09x03 - Loaded Dice - Part Four: Tables Turn
Episode number: 09x03 of Season 9 Fan Fiction (S9FF)
Title: Loaded Dice
Subtitle: Tables Turn
Author: dracox-serdriel
Word count: 1,536
Rating: R
Warnings: language, violence
Dean nearly choked when he saw Sam pull his truck over to a screeching halt in his rear-view mirror.
"What the hell?"
Just as quickly, Dean turned the Impala back.
As it turned out, Sam was fine. He was on the phone. When Dean pulled up next to him, they both rolled their windows down.
"There was another one," Sam yelled.
"What? When?"
"Just now, at the old hospital building," Sam replied.
"But we just burnt the ghost's bones," Cas said. "The spirit should be at rest."
"Not if there's something the spirit is attaching itself to," Dean said. "Like Bobby's flask."
"Something like that could be anywhere," the angel said miserably.
"No, it can't. It's gotta be at the hospital," Sam pointed out. "That's why it's picking victims up there. Look, let me go back and chat with creepy janitor. You two talk with the police?"
"Sounds acceptable," Cas replied.
The hospital was in a panic. Dean looked down at the man who had almost twenty bullets in him.
"This was?" he prompted the officer next to him.
"Jared Bennett, came in here looking for the patient in this room," the officer said, although he remained enveloped in shock.
"You shot him twenty times?" Cas asked.
"My partner and I... we came in and saw them over there, and told him to put down the lamp, and he just charged at us."
"Did he say anything to you before that?" Dean asked.
"Uh, yeah, said we were... 'in on it' or something. All I know, he barreled right at us. He didn't care that we had guns."
Meanwhile, Sam spoke with Floyd, who remained un-phased by the event.
He asked, "Did Zach have anything, maybe jewelry, a ring, something he left behind?"
"No," Floyd said solemnly. "He came in with nothing. Left with nothing."
"Do you remember anyone else, besides Zach Calabrese, who died here - "
"Lots a people died here," Floyd interrupted. "But he was the only one who died so bad."
No matter how much he prodded, he couldn't get any more out of Floyd. For good measure, Sam dropped some salt on his skin but got no response.
"Sorry about that, you know, condiments," he said. Then he made a break for Cas and Dean.
He stopped at the scene of the crime.
"Wait, this guy, he looks familiar," Sam said.
"He was the man we saw at the morgue yesterday," the angel said.
"And you're just mentioning this now?" Sam asked.
"Is that important?" Cas replied.
"Yes, Cas, it's important! We need to regroup, see what else we've missed."
"Jared didn't visit anyone in the hospital before going mental. He went there already revved up," Dean spat. "So now we've got another crazy killer, another rampage, and a new pattern. Maybe he was just crazy. Or maybe it's a different spirit."
"Another one? That just happened to come out today after we burned the bones of its spirit buddy?" Sam retorted sarcastically. "No, Dean, we ganked the wrong ghost... if Zach was even a ghost at all."
"Awesome."
"You should both sleep," Castiel said.
"Cas, we just had another massacre. This thing is spit balling, we can't - "
" - but there are no new leads," Cas interrupted. "Even if there were, it's past midnight. I'll continue looking through the files, to detect any additional patterns, while you two sleep."
"You, looking through files?" Sam asked.
"I'm getting the hang of being semi-human," Cas said, an odd ring of pride in his voice.
"All right, let's try it."
Cas spread out the files on the four crazed individuals, like Sam had done, chronologically. It worked for him, maybe it would inspire the angel's understanding, too.
"Night Cas," Sam said, crashing into his pillow.
Dean curled up on his side of the bed. "Wake me if you find anything, as soon as you find anything," Dean shot to Cas.
"Sleep well."
Dean wasn't sure which was worse, the fact that Castiel had to be kept on lockdown in the bunker, or the fact that they had to have a special room for any kind of physical activity. It took the surprise out of things, certainly.
He was sitting in their room, his back against the headboard, as Cas pulled out another blanket.
"You shivered a lot last night."
Then he made a small sound, somewhere between pain and surprise. Dean looked up to see an angel blade through Cas's middle, poking out of his stomach. Behind him Crowley, madly grinning at his accomplishment.
"Cas!"
