Supernatural Fanfiction: 'The Swan Dive' - Master Post/Chapter 1
Title: The Swan Dive
Author: unholyhairgel
Characters: Dean Winchester, Heaven Johansen (OFC), a side of Sam Winchester and Bobby Singer
Summary: After Provenance the boys find two possible hunts, and realize there's not time to work both. They decide to split up to take care of both cases, and Dean ends up finding something more than he had expected.
Rating: I find it difficult to rate this fic, but there will be some minor sexual themes (in which case there will be a warning beforehand), possible language and mild violence.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or the Winchesters. You can thank Eric Kripke for that. I do however own my writing, my own ideas and my own characters. The chapter titles are adapted from names of poems by Sylvia Plath.
Next: Chapter 2
This is my first attempt of really writing Dean. I've only written very short bits out of his point of view before, seeing as I normally prefer to write Sam. I get Sam on a whole other level than I get Dean, so I hope I can make this believable. Be gentle.
THE SWAN DIVE
Chapter 1 - Aquatic Nocturne
The night air found its way inside Karen's lungs, cool, leaving her slightly breathless. Maybe she shouldn't have left the house at this hour, but she needed a break. They'd had another stupid argument. She found it difficult to understand how things had changed quickly. They'd been married for three years, four months and eight days now. She'd counted. The time when they had been happy, Rob and her, seemed a lifetime ago.
It seemed they couldn't even have a decent discussion anymore, without ending up in a huge fight complete with slamming doors and shouting and tears. Tonight it had been even sillier than usual. There was some stupid baseball game he wanted to watch, instead of spending time with her and watch a movie, like they had decided. When she'd let him know how she felt he'd yelled at her, called her a nagging bitch. That was when Karen had had enough and ran out the front door, salty tears streaming down her face.
She had been wandering around aimlessly for almost two hours, which had given her a chance to calm down. Fair to say, she was regretting her decision of running off. She only had a vague idea of where she was, her feet were aching and she didn't have her phone with her. On top of everything, it was starting to get cold. She shivered and wrapped her sweater tighter around her, silently wishing she'd thought of bringing a jacket. A quick glance at her watch told her that it was almost midnight. She should make her way back home. She should try to work things out with Rob.
Suddenly, she stopped in the middle of a step. She thought she'd heard a noise. She looked around for a moment. She was surrounded by forest, and she knew she was near the lake, which was pretty much the only thing she knew about her current whereabouts. The forest didn't scare her, it never had. When she had been a child, the forest had been like a second home to her. She'd used to play there with a friend of hers.
She couldn't hear any noises anymore. Everything was still and quiet, except for the crickets in the grass. Karen knew she should turn around, go back the same way she'd come from. She was about to do just that when she heard a noise again. She heard a faint melody in the distance. Was that someone singing, or playing an instrument, maybe? Without quite knowing why, the melody intrigued Karen. There was something alluring about it. Something… Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Against better knowledge she followed the melody. It came from the left, down a path through the forest. The melody grew louder and louder as she walked the path, and she realized it was leading down to the lake. Who was at the lake at this hour? Maybe it was a couple having a romantic moonlight picnic, playing classic music on a portable radio? Or maybe there was a party? All Karen knew was that she had to find out.
She finally reached the lake. It was beautiful at night. A full moon was lighting up the sky and the stars were keeping it company. The light from the sky reflected onto the surface of the lake, completely black and still. She looked around and near the shore she saw a shape. It was the shape of a young man. She squinted, but realized she had to get closer if she wanted to see him better. Carefully she walked towards the man. She could hear the beautiful melody so clearly now. It was one of the most amazing things ever to find its way inside of her ears. The sound of a violin. He had to be playing it.
"Excuse me, sir?", she tried, but he didn't answer her.
Instead he walked towards the water, his feet in the water, leaving ripples on the otherwise still surface. It was like Karen was spellbound, moving by her own accord. Her steps were quicker and longer now, as the man walked further into the water.
"Hello?", she tried again. Still no answer.
The man turned his head a bit. In the moonlight she could see a smile playing on his lips before he dove into the water. The music stopped. Surprised, she reached the shoreline, waiting for him to come back up. But he never came back. Karen began to panic. Was he committing suicide? Drowning himself, holding his breath under water?
"Sir? Sir!", she yelled as she ran out into the water, desperately trying to find the shape somewhere under the surface, sans any luck.
