A terrified Sam was running fast, he had to get away from what was chasing him.
"Ha ha ha!" The voices echoed from the distance.
Sam was a witch, but no way could he concentrate on his magic. Instead, he jumps in the Impala to drive away, but when he couldn't get the car to start, he cries in frustration.
"Found ya!" Sam jumped to see the clown clawing at his window.
"Ugh!" He pushed the car open, shoving the evil clown on his ass. He could run, hide somewhere. Then he could call his wife for the Power of Three. But for now, run!
A few minutes later, Sam pushes the door shut. He wasn't sure if it would hold, but he just needed some time.
"If it bleeds, I can kill it. If I can chant, it will blow up." Both were sound advice. Just as he was about to pull out his gun, he was startled when another evil clown appeared right in front of him.
60:00
59:59
59:58
59:57
59:56 Hours Earlier
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Sean, happy birthday to you."
Sam claps with everyone else. He, Piper, Dean, Jenna, and their kids were invited to their neighbor's son's birthday party.
"Pretty soon Mel will have her own." Piper handed Mel to Sam. "Mind holding her, my arms are exhausted." She loved Melinda, but she was heavy. Not even a year old yet and she already weighed a ton. At least to Piper.
They all decided to return home to Lawrence, Piper wasn't worried anymore about Abaddon, she was not letting a demon frighten her. There was nothing in the Book to kill a Knight, but that didn't mean she couldn't trap her. Both Sam and Dean agreed to come back as well, they said they had a plan if she came around. As for Jenna, she was studying demons, she said she wanted to start hunting again.
"Sure." Sam smiles hugely at his daughter. "You want cake?" He didn't care for cake, he liked to eat healthy. But Mel was already starting to eat baby food. He smiled at Laura who was already eating her cake.
"I'm sure she could handle a small slice. But make sure to mush it first." Piper tells him. She was holding her phone, she wanted to record Mel's every moment.
"Yes Dear." Dean teases in a falsetto tone. He was watching over Laura who was eating a cake with a plastic spoon. She was over a year old, she had her birthday party a few months ago. Since she was born after Christmas, both her parents insisted they celebrate Christmas a week after. They wanted Laura to have a normal birthday party like everyone else.
"C'mon, smile for Mommy!" Mel ignores Piper, she was busily mushing her cake with her hands.
"Maybe we can do this later." Jenna says in a low voice. Tyler's mom was glaring at them. She didn't know Renalda well but knew she worked here part-time to make a living. This party for her son is probably all she can afford.
"Fine." Piper reluctantly puts away her phone. She didn't want to be that mom that hijacked another child's birthday. "Sam, watch over Mel, I'm going to apologize to Renalda." Renalda was nice, she took her son to the park with the other moms.
Sam wiped his daughter's mouth after she finished.
"Having fun?" Dean teased.
"Almost." Sam hated this place, nothing but clowns and creepy characters.
"C'mon, what if my nibling wants a party with clowns?" Dean saw how fascinated Laura was with the place, already Jenna was planning her next party here for her second birthday.
"I'll take her to a fair instead." Sam picks her up. "Wanna see the Lion instead?" Sam tried not to give the nearby clown a dirty look, he was making faces at Laura making her laugh. Mel was giving the lion a curious look when Dean tapped Sam on the shoulder.
"Sam, come here for a moment." Laura was with her mom and Piper, both were talking to one another.
"What is it?" He shifted Mel to his other arm, he was getting tired from holding her. "Phew, mom wasn't kidding about you getting big." When Mel started crying, Sam tried shushing her. "No, I meant you are growing up so fast!" He ignored Dean's laugh. "Really? Like Laura never cried."
"Tell that to Sis." Sure enough, Piper rushed over.
"Okay. It's getting late. That's her tired cry." She takes Mel out of Sam's arms.
"How can you tell?" All babies sounded the same to him.
"She sounds exactly like you when you were tired." Dean remembered how exhausted John was during Sam's early years.
"She is?" Sam looked over at her, and sure enough, she started falling asleep. "What kind of father am I if I don't know her cries?" Already he felt incredibly guilty.
"You'll get used to it." He coos to Mel. "Get some sleep, Uncle Dean will see you later." Once Piper walked away, Dean excused himself. "There's a case if you're interested. But first I need to take Jen and Laura home. Want a ride?" Sam and Piper owned their own car, Piper wanted an SUV like the one she had in San Francisco. However, they carpooled, and they needed to save money. All three rode With Dean and Jenna, with Piper using her powers to keep both Mel and Laura safe in a bubble.
"A case? You know I can't." Sam promised to be home more often, they just got back together.
"It's right in our yard. Wichita. Jen showed me this." Dean hands Sam his phone.
"Man found dead drained of blood. Vampire?"
"Worth checking out. What do you say? Hit the morgue, then you and Sis can make up for much needed time.''
"I don't know." He didn't want to lose his wife again.
"It's either you or Jen. She's been itching to get back out there." Dean hated the thought of putting her life in danger. Piper at least could protect herself.
"What about Laura?"
"She was planning on asking for you two to babysit."
