This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think.
I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex and any other unrecognizable original characters) and I do not own any of the story lines.
Chapter 10: Losing My Religion
"Hey darlin.' Care to dance?"
Alex looked the young boy over. He was definitely not old enough to be in a bar, so he must have used a fake I.D. He was muscular too, his biceps straining through his thin t-shirt.
"No, thanks," said Alex.
She walked off the dance floor and walked over to the booth that Dean and Sam were occupying. She sat next to Sam and set down her drink.
"Was that guy bothering you?" asked Dean, looking at the teenager that had spoken to Alex.
"No, he just wanted to dance. Besides, he's probably only 18. Definitely not old enough to be in here."
Alex took a sip of her drink and sighed when Sam and Dean wouldn't stop watching the kid that had talked to her. She patted her pockets then, looking for her phone.
"Shit, I forgot my phone in the car. Can I have the keys so I can go grab it?"
Dean nodded and handed her the keys. She walked out the door, not noticing the two teenage boys that stealthily followed her a few minutes later.
Alex unlocked the Impala once she was close enough and then pulled the passenger side door open. She stuck her head inside the car, searching for her phone when she was suddenly shoved into the backseat roughly.
"Hey!"
She looked out at her attacker and saw that it was the kid from the bar.
"Get off of me!"
Alex tried to sit back up, but the kid was straddling her legs. She punched him in the face and the kid grabbed his now bloody nose.
"Ow! You fuckin' bitch!"
The kid held her hands above her head and Alex struggled against his hold. The kid grinned sadistically and ripped open her shirt. Alex tried to kick him off once more, but his weight was too heavy on her legs and she couldn't move them. Alex began to cry as the kid kissed down her neck. She prayed for Sam and Dean.
Dean looked around the bar a few minutes later, noticing that the kid from before was missing.
"Hey, where's that kid?"
Sam looked around then too and couldn't find him either.
"You don't think…" began Dean.
Sam's eyes widened.
"C'mon."
Sam slapped a few bills on the table quickly and ran out the door with Dean following him close behind.
Alex began sobbing harder as the kid unsnapped her jeans. She closed her eyes and flashbacks from the party in high school came quickly in frames behind her eyes.
Bryan laughing at her whimpering...
Bryan's brother holding her down as Bryan climbed on top of her...
The kid went to kiss Alex, but Alex turned her head away. As he went to grab her chin forcefully, suddenly, the kid's weight was gone. Alex opened her eyes and sat up. She tucked her knees to her chest and rested her arms on them. She sobbed into her arms.
"Alex! Alex… oh Jesus," whispered Sam.
He clambered into the backseat quickly and took in her ripped shirt and unsnapped jeans.
"Alex? Hey, look at me."
Sam grabbed her chin gently and Alex looked into his eyes, her own blue ones filled to the brim with unshed tears.
"Were you-"
Sam swallowed hard before continuing to speak.
"Were you raped?"
Sam silently prayed that she wasn't, closing his eyes briefly. Alex shook her head once, quickly, and Sam expelled a deep breath that he didn't realize that he had been holding. He pulled her into his chest and she sobbed, his shirt becoming soaked from her tears.
"Shh, it's okay. I'm here now."
He stroked her blonde hair softly. He laid down on the backseat and Alex was lying atop him, her sobs slowly subsiding. Dean looked into the backseat a few minutes later. His knuckles were red with blood from attacking the boy that had tried to rape Alex and from attacking the one that had been assigned as the lookout. He took in Alex's appearance and glanced at Sam, his face stricken with immense fear.
"Was she…?"
He let his sentence trail off and Sam shook his head. Dean sighed with relief.
"Dean, head to a motel. She needs some rest."
Dean nodded and climbed into the car.
Alex woke up in a warm bed. Her head was resting on something that was moving up and down slowly. She looked up slowly and saw that her head was on Sam's chest.
"Hey. Good morning," said Sam, smiling.
He wiped the sleep from his eyes.
"Did you lay with me all night?" asked Alex.
Sam nodded gently.
"Yep. I carried you in here and just watched you sleep."
Alex sat up and looked around the room to see Dean sitting at the table, looking at her carefully.
"Hey, sis. Want some food?"