What came next was completely unexpected. She didn't even realize what happened before she disappeared into the dark waters. The only remnant of her being a silent echo of a surprised scream accompanied by a splash among the trees in the adjacent forest.
"Heaven, run!"
Heaven Johansen's eyes opened wide and she shot up in her bed. She'd had the same nightmare she always had. After all these years… She couldn't get rid of it. Her father's voice still echoed in her head as she realized she was drenched in cold sweat. She let out a frustrated sigh and ran her hands through her hair. It was a mess, sticking to the sides of her face, just as the sheets were clinging to her sweat-drenched body.
She gave herself a moment to calm down, trying to steady her breathing, allowing for her pulse to settle to normal. A glance at the digital clock on the nightstand in next to her bed told her it was 4:30 am. Another sigh escaped her lips as she threw the covers off of her and got out of bed. Walking through the sleazy motel room she was staying in she headed towards the bathroom. Once inside, she turned on the lights and bent over the sink. She washed her face with cold water, using the remnants of it to pull her hair back a bit. She used one of the stained towels to dry her face as she glanced in the mirror. She looked like a mess.
Heaven wasn't ugly. In fact, she was pretty damn far from it - indigo blue eyes, perfectly soft, light skin and gorgeous bone structure. Her face was framed by dirty blonde hair, normally in a sort of edgy, assymetrical bob with a longer sideswept fringe. But right now her hair was tousled by sleep, messy and slightly damp as she had ran her wet fingers through it and she was really pale. The few freckles on her nose annoyed her, they always had.
Her body wasn't exactly bad either. She wasn't a short girl by any means with her 5' 8". She had pretty nice curves, even if she thought so herself, breasts not too small nor too large, a long neck, a beautiful, distinguished collarbone, round hips and a pretty cute butt. She took care of her body, it was pretty much required in her line of work. If you could even call it work. She didn't get paid for it. But she still had to stay sharp, and in good condition, to avoid getting killed.
There was one thing Heaven didn't like about herself. Her name. Heaven. Her parents must have had a pretty horrible sense of humor. What kind of a name was Heaven? Especially for a hunter, it was kind of ironic. She'd heard every, single lame joke in the book about her name. And there was a lot where that came from, especially when some random douchebag threw some cheesy pick up line at her. The job allowed for her to use aliases, which she had fun with. Anything but her own name. Her surname, Johansen, was Norwegian, like her father. When he was young he'd come to the States which was when he met her American mother. Her light skin and distinct blue eyes were thanks to her father's genes, the dirty blonde hair from her mother's side. Heaven was their only child, and she vaguely remembered a time when they'd been a happy family. Thinking about her parents made her cringe. She tried to avoid thinking about them if it was possible. It was better that way. And it hurt less.
For as long as she could remember, Heaven had had troubles sleeping. She was a bit of an insomniac, but she refused to take sleeping pills if it was possible. She'd rather not sleep than stuff herself full of drugs. After all, she was used to the not-sleeping part of her life. Waking up after 4 am after only three hours of sleep was how she worked. Same with the tossing and turning and having nightmares about her past.
Heaven realized she wasn't going to be able to fall asleep again. The nightmare still haunted her mind. What she needed was some coffee and a new case.
With another sigh, she stripped out of her boyshorts and tank top and stepped into the shower. Once she was done, she got dressed ventured outside. She quickly managed to find a gas station that was open at the quite early - or late, depending on how you thought about it - hour. She bought a cup of coffee, along with two cans of Red Bull and two Snickers bars. She made a mental note to change her breakfast habits to something healthier.
Once she got back to the motel, she opened her laptop and went out on the web. She scanned through her usual sources, online newspapers and magazines until her eye caught something. Clayton, Georgia. A woman had turned up dead in the lake after being missing for sixteen hours. The cops deemed it as a drowning accident, but there was something about it that made Heaven's spidey-sense tingle. Maybe it was the fact that the husband was quoted, telling the paper that she had been a good swimmer. Heaven couldn't quite put her finger on it.
She started digging up old articles from the local paper and what she found confirmed her suspicions. There was definitely a possibility of something paranormal going on in that lake.
"Son of a bitch", she thought.
Two days later - Clayton, Georgia
"You sure you gonna be okay, Sammy?"
