Elizabeth lets out a moan as Dean massages some soap into the sore muscles of her shoulders, pressing her forehead against the warm tiles that make up the shower wall. Whenever she's killed, she wants to be buried with a shower just like this one. "This is amazing." Her eyes are practically rolling back in her head as he works a particularly stubborn knot, his skilled fingers and the warm spray of water keeping her in a state of heightened bliss.
The massage is interrupted when someone begins banging on the bathroom door, shouting something that Elizabeth can't understand over the sound of water. "What," Dean shouts back, sticking his head out of the shower to hear better. Elizabeth whines at the loss of contact, glaring at the door and cursing whoever it is that's taking Dean's attention away.
"A police call came in on the scanner," the person yells. It might be Sam, the tone deeper than Zane's, but that could be the rush of water covering up any trace of a southern drawl.
"Hold on!" Dean sighs, kissing just below Elizabeth's ear before reluctantly getting out. "If we don't get out, your buddy will drag us out."
"Someone was found dead three blocks from here, come on!" With a frown, she turns off the water and wraps a towel around her body to cover herself, Dean doing much the same thing before sticking his head out the door to say something to the resident sasquatch. After a moment he shuts the door again and turns to face her with an excited grin.
"Looks like we got a fresh one."
"Goody," Elizabeth snarks, forcing a brush through her hair before dressing for the day in a pair of jeans, and a black tank top under a red flannel. "Why can't we catch a case where the people die at opportune moments instead of when we're in the shower or trying to sleep in?"
"Because the universe hates us, Liza." She gives Dean's ass a slap before leaving the bathroom in a cloud of steam, shuffling into the kitchen where she'd left her trusty-dusty Converse. As she's tugging them on, Zane walks in and she can tell he's just woke up by the way his hair is all over the place. He grunts a good morning at her, a cup of coffee cradled in his hand as he walks through the door that leads to the garage. "He's not a morning person?"
"He's basically Gollum until he's gotten his caffeine fix." Dean helps her up and leads the way to the cars without another word, nursing his own cup of coffee.
"Who're you ridin' with today?"
"I'll go with y'all, the backseat is calling my name." Dean's grin disappears when he notices Zane in the backseat of the Impala too, the other man's dark hair now brushed and his eyes a little clearer than they were before. "I guess he didn't want to waste gas." She shrugs, getting in the backseat and leaning her back against the door with her feet in Zane's lap. "Morning, handsome."
"No conversation yet," Zane grumbles, closing his eyes and taking another drink of coffee. Dean gets in the front seat, Sam joining them once he closes the garage door after his brother backs out. It's about halfway to the crime scene that Zane opens his eyes, looking around with faint interest.
"Nice car." Dean hums a response, keeping his eyes on the road as a light drizzle continues to come down. Needing the distraction to keep her awake, Elizabeth grabs a book, picking up where she left off last night until Zane's hand covers the page.
"I will not hesitate to break every bone in your hand," she states nonchalantly, even giving him a sweet smile. He gives a dramatic sigh, plucking the book out of her grasp, taking care to mark her place, and tossing it in the back window. "Dude!" She smacks his shoulder playfully, reaching for her book again only to have Dean pull up to a curb and stop. "Aw man."
"Stop your whining, Liza. We get to go play in the rain." She rolls her eyes, getting out on his side so they can share an umbrella while Sam and Dean have one of their own to share. They look around for a moment before spotting Larry further down the sidewalk, the older man hanging up his phone when he notices the group walking over to him.
"Hello, you're back early," he says, giving them a strained smile.
"Yeah," Dean nods. "We wanted to take another look at the neighborhood." Elizabeth looks over his shoulder as a body is wheeled out on a gurney, covered in the thick black body-bag to keep any onlookers from catching sight of who it must be. "What's going on?"
"You guys, uh, met Lynda Bloom at the barbecue yesterday?"
"The realtor," Sam checks.
"Well, she passed away last night." While the surprise the hunters show is as fake as Tinkerbell, the sadness is genuine. None of them like to see innocent people being killed, it's why they keep going after monsters instead of living out a normal life.
"That's awful," Elizabeth says. "And she was so nice to us. What on earth happened?"
"That's what we're all trying to find out. I got a call this morning to come identify the body for the police and I haven't been able to ask many questions since then." He looks over his shoulder at the cops gathered in the doorway of Lynda's house, the chief waving him over. "I-I'm sorry, this isn't a good time. Maybe we can get together in a few days and I'll be able to answer any questions you have about the property around here."
"No worries," Sam assures him. "Take all the time you need."
"Excuse me." Dean waits until Larry's on the small porch before turning to the others, all of them huddling together as well as they can under the umbrellas. Elizabeth is really starting to regret not bringing her coat with her, the cold making goosebumps breakout across her arms.
