"Sam, wake up." Dean called out from the drivers seat causing Sam to wake up confused from the shotgun in the Impala which was currently parked in front of a large building.
"I take it I was having a nightmare." Sam concluded
"Yeah, another one." Dean noted
"Hey, at least I got some sleep." Sam commented with a shrug
"You know, sooner or later we're gonna have to talk about this."
"Is Nance up yet?" Sam questioned ignoring his brothers previous statement
"Take a look for yourself." Dean chuckled lightly causing Sam to turn around and see her passed on laying across the back seat.
"So that's why she wanted the back seat." Sam laughed lightly causing Dean to reach over and barely touch her causing her to jump awake. Slightly panicked the girl glanced around trying to take in her surroundings only to see the two brothers in front of her looking at her concerned and based off of their expressions all of the memories from the previous events came rushing back.
"You doing okay?" Sam asked concerned causing the girl to swallow dryly
"Yeah, I'm fine. Are we there yet?"
"Yup. Welcome to Toledo, Ohio." Dean responded causing Sam to pick up a newspaper laying nearby him with Steven Shoemaker's obituary circled upon it. Noticing this the girl leaned forward to get a better look at the news article.
SHOEMAKER, Steven
The Shoemaker family is sad to announce the sudden death of their beloved husband and father Steven Shoemaker. Steven was 46. A short service will be held on Wednesday, [...] 31 at 2:00 p.m. at the Toledo [...] and cherish you [...] Your [...]
"So what do you think really happened to this guy?" Sam questioned
"That's what we're gonna find out." Dean responded before adding on "Let's go."
The three climbed out of the car and began their journey up to the building.
The trio continued their pathway to a room marked 144 also known as the Morgue of the hospital they were currently in.
There were two desks from what Nancy could see, the empty one had a nameplate that was labeled Dr. D. Feiklowicz. While the other was labeled as Morgue Technician.
"Hey." The morgue technician greeted seeing the trio's arrival.
"Hey." Dean replied with a nod
"Can I help you?" the man asked
"Yeah. We're the, uh.. med students." Dean continued
"Sorry?" the morgue technician questioned skeptically.
"Oh, Doctor Figlavitch didn't tell you?" Dean paused before continuing "We talked to him on the phone. He, uh, we're from Ohio State. He's supposed to show us the Shoemaker corpse. It's for our paper."
"Well, I'm sorry, he's at lunch." the morgue technician informed
"Oh well he said, uh - oh, well, you know, it doesn't matter. You don't mind just showing us the body, do you?" Dean continued to push
"Sorry, I can't." the morgue technician urged "Doc will be back in an hour. You can wait for him if you want."
"An hour? Ooh. We gotta be heading back to Columbus by then." Dean faked before glancing over at the other two making Nancy have to refrain from rolling her eyes.
"Uh, look, man...no." the morgue technician finished causing Dean to fake a laugh before turning around to the other two and mumbling, "I'm gonna hit him in his face I swear."
In response to this Sam hit Dean on the arm when an idea popped into Nancy's head and so she fixed her hair and stepped up in front of the guys pulling out some twenties laying a few of them on the desk with a smile.
The technician looked at the girl surprised causing her to speak up playing along with Dean's charade, "I really need a good grade on this paper. Surely you can make something work?"
The morgue technician's plain face turned into a small smirk at the view of the girl and almost automatically got up picking up the money in the process.
"Of course, anything for the pretty lady. Follow me."
Nancy faked a smile cringing at the compliment slightly before immediately following the man, she sent a smile towards the brothers who held impressed expressions on their faces.
Once they got into the Morgue Sam spoke up, "Now the newspaper said his daughter found him. She said his eyes were bleeding."
The Morgue technician pulled back the sheet that laid over Steven's face. Luckily this wasn't the first dead body Nancy had seen because otherwise she definitely would've puked.
"More than that. They practically liquefied." the man informed
"Any sign of a struggle? Maybe somebody did it to him?" Dean asked curiously
"Nope. Besides the daughter, he was all alone." the technician answered honestly
"What is the official cause of death?" Nancy questioned
"Ah, Doc's not sure. He's thinking massive stroke, maybe an aneurysm? Something burst up in there, that's for sure." the technician replied
"What do you mean?" Nancy wondered
"Intense cerebral bleeding. This guy had more blood in his skull than anyone I've ever seen." the technician responded
"The eyes mash what would cause something like that?" Sam inquired
"Capillaries can burst. See a lot of bloodshot eyes with stroke victims."
"Yeah? You ever see exploding eyeballs?" Dean asked curiously
"That's a first for me, but hey, I'm not the doctor." The technician shrugged
"Hey, think we could take a look at that police report? You know for, uh...our paper." Dean spoke inquisitively
"I'm not really supposed to show you that." the man replied with a hint of hesitation causing Sam to pull out his wallet this time annoyed.
After finishing in the Morgue the group headed downstairs discussing the case.
