When I opened my eyes I was in the park in my lucid dream and breathed a sigh of relief feeling happy that Bloody Mary was no where in sight. I guess Jane was right my fear can't haunt me in my sleep now that I came clean to my brothers.
I looked at the bench and there was Jane writing in her journal. I walked over and sat next to her while saying,"Thanks for your help, I told my brothers and it worked."
She smiled and nodded at me. Then she returned to writing in her journal.
"Hey, If I were to ask you about who you are.... would you answer?" I asked while looking over at her.
I was hoping she would just tell me who she was or at least give me clue.
When she didn't respond or look up from her journal I said, "Okay, I guess you're back to giving me the silent treatment. I figure you must have a really good reason for keeping your identity a secret, so I won't ask anymore questions about who you are. I figure that's the least I could do after all you've done to save me so many times. I mean I know you don't want to hurt me and that all you want to do is help me. I can sense it as weird as that sounds. It's confusing these..... abilities."
She smiled while turning to me and placing her journal in my hands. I looked at what she had written inside and read it aloud, "Do not doubt your abilities or your senses they will reveal the truth."
"Sounds like a fortune cookie." I said with a smile as I looked at her while handing her back her journal.
"Now wake up!" Jane said while closing her journal and walking away.
Then the dream began to fade and I was brought back into the real world.
Suddenly I felt someone nudge my arm.
"Ella, Ella wake up." I heard Sammy's voice say.
I opened my eyes and looked at the clock it was 4:30 in the morning. I closed my eyes and groaned while saying,"Why so early Sammy?"
"Come on, get up. I figured something out."Sam said while walking over towards Dean who was passed out.
I sat up quickly and threw my pillow at Sam. I managed to nail him right in the face which caused me to laugh while covering my mouth.
"What was that for?" Sam asked while glaring at me.
"Shush, I have an idea." I said with a mischievous grin while looking at Dean.
"I know that smile Ella, What are you up to?" Sam asked quietly with an eyebrow raised.
"Don't tell me you never wanted to get Dean back for all those times he woke us up with ice cold water?"I said while shivering at the thought of the countless times Dean did that to me.
Sam smirked and nodded while saying,"Okay."
I got up quickly and ran to get two big glasses of ice cold water from the kitchen. I walked over to Sam and handed him a glass.
"Okay let's do this on three."Sam said while looking over at Dean.
I nodded with a big smirk on my face while holding my glass.
Sam began to count,"One, two..."
"The next word that comes out of your mouth better not be three and if I feel one drop of water you're both gonna get it." Dean said with his eyes closed.
Sam and I both looked at each other in shock.
"How did you know?" Sam asked in disbelief with an eyebrow raised.
"You both have so much to learn young grasshoppers."Dean said with a big grin on his face while sitting up.
I shook my head and said,"Not fair you always do this to us."
"What's not fair is neither of you gave me a warning. I always give you two a warning, but you both don't listen to it, which is why you both end up getting doused in water." Dean said while pointing at Sam and I.
Sam and I sighed in defeat knowing that he was right. Sam took the glass of ice water from my hands while saying,"Sorry Ella."
Then he went to the kitchen to dump the water out. Dean smirked at me. I stuck my tongue out at him which only caused him to laugh while saying,"You don't have to be such a sore loser El."
"I'm not."I wined while walking over to my bag and grabbing some clothes.
"You're acting like a little kid."Dean said with a chuckle.
I glared at him while saying, "I'm not acting."
Sam laughed while saying,"She's got you there Dean."
"Whatever."Dean said while rolling his eyes.
"I hope there's still hot water when I'm done taking my shower." I said as I laughed while running into the bathroom.
"Hey!" I heard Sam and Dean shout in unison.
When I shut the bathroom door I could hear Dean yelling,"There better be hot water when I get in there Squirt."
I peaked my head out the bathroom door and stuck my tongue out at him. He threw his pillow at me and I closed the door right before it could hit my face.
"Damn so close." Dean said from the other side of the door. Then I heard Sammy laughing and Dean telling him to shut his pie hole. Which only made me laugh and want some pie.
I took a quick shower and got changed. When I entered the room I still couldn't get over how early it was and by the look on Dean's face neither could he.
