Chapter Twenty-Six: No Exit
He sighed as Dean took out the stitches. He could do it himself, but it was just easier to let Dean baby him every now and then. They had stayed at the Roadhouse for a few days since he'd asked Dean if they could. Partly because he'd felt like crap after the hunt and partly because he liked it at the Roadhouse. And he liked Jo.
"Just a minute," Dean muttered.
Sam opened the door and raised his eyebrows in a silent question. "You guys coming or what?" Sam asked when he didn't respond to him.
"Dean decided I needed the stitches out before we left," he said. "Even though we could've done this yesterday."
"You wanted them out," Dean said defensively.
"I said that I was gonna take them out before we left," he corrected.
"Well, they're out," Dean said as he sat back. "Your bruise looks better at least."
"How're you feeling?" Sam asked.
"I feel good," he said. Normally he would have complained about his brothers babying him, but he had asked to stay here since he hadn't felt good, so he wasn't going to make a big deal about their questions or anything. He would try not to anyway.
The three of them all looked up at the same time at the sound of glass breaking and someone shouting. He got up and followed Sam and Dean back out to the bar. He almost wished he'd just stayed in his room when he saw Jo and Ellen screaming at each other.
"I am your mother! I don't have to be reasonable!" Ellen yelled.
"You can't keep me here!" Jo shouted back. They definitely should leave the room while they still could, but he couldn't seem to get his feet to move.
"Oh, don't you bet on that, sweetie," Ellen said.
"What are you going to do? Are you going to chain me up in the basement?" Jo challenged.
"You know what, you've had worse ideas than that recently," Ellen said. "Hey, you don't wanna stay, don't stay. Go back to school."
"I didn't belong there!" Jo said, back to shouting. "I was a freak with a knife collection."
"Yeah, and getting yourself killed on some dusty back road, that's where you belong?!" Ellen asked. She turned suddenly, spotting them. He definitely didn't want to become the focus of this fight. "Guys, bad time."
"Yes, ma'am," Sam immediately replied.
"Yeah, we rarely drink before ten anyway," Dean agreed, grabbing his arm to drag him out the door, which was totally unnecessary. He was more than willing to leave right now.
"Wait," Jo said before they could get far. "I wanna know what they think about this."
"I don't care what they think!" Ellen yelled. Thankfully the phone rang, which interrupted the argument. Jo glared at the phone, but Ellen sighed and walked over to it. "Harvelle's. Yeah, Preacher."
Jo walked over to them, and normally, that would be awesome, but he definitely didn't want to get in the middle of this. "Three weeks ago, a young girl disappears from a Philadelphia apartment," Jo said. She held out a file toward Dean since she knew he would be the one to convince, but Dean refused to take it. "Take it, it won't bite," Jo said.
"No, but your Mom might," Dean said, shooting a look over at Ellen. Jo just kept holding out the folder until Dean finally took it.
"And this girl wasn't the first," Jo continued. "Over the past 80 years, six women have vanished. All from the same building, all young blondes." Warning bells immediately went off in his head. This was a bad idea. "Only happens every decade or two, so cops never eyeball the pattern. So, we're either dealing with one very old serial killer, or…"
"Who put this together? Ash?" Dean asked. He wanted to point out that Jo had said 'we', including herself, which was so not good. He didn't want Jo to play bait for a monster serial killer.
"I did it myself," Jo said.
"Hmm," Dean hummed with a nod.
"I gotta admit, we hit the road for a lot less," Sam said. Neither of his brothers were catching the 'we' part. He should say something, but he didn't want Jo to be mad at him.
"Good," Ellen said, making him jump. He hadn't heard her hang up the phone since he'd been so focused on the possible hunt. "You like the case so much, you take it."
"Mom!" Jo yelled.
"Joanna Beth, this family has lost enough. And I won't lose you too," Ellen said. "I just won't."
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"I feel kind of bad…snaking Jo's case," he said. They were in the apartment of the girl who had disappeared. It had been a quiet ride over here since Alec had napped most of the way.
"I don't," Alec said. He looked over at his little brother in surprise. Dean was giving Alec that same shocked look. They both knew how Alec felt about Jo, so it was strange that he didn't feel bad about this. "She matches the profile," Alec explained. "I think she wanted to be the bait."
"Yeah, maybe," Dean agreed. "She put together a good file though. But could you see her out here working one of these things? I don't think so." Alec didn't look like he agreed so much with that, but he didn't say anything. Dean pulled out the EMF meter, so he followed his brother's lead and pulled out his own. Alec walked further into the apartment without any kind of EMF reader, but his little brother's senses were better than his or Dean's. "You getting anything?"
"No, not yet," he said. And of course, as soon as he said it, his EMF meter went off. He moved closer to look at the light switch, frowning when he spotted something. "What's that?" he asked, getting Dean's attention.
"What?" Dean asked as he walked over.
