They're in the morgue and the coroner opens a body bag.
"Agents, meet Frank O'Brien." The coroner says.
"He died of a heart attack, right?" Sam asks.
"Three days ago." The coroner says.
"But O'Brien was 44 years old and, according to this, a marathon runner." Sam says.
"Everybody drops dead sooner or later. It's why I got job security." The coroner says.
"Yeah, but Frank kicked it here. Now, just yesterday, two perfectly healthy men bit it in Maumee. All heart attacks, you don't think that's strange?" Dean asks.
"Sounds like Maumee's problem to me." The coroner says. "Why's the FBI give a damn, anyway?"
"We just want to see the results of Frank's autopsy." Dean says.
"What autopsy?" The coroner asks.
"The one you're gonna do." Dean says.
~ ~ ~
They're wearing scrubs now and the coroner cuts open the body.
"First dead body?" He asks.
"Far from it." Dean says.
"First autopsy." Natalie whispers to herself.
"Oh, good. Because these suckers can get pretty ripe. Hey, hand me those rib cutters, would you?" The coroner asks and Dean grabs them, giving them to the coroner. The coroner cuts the ribs open.
"Now can you kill me?" Natalie whispers to Sam.
"Only if you kill me at the same time." Sam whispers.
"Deal." She whispers.
"Can we get in on that?" Larissa whispers, motioning between her and Jacob.
"Is that a wedding ring?" Dean looks at the mark that the ring on Frank's left ring finger left. "I didn't think Frank was married."
"Ain't my department." The coroner says.
"Any idea how he got these?" Sam asks, holding up Frank's arm that's full of scratches.
"You know what? When you drop dead, you actually tend to drop. Body probably got scraped up when it hit the ground." Coroner says. "Huh."
"What?" Sam asks.
"I-I can't find any blockages in any of the major arteries." The coroner says. He yanks the heart out, Dean and Natalie both trying not to vomit.
"That just seems so wrong." Larissa mumbles.
"Heart looks pretty damn healthy." The coroner says. "Hold that a second, would you?" He holds the heart out to Dean who reluctantly takes it. The twins smirk in amusement.
The coroner does something else causing both twins to be splashed with blood. Larissa stares at them in horror and Jacob quietly gags.
"Oh, sorry. Spleen juice." The coroner says as Dean smirks.
"Mm." Natalie hums. "No." She rushes out, finding the first trash can and vomiting into it.
+++
They're sitting in the station, waiting for the sheriff. The deputy brightly smiles, the three siblings awkwardly nodding back. Larissa gives him a half wave and Jacob awkwardly smiles.
The sheriff opens the door to his office.
"Hell's bells, Linus, have you seen my--" The sheriff stops when he spots the five hunters. "Who are they?" He asks and the five stand up.
"Federal agents. I, uh..." Linus says.
"And you kept them waiting?" The sheriff asks.
"You-you said not to disturb." Linus says.
"Come on back, you guys." The sheriff tells them. They walk over to his office, but he stops them before they get in. "Shoes off." They take their shoes off and go into the office.
"Al Britton. Good to meet you." He shakes their hands.
"You, too." Sam says. Al motions for them to sit down. "Thank you." They sit down while Al puts hand sanitizer on.
"Okay. So, what can I do for Uncle Sam?" Al asks.
"Well, we're looking into the death of Frank O'Brien. We understand some of your men found his body." Sam says.
"They did." Al says. "Me and Frank, we were friends. Hell, we were gamecocks." Dean snickers and Al gives him a stern look making him stop. "That's our softball team's name." He says and Dean nods.
"They're majestic animals. I knew Frank since high school. To be honest, I just this morning got up the strength to go see him. Frank was... he was a good man." Al says.
"Yeah. Big heart." Dean says. Natalie gives him a look and he slightly shrugs.
"Before he died, did you notice Frank acting strange? Maybe scared or something?" Sam asks.
"Oh hell yeah. Real jumpy." Al says.
"You know what scared him?" Sam asks.