Dean Winchester slammed the door of his beloved 1967 Chevy Impala shut. It was more difficult than he had expected, seeing as his other hand was occupied. He was holding his cellphone to his ear, talking to his brother Sam on the other end.
"Dude, I got this one covered. So far it seems like a pretty standard salt 'n' burn. Lemme worry 'bout me."
Dean could practically sense Sam rolling his eyes while uttering those words. He sighed and gave up. "Alright. But you gotta call me if you need anythin', alright, bro? Any trouble at all, and you give me a call."
"Sure", Sam said with a chuckle. "So, how's Clayton?"
"Not sure yet, just arrived. Seems like another shithole small town, about two thousand people or so. Dammit, why does all the shit go down in small town America? Can't anythin' ever happen in Hollywood? I'd love to save Angelina Jolie from some demons. Oh, or strippers!"
"You wanna save Angelina Jolie from strippers?", Sam asked, sounding clearly amused.
"No, dumbass. I want a case involving strippers", Dean retorted in frustration. He knew Sam had understood what he meant, but still the kid had to tease him.
"I'm sure you do. Anyhow, I gotta get to work. Take care, alright? Gimme a call if you need any help with the research or anythin'."
"Sure. Look, kid, I'm not as dumb as you think, I can turn papers too", Dean commented.
"I know, I know. I wasn't sayin' you couldn't."
"I'll check in on you later, bitch."
"Jerk", came Sam's final response before he hang up.
Dean put his cellphone back in his pocket and looked around. It was a sunny day, and already pretty hot, even though it wasn't even quite noon yet. He'd already gotten a motel room, and had then been driving around for a moment, until he found a diner.
Finding diners was usually a good first move in small towns. Especially the older, wiser men in town hung out at the diner, and it was a good place to catch some gossip and stories if you bought them a cup of coffee or managed to gain their trust. The waitresses were usually pretty chatty too, especially if Dean threw in his trademark smirk, a bit of his charm and a few 'sweethearts'. Hence, the diner was a good place to start.
When Sam had caught wind of the case in Clayton, they hadn't been sure it even was a case at first. A woman had turned up in Lake Rabun, seemingly because of a drowning accident. But the place where she had gone under hadn't exactly been deep. There were no stones or anything that could've made her slip. And she hadn't committed suicide, according to the police report.
Sam had done some digging, and what did you know, there had been strange deaths around the same area of the lake before, mainly women and children. All of them had had good swimming abilities, and no one had any clue about how they could've drowned just like that, without any particular cause. So the Winchesters had thought it best to check out the site, just to be safe.
Dean just hoped Lake Rabun wouldn't be another Lake Manitoc. Lake Manitoc Wisconsin was the case they'd worked a few months earlier, and in similarity to Lake Manitoc, Clayton used Lake Rabun as its water supply. If there was something paranormal in those waters, it was very possible it could spread to dry land through the pipes.
After locking the car, Dean put the keys in the pockets of his leather jacket. He made a mental note to leave the jacket in the car once he got back from the diner, it was way too hot to be wearing it. But Dean was fond of layers, even when it came to the warm days. He walked towards the diner, Suzy's. He guessed the owner was called Suzy. She was probably a sturdier, middle-aged woman in a silly pink waitress uniform and black shoes, a size too small. He'd seen too many of these diners and he knew what to expect.
A bell rang as he entered and closed the door behind him. Two older men were sitting at the counter, drinking coffee while eating a slice of apple pie each.
"Awesome", Dean thought.
He was pretty sure he could get the men to talk. There was nothing like bonding over a piece of pie. The fact that the men were in their late 50s was also good, seeing as they would've been around for a while, which meant they knew what had happened in the town over the past few decades at least.
Dean smiled to himself as a blonde middle-aged woman in a pink waitress uniform appeared in the doorway from the kitchen. How predictable. He could tell she had been pretty when she was young, but the years had taken their toll on her. She had gained more than a few pounds, and there were hints of grey in her hair. Dean took his jacket off and sat down at the counter, two seats away from one of the men. The waitress appeared in front of him, with a wide smile on her lips.
"Suzy, right?", Dean said and fired off his most handsome smile at the woman.
"That's right. What can I get ya, sugar?", she asked. Dean noticed a light flush on her cheeks. He still had it when it came to women.
