Whiplash for rince1wind

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Title: Whiplash
Author: ucat42
Beta : Alison Greene
Recipient: rince1wind
Rating: PG – is that K?
Warnings: No warnings apply.
Author's Notes: Set Season 7 aprox around episode seven, “The mentalists”
Summary: (As prompted), there is a nasty poltergeist at the DMV. Sam and Dean have to race, this time literally, to get the job done!


"Julie, bring me over those reports, will yah?" called Lloyd, the fill in team manager for the afternoon shift of the town's DMV.

He was acting in that role as the tight wad bosses didn't want to promote him to full time team leader. The extra pay would blow their budget.

The team leaders they had on the payroll were all off on worker's comp.

On full pay.

Stress leave.

They had all reported seeing a ghost, and one of them even went so far as to claim it threw him across the room.

So it meant they were on a paid vacation, pretty much.

Which meant there was no room in the budget for Lloyd to take on the roll permanently, but they were still happy for him to work his ass off for less pay. Not a very fair situation, but he was a nice guy. He didn't take it out on the rest of the staff.

He did, however, expect them to put in the same hours he did.

Julie scurried into his office, her cork wedges scuffing the parquet floor as she clutched the manila folders against her breast. "Here they are, Lloyd. Hey, I need to ask you" she sat the reports on the growing pile on the crowded desk top. "Can we get out of here before ten? I really need to get home to my cat Mattie."

Lloyd looked up at the large middle aged woman. "Got a heap to do here, Julie. I'd appreciate the help"

Julie frowned down at him. "We both know we are not going to get paid overtime for this. You don't have the authority to approve that. And besides, being here after dark give me the heebie jeebies"

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, I know. Me too. But with everything that has happened, well, you know, ton of stuff to get through"

Julie groaned. "Gawd, Lloyd, you'll be the death of me before long, I'm telling you!"

Lloyd stood and walked over to the coffee pot. "Dammit. Empty" he turned to Julie. "If we could get outta here before ten, trust me, I will be right there with you"

A door slammed from somewhere down the hall and Julie yelped, looking at Lloyd with her eyes wide.

"Now, don't panic, girl, it's probably just Jorge, the cleaner, finishing up"

"I'd believe you if I hadn't locked the front door behind him a half hour ago" she whispered back, her hands clutching at her scarf in nervous panic.

Footsteps could be clearly heard as they walked along the parquet floor towards Lloyd's office.

The lights flickered and Julie yelped again, this time she lunged at her boss and grabbed him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his shoulder.

Lloyd tipped her face up. "It's okay, Jules, it's okay. We'll be all right"

The lights flickered again and this time the hallway lights started to pop and fizzle, one by one going out as they followed the steady progress of the footsteps making their way towards the office.

Julie buried her face into Lloyd's shoulder again, her breath now coming in quick, frightened sobs as her manager held her tight, his heart hammering in his chest, his level of fear now matching hers as the steps reached his door.

She screamed a muffled, panicked cry as the office door slammed shut, the overhead fluorescent exploding in a shower of glass and sparks above them.

Lloyd felt his bladder release as the glass in all of the office windows overlooking the hallway exploded inward, the half light from the hall catching the display of shredded, splintered glass as it flew through the room.





~0~





Dean sopped his toast into his eggs and looked over at the window. "Rain don't look like it's giving up anytime soon"

Sam shrugged and turned the paper around to show his brother the headlines. "Another one. Last night"

The waitress moved to their table and topped up their coffee cups, dropping a wink in Sam's direction as she moved away.

Sam frowned at Dean's smirk. "Uh, anyway. Look" he tapped the paper. "Three people killed after getting their cars road worthies at the DMV. Two more after getting their licenses renewed. Then, last night" he tapped the paper again "Mrs. Fry gets smashed into a light pole after transferring her car into her name from her husband's."

"So, DMV it is. Whadda yah think it is? Angry spirit?"

Sam shrugged. "Yeah. Probably. I can't find much on the local history until we hit town."

"Library?"

"Yeah. Library"

"My favorite" Dean took a large mouthful of coffee and wiped his mouth on the bright pink paper napkin. "Okay. I'm done here. You ready to hit the road?"