"Fine." Sam sighed. He knew Piper won't object, she cared about Jenna like a sister. Already he was planning on buying her flowers. Expensive ones. "I'll be right back."
A Few Hours Later
Both Sam and Dean stare in disbelief at the body. The hell?
"Yeah. That's what I said." The coroner couldn't believe it either. "Enteroctopus dofleini."
"An octopus? Here?" Sam looked at the huge welts. They were too big to be from an ordinary octopus.
"Yeah. Based on my guesses, thirty feet."
Sam looks up at Dean.
'Witch.' Sam swore to be out of the life, but if this was witchcraft, he had a responsibility.
"Thanks. We'll be in touch." Dean tells the guy. Before they could leave, the coroner stops them.
"Hold on." He waves them back over. 'There's a huge laceration on his neck." The coroner turns the dead guy over. Sure enough, there was a gash. "Could be satanic. Covered the guy with these weird welts, and drained him of his blood."
"Witch gone bad? Sorry, Satan's dead." Dean didn't care for Lucifer very much, he took Sam to Hell. Douchebag Mike did the world a favor by blowing him up. They were walking down the hall towards the exit.
"Probably. Why this guy?" Sam knew about dark witches, but certain blood magic needed suitable candidates. Octoguy was far from a suitable candidate.
"Amateur?" Dean didn't know much about magic, nor care to.
"Maybe. Let's interview the widow."
Both were sitting across from the deceased's wife, who was wiping her eyes.
"I'm very sorry for your loss." Both needed to find clues, it was Dean that suggested they start with the widow.
"Thank you." Mrs Harper sniffled.
"Mrs. Harper, the night your husband died, was there anything unusual?" Dean asked holding a notebook.
"Unusual? No not really. He usually has a few drinks after work, but that's about it."
"Sulfur, cold spots, weird lights?"
Mrs Harper looked puzzled.
"No, nothing like that. Why?"
"Did he have any enemies?" Sam asked. Witches tended to use curses.
"Not that I know of."
"Did he owe anyone money? Or a debt?"
"He was always vigilant about being frugal. He would never ask for a loan, no matter what. He always said he rather die than hurt his pride."
"What about secrets? Did he have any skeletons?" Dean asked. He saw her looking weirdly at Dean. "Just want to cover any bases."
Mrs Harper had to think for a minute.
"There was Stacey. She was here the night she died. She swore she was with our daughter when she discovered my husband's dead body."
"Thanks for your time." Both men get up, not noticing a little girl staring guiltily at her mom.
"So what do you think? Did Mrs Harper yank her husband and blamed the nanny for it?" As they walk back to the Impala.
"I didn't sense anything. If she was a witch, there would be magic remnants around. Besides, what if the Nanny was responsible? Cast some blood magic, the castor gets powerful magic." Sam didn't care for dark witches. Blood magic was powerful but very addicting.
"If she's a witch, then let me take care of it. See if she's hot."
"Hot?"
"A witch. Remember Stacey? That hag who kept herself young with blood sacrifices? The nanny could be one." He saw Sam giving him a look. "What? She was one hot cheerleader." Stacey was a witch that cast a spell to summon the demon Samhain during Halloween. She was so powerful, she nearly cost them their lives. Luckily her neck was broken by her demonic lover.
"It's your funeral." Sam knew Dean way too well. "Don't forget to call Jen then." He smirked at his guilty look.
Dean was trying hard not to check her out, the nanny was hot. But he had his witch-killing gun ready to go.
"The night your boss died, can you recall what happened?"
Stacey sighs.
"It was just another shift. I went to pick up Stacey at her school, then we went home to her house. Brian, her father was just leaving."
"What was your relationship like with the deceased." Dean was watching her carefully, one wrong move, and she had a bullet in her heart.
"Normal. I guess."
"Normal?" He glanced around her apartment, seeing if there was any witchcraft paraphernalia lying around.
"Just normal. There was nothing going on between us if that's what you're thinking. I mostly dealt with Debra and Kelly."
"The night he died, can you explain in more detail?" Nothing unusual, but Dean was still conscious.
"I was with Kelly, she was pretty upset. She said a boy was picking on her earlier. We just got back from a birthday party at Plucky's"
"Plucky's?"
"Yeah, you seen the commercial. Come to Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie's" She sang. "It's popular with the kids."
"Yeah, we just came from one. Neighbour's kid's birthday. About Brian."
"Mmm hmm. He said a quick hello to Kelly, then took off. Poor kid spends more time with me than either parent. Now she lost one." Stacey felt so bad for her.
A child witch? Dean refused to believe an eight-year-old would kill her father.
"Was he abusive?"
"What? No! Yeah, he can be a jerk, but he would never hurt his daughter. He worked all the time to give her a good life. Kelly just gets lonely that's all."
"Was Kelly ever afraid of anything?" A haunted house?
"There was the closet. Kelly was always afraid of it. Said there was a monster in there."
"Thanks for your time."
Sam was watching the Harper House, he wanted to make sure nothing happened to the rest of the family. When the phone rang, Sam immediately picks it up.