"How 'bout a slice of that apple pie and some coffee?", Dean asked. "Looks delicious."
"It is", one of the older men interjected with a chuckle. Dean nodded at him.
"Sure thing, doll", Suzy said. "How d'you drink your coffee?"
"Black, thanks", Dean said and looked her in the eyes.
She quickly looked down in a coy manner while she poured him a cup of coffee. She then disappeared into the kitchen and came out only seconds later with a slice of apple pie and a small dessert fork. Dean dug in, and moaned his approval when there was a party in his mouth. The apple pie teased his tastebuds.
"It's good, innit?", the other man asked. "Suzy makes the best damn apple pie in the state."
"Sure is", Dean replied, his mouth still full.
"Oh, stop it, Steve. You're just saying that", said Suzy, blushed and looked at the guy called Steve.
Dean noticed he had rough hands, and a sort of weather-beaten look. Dean guessed he was an honest working man, probably outdoors. His hair was grey with tints of brown left, but most of it was hidden underneath the ball cap he was wearing. His friend was African-American, but had a similar air about him. Both of them looked like decent old men.
"Nah, I'm pretty sure Steve here's right. I've tried a lotta pies in Georgia, and this has to be the best one", Dean said and gave her a grin. He knew how to give compliments, even though he thought so himself.
Suzy giggled, and was accompanied by a mutual chuckle from Steve and his friend. "So, new in town, huh?", the African American man asked Dean.
"Yeah, I'm just passin' through", Dean explained.
He reached out a hand towards the men. "Samuel Cole", he introduced himself. It was one of his long-running aliases.
The men shook his hand. "I'm Joshua", the African American man said and then pointed at Steve. "And this ugly mofo over here is Steve."
"Nice to meet you both", Dean said with a nod and a smile.
"So, Samuel. What brings you to town?"
"I'm just in a roadtrip, I guess. Drivin' around. I'm a cop off duty, and I just needed a break from things. I thought this place seemed interesting."
Joshua chuckled. "If you're lookin' for interesting, you've come to the wrong town. Things are about as quiet as they get over here."
"Oh, I'm not so sure about that. Didn't that woman drown here just last week? I remember readin' something about it in the local paper."
"You know, you're the second out of towner to come asking about Karen", Suzy interjected.
Dean turned his head to Suzy, surprised. "I am?", he asked.
"Yeah, she was just her, what's her name… Amelia somethin'", Steve said. He looked around in the diner. "Huh, I didn't even see her leave. You musta just missed her."
"Real pretty young woman. I've never seen eyes her color before", Joshua said and stared into the distance, trying to find the words. "Indigo blue, really deep."
"And real sweet and enthusiastic too. Said she was a journalist, looking after a story", Suzy explained. "I told her at what spot they found poor Karen and the others."
Dean didn't quite know what to make of the news about this Amelia character, being in town, asking about the deaths. Who knew, maybe she actually was a journalist. He needed to check it out later. But for now, something had caught his ear. "Others? You mean there have been other drownings?"
"Yeah", said Steve. "Seems almost like that particular spot at the shore of the lake is cursed or something. People keep turning up there, dead. Mostly women and children, for as long as I can remember. No one really knows why, s'not even a particularly dangerous spot. Not very deep."
"Huh", Dean said.
Dean had no idea that someone was eavesdropping on his conversation with Joshua, Steve and Suzy. The young woman who had introduced herself as Amelia was standing right behind the corner.
Heaven Johansen had taken a quick break to go to the bathroom, and when she came back, she had heard the guy talking to the locals. She'd taken a peak around the corner, and he was quite a good-looking guy. He seemed to be about her own age, maybe a year or two older. He'd been wearing a leather jacket, in spite of the hot weather. He was tall, around 6' 1", maybe, and had this sort of ruggedly handsome air about him. His hair was tousled and brown.
She'd listened quite carefully to their conversation, and she wondered who the guy was. He could be another hunter. She didn't believe his story about being on a roadtrip. She had done a significant amount of lying herself, enough to know when other people were lying. There was something that was off about Samuel Cole, if that was even his real name. And why would he almost immediately bring up Karen's drowning in the conversation? It wasn't exactly something you wanted to discuss over pie.
'Samuel Cole' got up up from his chair, left Suzy her tip and nodded a goodbye to Joshua and Steve. Heaven decided to follow him, just to make sure he wasn't going to get in her way. She needed to find out who this guy really was.