"Might not be one of ours. Might just be some freak medical thing." Sam offered
"How many times in Dad's long and varied career has it actually been a freak medical thing and not some sign of an awful supernatural death?" Dean asked knowingly
"Uh, almost never." Sam replied
"Exactly." Dean nodded
"All right, then in that case let's go talk to the daughter." Nancy suggested causing the two to nod in agreement before heading to their car to go to the shoemaker house.
Once they made it they walked into the funeral, Nancy took in her surroundings and noticed a picture of Steven on the desk and also made note that the attendees are all men in black suits and women in black dresses except for them.
"I feel like we're underdressed." Dean muttered
"Definitely." Nancy replied in agreement before they walked further into the house towards the back.
After asking a random man for directions the group ended up making their way towards Donna and Lily Shoemaker who were currently with their friends Jill and Charlie.
"You must be Donne, right?" Dean gathered as they approached the group
"Yeah." Donna nodded
"Hi, we're really sorry." Nancy sympathized
"Thank you." Donna spoke kindly towards the girl
"I'm Sam, this is Dean and Nancy. We worked with your dad."
This caused Donna to look at Charlie then back to the trio
"You did?" Donna questioned
"Yeah. This whole thing. I mean, a stroke." Dean pushed causing Nancy's stomach to twist feeling bad for bothering this grieving family but she knew it was the only way to find out what they needed to know in order to possibly need to protect them and the people around them.
"I don't think she really wants to talk about this right now." Charlie cut in
"I'm okay. I'm okay." Donna reassured him
"Where there any symptoms? Dizziness? Migraines?" Dean listed
"No." Donna shook her head causing Lily to turn around
"That's because it wasn't a stroke." Lily spoke up
"Lily, don't say that." Donna sighed
"What?" Sam suddenly said confused
"I'm sorry, she's just upset." Donna told the trio
"No, it happened because of me." Lily pushed
"Sweetie, it didn't." Donna reassured
"Lily." Nancy spoke up grabbing the girls attention causing Nancy to lean over to her height. "Why would you say something like that?"
"Right before he died, I said it." Lily replied to the girl
"You said what?" Nancy wondered
"Bloody Mary, three times in the bathroom mirror. She took his eyes, that's what she does." Lily continued causing Donna to speak up
"That's not why Dad died. This isn't your fault."
"I think your sister's right, Lily. There's no way it could have been Bloody Mary. Your dad didn't say it, did he?" Dean questioned in a reassuring tone.
"No, I don't think so." Lily shook her head in consideration.
After their conversation with the Shoemaker family they made their way into the house in search of any clues or anything out of the ordinary. To begin they started in the bathroom where Sam pushed the door open causing Nancy to automatically notice there was still some dried blood on the floor causing her to frown.
"The Bloody Mary legend...Dad ever find any evidence that it was a real thing?" Sam wondered
"Not that I know of." Dean shook his head as they walked further into the bathroom as Sam crouched to the floor and reached over to touch the dry blood curiously.
"I mean, everywhere else all over the country, kids will play Bloody Mary, and as far as we know, nobody dies from it." Sam acknowledged
"Yeah, well, maybe everywhere it's just a story, but here it's actually happening." Dean noted
"The place where the legend began?" Sam commented causing Dean to shrug and open the medicine cabinet.
"Well, according to the legend, the person who says B-" Nancy begins before pausing and swallowing as she looked over at the medicine cabinet mirror which now faced her and Sam and immediately closed it. "The person who says you know what gets it. But here-"
"Shoemaker gets it instead, yeah." Dean agreed
"Right." Sam muttered
"Never heard anything like that before. Still, the guy did die right in front of the mirror, and the daughter's right. The way the legend goes, you know who scratches your eyes out." Dean recalled
"It's definitely worth checking into." Nancy concluded causing Sam to nod in agreement before the group turns around and leaves the bathroom and within seconds of leaving the room they ran into Charlie in the hallway.
"What are you doing up here?" Charlie asked
"We—we, had to go to the bathroom." Nancy forced out quickly causing her to look at her slightly confused before shrugging it off.
"Who are you?" Charlie questioned skeptically
"Like we said downstairs, we worked with Donna's dad." Dean repeated
"He was a day trader or something. He worked by himself." Charlie informed causing Nancy to swallow nervously
"No, I know, I meant—" Dean began but was cut off.
"And all those weird questions downstairs, what was that? So you tell me what's going on, or I start screaming." Charlie threatened
"All right, all right. We think something happened to Donna's dad." Sam admitted
"Yeah, a stroke." Charlie nodded
"That's not a sign of a typical stroke." Nancy shook her head glancing at the boys then back at Charlie "We think it might be something else."
"Like what?" Charlie questioned
"Honestly? We don't know yet. But we don't want it to happen to anyone else. That's the truth." Sam concluded
"So, if you're gonna scream, go right ahead." Dean spoke
"Who are you, cops?" Charlie wondered causing Sam to look over at the other two while Dean shrugged out, "Something like that."