He held out a box of powdered doughnuts, but Alex shook her head. She turned back to Sam and took a deep breath.
"I was almost raped last night."
Sam glanced at Dean quickly before looking back over at Alex.
"Yes. Do you want to talk about it? You seemed to have some bad dreams. It was like he had actually… you know…" said Sam.
Alex stiffened suddenly.
"Lex? Did he do it?" asked Dean, rising out of his chair slowly.
"No, but it's happened before."
Alex's voice cracked as she whispered her answer to Dean's question and Dean walked over to her, kneeling by her bed.
"Well, I lost my virginity at 15, but it wasn't by my choice."
Dean cradled her face in his hands and Sam took both of her hands in his own.
"I went to this party in high school. You guys were with Dad and I just wanted to be normal for one night, you know? Anyway, I was hanging out with this boy, Bryan, all night. He was in my English class and he was really nice. He suggested we go talk somewhere private. How could I have been so stupid?" sobbed Alex.
Dean let go of her face and stood up, trying to reign in his anger. He faced away from his siblings.
"So we went upstairs and he led me to some bedroom. And then he raped me. I was just crying and I tried to fight him off, but, um…"
Alex looked over at Dean and Sam before continuing.
"Bryan had an older brother that was at that party, too. He came in and held me down while Bryan… raped me," sobbed Alex.
Dean walked over to the wall and punched it, leaving a huge gaping hole. Alex sobbed harder and looked at Sam.
"Sammy, I'm sorry."
Sam kissed the top of her head reverently.
"Don't you ever apologize for that. It was not your fault at all."
Sam stood up and grabbed the Impala keys off the nightstand. He picked them up.
"Dean."
Dean turned around and caught his car keys with one hand.
"Go cool down."
Dean nodded and walked out of the door. Sam climbed back into the bed with Alex. She put her head on his chest and sobbed, Sam stroking her back gently.
Alex looked up when Dean opened the door a few hours later. She glanced over at Sam, who was lying beside her. He was sound asleep, his chest rising and falling as he breathed steadily. She slid out from under his arm and stood up. She walked over to Dean, who was sitting on the edge of his bed, staring off into nothing. She sat down beside him.
"Hey, big bro."
Dean looked over at her sadly, his eyes misty.
"I'm sorry."
Alex smiled and took Dean's hand.
"It wasn't your fault. I'm fine, honest."
"I just wish that I could've been there. You don't deserve that. I'm gonna hunt down those motherfuckers, I swear to God."
"Dean, it's okay. Bryan was killed a few years back in a car accident, anyway."
Alex looked at Dean and kissed his cheek.
"I'm tough. It only made me stronger. Now, c'mon. Let's go get some food."
Alex squeezed his hand before letting go of it. She walked into the bathroom and Dean smiled.
Alex watched Sam as he stood at the pay phone a few hours later. They were at a local café and Dean was browsing the Internet while sipping his coffee. Alex saw Sam slam the pay phone back on its hook and walk back over to them. He sat next to Dean.
"Your latte's getting cold over here," said Dean.
Sam glared over at him.
"Bite me."
Alex smiled and Sam grabbed his coffee cup, taking a drink.
"So, anything?" asked Alex.
Sam shook his head.
"I've done everything."
"Well, I don't think Dad wants to be found," said Dean, his eyes never leaving the laptop screen.
Alex sighed and sipped her own cup of coffee, looking out at the people crossing the street. She saw a family of five crossing the street and she smiled, remembering her family before it was torn apart.
"Hey, check this out."
Alex turned her attention back to the table to see Dean turning the computer screen toward Sam.
"Now I can't see."
Alex stood up and moved to Sam and Dean's side of the table. She plopped down onto Sam's lap and looked at the computer screen.
"So? They found some guy's body," said Alex.
"Keep reading," said Dean.
"Oh, it says that the killer was invisible," said Alex.
Dean nodded.
"Could be something interesting. Dad would check it out."
"C'mon, Sammy," pleaded Alex.
She turned around in Sam's lap and faced him. She stuck her lower lip out. Sam laughed good naturedly.
"Alright."
Dean pulled the car to a stop outside of a fraternity house in the small town. There were some boys outside working on a car. Dean, Alex and Sam stepped out of the car. The boys all looked up as they approached.
