Sam woke up with a jolt after dreaming of a blonde woman in her bedroom, screaming.
The next morning, Dean was on the computer, Sam was drawing a picture of a tree, and Susana was sipping her coffee.
"All right," Dean said. "I've been cruisin' some websites. I think we found a few candidates for our next gig. A fishing trawler found off the coast of Cali -- its crew vanished. And, uh, we got some cattle mutilations in West Texas. Hey." Sam looked up from his drawing. "Am I boring you with this hunting evil stuff?"
"No. I'm listening. Keep going," Sam replied.
"And, here, a Sacramento man shot himself in the head. Three times." He waved his hand in front of Sam's face. "Any of these blowin' up your skirt, pal?"
Sam looked at his picture. "Wait. I've seen this."
"Seen what?" Dean asked as Sam got up from the bed and searched through his duffel bag. "What are you doing?" He found a photo of their family from when he was a baby and compared the photo to his drawing to see they were the same.
"Dean, Susie, I know where we have to go next."
"Where?" Dean and Susana asked.
"Back home -- back to Kansas."
"Okay, random," Dean said. "Where'd that come from?"
Sam showed the photo to Dean. "All right, um, this photo was taken in front of our old house. The house where Mom died."
"Yeah."
"And it didn't burn down, right? I mean, not completely, the rebuilt it, right?"
"I guess so, yeah. What the hell are you talkin' about?"
"Okay, look, this is gonna sound crazy but... the people who live in our old house -- I think they might be in danger."
"Why would you think that?"
"Uh... it's just, um... look, just trust me on this, okay?" He started to walk away.
Dean followed his brother. "Wait, whoa, whoa, trust you?"
"Yeah."
"Come on, man, that's weak. You gotta give us a little more than that."
"I can't really explain it is all."
"Look, Dean, we have to go. I saw it."
Dean frowned. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Talk."
Sam sighed and his brother waited expectantly. "I have these nightmares."
Dean nodded. "I've noticed. So has Susie."
"And sometimes... they come true."
"Come again?"
"Look, Dean... I dreamt about Jessica's death -- for days before it happened."
"Sam, people have weird dreams, man. I'm sure it's just a coincidence." He sat on the bed.
"No, I dreamt about the blood dripping, her on the ceiling, the fire, everything, and I didn't do anything about it 'cause I didn't believe it. And now I'm dreaming about that tree, about our house, and about some woman inside screaming for help. I mean, that's where it all started, man, this has to mean something, right?"
"I don't know," Dean admitted.
Sam sat across from Dean. "What do you mean you don't know, Dean? This woman might be in danger. I mean, this might even be the thing that killed Mom and Jessica!"
"All right, just slow down, would ya?" He stood and started pacing. "I mean, first you tell us that you've got the Shining? And then you tell us that we've gotta go back home? Especially when..."
"When what?" Sam and Susana asked.
"When I swore to myself that I would never go back there," Dean admitted sadly.
Sam's voice softened. "I know. I don't want to go back there either. Look, Dean, we have to check this out. Just to make sure."
"I know we do."
---
They made their way to the boys' old house.
"You gonna be all right, man?" Sam asked.
"Let me get back to you on that," Dean replied.
Susana took Dean's hand and squeezed it with a small smile.
They got out of the car and knocked on the front door. Jenny answered and Sam looked at her in shock, realizing she was the same woman from his dream.
"Yes?" Jenny asked.
"Sorry to bother you, ma'am, but we're with the Federal-" Dean was cut off.
Sam spoke. "I'm Sam Winchester, and this is my brother, Dean, and our friend, Susana Martínez. My brother and I used to live here. You know, we were just drivin' by, and we were wondering if we could come see the old place."
"Winchester," Jenny repeated. "Yeah, that's so funny. You know, I think I found some of your photos the other night."
"You did?" Dean asked.
Jenny nodded and stepped aside. "Come on in."
They walked inside and went to the kitchen. Sari was at the table doing homework.
"Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice!" Ritchie cried.
