Meneva
5 April
Enter Sandman by Metallica gave no chance for silence to fill up the car as Dean blasted the volume the moment they sped off to the next destination. They had spent the last three days in a cheap motel about 500 miles away from Saint Town where they had just discovered about the recent gruesome killings been going on from the local news and papers from a nearby news stand. The first time they heard about the news, they knew Saint Town will be their next destination. What truly caught their attention was how those victims were brutally murdered and what made it even more interesting was how identical those deaths were to one another. From the report given by the police spokesman, it classified the cases as unnatural deaths and still under further investigation but so far the police had made no arrest or revealed the motive of the killings.
Many speculations been made though by the locals whom the Winchester brothers had met and interviewed. Mad man and wild animals were their prime suspects.
“So you think its some mad guy out there going around with an axe or chopper killing these guys?” Asked Sam as he stared and examined the newspapers of the latest victim found two days ago.
“Not sure about the mad guy but opting for wild animals sounds pretty interesting to me.” Dean chuckled softly as he turned to Sam and back to the road.
“But so far… no murder weapon has been found-”
“Maybe there isn’t any in the first place.” Sam looked surprised. Not sure if he was surprised by the fact that his brother was not making sense or that his brother was indeed looking at things in a different perspective like he always did. Look at things in a supernatural way.
“You mean…”
“I mean, what else could have caused it. Even from the pictures showed clearly there are only slight bruises but no wounds, no cuts, no weapons… imagine, if its from wild animals… then there would have been physical wounds, cuts, scars… and so far nothing.”
“Oh hear this… The police in Saint Town are still investigating the brutal killing cases happening recently that gripped fear out of the local people. So far no arrest has been done but they are not ruling out foul play by a mentally disturbed individual or wild animals escaping from the woods. Doctors from the local hospital said that the cause of death was due to hypertension and late treatment was given to revive the victim. The latest victim was pronounced dead between 11.30 p.m. to 12.30 a.m. the night before but was found by a motorist early morning at about 8 a.m. Police are seeking local help to assist in this case. Those who have any information are to come forward and it will be kept strictly confidential.” Sam then closed and folded the newspaper into half. He shook his head lightly as he bit his finger and turned his attention away from the newspapers.
“What?” Dean asked when he noticed that Sam was biting his nail. A sign to show that either Sam was afraid or he was engaging himself into some deep thoughts. As much as Dean was afraid himself, he tried to think of the latter. With Sam around, he felt more confident and better. Perhaps that was the reason why he insisted on having Sam with him throughout this journey because he wanted to make sure that Sam was sound and safe right before his eyes.
“Nothing…”
“Nothing?” Dean asked with more persistent in his voice.
“Yeah… nothing… its just that… that…”
“What Sammie?”
“Oh stop calling me that! I’m already -”
“What? Old?” Dean chuckled. “Can’t help it when I was the one who changed your diapers when you were still a baby! So you better tell me what’s wrong now…” Sam knew nothing escaped from his brother’s eyes. Even though Dean was the one who took care of him for most of the time during their father’s absence, sometimes he felt weird and strange to be a part of that family. Dean literally knew what went in his mind even without him having to say it out loud. His brother even knew the main reason why he decided to go to college and spent most of his times there instead of helping him during the short hunting trips. Family tradition Dean called it but to Sam, its more like courting your own death kind of game. For the past two years, Sam tried his best not to get involved in any way but Dean’s sudden appearance in his apartment changed everything.
Dean’s presence and persistence together with Jessica’s death made him changed his mind. Guilt trip of leaving Jessica’s alone despite of having those nightmares few nights before almost made him given up on living but it was Dean who gave him a new fighting spirit. While he filled his heart with vengeance, Dean was the one who helped to tame down the wild side of him. Dean was the one who brought him back to the right path each time he wanted to break free to find Jessica’s killer on his own.
“So?” Dean’s voice snapped into Sam’s deep thoughts as he cleared his throat and released a deep breath.
“Nothing… I’m just worried about dad.” He said without looking at Dean. Sam was taken aback by his own words as well. Worried about someone whom he hardly knew all his life sounded fishy but a part of it was true. Though they seldom shared the same point of view, still he respected the man as the one who was responsible for their strict and independent upbringing. Another part of him wanted to get everything done once and for all as soon as possible so that he can move on with his life as a normal teenager.