He touched what looked like goo. "I don't think you should touch that," Alec muttered.
"Holy crap," he breathed.
Dean touched the goo and shared a look with him, "That's ectoplasm."
"Like from Ghostbusters?" Alec asked, reaching out to touch the goo now.
"Well, Sam, I think Alec's right. I think we're dealing with the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man," Dean said.
He rolled his eyes, "Dean, I've only seen this stuff, like, twice. I mean, to make this stuff, you have to be one majorly pissed off spirit."
"Alright, let's find this badass before he snags any more girls," Dean said.
They walked out of the apartment and started down the hall, but the three of them quickly hid when they heard voices. Alec sighed though and walked out of their hiding spot and down the hall. He shared another look with Dean since that was really unlike their little brother while they were on a hunt.
"It's so convenient," a female said. He shook his head when he realized it was Jo.
"Yeah, it's a great building," a man said. "Fixed it up real nice. All the apartments come furnished too."
"It is so spacious," Jo said. "You know, my friend told me I absolutely have to come check it out, and I have to admit, she was right. You did a really good job with this place."
"What are you doing here?" Alec asked softly, but he sounded tense. He and Dean walked around the corner to see Alec standing next to Jo, facing the landlord.
"There you are, honey," Jo said sweetly. "This is my boyfriend Alec…and his brothers, Sam and Dean."
"Good to meetcha," the landlord said with a smile. "Quite a gal you've got here." Alec blushed, and he wasn't sure if he was blushing at the fact that Jo called him 'honey' or that she called him her boyfriend. Either way, he was seriously red right then.
"So, did you already check out that apartment?" Jo asked Alec when he didn't reply to the landlord. "The one for rent."
Alec was usually really good at cover stories, but he was a little flustered right now. "Yeah. Yes," Alec said with a nod, finally catching on. "Loved it."
"How'd you get in?" the landlord asked suspiciously.
"It was open," Alec said.
"Now, Ed, um, when did the last tenant move out?" Jo asked.
"Oh, about a month ago. Cut and run too," the landlord grumbled. "Stick me for the rent."
"Well. Her loss, our gain!" Jo said, wrapping her arm around Alec's waist to pull him closer. "If Alec loves it, it's good enough for me." Alec was frozen again, so Jo pulled out a wad of cash. "We'll take it."
The landlord let them into the apartment they had just been in, and then left them alone. At least they had somewhere to stay while they were hunting since Jo paid the guy. And it was furnished, so that was nice. But it was haunted, and Alec had a good point, Jo matched the profile of the victims. This probably wasn't a good idea.
"Does your mother even know you're here?" Dean asked Jo as soon as the door was closed.
"Told her I was going to Vegas," Jo said.
"This is a bad idea," Alec muttered. He walked over to the sofa and sank down onto the cushions.
"You think she's gonna buy that?" Dean asked.
"I'm not an idiot," Jo said with a huff. "I got Ash to lay a credit card trail all the way to the casinos."
"You know, you shouldn't lie to your Mom," Dean said. "Shouldn't be here either."
"Well, I am. So untwist your boxers and deal with it," Jo stated.
"Where'd you get all that money from anyways?" he asked to keep them from arguing more.
"Working at the Roadhouse," Jo said like it was obvious.
"Hunters don't tip that well," Dean pointed out.
"Well, they aren't that good at poker either," Jo said. She looked over at Alec, but he leaning forward with his elbows resting on his legs and his head in his hands like he had a bad headache. Alec ran his hands through his hair and looked up, like he knew he was being watched, but now his hair was all messed up, which it usually was anyway since he and Dean messed it up all the time.
Dean's phone suddenly rang, "Yeah?" Alec's face paled suddenly, and he was glad his little brother was already sitting down, but he wished he could hear the other end of the conversation. But he understood why Alec looked like that a second later when Dean said, "Oh, hi, Ellen." Dean held the phone away from his mouth and hissed to Jo, "I'm telling her." Jo glared back and whisper-yelled that he better not. He kind of hoped that Dean would actually tell Ellen that Jo was with them. "I haven't seen her," Dean finally said to Ellen. "Yeah, I'm sure…Absolutely."
Dean sighed as he hung up, but Jo just smiled.
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He ended up sitting at the table with Jo, looking over some blueprints. Dean hadn't told Ellen, which he thought was a terrible idea, but he wasn't going to say anything. Dean was pacing now, while Sam was across the room, doing research on anything he could find.
Jo flipped a knife around while she looked at the blueprints. "This place was built in 1924. It was originally a warehouse, converted into apartments a few months ago."
"What was it before that?" he asked. He needed to focus on the hunt. If they could get this over with fast enough, then Jo wouldn't get hurt and Ellen wouldn't find out and be pissed at them.
"Nothing," Jo said. "Empty field."
"So, most likely scenario, someone died bloody in the building, and now he's back and raising hell," Sam said.
