Tell me where we go from here 4/?
Chapter 4
Sam found them a hunt. Only a few hour away something was chewing off people's faces. The police was talking about animal attacks but left out what kind of animal they thought did it so Sam decided it was worth checking out. At first glance it looked more monster-y than demon-y or angel-y so it probably was the right thing to start with. A plain old monster hunt. Not that those weren't dangerous, just less complicated.
Dean drove with Sam in the passenger and Cas in the back. By now Dean had found time to clean his car out and she was shining and purring like she'd just rolled off the line. Sam stretched out his legs as far as he could and leaned back in his seat. This was how it should be.
The only thing different was Cas sitting in the back but he'd been there often enough to make it not that of a strange thing and judging by the glances Dean was throwing him through the rear view mirror, it was something they would get used to very quickly. Sam thought about offering to drive just to allow Dean to constantly eye fuck his angel but he didn't bring it up. Dean was happy back behind the wheel and that was all that counted.
They reached their destination late in the afternoon and Dean stired the Impala towards the first motel he saw. Sam looked up at the sign announcing this as the Buffalo Motel with a few neons missing in the vacancy sign.
Living in the bunker has its perks, he thought and got out of the car.
"I'll get us the rooms." He announced and headed off to the office without looking back so he probably missed a quick peck on the cheek between Cas and his brother. For grown men these two acted a lot like teenage girls and Sam just hoped they wouldn't start giggling at one point.
"You have the four." Sam handed Dean his key. "And I'm in nine."
Dean threw him a confused look but Sam really didn't want to explain why he didn't want to stay in the same room as them or even next door. He didn't know what or if they would do something at night but he wasn't keen on finding out. He was close enough so he could hear the others shouting and vice versa and for sure he would hear gunfire so no need to worry.
Dean was clearly torn between his privacy and having Sam in sight but in the end Cas just slung an arm around Dean's waist and that was it. They went to their rooms to unpack.
Sam had booked one room with a double bed for Dean and Cas and one with a single for himself. It was weird, coming into a room with only one bed, but he guessed he would get used to that. Dean was only a few rooms away.
"Somebody ran wild with the buffalo theme in here." Sam shook his head at the mounted buffalo head on the wall over the TV set. The rest of the wall was covered with various pictures of the animal. Even the bed had horns on the headboard.
They met back outside half an hour later to find themselves something to eat. It was too late to start their investigation so they used the time to discuss what they knew over dinner. Which wasn't much.
"Four victims so far." Sam said. "They found the last one yesterday."
He didn't bring out the pictures, they were in public after all, but they all knew what he was talking about.
"We check out the morgue first thing tomorrow." Dean said and buried his face in his burger.
"What do you think we are dealing with here, Sam?" Cas ask, skimming through the notes Sam had spread out on the table. He was an angel and a soldier but when it came to hunting Cas was still an amateur. Sam remembered that one time when Cas had announced that he wanted to become a hunter and shuddered at that thought. However, he was an angel and as that hard to kill and for sure a strong ally on their side.
"I don't know yet." Sam admitted. "Looks like some kind of animal but I doubt it was just hungry, it only went for the faces." He had seen the pictures and he wasn't looking forward to having a look at the real thing. Maybe he could leave that to Dean and Cas. The angel still needed to learn the ropes and they really didn't have to show up in the morgue with three people.
"There is this man, Andrew Barter, he's the husband of the third victim." Sam had to search in his notes for the name. "He was with her when she's been attacked."
"He saw that thing?" Now he had Dean's interest.
"I'm not sure, this is all a bit vague." Sam frowned at his notes. "How about you two check out the bodies while I talk to the police and this Andrew guy?"
Of course Dean knew exactly what he was doing here but he didn't call him out on it.
"Sure, Cas and I can deal with some faceless dead guys." Dean shrugged. "No need for you to get your hands dirty."
Or not. Sam threw his balled up napkin at him and felt better. Cas looked from one brother to the other, clearly confused by their actions. Sam exchanged one glance with Dean and both burst out laughing.
God, this felt good.
Still grinning they left the diner and walked the short distance back to the motel. By now it was dark but the air was clear and when Sam looked up he could see the stars. Cas followed his example and looked up as well but when Sam saw the expression on his face he regretted even looking up in the first place.
Sensing what was going on with his friend Dean slung his arm around Cas' shoulder. His eyes locked with Sam's for a second but they were both lost on what to do or say. Sam couldn't even start to imagine what Cas had lost. How he must feel now, unable to fly and more human than angel with his grace still fading.