"No. Wouldn't answer. Finally, I sent some of my boys over to check on him, and well, you know the rest." Al says, applying more hand sanitizer. Dean looks at the twins with a quizzical look. "So, why the feds give a crap? You don't really think there's a case here?"
"No, no. It's probably nothing. Just a heart attack." Dean says.
+++
"No way that was a heart attack." Dean says as they walk down the street.
"Definitely no way. Three victims, all with those same red scratches. All went from jittery to terrified to dead within 48 hours." Sam says.
"Something scared them to death?" Dean asks.
"All right, so what can do that?"
"What can't? Ghosts, vampires, chupacabra? It could be 100 things."
"Yeah. So, we make a list and start crossing things off."
"All right, who's the last person to see Frank O'Brien alive?"
"Uh, his neighbor, Mark Hutchins."
"Hang on, hang on." Dean stops them twins.
"What?" They ask.
"I don't like the looks of those teenagers down there." Dean says. The others spot the teens talking near the Impala. "Let's walk this way." He crosses the street, the twins share weird looks.
"He's scared of teenagers?" Jacob questions.
"I don't know." Natalie mumbles.
+++
"Tyler, Perry, and Kramer. Just like Aerosmith." Mark says. The five are sitting on a couch and Mark is in a chair across from them.
Mark has a snake around his shoulders which makes Natalie squirm. She hates anything that crawls. Noticing, Jacob slips his hand into hers, their hands resting between them.
"Yeah, small world. So, the last time you saw Frank O'Brien?" Sam asks.
"Monday, he was watching me from his window. I waved at him, but he just closed the curtains." Mark says.
"Hmm. Did you speak to him recently? Did he seem different? Uh, scared?" Sam asks.
"Oh, totally. He was freaking out." Mark says.
"Do you know, uh... do you know what scared him?" Dean asks.
"Well, yeah, witches." Mark says.
"Witches?" Sam asks, looking at his siblings. "Like...?"
"Well, Wizard of Oz was on TV the other night, right? And he said that green bitch was totally out to get him." Mark says.
"Anything else scare him?" Sam asks.
"Everything else scared him. Al-Qaeda, ferrets, artificial sweetener. Those Pez dispensers with their dead little eyes. Lots of stuff." Mark says.
"So, tell me... what was Frank like?" Sam asks.
"I mean, he's dead, you know? I-I don't want to hammer him, but... he got better." Mark says.
"He got better?" Larissa asks.
"Well, in high school he was-- he was a dick."
"A dick?"
"Like a bully. I mean, he probably taped half the town's butt cheeks together." Mark says and Dean snickers. "Mine included." Dean stops laughing.
"So he pissed a lot of people off. You think anyone would have wanted to get revenge?" Dean asks.
"Well, I don't... Frank had a heart attack, right?" Mark asks.
"Just answer the question, sir." Sam says.
"No, I don't think so. Like I said, he got better. And after what happened to his wife."
"His wife? So he was married?" Natalie asks.
"She died about 20 years ago. Frank was really broken up about it." Mark says. He notices Dean staring at the snake around Mark's neck. "Don't be scared of Donny. He's a sweetheart. It's Marie you got to look out for." He nods to the couch. "She smells fear."
Natalie looks over and sees the albino snake slithering up over the couch. She flinches, scrambling closer to Jacob who instinctively wraps an arm around her.
Marie slithers down Dean's lap.
+++
It's nighttime and Dean is waiting in the Impala with the girls and the twins, Jacob, and Larissa get in the car.
"Hey. Any luck at the county clerk's office?" Sam asks.
"I'm not sure I'd call it luck. Frank's wife, Jessie, was a manic depressive. She went off her meds back in '88 and vanished. They found her two weeks later, three towns over. Strung up in her motel room, suicide." Dean informs.
"Any chance Frank helped her along to the other side?" Sam asks.
"No, Frank was working the swing shift when she disappeared. Airtight alibi." Dean states, turning the car on and starting to drive. "How was Frank's pad?"
"Clean. Searched it top to bottom. No EMF, no hex bags, no sulfur." Sam says.