"I already checked. In the past 82 years, zero violent deaths," Jo said. "Unless you count a janitor who slipped on a wet floor." Jo looked over at Dean suddenly, "Would you sit down, please?"
Dean sighed as he sat down at the other end of the table. "So, have you checked police reports, county death records…" Dean asked.
"Obituaries, mortuary reports and seven other sources," Jo said before Dean could list more things that Jo should check. "I know what I'm doing."
"I think the jury's still out on that one," Dean said. "Could you put the knife down?"
Jo rolled her eyes, but she did put the small knife down.
"Ok, so, uh, it's something else then," Sam said. "Maybe some kind of cursed object that brought a spirit with it."
"Well, we've gotta scan the whole building. Everywhere we can get to, right?" Jo said.
"Right," Dean agreed before he looked over at him. "You good going around with Jo?"
"We'd move faster if we split up," Jo said.
"Oh, this isn't negotiable," Dean stated. "Alec, you go with her. Call me if anything happens, ok?"
He nodded and followed Jo out of the apartment. She got her EMF meter and started scanning as they walked through the halls. He hadn't bothered with an EMF meter since he figured Jo would have one, and Sam and Dean would need the ones they had with them. Dean was convinced that he could sense when there was something supernatural around, and after what had happened at the hospital, he was starting to believe him.
"No EMF meter for you?" Jo asked.
He shook his head, "Apparently, I have heightened senses."
"You can sense when a ghost is around?" Jo asked, surprised.
"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "I could tell Dean was around still after the accident. I could talk to him and stuff even though he was in a coma, and I've seen ghosts when no one else could, but it's probably better to have an EMF meter. But Sam and Dean have the good ones from the trunk." They were quiet for a few minutes, but he needed to ask even if Jo would be mad at him. "Why'd you come out here?"
"It's my case," Jo replied defensively.
"You want to be the bait," he said.
"It's the quickest way to draw it out," Jo said.
"This is a bad idea," he muttered.
Jo scowled at him, "You think women can't do the job. Did Dean tell you that?"
Now he was confused; where the hell did she get that from? "Trust me, I have no problem with women doing this job. The girls in my unit were just as good at the job as I was back at Manticore." He decided not to mention how he thought Max was kind of a badass. Max hadn't wanted anything to do with him, so he didn't think about her much. He hoped she was ok though. "But I don't think you should be bait. And I don't think you should lie to your Mom."
Jo looked like she was trying to decide if she wanted to argue with him or not. He wanted to tell her that he wished he had a Mom, and he'd be lucky to have a Mom like Ellen, but he wasn't sure if that was going too far or not.
Jo turned around suddenly and looked down at the vent in the wall. He saw a flash of something, but it disappeared too fast for him to really see what it was. "Did you see that?" Jo asked, looking at him again.
He nodded and frowned when he smelled something familiar. He couldn't figure out what it was though. "You smell that?" he asked. Jo nodded, but she didn't know what the smell was either. Jo crouched down in front of the vent with the EMF meter, which started going crazy. "I'm guessin' that's what we're looking for," he said.
"It's inside the vent," Jo said. He crouched down next to her, and he thought he saw someone looking back for just a second before it was just black. He pulled the vent off the wall, tearing out the screws. Jo looked at him in shock, but he didn't have a screwdriver, and he hadn't thought about using a knife, so now he just looked like a freak.
He clenched his jaw and tried not to think about it. He reached in, even though his instinct was telling him to get away from there as fast as he could, but he didn't want Jo reaching in, so he would do it. He tried not to gag when he felt something slimy and gross. He pulled whatever it was out and really wished he would've just left it alone. It was a clump of blonde hair with some scalp still attached.
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Alec shifted in bed next to her. He'd been adorably embarrassed when Dean had suggested that the two of them share the bed for the night. He'd only agreed after she'd asked him to share with her. He was sweet and she liked being with him. She knew he was trying to protect her, and if it had been anyone else, she would have been annoyed, but she kind of liked that he wanted to protect her.
He shifted again, so she gently ran her fingers through his hair. He'd claimed that he wasn't tired, but he'd fallen asleep as soon as they were both settled. He had his arm wrapped around her waist in his sleep, laying on his stomach with his face smashed against the pillow. She could still see a faint bruise from his last hunt, and she'd noticed Sam and Dean watching him, probably trying to make sure he was ok.
She'd been up most of the night going over every detail she could to try to figure this out. She needed to prove that she could do this, and she didn't want anyone else to get hurt.
Alec tensed suddenly, which he did every so often from what she was guessing was from a nightmare that just wouldn't go away. She ran her fingers through his hair again, and then trailed her fingers down his neck. She frowned when she caught sight of something on the back of his neck. His shirt had shifted slightly, so she pushed the collar down until she could see a barcode tattooed on the back of his neck.
