Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

Sam Winchester

If there was ever a town where we should have been called in, this is it. The entire history of this town just screams supernatural interference and the last nine years in particular show there's been some serious foul play happening. Body after body has been recovered. More and more people have gone missing. Buildings have burned down with countless victims inside. And the amount of blood that goes missing from the hospital is criminal. How could we have passed over this place?

It's pathetic that Crowley was the one to lead us here.

But then again this case is different than any other one we've dealt with. We don't have any civilians to question about the happenings here because quite frankly, we don't even know what to be asking. These creatures we're trying to bag—vampires—aren't the same as the ones we've seen before. And the facts of this town are suggesting to me that its residents are helping to cover up for these things.

So how do we find something we don't understand without any leads or help? We catch the things we do.

It's surprising how quickly you can find something in this town if you just look. As I said before, this town has a history of supernatural activity and what this town has that seems to go hand in hand with the vampires are witches. In particular, there seems to be one specific family of witches that is most connected to all of them. However, what my research couldn't (or the town wouldn't) reveal was a name or anything relevant to help identify for me who to be looking for; only that the family was matriarchal. But if there were witches with these vampires, demons couldn't be far behind. And demons are something I know how to find.

Before taking on the search I decide it's about time to get a drink. I've only been in this town for a few hours, all of which has been spent doing research, so I think now is as good a time as any to go. It's still early in the morning but I've stopped caring about when I start drinking. Sometimes a man just needs a shot.

There are eyes on me the second I walk through the door of this place. I think it must be a restaurant but there's a bar in it too and the bartender is standing behind the counter. She gives me a look that shows that she doesn't really see me. It's the look of someone that sees someone else in your eyes. It's only for a second and then the moment passes and she's looking at me still. This time, the look she has is one of suspicion. Considering the town she lives in, it's probably the most appropriate reaction she can have. I can't help but stare back into this girl's green eyes. She's cute. When I order my drink she makes a snide remark but I come back quickly and she laughs it off. Seeing that crooked smile of hers I can't help but imagine what those lips might feel like on me. I might as well have some fun while I'm here. I make a move to touch her and when I do a shock pierces through my whole body. It actually hurts. She apologizes quickly but for some reason I can see a wall come up around her. There's no fear around her. But there's definitely something that made her guard come up. I'm trying to figure out what when I hear my name. How would she know my name?

"What?" I ask with an accusation clearly in my tone.

"What's brought you to town?"

"No, what did you just call me?"

It takes her a second but the realization of what she said hits her. She comes up with some two-bit answer about a friend named Sam but I can see through it. There's something about this woman. She knows more than any random stranger should. Something in me tells me to be careful around her. So I tell her a story about researching a new kind of animal with a little extra emphasis on animal. It's not something most other people would notice but her reaction shows me she knows what I'm talking about and that she heard the silent warning I was giving her. I place a few bills on the table and turn to leave when I hear her say, "Good luck, Sammy."

I stare back at her, "Thanks, uh…"

"Bonnie" she finishes for me.

Bonnie. I'll need to do a search on her.

"Bonnie, I'm sure I'll be seeing you" I reply and the look in her eyes tells me she knows it's true.

It's way too easy to find information on people in this town. All it took was a search on the name of the bar and her name to find her. Bonnie Bennett, bartender at the Mystic Grill. She's a former cheerleader, prom queen, and college drop out. She's daughter of Rudy Hopkins, mayor, and Abby Bennett. Wait, she has her mother's last name. That family of witches was matriarchal…

A quick search on her mother's name brings up the death report of a woman named Sheila Bennett, the former professor at the local university who made claims of being a witch. More searches of the name bring me to old 19th century records of Mystic Falls and the burning of a hundred witches, one of whom went by the name Emily Bennett.

Another (not-so-quick) search gives me everything I need. Tracing her family tree reveals a lineage that can be traced all the way back to a legend in the first century BC where a witch helped create the first immortal and the Other Side. This Bonnie Bennett is connected to everything in this town.

And that's it: the piece that we needed to find in this town. To think all it took was me wanting a drink to get it so quickly.

I look for Dean back at the room to tell him what I've got but he's already out. He wanted to sleep as soon as we got here. We had been driving nonstop for over 14 hours and it was morning when we got here. He was exhausted; another one of those problems that comes with having a soul. Knowing him there's only one place in this town that he could be though and it's perfect because it's right where she is.

When she sees me it's like she already knows what I've found. The walls around her are up but it seems like she's done with any façade. She refers to Dean as my brother on purpose, proving to me that she knows what's going on. Dean is as confused as ever, as I can see by his face, but he says nothing until she's gone. After his initial accusations I explain everything to him.

"How'd you find all of this out already?" he asks.

"I didn't have to sleep so I didn't have time to waste."

"Alright Sammy, no need to try to make the soulless thing seem better" he shoots back.

"I'm just saying."

"Hey, whatever," he says. Then he looks at me again with a look in his eyes I haven't seen in a while—hope.

"If that girl's the key than we're closer to getting your soul back than we thought" Dean says excitedly.

"Yeah, we are…" I say hesitantly.

But I'm not sure if I want my soul back.

Disclaimer: The characters are the property of the CW. I only own the story!

A/N: There are more TVD characters in this story and they will be coming out in the next chapter. I know the search for Sam to find out all this information was fast and easy but that's because nothing else with this case is going to go as well. I just didn't want them to be completely in the dark about the happenings because of what he learned.

Thank you for the reviews and please leave more!

P.S. The Other Side and Purgatory are the same place*