"Yeah. Oh hey." Sam smiles. He heard the call waiting, but Dean could wait. "How're things? Really?" Piper was telling Sam how Mel was trying to talk. "Record it. I don't want to miss anything." Hearing the beeping getting louder, Sam reluctantly let her go. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Love you. Give Mel a big kiss. Bye." He clicks the phone. "Hey."
"About time."
"My family comes first. Dead guy takes a number." Sam missed Mel like crazy. He wanted to witness her first word in person. "A haunted closet? Never heard of a vengeful spirit taking a form of a giant sea creature before. Wait. You want me to talk to a kid?" He could imagine what everyone would say. "Just for a minute. I don't want to trigger an alert." He gets out of Dean's car.
Kelly Harper was drawing on a sidewalk when a tall man approached.
"Whatcha drawing there?" Sam says with a friendly voice.
A startled Kelly looked up.
"You're that guy that was talking to my mom earlier."
"Kelly! Where are you?" Mrs Harper calls from inside the house.
Kelly looks down.
"I saw what killed my dad."
"Really?" Sam leaned down to Kelly's height on the ground.
Kelly looked backward at her house.
"My mom will get mad. At what I told the police." She leans close to Sam's ear. "It was the monster in my closet." She whispered.
Before Sam could ask her to elaborate, a suspicious Debra walks out of the house.
"Kelly! Get inside right now!"
Kelly goes inside with a glaring Debra giving Sam a dirty look.
Sam looks up just as the door closed. A monster in the closet? He was already trying to figure out a monster vanquishing spell when he noticed Kelly's drawing.
An evil-looking octopus was looking up at Sam.
A naked man runs through the dark woods, screaming for help. Whatever was chasing him wanted him dead.
A silhouette of a white horse gallops through the woods, it was determined to catch its target.
The scared man jumps over a fence, he was wondering why he was getting hunted. He never rode a horse in his life. Once he felt like he was safe, he leans back on a wooden sign, listening carefully for any neighs.
The golden horn sticks out of his chest, instantly killing its target. He slumps down on the ground dead from the impalement.
The magical unicorn neighs as it runs away, its rainbow-light tail shimmering as it gallops away.
Sam punches the clown, he hated them. Especially since Dean always left him alone whenever he met a girl.
"If it bleeds kill it." Before he can pull the trigger, the clown knocks him over. "Fine. Debellare..." The clown behind him shoves Sam. "Dean!" The hell was he?
36:36:21 Hours Earlier and Counting Down
Dean was checking out the local crime scene, another death was reported. Normally neither would care about ordinary police matters, but there were numerous reports of a stray horse; plus the naked man lying dead on the ground with a huge hole in his chest.
"It's like he was impaled. The horse I can see." There were hoof prints leading to the sports field. "But what kind of weapon did this?" The cop talking to Dean puts back the sheet.
"A lance?" This was a high school sports field. "Or a javelin." Dean guessed. If this was supernatural, then they could rule out a haunted house. Sam said he was going to check out the Harper House, see if there was a curse or vengeful spirit. "Who is this guy?"
"He's the coach of this high school. Since football season's over, he was already getting ready to train for the amateur Olympics. Poor guy. It was his wife that found him, she teaches the girl's sports teams."
Dean saw a middle-aged woman crying alone. He approached her, she was talking in her cell.
"Yeah, David's dead." Sniff. "I have to pull Billy out of school, he has to finish second grade somewhere else." When she saw Dean's FBI Badge, she hangs up the phone.
"FBI, agent Jones. Are you Mrs Pogue?"
"My husband. Are you investigating as well?"
"Just have to ask a few questions. Did your husband have any enemies?"
She sighed.
"He teaches sports. He made a lot of parents angry when he made cuts for football."
"How about your son? Was he anywhere special?" He forced himself to keep his face blank when she scowled.
"Billy? He's a child! The police are saying it was a freak accident. Besides, there's no way he can reach that high. Especially on a horse. He's terrified of them. Especially unicorns."
Dean looked up sharply. A unicorn?
"Look. I have to go. My son needs me." She was about to walk away till Dean stopped her.
"Just one more question. Your son. Where was he yesterday? Just standard protocol."
"He was at the clown party place. It was his classmate's birthday. Excuse me."
Sam was going to love this. Dean picked up his phone.
"NO. Once was enough for this year." Sam hated those places, he only went for his daughter and niece.
"What do you have against clowns? Paige always loved their mascot. What was his name again?"
"Slappy." Sam deadpanned. "No, Plucky's." Ugh. For someone that hated clowns, Sam remembered the old name from way back when.
"See? You know their names. Anyways, going to interview a kid. Mom says he's afraid of unicorns.''
"Maybe I should go. Unicorns are a witch's thing. I could check out his classmate's parents. Flush out the witch."
"Already here. C'mon, you loved that place."
"You ditched me there to cruise for chicks." A twelve-year-old Dean was already ditching Sam for girls. Dumping child Sam at the nearest kids' zone.
"But I never took you to see IT. Dad wouldn't let me." Dean, even as a teenager didn't want to traumatize Sam with that movie. "Clowns can't hurt you. Remember, if it bleeds, you can kill it. Or you can use your witchy powers instead. It's up to you."