Author: unholyhairgel
Characters: Dean Winchester, Heaven Johansen (OFC), a side of Sam Winchester and Bobby Singer
Summary: After Provenance the boys find two possible hunts, and realize there's not time to work both. They decide to split up to take care of both cases, and Dean ends up finding something more than he had expected.
Rating: I find it difficult to rate this fic, but there will be some minor sexual themes (in which case there will be a warning beforehand), possible language and mild violence.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or the Winchesters. You can thank Eric Kripke for that. I do however own my writing, my own ideas and my own characters. The chapter titles are adapted from names of poems by Sylvia Plath.
Next: Chapter 2
This is my first attempt of really writing Dean. I've only written very short bits out of his point of view before, seeing as I normally prefer to write Sam. I get Sam on a whole other level than I get Dean, so I hope I can make this believable. Be gentle.
THE SWAN DIVE
Chapter 1 - Aquatic Nocturne
The night air found its way inside Karen's lungs, cool, leaving her slightly breathless. Maybe she shouldn't have left the house at this hour, but she needed a break. They'd had another stupid argument. She found it difficult to understand how things had changed quickly. They'd been married for three years, four months and eight days now. She'd counted. The time when they had been happy, Rob and her, seemed a lifetime ago.
It seemed they couldn't even have a decent discussion anymore, without ending up in a huge fight complete with slamming doors and shouting and tears. Tonight it had been even sillier than usual. There was some stupid baseball game he wanted to watch, instead of spending time with her and watch a movie, like they had decided. When she'd let him know how she felt he'd yelled at her, called her a nagging bitch. That was when Karen had had enough and ran out the front door, salty tears streaming down her face.
She had been wandering around aimlessly for almost two hours, which had given her a chance to calm down. Fair to say, she was regretting her decision of running off. She only had a vague idea of where she was, her feet were aching and she didn't have her phone with her. On top of everything, it was starting to get cold. She shivered and wrapped her sweater tighter around her, silently wishing she'd thought of bringing a jacket. A quick glance at her watch told her that it was almost midnight. She should make her way back home. She should try to work things out with Rob.
Suddenly, she stopped in the middle of a step. She thought she'd heard a noise. She looked around for a moment. She was surrounded by forest, and she knew she was near the lake, which was pretty much the only thing she knew about her current whereabouts. The forest didn't scare her, it never had. When she had been a child, the forest had been like a second home to her. She'd used to play there with a friend of hers.
She couldn't hear any noises anymore. Everything was still and quiet, except for the crickets in the grass. Karen knew she should turn around, go back the same way she'd come from. She was about to do just that when she heard a noise again. She heard a faint melody in the distance. Was that someone singing, or playing an instrument, maybe? Without quite knowing why, the melody intrigued Karen. There was something alluring about it. Something… Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Against better knowledge she followed the melody. It came from the left, down a path through the forest. The melody grew louder and louder as she walked the path, and she realized it was leading down to the lake. Who was at the lake at this hour? Maybe it was a couple having a romantic moonlight picnic, playing classic music on a portable radio? Or maybe there was a party? All Karen knew was that she had to find out.
She finally reached the lake. It was beautiful at night. A full moon was lighting up the sky and the stars were keeping it company. The light from the sky reflected onto the surface of the lake, completely black and still. She looked around and near the shore she saw a shape. It was the shape of a young man. She squinted, but realized she had to get closer if she wanted to see him better. Carefully she walked towards the man. She could hear the beautiful melody so clearly now. It was one of the most amazing things ever to find its way inside of her ears. The sound of a violin. He had to be playing it.
"Excuse me, sir?", she tried, but he didn't answer her.
Instead he walked towards the water, his feet in the water, leaving ripples on the otherwise still surface. It was like Karen was spellbound, moving by her own accord. Her steps were quicker and longer now, as the man walked further into the water.
"Hello?", she tried again. Still no answer.
The man turned his head a bit. In the moonlight she could see a smile playing on his lips before he dove into the water. The music stopped. Surprised, she reached the shoreline, waiting for him to come back up. But he never came back. Karen began to panic. Was he committing suicide? Drowning himself, holding his breath under water?
"Sir? Sir!", she yelled as she ran out into the water, desperately trying to find the shape somewhere under the surface, sans any luck.