They parted for the night and Sam sat on the small table in this room, under the watchful eyes of the buffalo head, and searched the internet for anything helpful. Whatever they were hunting had a very specific taste for the faces of its victims. Sam knew about things that went for specific organs, werewolves for example, but so far he'd never heard of something like this. He wished he could just call Bobby and discuss this with him.
Sam let out a sigh, he still missed him but that wouldn't bring him back. To keep himself distracted, he didn't want to think about the man who had been more of a father for him and Dean than their actual father, Sam threw himself back into the case.
Faces were personal, so maybe the victims knew the one who had attacked them. Which would mean this was something appearing human and not an animal like a black dog for example. He hadn't found out much about where the victims had been found or if they knew each other, for that he would have to talk to the police in person, so after a while of browsing the internet for face eating monsters Sam called it a day and shut the laptop.
When he lay in bed a while later, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on in the other room. Not that he wanted to think about his brother and his best friend having sex, though he doubted they would do much while they were working a case. At least he hoped that they wouldn't be busy the whole night and too tired to be useful tomorrow.
As expected Dean was still asleep when Sam knocked at their door the next morning, announcing that he would get them some breakfast and that he would be back in twenty minutes. He hoped that would be enough time to get them decent.
When he came back with coffee and bags of food, Dean was still in the shower but Cas opened the door and helped him to set the table. For once Cas had buttoned up his shirt and straightened his tie. He actually looked professional, however, he didn't really look like Cas dressed like this. Without his jacket on Sam could make out the outlines of his body under the white shirt and he had to admit that Cas wasn't only a pretty face. At least for a guy. Sam didn't find him attractive but he got what Dean was seeing here. And Dean and Cas had clicked the second they'd laid eyes on each other, that had been obvious for everybody around them except for them.
A moment later Dean came out of the bathroom. Wearing only his pants with his shirt in hand he just stood there for a moment, eyes fixed on Cas. They stared at each other, Sam totally forgotten and he wondered if he should take his own breakfast over to his room and let them drool over each other for a while longer. Instead he cleared his throat and blushing Dean hurried to put on his shirt.
"If you'd rather be alone, just say the word." Sam grinned at him when he handed him his coffee.
"Shut up, bitch." Dean growled playfully at him and peered inside his bag.
"I think that place is taken, jerk." Sam answered with a meaningful look at Cas. "Or is it the other way around?"
Dean almost choked on his coffee.
"If you're referring to sexual positions." Cas spoke up. "We didn't have intercourse yet."
No both Winchesters were snorting coffee.
"Cas." Sam had to use a napkin. "Too much information."
"You asked, Sammy." Dean grinned at him and fished a bagel out of the bag. "And FYI, that's none of your business."
They finished their breakfast and then Dean drove them into town. Sam would check in with the police and would then meet their witness while Dean and Cas would have a look at the bodies. After that they would visit the victims families and see what they could find out.
Since these were officially animal attacks Sam introduced himself as being with Animal Control. The officer working the case, Officer Martin, seemed glad to have him there. He had four dead people and not one clue on what did it and there for had still an unnamed predator on the loose.
After an hour of reading the files and bouncing ideas with Officer Martin Sam wasn't closer to solving this case than before. The victims had been found in different places around town, all deserted but that was the only thing they had in common. He couldn't narrow it down to a certain area or a certain time and as far as he could tell the victims had nothing in common either. There were three women and only one man but with just four victims it was hard to tell if this meant something or not. Three had been alone but Nancy Barter had been with her husband when she'd been attacked. Different ages and social backgrounds, there was nothing connecting these people.
Frustrated Sam leaned back in his chair and took out the photo of Nancy Barter.
"Did the husband tell you anything useful?" He asked. He had the intention to ask the man himself but it would be good to know what he'd said so far.
"Something big." Officer Martin shrugged. "It was almost dark and it happened very quickly. He said she had stopped to tie her shoe while he kept going. Then she screamed and when he turned around something dragged her off the path. He ran after her but it was too later. She was dead when he reached her."
Sam thought about that for a moment but couldn't think of anything that hunted like that.
"Okay." He closed the file and stood up. "Thank you, Officer. I'll let you know when I find something."
With that he left the station and went to have a little chat with Andrew Barter.
Chapter 5
Masterpost