"So, who's up for a little B and E this fine morning," Dean asks. "We can snoop around, see if we need to call an exterminator."
"We should wait for the cops to clear out first," Elizabeth advises, looking at them over Dean's shoulder. Hunters and cops rarely get along and caffeine-deprived people on both ends will only make a situation worse. "Let's move the car to the other side of the block."
"Yes, ma'am." They all get back in the Impala, Elizabeth shrugging on her jacket as Dean pulls away from the curb. It'll look too suspicious if they hang around all morning, especially since they're the only new factors in the neighborhood that have stuck around through the night. Dean parks on the other side of Lynda's house, hidden by the privacy fence and the shrubbery growing in front of it.
It's another fifteen minutes before the police call it quits, driving off in a flurry of gumball lights and sirens as they tear out of the housing edition. The group waits another five minutes on top of that before they finally get back out and head over to the fence.
"Look," Zane points," we can use the latticework to climb through that window." Dean's the first one up and over, the others following him into Lynda's bedroom.
"Damn," Elizabeth states, gazing around and ignoring the taped outline on the carpet," this one's even nicer than your room, Zane."
"Bite your tongue."
"What do you guys think happened," Dean asks, following the blood trail into the adjoining bathroom. The glass shower door is shattered as though Lynda had dived headfirst through it in her haste to get away from something, some blood staining the porcelain and scattered in drops and puddles across the floor alongside shards of glass. "Maybe she just slipped."
"Or maybe you should call the exterminator after all."
"What, why?" Zane claps a hand over Elizabeth's mouth and then points at something closer to the sink, Elizabeth letting out an involuntary shout when she sees what he means. There are dead spiders on the ground, just laying there like they have any right. Why is it always spiders? Just once can we have a case where it's butterflies or ladybugs? God, I understand Ron Weasley's frustration now. "You think spider boy caused this?"
"His name's Matt," Sam corrects snappishly. "Just because he liked bugs doesn't make him a killer." Dean quirks up a brow and Sam rolls his eyes so hard that Elizabeth's only half-surprised when they don't pop out and roll across the floor. "Alright, maybe."
"This, uh, Matt guy," Elizabeth asks, trying to stamp down on her fear," he's Larry's kid, right? The one y'all told me about last night that tried to scare Lynda?"
"That's the one." Sam glances over, taking in the way Elizabeth's face has gone an interesting shade of green before holding out his hand for her to take and then guiding her into the bedroom again. "You okay, Liza?"
"Fan-fucking-tastic." She takes a few deep breathes, steadying herself and pushing all thoughts of heartless spiders out of her mind before heading over to the window. "You nerds have fun, I'll be in the car if you need me."
"Isn't his house that way," Dean asks, watching as Matt gets off the school bus and starts walking towards the woods.
"Yup," Sam confirms. Dean scrunches up his brows in what Elizabeth likes to refer to as his thinking face, green eyes trailing after the teenager.
"So, where's he goin'?"
"To find Tigger and Piglet?" Dean makes a face at that, sending his brother a glare before getting out. It's a low blow considering just how hard Dean had believed in the Hundred Acre Woods back when they were kids, but it's also the kind of ammo that no brother in his right mind would let go of.
"Or maybe he's trying to find Bigfoot." Sam scowls, not meeting anyone's gaze at the deliberate prod from his brother. "Come on, let's see what Spider-Man's up to." The four hunters follow Matt through the woods at a fair distance, though it's easy to track where he's been considering he isn't trying to hide his trail. Matt stops after twenty or so minutes, the hunters moving in when they're sure he isn't going to keep walking. Matt doesn't seem to notice their approach, attention captured by the Praying Mantis perched on his left hand.
"Hey, Matt." The teenager glances up, taking half a step back as he realizes he's outnumbered. It's more instinct than anything, he probably isn't even aware he'd done it as he clutches the plastic container closer to his chest. "We met yesterday, remember?"
"What are you doing out here," Matt asks nervously.
"We're here to talk to you," Dean explains.
"You're not here to buy a house, are you?"
"In my defense," Zane states, raising his hand slightly," I bought the house a guy died in front of." Elizabeth slaps his chest hard enough to get the shut up point across without having to say anything. "Sorry."
"Oh God, are you guys serial killers? Because I wouldn't make a good trophy, I'm too scrawny and all the people in your Jeffrey Dahmer fan club would just make fun of you for months to come. It's not worth it."
"Do you know many serial killers that have a manicure this nice," Elizabeth asks, holding up her hands and wiggling her fingers. "Because I don't." When Matt doesn't look convinced, she lowers her hands with a sigh. No one ever appreciates a good manicure around here. "We're not serial killers, dude."