What came next was completely unexpected. She didn't even realize what happened before she disappeared into the dark waters. The only remnant of her being a silent echo of a surprised scream accompanied by a splash among the trees in the adjacent forest.
"Heaven, run!"
Heaven Johansen's eyes opened wide and she shot up in her bed. She'd had the same nightmare she always had. After all these years… She couldn't get rid of it. Her father's voice still echoed in her head as she realized she was drenched in cold sweat. She let out a frustrated sigh and ran her hands through her hair. It was a mess, sticking to the sides of her face, just as the sheets were clinging to her sweat-drenched body.
She gave herself a moment to calm down, trying to steady her breathing, allowing for her pulse to settle to normal. A glance at the digital clock on the nightstand in next to her bed told her it was 4:30 am. Another sigh escaped her lips as she threw the covers off of her and got out of bed. Walking through the sleazy motel room she was staying in she headed towards the bathroom. Once inside, she turned on the lights and bent over the sink. She washed her face with cold water, using the remnants of it to pull her hair back a bit. She used one of the stained towels to dry her face as she glanced in the mirror. She looked like a mess.
Heaven wasn't ugly. In fact, she was pretty damn far from it - indigo blue eyes, perfectly soft, light skin and gorgeous bone structure. Her face was framed by dirty blonde hair, normally in a sort of edgy, assymetrical bob with a longer sideswept fringe. But right now her hair was tousled by sleep, messy and slightly damp as she had ran her wet fingers through it and she was really pale. The few freckles on her nose annoyed her, they always had.
Her body wasn't exactly bad either. She wasn't a short girl by any means with her 5' 8". She had pretty nice curves, even if she thought so herself, breasts not too small nor too large, a long neck, a beautiful, distinguished collarbone, round hips and a pretty cute butt. She took care of her body, it was pretty much required in her line of work. If you could even call it work. She didn't get paid for it. But she still had to stay sharp, and in good condition, to avoid getting killed.
There was one thing Heaven didn't like about herself. Her name. Heaven. Her parents must have had a pretty horrible sense of humor. What kind of a name was Heaven? Especially for a hunter, it was kind of ironic. She'd heard every, single lame joke in the book about her name. And there was a lot where that came from, especially when some random douchebag threw some cheesy pick up line at her. The job allowed for her to use aliases, which she had fun with. Anything but her own name. Her surname, Johansen, was Norwegian, like her father. When he was young he'd come to the States which was when he met her American mother. Her light skin and distinct blue eyes were thanks to her father's genes, the dirty blonde hair from her mother's side. Heaven was their only child, and she vaguely remembered a time when they'd been a happy family. Thinking about her parents made her cringe. She tried to avoid thinking about them if it was possible. It was better that way. And it hurt less.
For as long as she could remember, Heaven had had troubles sleeping. She was a bit of an insomniac, but she refused to take sleeping pills if it was possible. She'd rather not sleep than stuff herself full of drugs. After all, she was used to the not-sleeping part of her life. Waking up after 4 am after only three hours of sleep was how she worked. Same with the tossing and turning and having nightmares about her past.
Heaven realized she wasn't going to be able to fall asleep again. The nightmare still haunted her mind. What she needed was some coffee and a new case.
With another sigh, she stripped out of her boyshorts and tank top and stepped into the shower. Once she was done, she got dressed ventured outside. She quickly managed to find a gas station that was open at the quite early - or late, depending on how you thought about it - hour. She bought a cup of coffee, along with two cans of Red Bull and two Snickers bars. She made a mental note to change her breakfast habits to something healthier.
Once she got back to the motel, she opened her laptop and went out on the web. She scanned through her usual sources, online newspapers and magazines until her eye caught something. Clayton, Georgia. A woman had turned up dead in the lake after being missing for sixteen hours. The cops deemed it as a drowning accident, but there was something about it that made Heaven's spidey-sense tingle. Maybe it was the fact that the husband was quoted, telling the paper that she had been a good swimmer. Heaven couldn't quite put her finger on it.
She started digging up old articles from the local paper and what she found confirmed her suspicions. There was definitely a possibility of something paranormal going on in that lake.
"Son of a bitch", she thought.
Two days later - Clayton, Georgia
"You sure you gonna be okay, Sammy?"