Dean went to rush Crowley, but with a flick of his wrist, the Winchester was pinned against the headboard.
"Love," the demon said, "always involves sacrifice. And your love requires your little angel here to be powerless. Looks like he'll pay the price for your love play."
"NO! CAS!" Dean screamed.
There was no way this was real. Crowley was dead, and they were in the damn bunker! How did he -
" - get in?" Crowley crooned, like he could read Dean's thoughts. "Your little bro might've had something to do with it, or his meat suit, I should say."
"No, that's not - this isn't real! This is a nightmare!" Dean bellowed. "Wake up!"
He saw Castiel's eyes light up white and hot, his body fall back and his wings imprint ash on their bedroom wall and floor. Crowley was right next to Dean's face now.
"You're not dreaming, kitten. I know all your tricks, and now, you're all mine - "
"Wake up, wake up, wake up," he chanted to himself.
"Dean," a voice echoed in his head. "Dean, can ya hear me?" The voice had a clear drawl to it, and it sounded familiar. Who was it? "Dean, you gotta hear me, brother, ya gotta listen okay?"
Suddenly he felt cold and... wet?
Dean's eyes opened. Cas was inches from his face. He had thrown water on him.
"What, huh?"
"I didn't want to have to slap you again," the angel said evenly. "You had another one, didn't you?"
"Uh, what?"
"Another nightmare," the angel replied.
"A screaming crazy nightmare," Sam added. He sitting up in his bed.
"Yeah."
"Involving Crowley?" Sam asked.
"Definitely. Damn limey mook is still making my life hell even when he's dead," Dean said dismissively.
"This is serious," Castiel said. "This could be a spell or a curse."
Dean shook his head clear. "What time is it?"
"Almost six."
"Okay, look, I get it, you're worried, fine, whatever, but before we get all focused on me, let's finish this case," Dean said, sitting up. "People are dying here, I'm just having bad dreams."
Cas seemed ready to argue, so Sam stepped in with, "Did you find anything, Cas?"
"I did."
"And?"
"All four victims did visit one place before lashing out at their fellow man," the angel said simply.
"You mean the hospital?"
"No, the morgue."
"The morgue?"
"Yes. The first three apparently suspected malpractice, that's when a doctor or medical practitioner - "
" - we know what it means, Cas," Dean cut him off.
"They all asked for an autopsy to confirm cause of death."
"Did you check who did the autopsies on those?" Sam asked.
"Doctor Hastings."
"And he also spoke to Jared Bennett yesterday," Dean added. "You find any connection between him and our ghost?"
"No, Hastings transferred here about three months ago," the angel replied. "According to the file," he added when the brothers gaped at him.
"Cas, this guy got here right before people started going crazy... that's not a coincidence," Dean said, pulling on his shirt.
"You think he's involved?"
"I think we need to check him out. He could be a witch, or if a relative to this Zach guy we toasted yesterday, he might have an object from him."
Dean stomped off to the bathroom.
Sam took the moment to ask, "Cas, what do you mean about Dean's nightmares?"
"An ordinary nightmare is just a byproduct of the brain's memory system and emotional processing," Cas said, trying and failing to keep the air of conversation. "But a normal nightmare doesn't have a hold on the individual. You can wake yourself up from one if you will it."
"You think this isn't a normal nightmare?" Sam asked, concern rising in his voice.
"Dreaming, special dreaming, is a liminal space for the soul. Even when angels were forbidden to take a vessel on earth, we could visit a human in that special space."
"Why would you?"
Cas replied, "Mostly because the human mind can comprehend a dream without exploding. Angels aren't the only ones who can communicate this way. It's possible something else is attempting to communicate with Dean."
"Is there some reason you think it's not angels?"
"I would know if it was."
"What else has that kinda juice?"
"I don't know. But next time it happens, I'll be prepared to find out."
"You run that by Dean yet?" Sam asked.
The angel shrugged.
"Guys, seriously?" Dean poked his head out from the bathroom, his hair wet. He must've done a very quick shower. "People. Dying. Here. Now. Figure that out first."
"Get your ass out of the bathroom so I can clean up, then," Sam snapped.