"I'll tell you what. Here." Sam offered reaching into his pocket pulling out a paper and pen in order to write down his cell number.
"If you think of anything, you or your friends notice anything strange, out of the ordinary...just give us a call." Sam advised handing Charlie the paper before the trio walked down the hallway leaving the girl standing in the hallway by herself in confusion.
~~
The group decided to head to the library to see if they could find any more information on the history of the Bloody Mary legend and as they entered the room Dean spoke up, "All right, say Bloody Mary really is haunting this town. There's gonna be some sort of proof—Like a local woman who died nasty."
"Yeah but a legend this widespread it's hard. I mean, there's like 50 versions of who she actually is. One story says she's a witch, another says she's a mutilated bride, there's a lot more." Sam elaborated
"All right so what are we supposed to be looking for?" Dean wondered
"Well.. every version's got a few things in common. It's always a woman named Mary, and she always dies right in front of a mirror." Nancy explained briefly
"So basically, we've gotta search local newspapers—public records as far back as they go. See if we can find a Mary who fits the bill." Sam concluded
"Well that sounds annoying" Dean muttered under his breath
"No it won't be so bad, as long as we..." Sam trailed off his eye landing on the computers which all say 'out of order' on them causing him to let out a dry chuckle, "I take it back, this will be very annoying."
"Extremely." Nancy groaned before continuing her search for books for them to read.
After doing what felt like many hours of research, Sam ended up falling asleep leaving Nancy and Dean to themselves.
"So, how are you doing.... you know with everything?" Dean questioned causing Nancy to sigh.
"Dean, I'm fine. I really wish you guys would stop worrying about me so much."
"Nancy, you just lost someone that you spent the last few years with. Do you not feel anything about that?"
"Of course I do Dean, I loved him and he hurt me. So I did the healthy thing and grieved my relationship and now I'm ready to move on and put my mind to more important uses like saving people and helping you two find your father. Now, can we please just pretend like he never existed and just go back to normal and pretend like I never left?" Nancy spoke hopefully this caused Dean to look at the girl sympathetically because he knew she was holding a strong stance before nodding understandingly. He knew what it was like to lose someone emotionally he just hated see the two people he loves the most go through so much pain.
This thought caused him to look over at Sam who suddenly, almost like the boy felt his brother's glance, jumped awake. As Sam glanced around at his surroundings trying to figure out what was happening he noticed Dean and Nancy, sitting opposite him. Nancy held an expression of seriousness as she continued her research while Dean held an expression a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
"Why'd you let me fall asleep?" Sam grumbled, his voice heavy with sleepiness.
"Because I'm an awesome brother," Dean replied with a smirk. "So, what did you dream about?"
"Lollipops and candy canes," Sam mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah, sure." Dean rolled his eyes
"Did you find anything?" Sam asked, his voice tinged with hope despite the weariness in his tone as he changed the subject glancing between the two in front of him.
"Oh, besides a whole new level of frustration?" Dean sighed shaking his head becoming irritated. "No. I've looked at everything."
"I've found a few articles on local women— a Laura and a Catherine— who committed suicide in front of a mirror, and a giant mirror fell on a guy named Dave, but uh, no Mary." Nancy chimed in, resulting in Sam's shoulders to slump with disappointment evident in his expression.
"Maybe we just haven't found it yet," Sam muttered, falling back onto the bed with a defeated sigh.
"I've also been searching for strange deaths in the area, you know... eyeball bleeding, that sort of thing. There's nothing." Nancy continued, her brow furrowing in concentration.
"Whatever's happening here, maybe it just ain't Mary," Dean concluded with a shrug as Sam's cell phone rang, its shrill tone slicing through the quiet of the library, he reached for it with a sense of urgency.
"Hello?" Sam greeted tentatively. Just then there was a pause as he listened intently to the voice on the other end of the line, his brow furrowing with concern as Sam's expression shifted, a wave of worry washing over him as he glanced at the duo in front of them confirming their concerns.
As the weight of Charlie's words were revealed to Nancy and Dean, they quickly made their way to the park to meet up with the young girl taking a seat on an empty park bench as Charlie began to explain what she saw.
"And they found her on the bathroom floor. And her—her eyes. They were gone," Charlie choked out between tears, her voice quivering with anguish.
"I'm sorry," Nancy murmured softly, placing a gentle hand on Charlie's shoulder in a gesture of comfort.
"And she said it," Charlie continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "I heard her say it. But it couldn't be because of that. I'm insane, right?"
Dean's gaze shifted to Sam, silently communicating the weight of the situation.
"No, you're not insane," Dean assured Charlie, his voice firm and unwavering.
"Oh God, that makes me feel so much worse," Charlie admitted, her voice thick with emotion.
"Look. We think something's happening here. Something that can't be explained," Sam explained gently, his voice tinged with urgency.