Dean Winchester slammed the door of his beloved 1967 Chevy Impala shut. It was more difficult than he had expected, seeing as his other hand was occupied. He was holding his cellphone to his ear, talking to his brother Sam on the other end.
"Dude, I got this one covered. So far it seems like a pretty standard salt 'n' burn. Lemme worry 'bout me."
Dean could practically sense Sam rolling his eyes while uttering those words. He sighed and gave up. "Alright. But you gotta call me if you need anythin', alright, bro? Any trouble at all, and you give me a call."
"Sure", Sam said with a chuckle. "So, how's Clayton?"
"Not sure yet, just arrived. Seems like another shithole small town, about two thousand people or so. Dammit, why does all the shit go down in small town America? Can't anythin' ever happen in Hollywood? I'd love to save Angelina Jolie from some demons. Oh, or strippers!"
"You wanna save Angelina Jolie from strippers?", Sam asked, sounding clearly amused.
"No, dumbass. I want a case involving strippers", Dean retorted in frustration. He knew Sam had understood what he meant, but still the kid had to tease him.
"I'm sure you do. Anyhow, I gotta get to work. Take care, alright? Gimme a call if you need any help with the research or anythin'."
"Sure. Look, kid, I'm not as dumb as you think, I can turn papers too", Dean commented.
"I know, I know. I wasn't sayin' you couldn't."
"I'll check in on you later, bitch."
"Jerk", came Sam's final response before he hang up.
Dean put his cellphone back in his pocket and looked around. It was a sunny day, and already pretty hot, even though it wasn't even quite noon yet. He'd already gotten a motel room, and had then been driving around for a moment, until he found a diner.
Finding diners was usually a good first move in small towns. Especially the older, wiser men in town hung out at the diner, and it was a good place to catch some gossip and stories if you bought them a cup of coffee or managed to gain their trust. The waitresses were usually pretty chatty too, especially if Dean threw in his trademark smirk, a bit of his charm and a few 'sweethearts'. Hence, the diner was a good place to start.
When Sam had caught wind of the case in Clayton, they hadn't been sure it even was a case at first. A woman had turned up in Lake Rabun, seemingly because of a drowning accident. But the place where she had gone under hadn't exactly been deep. There were no stones or anything that could've made her slip. And she hadn't committed suicide, according to the police report.
Sam had done some digging, and what did you know, there had been strange deaths around the same area of the lake before, mainly women and children. All of them had had good swimming abilities, and no one had any clue about how they could've drowned just like that, without any particular cause. So the Winchesters had thought it best to check out the site, just to be safe.
Dean just hoped Lake Rabun wouldn't be another Lake Manitoc. Lake Manitoc Wisconsin was the case they'd worked a few months earlier, and in similarity to Lake Manitoc, Clayton used Lake Rabun as its water supply. If there was something paranormal in those waters, it was very possible it could spread to dry land through the pipes.
After locking the car, Dean put the keys in the pockets of his leather jacket. He made a mental note to leave the jacket in the car once he got back from the diner, it was way too hot to be wearing it. But Dean was fond of layers, even when it came to the warm days. He walked towards the diner, Suzy's. He guessed the owner was called Suzy. She was probably a sturdier, middle-aged woman in a silly pink waitress uniform and black shoes, a size too small. He'd seen too many of these diners and he knew what to expect.
A bell rang as he entered and closed the door behind him. Two older men were sitting at the counter, drinking coffee while eating a slice of apple pie each.
"Awesome", Dean thought.
He was pretty sure he could get the men to talk. There was nothing like bonding over a piece of pie. The fact that the men were in their late 50s was also good, seeing as they would've been around for a while, which meant they knew what had happened in the town over the past few decades at least.
Dean smiled to himself as a blonde middle-aged woman in a pink waitress uniform appeared in the doorway from the kitchen. How predictable. He could tell she had been pretty when she was young, but the years had taken their toll on her. She had gained more than a few pounds, and there were hints of grey in her hair. Dean took his jacket off and sat down at the counter, two seats away from one of the men. The waitress appeared in front of him, with a wide smile on her lips.
"Suzy, right?", Dean said and fired off his most handsome smile at the woman.
"That's right. What can I get ya, sugar?", she asked. Dean noticed a light flush on her cheeks. He still had it when it came to women.
"How 'bout a slice of that apple pie and some coffee?", Dean asked. "Looks delicious."
