Chapter 2

Dean was almost asleep when the movement across the room drew his attention. He opened his eyes enough to see his brother get up and head for the bathroom. After shaking himself alert, Dean sat up on the side of the bed waiting for Sam to come from the bathroom and see if he found anything.

"Tell me you found something," Dean grunted as he suppressed a yawn trying to decide whether he wanted to take a nap.

"I got the names of some families that have taken their kids to their pediatrician that we can go talk to," Sam told him searching his bag for different clothes.

"And how did you find that out?" Dean asked in a curious voice.

"I hacked their databases," Sam mumbled a little uncomfortable with what he did.

"That's my boy!" Dean beamed getting up and slapping him on the back making Sam grunt in annoyance.

"See if you have any clothes that make us look like counselors from social services."

"As long as I don't have to look like Mr. Rogers," Dean fussed turning to his duffel to search it thinking a button up and jeans would work.

Once the brothers were attired in suitable clothes, Dean went to the Impala and Sam walked over to the office to get a map of the town so they could find the addresses of the families to visit. He got in the Impala and unfolded the map to search for the street addresses checking to see which was the closest. He gave Dean directions, and they headed across town into a residential area to the first location.

Dean pulled into the driveway of a two-story ranch style house and stopped. They got out and straightened their ties and smoothed their shirts before walking up the stone walkway to the porch and front door. Sam rang the bell and they waited for an answer.

"Can I help you?" a middle-aged woman asked them.

"Good day ma'am," Sam started. "We're counselors with social services; I'm Sam and this is Dean, and we are checking on all the children who have been having night terrors to offer our help."

"Really?" she asked, with a cautious look on her face.

"It's a free service," Dean added hoping that would sway her.

"Well, I guess it's okay. I'm Connie. Come in, Andy is in the family room," she told them opening the door to let them in. She led them into a room off the foyer where a young boy around eight or nine was curled up on the couch asleep. "Excuse me, Andy, honey, can you wake up?" she cooed to her son as she stroked his head.

"Momma," the boy whined as he rubbed his eyes.

"There's a couple of nice gentlemen here to see you," she told her son in a warm, soothing voice.

"Hi Andy," Sam greeted him sitting down in a chair by the couch so not to loom over him. He smiled warmly at the boy and looked him over. He was pale, with dark circles under his eyes and seemed leery of him.

"Ma'am, would it be a bother to get a cup of coffee?" Dean asked knowing Sam was good with kids and wanted to give them some alone time.

"I don't see why not," she replied, patting Andy's hand before getting up to lead Dean from the room.

"My name's Sam," Sam told Andy in a gentle voice. "Can we talk about your bad dreams?"

"I guess," he mumbled shrinking in on himself.

"Can you tell me about them?" he encouraged. "It's okay, I used to have bad dreams when I was your age too."

"You did?" Andy asked looking up at him for a moment before dropping his gaze again.

"Yes, and you know what I found that helped was to talk to my big brother about them. It helped me understand them and what was causing them."

"I was in the woods, and it was dark," Andy started. "I couldn't find my way out and I could hear things moving around me. I was really scared and started running."

"That does sound scary," Sam nodded. "What happened next?"

"There was someone there in the shadows," Andy whispered. "I think he wanted to hurt me."

"Can you describe this person?"

"I couldn't really see that good. I think he had on a long robe with a hood. And…" Andy started but stopped looking down at his fidgeting fingers.

"What Andy, it's okay, you can tell me anything."

"He kept fading in and out like he wasn't real."

"Do you have these dreams when you sleep during the day?"

"No, not really. It's like they try to come but the light keeps them away. I don't sleep at night anymore."

"The darkness makes them worse then."

"Yes."

Sam looked up when Dean and Andy's mom came back into the room with the coffee. He accepted a cup and gave Dean a knowing look.

Dean sat on the couch with Andy but not too close.

"Andy, these dreams you are having, are they always the same one?"

"Yeah, I'm lost in the woods."

"Andy got lost in the woods when he was five and it took the searchers until the next day to find him. He was alone in the woods all night. He had nightmares then too."

"Do you remember those nightmares Andy?"

"Yeah."

"Are they the same as you're having now?"

"No, these are worse and there was no one else in those dreams with me."

"Thank you for talking with us Andy, ma'am, thank you for your time. We should be going," Dean told them standing to leave.

"If Andy wants to talk some more, call us," Sam told her giving her his number. "It's going to be okay Andy," he directed to the young boy giving him a warm smile.

The brothers were shown out and got in the car to leave. Sam took some notes before looking at the map and the addresses giving Dean directions to the next family to visit.

spn

The next house that Dean stopped at was a brick home set on a large lot. He parked the Impala, and they got out to go to the front door. Dean knocked loudly and stepped back to wait for an answer.

