A/N
So, bad news/good news: this is kinda a short one, because a later chapter insisted on being written right-damn-now and who am I to say no to the Winchester boys. Also, real life got in my face and started screaming and now we're really mad at each other and I doubt there will be a resolution soon. Next chapter will be soonER, maybe even soonISH because it's nearly written too. Thanks for sticking with me!
Chapter 3
They were two beers and three tacos deep into the pile before Sam came up for air. "So, I think I found something here." he indicated the laptop screen.
"Thrill me." Dean replied around a mouthful of crunchy, greasy goodness.
Sam grinned and took a swig of beer, "So I was thinking we should try to find some locals who have seen or heard things about the hauntings out here. And I found a pretty good website, lots of first hand accounts."
"And this is good news how?"
"We could use these accounts against the police reports to find patterns, hotspots." Sam indicated the neat pile of folders Dean had stacked beside him. "I mean, we've got mile markers from the police reports, but no two were in the same place. Maybe with the accounts on the website we can find some areas that were hit more than once."
Dean tried not to look too impressed and nodded. "Sounds good. Another pattern? Dates. Are we dealing with a moon phase or an anniversary, or something?"
"Good point," Sam nodded.
"It's crazy. Except for people wandering off into the desert and two of the cars having big paw prints by them, they haven't got a damn thing in common."
"Yeah," Sam agreed, "I know what you mean. And like, why are there ghosts, and hellhounds and how about the black car and flaming truck. I mean, these things aren't normally connected, so why are they concentrated here?"
Dean shrugged, "who knows. Right now it just sounds like a lot of stupid people with no sense of direction and some wild campfire stories. It doesn't make sense."
"Let's contact the guy who runs the website. The bio said he was a folklorist. Maybe he has more information, and actual people we could talk to." Sam pulled up his email and started typing rapidly; without taking his eyes from the screen he told Dean, "we'll just see what this guy says."
Dean leaned back in the wobbly kitchen chair which accompanied the scratched kitchen table that was the only working space in the motel room. Then he picked up the taco wrappings near him, crumpled them into a ball and threw them over Sam's shoulder into the wastebasket. He finished his beer in one pull and thought about launching the empty to join the taco wrappers, but thought better of it and left the bottle on the table. He stood, stretching his arms overhead, groaning at the tightness in his neck and shoulders. "If we're gonna be up all night, I gotta take a nap."
"Sure," Sam replied, "I might go for a run first, though."
Dean's eyes narrowed, checking Sam's expression for any tells, but it was perfectly regular Sam.
"Yeah, whatever." Dean mumbled and headed for his bed. He had dozed off before Sam left on his run.
###
Even though Dean was shortly snoring softly from the other bed Sam was as quiet as possible as he gathered his things and stepped into the bathroom to change. Before changing into trainers, sweats and a hoodie – 7,000 foot high desert was a chilly fifty degrees in October – he opened the little flask and took a taste of the demon blood. And after a moment a healthier swallow. Then he hid the flask in a pocket and turning on the faucet, splashed some cold water on his face.
Sam gently closed the door behind him and walked out into the weak late afternoon sun. First stop was the Impala to retrieve the hidden flask, which fit neatly in a pocket. Then he headed down the lane toward the highway, pulling out his phone as he went. No messages, no texts. This was beginning to get annoying. He'd already left Ruby two voice mails and as many texts with no answer. Sure, she said she'd back off and keep out of Dean's way, but why did that mean no contact? Lilith was still out there. And Sam was still going to be the one to waste her. He wasn't going to use his powers, he'd keep that promise. But that made it even more critical that he know as much about where Lilith was and what she was up to as he could. And that meant pumping Ruby for information.
He pocketed the phone and began a slow jog. He was heading toward the center of town and passed a gas station and a small strip mall boasting a Mexican restaurant who's logo matched the bag of tacos Dean had obtained, two souvenir shops, and a combo tarot parlor, spell and crystal shop/vegan food mart. He eyed the crystal shop for Hunter signs - there were none - it was just the hippy dippy kind of place where Tibetan bells rang when you opened the door and was so full of incense smoke a person risked lung cancer. Definitely no reason to visit there.
He kept going. He passed more quaint touristy shops, a vegan restaurant, and an interesting looking gem and fossil shop called The Vug. Of course, with a name like that – referring to the hollow of a geode – they should be more geologically than preternaturally oriented.
"Hey, Sam!"
He jogged in place for a moment trying to locate the voice. A slight figure waved vigorously at him. He recognized the tie dye hoodie, it was Rainbow. Her hood was down now and her sky blue hair floated around her face with static. She strained to pull forward a slim young man she was holding hands with. Sam guessed he must be Tree. He was tall and gangly and sported long hair shaved at the temples and an impressive beard.
"Hey," Sam called back warmly, "Rainbow right? Did you get your camper fixed?"
"Yeah," Rainbow answered as they came closer. "We're cool now. Thanks for helping us out last night, man."
Sam frowned slightly, shaking his head, "No problem," and he turned to go.
"So what was up with your friend? He was pretty freaked out, right?"
