I'm sorry about that cliffhanger but here's the rest!
I hope you all enjoy it!
Chapter 1.5: Texas Chain Mail Massacre Part 2
Sam frowned and clutched the phone closer to his ear, "What?"
"I was in the Sheriff's office, and there was this secretary-"
Already knowing the direction of the conversation Sam groaned.
"Anyways, I snuck a peek at her computer screen. She was checking her email, and guess what happened to pop up that she read and deleted?"
Sam groaned, "The email."
"Exactly, so we've got roughly two hours to gank this son of a bitch before it gets her," Dean explained.
"Alright, I'll meet you at the sheriff's office in ten minutes, don't let her out of your sight," Sam instructed as he hurriedly grabbed his jacket and made a dash for the exit.
Mia, who had watched the exchange with anticipation, chased after him.
"Is everything okay?" she asked worried to see such an intense expression on his face.
He stopped, "Look Mia, something has come up. I gotta go."
Mia watched him go with a worried expression. She knew he was hiding something and against her better judgment; she decided to follow him.
Once they reached the Sheriff's office Mia watched as the young agent walked over to his partner who was standing in front of the car that nearly ran her over.
The boys seemed to be having a heated discussion and wishing to understand what was going on, Mia hid herself behind the wall of the parking lot, straining to hear what they were saying above the bustling noises of the town.
She caught a few exchanges;
"What do you think we're dealing with then, a vengeful spirit?" Dean's voice echoed.
Mia frowned, Did they believe her theory?
Sam sighed, "Well it sure isn't a demon I can tell you that much. From the research I could get done at the library I figured out the person in the email; Candice Allan, existed."
"Oh yeah?" Dean's voice came slightly muffled and Mia guessed he was climbing into the car.
Sam replied, "Yeah and get this, she lived here. In Denison, about a hundred years ago."
The slam of a car door affirmed Mia's earlier assumption.
"Weird. Well then, it seems like we're dealing with a spirit then."
There was another slam and the engine began rumbling.
Mia leaned towards them in an effort to hear over the additional noise. It was hard to understand as she caught words such as; "email", "spirit," and "computer," but eventually she got a whole sentence.
"-Secretary is going home for the day. We'll follow her there, and stake the place out until we can get a good shot before this spirit gets its next target," Dean replied just loud enough for the girl listening to discern what he was saying.
The rumbling began to fade and Mia stepped out of her hiding place to see the black car heading off to the east end of town.
Still in disbelief of what she'd heard, Mia sank to the ground and leaned back against the wall of the police office.
Unbelievable, she thought to herself. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears that she could scarcely hear herself think.
"It's true," she whispered to herself in shock, "all of it."
It suddenly dawned on her that this was a good thing because it meant she was right; Cleo was innocent. Something had forced her to kill Jason and herself.
Then she realized that this meant that every nightmare, every ghost story, everything her mom had said didn't exist and was only make-believe really did exist.
She shivered at the sobering thought and then pulled herself together.
Overcome by the same urge of curiosity she felt at the library, she got to her feet and walked into the police office.
She reached the secretary's desk and waited for Donna, a friend of her foster mother, to see her.
"Ah, yes Amelia, what can I do for you?"
Without thinking she blurted out, "Is Angelita working today?"
Donna frowned at such forwardness but answered her nonetheless, "Um yes, sorry honey you just missed her, she headed home. The sheriff let her take a half day, good of him considering the circumstances with her goddaughter."
That fact hit Mia like a blow to the gut. Angelita was one of her favorite people and Cleo's godmother. She was only a few years older than them and she'd always have the girls over on weekends to her cabin. In fact, she was going to ask her fiancé if Cleo could stay with them after hearing that Mia was housing her.
Donna's words meant that her worst fears were confirmed; Angelita is the next target.
Mia thanked the secretary and bolted out of the office before the elderly woman could speak.
Her heart pounded as she ran back to the library parking lot, climbed into the car, and headed towards Angelita's, which was about an hour's drive.
Once she approached the small suburban semi-detached home, she noted down the street that there was a black Chevy Impala, the same one Sam and Dean drove. Mia was willing to bet they were hiding in there and waiting.
