Roads of Reckoning

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March 29th, 2006
I'm sitting at the table of the motel room. Sketching. I don't get to do it often but when I do, it's relaxing. Sam sits next to me.
"Looks good."
I look up and close the book.
"No don't stop." He says. Opening the book again. He flicks through the pages.
"You're really good."
I shrug.
"They're ok. I don't get a whole lot of time to do it anymore."
He continues through the bound book. Pictures of monsters from hunts, scenery, people. Dean clears his throat from his bed, laptop on his lap.

"Alright. I've been cruising come websites. I think I found a few candidates for our next gig. A fishing trawler found off the coast of Cali ~ it's crew vanished. And, uh, some cattle mutilations in west Texas."
He stops. Sam is still flipping through my book, his mind clearly somewhere else.
"Am I boring you with this hunting evil stuff?" Dean asks.
"No. I'm listening, go on."
Dean rolls his eyes.
"And here, a Sacramento man shot himself in the head. Three times."
Sam has stopped on a picture of a tree. He freezes.
"Wait, I've seen this."
He gets up and goes to his bag, pulling out a photo. He comes back to me and places the picture on the page. It's a photo of the Winchesters when Sam was a baby. The tree in the background is the same as the one in my book.
"I know where we have to go next."
I look up at him.
"Where?" I ask.
"Back home." He looks to Dean. "To Kansas."
"Okay random. Where'd that come from." Dean asks.

He passes the photo to Dean.
"All right. Um, this photo was taken in front of our old house right? The house where mom died."
"Yeah."
"And it didn't burn down, right? I mean, not completely. They rebuilt it, right?"
"I guess so. What the hell are you talking about?"
Sam looks at his hands.
"Ok. This is gonna sound crazy...but the people who live in our old house ~ I think they might be in danger."
"Why would you think that?" I ask.
He looks at me.
"Uh...it's um...look, just trust me on this ok?" He starts to walk away but Dean and I get up and follow him.
"Wait, whoa, whoa, trust you?" Dean asks.
Sam nods.
"Come on man, that's weak. You gotta give us a little more than that."
"I can't really explain it is all." Sam says.
Dean crosses his arms.
"Well tough. We're not going anywhere until you do."
I look to Sam and he sighs.
"I have these nightmares."
"I've noticed." Says Dean.
"And sometimes...they come true."
I tilt my head.
"What do you mean?"
"Look, I dreamt about Jessica's death - for days before it happened."
I search in his eyes. He's serious.
"Sam, people have weird dreams. I'm sure it's just a coincidence." Dean says.
Sam clenches his fists.
"No, I dreamt about the blood dripping, her on the ceiling, the fire, everything, and I didn't do anything about it cause I didn't believe it. And now I'm dreaming about that tree," he points to my sketch.
"About our house, and about some woman inside screaming for help. I mean, that's where it all started, this has to mean something, right?"
Dean looks to me, overwhelmed and back to Sam.
"I don't know."
Sam sits on the bed.
"What do you mean you don't know, Dean? This woman might be in danger. I mean, this might even be the thing that killed Jessica!"
He looks to me, hopelessness in his eyes.
"Demi?"
I get up from the table and stand in front of him.
"Sam...if you think it might mean something..."
He nods slowly, looking up at me. Dean begins to pace.
"Alright, just slow down. I mean, first you tell me you've got the Shining? And then you tell me I've gotta go back home? Especially when..."
"When what?"
"When I swore to myself that I would never go back there."
"Look Dean, we have to check this out. Just to make sure." Sam says softly.
Dean nods.
"I know we do."
•———————————————————————•
We pull up outside of their old house. I've never been here, I met them after Mary died. It's nice though. Simple. We get out of the car and knock on the front door. A woman, Jenny, answers the door and Sam tenses slightly next to me.