Part One: Dark One

Chapter Seven: Supernatural

April 27th, 2011

"Dean," Sam said, staring at his computer as his brother flicked through the TV channels, "Have you seen this?"

"Seen what?" Dean asked without turning to look at him, sounding bored.

"A little over a month ago, a couple and their son, the Morgensterns, were found dead in their home in a small town near Lawrence. Police just released the report yesterday."

"Lawrence? Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence?"

Sam nodded once without humor. "That Lawrence. According to the report, their eyes were burnt out, but there were no other signs of injury. Police don't know how they died."

Dean frowned and looked at his brother, putting the remote down. "We thinkin angels? Sounds like smiting."

Sam shrugged. "Possibly. The really strange thing about it is that they died on the same day that their daughter, Adrienne, was supposed to visit for spring break."

Dean swung his legs over the bed to the floor so he was facing Sam. "Do they think she had something to do with it?"

"They don't even know where she is. The last anyone heard from her was earlier that day when she was talking to her boyfriend. He was supposed to head over to their house the next day." After a moment, he asked Dean, "Do you think we should check it out?"

Dean sighed. "I don't know man. I don't really want to get tangled up in any angel business. And I'd really rather avoid getting too close to that place again. Besides, aren't you still recovering from Cas pulling you out of hell? Not really the best time for a hunt."

"Dean, I swear I'm fine, okay? I'm getting antsy just sitting in hotels all the time. And besides, it didn't happen in Lawrence. It happened a few towns over from Lawrence."

"Okay, if you think you're up for it we can leave later."

"Great." After an awkward moment of silence, he closed his computer and got up. "I'm gonna go get something to eat."

"No Mexican," Dean warned, "I'm not sitting in a car with you all day if you're gonna release a stink bomb every two seconds."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Gross, Dean."

"That's what I'm saying."

Officer Speight - a short man in his fifties or sixties with white hair and plain clothes - let them into the Morgenstern's house, shaking his head sadly as he did so. "It's a damn shame what happened to them. They were good people. Moved here in late April of last year. Did volunteer work every week, twice a week if they could. More harmless than a bunny."

Dean and Sam nodded silently as they walked into the living room, glancing around for anything suspicious. The officer asked them, "What are your names again?"

Dean replied, "I'm agent Collins and this is my partner agent Gabriel. Officer, can you tell me how the bodies were found?"

Officer Speight sighed again before saying, "Well somebody definitely moved Zac, because he was tucked into his bed when we found him, but his blood was in the kitchen."

"Blood?" Sam asked.

"From his eyes," the officer explained. "There was also a pile of vomit around the blood, but we had it tested, and it wasn't his."

Dean's eyebrows furrowed before he asked, "Do you have any idea whose it was?"

Speight shook his head. "None. Anyway, Josef and Mariam were found in the backyard. Their neighbor spotted them a few hours after what happened."

"And which neighbor found them?"

"Luke. Luke Blaylock. He's one house to the left of here; he looked over the fence in the backyard to check on them - because of the earthquake, you know - and found them then." Speight shook his head sadly. "Poor man. He was good friends with them. Adrienne used to babysit his daughter before she left."

Sam made a sympathetic noise while looking at a family picture on the mantle over the fireplace in the living room. Mariam was olive-skinned with brown hair and green eyes, while Josef's skin was more akin to ebony, his eyes hazel like his son's. Zac was a tiny boy that hadn't quite grown into his limbs yet and messy hair. The picture of innocence. Adrienne had her father's dark hair and eyes darker than anyone else's in her family. Her dress was white with muted purple as an accent color. A white rose rested in her braided hair. "I can't imagine."

"Kind of weird names, don't ya think?" Dean asked. "Mariam, Josef, Zaccheus. Not really the sort of thing you hear everyday."

"Well Mariam was Greek, and I guess she wanted her son to have a name that showed it. And Josef was German. I'm pretty sure their name, Morgenstern, means 'morning star', or something like that." Speight shrugged his shoulders. "He took a lot of pride in it."

Sam nodded as they made their way to the kitchen, the scent of bleach heavy in the air. The entire house had been cleaned as soon as the bodies had been moved, so there was no real evidence to be found there. "And they were in the same state as their son?"

"Well their eyes were burnt out, but they weren't moved." Speight handed over a few photos of the kitchen as they'd found it. There was a tiny bit of blood on the floor, and near it, a larger puddle of vomit that was mostly bile. The photo had been taking in the evening, though the doctors had said they were probably killed sometime in the morning, hours before Adrienne would have even left her school. The next photo showed Zac as seen from the doorway, with his head turned so you couldn't see his eyes. He looked like he was sleeping, neatly tucked in with his arms to either side of his head. The one after that allowed no such illusion; Zac's head had been turned so as to allow the photographer to see his face clearly. Where his eyes had been, there were now only burnt reddish-black pits. Sam heard his brother draw his breath; Dean always did hate working hunts that involved kids. Sam put those pictures away quickly, moving onto the ones with Mariam and Josef. They had fallen down in the backyard, limbs flailed randomly about, like marionettes with their strings cut. Josef's face (what was left of it, at least) was one of horror. Sam imagined he had seen his wife die. Their eyes were the same as their son's, dark blood staining the grass beneath their heads, leaving small streaks down their faces. There was a white picket fence around the backyard, large enough to keep people out, not too large that you couldn't look over it if you wanted to.