She parked a little further down the street and checked the clock on her dash and inhaled sharply. It could come at any moment.
There was a loud scream and Mia leaped out of her car, she watched as two figures sprinted into the door with what looked like shotguns.
The girl ran into the house without a second thought and luckily wasn't spotted.
The kitchen entrance had blood splattered everywhere and Mia covered her mouth in shock to see Dwayne, Angelita's fiancé on the ground bleeding from the neck.
Wasting no time, she whipped out her cell phone and called an ambulance quickly then tried to stem the blood flow with a nearby towel.
In the next room, she could hear faint murmurs.
"Look lady, you seem like a nice person and I'd hate for you to die, so why don't you put down the knife?"
An unearthly snarl was Angelita's response.
"Alright then, no more Mr. Nice Guy," a voice, possibly Dean's answered.
Mia peered her head around the door just in time to see Angelita looking crazed, black goop bleeding out of her ears, as she clutched a knife against her waist pressing hard enough for blood to spurt out.
Dean stood glaring down at the girl while Sam grabbed a silver fireplace poker and swung it hard enough to hit Angelita on the arm.
A loud wail filled the room an explosion of a dark mist, which knocked Dean and Sam over.
Mia stood transfixed as she made out the figure of a young woman in the mist that moved past her.
She fought back a scream and held her breath. The lights all went out leaving the house dark except for the sunlight infiltrating the blinds.
"Shit!" Dean's voice called and Mia turned her attention to the boys who just noticed her standing in front of them.
Sam got up and walked over to her slowly before taking her arm. "Mia, hey. I know what you saw might be a huge shock but what you need to understand is-"
"Oh my God, I was right! It is a ghost isn't it?" she exclaimed, "I knew Cleo was innocent!"
The two boys exchanged confused looks.
"What?" Dean said flatly.
Sam frowned quizzically, "Are you alright Mia?"
"Fantastic! Why?"
"Because that is not a normal response to finding out ghosts exist," Dean replied, studying the brunette intensely. He wondered to himself what part of crazy-town this chick was from.
Mia shrugged and then explained that she'd called an ambulance for the injured couple. Dwayne was stirring slightly which was a great sign, and apart from a slight stomach wound, Angelita seemed that she was going to be okay. The boys suggested the three of them get out of the house and wait for emergency services outside, explaining to the cops and paramedics that a ghost was to blame for their presence was not the smartest idea.
Sam, Dean, and Mia climbed in the Impala, ensuring their heads were out of sight. They waited together until the ambulance arrived and took them to the hospital. Mia was extremely grateful to see that both Angelita and Dwyane were fully conscious and mentally planned on calling the hospital soon to gauge their condition. Dean started the car and they drove back to Denison as fast as they could.
Mia turned red as her cell phone rang and picked up quickly.
"Yes?" she whispered.
"Where are you?" Came the panicked voice of her foster mother.
"I'm fine. I just went to the library and ran into some friends. Why?" she lied.
"There's been another violent attack! Angelita and Dwayne were almost killed in their own homes. Do not head up there, stay with your friends, okay?" she frantically instructed.
"Okay, I'll stay with them," She replied reassuringly.
After saying their goodbyes Mia hung up.
"Sorry," she whispered to the boys who were staring at her as if she was an alien.
"How did you know there was going to be an attack at that place today?" Dean blurted out.
"Umm," she blushed even redder, "I was eavesdropping."
Mia then proceeded to tell them how she'd gotten to that current point.
They still looked at her strangely and Mia wrapped her arms around herself self-consciously.
"So I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that you guys aren't actually FBI agents. Or if you are, you're like the men in black but instead of aliens you deal with paranormal stuff."
Dean cracked a smile at her explanation.
"Yeah, we're not FBI," Sam replied honestly.
"Alright so, then you guys are like. Ghostbusters?"
Sam stifled a laugh as Dean's face darkened.
"We get that a lot but no and we're not Hamill or Ford. We're actually brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester. We don't just hunt ghosts; we hunt all kinds of monsters. Like what I was talking to you about earlier in the library," said Sam.
Mia nodded in understanding;
"So this spirit-what do you have on it?"