"So probably no ghosts, no witches, no demons." Dean says. "Three down and ninety-seven to go."
"Yeah." Sam says, glancing at the speedometer. "Dude, you're going twenty." He notes.
"And?" Dean asks.
"That's the speed limit." Sam says.
"What? Safety's a crime now?" Dean asks.
"You're, like, allergic to going the speed limit." Natalie says.
"I didn't think you knew the definition." Larissa scoffs.
"Well, not anymore." Dean says.
"Dude, where are you going? That was our hotel." Sam states when Dean passes it.
"Sam, I'm not gonna make a left hand turn into oncoming traffic. I'm not suicidal." Dean says and Sam looks at him confused. Sam looks back at the others who seem just as confused.
"Did I just say that? That was kind of weird." Dean chuckles. The EMF starts going off and Sam takes it out, moving it around. He puts it next to Dean and it spikes.
"Am I haunted?" Dean asks. "Am I haunted?!"
+++
Dean is in the Impala and when the twins and Larissa get back, they find him lying across the front seat and air drumming to Eye of the Tiger. Ophelia, Jacob, and Libby are in the backseat and Jacob is leaning over Opheia's shoulder as they all watch a movie on the iPod.
Sam bangs on the roof of the car which startles Dean. He looks out, seeing Natalie eating a donut and Sam is holding a box of donuts.
"Dudes. Look at this." Dean shows them the scratches on his arm as he gets out of the car.
"We just talked to Bobby." Sam says.
"And?" Dean asks. He sniffs the donut box before tossing it into the front seat. Sam and Natalie look at each other.
"Oh, God." Natalie whispers.
"Um, well, you're not gonna like it." Sam says as Jacob gets out of the car to be part of the conversation.
"You're gonna really hate it." Natalie says, biting into her donut.
"Big time." Larissa nods.
"What?" Dean asks.
"It's ghost sickness." Sam states.
"Ghost sickness?" Dean asks.
"Yeah." Sam nods.
"God, no." Dean frowns.
"Yeah." Sam says.
"I don't even know what that is." Dean says.
"Okay. Some cultures believe that certain spirits can infect the living with a disease, which is why they stopped displaying bodies in houses and started taking them off to funeral homes."
"Okay, get to the good stuff."
"Symptoms are you get anxious..."
"Yeah."
"Then scared, then really scared, then your heart gives out. Sound familiar?"
"Yeah, but Sam, we haven't seen a ghost in weeks."
"Well, I doubt you caught it from a ghost. Look, once a spirit infects that first person, ghost sickness can spread like any sickness. Through a cough, a handshake, whatever. It's like the flu. Now, Frank O'Brien was the first to die, which means he was probably the first infected. Patient zero."
"Our very own outbreak monkey."
"Right. Get this. Frank was in Maumee over the weekend. Softball tournament. Which is where he must have infected the other two victims."
"Were they gamecocks?"
"Cornjerkers."
"So, ghosts infected Frank. He passed it on to the other guys and I got it from his corpse?"
"Right."
"So now what? I have forty-eight hours before I go insane and my heart stops?"
"More like twenty-four."
"Super."
"Yeah."
"Well, why me? Why not you guys? I mean, you two got hit with the spleen juice." Dean states.
"Ugh, don't remind me." Natalie grimaces as Larissa giggles.
"Yeah, um, you see Bobby and us have a theory about that." Sam says. "Turns out all three victims shared a certain, uh, personality type. Frank was a bully. The other two victims, one was a vice principal, the other was a bouncer." Sam explains.
"Okay." Dean says.
"In, um... less educational terms, they were all dicks." Natalie says.
"So you're saying I'm a dick?" Dean asks.
"No, no, no. It's not just that. All three victims used fear as a weapon, and now this disease is just returning the favor." Sam says.
"I don't scare people." Dean argues.
"Dean, all we do is scare people." Sam says.
"Okay, well then, you guys are dicks, too." Dean says.
"Apparently, we're not." Sam says.
"Which is a little shocking in Sam's case." Natalie comments.