"And we're gonna stop it, but we could use your help," Dean added, his tone resolute. Shortly after, Charlie agreed and the group headed back to Jill's house where with the help of Charlie they made it up to Jill's room.
Once inside, Charlie locked the door behind them, her hands trembling slightly with anticipation. She crossed the room to the window, opening it to allow Sam, Nancy, and Dean entry. Sam entered first, followed by Dean, who threw him the duffel bag, while Nancy followed closely behind. As Sam set the bag down on the bed and began to sift through its contents, Nancy inquired about their cover story.
"What did you tell Jill's mom?" Nancy asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.
"Just that I needed some time alone with Jill's pictures and things," Charlie replied, her voice tinged with guilt. "I hate lying to her."
"Trust us, this is for the greater good," Dean reassured her, his tone firm and unwavering. "Hit the lights."
Charlie nods and walks over, turning off the lights as told.
"What are you guys looking for?" Charlie asked, her voice filled with curiosity.
"We'll let you know as soon as we find it," Nancy replied uncertainly, her eyes scanning the room for any sign of the supernatural as Sam produced a digital camera from the bag and handed it to Dean.
"Hey, night vision," Sam suggested resulting in Dean to turn on the night vision "Perfect,"
Dean grinned, adjusting the camera as he aimed it at himself. "Do I look like Paris Hilton?" he joked, earning a laugh from Nancy as he continued to film. As Sam explored the room, he focused his attention on Jill's closet, filming around the mirror as he pondered the mysterious deaths linked to Mary's curse. "So I don't get it. I mean... the first victim didn't summon Mary, and the second victim did. How's she choosing them?" he mused, his brow furrowing in concentration.
"Beats me," Dean admitted, shrugging, his voice tinged with frustration as Sam closed the closet door he was searching.
"I want to know why Jill said it in the first place," Dean mused, his tone reflecting his determination to unravel the mystery.
"It's just a joke," Charlie offered, though her voice held a hint of uncertainty as she tried to defend her friend.
"Yeah well, somebody's gonna say it again, it's just a matter of time," Nancy remarked pointedly her words echoing through the room like an ominous prophecy.
Meanwhile as Sam was in the bathroom, his attention drawn to something peculiar around the mirror. As he stopped to investigate, he called out to Dean, Nancy and Charlie, his voice tinged with urgency.
"Hey," Sam called out, causing Dean and Nancy to turn towards him. "There's a black light in the trunk, right?"
But before anyone could say anything, Dean tossed Sam the black light, and Sam wasted no time in peeling off the brown paper that covered the back of the mirror. With meticulous care, he shone the black light over the surface, revealing a handprint and the words "Gary Bryman."
"Gary Bryman?" Charlie's confusion was palpable as she echoed the name.
"You know who that is?" Sam questioned curiously as he turned to her.
"No," Charlie admitted, her voice barely above a whisper causing the group to look at each other with confusion. With this revelation, it led the group back to the park where Nancy and Sam could do some research on Gary Bryman as Dean and Charlie waited on the park bench. After the duo uncovered the truth they approached Dean and Charlie from behind.
"So, Gary Bryman was an 8-year-old boy. Two years ago he was killed in a hit and run. The car was described as a black Toyota Camry. But nobody got the plates or saw the driver." Nancy wasted no time in relaying the grim details of their findings causing Charlie's breath to become caught in her throat as the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place.
"What?" Sam asked concerned, his voice filled with urgency.
"Jill drove that car," Charlie revealed, her words heavy with disbelief.
"We need to get back to your friend Donna's house," Dean declared, his tone leaving no room for debate as they prepared to confront the looming threat head-on and so that's exactly what they did and as the group returned to Donna's house they went upstairs to the bathroom and did the same thing they did in Jill's room to reveal a name "Linda Shoemaker" along with a handprint on the mirror resulting in realization to fall over the group so as they returned downstairs they confronted Donna.
"Why are you asking me this?" Donna's voice quivered with a mixture of confusion and apprehension.
"Look, we're sorry, but it's important," Nancy explained, her eyes imploring Donna to understand the gravity of their inquiry.
"Yeah. Linda's my mom, okay? She overdosed on sleeping pills, it was an accident, and that's it. I think you should leave," Donna insisted, her words laced with a sense of finality.
"Now Donna, just listen—" Dean attempted to interject, his voice calm but persuasive.
"Get out of my house!" Donna exclaimed, her voice rising in anger as she turned and fled upstairs, her footsteps echoing through the silence.
"Oh my God. Do you really think her dad could've killed her mom?" Charlie asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Maybe," Sam replied, his voice heavy with uncertainty.
"I think I should stick around," Charlie declared, worried about her friend making Nancy hesitate but she nodded in agreement.
"All right. Whatever you do, don't—" Nancy began but Charlie cut her off, her resolve unwavering.
"Believe me, I won't say it," Charlie promised, her voice filled with determination.