"Nice wheels," said Dean, nodding to the car the boys had been working on.
One of the boys looked at him strangely while the other two checked out Alex. Sam saw them looking at her and he threw his arm over her shoulder, giving the boys dirty looks.
"We're your new fraternity brothers. We're new in town, looking for a place to stay," explained Dean.
"Who is she?" asked one boy, jutting his chin in Alex's direction.
"Um…"
Dean glanced over at Sam for help with his answer. Sam sighed and glared at Dean before turning back to the boys to answer.
"Um… she's my girlfriend."
Dean stifled a laugh and Alex rolled her eyes, sighing.
The siblings walked up the stairs of the rather large fraternity house and knocked on the open room door of a guy who was currently painting himself purple. He turned to face the three of them.
"Who are you?"
"We're your new roommates," answered Dean.
The guy's eyes twinkled as he looked at Alex.
"Even her?"
Sam glared at the kid and took Alex's hand in his, interlacing their fingers.
"Nope."
The boy's face fell. He turned back to his full-length mirror and tried to paint his back, but couldn't reach it himself.
"Well, can you at least paint my back? Big game today."
Dean stepped back and pointed over to Sam.
"He's the artist."
Sam looked over at Dean, sighing. He released Alex's hand and grabbed the paintbrush from the kid's open palm. Dean walked farther into the room and sat down in a comfy chair. Alex sat on the chair's armrest.
"So we heard one of the guys around here got killed last week," said Dean.
"What happened?" asked Sam, painting the kid's back.
"They're saying some psycho with a knife. Rich was a good guy."
"Was Rich with anybody?" asked Alex.
The kid quickly glanced down at her chest and Alex drew her jacket tighter around herself.
"Yeah, Laurie Sorenson."
"Who's she? You missed a spot," said Dean, pointing to the kid's lower back.
Sam looked at Dean, glaring. Dean grinned sarcastically.
"Laurie's a freshmen. Super hot. She's also the reverend's daughter."
"Do you know which church?" asked Alex.
"Sure. St. Barnabas."
Sam handed the kid back his paintbrush and his bucket of paint once he was finished.
"Thanks for your help," said Alex.
"No problem. See you later, sweet thang."
The kid winked over at Alex and Sam glared at him. The kid stepped back a smidgen and Sam took Alex's hand.
The Winchester siblings entered the local church while a service was being held. Dean was the last one in and the door slammed closed very loudly behind him. Everyone turned to look at them and Sam and Alex turned to glare at Dean. He shrugged and they continued forward. They sat down in the very last pew on the right side of the church, Alex sitting in the middle of her brothers.
"Now, let us pray."
Everyone bowed their heads except Dean. Alex elbowed him and he sighed, bowing his head.
After the service, Sam, Dean and Alex walked up to a young girl who they assumed was Laurie.
"Are you Laurie?" asked Sam.
The girl turned to them. She nodded.
"My name is Sam. This is my brother, Dean and my sister, Alex."
Dean and Alex waved.
"I saw you inside," said Laurie and Sam let out a little laugh.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Hey, we heard about what happened and we're really sorry," said Dean.
"Yeah, I kind of know what you're going through. I saw someone get hurt once. You don't forget," said Sam sympathetically.
He looked up as the reverend joined their small circle.
"Dad, this is Sam, Dean, and Alex. They're new students at the local university as well."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," said Dean, shaking the reverend's hand.
"Listen, uh, we're new in town…"
Dean trailed off as he and Alex walked away from Sam and Laurie, the reverend in tow.
"Laurie, what do the police say?"
"They don't have a lot to go on. I think they blame me for that."
"What do you mean?"
"I was so scared. I guess that I was seeing things," said Laurie.
Sam nodded sympathetically, giving Laurie a small smile.
"So, you believe her?" asked Dean.
He scanned the books on the shelf at the library later on that afternoon.
"Yeah, I do," said Sam.
"Yeah, I think that she was hot, too," agreed Dean.
Alex scoffed. Sam looked over at Dean.
"No, Dean. There was something in her eyes. And she saw a bloody body suspended over the car."
They had stopped in the middle of a row of books.
"Body suspended, that sounds like…" began Dean, his forehead furrowed in thought.
"I know. The Hook Man urban legend," finished Sam.
