PART 2
One Week Earlier…
“Downingtown, we need to go to Downingtown, Dean.”
Glancing at his brother momentarily from the driver’s seat of the Impala Dean found himself asking, “What’s in Downingtown, Sam?”
“A series of bizarre deaths…”
“Bizarre deaths…?”
“Yeah, teenagers mostly…”
“Teenagers?”
“Yep.”
Returning his focus to the road ahead he frowned as his eyes
took in the large yellow sign along the side of it that announced that trucks
and slower moving vehicles must move to the right hand lane before entering the
tunnel ahead. As he approached the tunnel he glanced above it catching a
glimpse of a sign that simply stated: “
Silencing his thoughts he was relieved to see the exit up ahead, uncertain as to why one simple tunnel could make him feel so uneasy in the first place and caught off guard as Sam said, “Three…”
“What, Sam? What?”
“There’s three…of those tunnels, Dean, then we’ll be out of the mountains.”
And how was it that Sam could so easily pick up on his unease?
As he drove onward he began to let his mind wander again, this time it seemed to want to focus on how he was presently feeling. The tunnel shouldn’t have bothered him…at all. He hadn’t been nervous or anxious about small spaces ever before…that is until after his return. He couldn’t explain it, but something about them just…freaked him out. Shaking his head he replied to Sam’s comment with a simple, “Ah.”
As he continued on he could just make out the next group of yellow signs up ahead before coming to the next tunnel and opting this time to distract himself as he urged, “So tell me about Downingtown, Sam.”
“It’s a quiet town in
“Quite the history…?”
“Yeah it has more than it’s fair share of strange tales, Dean.”
“Strange tales? About…?”
“Bizarre murders, unexplained deaths…you name it.”
“Sounds like a perfect place to visit…”
“Sure, if you like a healthy dose of violence on the side…”
Nodding he requested, “So anything else we should know about Downingtown?”
“Despite the area’s vast array of problems…? There’s a local tale that mentions a gate to hell and…”
Upon seeing Dean flinching Sam trailed off cursing himself for being so insensitive. He should have thought of what he wanted to say before he did. He knew how Dean felt about hell. He never wanted to speak of it again, in fact went to great lengths to avoid any attempts Sam had ever made to get him to talk about it. He just didn’t want to remember, and Sam had learned to respect that. Still on occasion he would speak without thought mentioning the place he was certain made up some of Dean’s nightmares. Now he pinned his brother with a concerned worried look holding his breath as he awaited any further reactions from him.
Dean flinched then shuddered in response to hearing the word suddenly feeling queasy and aggravated that just a simple mention of that place could get his heart pounding furiously in his chest. Knowing full well his fear and terror probably reflected on his face he chose to keep staring straight ahead for once grateful that Sam was so caught up in the book he was reading from to have noticed. Swallowing hard and forcing his voice to become steadier, calmer he chose sarcasm, “Ah a gate to hell…sounds like our kind of town, Sammy.”
Sam wasn’t fooled by the effort it took Dean to make a joke out of the situation. He had become upset upon the simple utterance of the word and had probably believed his younger brother hadn’t noticed the ashy pallor of his face or the terror that had momentarily gripped him. Dean was probably certain he hadn’t seen anything, and he intended to keep it that way. If it eased his brother’s mind then he’d go with it.
Dean drew in a steadying breath aware that sweat had broken out across his brow as well. Shaking his head, he silenced his fears and the thousands of whispers now echoing through his mind before clearing his throat and managing, “So tell me about this…gate.”
Sam watched his older brother, assessing him, looking for any further tension to surface in his body or across his face. When he saw none he settled for replying with, “There’s not much to tell, really. Apparently these ‘gates’ are believed to have been around for some time. When the history of the place and the stories of ghosts began to circulate the townspeople opted to tear them down so that the exact location of them could never be found again.”
“That was smart… So these gates, do they lead anywhere…else?”
“They used to lead to an old abandoned mansion on the edge of town.”
“A mansion…?”
“Yes.”
“And this mansion does it…?”
“It has a history too, a rather violent one.”
“Which is?”
“It was the site of some ghastly murders. Apparently the man who lived there killed his family before shooting himself. The house has been sitting empty and abandoned for some time. It was left just as it was the day of the murders. The reports say that the bodies were all buried on the mansion grounds, but no one knows where for sure. Since then people have journeyed into the woods searching for the house and this mysterious…portal.”
“Thrill seekers?”
“Yes.”
“And these kids who keep turning up dead are they…?”
“Kids out for a cheap thrill…”
Dean glanced at his brother briefly before turning his eyes to the road again simply stating, “Man doesn’t anyone know that when a house is believed to be haunted they need to stay away from it, and not try to break into it?”
“They don’t know what’s out there, Dean.”
“Yeah… So, these kids that are turning up dead are they appearing at the mansion?”
“No not the mansion…”
“Then where Sam…?”
“Further down the road near some bizarre tunnels…”
“Tunnels, Sam?”
“Tunnels, Dean.”
“More damned tunnels… Doesn’t this state have anything other than tunnels?”
“Well there are covered bridges and…”
“Shut up, Sam.”
“Hey you asked. I only answered.”
“Yeah… So tell me about these tunnels.”
“They’re wrapped up in another local legend.”
“Two legends taking place in the same general area? That’s a little weird don’t you think?”
“Yeah… I’m guessing hot bed for the paranormal, what about you?”