Dean smiled as if he knew what was on his little brother’s mind. “Don’t worry, I’m sure dad would be fine and…” Now it was Dean’s turn leaving his sentence hanging in the air.
“And what?”
“And I promise you that once all these things are over and once we find dad… I’ll take you to your college.” Sam reciprocated his brother’s side smile with a blush. “I know this is hard for you… but its not been easy for me either… we need to find dad before they do.”
“They?”
“Yeah… before they do. I’m not sure if they were the one who killed mom or… Jessica… but they are going after dad coz dad has something that they’ve been looking for.”
“Wait a minute… who are these they? And how come you know about this? Dad told you?”
“Read here.” Dean reached for his father’s journal from the back seat and handed it over to Sam. He told Sam to flip directly to the page with a red marking. “These ‘they’ are not any ordinary men Sam, they are demons… demons dad had once destroyed but was summoned back because they were thought to have the powers to help people who believed in them…”
“And just what is it that they want from dad?” Sam asked as he frowned reading the entire page.
“His soul and the colt.”
“What?”
“They wanted his soul as revenge but before that, they need to find the colt.” Sam’s face became more intense and glowed with curiosity.
“What colt? How come you never told me before about this?” And this time round, it was Dean who had a thousand lines on his forehead. Wished he had the chance to share and tell Sam everything that he knew, the hunting trips he had gone through all by himself, his father’s secrets if… if only had Sam given him the chance to.
“Because you never give me the chance to Sammie. You were too mad at that time and left us for college.” Dean continued.
“That’s because I don’t like the way dad ordered us around… giving orders without thinking about us. He didn’t even bother to ask us about our well-being even when he left me in your care. How old were you when he left me in your care? 10?”
“5 Sam. I was only 5 when dad told me to carry you out of the house… that was when mom died in the blaze. He left not because he wanted to but because of his responsibility to keep us alive. He had to leave us because he knows if he sticks with us, he will only get us killed.”
“Then why are we looking for him?” For an instant, Dean felt hurt with Sam’s question. The pain was unbearable like thousands of bees stinging on his flesh.
“Because he’s our dad Sammie… Whether you like it or not, he’s our dad and he has done so much to keep us both alive… if its not for him, I doubt we would even be here today.”
Sam shook his head in disbelief as he bit his fingernail and looked out of the window. Wished he could make Dean see the hurt in his eyes and the pain in his heart to have always been compared by his father. That it always hurt not to get as much attention and private time with his father like Dean did, and worst when they both seemed to be seeing things at a different and opposite point of view that sometimes ended up in huge misunderstanding between the two. It was Dean who then became the peacemaker.
Yes, he appreciated Dean’s kind act but at the same time he hated to be treated like a small kid. To Sam, the only reason why his father treated him differently from his brother could be that he was the cause of his mother’s death in his nursery room. Even though Dean had told him countless of times before that their father had never blamed him for the mishaps, Sam always felt otherwise especially in his father’s presence.
For the rest of the journey, both brothers were busy entertaining to their own little world. It was only half way through the long stretch of road that Dean saw a faded green signboard showing “WELCOME TO SAINT TOWN. 200 miles away.”. The moment the car passed by the signboard, he felt a new edgy feeling inside him. It was the same old feelings whenever he knew something supernatural was going on in that area. Both the brothers exchanged glances as Sam unfolded the map and told Dean about their first pit stop of the day.
They knew it was not going to be a pleasant stay because firstly, they came with the intention of wanting to help. They wanted to dig out the real cause of those mysterious deaths if its true those deaths were caused by any kind of supernatural acts. Secondly, they wanted to accomplish whatever mission coming on their way before they proceed on to their next destination until they finally find their missing father.
“That should be the gas station as on the map.” Said Sam as he pointed out to a small area with a few other cars flooding the compound.
Dean made a smooth turn to the left side of the road and parked his car not far from the café next to the gas station.
“Alright… here is the deal… you go and find whatever you can in that café. I’ll go and ask around and see what I can find.” Dean suggested as he locked his car.
“Alright.” They both went on separate ways the moment they entered the café. There were not many patrons around, basically a bunch of youngsters and a few tables of old men chatting their way with only two waitresses standing behind the counter.