"You don't think that we're dealing with the Hook Man, do you?" asked Alex.
Sam simply shrugged.
"Urban legends all have a source."
The librarian set a large box onto the table that Sam, Dean and Alex were currently sitting at.
"Here you are. Arrest records all the way back to 1851."
She picked up another box from the floor and set it on the table as well. She walked away and Dean blew dust off of the top of one of the boxes. Dean groaned as he opened the box and saw tons of papers. Sam smirked.
"Welcome to higher education."
After about an hour, Dean was standing by the table, Sam was sitting in a chair, and Alex was sitting on the table. Dean sighed and threw his papers down with frustration onto the table.
"Hey, check this out," said Sam, slightly leaning forward in his chair.
Dean walked over to him and looked over his shoulder.
"1862. A preacher named Jacob Caans was arrested for murder."
Dean grabbed the papers from out of Sam's hands and looked over them himself.
"Huh, get this. The murder weapon was a silver hook and it all happened at the same place where that frat boy died."
"Alright, let's check this out," said Sam.
The Impala came to a stop outside of the deserted land and they climbed out. Dean popped the trunk.
"Here."
He handed both Alex and Sam a sawed off shotgun.
"I'm cold," whined Alex, shivering and scrunching up her shoulders.
She looked over at Sam, her lower lip stuck out. Sam sighed and pulled his sweatshirt up over his head, his shirt riding up with it. He held it out to her and she grabbed it, pulling it over her head. It was way too big on her, but she snuggled into it. She began to look at Dean, but Sam grabbed her arm.
"Ah."
He pointed to his cheek and Alex stood on her tiptoes, kissing his cheek gently.
"Bullets won't work," said Sam, looking over at Dean then.
"I know. It's rock salt," said Dean.
He slammed the trunk closed.
"Lex, stay between us," said Dean.
"I'm not a little girl, Dean."
"I know, but you're still my little sister."
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. She obliged, standing in between Sam and Dean. Dean was in front of her and Sam was in the back bringing up the rear.
"Do you hear that?" asked Alex.
Dean raised his shotgun.
"Put down the gun! Now!" yelled a police officer.
He came out of the bushes, two other police officers standing beside him. Dean, Alex, and Sam set their guns down in the grass and put their hands up slowly.
"Shit," muttered Dean.
The next morning, Dean led the way out of the police station into the bright sunshine.
"Saved your asses!"
"What did you say?" asked Alex.
"Told him that Sam was a dumb ass pledge and that you were Sam's girlfriend."
"And he believed you?" asked Sam incredulously.
"Well, you two apparently look like dumb asses because he sure as hell believed my tale," said Dean, smirking.
Alex smacked him upside the head and Dean winced, rubbing the spot where she had hit him. Suddenly, a large group of police officers ran out of the station and got in their patrol cars, taking off very suddenly.
"We better follow them," said Sam.
Dean pulled the Impala around to the back of a sorority house. He put it in park and they all got out. They peeked around the corner of the house to see police officers and spectators all over the sorority house's front lawn. They stood as close to the side of the house as they could get and looked at one another.
"Why would the Hook Man come here?" asked Sam.
"Maybe he's not haunting the scene of his crime. Maybe it's something else," said Dean.
Suddenly, the back door of the sorority house swung open and two girls walked out, talking to each other very animatedly. The Winchester siblings quickly hung back in the shadows as best as they could and prayed that the two sorority girls couldn't see them. Dean watched the two girls walk the other way and Sam began climbing up the side of the house. Alex grabbed Sam's foot and tried to hoist him up, but she couldn't do it without Dean.
"Um, hello? A little help?"
Dean turned to her and grabbed Sam's other foot and together, he and Alex launched Sam onto the balcony located directly above them. He opened a window while Alex and then Dean climbed up to join him. They all climbed in through the window, Dean shutting it silently behind him. They were in a closet and Sam opened the door, leading the way into the bedroom. They stepped into the bedroom and saw a girl's mutilated body lying on the bed, blood surrounding her and dripping onto the floor. Alex gagged violently and ran quickly into the bathroom, vomiting into the toilet. Dean cringed at the sound and Sam winced.
"Lex, are you alright?" asked Dean.