"And there were no other injuries?" Dean asked, looking up from the photos.

Speight shook his head. "None. Other than their eyes, they were all in perfect health. Our boys at the morgue have no idea what could have caused it. It's just… weird."

"Speaking of weird," Dean began, "have you or anyone else noticed any strange noises in the house, or cold spots?"

The officer looked at him strangely before replying, "No, no one has. Why?

Dean shrugged the question off. "Standard question. What about black smoke, sudden bright lights, or sulfur?"

"No, I haven't seen anything like that? What's it have to do with anything -"

"We're just asking in case this has anything to do with some other cases where people reported those things. Has anyone noticed anything strange? Apart from the murders themselves, of course."

The officer thought for a moment before saying, "Well yeah actual. They were killed the same day there was an earthquake. I'm sure you boys already know that - I think I mentioned it a couple of times - but we didn't put it in the report. "

Dean's eyebrows quirked in interest. "Really? Why not?"

"Well we didn't think it really mattered since they obviously weren't killed by an earthquake, but it was the first one we'd had here in years. Granted, it wasn't really that bad, but it was still kind of weird, don't ya think?"

Dean nodded. "Not the weirdest thing I've ever heard, but I guess it's strange. We will take it into consideration. Also, we heard that Adrienne Morgenstern was supposed to come back to town on the day they died, but no one has been able to find her. Do you think she might have had something to do with it?"

Speight shook his head. "Never. I didn't know her as well as I did Mari or Jo, but she was a nice girl. Loved her family, very smart. She couldn't hurt a fly, and she definitely couldn't have killed anyone."

"Then what do you think happened?" Sam asked.

"I think whoever killed the others probably found her and finished the job. There's no way she had anything to do with this."

Dean nodded, thinking about what Speight said before asking him, "Do you know of any enemies that the Morgenstern's might have had?"

"No. Everyone liked them. Oh sure, they had a few spats sometimes, but it was only ever minor stuff y'know.

"It's usual the 'minor stuff' that people remember," Dean said.

Before Speight could say anything to that, Sam said, "We heard that Adrienne's boyfriend, Adam, is in town. Do you think you could tell us where he is so we could ask him a few questions?"

"Yeah, he's staying at the Regency Motel. You two have probably already seen it; it's the one of the only ones in town. Poor boy refuses to leave until he finds out what happened to her. His teachers have been sending him work to do, but if he doesn't head back soon, he's going to fail his classes."

Sam said, "Well we'll be sure to tell him that. Thank you for your time officer, we'll get back to you as soon as we know more."

Sam knocked on the hotel room's door before calling out, "Mr. Shepard, are you there?"

There was an audible shuffling from inside the room. Likely, Adam hadn't been awake. "Who is it?"

"I'm agent Gabriel and I'm with my partner, agent Collins. We're from the FBI. Can you open the door?"

They could hear the sound of the door chain moving before Sam had even finished his request. The door opened, revealing a young man with dark hair and blue eyes, rich were red-rimmed and had dark shadows under them. His hair was oily, and it was clear that neither he nor his clothes had been washed in several days. Sam felt a stab of pity for the tired individual.

"Are you here about Adrienne?" Adam asked, voice taking on a slight tone of desperation, eyes lighting up.

"Kind of. We're here to ask you some questions about Adrienne," Dean told him.

"Oh," he said, the brief light in his eyes dying. "Okay, come in." He turned away from them to sit on the bed, leaving Dean and Sam to walk in on their own. Dean wrinkled his nose when he did and almost said something about the smell, but Sam realized what he was about to do and elbowed him in the stomach.

Adam looked at them. "What do you need?"

They had decided that Sam should take the lead based on the argument that he was more tactful (Dean had grumbled at that, but eventually ceded to his brother's facts) and generally better at empathizing with strangers (Dean did not bother to argue against this). "Well we heard that you were the last person to hear from Adrienne, so we were wondering if you wouldn't mind us asking you some questions about her."

Adam sighed, shoulders hunched in a defeated position that Sam suspected had become the norm for him. "I guess I don't mind. If it helps."

"Adam, do you think you could tell us what happened the last time you and Adrienne were in contact?"

Adam nodded, face twisting in concentration. "It was March 22nd. About noon. I was headed back to my dorm, and I knew she was going to be leaving soon, so I thought I would give her a call before she started driving. She had gotten into the car and was about to leave. She was in a bit of a mood, but she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before, so I didn't think anything of it. I told her to be safe and that I loved her, and she hung up."