I walked over to my bag and put away my pajamas. Then I pulled out my journal and sat down on the bed so I could draw, while my brothers got ready. Once we were all ready to go we left the motel and stopped at a Bakery, so we could get some breakfast to go. Dean and I were bummed that they didn't have any pie, but they did have other pastries.
Sam and Dean got coffee & donuts. I ended up getting a delicious chocolate chip muffin and a hot chocolate. I really need my sugar fix or I was gonna go crazy.
As we drove over to Zach's house I devoured my muffin. When I was done I pulled out my journal and continued to work on my new drawing. The only thing I could make out in the drawing were the eyes. They looked similar to the way I did them in the first drawing which meant this definitely had something to do with the case we were on. When we pulled up to Zach's house we parked in the back. Sam was the first one to get out of the car. I put my journal away before getting out of the car. Then I walked over and stood next to Dean as he leaned against the front of the impala.
I sipped on my hot chocolate while trying to keep my eyes open.
"I hate getting up super early in the morning." I said as I leaned my head against Dean's arm.
"Me too." Dean said as he put an arm around my shoulder.
Then he glared at Sam while saying,"Alight so what are we doing here at 5:30 in the morning?"
Sam looked at us and replied,"I realized something, the videotape shows the killer going in, but not coming out."
"So he came out the back door?" Dean said before taking a sip from his coffee.
Sam nodded and replied,"Right, so there should be a trail to follow. A trail the police would never pursue."
"Cause they think the killer never left and they caught your friend Zach inside. I still don't see what we're doin' here at 5:30 in the morning." Dean said while glaring at Sammy.
"Me too." I said while yawning.
All of a sudden I smelt that disgusting smell from yesterday. I got up and walked towards it. The closer I got to where Sam was the stronger it got. I stood next to him and seen a bloody handprint on the telephone pole he was looking at.
"Blood." I said while inspecting the handprint.
"Somebody came this way."Sam said while pointing to the telephone pole.
Then Dean came over and examined the bloody handprint.
We looked around to see if there was a blood trail that could lead us to where they went.
"The trail ends. I don't see anything over here."Dean said while glancing over at Sammy and I.
Suddenly the disgusting smell seemed to be getting stronger as I walked away from my brothers.
I looked down at a manhole cover that lead to the sewer as I bent down the smell seemed to be getting stronger. I thought maybe it's just the sewage.
Then we heard an ambulance go by and looked at each other wondering if this was related to the case. We followed the sound of the ambulance and went to go see what was going on.
The ambulance and a couple of cop cars were outside of a house. We could see a man being taken away in handcuffs by the police. He looked strangely familiar; like I had seem him before. Then it clicked he was the first drawing I did when we began this case. He was the random guy I drew twice in my journal.
Dean went to a lady that was watching near by and asked,"What happened?"
She looked at Dean and replied,"He tried to kill his wife. He tied her up and beat her."
"Really?" Sam asked in disbelief.
"I used to see him going to work in the morning. He'd wave, say hello. He seemed like such a nice guy."She said while watching as her neighbor was placed in the back of the police cruiser.
As we walked back to the Impala I told Sam and Dean about how that guy the police just arrested for beating his wife was the same guy from a drawing I did in my journal when we first started this case. When we got back to the car I pulled out my journal and all three of us looked at the drawing. Suddenly it made sense why I drew two of him as I said,"He must have a doppleganger too just like Zach."
"Probably Ella and I wouldn't be surprised if these two incidents were related." Sam said while looking at my journal.
Then Dean came up with a plan. He told Sam and I go check out the house from the latest incident while he talked to the police.
Sam and I snuck to the back of the house and looked around for anything out of the ordinary.
"You find anything?"I asked while glancing over at him.
"Nope, You?" He said while shaking his head.
"A whole lot of nothing. Maybe we should check the front."I said while pointing to the front of the house.
"Alright let's go." Sam said in agreement. Then we made our way to the front doing our best not to draw attention to ourselves.
"Okay, the coast is clear Sammy, I got your back." I said as I stood guard and became the lookout in case anyone walked by while Sam checked for clues.
"Thanks Ella." Sam said as he looked around the front yard.
"No prob." I said while making sure no one was looking at us.
I smiled when I seen Dean coming and said,"Dean's here."
Dean walked over to us and said,"Well, I just talked to the patrolman who was first on the scene, heard this guy, Alex's story. Apparently the dude was driving home from a business trip when his wife was attacked."
