NIGHTMARE PART 1
Sam struggled to breathe as he woke up with a start. His eyes flashed around the dark room that was filled with the sounds of Alice and Dean sleeping in the bed beside him. Sam was covered in sweat and looked put-out, scared even. He felt vulnerable in his own skin and didn't move for a couple seconds, but after gathering his bearings, he shot up out of bed and turned on the lights.
"Dean. Dean," Sam said in a hurry, reaching over and shaking his brother's arm.
Dean woke up with a frown, cringing his eyes at the stinging light that abruptly filled the room. He looked to his right and saw Alice rolling onto her side, pulling the covers over her face. She mumbled something under her breath, but he didn't quite catch what it was. Although he had suspected that she was angry about the rude wake-up call.
"What are you doing man, it's the middle of the night." Dean groaned and rubbed his sleepy eyes. He patted Alice on the leg, and she reluctantly sat up out of bed.
"We have to go?" Sam said in a rush as he paced around the room to gather his things.
In an instant, Alice was fully awake and alarmed. "What happened?" she demanded quickly
Sam didn't answer and quickly tossed Alice the clothes she had worn the day before, motioning for her to get up. "We have to go. Right now."
In less than thirty minutes, Alice and the boys were speeding down the road in the middle of the night. Alice brought up the rear with the Thunderace, while Sam and Dean drove up front in the Impala.
Sam was on the phone and was giving out information for a quick address check. "McReady. Detective McReady. Badge number 158. I've got a signal 480 in progress, I need the registered owner of a two-door sedan, Michigan license plate Mary-Frank-six-zero-three-seven. Yeah ok, just hurry," Sam said and began to wait in silence.
"Sammy, relax. I'm sure it's just a nightmare," Dean tried to assure him.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Sam muttered absentmindedly.
"I mean it. Y'know, a normal, everyday, naked-in-class, nightmare. This license plate, it won't check out. You'll see."
"It felt different, Dean. Real. Like when I dreamt about Alice with Jefferson. And Jessica."
Dean's face cringed up at the mention of Jefferson again. "Yeah, that makes sense. You're dreaming about our Alice and your girlfriend. This guy in your dream, you ever seen him before?" he asked, hoping that Sam understood what he was talking about.
Sam shook his head. "No."
"No. Exactly. Why would you have premonitions about some random dude in Michigan."
"I don't know," Sam responded, sounding unsure and a little shaken.
"Me neither."
After a moment, Sam returned to his phone to hear the address he was being given. "Yes, I'm here." He picked up his pen and started to write it down in a small journal. "Jim Miller. Saginaw, Michigan. You have a street address? Got it. Thanks." He quickly hung up the phone and looked over at Dean. "Checks out. How far are we?"
"From Saginaw? Couple of hours." Dean answered.
Sam bit down on his lips and looked back to Alice following behind them. "Alice can get there faster."
Dean nodded in agreement and quickly gave one tap on the Impala's horn. He pulled the car over off the side of the road and rolled the window down. He looked out as Alice drove up beside them, lifting the visor of her helmet.
"Saginaw, Michigan." Dean quickly informed her. He grabbed Sam's journal and handed it to her so she could see the address. "Go ahead of us. We'll catch up."
Alice quickly memorized the address and nodded, tossing the journal back into the car. She motioned with her hand before slapping the visor down and revving her engine. She put the gas down and sped ahead of the Impala, disappearing into the night.
They were thirty minutes behind Alice when the Impala pulled to a stop in front of a house in a neighborhood. Emergency vehicles were parked outside with someone in a body bag being rolled out on a stretcher.
Sam and Dean quickly spotted Alice in the crowd because she was still wearing her leather riding gear, helmet in hand. They walked up to both sides of her and patted her shoulder. Alice looked back at them and nodded at their acknowledgment.
"What happened?" Dean asked as he tried to understand the situation.
Alice sighed deeply and shifted her weight to her other foot. "They're saying suicide. They found him in the garage, locked inside his car with the engine still running."
Sam looked intrigued but also sick from the state his nightmare left him in. "Do you know what time they found him?"
Alice paused for a moment to think. "Uh, I think it happened an hour or two ago. He also has family," she said, gesturing to the victim's family standing in front of the house. The mother was crying and leaning on a middle-aged man for support, and there was also a young kid there, a teenager who looked distraught.
Alice and Dean watched Sam closely as his face became grim, plagued with whatever heavy thoughts ran through his mind. After a second, he turned around and walked away, quickly followed by the other two. Sam leaned against the Impala's bonnet and took in a deep breath.
"Sam, we got here as fast as we could," Dean said as he and Alice joined his side.