Jenny pointed to the boy. "That's Ritchie. He's kind of a juice junkie." She took a sip cup out of the refrigerator and handed it to Ritchie. "But, hey, at least he won't get scurvy." She walked over to her daughter. "Sari, this is Sam, Dean, Dahlia, Noelle and Angie. The boys used to live here."
"Hi," Sari greeted as Dean and Susana waved.
"Hey, Sari," Dean and Susana said, glancing at Jenny.
"So, you just moved in?" Susana asked.
Jenny nodded. "Yeah, from Wichita."
"You got family here, or..." Dean trailed.
"No. I just, uh... needed a fresh start, that's all. So, new town, new job -- I mean, as soon as I find one. New house."
"So, how you likin' it so far?" Sam questioned.
"Well, uh, all due respect to your childhood home -- I mean, I'm sure you had lots of happy memories here." Dean smiled weakly. "But this place has its issues."
"What do you mean?" Susana inquired.
"Well, it's just getting old. Like the wiring, you know? We've got flickering lights almost hourly."
"Oh, that's too bad," Dean said. "What else?"
"Um... sink's backed up, there's rats in the basement." She paused. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain."
Dean wasn't offended. "No. Have you seen the rats or have you just heard scratching?"
"It's just the scratching, actually."
"Mom?" Sari called, as Jenny knelt next to her. "Ask them if it was here when they lived here."
"What, Sari?" Sam asked.
"The thing in my closet."
Jenny shook her head. "Oh, no, baby, there was nothing in their closets." She turned to the brothers. "Right?"
"Right," Sam said. "No, no, of course not."
"She had a nightmare the other night."
Sari shook her head. "I wasn't dreaming. It came into my bedroom -- and it was on fire." The three shared a shocked look.
Sam, Dean and Susana walked back to the car.
"You two hear that?" Sam asked. "A figure on fire."
"And that woman, Jenny, that was the woman in your dreams?" Dean questioned.
"Yeah. And you three hear what she was talking about? Scratching, flickering lights, both signs of a malevolent spirit."
"Yeah, well, I'm just freaked out that your weirdo visions are comin' true."
Sam's voice took on a panicked tone. "Well, forget about that for a minute. The thing in the house, do you think it's the thing that killed Mom and Jessica?"
"I don't know!"
"Well, I mean, has it come back or has it been here the whole time?"
Susan glanced at her friend. "Or maybe it's something else entirely, Sam, we don't know yet."
"Well, those people are in danger, Dean, Susie. We have to get 'em out of that house."
"And we will," Dean said.
"No, I mean now."
"And how are you gonna do that, huh? You got a story that she's gonna believe?"
"Then what are we supposed to do?"
They reached a gas station and Dean glanced at his brother. "We just gotta chill out, that's all. You know, if this was any other kind of job, what would we do?"
Sam sighed. "We'd try to figure out what we were dealin' with. We'd dig into the history of the house."
"Exactly, except this time, we already know what happened."
"Yeah, but how much do we know? I mean, how much do you actually remember?"
Dean met his eyes. "About that night, you mean?"
"Yeah."
"Not much. I remember the fire... the heat." He paused. "And then I carried you out the front door."
"You did?"
"What, you never knew that?"
Sam shook his head. "No."
"And, well, you know Dad's story as well as I do. Mom was... was on the ceiling. And whatever put her there was long gone by the time Dad found her."
"And he never had a theory about what did it?"
"If he did, he kept it to himself. God knows we asked him enough times."
Sam took a moment to think. "Okay. So, if we're gonna figure out what's goin' on now... we have to figure out what happened back then. And see if it's the same thing."
"Yeah. We'll talk to Dad's friends, neighbors, people who were there at the time."
Susana looked between the boys. "Does this feel like just another job to you?"
Dean said nothing for a moment. "I'll be right back. I gotta go to the bathroom."
Dean walked away and after turning a corner, stood next to the bathroom door and took out his cell phone. After making sure no one could see him, he dialed a number.
"This is John Winchester. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean at 866-907-3235." The beep sounded.
