Ghostfacers!
Everyone was storming through the house, yelling for Sam and Corbett. We made our way upstairs, all veering off into different rooms.
"Sammy!" Dean yelled.
We continued searching, yelling for both missing men until it went relatively quiet as we looked.
"Hey, hey, hey, Saige. Come here." Millie whispered, nodding toward the corner.
"What? Did you find something?" I asked, rubbing Evie's back as I moved closer.
"Some drama that's getting ready to go down." Millie answered, peeking around the corner.
In the next room, Maggie and Harry were making out. Spruce walked by then, camera pointed at them as he hummed a song.
"Take a good long look in the mirror, sister, because they're about to die and they're getting it on. Remind you of anyone?" Millie asked.
"Where exactly did you feel Sam's hand before he went missing?" I asked.
Millie flushed, glaring at me. "He accidently grabbed my hand when the lights went out, fuck off."
Ed walked through the hall then, catching Maggie and Harry and making them jump apart. "My best friend...and my best sister."
"Ed--" Harry began.
"Harry."
"Ed."
"Harry."
"Ed. Listen, Ed--"
"Are you banging my sister?"
Maggie scoffed.
"No!" Harry stated. "No."
"Hold my glasses." Ed handed his glasses to Spruce.
"You got it." Spruce kept the camera on them all as he took the glasses.
"Ed, Ed, Ed!" Harry yelled as Ed ran toward him, diving forward to throw a not so great punch.
Maggie tired to pull them apart as they...fought, if that's what you want to call it. It was more like just swatting at one another but whatever.
"What are you two standing around for?" Dean asked, moving toward Millie and I.
"Cat fight." Millie answered.
"It's kinda funny." I added.
Dean sighed, moving into the room. "Hey, hey, hey!" He ripped the two men apart with ease. "The fuck are you doing? Cut it out. We're down by two people." He rolled his eyes, turning and walking out of the room. He passed by me, smiling softly. "Show's over, sweetheart."
I turned to follow him as he yelled out for Sam.
___
We made our way back to base-camp-living-room and Dean went straight for the box of papers we'd left there.
"Dean, what are you doing?" Harry asked.
"Okay, so Daggett was a Cold-War nut." Dean stated, digging through papers as I held a flashlight for him.
"That's helpful?" Millie asked.
"He was an amateur taxidermist." Dean continued. "He liked to slow dance with cadavers and all he ate was C-rations. So what the hell are we looking for?"
"I think I'd rather slow dance with an alien."
"You got a point." I nodded. Evie whimpered as she rested her head against my shoulder. She was tired but with all the yelling, she couldn't sleep.
"Ladies, attention on the pressing matter at hand, please." Dean demanded, giving Millie and I a look.
"A horrible life." Maggie mumbled.
"A lonely life." Dean agreed. "A cold war life." He paused for a moment. "He was scared." He dropped the paper he held and ran off. I followed. "He was scared."
"Scared of what?" Ed asked as everyone else ran after us, yelling questions.
Dean led us all to the basement door . "Guys like Daggett back then, the ones scared of the Russkies, they built bomb shelters. I'm guessing he's got one."
"You think that's where Sammy is?" Millie asked.
"It's our best guess." I told her.
"I'll bet you it's in the basement." Dean pushed open the door.
I sighed, hating the idea, but turned to Maggie. "Since you'll be furthest from danger, hold Evie, will you?"
"Don't trust these nutjobs with her." Dean told me.
"We'll be less than five feet away." I told him. "If the ghost comes after us, she'll be further from it."
Maggie took her. "Just--Just hold her?"
"Yeah." I nodded as I followed Dean into the basement with Millie and Spruce behind me.
The door slammed shut as we started down the stairs.
"That is not funny. How many times--?" Ed yelled through the door as he tried to open the now locked door.
"Um, who closed the door?" Spruce asked.
"It did." Dean stomped back up the stairs to the door. "It wants to separate us. Ed, listen to me!" He called through the door. "There's some salt in my duffle. Make a circle and get inside."