"Can you let that go? I feel guilty, she's happy, how much longer?" Sam asks.
"However long I feel like it." Natalie remarks.
"How do we stop it?" Dean asks.
"We gank the ghost that started all this. We do that, the disease should clear up." Sam says.
"You thinking Frank's wife?" Dean asks.
"Who knows why she killed herself, you know? Hey, what are you doing waiting out here, anyway?" Sam asks.
"Our room's on the fourth floor." Dean says.
"So?" Natalie asks.
"It's... it's high." Dean says. The others share looks.
"I'll see if I can move us down to the first." Sam says.
"Thanks." Dean says.
"Sure." Sam says.
+++
The four younger Winchesters, Jacob, and Larissa walk into the motel room, finding a broken clock on the floor. Dean is sitting on the couch and drinking a beer.
"Everything all right?" Sam asks.
"Oh, yeah. Just peachy." Dean says. "Find anything?" Ophelia sits next to him, hugging his arm.
"Yeah, Jessie O'Brien's body was cremated, so I'm pretty sure she is not our ghost. Hey, quit picking at that." Sam says, seeing Dean scratch at his arm. Ophelia grabs Dean's hand and holds it so he can't scratch his arm. "How you feeling?"
"Awesome. It's nice to have my head on the chopping block again. I almost forgot what that feels like." Dean says.
"Yeah." Sam mutters.
"It's fucking delightful." Dean remarks.
"We'll keep looking." Sam says and Dean starts to cough. "You okay? Hey!" Dean starts to choke. "Dean." Dean goes to the bathroom and bends over the sink.
"Dean?" Natalie calls, the twins going to the bathroom. "Stay there." She tells the girls as they start to follow. They watch as Dean continues to gag until he spits up a wood chip.
"We've been completely ignoring the biggest clue we have. You." Sam says.
"I don't want to be a clue." Dean frowns.
"Well, then, sucks for you." Natalie comments.
"The abrasions, this, the disease, it's trying to tell us something." Sam says.
"Tell us what, wood chips?" Dean asks.
"Exactly." Sam says.
+++
They're outside of a lumber mill, Dean staring at it nervously.
"I'm not going in there." Dean states.
"I need backup." Sam says.
"You have plenty of backup. You don't need me." Dean says, motioning to Natalie, Larissa, and Jacob.
"Dean." Natalie gets his attention. "Man up and go in the fucking mill." She roders.
Dean takes a long drink of whiskey from his flask before putting it up.
"Let's do this. It is a little spooky, isn't it?" Dean asks. Sam holds a gun out to Dean. "Oh, I'm not carrying that." The twins give him looks. "It could go off." Larissa rolls her eyes. Dean picks up a flashlight. "I'll man the flashlight." He says, smiling as he holds the device with both hands.
"My hero." Natalie rolls her eyes.
"You do that." Sam says.
They go in and everybody but Dean have shotguns at the ready while Dean walks behind them with the flashlight.
They hear the EMF go off and Sam takes it out of his pocket. Sam holds it closer to Dean making it go higher.
"EMF's not gonna work with me around, is it?" Dean asks.
"You don't say." Sam comments, pocketing the device. "Come on. Wait." Dean startles, Sam putting up a hand to calm him down. Sam looks at the ground, Natalie following his gaze and Sam picks a ring up.
""To Frank. Love, Jessie." Frank O'Brien's ring." Sam says.
"What the hell was Frank doing here?" Dean asks.
"No idea." Sam says.
They walk further into the mill and are in the hall when they hear metal rattle. They walk into a room that has lockers. They walk over to the locker it came from and Sam reaches out to open it.
"1... 2... 3." Sam whispers. He opens the locker and a cat jumps out and Dean lets out a long, high pitched scream. Larissa flinches, having been right next to Dean, his scream hurting her ears.
"Jesus!" She exclaims, messing with her ear.
They all watch Dean soon stop and he pants.
"That was scary!" Dean exclaims, still breathing heavily. Jacob quietly laughs as he follows Sam off.