"Dad? I know I've left you messages before. I don't even know if you'll get 'em." He cleared his throat. "But I'm with Sam, Angie and Dahlia. And we're in Lawrence. And there's somethin' in our old house. I don't know if it's the thing that killed Mom or not, but..." His voice broke and he paused, barely keeping himself together. "...I don't know what to do." He began to cry. "So whatever you're doin', if you could get here. Please. I need your help, Dad." He hung up sadly, tears in his eyes.
At the Impala, Susana turned to Sam. "You okay?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I didn't know Mom like Dean did."
"No, of course not. He's not okay, is he?"
"He's trying to play it off, but no, he's not."
Dean walked up and said, "Come on, you two."
They made their way to Guenther's Auto Repair to talk to the owner of the garage.
"So you and John Winchester, you used to own this garage together?" Dean questioned.
The owner nodded. "Yeah, we used to, a long time ago. Matter of fact, it must be, uh... 20 years since John disappeared. So why the cops interested all of a sudden?"
"Oh, we're re-opening some our unsolved cases, and the Winchester disappearance is one of 'em."
"Oh, well, what do you wanna know about John?"
Susana said, "Well, whatever you remember, you know, whatever sticks out in your mind."
"Well... he was a stubborn bastard, I remember that." He laughed. "And, uh, whatever the game, he hated to lose, you know? It's that whole Marine thing." Susana nodded. "But, oh, he sure loved Mary. And he doted on those kids."
"But that was before the fire?" Sam asked.
"That's right."
"He ever talk about that night?"
"No, not at first. I think he was in shock."
"Right. But eventually? What did he say about it?"
"Oh, he wasn't thinkin' straight. He said somethin' caused that fire and killed Mary."
"He ever say what did it?" Dean wondered.
"Nothin' did it. It was an accident -- an electrical short in the ceiling or walls or somethin'. I begged him to get some help, but..."
"But what?"
"Oh, he just got worse and worse."
"How?"
"Oh, he started reading' these strange ol' books. He started goin' to see this palm reader in town."
Susana raised a brow. "Palm reader? Do you have a name?"
The owner scoffed. "No."
The hunters left and made their way to a payphone, and Sam looked through a phonebook. Susana glanced at the phonebook.
"All right, so there are a few psychics and palm readers in town," Sam informed. "There's someone named El Divino. There's, uh," he laughed, "there's the Mysterious Mister Fortinsky. Uh, Missouri Moseley."
"Wait, wait," Dean said. "Missouri Moseley?"
"What?" Sam and Susana asked.
"That's a psychic?"
"Uh, yeah," Sam replied. "Yeah, I guess so."
Dean went into the backseat and pulled out John's journal. "In Dad's journal... here, look at this." He opened to the first page. "First page, first sentence, read that."
Sam read the words. ""I went to Missouri and I learned the truth.""
Dean shrugged. "I always thought he meant the state."
They made their way to Missouri Moseley's house and arrived as she was escorting a man out of the house. The trio sat on the couch, waiting.
"All right, there," Missouri said. "Don't you worry 'bout a thing. Your wife is crazy about you." The man thanked her and she closed the front door behind him. "Whew. Poor bastard. His woman is cold-banging' the gardener."
"Why didn't you tell him?" Dean asked.
"People don't come here for the truth. They come for good news." The three stared at her. "Well? Sam, Dean and Susana, come on already, I ain't got all day." She left the room. Dean, Sam and Susana exchanged a confused look and followed her into the next room. "Well, lemme look at ya." She laughed. "Oh, you boys grew up handsome. Nice to meet you, Susana." She pointed a finger at Dean. "And you were one goofy-lookin' kid, too." Dean glared at her while Sam smirked. "Sam." She grabbed his hand. "Oh, honey... I'm sorry about your girlfriend." The three were shocked. "And your father -- he's missin'?" She touched Susana's hand. "I'm sorry about your father as well."
"How'd you know all that?" Sam and Susana wondered.
"Well, you were thinkin' it just now," Missouri replied and Sam and Susana raised their eyebrows, surprised.