"Dean, ask the kid if he has had any bad dreams when he sleeps during the day," Sam suggested thinking this was a clue. "Sleeping during the day is probably why the kids are not in the hospital."

"Okay, I'll check." Dean smiled when the door was opened by a boy who looked about nine. He looked sick with weak eyes and rumpled appearance like he had slept in his clothes.

"Hello there," Dean greeted him. "Is your Mom or Dad home?"

The boy looked at the two strangers for a moment but didn't speak to them. He turned and walked back into the house, leaving the door open. The brothers looked at each other before following the boy into the house.

"Davey who was at the…" a woman asked stepping from another room into the foyer to see the brothers. She stepped back from them raising her hand to her mouth.

"Hello ma'am," Dean quickly greeted her. "I'm Dean and this is Sam, we're counselors who deal in childhood traumas like your son is experiencing with his night terrors."

"Your son's name was given to us because he is suffering from night terrors," Sam continued. "We would like to talk with him, if you agree."

"I guess you could try, but Davey hasn't spoken to anyone since the night terrors started. My name is Betty, and my son is Davey. He's probably in the sunroom; that's his favorite place in the house." She led them down a hall and through the kitchen to a room off it. Davey was sitting on the floor at a table with paper and crayons around him.

"Honey, these men would like to talk to you. Is that okay?" she asked him.

Dean squatted down beside the table and looked at some of the drawings.

"These are good Davey. I'm Dean, mind if I sit with you?" He didn't see any signs of discomfort or fear from Davey, so he sat down. Dean nodded to Sam to take the mother back into the kitchen.

"Betty, why don't we leave them alone," Sam suggested guiding her away.

"Davey, can you tell me about you dreams?" Dean asked gently. When he didn't get a response, he tried another approach. "Do you think maybe you could draw me a picture?" Dean picked up a black crayon and took a clean piece of paper and began to draw himself. "I used to do this when I was young like you. Sometimes it helps to tell someone else what's bothering you."

They sat together drawing, not talking until Davey stopped drawing and looked through the papers on the table for a moment before handing Dean one. He wouldn't look at him as he hunched over and hugged his body with his arms.

"Thank you Davey," Dean told him looking down at the dark drawing depicting what looked like a figure in a long, black cloak with no face. He didn't look human. "Is that what you saw?"

Davey nodded yes and took another drawing to hand to him. Dean accepted it and saw what looked like all different kinds of snakes crawling around.

"You saw snakes in your dreams?"

Davey again nodded and shivered tucking his head down on his arms.

"When you nap during the day, do you have these dreams?"

Davey looked up for a moment like he was thinking and shook his head no.

"I know this is super hard for you, but you hang in there. We're going to try and help you," Dean told Davey gently rubbing his back.

"How long has Davey been like this?" Sam asked Betty as she wiped the counter and kept glancing in the sunroom.

"About ten days. He won't sleep at night and if he does, wakes up screaming until he's hoarse."

"Did Davey know any of the other kids suffering from night terrors?"

"They go to school together but are in different grades. I think there's a couple the same age as Davey."

"Did anything strange or unusual happen right before they started? Did you go to a county fair, circus, flea market, camp, or zoo?"

"No, we took our vacation over a month ago. We've been getting Davey ready for school that will start back in a few weeks."

"How are you doing?" he asked her, seeing the strained, worried look on her face.

"Honestly, I'm at my wit's end. I don't know what to do for Davey. I feel so helpless…" Betty trailed off as her breath hitched and she fought back a sob.

"I hope Dean and I can help your son and all the other kids being affected."

"Sam, let's go," Dean told him when he stepped into the kitchen. "Thank you Betty."

"Please help my son," Betty sobbed softly.

"We are going to try; you hang in there Betty," Dean replied before walking away with Sam following behind him. When they were back in the car, Dean handed Sam the picture. "Look familiar?"

Sam unfolded the paper and looked at it thinking it was what Andy described for them.

"It's the same monster doing this to the kids. Take me back to the motel, I need to do some research," Sam stated in a firm voice. "We need to stop whatever this is from hurting those kids."

Dean cranked the Impala and pulled back onto the street to head back to the motel. He pulled into the parking lot and stopped letting Sam get out.

"I'm going to go grab a drink," Dean told his brother. He hated cases that involved children, they always put him in a bad mood. He never could understand how someone could hurt an innocent child.

"Okay," Sam replied tapping the top of the Impala for a moment before stepping back and watching Dean drive away. It didn't get by Sam that Dean was upset more than usual since the victims were kids. They were innocent victims who should be protected from the evils of the world. He sighed softly and headed to their room to continue his research.


A/N: The brothers are sure this is their thing now and begin the hunt for the monster to stop it. Can they find out what it is and stop it before it's too late? Thank you for coming on this journey with me. Reviews/Comments are appreciated. NC