Larissa smacks Dean over the head.
"Ow!" He cries out as she walks off.
"Let's go, sweetie." Natalie grabs Dean's arm and drags him after her. "You're safe."
"Okay." He whispers, nodding, still terrified.
They walk into another room, finding papers all over the place. They look around at different papers and Sam finds an ID for a Luther Garland.
"Hey, this is, uh..." Dean finds a drawing and takes the printed article they have. "This is Frank's wife." The twins walk over to him.
"Plot thickens." Sam comments.
"Yeah... but into what?" Dean asks.
They hear machine noises and Dean jumps, the five looking around. The twins look at Dean and see him staring behind Sam. They follow his gaze and find a man standing in the corner with his back to them.
The four raise their shotguns.
"Hey!" Sam calls. They turn to Dean, but only find him running out of the mill. The twins both shake their heads, sharing a look before looking forward, the man now facing them.
"Wow." Jacob mutters.
As the man starts to walk towards them, Sam shoots him and he disappears.
They go out to the Impala where Dean is crouched behind the trunk and drinking out of his flask.
"Guess we got the right place." Sam says.
+++
"This is the Garland file." Linus hands it to Sam.
"Thanks." Sam says, starting to look through it with Natalie, Larissa, and Jacob. Dean is standing behind his siblings and swaying which Linus notices.
"Is he... drunk?" Linus asks. The others turn to Dean who winks and gives a thumbs up.
"No." Sam denies. "Deputy, according to this, Luther Garland's cause of death was physical trauma. What does that mean?"
"The guy died 20 years ago, before my time. Sorry." Linus says.
"Then can we talk to the sheriff?" Sam asks.
"Um, he's out sick today." Linus says.
"Well, if you see him, will you have him call us?" Sam asks. "We're staying at the Bluebird. Mind if I take this?" He holds up the file and Linus shakes his head, the four walking off.
"Know what? You're awesome." Dean tells Linus.
"Thanks. Um, y-you too, I guess." Linus says, chuckling. The twins return, dragging Dean off.
+++
They walk into Peaceful Pines Assisted Living and Dean is startled by a resident that they bump into.
"This isn't gonna work. Come on, these badges are fake. What if we get busted? We could go to jail." Dean says.
"Would you shut up?" Natalie whispers.
"Dean, shh!" Sam shushes him. "Calm down. Deep breath, okay?" Dean takes a deep breath. "There. You feel better?" Dean shakes his head. "Just come on. Don't scratch." He tells him, nodding to the Dean's left arm which Dean keeps scratching.
They walk into a room full of tables and over to a table where a man is sitting.
"Mr. Garland. Hi, uh, we're FBI." Sam says. "We'd like to ask you a few questions about your brother, Luther."
"Let me see some ID." Mr. Garland says.
"Certainly." Sam says and the five show their badges.
"Those are real, obviously. I mean, who would pretend to be an FBI agent, huh? That's just nutty." Dean says, earning looks from his siblings and friends.
"What do you want to know?" Mr. Garland asks.
"Uh, well... according to this, your brother Luther died of physical trauma." Sam says, holding the file and Mr. Garland scoffs. "You don't agree?"
"No, I don't." Mr. Garland says as the five sit down.
"Well, then, what would you call it?" Sam asks.
"Don't matter what an old man thinks." Mr. Garland says.
"Mr. Garland, we're just trying to get the truth on your brother. Please."
"Everybody was scared of Luther. They called him a monster. He was too big, too mean looking. Just too different. Didn't matter he was the kindest man I ever knew. Didn't matter he'd never hurt no one. A lot of people failed Luther. I was one of them. I was a widower with three young 'uns. And I told myself there was nothing I could do."
"Mr. Garland, um... do you recognize this woman?" Sam shows him the drawing of Jessie.
"It's Jessie O'Brien. Her man, Frank, killed Luther." Mr. Garland states.
"How do you know that?" Natalie asks.
