Post by StoryGirl83 on Apr 6, 2010 9:35:59 GMT -5
Chapter Two - The Other Brothers
It took another hour to convince the chief that Sam knew nothing more than he had already told them. The fact that he really had no idea of what happened helped quite a bit, but it frustrated him to no end. As he had expected it had taken only a few minutes to find a house that fit the description of Trudeau’s death trap. The hard part had been finding it. Unfamiliar with the layout of the city he’d gotten lost twice.
Now, he parked Dean’s Impala along the curb and climbed out of the car. He stared up at the imposing house. In its prime it had probably been a beautiful house, but the door hung by its hinges. Shutters were missing and so were pieces of the roof. According to what he had been told there had been an explosion in 2006 that had resulted in the deaths of the three sisters who had lived there along with the husband of one of the sisters and a police inspector. The house had been inherited by the married sister’s two sons now nine and eight and taxes were paid for by the father of the three sister who was also guardian of the two brothers.
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” a voice warned him from behind.
Sam turned around and saw two boys standing there. It was hard to be sure which boy was older, but it he had to guess he’d go with the blond one. “Well, you aren’t me now are you?”
“Do you really want to die?” the brown haired boy asked. Apparently the blond had spoken first, for the voice was different.
“What makes you so sure I’m going to?” Sam returned.
The two boys looked at each other. They couldn’t be more than ten, but their eyes looked like they had seen a world of sorrow. It made him think of him and Dean. He couldn’t keep the pain off his face and the two boys looked at him startled. “What happened?”
Sam shook his head. He wasn’t going to let some pint sized doom-sayers deter him, even if they did make him think of his brother . . . probably because they made him think of his brother. “You know what, I don’t really care. I’ve faced death before.” He headed up the steps toward the front door.
Behind him the boys looked at each other. The older, for the blond was older, nodded at his younger brother and started running. The younger brother looked around and held out his hand.
Sam felt himself stop. His muscles quit working and he couldn’t move, not even to blink.
The older boy stopped in front of him and gave him a look. “You can’t go in there.”
Had Sam been able to, he would have scowled. There was more to this kid than met the eye.
“I think he’ll listen now,” the older boy decided. “You can let him go, Chris.”
Sam felt control return to him body and he spun around to stare at the boy behind him. This “Chris” was the one stopping him? “Who are you guys?”
Chris joined his brother in front of Sam and grinned. “You’re trespassing, you know.”
Sam frowned. “I asked who you are.”
The older boy shrugged. “Does it really matter? As he said, you are trespassing and it is far too dangerous for you to go in there.”
“And that is exactly why I must go in there,” Sam insisted. “Too many people have died and it has to stop.”
The two brothers looked at each other. Chris crossed his arms in front of him and shook his head. His brother heaved a sigh and turned to look at Sam. “I’m Wyatt Halliwell and this is my brother, Chris. This is our house and if there was a way to fix this, we would have already done it.”
Sam looked at them in surprise. These were the two boys who had inherited this house? “You shouldn’t even be trying. You are too . . .” He was stopped from finishing by a hand raised by Chris. He felt the control leave his body and return almost instantly.
“Don’t say that,” Chris insisted. “We can take care of ourselves.”
Considering how soundly they seemed to be taking care of him, he really shouldn’t doubt them, but somehow he still did. “But can you go inside?”
Both brothers shook their heads quickly. “No one’s been inside in years,” Wyatt was quick to inform him. Anyone who tries dies.”
“But how do they die?” Sam wanted to know. He was going to find a way to stop this house from killing people or he was going to die trying. And most likely he had stumbled on the best source of information he was going to get.
The two brothers frowned at each other. “We should take him to Grandpas,” Wyatt suggested after several seconds of silence.
“Do you think we can trust him?” Chris asked, glancing at Sam. “We don’t know him.”
Wyatt sighed. “I’m not sure. There is something about him that bothers me, but I think . . . I think he’s here to help.” Wyatt sighed. “We need to get in there, Chris.”
Sam looked at them surprised. They wanted to get in?
Chris looked toward the door. Looking back at his brother, he nodded. “Okay.”
Wyatt turned to look at Sam. “Will you come with us?”
“Will you let me try going in if I do?”
“And have your death on our hands?” Wyatt asked in disbelief.
“I absolve you of whatever happens to me,” Sam informed him. “I’m used to being responsible for my own actions, even ones that can or do lead to my death or the . . .” Sam scowled. He was not bringing Dean into this conversation. “Look, I intend to either put a stop to this haunted house killing people and maybe find a way to save my brother or I am going to die trying and join my brother.”
“Your brother?” Wyatt asked, looking at him concerned.
Sam nodded. “He’s dead.”
Wyatt stared at him startled. “You expect to save your dead brother? Want to save my dead parents while you’re at it,” he suggested sarcastically.
“If I can,” Sam agreed. It wasn’t that he thought he could. From what he’d learned, their parents had been dead for over six years. When Cas had brought Dean back after he’d been dead for four months that had been amazing. To bring someone back after six years seemed impossible. He wasn’t even sure he could bring Dean back after two days, but he was going to try, because life without his brother was something he never wanted to face again.
“We’ll let you help us,” Wyatt decided. “Right, Chris?”
Chris nodded, his manner far too old for an eight-year-old.
Sam sighed. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to work with a couple of too old preteens, even if he had once been one. “I’m coming. Want me to drive you there?”
The two brothers looked at each other and shook their heads. “We’ll meet you there,” Wyatt assured him. “We have our own ways of getting there.”
“And I’m supposed to find it how?”
“I’ll give you directions of course.”
“I got lost twice coming here,” Sam informed him, annoyed. “Either you trust me and will give me directions from the passenger seat of my brother’s car or we part ways here and now.”
The brothers looked at each other, again. They started discussing it, just too low for Sam to catch what they were saying.
“He seems to think he knows what he’s doing,” Chris commented. “Maybe he does.”
“There’s still something about him that bothers me,” Wyatt insisted.
“The guy just lost his brother,” Chris offered. “I’d be lost if I didn’t have you.”
“Who’s to say he isn’t laying?” Wyatt threw out.
“And what if he’s not?” Chris threw back. “What if he really can help us? And what if Mom, Dad, and our aunts are still alive in there?”
“Impossible,” Wyatt refuted. “If they were alive, I’d know.”
“And if they were dead, Grams would know,” Chris returned. “Come on. You know she’s as confused about that as we are, but she’s quite insistent that they aren’t dead, which means they are alive somewhere. And this is the only place we can’t check.”
“Not exactly,” Wyatt returned. “There’s an entire down there that we can’t check.”
“What demon in its right mind is going to keep the Charmed Ones alive, if they have them overpowered?” Chris demanded to know. “And what demon in its right mind isn’t going to brag about taking them down, if one really did. No, they aren’t down there. That leaves in there.” He pointed a thin arm in the direction of the manor. “Tell me you don’t want to know.”
“You know I do,” Wyatt returned. “But I have to be practical. They very well could be dead. If they are stuck in there, then what’s keeping them in there?”
“I don’t know,” Chris admitted, “but we aren’t going to find out on the front step.”
Wyatt sighed and turned around to look at Sam. “We’ll ride with you.”