Sam pulled out his money clip and flipped a couple of bills onto the Formica table top. "I'm finished. Sooner we leave, sooner this job is over"





~0~





The flashing lights in the rear view caught Dean's eye and he groaned.

Sam looked up from his laptop. "What?"

Dean hooked a thumb behind him. "Five-O, dude"

"You speeding?"

Dean snorted. "Not this time. I think he's run the plates."

Sam pulled open the glove box and rummaged through the rubbish and papers in there. He pulled out the registration and insurance and looked at them before he handed them to Dean.

"I think you got a problem" He closed his computer and sat it in the back seat as Dean pulled over. "Registration is made out to Mrs. Gladys Pilmer"

"Great. Can't just luck out for once"

The cop pulled up behind them but didn't get out of his car straight away. Dean watched him in the mirror, wondering how he'd explain the stolen Pontiac they were currently driving.

The cop finally dragged his fat ass out of the patrol car and scuffed his way up to the rusted brown heap the Winchesters were sitting in.

He leaned into the window, the smell of his garlic breath almost overwhelming.

All Dean could see was the smudge of mustard in the corner of the cop's mouth.

"You boys know you got a tail light out?" he drawled.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "No sir. I had no idea about that at all"

"Papers" demanded the cop. Dean handed them over, his demeanor a lot calmer than he felt. They could not afford for the police to take them in.

Not with the Leviathans looking for them.

"License"

Dean handed over his fake license with his left hand, his breath even, his right hand curled around the handle of his gun.

The cop took of his aviator sunglasses. "The registration says the car belongs to a Mrs. Gladys Pilmer, but your license is in the name of John Smith"

Dean smiled at him, his eyes filled with sincerity. "Aunt Gladys. Yes. I just bought it off her, 'bout a month ago"

The cop didn't smile back. "Why is the car still in her name?"

Dean glanced at his brother. Turning back to the cop he shrugged, the bright smile still in place. "Guess I just haven't got around to it yet"

"Step out of the car" The cop stepped back to allow Dean to open the door.

"What? Why? Officer, we can sort this out!"

The police officer put his sunglasses back on, his other hand resting on the butt of hiss police issue gun. "I said get out of the car"

Dean surreptitiously handed his gun to Sam and opened the car door with a sigh. He didn't need this kind of trouble. Not by a long shot.

"We got a problem, here, officer?"

"Son, you may have a whole world of problems. But with me, here?" He pointed to the back of the car. "See the tail light? Have a look at it"

Dean frowned but walked to the back of the car. Sure enough, one light was smashed clean through.

"You need to get that fixed. And you need to get this car transferred into your name"

"Will do, sir, I promise. Just as soon as I can"

The cop shook his head. "Now. Today. You bought this car a month ago, you said?"

Dean nodded.

"You've had plenty of time to transfer it into your name. We're going straight to the DMV. I'll follow you"

Dean looked surprised. "What? No. Really" he pointed back at the busted tail light. "I'll get it fixed, and I'll transfer the registration, you don't have to go to all that trouble"

The policeman rocked back on his heels. "Well, boy, it's like this" His hand had not left the gun. "I either follow you straight to the DMV, or I write you up. What's it gonna be, boy?"

Dean looked down at his feet, then back at the cop. "Well, sir, I'd say that's a very generous offer. I'd be happy to have you follow us into town"

The cop finally smiled, but there was no humor behind the mustard embellished grin. "Just what I wanted to hear"

Sam looked up as Dean climbed back into the car. "Well, at least it's right where we were headed"

Dean shot him a sharp look. "Not the way I wanted to make my way into town, there, Sammy"

"Maybe next time hook a car that's roadworthy"

"No shit, Sherlock"

"Just saying"





~0~





True to his word the cop followed the Pontiac all the way to the DMV, his lights flashing the entire way. He followed the brothers all the way up to the counter and made sure they took a number before he finally left, assuring them he'd be back to check on their progress.

"Well, it IS right where we wanted to be" Dean looked around at the crowded waiting area. "Now that Kojak has split what say you pop over to the library and check out the history on this place"

Sam looked passed Dean and lifted his brows in surprise. "I may not need to, dude" He pointed to the wall behind his brother's head. "Check it out"

Dean turned to look at the large cork board behind his head.