<<< Previous Part:
Part Three: Lady Luck
Next Part: >>>
Part Five: Snake Charmer
Primary Post: 09x03 Loaded Dice
Primary Post: Season 9 Fan Fiction (S9FF)
Title: Loaded Dice
Subtitle: Tables Turn
Author: dracox-serdriel
Word count: 1,536
Rating: R
Warnings: language, violence
Dean nearly choked when he saw Sam pull his truck over to a screeching halt in his rear-view mirror.
"What the hell?"
Just as quickly, Dean turned the Impala back.
As it turned out, Sam was fine. He was on the phone. When Dean pulled up next to him, they both rolled their windows down.
"There was another one," Sam yelled.
"What? When?"
"Just now, at the old hospital building," Sam replied.
"But we just burnt the ghost's bones," Cas said. "The spirit should be at rest."
"Not if there's something the spirit is attaching itself to," Dean said. "Like Bobby's flask."
"Something like that could be anywhere," the angel said miserably.
"No, it can't. It's gotta be at the hospital," Sam pointed out. "That's why it's picking victims up there. Look, let me go back and chat with creepy janitor. You two talk with the police?"
"Sounds acceptable," Cas replied.
The hospital was in a panic. Dean looked down at the man who had almost twenty bullets in him.
"This was?" he prompted the officer next to him.
"Jared Bennett, came in here looking for the patient in this room," the officer said, although he remained enveloped in shock.
"You shot him twenty times?" Cas asked.
"My partner and I... we came in and saw them over there, and told him to put down the lamp, and he just charged at us."
"Did he say anything to you before that?" Dean asked.
"Uh, yeah, said we were... 'in on it' or something. All I know, he barreled right at us. He didn't care that we had guns."
Meanwhile, Sam spoke with Floyd, who remained un-phased by the event.
He asked, "Did Zach have anything, maybe jewelry, a ring, something he left behind?"
"No," Floyd said solemnly. "He came in with nothing. Left with nothing."
"Do you remember anyone else, besides Zach Calabrese, who died here - "
"Lots a people died here," Floyd interrupted. "But he was the only one who died so bad."
No matter how much he prodded, he couldn't get any more out of Floyd. For good measure, Sam dropped some salt on his skin but got no response.
"Sorry about that, you know, condiments," he said. Then he made a break for Cas and Dean.
He stopped at the scene of the crime.
"Wait, this guy, he looks familiar," Sam said.
"He was the man we saw at the morgue yesterday," the angel said.
"And you're just mentioning this now?" Sam asked.
"Is that important?" Cas replied.
"Yes, Cas, it's important! We need to regroup, see what else we've missed."
"Jared didn't visit anyone in the hospital before going mental. He went there already revved up," Dean spat. "So now we've got another crazy killer, another rampage, and a new pattern. Maybe he was just crazy. Or maybe it's a different spirit."
"Another one? That just happened to come out today after we burned the bones of its spirit buddy?" Sam retorted sarcastically. "No, Dean, we ganked the wrong ghost... if Zach was even a ghost at all."
"Awesome."
"You should both sleep," Castiel said.
"Cas, we just had another massacre. This thing is spit balling, we can't - "
" - but there are no new leads," Cas interrupted. "Even if there were, it's past midnight. I'll continue looking through the files, to detect any additional patterns, while you two sleep."
"You, looking through files?" Sam asked.
"I'm getting the hang of being semi-human," Cas said, an odd ring of pride in his voice.
"All right, let's try it."
Cas spread out the files on the four crazed individuals, like Sam had done, chronologically. It worked for him, maybe it would inspire the angel's understanding, too.
"Night Cas," Sam said, crashing into his pillow.
Dean curled up on his side of the bed. "Wake me if you find anything, as soon as you find anything," Dean shot to Cas.
"Sleep well."
Dean wasn't sure which was worse, the fact that Castiel had to be kept on lockdown in the bunker, or the fact that they had to have a special room for any kind of physical activity. It took the surprise out of things, certainly.
He was sitting in their room, his back against the headboard, as Cas pulled out another blanket.
"You shivered a lot last night."
Then he made a small sound, somewhere between pain and surprise. Dean looked up to see an angel blade through Cas's middle, poking out of his stomach. Behind him Crowley, madly grinning at his accomplishment.
"Cas!"
Dean went to rush Crowley, but with a flick of his wrist, the Winchester was pinned against the headboard.
