Broken {Supernatural Fanfic}

7. Hookman Part One

"The past cannot be cured"-Queen Elizabeth I

Dean woke up to see Autumn curled up next to his little brother. They were both asleep, some kind of informercial playing silently on TV. He sat up slowly, glancing at the clock. Miracle of all miracles, it was eight in the morning instead of some unholy hour like five. He glanced over at his brother again and saw Autumn's wide blue eyes staring sleepily at him. "Up and at 'em," Dean said, turning his gaze to his brother. Sam groaned and his eyes slowly open.

"Wha' time is it?" he slurred, covering his eyes with a hand.

"Eight in the morning," Dean said cheerfully. "You made it through the night Sammy."

"Don' call me Sammy," Sam mumbled, sitting up slowly. Autumn squirmed upright and slid off of the bed, her feet not making a sound as she pattered over to her bag, digging around for some fresh clothes before heading for the bathroom. Her constant silence unnerved him. He wasn't sure why. After all Sammy had been quiet when he had been younger. Maybe it was because of the way she seemed to constantly watching everything around her, waiting for the blow to fall.

Shower water interrupted the silence and Sam groaned. "Hung over?" Dean asked with wicked humor.

"Shut up," Sam retorted, throwing at pillow without even bothering to open his eyes and aim. The pillow missed but it was a close miss.

~

It took two hours for them to get checked out of the hotel. By then Sam knew that he needed coffee before he could function. Dean was obvious on the same page he was. They stopped at a gas station to pick up coffee and a few donuts for breakfast. Sam snatched up a bottle of orange juice for Autumn and handed it back to her when he got in the Impala. She took it and the donut without a word, eyes fixed on the floor. Sam considered trying to talk to her but his brain wasn't functioning enough to come up with what to say. He settled back in the seat and drank his coffee.

They didn't stop again until lunch. Dean pulled over at an outdoor cafe. Autumn followed them silently, a solemn shadow on their heels. She headed for the bathroom and was back before they had fully comprehended that she was gone. While she was gone they ordered lunch. She settled back in her seat just as Sam stood and headed for the phone. "What are you doing?" Dean asked, giving him the look that said he was being an idiot.

"Making some calls," Sam said in the tone that said he didn't care. Then he started dialing. Dean sighed and when Sam turned to look at his brother, Dean had the computer up and running.

~

Autumn picked at the sandwich, pulling it apart and glancing at the insides with trepidation. Meat was out. After watching Josiah kill as often as she had Autumn couldn't bring herself to eat it. She set it aside, slipping the tomato and lettuce back in between the bread and eating that. She stole a pen from a waitress, snagging it from the woman's pocket before she'd even noticed.

As soon as the waitress was gone she grabbed a napkin and started sketching. At first it was only eyes, then slowly a face appeared. She fleshed it out slowly, taking her time the way she used to cuddled up to Rosanna on the couch. Slowly the face took shape. Natalie.

Autumn gripped the pen so tightly that it snapped, spilling ink across her hand. She stared down at the growing black stain. The ink was blotting at the picture of Nat and Autumn bit down tears. Just like the picture Nat was gone from her life. She crumpled up the napkin and picked up the pieces of broken pen, taking them to the nearest trashcan and throwing them out. When she returned Sam was back.

"Check this out," Dean was saying. "Its a news item out of Planes Courier. Ankeny, Iowa. It's only about a hundred miles from here."

"The mutilated body was found near the victim's car, parked on 9 Mile Road," Sam read and Autumn fought down the pictures that came with those words.

"Keep reading," Dean prodded.

"Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer. The sole eyewitness, whose name has been withheld, is quoted saying the attacker was invisible," Sam finished.

"Could be something interesting," Dean said. Autumn decided then that he seriously needed to redefine interesting. This wasn't interesting; it was sick.

"Or it could be nothing at all," Sam shot back.  "One freaked out witness who didn't see anything? Doesn't mean it's the invisible man." Autumn wondered how they could be so calm about this. They were discussing a murder as if it were the weather. The only person she had ever known who had talked so calmly about death was Nat standing between her and the monster.

"But what if it is?" Dean was saying. "Dad would check it out." Autumn really didn't want to find out what was lurking out there in Iowa. She wanted to curl up somewhere and wake up to find out everything had been only a dream but that wasn't likely to happen. She stood up silently and followed the Winchester boys to the car.