There was a picture of a rather attractive young woman in the middle of the board, her pretty face smiling, her bright blue eyes looking off into the distance. Her pale blonde hair swirled around her shoulders in a waterfall of curls.

There were newspaper clippings and smaller photos showing the woman with her family and friends, at work, behind the counter at the DMV and in the lunch room.

"Says here her name is Sarah Castle" Dean pointed to the newspaper clipping directly below the picture. "Killed by an unknown assailant in a house invasion"

Sam frowned and pointed to another clipping. "Kids killed, too. Three of them. The dick wiped out the family and fled the scene"

"Douche-bag" Dean muttered. "What happened to him?"

Sam leaned in further to read the clippings on the board when a scream from behind the counter broke the quiet murmurings of the waiting people and brought the brothers rushing over to the counter,

"What happened?" Dean demanded of a young man at the desk.

The man was looking behind him, and stood as he turned back to face the hunters.

"Gosh, I dunno, man" he gasped, and tipped his chair as he hurried to the door leading to the offices out the back.

Dean glanced at Sam then leapt over the counter, without a moment's hesitation his brother followed him.

The small door leading to the other offices was ajar and Dean ran through hit, following the counter staff.

Another scream led the hunters too the lunch room at the end of the narrow corridor, and they pulled up as they entered, the sight bringing them to a complete standstill.

The room was not very large, just a couple of tables, a microwave, coffee machine and a sink, enough for the few employees housed at this regional office.

The dull gray walls were now coated in slick red writing, the bloody letters dripping down and splattering over the floor.

Sam had his phone out before Dean could prompt him and he started taking pictures as the staff surrounded the woman that had found the gruesome sight, her hysterical screams now reduced to overwhelming sobs.

"Dude, what language is that?" whispered Dean.

"I think its Gaelic" answered Sam. "Not sure, I'm gonna have to look it up"

"Anybody hurt?" asked a balding man as he placed his arms around the sobbing woman.

The distressed woman nodded and looked up into the man's face. Without taking her eyes from him he pointed towards a coat closet in the corner.

The doors were closed, but as Dean moved closer for a better look he saw the blood pooling on the floor as it dripped down from the crack between the doors.

Dean glanced over at Sam, then grasped the handle of closet to open it as the sobbing woman buried her face into the bald man's chest, her cries, while muffled, were clearly growing in intensity.

Dean yanked the closet door ajar everyone in the room other than the hunters started to scream as two mangled bodies fell from the confined space, their blood splattering across the linoleum floor.

Dean jumped back, just managing to save his boots from a bloody bath.

"Oh God, I think it's Julie and Lloyd!"

Sam used his cell phone to take a photo of the bodies, now realizing one was a man, the other could have been a woman.

"Who are Julie and Lloyd?" Dean asked.

The young fellow from the counter turned to look at him, his face white with shock. "Lloyd was the afternoon shift manager, Julie was like, you know, second in charge?" He wiped a hand across his greasy brow. "They were working back late last night. Oh god, Julie was so scared to work back late. After, well, everything that happened?"

"Happened?" Dean touched the young man's arm to try and focus his attention.

The young man shook his head. "You know people saying there was a ghost and shit" He turned and looked back at bodies. "Things were happening. Strange things. People were scared"

"The police! Someone call the police" the balding man cried.

Sam placed his hand on Dean's arm and ducked his head towards the door.

Without answering Dean followed him out of the building.

"You think it's the murdered girl?" Dean asked as they hurried their way around the back of the DMV to the gravel parking lot. "Sounds a bit like a nasty poltergeist."

"Dunno. Maybe. We need to look a bit further into this."

"Library?"

"Yup. Library it is" Sam pointed over the road. "As luck would have it, the library is just across the road"





~0~





Mandy drove towards the market along the busy main street, her radio up too loud as she sung happily into the mid morning sunshine.

It was a good day.

She was off to get supplies for her kids after school play date. She would be baking, and knew that her special cupcakes would be a smash.

That was the whole plan behind the play date; she had set her kids up with the children of the owner of the local café. If their mom liked her cupcakes, and she was pretty sure she would, she might just get her into talking hubby into buying them off Mandy.