It was quiet for a moment.
"Inside your duffle bag?" Ed asked.
"In the salt, you idiot!" Dean snapped. "If there's so much as a hair out of place on my kid's head when I get back, I will kill you all!"
I smiled a little as Dean continued down the stairs, setting his hand on my waist as he did so.
We all wandered around the basement, passing by deer heads that hung on the walls, cobwebs covering everything and shelves full of junk.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" Spruce asked.
"What?" Dean asked.
"Earlier, you and Sam. He said you had two months left?"
"It's complicated." Dean stated.
I tried not to think about it. I tried to keep my hope alive but time was moving too quickly and we still couldn't save him. I couldn't breathe when I thought about it.
"A while ago, Sam--" Dean began, then noticed the camera Spruce held that was on and filming everything. He chuckled. "No, no, no. I'm not gonna whine about my goddamn problems to some fucking reality show. I'm gonna do my fucking job." He walked away.
"Is it cancer?" Spruce asked.
"Shut up." Dean snapped. He stopped by a wall. "You hear that?"
I moved closer. "Is that...Is that music?" I asked.
"It's coming from behind this wall." Dean stated. "Baby, the flashlight."
"Oh, right." I took it from him as he moved toward the large metal locker that sat against the wall. He handed me his gun before grabbing the side of the locker and shoving it out of the way to reveal a door.
"Wow, you're strong." Spruce said.
Dean turned to give the camera his middle finger.
I smiled, handing him the flashlight and gun back. "He's not wrong, though." I whispered, smiling up at Dean as I gave his arm a squeeze. "You are pretty strong, chisel chest."
Dean winked at me before turning to pry the door open. He stepped inside. "Sam!" He shot at Daggett, who then disappeared.
Corbett was dead, sitting at a table with three other dead bodies. Sam sat at one end with blood dripping from his lip and eyebrow and a crushed party hat on his head.
Millie laughed. "Looking good, Sammy."
Dean moved to untie Sam.
___
"What's this Daggett guy's problem anyway?" Spruce asked as we made our way toward the basement stairs.
"Loneliness." Sam answered, a nasty red mark forming under his eye.
"Has he never heard of a RealDoll?" Dean asked.
"Dean."I complained.
"No, no, no. Daggett was the Normal Bates, stuff your mother kind of lonely." Sam corrected. "That's why he lifted these bodies from the morgue. He threw himself a birthday party, except they were the only ones who would come. Anyway, so at midnight, he sealed them in the bomb shelter and went upstairs and OD'd on horse tranqs."
"How do you know this?" Dean asked.
"Did the lore tell you?" Millie teased.
"Because he told me." Sam corrected as blood dropped from the corner of his eye.
"Oh." Dean said. "Okay, so now that he's dead, what, same song, different verse, trying to get people to come to his party?"
"Pretty much, yeah. Stay forever."
"Those real bullets?" Spruce asked as Dean loaded them into the gun.
"It's rock salt." Dean answered.
___
Dean slammed the metal pole he'd found against the door repeatedly as he tried to break it open.
"Seriously?" Sam asked, looking at Spruce and the camera. "You're still shooting?"
"It makes him feel better. Don't ask." Dean said.
"Wow." Millie mumbled.
"Come on, Dean-O, summon your strength." I told him. "Use those big, manly man muscles."
Dean gave me a look. "How about I use 'em to shut you up?"
"Sounds like a plan to me." I smiled. "Though I can't promise I'll be quiet."
"You two are disgusting." Millie said.
"Thank you." Sam exclaimed.
"Oh, hell, guys. Get in your ghost role thing." Spruce said. "Something's coming." He turned, only to be grabbed by Daggett. He was thrown across the room.
Sam shot at Daggett, making the ghost disappear.
"Take it easy, alright." Sam told Spruce as he stumbled to his feet.
"Uh, guys." Spruce said.
Dean turned only to be throw into a wall.
Suddenly I was landing in a heap against a wall, hitting my head hard and the world went dark.
