freaks come out at night, SPN, DISCONTINUED

016. hallucinations

TW: mentions of grooming and suicide

Dean and Billy walk up to the car that Sam has that's parked in front of a house. They get in, the siblings climbing into the backseat.

"Heya, Sammy." Dean greets. "How's the case?"

"What are you guys doing here?" Sam asks.

"Well, it looks like, uh, I'm here to save your sack." Dean chuckles. "Look, you were right, okay? I shouldn't have gone off solo like I did. It was stupid."

"And?" Sam asks.

"And selfish. It was a douche move. If you're doing this case by yourself to teach me a lesson, you don't have to, okay?" Dean says.

"And him?" Sam nods back to the teenager.

"I was bored." Billy shrugs. "Daff is busy, um, burning pie. So if the bunker isn't there when we get back, don't be too shocked. She isn't the best baker."

"I'm assuming it has something to do with her attention span?" Sam asks.

"Yeah." Billy nods. "She forgets the pie's in there, so. Always an adventure." He weakly chuckles.

"Yeah." Sam mutters. "How'd you find me?" Sam asks.

"Ah. I, uh, took an etching off your notepad." Dean holds up paper. "Then I decided to take a crack at the St. Louis suicide house."

"So you know about it?" Sam asks.

"I got the basics from Google. The family moves into a long vacant house. Uh, one week later, three of 'em dead by their own hands. Whole family wiped out except for the daughter, which the house is still under her name. I'm figuring she's the one who nearly unmanned you back there. But see, here's what I don't get. A cold case is one thing, but... this is subzero. I mean, there's nothing even in our wheelhouse, unless you know something I don't."

"Yeah. Um... that long vacant home used to be a Men of Letters chapter house. Remember Magnus?" Sam asks.

"You mean the dickwad ex-Men of Letters that tried to make a zoo exhibit out of me? Yeah." Dean says.

"Before he was expelled, he built Werther, a magical box with a deadly alarm system. Werther is buried somewhere in that house. It was supposed to have been guarded, but I'm guessing that plan went out the window when Abaddon massacred the entire membership in '58."

"And then the house stayed in limbo until some lucky family bought it." Dean says.

"Werther's a time bomb and it needs to be defused. Not only is this in our wheelhouse, it's our responsibility."

"Our responsibility?"

"We're Men of Letters. It's our legacy."

"Well, hey, if you say this is a case, I'm in, if you'll have me."

~ ~ ~

Sam and Billy go to the back of the house and Sam picks the lock on the back door. They quietly walk into the house and hear the kettle start to whistle. They quickly hide as Suzie goes to the kettle, turning the stove off.

Dean signals for them to go and Sam starts to pick the lock on the basement door.

"So, all alone in this big house, huh?" Dean asks. "Must get lonely... even with, uh, Gus."

"Yeah, well, I'm used to alone." Suzie says.

"No, no. I'm fine, thanks." Dean says. Sam and Billy get into the basement and turn their flashlights on, Billy quietly shutting the door behind him.