"Everybody knows. They just don't talk about it." Mr. Garland says. "Jessie was a receptionist at the mill. But Frank didn't like it. And when Jessie went missing, Frank was sure that Luther had done something to her. Turns out the old gal killed herself, but Frank didn't know that. They found Luther with a chain wrapped around his neck. He was dragged up and down the stretch outside that plant till he was past dead."
Natalie feels her heart break for the man, not able to even imagine the terror he must've felt.
"And O'Brien was never arrested?" Dean asks.
"I screamed to every cop in town. They didn't want to look into Frank. He was a pillar of the community. My brother was just the town freak." Mr. Garland says.
"You must have hated Frank O'Brien." Sam says.
"I did for a long time, but life's too short for hate, son. And Frank wasn't thinking straight. His wife had vanished, he was terrified. A damn shame he had to put Luther through the same, but... that's fear. It spreads and spreads."
+++
"Now we know what these are -- road rash. And I'm guessing Luther swallowed some wood chips when he was being dragged down that road." Dean says as they stand by the Impala outside of Peaceful Pines.
"Makes sense. You're experiencing his death in slow motion." Sam says.
"Yeah, well, not slow enough, huh? Say we burn some bones and get me healthy." Dean says.
"Dean, it won't be that easy." Sam says.
"No, no, it'll be that easy. Why wouldn't it be that easy?" Dean asks.
"Luther was road hauled. His body was ripped to pieces. He was probably scattered all over that road. There's no way we're gonna find all the remains." Sam says.
"You're kidding me." Dean says.
"Look, we just have to figure something else out."
"You know what? Screw this."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Dean."
"Come on. No, I mean, come on, guys. What are we doing?!" Dean asks.
"We're hunting a ghost." Sam says.
"A ghost, exactly! Who does that?" Dean asks.
"Us." The twins chorus.
"Us? Right. And that, Sam and Nat, that is exactly why our lives suck. I mean, come on, we hunt monsters! What the hell?! I mean, normal people, they see a monster, and they run. But not us. No, no, no, we-- we search out things that want to kill us. Yeah. Huh? Or eat us! You know who does that? Crazy people! We... are insane!"
"You know, and there's the bad diner food and then the skeevy motel rooms and then the truck stop waitress with a bizarre rash. I mean, who wants this life? Huh? Seriously? Do you guys actually like being stuck in a car with me eight hours a day, every single day? I don't think so! I mean, I drive too fast. And I listen to the same five albums over and over and over again, a-and I sing along. I'm annoying, I know that."
"I never knew you were so self aware." Natalie comments making Larissa snort.
"And you-- you're gassy!" Dean tells Sam. "You eat half a burrito, and you get toxic!" Natalie nods in agreement. "And you-you're always making stupid sarcastic comments. An-and you always kick the back of our seat and are always asking "Are we there yet?"" He tells Natalie.
"And you two basically eye fuck each other 80% of the time." He tells Nataliea nd Jacob. "And she's giving you hopeless heart eyes the whole time." He motions to Larissa and then Sam. Larissa's eyes widen, glaring at Dean.
"Not to mention the two little hyperactive children. Who aren't actually so bad unless they're fighting with each other or annoyed at one of us."
"I mean, you know what?" Dean tosses Sam the keys. "You can forget it."
"Whoa, Dean, where are you going?" Sam asks.
"Stay away from me, you two, okay? Cause I am done with it. I'm done with the monsters and-and-and the hellhounds and the ghost sickness and the damn apocalypse. I'm out. I'm done. Quit." Dean walks off.
The twins look at each other.
"You are toxic. I'm surprised you haven't killed me yet." Natalie says.
"Yeah, and you're annoying." Sam retorts. "What was that heart eye thing, though?"
"Nothing. Nothing. It-- it was nothing. He's insane." Larissa says, getting in the car.
+++
The four hunters are by the Impala as Bobby drives up, parking by them.
"Howdy, kids." Bobby greets.
"Hey, Bobby. Thanks for coming so quick." Sam says.
"Where're Dean and the little ones?" Bobby asks.
"Uh, home sick... and keeping him company." Sam says.
