Chapter 6

Dean made his way around the outskirts of the carnival and quickly ducked when two workers walked by chatting. They stopped in front of him to light cigarettes, blowing out puffs of smoke into the air. He held his breath until they continued their way, not seeing Dean in his hiding spot. After releasing his breath and taking a couple of slow intakes of air, Dean finally got his racing heart to slow. He stayed hidden a little longer to be sure no one else came that way.

Once Dean found the House of Mirrors, he quickly moved to the service entrance and picked the lock to get inside. He plastered himself against the wall and strained to hear any foreign sounds. All he heard was the creaking and groaning of the structure. When he was sure he hadn't been seen, Dean pulled out a small flashlight and turned it on, shining it right and left.

It took Dean a moment to determine where he was in the maze of mirrors and slowly made his way down the dark hall behind the mirrors. He pulled up the maze in his mind and tried to find the room where the kids said they had found the bag of stuffed animals.

When Dean thought he was in the right spot, he stopped and began to look at the backs of the mirrors, running his light over them, moving down the row until he came to a curve. He huffed in anger but wasn't giving up and started back the way he had come, taking a closer look at each mirror that he came to.

Something suddenly clicked in Dean's mind, and he backpedaled back to the mirror that he had just passed. The light played off the darkness of the coating as Dean slowly ran it up and down before stopping when a flaw caught his eye. He leaned in closer and touched the scratching to trace it with his finger. Dean's eyes widened when he realized it was a 'W'. The only one he could think of that would scratch that onto the back surface was Sammy, W for Winchester.

He frowned in confusion, not sure what this find meant and looked at the rest of the mirror. Not finding anything on this side, Dean decided to check the other side out. He ran a hand around the frame before looking around for something so he could mark it. He found a piece of cardboard and tore a length off to use. Dean found the crack between the mirrors and worked on wedging the cardboard between them to mark it from the other side. With that done, he headed down the hall to find a way into the maze of mirrors.

Dean found the hidden doorway and pushed on a mirror that allowed him to step into the attraction. He blinked quickly as his light's reflection off the surface of the mirrors blinded him for a moment. He lowered the light to the floor and cautiously made his way down the hall, feeling jumpy as he glanced at his reflections in the mirrors thinking it creeped him out.

It seemed to take forever for him to reach the room that was completely lined with mirrors, even the ceiling. He stepped away from the mirrors to the middle of the room and then slowly turned in a circle until he spotted the cardboard sticking out between two of the mirrors.

"Okay," Dean mumbled to himself as he stepped to the floor length mirror and pulled on the cardboard to be sure. He studied the surface of the mirror but couldn't see the 'W' like he saw on the other side. Dean raised his hand and started to touch the surface of the mirror, but something stopped him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and chills ran down his spine making him step away from spot. He rubbed his eyes when it looked like the surface of the mirror seemed to shimmer and swirl. Dean frowned and bit his lower lip, not sure what his sixth sense was telling him. There was something wrong with that one specific mirror. To be sure, Dean stepped to the one beside it and looked at it not feeling anything wrong or off with it.

Time slipped by as the young hunter stood in front of the mirror trying to decide what to do. He was sure it had something to do with his brother's disappearance. Not knowing what else to do, he pulled the cardboard to the bottom and pushed most of it back into the crack, only leaving enough sticking out to find the mirror again.

Dean knew he needed to let Bobby know what he had found and about the mirror. He hoped the older hunter would have some insight into what they were dealing with and a way to find Sammy. With that decided, he headed from the room and to the hidden door to go out the way he had come in.

spn

Bobby was waiting at the Impala as Dean strolled toward him. He could tell there was something on his mind and wondered if he had found anything inside.

"Hey Bobby," Dean greeted him unlocking the car so they could get inside. "Did you get a job?"

"Not at first, the owner thought I was too old to be doing any heavy lifting," Bobby replied to get a snort of laughter from Dean. "I convinced him I was stronger than I looked and only wanted something parttime and would even throw in my son to help for free."

"Gee thanks, but shouldn't I get something too?" Dean whined.

"You get free food and drink and an unquestionable reason to be walking around this place where most people don't go. That should be enough. What did you find?"

"Sammy was taken from there, the House of Mirrors, I'm sure. I found a 'W' scratched onto the back of one of the mirrors and when I checked the front…I swear Bobby…It was like the mirror wasn't a mirror at all. It creeped me out big time."

"Can you describe it for me?"

"Well…The surface seemed to be moving and not just from the reflection either. It was like it was alive or something. Do you think that it has something to do with Sammy disappearing? Could it be some sort of doorway?"

"That does sound familiar…" Bobby surmised as he rubbed his face. "We start work this evening; let's head back to the house so I can do some research before he need to come back to work."

"Alright, sounds good to me." Dean cranked the Impala and let her roar to life before putting her into gear and driving away. He clenched the steering wheel tightly and made himself release it as his mind raced. He hoped this was a huge step in finding his brother.


A/N: Dean finds a clue and Bobby gets a part-time job at the carnival. Can they figure out how to get to Sammy and save him. Thank you for coming on this journey. Reviews/Comments would be great. NC