Mandy had already planned it out in her dreams, a home business that would lead to fame and fortune, and it could all start here, today, with a few yummy cupcakes.

It was her plan, and it was a good one, for starting her own business. She knew it would work.

She just knew.

She grabbed a lip gloss from her purse as she waited at the red light and dabbed her bottom lip, allowing herself a smile as she pictured how successful she'd be.

But...who was that revving their car?

Annoying teenagers, she was sure. She wasn't going to let some idiot ruin her good mood.

Glancing in the rearview she saw no other cars.

None beside her, or even opposite her.

Her breath caught in her throat as she realized that the sound of the roaring motor was not coming from any other vehicle.

It was her car, and she pulled her feet up from the peddles in a frightened panic.

The car continued to rev, the motor screaming as it pushed itself to its limit.

Mandy threw the gloss onto the seat beside her and slammed her car into park, trying to turn the key off as she did so.

It didn't work, the car kept revving.

Her heart was pounding in fear, she felt the cold prickle of sweat break out between her shoulder blades as she near hyperventilated in sheer panic.

Mandy pulled the hand brake on and again tried to turn off the key harder, but it broke off rather than turn.

She opened her door as the car sped off, tires squealing as the back of the car fishtailed under the pent up power.

Mandy started to scream when the car grew even faster as it burned rubber down the main street, heading straight to the T intersection at the end, no sign of letting up or slowing.

She jumped through her door as her car slammed into the library at the end of the street, the momentum forcing it through the plate glass windows, all the way through the foyer and stacks and shooting through the back wall, finally coming to rest against the brick facilities immediately out back.

Out the front of the library the rolling, twisted body of Mandy came to a halt in the gutter, her eyes staring blankly towards the sky, her broken body devoid of all life.



~0~


The fluorescent light hung from one wire as it hissed and popped, sparks arcing down to the tangled mess of books, broken shelves and debris that littered what was once a neat, well organized local library.

Sam groaned and wiped the dust from the shattered drywall from his face.

"Dean?" he gasped before a fit of coughing took him, the dust catching in his eyes and mouth as he breathed it in.

There was no sound to greet him.

"DEAN? " he yelled again, this time a soft cry echoed back, a small child or a baby was in distress.

Sam pushed the desk from his chest and pulled himself up from the floor, the microfiche he had been using smashed to pieces on the carpet near where he had been thrown.

He moved towards the child's cry, worried for his brother, worried for the child, but struggling to breathe around a lung full of dust.

It was a bright morning outside, but inside the shattered library it was dark, the arcing lights providing little illumination over the mess the car crash had created.

"DEAN! " He yelled again, and this time hear another call, a deeper, masculine voice.

His brother's voice.

He rushed forward, rounding a pile of debris he let out a rush of breath in relief.

Dean was on the floor holding a small child of no more than a year old, the mother beside him prone on the floor, either unconscious, or dead.

"Dean! Are you hurt?"

Dean looked up at his brother, a small cut near his hairline, dust coating him but he shook his head.

"No, man, I'm fine. Kid's fine"

Sam knelt to the woman and placed a finger to her throat at her pulse line, and let a relieved breath release when he felt a strong, steady pulse.

"We need to get outta here" Dean patted the distressed child's back as it sobbed again, holding the poor thing to his chest in a tight protective embrace.

"You'll have to put the kid down, Dean" Sam looked towards the back of the library and the large hole in the wall. "And hurry. We don't need the cops finding us here"

Dean stood and placed the child next to its mother and straight away it started to scream, chubby little hands reaching up in desperation, looking for the comfort that had just been removed.

Dean gave a sad smile and turned to the hole in the wall. "We can't get out of there, there's already people coming in"

"Bathroom?"Sam pointed to a door opposite.

"Good. Yeah. Bathroom"





~0~





"Well, apart from nearly becoming road kill, did we get some useful information?" Dean asked as he took a slug of his beer.