When I came to moments later, I saw Corbett's ghost run at Daggett, making them both go up in flames.
"You alright, dude?" Spruce asked as Dean stood.
He crossed the room to me, grabbing my arm and pulling me up easily. "Come on, up you go." He said, brushing his thumb over my bleeding lip.
We moved toward Sam as he stood.
Dean looked at Spruce, who still held the camera, and placed his hand over the lense.
___
"Leap year, February 29th, the Morton House." Ed's voiceover said as the episode came near an end. I watched as the footage showed up all exiting the house at sunrise. "A tragic day. A day of souls bound in torment of lives held in cruel balance."
On camera, Dean rolled his eyes as in the background Harry and Maggie hugged.
"But the Ghostfacers, they did the best that they could." Ed's voiceover continued.
"We lost a beloved friend." Harry's voiceover said as Sam handed Ed a paper with our number on it. "But we gained new allies."
"We know this much." Ed said. "That every day, including today, is a new beginning.
The footage cut to Ed and Harry sitting at a fireplace in suits just like they had been at the beginning of the pilot episode of their tv show.
"We learned more than we can say in the brutal feat of the Morton House." Ed continued.
"The Ghostfacers were forced to face something far more scary than ghosts." Harry added. "They were forced to face themselves."
"War changes man." Ed said.
"And Maggie."
"War changes man...and one woman." Ed scoffed. "You know, Corbett, we just...Oh, gosh, we just like to think that you're out there watching over us."
"As far as we're concerned, you're not an intern anymore." Harry said. "You have more than earned full Ghostfacer status...Plus, it'd be cool to have a ghost on the team."
"Yeah." Ed agreed. "And here we were, thinking that, you know, we were teaching you, and all this time you were teaching us...about heart...about dedication. About...how gay love can pierce through the veil of death and save the day. Thank you, Alan J. Corbett."
"Go well into that starry night, young Turk." Harry said. "Go well."
Then there was a montage of moments throughout the episode of Corbett and him saying that tonight all of their dreams would come true.
The screen went dark and the words 'In Memory of Alan J. Corbett, 1985-2008. King Of The Impossible' flashed across the screen.
Sam, Dean, Millie and I shared a look as we sat in front of the computer where the Ghostfacers were playing their episode they'd put together from the footage they'd gotten.
We relived every moment, watching ourselves in the show as well as we sat in the house they were staying at.
"So, guys, what do you think?" Ed asked.
Dean laughed a little as Evie slept against his chest. "You know, I kind of think it was half awesome."
"Half awesome. That's full on good, right?" Maggie asked.
"It was totally...something." I nodded.
"Yeah. I mean, it's bizarre how y'all are able to, uh, to honor Corbett's memory while grossly exploiting the manner of his death." Sam said. "Well done."
"Yeah, it's kind of impressive." Millie shrugged.
"Yeah. No, it's a real tight rope you guys are walking." Dean agreed, purposely leaving the duffle bag a little too close to the equipment as he stood.
We all made our way to the door.
"No, that's reality, man." Ed said. "Yeah. Corbett gave his life searching for the truth and it is our job over here to share it with the world."
"Right." Sam said. "Well, um, our experience: know what you get when you show the world the truth?"
"A straightjacket or a punch in the face." Dean filled in. "Sometimes both."
"Right." Harry scoffed. "Come on, guys. Don't be Facer Haters because we happened to have gotten the footage of the century."
We shared a look.
"You got us there." Dean muttered. "Yeah, well, we'll see you guys around."
We made our way outside and to the car.
"We clean?" Sam asked.
"No!" Yelling from inside the house echoed. Meaning we destroyed all evidence of that footage and those events.
"Electromagnet. Wiped out every tape and hard drive they have." Dean stated as I buckled a still sleeping Evie into her carseat.
"You are so smart." I patted his shoulder, leaning forward to kiss his cheek as he started the car.
"World just isn't ready for the Ghostfacers." Sam stated.
"It's too bad. I kind of liked the show." Dean said.
Sam scoffed. "Had its moments."