“Something like that, yeah. So these tunnels…”
“They’re often referred to as the twin tunnels of Valley Creek or the twin tunnels of Downingtown. The site has seen more than its fair share of visitors and freak accidents through the years. The tunnels also have a rather dark reputation for being the location of a gruesome unsolved murder as well.”
“Haunted tunnels and gruesome murders? Great, just great…”
* * * *
As they entered the quiet town of
“Yes. I’d like to get a room.”
“Double or single?”
“Double, please.”
“One double coming right up,” she turned back to her computer typing in the information before turning back to request his credit card. He was already ahead of her handing it quickly off to her wanting nothing more than to get he and Sam into a bed where they both could find some much needed rest. He continued to watch the young woman as she typed in his credit card information before turning to hand him the key to room 117. She then said, “Room’s out the door and to your right as you exit the lobby.”
He smiled politely then thanked her as she returned his credit card. He then exited the motel noticing how quiet and dark the area was. He glanced around seeing very few cars in the parking lot and wondering if there was always so little business. Shrugging his shoulders he headed back towards the Impala not really focusing on his surroundings, jumping when an all too familiar voice said, “You need to leave here, Dean.”
Glancing up he saw Castiel before him, surprised to see the angel again so soon and even more surprised at the statement he had just made. Shaking his head he settled on responding with a simple, “What do you want?” that had Castiel pinning him with that intense gaze of his as he repeated, “This place isn’t safe. You need to go.”
Shaking his head, a little disgruntled by the chastising tone Castiel used, he found himself snapping back, “What I need to do is stop more kids from dying.”
“Perhaps, but there’s more going on here than a bizarre string of deaths, Dean.”
“Such as…? Ah, wait don’t tell me another’s seal’s about to be broken and…”
“No. Not yet.”
“But…? I sense a ‘but’ in there somewhere…”
“You have been marked, Dean. They want you back.”
He visibly shuddered in response to that statement pinning Castiel with a steady, intense gaze of his own as he found himself asking, “And can they do that…you know, take me back?”
“No, but they can try and they will… You’re a threat now Dean, a very imminent one. They fear you, but they also know you must be stopped, in order for Lilith to continue breaking the seals you must be stopped.”
“I don’t understand, why, I mean…”
“They will try to stop you, Dean.”
“But…”
“The longer you stay in Downingtown the more danger you will be in. You must leave this place,” seeing the suppressed anger and frustration in Dean’s eyes he nodded his head in understanding adding, “If you must stay then do what you must quickly then leave.”
Dean lowered his gaze drawing in a calming breath, a bit surprised that Castiel understood why he couldn’t just leave. As he lifted his head to speak again it was only to discover that Castiel was gone. Shaking his head he glanced stupidly around him knowing that Castiel was no where. The angel had left.
He wondered about the warning fear rearing again and threatening to consume him at what it would mean for him if he was taken back. He couldn’t go back there, he just couldn’t and if they succeeded…
“They won’t Dean.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because angels are
watching over you…”
“Well that’s comforting.”
“It is to most…”
Shaking his head again he was only slightly surprised to realize that the reassurance did make him feel more relieved and calm. Thankful for the unexpected support from Castiel he began to approach the Impala. Lowering his head he gazed in the driver’s side window and smiled upon seeing Sam still fast asleep in the passenger seat. He hadn’t been awake to see the exchange. Smiling broader he unlocked the door and reached in gently shaking his brother who slowly awoke muttering, “Dean, what…?”
“We’re at the motel, Sammy, time for bed…”
Sam nodded before stretching asking, “How long was I asleep?”
“About two hours… Come on let’s get you into a real bed, what do you say?”
“Sounds great, Dean sounds great…”
Together they made their way to their room quickly settling into their beds. Sam fell asleep almost immediately while Dean stared up at the dark ceiling above, staring into blackness, Castiel’s warning still echoing in his mind:
“They want you back.”
He tried to relax closing his eyes as he shifted upon the mattress but found his mind wouldn’t remain idle. It kept replaying the discussion he had had with Castiel and all those he had had prior to tonight’s as well as his return from the grave. As he recalled clawing his way out a quick flash of himself suspended in mid-air spread eagle filled his mind and sent him jolting back to full alertness sitting completely upright in bed confused, uncertain and scared. As he glanced around the room he didn’t recognize where he was and tried to think back to recall where.
As he focused on the clock beside the bed he knew instantly that he was in a motel and apparently hadn’t been asleep for very long before the disturbing images had drawn him to full alertness again. As he slowly scanned the dark interior of the room he became aware that he couldn’t sleep now. He was too afraid to sleep so he hesitantly lowered back into the bed and directed his gaze again to the ceiling above. As the seconds stretched into minutes he found himself turning to check on Sam relieved to see him in the bed and fast asleep. At least one of them was getting much needed rest tonight. For him, sleep had been quite elusive ever since his return. He had managed a few nights of rest here and there but his mind never seemed able to calm enough to lull him to sleep. As a result he ended up spending many countless nights tossing and turning, hoping sleep would find him and growing frustrated when it didn’t. Some nights he slept soundly, peacefully and other nights he would constantly awake nearly every hour on edge nervous, afraid to stay asleep too long for fear that the nightmares, the memories would return. He was tired but even that sometimes wasn’t enough to push him into falling headlong into deep needful rest. Sometimes he just had to accept the fact that his mind would never calm fully enough for him to find rest.
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