Dean launched into an explain what they had so far; that a vengeful spirit was possessing the bodies of people who didn't forward the chain mail and repeating the murders in the email.
"Well then, it seems we've still got some work to do. Umm, how do you kill a gh-vengeful spirit?" Mia replied.
"You gotta salt and burn the remains," Dean answered matter-of-factly.
Mia grimaced at the eerie mental picture of a skeleton burning.
Sam spoke up; "We need to get some more research done, so we're heading back to the library to find out where she was buried."
Dean nodded, "Do you want us to drop you off-"
"No way," Mia interrupted, "I want to see this through to the end for Cleo and Angelita's sake."
"Allan! I found her." Dean exclaimed,
They'd been looking through the archives for what felt like hours until Dean found her last name in records dating as far back as the early 1800s.
Mia, who'd called the hospital to receive the good news of Angelita and Dwayne being in stable condition, headed back toward the brothers.
"It says here her family was originally from Oregon but they moved here. She was the only daughter and…"
Sam raised his eyebrows at his brother; "And?"
Dean looked up from the large book he was holding and shrugged. "The trail goes cold there." He explained.
Sam was puzzled but suddenly an idea came to him. "Check the records of the families living here at the same time with two boys named Frederick and Albert." He instructed Dean.
He nodded and flipped through the book looking for a census of the population of the time while Sam flipped through an old infographic about the town.
"Stop!" she commanded, laying her hand on a photograph in the book, "That's her! I recognize her from when she came out of Angelita."
Underneath the picture there was a caption;
Sam inched forwards to read where she was pointing.
"Tate family 1907; Jacob, Evelyn with three children; Albert, Frederick, and Victoria. Daughter-in-law; Candice." Sam read with a small smile.
"You were right," Dean said to her with a huge grin plastered on his face.
Mia smiled and walked over to flip through a large book herself. "Here look! The deaths recorded of Albert and Candice Tate."
The girl nearly smacked her forehead in realization. "Of course! We couldn't find Candice Allan's death record under Allan because she took her husband's name!"
"Does it say where they were buried?" Sam asked, looking over Mia's shoulder at the paper.
The brunette shook her head. "It only says the cause of death, just like the email."
"Is there an old graveyard around here?" Dean asked as he returned the archives they had removed.
Mia nodded. "Yes!" she exclaimed, "there's one near my house."
By the time they reached the graveyard, the sun was beginning to set in the distance. Night was approaching rapidly.
Mia climbed out of the Impala and felt a shiver run down her spine. This place was beyond spooky during the day, and although she'd come by this place before at night her heart pounded in fear. Especially with the new knowledge she'd gained of the existence of ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and basically every monster recorded.
She watched as Dean and Sam walked over to the trunk of the car and pulled out various weapons. They had an air about them as if they had done this a thousand times and Mia felt a twinge of curiosity.
What must it be like hunting for a living?
The girl reflected upon this as she watched the sun descend further. She thought it must be fantastic but terrifying; like living in a horror movie every day. Still, their life seemed to be much more eventful and important than hers.
Mia turned her head to see the outline of her foster home across the street and sighed. She'd lived in this place all of her life. She knew almost everyone and almost everyone knew her; she was the plain girl who was polite and spent most of her time working as a waitress or at home. Ever since she was a young girl she fantasized about traveling the world, having adventures and truly living. But all those dreams died when her mother did.
"Ready to go?" Sam's deep voice broke into the deep abyss of Mia's thoughts.
The young girl took one last look at the setting sun before turning back to the young hunter and nodding.
He handed her a flashlight and a gun. Noting her terrified expression he softened, "Don't worry it's just loaded with rock salt. It will stun the spirit in case we come across it."
Mia still seemed completely unsure. "I've never even held a gun before," She said softly.
Dean slammed the trunk of the car and walked past them, "You shouldn't need to use it. We just need to find the grave and salt and burn the remains. Now, come on," He called back.
Sam smiled reassuringly at the terrified young girl. "It's okay, you can do this."
Comforted, Mia nodded and followed Dean's lead into the graveyard. By that time, the sun had sunk low enough in the distance that sky was now a burning orange to the west and dark to the east.