Sam turned back and stopped jogging. "My brother, actually. He's okay. He, uh, just had a bad experience recently and is still a little nervous about stuff." He shrugged with one shoulder, "you know how it is."
"Yeah? What happened?"
Well, he got ripped to pieces by a hellhound, spent forty years in Hell, and a few days ago a ghost sickness tried to scare him to death. No big deal. "Um...he, uh...Iraq." Sam shrugged as if this should explain everything, and besides, Dean does have PTSD, Sam reasoned.
"No shit? That's rough, man." she looked up at Tree who, nearly as tall as Sam, towered over Rainbow. "See, that's why I told you not to join the army, man, that guy was crazy last night. Like crazy eyes and guns and everything."
Tree looked at the sidewalk and mumbled something which sounded an awful lot like, "I wasn't serious."
Sam took a step back, preparing to leave, when Rainbow rapid fired yet another question at him.
"So did you hear what happened last night?" When Sam shook his head she went on, "somebody else broke down out there, and no one can find them!" She shivered dramatically, "could've been us, ya know?"
So, maybe it was a good thing Dean went all 'crazy eyes and guns and everything', might have saved your ass. Of course, Sam didn't say that out loud. "Yeah?"
"My friend Crystal lives here, she heard about it from her cousin who's brother in law's brother is a Deputy. She said it was somebody they knew. And...there was blood on the car." She shivered for effect again. "Maybe it was the hook man, like the story huh?" she giggled and elbowed Tree in the ribs obviously sharing a private joke.
No, we ganked him. Sam chuckled inwardly. "Sounds spooky," he grinned, realizing that not only was Rainbow younger than he'd first imagined, she was pretty baked, too. "Did she say what happened?"
"Nah, that was about it. Spoooooooky!" She laughed again hunching her shoulders and waggling her fingers up near her eyes. Tree began to giggle with her.
"Well, I gotta finish my run, catch you later."
"Sure man, yeah. Hey, try the vegan place, good tofu swarma."
Sam could hear both of them giggling as he headed off at a faster pace past at least two vegan restaurants within spitting distance. Something told him the local sheriff was going to receive another unwelcome visit by the FBI tomorrow morning.
###
The lights were still out when Sam slipped through the door of the motel room. He flipped a switch and stood in the feebly lit entryway checking out the room. He'd finished off his run by stopping at the Mexican place and getting some burritos to take with them tonight. They'd get coffee at the Gas n Sip on the way to the highway, he was sure. But he wasn't going to spend all night eating jerky and candy bars which is what would happen if he let Dean pick dinner.
Dean was still on his bed sleeping, if you could call it that. Sam quietly moved closer, leaving the bag of food on the table. Dean was on his side half curled into a fetal position, his clenched fists drawn up to his chest. His face was pulled into a grimace, and an almost sob left his lips sounding suspiciously like 'Sam'.
Sam was taken aback by the raw fear and pain on his brother's face. Thinking fast, he went back to the door and opened it, closing it with a loud bang and walking back into the main part of the room flicking on more lights and calling, "Hey! I brought dinner."
Dean jerked up, looked around for a frantic moment until he saw Sam and immediately schooled his features into something resembling normal and tried to slip the gun back under his pillow without Sam seeing. "'ey, S-sammy."
Sam sat on his bed across from Dean, "How'd you sleep?"
Dean yawned and rubbed a hand over his face, then scrubbed it in his hair saying, "Like a drunken baby. How was your run?"
"Good. I ran into Rainbow and Tree, they said thanks for helping them last night."
Dean squinted up at him, now scratching the back of his head, "Who?"
Sam chuckled and slapped Dean's knee, "don't worry about it. I'm gonna shower, then we should probably head out and pretend to be broken down. And we're going to have to hit the Sheriff's office again tomorrow. Apparently, there was another disappearance last night they didn't give us a file for."
###
The glow from Sam's laptop was the only light in the car. He'd downloaded more of the stories from the website and had continued perusing them while they waited out the night, hoping for a ghostly bite. He stifled a yawn and looked over at Dean who sat stiffly upright, scanning the area around them. They were parked off the highway on a dirt track they'd found on the map labeled 'ranch entrance'. The night was dark but out away from city lights they could see the bright wash of the Milky Way across part of the windshield. Once the sun went down, the temperature had dropped to just above freezing, and Sam wished it was warm enough to sit on the hood and look at the stars. They were beautiful in the crisp autumn night.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Dean check his watch. Sam could tell Dean wasn't going to tolerate much more of this waiting with nothing happening. He was on edge, and enough of that would wind him up, and a wound up Dean wasn't a great roommate. And Sam wanted some sleep before dealing with a small town sheriff who was, like as not, going to really resent the FBI horning in on local problems for a second time in as many days.
Sam glanced at his own watch, nearly four am. "Waddaya say we call it a night?"
Dean didn't answer and Sam could swear he heard his brother's teeth cracking from the pressure of his clenched jaw.
"Yeah. Whatever." Dean sighed deeply and shifted, reaching out to start the engine.
"I'm sure we'll get something from the sheriff tomorrow. Maybe we'll hear from the guy who runs that website, too."
Baby's engine roared to life and Dean flicked on the lights, then half turned to look out the rear window as he backed out to the highway.