"It is", one of the older men interjected with a chuckle. Dean nodded at him.
"Sure thing, doll", Suzy said. "How d'you drink your coffee?"
"Black, thanks", Dean said and looked her in the eyes.
She quickly looked down in a coy manner while she poured him a cup of coffee. She then disappeared into the kitchen and came out only seconds later with a slice of apple pie and a small dessert fork. Dean dug in, and moaned his approval when there was a party in his mouth. The apple pie teased his tastebuds.
"It's good, innit?", the other man asked. "Suzy makes the best damn apple pie in the state."
"Sure is", Dean replied, his mouth still full.
"Oh, stop it, Steve. You're just saying that", said Suzy, blushed and looked at the guy called Steve.
Dean noticed he had rough hands, and a sort of weather-beaten look. Dean guessed he was an honest working man, probably outdoors. His hair was grey with tints of brown left, but most of it was hidden underneath the ball cap he was wearing. His friend was African-American, but had a similar air about him. Both of them looked like decent old men.
"Nah, I'm pretty sure Steve here's right. I've tried a lotta pies in Georgia, and this has to be the best one", Dean said and gave her a grin. He knew how to give compliments, even though he thought so himself.
Suzy giggled, and was accompanied by a mutual chuckle from Steve and his friend. "So, new in town, huh?", the African American man asked Dean.
"Yeah, I'm just passin' through", Dean explained.
He reached out a hand towards the men. "Samuel Cole", he introduced himself. It was one of his long-running aliases.
The men shook his hand. "I'm Joshua", the African American man said and then pointed at Steve. "And this ugly mofo over here is Steve."
"Nice to meet you both", Dean said with a nod and a smile.
"So, Samuel. What brings you to town?"
"I'm just in a roadtrip, I guess. Drivin' around. I'm a cop off duty, and I just needed a break from things. I thought this place seemed interesting."
Joshua chuckled. "If you're lookin' for interesting, you've come to the wrong town. Things are about as quiet as they get over here."
"Oh, I'm not so sure about that. Didn't that woman drown here just last week? I remember readin' something about it in the local paper."
"You know, you're the second out of towner to come asking about Karen", Suzy interjected.
Dean turned his head to Suzy, surprised. "I am?", he asked.
"Yeah, she was just her, what's her name… Amelia somethin'", Steve said. He looked around in the diner. "Huh, I didn't even see her leave. You musta just missed her."
"Real pretty young woman. I've never seen eyes her color before", Joshua said and stared into the distance, trying to find the words. "Indigo blue, really deep."
"And real sweet and enthusiastic too. Said she was a journalist, looking after a story", Suzy explained. "I told her at what spot they found poor Karen and the others."
Dean didn't quite know what to make of the news about this Amelia character, being in town, asking about the deaths. Who knew, maybe she actually was a journalist. He needed to check it out later. But for now, something had caught his ear. "Others? You mean there have been other drownings?"
"Yeah", said Steve. "Seems almost like that particular spot at the shore of the lake is cursed or something. People keep turning up there, dead. Mostly women and children, for as long as I can remember. No one really knows why, s'not even a particularly dangerous spot. Not very deep."
"Huh", Dean said.
Dean had no idea that someone was eavesdropping on his conversation with Joshua, Steve and Suzy. The young woman who had introduced herself as Amelia was standing right behind the corner.
Heaven Johansen had taken a quick break to go to the bathroom, and when she came back, she had heard the guy talking to the locals. She'd taken a peak around the corner, and he was quite a good-looking guy. He seemed to be about her own age, maybe a year or two older. He'd been wearing a leather jacket, in spite of the hot weather. He was tall, around 6' 1", maybe, and had this sort of ruggedly handsome air about him. His hair was tousled and brown.
She'd listened quite carefully to their conversation, and she wondered who the guy was. He could be another hunter. She didn't believe his story about being on a roadtrip. She had done a significant amount of lying herself, enough to know when other people were lying. There was something that was off about Samuel Cole, if that was even his real name. And why would he almost immediately bring up Karen's drowning in the conversation? It wasn't exactly something you wanted to discuss over pie.
'Samuel Cole' got up up from his chair, left Suzy her tip and nodded a goodbye to Joshua and Steve. Heaven decided to follow him, just to make sure he wasn't going to get in her way. She needed to find out who this guy really was.