Alex gave him a thumbs up and stood up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She flushed the toilet and pulled her hair back into a messy bun. She walked out and stood in between her brothers, looking at the very mutilated body.
"Ugh, I can't do this."
She turned her face into Dean's chest. Dean stroked her hair as he looked around the room. He saw writing on the wall and he squinted to see what it read.
"'Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?'" said Sam, also looking at the writing, which was written in bright red blood from the unfortunate murder victim.
It was written in the victim's blood and the blood had dripped down the wall already, making the message very hard to read.
"Well, it's definitely a spirit. You can just smell it," said Dean, his nose wrinkling.
Sam sniffed and nodded. He looked at the message on the wall once more and noticed a symbol drawn below it. He cocked his head to the side with confusion.
"Hey, does that look familiar to you?"
"Yep, it's the same symbol."
Dean handed Sam some papers and Sam looked at them. They were leaning on the hood of the Impala.
"Alright. Let's salt the dude's bones then," said Alex.
"Okay, let's think about this. It's Jacob Caans' spirit doing this, but we don't know where he'll strike next or why," said Sam.
Dean stepped away from the Impala's hood and walked over to his side of the car, opening his driver's side door.
"Well, I'm gonna guess your friend Laurie has something to do with this, Sam."
Sam opened his own door, letting Alex climb into the backseat first. He got in next and looked over at Dean, confused.
That same night, Dean, Sam, and Alex were at a college party.
"Dude, now I know why you went to college. This is awesome!" said Dean, grinning widely.
He took a sip of his beer from the red plastic Solo cup and smiled at the girl that passed right by him.
"Well, this wasn't really my experience," said Sam, looking away from the girl that was checking him out slowly.
"Let me guess. Library, straight A's?"
Sam nodded and Dean shook his head sadly.
"What a geek."
He took another sip from his cup and looked around the room.
"Anyway, I think I came up with something."
Sam led Dean away from the large crowd and into an empty hallway. He handed him a piece of paper.
"There's a pattern. These men were all wanted for killings that they say happened by an invisible force."
"But what's the connection to Laurie?" asked Dean.
"A man of religion," said Sam.
"That would be Reverend Sorenson. I think you should keep an eye on Laurie tonight, as well as her dad."
"What about you and Alex?"
"Alex and I are going to go and find the grave of Jacob Caans as soon as I find her."
Dean stepped out of the still empty hallway and back into the large and mostly college crowd, scanning the room for Alex. Sam followed him and saw her over by the pool tables. He pointed her out to Dean.
"She's over by the pool tables."
Dean looked over to where Sam was pointing and they watched as Alex placed the last ball in the corner pouch. She smiled at the four boys looking at the table, their mouths hanging open with shock and surprise. She held out her palm and they each placed a twenty-dollar bill in her open palm. She closed her hand around the money and shoved it in her jean pocket, waving at the boys as they set their pool sticks on the table and walked away, their heads shaking sadly. Sam chuckled and Dean grinned.
"Atta girl," said Dean, smirking triumphantly.
He walked over to Alex and Sam watched them leave the large party through the still open front door of the house.
"Dean, this sucks."
Alex held the flashlight up and checked the name on the gravestone. She sighed when it wasn't unmarked. She walked with Dean over to the next set of graves.
"I know. Hopefully, we'll find it soon."
Dean looked at another headstone and sighed as it had a name written on it. A gust of cold wind blew through the air and Alex shivered, rubbing her arms.
"I'm cold."
Dean took off his jacket, shrugging out of it, and handed it over to her. Alex slipped it on and it was way too big, but she snuggled into it.
"Thanks."
Dean nodded and continued looking for the correct grave.
"Ah, here we go," said Dean after a few more long and silent minutes.
Dean saw that the grave was unmarked and he threw his flashlight to the side, rolling his flannel sleeves up to his elbows. Alex handed him the single shovel and Dean began digging, Alex providing the light.
"Next time, I get to watch the cute girl's house," grumbled Dean.
Alex laughed and Dean smiled as he chuckled. Suddenly, his shovel hit something hard and he saw the coffin. He rammed the shovel through the coffin's lid and tore it open and apart to reveal skeleton bones.
"Hello, preacher."
Dean climbed out of the grave, pulling himself up and out of it. He stuck his shovel into the dirt beside the unmarked gray headstone.