"Well, I did find out Sarah Castle was cremated, along with her kids. Ashes were scattered" Sam flicked a page on his small notebook. "There's something else, Dean. Just before the accident I was reading about Sarah's family. They thought the husband might be to blame. Sarah had been suspicious for some time that he was having an affair, and when she confronted him he beat her. Bad enough to put her in the hospital"

Dean frowned. "So, guy was a violent dick. Did the police look into it?"

"Yeah. Um. Look. He had an alibi. One of Sarah's co workers said he was at her house helping her fix her car"

"And the police believed that? They didn't think that might have been the woman hubby was cheating with?

"Apparently not. Considering the co worker was a two hundred pound woman in her late forties"

"Guy coulda been a chubby chaser" Dean wrinkled his eyes in a half grin. "Anyway, any clue on where he's at now?"

Sam took a mouthful of his sandwich and chewed as he flicked through his notebook. "No. Car crash cut that short. How'd you go?"

"I got a translation on the blood writing" Dean hooked a folded wad of paper from his jacket pocket. "It was Gaelic. And dude" he looked up and smiled. "You won't believe it"

Sam held out his hand for the wad of paper. "Why? What's it say?"

"You drove me to do this"

"Wow. That's incredibly unhelpful"

Dean drained the last of his glass. "Actually, I think it's what's gonna solve this case. For once we might just finish one easy" He frowned. "I did say might. So no jinx there, right?"

"Yeah. Sure. That'll work"





~0~





The sun was low on the horizon, the shortened day signaling that fall was about to give way to winter. At the end of the main street the safety barrier lights surrounding the broken library wall winked in a golden pulse.

The emergency workers had erected a sturdy barrier and left the area, the police and EMT's had long gone. There was no traffic, no pedestrians; for all intents and purposes the street was deserted.

Not far from the library was a car sales yard. Nothing out of the ordinary, a normal car lot with a couple of dozen well presented second hand vehicles, bright banners across each windscreen declaring the massive savings or immaculate condition of the vehicle it adorned.

Jeff, the lot manager, was closing up for the day. It was getting late, and after what happened in the street today it didn't seem anyone was in a buying mood.

May as well as go home.

He groaned as one of the car alarms went off.

Damn kids. They thought it funny to lean on one of the cars until an alarm went off then scuttled off to hide; getting a strange amusement from watching Jeff reset the car's alarm.

He walked out of the office door to check which car it was so he could grab the right keys.

Another alarm sang out.

And another.

Before he could swear twice every car in the lot was screaming out its annoying sound, headlights flashing and windshield wipers flicking back and forth.

Jeff stepped further into the yard as the cars screamed around him. He was looking around, mouth agape in wonder, as one by one the cars motors started.

He stepped back a little and felt the bumper of a car push at his leg.

Jeff jumped to one side, and a yelp of surprise escaped him as yet another car pushed at him.

Turning, he realized all of the cars were starting to move, and he was penned in.

No gaps between the cars.

No way to escape.

His screams of agony were masked by the shill car alarms as the cars knocked him down and ran over him, crushing the life from him as wheel after wheel slammed over his broken form.

In unison all of the cars then crashed through the makeshift front fence and skewed off into different directions down the street, smashing into buildings, light poles, parked cars, anything that was in the way of their haphazard, random march towards destruction.

In the dim afternoon light the crushed body of Jeff lay dying in the empty car lot yard.





~0~





The pale blue painted door was chipped and dirty, the plant in the glazed pot beside it dead and covered in cobwebs and dust.

Sam rapped his knuckles loudly on the door and waited as the steps inside signaled the occupant was home, and coming to answer the door.

The hinges squealed as the door creaked open a little and Dean leaned forward a little to try and catch sight of the occupant.

"Mr. Castle? Sir?"

The door was pulled a little more ajar revealing a scruffy, unkempt man, he couldn't be much older than Dean but looked fifty. His eyed were blood shot, his hair disheveled and dirty, his clothes look like they hadn't been changed in at least a week.

"Mr. Castle?" Sam showed his badge but the man barley glanced at it and didn't seem to notice that Dean hadn't pulled out an ID badge at all.

"Um. Mr. Castle? My partner and I would like to have a word to you, if we could" Sam glanced at Dean when the man didn't react.

"I think Mr. Castle wants us to come inside. Don't you, sir?" Dean pushed the door completely open and stepped inside as the man moved back.