After the trio left Donna's house they continued their research leading to Nancy back on the computer as Dean sifted through paperwork and documents scattered across a table and Sam examined various postings on a bulletin board.
"Wait, wait, wait, you're doing a nationwide search?" Sam's voice broke the silence, his surprise evident.
"Yep. The NCIC, the FBI database—at this point any Mary who died in front of a mirror is good enough for me," Nancy confirmed, her tone resolute.
"But if she's haunting the town, she should have died in the town," Sam pointed out, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
"I'm telling you there's nothing local, I've checked. So unless you got a better idea—" Nancy sighed, frustration evident in her voice.
"The way Mary's choosing her victims, it seems like there's a pattern," Sam interjected, his voice growing more confident.
"I know, I was thinking the same thing." Dean nodded in agreement.
"With mister Shoemaker and Jill's hit and run," Sam continued, his thoughts coming together like pieces of a puzzle.
"Both had secrets where people died," Nancy added, her eyes narrowing as she considered the implications.
"Right. I mean there's a lot of folklore about mirrors—that they reveal all your lies, all your secrets, that they're a true reflection of your soul, which is why it's bad luck to break them," Sam explained, his voice filled with understanding.
"Right, right. So maybe if you've got a secret, I mean like a really nasty one where someone died, then Mary sees it, and punishes you for it," Dean suggested, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.
As the conversation continued, Nancy directed their attention to a picture displayed on the computer screen. "Take a look at this," she prompted, her voice tinged with urgency. The image depicted a woman lying by a mirror in a pool of blood. Nancy printed out another picture and handed it to Sam. Upon closer inspection, Sam's eyes widened with recognition.
"Looks like the same handprint," Sam observed, his voice filled with intrigue as Nancy nodded solemnly.
"Her name was Mary Worthington—an unsolved murder in Fort Wayne, Indiana," Nancy revealed, her voice heavy with implication as she glanced at the Winchester brothers resulting in them to exchange knowing looks as they subconsciously decided to go pursue their research by confiding in a local detective.
As they stood in front of the detective, Nancy observed him. It was clear to the girl that he was weathered by years of experience in law enforcement as his eyes held a hint of melancholy as he reflected on the decades he spent on the force.
"I was on the job for 35 years—detective for most of that. Now everybody packs it in with a few loose ends, but the Mary Worthington murder—that one still gets me," he admitted, his voice tinged with regret.
"What exactly happened?" Dean inquired, eager for answers.
"You guys said you were reporters?" The detective regarded them with a hint of suspicion
"We know Mary was 19, lived by herself. We know she won a few local beauty contests, dreamt of getting out of Indiana, being an actress. And we know the night of March 29th someone broke into her apartment and murdered her, cut out her eyes with a knife," Nancy recounted, her voice steady despite the grisly details.
"That's right," the detective confirmed, his expression grim.
"See sir, when we asked you what happened, we wanted to know what you think happened," Sam clarified, his eyes meeting the detective's gaze. After successfully convincing the detective, the man then began to pull files out of his cabinet explaining the situation to the trio.
"Technically I'm not supposed to have a copy of this." He opened a file to reveal the picture Nancy, Sam and Dean found on the computer. "Now see that there? T-R-E?"
"Yeah." Dean nodded, his interest piqued.
"I think Mary was trying to spell out the name of her killer," the detective revealed, his voice heavy with implication causing Nancy to lean in, her eyes narrowing with intent.
"You know who it was?" Nancy pressed, eager for more information. The detective pulled out a picture of a man, his expression somber.
"Not for sure. But there was a local man, a surgeon—Trevor Sampson," he explained. "And I think he cut her up good."
"Now why would he do something like that?" Sam questioned, his mind racing with possibilities.
"Her diary mentioned a man that she was seeing. She called him by his initial, 'T'. Well, her last entry, she was gonna tell 'T's' wife about their affair," he revealed, his voice heavy with the weight of the truth.
"Yeah but how do you know it was Sampson who killed her?" Dean pressed, eager for confirmation.
"It's hard to say, but the way her eyes were cut out...it was almost professional," the detective explained, his tone grave.
"But you could never prove it?" Dean asked, a sense of frustration evident in his voice.
"No. No prints, no witnesses. He was meticulous," the detective admitted, his voice tinged with resignation.
"Is he still alive?" Sam inquired, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Nope," he replied, his voice heavy with finality. "If you ask me, Mary spent her last living moments trying to expose this guy's secret. But she never could."
"Where's she buried?" Sam inquired, his tone urgent.
"She wasn't. She was cremated," the detective revealed, his voice tinged with sadness.
"What about that mirror?" Dean interjected, his gaze drawn to the mirror in the picture. "It's not in some evidence lockup somewhere, is it?"
"Ah, no. It was returned to Mary's family a long time ago," the detective explained, his voice tinged with regret. Nancy's expression was thoughtful as she considered their next move.
"You have the names of her family by any chance?" Nancy inquired, her voice filled with determination.