Sam was sitting on the curb a few feet away from Laurie's front door when the lights turned off at Laurie's house. From behind him, he heard someone approaching and he turned around to see Laurie.
"I saw you from upstairs. What are you doing here?"
Laurie stood directly in front of Sam.
"I'm, um, keeping an eye on your place," said Sam, looking sheepish and scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably as he looked over at her.
He sighed sadly then.
"I was worried about you."
He looked up and over at her to see her reaction and she smiled warmly. She sat down next to him on the curb.
"I think you're sweet. Which is probably why you should run away from me as fast as you can," said Laurie.
"Why would you say that?" asked Sam.
"Because the people around me keep dying."
She looked down at the ground, averting his gaze.
"I think that I know exactly how you feel," said Sam.
Laurie looked over at him, smiling warmly.
"Lex, hand me the salt, matches and gasoline, please."
Alex grabbed everything that Dean had asked her for and handed it over to Dean. He jumped back down into the now dug up grave and salted the bones first. He then poured gasoline down on top of the salted bones, finally lighting a match for his last step.
"Goodbye, preacher."
Dean threw the match down directly on top of the bones and climbed out of the hole, standing by Alex and watching the bones burn as they went up in bright orange and yellow flames.
"People won't talk to me anymore except for you," said Laurie sadly.
Sam nodded to show that he was listening to her as she continued speaking.
"My dad keeps telling me to pray and have faith."
Laurie scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"I heard you guys fighting before," said Sam, looking over at her.
"He's seeing a married woman. You know, he taught me that if you do something wrong, you get punished. I just don't know what to think."
Laurie held in a small sob and leaned closer to Sam, leaning her head on his shoulder. After a few minutes, she pulled her head off of his shoulder and looked into his hazel green eyes. She slowly leaned forward and pressed her wet lips to his in a kiss. Sam closed his eyes and pulled away from the kiss after only a few seconds. He looked down at the ground and sighed sadly.
"Laurie, I can't."
"Is it that someone that you lost?" asked Laurie.
Sam nodded, looking over at her.
"I'm sorry."
"Laurie, it's time to come inside. Please."
Sam and Laurie both turned around to look back at Laurie's dad, who was currently standing in their front doorway. Suddenly, the Hook Man appeared and began dragging the Reverend backwards into the house. Sam acted quickly, grabbing his sawed-off shotgun up from beside him and running into the house. He looked around the downstairs, but saw nothing.
"No, please! No!"
Sam hustled up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He saw a door slam closed at the end of the hallway. Sam rushed down the hall and kicked the closed door in. He saw the Hook Man ready to strike, the scared reverend lying on the ground helpless. Sam aimed quickly and shot at the evil and vengeful spirit, causing it to disappear.
Sam was looking into the reverend's hospital room through the large window directly in front of the hospital room while he stood in the hallway.
"We were just talking. Her dad came out and then he appeared."
"The big man?"
"Yes."
"Had you seen him before?" asked the doctor, looking over at Sam's very serious face.
Sam sighed, frustrated, and turned away from the window, facing the doctor.
"No, sir."
Sam and the doctor turned then as there was a commotion ringing out at the very end of the hallway. Two huge officers were holding Dean and Alex back from seeing Sam.
"No, we're with him. Hey, brother!" yelled Dean, waving over at Sam very obnoxiously.
"Let them through," called the doctor, sighing tiredly and waving them forward.
The officers let go of Alex and Dean then and the two siblings readjusted their clothes, glaring at the two hospital security officers as they passed by them. Sam met them halfway in the middle of the hospital hallway.
"You okay?" asked Dean, looking Sam up and down.
Sam nodded.
"Yep."
"What happened?" asked Alex, sipping coffee from her Starbucks cup.
"Hook Man," answered Sam.
"You saw him?" asked Dean, his eyes widening with surprise.
"Damn right. Now, why didn't you two torch the bones?"
"Um, what the fuck are you talking about? We did. Are you sure it's the spirit of Jacob Caans?" asked Dean, now sounding very confused.
"It sure as hell looked like him," said Sam.
"Well, I think that the spirit is latching onto Laurie," said Alex, still sipping her very hot coffee.
Sam nodded.