She knew this had to have come from Manticore. She knew next to nothing about the place, and she could tell that Alec didn't want to talk about it, so she didn't push. But she wished she knew enough to help him when he needed it.
She ran her fingers over the tattoo but froze when Alec's eyes snapped open like he'd never been asleep. Her breath caught at the deadly look in Alec's eyes. It was only there for a moment before recognition seeped back into his gaze. He suddenly scrambled away from her, taking the blankets with him as he tumbled off the bed and onto the floor with a heavy thud.
She moved to the edge of the bed and looked over the side at him. His cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, so she decided to just get it over with, "You ok?"
"Sorry…" Alec muttered.
"Get up here," she said, ignoring his apology. He didn't owe her anything. Alec shook his head no, which meant she hadn't been able to hide the fear from his look when he'd woken up. She slid off the mattress and down onto the floor next to him. He didn't move away from her again, which was reassuring. "Fine," she said. He watched her as she rearranged the blankets, and she was nervous about him watching her, so she got out the knife her Dad had given her and flipped it around. "You have a barcode," she finally said, keeping her focus on the knife.
"Property of Manticore…serial number and all," Alec tried to joke, but his smile was tight.
"When did they do it to you?" she asked. She hated to think how young he had probably been when they had done that to him.
"Not quite how it happened," he muttered. "It's encoded in my DNA. I knew a guy back there who had it cut off on a bad mission…It came back when he healed. Can't get rid of it that easy." Alec suddenly plucked the knife out of her hand. She hadn't even felt him take it from her. Alec twirled it around his fingers, moving it twice as fast as she had. He stopped just as suddenly as he'd taken it and looked at the blade. "Who's that?" he asked, pointing to her Dad's initials.
"William Anthony Harvelle," she said. Alec's gaze snapped over to her, but he didn't say anything. "My Dad," she finally said. Alec silently handed her back the knife. "I was still in pigtails when my Dad died, but I remember him coming home from a hunt. He'd burst through that door like Steve McQueen or something." She didn't know if Alec knew who that was, but she couldn't think of a better comparison. "And he'd sweep me up in his arms, and I'd breathe in that old leather jacket of his. And my Mom, who was sour and pissed from the minute he left, she started smiling again. And we were…we were a family." Alec still didn't say anything, so she said, "You wanna know why I want to do the job? For him. It's my way of being close to him. Now tell me what's wrong with that."
"Nothing," he said softly.
Sam burst into the room suddenly, making them both look up. Sam looked confused for a moment before he spotted them on the floor. "There are cops outside," Sam said. "Another girl disappeared."
Alec stood up, and then pulled her up next to him. They went back into the main room just as Dean left, probably to go get more information if he could. Sam tossed Alec a small bottle of something, and then Alec followed Dean out of the room.
She went back to the bedroom and grabbed her notes before she joined Sam at the table and split the research with him. She wanted to help Dean and Alec, but she stayed with Sam and went over everything again.
Dean and Alec finally came back, but she couldn't tell if they found anything that would help or not. "Teresa Ellis, Apartment 2F," Dean said. "Boyfriend reported her missing around dawn."
"And her apartment?" she asked.
Dean looked over at Alec, who said, "Cracks all over the plaster, walls, ceiling. There was ectoplasm too."
"Well, between that and that tuft of hair, I'd say this sucker's coming from the walls," Sam said.
"But who is it?" Dean asked. "Building's history is totally clean."
She picked up a picture of a field, thinking, "Well, maybe we're looking in the wrong place."
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.
"Check this out," she said, passing the picture to Sam.
"An empty field?" Sam asked.
"It's where this building was built," she said. "Take a look at the one next door. The windows."
"Bars," Sam said.
"We're next door to a prison?" Dean asked.
She got on her phone and called Ash, hoping he could do some digging for them. Alec walked over while she was on the phone and looked at the picture after Sam handed it to him. She caught herself watching Alec as Ash told her what he'd found. He looked over after a moment, but she cocked her head to the side when it seemed like he could hear Ash on the other end of the phone. "Thanks, Ash," she said. "And if you breathe a word of this to my Mom…" Alec chuckled to himself at Ash's reply, which meant he could hear Ash on the other end. "That's right. I will. With pliers."
"What'd Ash find?" Dean asked.
"Moyamensing prison," she said. "Built in 1835, torn down in 1963. And get this, they used to execute people by hanging them in the empty field next door."
"Well, then, we need a list," Sam said. "All the people executed there."
"Ash is already on it," she said with a smile.
Ash sent the file to Sam, who got his laptop out and opened it. Sam's eyes widened as he scrolled through the long list of names. "157 names?" Sam muttered.
"We've gotta narrow that down," Dean said.
"Yeah," Sam agreed.
"Or else we're gonna be digging up a hell of a lot of stiffs," Dean said, walking over to stand behind Sam to read over his shoulder. Alec sat down at the table and leaned back in his chair to put his feet up. Dean scowled at him, but he ignored him.