"So, have his hallucinations started yet?" Bobby asks.
"Yeah, a few hours ago." Sam nods.
"How we doing on time?" Bobby asks.
"We saw the coroner about 8:00 A.M. Monday morning, so, uh... just under two hours. What about you? You find anything?" Sam asks.
"This, uh, encyclopedia of spirits dates to the Edo period." Bobby gives Sam a book that's in Japanese.
"You can read Japanese?" Sam asks. Bobby says something in Japanese. "Guess so, show off."
"Anyway, this book lists a kind of ghost that could be our guy. It, uh, infects people with fear. It's called a Buru Buru." Bobby informs.
"It say how to kill it?"
"Same as usual. Burn the remains."
"Wonderful. Uh... is there a plan b?"
"Well, the Buru Buru is born of fear. Hell, it is fear. And the lore says we can kill it with fear."
"So we have to scare a ghost to death?"
"Pretty much."
"How the hell we gonna do that?"
~ ~ ~
"Hey." Dean answers Sam's phone call.
"Hey! So, uh, just ride out the trip, okay? You're-- you're gonna be fine. We got a plan." Sam says.
"What is it?" Dean asks.
"Uh, just a good plan, all right? Hang in there." Sam hangs up.
"This is a terrible plan." Bobby states.
"Beyond terrible, yeah." Natalie nods.
"Yeah, tell me about it." Sam scoffs.
"I know I said scare the ghost to death, but this?" Bobby asks.
"Hey, you got a better idea, I'm listening." Sam says.
Sam and Natalie go in the mill and expect Luther to attack, but nothing happens.
"Any luck?" Bobby asks after a few minutes over the walkie talkie. Larissa sits in the pasenger seat, Jacob in the backseat.
"I don't know what's wrong, Bobby. Last time he came right at us. It's almost like he's, uh... like he's scared." Sam says.
"So now what?" Bobby asks.
"I guess we got to make him angry." Sam says. "Hey, Luther!" Sam tears up some drawings. Natalie follows his lead, tearing some of the drawings up. "Come on, Luther! Where the hell are you? What are you waiting for?"
Sam turns around, finding Luther behind him.
Luther fights them, easily overpowering them. He throws them to the ground and kicks at them and punches. Sam tries to what he needs, but Luther drags him back. Luther bangs Sam against the ground. Natalie gets up and wraps a chain around Luther's neck, pulling him off of Sam.
"Bobby, punch it!" Sam shouts.
Bobby floors the Impala and pulls Luther's spirit out of the mill and across the road. He continues to drive as Larissa and Jacob look out the back window until Luther disappears.
+++
Dean is flicking through the TV channels and stops on one, watching Pokey be lassoed and dragged.
"Oh, this isn't helping." Dean mutters, turning the TV off.
"You wanna read to me and Libby? Or I can read to you guys?" Ophelia offers.
"We'll try it out." Dean says after a few moments. Ophelia smiles and goes to her bag that's just for her books. She searches through them, finding a the first Harry Potter book.
Ophelia sits by Dean, leaning against his side and she starts to read the book aloud. She gets about ten pages in before Dean's phone rings. He takes it out of his pocket and answers it.
"Hey." Dean greets.
"Hey! So, uh, just ride out the trip, okay? You're--you're gonna be fine. We got a plan." Sam says.
"What is it?" Dean asks.
"Uh, just a good plan, all right? Hang in there." Sam says, the two hanging up.
Dean puts his phone up and tries to pay attention to Ophelia reading, but finds it more difficult by the second. The door rattles before it's suddenly broken off its hinges making both girls shriek.
"You guys see that, too?" Dean asks and the two girls nod, looking at the sheriff who is holding his gun. "Sheriff? What are you doing?"
"Why are you looking into Luther Garland's death?" The sheriff asks.
"Girls, get behind the couch." Dean instructs. They start to do so, but the sheriff points his gun at them.
"Don't move!" He barks out and the girls freeze, sitting back on the couch. Dean cautiously steps in front of them and he notices blood on the sheriff's arm.