"We'll be more likely to find the grave if we split up," Suggested Dean, and Sam agreed. Mia on the other hand was not as willing to do so.
The three of them headed to various areas of the graveyard, using the beam of their flashlights to read the gravestones.
Mia resolved to search by date and sunk further into the cemetery. She was a little scared and attempted to distract herself by counting the power line poles nearby.
The sound of a nearby bird made Mia scream and jump nearly three feet in the air. Immediately, Sam and Dean ran to her, expecting to find the tombstone or at least the ghost but only gained a petrified Mia.
"What happened? Are you hurt?" Dean asked with concern on his face, as he and Sam looked her over.
She shook her head sheepishly, "Honestly, I'm okay. I just… umm heard a noise that freaked me out."
They both shook their heads at the girl's jumpiness and before either one of them could offer up an idea of teaming up so Mia wouldn't be so easily spooked, Sam made a discovery nearby.
"I found it!" he cried to Dean and Mia who were just behind them.
The two walked over to the grave and sure enough, written in stone was the name Candice Allan along with her date of birth and death.
"I guess she didn't really take her husband's name," Mia noted curiously.
Dean grabbed his shovel, "C'mon, let's start digging."
The three of them made short work of digging up the grave and once they hit the coffin Dean told Mia to stand back and hold the flashlight for them.
She obliged and watched with unease in the pit of her stomach as boys wrestled the lid open to reveal a lengthy skeleton of Candice.
Mia inhaled sharply and covered her nose at the stench.
"Pass me the gasoline tank," Sam asked Mia who bent to grab it but by the time she looked up. It was not Sam's face that she looked at but the ghost's.
She choked back a scream and watched helplessly as Dean pulled out his rifle and shot the spirit repeatedly. It vanished but returned suddenly and flung Dean backward onto a large gravestone.
Sam was now cornered; the ghost had picked him by the throat and was hissing inaudibly in his face while pressing him against a nearby tree.
A shot of adrenaline pumped through Mia's veins, forcing her to take action.
Quickly, she dumped the gasoline on the corpse as well as part of the tub of rock salt Dean had set down beside it. She grabbed, lit the match, and cried out to the specter.
"Hey, Candice!"
The vengeful spirit turned away from its attack on Sam with a malicious expression.
"This is for Cleo!" she shouted angrily and dropped the match into the grave. As it set fire so did the ghostly form of Candice. She seemed to dissipate like a burning piece of paper.
Mia felt her heart still pounding and looked around her. Sam stood watching her in awe, Dean sat up from where he'd been thrown and stared with shock on his features.
"Did I do it right?" she asked.
The brothers exchanged amused glances.
"Yeah Mia," Sam chuckled, "you did great."
"So uh, thanks for saving our asses back there," Dean remarked with a slight smile.
The three of them were back in front of Mia's home and sharing celebratory drinks.
She grinned proudly, "No problem. It felt good, as messed up as that sounds." The girl winced at the thought before taking a swig of beer.
"It's not messed up to feel good about getting revenge," Sam inputted, giving Dean a secretive look.
His older brother sighed, "Not tonight, Sammy."
Mia frowned at the oddity but said nothing.
Dean then proceeded to the trunk of his car to make sure they had everything they needed before they headed out.
The younger Winchester turned to Mia. "I bet you have questions."
The brunette shrugged and took another sip of her beer.
"I do have one that I've been dying to ask." She admitted to him.
"Go ahead," Sam encouraged with a small smile.
Mia replied; "What's it like? This lifestyle? Because to me it seems incredible."
Sam nearly choked on his beer. "No, no way. It's-well it has its ups and downs but honestly, I'd give anything to have a normal life like you."
"My life is pointless," She told him with displeasure in her tone, "I've lived here all my life, Sam. I'd give anything just to get out, see the world; have an adventure like you and your brother get to do. With Cleo gone, I really feel like there's nothing left for me anymore."
Moved by her words, Sam found a fire within her. One not unlike his when he was only a year younger with a burning desire to get out of his situation and live the life he's always dreamed of. He saw himself in this girl and took pity on her.
"You know," he started, "if you really want, you could stay with me and Dean and we could teach you to be a hunter."