"Well, where is he?" Dean asked. "Is he okay? Is Susie's dad okay?"
"I don't know."
"Don't know? Well, you're supposed to be a psychic, right?"
Missouri frowned at him. "Boy, you see me sawin' some bony tramp in half? You think I'm a magician? I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I can't just pull facts out of thin air. Sit, please." Sam and Susana smirked at Dean and they sat. Missouri snapped at Dean. "Boy, you put your foot on my coffee table, I'm 'a whack you with a spoon!"
"I didn't do anything."
"But you were thinkin' about it." Dean raised his eyebrows and his brother and friend smiled.
"Okay," Sam said. "So, our dad -- when did you first meet him?"
"He came for a reading. A few days after the fire. I just told him what was really out there in the dark. I guess you could say... I drew back the curtains for him."
"What about the fire? Do you know what killed our mom?" Sam asked.
"A little. Your daddy took me to your house. He was hopin' I could sense the echoes, the fingerprints of this thing."
"And could you?"
"I..." She shook her head.
"What was it?"
Missouri said softly, "I don't know. Oh, but it was evil."
After a moment, Missouri asked, "So... you think somethin' is back in that house?"
"Definitely," Sam replied.
"I don't understand."
"What?"
"I haven't been back inside, but I've been keeping' an eye on the place, and it's been quiet. No sudden deaths, no freak accidents. Why is it actin' up now?"
"I don't know. But Dad going missing and Jessica dying and now this house all happening at once -- it just feels like something's starting."
"That's a comforting thought," Dean and Susana muttered.
They made their way back to the Winchester home and knocked on the door.
Jenny answered and saw them. "Sam, Dean, Susana. What are you doing here?"
Sam smiled. "Hey, Jenny. This is our friend, Missouri."
"If it's not too much trouble, we were hoping to show her the old house," Dean said. "You know, for old time's sake."
"You know, this isn't a good time. I'm kind of busy," Jenny replied.
"Listen, Jenny, it's important." Missouri smacked him on the back of the head. "Ow!"
"Give the poor girl a break, can't you see she's upset?" Missouri said, turning to Jenny. "Forgive this boy, he means well, he's just not the sharpest tool in the shed, but hear me out." Dean looked stunned and Susana snickered.
"About what?" Jenny wondered.
"About this house."
"What are you talking about?"
"I think you know what I'm talking about. You think there's something in this house, something that wants to hurt your family. Am I mistaken?"
"Who are you?"
"We're people who can help, who can stop this thing. But you're gonna have to trust us, just a little." Jenny looked unsure.
Moments later, Missouri and they were in Sari's room.
"If there's a dark energy around here, this room should be the center of it," Missouri said.
"Why?" Sam asked, looking around the room. "Wait."
"This used to be your nursery, Sam. This is where it all happened." Sam glanced at the ceiling. While Missouri looked around the room, Dean pulled out his EMF meter. "That EMF?"
"Yeah," Dean confirmed.
"Amateur." Dean glared at her. He nudged Sam and Susana and showed them that the EMF was beeping frantically. "I don't know if you boys and girl should be disappointed or relieved, but this ain't the thing that took your mom."
"Wait, are you sure?" Missouri nodded. "How do you know?"
"It isn't the same energy I felt the last time I was here. It's somethin' different."
"What is it?" Dean asked.
"Not it." She opened the closet. "Them. There's more than one spirit in this place."
"What are they doing here?"
"They're here because of what happened to your family. You see, all those years ago, real evil came to your family. You see, all those years ago, real evil came to you. It walked this house. That kind of evil leaves wounds. And sometimes, wounds get infected."
Sam frowned. "I don't understand."
"This place is a magnet for paranormal energy. It's attracted a poltergeist. A nasty one. And it won't rest until Jenny and her babies are dead."
"You said there was more than one spirit," Dean remembered.
"There is. I just can't quite make out the second one."
Dean pursed his lips. "Well, one thing's for damn sure -- nobody's dyin' in this house ever again. So whatever is here, how do we stop it?"
They made their way back to Missouri's house and sat around a table. Herbs and roots were on the table.