Dean saw Sam taking a seat at the far end of the café with a few magazines and laptop on the table. So he has settled down, he thought. While he was scanning the entire place, a beautiful brunette passed by in front of him with a tray of empty glasses in her hands.
“Hey!” He called out. The waitress stopped and turned to him.
“Yes? Is there anything I can help you?” She asked with a friendly smile.
“Oh yes… hmmm… I need drinks…” The brunette gave a short giggle as if Dean’s answer was amusing her. After passing the tray to her colleague, she went behind the counter to take Dean’s orders.
“Well, actually you can just call us if you need to place any orders… and if we are all busy, then you can just press the ringer here.” Dean was simply mesmerized by her natural beauty because he noticed that she was not wearing any make-up but yet her face gave such a flow.
“Sorry… I didn’t know about that.”
“You are new here?” She asked again.
“Oh yeah… I just came from Meneva.” The waitress gave a short nod and still wearing her smile on.
“That’s a lovely place! I had friends from there, so are you here on vacation or work?” If its not for the killings happening in the town, he would have chosen the first one but its more like a job to him now.
“Both… I’m at work but since my work requires me to travel so I can do some sightseeing in between the time you see…” Dean said.
“That sounds pretty fun! So what actually draws you to come here? I mean, ours is just some isolated town.” The killing my dear, that was what brought me here, Dean thought as he smiled.
“I’m supposed to finish up some work but since I’m already here… I might want to pay an old friend a visit but recently… I heard about these killings going on in this town… you know anything about that?” Dean asked.
“Almost everyone is asking me the same thing! I think you visitors just love reading about those killings happening in here huh? Those gruesome killings! I wonder who would ever want to kill someone like that!” Dean flashed a smile and she has to admit that Dean had such a beautiful eyes. Occasionally she would pretend to wipe the glass or the table even though it has been done before to avoid from looking at him in the eyes.
“You know any of the victims?”
“Nope…”
“Not even one?”
“Yeah… except for the last victim… Mr. Benny. He was such a nice man.” Benny? That did not ring a bell to Dean. He thought the last victim was Simon.
“I thought the last victim was Simon Crane?”
“That was two nights ago… this morning they found Mr. Benny’s body. What a poor thing! His wife is pregnant with their first child and now that he’s gone… people are speculating that he must have got drunk while driving… but weird though…”
“Weird? What do you mean?”
“From what I heard, the killings took place at almost the same time and place… that’s the scary part of it all.”
“I’m sure the police would have noticed that.”
“I don’t know but so far we heard nothing from their side on these cases… after Mr. Benny’s death, I heard they are going to impose a curfew for the locals here…”
“Do you know where the scene is?” Dean asked.
“Yeah… you just need to follow this road and go straight all the way… along the way you will come across a busy town and that’s what we called the heart of the town, turn left at the junction will lead you to another route… a short-cut back home they called it but I would say it’s a short cut to your death. Can you imagine 4 victims in two weeks? At the same place? That place must be cursed or something!” She continued as Dean scribbled down the notes on a piece of paper and slipped it inside his pocket.
“Thanks for the information Ms…”
“Fern. Just called me Fern.”
“Nice name! Just like you… I’m Dean.”
“I like your name too… so Dean, do you want any drinks?”
“Oh yes… two cappuccino please?”
“Sure thing!” Fern smiled upon hearing his order. Two drinks would mean he had a company and in a way she bit her lips in disappointment. After keying his order inside the computer, she disappeared into the kitchen. Dean turned to Sam who was so engrossed in scribbling some notes into his little notebook.
It didn’t take long for Fern to come back with the drinks.
“Here you are… hope you have a pleasant stay in Saint Town.” She said as she took the money from Dean for the drinks in exchanged with a small piece of paper scribbled with numbers. Dean smiled and slipped it inside his pocket.
“Thanks! See ya around!”
“Sure! You know where to get me!” She said seductively before someone called for her attention.
Dean stood up from his seat and walked towards Sam. He took the empty seat next to Sam and gave his brother the drink as he read Sam’s handwritten notes.
“They found another body this morning.” Sam said in an almost whispering mannered but Dean was not concentrating on writing instead he unfolded the paper and stared at the number. “Are you listening?” Sam sounded agitated.