As the trio drove down the road Sam sat in the backseat on his cell phone, his brow furrowed with concern while Nancy sat in the shotgun seat, while Dean focuses on the road, his grip tight on the steering wheel.
"Oh really? Ah, that's too bad Mr. Worthington. I would have paid a lot for that mirror. Okay, well maybe next time. All right, thanks," Sam concludes, his disappointment evident in his tone as he hangs up the phone resulting in Dean to glance at Sam through the rearview mirror, his curiosity piqued.
"So?" Dean prompts, eager for Sam to share the details of the conversation. Sam leans back in his seat, his expression thoughtful.
"So that was Mary's brother. The mirror was in the family for years, until he sold it one week ago to a store called Estate Antiques. A store in Toledo," Sam explains, his voice tinged with realization.
"So wherever the mirror goes, that's where Mary goes?" Dean concludes, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.
"Her spirit's definitely tied up with it somehow," Sam confirms, his voice grave.
"Isn't there an old superstition that says mirrors can capture spirits?" Nancy suggests, her tone thoughtful.
"Yeah, there is. When someone would die in a house, people would cover up the mirrors so the ghost wouldn't get trapped," Sam explains, his voice filled with knowledge.
"So Mary dies in front of a mirror, and it draws in her spirit," Nancy concludes, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.
"Yeah, but how could she move through like a hundred different mirrors?" Sam wonders aloud, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
"I don't know, but if the mirror is the source, I say we find it and smash it," Dean declares, his voice resolute but Sam's phone interrupts their conversation, and his expression shifts to one of concern as he answers the call.
"Hello?" he says, the worry evident in his voice. "Charlie?" he repeats, the concern deepening as he listens to the voice on the other end of the line.
As the group arrived at their temporary home, they found Charlie standing outside waiting and so the trio rushed her in and as Sam, Nancy, and Dean moved quickly, drawing the curtains shut and covering the mirrors with sheets, doing everything they could to shield Charlie from any reflective surfaces. They then turned around to see Charlie sitting on the bed, her head buried in her knees. This caused Nancy to approach Charlie gently, her voice soothing.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. Hey, you can open up your eyes, Charlie. It's okay, all right?" Nancy reassured, her hand resting gently on Charlie's shoulder. Charlie lifted her head slowly, her eyes filled with fear and uncertainty. "Now listen. You're gonna stay right here on this bed, and you're not gonna look at glass, or anything else that has a reflection, okay? And as long as you do that, she cannot get you" Nancy explained, her voice firm yet comforting.
"But I can't keep that up forever. I'm gonna die, aren't I?" Charlie whispered, her voice trembling with fear causing Sam to move closer, his voice filled with reassurance.
"No. No. Not anytime soon," Sam promised, his hand resting on Charlie's knee in a gesture of support as Dean joined them on the bed, his expression serious.
"All right, Charlie. We need to know what happened," Dean insisted, his tone gentle but firm.
"We were in the bathroom. Donna said it," Charlie began, her voice shaky as she recounted the terrifying encounter making Nancy shake her head gently.
"That's not what we're talking about. Something happened, didn't it? In your life...a secret...where someone got hurt. Can you tell us about it?" Nancy pressed, her voice gentle but insistent.
"I had this boyfriend. I loved him. But he kind of scared me too, you know?" Charlie started, her voice quivering with emotion. "And one night, at his house, we got in this fight. Then I broke up with him, and he got upset, and he said he needed me and he loved me, and he said 'Charlie, if you walk out that door right now, I'm gonna kill myself.' And you know what I said?" she paused, her voice choked with tears. "I said 'Go ahead.' And I left. How could I say that? How could I leave him like that? I just...I didn't believe him, you know? I should have," she admitted, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her face. Nancy wrapped her arms around Charlie, providing comfort and support as she cried.
"It's okay, Charlie. It's not your fault," Nancy reassured, her voice soft and soothing, as the weight of Charlie's confession hung heavy in the air as she glanced at the Winchesters knowingly who held the same expression as Charlie cried into the girls embrace.
After getting Charlie situated, Sam, Nancy, and Dean drove to the store in the rain, the windshield wipers swiping back and forth as the downpour intensifies.
"You know her boyfriend killing himself, that's not really Charlie's fault," Dean speaks up, his eyes focused on the road ahead.
"You know as well as I do spirits don't exactly see shades of gray, Dean. Charlie had a secret, someone died, that's good enough for Mary," Sam replies, his voice tinged with concern.
"I guess," Dean concedes, his mind racing with thoughts.
"You know, I've been thinking. It might not be enough to just smash that mirror," Sam suggests, his brow furrowed with thought resulting in Nancy to turn to him, her expression curious.
"Why, what do you mean?" Nancy asks, eager for more details.
"Well, Mary's hard to pin down, right? I mean she moves around from mirror to mirror so who's to say that she's not just gonna keep hiding in them forever? So maybe we should try to pin her down, you know, summon her to her mirror and then smash it," Sam explains, his voice filled with uncertainty causing Dean to pull the car over suddenly, his expression intense.