Sam frowned suddenly, "Herman Webster Mudgett?"
"Yeah?" she asked. That name didn't sound familiar to her.
"Wasn't that H. H. Holmes' real name?" Sam asked.
"You've gotta be kiddin' me," Dean muttered. The two of them looked up something else on the laptop, and then Dean said, "Yep. Homes was executed at Moyamensing, May 7, 1896."
"H. H. Holmes himself," Sam said, impressed. "Come on, I mean, what are the odds?"
"Who is this guy?" she asked.
"The term 'multi-murderer'," Dean said. "They coined it to describe Holmes. He was America's first serial killer, before anybody knew what a serial killer was."
"Yeah, he confessed to 27 murders, but some put the death toll at over 100," Sam said.
"Let me guess," Alec said. "He killed pretty petite blondes."
"Bingo," Dean said. "He, uh, he used chloroform to kill 'em."
"Guess that was what that smell was in the hall," Alec said.
"At his place, cops found human remains, bone fragments, and long locks of bloody blonde hair," Dean said. Dean shook his head and told her, "Boy, you sure know how to pick 'em."
"Well, we just find the bones, salt 'em and burn 'em, right?" she said.
"Well, it's not that easy," Sam said. "His body is buried in town, but it's encased in a couple tons of concrete."
"What? Why?" she asked. That didn't make any sense. And it was going to make it impossible to get rid of him.
"The story goes, that he didn't want anybody mutilating his corpse," Dean explained. "'Cause, you know, that's what he used to do."
"You know somethin', we might have an even bigger problem than that," Sam said.
"How does this get bigger?" she asked.
"Holmes built an apartment building in Chicago," Sam said. "He called it the Murder Castle. The whole place was a death factory, they had, uh, trap doors, acid vats, quick line pits…he built these secret chambers inside the walls. He'd lock his victims in, keep them alive for days. Some he'd suffocate, others he'd let starve to death."
"So, Teresa could still be alive. She could be inside these walls," she said.
"We need sledgehammers, crowbars," Dean said. "We've got to smash these walls, anywhere thick enough to hide a girl."
"Guess you won't get your deposit back," Alec said to her.
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Dean thought that he and Jo should team up again to look for Teresa. He wished Dean would just tell Jo that she had to go home. She shouldn't be running around the place where a guy was killing girls that looked just like her. And he didn't think he should be the one to try to protect her. Sam and Dean were both better at hunting than he was.
They squeezed through another corner. They were inside the walls, going through as much of the building as they could. He just hoped Teresa was still alive.
"Ok. Call us after you check the southeast wall," Jo said, talking on the phone with Sam. "Sam and Dean are almost done with the first floor. They haven't found jack squat either." He stopped since the space got even smaller suddenly. He could already barely fit; there was no way he could make it through this next section. "What is it?"
"It's too narrow," he said. "We gotta turn around."
"Let me see," Jo said. His eyes widened as Jo squeeze by him, pressing up against him in the small space. He held his breath and stayed frozen as she moved by him. "I can fit in there."
"You can't go in there by yourself," he said.
"You got a better idea?" Jo asked.
"Better than you walking around in the walls by yourself with a serial killer ghost? Yeah," he said. "We get out and move around to another section. Why would the ghost hide her here?" Jo ignored him, and instead kept going past him. She turned the corner without a backwards glance, and out of his line of sight. He quickly got his phone out and called her. "Where are you?" he asked.
"On the north wall," she said. "I'm heading down some kind of air duct."
"No, Jo, stay up here. We can go down to the next floor together," he said.
"Look, we've gotta find this girl, don't we?" Jo said. "I'm ok."
He quickly got out from inside the wall and got his copy of the blueprints out. He figured out where she was going, and then said, "Alright, I'm heading to you." He hated this plan. He wanted her to get out, but she wasn't listening to him.
"Oh God…" Jo breathed.
"What is it?" he asked, running down the stairs to get there faster. "Jo? Jo!" Jo screamed suddenly, so he ran faster. He got to where he thought she was and immediately slammed into the wall with his shoulder. That hurt, but he didn't care. He hit the wall again, feeling it give this time. He knocked out the rest of the boards and looked into the wall, silently praying that Jo would be there. But she wasn't. Her phone was on the floor, but she was gone.
He snatched up her phone and took off running. He ran down to the first floor, ready to bust out every wall to find his brothers. He nearly plowed into Sam though.
"Whoa," Sam said, catching him before he could fall backwards.
"He's got Jo," he said breathlessly.
"What? How'd that happen?" Sam asked.
"We split up," he said in a rush. "There was a section that was too small for me…I shouldn't have let her go!"
"Alec, take a breath," Dean said. "We'll find her, alright?"
"Where?" he asked back desperately.
"Inside the walls," Sam said.