Sam whispers to himself. He was a hunter as well as a witch. He could use his gun or his mind.
"If it bleeds I can kill it." He chants a general vanquishing spell from memory. "Might as well get this over with." He calls his wife to fill her in on what was going on.
Sam stares up at the awning.
WHERE ALL YOUR DREAMS ARE GOOD!
"I'm too old for this." He swore to have Mel celebrate her birthdays somewhere else. He swallows his discomfort and goes inside.
Sam had to fight the urge to destroy the creepy mechanical clown that greeted him at the entrance. Pushing down his nerves he walks up to the greeter.
"Welcome to Plucky's!" The greeter says cheerfully. "You here to register a birthday for your child? Bring them, and all their dreams are good!"
"FBI. I need to see your manager." Sam held up his badge.
"Oh. Right away." Howard rushes off.
Sam looked around the restaurant/playroom. Kids were playing everywhere, clearly, this place was a source of happiness. For them anyways. For him, this was a place of nightmares.
A young Sam cowers at the gruesome scene. The young boy was taken into the sewers by the evil clown. The babysitter hired by John scoffs at Sam.
"You want to be brave like your dad, pay attention. Clowns can't hurt you."
Sam covers his ears. The boy's screams rang in his ears.
Sam forces himself to calm down. Especially after a small child accidentally bumps into him.
"Sorry." He mumbles.
"Tyler!" A tired-looking mother gestures to him. "It's time to do your homework!"
"Like I can concentrate in here." Tyler sighs. He reluctantly picks up his pencil and opens his backpack.
Libby looked guiltily at Tyler. But this job was the only place she could work around Tyler's schedule. Once he sat down, she walks away to start her shift.
Sam looks away. He knew how Tyler felt. Bored, he looks at the drawings on the wall.
Draw your worst fear, and Plucky will make it disappear!
Random kid drawings of scary monsters, all with a picture of a rainbow beside them hanging on the wall.
"Real beauties huh? Kids love having their artwork on the wall. We rotate them once a week." A woman who Sam figured as a manager says as she walks up to Sam.
"Draw your worst fear?" He noticed a name, Kelly Harper.
"It's the owners' idea. A kid's psychologist says kids draw their worst fears, then voila! Plucky turns them into rainbow and candy. Personally, it may be hooey, but they believe that kids' fears can go well into adulthood.''
Sam tried not to flinch when a clown brushed by him.
"Uh, yeah. So there was a party, a Billy Pogue was one of the guests?" Dean called and told Sam the dead guy's name.
"Billy Pogue? Yeah, poor kid. He was taken away before the cake and presents. His dad. Phew. Total douchebag. Wouldn't let him stay. He kept screaming at him, red face and everything." Jean still felt secondhand embarrassment for the kid. "Anyways, gotta get back."
Sam picked up his phone, trying to decide who to call first when he heard a psst.
"Psst. Hey. You a Fed?" A janitor cleaning asks Sam.
"Yes. I'm investigating unusual deaths."
"Not here. After closing. Too many eyes." The janitor saw things here that shouldn't be here.
Sam nodded. He took another glance at the drawings, staring absently at a shark.
What neither noticed was someone watching them.
An exhausted Sam walked in to see Dean talking on the phone.
"That's good to hear. Told you Miracle was a well-behaved dog." He smiled when Jenna told him how Laura kept playing with her new pet. "And nothing is going on at home? Good."
Sam smiled. As tired as they were, they always went out of their way to talk to their families. That reminds him. Sam called his own wife, they agreed to keep each other in the loop of anything about fighting evil or hunting.
"Drawings come to life? Yeah, we believe it's witchcraft. Yeah, I figured that." Wouldn't be the first time blood sacrifices were made. "Currently trying to flush out the witch. We'll be careful. How's Mel? Already? Argh.'' Piper told him Mel was already using her powers. So far all she was doing was changing channels on television, but Sam wanted to be there for every milestone. "As soon as we get back, I want to take you both to a fair. Yeah me too." It surprised Sam too when Piper admitted she wasn't a fan of clowns as well. "We'll be on the road in no time, just remember to pencil in a date for Phoebe's convocation." Sam felt a pang, he remembered attending Stanford. But he had no regrets about leaving, he already graduated a while back ago. So far he wasn't working full time, he only tutored or substituted on occasion. He was interested in teaching, but he was worried about his checkered past. When Dean hung up the phone, Sam let Piper go as well. "We're going to eat, we have an interview in an hour. Love you too. Bye." Sam hung up the phone.
"How's Sis?" Dean called for Chinese, he figured it was more healthy than burgers or fried chicken. That's why he ordered fried vegetables with his Kung Pao Chicken. He did have some beers, low calorie.
"She's good. How's Jen?" They talked for a while waiting for their food, Sam wasn't surprised to hear about the killing with an evil unicorn. "As far as I know unicorns aren't evil." When Dean mentioned a rainbow tail, Sam rolled his eyes. "Whoever this witch is, I'll be glad to put a bullet in them myself." Using kids' fears to get back at bad parents. He was worried Mel would be a target when she got older.