"So, what is all this stuff, anyway?" Dean asked.
"Angelica Root, Van Van oil, crossroad dirt, a few other odds and ends," Missouri said.
"Yeah? What are we supposed to do with it?"
"We're gonna put them inside the walls in the north, south, east, west corners on each floor of the house."
"We'll be punchin' holes in the drywall. Jenny's gonna love that."
"She'll live," Missouri replied slyly.
"And this'll destroy the spirits?" Sam asked.
"It should. It should purify the house completely. We'll each take a floor. But we work fast. Once the spirits realize what we're up to, things are gonna get bad."
They made their way back to the Winchester house. Missouri walked Jenny and her kids outside.
Jenny frowned. "Look, I'm not sure I'm comfortable leaving you guys here alone."
"Just take your kids to the movies or somethin', and it'll be over by the time you get back," Missouri reassured.
Jenny, still slightly unsure, left with her kids and Missouri went back inside.
Susana went into one of the rooms with a hammer. She knelt down by the wall and began using the end of the hammer to hit against the walls. While she was doing so, a plug on the other side of the room took itself from the outlet. A lamp began moving on its own. The plug snaked its way towards her. Sam was in another room, punching a wall. Downstairs in the kitchen, Dean was punching the wall with a small ax. Behind him, a drawer began to open. In the basement, Missouri was looking around. She brought a bag of herbs to the wall. She heard a noise and turned around to see a table coming towards her. She screamed as it pinned her against the wall. In the kitchen, Dean also heard a noise. He quickly ducked just as a knife hurled itself into a cabinet. Dean placed a table in front of himself as more knives came through. In her room, Susana was chopping a hole in the wall. The lamp crashed to the ground. She turned to see what the noise was and the cord wrapped itself around her neck. She fell to the ground, trying to get the cord off, but couldn't. She laid weak on the floor.
Sam, who'd heard the crash, ran to investigate and saw his friend on the floor. He tried pulling the cord from his friend's neck, but couldn't. "Come on!"
Dean ran in and saw the scene before his eyes. He kicked a hole in the wall and placed the bag of herbs inside. A blinding white light left the room. Once the spirit was gone, Dean removed the cord from Susana's neck and patted her back as she coughed, holding her.
The four of them stood in the messy kitchen.
"You sure this is over?" Sam asked.
"I'm sure," Missouri replied. "Why? Why do you ask?"
"Never mind." He sighed. "It's nothin' I guess."
Jenny entered the house. "Hello? We're home." She came into the kitchen and looked around. "What happened?"
Susana offered an awkward smile. "Hi, we're sorry. Um, we'll pay for all of this." Dean looked at her, confused.
"Don't you worry," Missouri reassured. "Dean's gonna clean up this mess." Dean stood there, unmoving. "Well, what are you waiting for, boy? Get the mop." He began walking away. "And don't cuss at me!" Dean walked away, muttering under his breath.
Eventually, Missouri and the hunters left the house. Jenny waved and shut the door behind them.
Dean, Sam and Susana sat in the car outside.
"All right, so, tell me again, what are we still doin' here?" Dean asked.
"I don't know," Sam replied. "I just... I still have a bad feeling."
"Why? Missouri did her whole Zelda Rubenstein thing, the house should be clean, it should be over."
"Yeah, well, probably. But I just wanna make sure, that's all."
"Yeah, well, problem is I could be sleeping in a bed right now." Dean slid down in his seat and closed his eyes.
Sam and Susana looked up at Jenny's bedroom window and saw her screaming, just like in his dream. "Dean. Look, Dean!"
They rushed out of the car and ran towards the house.
"You two grab the kids, I'll get Jenny," Dean told his brother and friend.
Susana glanced at Sam as Dean ran off. "You get Sari, I'll get Ritchie, okay?"
He nodded and ran to Sari's room.
Susana ran to Ritchie's and picked him up. "Hey, little man. We've got an adventure to go on, okay?"
She rushed down the stairs after Sam and put Ritchie down on the floor next to Sari.
