SuperWhoLock: When the Shadows Rage

Episode 1: Tin Men part 3

Sam sat down next to his brother. "No."

Dean pursed his lips. "Okay, inventory time. They took my machete away from me, but I've still got this." He pulled his flare gun from his pocket.

"Me too."

"Besides that..." Dean dug into his pockets. "Cookie crumbs. I think."

"Penknife and phone." Sam put them on the floor in front of him and stared, rubbing his hand through his hair. Now that his pulse had stopped hammering, he could feel something digging at the back of his mind. He closed his eyes, trying to remember.

He heard Dean pick up his phone. "No reception. Of course not, because why would we ever find an easy solution to a problem?"

"Ssh."

Dean got up and started pacing. "Think we could short out the door?"

"Shut up for a second." Dad's journal. There was something in Dad's journal... Sam opened his eyes. "Dean, Dad had a journal entry on these guys."

"What? Why would dad have Tin Man in his journal?" He groaned. "Don't tell me The Wizard of Oz was inspired by these guys."

"It was stuffed in a pocket in the back. I didn't ever read it all the way through-just came across it while I was looking for something else. But I remember there was a sketch that looked exactly like these guys."

"Well, none of that helps us right now." Dean grabbed the pocket knife and crouched near the floor, pulling out the screwdriver attachment of the knife. He pushed it into a crack in one of the wall grooves and pried open a panel.

Sam looked over Dean's shoulder. The wall was full of multi-colored wires and LED dot lights, some blinking, some dim.

Dean rubbed his hands together. "Okay, this is gonna be a bit more complicated than hotwiring a car."

"You're gonna get yourself electrocuted again."

"Hey, I'm not exactly happy about the idea either, but it's better than half-remembering something that might or might not help us in Dad's journal." Dean stood, pulling off the panel above the one he'd already opened, and pointed at a box with wires sprouting from every side. "This is the back of the numeric pad they used to open the door. If I can short it out, maybe we can get the door open again."

Sam shrugged. "Okay, knock yourself out."

***

Sam looked at his watch "Two hours? You've seriously been at this for two hours?"

Dean poked his tongue into his cheek and touched two more wires together. For the second time in five minutes, a spark jumped between the wires, and Dean dropped them, cursing. He stood up, pressing both hands to the wall, then kicked the panels away from him.

Sam crouched in front of the tangle of wires his brother had pulled out. There was no organization in either Dean's method or--that he could see--the way the wires had been installed.

He sighed. "Bet we're just gonna have to wait until they decide to talk to us again."

Dean's eyes narrowed. "Um, no."

"We don't have any other choice, Dean. Maybe we can at least find out what they want with us."

"You were standing right here when they said it, Sammy. Upgrading. Whatever that it, I bet it has to do with the guy out there in the device." Dean ran his hand through his hair, staring at the door. "This doesn't make any sense."

Sam snorted. "I'd think you'd be used to it by now."

"No, vampires, wendigos, demons--those make sense. This? This makes no sense. This makes less sense than most people." Dean's eyes widened. He pinched the web of skin between thumb and forefinger on his left hand, wincing as his fingernails left marks.

Sam shook his head gave a half-laugh. "You think this is a dream?"

"Maybe. Maybe it's one of your freako visions or something like that."

No, it didn't feel like one of his visions. Not that he expected Dean to really understand, try as his brother might. He rubbed his mouth and turned back to the exposed wiring.

"Ah, Sam, sorry, I didn't--"

Sam held up his hand to stop his brother. "Isn't it one of your house rules to not have any chick flick moments or something?"

Dean snorted. Sam leaned down and started fiddling with some of the wires. If Dean, who had always been good with mechanical stuff, hadn't been able to short out the door, he doubted he could. But he couldn't just sit and do nothing anymore.

From outside the room, they could hear the heavy tramp of the tin men's metal boots. Sam stood up and backed away from the door.

Dean grabbed their gear from the floor and shoved a flare gun into his hand. "If anything looks like it could cause a distraction..."

"Shoot it," Sam finished.

Dean nodded.

The door slid back, revealing two tin men standing in front of them. As they stepped into the room, crowding the brothers back against the wall, Sam saw out into the main room. His stomach lurched.

The man he'd seen earlier was now standing, the metal mask still on his face. All five lights on the forehead were glowing brightly, and he was walking down the steps, away from the device.

The vision hit Sam hard, his head feeling like it was going to explode. He saw Dean strapped down on the device, heard him screaming as the tin men pressed a mask to his face. Saw himself being forced away from his brother, into another part of the hideout.

"Hey, Sam! Head in the game!" Dean yelled.

Sam forced back the ache and looked up, saw the monsters reaching for him. Not happening. He dove forward. The tin man's fingers just brushed his hoodie. Sam stumbled out into the main room, aiming his flare gun at the ropes of cables attached to the device, and pulled the trigger.

The flare shot across the room and tangled in the cables, hot orange sparks sizzling over the floor. The rubber coating over the wires immediately started warping.

Metal hands grabbed Sam's arms. He twisted, tried to pull free, and saw Dean shove his flare gun into the exposed wiring under the tin man's chin.

"Buh-bye, sucker," Dean spat, and pulled the trigger.

The flare spit sparks into Sam's face, and he jerked back, bringing his hands up. The tin man dropped on the floor, spasming.

The other tin men, including the one that had been a human not all that long ago, looked from the brothers to the melting cables of the device.

Dean grabbed Sam's hoodie and pushed him toward the door. "Run, Sammy!"