The tired janitor was knees deep in the ball pit. He usually didn't mind the extra overtime pay, but this job got stressful. Already he was planning on joining Cliff downstairs for some stress relief tomorrow. He sighed as he vacuumed the balls, this will take him a while.
He was absently using the machine when he felt movement. He paused, then shook his head. When it happened again, he looked around.
Ow! The hell! Saul grabs his leg and was surprised to see blood. Did some brat leave a knife? Before he could decide what to do, he screamed when something pulled him down.
"Ahh! Ahh!"
Terrified, he realized he wasn't alone. Something was in here with him. And it was hungry. He had to get the hell out of there.
He fearfully tried to crawl out, but in his terror, he saw movement.
The last thing he saw was the balls before he felt that chomp on his side.
The witch watched as the manager came running to the ball pit to call 911.
Dean and Sam exchanged looks. They always carried a police scanner whenever they were on a job, they needed to stay on top of things. Once they heard there was an accident, they drove over. Looking at the body, they knew it was no accident.
"A janitor? This witch, why would it target him? He didn't know any kids, at least personally." Dean was getting a migraine. "First a deadly octopus, an evil unicorn, and now a shark. Guess they like animals." He watched every show during Shark Week.
"He was trying to tell me something. Whoever did this to him is trying to keep a secret." Sam had to figure this out quickly. So far only adults were targeted. It won't take long before kids were next.
Tyler stares at his mom's car as she drove away. Libby worked two jobs to keep them afloat, but for once Tyler wanted her to be a normal mom. He carried the drawing of his nightmare, he just wanted it to go away.
The drawing was of a giant robot rampaging through the city, killing people.
Sam grunts in pain as he gets thrown on top of a car. He heard the laughter, the clowns were getting ready to attack again.
'Hurry Dean.' He couldn't take any more of this.
4:34:08 Left
"Did Sis say anything?" They did a thorough sweep through the night before, hex bags, magical coins, cursed objects. Nada. They both concluded it was a witch, but couldn't figure it who. They had no choice but to call an expert, but they had to wait till morning.
"She said her sisters were on it, but she said to get your witch-killing bullets ready to go." Sam was surprised to hear that, he knew she rather not go after fellow witches. But she wanted Sam home as soon as possible, Melinda missed her dad.
"Not a problem." Dean very rarely carried those, but this was an emergency. "Any ideas to figure out who it is?" Witches were hard to tell, they could be anyone.
"We have to interview everyone one by one. We'll start off with the employees."
"What about parents?"
"I thought about that, but with last night's death, it points to someone on the inside." Getting rid of the whistleblower was one way to shut him up.
''So bad cop, good cop?" When Sam shrugged, Dean nodded. "Okay, I'll be the good cop."
"Sure."
Once they pull up to Plucky's, neither was surprised when the place was open for business.
"Guy bites it last night and it's business as usual?"
Sam rolled his eyes at Dean's quip. The janitor had a large bite mark on his side, a clear bite of a shark. However, the shark bite looked a little too cartoonish to be real.
"That's corporate business for you." They get out of the car. "I'll go first, start off at the top and work our way down." Sam doubted it was the manager, she didn't seem like the type. But who knows?
"Then when do I come in?"
"Wait for my signal." Sam opens the door for Dean.
"Yeah, that's totally normal. A single grown man watching kids by himself. Wouldn't be surprised Hansen comes in with cameras." He ignored Sam's smirk.
Sam walked up to Jean who was ordering the employees to keep the ball pit roped off.
"Remember, that stays closed. We already have corporate breathing down our necks, last thing we need is to scare the kids." When she saw Sam, she shoos the employees away. "I assume you're here about Saul." Naming the janitor. "Can't believe the machine fritzed out like that." She shuddered.
"And you're still open?"
"Can't scare the kids. As far as anyone knows, the ball pit is under repairs."
"Okay, I'm going to have to talk to everyone. Starting with you." Sam said menacingly.
A bored Dean watches the play area, trying not to draw attention. He already saw the suspicious looks some of the parents gave him, so Dean pretended to study the ceiling. A little girl caught his eye, or actually her colorful slinky. Dean immediately follows the direction she came from, seeing the prizes offered, he went to get one.
"Howdy friend!" Howard says in a cheerful voice.
"The slinky. How much." Dean asked.
"One thousand tickets." The ticket seller says cheerfully.
"No. How much. American dinero." Dean gestures with his fingers.
"Oh, we don't take cash at Plucky's, only tickets!" Seeing Dean's unamused look, Howard explains, "You can earn those with hard work and determination. It's double ticket Tuesday if you play skeeball."
"Oh, it's not for me. It's for my kid." Howard gives Dean a blank stare. "She's a little too young for this place, but I want to bring her back a souvenir."
"Well, in that case, register her for her birthday, and I can knock off twenty-five percent."
"Sure. Pass me a form." No way was Dean using Laura's real name, so he put in a fake one.
"Okay, we'll see Jesse Jane in a few days. Good luck! Howdy friend!" When a little boy walked up with tickets.
Jean was squeezing her fingers in nervousness. The FBI Agent was asking her pretty heavy questions, like how Saul died.
"And you didn't hear anything."
"Just the machine."