He led them into a dark sitting room, pizza boxes and beer cans cluttered most every surface.

Dean scooped some of the rubbish off the couch onto the floor and sat, Sam cleared a place beside him, wrinkling his nose at the smell and the mess.

"What can I do for you guys?" the man asked as he sat on a cluttered chair opposite them.

"Well, Mr. Castle…."

"John" the man leaned back. "Call me John"

"Okay, um, John" Sam leaned forward and folded his hands, resting his long arms on his knees. "We'd like to talk to you about a Miss Honor O'Mara"

John looked from Sam to Dean, then back at Sam.

"Why? Why do you want to know about her?"

Dean leaned forward mirroring his brother's position. "Well, John. We think Honor and you might have had a bit of thing, you know?"

John didn't answer, but his face paled. He ran a hand through his hair and his eyes darted from one brother to another.

"We think you and Honor were doing the bump and grind, and maybe you and her decided to take the family outta the picture"

John's head snapped up. "What? You think I killed my family?" He stood up and started to yell at them. "I loved them. More than anything. More than my own life. I never would hurt them. Never! "

"Yeah. See, here's the thing. We believe you" Sam watched as John started to pace, his hands on his hips and his eyes never leaving the two suited men on his couch.

"We think maybe you and Honor were having a little fling and you decided to end it. But Honor didn't want that"

"We think Honor went all Glen Close on you. She did. Didn't she?" Dean leaned forward a bit more.

John stopped pacing and turned to face them.

"We think maybe Honor hurt your family"

John sat back down with a thump. "I never hurt my family"

Dean nodded. "Did you have an affair with Honor?"

John looked at his hands and nodded, tears now starting to form in his red rimmed eyes. "It was once. Once only. I met her here, one night, when she drove Sarah home from work. We talked. She was nice. Real pretty, you know? And friendly. Irish. She had the best accent. She's only transferred into Sarah's office the week before, and they made friends." He looked up at the brothers. As he blinked the tears escaped his eyes and started to spill down his stubbled cheeks.

"We met a few times, for drinks, dinner, you know. She would talk dirty to me in Gaelic. I couldn't understand anything, but it was hot, you know? Then we…we got a room. It happened only once. It was a mistake. I knew it, and I told her it couldn't happen again. Not ever. But she wouldn't give up, you know? She kept telling me she loved me and wanted to be with me. I explained to her, right, I explained that I had a family, that I was never going to leave them. I just didn't think she'd take that as some weird sadistic challenge to kill my family"

He scrubbed a fist across his face, swiping the tears away, only to have them replaced by fresh ones. "I knew it was her. I knew it. But the cops, they thought it was me. They still do. They never even tried to investigate anything else. But I knew it. Jeez, she left me a voice mail. In Gaelic. I had to get it translated"

"What did it say?" Sam asked.

"You drove me to do this"

No one spoke. Finally John sniffed and swiped his nose with a shirt sleeve.

Dean cleared his throat. "Why didn't you just tell the cops?"

"Seriously? It would have been all they needed to lock me up with. You know, their proof" He tipped his head a little and frowned. "How did you guys figure it out? I mean, the cops couldn't. How come you could?"

"Well, John, it's like this. Honor went missing a week after your family died. No one bothered much as she was prone to taking off. Seemed she'd done this a few times before whenever she broke up with a boyfriend. Always came back a month or so later, all fine and dandy. But she's not coming back this time. Is she, John?"

John Castle shook his head but didn't speak.

"Look. Um, we think that Honor is not ever going to come back. Ever" Sam leaned forward a little. "What did you do to her, John?"

"John? Where is she?" Dean leaned even further forward. "We need to know where you put her"

John sighed. "I couldn't let her get away with it. You guys know that, right? She was a monster. She cut my family to pieces" His hands reached up and folded on top of his head. "She deserved it. She did. So what now?" He lifted his gaze and looked at Sam. "I tell you where I buried her and you arrest me?"