“Yeah, yeah… I heard you bro… I heard about it too.”
“From where?”
“The waitress over there… she told me the police found another body this morning, belong to this guy by the name of Benny…” Dean was explaining and flirting with Fern at the same time. Sam noticed this and gave a short sarcastic chuckle.
“Right!” Sam shook his head as he switched off his laptop and cleared the mess on the table.
“What?”
“You were flirting with that girl!”
“So?” Sam rolled his eyes up as he sipped his drinks. “Come on Sam! You need to lighten up… you can’t be serious and grumpy all the time… cheer up and have some fun…”
“Right! Fun!”
“Yeah… you know, its at times like this you need to have some fun and I would say… THAT is a big fun!” Dean pointed to Fern. Sam continued ignoring his brother as he continued clearing the mess on the table and slid his notebook inside his sling bag.
“I’m done so are you coming or what?” Sam asked as he stood up.
“Yeah, yeah, of course… hmmm… maybe you go ahead first and wait for me in the car… I’ll be right there…” Dean left Sam and walked towards the counter with his flirt cap on.
“Jerk!” Muttered Sam.
“Hey! I heard that!” Shouted Dean without looking at Sam.
“You’re leaving already?” Fern asked.
“Yeah… need to finish up some work… thanks for the number.”
“No problem… if you need a place to stay in, you can just call me… that must be your…”
In a flash, Sam came from behind and gave Dean a peck on his cheeks leaving wide stares from her colleagues; and as for Fern, she was controlling herself from gaping with disgust.
“Honey, I’ll wait for you outside ya! Nice to see you… Fern.” Sam said as he looked at Fern’s nametag and gave Dean a loving pinch on his cheeks.
“Hey… nice to see you too…” After short handshake, Sam made his way to the door.
“Look… I can explain it. He is my-”
“Dean, come on! We’ll be late!” Sam’s calling from outside made Dean blushing even more that for one second he wished he had his head buried in the ground.
“I think I got to go now… I’ll see you around…”
“Sure… don’t have to force yourself really…” Continued Fern as she forced a smile. As Dean made his way out, he overheard Fern whispering to her colleagues behind the counter. He saw Sam flashing a megawatts smile from afar and for once in his life, he wanted to kill his brother.
The minute they stepped inside the car, Dean turned to Sam with a red face.
“Why do you have to do that?”
“What?”
“Why do you always have to do that?” Dean asked as he kept brushing his cheeks with his palms.
“Oh come on Dean! Lighten up! You told me yourself that eer… ‘we need to lighten up Sam’… am I right?”
“Right!”
“So… you should feel proud that I’m such a fast learner.”
“And what? I should take it as compliment? Right! Being kissed in a public, in front of a babe by a guy who people didn’t even its my own brother… I feel so flattered now!” Dean said sarcastically as he drove along the quiet road.
“Oh, you should Dean.” Sam said as he gave Dean a pat on his shoulders whereas for Dean, he wished he could twist that hands and tie him on his seat. Sam’s smirking made his blood running wild in his veins. He stared at Sam from the mirror and out of a sudden, something evil popped out from his head. Something to justify what he did in that café. Dean gave an evil smirk as he planned things out in his head.
“So, did you get anything from there?” Dean asked trying to be subtle with his plan in his head.
“Pretty much the same info like you have… same murdered scene, same cause of death, almost the same time of death… too much for coincidence to happen, unless if…”
“If they happen to know each other or related to one another.”
“Precisely.”
“And that is what we are going to find out.”
“What do you mean?”
“Benny’s body was found this morning and definitely the family is going to have a wake for him… that would be the best time to get some crucial info from the family and friends.”
“You sure this is the right time to do all these questioning?”
“Or perhaps you have a better idea how to get other info?” Sam kept quiet. “Then I guess in the meantime we’ll have to stick to that plan.”
“So what are we going to be this time round?” Sam asked recalling his act in those role-playing of being a plumber, a mechanic and even a pest controller from their previous pit stops.
Dean stopped the car at the side of the road and walked back to his boot. He came back with a plastic bag.
“We are going with this now.” Sam took out the clothes from the plastic bag and was amused by it.
“You must be kidding me!” Dean simply reciprocated that with a short laugh and started the engine.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Hope you guys like it and reviews are highly appreciated, thanks!