"There was blood everywhere. How could you not hear the screams." Sam had his hands clenched on the table, intimidating Jean. "There was just two of you."
"The machine is louder than it looks, believe me. If I had heard screams, I would have ran." Jean felt awful, as a manager, she should have doubled checked everything.
"Uh huh." Sam leaned closer. "This manager job, is it worth killing for?" Sam did his homework, Saul and almost every employee applied for this job.
"What? It's just a job. Comes with benefits. I only had it for a few weeks." Her voice trembled. "We all wrote applications, how we wanted to make kids happy." When Sam gave her a dirty look, she shrank in her seat. "I have student loans, okay? I may have embellished my application a bit. It isn't illegal. I think."
"You think." Sam leans closer, breathing a little too close to her face. "I smell a rat."
Dean usually liked playing arcade games, but this game was pissing him off.
Ding Ding!
"Double tickets my ass." He hit a hundred points. That should have been worth six tickets, instead of three. When he saw Jean running out, he follows her, forgetting his tickets.
Jean lights up a joint, she wished she didn't lie about not using drugs. It was legal, goddammit!
'So it wasn't the manager.' Dean thought. He went back inside. Hopefully his tickets were still there.
'High times is not our gal.' He sent Sam a text.
'I figured that. Gonna talk to suspect two.' Howard seemed a little high strung, he was looking at Sam's fake FBI card.
"I appreciate what you do sir, although I don't like violent TV shows." He giggled.
"Quiet." Sam ordered.
Dean takes the tickets away from the machine after chasing a cheating boy away who was throwing balls directly into the machine.
"Jackass." Tyler and Dean both say together. They both smile.
"Thanks." Tyler couldn't care less about skeeball, but he hated cheaters. He walks back to his table when his mom comes over with pizza.
"Soups on." A tired Libby places a pizza on Tyler's table.
"But I don't want..."
"Just eat it." Libby begs. She felt awful not being able to provide a proper meal, but the rent was overdue, and bills were climbing. She was forced to work a double shift as a janitor tonight, as awful as what happened to Saul, she could use the money. Now she could pay for a sitter for tonight's shift.
Tyler sags as he stares at the cold pizza.
"You should give your mom a break. She works hard enough as it is." He watches as Libby scrubs a table in the restaurant area.
"Yeah, but I wish she was home more." Tyler shoves the pizza away and picks up his pencil.
"Yeah me too." Dean knew now Tyler felt. "My dad, he was always on the road, we were lucky to eat sometimes." It was hard, but Dean always made sure Sam's belly was full, even when Dean was starving. Looking at Tyler, he realized he was doing the same to Laura. "Eat up."
"Pizza tastes like butt." He usually didn't mind pizza, but Plucky's tasted like crap.
"C'mon, it shouldn't be that bad."
"Then you try it." Tyler smirks at Dean's grimace.
"Ahh. Plah!" Dean spits it out. "You're right. It does taste like butt." Dean had money, he could slip some in Libby's purse, that way she could give Tyler a real meal. "Nice drawing." The picture Tyler was coloring was of the same robot he was drawing earlier. "Why a giant?"
"Because robots are scary." Tyler draws in another figure. "He's fighting his enemy. See those people?" Tyler points to the dead stick figures and overturned cars. "The robot has to defend everyone. The enemy, he did this to them. The robot is shooting red lasers at him."
Dean just stares at the figure Tyler drew.
"Tyler. Who is that?" The figure was a stick figure but was covered in black scribbles.
"I don't know. He doesn't have a face yet."
The stick figure was getting colored in with a white crayon as well.
Dean didn't know what to think, did Tyler have those nightmares too? He looked up to see Howard walking by talking to a little boy asking where a restroom was. He looked at his cell when it buzzed.
'Nope. Going to talk to the lion next.'
"Take off the head." Sam ordered.
The performer reluctantly takes off his head.
"Why did you do it?"
"Do...what?" The lion bluffed.
"Don't lie to me. I know everything." Sam says in a low tone. He leaned closer. "We've been watching you."
"I want my lawyer. I know my rights." He jumps as Sam shoves a chair away.
"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." Sam cracks his knuckles. "I can give you a deal. Talk."
"Okay." He throws the lion's head at Sam and runs out.
"Dean!" Sam yells as he runs out of the office.
"Gotcha." Finally. Dean chases the animal-man.
Sam pauses for a second seeing a clown. Swallowing his discomfort, he forces himself to run forward.
Dean chases the guy as he runs out of the kiddie playland, he had to catch the bastard before he runs off. Luckily for him, Lionman was slowed down by his big feet.
Inside the restaurant, the witch takes Tyler's drawing.
'Interesting.'
Sam catches up to Dean just as Dean was holding down the costumer.
"Look. If it's about the meth lab explosion, it wasn't me. My brother, he and I share the same DNA and prints." He held up his pawed hands. "Please. I don't want to lose this job. It's the best job I ever had." It was the only job that allowed the employees to get high, rumors were it was the only way to keep the employees from quitting due to the high stress.
"Then who is using kids to smoke their parents?" Dean demanded.