Mia's blue eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in surprise, "Really?! You guys would do that?"
Sam took pleasure in her excited reaction, "Sure. If it's what you want, my brother and I could show you the ropes."
Mia's spirit soared with Sam's offer and she nearly considered it until she saw the light turn on in her foster home. The outline of her foster siblings' window brought her back to reality. She couldn't leave Steven and Terra behind, her foster parents did a lot for her and in return, she took care of the kids.
"Thanks, but I couldn't leave. I have a family here and I owe it to them to be there to look out for them," She said sadly, pushing away her desire for adventure.
Understanding the importance of family, Sam nodded. "It's alright. But if you ever change your mind." He paused to fish around in his jacket pocket to pull out a card with his cell phone number on it.
"Give me a call, okay?"
Mia took it and thanked him with a hug.
She bid goodbye to Dean with a friendly handshake and smile, which he returned until she opened her mouth.
"Goodbye Sam and the guy who almost murdered me with his car," She teased as she headed up her driveway.
"Hey!" Dean shouted back, "Jaywalking is illegal. You can't just cross whenever you please like some…Princess!"
Mia turned back to him with a half-hearted grin, intent on teasing him further. "You're the one that missed the stop sign!"
Dean just shook his head at her behavior. "What a strange girl." He commented before climbing into the driver's seat.
Sam watched her go with a small smile. He liked this girl because he saw so much of himself in her, he silently hoped she would have a good life as he climbed in beside Dean and the two headed onto the road.
Mia, who was in a pleasant mood, hummed to herself as she stepped into the threshold.
"I'm back!" she called cheerfully as she removed her sneakers.
Instantly she could feel that something was wrong. The TV, which was always on in the background, was silent. There was no child's laughter or sounds from the kitchen. It was only eight o'clock; where was everyone?
Mia walked into the living room and there she saw her foster mother, staring blankly at the wall in front of her and clutching a pillow to her chest.
"What's wrong? I'm sorry I'm late, it's just you told me to stay-"
Then the woman turned to her with a hateful stare, causing Mia to lose track of her speech.
"Get out," Was all the older woman said.
"What?" Mia asked, not believing her ears.
"I want you out of my house. I don't care where you go, or what you do. I just want you to get out of here!" she exclaimed angrily.
Hurt and scared by the woman's violent tone Mia backed up.
"What did I do?" she questioned in shock.
The woman stood, grabbed Mia by the arm and dragged her upstairs to her room then locked the door.
"The detectives called and mentioned our car was found at Angelita and Dwayne's. You were at their house, weren't you?"
"I wanted to check on her place," Mia lied, "I don't understand what that-"
"I saw you at that graveyard with those boys from my bedroom window." She interrupted, "I know what they are and I know what you were doing."
"I don't understa-"
"You're a hunter! I know the type-slaying anything that proves troublesome. Burning bodies, desecrating graves. How could you do this?! When your mother died and I took you in, you promised me you wouldn't be trouble, and now you're hunting! Do you know what kind of life that is? How that affects everyone here!? You put everyone in this house in danger!"
Mia tried again to explain herself, "I didn't-"
"Don't you dare lie to me! I want you out of here. If you are not off my property in thirty minutes I will call the police and after leaving our car at the scene of the crime earlier today, I know they'll have a lot of questions." The woman screeched before slamming the door behind her.
The world around her came crashing down as Mia realized the gravity of her situation. She was being kicked out all because she helped two hunters kill the thing that murdered her best friend.
Mia leaned against her door and sank to the floor sadly. No tears were shed, she felt too numb to cry just yet.
The girl folded her arms across her chest and sat there for a few moments in silence.
I thought she really started to care about me, Mia thought sadly, she was worried about me when Cleo died and I thought that meant she cared about me instead of seeing me as just a glorified babysitter.
The brunette then began feeling tears well up in her eyes causing her vision to become blurry. However, before she wiped them away, two objects in her room came into focus.
On her bedside table, there was a bottle of her anti-depressant pills and a large jar labeled 'Adventure Fund'. It was where she put any extra money she made for her traveling plans which she'd kept for ages.