"So, he was two places at once."I said with my eyebrow raised.
"Exactly, then he sees himself in the house, police think he's a nut job."Dean said while looking at Sam and I.
"Two dark doubles attacking loved ones in exactly the same way." Sam said with while furrowing his brow.
"That's not a coincidence." I said while shaking my head.
Dean looked at me and said,"Yeah, it could be the same thing doin' it too."
"So what exactly are we dealing with here?" I said while looking up at Sam and Dean.
"Shapeshifter? Sam said while looking at Dean as he shrugged.
"Something that can make itself look like anyone?"I said while crossing my arms over my chest.
"Every culture in the world has a shapeshifter lore. You know, legends of creatures who can transform themselves into animals or other men." Dean explained.
"Sounds like a shapeshifter to me." I said while thinking about the description that Dean said and everything that has happened so far.
Sam nodded and said,"Yeah, skinwalkers, werewolves."
"We've got two attacks within blocks of of each other. I'm guessing we've got a shapeshifter prowlin' the neighborhood." Dean said while looking around to make sure no one was listening.
"Let me ask you this..in all this shapeshifter lore, can any of them fly?" Sam said with an eyebrow raised.
I opened my eyes wide in shock as I turned to Dean and asked,"Can they?"
Dean shook his head and said,"Not that I know of."
I breathed a sigh of relief and said,"Oh good, cause that would be creepy."
"Let me show you guys something." Sam said while going around to the back of the house.
Then he pointed to the back door of the house and said,"I picked up the trail here...someone ran out the back of this building and headed off this way."
"Just like your friend's house." Dean said as he followed Sam.
"Yeah and just like Zach's house, the trail suddenly ends. I mean, whatever it is just disappeared."Sam said while stopping where the trail ended.
Then I smelt that disgusting smell again. I was like a freaking blood hound following a horrible scent. I walked towards the smell and found that it lead to another manhole cover to the sewer.
I bent down and looked at the cover while saying,"Hey guys there's another way to go...down."
They both came over to me and looked at the manhole cover.
"Ladies first."Dean said while removing the cover.
I shrugged and stepped forward. Right when I was about to go down into the sewer Dean grabbed me by my arm and yanked me back while saying,"No what are you doing?"
"What, you said ladies first." I said feeling really confused while looking at Dean.
He shook his head and smirked while saying,"I was talking to Samantha."
"Ha ha very funny Dean."Sam said while glaring at Dean.
I laughed uncontrollably, but stopped when Sam glared at me.
Sam went down first followed by Dean, then me. Once we reached the bottom let's just say it smelt so gross I wanted to puke.
I covered my nose with my hand and followed my brothers.
Sam cleared his throat and said,"I bet this runs right by Zach's house too. The shapeshifter could be using the sewer system to get around."
"I think you're right look at this." Dean said while pointing to a pile of what looked like vomit and blood.
"Is this from his victims?" Sam asked while Dean poked the disgusting pile with his knife.
I turned away and said,"Dude that's just gross."
The smell was getting to me. My eyes were watering and I felt really nauseous. Dean was not making it any better when he said,"Hey guys I just had a sick thought. When the shapeshifter changes shape maybe it sheds."
"That's sick." Sam said while looking at Dean who had some of the stuff on his knife.
Then he had a big smirk on his face while he came to my side and showed me a little too close for comfort. I closed my eyes while saying,"I swear if you don't get that out of my face right now I'm literally gonna puke all over you."
"Okay, How about we go up top? El can breath some fresh air and we can regroup." Dean said as he cleaned his knife and put it away.
"I like that plan, anything to get away from that really gross smell." I said while walking back to where we came in from.
Once we were out of the sewer I was happy to breathe some fresh air.
"You look better El."Dean said while looking at me.
"My lungs thank you Dee."I said with a big smile.
Dean opened up the Impala's trunk and started to grab some weapons.
He loaded a gun while saying,"Well, one thing I learned from Dad, is that no matter what kind of shapeshifter it is, there's one sure way to kill it."
"Silver bullet to the heart." Sam and I said in unison.
"That's right."Dean said while smiling like a proud father.