"Not fast enough. It doesn't make any sense man. Why would I even have these premonitions if there wasn't a chance I could stop them from happening?" Sam responded, biting down on his lips. He was struggling to look either of them in the eyes right now.
"I dunno."
Sam shook his head. "So what do you think killed him?"
Alice shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe it really was a suicide?" she suggested.
Sam gave her a look. He knew her better than for her to think otherwise. "I'm telling you, I watched it happen. He was murdered by something Dean. I watched it trap him in the garage."
"What was it, a spirit, poltergeist, what?" Dean chimed in with his own thoughts.
"I don't know what it was. I don't know why I'm having these dreams, I don't know what the hell is happening." He insisted, getting a little worked up in the process. He even flinched when Alice reached up and grabbed his shoulder tightly, a comforting gesture from her. "What."
"You're kinda worrying us right now, Sam," she said, looking him right in the eyes.
Sam's lips disappeared as he bit down on them. He wanted to shout but knew better than to yell at Alice. "So…what do we do?"
Dean walked back over to the side of the Impala, opening the driver's side door. "Come on, lets just pick this up in the morning. We'll check out the house, talk to the family."
"Dean, you saw them, they're devastated. They're not going to want to talk to us," Sam said.
Dean looked at him and smirked. "Yeah, you're right. But I think I know who they will talk to."
The next day, Alice and the boys got out of the Impala and stepped up to the front door of the Miller house. Today, the boys were dressed in black priests' suits, while Alice wore business casual clothes. Black dress pants with a blazer and top.
Sam looked uncomfortable as he stood on Alice's right side. "This has gotta be a whole new low for us," he whispered to her as Dean rang the doorbell.
Alice shrugged and looked just as unaffected as Dean did. "Don't be like that, Sam. I know you guys can get lower," she said sarcastically, a smirk plastered to her red-painted lips.
After a moment, the front door opened and a man stepped out, giving the three of them a puzzled look.
Alice spoke up. "Good afternoon. My name is Elizabeth Crown. I'm a consultant at St. Agustine Church. With me today are junior priests, Father Simmons and Father Frehley. May we come in?" she asked, once again getting an impressed look from Dean at how quickly she came up with that lie on the spot.
The man nodded and stepped aside, allowing the three of them inside the house.
"Thanks," Dean said.
"We're very sorry about your loss," Sam followed up
"It's in difficult times like these when the Lord's guidance is most needed."
The man's face cringed up a bit at Dean's words. "Look, you wanna pitch your whole 'Lord has a plan' thing? Fine. Just don't pitch it to me. My brother's dead." he said harshly, causing Alice to narrow her eyes a little.
At that moment, Ms. Miller quickly walked into the room. "Roger. Please!" she said with an urgent tone.
Without much of a word, Roger bowed his head and walked off, leaving the three of them alone with Ms. Miller.
"I'm sorry about my brother-in-law," the grieving woman said to them. "He's...he's just so upset about Jim's death. Would you like some coffee?"
Dean nodded his head and smiled. "That would be great."
Once they were in the lounge, Alice's eyes immediately wandered around the room. She hoped to see something out in the open that would cause suspicion or at least give her an idea of the family dynamic.
Ms. Miller returned to the room and began pouring each of them a cup of coffee. "It was wonderful of you to stop by. The support of the church means so much right now."
Dean smiled in response. "Of course. After all, we are all God's children."
Ms. Miller walked out momentarily, and that was when Dean noticed the small plater of tiny cocktail sausages. He picked one up and began chewing in an irritating way, getting looks from both Sam and Alice.
"What?" Dean said with a mouth full of food.
"Just...tone it down a little bit, Father," Sam warned him.
Ms. Miller eventually returned and sat on the couch across from them, neatly folding her hands in her lap.
"So, Ms. Miller, did your husband have a history of depression?" Dean began questioning her, hoping to be subtle and for the truth to unwind itself.
"Nothing like that." Ms. Miller said, biting down on her lips as she began to get upset. "We had our ups and downs, like everyone, but we were happy." she sucked in a deep breath, but her voice was already cracking from the grief. "I just don't understand...how Jim could do something like this.
"I'm so sorry you had to find him like that," Sam said sincerely.
Ms. Miller gestured behind her. "Actually, our son Max, he was the one who found him."
Sam and Alice looked to where she had pointed and saw the young kid. Max was in the dining room, sitting in the corner with a vacant look in his eyes.
Alice got up. "Do you mind if Father Frehley and I go and talk to him?" she asked, and Ms. Miller looked more than willing to let them.
"Oh, thank you so much." she said, and Sam and Alice quickly left the room.