asked, motioning to the card. I smiled.

"We're going to call him up and offer our help." I told him, handing him the card. He rolled his eyes and dialed the number as John came in.

"You guys find anything?" He asked. I explained to him what we had done and who Dean was calling and John nodded. "Sounds like a good plan."

We met up with Rick the next day at his docked boat.

"Rick?" I called. He lifted his head out from inside his boat. The sun was coming out, thankfully.

"You the guys who called me yesterday?" He asked. We nodded.

"I'm Rosemary, this is Dean and John." I said, not bothering with aliases. "We want to help you catch the mermaid."

"What's in it for you?" I looked at the others for help.

"Nothing. We just want to get rid of the damn thing." John said. Rick stared at us for a moment before he started laughing.

"Good," he said, helping me up onto the boat. Dean and John followed up. "Everyone else wants to catch it to keep it. I seem to be the only one who wants the thing dead."

"Why do you want to kill it?" Dean asked. Rick mopped his forehead with the hand towel from his pocket.

"She drowned my daughter, Jenny." We all glanced at each other. I guess that was who he named his boat after. "It was a long time ago, but I hold a grudge like you wouldn't believe."

John shrugged. "So can we."

We set out on the water and I could all ready tell I was going to get seasick. I didn't let the others know it was bothering me but I was sure that my face was a little green. Dean sat down next to me, rubbing my back, while John and Rick started talking about strategies. They were planning on setting up a big fishing net to trap her and then shoot her when they brought her onto the ship.

Rick told us we'd be on the boat all night if we had to, and just the thought of being on this boat for that long made my stomach clench. I quickly turned to lean over the railing as I vomited into the ocean. Dean was at my side, rubbing my back and holding my hair out of my face. I didn't want to look up to see the others reactions.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked softly. I shook my head.

"Sea sick," I said, miserably.

"Here, drink this," I looked up and saw Rick holding a cold can of Ginger Ale. Dean thanked him and took it before he helped me sit back down. He handed me the can and ran his hand through my hair in a comforting motion. I sipped it slowly while the three men set up the net. I thought that I had heard the melody from before but I was too nauseous to figure out if it was just in my mind or not.

...

"Anybody hungry?" Rick asked. It was now dark out and I was kicking myself for not bringing anything warmer to wear. I felt bad that I wasn't really helping because I was still feeling sick but they weren't really doing anything at the moment. We were mainly just waiting for the mermaid to show up and/or get caught in the net.

Rick was cooking something, but I had all ready barfed a few more times and I couldn't even watch the others eat. I was just lying down on the deck with Dean's jacket over me for warmth.

"So how long have you been hunting this thing?" John asked Rick. My eyes were closed and Dean was sitting next to me. Rick paused and I guessed it was to finish chewing.

"For ten years." He answered. "Every time I get close she slips right through my fingers."

"How do you keep from being enchanted?" Dean asked.

"It's never bothered me. I've seen it happen to many men. It's the reason why I don't have a crew anymore. I used to have at least two men with me." He said.

"So not everyone's affected?" John asked. It was silent and I guessed that Rick nodded. John and Rick continued to chat but Dean was silent. I sat up and leaned against him. He turned his head.

"I thought you were sleeping," he said softly. I shook my head and rested it on his shoulder. He kissed the top of my head. "Are you feeling any better? You should probably eat something."

"Oh god," I groaned, thinking about food didn't help at all. I shook my head. "I can't."

"Do you want some more Ginger Ale?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Just stay here," I told him. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"I can do that."

"How are you doing over there Rose?" John asked. I opened my eyes to look at him. "I can't tell if you're pale or not."

"I can't tell either," I said, a little bit sarcastic, "but I'm gonna go ahead and say that I am."

John nodded and laughed a little.

"Good thing we always travel by car." He said.

A few moments of silence passed and I was sure that I was hearing the melody. I sat up.

"Does anyone else hear that?" I asked. Everyone listened and I stood up as quickly as I could to look out into the dark water. Dean's jacket fell to the ground. The water was really creepy; it looked like it went down forever.

"That's her," Rick said, walking over to the railing and looking out as well. John and Dean followed suit. I couldn't hear any specific words but she was definitely saying something. I looked out to the beach to see if anyone was out there but was thankful that I didn't see anyone. It looked like it was just her and us.

"What is she saying?" Dean asked.

"Come to me," Rick answered. I turned to look at him, about to ask him what to do, when Dean leaped over the railing and into the ocean.

"Dean!" I exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing?"

He started to dive down and I started to freak out. John started to take off his shoes to jump in after to get him. I realized that Dean was hypnotized from the mermaid's song.

"Oh, to hell with that," I muttered, leaping over the railing without bothering to take my shoes off. The water was so cold but I quickly dived under, looking for Dean anywhere.

I ran out of breath and swam back up.

"Rose! Get back up here." John yelled. I ignored him.

"Turn on a light or something!" I called. "I can't see a thing! Dean could get caught in the net!"

I was all ready getting tired from treading water so I took a deep breath and dived back under. I tried not to think about what was swimming in the water with me and just focused on catching up with Dean. A moment later a beam of light trickled under the water and I could see just a little bit better. I could see where the net was and I could see Dean swimming deeper and deeper.

I kicked my feet as hard as I could to catch up with him. I reached out my hand and grabbed his ankle. He ignored me and kept kicking his own feet, swimming deeper and deeper. I grabbed his ankle with both hands and pulled him back. I found a burst of energy, probably from sitting around on the boat all day without doing anything and somehow got in front of him.

He was all ready getting weaker and I was quickly running out of breath. I wrapped my arm under his shoulders and tried to swim back up with him. He was too heavy.

I gasped a mouthful of water into my lungs when an arm reached out of the darkness and grabbed Dean's legs. It was the mermaid. Black spots were starting to cloud what little vision I had in the dark water and I didn't know how much longer I would be able to fight. I didn't even know if Dean was still conscious.

I didn't even know if Dean was still alive.

...

...

Thank you everybody for the amazing reviews :) They made me super crazy happy! I have some good news for you guys. The next chapter was going to be the last chapter, but then I rewatched the first episode again and realized there would be something missing from my story. So I decided to write about what happened when Dean (and Rose) were in New Orleans. It's gonna be fun!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please leave me some reviews. I promise to answer them all :)

-Erin