"Huh? Okay. We indulge sometimes. Little Gwen's dad, supplies us with green. The farms in Nebraska, sure know their stuff. Um, I heard."
"Okay. About Saul." Sam was staring at him with mild suspicion.
"Saul? We used to head to the subbasement to relax. You ever got high in the ball pit?" He giggled. Seeing their unamused expressions he coughed. "Not that I ever did. Saul, it was always him."
"This place has a subbasement?" Sam didn't think there was one in these kinds of places.
"And your name?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. Cliff. My name is Cliff."
"Okay Cliff. Talk." Dean was staring at him hard. Usually, his stares would intimidate a man, but the next best thing was Sam using his witchy powers.
"We go downstairs. All of us after hours sometimes. It's a good place to let off steam. Out back, there's an entrance. If you can see it. A few nights ago, Saul and I were hanging out, just getting sto- I mean talking. We heard weird sounds coming from the boiler room."
"Weird sounds?" They both saw Cliff's spooked face.
"Yeah." Cliff's demeanor changed. He swallowed. "Not just weird noises, but chanting. Saul, he and Jean checked it out, said there is nothing down there. But I know what I heard." Cliff swore he was never going down there ever again. Luckily there was a storage shed close by. He was planning on convincing Jean to put a heater in there for winter.
"Okay. So now what." They let Cliff go, telling him they'll forget about the meth lab explosion if he kept his mouth shut. Cliff eagerly agreed, he didn't want to get fired again. They were back inside the restaurant trying to guess who was on the next hit list.
"Tyler!" An exhausted Libby was putting on her purse, not noticing Dean slipping a few dollar bills inside. "Let's go home."
"But my drawing! Someone stole it!"
So draw another one!" Libby snapped. She was dead tired, she had to come back in a few hours to work a night shift. Thank god she had a day off at her other job tomorrow.
Tyler saw Dean giving him a look.
"Okay. I'm sorry."
Libby looked surprised.
"Thank you." She had a few bucks. She could order in, something cheap but nutritious for them. Definitely not pizza, Libby was sick of them. She and Tyler walk out.
"The placemat sucked anyways." Tomorrow Tyler would draw something better. His mom becoming rich instead so she won't have to be so tired.
"Dean, what is it?" Sam saw Dean riffling through the papers Tyler was drawing on.
"Kid was drawing something. A giant robot with laser eyes. Size of a house."
"Okay. At least I'll see it coming."
"That's not what worries me."
"I'll protect them. Piper and her sisters can perform powerful magic if we can combine our powers. Dean?" Dean's facial expression worried Sam.
"The robot is the least of our problems." Dean was kicking himself for not destroying Tyler's picture.
Later that night, Dean was downstairs in the boiler room. He called Sam who pretended to be Jean who called Libby saying to take the night off.
Usually Libby would have protested, but when she saw the amount of cash in her purse along with a note from "Jean," she agreed. She then cancelled the babysitter and ordered groceries instead.
Sam was watching the house, he and Piper were already on top of things. Sam went out and surrounded crystals all over Libby's house, so Piper and her sisters could perform a protection spell so no evil could come in.
"Yeah. That's normal." Dean should have known. Luckily he had his witch-killing bullets. He needed to find Tyler's picture. That Thing in Tyler's drawing, Dean didn't want to know who or what that was. He saw the pentagram on the floor, along with a book of spells.
"Drop it." Howard ordered. He was pointing a gun at Dean.
Dean slowly turns around with his hands up, one hand holding his gun.
"The gun. Kick it forward." Howard was pointing straight at Dean. Once Dean kicked away the gun, Howard clicks the chamber.
"So it was you. Pretty heavy hoodoo you got going on here. Using kids to poop out a unicorn." Dean had to keep him talking. He needed to destroy that picture no matter what.
"There's power in fear. Your brother should already know this." Howard stammered. "Kids especially. Their feelings are pure, fear especially. Makes it easy to bring to life."
"You're a child psychologist as well as a witch? Pretty impressive. Why are you working here then?" Dean had to find that picture ASAP.
"I don't have to explain myself to you. Your brother. I saw him looking at the clowns. Had a spell custom made just for him."
"Really. You don't say." Dean picks up Howard's spell book and throws it at him. Once Howard was distracted, Dean quickly riffles through the papers. Finding Tyler's picture, Dean quickly rips it up. "No Iron Giant!" No way was Dean mentioning whatever Scribble Guy was.
"I'll get to her eventually. Worry about your brother. What he did to Cliff, bullies will never win ever again."
Sam runs into the warehouse, just as the timer reaches zero.
RIGHT FRIGGIN' NOW
Sam was dismayed when his bullets ran right through the clown. He had to win, otherwise, he'll die. Then when he comes back, Piper will kill him again. He grunts in pain when the clowns start beating him.
"So you kill kids' parents? For what? Everyone has bad days. Just because parents.." Dean stared hard at Howard. "The crack about Sam." Dean carefully tucked a small doll of Plucky in his back pocket.
"I hadn't been practicing witchcraft long, but as soon as I saw your brother, I knew. He's tough. He's lucky. Back in the old days, they burned witches at the stake. That's why I chose clowns. Kinda ironic."