"We've been inside the walls all night," he said. "There's no sign of anyone being held in here."
Sam and Dean shared a look, and then headed for the apartment. He reluctantly followed even though he wanted to keep looking. But he needed Sam and Dean's help. He'd completely screwed everything up. He knew he should've had Sam or Dean go with Jo. He was no good.
"Look, we've just gotta take a beat and think about this," Sam said as soon as they were all inside. "Maybe we got Holmes' M.O. wrong."
"Yeah, well, we'd better freakin' think fast," Dean muttered. Dean's phone rang, so he answered, "Yeah."
"You lied to me," Ellen snapped on the other end. He felt the blood rush out of his face. Jo was gone and they had no idea where she was and Ellen…what were they going to do? "She's there."
"Ellen," Dean said.
"No," Ellen cut off. "Ash told me everything. Man's a genius, but he folds like a cheap suit. Now, you put my damn daughter on the phone."
"She's gonna have to call you back," Dean said, looking over at him, knowing that he was ready to freak out. "She's taking care of, uh, feminine business."
"Yeah, right. Where is she?" Ellen demanded.
"Look, we'll get her back," Dean said.
"Get her back? Back from what?" Ellen asked, definitely starting to panic.
"The spirit we're hunting, it took her," Dean explained. "She'll be ok. I promise."
"You promise," Ellen spat. He started to leave, but Sam grabbed his arm to keep him where he was. He could easily break free, but he knew he needed help to get Jo back. He just felt like he needed to move, he needed to do something, he couldn't just stand here. "That is not the first time I've heard that from a Winchester."
"What?" Dean asked with a frown.
"If anything happens to her…"
"It won't," Dean said. "I won't let it. Ellen, I'm sorry, I really am."
"I'm taking the first flight out. I'll be there in a few hours," Ellen said before she hung up.
"Dammit!" He jumped when Dean yelled, not expecting that from his brother.
"Hey, there's nothing you could have done," Sam said, feeling him jump since his hand was still on his arm.
"Tell me you've got something," Dean said to Sam.
"Uh, maybe," Sam said, giving him another look to make sure he stayed where he was. He clenched his jaw and tried to stay calm. "Look, you look at the layout of the Holmes murder castle, there's all the torture chambers inside the walls, right?"
"Right," Dean agreed.
"But there's one we haven't considered yet," Sam said. "The one in this basement."
"This building doesn't have a basement," Dean pointed out.
"You're right, it doesn't," Sam agreed. "But I just noticed this. Beneath the foundation, it looks like part of an old sewer system that hasn't been use for-"
He was already heading for the door before Sam was done. He heard his brothers running to catch up with him. Dean grabbed him this time, and he managed to keep himself from punching his brother on instinct.
"Slow down," Dean said lowly. "Sam's gonna go get a metal detector, while we get some shovels. We'll find her."
"I shouldn't have let her go through that section alone," he said. "This is my fault."
"Alec, she knew what she was getting into. You said it yourself that she wanted to be bait," Dean said. He still shouldn't have let her go. It was like when he let that guy put his hand in the haunted sink, and then he'd drowned. He knew something wasn't right, but he let it happen anyway. "We'll find her," Dean said again.
"Alive?" he asked.
"Alive," Dean stated.
They went to the Impala and got a couple shovels and a duffle bag of supplies, including their shotguns, and then met up with Sam, who had found a metal detector somewhere. They walked around until the metal detector finally went crazy. He started digging without waiting for Sam to tell him that's where to start. Dean helped him dig until they hit something metal. The three of them dropped down and started digging with their hands instead, to uncover a metal door.
He opened the heavy door, and then took the shotgun when Dean handed it to him. Dean held out a flashlight too, but he shook his head no and went down into the pitch-black hole. Sam and Dean followed him down.
It was a long way down. He felt like they were never going to reach the bottom. But eventually, the ladder ended, and they were in the small tunnel of a sewer. He hated sewers, and he really wasn't a fan of small spaces, but Jo had to be down here. They didn't have another plan if she wasn't down here. But he really didn't like that they would have to crawl through the tunnel to maybe find her. How were they going to fight a ghost in a space this small?
He only wasted a few seconds before he forced himself into the tunnel. He didn't even think Sam or Dean would notice his hesitation; he hoped they wouldn't anyway. It was a tight fit, and he was the smallest of the three of them. He tried not to think about it as he crawled further into the tunnel. His chest felt tighter the further into the tunnel he went, but he ignored it. But this was just like something Manticore would do. They loved putting them in solitary for insubordination, and he was in solitary a lot for running his mouth.
Dean hit his ankle suddenly, making him jump and hit his head. "You ok?" Dean asked him.
He nodded, but then realized Dean couldn't see him in the dark. "Yeah." He needed to pick up the pace. He shut his thoughts away in the lockbox in his mind. The box was practically bursting it was so full, but he could ignore it and keep going. He had to find Jo and get her back.