"All right," Sam said, "Sari, take your brother outside as fast as you can, and don't look back."
An invisible force made Sam and Susana fall to the floor. They slid backwards into another room, crashing into a table.
Sari screamed and ran outside with Ritchie. They rushed outside to Dean and Jenny.
Dean knelt to Sari's level. "Sari, where's Sam and Susie?"
Sari began crying. "They're inside. Something's got them."
Panicked, Dean looked at the front door as it slammed shut on its own.
Dean opened the trunk of the Impala and grabbed a rifle and an ax. He rushed to the front door and began chopping away at it.
Inside the kitchen, Sam and Susana were flung into a set of cabinets. They stood and were pinned against the wall by the invisible force. They couldn't move. The fire figure made its way towards Sam and Susana.
Dean continued chopping down parts of the door. Eventually, he made a hole he could step through. He walked through the house, looking for his brother and friend. "Sam? Susie? Sam! Susana!"
He found them and as he looked at the fire figure, he raised his gun.
"No, don't! Don't!" Sam and Susana cried.
"What, why?!" Dean asked.
"Because I know who it is," Sam said. "I can see her now."
The fire vanished and standing in front of them was Mary Winchester, exactly the same as the night she died. Dean's expression softened and he lowered his gun slowly. He stepped forward.
"Mom?" Dean asked as Mary smiled and stepped closer.
Mary looked at him. "Dean." She walked away from him and to her younger son. Dean watched her, not taking his eyes off her. "Sam." He smiled weakly, crying. Mary's smile faded. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Sam asked as Mary looked at him sadly and said nothing.
She walked away from them and looked up at the ceiling. "You get out of my house. And let go of my son and his friend." She burst into flames.
When she was entirely engulfed, the fire reached the ceiling and disappeared. The force holding Sam and Susana to the wall was released. They walked over to Dean and shared a stunned look.
Susana looked between the boys solemnly. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Sam asked.
"Your mom. I can't imagine how hard that was for you."
"It's fine, but thanks."
The next morning, Dean was standing by the car with Jenny looking through old photos.
"Thanks for these," Dean said.
Jenny smiled. "Don't thank me, they're yours."
Dean put the trunk of photos in the car. Susana walked towards him and gave him a small smile.
"I never thanked you for saving me," she said.
He returned her smile and said, "I'm always gonna save you, Susie."
"Always?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Assuming I'm not, you know, possessed."
She chuckled softly. "Oh, of course. But seriously, thank you."
"You're welcome, Susie."
Sam sat on the front steps of the house and was joined by Missouri.
"Well, there are no spirits in there anymore, this time for sure," Missouri told him.
"Not even my mom?" Sam asked.
"What happened?"
"Your mom's spirit and the poltergeist's energy, they cancelled each other out. Your mom destroyed herself goin' after the thing."
"Why would she do something like that?"
"Well to protect her boys and their friend, of course." Sam nodded, tears in his eyes. Missouri went to put her hands on his shoulder, but stopped herself. "Sam, I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"You sensed it was here, didn't you? Even when I couldn't."
"What's happening to me?"
"I know I should have all the answers, but I don't know."
"Sam, you ready?" Dean asked and they nodded and went to the car. Jenny thanked them.
"Don't you boys and girls be strangers," Missouri told the trio.
"We won't," Dean said.
"See you around."
Jenny waved as the three got in the car and drove away.
---
Missouri made her way to her house and set her purse on the table. "That boy... he has such powerful abilities. But why he couldn't sense his own father or his friend's father, I have no idea."
John Winchester and Pedro Martínez were sitting on the couch and the former said, "Mary's spirit -- you you really think she saved the boys and Susana?"
"I do." John nodded sadly and twisted his wedding ring. "John Winchester, Pedro Martínez, I could just slap you two. Why won't you go talk to your children?"
John teared up. "I want to. You have no idea how much I wanna see 'em. But I can't. Not yet. Not until I know the truth."
Pedro smiled sadly. "You have no idea how badly I want to, but I need to find out what happened to my daughter for the sake of her and my wife."
They shared a look.