Dean waited a second before asking, "That's it?" Sam looked at him sharply, but Adam didn't seem to notice the not-so-emphatic tone.

"Basically."

"And she was going to her family's house?" Sam asked.

"That was the plan. It was only a two hour drive, so I called her a few hours later, but she didn't pick up. I figured she was tired or hanging out with her family or something. But she never called me back, and I haven't heard from her since."

"And you were going to join her on March 23rd?"

"Yeah. It was supposed to be a 'meet the family' thing, you know? I showed up the next day expecting to see her, but the house was closed off and the police had surrounded it. When they found out who I was they took me in for questioning, but I didn't know anything." Adam looks like he's ready to break, only barely holding his head up.

Dean took over now, asking Adam, "Did you notice anything strange or suspicious leading up to what happened? In general, not just with Adrienne?"

"Well… nothing suspicious, really. Although, I did see something kind of strange the day she left."

"Really? What was it?"

"Well, there was a man. Out on the school courtyard. He was dressed really weird, with a black sort of tunic with long sleeves and silver stuff on it. Embroidery? I think his clothes were wool (which was weird, cause it was pretty hot outside). I don't know, I was kind of far away. He was waving at a car - it looked like Adrienne's, but I guess it could have been anyone. I looked away for a second, and when I looked back, he was gone. Like, gone gone. He wasn't anywhere on the courtyard." Adam shrugged. "I don't know. It was just kind of weird. Probably nothing, right?"

Sam smiled reassuringly, setting down the notepad he's been taking notes with. "Probably. But it's important that we have all information. Adam, do you know if Adrienne or the Morgensterns had any enemies?"

Adam shook his head. "No. I never did get to meet her family, but Adrienne was a good person. Absolutely harmless. And from what I've heard, the rest of her family was the same way."

Sam nodded before standing up. "Well thank you for your time, Adam. We'll be sure to update you if we find out something about Adrienne. If you need anything, just give us a call." Sam handed him a business card with one of their phone numbers printed on it. Adam nodded absently as he took it, staring at it long after they left.

Once in the car, Dean asked his brother, "So what do you think?"

"To be honest, I really don't know. I mean, it's gotta be supernatural, right?"

"Sounded like it. Probably angels."

"Yeah, but that doesn't explain the earthquake, or that man Adam saw."

Dean shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe they didn't have anything to do with it. Earthquakes happen all the time. And Adam could have just been imagining things. Or hell, maybe the guy was an angel. That would explain how he was gone when Adam looked up."

"I guess. But what would the angels even want with these people? There was nothing strange about them or their house. As far as I could tell, they were all perfectly normal people."

"Well we still don't know about Adrienne. For all we know, she could be off partying with demons while her family lies dead in a morgue."

"I don't think she had anything to do with it. The Morgensterns all died pretty early in the day. Adrienne didn't even leave her school until noon."

"Then what do you think happened to her?"

"I don't know. Maybe someone killed her and dumped her body and police haven't found it yet."

"Bet that would make her boyfriend feel better."

They drove back to their, much cheaper (and rattier), motel downtown. Dean wanted to change and head into town to get something to eat, but when they got to the room, Cas was there.

"Cas!" Dean said, smiling at his friend. "We haven't seen you in a while."

Sam watched his brother, who'd been in a dark mood only moments before, light up when he saw the angel, and tried very hard not to roll his eyes.

"Hello Dean. I wish I could say this was a social visit, but that is not the case." Not surprising. Castiel had barely had any time to see them at all since he was still rebuilding Heaven at the apocalypse. Dean liked to think he wasn't bitter, but he was never very good at telling himself the truth.

Dean frowned, reaching a hand out to Cas's arm. "What's wrong?"

Castiel was calm as he explained, "I'm here for the same reason you are: Adrienne."

"Adrienne. You know about the case?"

"I know everything about it. And that is how I know that you two should not be here. In fact, you should get as far away from here as possible. There's no telling when Adrienne will come back, or how close she is."

"Wait," Sam said, "Are you saying Adrienne killed her family?"

"What? No. The Morgensterns were killed by a faction of angels that I have yet to find. But Adrienne Morgenstern is not human; not entirely."

Castiel explained to them what Adrienne was. "None of the angels sent to find her have been found; we have no idea where on Earth she is, if she's even on Earth at all. Hell could be harboring her, for all we know."

"So what do we do?" Dean asked. "Do you want us to find her, or -"

"You will not do anything. Adrienne is more powerful than any angel in existence; if she thinks you are a threat, she will not hesitate to kill you."

"How do you know? You haven't even found her yet," Sam said.

"We cannot take that risk. Even if Adrienne herself is harmless, it is possible that she has demonic followers that will kill to protect her. And they will definitely kill you."

"C'mon Cas," Dean began.

"No. It is not safe. Either leave before tonight, or I will send you to Bobby's myself." The angel left without another word.