It took a while, but then he finally saw something up ahead. It was just less darkness really since he was still too far out, but it was better than nothing. It gave him something to focus on. He almost chuckled thinking that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. He shook his head and made himself focus again.
He heard something that sounded like a struggle, and then maybe a girl trying to scream, but it was muffled. But he was pretty sure it was Jo. If it wasn't Jo, then it had to be Teresa. He moved faster, hoping he could actually make it in time and save Jo.
He got to the opening in the tunnel where he saw a creepy ass ghost reaching into a compartment in the wall.
"Hey!" he yelled to get the ghost's attention. The ghost looked over at him, so he fired the shotgun into its chest. It flew backwards, and then disappeared. "Jo?" he called out as he scrambled out of the tunnel.
"I'm here!" Jo yelled back.
He ran over to the compartment and forced it open. He heard Sam and Dean talk to someone else, which he hoped was Teresa. But he ducked down and helped Jo out of the small cubby. "You alright?" he asked, quickly looking her over. She was covered in grime, and she was shaking a little, but she looked like she was ok.
"Been better," Jo said. "Let's get the hell out of here before he comes back."
He started to nod but stopped when he caught Dean's eye. "Actually," Dean reluctantly said, "I don't think you're leaving here just yet…"
"What?" Jo asked, looking at him instead of Dean. He knew he should tell Dean that they couldn't do this, but he trusted his brother. He just hoped Jo wouldn't hate him for this.
"Remember when we said that you being bait was a bad plan?" Dean said. "Now it's kind of the only one we got."
He tried to give Jo a reassuring nod, already knowing he would be the one to take the shot, but she didn't look happy about this. He understood, so he didn't say anything as he helped Dean get the trap set. Sam took Teresa through the tunnel, getting her away from all this. He hated that he was agreeing to let Jo be bait. He had been against this from the start, and now he was just going along with it. But it wasn't like they had any other plan. This would work, and it would trap this asshole down here and keep him from killing anyone else.
Jo sat alone in the middle of the circular chamber. He could tell that she was shaking slightly with her arms wrapped around her knees, but she stayed where she was. He went with Dean back into the tunnel, and he laid down on his stomach, with his gun ready. Dean laid next to him, ready to shoot his target.
He felt better with Dean next to him. He'd always thought he was better at missions when he was by himself, but he'd been wrong. He was better with a unit, with his family.
"This will work," Dean whispered to him.
He nodded back, but realized Dean couldn't see him so he said, "I know."
He tensed when the ghost appeared. He walked closer to Jo, reaching out to touch her. "Now," Dean said. He fired at the same time as Dean, just as Jo dove out of the way. He hit his target, and then quickly fired at the next one, dropping salt all around the chamber in a perfect circle.
He helped Jo up into the tunnel, thankful that he hadn't gotten her killed with all his screwups.
The ghost turned around in circles, looking for a way out. He screamed when he realized there was no way out.
"Scream all you want, you dick, but there's no way you're stepping over that salt!" Jo yelled.
He slammed the grated down, keeping that guy trapped there forever.
It was a long way back to the surface. Dean had him go first since he could see better than they could, and Sam had taken the flashlight. He wasn't sure why they hadn't brought more than one, but it didn't really matter. He wouldn't admit it to Sam or Dean, but it was a relief to be above ground again. The smell was horrible, it was dark and gross, and too small.
Dean left as soon as they were all up on solid ground again. He sat down at the sewer entrance, unsure if Jo wanted to ever talk to him again or not. What did someone do in a situation like this? Should he apologize? Should he ask her if she was ok again? That seemed dumb to him. Physically she was ok, but she was probably still freaked out.
"So, this job as glamorous as you thought it would be?" Sam asked Jo a few feet away.
"Well, except for all the pee-your-pants terror, yeah, sure," Jo replied. "But that Teresa girl's gonna live a life because of us. It's worth it, isn't it?"
"Yeah, yeah it is," Sam said.
"Hey, what if somebody finds that sewer down there, or a storm washes the salt away?" Jo asked.
"Both very fine points," Sam agreed. "Which is why we're waiting here."
"For what?" Jo asked.
He couldn't help but smile a little when he heard the beep of the truck backing up. He and Sam shared a smile as Dean backed the cement truck into the field. He got up as Dean stopped the truck at the sewer entrance. "For that," Sam said to Jo.
Dean got out, and then started setting up the truck. "You ripped off a cement truck?" Jo asked, sounding impressed.
"I'll give it back," Dean said with a big smile. He figured they had at least half an hour before someone realized the truck was missing. They'd probably be done by then, so he wasn't worried. Dean flipped a switch, and then cement started pouring down into the sewer. "Well, that oughta keep him down there 'til hell freezes over."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Awkward didn't even begin to cover the ride back. He was driving, in silence, which he hated. Sam, Alec, and Jo were all crammed into the backseat, while Ellen was riding shotgun. She'd barely said two words to them since she'd landed.