"Well how do you know that's going to work?" Dean demands, glancing over at Sam.
"I don't, not for sure," Sam admits, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
"Well who's gonna summon her?" Dean asks, his voice tinged with concern.
"I will. She'll come after me," Sam declares, his eyes reflecting his determination.
"You know what, that's it," Dean declares, his voice firm as he turns to face Sam. "This is about Jessica, isn't it? You think that's your dirty little secret that you killed her somehow? Sam, this has got to stop, man. I mean the nightmares and calling her name out in the middle of the night—it's gonna kill you. Now listen to me—It wasn't your fault. If you wanna blame something, then blame the thing that killed her. Or hell, why don't you take a swing at me? I mean I'm the one that dragged you away from her in the first place," he pleads, his voice filled with emotion.
"I don't blame you," Sam admits, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Well, you shouldn't blame yourself, because there's nothing you could've done," Nancy reassures glancing over at him in comfort.
"I could've warned her," Sam confesses, his voice filled with guilt.
"About what? You didn't know what was gonna happen! And besides, all of this isn't a secret, I mean we know all about it. It's not gonna work with Mary anyway," Dean insists, his tone gentle but firm.
"No you don't," Sam admits, his voice filled with uncertainty.
"We don't what?" Dean asks, his voice tinged with confusion.
"You guys don't know all about it. I haven't told you everything," Sam reveals causing Nancy's eyes to widen with surprise.
"What are you talking about?" Nancy demands, her voice tinged with concern.
"Well it wouldn't really be a secret if I told you, would it?" Sam replies, his voice tinged with determination. Dean looks taken aback by Sam's revelation, his expression filled with concern.
"No. I don't like it. It's not gonna happen, forget it," Dean declares, his tone firm.
"Dean, that girl back there is going to die unless we do something about it. And you know what? Who knows how many more people are gonna die after that? Now we're doing this. You've got to let me do this," he insists, his voice filled with urgency. Nancy glanced between the two brothers, her eyes landing on Sam's. He met her gaze with pleading eyes, silently urging her to support his plan. Inhaling deeply, Nancy exhaled nervously before nodding, turning towards Dean.
"I think it's a good idea, the best one we've got anyways," Nancy voiced her agreement, her tone filled with determination causing Dean's expression to shift to one of surprise as he processed Nancy's words.
"You too?" Dean questioned, his voice tinged with disbelief.
"Listen, it's a small shop, right? Me and you will be right around the corner if anything happens, which it won't," Nancy reassured, her voice steady despite her own inner hesitations. Sensing Dean's lingering doubt, she sighed softly. "You wanted me along for the ride? Well, in order to do that you've got to trust me, Dean," she reminded him, her tone gentle but firm. The two stared at each other, a silent exchange passing between them. Nancy's gaze remained unwavering, her determination clear. Dean glanced at his little brother, then back at Nancy, before swallowing nervously.
"Fine, I'm trusting you. Don't make me regret it," Dean relented, his voice laced with cautious acceptance as Nancy offered him a small smile, her confidence unwavering.
"You know better than anyone you won't," Nancy assured him, her tone filled with assurance. Dean let out a small smirk, a hint of amusement in his eyes, as he put the car in drive once again and took off towards the store. Nancy glanced at Sam, who looked at her thankfully. She smiled in response before settling into her seat, watching the rain fall down the windows as she listened to the rock music fill the car, preparing herself for what lay ahead.
Once they arrived at the store, Nancy and Dean stood behind Sam as he focused on the lock before him. With practiced precision, he worked at it, the tension palpable in the quiet room. Finally, the lock gave way, and the door creaked open, revealing rows upon rows of mirrors stretching into the darkness beyond.
"Well...that's just great," Dean muttered, his voice tinged with annoyance. He held the picture up to one of the mirrors, scanning the reflections for any sign of their target. "All right let's start looking."
As the group separated and fanned out through the shop searching for the specific mirror they needed Dean spoke up, "Maybe they've already sold it," he mused, the frustration evident in his tone. But Nancy's flashlight came to an abrupt stop, its beam illuminating a mirror that seemed to draw her gaze like a magnet.
"I don't think so," Nancy countered, her voice trembling slightly with uncertainty this caused Dean and Sam to waste no time in joining her. As Dean glanced at the photograph in his hand serving as a grim reminder of their mission, he compared the image to the mirror before them, a sense of resignation washed over him.
"That's it," Dean confirmed before turning to Sam, Dean's expression betrayed his doubts.
"You sure about this?" Dean questioned, his uncertainty mirrored in his eyes as he accepted the flashlight from his brother. Sam's resolve wavered for a moment, uncertainty flickering in his eyes. But with a determined exhale, he repeated the name, his voice a solemn invocation of the entity they sought to confront.
"Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary." Sam chanted as Dean's gaze lingered on Sam for a moment longer, his apprehension palpable. Yet as he did so, out of the corner of their eyes they noticed a distant light filtering through the store.
"I'll go check that out," Dean declared, his voice firm despite the unease that gnawed at him. "Stay here, both of you, be careful."
As Dean vanished into the shadows, Sam and Nancy exchanged a glance, their apprehension mirrored in each other's eyes. With a shared nod, they readied their weapons ready for Bloody Mary to make her appearance.
As their eyes darted around the array of mirrors, Sam's focus honed in on Mary's shifting presence, determined to end her spectral rampage. With a swift, decisive motion, he brought the crowbar crashing down upon the mirror housing her reflection, shattering it into a thousand glittering shards.
"Come on. Come into this one," Sam urged, his voice laced with a mixture of desperation and defiance. But as he gazed into the mirror before him, his reflection took on a sinister life of its own, morphing into a distorted manifestation of his darkest fears. Sam gasped as he felt a sudden tightness in his chest, a trickle of blood oozing from his eye.
"It's your fault. You killed her," the reflection accused, its words a haunting echo of past guilt and regret. "You never told her the truth—who you really were."
Sam staggered, the weight of his own self-condemnation bearing down upon him like a leaden burden. As he fell to the ground, Nancy's worried exclaims pierced through the haze of his pain. Quickly she smashed the mirror and fell to his side.
"Sam? Sammy!" Nancy exclaimed, her voice trembling with concern.
"What the hell happened? Sammy?!" Dean exasperated as his arrival was swift, his face masked with worry as he knelt beside them.
"It's SAM," Sam corrected weakly, his voice strained with exertion. Concern etched into every line of his features, Dean's gaze fell upon the blood that stained Sam's face.
"God, are you okay?" Dean asked, his voice thick with concern.
With Dean's support, Sam struggled to his feet, the trio beginning their retreat from the haunted shop. But their escape was short-lived, as Mary emerged from the shattered remains of the mirror frame, her ethereal form creeping closer with each agonizing step.
They recoiled in horror as Mary's presence enveloped them, a cascade of blood streaming from their faces as her malevolent influence took hold. With desperate determination, Dean seized a nearby mirror, forcing Mary to confront her own reflection.
"You killed them! All those people! You killed them!" the reflection accused, its voice a chilling condemnation of Mary's sins. As Mary began to choke and writhe in agony, her form melting into a grotesque puddle of blood, Dean cast aside the mirror in disgust, its shattered fragments scattering across the floor. Breathless and shaken, they huddled together amidst the wreckage, their relief palpable yet tinged with the lingering specter of dread.
"Hey guys?" Dean spoke up, his voice a shaky attempt at levity.
"Yeah?" Sam responded, his tone weary yet relieved as Nancy hummed in acknowledgment glancing at Dean curiously.
"This has got to be like...what? 600 years of bad luck?" Dean's lips curled into a wry smile causing the trio to let out a light weak chuckle as Dean's punchline.
After completing their hunt, the trio drove Charlie back to her house and as they did so Charlie's voice broke the silence.
"So this is really over?" Charlie inquired with a hint of uncertainty.
"Yeah, it's over." Nancy nodded, her expression solemn yet resolute.
Charlie offered a grateful smile before gathering her belongings and stepping out of the car. Dean reached back to shake her hand, a silent gesture of farewell. But as Charlie turned to leave, Sam spoke up.
"Charlie? Your boyfriend's death...you really should try to forgive yourself. No matter what you did, you probably couldn't have stopped it. Sometimes bad things just happen." Sam offered his words carrying a weight of empathy and understanding. A faint smile tugged at the corners of Charlie's lips as she absorbed Sam's words, a glimmer of hope flickering in her eyes. With a nod of gratitude, she turned and disappeared into the safety of her home, leaving behind the shadows of her past.
As they drove away, Nancy casted a proud, knowing smile in Sam's direction, a silent acknowledgment of the wisdom he had imparted.
"That's good advice," Dean remarked hitting the younger boy on the arm gently as they drive off "Hey, Sam?"
"Yeah?" Sam responded, glancing at his brother.
"Now that this is all over, I want you to tell us what that secret is," Dean pressed, his voice earnest.
"But only if you feel comfortable doing so." Nancy chimed in, her voice soft and supportive.
"Look...you're guys are my family and I'd die for both of you," Sam began, "But there are some things I need to keep to myself."
And with that the weight of their unspoken truths hanging between them like an invisible barrier and as they continued to drive off onto the stretched out road onto their next adventure, Nancy's gaze met Dean's, and she found herself returning his smile, a silent exchange of admiration amidst the strains of soft rock music that filled the car. In that moment, as the world blurred past outside the windows and the music wove its magic through the air, Nancy felt a sense of gratitude for the companionship of her fellow hunters. Despite the dangers they faced and the secrets they carried, they were united by a bond that could only be broken by death and for this Nancy couldn't be more grateful for.