"Okay, but we burned those bones, so why didn't that stop him?" asked Dean.
"You must have missed something," said Sam.
Sam reached out and grabbed Alex's coffee from in between her hands. Alex made a small sound of protest, her mouth dropping open as well, but Sam simply just ignored her, drinking the now warm coffee. Dean chuckled slightly.
"Well, you dumb asses, did you get the hook?" asked Alex, her arms folded across her chest.
She looked between Sam and Dean. The two boys looked dumbstruck. She rolled her bright blue eyes.
"I mean, it is a part of him and it was the murder weapon. So, if you find the hook…"
She raised her eyebrows, waiting for them to fill in the rest of the story.
"You stop the Hook Man," said Sam and Dean with unison.
Alex smiled in triumph.
Back at the library later, the siblings were trying to find out where the hook was. Sam and Alex were stumped.
"Here's something. All items shall be returned to the St. Barnabas Church," read Dean from a rather large book that he was holding in between his hands.
"Wait, isn't that Laurie's church?" asked Alex.
"Yeah, but if the hook were at the church, don't you think someone would've seen it? I mean, a blood stained, silver handled hook?" asked Sam incredulously.
"Well, let's check the church records."
Alex moved around a few papers until she found the exact ones that she was looking for, holding them up very triumphantly.
"Silver handled hook. Received, then reforged," read Alex.
Sam shook his head, setting down the papers that he had been holding.
"They melted it down and made it into something else."
"Fuck," muttered Dean, shutting his book loudly.
They came to a stop outside of the church later on that night.
"Anything silver gets thrown in," said Dean.
"We'll have to break in," said Sam.
"Is that a problem?" asked Dean, glancing over at his brother.
Sam shook his head and then they all got out of the car, heading for the unlocked front doors of the church.
Alex began collecting everything that was silver from the church and throwing it into her bag as the Winchester siblings walked along the upper floor of the local Catholic church. She walked down into the basement where the fireplace was located. She handed her bag over to Dean. Sam handed his bag to Dean as well, walking up right behind Alex.
"I got everything that even looked like silver," said Alex.
She glanced over at her brothers, who were looking up. She looked up as well and heard a creaking noise located from up above them. Sam, Alex, and Dean all grabbed their shotguns and ran up the stairs quickly. Dean carefully opened the door at the top of the stairs slowly. He walked out first, Sam and Alex following. They saw Laurie sitting in a pew, crying quietly. Sam looked over at his siblings.
"Go," mouthed Dean, whispering.
Sam sighed, but began heading over to Laurie while Alex and Dean walked back downstairs to burn all of the silver.
Sam hurried up the aisle quietly and stopped next to the pew that Laurie was currently sitting in.
"Laurie?"
She looked up at the sound of her name and scooted over to the end of the pew, closer to Sam. He knelt down directly in front of her.
"What are you doing here?" asked Laurie, trying to cover up her crying by sniffling sadly.
He ignored her question and asked one of his own.
"What is it?"
Laurie sighed and began crying once more.
"I've been trying to understand all that's happening, why it's occurring. I have and now, I'm praying for forgiveness."
Sam's eyebrows pulled together with confusion.
"Forgiveness for what?"
"I'm to blame for all of this," sniffed Laurie, dabbing her eyes sadly with her old Kleenex.
"This isn't your fault," said Sam.
"Yes, it is. I killed Rich and Taylor."
"Laurie-" began Sam.
"I see it now. They don't deserve to be punished. I do."
A noise came from the back of the church then. Sam stood up slowly, Laurie standing up with him, her face scared. He looked around, but no one was there. Sam grabbed Laurie's hand in his large palm and pulled her out of the pew slowly, keeping his eyes peeled all around.
"We need to go," whispered Sam, his eyes wide.
He pushed Laurie directly in front of him and they began walking toward the back of the church. He opened the door to the basement stairs, but the Hook Man was already there, smirking sadistically.
"Whoa!" yelled Sam.
Sam slammed the basement door shut just as the Hook Man's hook smashed directly through it, splintering the wood. Laurie screamed very loudly and Sam took her hand, running towards another door in the back of the church. They rushed into a side room and as the door closed behind them, the Hook Man demolished it. Sam pushed Laurie behind him and she stood by the window, watching as Sam dodged blow after blow from the Hook Man. The Hook Man shoved Sam and Sam fell to the floor. The Hook Man walked towards Laurie, raising his hook. Laurie cowered, ready to be hit.