He hated the silence, but he thought maybe Alec was having the worst ride, which was saying something since they were all in deep shit right now. But Alec…he hated being in trouble. If it was someone Alec didn't know or didn't like, then he laughed when he knew he was in trouble. But if he was in trouble with him, or like now with Ellen, then he tended to freak out. He needed to tell Ellen that Alec had nothing to do with this and he'd been against the whole thing, but he would wait until they were back at the Roadhouse. He didn't want Ellen to yell at Alec.
"Boy, you really weren't kidding about flying out, were you?" he said to try to break the awkward silence. Ellen didn't say anything. He wasn't even sure she heard him. Maybe he hadn't said anything out loud. But he glanced in the rearview mirror and met Alec's nervous gaze, which meant that he had said it, Ellen was just ignoring him. "How about we listen to some music," he suggested as he turned on the radio.
"You're as cold as ice-
Well, wasn't that just the way of things. He internally groaned as Ellen reached forward and shut the radio off again. He sighed and muttered, "This is gonna be a long drive…"
He hated that he'd put Jo in danger, but she hadn't gotten hurt, and she was old enough to make her own decisions. The worst part was that Jo wasn't speaking to Alec. He knew Alec really liked Jo, so he wished he could find a way to make this better. He knew Alec was going to think this whole thing was his fault, so he needed to find a way to change his little brother's mind on that too.
It really was the longest drive, and he'd never been so happy to see the Roadhouse in his life.
Ellen practically dragged Jo into the Roadhouse. Alec stayed outside with the car, but he and Sam followed Ellen and Jo inside. He wanted to try to get Jo out of trouble. And he needed to make sure Ellen didn't blame Alec.
"Ellen, this is my fault, ok?" he said. "I lied to you and I'm sorry. But Jo did good out there. I think her Dad would be proud." He knew Jo's Dad had been a hunter, and he figured that was why she was so determined to be a hunter. He understood that.
"Don't you dare say that. Not you," Ellen snapped. "I need a moment with my daughter. Alone."
He and Sam reluctantly left, joining Alec out by the car. "Can you hear them?" he asked Alec.
"Ellen's still yelling," Alec muttered. "I can't really understand what she's saying, but I can tell that she's yelling." He could tell that Alec wanted to talk about something else, so he just waited. "Do you think Jo will still talk to me?" Alec finally asked.
"She'd be crazy if she stopped talking to you," he said.
"You knew from the start that she wanted to go to be the bait," Sam added. "She's not gonna hold it against you that the ghost grabbed her, and then we used her as bait."
Alec didn't look convinced. He hoped Jo would still talk to him. He knew his little brother texted her a lot, and he suspected that she helped him a lot more than she knew. She had to know Alec was against her doing that entire hunt. And she had to know that Alec wouldn't let anything happen to her if he could help it.
Jo stormed out of the Roadhouse suddenly, making the three of them look up. She kept going, so he nudged Alec to go talk to her. Alec shook his head though and refused to budge. He wouldn't push it. He followed after Jo, hoping he didn't make this worse somehow.
"That bad, huh?" he asked.
"Not right now," Jo muttered. He wasn't sure why she came out here if she didn't want to talk to them.
"What happened?" he asked. "Hey, talk to me."
He reached out to grab her arm or something, so she'd turn around, but she pulled back and glared at him. "Get off me!"
"Sorry. See you around," he said. He didn't want to make this worse. He was already afraid that Jo wouldn't talk to Alec anymore because of them. She needed to cool off for a bit, and then maybe Alec could text her or something. Hopefully, she would just text him when she was calmed down a bit.
"Dean," she said, stopping him from leaving. "It turns out my Dad had a partner on his last hunt." She stopped to see if he knew what she was talking about, but he had no clue. "Funny, he usually worked alone. This guy did too, but…I guess my father figured he could trust him." She huffed, "Mistake. Guy screwed up, got my Dad killed."
"What does this have to do with-"
"It was your father, Dean," Jo cut off.
"What?"
"Why do you think John never came back? Never told you about us?" she challenged. "Because he couldn't look my Mom in the eye after that, that's why."
"Jo."
"Just…just get out of here. Please, just leave," she said, looking away from him again.
He didn't know if that was true or not. He hadn't been there, and he wasn't sure how Ellen knew about this unless his Dad had told her. It didn't matter though. It sucked that her Dad was dead, but he and Sam didn't have anything to do with it, and Alec definitely hadn't had anything to do with it.
"Look, be pissed at me and Sam all you want," he said. "I don't know anything about what Ellen told you, so I can't even try to explain or anything. But Alec had nothing to do with any of this. Just…don't take this out on him, ok?"
Jo still wouldn't look at him, so he sighed. He just had to hope this wasn't it.