"Love," the demon said, "always involves sacrifice. And your love requires your little angel here to be powerless. Looks like he'll pay the price for your love play."
"NO! CAS!" Dean screamed.
There was no way this was real. Crowley was dead, and they were in the damn bunker! How did he -
" - get in?" Crowley crooned, like he could read Dean's thoughts. "Your little bro might've had something to do with it, or his meat suit, I should say."
"No, that's not - this isn't real! This is a nightmare!" Dean bellowed. "Wake up!"
He saw Castiel's eyes light up white and hot, his body fall back and his wings imprint ash on their bedroom wall and floor. Crowley was right next to Dean's face now.
"You're not dreaming, kitten. I know all your tricks, and now, you're all mine - "
"Wake up, wake up, wake up," he chanted to himself.
"Dean," a voice echoed in his head. "Dean, can ya hear me?" The voice had a clear drawl to it, and it sounded familiar. Who was it? "Dean, you gotta hear me, brother, ya gotta listen okay?"
Suddenly he felt cold and... wet?
Dean's eyes opened. Cas was inches from his face. He had thrown water on him.
"What, huh?"
"I didn't want to have to slap you again," the angel said evenly. "You had another one, didn't you?"
"Uh, what?"
"Another nightmare," the angel replied.
"A screaming crazy nightmare," Sam added. He sitting up in his bed.
"Yeah."
"Involving Crowley?" Sam asked.
"Definitely. Damn limey mook is still making my life hell even when he's dead," Dean said dismissively.
"This is serious," Castiel said. "This could be a spell or a curse."
Dean shook his head clear. "What time is it?"
"Almost six."
"Okay, look, I get it, you're worried, fine, whatever, but before we get all focused on me, let's finish this case," Dean said, sitting up. "People are dying here, I'm just having bad dreams."
Cas seemed ready to argue, so Sam stepped in with, "Did you find anything, Cas?"
"I did."
"And?"
"All four victims did visit one place before lashing out at their fellow man," the angel said simply.
"You mean the hospital?"
"No, the morgue."
"The morgue?"
"Yes. The first three apparently suspected malpractice, that's when a doctor or medical practitioner - "
" - we know what it means, Cas," Dean cut him off.
"They all asked for an autopsy to confirm cause of death."
"Did you check who did the autopsies on those?" Sam asked.
"Doctor Hastings."
"And he also spoke to Jared Bennett yesterday," Dean added. "You find any connection between him and our ghost?"
"No, Hastings transferred here about three months ago," the angel replied. "According to the file," he added when the brothers gaped at him.
"Cas, this guy got here right before people started going crazy... that's not a coincidence," Dean said, pulling on his shirt.
"You think he's involved?"
"I think we need to check him out. He could be a witch, or if a relative to this Zach guy we toasted yesterday, he might have an object from him."
Dean stomped off to the bathroom.
Sam took the moment to ask, "Cas, what do you mean about Dean's nightmares?"
"An ordinary nightmare is just a byproduct of the brain's memory system and emotional processing," Cas said, trying and failing to keep the air of conversation. "But a normal nightmare doesn't have a hold on the individual. You can wake yourself up from one if you will it."
"You think this isn't a normal nightmare?" Sam asked, concern rising in his voice.
"Dreaming, special dreaming, is a liminal space for the soul. Even when angels were forbidden to take a vessel on earth, we could visit a human in that special space."
"Why would you?"
Cas replied, "Mostly because the human mind can comprehend a dream without exploding. Angels aren't the only ones who can communicate this way. It's possible something else is attempting to communicate with Dean."
"Is there some reason you think it's not angels?"
"I would know if it was."
"What else has that kinda juice?"
"I don't know. But next time it happens, I'll be prepared to find out."
"You run that by Dean yet?" Sam asked.
The angel shrugged.
"Guys, seriously?" Dean poked his head out from the bathroom, his hair wet. He must've done a very quick shower. "People. Dying. Here. Now. Figure that out first."
"Get your ass out of the bathroom so I can clean up, then," Sam snapped.
<<< Previous Part:
Part Three: Lady Luck
Next Part: >>>
Part Five: Snake Charmer
Primary Post: 09x03 Loaded Dice
Primary Post: Season 9 Fan Fiction (S9FF)