"No!" yelled Sam, jumping in front of Laurie.
He was nicked in the shoulder by the Hook Man's large silver hook and Laurie was flung into another room. Sam ran into the room, cradling his hurt arm to his chest. He reached out with his free hand, trying to help Laurie up, but the evil spirit sent Sam flying into a bookcase. It fell directly on top of him and Sam crawled out from under it, standing behind the spirit.
"Sam, drop!" yelled Dean suddenly.
Sam fell to the floor very quickly as Dean shot at the Hook Man. The evil spirit disappeared while Dean and Alex rushed into the room, a small library of the church.
"I thought that we got all of the silver!" yelled Sam, still cradling his hurt arm.
"We did!" said Dean.
"Maybe we missed something," said Sam, glancing around the room.
Alex saw something glint in the moonlight and she looked over at Laurie's necklace, her blue eyes widening.
"Where did you get that chain, Laurie?" asked Alex.
Sam and Dean looked at it as well.
"My father gave it to me," answered Laurie.
Laurie looked between the three of them, frightened, her pretty blue eyes wide.
"Is it silver?" asked Sam, breathing very heavily.
"Yes!" yelled Laurie.
Sam reached over and roughly tore the necklace off of Laurie's neck and looked up as they now heard a scraping sound coming down towards all of them along the hallway wall.
"Sam!"
Dean threw Sam his shotgun and Sam threw Dean the necklace at the same time. The boys caught their respective items as Alex sat down next to Laurie, her sawed-off shotgun placed directly in her lap. Sam stood up in front of them and shot at the scraping noise using Dean's shotgun.
Dean raced down toward the basement as quickly as possible. He threw open the basement door and clambered down the stairs. He rushed to the fireplace and threw the necklace in.
"C'mon, c'mon," he urged the flames as he watched them burn the silver.
The Hook Man was now standing directly in front of Sam, no longer invisible. Sam aimed his shotgun, but the Hook Man threw it aside with one flick of his wrist. Sam fell to the floor next to Alex and they all began to scoot back away from the Hook Man as he inched closer. As the Hook Man descended on them, his hook suddenly began to disappear first. His hook disappeared, followed by his arm, and then his whole body. Sam and Alex looked up suddenly as Dean raced back into the room. He smiled at them weakly and Alex grinned triumphantly.
"And you saw him. The man with the hook," stated the police officer.
"Yes, that's what I'm telling you. We fought him off and then he ran," explained Dean.
Dean looked at the officer, eyebrows raised. The police officer sighed and folded his arms across his chest.
"Alright, listen. You and your siblings-"
"We're leaving now."
Dean raised his hands up in a placating gesture before putting them back down at his sides. Dean slid off of the back of the patrol car and walked over to his Impala.
Sam looked up as Laurie approached the ambulance where he was currently getting his arm all stitched up.
"You going to be alright?" she asked him.
The paramedic finished up and nodded as Sam looked over at him for confirmation. Sam stood up then, towering over her very small frame.
"Yes."
Dean opened his driver's side car door, climbing inside. He reached out of his window and readjusted his side view mirror so that he could see Sam talking to Laurie. Alex laughed and turned around, looking out of the back window to see them as well.
"I'm still not sure what happened," said Laurie, squinting up at Sam in the sunlight.
Sam looked down at her, sighing. His long, dark hair hung over his eyebrows and he swept it away with a brush of his hand.
"But I do know that you saved mine and my father's lives. Thank you."
Laurie smiled warmly and Sam nodded very matter-of-factly.
Dean and Alex watched as Sam walked away from Laurie without kissing her. Alex sighed sadly and turned back around to face the front of the car just as Sam opened his passenger side car door and slid inside stealthily. He rubbed his right shoulder as he sat down, wincing from the pain. Alex and Dean looked over at their sibling.
"We could stay for a little while," offered Dean.
Sam silently shook his head, not looking over at either one of his siblings. Dean glanced at Laurie once more in his rear-view mirror before pulling away, her figure growing smaller and smaller as they drove away from the small town.