"Just ignore Liza," Dean says, patting between her shoulders. "She means well half the time, but she can be vane when it comes to her nails." And, okay, there isn't any arguing to be done about that. "Back to why we risked getting poison ivy to find you. What do you know about Lynda's death?" At Matt's fuck, they're crazy expression, Elizabeth begins to get the feeling that he's not the droid they're looking for.
"Just that it happened this morning. Dad said it was some kind of freak accident or something."
"More like the spiders are ganging up on all of us," Elizabeth mutters, shuddering at the thought. Maybe it isn't the most practical thing to be scared of considering she literally fights man-eating monsters on a regular basis, but it's still valid. It has a name in the dictionary and everything.
"Again," Sam says, sending a look in Liza's direction," ignore the blonde. The point my brother's trying to make is that you tried to scare Lynda with a spider yesterday and then she was killed by numerous spider bites last night." Understanding seems to dawn on Matt now and he quickly starts to back pedal.
"Wait, you think I had something to do with that," he asks incredulously.
"You tell us," Dean comments.
"Are you kidding me? I sent the tarantula over because Lynda was always making fun of my mom behind her back, but I didn't kill her. And anyway, I wasn't even here when the gas company guy died or the bee attack happened." He lets out a sharp sigh, fingers twitching as the Mantis crawls over them. "There's something up with the insects around here, but it's got nothing to do with me. I-I can prove it. Follow me." He sets the container down and shoulders his backpack, walking past the hunters up a different trail.
"Ten bucks says this has something to do with Native American curses," Elizabeth murmurs to Zane as they begin to walk.
"That's racist," he remarks.
"This is Oklahoma, Zane. Half the hauntings here are because white people did something shitty to the tribes. So, are you in or not?"
"Make it twenty." They shake hands before hurrying to catch up with the others, ducking to avoid a low-hanging branch every now and then. The woods here are dense, almost completely untampered with by humans and thriving with all the rain that comes around every February.
"Have you told your dad about any of this," Sam asks, barely sparing the other two a glance. "If he could clear everybody out, then maybe things would go back to normal."
"Nah, Larry wouldn't pay attention to me even if I threw a pie in his face. He's too embarrassed that his precious baby boy would rather study insects than learn about the fascinating job opportunities that comes with real estate."
"Boy, do I understand that." Dean looks between Sam and Matt like they're speaking Klingon, not understanding why Sam can relate to the teen in the slightest compacity.
"You do," he asks, but Sam doesn't pay him any mind. Dean and Elizabeth share a look, the older man looking even more confused when she offers up no explanation. John Winchester might as well be a god in Dean's eyes, but anyone not wearing rose-colored glasses could see past the righteous judgment façade and straight to the monster. He's just your average hunter with a drinking problem.
"Matt, how old are you?"
"Sixteen."
"Well don't sweat it because in two years something great is gonna happen."
"What?"
"College. You'll be able to get out of that house and away from your dad."
"What kind of advice is that," Dean challenges, the hurt in those green eyes of his plain to see to anyone who'd take the time to look. "The kid should stick with his family." Uh-oh, here we go. Sam stops, making the rest of them do the same as he gives Dean an annoyed look. Elizabeth doesn't hesitate to step between the pair of them, sending Sam a warning look to drop it. While Sam is the one John had ridiculed, Dean had been the one to take the most abuse.
"How much farther, Matt?"
"We're close," Matt says, walking quickly to get away from the family drama. He leads them deeper into the woods for at least half a mile before stopping in a large clearing, the trees surrounding it standing tall like they're trying to reach for the clouds. "I've been keeping track of insect populations as part of an AP science class.
"Like two peas in a pod," Dean snarks, earning an elbow to the stomach from Zane and Elizabeth at the same time.
"What's been happening," Sam questions.
"A lot," Matt tells them. "It's like any and all insects around Oasis Plains are gathering together here."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"What's that?" Sam's question draws Elizabeth's gaze to a mound of dirt, reminding her of all the old Indian legends Uncle B told her about when she was younger. Most of them had the moral of don't be dicks to other cultures and she's pretty much stuck to that advice most of her life.
"Probably a burial mound," she speaks up. "Native Americans are buried all over Oklahoma. They even have their own cemeteries for this type of burial now. My cousin was buried around this time last year and this is how the mound looks now." Dean shoulders past them, leading the way over to the mound with the rest of the group trailing after him. The top of it looks like nothing more than loose dirt and twisting worms, a portion of it giving way under the toe of Dean's boot.
"If I lose my hand because I reached into a mysterious hole," he says, glancing at the others," we tell any cute people that I lost it doing something badass. Like mountain climbing or parachuting." He squats down and pokes around the hole with a short stick until he finds something. "There's something down there." Dean tosses the stick aside and uses his fingers to dig around in the hole, eyes narrowing when he finds what he's looking for. He holds up a dirt-covered skull and Elizabeth gives Zane and confident smirk.
"I told you so."