When she picked up the bottle she remembered, she had forgotten to take her pills that morning. Normally, this simply meant that she would feel extra moody, and weepy, and would cause her spontaneously burst into tears but none of that had happened today.
It was because of the hunt, she realized. The adrenaline pumping through her body, the feeling of the importance of what she was doing was combatting the depression she'd felt after losing Cleo. Mia then knew what she had to do.
Sam and Dean were ten minutes out of town when Sam's cell went off.
"Hello?" Sam answered, not recognizing the number.
"Sam?" came Mia's unsure voice.
He relaxed, "Hey Mia,"
"Is it too late for me to say yes to that offer?" she asked with an unsteadiness in her voice.
Delighted, Sam grinned. "Nope, we're on our way."
He then hung up and instructed Dean to turn around.
"Why?" his older brother taunted, "you forget to kiss her goodbye?"
Sam rolled his eyes, "No. We're gonna pick up Mia and train her."
The car made a violent shrieking noise as Dean steered it to the shoulder of the road.
"What?!" he exclaimed in shock.
"Because Dean, she wants out of her life and I kinda understand what she feels right now."
"What? Like when you wanted to get out of the family business and go to college? As if that didn't turn out badly."
Sam stiffened at his brother's hostility and Dean backpedaled.
"What I mean is. This is our job-it's the family business. We don't need some jumpy teenager following us around because she wants an adrenaline high!" Dean exclaimed.
Sam retorted, "She deserves the chance at a new life! Normally people who learn about our job call us crazy and want nothing to do with us, but she actually wants to help."
Dean threw up his hands as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Sam," he pleaded, "I don't want her to come with us. This isn't the sort of career path to follow. She's just a kid, she has so many possibilities for her future and she picks this one?"
"She wasn't 'just a kid' when you were telling me that she was legal." Sam snapped, and Dean went quiet.
"Dean," he started, "I'm just saying, we can train her; get her to see what this life is like, and then if she still wants to be a hunter she can go off alone. Bobby can find something for her, I'm sure."
Dean listened to the argument patiently and sighed when his brother pulled his puppy dog look.
"Alright Sammy, we'll have it your way. But I am not happy about this," He replied furiously as he pulled the car off the shoulder and back on the road.
Sam was pleased and smiled warmly at his reluctant brother as they headed back to the girl's house.
Besides, he thought to himself, it will be nice having someone else to talk to.
Meanwhile, Mia gathered everything she deemed absolutely essential to bring; such as clothing, blankets, toiletries, and valuable trinkets.
As she packed, a sort of serenity overwhelmed her. She was finally getting out of this town; she had a chance to start her own life. She could help save people, and travel.
The girl took one last look before grabbing her large duffel bag and purse and then heading out.
Terra and Steven, her foster siblings peeked their heads out from behind their parent's bedroom door.
"Goodbye Mia," they whispered to her with tears running down their cheeks.
Evidentially, their mother had told them that she was going and they would miss her. She gave them both huge hugs.
"Take care you guys," She said blowing them a kiss. She knew their parents loved them, though they could be distant at times, and they'd be okay without her.
Taking a deep breath she reached the living room where her foster mother stood, arms crossed by the fireplace.
Mia put down her bags. "I don't know why you hate hunters, but hunting with those boys has been one of the most adventurous things I've ever done and it made me happier than I've been in weeks. I want you to know before I go that I did appreciate you. I enjoyed my time here despite everything, and when 'Dad' gets home from his trip tell him goodbye for me, and tell Terra and Steven, I love them. And as for you, I would say I love you and you've been the closest thing to a mother to me for the past four years but a real mother wouldn't shun their child because they got involved in something strange. So goodbye Mrs. Miller."
To her foster mother's shock, Mia grabbed her bags and headed out of the house without another word. Her heart broke to say goodbye but it was filled with the glorious prospect of adventure and travels. As she waited for the Winchesters, she pulled out her adventure jar and smiled. Her dream was finally going to be a reality.
A loud honk signaled the arrival of the boys and Mia dashed down the driveway to the car with the belief that things were beginning to get better.
But they weren't…
ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! AND PLEASE REVIEW! :)
The next chapter will be the Hell House episode!