Then a cell phone started to ring. Sam pulled his out of his pocket and answered it. After he was done talking he put his phone back into his pocket while looking really upset. He told us that it was Rebecca that called. She was mad, because she found out that we lied about Dean being a detective. She went to her lawyer and told him that we went to the crime scene saying that it was okay because Dean was a detective. When her lawyer did a background checked he found out that Dean wasn't a real detective and that we may have ruined Zach's case by going into a sealed crime scene.
"I tried to tell her I was sorry, but she hung up on me." Sam said looking really sad.
I walked over to him and gave him a hug while saying,"Sorry Sammy."
He sighed and hugged me back.
Dean looked at Sam and I while saying,"I hate to say it, but that's exactly what I'm talking about. You lie to your friends, because if they knew the real you, they'd be freaked. It's just.... it'd be easier if...."
"If I was like you." Sam said while shaking his head. I bit my lip while listening to my brothers talk.
"Hey, man like it or not, you, El and I... we're not like other people, but I'll tell you one thing. This whole gig, it ain't without perks." Dean said while handing a gun to Sam. He took it and tucked it into his jeans.
Then Dean handed a gun to me loaded with silver bullets. I grabbed it and put it in my pocket.
"Alright let's go. El stay close no running off." Dean said while looking right at me before we went back down into the sewer.
Once we enter the stinky disgusting sewer we pulled out our flashlights and held out our guns ready to gank a shifter. Sam was in front while I was in the middle and Dean brought up the rear.
"I think we're close to it's lair." Dean said as he looked at Sam and I.
"What gave it away the fantastic aroma that seems to be getting stronger with every step we take." I said sarcastically while trying not to gag on the nauseating smell.
"No, it's because there's another puke inducing pile next to Sam's face."Dean said with a smirk while pointing at Sam.
"Oh God!" Sam said sounding really grossed out.
Even though I was on the verge of puking my guts out Sammy's face when he seen the pile made me laugh so hard.
As Dean and I approached Sam we could see the shifters lair. There were piles of skin and blood all over the place. The smell was unlike anything I've ever smelt before and it kept getting stronger the longer we stayed down here. I couldn't wait until we finished getting the shapeshifter, so we could get out of here and breathe some fresh air.
"Wow, how long do you think this has been going on?" Sam asked while pointing to a large pile of clothes in the corner of the room.
"By the way this place looks like, it's lived here a while." Dean said while looking around.
"Who knows how many murders he's gotten away with?" Sam asked with an eyebrow raised.
Suddenly it felt like something was watching and that awful stench got even stronger. I seen a dark figure move at the corner of my eye. I turned and seen something standing right behind Dean. I pointed my flash light at it and seen that it was the guy the police arrest earlier except his eyes were glowing just like Zach's were in the security footage.
"Dean! Behind you!" I yelled while aiming my gun at the shapeshifter. I couldn't get a clean shot, because Dean was right in the line of fire.
Dean turned around quickly, but ended up getting punched by the shifter so hard that he fell on the ground.
"Dean!" Sam and I yelled as we pointed our guns at the shifter, but before we could fire he quickly took off down the tunnel.
Then Sam and I ran over to help Dean up. He was pissed that the shapeshifter managed to sucker punch him.
"Let's get that son of a bitch!" He yelled in anger as he ran down the tunnel where the shifter went. Sam and I followed closely behind him.
The freaking shifter managed to climb out of the sewer and up to the street. We climbed out and looked around.
"All right, let's split up. We'll cover more ground that way." Sam said while looking at Dean and I.
"El you go with Sam."Dean said while looking at me.
I nodded and stood next to Sammy while biting my nails. I was a little nervous, because I hated splitting up. I rather have both of my brothers where I can see them so I know their okay, but I understood that time was of the essence. We needed to catch the shifter as fast as we could before it changed into someone else and went on a killing spree.
"All right I'll meet you two around the other side."Dean said as he began to walk in the opposite direction.
"All righty then."I said while nodding my head like a bobble head.
Dean stopped walking and looked back at Sam and I while saying,"El stay close to Sammy and watch each others backs."
"We will."Sam said while grabbing my hand. I looked up at him and smiled.
"Okay Dee and please be careful."I said while pointing at him.
"I always am."He replied with a smirk as he walked away.
"Yeah right."I said with a smile while I shook my head in disagreement. Then we split up and searched for the shapeshifter.