Back in the warehouse, Sam flinches as one clown sprays him with water from his flower lapel. When he stepped back, another clown grabs him.
"What about your brother?" Dean saw the pictures when he walked in. "What happened to him?" There were drawings of a drowning boy.
"They didn't listen. Even when I was screaming. They ignored us. Like always. Your brother will be better off dead."
Sam unsuccessfully tries to beat the clowns with a tire iron. He had to concentrate. His wife couldn't help him, she was busy watching over Libby and Tyler.
'Face your fears. Don't let your fears defeat you.' Sam chanted. He knew magic well, the human psyche was no different. Yes! The clown on the right grunted in pain when Sam kicked him in the stomach. 'I can win this.' The Witch was strong, but so was Sam. He thought about Mel, she needed her father. He grabbed the clown on his left and grabbed his neck. 'You are not real.'
"No!" Howard shoots at Dean when Dean threw his doll and drawing together in the fire.
Dean was so glad John was incredibly strict with his training growing up, he ducked down to the floor a split second before the bullets hit him. He saw magic several times, but it was unsettling seeing the ghost of Howard's brother.
Howard was staring guiltily at his older brother.
"I'm sorry. It wasn't my fault."
A young Howard was heading out with his father's boat. He wanted to fish too, he didn't know why he wasn't allowed to go earlier.
"Howie! You'll get in trouble!" His older brother was waving from the dock.
"Don't tell anyone then!" How hard can this be? He must have watched them take out the boat several times.
"At least take me with you." Tommy jumps on the boat before Howard drives away.
"I can handle myself." Howard says grouchily.
"Not without me. You can't swim. That's why Dad wouldn't let you on the boat. So where are we going?"
"Just to the island." The island wasn't too far, it was perfect for exploring. "Dad is busy anyways." Their father was too busy talking to his friends.
"Okay. But be careful."
Howard watches as Tommy was getting loaded into the ambulance. His parents refused to look at Howard, they always liked Tommy better.
"Why is there a sheet over his face?" Howard whimpered. "He can't breathe." He refused to believe it.
When the boat tipped, Howard screamed for help. But no one heard him.
What no one knew is that Tommy drowned saving Howard. Howard carried that guilt everyday. Even though he knew Tommy promised to protect him always.
"Tommy" places his hand over Howard's mouth. Howard drowns staring up at Tommy's ghost.
Sam swore to face his fears. But he couldn't help but close his eyes when the clowns ran into Sam, both exploding into glitter.
Sam looked up cautiously, seeing he was alone, breathes a sigh of relief. Then he looked down at himself. Even in the dark, he knew Dean was going to have a field day with this.
Dean laughs when he saw Sam.
"Just get it out of your system." Sam holds up his arms.
"You look like you were hit in by PCP-laced strippers."
Sam was covered in glitter.
"Yep. Then they sprayed me with seltzer from his flower." He smiled as Dean laughed harder. "Really?" When Dean took a picture.
"Sis is going to love this." He couldn't wait to show Laura and Mel when they got older.
"Tch. At least Mel would know Daddy faced his fears." Before Sam could enter the Impala, Dean locked the doors. "Seriously?"
"Look. I'm sorry about ditching you as a kid. It was a dick move. Because of me, I gave you that fear."
"Yeah. But what can you do." Sam conjures up something.
"Using magic for personal gain? Sam." Dean must have heard that lecture thousands of times.
"Yeah, but I think they could allow an exception." Sam hands Dean a brand-new slinky in a can.
"Whoa. You made this? Or won it." Dean only made seventy-five tickets playing skeeball.
"We earned that." Sam insisted.
"Yeah. I got you something too." Dean throws a Plucky doll at Sam. "What? Think of it as a sobriety chip."
Sam was forced to stay in a random motel, Dean refused to have Sam ride in his vehicle, claiming he didn't want glitter in the Impala. Plus Sam knew Piper won't let him in the house with glitter, she always said glitter was Satan's dust. He would be naked when he warps home, hopefully, he was clean and free of glitter.
The Crone picks up the abandoned doll from the street. She didn't care for dolls, but this would be useful. Shame about Howard, if only he knew he wasn't the one performing the blood magic. She thought about Tyler's drawing, she was glad Dean was able to destroy it. She unfolded the ripped half and wondered what Tyler saw in his dreams.
"You sure about this?" Both Sam and Piper were standing in line for movie tickets.
"I need to make sure I truly conquered my fears." They were watching a double feature, they were watching IT and IT the Remake.
"Ugh." Piper squeezed his hands. "At least we can conquer it together." She couldn't understand how Paige was a fan of clowns. She loved both Slappy and Bozo. She even had an old CD about the Insane Clown Posse. "Two please."
Eagle Harbor, Washington
Benny looked up at the woman.
"You're not Chris. Does your husband know you're here?" Who was this woman?
"I have a job. Your name was given to me." Jenna was taking over Devon's old job, someone needed to pick up the slack. Good thing Agent Murphy was willing to hire her. "You obviously need my help." Wasn't he a vampire? Jenna may not know anything about vampires, but he was human, Jenna was sure of it.