"No, John, we're not going to arrest you. I'm guessing your life is pretty much hell as it is. And when it's over, well, you'll have actual hell." Dean stood up. "Tell us where she is"





~0~





"What is it with you and Japanese crap?" Dean complained as he changed the gears in the early model import, pushing the little car to its limit'

"Had to hook a roadworthy car this time, Dean. Can't have that cop pulling us over again"

"Fine. I get it. I tell you one thing I don't get" he turned into the darkened dirt road, the poor headlights only illuminating maybe a hundred yards in front of them. "Why bury her in a pet cemetery? Didn't he see the movie?"

The car sped up, rocking and bucking over the pot holed gravel road.

"Dean. Slow down. You're going too fast for this kinda road"

Dean pulled at the steering wheel. "It aint me, bro. I think the car's got a case of the Honor O'Mara's"

Sam sat up straighter as the speed increased, his expression concerned. "Dean?"

"Hang on. Put on your seat belt. I'm gonna try to hit a tree before it gets any faster"

"Dean!"

"Just do it!"

Sam leaned over and buckled his brother up first, Dean could not let go his death grip on the steering wheel or risk losing his tenuous control of the car.

He did up his own then braced himself, both hands on the dash and his legs spread as best he could.

"You ready?"

"No"

"Here goes nothing" Dean pulled as hard as he could at the wheel, pointing the car towards a tall, sturdy looking pine.

Before they could reach the tree the car hit a large pot hole and flipped, sailing high into the air and spinning over, once, twice, and again before coming to rest upside down at the base of the pine tree in a horrifying crunch.

For a moment there was only the sound of the engine cooling, the clock-like tick tick tick a quiet, ominous noise in an otherwise silent night.

A moment passed and a thump from the inside of the car stopped once the occupant realized the door was not going to open, the crushed, compacted roof preventing any chance of getting that door open without mechanical help.

A couple of swift kicks and the windscreen clattered out in one large piece and Sam emerged, his face a little bruised and a trickle of blood wept from his hairline, but other than that he was surprisingly unscathed.

Dean crawled out after him, moving a little slower and stiffer, but moving.

"Stuff's in the trunk" Sam rubbed his back, absently trying to soothe a hidden scrape.

Dean nodded. "Great. Well, we gotta flip it, then"

Sam moved beside his brother and without a great deal of effort managed to roll the car back onto all four wheels.

"I take it back" Dean tugged at the trunk, relieved when the lid flew up without too much tugging.

"Take what back?"

"We couldn't have flipped any other car.”Dean pulled out a box of salt. “Turns out Jap Crap was the perfect choice"

"Great. Fine. Let's just go burn Glen Close" Sam was filling a duffle with supplies.

"I think I hurt my back. You're gonna have to do the digging" Dean’s mouth was tipping at the corners in a ghost of a cheeky smile.

"Funny Dean" Sam pursed his lips.

"No, I'm serious. Can barely walk"

"Not working, Dean. I'm not digging up the juicy corpse all by myself"

"Bitch"

"Jerk"

"Just how far away is this cemetery?" Dean asked, the grin in full force by now.

"I'm not carrying you, Dean"

"It’s not that" Dean answered. "I can hear a car"

Sam turned around. "Yeah. It's our car. Um, maybe run?"

"Yah think, Einstein?"

The brothers turned and began to run along the side of the dirt road, carrying the shovels and the duffle full of salt and kerosene.

They could hear the motor of the small Japanese car screaming as it sped along the road, one wheel listing due to a bent axle causing the car to fishtail and swerve like a drunkard was driving.

In this case, no one was driving.

The car, even though it was having great difficulty maintaining a forward direction, was gaining speed and closing the gap towards the running hunters.

"Faster!" yelled Sam. "Dean, run!"

Dean chanced a quick look over his shoulder and realized he could not outrun the car.

Sam might be able to, but he couldn't.

"Sam" he gasped between breaths, his legs pumping in a powerful rhythm. "Keep going. Dig the grave"

"What? Dean, no!" Sam stumbled a little as he turned to check the seriousness on his brother's face. "No! Dean!"

Dean checked the distance between himself and the car with another quick glance and turned, running off onto a dirt track leading off the road they were on.

The car did not veer to turn so Dean stopped and waved his arms above his head. "Hey! Hey, you faceless bitch, hey!"