"Hey, hey, you're-- you're sick. You're sick. You're sick, all right? Just-Just like me, okay? You got to relax." Dean says.
"Frank O'Brien was my friend. So he made a mistake. So I didn't bust him. So what? And you're gonna bring me down over that?! No, sir." He points his gun at Dean who swats it away and the two begin to fight.
"They know what they did." The sheriff says. "Get away from me!" He starts to hyperventilate.
"Al, you got to calm down!" Dean orders.
"Step back!" The sheriff yells. "They know... at the lumber mill." He falls to the floor, still having trouble breathing until he dies.
Libby lets out a small cry, hiding her face in Ophelia's arm, feeling the tears fall down her face.
"It's okay, Libby." Ophelia quietly comforts, trying to calm her cousin down. "It's okay."
Dean sits on one of the beds and starts scratching his arm.
"Daddy, don't scratch your arm." Ophelia says, still trying to comfort Libby. Dean picks up a Bible.
"No! No!" Dean yells out, looking to his side in fear.
"What do you see? What's going on?" Ophelia asks.
"You-- you are not real!" Dean shouts, backing away. "You are not real." He repeats, clutching his chest. Why me? Why'd I get infected?"
"Stay here, Libs." Ophelia tells her, getting up and rushing over to her dad. "Daddy? Daddy, you're seeing stuff." She says.
Dean falls to the floor and is clutching his chest.
"Daddy! Daddy, are you okay? What hurts?" Ophelia worriedly asks. She feels her worry increase as she feels her dad's fear spike and she can tell he's getting closer to death. "No, no, no. Uncle Sammy and Aunt Natty are figuring it out. They're smart, they know what to do."
Ophelia is able to feel her fear, Libby's fear, and Dean's fear, making her start to panic, getting overwhelmed.
"Stop it, stop it." Ophelia mumbles, crying, hoping Sam figures out how to fix this before Dean takes his last breath. "Stop it, stop it. Stop it!" She screams, random objects around the room flying.
Libby flinches and lets out a small whine, covering her head, feeling something hit her arm. She sees it land and sees it was the TV remote.
Suddenly Dean starts coughing and takes deep breaths, seemingly recovering from his near death.
"Daddy?" Ophelia asks.
"Yeah. Yeah, uh... hey, yeah. I'm... I'm good." Dean says. Ophelia lets out a sigh of relief, attacking Dean in a hug, tightly wrapping her arms around him. Dean hugs her back, stroking her hair to comfort her. He notices Libby and sees her crying so he holds one of his arms out. Libby races over, crashing into Dean and sobbing into his shoulder.
"I'm okay, munchkins." Dean quietly assures.
+++
"So, you guys road hauled a ghost with a chain?" Dean asks.
"Iron chain etched with spell work." Sam clarifies.
"Hmm, that's a new one." Dean says.
"It was what he was most afraid of. It was pretty brutal, though." Sam says.
"On the upside, I'm still alive, so, uh, go team." Dean says.
"Yeah. How you feeling, by the way?" Sam asks. Libby taps his arm and holds the Capri-Sun out to him. Sam pokes the straw into the hole before giving it back to her.
"Fine." Dean shrugs.
"You sure, Dean? Cause this line of work can get awful scary." Bobby says.
"I'm fine. You want to go hunting? I'll hunt. I'll kill anything." Dean says.
"Awww, he's adorable." Bobby mocks, the others laughing, as Dean rolls his eyes. "I got to get out of here. You kids drive safe."
"You too, Bobby. Hey, thanks." Sam tells him. Bobby gets in his vehicle and drives off. "So, uh... so, what did you see?" Sam asks Dean. "Near the end, I mean."
"Oh, besides a cop beating my ass?" Dean asks.
"Seriously." Sam says.
"Howler monkeys." Dean answers after a few moments. The twins roll their eyes. "Whole roomful of them. Those things creep the hell out of me."
"Right." Sam mumbles.
"Mm-hmm." Natalie hums.
"No, just the usual stuff. Nothing I can't handle." Dean says.