The car swerved towards him and he risked a glance at his brother. Sam hadn't stopped running; his long legs were covering the ground at a rate Dean could never hope to match.

The car swung wide and skidded as it tried to make the corner with its rickety wheel.

Dean turned and ran again, trying to outrun the car that was determined to bring an end to him.

He ran, his lungs bursting, his breath a cold, rasping blade in his throat as he tried to stay ahead of the car in its death race towards him.

The track had not been maintained in quite some time, the pot holes were worse here than the road and the car struggled to maintain any great speed as the poltergeist steered it after the hunter.

Dean glanced behind himself and felt a pang of hope as her realized the gap was growing, he was out running the car.

He noticed a tree ahead, if he could maintain this pace he could jump to the lower branches and swing himself up, out of the reach of the murderous vehicle in pursuit of him.

Smile hinting at the corners of his mouth he stretched his legs even further, harder, gaining even more advantage as he pushed himself to his very limit.

He could see the branch he was going to grab and lifted his arms to reach for it, taking his eyes off the pockmarked road.

Dean tripped, his boots catching the lip of a rather big hole and he fell crashing face down on the red dirt track.

His momentum caused him to skid forward, tearing his jeans, ripping his knees open and grating off the skin from his outstretched hands.

His face had taken the full weight of his body, making him dizzy and momentarily blinded by the dust in his eyes.

Dean scrambled, his boots digging at the road as he tried to gain purchase.

He had made it to his feet and even managed a few steps when the car hit him.





~0~





Sam had never dug a grave faster in his life, well aware his brother's life would depend on how quick he could torch the poltergeist’s bones.

Luckily the grave was shallow and exactly where John had said it was.

Sam had unearthed the woman with no more than a few shovel swipes, he had poured kerosene over her and was salting her body when honor's ghost appeared before him.

Sam could see that she had been a pretty girl, but now her apparition was the stuff of nightmares.

Her eyes were black holes, her mouth a gaping maw.

Her clothes hung in tatters and her hair was that of a harpy.

She hissed in a feral manner and raised one hand, sending Sam flying over the make shift grave markers surrounding her last resting place.

Sam blinked, his head spinning, and struggled up to his feet as Honor appeared closer to him.

"He killed me" she hissed.

"Yeah. You murdered his family" Sam stepped back as Honor took a step forward, her head tilted crazily to one side as she flickered in and out like a television screen with poor reception.

"He drove me to it"

Sam bent down, not taking his eyes off the apparition. "You think he wanted you to kill his family, Honor?"

"He drove me to it" She hissed again.

Sam grabbed up the box of salt he had been using and flung a stream of white at the ghost, hitting her in the face.

She screamed and disappeared.

Sam took the chance to run to the makeshift grave, pulling a matchbook out as he ran.

Honor appeared again, her hands outstretched and her head askew as she screamed her rage and fear.

Sam stumbled backwards as he flung the lighted matchbook, instantly the woman exploded into flames and was gone in an heartbeat.

He stood for a moment, looking down at the burning corpse but feeling no remorse. The woman had murdered three children and their mother.

This was about all she deserved.

Looking up Sam ran a hand through his hair. "Oh god, Dean" he gasped, and took off at a brisk jog to find his brother.





~0~





"Well, it's been three days. I'd say Honor O'Mara is not coming back" Dean popped the last morsel of his cheeseburger into his mouth and picked up his beer. His cheeks were grazed and weeping, one eye was blackened and his palms looked like they had lost a war with a cheese grater.

But he was alive.

Bruised, sore, but very much alive.

Sam again felt a little waive of nausea pass over him as her recalled finding his brother’s body in the middle of the dirt track, covered in dust, blood and looking al the world like a dead man.

And then the relief as Dean had turned over and smiled at him.

Better feeling than Christmas, that was.

"Can't believe we got outta this one so easy" Sam pushed his plate away, his appetite lost.

"Bout time we had a simple salt and burn"

Sam huffed a short laugh.

"What?"

"Funny how a simple salt and burn included a library falling on our head, nearly a dozen dead and flipping a car three times, crashing into a pine tree and you getting run down and near killed"

Dean lifted his glass, his smile sparkling into his green eyes. "Like I said, simple salt and burn"